I tried this idea out at the CASE Conference in Philadelphia I co-chaired back in September: get some journalists who blog in a room with bloggers and let them talk about how the two disciplines — old-school reporting and new-media blogging — are merging and blurring the lines of distinction between news, opinion, and other aspects of journalism. It worked so well then (with a mere two journalist-bloggers) that we decided to try it again here at the CASE District VI Conference in Kansas City. And just for fun, we added another kind of blogger into the mix: someone who writes a blog for a non-profit organization. Our panelists were:
- Tony Bodello, a freelance writer in Kansas City who also authors the popular KC blog Tony’s Kansas City.
- Joe Mannies, political reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who also oversees and frequently posts on the P-D’s Political Fix blog.
- Desiree Vargas, a specialist with Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a blogger for the foundation’s Kauffman Perspectives blog.
The three had a lot of good information to share about the nature of their blogging, the future of social networking and new media, the challenges facing traditional media such as newspapers, and the benefits of blogging for institutions such as Kauffman. Check out their three very different blogs to get a sense of how blogs are being used to address various issues — whether it’s to promote programs, entertain readers or help political junkies get their fix.
While you’re at it, check out UMR’s research blog, Visions. While I was in a panel discussion at 8:30 this morning, three of our staffers were presenting to a packed room about their experience with converting Visions from a quarterly research webzine to a more frequently updated blog. They even had buttons and magnets to give away.
Andy writes! 