Journalists can't be bothered reading blogs

Four out of five Danish journalists feel reading blogs is irrelevant to their work, according to a survey by media intelligence company Cision (via Mediawatch.dk).

Hardly any news journalists felt blogs were worth the hassle, but half of the survey's respondents did believe blogs would come to play an important role in the Danish media landscape in the future.

Well, their loss. In fact, had they bothered reading blogs, they could have had this little piece of inside information all for free: "The future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed" (hat tip: William Gibson)

I know how fast the world of a news journalist swirls, and, yes, blogs are more useful to specialist reporters, but I can't even begin to tell you in how many ways blogging and reading blogs has been useful to me as a journalist. Perhaps even made me a better journalist.

Friends urged me to start blogging as early as 2001, but back then I felt there was no way I could find time: I was too busy chasing work, chasing deadlines. I regret that now, but am glad I finally got going when I did. The only hitch: it's addictive. I mean, journalism is fun, but blogging is even more fun. And when you first get hooked on the speed with which online conversations expand and move on, writing op-eds for print can be, well, exasperating...

Comments

[Becky]

It's too bad they don't bother reading blogs because down the line they will be expected to blog for their media outlets ... and they won't have any idea how it's done.

[Kristine]

True, and what journalists often miss is the interactive bit about blogging. Fundamentally, the whole concept of distributed conversations. I hope to return to, and explain my views on this as soon as my deadlines will allow:-)

[Knut Albert]

An interesting tangent over at noodlepie:

Recruit the best and link to the rest
In recent weeks we've seen foodblogger Amy recruited to blog for the Condenast owned Epicurious. Freakonomics has migrated lock, stock and blog to the opinion section of the New York Times. Brian Stelter of the TVNewser blog was also recruited by the New York Times. Then, just this week, there are rumours that the Cleveland Plain Dealer is interested in hiring four popular political bloggers. The current trend, if there is one, is about getting experienced bloggers onto newspaper and magazine blogs, but not necessarily into print.

http://www.noodlepie.com/2007/08/recruit-the-bes.html

[Kristine]

Thanks, it is an interesting trend, though such moves do come with a few problems which emphasis the clash btwn MSM and blogging mentality: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=128777

But I hope no other print publication than VG will ever come up with the nutty idea of having a column entitled 'blog' in its print version...