Tonight I went to a meeting of about 25 Metro-Atlanta bloggers and CBS 46. The good folks at your Atlanta CBS affiliate invited us into the bowels of Big Media to discuss how the blogging community and CBS 46 can work together to deliver information to the news consuming public. In attendence were bloggers from across the political spectrum (I was probably the most right wing of the bunch, maybe even the only right-winger there) and folks who blog about all sorts of other things like music, media and cheap family outings.
The jist of the meeting was that CBS 46 is going to form an Atlanta blog aggregator which they’ll call ‘Blog Stew.’ They also armed us with a Flip video camera and asked us to provide video content which we can post on our own blogs and they’ll post on their website. Really good video might be featured on their newscast. I took one and will give it a shot. I mean who’s going to turn down free use of a video camera?
Some lively discussion took place about how the station could use social media. I like the idea of a blog aggregator because frankly it might send more traffic to the websites I write for. Others seemed skeptical of the venture.
I think CBS 46 has done a good thing here and I applaud their willingness to give it a go. It may flop, but then again you’ll never know if you don’t try.
One of the other bloggers in attendance, My Urban Report, has a post about the meeting as well.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention the reason I was invited to this event was because of SpaceyG. Thanks for including me as you spread the word. SpaceyG now has her own post about the gathering.
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Cool deal for you, Buzz!
The big media outlets have been using blogging to seem like they’re really in touch. It’s natural that the second-level media is now getting involved.
I think it’s all a fad and will burn out in a year or two when people realize that bloggers have much lower standards for truth than the larger media outlets. After, of course, they each try to use the other to try to bump their eyeball count… without much affect.
You should post a review of the Flip, Buzz. I’ve heard it’s a cool camera.
ByteMe:
Actually, some of us have higher standards than the Old Media. We just either a) admit our biases up front or b) aren’t beholden to political ties/other interests to keep us quiet about things.
We can also operate much faster than the Old Media – once I learn about something, the only limitation on how fast I can get it out is the speed at which I can type. Take, for example, my post just before I came into work this morning about State Rep Ed Rynders chairing the confirmation hearings for the State Transportation Planning Director. That one was literally online within about 20 minutes of me first hearing about it. A comparable ‘news’ story probably would have taken at least an hour from the time the reporter first heard about it until the public saw it.
But hey, I’m glad to see some in Atlanta are looking into this – we’ve got similar projects cooking down here in Albany.
Atlanta’s been ‘cooking’ for over three years.
Link now worky.
Here’s what I meant.
Jeff, my concern is not just bias, but also that you don’t really have time to do little things like “fact check”. I think the whole 24-hour-news cycle has done a disservice for the truth for ALL media, but bloggers are the worst of the bunch, because they hear something and repeat it until it becomes the “truth” even if it’s not true.
Being first is not as important to many people as being correct. But bloggers — and the 24-hour media — live to be first … and often end up being wrong.
Anyway, my point stands: the two media are currently trying to use each other and the fad will die out in a year or two when bigger media decides that little media isn’t helping them get more eyeballs.
ByteMe, your rolling old tropes.
First, we’re not monolithic. There are good bloggers and there are bad bloggers. There are those who operate near professional journalistic standards and there are those who are closer to TMZ.
However, the market sorted out the true hucksters years ago. The online world is red of tooth and claw. Get something wrong and you will be pounced on by hundreds. In a way it is a self-correcting system.
I certainly stand by my track record of accuracy and welcome any challenges.
I agree with grift here. It is a very nearly a real life example of the invisible hand of the free market at work.
The market has definitely NOT sorted out the TMZ’s, since TMZ still exists, right?
It’s only self-correcting if there’s an actual penalty for getting it wrong. There’s not. There’s too much of a bump from getting that one scoop compared to all the other things someone gets wrong that the rewards are skewed toward publishing as much as possible without worrying about facts.
You may be different and that’s great! But that doesn’t mean you’re also common.
ByteMe,
TMZ exists because there are plenty of people out there who want what they sell. TMZ is a gossip site who gets it right sometimes and sometimes doesn’t.
I don’t want to put words in Grift’s mouth by I think he was merely pointing out that bloggers span the spectrum from serious to tabloid – professional to unprofessional.
To say there is no penalty to bloggers for getting it wrong is to ignore the powerful penalty of loss of reputation. If people don’t believe you, your stuff won’t be read. It may still exist out there in cyberspace, but nobody will be reading.
If there was a penalty for getting it wrong through loss of reputation, don’t you think the National Enquirer would be out of business by now?
Well I obviously disagree.
Show me your evidence. Tell me the Georgia blogs that routinely get it wrong.
You mean other than RedState?
See Erick’s posts about where Mark Sanford was before we found out where he really was.
SpaceyG; despite losing front page posting privileges, still can’t stay off the front page.
And still no answer if SpaceyG is a woman.
Sounds like a Lou Reed song!
“Walk on the wild side”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYOVxK-6ZSE
SPACEY G. IS PART OF THE SYSTEM!
(trying really hard to use only one exclamation mark.)
also…
SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!
TV stations… talk about your pointless, redundant real estate.
And your point?
I’m curious to see how many of us actually shoot and share video with CBS 46. On one side, I think the participatory trend is great, but the station is trying to make money and retain viewers, and if blogger content will help them do that shouldn’t there be some kind of compensation other than a free camera?
Also, they should definitely think about educating the community about how to use the flip cam, and what makes good TV. Telling the group to shoot and share isn’t very focused. They’re assuming that bloggers have a good sense of what’s going on, which may be true, but publishing a printed blog, and capturing compelling video are different beasts.
BTW I just joined Peach Pundit. Where is Spacey G?!
Amani Channel
Good points Amani. I’m certainly no video expert so some advice from the “pros” would have been helpful. I’ve got some ideas of what I can do with the flip cam I’m going to try but who knows it will be compelling TV?
Thanks for chiming in Amani. It was good to meet you in person last night.
SpaceyG is a tweeter?
SpaceyG
I hope you read this soon. DON’T PLUG YOUR IPHONE INTO THE MAINFRAME. If they send you this video then it’s too late.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6H9Y1H_RRg
or…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCfVFxRsKQc
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