mickey kaus- KAUS FILES

Mickey Kaus' site to a regular visitor would seem always up to date and on topic with politics. Kaus writes in a very concise manner and intelligently. If any political scandal erupts, his loyal followers will probably follow up on his blog to see if he has written anything, or if he has scooped up any past evidence to support his argument. If the reader did not pay attention to politics--and because Kaus assumes that you already do, it seems-- then some topics (like his latest posts about the healthcare plan)that he covers may leave you hanging and confused. Kaus simply adds on commentary, quotes, and criticisms based on the most recent political debate or scandal.
So if there is new reader to the site, they may feel as though the posts or topics are a little over their heads. He does not write a posts like a legacy story although he often links quotes to their sources- but he does not give background information. If you were wanting to find and read Kaus' site, you would probably be reading the page because you were informed on the topic and wanted to hear his opinion or of questions that he raises. There are no reader comments allowed but he has said that he welcomes and questions for clarification and the pointing out of errors. I cannot tell the size of his audience but I am sure that he has some sort of long following as he is sometimes on Bill Maher.
If you were to somehow stumble on his page and you were familiar with the topic or issue that he was discussing then you just might stay. His stance on issues almost confuse me. I cannot tell what party he sides with because he criticizes absolutely everyone. He also stays very balanced as a blogger, which to me is a rare find among blogs. He attributes properly and he also goes more into depth than newspapers but he is also more to the point than loopy political tv shows. He is usually correct and is fiercly blunt which is probably something that attracts and maintains attention.

Assignment 5

When stumbling upon one of Ron Kampeas blogs, there’s a good chance that the reader will immediately leave or be become a regular viewer. Kampeas may lose a large portion of his viewers for the same reason he attracts others. The Jewish perspective he presents may drive away many non-Jews while the same time attracting those interested in the Jewish community. This specialized approach gives Kampeas’s writing a unique perspective compared to other sites which do not focus on a simgle religious perspective.
The perspective that Kampeas offers is in no way hidden, being posted on The Global News Service of the Jewish People, http://jta.org/user/stories/1112/P0, the issues discussed will form around this broad audience. A person who happens across the site because they are following a certain topic, for example President Obama’s meeting with Israeli Prime minister Netanyahu, will find the perspectives invaluable and unique. While being presented with a thorough critic of white house press management, the reader is also given an excerpt of questions answered by Press Secretary Gibbs. This mix of opinion and dialogue allows readers to read for themselves and make their own decisions.
A regular visitor to the site will be disappointed in the recent posts concerning the presidents meeting. While objective and informative, then posts offer little criticism of those involved, relying merely on white house press releases. When comparing to previous posts it’s disappointing to see such limited insight into issues that were discussed.

Assignment Five - Calculated Risk

1. From the perspective of a visitor who is regular to the site Calculated Risk, the author has done a tremendous job with keeping on topic. He is continually working in his niche market of economics and finances dealing mostly with home and this includes this week’s read about loans. In addition, he is really good at regularly providing graphs and other infographics that help the reader, in this case me, understand what is going on but this week, it seemed to be missing that detail I enjoy. The only complaint I have as a regular reader is that he often uses information from somewhere else and that’s all the day’s blog consists of and this was true this week too. The blog led with a link from Reuters and relied heavily on information from that. I would have liked more commentary, those types of blog posts were often the best.

2. From the perspective of somebody who is interested in the site or item’s topic but is a first-time visitor to the site, the author needs to work more on engaging the reader and giving this reader who knows about what is going on in the housing market a fresh look. The post is a little dry and could have been more interesting if it wasn’t just a rehash of information from another source. I think it would benefit from more commentary and less reliance on already published media because chances are this reader has already received the information from another source.

3. For someone who came across this blog by chance, unless that person is immensely interested in the housing market and the economics at play, there is a low chance they will be interested – especially with today’s post. I think it would have benefited from a graphic and that would give people who are just stumbling upon it a chance to understand what the numbers he mentions in this post mean to them.

ProPublica - Assignment 5

The top item posted on ProPublica's main page is entitled about a Chicago psychiatrist who's facing multiple lawsuits. The headline reads "High-Risk Meds, Cut-Rate Care for Chicago's Indigent Mentally Ill." The article was also published in The Chicago Tribune. According to the reporters' investigation of public documents, the psychiatrist's overprescription of an antipsychotic drug led to the deaths of several of his patients. They also found out that the psychiatrist sees a lot more patients than all practicing doctors in Texas combined.

I think the top item can easily attract a regular site visitor to keep reading. ProPublica is an investigative news Web site, and most of the stories are comprehensive. As someone who visits the site regularly, I'm aware that this is ProPublica's purpose and of its reputation as an investigative news Web site. I go to the site not just to learn a little bit about a news item or to read the first two paragraphs and move on. I go to the site, choose an article and read it all the way through. I think the article did a good job of covering all sides of the story. It didn't just focus on the details of the lawsuits and the doctor's practice, but also told the stories of the patients who died. That attracted me to read more into the article.

If, for instance, I visited ProPublica's Web site after hearing about it from someone, and I saw this item on the Web site's main page, I think I'd be interested in reading it. What would probably attract me into reading more is the fact that the entire story is not just paragraph after paragraph of details and information. It also includes images and interactive maps that better explain to the reader the significance and impact of the story. Having said that, I think I would probably visit the site again because it made an impression that it's not just about long stories and countless details.

If, for instance, I just came across this article by searching on Google, and I've never visited ProPublica's Web site before, I'd also read the article all the way through. It usually takes me two or three paragraphs into the story before I decide if I'd keep on reading or move on to something more interesting. In this case, I think I would've read the entire article regardless of whether I found it on ProPublica's Web site or somewhere else. Having said that, if a top item on the Web site interested me enough to read it all the way through, I'm more likely to want to explore the Web site itself.

Perspectives on naked capitalism

I will be reflecting on a guest post from Richard Alford titled “Trading This Crisis for the Next.” I wasn’t sure about writing a reflection on a guest post, but since naked capitalism often has guest posters, most visitors would see them and the reputation of the blog would be staked on their posts.

As such, Richard Alford’s merits are summarized in two sentences. He is a former economist for the New York Fed and is currently working in the financial industry as a trading floor economist and strategist on both the buy and sell side.

From the get-go, Alford begins by introducing the G20 Statement, which is a set of principles issued that would help the current economic growth. In Alford’s analysis, the G20 Statement’s primary focus is to sustain the current economic growth rather than attaining economic balance. This strategy would help continue the growth in the current crisis, but in the long term, it will only add to future economic crises. Alford uses a graph and a few quotes to help his argument.

1. From the perspective of a regular visitor, I would find this post fascinating. It meets the style and topics that are covered by the blog. It’s written intelligently without a need to dumb down language, but it summarizes the G20 Statement so that readers won’t be lost. It is an analysis of current financial affairs in the global economic environment. It gives links to its sources. All in all, this post, though it is a guest post, is what regular readers come to expect.

2. From the perspective of a first time visitor who is interested in the topic, I would say that it is a good introduction to the site. The blog doesn’t go terribly in depth with the topic as some beats in legacy newspapers are, but there are good analyses to be found on relevant topics that I’m sure legacy newspapers might miss. This post is a representation of the average length of analyses and posts that the blog features. There are 14 reader responses when I check the blog. Some of these reader posts are insightful and adds to the conversation. Contrasting to legacy media websites, their reader posts were not very insightful from the times I’ve checked. It’s certainly a nice introduction and a welcoming example of the blog that should interest people on the fence about the blog to return.

3. From the perspective of a happenstance visitor, I would ignore the site and move on. The language is written for those who are interested in the financial industry. Many people are interested in the industry these days because of the economic environment, but most people would not know the more in depth topics like the G20 Statement. After reading the first line and confirming that the post is primarily about the G20, happenstance visitors would simply move on to a site that they would more likely understand its topics. In support of the post, however, the title “Trading This Crisis for the Next” is very captivating and would certainly interest those who’ve been hearing about how the economy is improving, but has their concern of whether is it is valid or not.

60 Minutes- Three Men and a Web Site

Today's top article is "Cyber War: Sabotaging the System." It is regarding how the advent of the internet has made it so that cyber-terrorism is as big of a security concern, if not bigger, than the typical physical attacks. The article also emphasizes how some experts, such as former spy Jim Lewis, believes that the U.S. is unprepared for such a cyber-assault. The article itself is longer than the typical "60 Minutes" story, coming in at six pages. So, here is my rundown of I believe three different readers would perceive the story and Web site.

Frequent Frank: A user who visits the site often, meaning they enjoy the site, like how it is formatted, etc., should be happy with the story. The story itself is well-constructed and interesting. It does run long, way too long for any Web site in my opinion, but if the user was a person who read the articles found at the page, then they probably wouldn't mind the extra length.

Also, the story is presented well on the home page. The headline given for the article is "Sabotaging the System" which alludes to the subject matter as well as present an alliteration (I mention the latter only because alliterations are fun to say and are bound to attract some readers, whether consciously or not). The graphic paired with it is of the reflection of a man in a yellow hazmat suit, which gives a science-fiction vibe bound to appeal to some readers. No matter, though, a dedicated reader is bound to return anyway.

Curious Carl: Anybody interested in checking out the Web site for the first time, or is just interested in the article, would have a mixed experience. On one hand, the article is well written, interesting and gives the feeling that it is about something pertinent. Also, the article is easy to find on the home page and is accompanied by various extra videos the viewer could watch for additional information.

However, considering the length of the article and how the internet seems to feed off of low attention spans, the user could easily quit reading the article after the first page. And the extra videos, while a nice addition, could over-saturate the experience and cause the viewer to not watch any of them. So, the article could make a new follower out of the reader, or it could turn them off completely. I'd put the odds at 50-50.

Lost Larry: A first-time visitor to the site would probably find the article interesting for the reasons I covered in the first entry (Frequent Frank). It's a well-written and well-marketed article. The only Achilles' heel I see is the fact that it is so long. To a person who stumbled upon the site/article on happenstance, I don't think there'd be enough to encourage the viewer to read all six pages. If the user can handle the entire load, and they like what they read, then I could see the reader coming back for more. Otherwise, I believe that viewer would just wander off into cyber-space never to return.

Reflecting on Jeffrey Golberg

Jeffrey Goldberg's latest post is titled What the US Military Needs is More Muslims. This was posted only a few hours ago, and is a reaction to a reader's email about a previous blog entry about the our military's need for Muslims. The reader says that his prior entry was contradictory and unclear about whether the military should or should not have more Muslims. Goldberg's reply is: both. He goes on to explain the reasons why he thinks this.

As a regular visitor to the blog, I like this most recent post. Not even so much for the content, but I like when he reacts to reader feedback. It makes the reader feel more engaged in the blog, and gives his blog a more conversational feel rather than just an opinion outlet for Jeffrey Goldberg. Also, it shows that he welcomes debate and conversation over his blog content. While the title for the post is bold, it isn't surprising to someone who regularly visits the page.

As someone who is a first-timer, but interested in the topic...I wouldn't necessarily be turned off or on by today's post. For one, the page is really texty upon upload. There are no pictures or graphics,which is what usually grabs my attention. Since this post is a reaction to a previous post, it does require the visitor to dig into previous entries to be caught up with the content, and in this case that would require tracking back 5 postings. If someone was genuinely interested in this topic, I don't suppose they would mind doing that.

With that, I think if someone just happened to come across this post, they would not be so inclined to divulge into its content. If you never read his original post about Muslims in the military, then this post would be confusing. Also, in light of the recent Fort Hood massacre, a title implying we need more Muslims in the military can be very off-putting to many. If you didn't know any better, it might sound like this blog is Goldberg's forum to spout off some raw radical viewpoint, and a lot of people wouldn't care to spend the time figuring out what he really means in light of recent events.

Emptywheel - Assignment 5

Reactions...

1) As a regular visitor, I would be a bit surprised by Marcy Wheeler's latest post. While it relates directly to the economy and Americans in general - something I've come to expect from her - it does so by criticizing comments made by Mika Brzezinski, a broadcast journalist for MSNBC. In the post, Wheeler belittles Brzezinski, who is currently pushing a book on careers and families, stating that her remarks on the matter are not only insensitive and moronic, but show a total disconnect from the average American. In the post, titled Mika Brzezinski and her 7% Husband, Wheeler uses Brzezinski's own words against her:

"The odds are definitely better on getting the right job than getting a good partner for life. Someone who will grow with you. Someone to develop memories with. Someone who was there in the beginning. Someone who will be there at the end. Don’t push away that chance if you’re one of the lucky ones who find that partner. And remember, you can always change a job. I hear it’s much harder to switch out a husband."

To which Wheeler responded as follows:

"Now maybe this will come as a surprise to someone born into fame and connections like Mika, but it’s not actually all that easy to find a job. As CNN pointed out the other day, statistically it’s actually harder to find a job right now than it is to get into Harvard."

While I, as a regular reader, applaud Wheeler's decision to call someone out on their stupidity, this subject seems to be a bit below her usual radar, which usually includes big name politicians. That being said, I would chop it up to a bad day, and continue checking back regularly.

2) As a first time visitor with some interest, I would feel like Wheeler's post adds little to my current bank of knowledge. While it is interesting to see someone called out, the only information that seems halfway important is that provided by CNN in the form of statistics.

"Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, job openings declined from 4.4 million to 2.4 million and the number of officially unemployed persons grew from 7.5 million to 15.7 million," according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "If the 15.7 million officially unemployed workers were to apply for those 2.4 million jobs, the chance of any one of them finding a job are about 15 percent, or roughly the same odds as being accepted to the University of Pennsylvania."

Other than this, the post seems to act only as a chance for her to let out her frustration, not offer valuable news or opinions. Based on this, I would be unlikely to return to the site.

3) I'm honestly not sure I would finish the post if I were to stumble upon the site. As I stated in the previous reflection, it seems to offer littler to her regular readers, who have a sense of her better work, and even less to those not familiar with the blog.

A Look at Yglesias' Appeal to Visitors

Matthew Yglesias’ most recent Think Progress blog, Too Much Ms. Nice Abortion Rights Advocate? , is formatted similarly to the rest of his blogs – basic opinion and analysis of current events expressed through his intelligent and sometimes witty writing.

Regular visitors to his site, would notice that his posts reflect exactly what they would expect from him. There is no ‘new’ information, per se, but regulars get sucked into discussions and analyses of current events in our everyday world. Sometimes, Yglesias writes about topics that regulars may have missed in the morning’s newspaper. In this case, he always provides direct hyperlinks to those specific articles for others to further investigate about the issue. Yglesias’ blogs fits the needs of a regular visitor. And I’m sure they will continue to visit his site.

From the perspective of a first-time visitor with interest in the topics or site, Yglesias’ posts are relevant to that particular visitor directly because of the primary, initial interest. Yglesias’ brings light to ideas about a wide variety of current events and issues – he creates a discussion and forces others to think outside of the box. Yglesias’ site can definitely be valuable for a person who is actually interested in its topics. They may even become regulars.

For a person who visits by happenstance – simply because s/he conducted a google search and clicked on a random link, perhaps – Yglesias’ site can be quite confusing and give a wrong impression on first glance. As we know, Internet users give only a few seconds to a Web page before choosing to continue on, or exit and pick another site. Just a few seconds, that’s it. New visitors may be attracted to the initial layout and headline of the Web page, keeping their attention a bit longer. Whether they read through his blogs and return, or exit and never come back, is determined by the user him/herself. If they are interested in only hard fact news, then the latter would pertain to him/her. However, if engaging in analysis and discussions about the current news, then the first-time visitor would return again.

Reflecting on the Daily Kos

The health care debate is currently one of the biggest issues being knocked around the Daily Kos website and it would be hard for a regular of the site to not understand the top post item. From Mcjoan at least, a recurring angle I've seen from her posts on health care usually addresses the angle of the importance for democrats to be unified on the issue and to squash the opt-in or anti-choice debate. It's an angle that never fails to get the comments section fired up and at the time of this blog post, managed to gather 56 comments in less than half an hour. For the most part, the post served mostly as a reinforcing tool to tell conservative democrats to squash the debate.

As somebody who happened upon the site because I was interested in the topic, if I agreed with the views the topic presented, I could see myself deciding to become a regular on the site, especially if I saw the comments section and read the posts there to help reinforce my beliefs. Even though the post was very thin on content, the message of the post was clear. A person who is interested in the site and its views would enjoy these kinds of posts. As Mcjoan said on the subject in her post, "It seems like everyone heard what they wanted to hear on this one."

But if I were a first-time visitor who just happened on the website and looked at the first item, the thin content would turn me off. If I wasn't someone who was strongly decided on the issue and agreed with Mcjoan's views, I wouldn't see myself coming back because of the lack of context and information the top posting provided. Anybody can see the message that's trying to be delivered by the post and the only first-time visitors I can imagine who would come back to this site would be the visitors who strongly identify with the topic.

Assignment 5

The top post on the blog I follow which is Kevin MD.com http://www.kevinmd.com/blog, is called Doctors and Patients need to learn to live with health insurance companieshttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/11/doctors-patients-learn-live-health-insurance-companies.html#more-41095 It is a story about two patients, with two different medical situations. It also gives helpful points that doctors and patients should follow in dealing with health insurance.

As a regular visitor to the site I think this is a very interesting story. The topic fits exactly with the mission of the blog. The blog Kevin MD. was set up to help the common people understand health care, and the top post did just that. The author made it interesting by getting her point across in a story telling type way, which is a change from the regular articles about health care. This was actually the first post I have read on this blog that I really got interested in. It made me more interested in the topic.

This was also a good article for someone who is interested in the site or its topic. I say this because, the article explained problems with health insurance in the simplest way possible. As someone who gets confused by health care myself, the article was very understandable. For someone who is a first-time visitor its a good article to read because it is not filled with medical mumbo jumbo. The post is straight to the point, using words a regular person can understand. For a person who is interested in this topic, I think this article will definitely bring a person back to the blog, because it made the topic even more interesting.

From the perspective of a first-time visitor who happens to come across this site, I also think this is a good post to start with. The story was interesting and had a lot of helpful information for patients and doctors. Not only that but, it brought light to issues dealing with health insurance that might make people want to look more into it. It was also a good post, because it was something that we might all deal with at one point in our lives. I think if a visitor is interested in the topic of health insurance, this article will definitely bring a visitor back to the blog.

The top post on the blog KevinMD.com was a interesting and informational at the same time. I think anyone who reads the top story would want to visit the blog again and read more.

Reflecting with The State Worker

As I arrive at my new homepage-away-from-homepage, the top story grabs my attention: SEIU staff and state worker blows, accusations . Since I am now a regular site visitor, I instantly relate and am compelled to read more about the story. A local well-known figure and television show host in the area was caught up in a fight at a union hall last week. The coverage by The State Worker is terse but gives me all the info I need to know: who, what , where, why, and affiliation. Because there were two television news stations on scene to report from the event anyway, and The State Worker was "out of town when the altercation became known," Ortiz provided a brief synopsis of the incident on The State Worker, but then linked full stories by CBS 13 and KCRA Channel 3 in the same post. What I also liked was links to the television program that the involved state worker was a part of. As a frequent visitor of the site, I am happy to read about a little drama involving state workers - It makes me forget about the budget deficit for a few minutes.

Coming to the site because of the topic at hand (Ken Hamidi gets in a fight), I stumble upon The State Worker due to searching Google for more information regarding the incident. I am distracted slightly by the glowing Drexel University ad to the right of the page, but I quickly recover from my ADD and see the headline to the story I was searching for in the first place. Although I think the actual information and depth in the story is void, I appreciate Ortiz posting links to the TV stations' stories about the topic. Although I am unfamiliar with the site, I am familiar with the names and organizations that The State Worker mentions, and that is what ultimately hooks me in. I am impressed by the fact that The State Worker seems to have all its bases covered in regards to state worker-related news.

Here I come - a long-time reader of the Sac Bee, but because my family just recently bought me an internet connection at home, I have stumbled onto Sacbee.com . Curious to see what the hell they have to put on the net, I root around and find Jon Ortiz (a favorite writer of mine) and some "blog" called "The State Worker." As a 30-year veteran state worker, I wanna see just what this internet site is all about. At first, I am unsure of what I'm reading. But after reading the short story and the reader-submitted comments, The State Worker grows on me a little bit. I am turned on to the fact that it is a website entirely dedicated to issues and news stories directly related to state workers like me. I also like that I can speak my mind and interact with other state workers who feel passionately about the same things I do (or things I hate). So far so good; I think this site just might actually be growing on me.

Back to reality, my conclusions are as follows:

* The post serves well to each of the three audiences - the news story is just too tempting and juicy to pass up.

* Because of the nature of the story and the highly opinionated responses already on the blog post, I think there is high probability that each of the three types of readers will come back to the blog because purely to see how the nature of the comments on a particular article have evolved.

TPM's Range of Traffic

The Talking Points Memo has a direct affiliation with politics. This political theme is fairly objective and covers both parties, but the title of today’s headline may make Conservatives wonder. The headline story is entitled, “GOPers Fixin’ To Eat Their Own: Who Will The Right Devour Next?” The content underneath the headline includes a still photograph of Doug Hoffman, and links to different articles relating to the 2009 special election for New York’s 23rd congressional district.

As a regular visitor to the site, I know that the lead stories change sporadically. I have noticed that every few hours a new headline will appear in the center of the web page. The lead story always has different articles associated within the top story and subject. The news articles related to the subject are written by correspondents to the site, not the lead editor or publisher. I know this because the blogs by managers are written to the left portion of the home page. So today’s top story seems usual for the site, and the TPMDC section included a story that related to this article. Since the “political phenomenon” of the right wing taking down a moderate republican occurred, it makes since that TPM reported on it.

As a new visitor who is interested in the site, I tend to notice that the lead story is in large font, and located at the center of the screen. The still photograph of Doug Hoffman is highly apparent, and the content lets me know that this is the main story for the website. I knew that politics and politicians were reported on throughout this site, so I got stories that I expected.

As I clicked on the title, it sent me to a two paragraph article. I assumed that since it was a news article it would be in the proper newspaper layout. However, I was mistaken because there were no quotations or inverted pyramid format. The style is known as a blog, and I got my information about the NY-23 special election in this conversational, blogging manner. The bottom of the article contained pictures and names of different Senate members, including the list of representatives who were in crisis.

As a first-time visitor to the web site, I realized that TPM is the Utopia of political stories. I was overwhelmed with the amount of information, so I just clicked on the title and picture that appeared the most interesting. When I entered the home page the top story was visually larger than the others. The hyperlink took me to the lead story, where I read about “The Right Devouring” representatives. The text of this title made me assume TPM had a left, liberal vibe.
The format of the article was confusing because it was divided between Senate members and small paragraphs associated with their pictures. Some Senate members in crisis were listed as Joseph Cao, Carly Fiorina, and Charlie Crist. I wanted the story, but there was not much to it. The text was small, short, and the red hyperlinks took me away from the story. I know that the red hyperlinks should strengthen the story with more information, but they tend to distract me from the article I chose to read.

The post served the regular visitor best. The regular visitor knows that this website has a blog style and format, assisted with hyperlinks to supporting articles. A first-time visitor may not know where to go, and then be confused by articles and wary of the blogger's credentials. The regular visitor and new visitor may be more encouraged to revisit the blog. The reason being is that they are comfortable with the format, and the way in which opinions are presented. Once one can see the format of the home page and sections at the top, they will be able to easily direct themselves. Also, the bottom of TPM introduces the reader to the TPM media, including the reporter-bloggers. This will enable the reader to meet the reporters and bloggers, and view their credentials.

Joanne Jacobs - Points of View

1. The top post on Joanne Jacobs’ blog is about using hip-hop as a teaching tool. Jacobs quotes a Teacher Magazine article that claims incorporating hip-hop rhymes, songs, dances and videos with other traditional teaching material helps students connect to tough concepts more easily. As a regular visitor to this site, I actually like this post because it is longer and more colorful than some of her other posts. As usual, I would like more commentary and opinion from Jacobs, but she only offers one vague sentence at the end of the post. I definitely think the teaching method mentioned in her post is innovative and clever and I found the reference links in this post helpful. I would visit this site again because I like the variety.

2. If I were visiting this blog for the first time because of interest in how hip-hop relates to education, I would not be very pleased with this site. I might use this post as a first step in a search for information, but it is not deep enough for me to get a complete picture of hip-hop teaching methods. Jacobs’ latest post could point someone in the right direction and provide good links, but I don’t think this first-time user would return. Jacobs’ posts are varied and will probably never touch on hip-hop education again. This post does serve a good purpose for someone doing preliminary research, but provides nothing substantial on the top item’s topic.

3. If I stumbled on this blog purely by chance, I would still find this top post interesting and somewhat useful. I like the idea of a NASA-endorsed hip-hop group that teaches kids about Newton’s Law. I think Flocabulary’s method of teaching rhymes sounds like an effective spin on old ways of memorizing information. But without commentary from Jacobs, I have no idea if this site will keep posting content that is relevant to my interests. I would prefer to get a sense of the author’s point of view upfront in their blog. It’s those strong opinions or analysis that hook a reader and keep them coming back.

Capital Notes - Recent Post Reaction

The recent post on Capital Notes, "Nolo Contendre = Solo Contender?" was posted on Friday, October 30, 2009. The story provides more thought, insight and opinion on the recent announcement of Gavin Newsom's abandonment to the governor's race.

As a regular visitor to the site I find this post typical of the author, John Myers. Intertwined with witty commentary, extra background information and possible explanations, the post makes the reader think about the intentions of Mr. Newsom and what exactly is going on with the political race.

For someone who is new to the site, but has found the post because of an interest in the topic, the reader might find Myers' input refreshing as he adds a twist and leaves the reader waiting for more information on the topic, or the reader might not like the slight sarcasm. The reader would most likely read other stories by Myers and take an interest to his blog. The stories are easy to follow and entertaining but only follow stories about the Capital and politics.

If a first-time visitor came across the site by happenstance, the reader would probably read the post because of the catchy title. The site is simple and not distracting allowing the visitor to focus on the stories and not confused with too many ads and where to navigate to. Unless the first-time visitor was interested in politics or the happenings at the Capital, the visitor would probably not visit the site again.

Perspectives of Mondoweiss

Mondoweiss is a website that reports breaking Middle East news, but like most regular visitors know, the site is made mostly of opinion and commentary. The blogs written by Philip Weiss are enjoyed by regular visitors to the site who go back for his humor and passionate opinion about what's being said about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. 

Weiss is always quoting other sources and giving commentary. This week's top post titled "Anti-Anti-semitism (Colonist Rabbi issues book giving rules on when it's cool to kill gentiles)," would be interested in this post about West Bank colonist rabbis who are saying it's okay to kill children, babies and gentiles. The regular visitor would like the commentary and reading the quotes from the rabbis. The quotes are probably of particular interest but were obtained from other news sites, not from original reporting. This may cause the reader to stray off onto another site with more news on the subject and less opinion.

For someone who is interested in the site or top item's topic but is a first time user probably would enjoy the site's posts about news about the conflict. The user may like the site if he/she was looking for a credible opinion on the subject. Weiss's commentary brings attention to the to what the rabbi who is being endorsed by other West Bank rabbis which probably wasn't reported on in the news. In the post he wrote, "Babies and children? I never got this memo"which is a taste of his sarcasm about the issue of a certain rabbi condoning the killing of children and babies who threaten Israel.  

A first-time visitor who has come across the site by accident may find the quotes confusing because the post is a few sentences of commentary and a list of quotes from another source. Weiss usually doesn't state who said the quote he just uses hyperlinks to the original source. This could confuse users and draw them away from the site. A first-time visitor would only come back to the site if a user had an interest in Middle East politics. This type of visitor I think is the hardest for Mondoweiss to attract to the site and to continue to visit. 

Obviously regular users would probably be the most likely to return to the site. A first-time user interested in the subject might return if they liked the site. 

Kleiman From Varying Perspectives (#5)

Mark Kleiman’s blog, The Reality-Based Community, focuses on a variety of topics. The latest post is called the “Pants-on-fire award: Pelosi wants to put you in jail for not buying health insurance,” and as the title infers, the content deals with the House’s healthcare plan. The post is no more than another opinion-based commentary on the work of other bloggers and the statements of politicians.

Regular visitors to Kleiman’s site have come to expect posts like this. Kleiman assumes his readers are regulars and does not bother to mention full names of the people he refers to. He merely calls them by their last names, which suggests that he’s writing for an informed audience. The first part of the post says “I heard one of Boehner’s Buffoons yelling.” Only those who are closely following the healthcare debate would know that Kleiman is referring to House Minority Leader John Boehner. This post is very typical Kleiman, short and critical of other bloggers and politicians. Kleiman chastises Dave Camp, Ann Althouse, and Glenn Reynolds for posting and linking to a press release by Camp entitled “PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail.” Kleiman blames all three for spreading lies and not bothering to read the press release. I believe a regular visitor to the site would be pleased with Kleiman’s criticism and would already be familiar with the people he is talking about. These visitors are the ones that are mostly likely to understand Kleiman’s posts and return to the site regularly.

First-time visitors to Kleiman’s site, that are interested in the House’s healthcare plan, would most likely not find much value in this post. The post is definitely not news and merely features Kleiman’s opinion. Kleiman does address some of the concerns of the Republican party, but he does so in very critical way. Two of the bloggers he refers to are lawyers and because of this Kleiman concludes that “it’s hard to imagine that any of them might be sincere.” He labels one of John Boehner’s colleagues a “buffoon” and claims that none of the people he mentions are credible. Thus for a visitor looking for healthcare news, there is not much substance in Kleiman’s post. It is more opinion and name-calling than any real insight on the subject. I do not believe a visitor looking for healthcare information would return to Kleiman’s site unless they liked having their own anti-republican ideals affirmed or weren't concerned with real news content.

First-time visitors to Kleiman's site would most likely look at the "Pants-on-fire award" story and scroll down to see if the other posts were similar in nature. The majority of Kleiman's recent posts are concerned with government issues, though the gigantic sidebar on the left of the site lists topics ranging from art and urbanism to Walmart and religion. I believe most visitors would want to figure out who Kleiman is and might be intrigued by the advertisement on the site for his recent book. New visitors might click on this advertisement or visit the "about us" section. Visitors looking for hardcore news would turn up their noses at Kleiman's site and would not return. Visitors interested in opinions and commentary might like Kleiman's site, especially once they learn that he is a professor of public policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. His posts are not designed for everyone and are aimed at readers who like reading opinions and are familiar with others in the blogosphere. These visitors are more likely to return to Kleiman's site.

ABC News Blotter- Different Perspectives

Site: ABC News Blotter

Story: ‘Cop Killer’ Gun Used In Ft. Hood Shooting, Officials Said.

When it comes to regulars of the ABC News Blotter, I think they would like the top post on the blog. It is what could be expected from the blog by being a little unexpected. The News Blotter tends to do pieces based on the largest items in the news at the time, however they dig a little deeper into a specific detail. This article fits right in, taking the Ft. Hood story, but detailing the gun used in the shooting. I think regulars will find it interesting because they know what to expect. If they visit the site often, they will know how to navigate the pages and get to all the information.

First time viewers of the site will probably like it as well. They would have most likely been googling ABC News or the Ft. Hood shooting. People with an interest in the Ft. Hood shooting would probably be very interested in this article because the headline is interesting and the article delves deeper into part of the story than most news blogs do. It is definitely a unique article. First time users may only read the first chunk of the article, though. Without scrolling down much it’s hard to see how long the article really is. It is broken up by other links that could trick the reader into thinking that’s the end of the article. However, the webpage loads very quickly, has a good headline and is easy to read, so a first time reader is likely to give it a chance when they already have an interest in the site or topic.

Someone who comes across the article by chance, may not have as much patience to dig through the website and scroll to the content. There are so many extraneous links, videos, ads, pictures and navigation; it is easy to get distracted. Without scrolling, there is no content other than the headline. Luckily the headline is written well and is rather interesting because it makes the reader want to know what it’s about, but if they don’t have an interest in the topic, they will most likely move on. Not being able to see any content on first glance puts al the pressure on the headline to attract a first-time user. The extra links may be able to pull an uninterested reader to another topic on the site, but they may also bog down the page and cause a reader to become uninterested.

The Daily Dish: Getting Perpective

Looking at the top posting, “No More Mister Nice Gays” on Andrew Sullivan’s blog, The Daily Dish, it’s hard to get a clear idea of what each perspective would get out of the site and the posting because it deals mostly with opinion.

 When it comes to the regular visitors to the site, this type of posting is something to be expected from Mr. Sullivan. A regular visitor should expect a healthy dose of opinion, and the latest posting is no exception. The site caters to the regular visitors, by not really changing the way he does things on his site. Obviously, if the regulars are interested in the subject or the site in general, the likelihood of a return is high.

When it comes to those site visitors coming to Mr. Sullivan’s blog for the first time, and are interested in the subject, in this case gay marriage campaigning, they might find the site to be interesting, because Mr. Sullivan does support and talks about subjects involving gay marriage and other issues of that nature frequently. Once again the opinion plays a role, and in my mind, giving an honest opinion serves both for and against the subject in question. In all honesty, it really depends on the feelings of the visitor when it comes to the opinions of Mr. Sullivan. If they are in agreement with the opinion, the probability of a return is fair, but not very good if they don’t agree.

When it comes to the third perspective, the person who comes to the site by happenstance, it is really hard to narrow down what they would think of the site, and the subject matter of the posting. If in agreement, the visitor might dig (if they care) a little more into the site, just trying to figure out what the site is about and who the writer is. The site serves these types in that there is a bio of the writer, but that is really all in the way of service. Looking at it on the whole, the return probability is not high for the people just coming to the site by happenstance.

Assignment 5

Write a reflection/reaction to the top story/post on the site you are tracking. Do this from a number of perspectives:
1. From the perspective of a regular visitor to the site.
2. From the perspective of somebody who is interested in the site or item's topic but is a first-time visitor to the site.
3. From the perspective of a first-time visitor who has come across the site by happenstance.
How well does the post serve each of those? How likely are visitors from each perspective to revisit the site/blog? Be sure your post includes a hyperlink to the relevant Web page. Your post is due by 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Reflecting on naked capitalism. Assignment 4

Yve Smith’s naked capitalism is not a part of Massing’s piece.

I’ve made my own conclusions about blogs and their appeal based on Yves Smith’s naked capitalism. In my original post, I’ve listed some of the subjects covered by Yve Smith, subjects that include the banking industry and the Federal Reserve. Not all people are interesting in the subject and neither are people required to understand them. Yves Smith’s blog specializes in banking industries and does not try to cover all news according to region as legacy news does. Because the audience is more concentrated, Smith has some freedom in what she writes, and she expects her readers to be able to follow without too much trouble.

From what I have seen, Smith does not have any original content, but the point of her blog was never to offer news content. Naked capitalism is a site that provides analysis to what has been going on. For example, Yves Smith would criticize the New York Times and then point out the contradictions that come from their coverage. The point of Smith’s blog was to provide analysis of the goings on and hopefully bring people closer to the truth by doing so. This is, of course, similar to editorials and is completely biased.

I almost feel as if Yves Smith’s blog is a check on legacy media. People can take in all of the news content from legacy media, and there are little for people to differentiate what is false and what is true. By analyzing news content, and hopefully revealing certain inconsistencies, this may effectively put pressure on legacy media to do quality coverage if their quality did somehow fall.

In this sense, I think blogs deserve praise. I don’t see blogs and citizen journalism to replace legacy media, but I think they can co-exist to keep the quality of news coverage high on both citizen journalism and legacy media.

Weekly Standard/Massing Assessment

In Michael Massing’s “The News About the Internet,” Michael Goldfarb is labeled as one of a “battalion of Israel defenders.” Looking at Goldfarb’s The Weekly Standard, it is a fair assessment that a lot of page time is dedicated to Israeli issues. Israel was at least partially the subject of 9 out of the 30 blog entries on the main page of the site. However, it is also a fair assessment that this subject deserves as much attention as The Weekly Standard provides.

Interestingly, one of today’s blog entries is entitled “Dropping the Pro-Israel Pretense.” It discusses how an organization called J Street, a self-described “political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement” has dropped the use of the phrase “pro-Israel” on the final day of their conference in Washington, D.C. because they did not want to run the risk of alienating students.

The blog goes on to point out that the J Street conference is presenting anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli speakers and that the Israeli ambassador to the United States refused to attend the event because of these positions that the organization has taken.

Without getting into political or religious debates, Israeli-American relations are significantly important to both nations and if it takes being labeled an “Israeli defender” to bring to light many of these problems, The Weekly Standard should accept the label with honors.

The Weekly Standard blog: http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/

ProPublica - Assignment 4

In Assignment 1, I said ProPublica is a legitimate news Web site that does original and comprehensive coverage of national issues. I still think so. ProPublica is just as legitimate as The New York Times or The Washingtojn Post. The difference is that, other than being just an online publication, ProPublica is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization. The journalists who work for ProPublica are along the lines of those who work in other respectable news publications.

Also, while ProPublica does cite stories from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press and others, it still does its own investigation, interviews and reporting in other articles. For instance, an article entitled "Energy Department Boldly Goes Where No Man Has Gone Before," it doesn't seem like the writer did much of the reporting herself. She, instead, cited reports/stories done by The Times, The Post and AP. However, in other articles, such as "Car Dealers Protected from New Consumer Protection Agency," the coverage is, I think, very much like what we can see in other legitimate news publications.

ProPublica is also doing a good job of tracking down how the stimulus funds are being spent. The Web site is continually updated when significant amount of stimulus funds have been spent, how they were spent, who received the funds and why the funds were given. The articles about this are also supported by interviews with credible sources from all sides of the issue. Like I said before, ProPublica's articles can be text-heavy because most of its coverage are comprehensive. However, it does utilize other tools such as info graphics that would make readers understand better how, for instance, the stimulus funds are being spent so far. On the main page, for instance, is an info graphic called "Stimulus Progress Bar," which is on the main page of the Web site.

Overall, I think ProPublica is living up to what it says in its "About us" section. It continues to provide full coverage of national issues, and it continues to provide well-written and well-reported investigative pieces.

The Kaus Files- Massing Praise

"The two bloggers most commonly recognized as the medium's pioneers, Mickey Kaus and Andrew Sullivan, are, remarkably, still at it," said Michael Massing.

Kaus started his blog in 1999. Massing goes on to say that, "both still use the style they helped popularize—short, sharp, conversational bursts of commentary and opinion built around links to articles, columns, documents, and other blogs."

While some may criticize Kaus, their arguments don't seem to be very valuable. Kaus does a very good job at staying pretty fair in his arguments- something that Massing noticed as well.
When I first began following Kaus for the assignment, I was shocked to hear from people that he was a liberal. Aside from him calling himself a neoliberal (which I had to search for), I wouldn't have thought he was a liberal because he just ripped Kerry and Obama in postings from a few years back. He also came down on conservatives on things like affairs, lies, and cover-ups. After discussions with my friends, we concluded that if he was criticizing Obama and officials, it was because he was criticizing them fairly on things they weren't doing or enough of. I think this approach towards his blogs is what makes him a very pioneering blogger.

Perhaps it is his journalistic experiences or education, but he writes his postings as near perfect additions to Slate. He properly cites things when most bloggers dont and adds a very intelligent analysis to them. If he is questioned, he clarifies himself. He always links additional resources and examples to back up what he is saying as well- another thing Massing praises him for.

This is a recent piece on the White House vs. Fox Network topic in which he offers advice on evaluating media.

1) Neutrality--Are they attempting to be "objective," trying to serve the "public interest" in some balanced way, or are they ideologically (or otherwise) driven in a way that inevitably colors their coverage--what topics they pick, what 'experts' they rely on, etc.

2) Independence--Whether they are biased or generally neutral, can somebody--a political party, a Mafia family, a government-- tell them what to do?

3) Accuracy--Are they committed to not telling untruths?

4) Fairness--Do they try to present all sides, even if it's only to take on an opponent's best argument (as opposed to his worst)?

5) Discipline--Do they tolerate dissenting voices within the organization--even when those voices are effective? Will they assign major stories that will cut against their interests and arguments?

6) Willingness to Suppress: You can have a commitment to accuracy, even a commitment to going out and finding and publicizing the truth for its own sake--but what happens when that commitment collides cataclysmically with your other, ideological purpose? The New York Times has a high commitment to accuracy, for example--and it's so big it almost has to be relatively tolerant of individual deviation. But would it endanger the Democrats' Senate majority by printing a series of damaging exposes of a leading Democratic Senator shortly before an election?

As long as Kaus has been running his blogs, he manages to stay accurate and relevant.

Mondoweiss Revisited

Mondoweiss, a blog about politics in the Middle East, posts mostly commentary about news and events pertaining to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Michael Massing wrote, "With its unrelenting criticism of Israel, his site has angered even some of his fellow doves, but it has given voice to a strain of opinion that in the past had few chances of being heard." Weiss surely cuts into Israel with his postings everyday. His drive is clearly to give voice to the left side of the conflict.

According to Massing, Weiss went to Gaza and filed reports on his encounters there. Without reading that I wouldn't have known that Weiss does original reporting. Since I've been reading Mondoweiss there hasn't been any original reporting just commentary. However, this week Weiss was at the J Street Conferenece doing some original reporting.

He wrote, "Eldar described apartheid in the West Bank, and Hagai El-Ad, leader of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said that the Supreme Court of Israel has signalled that it is going to endorse separate roads for settlers and Palestinians as a legitimate function of the Jewish state."

Weiss is thus providing an insider's view of the conflict at the conference by blogging about what he sees as newsworthy. The idea that Israel is going to create separate roads for Palestinians and Jews was appalling and probably wouldn't have been kown about this soon without Weiss's reporting.

Weiss's criticisms of Israel are important because his viewpoint isn't found in larger media networks. Weiss can break news about this issue because he follows everything going on and its personal to him as Jewish American. Weiss's passion is felt in his posts about Israel as in today's above the fold post in "Israel, we have a democracy problem," Adam Horowitz, fellow blogger of the site, broke the news that there are more Palestinians than Jews between the river and the sea. This isn't something that would be seen as newsworthy but Mondoweiss makes it relevent to the reader.

I think Weiss does a great job on covering issues relating to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict through commentary but there needs to be more original reporting from key locations and events. I think his best work is done when he provides news rather than commentary.

60 Minutes- Revisit

Since Massing did not cover "60 Minutes," I am revisiting my first article and seeing how it holds up to my current feelings on the site.

In my first assignment, I wrote that I felt as though it was a boon that the "60 Minutes" page was written by actual journalists instead of bloggers. I still feel the same way about that. Blogs can be informational and entertaining, for sure, but I'm certain the majority of people trust news from journalists more than they do bloggers. So, as such, the fact that the site hosts legitimate news articles is a good thing for internet surfers who want to know what's happening in the world.

In addition to that, though, it should be noted that the written articles are still unsuitable for the net. A lengthy, four-page article is virtually unreadable online when one considers how short people's attention spans are and the fact that it takes longer for people to read off of a computer screen than from a print paper. So, while the articles may be well written and in-depth, fewer people are reading them than if the articles were trimmed down to at least two pages. At least the videos are there as supplements.

In my first post, I also commended the website on being organized but not taking advantage of the medium. In a way, I'd like to reverse that remark now.

The home page of "60 Minutes" is fine above the scroll. It shows the top stories of the day in the center of the screen, and above that it lists tabs for access to other categories of stories. However, below the scroll it looks like everything has been thrown together. Or rather, it looks like my closet when I'm trying to clean in a hurry. Sure, everything is in a place, but that doesn't make it any less of a mess.

I believe that everything underneath the "recent segments" category should be cut out considering that they are already covered in other tabs. Or, if it is necessary to contain those stories on the front page, I believe it would be a better idea to have a list of titles off to the left hand side of the screen so that the reader can choose whether or not to look into some stories in greater detail. If this were implemented my only concern would be whether or not the screen was too busy and cause reader confusion and make them not know where to look.

And, as for me saying that the site doesn't take advantage of its medium, well, it doesn't. But I may have been too harsh the first time around. The videos are an excellent feature. Presuming the user has a decent internet connection, then watching the videos are an efficient way to learn about what's going on. But the four-page articles are a serious weak point for the site.

Emptywheel - Assignment 4

It is a bit difficult for me to truly touch on some of the things brought up by Michael Massing, as the political atmosphere as of late has not allowed Marcy Wheeler the opportunity to show of one of her true talents - live blogging. In his review, Massing writes that he really began paying attention to Wheeler after she began live blogging during the Lewis Libby trial. While I have yet to see any recent examples of this, I trust that her live blogging is much better and more thought out than anything I've seen so far. My biggest concern with Wheeler's blog is the fact that everything seems so rushed. It's as if she spends a good amount of time tracking down reliable news sources, and only minutes formulating her own opinions.

While Emptywheel lacks sophistication, Massing's appraisal of the site is pretty dead on. It is a blog, created by an educated, but not formally trained woman, who speaks to what people want to read in a non-formal, but semi-professional manner.

"(The Internet) offers a podium to Americans of all ages and backgrounds who are flush with ideas but lack the means to transmit them," Massing wrote in his review, The News About the Internet.

While I wouldn't persoanlly read her blog every day, Massing was correct in placing her on his list, as she writes about important topics such as torture, the auto bailout and politics. She is clearly a force in the main stream media, and has been quoted in The New York Times.

"I first learned of Wheeler last April, when her name appeared in a front-page article...about the release of Bush-era memos on interrogation techniques," Massing wrote. "Through a close reading of the documents, Wheeler was able to conclude that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had been waterboarded 183 times in one month. This revelation was quickly picked up by The Huffington Post, and soon thereafter it showed up in the Times."

In the end, I feel that Massings review is correct. Wheeler seems to take her blogging very seriously and definitely steps up on big issues. My only issue is with the day-to-day posts, which act as space fillers till a reals tory breaks and she really starts blogging.

ABC Blotter- Checking In

The ABC News Blotter was not covered in Michael Massing’s article “The News About the Internet.” Looking back at the website, I don’t think my opinion has changed since the first assignment.

The ABC Blotter homepage has exactly the same format as it did before. There is next to no content. On the first page view, the only content is headings and subheadings. There are no articles. Most of the screen is used for navigation and self-promotion. There should be much more emphasis on content, because it’s worthy content when you can find it.

The latest post on the blog, FBI: Chicago Men Planned Attack Over Danish Cartoon of Prophet, has the same problems as the homepage. There is simply not enough content for a news blog. The only content shown on my 13.3 in. screen, without having to scroll, is a heading and subheading. Over half the screen is used for navigation and advertising. The site really hasn’t changed at all over the weeks, yet I am more annoyed by its inability to feature news and not entertainment videos. These links are sometimes helpful, when they aren’t entertainment clips from The View, but when a person clicks on a link, they expect an article, not unrelated videos.

White Space and frames are still used well and the load time is still the desired 1 sec. using my broadband Internet. However, the extensive use of pictures, advertisements and video clips probably wouldn’t yield the same results on dial-up or DSL Internet. People who use these kinds of Internet would probably become too fed up waiting for the extraneous links and pictures to load to ever see any real content.

The blog definitely has its strong points, but falls short when it comes to content.

There is a large advertisement banner across the screen as well, which takes up more space than any content. I understand they have to pay for the website production somehow, but their priorities seem to be out of whack.

The second screen shot has about 50% content, but the other half of the page is used up by navigation. There are links to other stories. I think this gives the reader too many distractions. They may see a different story on the navigation bar that catches their attention and move on, before even reading any real news. There is simply too much navigation on the ABC News Blotter.

The color scheme makes the text easy to read. The standard black on white keeps it simple so readers aren’t overwhelmed by style decisions. They have the right idea about using simplistic style because it doesn’t take away from the blog’s purpose. People don’t have to drag their cursor over different color texts to figure out what is a link because all links are the standard blue color. To attract more attention, red text is sometimes used on the white background for just a coupls words, not whole blocks of text.

Checking in w/Yglesias

Matthew Yglesias is briefly mentioned in Massing’s article, “The News About the Internet.” Massing states that like Paul Kiel - a ProPublica writer and former staff at Talking Points Memo - Matthew Yglesias is “an emerging new breed of ‘hybrids,’ schooled in both the practices of print journalism and the uses of cyberspace.” And that’s it.

Massing is on point in regards to his comment about Matthew Yglesias. Yglesias is a Harvard graduate who began blogging in his college days and getting into the Web and all its uses. He was associate editor for Talking Points Memo and The Atlantic, with many contributions to The New York Times and Slate. So clearly, he has both experience with the Web and journalism.

My first impressions of Yglesias’ blog continue to hold true. He has yet to really do any original reporting, as set by traditional journalism standards. Though, he is extremely aware of the world around him and discusses – discusses – significant issues in our American government and across the globe. He raises awareness of issues that should be discussed and further investigated by journalists, and “average Joes.” Yglesias provokes thought with insightful opinions and analyses, which in turn creates a relatively large readership of persons who comment and further discuss the issue.

Lately, Yglesias seems to be blogging primarily about issues overseas (American troops, Afghanistan, Israel) and about health care reform. Of course, he blogs about many other issues – random issues – that are also important ideas to analyze and discuss.

The most recent blog on his site, McDonald’s Withdraws from Iceland, consists of a brief analysis as to why the country is losing the fast food restaurant, with appropriate links to the actual news article on BBC’s Web site.

And of course, no original reporting to be found.

Daily Kos - Assignment Four

The Daily Kos was only mentioned briefly in Michael Massing's piece and he used it as an example of websites that "helped open up entire subjects that were once off-limits to the press." From what I've seen so far, I've read a whole bunch of different (but still left-leaning) perspectives on major national issues such as the health care debate and still more pieces that serve little more than jabs against moderate democrats and the political right. But I've seen precious few pieces where new stories or subjects have been brought up. It's still mostly rehashes and commentary on other news stories or other blogs.

I have to say though that many of the posters on the Daily Kos showcase what I would consider to be a rather remarkable and prodigious ability to regurgitate old and current news articles and blog posts into articulate pieces of political commentary. A majority of posters are pros at digging up articles, referencing them, cross referencing them to other articles, and consolidating it all into witty barbs designed humiliate the target(s) of the blog post. But beyond the barbs against Faux News and people who say the darndest things, there is a lot of intelligent insight and discussions about political issues so long as one is willing to dig through the muck-racking and reader comments.

My opinion on the Daily Kos in the past month has changed slightly. When I first started reading the Daily Kos, I had once thought there was little to no original reporting being done on the site. This is not the case as it seems that Joan McCarter (mcjoan) has put out at least three pieces I've read that contained original reporting and, this one most importantly of all, an actual original interview. In the past month, this is one of the few pieces I've read where a poster did some real journalistic work and did not simply do their homework on an issue. But it's still in my firm opinion that anybody with Google at their fingertips (or even better, a Lexis Nexis account or the like) can be successful at posting at the Daily Kos.

TPM- Massing's Opinion Challenged

The Talking Points Memo (TPM) is highly praised by Michael Massing, author of "The News About the Internet". According to Massing, "Talking Points Memo is one of the most visited political sites on the web." TPM has a heavy political emphasis, and it is apparent with their articles pertaining to government issues and world affairs. I agree with Massing's praise, but I do not agree with some of his assumptions.

In Massing's article, he writes that before the TPM web site, the Internet had a large amount of right-wing influence. In 2005, the majority of the blogosphere was dominated by the right. The Drudge Report was in the lead, being the most visited site until TPM. The invention of the TPM site is influential because a political change occured. Massing notes that the liberal left pulled ahead on the web, and TPM is an example of that left influence.

I do not agree with Massing on that assumption. I see both liberal and conservative articles on the TPM web site. An example that I noticed was the recent blogs and articles about Fox News. The article on TPM LiveWire focused on a former Fox News contributor, and why she left the organization. CNN held a panel discussion where the tensions between the White House and the Fox organization were addressed. The comments at the bottom of the article revolved around the subject of Fox News and "declaring war". The bloggers did not seem thrilled with news organizations, and their support for Fox was limited.

These conversations between bloggers portray how the Internet allows for opinion and participation. The bloggers for this article seemed liberal, and that can make viewers think this site is aimed for a left-wing demographic. This assumption is what Massing believes, and at first I thought TPM had a left-wing appeal as well. However, I came to find out TPM aims for equality.

The previous Fox News example related to how liberals felt about the conservative organization. The article said that the former Fox News contributor was scared of Glenn Beck and left because he was "scary" and there was less debate pieces in the program. I did find a rebuttal story posted with Beck defending his language and organization. This article on TPM LiveWire shows the web site illustrating two sides of the story.

TPM has three components and they are TPMDC, TPMmuckraker, and TPMcafe. In my previous blogs, I have written about these sections and how they pertain to the web site. Massing wrote about these sections as well, and he labeled them by saying TPMDC covers the capital, TPMmuckraker does investigations, and TPMcafe features outside contributors. I agree with Massing that all of these sections help the web site do more than newspapers.

Massing says, "Political reporters have good sources but they tend to be professional sources, who are used to picking up the phone and giving tips to reporters." The Internet allows for more freedom, with a hyperlocal emphasis. I agree with Massing because people in the world should hear about political issues and events, even if it happens across the country. The access to this information is now readily available for people.

The information available on TPM is because of editor and publisher, Josh Marshall. The creation of TPM was because Marshall began blogging and freelancing on his own. Marshall is a reporter and he used to be the Washington editor of The American Prospect. His past experience helped him in creating a blog with a "breaking news" element. Marshall could attract advertisers, which gave him more money to hire staff and report news fast. TPM's readership grew, and the blog and comment sections increased.

This web site has remained constant, and my observations are still the same. The stories and news constantly changes, but the way in which it is reported is similar. I do, however, notice the political influence is not only the left, but also the right. For example, the TPM Twitter Rooms include Hill Democrats, Hill Republicans, Democratic Insiders, and Republican Insiders. TPM is open to opinion and does not hold a bias. So, my opinion has changed in that regard, but other than that it has remained the same.

Capital Notes - Blog Still Holds True to First Review

"Capital Notes" is not included in Massing's article, "The News About the Internet." Initially, I examined the blog and wrote that Myers had a detailed reporting style that he made easy to read by using simple sentences and short paragraphs.

I still find that true now with" Capital Notes." Myers uses original reporting using his first hand experience of working at the Capital and covering state politics. He includes some witty opinion but mostly provides unbiased reporting to allow the readers to gain further knowledge on the subject and make their own decisions. He does summarize and break down complicated issues to make them easier to understand however. Many issues that pass through the Capital can be either really boring, or difficult to understand and Myers does a good job at making it easy for the general public to follow. Readers of his blog don't have to be political junkies to understand what he is reporting.

The latest post on the blog, "When All Was Said and Done," was about the recent water issues that California was facing. It includes more of Myers' witty opinion mixed with the facts of what happened. He does a good job at making the story interesting and informative.