HW 19: Advantages of Blogging

The network of blogging has become increasingly popular all over the world. Many factors contribute to the success of blogging. One of the main factors is the format in which blogs are written. ALTHOUGH SOME READERS MAY OBJECT that this format is unprofessional, I WOULD ANSWER that it is actually quite beneficial. The easy to read format allows readers to quickly obtain the important information incorporated in the post. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is that the mainstream media is able to look at the most popular blog posts and incorporate that information in their articles. Also blogs have an advantage over the mainstream media due to their low cost of publication. FOR EXAMPLE blogs are able to reveal information before other media can even respond. IN OTHER WORDS the speed of posting new information is extremely crucial and beneficial to blogs. In addition blogs are also able to quickly correct or update their posts if they are confronted with an error. MY POINT IS NOT THAT WE SHOULD rely solely on blogs to provide us with our news, BUT THAT WE SHOULD be aware of the strong relationship which it maintains with the mainstream media.

HW14: Are Blogs Taking Over Mainstream Media?

Granted the phenomenon of blogging will not occur overnight, I believe that it will eventually take over and replace the existing published newspapers. Although bloggers do not have any special training in the particular subject area which they are writing about, they provide a community and a human voice. In fact Denton states that he does not base his decision on resumes and he prefers to hire younger, less experienced writers rather than an experienced journalist. As a result bloggers do not struggle with the transition from writing for a newspaper or magazine to writing for a blog. Also this theory provides an opportunity for people to become successful writers who otherwise would have struggled getting a job as a journalist. Despite the fact that people do not have complete trust in information provided by blogs, the media has also made some mistakes. Furthermore bloggers are able to provide their readers with a direct insight from within the actual source. Therefore, weblogs will gradually build their audience reducing the dependence on mainstream newspapers. Hence, weblogs will inevitably become the main source of information and will decide which stories to cover.

HW 5b: The disappearance of the mainstream media

In this chapter David Kline dedicates two paragraphs to discussing his views on the success of the mainstream media. Within these paragraphs Kline SUGGESTS that blogging will not cause the disappearance of the mainstream media. In fact he BELIEVES that the media will thrive from the uprising of blogging. Kline feels that the relationship between the media and blogging will actually strengthen due to the fact that bloggers rely on the media to supply them with the information which they then blog about. Simon Waldman REMINDS US “[Their] great weakness, though, is the lack of shape, structure and ultimately meaning [of what] all this amounts to.” (Kline, 244) In this statement Waldman CLAIMS that blogs lack the appropriate format and direct release of information. Yet, I disagree with the views presented by Kline in these paragraphs. I feel that blogging may be the cause of a severe decline in the mainstream media. I DO NOT DENY the fact that the media and bloggers obtain a significant relationship in which they depend on each other. However, I do not feel that the success of blogging will strengthen their relationship, I INSIST that it will only continue to cause major conflict between them resulting in the deterioration of the mainstream media. I ACKNOWLEDGE that blogs do not contain a proper format and they do not provide the public with the actual information, nevertheless I believe that this should be considered an advantage. Their informal format allows readers to easily and quickly read the presented information. Also I feel that although bloggers do not receive the complete story of an event they are able to interact and respond to the presented information, which is an important characteristic. Blogs are rapidly developing and becoming a popular way for people to get their daily news. I SUPPORT the belief that blogging will cause the fall of the mainstream media.