E-Media Tidbits

In light of the recent high-profile blogging flaps at the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, Online Journalism Review editor Robert Niles recently asked several high-profile online journalists: Can newspapers do blogs right?

Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing and NPR fame wrote, in part, "It's important that newspapers not launch blogs for the sake of launching blogs. There had to be a purpose to other than to have the ability to tell the world that you have a blog. What's the point of interacting with your audience?"

What's the point, indeed? I find that most organizations -- media organizations included -- give remarkably little thought to specific strategies and goals when it comes to weblogs and other forms of conversational or social media. In part, just trying these tools out to see what happens has some merit. However, I agree with Jardin that a newspaper blog (or any blog) needs to be more than a gimmick to succeed.

For those of you who blog, or whose news organizations offer blogs: What's your point? What are your reasons or goals for this kind of interaction? Please comment below.