The difference between journalists and bloggers

I was invited to attend a "Discover Cruises" Roundtable to discuss the role of bloggers in the travel and cruise industry. The organization is a collection of the main cruise companies who are looking to promote cruising.

They asked me to talk about a number of areas, and one was the difference between a journalist and a blogger. I thought that this would be something worth sharing on this blog as it is not really cruise or travel specific.

If you would like a PDF copy of this you can get that from my Tips for Travellers site (look for the Discover Cruises section on this page to download the PDF)

What is the difference between journalists and bloggers?

One is not “better” than the other. They do different things for different needs.

View of Gary Bembridge of tipsfortravellers.com

Journalists	Bloggers
PAID	PASSION
·      Earn a living writing and reporting, and are paid to cover a story.	·      Very unlikely to earn a living from travel blogging alone. Usually have another job. ·      More likely doing it out of passion for travel.
ONE CORE CONTENT EXPERTISE	MULITPLE CONTENT SKILLS
·      Journalists write. ·      Photographers take images. ·      Video makers make video. ·      Publishers publish. ·      Etc.	·      Multi-media content creators, publishers, designers, marketers & social media experts. ·      Write & take own images for features, many also make video &/or audio. ·      Publish on a site they design and host. ·      Actively promote their content via SEO and Social Media.
UNBIASED	OPINION BASED
·      Expected to be unbiased and balanced.	·      People who read travel blogs say they do so to hear opinions of travellers. ·      Open to supporting travel partner’s objectives and marketing messages.
CONTENT LIMITATIONS	UNLIMITED CONTENT
·      Have to deliver to word counts of the publication, or media channel time segments. ·      Tend to produce one article or feature per commission and trip. ·      Content “shelf life” to that edition of the publication.	·      Can produce as long, or as much, content as they want, based on how interested they are. ·      Ability to create a series around a trip or topic: before, during and after. ·      Content has long life, always available.
“PUSH” CONTENT	“RESPONSIVE” CONTENT
·      Commissions usually given by and feedback on content comes from editor ·      Content, once published, has limited feedback direct from the audience to the content creator.	·      Audience can (& will) tell before, during and after what they want – and can be interactive on trips. ·      Get immediate feedback from audience on content via tracking stats, comments, “click-throughs”, “retweets”, “likes” etc - and so have to respond to what audience wants. ·      Actively engage in conversations with audience (blog & social media). ·      Able to update content as things change.
WORK TO PUBLISHING SCHEDULES	IMMEDIATE
·      Content goes through and has to comply with deadlines and publishing schedules	·      Can react fast, and have content posted as it happens (e.g. issue arises – or during a trip).
MASS AUDIENCE	NICHE AUDIENCE
·      Even when writing for a segment, audience will often be more broad & larger (e.g. cruising)	·      Usually generating content for niche audiences (e.g. mature women solo travellers).

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