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August 26, 2006
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Already, many readers are joining in the discussion on our new blogs. That’s exciting to see. After all, you’re ultimately the judge of our success.
When I announced that all of our reporters and many other Tribune staff members would be blogging, at least one reader asked why. On the flight back from Eugene, Ore., I thought more about this question.
The short answer: Newspapers are looking to online as their future, and the most successful Web sites have the highest percentage of original content. By original content, I mean material that’s not merely a duplication of what’s in the print edition. With 20 more people blogging, our Web site suddenly has taken a huge leap forward in the amount of original content you’ll find.
Other reasons:
• Our reporters need to learn the digital world. If online is our future, reporters need to understand the expectations of that audience. A blog helps them learn how to write for a new medium and listen to their readers.
• Blogs go hand in hand with transparency. In an age when readers question media credibility, blogs are a way for your hometown newspaper to stand up and be accountable. We’re willing to show you who we are and how we think. We can do our jobs better if you trust us and help us cover our community.
• Blogging will help the print edition in other ways, too. We plan to publish the best of the blogs in print, adding to the amount of local coverage in your newspaper. Blogging should help reporters write more conversationally — a trademark of the online world. Traditional newspaper writing tends to come across as the voice of God because journalists are caught up in appearing authoritative. Readers, however, prefer the conversational tone of a writer like Mike Peters. You can be fair, balanced and accurate — and still write in a way that’s easy to read.
• Blogging teaches you to be brief. This post already has gone on too long. We want to respect your time by getting to the point.
• Blogging allows us to guide high-interest readers to more information. Linking is a beautiful thing. I could go on longer about why reporters should blog, but I’ll stop for now with a few links to other good sources for those who want more:
• Greensboro editor John Robinson offers guidelines for journalists blogging
• Beat reporters could be Web sites’ secret weapon
• Ideas for Online Publications: Lessons From Blogs, Other Signposts
• The Online News Association Web site has a variety of resources for blogging journalists.
What reasons can you add to why journalists should or shouldn’t blog?
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