Reporters blogging: double-duty

With many newspapers worried about covering stories mainly on the Internet, many reporters have started blogs to go along with their stories or their beats. In JRN 300 this semester, we were able to meet Chad Livengood, an education reporter for the Jackson Citizen Patriot who also has his own blog, which is promoted at the end of his stories. Chad made us aware that he had a blog, updated it regularly, and used it to give more facts on a story and communicate with more readers who posted comments.

While I was at my job shadow with The Grand Rapids Press, I attended a meeting with a few section editors of the newsroom who actually brought up the idea of blogs. The Press has around 20 reporters blogging in addition to covering stories. They have voiced their concern about doing double-duty, and for editors with blogs, triple-duty. They questioned how often reporters should be updating the blogs, and whether or not they should be using them to talk with readers. Many are concerned that getting too involved with blogging will become more opinion than just getting the facts out to the public.

In an article from the Poynter Institute by Mallary Jean Tenore, the topic of reporters have a presence online is researched. While setting up a social networking site is a good way to blog, it becomes difficult to control it. JD Lasica, a social media strategist, said journalism has been practiced as a dark art for so long that the public regards journalists and their activities as suspicious. While this is true, editors like The Houston Chronicle's James Gibbons recently joined Facebook, but between his daily workload and blogging, he has not seen the utility or benefit of blogging yet.

While blogging is something in high regard for journalists, there is still the question on whether or not reporters have time to take on that extra task, and what they are allowed to blog. Although their online identity is different from work persona, they are still reporters who are to remain bias in stories; something that may become difficult with such high blogging expectations.