Something remarkable happened yesterday. The power of the synergy between print and web publishing was revealed as bloggers climbed into (or defended with varying degrees of conviction) David Bullard’s somewhat over-the-top column on blogging in the Sunday Times. (See the Amatomu stats here)
What yesterday showed was that the two mediums are greater than the sum of their parts, the philosophy which underpins (SHAMELESS PUNT WARNING) the launch of The Times in June as a fully digitally integrated national newspaper. Even though the Bullard column carried no “push” signals, it did push bloggers to write in their droves. The bloggers then pushed traffic through to the online version of the column by linking and (perhaps against their better judgement) adding to the hype. That the topic of discussion which drove this blogging frenzy was blogging and not crime, Zimbabwe or sex is in itself remarkable, showing that there is high degree of self-awareness/self-criticism in the blogging community. Bloggers are thinking about their medium which bodes well. Self-criticism is the key that unlocks the growth and development of a relatively new medium.
The “old” media still has the punching power (and the readership, in the case of the Sunday Times) to drive an agenda in a way in which web plays can’t. Will this all change as broadband rolls out? Maybe, maybe not. What is clear is that a strategic partnership between print and online can deliver a very powerful punch.
At the end of the day, Matthew Buckland got it just about right with this remark:
Obviously bloggers have to respond. But what some fail to see (or grasp) is that there is a strong baiting element to Bullard’s excellent columns. In fact every week there is a strong sarcastic and satirical edge to his writing. Just about the silliest thing a blogger can do is reply with righteous indignation and call for his head. And Bullard does rightfully point out some weaknesses in blogging, albeit in a sarcastic tone. (And who’s saying ‘blogging’ is ‘journalism’? Some blogs are journalism, some aren’t, some don’t care.) [My bold]
Blogging by Ray Hartley, editor of The Times, South Africa, a daily newspaper to be launched in June 2007.
There were a handful of winners after Bullardgate. Sunday Times is one of these. Leading new media blogs also scored.
Of course, Sunday Times is the second hottest tag on blog aggregators Amatomu and Afrigator. This would only have improved the Bullard Blog page ranking and Sunday Times exposure. ST should seriously consider capitalising on the online debate and vitriol driven by your columnists by guiding comments to the Sunday Times site. It’s a degree of social interactivity that would be a serious feather in your cap. Besides, there’s gold in them thar hills.
More lessons I learnt from this saga can be found at http://nml.ru.ac.za/blog/jude
Jude – Great suggestion, but with one big qualification: Planned spontaniety can be spotted a mile away …
Ray, wasn’t suggesting dropping comments and feedback function in response to this fracas and on Bullard’s column.
Pointing out that feedback threads need to be a permanent feature for all columnists online postings. Consider what percentage of letters on print op-ed pages are dedicated to writers responding to issues raised by Bullard, Fred, Mondli, Barry Ronge or Gwen. Due to economies, maybe bet 10-20% of all letters can be included in print. Celebrity, columnist and staff columns and blogs are a must as drivers of traffic for print and online.
Consider the potential stickiness for unlimited space for comments on a website. Website impressions could have been much higher if the debate could have been focused on the ST rather than a handful of elite bloggers (at 19c a page impression for a banner ad, how much would you have made out of the Bullard story if this was in place).
Also consider how some of your columnists add critical and culturally diverse opinion that is sorely lacking on the blogosphere.
Lovely. Great site.