So You Want To Write a News Blog?

For most people, it is easier to trust something that is coming out from a friend rather than a stranger. Even if this stranger’s job is to report the news. This is one reasons blogs are so popular, but according to one of our readings this week, people have been communicating news in a “blog” type fashion for hundreds of years. By this, I mean learning about local news from friends and anonymous sources by letter or newsletter, rather than just reading it in a newspaper.

People find their friends to be more trustworthy. Rather than watch someone on the news tell you about a new restaurant opening, wouldn’t you like to hear it from a friend? This friend may know someone who knows the owner. This makes you feel like you have inside access to the story instead of hearing it from someone with no connection at all!

Today, the mainstream media has several things against it, most of all that it is seen as untrustworthy “fake news.” In fact, according to this Gallup poll, only 41% or people trust the media. People would rather get their news from someone who they identify with, whether that is a friend or a news blogger.

We have been talking in class recently about the prominence of bloggers, especially news bloggers, and their accountability. I, personally, trust the mainstream media more than bloggers because of personal experience with a local news blog from my hometown. That blog has left a bad taste in my mouth, and has led me to believe that news bloggers are not very trustworthy.

That being said, I do think it is possible for news bloggers to gain my trust back, but it is something that they will have to work for. According to Mike Bonts PR Group, it is more important, now, for news sources to be accurate rather than fast. In fact, 75% of people polled said that they don’t care if you are first, as long as you are right. This is even more important for news blogs, because they do not usually go through the official channels, like the Associated Press, for their stories. This means that many times, they are the first to report, but also the first to have incorrect information. Blogs can combat this by waiting before posting, it will make them seem like a more reliable source to the public. Interestingly, according to this article, “how to” posts and case studies are the kinds of content that help build credibility in a blog.

According to the Express Writing article, 81% of people say that bogs are a trusted source of information. People trust bloggers to tell them what to read and buy, about their experiences, options, and their opinions. “Your blog is an opportunity to satisfy this need in your audience. Leverage the inherent trust people already have in blogs as valid sources of information and offer your unique take on the problem you solve in your market.” Blogs are even more trustworthy if they come from a company. I am planning a wedding, and most vendors have blogs on their website. According to this same article, companies that have active blogs have 97% more traffic than those without blogs. Along with that, 92% of companies that post blogs multiple times per day have gained a customer from those posts.

If you are thinking about creating a blog, a news blog in particular, I say go for it. But you must have to be reliable and credible. People need to feel like they can trust you. Creating a blog is very easy, and can have some great benefits (see them here!), but it is just as easy to do it “wrong” which can cause your blog to be unsuccessful. According to an article on 31 Guaranteed Ways to Not Create a Successful Blog by the Writing Cooperative, the two most important things to do are to build trust with your audience and consistently post content. He also says to maintain a few social media pages, not 5+, use images, create a schedule, spend time on your headlines, and write for your audience.

I think that writing for your audience is incredibly important. Now, I am not saying to write for them in the sense that you should tailor your biases to match theirs so they will read and agree with you more. What I mean is that you should use language that they will understand. In class this week, we are discussing citizen journalists and why people trust them. I believe that people trust them more because they relate with them. The example given in discussion was about a person who is interested in investing in the stock market. This person may want to read a financial blog rather than a financial newspaper. A blogger is able to present the news in a way that is easier to digest. They won’t always use political or financial terminology. They can use normal language, and they can really tell it like it is.

This also ties hand-in-hand with a topic I wrote about a few weeks ago: political biases. Bloggers are not usually professional journalists. That means that their political beliefs may seep into their reporting every now and then, with it happening more often to some bloggers than others. As always, I recommend people fact check their news stories against a credible source. If you are the blogger, I would recommend hyperlinking to those nationally known, credible sources, like AP.

The world of news blogs is an interesting one. While I do not necessarily trust the news that I have read on most sites, there are people that trust them wholeheartedly. As always, I recommend that people read several sources of news, and not just trust one. By doing that, you are at least trying to get several sides and are more likely to have the whole story. If you are one of the people who decides to write a blog, make sure to link your sources to make it easier for people to verify that the news is correct. After a while of people checking to make sure you are reliable, they will no longer have to because you will have become a credible news source!

Bonts, M. (2019, January 11). The Media is Changing – Are You Changing, Too? Retrieved from http://www.mikebontspr.com/the-media-is-changing-are-you-changing-too/

Brenan, M. (2019, October 7). Americans' Trust in Mass Media Edges Down to 41%. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/267047/americans-trust-mass-media-edges-down.aspx

Esmeralda, McCoy, J., Katie, B., C., Alex, Ng, W., … Jannat, J. (2019, April 20). Why Blog? 52 Incredible Blogging Statistics to Inspire You. Retrieved from https://expresswriters.com/blogging-statistics/

King, R. S. (2016, October 31). Americans Have Been 'Blogging' About Politics For 250 Years. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/10/31/americans-have-been-blogging-about-politics-for-250-years/

Leonard, M. (2019, March 18). 31 Guaranteed Ways to NOT Create a Successful Blog. Retrieved from https://writingcooperative.com/31-guaranteed-ways-to-not-create-a-successful-blog-b98497ec8369