Poynter Institute for Media Studies bloggers have good eyes.
They're watching what's coming over the hill, and what they're noticing is that newspaper journalism — thought to be not only over the hill but nearly dead — is showing signs of life. Cyber-life. Whoodathunkit?
Poynter points out that the LA Times, a paper I read nearly every day on my train ride into Los Angeles County, is blogging in ways that show this is a newspaper that gets it.
They get that younger readers in today's market, the ones we thought were staying away from newspapers (and news in general) are reading LA Times blogs and blogging back. In other words, journalists are talking to people. And people like it.
I like that. I'd say I'm not surprised but nobody'd believe me. I'm a historian of journalism. People like me can tell you about how journalists know how to talk to people. They have to. Used to be we called this letters to the editor. Or just phone calls. Or people walking in the newsroom, right past the secretary, and right up to the desk. Face to face with the sports editor. Or the editorial writer.
In William Allen White's daddy's day, editors would get called out in the muddy street to draw pistols over what they'd written. Interactivity, we might say.
So blogs are the latest thing, but they're not.
I'm just glad somebody noticed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The New York Times has a far superior website in every way, however. If it's easier to use, I'd rather go there, and LATimes fails some very simple internet tests.
How are you these days? Looks like I might get that job.
Also, First Things is the best. I almost applied to be an intern there. Their issue on Flannery has long been on my nightstand, mentally speaking.
Post a Comment