What Blogging Does to Journalists

[crispini]

There's an interesting case study up right now about what blogging does to journalism.

In simple terms, it reduces the distance. You're no longer a star. They're no longer the audience.

The example today is that of MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, who has been writing a blog (actually, a series of columns) for about a year now. When Peter Jennings died, Keith didn't think (like most careerists) "wow, now there's a job opening for me!" He was genuinely moved.

Then he looked for the hidden lesson -- smoking. Olbermann was once a smoker, and it gave him a tumor. Fortunately the tumor was benign. So he blogged about it. And given that the non-distancing becomes a habit to one who enters the blogosphere, he talked about it on his show as well.

more...

http://www.corante.com/mooreslore/archives/2005/08/10/what_blogging_does_to_journalists.php

Interesting read!

[gkhouston]

1. actually, I don't think writing the blog is why KO was moved

by Jennings' death, nor why he looked for the hidden lesson, nor why he shared it. Still, it's a good read.

[crispini]

2. It's an interesting point, though.

Maybe not blogging, but just in general, don't you think that there is a more immediate "feedback loop" between journalists like KO and their audience than there was 10 or 15 years ago? I agree with the premise that we are closing the distance between the "talking heads" and their audience, even if it's not the blogging that does it.

Maybe it's just the internet in general, and the difference is between those journos who know how to be a part of the internet rather than ignore it.....

[gkhouston]

3. oh, definitely

I think there's more immediate feedback there, if they want to take it, and he apparently does. More than once, I've seen him or Alison echo something that's popped up somewhere on DU that day or late the previous night. Granted, DU may be typical of conversations heard elsewhere on the net or around the water cooler, but given the turnaround time, I think they occasionally take a dip to see what Joe Schmoe thinks of what's going on in the world. And it's damned near impossible to do that on a daily or near-daily basis without starting to recognize some of the faces, so to speak, and that lessens the distance in a different way.

[Catchawave]

4. Definitely what seperates the mice from the 'girly mans".....

...and Keith always goes one step above both :)