Beat Blogging and its Influence on Inclusion

Last week, I attended a lecture by Katherine Fong, Deputy Managing Editor of the Mercury News. Sponsored by the Women of Color Network, the question on hand was if innovations such as beat blogging and citizen journalism help improve inclusion.

A few items need to be defined first. "Beat blogging" refers to a new type of digital journalism where journalists covering a specific beat can use social networking to improve their reporting by gaining access to more resources coming from their readers. "Citizen journalism" is a type of collective reporting with user-generated content, open for the public to contribute, collaborate, and publish. It makes useful the comments section, where users can report from their point of view and can submit personal blogs/photos/videos.

In Fong's lecture, she spoke about the work that goes on with the Merc in regards to experimenting with social networking and its focus on getting more readers involved. She said that the mission statement of the paper is to change along with the development of the changing demographic, so it is vital that they get the people's opinions so that they can appeal to a wider audience.

The Merc was included in a beat blogging experiment along with 12 other media companies such as ESPN.com, Wired.com, and MTVNews. Green Tech Beat is the product of Matt Nauman's efforts to get the Merc geared up towards collective reporting. It's goal is to include everyone by letting them submit their own photos, tips, and comments on anything newsworthy about green technology, especially since it's coming from the Silicon Valley. However, one question they had to face in regards to this type of journalism is how to get the uninterested interested in learning about green technology.

It was hard for Nauman and the Merc to really delve deep into their beat blogging experiment because of all the lay-offs in these tough economic times. Most of the young reporters who have grown up around the Internet and technology were laid off, making it harder for the blog to appeal to the younger generation. Also, the layoffs caused Nauman to refocus more on his primary stories within the Business section rather than this side project, so updates weren't as frequent as they could have been. All in all, Fong is proud of their work with the blog, but she knows that it could be so much better.

This is not to say that they are disappointed in their efforts. If the economy was stable and if young reporters were able to keep their jobs, who knows where this blog would be! They do have numerous positives after all. This blog proved that it is much easier for people to get involved with the Merc because of all the different interactions. The Merc is able to gain suggestions and feedback right away from its users, which makes it easier to figure out which sections to improve upon. It also gives them more resources since users can post their own content.

So with this example to learn from, I believe beat blogging does have a shining future with digital journalism. Swapping information is quick and easy, and collaboration is key.