The citation discussion

In order to get a little additional clarity regarding the policies regarding citing bloggers and other various online sources, I exchanged some emails with both Jason Winders, the executive editor at the Athens Banner-Herald (and my former boss and all-around good guy), as well as Allison Floyd, the assistant metro editor at the ABH. Both offered some insight on not only the particular case of not citing Lee Becker, but also regarding the relationship between traditional media and new media.

Winders said the paper has no particular policy regarding referencing or citing bloggers or other forms of online media, and he was quick to point out that the Banner-Herald has cited Becker on other occasions. And, Adam Thompson, the former beat writer for Oconee County, cited Becker in his blog post which proved to be his first reporting on the subject.

Floyd said, likewise that bloggers are cited when it's appropriate. She said that if the reporting done by her staff is original reporting and not drawn from the other sources, there is no reason to cite the original reporting.

In other cases, since most blogs are run by individual operators, Floyd said that 'blogs are treated like citizen campaigns and the blogger becomes a part of the story, quoted as an agitator who is shaking things up.'

Regarding Thompson's article, Floyd said the original draft was too long, and since her reporter had done the necessary investigative work - and since the story focused on the Oconee County Commission and not Becker's investigation of the commission - an included reference was viewed as extraneous information that was cut ...

While I might have left in a parenthetical that said Becker blogged about the meetings, news stories don't usually mention where a writer heard a potential story idea. The AJC doesn't mention the Banner-Herald unless the story uses information that the AJC didn't independently verify.

Winders said that while there appears to be some residual friction between some in the traditional media (typically non-day-to-day journalists) and some in new media who are seeking attention, overall the relationship between the two entities has evolved nicely ...

For the rest of us working every day in the industry, bloggers are just part of the day job now. Sort of fun watching that evolve over the years, however.