Blogging as publishing format

Following on the same track and the discussion that has develop in the comments space of Jill Walker’s post I would like to bring the attention to very good post by Toril Mortensen in her thoughtful blog, thinking with my fingers, where she asks herself and answers to the question:

so: is blogging journalism? No. But a blog can be a medium for good reporting, good news coverage, and good investigative journalism. It is also a lot more.

I agree. But... there is a small noticeable difference here. A blog can be used as a good and effective publishing tool to do the tasks of a notable and important profession like journalism. But I would not dare to say that this in itself makes a single blog a medium proper. It is rather an authoring platform that once is up and running can enter in the public sphere and create all kinds of ethic and aesthetic distinctions and conflicts given the interests that are into play once a challenging utterance has come out to the public. As it is the case with Apple's court case against three bloggers.

I would say that it is in the networking of comment, dissent, track backing and linking that the blogging activity flourishes and become what I have called a very clear format with well defined characteristics, tools (database, syndication etc) and set of rhetorical conventions and ideological and aesthetic similarities.