The Journalist and the Blog

Wendy Sullivan on the power of blogging:

I started blogging five years ago. It was news and political stuff, which I still do today. I had no educational background for it – just passion. I love it – it’s my writing fetish. I do it for pleasure more than profit.

At the time I began, my dearest friend in the world was an unemployed journalist. She had done the “necessary” years of university to give her some kind of paper that said she had the “right” to report the news. Yet, she remained unemployed.

Out of my exuberance, I suggested she start a blog to help get her name known in the right circles. Her reply? “I’m a journalist. I don’t write about the news for free!”

Fast forward five years. Today I will be lunching with the editor of the National Post, one of Canada’s two national newspapers. Next week I will be a pundit once more on the Michael Coren Show.

And my friend? She gave up and now works in a bookstore, stocking shelves.

Exactly. Not that Wendy’s friend needed to do blogging, but those who don’t know how to proactively market themselves and who expect offers to magically arrive at their doorstep are largely doomed to fail.