Q. I’m a staff writer at a small, family-owned daily. Despite the challenges those two descriptors present, I feel we put out a strong product. In print, that is.
The powers that be claim that our lack of a “Web presence” will be solved this year, but I doubt any site we create will overcome its growing pains by the time I move on. I have basic video-editing skills and am comfortable with technology, but not enough to claim expertise on a resume. I also have no way to send contacts links to my stories online.
The role of blogs in our profession confuses me. It’d be unethical to spout opinions about my beat, and anything readers need to know I obviously do my best to publish in print. Friends at other papers are asked to blog every word spoken at a trial, every vote at a council meeting, every sip of coffee they take (almost).
Should I create a blog of my strongest stories, an online clips listing of sorts, complete with pictures from the photo staff?
Should I register my domain name to do the same? (My byline is taken by a real estate guy, and my full name by a stand-alone photo of a guy at the beach on his cell phone … conceivably I need the site more than he does.)
Should I treat every story like breaking news and practice posting 300 words to a blog to prepare myself for the next level? I welcome any advice you can offer me.
Thanks again,
Mike
A. There are many, many ways to make a journalistically sound blog.
I would rather see you create a blog of new content than an archive of previously published work.
Many things that happen on a reporter’s beat are suitable for blogging. The problem typically is finding the time to blog, not finding material. Quarter-turn developments in stories, advances, short follows, additional details, requests for leads and links to resources can all be part of a blog. I would design it to complement what you do in the newspaper, rather than to duplicate it.
In no way can a reporter’s news blog be a collection of opinions. It has to be as fair and objective as what you do for the newspaper. A news blog that references the newspaper could encourage readership of the paper. Cross-promotions of the blog in the paper could help Web traffic. I should think a smart editor would welcome such an experiment as a first step toward developing an online audience. Here are some additional blogging tips for journalists.
As for domain names, I recommend registering your name if you can, or another good label you might use in the future, before someone else does. It only gets harder to get the good ones.
Coming Friday: He wants to show potential employers his video work, but doesn’t want to send potentially suspect software or unwieldy Universal Resources Locators (urls
