Citizen Journalist : Where MSM meets bloggers, opportunities ahead!

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD. (But you should read it.)

Before we get into Citizen Journalism and what it is, first we need to see why and how Mainstream Media (specifically newspapers and bloggers are on course for meeting in the middle.) There are three main forces at work that are pushing the them together. They are:

The shrinking (disappearing?) News cycle: The news cycle, thanks to bloggers and cable news network television is now a thing of the past. By definition, it is now 24/7/365 and newpapers are truly the repositories of past events–but NOT the current source of BREAKING news.

Second: The increased opinionated content in MSM: Mainstream Media is now much more open about the fact that it has an agenda. Only in the hard core newsrooms do reporters now cling to the objectivity myth. Because they are inserting more and more opinion into their content, the transparency of a blogger is in many ways more objective than a reporter. A blogger will state that they have a view and that they have passions. A reader can then account for their bias in reading the post.

Third: Cost Structure Differential. This is the FINAL barrier that is being broken down. Newspapers have been bleeding readership and circulation for a while. Currently, many papers’ most profitable department is their online division. Paper costs more to produce (by far), but MSM is making a critical mistake if they think that is the only cost structure left that will make them non competitive.

Think about the inefficiencies of an online newspaper compared to a blog. A blogger (currently) needs no editor, fact checking, deadlines, or assignments. They presumably are writing about something with which they are FAMILIAR and PASSIONATE about. The best bloggers out there right now check their facts religiously to avoid losing credibility among other bloggers, they are FAR more prolific than a typical reporter. If they were paid to write about what they are currently blogging about, they would be in their little version of nirvana.

Meanwhile, those in control of newspaper sites are facing reduced advertising and thus budgets. They have labor issues from writers. Staff writers are finding it hard to focus because of the high turnover in and around them. Newspapers cannot outsource their writing to India, or other lower cost parts of the world as software developers have done.

Do you see where this is going? The intersection of bloggers and MSM into this thing we call citizen journalists and citizen journalism IS HAPPENING. Brian Brady noted it at the Bloodhound blog. Take a look at the local Louisville paper. Does that not LOOK and feel like a blog with a newsfeed inserted into it? National news can be syndicated where local content and flavor cannot.  Guess where the opportunities lie for experienced, media savvy bloggers who want to turn passion into career? Opportunities are also there for professionals who blog about their field of endeavor. REALTORS, FInancial services brokers, Lawyers, Doctors, CPA’s, auto mechanics…basically anyone who sells their services and (by definition) would benefit from more exposure and increased “street authority”. Forget the advertising campaigns. EARNED MEDIA is where it is going to be for the next 18 months at least as MSM turns to bloggers to reduce costs.

NOTE: This is the first in a three part series. Next up: How to use the MSM to BUILD YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION AND FATTEN YOUR WALLET. The final post of the three will be DISINTERMEDIATION IN REVERSE: CAN BLOGGERS BEAT SMALL TOWN PAPERS AT THEIR OWN GAME?….STAY TUNED.