Independent Bloggers

Hardcopy media, such as magazines and newspapers, require long lead times for formatting and printing. Even though digital publishing solutions have made processes more efficient, daily newspapers require large-scale printing cycles. The print cycles ensure that newspapers will always report yesterday’s news. However, long lead times are partially beneficial. They allow a wide spectrum of content contributors. Reporters write and submit a story, which is then run through a variety of ‘quality control’ stations (editor, proofreader, fact checker etc.) before finally being submitted to a formatter, who finds a home for the story in the pages before printing.

Newspapers have suffered a precipitous drop in revenue throughout the 21st century, primarily because hardcopy delivery mechanisms have been supplanted by the immediacy of online content, including Web sites and the blogs. Although the instantaneous nature of blogs meets the needs of today’s 24-hour news cycle, many individual bloggers are essentially one-person publishing departments. For independent blog owners, many of the content development and ‘quality control’ responsibilities are theirs alone. Independent bloggers are arguably responsible for the following roles:

• Researcher
• Author
• Editorial/opinion
• Editor
• Ombudsman
• Legal/copyright
• Photographer/illustrator
• Graphic designer
• Web programmer

This post describes how independent bloggers take on each role listed above and compares how the blogger’s responsibilities differ from someone else doing the job in a more traditional setting (e.g. a daily newspaper).

Researcher

As with any media that is intended to be consumed either by the general public or a specific subset of the population, valid and reliable information is paramount. The media’s content must have foundation that is based on sound research. In a traditional newspaper setting, staff reporters may rely on interns or stringers to research pertinent information for a story. The reporters then combine that information with their unique style to generate stories. Independent bloggers, who should ideally adhere to the same standards for information, must perform their own research.
Most newspapers have strict policies for conducting research. If the facts of a newspaper story are incorrect, most papers issue post-publication corrections or retractions. Although independent bloggers strive for accurate research, blogs are not help up to the same editorial standards as newspapers. Errors or incorrect information in blogs is rarely retracted, perhaps due to the rapid pace and turnover of blog posts.

Author

In addition to gathering content for a story through independent research, independent bloggers are the sole authors of content that is posted on their site. In order to avoid plagiarism charges, independent bloggers must accurately cite sources or develop original material. Research is often not enough, bloggers must have the ability to distill information into coherent content that is easily digested and understood by readers. In a newspaper environment, authors often collaborate on a story and share the byline when the story appears in the paper. In independent blogs, original content is written by the blogger.

Editorial/Opinion

The blogosphere is often labeled as a democratic voice that stands in opposition to the corporate, shareholder mentality of mainstream media. In other words, blogs give each member of society a platform to voice their opinion and editorialize about almost anything. In order to be well-regarded, blogs must have valid opinions that are backed by facts. The interpretation of facts often causes friction in both the blogosphere and society. Newspapers also publish opinions, but opinion pieces are usually attributed to editorial boards. Editorial boards are groups of editors who dictate the tone and direction of a newspaper’s editorials. Independent bloggers must determine the tone and direction of the opinions expressed on their site. Also, bloggers must ensure that the opinions are backed by a valid interpretation of facts.

Editor

Newspapers often employ editorial staffs to perform content and copy edits on stories before the stories are printed. After an independent blogger writes original content, he or she must edit the material. Writing and editing the same content is often difficult, as I’ve learned from my technical writing career. After content is written, a fresh perspective is often needed to catch typos or formatting/mechanical errors. Independent bloggers do not enjoy the luxury of editorial staffs; they must monitor their own work for errors.

Ombudsman

Many newspapers employ an ombudsman, whose only responsibility is to represent the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints against the newspaper. These complaints are typically reported by individual readers. Although one could argue that the nature of an independent blog grants the blog immunity from community complaints, any responsible blogger should take steps to recognize such complaints. What, if anything, is done in reaction to the complaints is at the discretion of the blogger. For example, if a reader complains that a blog post is inappropriate for children, the blogger must act as an ombudsman to first determine if the complaint is valid and second, decide whether or not to delete the offending post.

Legal/Copyright

In today’s era of digital media and litigiousness, strong copyright laws protect the intellectual property of companies and individuals. Corporations, especially in highly technical industries, fiercely protect their intellectual property and confidential data. Corporations, including newspapers, are equipped with well-paid legal teams that monitor the Web for potential copyright violations. If independent bloggers wish to use images or ideas that have been downloaded or copied from the Web, then they must ensure that the images or ideas have not been copyrighted. Copyright violations that lead to litigation, though they rarely occur against independent blogs, can be costly for blog owners.

Photographer/Illustrator

Many blogs incorporate images or graphics to enhance visual appeal. Independent bloggers may rely on public domain images to populate their blogs, but they’ll have to take great care to avoid copyright issues. As an alternative, many bloggers prefer to post original photographs and illustrations on their blog. Thus we may add another facet to independent blogger responsibilities, photographer and/or illustrator.

Graphic or User Interface Designer

Corporate Web sites have large staffs of graphic designers, who dictate the look and navigation scheme of a Web site. Graphic designers may collaborate on the layout, color palette, and overall usability of a Web site. Many of these designers are specially trained in color schemas or usability, leading to visually appealing, expertly designed Web interfaces. Again, independent bloggers singularly decide on their blog’s color scheme and general layout. A blog may contain some informative content that is relevant to a large number of potential readers, but still fail if it is poorly designed.

Web Programmer

The HTML code, Content Management System and software that power most blogs will eventually have problems. The problems may be limited to certain browsers or scripting environments, but software issues will certainly appear throughout the lifetime of a blog. Independent bloggers do not have an IT staff to troubleshoot problems when they appear. Instead, bloggers must spend their own time isolating and fixing the issue to avoid blog downtime.