Hello world!
Here we go then. The Birmingham Post’s new website goes live in 19 days’ time, and seeing as the process was informed from the start by responses to my colleague Joanna Geary’s wordpress blog, I thought it only right that I should come here to give people an insight into the final countdown.
I’ve put Jo in charge of recruiting bloggers for the new site, and therefore couldn’t complain when she pointed out that the editor should lead from the front and post a blog himself. I’ve resisted the temptation in the past, I think, as some other newspaper editors’ blogs seem to consist of Meldrewesque griping and self-serving ‘look-aren’t-I-normal-like-you’ condecension. Not great additions to the sum of human knowledge, in other words.
So what do I want to achieve with my contribution to the world’s blog surplus? Perhaps I could put down some immediate objectives for what I want this blog to be / do:
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An honest account of the process of engineering a new website for a business-led broadsheet newspaper in the West Midlands region of the UK
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Somewhere to record what I learn from this about the development of online journalism
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A place to discuss the issues that inform news gathering and editing decisions at The Post
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An opportunity for others to contribute to all of the above
I’ll add / subtract from these objectives as I go. In the meantime, I’ll welcome more suggestions from anyone with ideas about what they’d like to see on this blog.
Marc Reeves
Editor, The Birmingham Post
Tags: birmingham, birmingham post, joanna geary, marc reeves, online journalism
February 10, 2008 at 9:20 am
Hi, this is a comment.
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February 10, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Great to see another editor joining in the conversation. Looking forward to following your trials and tribulations.
February 10, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Welcome to blogland Marc, really pleased to see you here.
February 10, 2008 at 5:51 pm
First comment? Anyway, welcome…
February 10, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Latest Post blogging recruit - the big cheese
Birmingham Post editor Marc Reeves has started blogging. Read all about it here. Unfortunately I was miles behind in the scramble to get the first comment in :(.
I’m sure it will make jolly good reading in the future. Marc is a fine fellow, knowl…
February 10, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Do you think some of those Meldrewesque editors will bother to come by for a chat? I am kinda hoping that they do, and that it prompts other local journalists (listening AG?) to set up a proper blog for themselves.
February 11, 2008 at 2:31 pm
[...] The Birmingham Post is to relaunch on 29 February, the paper’s editor, Marc Reeves, has revealed in the first post on his new blog. [...]
February 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Welcome! Nice to have you with us.