Zero central heating, the D in OFMDFM and the dead tree business vs bloggers - the end of this series of Blogtalk

The final episode of this run of Blogtalk was recorded at NvTv’s studio in Belfast on Monday night. Carl’s been single-handedly producing, filming, editing and herding sheepish bloggers in and out of the building over the last couple of months, so it seemed like a good time to ask him to reflect on the show.

“The idea behind Blogtalk was to harness the political debate found on Northern Irish blogs, because while I respect and enjoy the Beeb’s and UTV's political programming, I have always felt that debate was stifled by the concision needed for their scheduling which is a problem NvTv does not have.”

Over the seven episodes, eleven bloggers along with host Donal Lyons have sat on the comfy black sofas. I wondered if it had been easy to find willing contributors?

“My biggest frustration has been the lack of bloggers coming forward to participate, and while I would wish to thank everyone who took part, I had been hoping that it could become something that the many more would contribute to in much the same way as Slugger works. It wasn't just female bloggers who didn't come forward - perhaps I need to look harder next time!”

There may be more Blogtalk in the new year ...

“If I get the go ahead to produce more, I would be looking to up the production value of the show and will try and consult on the blogs during the development stage of the production. So all ideas would be welcome and considered.”

This week Donal, Geoff and I kicked off talking about the thermally performant social housing with no central heating that Habitat for Humanity propose to build in Madrid Street before pondering the problems that the D word brings in OFMDFM – for both Sinn Fein and the DUP.

We returned to more familiar ground with the editor of the Irish Times Geraldine Kennedy’s recent speech accusing the internet of posing a threat to the traditional structure and financing of the dead tree business, which now seems set on a wider rollout of paywalls. Contrasted with Amnesty NI’s post about blogging and non-traditional journalism providing a scrutinising role in countries with poor human rights records – but with serious consequences for participating bloggers.

Finally there were some highlights from the recent Slugger Awards and chat about 4IP’s announcement of an investment in Slugger O’Toole.

Insomniacs can check out the whole series on Vimeo. And if you’re interested in contributing next time around, get in touch with carl at northernvisions dot org. Remember, you don’t have to be overtly political to take part!