blogging ng view


opinionated” than when he was bound by impartiality guidelines. For example, he has referred to the “hypocrisy, dishonesty and cowardice” of some British politicians and the “unadulterated gibberish” talked by Donald Trump. Lustig, who was named independent blogger of the year by


Comment Awards in 2014, says the biggest response he ever received was to a blog attacking Russell Brand. “To have any value, a blog has to have a point of view,” he says. “The more extreme the views, the more feedback you get and the more impact you make.” Andrew Sparrow agrees the best blogs are those that have a


“voice”. He says: “Part of the attraction for many journalists is that, in a blog, your own commentary becomes acceptable in a way that it would not be in conventional journalism.” That, he points out, raises issues of impartiality. “My


role involves more editorialising than conventional news journalism will allow. I make judgments to help the reader understand what’s going on and why, what significance it has and whether it matters. My benchmark is: is it accurate and fair? I say: ‘Here’s what I think and here’s what other people think – sift through the facts and opinions and make your own mind up’.” Sparrow says live blogging is a useful skill. “It suits people who are confident about writing and making news judgments fairly quickly, and who are comfortable with the increasing amount of noise and the volume of material to monitor. It would not suit someone who likes to spend a lot of time thinking before they write.” Another high-profile political blogger is Paul Staines, who started the Guido Fawkes blog in 2004 and was once described by The Telegraph as “the journalistic equivalent of an arsonist”. Staines sees the site as a platform for his political views, which he once likened to “Thatcher on drugs”. Staines, who initially tried to conceal his identity, has had “a few controversial moments”,


Blog links: Guido Fawkes: www.order-order.com Andrew Sparrow: www.theguardian. com/politics/series/ politics-live-with- andrew-sparrow Robin Lustig: www.lustigletter. blogspot.co.uk Jaci Stephen: www. lanotsoconfidential. blogspot.co.uk William Gallagher: www.william gallagher.com


not least injunctions and libel actions. He says: “I didn’t come to Westminster to make friends – you just have to go on your instinct and not worry about what people think.” But Staines thinks that, in general, bloggers shouldn’t write


about their opinions. “It gives them a bit of therapy and an opportunity to vent but no one cares what they think.” Former Radio Times writer and Doctor Who scriptwriter


William Gallagher, who has led blogging workshops for NUJ members, agrees: “A blog should reflect the writer’s personality, but it will become egotistical if it is only about you. Blogging about ‘my life as a wonderful creative soul and what I ate this morning’ is just digital narcissism and can become tedious.” TV critic Jaci Stephen, who blogs about her “nomadic,


transatlantic existence” in the UK and in the US, begs to differ. “It’s all about me, me, me,” she admits, laughing. “I think everyone should be as fascinated about me as I am about myself.” Her long-running blog, LA Not So Confidential, humorously explores cultural differences, such as the Americans’ reputed difficulty in understanding irony. She notes: “They are very literal minded and you have to spell things out. But I’m never rude. My style is self-deprecatory: I’m a Welsh woman abroad – look at how I screw my life and relationships up.” Successful bloggers say reader engagement on social media


is valuable, especially through Twitter. “Twitter is the dominant forum in politics, the main echo chamber,” says Staines, gets thousands of comments a day. Sparrow, who get about 5,000 comments a day, agrees. “I feel


much more connected to what readers are thinking than I used to on newspapers because the blog structure makes you feel part of a conversation. On newspapers, apart from the odd letter, you had no idea what readers thought.”


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