Mark Cuban, a blogger and the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has decided he can’t allow bloggers in the Mavs locker room for the simple physical reason that the locker room isn’t big enough. That’s justifiable to a limited extent.
What I’m really in disagreement with him on is a passage pretty far into Cuban’s blog entry explaining his decision. In response to a note from the American Society of Newspaper Editors arguing that blogging is actually a core function of beat reporting, Cuban wrote beat writers should be focusing more on features and analysis, both of which would be a better use of their time (and more valuable for readers) than blogging.
I’ll take this opportunity to once again mention BeatBlogging.org, a great experiment in how blogging and opening reporting to community participation can improve beat journalism. Also, part of covering a beat is that the reporter gets a lot of great information that doesn’t necessarily justify an entire 800 – 1,000 word story in itself. Blogs are a fabulous outlet for that information.
Cuban wrote:
Instead, we get bloggers from mainstream media. Newspaper blogging is probably the worst marketing and branding move a newspaper can make. The barriers to entry for bloggers are non-existent. There are no editorial standards. There are no accuracy standards. We bloggers can and do write whatever we damn well please. Historically, newspapers have set some level of standards that they strived to adhere to. By taking on the branding, standard and posting habits of the blogosphere, newspapers have worked their way down to the least common denominator of publishing in what appears to be an effort to troll for page views.
Let’s take this point-by-point.
Cuban wrote: “The barriers to entry for bloggers are non-existent.”
This is good. Low barriers to entry mean that more people are getting their voice heard (or trying to, at least). The low barrier also has paved the way for things like citizen journalism through blogs, community activism on issues and much more.
Cuban wrote: There are no editorial standards. There are no accuracy standards.
Ok, Mark, fair point. However, newspaper reporters who blog do have standards because they are blogging for the newspaper – which has standards. Further, most reporters and editors who are blogging can write pretty well because of the nature of their job, and copy editors are generally available to look over blog entries for typos.
Cuban wrote: We bloggers can and do write whatever we damn well please.
Again, ok. You’re right. However, bloggers who are reporting for a newspaper can not write whatever they want to write (see aforementioned references to employment).
Cuban wrote: Historically, newspapers have set some level of standards that they strived to adhere to. By taking on the branding, standard and posting habits of the blogosphere, newspapers have worked their way down to the least common denominator of publishing in what appears to be an effort to troll for page views.
Newspaper-based bloggers are not taking on the standards (or lack thereof) in the blogosphere except for inviting the community to participate and publishing blogs in reverse chronological order -- the technical definition of a blog. Further, Mark, newspapers are not “trolling” for page views on their Web sites – I really think you have the motivation of the newspaper industry all wrong here.
Newspapers are taking on the “branding” of the blogosphere for several reasons: It’s a well-guided effort to reach out to the community and connect with readers (especially younger readers). NAA has case studies on this from the Spokesman-Review, The (Racine) Journal Times and more. In fact, several reporters have said they even get story ideas from the community participation that occurs on their blogs (we have this in the Online Community Cookbook). Blogging get news and information out to the community as it happens throughout the day and through a technology that generally allows for easy sharing. Further, it’s just one way (of very many) that newspapers are smartly using the Web to communicate.
Newspaper blogging is probably the worst marketing and branding move a newspaper can make?
Blogs give newspapers a great opportunity to differentiate the online offerings from the print products. There are still a lot of good stories to do for print, and I’ll be the first to say I enjoy print editions. But blogging is a unique online form. Newspapers can start or guide conversations, and share rather than just report.
Cuban sells all bloggers – even newspaper-based bloggers – short by not recognizing how much they have contributed to and changed modern media of all types.
(Note of thanks to Howard Owens for letting me bounce ideas off him. See his two posts on journalists who blog here and here.)