Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Newsrooms and Bloggers: Can't We All Just Get Along?
Like me, San Francisco Chronicle columnist
Alan T. Saracevic is weary of bloggers and news professionals trashing each other. In his March 19 column "
Can't the media all get along?" He offered a simple example of how both sides can come together to understand, support and enhance each other.
Yes, I know, it sounds sappy. Still, I think it's an important lesson if both kinds of media are to keep moving forward -- and to remain relevant.
Saracevic wrote: "No one said revolutions were pretty. ...This week I had a minor epiphany. (A miniphany?) It started when a group of us reporters and editors in The Chronicle's Business section started a technology blog. It's called The Tech Chronicles and it might be the last thing the world needs: another blog.
"But the reaction, internally and externally, led to my miniphany. I was worried it wouldn't be good. I was worried no one would read it. And I might still be right on both counts.
"But in the process of getting this thing going ...we reached out to the Bay Area's media revolutionaries and asked for advice. And in typical Bay Area fashion, the real revolutionaries responded in kind, encouraging us and offering to help the dreaded MSM bridge the gap between old and new.
"I also saw a bunch of crusty newsroom types get newly jazzed about our ancient profession: finding information and passing it along. We're having a blast playing with a new printing press. The combination of reactions gave me hope."
From my perspective, this is yet another example of how conversations enhance media. This is why I'm so jazzed about the emerging field of conversational media, and why I'm pleased whenever I see news organizations reaching out to learn from "upstarts." After all, the whole point of reporting the news is keeping up with the latest developments, right?
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