The Wild World of Blogging

Photo Courtesy: Bonnie Groessl

Across the globe, millions of bloggers each and every day are expressing their concerns, thoughts, and ideas. Obviously, I’m not the only one who is passionate about the rise of citizen journalism in the newsroom. With so many websites out there, it can be hard to choose which ones are credible, reliable, and offer a good set of unbiased facts. So today, I’m going to give you a sneak peak at some of my favorite blogs that also relate to the changing media landscape. Feel free to check them out and I hope you enjoy!

1. Advancing the Story– This blog is great for anyone interested in broadcast journalism. In fact, it’s one of my favorite to scroll through! It’s frequently updated and provides useful tips, tricks, and advice. This blog is actually based upon a textbook that you can order. Whether it be writing better for broadcast, perfecting your reel, or finding story ideas, this blog has you covered.

2. Stuff Journalists Like– All of us are bound to have a bad day or two in the newsroom. So if you are feeling down, then look no further. This blog is different from any other, it’s highly unique and hilarious. This blog is devoted to journalism junkies with posts that anyone is the news business can relate to. #PartyLikeAJournalist

3. The Editorialist – I like to describe this blog as quirky, but fun. It is centered around how professional journalists and media organizations are dealing with the rapid rise of citizen journalists. Many of the ideas mentioned in previous posts are things that I would like to dive into and discuss in my own blog.

4. CNN iReport Blog – If you are looking for some citizen journalism, then this is your go-to site. To me, this blog is extremely important because it is done by reporters themselves and discusses what they are working on, what’s going on in the newsroom, and what’s making headlines. A major component to this blog is also the viewer interaction. The reporters encourage the public to send and share their stories, photos, and videos and become a part of the news gathering process.

5. Bradbox.com – User-genereated content is what citizen journalism is all about and Brad Howard’s blog is an excellent example of just that. He focuses on a variety of topics, including technology, business, and the digital age. Many of his discussions will help me generate ideas for my own blog.

6. News Me Back – This blog is written all by citizen journalists! It may look a bit different then several other blogs, but it gets to the core of what we are discussing. This will be helpful to see what citizen journalists are writing about, along with the quality of their work and how it compares to professional media publications.

7. Media Disruptus-I love the design of Steve Outing’s blog, along with the articles that he presents. Steve, who is a journalist himself, discusses media innovations and what’s ahead for the industry.

8. Say Anything-This blog has several different writers and contributors who post frequently. This is somewhat of a sounding board for people to express their thoughts and concerns over hot heated topics. However, after some searching, relevant topics can be found on whatever subject you are looking for.

9. Reflections of a Newsosaur– This is written by a veteran media executive, who somewhat offers a pessimistic view into where the news industry is headed. Although, some of his posts can be quite humorous and I find his thoughts to be relevant and interesting.

10. Vadim Lavrusik-For all of you interested in digital media and online journalism, this blog is for you. Vadim writes for a number of media organizations and discusses all of the latest developments between technology and the press.