Blogger is journalist of the year

December 14, 2007 by Jeff Jarvis
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Medium, a media magazine in Germany, just named a blogger, Stefan Niggemeier, as journalist — yes, journalist — of the year because of BildBlog, which follows, criticizes, and dogs the huge tabloid newspaper in Germany, Bild. Just to give you a flavor that translates easily, here’s a post about a picture that ran in Bild, supposedly of a Turkish prison cell, when readers noticed the similarity to a picture of a cell at Alcatraz — note that moment of networked media criticism. I don’t know enough about the German media society, but I suspect this award could be as much about antipathy toward Bild as admiration of BildBlog. And I suppose this could only fuel the fires of blogs-v-MSM (which I keep trying to douse). Still, I think it’s a positive sign that a blogger is recognized not only as a journalist but as the journalist of the year. (via Martin Stabe)

  • http://egghat.blogspot.com egghat

    Jeff, your suspicion is correct. This award is “as much about antipathy toward Bild as admiration of BildBlog”.

    Bildblog is a very interesting blog nevertheless. I hope that someday someone in England does the same thing with “The Daily Mirror”, “The Sun”, etc. pp. They could easily be worse than Bild … And I hate fake journalism as much as Stefan Niggemeyer does.

    Greetz from Germany

    Bye egghat

  • http://www.neunetz.com/ marcel weiss

    not wanting to decrease your enthusiasm about this but niggemeier is first and foremost still seen as the mediajournalist he worked as for years. he still writes occasionally for the sunday-edition of faz, on of the biggest newspapers in germany, where he used to work and write for for years.
    so it’s more an award for a journalist who happens to have become a fulltime-blogger.
    besides all that the prize going to niggemeier is great and he truly deserves it.

    –
    on the other hand there a quite a few journalists in germany who seem like they want bloggers to get taken away their constitutiongiven freedom of speech, at least not wanting to have bloggers the same protection journalists get when it comes to informers and such stuff. (and we’re talking here about senioreditors of big newspapers)

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  • http://www.eightfatswine.com phil

    fuck the msm

  • Eric Gauvin

    As you say, that’s “supposedly a Turkish prison cell.” Just a friendly reminder, that’s also “supposedly an Alcatraz prison cell.”

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  • http://www.roberthesse.de/blog/ Robert

    Jeff, afaik first and foremost stefan niggemeier is a journalist who started blogging. but finally he’s the right mn to become journalist of the year.
    greets
    robert

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