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Phil Meyer’s Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive is a succinct, easy-to-read manual for using the new tools necessary to survive as a journalist on the web.

Chapter 5: “How to Blog”

Meyer first answers the question "Why should a reporter blog?"

Some benefits of blogging:

• Write without wordcount constraints. Even a slightly longer story can contain enough valuable material to make it superior to a print story, Meyer illustrates.

• Write outside the print news cycle.

• Develop a closer relationship with readers and allow them to help you improve your reporting.

• Conversation, not competition. Bloggers can and do link to stories offering more information or a different opinion on the same material covered by their own posts.

The Blog Phenomenon

Meyer defines a blog as a frequently updated online journal displaying the most recent information at the top. Critical components of a blog are links to other articles and a place for reader comments, though he aknowledges that not all blogs allow readers to respond.

Blogs became revolutionary, Meyer says, because the tools needed to create one are simple enough for anyone to use. Unlike websites, there is little or no barrier of entry for an aspiring blogger who wishes to publish his or her thoughts online.

How to Write a Successful Blog?

Meyers offers tips for creating a blog that will cultivate a loyal audience and enhance the quality and ease of your print reporting.

• Read successful blogs. Scan the top 100 at technorati.com and visit the blogs of newspapers you respect.

• Examine what makes these blogs compelling, and consider their downsides as well. Try to determine a good pace for updates by deciding how much information you can comfortably keep up with from your own favorite blogs.

• Pick a narrow subject, and become the authority. The narrower your topic, the better you will be able to present timely and comprehensive coverage.

• Keep a casual style, but be careful with headlines. You can't take your readers for granted. Headlines still need to perform the job of hooking the reader into the story you have to tell.

• Connect readers to primary sources. Try to do this quickly and directly, as soon as the information is available. You can follow up with analysis later. You should also try to post at least once a day.

• Aknowledge and encourage comments. Part of the motivation for starting a blog is the connection it creates with readers. Creating posts in response to interesting points from reader discussion sends a message to readers that they matter.

To Meyer, a blog does not necessarily have to take time away from the work a reporter does for a print publication. The blog becomes a repository of story ideas and notes, as well as helping reporters gauge the interest of readers in the topics they might choose to write about.

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