JenniferPrex

When looking at The Cavalier Daily website, I liked how each of the articles referenced on each of the pages were more prominent. Between the way they were spaced and the size of the font, it didn't really seem like any of the articles were overshadowed. It was also interesting that they offer PDF downloads of their newspaper. I guess this would be for anyone who would rather read the articles in paper format rather than online but don't have access to the print version, maybe.
The only thing I wasn't sure that I liked was that all of the pictures they had on the homepage were in a row on the top rather than spread out.

Other Thoughts On Cavalier Daily

I almost thought there was too much going on on the homepage of The Harvard Crimson. I can understand arranging all of the individual sections to be this way, but they tried to put too much on that first page. It takes away from the content. If a few articles had been emphasized more, then more attention would be paid to them.

That aside, it seemed like a good idea to have the picture in the middle to change and have each of the pictures in the cycle to link to their corresponding articles. In all honesty, though, I don't know that I would have thought to click on the pictures if we hadn't talked about that in class today. The articles these pictures linked to were also mentioned elsewhere on the page as well. If they would add a comment under the cycling pictures saying that they link to the articles, they could leave the other links to these off of that page to save space.

I did like how some of the pictures linked to slide shows and to include videos for some of the sports stories; the slide shows allow the readers to see more, if they so choose, and if the story is focused on something that happened during a sports game, the video would be more effective.

Other Thoughts On Harvard Crimson

I looked at two articles on wired.com, Concept Art Offers Peek at Tim Burton's Twisted Mind and First Look: Tim Burton Takes Alice to Weird, Wild Wonderland. In both articles, the links served the purpose of allowing the readers easy access to more information, if they should choose to seek it. There were a few links to wikipedia articles and many links to imdb.com. There was another link that didn't work, but my guess is that it was supposed to link to the publisher's website--this was in reference to Tim Burton's art book that is supposed to be released in December, and the link said "Steel Publishing." The purpose of this link was to give any interested readers easy access for pre-ordering the book, as the article stated.

Other Thoughts On Wired

"But the checking process is best begun with the mindset that the tip is just as likely to be wrong as it is right."
~page 59 of Haiman's Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists

Continue reading "Skepticism Can Be a Good Thing" »

Level 3 Communications - This is the official website for Seton Hill's new internet service provider.

Wikipedia Article on "IP Access Controller" - This would serve the purpose of giving the reader more information on what the controller is and does, as Seton Hill's controller has been upgraded.

Level 3 Communications Commercial - Self explanatory . . . it is a post on youtube.com.

Informational Video on Level 3 Communications - Self explanatory . . . this is also a post on youtube.

Troubleshooting Internet Connection Problems - This site gives information on what can cause internet connection problems other than problems with the server.

Other Students' Article 4 Online Content

It seemed the StarNet interactive website is a good way to educate people about the garbage and recycling processes. The one problem with it is that I don't know that anyone who isn't initially interested would "stay tuned" for the entirety of both routes. Regardless, the many links to outside sources, the videos, the pictures, and the captions all work together to give the reader a good sense of what happens with garbage and recyclables. It wouldn't have the same effect if any one of those components were missing.

Other Students' Thoughts On Arizona Star

I found a link to a slide show in the "Late Night Revolution? In Taste, Perhaps" article. I know in class we've talked about how print news is designed to draw the readers' attention to different parts of the paper. It seems that online news is the same way. The slide show link was in the article. Below this link there were links to two related articles. There were links to these same two articles on the slide show page. The last page of the slide show was the same as the second to last, except that a box popped up prompting the reader to either go back to the beginning, go to related articles, share, or email.

The very nature of the interactive content has a tendency to draw people in as well. People are more likely to pay attention the whole time if interaction is involved. I remember hearing that, in general, the typical attention span is about seven minutes long--or something like that--and that's why commercials were spaced the way they were on television. I don't know how accurate this is, but, regardless, it is true that people are more likely to stay interested if they are involved or if the page changes--e.g. each new picture of the slide show along with new captions as part of the news.

Other Thoughts On NY Times

This is my eleventh blogging portfolio--my third for news writing. This is basically a list of all the blogs I've posted since my last portfolio.

Continue reading "Newswriting Portfolio 3" »

"The most powerful concern about bias we encountered in our roundtables was the perception that news organizations had a 'negative' bias. A school superintendent complained about the 'normalization of radical behavior' because it was so often prominently covered -- that is, reporters too often seemed to seek out the most extreme views and ignored the broad middle, where most opinion resides and where decisions typically are made."
~page 49 of Haiman's Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists

Continue reading "Don't Forget the "Ordinary"" »

"Good journalists know how to listen. Listen to people even if they do not seem to have any useful information. They may still say something you can use later."
~chapter 40 of The News Manual

Continue reading "Importance of Good Listening" »