Newspaper Asks Bloggers for Help
May 8th, 2008 by Dan GillmorSan Jose Mercury News: Wanted: Los Gatos bloggers. We’re looking for community bloggers in Los Gatos who can write about such things as events in town, school fundraisers, the score of the latest football game. We need someone who would love a forum for reflecting on the latest buzz story in town, or even write things to do for runners, kids, moms, retirees or other groups in town.
This could be a fairly big deal, especially if it means the paper will do more than just highlight what the bloggers do (i.e. pay them for what they do).
But the very fact that the paper has recognized what has been obvious for years — that the bloggers and others running websites in a community are able to supplement, and in some cases replace, what the newspaper has been doing, or failing to do.
Every newspaper should be a portal to the bloggers, Flickr and YouTube posters and others who are creating media about the towns and neighborhoods in the circulation area. That so few understand this is testament to the industry’s continuing cluelessness.
The Merc is owned by a company that has, from all available evidence, vastly more concern for profit than journalism — a company that appears not to see the value of excellence as a business proposition. So if this move is essentially to get more “content” for less money, it’s a loser.
But to the extent that the Mercury News is recognizing and helping to promote a wider and more diverse media ecosystem, this is a potentially noteworthy move.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
What’s so revolutionary about (unpaid) freelancing?
If the ad was “We’re looking for [local stringers] in Los Gatos who can write about such things as events in town, school fundraisers, the score of the latest football game. We need someone who would love a forum for reflecting on the latest buzz story in town, or even write things to do for runners, kids, moms, retirees or other groups in town.” - would this be greeted with a reaction of “This could be a fairly big deal, especially if it means the paper will do more than just highlight what the [local stringers] do (i.e. pay them for what they do).”
What makes “blogger” such a super-fantastic-amazing-THIS-IS-BIG word, if “stringer” or “freelancer” is functionally equivalent in the context?
May 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
re: “if it means the the paper will do more than just highlight what the bloggers do (i.e. pay them for what they do)”
the big problem I see with this is that they have a strong financial incentive NOT to pay them as long as they can get away with it — the vast majority of enterprises trying to “save the news” (for their own financial gain) would collapse if “the suckers” that make these projects possible would just wake up and stop volunteering.
Delia
P.S. Are these people really fools, cretins, with low-intelligence or low-self esteem? Of course not… (they are just naives that don’t realize they are being exploited) D.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
but … hey! at least they are not *paying* for “the priviledge”… (like some conference goers do… ) D.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I’ve got nothing to add. I’m watching a movie about the real world of journalism — The Devil Wears Prada.