It's an interesting discussion for sure, but for someone to think every blogger wants to write for a newspaper some day, it's honestly just dumb. If I can make the same amount of money writing on my own blog, why would I want to deal with an editor, assigned stories and deadlines? I don't see the upside there!

Journalism can take place on a blogging platform. Blogging is more of a word that defines the use of a tool: the blogging software. I believe that the blog as a publishing device will lead to many "blogger journalists"

What a great post, and great comments too. Especially the comments Wink Lorch made. You all give me much to think about. This and everything I read about Wine Future (I also followed the live blog) is keeping me busy very much the last couple of days.
Thx you all!
Mariëlla Beukers, wine writer coming from a bloggers background

Yeah, we have interesting lives of meaning too!

the great thing is when you COMBINE book writing and engaging with your audience online - look at what Gary Vaynerchuck and Chris Brogan are doing! I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Agree, tools such as Twitter and Facebook are increasingly helping sort the good from the bad sources of information on wine. Great article, thank you.

Great post, and I think it applies to many different sectors and products, not just wine. Anybody can be a writer, editor and/or publisher, and they don't need the traditional gatekeepers.

Excellent post Robert and some great comments coming through too to add to the debate, so here's my two cents (pennies?) worth.As so often happens with 'newfangled things' in any age, and as you have reported Robert, it is obvious that wine blogs if not always wine bloggers are gaining slow (but getting faster) acceptance even in the world of traditional wine journalism. But here are a few pedantic points that I think still worry traditional wine writers/journalists all touched upon all too briefly at the conference:1) Simply the word blog: for example Jancis, I don't believe, would ever say she writes a blog although she has started to use the word 'post'. Jancis has a website that is expensive to maintain and that allows her to input updated content on a regular basis, which she does.2) The issue of when and whether the 'cream will rise to the top' and how consumers will spot it. This seemed to be mentioned by several people at Wine Future (which to make clear to other readers I did not attend in person, only virtually via catavino.net). There seems to be a worry amongst the established wine trade, wine writers and educators that consumers are not capable of sifting through the many blogs to find the ones that truly speak with authority. It's certainly perceived to be a 'problem' particularly with such a complex, intricate subject as wine that many 'wikis' and therefore blog posts too are simply inaccurate. But this was always the case with print too - even today in the few wine books that are published and wine columns printed, I constantly find non-facts, downright errors. So, hey - print and the web are no different after all, and the keen, intelligent consumer should be able to find the cream.3) The other often untouched (certainly by the reserved British) subject worrying the established journalists is how to monetize a presence on the web - yes, Gary Vee has managed and promised to show Jancis how, but what about everyone else? Many are holding on to the (probably vain) hope that print will revive and that money will still be available - think again, I would say. And this is, of course, completely irrelevant to the evening 'hobby' blogger.

good point, and I apologise for my vague terms. Yes, I was referring to the membership criteria that were rather hotly debated around the LIWF. I can see clearly that if those were to encompass the blogging community, there would be many that would be quite willing to sign up to the objectives of the CWW

I hope to have an opportunity to learn more about the Circle thanks to a friendly invitation to an up-coming event :)

exactly, and I count you in my group above as one of the well respected, established writers who HAS understood it and got involved to create materials which really could only have emerged online

thank you!

As for the CWW, we shall see! I think the future is radically different from its charter, so it will be interesting to see what it comes up with

I don't think she is 'worried about' anything (if you watch the video she actually does support blogging as a whole) but she did express the view that I have often heard, that bloggers are all aspiring journalists (in traditional media), and I do want to clarify that this is not the case.

I am always amazed (especially as one who post so infrequently) the effort that Jancis makes for wine in general and her many, many outlets - but in particular her site.

We must recognise that even BIG names are still writing for others - and that it is the editorial and advertising agendas of their traditional media employers that determine much of what can be said (if only by the limitations on space that they offer).

I look forward to seeing the faces of these writers when they finally DO switch over and realise how much MORE they can do, not less. That will be an exciting time for us all.

Good points all -- but as a fledging wine blogger, I'm not sure I want them to want my "job"...mostly, I think they need to understand what bloggers add to the conversation, how social media has made the discussion more inclusive, and what this means for consumers. It's much more revolutionary for them than it is for the inside baseball world of wine writing. Jancis gets it -- the others, not so much, I think.

Thanks, Robert, for sharing this. While I wasn't able to stay in Europe for Wine Futures after the EWBC (this time anyway!), I know I have heard this sentiment at EWBC and at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma also.

Overall I agree with you, Robert. I also don't know of many (any?) wine bloggers who are after those few rare jobs in traditional media. Many of us would like to see more opportunities open up in new media where we can get paid (I'm one of them). But I think the overall goal of people writing about wine on the web is different--to tell those stories and share wine enthusiasm via the new media and to bring value to the net. Every day people make unpaid contributions from open source to wikis to content. It feels good to give something back, to write something that others find useful. And for many, that's payment enough.