Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation & the Web

Jeff Jarvis takes a look at the concept of “beat blogging,” whereby beat reporters embrace networked journalism:

“So I like to think of this as turning reporting inside-out: Before, the reporter put himself at the center, because it was through him that reporting flowed to the press and public. Now there can be a network of people who report and advise and the reporter should be asking himself what he can do to help them do that better; the reporter stands not at the center but at the edge, which reporters must learn is where the action really is.”

“I return to the wisdom of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg when he advised media moguls at Davos not to think that they could create communities but to instead realize that these communities already exist and so they should be asking what they can contribute to help them do what they already do better.”

Jeff’s comments are in response to a new project that Jay Rosen is putting together. He is organizing 12+ beat reporters from various media outlets and regions, to use the web and social networks to rethink how they report their stories and work within the community.