As a journalist, I can pick up the phone and speak to virtually anyone I want, or at the very least get a comment from their spokesperson for a story. It gives you instant access.
I wanted to test if I had the same gravitas as a blogger – and found out, yes, with a little persistance, I do.
I was cooling off in the house from the heatwave and began researching some background info for my post tomorrow. There were a couple of important points I needed to check. Being used to getting my questions answered fairly quickly, and knowing that the Government has press officers on weekend duty, I decided to test how easy it was to get a response from them as a blogger.
At 3.30pm I put in a call to Lester Posner, who was covering press calls for the Dept of Communities and Local Government. I explained I was a freelance journalist and outlined my enquiry. He asked me the name of my publication and I told him it was for my blog, that I would be writing it first thing in the morning, around 7am, so I needed an answer that afternoon if possible.
He said he would do his best, but being a Sunday afternoon, he did not know if he could get hold of anyone. He asked if I could place my calls during week days and I replied that as a journalist, I did not work just Mondays to Fridays, 9-5, but as and when something important came up. I mentioned briefly that my blog had been reported in the Guardian.
It did the trick, three house later Lester emailed me a reply with my info. Is this unusual? I have no idea. Should press enquiries from bloggers be considered with the same merit as mainstream media? Yes, of course, from those like me who are journalists, as well as others who write high profile sites attracting a large readership. Is the Daily Kos effect beginning to make its mark here too?
I wonder if the fact you mentioned that your blog had been reported on in the Guardian, got you a quicker response?
It can’t have hurt, as it’s human nature to categorise the world accrding to links with what we already know.
Lester did sound a bit exasperated with me, hence my mentioning the Grauniad.
Interesting piece in the Times on the way moderate Democrats are fighting back against the influence of the Daily Kos.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2252578,00.html
Larry, I couldn’t get your link to open. Could you tell me what day the story was in The Times and I’ll look it up from my past copies. Thanks too, I’m very interested in reading about it.
I wanted to look at it too, so here it is: Daily Kos in The Times
Croydonian, many thanks, I have read it and wow, a blogger with his own press officer, you know you have made it then, and a cool 500,000 daily hits.
I wonder what response you would have had if you said you were a blogger rather than a journalist?