Jeff Jarvis, journalism educator, media
consultant, journalist and blogger.

Photo: Helayne Seidman,
The Washington Post

Jeff Jarvis uses his BuzzMachine blog to float ideas, gain reactions and widen his thought-web. It’s exactly how a great blog could and should enhance the work of a journalist.

Take, for example, yesterday’s post. Jarvis needed to put together an essay on the future of the internet. He started by outlining his own thoughts on why access to a free internet should be a right, like having electricity or access to a good education.

He concluded by asking what his audience thought. Already there are 17 comments and several have broadened the scope of his discussion. One particularly good comment by Gina Welker asked how the internet will work when lumped upon cultures outside of the Western world. Good one.

Jarvis may not have thought of that angle, but now he has a chance to widen his essay and make it more meaningful. The same scenario could pay dividends for a journalist working on a difficult story.

Plenty of journalism educators advocate this type of networking. But I haven’t been able to find a blog that is dedicated to airing possible story leads.

So, in the spirit of Jarvis, I’ll turn the problem over to you. Have you found any of these blogs?

– Koren

PS – While compiling this post I discovered (oh so belatedly) the joy of following a linking trail. It started with a click to Gina Welker’s funny little murmurings and ended at this literally hilarious weblog.