Our colleague Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, has an article in her current ezine about journalism and blogging. I've reprinted it here with permission.
Journalists Want to Blog
Here's one more reason you should be blogging: journalists think blogging is cool.
"Everyone in our newsroom wants to be a blogger," Washington Post editor Len Downie said recently during a speech at the Online News Association's annual convention in D.C.
You can read the entire article about his speech.
He says:
--Reporters always tune in to what's happening and are constantly trying to find stories to report for the newspaper's website. As a result, reporters can add more detail to their online stories because the web has "unlimited news hole."
--Reporters love newsroom blogs because they put writers in better touch with their readers. That means Publicity Hounds everywhere need to see if reporters, editors or anyone who works at the media outlets they want to get into blog. If so, posting comments to their blog is a great way to get in front of them.
--The blogs that pick apart every article that the Post produces are a good thing, Downie says, because they "keep the paper honest."
Media people, particularly executives, are slow to blog. One of the best examples I've seen, however, is blogger John Robinson, editor of The News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina. His blog gives an inside peek at the way reporters and editors think--even their critical views about their own industry.
Do a quick Google search to find out if journalists who work at media outlets you want to get into are blogging. If you wanted to get into Woman's Day, for example, you'd go to Google.com and type:
[Woman's Day] + blog
If you want to research a particular journalist, type their name within the brackets. Start commenting at their blog to get their attention. Then deliver a pitch. But don't pitch within your comment. Send a separate email. "How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion" shows you exactly how to research bloggers, comment at their blogs, then pitch them. Read more about what you'll learn at http://www.howtopitchbloggers.com .
Unlike journalists, bloggers love to link to each other, and they can help you create a publicity explosion online practically overnight.
Related posts:
Pitching Bloggers: 10 Things That Make Bloggers Angry
Pitching Bloggers: 15 Rules to Obey
