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Personally, as a blogger whose readers sometimes overwhelm me with great ideas, the death of the P&G blog is a head-scratcher -- and a big disappointment. When they are well-executed, single-company blogs have potential to give beat reporters unparalleled access to readers and sources.
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But other readers simply disliked what Reed wrote. And it appears the reporter got increasingly frustrated with that criticism, which may have factored into the blog's demise. "This blog is a joke and a disgrace to journalists,'' one anonymous commenter said.
Reed's response: "I'm assuming, since you talk about what reporters do, that you're one yourself and thus are speaking with authority about how we do our jobs. Outside that, I'd be interested to know what, exactly, qualifies you to make your assessment, given the AP and other media reported the same thing I did here. Oh, I know, they're not reporters, either. I forgot, you're the expert!"
My sympathies to Reed. Believe me, it's tempting to attack critics when they slam you right on your very own blog. I can get away with that because I'm not a traditional beat reporter: I'm an advocate, with strong opinions. But the Keith Reeds of Gannettland are in a tough spot: They're asked to create blogs that attract new readers -- then get jerked around if they become too provocative.
Your thoughts, in the comments section, below. Use this link to e-mail feedback, tips, snarky letters, etc. See Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
[Logo: P&G; Reed photo: Enquirer]
Jim:
ReplyDeleteThe only blogs worth reading are blogs that are opinionated and newsy.
In the traditional journalism world, reporting and opinion don't mix and that means certain trouble for bloggers.
The typical Gannett blogger is faced with a lose-lose proposition.
If the reporter/blogger is being provocative, the newsroom and its business-side masters, will shoot him.
If the reporter/blogger is playing it safe, he generates no traffic. The business-side masters will shoot him.
It's a great business.
@11:16 am: Exactly the problem! I experienced a little of that discomfort from USA Today editors back East, when they asked me to start a small-business blog for the paper two years ago. I could never find a way to make it provocative enough to draw readers, while simultaneously hewing to USAT's strict no-opinion rules. Traffic was embarrassingly low -- even with USAT as host.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Gannett Blog's weekly traffic is now 3x and even 4x what that small-biz blog got. Are you listening, Cincy/USAT editors?
Not surprising to those familiar with it.
ReplyDeleteReed was too new and the topic of coverage, P&G, was too narrow. Plus, he broke nothing new and said little above and beyond what was already publically shared. His credibility went down more when he mused that an employee’s move to Disney likely resulted because a former P&G’er ran the board…Reed missed the widely-known fact that not one, but two P&G execs serve on Disney’s board.
A large part of a blog's success depends on the subject matter. Jody Demling's recruiting blog in Louisville gets 10 to 20 thousand hits a day. No other blog at the Courier averages more than 3000 hits a day.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jody gets attacked by rabid fans all the time, because he sometimes expresses his opinion, or passes on information that at the time was right, but later didn't pan out. He could take it personally, but I doubt he does. It's the internet, where people will post things they wouldn't say to someone's face.
If you want to compare it to the Cincinnati blog, I could see the Courier having a blog about UPS or Ford. The UPS blog might have more potential readers, but the Ford blog would certainly get more interaction, just because of the tension between the employees and the company.
The blog is only one way to interact with the audience. Maybe Cincinnati will find a better way. Or maybe they won't.
anon1:20 says: "Jody Demling's recruiting blog in Louisville gets 10 to 20 thousand hits a day. No other blog at the Courier averages more than 3000 hits a day."
ReplyDeleteInteresting. And yet each of Demling's posts over the previous week has zero comments. Sounds fishy.
I would surmise that the GCI blog that receives the most page views per day is Peter Abraham's Yankees blog on lohud.com.
I believe his opening day live, running game blog had 1,000 -- yes, one thousand -- comments. Not page views (those are quite plentiful, for sure). But commments.
Can you say "time on site"?
If I'm not mistaken, this blog became an unplanned, unbudgeted revenue producer for the Journal News when WRN started selling ads on it.
What does that all mean? Yes, the topic is important. So is opinion. Abraham is not shy about posting his opinions about Yankees affairs.
Also key: Innovation. He posts audio from the press conferences, and video, when possible.
anyone who blogs for gannett is a fool. you don't get paid extra, you just get transferred or fired when you piss somebody off. just ask rishawn biddle.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks you have a choice about blogging for Gannett... well, you get the idea.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Reed should not have been allowed to respond to reader comments in such a petulant way. If the powers that be have finally boarded the very late blogger train, they really need to enforce some rules and regulations. Rule 1: Follow the example of editorial writers and do not respond to comments.
Rule 2: Most people are lousy bloggers. Believe it. Accept it. Govern yourselves accordingly. LIMIT the blog mania, please.