Plundering Through Blogs

Understanding What Journalism Blogs Have to Offer

Photo Credit:  http://www.unmsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/journalist.png 

Sifting through blogs can be taxing.  Which ones are relevant to the subject at hand?  Which ones provide the clearest and most factual information?  Obviously, all blogs are not the same.  Each will provide a different level of importance to any research we are conducting. 

A credible blog regarding journalism is Paul Bradshaw’s Online Journalism Blog.  From the very first page, his blog is crisp and simple.  As a reader scrolls down the page, they would see graphs and pictures that support Bradshaw’s writing.  This effectively adds multimedia to his blog without compromising its simplicity.  Bradshaw uses many hyperlinks so that readers can research additional information without having to go far from his blog.  The comments on the blog posts are numerous and add to the substance of Bradshaw’s website.  Bradshaw’s writing is also simple and clear-cut.  It is not difficult to understand his message.  This journalism blog, however, could use more vibrancy.  Due to the black and white color scheme, it feels almost like reading a print newspaper.  Online publications require more multimedia to keep the reader interested.  Bradshaw could utilize a more interactive medium, like video blogging, to add visuals to his blog.  However, he does use Twitter and Facebook to his advantage, which brings him more viewers.

BuzzMachine is a great blog for journalists and citizens who are interested in politics.  The blog is mediated by Jeff Jarvis, a writer and professor who is interested in writing in the digital age.  Jarvis’s blog is very visually pleasing.  There are quite a few pictures in addition to the written content and there is a cartoon-y header of a printing press that adds a bit of novelty to the blog.  One aspect of the blog that may turn off some readers is the length of the blog posts.  Jarvis does use an incredibly large amount of hyperlinks.  This does two things for his blog:  it lets the readers know that Jarvis is researching the topic and it provides backup information.  Jarvis also reaches out to users of Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.  This will allow Jarvis to connect with his viewers.

I discovered a journalism blog by Assistant Professor at The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Mass Communication and Journalism, Gina Masullo Chen.  The blog is called Save the Media.  Right away, Chen’s blog drew me in with its visuals.  The blog header is of newspapers, which is both cool and relevant.  The blog posts range from short blurbs to long, detailed posts.  Topics range from social media ethics to Apple products to using Twitter hashtags properly.  This blog, as compared to the others discussed earlier, is more to guide and assist journalists rather than provide information for the masses.  Chen uses witty and snarky remarks regarding her subjects.  The multimedia on her blog mostly consists of pictures and screen shots in order to further explain any subject she is writing on.  Another multimedia aspect that Chen uses is a list of other journalism blogs that readers can visit.  She even lists Jarvis’ Buzz Machine!  This is another form of support for the blog since Chen creates a community of other credible bloggers.  A recommendation for this blog would be the number of posts made.  Chen does not post frequently, which might drive away frequent visits to the blog.             

Each of these blogs adds a personal note to the very public field of journalism.  It is interesting to see the perspective of each writer and how they incorporate their style of writing to the subject of journalism.  

Photo Credit: http://www.empowernetwork.com/embellishedminds/blog/jobs-for-journalism-majors/