British journalism blogs

I put together a UK Journalists' blogroll for the resuscitated Press Gazette. These are journalists based in Britain blogging predominantly about journalism. This is not a blogroll of British journalist's blogs - that would look very different. Unfortuantely the Press Gazette does not have a web version of this.... grrrr.... However, 'Content Editor' Martin Stabe has all the links. Martin also has a fascinating, if baffling, graphic of relations between many of these folk, myself included.

Three points related to this. Firstly, social bookmarking and the networking of social bookmarkers is one of the best ways, maybe the best way, I gather information on niche topics I'm interested in, mostly on food or journalism, new media. I know of one award winning journalist who says he gets most of his story leads through social bookmarking.

Then there's the choice of bloggers for the feature. I discussed this with Martin. In the end I had around about another ten possibles who I chose not to include as they are not as tightly focussed on journalism. I then scoured all the possibles blogrolls to see if I'd missed anyone. Lastly, I used Twitter to ask for ideas. My Twitter network includes several journalists and bloggers. Jem twittered back a number of suggestions most of which I knew, some of which I didn't, including Vicky Watch. Reading this blog, I very quickly realised it had to be included. In a way this is a micro-example of using the social media tools to produce a networked effect.

Tenuously related to this is the ongoing debate about the demise of the foreign correspondent and the changes in the newsgathering process. Rebecca Mackinnon writes about this and links out to some great banter. She also mentions the Pulitzer Centre which seeks,

"to promote in-depth coverage of international affairs, focusing on topics that have been under-reported, mis-reported - or not reported at all. The Center accepts proposals from journalists who want to cover in-depth global stories but whose news organizations don't have the funds to support the reporting of these stories - or from freelancers who simply wouldn't have the financial backing to do these stories otherwise."

All very interesting. This, along with foreign correspondents and the increasing 'networking of journalism', is debated on this Radio Open Source programme, which I highly recommend you listen to.  There are tonnes of interesting points about social networking, multimedia reporting, use of NetVibes and MeMorandum to source stories etc. One of the interviewees, Alison Kaplan Sommer who is based in Tel Aviv, makes some good points about the practicalities during this period of transition between old media and participatory media that is predicted to dominate in the near future,

Is the independent expatriate blogger the new foreign correspondent?

In an ideal world - yes - I think a lot of this sadly is going to come down to the money. Whether or not people are able to support themselves, to support their blogs, to support their sites that offer in depth coverage of what's going on in the world both in terms of bloggers who are based overseas and in terms of the new entrusted citizen journalists. A lot of journalists from the United States have been spending 3 months, 6 months or a year in Iraq or abroad and they're either supported directly by their readership or by people sending them money to support their journalism or supported by advertisements on the website. Unfortunately, an amateur hobbyist blogger who's not getting paid for their endeavours is not going to be able to keep it up day after day, week after week, year  after year replacing or even enhancing the professional correspondents who are being paid by the wire services and the newspapers.

I'm not sure whether all hobbyists can't keep it up, although I agree it's far less likely. There's plenty to take from the podcast. I'm still pondering bits of it. But, I'll leave the last word to a commenter,

With the global reach of the new era of blogs, podcasts, and videoblogs, our foreign correspondents will not be trying to look the part.. they will actually be living-breathing the conflict they live in. Baghdad Burning, is an early example of this. But there is a whole generation of reporters coming very soon, reporting in depth and detail that the foreign correspondant only wished he/she could attain.

Comments

[Martin]

"Unfortuantely the Press Gazette does not have a web version of this...."

Indeed. Noted. That's why I put it up on my site.

Getting some new PG blog projects up and running is one the things I'm working on long-term. But the 'to do' list is long, and I'd only been back three days.

[Graham]

"some new PG blog projects"

Twitter me more.

[Craig]

"I know of one award winning journalist who says he gets most of his story leads through social bookmarking."

No need for any give-away info but I would love to learn a little more???

Many thanks

Craig

[Graham]

Well, I'll let that person contact you themselves. I'll freely admit that talking with him changed the way I use http://del.icio.us/ I still haven't mastered it, but I do get a whle lot more out of it than I used to.

[Debbie Procter]

Graham, I use blog software but not for a blog as such - I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about blogs and what they are? Debbie

[Graham]

Sure. drop me an email.