Steve Yelvington looks at “Why journalists don’t make ideal online community leaders.”
- It doesn’t start with your source list
A healthy Web community leverages the passions of individuals and activists and chaotic self-organizers, and that’s a completely different world than you’re going to find reflected in your source list. - Journalists don’t know how to ask questions
There’s a real cultural chasm here that you shouldn’t underestimate. Some reporters will take to the online conversation like ducks to water, and some will need a lot of coaching. From the editor? The most painful transitions can be those of an editor, whose entire DNA is focused on avoidance of error, a distrust of sources, and in many cases a “command and control” approach to the workplace. - Journalists don’t know how to promote
Most newspapers do not have a marketing department, and most reporters don’t know the difference between a marketing department and ad sales.