Last week prweek.com reported that House of Commons chiefs are considering extending the parliamentary lobby system to include bloggers. This would give bloggers the same access as lobby journalists, a way of obtaining government information in an off camera setting. For the UK, it seems to be a forward move into the social media sphere, which if it proves successful might have an impact on Irish politics. The story also raises a few interesting points about journalism in politics generally.
On one hand, the inclusion of bloggers into the lobby system is a radical leap forward from traditional political journalism. It recognises the increase in the importance of the online arena for political discussion and gives the public another link into the inner workings of parliament. In the last week alone we have seen insiders in Leinster House make the leap themselves to tweeting to all and sundry opinions that in the past would likely have been kept under wraps.
Bloggers, by nature, are free to comment and write as subjectively as they please. They are not bound by the codes of professional journalism, by which respected newspapers and journalists earn their reputation. The London Times and Guardian and indeed the Irish Times websites all have popular political blogs, updated by staff journalists. Other blogs, like Guido Fawkes, have succeeded in attracting large audiences and have become a popular source of political news for the public. So, having bloggers included in the select group of lobby journalists, could offer fresh individual ideas and new voices on Westminster. It might also attract an increase in the younger population taking an interest in parliamentary discussions.
However, the suggestion from the House of Commons isn’t as straight forward as it seems. They include a strict set of criteria for any possible lobby bloggers. Some popular bloggers might be disappointed that despite being popular amongst their peers for their political thoughts, their “credentials” as journalists may not stand up to those required by the House of Commons.
“The general criteria we would agree with is that the person applying for the pass should be a proper journalist with a track record of journalism; that they should be operating for a respectable news organisation or website with a reasonably large number of subscribers or viewers; and that they should be using the pass for the purposes of journalism, rather than coming in and commenting on stuff.”
It would be interesting to see what impact a similar introduction in the Dáil would have. Perhaps giving Irish political bloggers a direct view of off camera Oireachtas briefings would offer the public a clearer view on the sometimes hazy affairs of Irish politics. So, anyone fancy a career as a parliamentary bloggiest?