: Newspapers join the blog conversation

Edward Cone
News & Record
10-17-04

The man behind the curtain is inviting you inside for a chat.

John Robinson, the editor of this newspaper, has started writing a column in journal form. Readers can see what the guy in charge is thinking about, and post their own comments in response, to which other readers and Robinson himself might reply. It's called a conversation, and it's the next big thing in local journalism.

The semi-anonymous editor, in the past seen opaquely through the lens of his weekly newspaper column, is now a public figure with a personality, a sensibility, a point of view of his own. Since August he has been posting several times each week at his weblog, The Editor's Log, which you can read for free at http://blog.news-record.com/jrblog. There's even a color picture of him on the page.

John Robinson did not have some kind of Oprah moment that convinced him to just share a little more of himself with you all. His business is changing. He has to adapt. "We want to be the marketplace of ideas for the community," he says. "We've done that with the newspaper for 100-plus years. We need to learn to do it online now. Blogs are one more way."

(I should probably remind you here that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an employee of the News & Record. As a longtime contributor I have had friendly and remunerative relationships with Robinson, who used to run the editorial page, and his successor in that job, Allen Johnson.)

The News & Record has launched several online journals, including a sports blog, a site devoted to local politics, and a personal grab-bag by veteran reporter and editor Lex Alexander. These pages all enrich the traditional product line of a daily newspaper, using the Web to deliver information and commentary more often and in more depth than the print edition. But Robinson's blog, and the one planned by editorial page boss Johnson, could change your relationship with the paper. "Our basic hope for the blogs is that they increase our contact with readers," says Robinson.

It used to be (this was back in August) that you could make a public statement to the paper and other readers by writing a letter to the editor. I love the letters page of any paper, and I believe it will remain a valuable public forum, but it has some limitations. You can write only so often and so long, and the lag-time between reading a story and seeing the letter in print prevents a real back and forth. Now time is telescoped and multi-party conversations can happen right away.

"The first thing my blog has accomplished -- and it's the only thing that I'm sure of -- is that it has helped me hear from people who are smart, have a passion for news and information, and, most times, care about the Triad," says Robinson. "As a result, they've given me story tips, coverage ideas and solid, thoughtful criticism. It's a great learning experience."

My guess is that the payoff from Robinson's blog is just beginning. Over time his Editor's Log will become a central node on the network of Triad blogs, which already includes dozens of active sites. His blog will be a portal into the newspaper for people reading the Web, and a portal into weblog journalism for News & Record readers. The paper thus extends its brand into the next information marketplace.

Making money in that marketplace is still an uncertain science. Here, Robinson sounds like a real blogger already. "Revenue isn't my gig; I'm a cost center," he says. "But more important, we want to get our voice and our content right before we worry about marketing them in some way. Perhaps that's the wrong approach, but they aren't costing us very much right now ... the bloggers on staff have absorbed them as part of their job."

There will be more blogs from the News & Record in the near future. "My hope is that they continue to expand in purpose and voice," says Robinson. "Expect to see one on business, one on education and one on faith pretty soon. They will all have tidbits of news and information, links to other sites, and all the other things blogs do." News reporters, though, "are going to stay away from heavy opinion."

The local monopoly daily employs all kinds of talented people. You are about to start conversing with some of them in ways you never could before.

Edward Cone (www.edcone.com, efcone@mindspring.com) writes a column for the News & Record most Sundays.

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