Online Journalism: Theory and Practice

1. Online Journalism: Theory and Practice Week 3 Lecture 1 Summer 2011 G. F Khan, PhD Dept. of Media & Communication, YeungNam University,South Korea

2. Last lecture… Old vs. New Media The technological evolution of journalism The development of online journalism Advantages of online Journalism New journalism forums

3. This lecture… -Introduction to blog -Blog as a news platform-Advance blogging -Setting up your blog-Syndication content with RSS

4. What is blog? • Is a website • Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. • Interactive online Dairy to publish thoughts and information (i.e. personal information, news, etc)

5. What is a blogger? • Blogger – author of a blog

6. Why blog? • To express one’s opinions, an outlet • To present info, happenings,news, links, photos • To promote or market • To communicate or discuss

7. Common feature of a blog • Focused • Comments & feedback feature • Archives • Blogs are archives of past blog entries and are in reverse chronological order (most recent appears first • Subscription • Receiving new post

8. Blogs as journals • Some blogs are merely a type of diary • or a scrapbook of memories.

9. Why is it important for a journalist to have a blog?

10. Why to blog? • New media analyst believe every journalist must have a blog • Help you in building a community of readers • Help you in testing new ideas • Receive early & direct feedback • Publish or broadcast in the timeliest manner possible

11. For a collage journalist • Blogging means testing and learning a new content management system • Publishing news stories, building audiences, and getting attention • Helpful in getting a job

12. Its all about you • You decide how often to publish • You decide what content will you take • You decide the layout of your blog • You decide how to interact with audience • You decide what to edit the content and what the headline line say

13. What is a good blog? • A good blog is continuing conversation • You facilitate it but, audience dominate it • Readers opinion is valued • Readers are your friends • They want you to get the story right • Readers make your blog stronger than any single could make it alone.

14. Blogs are not magic • Writing a successful blog takes dedication and determination • There is never a break • Needs constant work • Always needs updating and posting new stories • Blogs can be influential or incredibly boring • It all depends on the writer (s) powering the blog

15. Why blogs are important? • The first information revolution in 1990s • When everyone started creating websites just to have one • Creating a website needed a lot of technical skills about computers & web design • Most individual publishers were computer-code geeks • Flashy website of Statics information

16. Why blogs are important? • However, early information revolution gave way to two way information with advent of blogs • Blog flipped the early model on its head • Any one can publish who can click a mouse and type.

17. Why blogs are important? • Blogs changed journalism • Dan Gillmor launched the first blog for San Jose Mercury News a mainstream news organization, in 1999. • Its simplicity, immediacy, and interactivity have improved journalism. • Bringing journalists and audience closer • Removing the constraints of time and space that limited journalist ability to report a story

18. Why blogs are important? • Most companies use blog these days • Future 500 companies who have blogs https://socialtext.net/bizblogs/ • In the beginning of 2009,CNN had 30 blogs e.g. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/ • New York Times had 65 active blogs • Local news papers and TV stations around the world have also blogs

19. Becoming a blogger • Before making your blog read news stories • You have to read blogs in order to write an effective blog • Top 100 blogs: http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/ • Find blogs that are right for you • Select the topic you are interested • E.g. environment, politics, sports, food, or fashion, education.

20. Becoming a blogger • Note which posts you like most, then refine that information: • What makes them interesting? • Is it compelling or convincing? • Are the topics relevant? • Are there enough links to material? • Track the frequency of post: • Is the blog updated regularly?

21. Becoming a blogger • Learn the language • Bloggers use some specific terms • Post: an entry on a blog (post), or to make an entry on a blog • Permalink: A link available on each post that provides direct access to that post. • Helpful for other bloggers to link directly to a given post or for readers to e-mail a link • Vblog (video blog - a blog that features video commentary as its primary medium • Moblog-Blogging from a mobile device • E.g. http://my.vlogcentral.com/

22. Make a plan create a blog • To create a basic plan for your blog, answer these questions: • What will you name your blog (1-3 words)? • What is a good short description of your blog? • What is the mission (2-3 sentences) • Set goal of your blog • Before starting your blog think about what you will blog about • Always pick a topic you have enough knowledge about it • You should be passionate about the topic • Using these information user will know immediately what your blog is all about.

23. Make a plan create a blog • Enter “start a blog” in Google • http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Blog • This is a step by step guide • Chose a blog system to create your blog

24. Who provide blog systems? • A lots of companies • Blogger.com • http://wordpress.com/ • TypePade.com • Wikispaces.com • Top 40 + Free Blog Hosts • http://mashable.com/2007/08/06/free-blog-hosts/

25. Recommended system • Recommend system for your group project is blogger.com & worldpress.com • Two leading platforms • Creating blog is quick and pain less • Have demos and videos tutorials to help you get started • Its also FREE! • Worldpress provide more themes whereas, blogger provide flexibility to customize the design without knowing the code

26. Let’s start with Blogger How to Create a Blog on Blogger Video tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/BloggerHelp

27. Customize your blog • Name your blog • The name will display on the top page of your blog and also in the URL (link) • Themes • Custom logo • Add Videos and Pictures • Widgets-Quickly add extra functionality e.g. search box or calendar • Paid Domain name

28. RSS • RSS-Really Simple Syndication • It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. • Its really simple • Instead of visiting several web pages or performing searches over and over, you can set up RSS to do that for you.

29. RSS-Select a Reader • Two types • Web-based readers: that you can access by logging into a specific web page. • Stand-alone: that is downloaded into your computer and then launch. • You can download & read later, even no internet • Popular options: NewsGator, Feeddemon • Integrated into blogs • To understand the difference e.g. • Gmail account V.S outlook express

30. How to know if a webpage is RSS active • Firefox and Opera display the now-common square orange badge for a Web feed in the browser's address bar when they find RSS feeds on a site. • You'll see a similar symbol in Internet Explorer's toolbar. • Safari shows a blue rectangle with "RSS" written in white letters.

31. Thank You Questions & Comments