Georgina Henry lays out rules of the journalistic blog
Posted by Evan Fell on November 8, 2007 at 3:47 PM
“Georgina Henry told the Society of Editors conference, in Manchester, that developing the journalistic blog meant relinquishing and adapting many old print standards while adopting new approaches to web-based journalism,” says Oliver Luft of Online Journalism News. Henry is the editor of the Guardian’s Comment is Free.
"It's a different kind of journalism, and that has taken quite a lot of getting used to. Instead of being long-form and in-depth and quite rigorous in the editing and writing, it's now not completely without rigour but it is immediate, short, sharp and conversational, it's interactive," said Henry.
She explains how readers can often be critical of a site but showing those critical comments along with positive comments shows the strength of the site. She also feels that although readers can be critical she doesn’t feel as though she needs to “play by their rules because they are not always right. There is this assumption when mainstream media gets into this space that you know nothing online and they [online readers] will tell you this every day, every minute of the day, you don't play by our rules because you just don't get it.”
She believes that it is important for professional journalists to bring important news to the Internet in order to succeed in the vastness of it.
She explains that Comment is Free is close to getting its millionth comment and that means having to learn to give up some of the control, she explains. Henry says, "Not just in terms of letting people say what they want but also taking your lead from them, what do people want to talk about. What are they interested in, because sometimes it may be stuff that you may not have even noticed.”
Henry goes on to outline what she felt were some of the new rules:
"Engagement, engagement, engagement. I bang on about it the whole time, because that is the expectation of online journalism. Unless you get that you get nothing, I think. You have to make people understand that.
"Other things matter online, managing expectation is really important, I don't think we do that well enough. [Asking ourselves] what is this kind of journalism, what do we expect from your response to it?"
"Some people see it as a sign of weakness, allowing people on to criticise what you are doing. I think you have to believe it's a sign of strength and be open about it.
"All over the site people are being rude about what I do. You just have to develop a very thick skin about what you do."
Source:Journalism.co.UK
She explains how readers can often be critical of a site but showing those critical comments along with positive comments shows the strength of the site. She also feels that although readers can be critical she doesn’t feel as though she needs to “play by their rules because they are not always right. There is this assumption when mainstream media gets into this space that you know nothing online and they [online readers] will tell you this every day, every minute of the day, you don't play by our rules because you just don't get it.”
She believes that it is important for professional journalists to bring important news to the Internet in order to succeed in the vastness of it.
She explains that Comment is Free is close to getting its millionth comment and that means having to learn to give up some of the control, she explains. Henry says, "Not just in terms of letting people say what they want but also taking your lead from them, what do people want to talk about. What are they interested in, because sometimes it may be stuff that you may not have even noticed.”
Henry goes on to outline what she felt were some of the new rules:
"Engagement, engagement, engagement. I bang on about it the whole time, because that is the expectation of online journalism. Unless you get that you get nothing, I think. You have to make people understand that.
"Other things matter online, managing expectation is really important, I don't think we do that well enough. [Asking ourselves] what is this kind of journalism, what do we expect from your response to it?"
"Some people see it as a sign of weakness, allowing people on to criticise what you are doing. I think you have to believe it's a sign of strength and be open about it.
"All over the site people are being rude about what I do. You just have to develop a very thick skin about what you do."
Source:Journalism.co.UK
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