Rosen's 'Blue Plate' Looks at Blogging Editors

By: E&P staff The folks at the new Blue Plate Special blog (an adjunct to Jay Rosen's popular PressThink blog) have added to their massive newspaper blogging wrap-up, launched (and covered here) last week, with several new features today.

They include an interview with John Robinson, who edits the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record and has had his own blog since 2004, along with a list of other editors who blog. It's a surprisingly short list, and includes the following, along with the Blue Plate descriptions.

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Chris Cobler edits Colorado's Greeley Tribune, and blogged at Virtual Greality until being granted a Nieman fellowship. He updated most days, writing engagingly about debates in the Tribune newsroom and the broader challenges facing news -- it seems like a combination of PressThink and an ombudsman. The comments section is also very active -- most posts get at least 20 comments, and some several times that, with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Cobler responds in comments as well.

Don Rogers edits the Vail Daily, also in Colorado, and also maintains Off the Press, a blog of press commentary, often focusing on the Vail Daily, interspersed with entries about his daily life and the novel he plans on writing. Vail Daily is owned by Swift Newspapers, which also owns the Greeley Tribune, but neither Rogers nor Cobler is forced to blog. Unlike Cobler's blog, the comments section here is lifeless. Rogers doesn't update as frequently as Cobler, but usually posts 2-3 times per week.

Melanie Sill is the executive editor of the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer. She blogs at The Editor's Blog, which bills itself as "a conversation with N&O readers about?coverage." The entries are almost all about the N&O itself (its reaction to the Danish cartoons, debates over its front page, and so on). The blog gives readers a window into the creation of the paper -- interesting mainly for N&O devotees. Her posts usually get 10 comments or fewer, mainly from a few recurring cranks and critics.

John Temple is the editor of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and blogs at Editor's Blog. There, he writes on most weekdays about issues facing the media, and specifically how they affect the Rocky. The blog frequently features Temple's personal opinions on press issues of the day, so the blog is interesting and relevant even if the reader doesn't know much about Denver. The comments section doesn't reflect this, however, with many posts getting fewer than 10.

Pat Butler is the editor of The Union in western Nevada County, Calif., and blogs at Editor's Blog. He writes near-daily about the decisions made by the paper (Publish the Danish cartoons? Cover Cheney's hunting mishap?) as well as events within the newsroom (for instance, a visit from a state senator). The comments section was moribund, with most posts getting only a handful. Interestingly, his posts were very willing to show opinion on non-media issues (e.g. this response about big-box retail).

Jack McElroy edits the Knoxville, Tenn., News Sentinel and recently began blogging at The Upfront Page. He blogs about the paper itself, such as its columnist balance and what goes on the front page, but also discusses larger issues relating to the future of newspapers. The blog is written in a very personal tone, which is extremely readable; it also has a great site design. Most entries get five comments or fewer, but the blog is young.