It's Time to Blog Hard News on Your Site

September 12, 2003

One of the most common criticisms of newspaper Web sites is that they aren't timely enough. Sure, we're long past the days when newspapers held on to news till the presses rolled for the print edition rather than publishing right away online. But most newspaper sites still don't treat breaking news with a publish-right-this-minute mentality.

The thinking remains rooted in a print-based past -- a story is published only when it's completely finished.

OK, now combine that thought with the concept of the Weblog, or blog. It's time for increasing the speed of news sites -- to that of television news -- and Weblogs are the way to do it. And it's time to stop thinking of blogs mostly in the realm of feature and opinion content, and move the concept into breaking news.

Blogging in Her Spare Time
A couple of weeks ago, a reporter for NBC affiliate KFOR TV in Oklahoma City, Okla., Sarah Stewart, was covering a high-profile murder trial. She spent her days in court watching and reporting on the proceedings, and produced TV news segments for the noon, early-evening, and late-evening newscasts. But she also maintained a Weblog for KFOR.com during the trial, using a laptop and cell-phone connection to the Internet to post hourly text reports -- or more frequently if courtroom events warranted.

Right now, this kind of reporting is unusual; in time, it should become routine. Think about that. KFOR used its Web site to provide more in-depth, timely coverage of a major local story than even its TV program could offer. And its reporter used time spent sitting in a courtroom listening to testimony or during breaks to compose and send in short-but-enlightening text using easily available wireless technology. KFOR viewers who wanted to learn the latest from the trial didn't turn on their TV sets and wait, they went to the Web immediately and read the latest.

I'd like to see this technique for covering breaking news applied on an almost-daily basis. Certainly you won't treat every story this way, but on many days there will be a significant story that warrants frequent online updates.

Let's say a major (but not earth-shattering) story breaks locally -- for example, a snowstorm hits your city, closing roads, causing a traffic fatality, and closing schools and offices. Rather than having a reporter write a traditional overview story that's posted online once it's written, recognize that this is an appropriate Weblog event.

Such a blog starts with a simple overview introduction: "A fast-moving snowstorm moved into the metro area late this morning, snarling traffic, closing schools, and resulting in several fatalities. The Daily News reporting team is covering this story, and their reports are being filed through the day on this Storm Weblog. Check this page often for the latest reports." (You'll get bonus points if you take this concept and add e-mail or other alert systems that notify users when a new item has been added. Such an alert "subscription" can be short term; the list of subscribers is deleted once the story is no longer news.)

Below, in typical blog fashion, are short reports filed through the day from the news organization's reporters -- in standard reverse-chronological order, so the most recent news is highest on the page. The storm blog becomes an up-to-the-minute report of developments -- from a traffic tie-up on the interstate, to an announcement about schools closing, to a statement by the mayor at a press conference, to a missing airplane in the storm.

Such an approach doesn't preclude longer, traditional articles. When the education reporter files a 500-word story on the schools closing, the first paragraph can go on the storm blog, with a "More" link to the full article.

Source: Editor & Publisher.com

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