About TOL Blogs
Like no phenomenon before it, blogging has given voice to individuals with no journalism or publishing experience. Bloggers are now part of the public discourse and find their opinions and observations debated by millions of others in the “blogosphere.”
Blogging has already proven its ability to shake up political and media establishments, and bloggers increasingly are playing a key role in getting information to the public from countries suffering under repressive regimes. Yet, with a few exceptions, the blogging phenomenon remains largely underdeveloped in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union.
TOL hopes to change this. Our plan is ambitious: to “jumpstart” the spread of blogging in our coverage region, especially in semi- or fully authoritarian countries where the need for diversity of information is most urgent. Our underlying assumption is that blogging, if properly nurtured, can become a cost-efficient, powerful instrument of free speech, free press, and self-expression.
And we don’t mean only in English. While you will find many TOL blogs in English, we are committed to helping build the local blogospheres. That means you will soon find blogs in many local languages, creating communities that we hope will quickly take on lives of their own.
Critics of blogging call it a medium without rules, with bloggers often acting like journalists but without necessarily having any commitment to the ethics, guidelines, or standards of good journalistic practice. Without intending to control bloggers or blog content, TOL believes that it is uniquely positioned-as an online news provider and journalist trainer-not only to encourage blogging as a means of public discourse in post-communist countries but also to bring some element of quality to the region’s blogosphere. We will thus attempt not only to encourage blogging but also to set some standards for bloggers through developing blogging manuals, instituting oversight by experienced blogging mentors, and running workshops for key project bloggers.
Along the way, we hope that you will find a useful compliment to what you have come to expect from TOL: a stimulating mix of local voices and outside experts, plus informed opinion, slice-of-life observations, and commentary on current events. As usual we look forward to your comments, but this time, we encourage you to blog them!