Chris Nolan's "Stand-Alone Journalism" Call to Action

Political blogger and former biz journalist Chris Nolan says the media business is changing. Readers are getting news from many more sources, especially weblogs. This makes Chris happy since she's a lone gun. However, she is very dissatisfied with the term "web logging" because it focuses on the technology and not the content. So, she is calling for everyone to label personal journalism and blogging with a new term - "Stand-Alone Journalism."

She writes:

Why Stand-Alone Journalism? Well, it’s accurate. A journalist – or a small group of reporters – can work on the web to produce what they want as they find it appropriate. And readers are equally free to read the work of individual journalist as they see fit, on their time, not on schedules set by TV networks or the newspapers.

Chris is asking new readers and regulars to contribute via her PayPal tip jar. As a loyal reader for years, I have given her a small donation (although not the $25 she asks - I think this is a bit steep).

While I fully endorse Chris' call to action, I have only two concerns about this noble effort. First, Chris doesn't clearly delineate who has earned the right to be called a stand-alone journalist and who is just a blogger. For example, am I one? I don't feel I am. In my view, a stand-alone journalist is exactly what it says - someone who has quit writing professionally for an established media outlet to earn their living almost exclusively from blogging/personal journalism via ads and subscription. Rafit Ali at PaidContent.org is the perfect example of a stand-alone journalist. Robert Scoble is not. Also, she does not open her site to trackbacks and comments. Stand-alone journalists should promote two-way discussions if they want readers to ante up.