Are bloggers REAL journalists?

The answer is yes and no. While bloggers do have to work their way up from being an unknown writer to a respected one, they are still viewed as just bloggers. What's the distinction then? The line is pretty vague. No they aren't journalists because they report news with no compensation and aren't screened to some extent by an established media source such as a newspaper or television station. Then again, they are journalists for the same reason. The best kind in fact. What bloggers write while usually just opinion, there are no restrictions to what they say. You will never, ever see the anchor on MSNBC reporting on the lax security of Microsoft operating systems or how their products are half-assed at best. The only form of mass-media that exists without explicit gatekeeping is the Internet. People can say whatever they want, whether it is offensive, pointless and not remotely true in any sense. Whether or not it's really accurate is irrelevant. Who's to say what we see on "established" and "respected" media is true at all?