The Guardian Signs Up Salam Pax As A Columnist

from the no-surprise-there dept

I'm sure there were plenty of newspapers who had people trying to hunt down the real identity of the "Iraqi blogger", who goes by the name Salam Pax to try to hire the guy that everyone seems to be reading. It appears that the Guardian, in the UK, was the first to track him down and have given him his own column in the paper. I'm sure this will fuel the ongoing "blogs vs. journalism" debate - though, it actually does more to show the changing nature of journalism as a whole. These days, anyone and everyone can be a journalist. A good media organization realizes that it isn't just the credentialed reporters that might have the most valuable insights any more. While some may complain that when "anyone" can be a reporter you're more likely to have fraudulent stories (while pointing to the various "fraud" blogs that have shown up), the simple fact is that this already happens with "real" journalists. What a more open journalism provides is a better way to dig out the frauds quickly.

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