Photos by Danny Hill – All photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/danshill/sets/72157633026205531/with/8570168166/

Derek Roche’s Rebel Promotions put together the only show in the country on saturday night to bring us there event titled the ‘St Patrick Showdown’. Originally billed as seven fights the event had been shortened to five, but this didn’t take anything away from what was a good night of boxing at the John Charles Centre, Leeds.

The headline event saw Leeds cruiserweight Nathan Owens (5-0-0) and Northamptons Paul David (13-7-0) battle it out over six, three minute rounds. David was looking to improve on his last trip to Leeds in November where he suffered a KO from the recently decorated Cruiserweight English Champ, China Clarke.

The first round started badly for David.  Owens was catching him too easily and by following up his jab with hooks to the head he caught David clean on 3 occasions. On all 3 occasions it looked as though David could be finished as he wobbled and held onto Owens for dear life. He used his experience to create recuperation time and pulled through to the end of the round.

David came out looking a bit fresher for the second round and started to land a few shots of his own but it was still Owens who was throwing the more dangerous of the punches. The  improvement continued into the third where the Northampton man took advantage of a tiring Owens to have his best round of the fight so far. It had been an amazing turnaround from the first round and David was now having some success with his punches.

The fourth, fifth and sixth round saw both fighters give it all.  Both were tiring but battled it out and although at times it was a bit scruffy both had success.  David caught Owens on the chin in the fourth and looked to hurt the 23 year old, Owens repaid him with the same treatment in the fifth.  The sixth saw the fight end with the decision ready to go either way. John Latham scored it 57-57 with neither fighter compaining about the decision. It could be argued that with a bit more experience Owens could’ve finished the job in the first.

Also on the bill, Leeds’ former amateur star Damon Jones (7-0-0) continued to step up the pro ladder with an easy points win over the experienced Dee Mitchell (9-30-1).

It was Jones who controlled from the first of the six, three’s.  He frustrated Mitchell throughout with his jab, bullying the Birmingham light middleweight. Each round saw Jones dominate with him following up his jabs with good shots to the body of Mitchell. Mitchell had a bit of success in the fifth but it was Jones who still dominated towards the end, pushing his opponent onto the ropes and opening up with a flurry of punches. Mitchell absorbed all that Jones threw at him and in fairness never looked in danger of been KO’d despite the domination by Jones.

Another unbeaten fighter on the bill was Castlefords Jamie ‘Wonderboy’ Kelly (5-0-1) who was taking on Irishman John ‘The Warrior’ Waldron (5-10-0). Kelly made easy work of Waldron, he used his long jab and waited for the gaps to appear in Waldrons defence, then attacked them. 

Approaching the end of the first round, Kelly caught Waldron with a good selection of punches after pushing him onto the ropes. It appeared to be a body shot that did the damage and Waldron dropped to floor but did manage to get back up. There was still time in the round for Kelly to force Waldron onto a knee again, right at the end of the round.  As the bell went it was clear that Waldron was in trouble.

The second round didnt last long as Kelly caught the Irishman with a shot to the forehead and after going down again it was clear he couldn’t continue and the referee waved it off with just 23 seconds gone of the second.

Also on the bill, Justin Newell gained his 5th win in an unbeaten career against journeyman Billy Smith (13-135-2). Newell controlled throughout the four rounder, following up on his cautious jab with some good punches to the body of the reliable Smith. A fight against Smith is always good experience for up and coming fighters and it will be interesting to see how Newell uses this experience further along the line in his career. Newells five career wins so far have been against fighters who between them have amassed over 500 career fights and I would like to see him use the skills gained from these against somebody a bit more demanding.

The night started with Sean ‘Short Fuse’ Hughes (16-10-2) taking on David Lake (3-4-0) of South Shields.  Hughes displayed no signs of ring rust after 18 months out with a strong points win over Lake. Both fighters started well and looked up for it, but it was Hughes who had the better of the early rounds.

Hughes landed some good crisp jabs and caused blood to gush from the nose of Lake in the second. This seemed to effect the away man who then looked to be going for a knockout punch, often swinging at fresh air. The fight did get a bit messy in the middle but both fighters did have success with shots as they gave it there all.

The fifth round displayed fatigue amongst both fighters and Lake did land some big shots but Hughes won the fight in the sixth and final round.  He beat Lakes defence and caught him clean on two occasions sending him to the canvas both times. Lake did get up but there was an argument for the fight to be stopped towards the end as Hughes landed punch after punch as he had Lake against the ropes. There was no doubt in the winner as Hughes’ hand was raised by the referee.

Dear Dumb Diary,

When Dad brought i up this morning, I pointed out that I´m doing well in all of my classes except math. And Dad was all like, “You have to do well in all your classes.”

And I was all like, “Who really needs to be good at math, anyway?

And Dad was all like, “I do. I´m an accountant. It´s my job. It´s how the bills get paid around here.”

And I was all like, “dad. If everybody was good at math like you, they wouldn´t have had to hire you.

Face it, the less people everywhere know about math, the better off our family is.”

And Dad´s mouth snapped shut like a big old math textbook. He looked helplessly at Mom.

Yeah, that´s what I thought, Math Guy.

Watch the book trailer:

Photos by Danny Hill (Click on main photo to see all photos from the night).

This was a Rebel Promotions (Derek Roche) evening of boxing at the Leeds Irish Centre. I have always found the Irish Centre a great venue for smaller promotions, this event was no exception.

The first fight of the evening was a light heavyweight contest over six, two minute rounds between Jamie “Wonderboy” Kelly (12st 12lbs) and Kenny Davidson (12st 10lb).  Kelly from Castleford took the centre of the ring from the first bell trying to control the pace of the fight behind his jab.  Davidson from Wishaw in Scotland was finding it difficult to get in to range and get his own shots off, however he did have some success with a solid looking right hook when backing onto the ropes.  Kelly took this well and pretty much dominated the first round showing a good work rate and more aggression.  Kelly stamped his authority again early in the second round, again controlling the action behind a solid jab with the odd straight right finding the mark.  A big left hook late in the round put Davidson on the canvas, rising at 7 but looking a little shook up.  To his credit he gritted his teeth and saw out the round.  The third round was all Kelly who by this point was landing with more power and regularity than in the previous two rounds.  At the end of the third round Kenny Davidson’s corner retired their man citing an injury which would leave him unable to continue.  Davidson drops to 3(0)-2-1 while Kelly picks up his first stoppage victory in the paid ranks and moves on to 2(1)-0-0.

The next fight saw vastly experienced journeyman Kristian Laight of Nuneaton take on the home town favourite Justin Newell from Harehills in Leeds in a Lightweight contest over four, three minute rounds.  This proved to be a good learning fight for Newell, making only his second professional outing.  Laight has been around for a long time and used all his ring savvy and survival instinct to push Newell the distance.  Throughout the contest Newell was the sharper of the two fighters, however due to the elusiveness and experience of Laight (making his 113^th paid outing) he was unable to string any telling combinations together.  Newell had his best success when going to the body, working off of the jab and dropping in with solid left and right hooks to Laight’s mid-section.  After 4 enjoyable rounds referee John Latham scored the bout 40 to 36 in Newell’s favour.  Newell moves to 2(0)-0-0 whilst Laight’s record now stands at 6-101-6.

Third contest of the evening involved former Central Area Light Middleweight Champion and local boy Lee Murtagh (11st 9lbs) take on Scunthorpe’s Steve Spence (11st 10lbs) over six, two minute rounds in the Middleweight division.  This was a good, entertaining bout throughout.  Murtagh came out in the first round and looked to assert himself on proceedings as early as possible, regularly pushing Spence on to the back foot and firing off combinations to head and body which were more eye-catching then hurtful.  This seemed to shock Spence into action as he came out for the second round a lot more aggressive and began to have more success, landing with a stinging straight right hand late in the round.  However, this was not a sign of things to come from Spence.  Murtagh took control again early in the third round and dominated the rest of the bout having good success in rounds 4 and 5, particularly a perfectly timed right to the solar plexus that seemed to take a lot of strength from the legs of Spence.  The final round was pretty untidy as both fighters were guilty of trying to push for that one big shot.  At the end of the six rounds referee John Latham scored the bout 59-55 in favour of Murtagh, now 31-12-1.

The final bout of the evening was a Light Welterweight contest of six, two minute rounds between Dewsbury’s (via Syria) Youssef Al Hamidi (8-35-2) and East Hams Johnny Greaves (3-66-0).  From the off this fight was a case of Al Hamidi moving around the ring and using his fast feet to full effect while Johnny Greaves was getting frustrated that Al Hamidi was not willing to stand and trade.  All of the rounds were pretty close and could really be split by one fighter landing a decent shot.  After six rounds of boxing referee John Latham scored the bout 58-57 in favour of Al Hamidi.  I do not think that there could have been too many arguments should this fight have gone either way, it was simply one of those that can be put down to the interpretation and style preference of the referee judging the contest.  If John Latham had favoured aggression then Greaves could well have walked away with the victory.

Voice of San Diego is hiring an Engagement Editor, which sounds a lot like my title, Director of Community Engagement. Whenever the position is filled, I will start networking with this new colleague. Maybe a couple more and we can form an association (FREE, Federation of Real Engagement Editors?) and start holding conventions. Any others out there I should be networking with already? Do social media editors count? (A Nieman Lab post says the San Diego job is more than social media, but I guess most social media editors would say that about their jobs, too.)

The job drew some critical comments from Nieman Lab readers. From someone identified only as “JW“:

When will newspapers realize that *everyone* is an engagement editor? Anyone who has a job solely to oversee social media is doomed to be the next person laid off. Instead of hiring a full-time social media editor, hire a contractor who can teach each and every newsroom employee to interact, then let them do that job. Stop treating social media like it’s something special and start treating it like it’s just another level of the time-honored newspaper tradition of keeping people informed.

“ac” agreed:

The best advocate for any piece of work is its owner and readers/users would much rather engage with the source than one or two degrees away.

I was pleased to see that several people joined me in defending the position. Erik Gable, an editor in Michigan, blogged about 10 things an engagement editor could do.

I normally wouldn’t respond in my own blog to a couple anonymous comments on another blog that were addressed well in that blog. But the criticism sounded a lot like what I have said many times about computer-assisted reporting. I argue that newsrooms and journalists made a huge mistake treating data analysis as a specialty, rather than an essential skill for all journalists to master.

If I argue that data analysis should be everyone’s job, shouldn’t I also argue that community engagement is everyone’s job? Actually, I do. We will expect everyone on our staff to engage with the community: crowdsourcing stories, using social media and responding to comments and questions on stories, blogs and videos.

But community engagement is also my job and my staff’s job (as I blogged earlier, we’ll have six people helping me with the specific challenges of community and mobile engagement). Just as I feel that all journalists should master basic data analysis skills, I value the high-level skills of journalists who develop sophisticated databases such as PolitiFact and CinciNavigator, and I know that a strong database program is going to require some specialists with more advanced skills and more time to do top-flight work.

Some of our work will be to coach the staff in engagement, in which we know we will have a range of skills. When I was editor of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and appointed Jamie Kelly as our social media guide, Jamie helped elevate the social media skills and use throughout the newsroom.

Our community engagement staff here will also have specific skills and tasks that don’t fit in other newsroom jobs, such as reporting and editing. For instance, we will recruit and work with a network of bloggers in our metro area. On some community events that our staff won’t be covering, we will aggregate and curate content provided by the community or provide some platforms for the community to provide the coverage. Where our staff is covering an event, we will supplement that coverage by finding and soliciting community contributions.

For instance, a reporter covering a beat needs to use social media and other community engagement tools to monitor news and conversation on the beat. But when news breaks and the reporter or photographer is at the scene, social media becomes secondary. The reporter might tweet a request to connect with eyewitnesses, and might check a hashtag during a free moment. But gathering facts and images at the scene of breaking news is a demanding pursuit that demands full attention. So is monitoring and gathering social media accounts and images of the breaking news event. While our news staffers are at the scene gathering news first-hand, our community engagement staff will be gathering news through social media. And we’ll be working together. If a tweet or Flickr photo shows that someone was an eyewitness, we’ll connect through social media and ask if the witness can talk to a reporter.

Before newspapers began slashing their copy desks, reporters were still expected to turn in clean copy (and at some organizations, to suggest headlines). Some did (and, of course, still do) that better than others. But clarity, style, accuracy and strong headlines were important, so we hired teams of copy editors to ensure quality of the copy and headlines.

Community engagement is important to a digital news operation such as ours or Voice of San Diego. Strong community engagement will be everyone’s job. But it will also be the job of my team.

How is blogging different from writing stories and how is it similar?

It’s different in one important way: your product is visible from the very beginning. That’s scary, but it’s also liberating. No one expects it to be perfect, just as correct as it can be given what you have. The ability to update makes blogging very powerful. But the same rules apply: you need to write what you know to be true, avoid speculation and be fair.

Blogging tends to be more conversational than news writing. What are some tips on developing the conversational style? And do you have any cautions about topics or beats where that may not be appropriate (or where it’s absolutely appropriate, though journalistic reflexes might say otherwise)?

Think of blogging as a conversation with both your audience and your sources. Write the same way you would talk during an interview, or how you’d summarize your reporting to an editor.

Do you have some tips to share on engaging the community and crowdsourcing stories through a blog?

The beautiful thing about blogging is its ability to reach your audience directly. The first step is to make sure you’re asking questions of readers. This needs to be a two-way conversation. Another thing you can do is to have a poll in your post. It’s not scientific, but it can give you a sense of what people think. Read your comments and respond to them. If there’s a particularly strong one, make a post highlighting it. (See what Mike Johnston does. He’ll pull out a good comment and feature it at the end of a post.

What, if any, ethical issues should bloggers address?  

You’re still a journalist. That means being fair at all times, not taking sides and making sure that when you interview people who have a stake in an issue, you make it clear what that stake is.

What other advice do you have for bloggers who are more experienced with reporting than with blogging?

The difference isn’t as bad as it seems at first. For years, we hid the process from public view. But now, the public can see how we report stories. That might feel uncomfortable at first, but in the end, it’s going to make for better stories.

What are some good online links for blogging journalists?

BeatBlogging is the obvious one. is  Some other good ones are: Headlines and Deadlines, Online Journalism Blog and Mindy McAdams. 

The thing that continues to surprise me about blogging is exactly how unpredictable it is. When I posted this article, it got a whole lot of buzz. It was topical, and people were discussing it.

But since then, traffic to that post has died, and instead, people are linking to this one. It’s gotten 10 times the views of the previous post and nearly all of that is from links to other blogs.

So two lessons here: 1) you can never really know which posts will resonate and 2) links to your content are the best source of traffic. Google searches are great, but they don’t often lead to regular traffic. If someone links to your post, you have a chance to wow new readers.

That approach (and sharing those handouts liberally online at No Train, No Gain) built my reputation in the journalism training field more than anything I did. So when I decided to do a blogging workshop this week, my first inclination was to develop a handout with all my tips and advice on blogging. I could have done that and almost did, but two things held me back:

• I’m not that experienced at blogging and still learning a lot myself. I feared that my own advice might be too shallow and obvious (though I’m amazed at how often people express gratitude for advice that I consider obvious, so I will include some of mine).
• My old style of handouts – advice handed down from the experienced trainer – was too much like the one-way we-know-what-you-need communication of newspapers and not at all like the conversation that good blogging becomes.

So I decided to crowdsource the handout (which I’m not going to hand out anyway, just encourage them to read on the blog, so let’s call it a shoutout instead). I emailed lots of good bloggers that I know – bloggers who write about journalism and journalists who blog about their beats. I asked some Gazette bloggers as well as people throughout the industry. I asked for advice on my blog and on Twitter.

What I’m going to do here is organize and edit some of the best advice (as you might imagine, I received some tips more than once) here. I’m essentially using people’s words, but I’ve condensed here and there or edited a few lightly to fit this format, rather than the email responses that many of them were. I’m going to link to everyone’s full responses. Some are already in the comments on my earlier post asking for help and I’ll post and link to the advice that I received by email. I encourage you to read the full responses. Several of the bloggers shared stories of how they learned important blogging lessons as well as advice I didn’t include in this overview. For instance, they shared lots of stories about the blogs that get the most traffic, but I don’t address that much here.

You’ll see some conflicting advice from the bloggers I consulted. I think that’s good. Blogging, like any form of communication, is not a one-size-fits-all venture. Consider the arguments, consider  your situation and make the decision that fits you best.

I’ll also post links to some good blogs about journalism and to some good blogs by journalists about their communities. I welcome you to add your advice and ask questions. I can’t guarantee that I’ll get all of this posted right away, so check back in over the next few days as I add more responses from the bloggers (and a few might straggle in after I’ve posted; I didn’t give people a deadline and you know journalists).

The blogger’s voice

One of the points I heard most often from my blogging contributors – and want to make myself – is that blogging has a more conversational voice than news stories or even newspaper columns, feature stories or TV news reports. Blogging is, in fact, a conversation and if you’re just posting news stories in a blog, many of the bloggers I heard from might say that you’re not really blogging (a staff member demurred from offering much advice, noting that he was pretty much posting news stories to the blog).

“Write like you’re talking to friends, not in the institutional voice of the newspaper,” advises John Robinson, editor of the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record, whose Editor’s Log is one of the first editor’s blogs I heard of.

Gazette Chew on this blogger Cecelia Hanley: Yes, blogging is conversational, but it should have a point, not just stream of consciousness. Even if it’s a short entry about a funny occurrence, it should have some relevance.

Marc Morehouse, On Iowa blogger for The Gazette: It’s writing “with” people and not “at” people.

Gazette Doc’s Office blogger Scott Dochterman, whose sports posts frequently rank among the most-popular posts on WordPress: “To reach a more conversational approach in blogging, ask questions and include the pronouns I and you.  That helps readers relate and communicate.”

Roxanne Hack, who administers all blogs at OCRegister.com and runs the person Mom Blog: “Blogging is not a graduation speech, it’s a conversation with someone at the grad party.”

Writing style and structure

Writing in a blog differs from traditional newspaper writing in ways beyond the voice.

Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian and a veteran blogger (who bears some blame for my Twitter use): Many newspaper reporters are very rigid in their approach to inverted-pyramid, five-Ws approach to news writing. If you’re reporting a story in a blog format, try to think of the most interesting thing about the story and tell it in a conversational way. Don’t worry about whether you ‘answer all the questions’ in the first sentence. Just write and let it flow naturally.

Gazette social media guide and Writing Hurts blogger Jamie Kelly: Your product is visible from the very beginning. That’s scary, but it’s also liberating. The ability to update makes blogging very powerful.

Gazette Hot Beat blogger Adam Belz: A link and a sentence is enough for a blog post, in my opinion. A news story or even a brief for the paper has to be more than that.

Jeff Thomas, editor of The Gazette in Colorado Springs: Blogging carries more of a “work in progress” tone. That usually means shorter bursts, less obligatory background, more conversation. The starting and ending points to our work are blurred by blogs, and journalism becomes more of a continual process.

Gazette (Cedar Rapids again; Jeff’s the only Colorado Springs Gazette blogger I heard from) Diamonds and Ice sports blogger Jeff Johnson: Blogging is a great way to break news. We have complete control over posting, we don’t have to go to an editor first. If you have something, run with it, post it immediately.

Telling more of the story

Blogs should not become dumping grounds for your notebook, but they give you a place to continue a story that you couldn’t do justice in the increasingly tight newsholes that newspapers face.

Molly Rossiter, The Back Pew blogger for The Gazette: When I blog as a continuation of a story, I get to talk about the things that touched me most. I once did a story for the paper on the seasonal closing of a homeless shelter’s over-run site — where those who didn’t fit in the shelter would go for indoor sleeping. Space was tight and the story for the paper was on the shelter, the funding and featured a glimpse of a family. When I blogged about it, I could tell the family’s story in more detail: a single mother of three children, including a six-week-old infant, left alone by a boyfriend after they came to Iowa in search of “a better life.”

Interaction is essential

Perhaps my blogging advisers were most united on the point that interaction and actual conversation is essential to the success of a blog.

Ryan Sholin of Publish2: It’s a tool to *start* conversations, not to stand on stage and spout off what you think for 1200 well-crafted words. Ask a lot of questions, link to a lot of answers, and generally try to give as much as you get.

Mark Potts, Recovering Journalist blogger (who leads seminars on blogging, in case your organization might be interested): The best blogs are conversation starters, not lectures; the action should continue in the comments. Think of yourself as an emcee and discussion leader.

Gazette Communications CEO Chuck Peters: I started blogging to start a conversation with anyone who wanted to explore the new mind set, and tactics, necessary to create a new sustainable local information service. I was very impressed with the immediacy of the feedback and the relationships that have developed with people I would not have met but for the blog.

Gazette columnist and 24-Hour Dorman blogger Todd Dorman: One surprisingly popular post taught me that readers really like to give advice. That simple beer post really stuck with people. I still run into folks in the grocery store etc. who ask me about Grain Belt. Part of a blogger’s job is informing, but a big part is giving people a chance to share what they know.

Robert Niles of OJR: The Online Journalism Review: If you are having a hard time getting people to follow you into a conversation – no one’s clicking the comment button – try running a poll in a blog post. Twiigs.com has a neat tool for this. Just ask some question that’d make for a great bar conversation, and invite readers to respond. (“Toilet paper: Roll over or under?” is a classic, though extremely simple, example.) Once you get people to click on the poll, you’ve gotten them to take the first step toward interacting with you online.

Jeff Thomas: What is needed in extra measure on a blog is humility. Online interactivity has this strange ability to turn innocent discussion into flame wars. The temptation to get the last word is strong. The journalist already commands a particular position of authority, especially if it’s his or her own blog, and so it’s doubly important for the reporter to stay humble.”

Annette Schulte, who blogged for about a year as the Gazette’s Content Ninja: Don’t feed the trolls. Don’t engage. Remove the comments. Block the IP address. Let the insults roll off.

KCRG While You Were Sleeping blogger Chris Earl: Growing a thick skin has always been part of being on-air in television.  I say, keep the comments up and just deal with it.  Often, if feedback or comments are mean-spirited, the poster comes off looking far worse than the blogger.

Cecelia Hanley: If people leave disparaging comments, address them in a post. If the person becomes very hostile, do not be afraid to block them and be honest about that. But engage your readers in your blog. Respond to comments in the comment field or even with a new post.

Crowdsourcing

Use the community that forms around your blog as a resource. Engage early and the community will help you gather the facts.

Adam Belz: Ask questions directly. If it’s a good question, with solid premises and general interest, people will respond. The audience is ready to help. Short posts with one or two facts can be perfect for crowdsourcing, and they bring participants like moths to the flame. This post on Tonch Weldon, the man accused in the Marengo murder, required me only to copy some stuff from his MySpace page and paste it onto my blog, but it drove lots of traffic and got me in contact with a friend of Tonch and a friend of Amy Gephart. The best way to crowdsource is to do good reporting. Fresh, relevant facts help shake other facts loose.

Consider the role of opinion

Bloggers have a stereotype of being opinionated people ranting in their basements in their pajamas (does anyone actually do that?). Reporters have a longtime tradition of maintaining a façade of objectivity where opinion is never allowed. So how should we address the issue of whether, when and how blogging reporters should express opinions? My advisers were not in unison on this question. My advice: If you’re a blogging reporter, read and consider these different viewpoints, decide how you think you should approach it and discuss your approach with your editor. If you’re an editor whose reporters blog, read and consider these views and discuss individually with each blogging reporter (because of the diversity of views on this, I am including more from my advisers on this topic than on others):

Roxanne Hack: Reporters are very hesitant to state an opinion, but bloggers outside of newspapers are not in the slightest – I would suggest trying to find a middle ground. You don’t have to slap someone in the face with what you think is the right or wrong way, but making your stance known is almost essential when we’re viewing blogging as a conversation.

Howard Owens: Opinion is always acceptable. Actually, objectivity and opinion are not mutually exclusive concepts. Scientists are objective, they make objective observations and then draw informed conclusions and present those conclusions in a manner that essentially is their opinion. Opinion isn’t evil, but how you state your opinion and the motive behind your opinion can be very bad if handled immaturely.

Cecelia Hanley: Even if you’re offering up your opinion, make sure there is fact to back it up.

KCRG This JustIN blogger Justin Foss: Opinion is acceptable when the subject directly affects or involves the blogger.  However too much opinion will turn readers off.

John Robinson: I am more timid about dropping opinion into the blog than your other commenters. I think reporters can write with authority and with voice, but without sliding into the editorial role. I prefer our reporters to keep their opinions about the validity of an idea to themselves. If they have facts that give perspective to the idea, by all means state them.

Jeff Thomas: The blogosphere has an overabundance of opinion. What communities need is an abundance of verified facts. I agree with Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel that what matters is an objective *process*, not so much the elusive ideal of an objective person or even story. But if we are to regard what we do as journalism, we need to keep the discipline of verification at the heart of what we do. It’s what separates journalism from all other forms of communication. This should extend to journalists’ professional blogs.

Robert Niles: Forget the whole opinion issue. That word (”opinion”) confuses and stresses too many journalists. Let’s talk instead about *conclusions*. When the facts lead you to a logical conclusion, make it. If they don’t, say that. If you don’t know if they do, ask the audience.

Gazette Covering Iowa Politics blogger James Q. Lynch: The blogs I enjoy most are those that have a point of view. The ones I enjoy least are nothing but opinion. Even in cases of blogs that are essentially aggregators, the interesting ones have a point of view. Not necessarily right or left point of view, but a point of view that makes people want to visit again and again. And whatever point of view a blogger chooses probably means some people won’t come back.

Adam Belz: The thing about opinion is that we can have it and still be fair. I think people are more accepting of it on the blog. You may remember a post I wrote in response to a letter to the editor from Jim Houser in March. I know there were some concerns raised about it, because I went right after him. My thinking was simply that Jim was challenging my credibility. Either I had to admit he was right, or challenge him back, and so I challenged him back. But generally I try to avoid opinion on the blog. I think people want facts and context, and that’s what I try to provide.

Links provide context

John Robinson: Link out, for goodness sakes.

Gazette Iowa News Hawk blogger John McGlothlen: Something interesting about the street luging fatal accident post was that the 28-year-old had created on-board MySpace videos of his luging, which then became a haunting thing to watch. (I could only link and not embed since I was using wordpress.com.) Visitors could too easily imagine what his final moments must have looked like, with video of acceleration and running off the road. This was another example of how important it is for bloggers to check social networking profiles for additional relevant information.

Mark Potts: Practice Promiscuous Link Love. Add links where you can, liberally: To support points; to show examples; in blogrolls; it’s OK to write a short post that primarily quotes/links to another interesting blog; “Good things I read today” lists (aggregation); add lists of related posts to your own posts; get links to your blog; comment on other blogs; make other bloggers aware of your blog; trade blogroll links; cultivate other bloggers (even the competition).

Scott Dochterman: Linking is vital. A solid blog but not one with overwhelming hits was my entry on Iowa running back Shonn Greene approaching the NFL draft. In that entry, I included 14 links to stories, Web sites and other blogs. That helped give readers background information without bogging down the blog. I also added a poll and two YouTube clips. Make sure all links open in a new window. That allows multiple links to get additional hits, rather than just one per entry. That’s vital to any news organization that goes to a pay-per-hit formula.

I’m glad Scott mentioned the YouTube clips. I wish I’d asked the bloggers a question about use of media in their blogs, to flesh out the ways that blogs can be much more than writing. I think the bloggers’ responses reflected my interest in writing (and frankly, a weakness in my blog). Jeff Johnson also offered an excellent example of how video can be the best tool for a particular blog post.

Ethical considerations in blogging

Gazette columnist and You Are Here blogger Jennifer Hemmingsen: Remember, it’s published. Your blog posts may be more informal, but they’re every much as part of the record as your newspaper stories. Don’t be sloppy or unethical.

Jamie Kelly:  The same rules apply: you need to write what you know to be true and avoid speculation. You’re still a journalist. That means being fair at all times, not taking sides and making sure that when you interview people who have a stake in an issue, you make it clear what that stake is.

Justin Foss: Bloggers need to remember not to get careless about what they write.  With the emphasis on being more causal and conversational, it is easy to fall into the trap of not being professional.

Roxanne Hack: Always link to your sources, always provide honest information.

Jeff Thomas: We don’t misrepresent ourselves. We don’t do anything undercover. We announce who we are and what we’re up to.

John Robinson: You’re going to be caught in a mistake at some point. Own up to it quickly and openly.

Howard Owens: Always be honest. Always be transparent.

Understanding search engines

Gazette Homegrown blogger Cindy Hadish: One thing I’ve been trying to pay more attention to is the search engine terms people use to find my blog. Oftentimes that can show a trend of what people want to know more about and I’ve followed up on those.

Scott Dochterman: Use full names in blog headlines. It goes against traditional newspaper style, but people search for information on a full name, rather than a last name. There’s no way I would have received the number of hits I have had I used “Greene” or “Andrews” in a headline rather than “Shonn Greene” and “Erin Andrews.”

How often should you blog?

Jennifer Hemmingsen: At first, you will be tempted to blog 50 times a day. Then you’ll forget for two weeks. Then you’ll be back on the binge. Resist. Instead, set up a schedule and try to stick to it. It will keep you sane and help your readers know what to expect.

Gazette FrumpFighter blogger Angie Holmes: For my blog and what readers have come to expect of it, my biggest mistakes (or least-read posts) come when I write something because I feel I need a new post. These are not really bad posts, but can come across as forced. My best posts come naturally and from the heart. They are not planned and are fluid.

Cindy Hadish: I try to post once a day. I’ve noticed that – probably because of my topic area – I get a lot of hits on weekends, so I don’t like to leave the same post up for long.

Mark Potts: Write whenever you have something to say.

I want to close with two observations from Gazette bloggers that I found particularly insightful and some important advice from Mindy McAdams, Teaching Online Journalism blogger:

Know what you’re writing about

Angie Holmes:

Blogging is different than writing stories because you can add your own knowledge of a subject matter and don’t necessarily need someone else to tell the story.

I “accidentally” began blogging about my son, Sage, and our journey on the autism spectrum when controversy began brewing about the death of John Travolta’s son, Jett, and whether or not he was autistic and receiving the proper care, I realized tapping into my own experiences was not only therapeutic for me, but also helpful to readers.

I have written other blog posts about other people and subjects, but they haven’t received near the hits as when I write about Sage. I think this is because people need to know there is somebody else out there going through similar situations as them. I don’t sugar coat things. Yes, I was in denial at first about Sage’s diagnosis and was tired of doctors, therapists and teachers telling me about everything that was wrong with him. But I also don’t write about these things because I feel sorry for myself and want sympathy. It’s just a way of life for my family. I try to make it clear that I would not trade my son or his personality for anything.

The blog post that had the most hits on a single day was about my son being bullied by the neighbor boys. This is bittersweet for me because it was such a painful situation. But I received a lot of comments on the blog and through e-mail and Facebook from other parents who have gone through the same thing.

A movement starts in a blog

Jason Kristufek, We Media:

The post that taught me the most about the power of a blog was this one that basically launched the NewsInnovation movement. It demonstrated the ability of a blog and an idea to travel world-wide and spark seven in-person gatherings around the country – the most successful being in Philadelphia where 180 people attended.

The cool part, to me, is that is started with an idea and then was opened up to more and more people that brought better ideas to the table that ended up making the original idea stronger.

What it taught me was the at some dude in Iowa or anywhere for that matter can take an idea and run with it in a very short amount of time and ends up as part of a community that never existed before.

Blogging isn’t extra work

Mindy McAdams: Blogging is not “extra work.” It’s an essential part of your normal work if you are a journalist.

Links to blogging advice

Check the comments of my earlier post for the advice of Ryan Sholin, Robert Niles, Howard Owens, Roxanne Hack, Mindy McAdams, Jeff Thomas, Chuck Peters and John Robinson. Molly Rossiter’s full response is in the comments on this post (and I’m hoping more bloggers will add their own advice in the comments).

Check Mindy McAdams’ Blogging for Journalism slides.

I don’t have a link to the advice Mark Potts sent me, because it was in a pdf he gave me permission to quote but not to post in full.

Jay Rosen‘s archived Poynter chat about teaching blogging offers lots of great advice for bloggers.

BeatBlogging offers great advice for blogging journalists and links to outstanding bloggers.

I’ll also be posting separately the advice I received by email from colleagues at Gazette Communications:

Adam Belz

Scott Dochterman

Todd Dorman

Chris Earl

Justin Foss

Cindy Hadish

Cecelia Hanley

Jennifer Hemmingsen

Angie Holmes

Jeff Johnson

Jamie Kelly

James Q. Lynch

Marc Morehouse

Annette Schulte

Because clapping our hands to save the newspaper industry, like we saved Tinkerbell at the movies when we were children, has more chance of succeeding than the paid-content-cartel approach that newspaper executives are dreaming and talking about but being careful not to conspire about.

I know nothing firsthand about this week’s secret meeting in Chicago, organized by the Newspaper Association of America, but I refer you to reports and analysis by Slate, Nieman Lab, Scott Rosenberg and The Atlantic. I’m sure I know some of the executives huddled to discuss how to charge for content (without discussing so specifically that they would be colluding illegally). I have done business with many of their companies and honor their organizations’ contributions to journalism. I wish them and their companies well. And I am thoroughly, profoundly disappointed that they are wasting so much attention and energy on an approach that is doomed to failure.

This meeting is an embarrassment. Our industry fights for openness and accountability in government and we are trying to find a path for success in a digital marketplace where transparency is increasingly important. Can these people not see how foolish and hypocritical it looks to think they can huddle behind closed doors and solve our problems?

Knowing that I will be repeating myself, I offer seven reasons that newspaper companies need to stop looking to the past (paid content) to find solutions for the future:

1. Even if the Justice Department were to look the other way, newspaper collusion still wouldn’t work. The quality of newspaper sites’ content has declined as they have cut their news staffs. In the meantime, free community news sites have sprung up like wildflowers: the St. Louis Beacon, MinnPost, Voice of San Diego, West Seattle Blog, Eastern Iowa News, The Batavian and Huffington Post Chicago and national sites such as Huffington Post, ProPublica and Politico, many of them subsidized by the buyouts that newspapers have given to experienced journalists. Watch their traffic and advertising soar if their arrogant competition erects paid moats around their news sites. (One start-up local site, INDenver Times, did try to support itself with subscriptions and reached 6 percent of its goal.)
2. Traffic and advertising revenue will fall faster than subscription revenue will rise if news sites start charging for their content. Martin Langeveld has already done the math on that.
3. Micropayments won’t work either. My Gazette colleague Jamie Kelly has done the math on what newspaper stories are worth in print.
4. Quoting myself here (from remarks at a panel discussion at Iowa State last month): “Newspaper circulation peaked in 1993, the year Larry Page and Sergey Brin turned 20 and five years before they founded Google. So let’s not blame digital competition for upheaval in the newspaper business. We were killing each other off and failing to innovate long before competitors started figuring out the secrets of success in the digital marketplace.”
5. Charging for online content won’t protect the print edition much either. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which took that approach, has been cutting its staff just like the rest of us. Mark Potts wrote on his blog about a debate with Publisher Walter E. Hussman on that approach.
6. Paid content has been tried before. One of the biggest myths of the newspaper business today was that we foolishly gave our content away early in the age of the Internet. Many newspapers were either slow to go online because of fear of cannibalization or erected pay walls. We finally got aggressive and free online because holding back our content and charging for it weren’t working.
7. The energy, money and time we waste pursuing solutions that can’t work keep us from spending energy, money and time pursuing forward-looking solutions. Maybe my Blueprint for the Complete Community Connection isn’t the solution, but it has lots of ideas we should try. Or try Steve Outing’s membership approach. Pursue Dan Conover’s vision for 2020 media. Refine the non-profit approach that several are trying. Or come up with your own plan. But base it in something more solid than resentment, wishful thinking and nostalgia.

For more of my thoughts on this, read Take 2 on newspaper executives’ secret meeting.

 For more reading on paid content, I recommend:

• Jamie Kelly
• Steve Yelvington
• Jeff Jarvis
• Tim Windsor
• Danny Sullivan

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• Guide to local watchdog news sites (cyberjournalist.net)
• Non-For-Profit Isn’t A Business Model For Newspapers (paidcontent.org)

Jennifer Preston of the New York Times got off to a better start, asking in her inaugural tweet Tuesday:

Hi, I’m the NYT’s new social media editor. More details later. How should @nytimes be using Twitter?

With 40 characters to spare, she identified herself clearly and started being social, starting to learn and preparing to teach, which is exactly what a new social media editor should do. I also like that she’s identifying herself in her profile as more than her job. She’s also a mother of twins, an author and a friend. It’s a nice contrast to the Wall Street Journal’s admonition against mixing personal and professional, which goes against the culture of the social media.

I’m pleased that The Gazette was several months ahead of the Times in designating a staff member to lead us into the social media. I appointed  Jamie Kelly our social media guide last summer.

I suspect Jamie was better qualified for his job than Preston. Unless she had a private Twitter account (I couldn’t find one) before Tuesday’s appointment, her first use of one of the most important and prominent social networks came after her new gig was announced Tuesday. She’s on LinkedIn (only 15 connections, though that will grow; she already has more than 3,000 Twitter followers) and Facebook, though we don’t know yet how much she has used either. I saw no sign of her on Flickr and didn’t check other social networks she might be on. Her social media education will be quite scrutinized. But on the other hand, not many of us are more than a year or two ahead of her. And as I wrote in a pair of posts early in my Twitter time, you learn quickly.

I responded immediately with a tweet  encouraging Preston to talk to Jamie and to check out my Twitter tips for editors and my post on journalism ethics in social networks. I meant to write a blog post offering lots of advice (as condescending as that sounds) to Preston, but two other bloggers (probably more, but I’ve seen these two), David Kaplan and Patrick Thornton, offered some really sound advice already (Preston already acknowledged Kaplan’s).

I’ll disagree with Patrick on one point: The nytimes Twitter feed has 946,401 followers (it grew by 2,000 from when I wrote the first draft of this post last night), just offering headlines and links. That’s giving a lot of tweeps something they want, so I wouldn’t mess with that. Patrick is right that you should be social in social media, and I encourage being more interactive with other Twitter profiles, but New York Times headlines and links obviously interest lots of people more than they do Patrick. So give those people what they want. And then follow the rest of Patrick’s advice.

Adam Darowski also offered (not directed at Preston, but valuable to her anyway) some helpful advice on “How To Use Twitter and not Be a Douchebag.” I tweeted a link to his piece and then was retweeted 11 times, which is a lot for me.

Rather than echoing or adding to the good advice offered already, I’ll weigh in with a review of Preston’s first 31 tweets (the most-watched Twitter debut since Oprah?):

• She already has the hang of retweeting, echoing the advice offered to her by several tweeps and replying to more.
• She understands the importance of links, passing along a link to Kaplan’s blog and to a list of Times Twitter feeds (another link she attempted to pass along was a busted link).
• Preston understands the value of courtesy, thanking tweeps seven times for their help and praising suggestions she received.
• She discussed the Times’ use of Twitter, mentioning that Andrew Sorkin had tweeted from an event.
• She told us that she had attended a Twitter session by some Times colleagues. That would have been a great event for twittercasting (or a liveblog using Twitter feeds from her and other Times staffers attending). She got some advice in that session from Jennifer 8. Lee, whom I enjoy following.
• She’s seeking (or listenting to) advice from veteran Twitterers, as she noted in thanking Mathew Ingram, communities editor at the Globe and Mail, one of Canada’s Twittering journalism experts. I hope Preston also seeks advice from Times staffers Nicholas Kristof and David Pogue, two Twitterers I enjoy.
• Preston converses with her tweeps, asking questions to seek clarification or elaboration (sometimes necessary with the 140-character limit).
• She shows enthusiasm. I’d like to see more sense of humor, though that might be a bit of a challenge to the very serious culture of the New York Times (but it is the culture of social media). (Kristof shows some humor in his tweets, another reason for Preston to study his style and discuss his approach with him.)
• She doesn’t regard social media as a 9-to-5 job. That tweet thanking Ingram was one of three she posted yesterday evening fairly late.

I hope Preston will lead a vigorous (and public) discussion of how the Times should use social media and what are Times standards regarding opinion, when and how to mix personal with public, etc.

Times ethical issues are aired publicly (Public Editor Clark Hoyt’s column Sunday examined issues dealing with perhaps the two biggest Times superstars, Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman). One of the greatest injustices in journalism ethics in recent years was that Rick Bragg was smeared in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal with a matter that was simply a case of changing standards. Bragg followed a common procedure of using stringers and got pilloried when the standard changed beneath him. We don’t want to see a quality Times journalist smeared by changing or unclear standards regarding social media.

I’m glad the New York Times is venturing into social media in such a public way. I hope @NYT_JenPreston and her colleagues share some valuable lessons with the rest of the industry as they are learning.

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• Nieman Journalism Lab: NYTimes appoints Jennifer Preston as social media editor (blogs.journalism.co.uk)
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Jamie Kelly, Brian Siguenza and Angie Holmes discuss Kurt Warner and the Super Bowl.

As I have made my admiration of Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner quite clear, GO Time host Brian Siguenza asked me to be on his weekly show to discuss the Cedar Rapids native and the Super Bowl with Steelers fan Jamie Kelley, The Gazette’s social media guide.

It was the first time I’ve done a video project (I usually run and hide when my uncle has his video camera out at family gatherings). It was fun and I hope to do something similar in the future.

After numerous attempts, I was unable to embed the video into this post. Here is the LINK. Enjoy the video and Go Cardinals!

While I’m talking about Meredith, her husband, Scott Dochterman, also works for The Gazette as a sportswriter covering the Iowa Hawkeyes. He is related to Olivia Myers, who was named second runner-up in the 2009 Miss America Pageant this past weekend. I am hoping to do a story about her in the days ahead.

I’m also still looking into Valentine’s Day gifts that are not only romantic, but inexpensive. The real challenge here is to come up with something that won’t be a commercial for a certain product. Pat Roland, who runs Personal Assistant to You in the Cedar Rapids area, sent me some good ideas from Canada, where she is vacationing:

-Story or poem of meeting and/or special event (could hire a freelance copywriter to handle this).
-Coupon Book good for: back rubs; girl’s/boy’s night out (without nagging); breakfast in bed; foot massage; “Get Out of Doghouse Free,” 1 hour of uninterrupted time, etc.
-Picnic in front of fireplace—throw down a blanket and enjoy your favorite summer recipe
-Serve a decadent dessert in bed, surrounded by at least 10 candles grouped by size or color (do not use competing scents).
-Favorite Things: A pretty bag filled with loved one’s favorite consumables (chips, candy, wine, chocolate, cookies, beer, peanuts, etc.)
-Just for that one day, do not say anything critical to your special someone. Make a point to not “take offense” at anything that is said to you. Try it every day after that for a Valentine’s Day that can last all year round.

I also learned just today that the Fab Five show choir competition is taking place this Saturday at Prairie High School. Groups from Jefferson, Kennedy, Washington and Linn-Mar will join Prairie in its brand-new auditorium. My brother played in the band for Jefferson’s West Side Delegation his senior year and I saw them perform that year in Wisconsin, Missouri and the Quad Cities. So I have an idea of the kind of work that goes into it, and I know that it provides a great interactive opportunity, and since I’m the Interactive Features Reporter, I’m pushing for that opportunity.

In addition, I need to come up with “Need to Know,” the section that provides tips for young adults that runs in Monday’s paper, plus I’m taping “GO Time” tomorrow, this one is about the Super Bowl, starring Angie Holmes as a fan of the Arizona Cardinals because of her old classmate at the University of Northern Iowa, Kurt Warner, while Jamie Kelly will represent his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. This should be fun.

So there you have it, lots to do. Better get a move on.

BGS

Those were the words used by local blogger Keith Clark (The E-Lee Dispatch) in reference to my post yesterday about the Hincks signs and the fallout. In my posting, I wrote the following:

I’m sure those who have an interest in (the signs story) have followed it through our paper, our site and through blogger Keith Clark’s site. I do believe Clark has turned this story into somewhat of a vendetta, and I hope that doesn’t cloud his judgment. It’s no secret that Clark and Kelly have had their disagreements since he started his site. But according to Clark, who I don’t believe has crossed any lines yet, the story has led to a big spike in visitors to his site. In the newspaper biz (and I guess the blog biz), that means stick with what’s working.

Note that I wrote that posting “BEFORE” Clark became the guy to officially file the complaint concerning the signs (click here, here and here to read about these signs and why they’re an issue). Clark had done considerable reporting on this issue on his site, and all I did was express concern that Clark was reporting on this because of past run-ins with Jamie Kelly. Those run-ins include, but aren’t limited to, a back-and-forth between the two regarding Kelly MarCom’s involvement in the county’s Web site and lines like “It was possible, even likely, that Jamie Kelly and cronies already had in mind to find someone to falsify a report to the Board of Elections and discredit any reports linking Kelly to the signs …” that appeared in his reporting of the sign situation.
Clark calls his reporting “more documented” with “careful analysis” than ours. Yet, his reporting does not include comments from both sides and with lines like the one mentioned above, leaves him open for criticism and potential libel. You simply don’t “imply” that the commissioner and his “cronies” had it “in their mind” to falsify a report. How do you report that somebody probably had it in their mind to do anything?
By being the one who ended up filing the complaint — and naming Jamie Kelly and others in the complaint — Clark only added credence to my claim that I thought his judgment was clouded in this (and that he possibly “crossed the line”).
I had an editor who called this “tossing rocks.” If it’s a slow news day, go out and toss a rock from a bridge on the Interstate, and you’ll have something to report.
In Clark’s case, nobody stepped up to file a complaint in the sign ordeal … so Clark, who I truly believe has the right intentions and the mindset of being taken seriously as a member of the media in Lee County, “tossed the rock” and filed the complaint himself. He then told me he would step away from the story altogether. Today’s post proves otherwise.
I would have never allowed a reporter to do what he did … but Clark runs his own site and can do whatever he feels is ethically sound. I’m not here to question his ethics … just his actions.

And just to square a few other things away ….
• Clark writes: “In an effort to be fair to other parties to the story, I elected to provide a copy of the complaint to the Sanford Herald and reluctantly agreed to an interview will Billy Liggett.” The word “reluctantly” befuddles me, only because Clark came by my office after filing the report. He even offered to do so. I didn’t have to ask him.

• The decision not to publish Clark’s column was a unanimous decision of the editorial board.

• Clark writes: “Had I not voluntarily given this story to Liggett, you, as you have done so consistently throughout this unfolding story, would have been reading in more documented detail and careful analysis about it here rather than on the front page of the local paper.”
Actually, I think I’ve already mentioned this. There goes that inconsistency on my part again. How annoying.

• Clark writes: “This story has driven the readership of my blog to records even beyond those when Jim McCormick resigned and readers found a far more measured and informed reporting of his departure here.”
Clark’s coverage of McCormick consisted of four postings. The first one came after our initial report and did nothing more than speculate. The second one, he brings up McCormick’s alleged marital misconduct without sourcing it. The third post, he points out what the Herald published and links us. And the fourth post, he writes a lengthy report on the involvement in the lawsuit against McCormick regarding … wait for it … the family of Jamie Kelly.

The reason for my post today was partly to defend myself, but also to defend The Herald. I will admit, we don’t always “get it right,” but I think our coverage of recent big events in Lee County has been admirable, if not pretty good. I felt the need to respond to what Keith wrote … not because I have anything against him and not because I feel the need to defend Kelly, Hincks or anybody else.
I’m gladly dropping the subject now, and if Keith wants to respond to my response, I of course welcome it.
The last thing I want to do is become “part of the story.”

If the Republicans intended, with their VP pick, to make everyone feel exhausted, it’s working.

Here at home, I have not yet heard anything from Jamie I’m Not Wastin’ My Time Doin’ Any Homework on This Sticker Because It’s Gotta Be That Bookstore Guy That Did It “Ned” Kelly-Clarkson yet, but the actual Keep Missoula Weird Sticker Guy himself stopped in and apologized to me for having to take the heat. That was nice. (Hey – not that Jamie Kelly is throwin’ much heat these days! (And his curve ain’t exactly droppin’ off the table, either.))

That’s right, columnists. When you’re writing humor in the same town with Bob Wire, you’d better, as my dad used to say and still does, hitch up your shorts.

We’re getting so many good books in I can’t even find time to blog about them.

Jamie should probably issue a correction, or a clarification, but it he doesn’t do that, I understand. It’s a humor column, and I am keeping it in perspective. And anyway, I like Jamie Kelly. More or less. (Ha!)