Seth Stohs: Sports blogger

Seth Stohs: Sports blogger—"Seth Stohs is a product planner for Marvin Windows & Doors by day, and a Minnesota Twins blogger by night. His Twins blog, located at www.SethSpeaks.net, discusses all topics Twins-related, with an emphasis on the Twins minor league system. In fact, Seth published the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009, which provides profiles of over 175 Twins minor league players. Seth has been on several radio shows throughout the region and even hosts his own weekly Minnesota Twins podcast (at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks). Stohs grew up in Perham, went to Concordia College - Moorhead, lived in Warroad for about 10 years, and has been living in Bloomington for the past 18 months."

How did you get involved in the community? Were you asked to join by editors at the Star Tribune, or was there some kind of application process?
I was called a couple of months ago on a random week day. I wasn't even sure if it was real. They told me that they were looking for local 'celebrities' that could write about local topics.

Do you get paid to post? How often do you post?
No pay. I try to post once a week.

Are you given specific topics to blog about?
to some degree, yes, but in general, no. Once in awhile, they will give us a story from the Star-Tribune that we could consider writing about. I've done that a couple of times. But for the most part, I try to do sports stories beyond just basic Twins coverage and such.

What do you think are the benefits of posting?
It has helped me to try to be a little more formal in my writing. It has allowed me to branch out a little bit from what I typically write about at my personal blog. Then there are the benefits such being on a site that gets a ton of hits each day which brings a little publicity and notoriety, and hopefully could eventually lead to something (maybe even something that involves money!)

Do you blog outside of the Your Voices blog? If not, why did you want to join this blogging community?
Yes, I write a Minnesota Twins blog at www.SethSpeaks.net. I have been writing there for about 6 years. In the recent past, I have become the Content Editor of the Twins Page at www.BaseballDigest.com as well. I also have my own Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast at 9:00 on Monday nights at www.BlogTalkRadio.com/SethSpeaks, and I participate in MN Game Night podcasts twice a week (Sunday and Thursday usually) at MNGameNight.com.

Do you think there are any professional conflicts to your posting? In other words, do you think the views expressed in your posts should be seen separately from the views of your employer? Why or why not? Do you think readers can differentiate between the two views?
We are asked to write up opinion columns on local issues. There was never anything written that said we had to agree with articles or the general position or politics of the paper. So, I would certainly think and hope that readers would consider us as columnists.

Do your posts get edited by someone at the Star Tribune?
I don't think so. I mean, I'm certain that if they found something really bad grammatically or spelling, they would correct it, but for the most part, what we post goes right to the web page.

I saw that the comments are moderated. Do you think more people would post comments if they weren't approved before being published?
I am definitely not a fan of the moderation. I absolutely believe more people would post comments if they didn't have to go through that process. If they are only moderated a few times each day, there is no real interaction. There isn't a good opportunity for debate and discussion. Non-moderated comments would allow an easier flow of information because what you find is that several people leave essentially the same comment because it hasn't shown up yet as visible.

Do you see the community as an important addition to traditional journalism/newspapers?
I actually really like the idea behind the Your Voices blogs. It is meant to bring in people from a variety of disciplines (sports, politics, clergy, business people, etc.). We all can have varying opinions on a single topic. We can provide those opinions and the readers can see multiple perspectives to help them make their minds up. I think it is a very nice addition. How important is it? I think it is another means of attracting visitors, in an attempt to increase site hits and hence, increase revenues from advertisers.

What do you think makes you unique from the other bloggers?
As a sports blogger, I can write on topics from the eye of a kid, a high school player, a college player, a starter, a bench warmer, a coach, an umpire, and several other perspectives. I don't claim to have all of the answers, but I do enjoy showing people that there are many ways to think, and that there doesn't have to be a right or wrong... even in sports.

(bio, photo courtesy Star Tribune)