I usually like to call out wire stories as nearly something of a hazard for news seekers online. Sure, it's hard news in its purest form, "just the facts, ma'am," and so on, but it's sometimes arduous to weed your way through the very sameness of the coverage (for a current example, search for "Bush to send more troops to Iraq" in Google News) to find something interesting, compelling, or unique. The desire for new, fresh, and diverse angles and perspectives on the news is a large factor in the blogosphere's elevation beyond its roots in navel-gazing-style journaling (somewhat ironically, the navel gaze lives on long and strong in the teen-centric social networks these days, MySpace chief among them!).
Because of the wild success of blogs – the most popular of which employ an accessible, friendly, and engaging style, with a comments area where the author converses with readers – mainstream media sites have scrambled over the last few years to add blogs to supplement their more traditional news coverage. This convergence between traditional and new media is a good thing for everyone, I'd argue, and will help to continue to raise the bar for transparency, quality, and value for blogs and traditional news sites both. Everyone is continuously encouraged and compelled to compete for eyeballs, and that's a good thing.
It's intriguing then that Reuters, as major a wire news service as they come, has a pretty sizeable section devoted to Reuters Blogs. It's pretty clear at first glance that blogging is taken seriously by the leaders of the organization as the most recent post (a week old, already ancient by blogging standards!) under the Reuters Editors blog is written by Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger. Mr. Schlesinger doesn't go so far as to respond to those who took the time to comment, but he must be given credit nonetheless for putting in the effort.
Clearly, some areas of Reuters Blogs are more active than others. MediaFile, where reporters Eric Auchard and Ken Li hang "hang out at the corner of Media and Technology," appears to be the most vibrant, with frequent updates and nice tidbits of geeky coolness like the Spark stationary bike, which enables you to race against your friends on an LCD screen while you get your workout on.
Article comments
1 - Elvira Black
Eric:
Somehow I wasn't aware that the Times had so many blogs, but it makes perfect sense that the "paper of record" would be at the forefront of the old/new media connection, and I intend to check some of them out. I'd become skeptical of the Times' blogging efforts when they apparently dismantled their real estate blog, "The Walk-Through," which still mystifies me. And the reader's discussion forums I've wandered onto once or twice are an unholy mess. Somehow I expected better from the writers and readers of this media giant.
It also surprises me in a sense that Reuters would not be as cutting edge with their blogs as one might expect. But in a way, it's not surprising because I think there is still a great deal of resistance in some sectors of the MSM toward blogs and blogging in general.
My recent close encounter with a columnist who seemed to discount blogging outright was a bit of an eye-opener as well. As you said, it may take a bit more time until the old and new media reach a "mutually fulfilling" interactive relationship.