Jeff Walsh revisits the question of blogging as journalism.

"In fact, bloggers tend to link to the news first as a means of context for what they are about to say, which on some level almost seems to substantiate that they are not putting themselves in the role of delivering the news." [Jeff Walsh's writings]

What is news?  Its just stuff I didn't know before.  When I tell my wife something she didn't know before, am I not doing what journalists do?  Do I have to write like Herb Caen or sound like Walter Cronkite to be a journalist?  I don't think so.  Quality may differ, but the nature is the same.  What I am saying is that, while journalism is important in a democracy, its the result of journalism that is important, not how it is done.

What a journalist does is no different from what a butcher does: one cuts meat, the other cuts stories.  Do I value news over my meat?  It depends on the meat.  I'll choose prime rib or fillet mignon over Iraq War news anyday.