The Newspaper's All-Blog Future

I can't find the link for the life of me, but a couple of years ago (if I recall correctly) Dave Winer predicted that the New York Times one day would basically become just one big blog. At the time I raised an eyebrow. However, after taking a good look at USA Today's On Deadline news blog I think he might be right and sooner than I imagined.

USA Today On Deadline is basically a real-time breaking news blog. It is written by a pair of bloggers. They're not just bloggers, mind you, but full-time bloggers. According to USATODAY.com VP/Editor-in-Chief Kinsey Wilson the two are "mashing must-read scoops against weird-news quirks at a feverish pace of 30 posts a day." Some of these posts even make it into print.

On Deadline is a natural fit for a brand that for years was nicknamed McPaper. It's consistent with USA Today's trademark short, often quirky stories. Although blogs are not helping newspapers (yet) attract younger readers to their sites, blogs like On Deadline point to a future where newspapers - and perhaps all media - will be published mostly in bite-size chunks. The success of the 10 minute clip on YouTube also highlights our love for the quick and the fun.

USA Today already has lots of blogs but what they're missing is a real-time blog on sports, another one of their strengths. I would love to see them take the On Deadline model and roll out blogs that give NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL game-by-game updates in near real-time. They could break these blogs down by team too. Celebrity gossip is also an area where USA Today should play with blogs.

Whether they take this to the next level or not is still an open question. What is known, however, is that USA Today, with On Deadline, is changing journalism and with it PR. As newspapers increasingly rely on blogs and short videos, our client reports are going to consist of a lot more quick hits than in-depth reports.

Tags: usatoday, sports

Comments

[Seamus McCauley]

"I can't find the link for the life of me"

Steve - do you mean this post of yours from Feb05? http://qurl.com/mwh5y

[Steve Rubel]

Seamus, there was another post, but this follows a similar thread.

[Dave Winer]

Steve, after a quick look, I can't find it either, but I remember writing and I still believe it. A reverse-chronologic listing of stories as they come on line is the most rational way to present the news. The Times and other newspaper websites are still clinging to the idea that their Internet presence is an electronic version of their print presences.

[Ryan Lack]

Interesting, Steve. I particularly like your sports idea. Although, that may be a bit overkill considering how much action really takes place in games of all sorts.

Also, the gossip idea makes complete sense for USA Today, but it's a crowded blog market when it comes to gossip. I'm not completely sold on how much traffic they could steal from existing gossip blogs. It will definitely be interesting to see how they expand though.

Have you found a significant paper or mag. that isn't experimenting with blogs? It seems like they've all jumped in.

[Bill Berry]

Steve, whtat do you think about the fact that USA Today's On Deadline news blog doesn't provide full text of items in its RSS feed? The most recent post, entitled "Bush helps shut down White House briefing room," reads as follows:

President Bush just helped the White House press corps say so long to its very, very, VERY rundown briefing room. You deserve better than this, Bush told the reporters, and On Deadline can say for certain - because we've been...

RSS makes it possible for news I'm interested in to come to me, but I wonder how effective this will be if each blog post seems like a tease to get click-throughs to the USA Today site.

[Steve Rubel]

Ryan, they all seem to be experimenting. You can find an analysis here.

Bill, I think giving RSS half a hug is a bad idea.