Thursday, April 11, 2002

 

This column in Editor & Publisher includes some interesting thoughts on the state of online news and how interaction (including blogs) between readers and the traditional media could benefit both.

Here's a sample of what the columnist wrote:

"Online news, if it is to succeed, needs to get more adventurous about trying new forms of story presentation. It needs to focus more on the "stuff you do" and not the "stuff you read." Then, Internet journalism becomes something new -- and not just a variation of content as presented in other media formats.

Could this be the heart of what's wrong with online news? I think so. And you can look back through media history to find precedent. Television began as "radio with pictures" -- that is, cameras were trained on people reading from scripts. As the medium matured, television adopted its own native content forms. The Internet is still in the middle of this transition -- where it's beginning to develop its own unique story forms, but tradition-based content is still the rule."

Here's more:

"Why are blogs important for news organizations? Because they can give a voice to the public. ... I think that Weblogs haven't caught on in the news industry in a widespread manner yet because they threaten the status quo. ... But blogs and other Internet-native trends are exactly what news organizations need to embrace."

I whole-heartedly agree. If nothing else, blogs and other forms of getting the reader involved can show editors what readers are interested in. During my last two years at the newspaper, one of the things that irked me the most was city editors saying "The readers want to know ..." In those two years the city editors, collectively, had covered three stories. Three. They rarely left the newsroom. Their social lives weren't all that active, meaning they didn't get out much to interact with people (readers). So, how did they know what readers want to know? They didn't. As a reporter, I got out a lot. I interacted with people (readers). I listened to them. I knew what they wanted to know. The majority of readers don't care where the construction company doing renovation work on city-owned building is located. The readers don't care much about the construction at all beyond what it means in terms of taxes and inconvenience (i.e. Can I still park in front of the building where the work is being done?) But I can't tell you the number of times the editors insisted I add Joe Blow Construction of Wherever. That's the not the best example, but the headache I've had for two days is preventing me from thinking of a better one. The point is, however, that editors need to be more in touch with what readers actually want to know so they can communicate that to their reporters and guide them in the right direction. The best way to do that is interaction with readers. Maybe someday they'll get it.

posted by Anne 4/11/2002 10:41:00 AM