Blogs and newspapers — clash of cultures?
As more and more newspapers rush to embrace the blogosphere, it’s probably inevitable that there will be the occasional clash of cultures between the two, since in many ways they are very different. Dana Hull, a reporter at the San Jose Mercury News, has written an in-depth piece for the American Journalism Review that looks at how several different newspapers are handling blogs.
As she puts it early on in the article (thanks to Steve Rubel for the link):
Newspapers’ current passion for blogging is fueling a vigorous, industry-wide debate about everything from staffing to sourcing, standards to liability. There’s an inevitable clash of values between a newspaper, which has a journalistic reputation and brand name to protect, and a swiftly changing medium that has grown in power and prestige precisely because it has flouted many of journalism’s traditional rules.
Some papers, she says “are proceeding quickly but cautiously, calling in lawyers, hammering out guidelines and updating ethics codes to cover the uncharted world of blogging,” while others are going full-speed ahead because they realize that they have a lot of catching up to do and they are hoping things will work themselves out along the way.
Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics, says that it’s difficult for reporters to adjust to the opinionated voice that people have come to expect from a blog, and yet some organizations are forcing them to do it — even though there’s an inherent conflict between being opinionated and trying to cover a beat. “It’s not fair for a news organization to say, ‘We want you to blog, but by the way don’t express your real opinions,’” she says.
Then there are issues about quality. The Poynter Institute has been working on guidelines for newspapers that want to get into blogging but are concerned about standards. “There’s an inherent tension between the value of speed in an online world and journalism’s obligation to do thorough, accurate work,” says Kelly McBride of Poynter.
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(On Dec 2nd, 2006 at 12:38 am)
[…] Original post by Mathew […]
(On Dec 2nd, 2006 at 6:01 am)
Matthew, excellent post on an important subject, especially with respect to the future.
Seagate’s CEO in an (excellent) interview conducted by Robert Scoble raised a related key point… Newspapers and the traditional newspaper culture has to (very quickly) lose their traditional views regarding ink on paper because the key issues are great reporters writing compelling, relevant and great content. Ink on paper is merely a historic means of delivering (distributing) content and today the means of distributing content has already changed forever.
(On Dec 2nd, 2006 at 8:00 am)
One of the best pieces on this topic I’ve seen so far. The editorial blog approach is whip-smart. A great idea.
(On Dec 2nd, 2006 at 5:04 pm)
Thanks, Sheamus — I would totally agree. And thanks to you too, Rob
(On Dec 2nd, 2006 at 1:36 pm)
[…] Original post by Mathew […]