How newspapers set up local blog networks
For my latest PBS piece, I interviewed several people who have attempted to team up local bloggers and newspapers in mutually beneficial relationships: Newspapers Try Again with Local Blog Networks
Recently, those who visited the front page of the Miami Herald’s website began seeing a sidebar item labeled simply “Your Blogs.” If you clicked on the link it would take you to a page containing a series of headlines and little snippets of opening paragraphs in a news feed format. If you clicked on one of the links, it would take you to an independent blog not affiliated with the Miami Herald, written by someone who lives somewhere in South Florida. Many of the blogs, though not all, have a regional bent. Some of the links would take you to film or music reviews, or commentary on national politics.
This blog news aggregator is a joint project between the Miami Herald and BlogNetNews, a company founded by David Mastio. For years now, Mastio has been pushing the idea that newspapers should be fostering closer relationships with local bloggers, linking to their content and in effect exposing their readerships to a wider range of media. Lately, he’s been meeting with publishers from local newspapers, alt weeklies, and radio and TV stations to set up such networks using his own software.
All I can say is what took the newspaper this long?