By Alexandra Berzon

Wasting time at work is something everyone does a little bit of (sorry, editors!). But for most of us, it’s not company-sponsored.

Consider: “Time Wasters”. That’s the blog generated by the San Antonio Express-News, featured on the large daily’s Web site, mysa.com. It’s there you’ll find a question to determine whether or not you’re a psychopath (crucial self-discovery), or a link to a site that helps you build your own iphone out of paper. Or countless silly videos.

Time Wasters”.

At newspapers across the country, a proliferation of blogs has appeared, including some that are only tangentially related to news.

Sfgate.com, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Web site, has a blog called “The Poop” on babies and parenting. And The New York Times website includes a blog from a couple going through the trials and tribulations of building a “dream home” in Florida.

The San Francisco Chronicle’sThe New York TimesFlorida

To some analysts, newspaper blogs seemed from the start more of a whim, a cute side project.

“Blogs are an afterthought,” said analyst Edward Atorino of Benchmark. “It’s more of a cultural phenomenon then a business phenomenon. I don’t think there’s a business there.”

It may have started out that way, but newspaper blogs are gaining some traction.

According to a recent Nielsen/NetRatings release, the top 10 U.S.-based online newspaper blog pages were up 210 percent in December over the same time last year. Those 10 newspapers together had 3.8 million unique viewers for the month on their blogs, up from 1.2 million in December, 2005.

But here’s some perspective before the newspaper honchos go out and celebrate All of the blogs on all of the top ten newspaper websites combined are still behind celebrity blog TMZ, which saw 8.9 million viewers in December, and are barely ahead of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton’s site, with 2.6 million December viewers, according to Nielsen.

before the newspaper honchos go out and celebrate All of the blogs on all of the top ten newspaper websites combined are still behind celebrity blog TMZ, which saw 8.9 million viewers in December, and are barely ahead of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton’s site, with 2.6 million December viewers, according to Nielsen.

And newspaper blogs still represent only a very small percentage of overall newspaper Web traffic. The top ten newspaper Web sites saw nearly 30 million total viewers in December, 2006—led by The New York Times—up 9% from the year before.

The New York Times

But the numbers do indicate a significant and growing appetite for local blogs on newspaper Web sites.

Mr. Atornio, who covers the industry, was surprised the numbers came out so high: “That’s very impressive. Blogging is exploding around the country, and some newspapers are trying to capture this audience on their online sites and hopefully do something with them, sell them something.”

While some newspaper blogs may explore the more obscure (“Strung Out in San Antonio: The Bead Blog”) or mundane (“Baby Steps”), many offer a chance for reporters who have become experts in a subject to share analysis, inside scoop or informal musings. They also become a key place of community interaction, citizen journalism—and free copy. The Houston Chronicle asks: “What's your passion? What do you really care about? Want to tell the world? At chron.com, we want to give you the chance to blog on your subject of expertise.”

Strung Out in San Antonio: The Bead BlogThe Houston Chronicle

A quick scan of newspaper blog sites suggest that local sports and celebrity gossip blogs dominate. As do male viewers. According to Nielsen, 60 percent of newspaper blog readers in December were men.