Bloggers: Be Part of the News Decline Solution
May 6th, 2010 by Capsun
Several days ago, blogger Ian Lind (@ilind) put out an open call to his fellow Hawaii bloggers in “Calling Hawaii public affairs bloggers.” Now that Honolulu (and therefore 75% of our state) is officially a one-paper town, fewer voices and views will likely be heard.
Definitely don’t expect to see this kind of candor; in fact, I note that Advertiser education reporter Loren Moreno has deleted his Twitter account after that post.
There is the new Honolulu Civil Beat, who even hired real reporters (“reporter-hosts” as they call them). Like many others, I think the fact that they charge to access their content is the big limiting factor; they can only reach as many people as are willing to pay for the privilege of “membership” (Civil Beat’s term, not mine).
But what about regular folks, who may not want to pay for another subscription? Here’s what Ian asked (please click through to read the entire post):
Are you an independent blogger writing about public affairs, government news, community issues? Not necessarily exclusively, but at least in part?
If so, my question is: Instead of just complaining about and commenting on the decline of news, what can independent bloggers can do via cooperation and sharing of ideas, resources, and skills, that will increase our collective ability to produce or support original news reporting and investigations?
I’ve offered my help, in whatever way I can, and here’s what you can do if you’re interested, again from Ian’s post:
If you’re an independent blogger interested in taking part in such brainstorming, or are interested in starting this kind of blog, just send me an email with indicating your interest [ian(at)ilind.net]. Please include a phone number and Skype name, if available.
It’s definitely an ambitious undertaking! Granted, it’s unlikely that this group of bloggers will be totally independent, but even veteran journalists have their own biases, as do the news outlets they work for. Will it be successful? I don’t know. But I do know that if people don’t step up to the plate, it will fail. A similar thing happened on the Big Island when several laid-off reporters started a group blog, Hawaii247.com, which looks and feels like a regular news site. So, this endeavor can be successful.
It’s time to stop complaining about the problem of declining news coverage and be part of the solution. Will you join Ian and other civic-minded writers in our community? If you’re a blogger interested in public affairs, or you know of one, please consider Ian’s proposal.
Mahalo!
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P.S. – You can follow me on Twitter (@exbor) to get more regular updates. Be warned, they are much more “regular” than my posts here. 
P.P.S – Did you know capsun.org has it’s own Twitter account (@capsundotorg) that Tweets whenever I blog here or on my photo blog?
Please note: The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.
Thanks for passing along the word.
I’m trying to “think little” rather than getting caught up in trying to find THE solution.
My goal is simply to engage others in brainstorming things we need, as bloggers, to cover more real news, and things we can do collectively by pooling skills and interests.
I’ll be providing an update in a day or so.
And you can always reach me by email, ian(at)ilind.net.
Sounds like a great idea. As you know I don’t blog about current events. Maybe i should but I’ve sort of found my niche and as you know it certainly is not newsworthy LOL I hope it succeeds
Thank you for bringing a true journalist to the spotlight. Real journalists do all the hard work themselves, almost 3 jobs in one if you were in a newsroom, and Ian seems to be very humble about it. That alone is honorable. I consider myself a journalist, a copy editor, and a sales executive all in one. I am sure Ian is this way as well. He finds the story, takes initiative to do all the research (time consuming), and then pens his opinions on paper. I am seriously considering doing a blog online since I am unable to work at this point. Now, without relying on anyone but friends, I think I will get through this and it will make me a stronger person. I admire people like Ian and you, Mino, for always pointing out the good in people, and not being afraid to say what is really on your mind. Some people are not able to express these opinions the way that journalists do, so they are the ones who read our blogs and comment too. Then when outsiders read their friend’s posts, there is a new readership out there. Let’s keep writing, blogging, and twittering… =)