Taking thelon C


Short is not necessarily sweet for blogs, with longer pieces especially popular for complex issues, says Susan Fenton


onventional wisdom has it that journalistic writing should be concise because readers have short attention spans. Does this apply to blogs as well as conventional reporting? It seems not. The trend is very much towards


longer articles, according to Phil Chamberlain, head of the school of film and journalism at the University of the West of England. He says: “People fell out of love with long-form reporting for a while but it’s coming back into vogue. They have always relished in-depth storytelling – look at how many people binge watch TV series. Particularly in political blogging, there’s a desire for rich, well-informed long-form content.” Chamberlain points to research carried out last year by web design company Orbit Media Studios. This found the average blog post length was 1,054 words in 2016, a 19 per cent rise on the previous year. Far fewer posts were 500 words or shorter, and far more were 2,000 words or more. The longer the post, the more likely bloggers were to get “strong results”. Andrew Sparrow, political correspondent and live blogger at


The Guardian, is one aficionado of long-form posts. “An important discovery for me – which went against conventional thinking – was that as long as you write well and show good


judgment, there will be people who want to read about your subject at length,” he says. “In blogs, journalists can explain and give a level of analysis you don’t get from newspapers.” Meanwhile, more time is being spent on writing a post. The


average blog post takes three hours 16 minutes to write, according to the Orbit report – a 26 per cent increase since the previous year. More bloggers now publish weekly or monthly and fewer post daily or several times a week. The use of images and video is also increasing, says the report. “There are high expectations of quality and of content,” says Chamberlain. “Readers expect to see pictures, video feeds, podcasts or maybe links to interviews on SoundCloud. The multimedia approach helps journalists to set their blogs apart from others that are just standard diary entries.” The sheer number of blogs makes it impossible to estimate


how many there are, says Chamberlain. He thinks most journalists will try blogging at some point as it’s a natural activity for writers. It also gives them the chance to raise their professional profile, to tell a story or to express opinions. But he adds: “The difficult thing for journalists is getting


away from the idea that everyone will be interested in what you have to say. Your opinions alone are not enough to sustain interest. You need to think about what people will be interested in, and try to create a reputation as an authority in a subject.” Former national newspaper journalist and BBC presenter Robin Lustig, who started his politics and current affairs blog, Lustig’s Letter, when he was at the BBC, agrees there is a need to impart knowledge but adds he is now “far more


Top tips for creating a good blog • Develop a subject


• Try to be interesting


specialism so that your readers see you as an authority. Give them extra value by linking to other sources and statistics on the subject. • Pick topics that


people will be interested in reading about and debating. If you’re stuck for a topical subject when writing a post, try using an editorial calendar to find ideas.


and entertaining, and have an original outlook, so people enjoy reading what you write. • Always be fair and


accurate. Make the effort to see both sides of a story; your opinion alone is probably not enough to sustain readers’ interest. • Encourage readers


to comment then engage with them. Their comments can add a new dimension


to the subject you’re writing about. • Publish when you


post a blog on social media. This drives traffic and encourages people to comment who might not bother registering to comment on a blog. • Posts that feature


pictures and videos tend to be the most popular. • Guest blogging (find


another blogger who covers a related subject)


can help both parties to increase their readership. • Some bloggers make


money through selling e-books or by using affiliate links (such as Amazon’s) and tools like AdSense to benefit from clicks and purchases made by readers. • Include a link to


your blog on your CV so employers can check out your writing style.


• Use keywords and


tags so people looking for information on a subject can find you more easily. • Analyse your


analytics to find out which kind of posts are most popular.


16 | theJournalist


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28