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Understanding the Bakersfield.com blog realm: An interview with Steve Swenson
Topics: Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Bakotopia.com, music, Bakotunes, entertainment, Belardes, Californian, blogs, Steve Swenson
Posted by thenovelist Mon Nov 6, 2006 15:35:54 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Early on weekday mornings I drag myself out of bed. I walk around the house, stretch a little, and eventually wander over to the computer and turn it on. I look at CNN, the Drudgereport, the BBC. I check email. I check myspace. I read the local news. Sometimes I surf the local Bakersfield.com blogs. I lurk. I’m no different than my own readers who click through the pages and don’t leave comments.

I fill my head with news, with Bakersfield.com blog comment gossip, debate and counterpoint talk. Sometimes the talk gets nasty, other times there are compliments dished to each other. I wonder if many of the comment-makers ever meet for lunch, if their online blog comments are another extension of their reading the news and discussing at a local coffee shop.

Steve Swenson is the Web Moderator at the Bakersfield Californian for bakersfield.com. He’s seen his share of news stories, from tragic to big events, and even on the comical side. He keeps news fresh and hot like tasty donuts and hot coffee, but has to keep serving them constantly—the news never ends. The bigger and more controversial the story, likely the more active online participation, the more web coverage is written, and the more web moderation and maintenance is needed.

Content management becomes a Herculean task, while web moderation can sometimes turn into a nasty slugfest as bloggers take swipes at each other and at the Californian with opinions coming from every possible angle.

Swenson doesn’t just watch the news as if on some kind of Web teleprompter scrolling onto the Internet. That’s not how it works. He participates, and he does so online in ways that typical journalists do not. He writes, he moderates, he calms, he battles—and in battling, he keeps to a journalistic policy that shows a strong loyalty to the newspaper he works for, as well as to the readers who participate in the many blogs he moderates. I’m guessing Swenson may have an affinity for even the nastiest of comments. Well maybe not. It’s a daunting job.

I can only imagine the whirlwind of reading Steve must go through as I truly only moderate just a handful of blogs myself: Paperback Writer, Bobblehead on Condors, and ProSoft Technology’s blog. How does he keep up with the work load, and what does he have to keep up with?

Now you’re wondering why I want to do an interview with Steve Swenson when I poke fun at the Californian on my site? It’s simple. I love Swenson’s style, his fearlessness, and his ability to handle people (including me) as he adheres to his day-to-day online grind with the news in mind out of Bakersfield, California. And the newspaper is growing, transforming, blurring lines between traditional and non-traditional. I like that.

I admit I like what I’m seeing. I keep coming back. Regardless of the spin people might not like with the paper—myself now and then included. Yet, hands down, the Bakersfield Californian the best source of local news in Bakersfield, regardless of how slanted you might think the local paper is.

Part of my reason also stemmed from the very interesting Jagels-Californian debate going on at Bakersfield.com. Local district attorney, Ed Jagels clearly has it out for the Californian and launched what he considers a tongue-and-cheek series on the County website, that, under the surface, is really an attempt to discredit the Californian and any possible news slant against local law enforcement. Online readers took both sides in a Bakersfield.com blog entry discussing the matter. Swenson spoke up on the Bakersfield.com blog in tongue-and-cheek fashion himself. That started the whole foray.

Online readers then put on their gloves and went at it in a blog brawl typical of Bakersfield.com that Swenson had to moderate.

Yet Swenson moderates many blogs and comment wars on Bakersfield.com. How does he do it? Here’s our interview:

N.L.: Hi Steve. Thanks for doing this interview. Let’s start by simply having you defining your role as a Web Moderator in relation to the world of journalism.

Steve: First of all, Nick, thanks for the positive comments. And thanks for lurking.

Before I explain my web moderating duties, let me explain my job. I am called the AM-Update person, meaning I get in at 6 a.m., update the web with any news stories that broke over night (killings, crashes, fires etc) and then check out the blogs. Until I leave at 3 p.m., I help coordinate updating news stories for the web throughout the day.

I've been doing this since July, 2005. Moderating the web is a little like when I was a soccer referee for AYSO--you make the foul calls early and direct. If someone uses obscene language, I delete their posts, explain what and try to remind them we are interested in their opinions, all of which can be communicated without offensive words. I ask them to not hold back in their opinions, just the offensive language. Virtually all comply.

Some don't and we kick them off the site. That sends a message to others and
while we have a lot of heated arguments, including insults, we generally don't get foul words.

We don't censor opinions. Indeed, we welcome any opinions that stir thoughtful debate.

We sometimes remind blog posters to stop bickering, but this is America and there is an inalienable right to be a jerk.

To do my job, I look at the new blog posts and the new comments, as well as surfing various blogs to see what people are talking about and what they are saying. For the most part, things run great without much interference from me.

What my role is in relation to the world of journalism is actually a pivotal question. I've been a news reporter for 36 years. I've spent nearly all that time keeping my opinions to myself while trying to be fair and accurate.

This is different. I can share what I think. I can comment on the news and the people in it. I generally do that in a light hearted way. I like to think of myself as a paid smart aleck.

Some topics, such as a local murder or the Iraq war, I tread lightly. I like to introduce the topics and let others take positions.

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