STL Social Media Guy

This was my last column for the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ bi-monthly magazine, The American Editor. It’s running in April, I reckon, but I’m posting it here now. The audience, of course, is top newspaper editors.

The subject of this column is blogging. But the truth is, that’s just the beginning. You need to be using a smart-phone to pick up your e-mail from work, text with your kids and browse the web. You should have a Facebook page and spend time on social bookmarking sites such as NewsVine, del.icio.us and Digg.

But for now, let’s just stick with blogging. If you’re not blogging, you should be. Here’s why.

Your industry needs you to do this.
Surely, there’s never been a better time to be a journalist. With an exploding variety of information sources, people have the opportunity to be as well- or as ill-informed as they wish. They need us.

But while you’re a leader in a newsroom that carries a reputation of integrity and reliability, yours is increasingly just another voice out there. You owe it to your organization to be as transparent and open about your work as you can. How did this story end up on page one rather than that one? What led you to initiate the investigation that became a four-part series in your newspaper? Why did you kill one comic strip and keep another?

Your audience will speculate on the answers to all those questions whether you’re part of the conversation or not. They’re blogging, they’re networking on Facebook and MySpace. If you’re not forthcoming with the answers, willing to engage your audience in a discussion, you’re a latter-day Charles Foster Kane and the newsroom is your Xanadu.

You need to do this for yourself.
Your kids are probably already blogging in one form or another. Their version of a news story might be about the high-profile couple at school that just called it quits. That “story” will race around their world by text message, Facebook feed and personal blog.

Those are habits they’ll carry with them when the story is about a presidential election, an airport disaster or a celebrity obit.

This is the audience we all say we want to attract, right? Then why not become intimately familiar with the ways they publish and consume news?

You’re already doing it.
None of this is to suggest that you’ve been giving your audience the back of your hand. Newspaper editors know that they’re part of an important community institution. They get out there, meeting people at luncheons, speaking to community groups, answering phone calls and responding to e-mail – lots of e-mail.

In a sense, you’re already blogging. You’re just not doing it efficiently. If you receive one e-mail questioning a decision you made about your coverage, the chances are pretty good more people are interested. Blog about it. Even if your readers didn’t know they were interested, they’ll appreciate that you were forthcoming.

And it will surely put the thickness of your skin to the test, as readers lob comments from behind their cloak of anonymity. Do it anyway. You’ll bring them around; the people who appreciate your efforts, eventually, won’t tolerate the trolls who just want to insult you.

Will it be easy? Heck no. It’s a discipline you’ll need to develop. And there’s a few things you ought to remember as you do it.

When you start doing it, do it. Often.
If you’re going to start blogging, jump in with both feet and keep paddling. In other words, you have to blog often. The whole point is to develop a community of readers around your blog.

Blog at least daily – more if you can. If you’re down with the flu, drag yourself to your computer and post a message about it so they know why you’re not online for awhile. Your audience will understand.

If you don’t show up regularly, they won’t either.

Don’t be afraid to write less.
Every blog entry doesn’t have to be a thesis. A few sentences might be enough. For example, if you read an interesting article about how another newsroom does its job, link to it and tell your audience why you thought it was interesting. Maybe it’s something you’ll try eventually. Say so.

Over time, those entries become a record of how you think and how your organization is evolving – so don’t feel like you have to say everything at once. Just make sure that you make it worth the reader’s time every time you post.

Remember, it’s a conversation, not a lecture.
A little humility goes a long way in a blog. Welcome input, but don’t always expect it. Respond to readers’ comments when you’re moved to do so. If they know you’re there, reading the comments (and deleting personal attacks and off-topic remarks), it will raise the general level of discussion. They’ll know they can’t get away with anything.

Your blog will serve a community, not a crowd. And if you treat them like the community they are, they’ll serve you as well.

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