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Journalism blogs

4 comments on Journalism blogs

Journalism blogs
: Prof. Jay Rosen, head of the journalism department at New York University, just started a blog about journalism, called PressThink.

A J-school prof blogging is good news for blogging and for the news business. This means that he gets it, but I already knew that because NYU has been pioneering in the use of weblogs. Look at this list of student blogs. And this online student publication about blogs. And this ongoing student blog.

Now imagine what happens when these blogging students graduate and get jobs in big-media publications and ask their new bosses, “Well, why the hell can’t I blog?” And their new bosses say, “Because we need to copy-edit you.” And the bloggers laugh. And the bosses get embarrassed and feel old. And that, ladies and gentlemen, that is how blogging will enter the mainstream of media: when the next generation demands it. And then the bosses will discover that with blogs, they can find cheap content and piggyback on the content others create and still serve their readers and — here’s the punchline — save money, which is something they all desperately need to do.

So it’s good news that NYU blogs and that its journalism chair joins in.

4 responses to “Journalism blogs”

  1. Kashei Avatar
    Kashei

    I’m at NYU grad school. This is a very good thing. I had no idea NYU had so many bloggers.

  2. Anthony Avatar
    Anthony

    Hey Jeff,
    You nailed this one right on it’s head. NYU has become a strong blogging school. I noticed this when I created the NYU Weblog Portal, as you mentioned.
    I just noticed Prof. Rosen’s weblog, which brought me some joy because NYU still does not have enough of a blogging infusion, in my opinion. On the other hand, Prof. Rosen is full of many opinions, so I’m happy to see he finally is getting them written down in blog form.
    I’m trying to get another project off the ground that’s been running for two years, called NYUview.com, which is basically an NYU general interest publication in group blog form. I figured there are plenty of NYU bloggers, so why not?
    I also want to point out that beat reporters at the Washington Square News also have beat weblogs they continually update. All under the advisement of Prof. Rosen of course. This is the start of their second year in existence. A good idea.
    Anthony

  3. henrycopeland Avatar
    henrycopeland

    After eight years of selling the Internet to publishers, I’m not optimistic that “staff demand” will bring blogs into newspapers. My favorite book about business, Clayton Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma, puts it this way: “Rational managers… can rarely build a cogent case for entering small, poorly defined low-end markets that offer only lower profitability.” Only small companies with no investment in status quo tech, ideology and customer relationships are willing to devote themselves to “marginal” markets. But, as Christensen shows, it’s the marginal, low-overhead products that often dwarf traditional “big” markets. Think 3.5 inch disk drives versus 14 inch drives.

  4. Michael ONeil Avatar
    Michael ONeil

    Washington Square News, NYU’s aforementioned student newspaper, hired me as a T.A to keep a Readers’ Advocate blog for a year. It was useful to write ombudsman notes and be able to link directly to the column in question, or any other helpful material.