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Having read many posts on how social media may or may not replace the mainstream media, and even having commented on it myself once or twice, I have a personal example of how blogging can trump the mainstream media.
Eight days ago today I posted about the wonderful news that Bruce and Mandy Macky, two great people, had, against fierce competition, won the prestigious National Booksellers of the Year award.
That post was on Thursday; on Monday I met up with Bruce for a coffee to offer my congratulations in person and to discuss how blogs and podcasts might be additional suitable marketing channels for him.
Over a coffee Bruce lamented that despite his press release no one from the mainstream media had picked up his story. Indeed, whilst we were chatting a local radio station rang him for a comment about the sales of a particular politician’s biography, but no mention was made of Bruce and Mandy’s fantastic achievement.
So Bruce sent out another press release.
Finally, on Wednesday (6 days after I had blogged it), a photo within a half-page feature appeared on page 9 of this city’s one newspaper.
It’s not as though so much happens in our sleepy city that Bruce and Mandy’s story was squeezed out by more shattering events.
To me it highlights the power of this new social media (which includes blogs and podcasts) to deliver news faster than the traditional mechanisms.
In a city that often berates itself for its appalling self-denigration and cultural cringe, despite having so much to offer and be proud of, you’d think that a large media outlet would jump at a good news story like this, wouldn’t you?
But neither the one newspaper or the four terrestrial television stations deigned to cover the story until well after the event, and on a day that was probably a ’slow news’ day. Indeed, I’m not even sure if any of the TV stations even ran the story.
More power to the blogging community, hey?!
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