Advertising on CNN.com is actually very limited. They don’t seem to want anything getting in the way of their readers getting their dose of news. CNN.com usually limits it to one advertisement per page. Although the ads are at the top of the page, ads aren’t obnoxious or annoying, just an added graphic to the site. Continue reading
The main purpose of a news website is to tell the news. I believe CNN.com does a good job of maintaining a focus on good news and good delivery. Continue reading
CNN.com is possibly one of the easiest news sites to navigate (another reason why it’s my go-to news site). It’s similarity to newspaper layouts makes the most important stories easy to find. All of the latest and breaking news is “above the scroll” (similar to above the fold) so readers know that it is a must read. Continue reading
CNN is a Turner Broadcast Company. Therefore, broadcasting is its strongpoint. It only makes sense that CNN.com would incorporate the same practice in telling news. I feel that CNN.com takes very good advantage of video and other aspects of multimedia story telling. Continue reading
CNN.com is my go-to news site! It’s easily accessible and familiar because I also watch the corresponding network television broadcast. I thought it might be interesting to study my favorite news site and see just how affective it is. Like any newscast or site, there are things to improve. I’ll be analyzing these things and suggesting ways to improve them while praising things that I see work well. Continue reading
It’s 1985 and Michael Jackson is the biggest star on the face of the planet! With record breaking Grammy Award nominations, and 20 million copies of “Thriller” circulating the globe, it makes sense that the world is buzzing about this pop star. It also makes sense for the nation’s top newspapers, The New York Times, write a tell-all article about him. “Michael Jackson at 25: A Musical Phenomenon!” I propose The New York Times make this article as vibrant as the person it is about. It’s time to take this story to the next level. Beyond print and into online media! Continue reading
Tonight, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism held its fourth installment of the “Multimedia Behind the Scenes“. Tonight’s discussion: “Sports Blogging: Old School Meets New School” moderated by Shirley Povich chair Kevin Blackistone
So, what did I learn?
1. Twitter can be “Life Sucking”
As panelist and Post blogger Dan Steinberg so elegantly put it, Twitter takes up a huge portion of a reporter’s life. He mentioned how at the very moment of the panel, he was fidgeting in his seat as his Blackberry was buzzing worried that he was missing an important Tweet. I would agree that Twitter takes up a huge chunk off social and academic life (in fact, I was “live Tweeting” during the entirety of the Symposium!). Although it is a bit obsessive at times, it is useful. Diamondback Sports Editor Jonas Shaffer talked about how he even uses Twitter to get quotes/information for his stories! For example, when the Terps went to the Military Bowl, our first bowl game in some years, the players weren’t available for interviews. But their Twitters where a free-for-all of soundbites and quotable dialogue amongt players. So, the life sucking of Twitter can in turn be revitalizing for journalism.
2. Blogs appeal to a totally different audience
I quote a panelist from the symposium “Blogs appeal to fans who may like a sport, but LOVE a team”. This stood out quite a bit to me (though, not enough for me to remember who said it). I do agree that Blogs aren’t for people who want stats and facts and figures, but for people who want opinions, and slant and scandal and fun facts. Leave the hard-hitting intelligence increasing news for your print edition. The blogs are for the people who don’t care too much about all of that detail.
3. Blogging creates ethical dangers
As tantalizing as the blogging world is, journalists should proceed with caution. There are so many fine, shady lines that can be easily crossed when entering into the online reporting world. Is it okay to take direct quotes from an athlete’s Twitter page? How can we know if it is really that person Tweeting even if it is a verified account? Are bloggers in such a rush to break an online story that they don’t take the time to fact check their posts? In this online journalism world, news from all kinds of sources becomes available so fast. Journalism Bloggers have a desire to get it first before getting it right. I suggest that bloggers develop a “Social Media Policy” similar to an Ethics Code, just to be on the safe side.
Conlusion
All in all, I enjoyed the symposium more than I expected. It was informative, thought provoking, and entertaining (Dan Steignberg and George Solomon should have a show together!) I’ll definitely take into account a quote from Washington Post blogger Cindy Boren. We (bloggers) have to “Think outside of the box. We can’t put ourselves into a box of just being a ‘Blogger” or just being print or broadcast”. The media world has obviously gotten so big. It would be ridiculous for us to limit ourselves to professional titles so small.
So I was looking through the Diamondback (today) and saw a front page story about the Same Sex Marriage Bill being argued in the Maryland House of Delegates right now! The story started with a brief anecdote about a lesbian couple and how in love they were with eachother before the article went into detail about the bill and what would happen if it were passed and signed by Gov. O’Malley.
Wanting to know more about this hot issue, I Google searched “Maryland Same Sex Marriage” and an online article from the Washington Post popped up. It was about the same thing as the Diamondback article-the same sex debates. The main difference was it was so cold and inpersonal.
Seen below is a portion of the Post’s article about the Same Sex Marriage bill. All of the information in it is the same as the print story I found in the Diamondback. It’s just presented so differently.
I notice that online articles are straight to the facts. People who look up information online want their facts and they want it fast. They don’t have time to look at pictures or read cute little starter stories about an individual couple. They just want the who, what, when, where, and why and that’s what the Washington Post supplies.
The good thing about the online format is that there are links in an online article so that you can do further research on the topic presented in the article. That’s somrthing that you won’t find in a print version (obviously). But it is lacking the make-me-wanna-read-it factor that a print article has. The online version just doesn’t grab you as much as cute couple staring up at you from the front page of the Diamondback.
I have recently created a “professional” Twitter account to have on my website so visitors wouldn’t judge me on the nonsence that plagues my original Twitter daily. I make it a practice to follow only media sites and bloggers and distinguished profiles like that. I saw that CNN Tweeted a story about women STILL earning less than men. Well, as a woman, who hopes to earn a great deal in her future, this story naturally intrigued me. Continue reading
When it comes to getting my entertainment news, I constantly visit The Marque Blog at CNN.com. This site seen below regularly updates its images and stories but what makes it unique is that it makes an effort to keep an objective viewpoint about whatever they are reporting making The Marque Blog a credible entertainment news site.
