Delaware County Times wants YOU! … to blog
Jan 12
Phil Heron from the Delaware County times has been supportive of the local blogging community, and was kind enough to link to this site last year from their Delaware County Blogs section.
Tonight, I attended a bloggers meeting where Phil invited local bloggers to discuss their blogs, as well as convening a forum to help get new bloggers on board. The meeting was primarily introductory for new bloggers, and catch-up for existing bloggers.
The truth of the matter is that Media, Pennsylvania has several web sites which cover local happenings in the town: Media, PA News hosted by yours truly, All Things Media, PA by Media Republican Party head Tedman O’Hara, and Media Patch, a commercial news site edited by Courtney Elko, with some volunteers in the community, I assume unpaid. In addition, Town Talk is a weekly print newspaper with an online presence, and in addition to the county-wide Delaware County Times site. That’s not to mention the Media Borough website, and the variety of Media Business Authority web sites which offer events and news to residents.
Looking at the sources of news and the trend of news coverage in this country, it’s fascinating to watch a … shall we say, “legacy” news corporation (physical paper) transitioning into the online realm. The Delaware County Times, a Journal Register property, has been moving slowly forward, but according to anecdotal conversations with Phil, they still have a huge print circulation. As my neighbor says, “I like to hold a paper in my hand.”
Interestingly, Phil Heron says that a lot of “hot news tips” these days come from … Twitter. And he’s converted to the new online medium of Twitter and Facebook. Seriously. And given the prevalence of both smart phones and tablet-based computers the trend will ultimately be moving towards digital distribution for news.
From the perspective of both an author and now an elected official, the trend in news is one to which I pay close attention. It also helps that a close friend of mine runs a technology business for news organizations – his clients include the New York Times, the LA Times, and others of similar stature. So I hear more and more about how news organizations are modernizing their infrastructure and systems.
Phil Heron talking with local Bloggers
On the one hand, we have a 100% digital, internet based “hyper-local” news coverage where Patch is trying to take a slice of the public attention. They hire new, young reporters who understand technology and have been taught classical journalism, and then set them off running to public meetings to fill the gap that print newspapers have a harder time covering. They have the benefit of the “network effect” in that all of their sites are hosted together and sharing a news story between municipalities is a matter of a few clicks.
On the other hand, classical print newspapers are having to compete in this realm and are, in this case, recruiting and growing their garden of local “free” news coverage in their bloggers.
In the end, I think Patch and the Delaware County Times are shooting for the same goal: The eyes and ears of the public, and their trust.
On a final note, when you read anything online, remember:
- Know your author
- Don’t believe everything you read – check multiple sources
- Don’t say anything online you wouldn’t say to someone’s face
On that note, if you wish to start blogging about a local topic, the Delaware County Times is looking for additional bloggers, and interested parties should contact them through their website. I believe that Patch is also looking for bloggers, interested parties should contact them through their site.
On a final note, if you’d like to contribute to Media, PA News, please contact me and let me know. I am solely interested in residents of Media Borough who like to write, or have an area of expertise which they can write about. Non-commercial only, please. I don’t make any money from this site, and I don’t really plan on it, but that may change.