For
the poverty beat, blogging is a no-brainer. Actually it should be a no
brainer for just about every beat we have. Blogs offer readers a
direct and public connection to me, my reporting – and importantly -
each other. It’s basic community journalism – only we’re helping the
community find, see and identify itself.
Because the No Excuse readers are
those with a deep interest in poverty issues, in many ways they all
know the field better than I. So the blog will become a place for me to
test ideas, stories and features on a knowledgeable readership before
committing them to print.
Here’s a quick briefing note to
explain my vision of No Excuse – The Poverty Project Blog. These points
apply, by and large, to any beat blog.
the poverty beat, blogging is a no-brainer. Actually it should be a no
brainer for just about every beat we have. Blogs offer readers a
direct and public connection to me, my reporting – and importantly -
each other. It’s basic community journalism – only we’re helping the
community find, see and identify itself.
Because the No Excuse readers are
those with a deep interest in poverty issues, in many ways they all
know the field better than I. So the blog will become a place for me to
test ideas, stories and features on a knowledgeable readership before
committing them to print.
Here’s a quick briefing note to
explain my vision of No Excuse – The Poverty Project Blog. These points
apply, by and large, to any beat blog.
What I’ll Do
- File at least daily (weekdays) to the blog
- Allow (moderated) comments on blog postings
- Post
short items about local events, people, organizations dealing with
poverty issues – items that might be too incremental or institutional
for the print edition but would appeal to the "deep niche" interests of
people active in wrestling with poverty - Use the blog to link to interesting poverty stories elsewhere on the web
- Post links to actual documents, research etc – both used in my stories or simply of interest to readers
- Post audio and video as appropriate, including complete interviews that may only be excerpted in print or web stories
- Use the blog to promote NewsNow and vice versa – and use both to promote
- Use to blog to test ideas, stories and features prior to print
- Use the blog to solicit contacts and story ideas
- invite guest bloggers (from the community) to contribute for a week at a time
- Listen to my readers
What the Blog Will Do
- Position us as a primary source for poverty information
- Build a committed community of readers and give them a sense of ownership of the Spec.com and the paper
- Drive readership to the Spec.com and ultimately the print edition
- Make me a much smarter beat reporter
- Generate story leads
- Inolve
a broad, deeply knowledgeable community in our story creation process,
without ceding control of that process to the whims of the web
What the Blog Will Not Do
- Build a massive, general audience – this is all about serving a deep niche
- Occupy more than 1 hour a day of my time