How much blogging?
On Newsnight we're used to the occasional bad review in the public prints. We had a stinker this week in the , but it included a new and stinging criticism.
Rachel Cooke's piece took me to task for not blogging enough. "Like all 大象传媒 programmes", she wrote "it is fighting for its budget and has been told to get interactive, which is enough to make anyone tired (it speaks volumes that Peter Barron, its editor, posts his blog only every ten days or so)."
I'm pretty sure my hit rate is higher than that, but went straight to the New Statesman's to see how it should be done. Maybe I missed it, but I couldn't find a single blog entry by Rachel (although to be fair she has blogged twice - once in and then again in - in the Observer) or her editor John Kampfner. There are plenty of different views about the value of blogging - and perhaps you'll let us know what you think the optimum level of regularity should be - but I've never met a blogger yet who was doing it because they'd been told to get interactive.
Comments
Hmm.. I guess you should adopt the Paxman approach.. If he gets a bad review I can't imagine him losing sleep over it, but will just harrumph, and carry on as before. 'And it hasn't dun 'im no 'arm..'
By the way, Michael Grade's grimace after being Paxoed last night was worth the licence fee in itself. Priceless.
Most successful bloggers do it because it makes sense to them and that ought to also apply to professionals required to blog.
To appreciate the value of the combination of conversation and network which blogging throws up, it pays to blog consistently for a good few weeks.
What does that means for you? Who knows: every day? 3 times a week? when you have something to say which would benefit from audience input?
I notice that Rachel Cooke forgot to link to your blog (as she criticised your blogging techniques), breaking my rule one of blogging to be generous with links.
The danger of blogging is that it distracts you from your day job - night job in your case.
Especially for journalists it only serves for them to repeat themselves, but in a style that their editor may not approve of.
Mind you, going by the cuts proposed, a blog maybe the only way that Newsnight can truly survive!
If you guys find your self out of work, you can blog on my site - nobody visits, but at least you can do what you like!
Blog fight!
There is no such thing as blogging. There is writing that if put on the web in a diary format is called blogging. And what is writing but speech in print anyway?
So the rule is if one has nothing to say there is nothing to write so there is nothing 'to blog'.
And to what should speech [thus writing thus blogging- you get the idea!] be directed? To purifying ourselves from false beliefs because the most dangerous thing is the world is to have a false belief.
Blog when you think you have something to say.
Too many Bloggers feel they have to post every day or so, as with a lot of conversations much of what they say is of little interest or consequence. As a result many readers give up trying to find that which is worthwile.
Just to give my surfing habits as an example, if I'm on a new page I scan it for a few seconds to see if anything catches my attention (OK, I can speed read too.). If it doesn't I'm outta there; too many web pages, not enough time...
Firstly Peter i don't know if the spectator spouts forth about its interactivity or has constant reminders to read the blog of so and so from its other media outlets.
For the 大象传媒 to say blogs are interactive at all for me is a shock, as for the regularity, you could do one a day or one a month, again i think it is of little relevance.
For the 大象传媒 blog system is more about the users than the editors. Each blog entry should be ended with the word discuss, as essentially thats all they represent. The Editors make a statement, the readers discuss it and the editor never returns.
I am sure you all read through them, check up on them but i would imagine if you actually involved dyourselves in any of the debates it would be like the teacher accepting a puplils authority.
So instead Blogs are like Graffitti on the toilet wall, you write stuff, we write stuff around it and the you find a new place for new graffitti.
Listen, Aknowledge, React
its all you have to do
The Newsnight blog worked really well when it was written by Paul Mason. But then a decision seemed to be taken that instead of Paul blogging very regularly, everyone would blog a little bit. Paul hasn't blogged since February and most of the other blogs aren't worth reading.
Why not just reinstate Paul's blog, which was actually interesting, funny, worth reading, and - most importantly - he seemed to actually enjoy doing it.
I think the first question has to be 'What is to be the function of blogging?'... To raise debate? To generate ideas? To inform? To maintain a relationship with the audience? To create a therapeutic space for emotional expression?!
Clarity regarding the function of blogging should supersede any issue regarding the ir/regularity of blog posts... quality not quantity.
It would be disappointing if the use of this blog was to evolve into a repository for tit-for-tat sniping amongst media professionals. Ahem.
I wonder if she cannot blog because she runs a mac. You on the other hand have a microsoft computer and can easily blog or use the iPlayer. If I had a computer that was compatible with the 大象传媒 Microsoft software I would take the opportunity to blog on the bbc.
Is that an idea on how to get interactive? What a great idea! Blog On the 大象传媒. You could then leave comments on my blog and I could return the favour.
The reason I subscribe to a selection of the 大象传媒 blog feeds is because I find it illuminating. If people want to expand on something that couldn't cover in a program or explain some of the background of why a choice was made it adds depth to my enjoyment of the show.
I don't think I would find it nearly as useful if people felt compelled to post to hit some sort of quota.
As far as the interactivity aspect I don't know. Certainly blogs + comments should allows a much more nuanced relationship with your audience than phone votes. It's also far more convenient and more immediate than writing a letter which can get lost in the bureaucracy.
I guess the question is for you to answer. Has Newsnight followed a line of questioning or explored a particular area based on comments made on this blog?
Gregor (6). I'm very happy to come back on and discuss things. I should get back to you on your earlier post about suspected censorship. I checked with the editors of the Editors Blog who accept there have been technical problems with moderation which have sometimes delayed comments being posted (and I have suffered from this myself) but in response to the question of whether there is censorship they say this: "I don't think anybody could look at our collective blogs and legitimately say that we're reluctant to publish difficult or critical comments."
Peter
A 'Comments' facility under each sub-heading instead of the current system would, I think, be greatly welcomed by many posters.
It is easier by far to compose one's thoughts and probably make a more useful contribution when the previous posts all relate to the same topic.
Dear Newsnight Editor
Don't waste your own time blogging. I, and I imagine others too, would much rather you spend your time on the quality of programme content. It is better to be talked about than not be talked about at all. You must be doing a lot right to warrant an article in the New Statesman on blogging ..
I think Rachel makes a fair point although she is tinged with irony
"Paxman in pyjamas" would be a huge ratings puller but then it poses the next question what sort ? :)
Comment #7 makes a valid point - rather than increasing blog posting frequency, it'd be good if you (collectively) could spend more time responding to comments, either by adding another comment, or with a new post following up on an issue raised by a commenter.
The Newsnight editor should ignore the rantings of an unknown critic in a relatively insignificant publication. Regular viewers of Newsnight and this website are aware that Peter Barron does interact with viewers who make comments here. A blog is a diary, and whilst some are informative or entertaining, what makes them unique is that they represent a uniquely personal view. To corporatize this, or characterize same as an editorial is to defeat the purpose of blogging.
I think blogging is useful but I wonder if anyone takes much notice of what is said. It might be helpful if Newsnight, and other programmes that have comments facilities, gave a summary of comments to give us all an idea of the general opinions you get. Or give us more specific points to comment on sometimes. I cannot read all the discussions as it would take too long - so do you have the time?
(Also on the technical side pressing the post button seems to take an age before a response comes; could do with some kind of "please wait" message while it connects so messages don't get repeated.)
"And what is writing but speech in print anyway?"
There is a million orders of emphasis in difference. Written language is, thankfully, far more crafted than the Oral version, which is by its nature far less structured and considered.
Thus thoughts expressed via the written word often convey a different impression that those conveyed in speech.
A good example is Cameron's conference speech - attempted without notes or safety net. I did not hear it but I am told it was a very good speech. However, when one reads the transcript it comes across as badly structured, incoherent in places, repetitive and generally tatty. It definitely was not something that should be written down!
TOO MUCH
Does posting here really add much value (for the many) to the 鈥淣ewsnight Experience鈥?
What %ge of the Newsnight audience visit this address? I recently heard 鈥淪aturday Live鈥 setting up a 鈥渓ook-alike鈥 feature on their website! I could not help feeling that a 鈥渟ound-alike鈥 spot ON THE PROGRAM ITSELF would be more in keeping with the sound-radio ethos. This is really equivalent to a phone-in isn鈥檛 it? Not very sophisticated. I have no idea what this forum costs in terms of time and money, but surely it should go to keeping Paxo in gripe water first?
Answer: lots of blogging.
There's a problem with the top management because they can't admit that they don't know how the 大象传媒 works and hence where to target efficiencies and have to adopt meaningless general speak.
A framework of blogs across the organisation would reveal which areas are working and which are not,
who is actually solving problems and not just generating pretexts and misrepresenting things.
If you (in general) have nothing to say, display little tangible evidence that you have made any significant decisions, changes, or hold no opinions, then you have to question whether you are actually managing anything.
With greater transparency hopefully the talent will rise to the top. There will also be a greater incentive to promote colleagues who are really competant rather than just comfortably familiar. With a greater number of potential channels of communication the 大象传媒 will become more flexible and able to cope with change.
Hi Peter, Thanks for getting back to Gregor... But I am with Gregor on this too. The blogs are NOT interactive. The editors do not appear to react to any of the blog entries. The only reason I am writing now is due to my excitement that you have! Go back to some of the popular blogs and note the lack of interaction. I congratulate you for responding.
Peter, I think that Rachel should state her reasons for thinking that you do not blog frequently enough. This way, we can have a proper debate. If the reasons are any good, I might add Rachel's RSS button to my Google Reader.
For me, it's not quantity or quality - it's the status of the person blogging that matters. When deciding whether or not to add a RSS feed, I ask myself, does this person's opinion matter?
Blogging is a very useful way to air one's deep-seated views on a subject. If one does not have anything constructive to add to the debate, one should read, listen and digest and only then come out with the pros and cons with passionate comment to add to the usefulness of the whole exercise. Othwise silence is golden!
#13: You're talking about a threaded discussion rather than a linear discussion.
A blog is basically a series of written articles whereby
1 - they are organised by reverse chronological order
2 - they allow comments from readers
3 - they link to relevant related articles
4- the "blog post" has a permanent link (permalink)
Obviously, you should blog whenever you have something to say. However, people are eager to have new information available all the time. Therefore, having something interesting to say once a month might not be enough.
One of the good things about blogs is that you get to show people something you just found out. For example, I'm reading an e-book on It's just natural that I want to share that with the fellow readers.
Furthermore, you can't forget that you create a bond with the readers; we might just want to see what Peter Barron has to say today.
I think a post should be the choice of the author. The regularity of posting should also be a choice of the author.
Without those two key choices, a blog becomes an impersonal website.
#24 - 'passionate comment'? - what's wrong with casual comment?
#25 - your organised procedure goes against the joy of the internet : chaos.
Peter,
Thanks-for your post, you seem to have avoided this question by talking about a previous question.
thank-you for answering the previous post and i have faith that the bbc has never been censored in any way and if you were you would surely tell us.
But the point i raised about blogging is the way blogs are forgotten the minute they are published.
I checked out the blogs of you and 3 other editors who i could link to from the main page.
After ten mins of quickly scanning through many a page and doing some sums i came up with the following.
P.Barron 11 Replies - 25 blogs - 961 comments
R. Sambrook 0 replies - 6 blogs - 321 comments
H. Boaden 0 replies - 10 blogs - 765 comments
R. Jackson 0 replies 11 blogs - 75 comments
Now i know this is not a massive sample, but i looked through many others and could find only youself and Steve Herrmann who registered more than a couple of replies. Most of the replies you can find are of a technical nature: that link is broken- it's now fixed, etc.
The best thing i found was Helen Boadens firstintroduces the blogs, she says
"we are hoping this blog will be a fresh way of having
a direct conversation with you, our audiences."
This is fantastic, i am guessing she not much chat then?
She has blogs with replies that go into the hundreds, these are blogs on important issues and the comments have within them some well researched and thought out comments, many raising interesting and valid points. But not one reply.
I know this is not your problem as such, but seriously, it is clear when you go through the blogs that most do not reply after the initial blog.
I don't know if blogging is an important aspect of 21Century jounalist or whether it is important part of the modern news service. I know that very few editors ever reply to the comments on their blogs. You asked arouns i just checked their blogs.
Whatever you do, please dont patronise us by calling it a conversation with the audience. Its eavesdropping at best.
Dear Editor
You mean you actually write your own blogs? !! I dont mean this of course, I know you do, but perhaps this is a little unsual.
How many letters we get back from the
influencial people we -may- write to are actually written by their secretary, or someone less important,
The sort of thing, a reason among many that maybe leads to cynicism and disillusionment and a lack of trust in our society
Many of the big wigs in society do not perhaps want to know what ordinary people think?
just a thought, I think you are doing a great job, and I think keeping this sort of interaction on the Newsnight site viable is a huge achievement for all concerned,
best wishes and thanks
Bob
#29, Gregor, well done - you are so right - all this interactive stuff is just to give the impression that we are being listened to and that there is a democratic system in place. In fact - it's just the usual elite in charge.
I think that Gregor Aitkin has got is absolutely right. There is no or hardly any conversation here. Take Adrian Van-Klaveren Deputy Director, 大象传媒 News (described by Boaden as 'the brilliant architect of our plan'). Last post, early July. Has he got no insights to pass onto us about the process of implementing the cuts or future plans?
And isn't it about time that you dropped the 'Blogs Linking Here' section with its tired collection of out-of-date and inaccurate praise?
Thanks Gregor. I'll aim to do better, but 25 responses is better than none. Make that 26.
and i applaude you for it peter, you do genuinely listen and contribute.
But Helen Boaden as Directr of News should be absolutly ashamed of herself.
If she cant even read and respond to a few blogs should i be suprised that bbc news has gone to the dogs
i have no doubt you will give her a severe lecture
I think Gregor Aitken should get his own bbc blog and show the rest of the 大象传媒 editors how it should be done. Well done, Gregor.
I second M's words @ #21: "More blogging... With greater transparency, hopefully the talent will rise to the top. ... With a greater number of potential channels of communication, the 大象传媒 will become more flexible and able to cope with change.'
Blogging may produce reams of comment, but nuggets of gold emerge from open discussion. If the 大象传媒 was to truly listen to some of the comments on their blogs, they might benefit from grassroots insight - freely offered.
Unfortunately, Gregor seems to hit the nail on the head. There's no interactive, democratic 'conversation' going on here. For the moment, it's a turgid, one-way affair - 'eavesdropping at best.' Should we lower the bar and accept that this is as good as Western democratic media gets?
Well done, Gregor Aitkin. Perhaps the bbc should make him a guest bbc blog owner and get some real debate going. And show the rest of the bbc how it should be done. ...Although obviously not you, Peter! :-)
Peter -
Any thoughts on the suggestions regarding the Newsnight blog? What about my suggestion of getting Paul Mason back on the case?
Kate (36)
I agree Paul is a great blogger and I too would like to see him blogging regularly again - I'll have a word.
Peter
To blog or not to blog, that is the question.
The 鈥楴ew Statesman鈥. Is that a publication or a university rag? Well, moving on from her trite comments.
If you have nothing to say Peter there is no need to blog. Just post when you do have something to say. The bloggers who should have bad press are the ones who feel they have to add an entry every time a bloody cat goes missing in the street.
Ron Taylor.