By Ruxandra Giura
ONA Convention Online

Journalists attending the Online News Association Conference said blogging the right way can reach new audiences for a media organization and better engage readers. The first steps include knowing why you want to blog and what you expect to get out of the blogging experience, experts said.

But “not every journalist needs to be a blogger and not every blogger is a journalist,” said Mary Jo Foley, an editor for Ziff Davis/Microsoft Watch.

Foley said five features are a must for a successful blog:

• An RSS feed
• A blog roll of names related to the community covered by the blog
• A picture of the blogger
• An easy way for readers to contact the blogger one-on-one, such as an e-mail link
• A good understanding of the blog’s audience

Writing witty post headlines and mixing fun and serious entries will make more people come to your blog, she said.

Once journalists decide to start blogging they must post consistently, post often and be responsive to the comments they get.

Heather Green, editor for Business Week, said people are reluctant to link outside their blogs and allow comments, but “you have to have to have comments, that’s the whole point.”

Green said she started her blog when she had to write a cover story on how blogging would change the business. The organization now has more than 11 blogs.

“But what was great about the blogs is the discussions that we had and how that changes what our job is as reporters.”

Ryan Pitts, online producer for Spokesman.com said the best thing his organization got out of blogging is that reporters can use comments on their blog to strengthen their print stories. It also gives them access to space for text, photo or video stories that don’t get in the mainstream media.

Comments also let reporters really engage with their readers and the community. But while Pitts’ organization allows reporter bloggers to express how they feel, other organizations edit the posts and apply the same professional standards as for news stories.

Cory Bergman, director of digital media for King TV, NorthWest Cable News and author of LostRemote (www.lostremote.com) blog said he tells his newsroom to write what they would say on television if they had unlimited air time.

If reporters were biased on the blog and then objective on air, people would be confused, he said. Responding to comments on the blogs bears the same standard of objectivity, he said.

Experts said it takes time to get journalists into a blogging mentality.

Bergman said blogging a “huge story” like Katrina helps the organization keep up with the news.

A King TV reporter blogger posted 500 times in a day on his Katrina blog and had 2.5 million visitors in four days, he said.