Advice on starting a niche blog is good for covering a sports beat
How to Start a Blog is a terrific post on Journalists.org, the Online News Association site, that ‘s useful far beyond that headline. The advice, by reporter Kyle Stokes of NPR member station KPLU-Seattle, has the subhead “The Kick In The Pants I Wish I Had In College.”
According to the bio on the piece, Stokes “spent two-and-a-half years reporting on education for StateImpact Indiana, a collaboration of WFIU and Indiana Public Broadcasting.” He writes that before that experience, he thought of blogging as “Journalism Lite,” but having done it, “I can’t imagine a better, more relevant way for a reporter to own a beat. Nor is there any better way for an aspiring beat reporter to learn the trade—I’m looking at you, J-schoolers.”
Remember, I think we’re all students, not just J-schoolers.
Stokes is writing about how to start a niche blog, covering a narrow subject, but much of what he’s talking about carries over even if you’re doing something different, like covering a sports beat. Here are his recommendations, though you should read the post for his explanations:
- Pick a niche
- Figure out who cares
- Curate & converse
- Set your sights on a handful of big stories—and own them
- Post and post often
- Take great pains to explain, explain, explain
That’s a good start for separating yourself from the pack no matter what you’re covering, in what format.