Interesting Look at Newspapers Blogging
The American Journal Review posted an article by Dana Hull entitled “Blogging Between the Lines” that deals with the current predicament that newspapers now find themselves in with the Internet. She writes that “the mainstream media have fallen in love with blogs, launching them on everything from politics to life in Las Vegas to bowling. But does the inherent tension between the blogosphere’s anything-goes ethos and the standards of traditional journalism mean this relationship is doomed?”
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and which “powers that be” will win out. Will it be the up and coming blogging journalist at the newspaper that gets a strong following with no revenue? Will it be the more seasoned journalist that still tries to present both sides of a story in hopes of not aggravating a print advertiser?
Hull quotes a media ethics professor on the dilemma:
“Blogging as it has evolved has been very different from conventional reporting,” says Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota and a former AJR columnist, who adds that reporters, trained to be objective, often struggle to adopt the right tone. “Blogs are not intended to be objective. They are supposed to be opinionated, snarky and in your face — and that’s not the way the mainstream media usually goes about reporting. The whole genre of blogging is very different. It’s not fair for a news organization to say, ‘We want you to blog, but by the way don’t express your real opinions.’”
Therein lies the problem with newspapers trying to go online. They will essentially have to have a separate business, separate bench of journalists…er…I mean bloggers, and separate business models to really make this work. Gannett is throwing everything at the fan these days with the launch of local weekly tabloids, online-only moms websites, city-wide health magazines, local bi-monthly magazines, and video on their websites. Spreading yourselves a little thin?
Why don’t newspapers reach out and partner with “citizen journalist” (content partners for those of you at the newspapers’ ivory tower) and work with them to provide columns for their newspapers? They have done this with local TV media and radio stations, but they are reluctant to do so on the web. Bring this content in your non-opinionated style to your reader base and watch how much younger and bigger they become.
