on wordpress the use and mechanics of j-blogs and blogs in high school journalism marcus funk

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 …

Contact info:

Marcus FunkPh.D. CandidateThe University of Texas at Austin

(210) 789-6057Marcus.jfunk@gmail.comwww.marcusjfunk.com