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For journalists, the world wide web is a scary place. Scarier than the monster under the bed when they were little. Scarier than that slasher movie they saw when they were 13. So scary, in fact, that there’s countless reasons why, like:
- Fear of wide-open spaces – What do I do with no picas or inch count?
- Circular logic: My blog topic should appeal to my audience. Who’s my audience? Depends on the blog topic.
- Procrastination as long as the possibilities are wide.
- Writer’s block, oh, I mean massive writer’s block.
- Oh, the possibilities: Grocery list or Capote’s “In Cold Blood”
- Plenty of brainstormed ideas...maybe it should be a book instead. With a nice solid ending, say 300 pages?
- Commenters. Isn’t that what the editorial page is for?
- No editors? Breakdance or Breakdown?
- Wait, I need to come up with a headline? This is bad. I hate my headline.
For journalists, fear of the internet is the fear of the unknown. Limitless possibilities mean limitless responsibility.
Oh, breakdance!
ReplyDeleteNot that I ever actually would. You could like throw out your back doing that stuff.
Virtual Agoraphobia
ReplyDeleteUnmoderated, unedited (not that print is edited much anymore). Pretty scary -- a free-for-all for everyman. And we thought we were on Gutenberg's side. (Read my "Three Revolutions," forthcoming.)
And for the print designer? That damn html. No tabs, faulty alignment, no flexibility, image size based on wild guesses and tedious experimentation.
(How did you get those little petal bullets?)
I always had the problem that my headlines were "inappropriate," or at least that's what my editors told me. I couldn't imagine writing my own on a daily or weekly basis and not straying into territories that are funny or poignant to me, but not to others.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog idea. Can't wait to read more!
I think you raise a good point, too, about the moderated comments on an editorial page, where every crackpot is not published equally, and the blogosphere, where comments aren't as censored. As the blog creator, you can edit and delete them yourself, of course, but that kind of feels like cheating to me.
ReplyDeleteRobert, Trina & James:
ReplyDeleteThis dependent/striving-for-independence relationship with editors always seems to come up when I talk to other journalists about writing for the internet. Some journalists are thrilled to be given the freedom to explore topics and ideas of their own choosing-–ones that their editor might not immediately approve and slate for the print edition. These journalists are posting every day before you have a chance to walk them through the software. Others seem timid to begin writing about a topic before vetting it with someone, anyone, but especially their editor. I know people who won’t post a blog without having someone else correct their grammar, make developmental edits, and add a headline.
Why do you think there's a difference? Is it a matter of confidence, work experience? I'm not sure.
And James: Explore those funny or poignant ideas that you think might not appeal to anyone else. That’s the joy of blogging: somewhere in this world there are people who might have the same interests.
Trina:
I think designers often are an overlooked population in the transition to web journalism. And we need them! Or, at least I know I do: the little flowers on my post showed up by chance!
Jenn: There’s something both freeing and alarming about the unlimited space and audience on the internet. Will people post a rant, one-liner, intelligent discussion, or spam? I think it all goes back to blogging being a process instead of a finished product like print. It’s always evolving, but only sometimes in a predetermined direction.
Like you, I don’t know that I want to control my readers’ comments. Doesn’t that somehow change the nature of the blog?
I was wondering what you think about this since you have experience in the newspaper business: will journalists all have to become proficient in the different internet technologies or do you think we will start to see specialists? I already find it strange that blogs and tweeter posts are published in the newspaper.
ReplyDeleteI have fears of my own about the web and when I was in college, I tried to avoid it at all costs. At that time, unlike now, you could choose to do this. These days, I do not know what I'd do without the internet, but I still feel that I am behind when it comes to grasping technology. Again this made me want to avoid it, for fear of looking stupid. I have finally decided that I am just going to have to look stupid for a while and learn everything I can,
ReplyDeletethere's no running from the web. But it can certainly be a scary place.
Your point about "limitless possibilities means limitless responsibilities" reminds me of something I read for one of our assignments (I think it was from the DoshDosh blog?). You could also think of more responsibility as meaning more freedom. The web is ever-changing, so just because you put something out there, it doesn't mean it's written in stone.
ReplyDeleteOh, the possibilities: Grocery list or Capote’s “In Cold Blood”
ReplyDeleteYou need a period at the end of that sentence. (I miss work so much.)
Kemuel: Great question! In my opinion, all journalists will need to become proficient in the Internet because of the changing nature of the publishing industry. The print business model alone is no longer viable, meaning that all journalists will have to contribute to making the Internet business model profitable. You can see this already happening as journalists are asked to post a teaser blog about a story that will appear in tomorrow’s newspaper, or asked to create a video about a story they’re working on, or asked to maintain a blog about their beat. Many see it as a way to talk about things that just won’t fit into the limited space available in the print production, but its going to need to be much more than that. Stay tuned for more thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMemoirs of Meanness: It’s so easy to fall behind with how quickly technology is evolving. I’ll never forget when I looked at one of my friends who is two years younger than me and thought “I’ve fallen behind. She knows things and does things on the Internet that are just beyond me.” At first, I felt defeated. Then, I decided to push past that and discover what I could do with the medium. It’s been a fun journey. I hope yours yields just as many pleasant surprises.
Nicole: That is one of the best things about the interne: It’s not permanent. Stories don’t evolve on the 24-hour news cycle of newspapers. They’re changing minute to minute (if not quicker) and this medium gives us the ability to keep pace.
The Proper Proofreader: Don’t worry: it’s almost Monday! But goodness, I need a proofreader and a designer? You’re making me miss print! ☺