The rise of citizen journalism

In a feature for today's Times IT supplement, Martin Debattista discusses blogging and writes about the rise of Maltese blogs. Writing a few days after the Malta Journalism Awards in which MaltaMedia placed first in the e-journalism category, his article includes interviews and comments by bloggers Toni Sant, MaltaGirl, Sabine Cassar-Alpert and yours truly. You can read my interview in its entirety in Martin's blog. From The Times:

Blogs, or personal journals published on internet, made history last week in two different and very distant parts of the world. While blogs in the US were shaping the mid-term elections with all its effects on world politics, a Maltese blog was awarded a Malta Journalism Award in the e-journalism category...While blogs are fast becoming part of the media landscape abroad, in Malta last week we had the first tangible sign that they are also rising in status locally. Robert Micallef won the e-journalism category, sponsored by Hewlett Packard, of the Malta Journalism Awards organised by the Institute of Maltese Journalists..

"When I started my blog in 2004, I had no idea where it would take me but I used it to express my own opinions about a number of issues and events," Mr Micallef told i-Tech after the awards ceremony. "I also established my blog as a channel to promote other Maltese blogs and contribute to the development of a Maltese blogging space. Later, I started using it as a platform for Malta references on the blogosphere, in cyberspace and the online international media so, in a way, it is partly a kind of online depository of views about Malta as seen by others."

Mr Micallef's success comes as no surprise to other Maltese bloggers. "I didn't use to take any interest in politics but thanks to Robert Micallef I now know more about Maltese and EU affairs," commented Maltagirl, who has been blogging for over four years and is thus one of Malta's pioneers. Although there are no official statistics or surveys on blogging in Malta, the Maltese blogosphere is thriving. "Given the size of the Maltese population, I'd say that blogging is quite popular in Malta,"

Toni Sant, lecturer at the University of Hull (Scarborough campus) and co-founder of http://www.maltamedia.com, told i-Tech. "Keeping a blog is not for everyone but I can safely say that some personal Maltese blogs are more interesting and better written than some opinion columns in the local newspapers." The comparison between blogs and traditional news media outlets is inevitable. After all, Mr Micallef won the e-journalism award and not a blogging award. MaltaMedia.com is the only Maltese online news service that provides blogs side-by-side with its traditional daily news coverage offered by the mainstream news media..

Mr Micallef shares the view that new media are here to stay and become an established part of the media landscape. "The mainstream media have been slow to acknowledge the rise of new media but they will eventually embrace it, once they see more evidence of its growing popularity." In the meantime blogs remain one of the ways to make your voice heard in cyberspace...

The full article by Martin Debattista in The Times; Taking notice of Maltese blogs - from Martin's blog.