The Nonchalance of the Social Blogger

On August 23,The last song that played on my MP3 was  Chris Brown’s “Just Fine.”  By the morning of  August 24, nothing would be just fine. Upon waking I read on several news,social media sites, and blogs that a shooting had occurred at Chris Brown’s 1oak VMA party last night.

The story had minor nuances and major differences from one news outlet to another-as expected in a story such as this one. I appointed my browser to http://www.NecoleBitchie.com, to read the comments regarding the events .NecoleBitchie readers always seem to post the funniest,poignant and sometimes ridiculous comments. Before I read the comments, I decided to read the post and was totally disturbed by Necolebitchie’s blatant disregard for the (proposed) Blogger’s Code of Ethics .

With the continuing prominence of social media and the blog era, the blogosphere stands divided on if a Blogger’s Code of Ethics is necessary or enforced. I feel it is necessary to call out these violations. NecoleBitchie’s disclaimer on her site’s contact press page states ,” Disclaimer: This is a blog site, not a news site. All posts are based on my opinions and thoughts on what may already be reported in the media. I am not a journalist nor do I aspire to be. I am a blogger who created this site as a hobby. And yes, I am bias. I only report on artists/celebrities that I like or find interesting. Thanx – Necole .”  The disclaimer itself violates various standards of blogger ethics.Is bias ever ethical? Should opinion or armchair journalism be consumed as truth  ?Whether identifiable as a  journalist or veteran blogger Necole Bitchie,real name Nicole Kane, should realize often a blog is the only news some readers may come across. So that news needs to be truth and the rest clearly stated as opinion.

Ethic Violation: Tell the truth at all times.

Let’s focus back to the particular article in scrutiny though. Majority of the  article-headline and all- is focused on Chris Brown being shot at and the target of the 1oak shooting. There were Instagram clips (videos have been removed) of brown standing on the table during the shooting and the Necolebitchie.com caption (also removed) stated that Chris was confronting one of the shooters. The video and  screen caps are so grainy one wouldn’t be able to  identify Chris brown, if it weren’t for his trademark blond ‘do.  So how and why was it being reported that Chris was talking to the shooters in the midst of the shooting?  This statement is purely ridiculous speculation  at  best. Also if Chris Brown was the target, he would’ve been a very clear target.

Ethic Violation: Be critical of everything,(even your self). Tell the truth at all times.

Halfway down the page, the story takes another point of focus. Apparently, rapper The Game and his friends got into an altercation with 1oak security. Reports state The Game left the scene and his friends stayed to party.The Bitchie post continues ” They may have turned the rapper(The Game) away because of a previous, decade-old feud with Suge Knight, who was inside at the time.”  Here’s the real story: An ongoing riff between rival gangs  result in the shooting of Suge Knight at Chris Brown’s album release/pre-Vma party. NecoleBitchie is very irresponsible for posting a story, which makes Chris Brown the focal point. Anyone with a brain would know that other than Chris Brown’s name being associated with the event, this story is not about him at all.  Necole knew that by spinning the story her site would get more hits. Interestingly enough, her readers aren’t that gullible. Countless comments point out the shooting was caused by obvious drama between Knight and Game.

The Suge Knight shooting story  on that particular blog is just one example of why bloggers need a Code of Ethics, especially when reporting news stories. Though many bloggers don’t claim to be journalist, they are in fact armchair journalist. If your informative writing is going to be consumed by an audience, one should honor a code of ethics. Without a code of ethics,there’s really not much difference between gossip blogs and fiction.