Aug
15
Four commandments of online journalism
August 15, 2008 |
By Clarence Cromwell
1.) Do your own reporting. This will floor some bloggers, but when I say “journalists,” I’m only talking about people who do their own research. If you take a look around the Web, you’ll see that the best work comes from original reporting. Dig up some documents that need to see daylight, or at the very least, call somebody on the phone and ask a question that hasn’t been asked yet. Have something new to add to the story. I recognize that there is value in the opinion, in the editorial, and in think pieces like this one, but I wouldn’t build my entire blog out of bold, scathing opinions. Opinions are actually much more valuable in forums, where enough of them can come together to illuminate the big picture.
2.) Report from the bottom up. Newspapers (and other news media) tend to focus on the CEO, the mayor, and other expert talkers, when they gather information; but sometimes the real story is found when you talk to people on the ground floor who are affected by the big decisions. Before you write, speak to everyone affected by the story. Secondly, don’t allow the people on the top floor to set the agenda in terms of what you write about. Whenever you speak to the troops on the ground floor, ask them what your next story should be; if the bosses hate it, you might be onto something. (Bottom-up reporting is probably worthy of another article later.)
3.) Fill in the gaps. The weaknesses of your local media create a demand that it is your job to fill. Note the blind spots of the media in your area. Every newspaper is unique–right down to its own particular weaknesses. Newspapers and other news outlets have trouble writing negative news about their biggest advertisers. Sometimes reporters get too cozy with elected officials they’ve covered a long time, and they are reluctant to criticize. Sometimes there’s an important issue welling up and the paper just hasn’t caught on yet; you can beat them to the punch. Sometimes your local paper has a rigid political outlook that is out of step with a large portion of the public. You have to talk to people on the proverbial bottom floor to find out what the paper is overlooking.
4.) Be fair and accurate.
Category: soapbox.
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