TVNewser: how does he do it?

This report about Brian Stelter and TVNewser is absolutely amazing for those of us who blog every day. Here is an outsider to the TV News industry whose blog is read every day by the most powerful people in the TV News industry. The article has a quote from one executive who estimates that he refreshes his browser 30 or 40 times daily.

When people in the television news business want to find out what’s going on in their industry, they turn to a blog called TVNewser. But while the executives obsessively checking TVNewser are mostly high powered and highly paid, the person who creates it is not: he is Brian Stelter, a baby-faced 21-year-old at Towson University here, a few miles north of Baltimore.

When his postings dropped off last month after his girlfriend dumped him, Mr. Stelter found himself fielding complaints from powerful network executives about when he was going to get over his romantic travails and get back on track. “I was dealing with drama,” he said.

It is read religiously by network presidents, media executives, producers and publicists, not for any stinging commentary from Mr. Stelter, whose style is usually described as earnest, but because it provides a quick snapshot of the industry on any given day. Habitués include Mr. Williams and Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN’s domestic operations, who long ago offered up his cellphone number to Mr. Stelter.

Meanwhile, I am over here bloggin my buns off, having some success, but very minor success.

It sounds like the key here is Brian's relationship with his readers, in a business where relationships are key. Perhaps the same goes for places like dailykos, valleywag, and others. The time and commitment required to cultivate such connections is enormous, and I am pressed for those two luxuries.

Link: NYT article about TVNewser