Writing and Editing a Blog

Writing a blog isn't rocket science, but it also may not be quite as easy as it looks. A successful blog’s conversational style either comes naturally or it doesn't. So does that sense of what topics will hit the mark with the blog's audience.

For news organizations, the question of whether or not to edit a blog is likely to arise. Editing is a matter of routine in most newsrooms, but blogs are all about spontaneity and speed. Editors need to adjust to the blog's breezy style and must make the time to edit posts as they arrive for publication throughout the day.

Writing a Blog

Blog writing is like an e-mail to a friend: short, on-topic and informative. (Entertaining doesn't hurt either.) Posts are frequently addressed directly to the audience, and the blogger frequently refers to him- or herself.

Be careful, however. Informal language shouldn't be confused for carelessness in analysis or opinion. Conversational writing can be difficult, especially for writers who have spent years cultivating a more formal, news style. You may find that columnists and feature writers have an easier time adapting to blog writing.

A blog post should be fairly punchy. Bullets, lists and short headlines help your readers track what information is important. This isn't the place for a lengthy treatise on U.S. foreign policy that takes four weeks to write. Think short. Write short. A post might not take you more than 20 minutes to put together.

It is generally considered a good idea to blog "frequently." You will have to decide what that means to you. As a guiding rule, consider adopting this: Post as often as is useful. This means you should post when you have something to post about, within the limits of what your readers want to consume.

Editing a Blog

Because blogs come out of a tradition of personal journals, many bloggers don't believe a real blog is edited. This attitude usually doesn't work for a newsroom or professional organization. Most media enterprises can be expected to institute a blog-editing policy. Take into account these considerations when setting up your blog-editing rules:

• Arrange editing to avoid delaying the posting of reader comments. Blogs thrive on timeliness and speed; stale comments kill the incentive to post.
• Make sure the editor has a firm grasp of the blog’s goals and style. It may take some adjustments to find a comfortable mix of breezy style and credibility.
• Avoid editing posts after they have been published. It's not anathema but it's uncommon and generally not a great idea. If you must make a correction to a published post, note the update or indicate the original material by using strikethrough text.

Editing Comments

Sometimes you may get comments that you are tempted to edit — to fix a typo or remove an offensive word. You may hear cries of "censorship" if you do make these edits.

It’s best to set up a comment policy that explains just when you will edit or delete comments and put that policy on the blog.