It doesn't matter that much to your site if you link to a reasonably good quality blog versus the New York Times. But it may matter a lot to the blog you linked to!

Google addressed your specific issue in their Webmaster Central Blog back in 2008. It remains good advice:

Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than mine?

 

If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't worry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding outbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise, consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a complicated formula.

The only sorts of links that will really harm you are unnatural links, which are paid links without a nofollow tag, link schemes, and the like.

What I recommend you do is simply to link to the source you intend to cite. If you're quoting or referring to Times coverage of a story, then link to them. If you're quoting or referring to Jimbo's East Tennessee Politics and Shooting Blog, then linking to the Times is rather pointless; you should link to Jimbo. If you're referring to a Times story that you read about on Jimbo's blog, then you can link to the Times story and note that you read about it on Jimbo's blog (with a link).

It doesn't matter that much to your site if you link to a reasonably good quality blog versus the New York Times. But it may matter a lot to the blog you linked to!

Google addressed your specific issue in their Webmaster Central Blog back in 2008. It remains good advice:

Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than mine?

If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't worry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding outbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise, consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a complicated formula.

The only sorts of links that will really harm you are unnatural links, which are paid links without a nofollow tag, link schemes, and the like.

What I recommend you do is simply to link to the source you intend to cite. If you're quoting or referring to Times coverage of a story, then link to them. If you're quoting or referring to Jimbo's East Tennessee Politics and Shooting Blog, then linking to the Times is rather pointless; you should link to Jimbo. If you're referring to a Times story that you read about on Jimbo's blog, then you can link to the Times story and note that you read about it on Jimbo's blog (with a link).

It doesn't matter that much to your site if you link to a reasonably good quality blog versus the New York Times. But it may matter a lot to the blog you linked to!

Google addressed your specific issue in their Webmaster Central Blog back in 2008. It remains good advice:

Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than mine?

If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't worry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding outbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise, consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a complicated formula.

The only sorts of links that will really harm you are unnatural links, which are paid links without a nofollow tag, link schemes, and the like.

What I recommend you do is simply to link to the source you intend to cite. If you're quoting or referring to Times coverage of a story, then link to them. If you're quoting or referring to Jimbo's East Tennessee Politics and Shooting Blog, then linking to the Times is rather pointless. If you're referring to a Times story that you read about on Jimbo's blog, then you can link to the Times story and note that you read about it on Jimbo's blog (with a link).

It doesn't matter that much to your site if you link to a reasonably good quality blog versus the New York Times. But it may matter a lot to the blog you linked to!

Google addressed your specific issue in their Webmaster Central Blog back in 2008. It remains good advice:

Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than mine?

If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't worry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding outbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise, consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a complicated formula.

The only sorts of links that will really harm you are unnatural links, which are paid links without a nofollow tag, link schemes, and the like.

What I recommend you do is simply to link to the source you intend to cite. If you're quoting or referring to Times coverage of a story, then link to them. If you're quoting or referring to Jimbo's East Tennessee Politics and Shooting Blog, then linking to the Times is rather pointless; you should link to Jimbo. If you're referring to a Times story that you read about on Jimbo's blog, then you can link to the Times story and note that you read about it on Jimbo's blog (with a link).