Having or losing respect for bloggers is an interesting topic. Blogs, whether they are a hobby or a job (as I think it is the case with Mike Johnston and The Online Photographer), occupy a grey area in many respects. I read and usually enjoy Mike's blog, although I'm not sure why exactly. I remember I added his blog years ago to my Google Reader feed and it survived the almost automatic transition to Feedly. He writes well (for internet’s standards), has an identifiable style and seems to be knowledgeable. But the truth is I read his posts as part of a long feed of photography blogs. That means I sometimes don’t even realise who posted what.
It’s me against the immensity of internet. I filter as much as I can, cancel subscriptions when I get bored of a blog, and, from time to time, I add a new blog to the feed. I suppose bloggers, even if they are pro or semi-pro, have a similar problem with the immensity of internet and the challenge to post something that stands out on a regular basis. A guy working from home, with no editorial board or colleagues to discuss interesting ideas, no editing, no quality control, no sanity check whatsoever. Even if they have thousands of followers and people commenting their posts, it must be a "small world" and not very healthy.
As a result, my respect (i.e. attention) for bloggers is based on different standards than those I apply to professional publications. The former are quite lax, the latter are stricter (especially if I pay a subscription).