We are all Journalists now.

The internet has re-defined journalism. No longer do you have to spend a lifetime working your way through the ranks of a media outlet’s hierarchy to get your opinion or news into the public domain. Just set up a blog.

It sounds easy. In some respects it is, it took me around ten minutes to set up my blog, most of that time was spent deciding what to call it. I went outside the box: Chris Hedley’s Blog.

It is one thing creating and writing a blog, but surely the key is getting people to read it. That is the hard part. There are plenty of blogs out there that nobody ever reads; my blog could become a prime example. The blogs that I have come across tend to be written by journalists or are part of a media outlet.

So maybe you still need to work your way up the ranks to get yourself heard as there is no point in shouting for help if nobody is going to hear you. Some examples do exist, however, where working your way up the ranks is not necessary; take The Drudge Report. Matt Drudge was never a journalist but since his breaking of the Monica Lewinsky scandal the Drudge Report, according to ABC News, plays a big role in shaping the media’s political coverage in America. There is hope for us all yet.

So has the internet really re-defined journalism? Simple blogging does not make us journalists. If my friends read my blog, I could have just told them down the pub. If someone I do not know reads my blog, I could have just told them in passing when we were sat on the train. Blogging is just a medium to express your views or tell someone news. There must be a point where is does become journalism, I am just not sure where that point is. Hopefully by the end of the year I will find that answer.

We are not journalists yet, we’re just training.