Comparing the Benefits of Trained Versus Untrained Bloggers

Here’s a follow-up on Monday’s Catching Flack post about whether it’s better or worse for PR that bloggers are now being offered journalism training from the Society of Professional Journalists.

The vote so far on the poll: 14 for trained bloggers, 3 for untrained. I was glad to see some people vote for “untrained” — I’m not necessarily in favor of anarchy, but there are pluses and minuses to both points of view.

Trained:

• More thorough, less opinionated


• Better written and probably more accurate


• Broader coverage


• Potentially more accessible


• Potentially more mainstream


• Possibly more narrow in coverage


• Higher ethical standards


• Less likely to take freebies and give favorable coverage in return

Untrained:

• Rely more on being opinionated than on fact-gathering


• Possibly harder to work with


• Lower or perhaps non-existent ethical standards


• More likely to take freebies in return for favorable coverage


• Harder for PR to plug in to a professional working relationship