A blogging assignment for all journalists

Posted by on . 3 comments.

I’m convinced that most journalists don’t really understand blogs or the power blogs have.

So, it’s time for all journalists to start understanding blogs. Yes, it would be great if all journalists experimented with blogging and blogging software, but that is overkill in some ways and just unreasonable given the reality on the ground (we’ll start with baby steps). We can start with journalists reading and posting on blogs, and then maybe one day we can ask all journalists to get their own blog (blogging is a great way to learn about the Web, new media and social media).

For now, I think it’s reasonable to ask every journalist to pick a few blogs to read and start posting on them. I got this idea from journalism professor Mindy McAdams, who is asking her students to pick a few blogs and post on them. McAdams came up with the idea because she wanted students to start reading blogs (I assume many students did not on their own):

One of the things we try to get journalism students to do is, um, read other people’s blogs. And not only their friends’ blogs!

Here are my suggestions:

  1. Pick a few blogs and start reading them – Romenesko does not count. Your friends and colleagues do not count. The Guardian has a list of the world’s most powerful blogs. Or you can check out Technorati’s 100 most popular blogs by amount of fans or authority ranking. Both are great places to start if you don’t know of any blogs. It also makes sense to read blogs about topics you care about.
  2. Read before you post – The first time you read a blog is not the best time to post. Read several posts. Read the blog for several days. Then you’ll have an informed opinion about the blogger(s), what the blog is about and, importantly, what the community is like.
  3. Post something worthwhile – Don’t just post to post. If you post on a blog, it should be a meaningful comment that helps further discourse. That is the power of blogs. It’s a communal event.

Most journalists do not understand the social aspect of the Web, but blogs are a great crash course in that. All news organizations should encourage their employees to read and participate in blogs.

  • http://www.aaronspencer.com Aaron

    I don’t know Pat. You make it seem like blogging verges on an art. Should you really have to commit to a blog for a week before you post a comment? Doesn’t that take away from blogs’ populist glory? If a high school cheerleader is reading TechCrunch and has a flighty thought, she probably doesn’t know enough about blog etiquette not to post it anyway.

    Btw I am not a high school cheerleader.

  • Sapphire

    My first post is about guys who never got past Allentown who think they know everything there is to know about journalism.

  • http://www.patthorntonfiles.com pat

    @Aaron,

    Interesting thought. Maybe you’re right. It doesn’t have to be a week, but I think it does make sense to read a few post before one starts posting.

    There are no hard and fast rules. If it’s a topic someone knows really well, he or she might be fine posting a comment right away.

    If you were a high school cheerleader, I wouldn’t hold it against you. In fact, I am always trying to expand my demographics.