An online news editor is someone who researches, writes, edits, enriches with images, references with complementary resources and links an article to be published on a Web site.

Photo credit: Thomas Aigner

Nonetheless the enormous proliferation of blog sites (web sites that can be easily updated and posted to without requiring any technical support or competence) and a large population of young journalism students, there doesn't seem to be yet any significant number of talented individuals working at honing and refining the required skills. If you are blogger you'll probably feel that this is a presumptuous overstatement, but if you are not one, you may likely share some of the suggestions that I want to make in this article.

Fact is, that it does take some time for any group to explore, discover and familiarize itself with a new technology. In the neophyte phase of this new individual publishing era, many have spent more time exploring, testing, experimenting and getting a knack for what this is all about, than starting to question the format, style, editorial approach required to move from personal writing to professional publishing.

Now that each Internet-connected computer is a publishing press, do we just start writing or is it good that we look and anticipate how to best integrate lessons from the past from the opportunities offered by these fascinating new media?

How is it possible then to anticipate the next phase of technology adoption, integration, of the online personal publishing age?

I personally think that the first step in this direction should be one of crediting and re-evaluating some of those components of print journalism, academic research and general media publishing that in the rush to ride the new horizons opened by blogs, wikis, and RSS some of us may have somehow forgotten about.

Integrating key journalistic, research and media publishing approaches into the grassroots online journalism wave sweeping the Internet can only help increase the value and credibility of the information provided both by established writers gone independent as well as by bloggers wanting-to-be-opinion leaders in the shortest time possible.

What is then specifically needed to become an online news editor, reporter, writer that can establish oneself as an authority in her field, while gathering attention and respect from traditional media and becoming increasingly courted by advertising agencies and PR agencies?

Here are a few, simple, basic rules I would suggest to adopt: