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Blogging guidelines for online journalists
What is a blog?
A blog (short for weblog) allows anyone on the net to produce an online diary. Journalists have found blogs useful to shape and make news. Blogs, in this sense, can be diaries, commentary or themed to peg with a news event or running news story.
Many news organisations use blogs both to give news reports and add commentary. The key strength of blogs, however, is the interactive element with the reader. By posting comments readers can add to the story, take issue with it, give their personal perspective or challenge a journalist on their facts. They may even give you a story or idea to follow up.
Why should journalists blog?
Blogs are not a fad. Journalists can reach out to readers in a revolutionary way, presenting instant news and reaction.
Blogs can be written and accessed anywhere in the world and are a fantastic tool for investigative reporters and freedom of speech.
Among journalists using blogs are BBC reporters such as political correspondent Nick Robinson, and Martin Bright of the New Statesman. Bright used his blog to break a story on terrorist suspects being freed by the Home Office.
Why did he do this? Because he knew the story would not hold. Internet journalists can beat print and broadcast journalists to the punch. His ëscoopí made the national newspaper the next day.
Recently, the blogging community exposed photographer Adnan Hajj after he supplied Reuters with what it believed were two digitally manipulated photographs of war-torn southern Lebanon.
As blogging expert Bill Thompson puts it: ìOn some stories, like the provenance of the letters claiming to be from George W Bush's commander in the National Guard, or the use of white phosphorus as a chemical weapon by US troops in Iraq, careful digging by bloggers has done a job the mainstream press failed to tackle.î
The BBC is currently engaging its journalists in blog workshops and linking up with local bloggers, contacting them as sources for stories and bringing bloggers' views into its journalism.
Check out these bloggers: Guido Fawkes, John Naughton, Jeff Jarvis, Tim Worsthall, Brad De Long, Steve Rubell, John Battelle, Tom Peters, Jay Rosen, Scobleizer, Romenesko, Wonkette and blogger sites such as |The Huffington Post, Slashdot, Instapundit. Yes, many of these are US commentators ñ theyíre way ahead on this so we need to catch up!
Tips on what makes a good blog
Donít write one unless you want to (although this may not be an option if your news editor is doing their job properly).
Don't write one unless you have anything new to say. See above. Write it and then ask the question ñ would anyone want to read this? Don't libel anyone
Always use attribution it ís easy - you can link straight to the article Update it regularly and always reply to comments posted by readers Make your blog rich with links to other blogs and material such as pictures and
podcasts
Make sure the title is clear and/or catchy so it is easy to search for. Spell check, proof-read and correct mistakes immediately. Make sure corrections are clearly sign-posted and dated.
Make sure you have an RSS feed.
How do I start?
The simplest way to start your own blog is to go to a blog site such as Blogger and follow the instructions. If you are looking for something more sophisticated, Wordpress and Movable Type are two downloadable options. Typepad is another option but you have to pay for it.
Remember: people need to find your blog! Technorati is a blog search engine and sign up is free.