The Seven News Commandments

There are seven rules to journalism, according to federal judge Marco A. Hernandez:
(1) Education in journalism
(2) Credentials or proof of any affiliation with any recognized news entity; 
(3) Proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest; 
(4) Keeping notes of conversations and interviews conducted; 
(5) Mutual understanding or agreement of confidentiality between the defendant and his/her sources; 
(6) Creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others; 
(7) Contacting "the other side" to get both sides of a story.
There are thousands of bloggers on the Internet, and obviously, not all of them are professional. These seven rules are set to define the line between a journalist and a blogger. It makes sense: to report news, you need credentials. Otherwise, imagine the amount of fake news that will spread! (See previous post) It's important for bloggers to follow at least one and three; but so many good bloggers do not stick to ones such as two and seven. And people still read both bloggers and journalists- and have a hard time differentiating between the two. But with these seven criteria, you can keep a careful eye the next time you're reading an article online to decide for yourself- you know, like this blog!