Blogging Tips for "Karaoke Journalists"
1. Opinions (even yours) are not facts. Opinions enliven a blog but they must be clearly identified as such. Just because you think an opinion is "true" does not turn it into a fact. You will gain respect and wider readership if you unfailingly observe these differences. Click here to read a Reuters editor's blog about this very subject - and some barbed comments in response.
2. Identify the source of your facts. Just making an assertion is unpersuasive; readers like to know where you got your facts, so they can judge their authenticity for themselves.
3. Keep focused. A rambling blog is usually less interesting than one that tackles a clearly identified theme.
4. Keep up-to-date; old news is not news. Keep your blog as fresh as you can, where possible keeping to a schedule of updates. It needn't be daily but it should be regular.
5. Keep your blog clear and easy to read - remember, the web is global; slang and jargon do not easily translate. They usually need explaining.
6. Go for your strongest angle, and keep it simple. Don't clog up the page with lots of other angles. The one you choose - the lead - is what sells the page to your audience. All other angles must either develop or support the lead, otherwise confusion results.
7. Try to answer the question your readers subconsciously always ask: "Why should I care?" Make the reason clear right from the start. Be yourself, let them know what you think - here's where your opinion and your emotions count, in reacting to the facts (without distorting them).
8. It's always better to write about people, physical objects and actions, rather than abstractions, theories and generalities.
9. Don't overdue the adjectives and adverbs. Nouns and verbs work better - let the facts speak for themselves.
10. Better to use two short words than one long one. LIkewise, simple sentences are more digestible than convoluted "literary" constructs.
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