Strictly speaking columns posted in our weekly e-magazines are not what are commonly known as blogs but they are very similar in that they include hyperlinks and a means to reply or interact with the writer.
Recent research reveals they also share another common characteristics in that the many popular writers/bloggers are in their sixties, or older.
Given the common perception that the world wide web is dominated by young male gamers, and to a lesser extent ladies looking for an online date, this may come as a complete surprise to many readers.
Of course, this fact is not a total surprise when considered against the backdrop of on-going strident criticism from entrenched (read well paid) journalists in the print media with an uneasy eye on the virtual flood of what is now termed consumer generated content.
The quality of content posted has always been the major criticism levelled at bloggers by the so-called Fourth Estate and in many cases is completely justified, however the proliferation of well informed and presented blogs and their increasing popularity indicates that these concerns are being addressed in some quarters anyway.
The most obvious inadequacy of many blogs is that they are not sub-edited which, for non-insiders, is the formal process traditional journalists endure before their words ever appear in print.
Sub-editors (usually more experienced journalists) play an important role in newspapers because they not only thoroughly check material for accuracy, grammar and style, they write the headlines and make sure the quantity of words presented fits the requirements of the day.
With blogs this well established, and most professionals would say essential, process is usually overlooked – I would emphasise that all columns in our e-magazines do follow this print based procedure.
The bonus with older bloggers is that many are ex-journalists or at least retired professionals with ample time to broadcast their diverse thoughts on topics and personal interests within their local communities.
Based on our experience, over the past four years publishing online, many larger regional newspapers now lack ‘street cred’ since the majority of stories presented in their pages are off the net from the likes of AAP or Reuters and are simply national or international articles rehashed by junior or mid-level journalists who are worked off their feet looking for a local angle and rarely have time to leave their offices to check out the real ‘local’ world.
This younger brigade are university trained, talented, career minded …many serving their time before moving on to bigger mastheads … and most significantly are overwhelmingly not locals.
This has created fertile ground for well informed older bloggers who not only have a detailed background knowledge but are prepared to invest significant time getting to the facts behind local stories.
In an unprecedented attempt to buck world-wide trends national newspaper chains have just embarked upon a self-funded $10 million campaign to convince advertisers how good newspapers are as a media vehicle to both sell products and more significantly (their words) ‘engage’ readers but to my mind if they were really serious about reaching or engaging their local community they would have been better served investing the money to improve their focus on good old fashioned ‘grass roots’ journalism.
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