News Leaders Debate: Building Audience with Blogs

Inspired by Poynter's recent Web + 10 seminar, I've been wondering how media organizations could use community-based or grassroots journalism to build audience. I've been asking myself and others: Whose stories are untold using conventional reporting methods? Whose voices are we leaving out of traditional newspapers and newscasts? Who feels alienated by media coverage of their lives?
So, I wrote a piece raising these questions and looking at how weblogs could be used to bridge some gaps between audience and media. Before publication, we sent the piece to editors and news directors, with some questions, so that we could publish their thoughts along with mine. Click here to read my full piece. Click below to read the responses we received from newsroom leaders.

Ed Trauschke, News Director, WESH ...Weblogs are not grassroots journalism. Journalism has highly regarded ethical standards. >Read full response	Peggy Phillip, News Director, WMC-TV It's no secret I'm a fan of blogging. I recently added "comments" to my own blog ... so far, it's been more of a conversation. >Read full response
Neil Brown, Executive Editor, St. Petersburg Times ...We should revisit the traditional views of what constitutes ... a "correspondent." >Read full response	Janet Weaver, Executive Editor, Tampa Tribune The issue of audience and diversity of voices is at the core of everything we are thinking about and talking about. >Read full response

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