Surfette

Can newspapers do blogs right? Answers from Xeni Jardin, Chris Nolan, Nick Denton et al.

Tags: newspapers, Media, Journalism, News, Blogs, Blogging 

What do you think? Robert Niles, editor of the Online Journalism Review, wants to know, now that "two of America's leading newspapers have watched staff-written blogs blow up in their faces."

Here are my answers below, also quoted in his story, "Can newspapers do blogs right?" Read Niles' entire piece to see the excellent insights from Xeni Jardin, Chris Nolan and Bob Cauthorn (he's absolutely right about The Guardian). I don't at all agree with Nick Denton, publisher of Gawker.com.

Niles sets the stage:

"First, Ben Domenech left Washingtonpost.com after outside bloggers uncovered numerous examples of plagiarism in his past work. And last week, the Los Angeles Times suspended the blog of Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Hiltzik ( interviewed by OJR just before the scandal broke) after he was discovered to have posted comments under false identities on his and other blogs.-- he asked a number of people with experience in print, radio, television, newspaper and/or social media to sound off on the question, "Can newspapers do blogs right?" "

When Robert asked me these questions, I responded via email (I've labeled this version by name):

Can Backfence as a hyperlocal Bayosphere patch Silicon Valley's community newshole?

Technorati Tags: Backfence Bayosphere Dan Gillmor Mercury News 

Answer: I hope so. And I never thought I'd say this, but the future of Silicon Valley community journalism could take a tip from our snarky new gossip columnist. Full disclosure: I'm on the advisory board for the Center for Citizen Media.

Here's what I'm on about: I'm very glad to read Dan Gillmor's announcement that Bayosphere, the San Francisco Bay Area citizen journalism site he founded last year with Michael Goff, has "come under the wing" of Backfence. Dan reports that Bayosphere, guided by Backfence, is preparing to go hyperlocal with a site devoted to Silicon Valley's epicenter, Palo Alto. I've been a fan of the Bayosphere project from the beginning, and while I respect Dan's decision to move on to academia, I believe the Bay Area needs and will ultimately develop a regional citizen journalism site that can support some of the business ideas he and Michael had. I pledge to remember that and bring it up again in five years when someone proves them right.

As a long-suffering member of the Silicon Valley/Palo Alto media audience, however, I am going to take advantage of Dan's request for recommendations and offer up one now to Backfence leaders Susan DeFife and Mark Potts: Read Valleywag today. Nick's expertise may be snark, but he does have one good piece of editorial advice -- even as he proves he doesn't get life in the valley for those of us trapped with and without kids between SOMA and the Sharks. But, hey, it's all data.

Day One of BlogHer Conference '06 sells out, adds 100 seats

"BlogHer Conference '06 Registration Update: 100 slots added to sold-out DAY ONE" ---Countdown to BlogHer Conference '06 posted at the top of http://blogher.org.

This year I don't want to have uncomfortable conversations with friends and family who decide on July Fourth weekend that they want to come to BlogHer. So at the risk of nagging, i must ask: Do you have your ticket to BlogHer yet? It's worth considering because with only 105 days until the conference, registration for BlogHer Conference '06 is heating up. My colleague and co-founder Elisa Camahort just blogged our news that day one of the conference -- Friday, July 28 -- has sold-out with 250 filled seats so we've added 100 more. Day two -- which has a capacity for 600+ -- is filling up too.

Why has this happened? I think it's because the speakers and the sessions are so good -- thanks largely to Elisa's exceptional work while I wrangle http://blogher.org and Jory works with sponsors to make it all possible. Check these out:

Day One schedule

Day Two schedule

So - it's time to register so you can tell us:

And for the record, yes, men are very much welcome and invited. As you'll see from the registration page, you can purchase tickets to Friday and Saturday night's disco karaokecocktail parties individually or as part of your day pass. Questions? Email me.

P.S. You can see all our conference buttons (and link yours) here.

No place for the "L" word

No, not that L word. I'm talking about another "L" word that makes my blood run cold and my lip curl: Libel. This word is a terrible slur on a professional journalist's reputation -- one that carries a nasty threat of legal action that can be used effectively to try to shut American writers up. Just ask these people.

Which is why it's so important for American bloggers to know their rights as citizen journalists (I won't address the rights of international journalists here, except to say that they require an in-depth examination by country and much caution). In my capacity as the co-founder of BlogHer and de facto editor of its network at http://blogher.org, I just weighed in on such a situation. Here's what happened:

1. A contributing editor for BlogHer's Politics & News wrote this headline, "Newsflash: Reports surface claiming US President Authorized Plame Leak"

2. Another editor didn't likee it: "The Bush Headline is Inaccurate, Even Potentially Libelous"

3. Editor number one raised an eyebrow: "I have to disagree"

4. And then I got in on the act. Here's the comment I posted on BlogHer:

The [Blog] Style Contest: Who deserves to win?

I honestly don't know how she does it. The inimitable Elise Bauer, whom you may already know as the doyenne of foodie bloggers and educatrix of the Moveable Type masses, has opened a Web design contest with some friends. You're looking at two of the judges, Kathy Scoleri and Joelle Reeder of the amazing Moxie Design Studios.

Why a contest? Because, as the contest site and Bauer like to say, "Design Matters." Look around this network and its blogrolls. We bloggers may type or record what we like, but the visual filters we put forth set the stage for our words. You doubt me? Then check out Ninjapoodles, A Woman of Many Parts and Spot On. (These blogs are among the reasons I've been chatting with Elise recently about the design of the BlogHer Beta Site -- and planning a new design initiative that I'll blog later this week.)