on wordpress the use and mechanics of j-blogs and blogs in high school journalism marcus funk
TRANSCRIPT
On WordPressThe Use and Mechanics of J-Blogs and Blogs in High School Journalism
Marcus Funk
What blogs do you follow? Why?
Three Kinds of Blogs•Interest Blogs
▫She Simmers▫Atlas Obscura
•Business / Professional Blogs▫Nuts About Southwest▫My website
•J-Blogs▫CNN Political Ticker▫Greta Wire▫Dallas Morning News Trailblazers
Blogging Credibility:
•Interest Blogs▫Personal Credibility
•Business / Professional Blogs▫Personal Credibility
•J-Blogs▫Traditional Journalism Standards
J-Blogs are …•Online newspapers
•Rapid news delivery systems
•Direct, concise methods of reporting
•Catered easily to niche audiences and interests
•Big brother of “micro-blogging,” AKA Twitter
Do high schools use blogs?
Yes!
… sort of
There are a few, but not many …
•Administration:▫Newtown High School Blog
•Teachers:▫The Nerdy Teacher▫MissCalcul8
•J-Blogs:▫… ?
Why aren’t there more?
I have no idea
The 4E’s: What J-Blogs offer:
•Experience▫For many students, a 250-word blog post is a
much easier assignment than a newspaper or yearbook story In my experience, at least in college, students
very much tend to over-write rather than under-report
•Expedience▫Much faster than traditional laborious
printing
The 4E’s: What J-Blogs offer:
•Editing▫You can fit that torpo quickly and easily,
and embarrassment-free, online
•Economics▫Blogs much cheaper to produce than print
papers, although they also earn less revenue
Risks of J-Blogs:
•Expedience > Editing?▫Swift media distribution can lead to sloppy
editing or reporting, although this can be corrected easily after the fact
•Update or Perish▫There’s nothing sadder than an abandoned
blog
Risks of J-Blogs:
•Censorship?▫Given how easily blogs can be edited, some
administrations might exert constant influence? Once a newspaper is printed, it’s printed.
Blogs are never “printed” in the same way
•Anything I’m not thinking of?
What do you think?
I’m not above arbitrarily calling on people …
How do you blog? You just blog …
… even if it feels insurmountable
Why WordPress?
Because everything else is really annoying …
