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Here’s the Handout. www.timporter.com/firstdraft/newstrainblogs.pps. The Blogosphere. Technorati ( www.technorati.com ) reports: 19.6 million web logs About 70,000 new blogs tracked each day 1 new blog every second 55% still posting after three months 700,000 -1.3 Million posts each day

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  1. Here’s the Handout www.timporter.com/firstdraft/newstrainblogs.pps

  2. The Blogosphere • Technorati (www.technorati.com) reports: • 19.6 million web logs • About 70,000 new blogs tracked each day • 1 new blog every second • 55% still posting after three months • 700,000 -1.3 Million posts each day • 33,000 posts per hour • Blogosphere doubles in size every 5.5 months

  3. From Print to Web … • “Newspaper websites are contributing significant numbers of readers who do not necessarily read the printed publications” • E&P on Scarborough study, 6/21/05 • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • "We no longer consider our print audience to be separate from our online audience“ • Jim Wilson, AJC • Online readers younger • Average age of newspaper reader: 53 • Online newspaper readers: Nearly 1-in-4 is between 18 and 34 • 44 % of 18-34 population uses Yahoo, MSNBC as main news source

  4. Paper vs. Pixels • "A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their preference from print to online editions" • Gerry Davidson, Nielsen//NetRatings

  5. The Audience WAS Listening

  6. … Now it is Talking Back

  7. Change: Communication “Readers and Web site users now feel free to challenge decision makers here, a development many of us in the newsroom welcome, although some editors resent the second-guessing. Get used to it. … Interactivity is the future. People want to be heard.” • Bob Rivard, Editor, San Antonio Express-News 06/19/05

  8. News is a Conversation … So Let’s Join In

  9. “I always get a chuckle out of fellow journalists (who think) blogs are the future of journalism. I beg to disagree; I think they're the ‘present’ of journalism.” • Gery Woelfel, The Woelfel World of Sports, Racine Journal Times

  10. Blogging: A metaphor and a publishing tool “It's hard to make news conversational when it's all fed into a one-way pipe.” -- Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine (www.buzzmachine.com)

  11. Why Blog? • “The blog has also helped me develop the beat by connecting with people I might not otherwise connect with.” • Todd Bishop, Seattle Times • “It's another way to reach another part of our readership.” • Michael Landauer, Dallas Morning News • “I think blogging has also sharpened my reporting.” • Michael Bazely, San Jose Mercury News

  12. Types of Newspaper Blogs • Like papers, there are: • Beat blogs • Feature blogs • Sports blogs • Columnist blogs • Event blogs • Editor blogs • Group blogs • Want more? • See the list at cyberjournalist.net

  13. Beat Blogs: Technology • Silicon Beat • Michael Bazely, Matt Marshall (Internet, venture cap reporters), San Jose Mercury News • “We write about and for tech-savvy people who get most of their information on the Web, and we needed to reach them on their terms.”

  14. Beat Blogs: Local Government • Inside Scoop • Matthew Williams, Mark Binker (government reporters), Greensboro, News-Record • “My favorite type of entry involves scanning in original memos and other documents into PDF's so people can read things for themselves.”

  15. Beat Blogs • The Front Pew • Nancy McLaughlin, Religion reporter, Greensboro News-Record • Microsoft Blog • Todd Bishop, Tech writer, Seattle P-I • Health Beat • Heather Lalley, Spokesman-Review • Job Blog • Staff, Boston Globe

  16. Feature Blogs • Epicurean • Greg Cox, News & Observer • Wheel Life • Julianne Crane, Spokesman-Review • MOMania • Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, Journal-Constitution • Pulp Culture • Ryan Cormier, News Journal (Delaware)

  17. Sports Blogs • The Woelfel World of Sports • Gery Woelfel, Racine Journal Times • “My blogs have been presented in a variety of ways: sometime they're short and concise; at other times, they are lengthy and in-depth. In both cases, I make every attempt to make them timely.”

  18. Sports Blogs • Mariners Weblog • Seattle PI sports staff • “What can you expect to find on the …Mariners Blog? Breaking news, links to what people are saying about the team, a closer look at the numbers and more. We'll also offer up few opinions of our own and invite you to do the same.”

  19. Columnist Blogs • California Insider • Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee • "If our world is changing, we simply have to change with it. We have to engage more with our readers, become more a part of the conversation and less of a lecturer.” • Weintraub on Pressthink, 11/01/04

  20. Event Blogs • Politics • NY Times, USA Today, Guardian, Seattle Times, Wash. Post • Science • NY Times (Arctic) • Sports • Olympics (USA Today), NCAA (Charlotte Observer, Seattle Times) • News • Anniversary of Station Nightclub fire (100 dead) • Providence Journal • http://www.projo.com/blogs/stationfire/

  21. Editor Blogs • Chris Cobler, Greeley Tribune • “My blog is one of the top-viewed pages on our Web site, so it has increased my reach as an editor.”

  22. Editor Blogs • John Robinson, News & Record • “Readers have several ways to reach out to us now, but … this is the first method that encourages dialogue back and forth between me and our readers in full view of anyone visiting the site.”

  23. Editor Blogs “Our public editor, Ted Vaden, posted … on a conference on journalism and blogging. He quotes media critic Jay Rosen (whose PressThink blog is well-traveled) saying journalists are ‘used to being the filter from God, but people don't accept that anymore.’ Heavens. Perhaps Rosen has spent too much time peering at journalism through the lens of his computer screen.” • Melanie Sill, Editor, Raleigh News & Observer 10/10/05

  24. Group Blogs • Daily Briefing • Editors, Spokesman-Review • Inside the news process • “Each weekday morning and afternoon, the editorial staff of The Spokesman-Review meets to discuss that morning's paper and the coverage planned for tomorrow. We'll use this blog to help involve you in that process.”

  25. Blog Blogs • Dan Rubin, blinq, Philadelphia Inquirer • “ … a contraction of blog and Inquirer. Fast, but not ephemeral. And it's part of the newspaper, the filtered, mainstream aggregator that pays me. • “I cover the blogosphere, trawling the millions of sites of vaunted wisdom and unvarnished pablum so you don't have to.”

  26. Before You Blog… • There are questions about … • The advantages … • Some disadvantages … • That pesky edit-or-not-to-edit debate … • And, of course, ethics

  27. Greater reach within your community Geographic or virtual Write to an insider level More sources More in-depth stories Put the routine on line More information to readers Print + Web = More More credibility Source documents online Sharper reporting “Writing to learn" Web lets you know what people are reading Closer to readers Instant feedback on your work Hey, it’s fun Be creative, have a voice The Upside

  28. “I was at an event where one employee introduced me to another as, ‘you know, that guy who writes the Microsoft blog for the P-I.’ That was an eye-opener for me, because it was pretty clear that they didn't know I wrote for the traditional newspaper, or didn't care.” Todd Bishop, Microsoft Blog, Seattle P-I “When I call people for stories or attend work-related events, many people know me now from the blog, not the paper.” Michael Bazeley, Silicon Beat, Mercury News Upside: New Audience

  29. “It's the whole ‘writing to learn’ philosophy. … I'm posting an average of three items or so a day, sometimes more, and in that way I get deeply engaged with a lot more topics than I might otherwise. Todd Bishop, Microsoft Blog, Seattle P-I “I think blogging has also sharpened my reporting. … We are spending more time mining our beats, talking to sources and reading about issues. We're consuming more information, which can only be good.” Michael Bazeley, Silicon Beat, Mercury News Upside: More knowledge

  30. Upside: More in-depth stories • “Does it help my reporting? Yes. It does take some time to blog, but it saves me from writing a whole story about some marginally important item that I might have felt necessary if I didn't have another outlet. That gives me more time for in-depth stories that make it into the paper.” • Matt Williams, Inside Scoop, Greensboro News-Record

  31. “That's the best part. We allow readers to post comments on all of our articles. They regularly let us know about any error or hole in a story. They do the same on my blog.” Chris Cobler, editor, Greeley Tribune “We can see what people are saying about us and who is reading us because in the blogosphere, people link to you and comment on your work. It's instant feedback. I love it.” Michel Bazeley, San Jose Mercury News Upside: Feedback

  32. Upside: Hey, it’s fun! • “So why do we blog? Mostly for blogging's sake, I would say. It's fun. It's another outlet. It's another way to reach another part of our readership. As creative people, aren't we always striving for that? I mean, where else would I have written about the greatest movie lines this week? Not in an editorial or a column. But our readers on the blog liked to talk about it.” • Michael Landauer, editorial writer, Dallas Morning News

  33. Upside: Readership • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • 35 staff blogs • Breaking news to baseball to “virtual man on the street” • 1 million page views a month • Luckovich blog: 100-200 comments per cartoon

  34. The Downside • Blogging takes time • Have to add it to the workday • Online audience is still limited • Still need all those dead trees • Spam • Some people just aren’t very nice and you will hear from them • It’s not right for everybody • Requires motivation and dedication • Can you develop a voice, a point of view?

  35. “I try to be strict about limiting myself to an hour of work on the weblog each day, generally in the morning, but sometimes it can take a little more time. … There's a risk that you can take too much time away from your work for the newspaper.” Todd Bishop, Seattle P-I “Because we try to distinguish ourselves by posting original, reported content, it's sometimes like having a second job. Consequently, Matt blogs early in the morning. I tend to blog later at night. … We do it, though, because we are excited by the medium and how it's helped us.” Michael Bazeley, Mercury News Downside: Time

  36. “The feedback we get is often bitter, personal and hateful, more so than in response to what we print because the blog is more personal in nature. They feel like they know you and can attack you personally more.” Michael Landauer, Dallas Morning News “… you're also doing things like monitoring the comments to delete the spam and make sure no one gets out of hand.” Todd Bishop, Seattle P-I Downside: Spam

  37. “I'm not sure that all beats lend themselves to it … and a reluctant blogger will probably suck. God forbid we end up with any more crappy blogs than we already have. Michael Bazeley, Mercury News “Blog because you want to and you're bursting with unused information from your beat. If you're not interested in your beat, it will show in the blog.” Matt Williams, Greensboro News-Record Downside: Not for everybody

  38. To Edit or Not to Edit

  39. Kirk: Full edit ahead The assistant business editor … reads my posts before I publish them. But it's not like the intensive editing process that you go through for a newspaper story.” Todd Bishop, Seattle P-I “It's unfathomable to me how any media outlet could allow its newsroom to publish unedited content, whether in print or on the Web.” Tony Marcano, (former Sacramento Bee ombudsman) Picard: Make it so “There isn't really one. We agreed from the beginning that editors would back-read as they see fit.” Michael Bazeley, Mercury News “Editors kill voice. … They'd edit for holes in the story, so I'd overwrite the thing Because it's not edited, it feels more like an informal email you wrote to a friend explaining something that happens on your beat.” Matt Williams, News Record To Edit or Not to Edit

  40. Scooping the paper “I've run some profiles of start-up businesses a few days before they found their way into the paper. I don't see a problem with that. We're publishing to different audiences. But not everyone agrees.” Michael Bazeley, Mercury News Ethics If you're not a columnist, keep away from opinion. This isn't the outlet to say what you really think about the mayor. I have fun with the blog and write informally, but I would never write anything I couldn't justify under my byline in a news story. Matt Williams, News Record Other Issues

  41. Topic Pick one with a built in audience “Only tackle a subject about which you're passionate. Otherwise, it's just another chore...” Chuck Darrow, Phillies Blog, Courier Post Time Be ready to spend it Have a voice Practice “under the radar” Be interesting More than facts Follow your instincts Interaction Don’t solicit; let it build Comments follow content Words of Wisdom

  42. Michael Bazeley: www.siliconbeat.com Todd Bishop: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft Matthew Williams: http://blog.news-record.com/scoopblog Michael Landauer:www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/blogs/opinion/ Cyberjournalist.net Robin Henry: Atlanta Journal-Constitution Gery Woelfel: www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/index.php?blogid=24 Chris Cobler: www.greeleytrib.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOG Chuck Darrow: www.courierpostonline.com/blogs/darrow.html Ken Sands: Spokane Spokesman-Review Thanks to …

  43. Tim Porter tim@timporter.com www.timporter.com/firstdraft www.timporter.com/firstdraft/newstrainblogs.pps

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