Review of 5 Blogs

Mindy McAdams
This is a blog that we were referred to in class. It's all about teaching journalism, and McAdams does a pretty good job at critiquing other sites and talking about her experiences with online journalism topics such as using flash. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifHer new blog site, which a link from her old site directs you to, is interesting because it shows her own style and doesn't conform to the basic Blogger layout. Her most recent post, from March 25, talks about a journalist talking to her class. This is much like a reported story, which is journalism. Although some may argue that blogging is not journalism, McAdams, who is a journalism teacher, makes her blog journalism by writing her own stories and doing research. Journalists are her audience, and the way she presents her material - in a journalistic fashion - is very effective.

Paul Bradshaw
Bradshaw's blog page immediately interests a reader because he uses basic colors and form in an appealing way. He thrives on the "less is more" concept. He even calls his blog the "online journalism blog" and the link is the same thing. He talks about online journalism in a commentary sort of way. I would consider him a columnist because he specifically sites different sites that he is writing about. Basically, he's doing the same thing that we're doing for our blogs for J295 - he just looks like he has more experience.


Dan Gillmor
Gillmor's site is different from a traditional Blogger layout site, but it's neat in the fact that it is a basic list of what he's writing about. He uses his blog to express his opinion on everything, and even though the list format may not be as appealing as Bradshaw's blog layout, readers can easily click on his articles. His articles are less formal than traditional newspaper commentary, but it seems like he's appealing to more casual readers, just Internet surfers.


Adrian Holovaty

Holovaty's site is more simplistic, but it appeals to readers looking for a simpler blog. The first page is more like a table of contents, which is appealing to someone who doesn't want to sort through a blog page to get to what they want. It's interesting because he has media coverage as well as his favorite music. His page is more personal, in that sense.

Jeff Jarvis
This site automatically attracts a reader because of its name, the "BuzzMachine." It's interesting, and like an actual buzz word, it's just attractive. Jarvis is very opinionated, and this is probably entertaining to his frequent visitors. He discusses newspapers and the FCC, and he just gives his honest opinion. His site is more like a commentary talk show with one of the news talking heads than a newspaper commentary, but he's appealing to a more modern, television audience.