The State of Print Media

I don't have time to write a long post, but I did want to get this out there, what's going on with print advertising? I just finished reading the Project for Excellence in Journalism's report on the state of the news media in 2009, and I have to say, it doesn't look good. I never thought I'd care so much about marketing, until I realized not anyone in the periodical publishing industry will hire a freelance editor when they're forced into an economic corner, a corner that requires them to cut costs.

One interesting thing that was suggested to me was to start talking to publishers "top line," or their revenue stream. But how do you make editorial about marketing or revenue? I'll have to give it some thought, because apparently the freelance editors days of (marginal) profitability are through, unless they can convince publishers freelance editors can increase revenue (and not just cut costs).

Is Blogging Social Media?

I'm not looking to start a fight. I honestly wonder if blogging is what certain people have in mind when they talk about social media. Now I'm an expert in neither blogging nor social media, but recently I've come to realize both offer useful ways to connect with people. Armed with that realization, I've set out to learn to tweet, facebook, and flickr, but stumble (oh, I should learn to stumble, too) over whether blogging is part of social media.

Talking with a friend, who has far more experience and skill using social media than me, we readily agreed social media is about building relationships. So, does blogging build relationships? I have a few blogs I follow, checking them every couple of days. I even feel a certain familiarity with the authors of these blogs. But do I have a relationship with them? I'm not sure. One of the things my social media-savvy friend suggested about this apparent lack of relationship was that relationship building on blogs happens through comments. I have to admit the comment sections of some blogs make me socially envious. I wish my Facebook updates could muster as much response. But do the comments let bloggers build relationships? (Share your thoughts in the comments!)

NB. Not that a blog has to be social media to be an effective media, for sharing, marketing, ranting, or whatever. I hope to share some thoughts on publishing, editing, writing, and related miscellany here. Not so sure about ranting, but I'm sure it could happen.