Damien Mulley - From blogger to journalist
Published May 20th, 2006 in PersonalDoing my usual trawl through Irish tech media websites and discovered that Damien Mulley, probably Ireland’s fourth most popular blogger (behind Doncha, Slugger and Twenty), has started to pen a column for Electric News.
This is the latest shrewd move by Electric News to increase traffic to their website. They recently signed a syndication deal with Tom Raftery to distribute his PodLeaders podcast, not sure if money is changing hands there, presumably so - Ireland’s first paid podcaster?
Let’s face it Irish bloggers are inherently heavy Internet users and invariably are a close knit community (some would say backslappers even!)
If the subject of blogging ever comes up with Irish tech journalists, some reply that the thought of writing more (for free) after their deadlines pass is the last thing they would consider. Now we have a blogger who is already heavily active with his own site and Ireland Offline, despite the day job, contributing to a tech media site.
Presumably Damien is getting a few shillings for his troubles, I hope so, because I know his efforts are going to be another reason for me to read ENN.
Let the linking begin! By the way, isn’t it spelt blogosphere, not bloggersphere? Not that it actually matters.
EDIT/ Bernie Goldbach points out that Damien wasn’t the first Irishman to earn a few shillings off the back of his online efforts. Bernie’s column in the Irish Examiner sprung from his contributions to mailing lists and Seam McGrath has published a number of books off the back of his blog.
Technorati Tags: Electric News, Piaras Kelly, Damien Mulley
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You’re only looking at 21st century Irish bloggers in your sample set. The elder statesmen of Irish blogging (Tom Murphy PR, Sean McGrath, Maura McHugh and myself) stretch back four or more years and all have penned profesionally–for hire or for offsets.
The Examiner pays me for Friday columns. That gig came on the heels of my writing on Irish mailing lists and it started before Sheila Averbuch (nee McDonald) put ENN online with some of my writing contributing to the mix.
Sean McGrath, who has more readers than me, Twenty and Damien combined, has several books published on the back of his blogging. Blogging complements paid publishing. A good writer doesn’t have to be a blogger and a good blogger doesn’t always get to be a paid writer.
That’s interesting Bernie, never knew your column in the Examiner sprung from your online efforts.
Ruairi Roddy offered me the writing gig with the Examiner after I got my second solicitor’s letter for talking online about internet cowboys. Then I became one.
I don’t mean to omit uberblogger Donncha from this mix but I also reserve his place at the top of the tech mailing list heap. From ILUG came XEER, or so it seems to me. Donncha’s archives stretch back at least seven years, which is like three blogging lifetimes to most of the current membership of the Irish blogosphere.
Don’t know if this is limited to tech types or not, but Sarah Carey, Richard Delevan, and Peter Nolan are all print journalists with a blogging history. I’m too modest to mention a fourth, and I’m sure there are more I’ve momentarilly forgotten.
What’s interesting about Ireland is that the move from blogging to journalism happens a bit, but almost no established journalists, it seems, set up a blog. We’re unlike other English speaking countries in that regard.
I think Piaras was pointing out journos who started as bloggers, not bloggers who evolved into MSM hacks.
If we’re listing all the blogging journos we have to include names like ROBL, Adrian Weckler, Fergus Cassidy, David Stewart, Dick O’Brien and at least five others who are also watching Munster’s triumphs on the rugby pitch today.
BTW, we need to acknowledge that some believe it is regressive behavior to morph from blogging to mainstream journalism.
I don’t see why adding two or three zeros to your readership should be considered regressive.
The Podleaders channel is being sponsored by us ie. we pay ENN and provide the bandwidth etc., to Tom. I don’t know if he has any other financial arrangements with ENN, so I’d let him (or them) respond to that.