We Want Media

During our last Digital Journalism: Blogging class, one of my fellow students commented on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper blogs. She claimed the AJC blogs were simply there for reader commentary and the writers were not giving enough of their opinions. One specific blog, Table Talk, which she was interested in because of the food and restaurant content, apparently did not have the fluidity and easy navigation that a blog should have.

Well, missy, according to a survey done by the blog Blue Plate Special, the AJC blog is ranked numero cinco! The survey, conducted by New York University journalism students and their professor, looked for "very user friendly, high-quality content (writing, editing and images) and a grasp of blogging, a sense of ease with the form." The AJC blog in particular was cited as having many blogs covering a wide range of isues.

No offense to Blue Plate Special and the students that conducted the survey, but I have to side with my fellow classmate. If I wanted to read a news article, I would go buy the AJC. I want opinion, I want tone, and I want content. I would think that writers would jump at the opportunity to express their views. Blogs are a two-way street of conversation. They can only be perpetuated through constant dialogue.