The Impact of Multimedia on Messaging

The trend in blogging and journalism overall has been to enhance what is being written by adding some form of additional multimedia content.  This multimedia could be a video, a slideshow or even some sort of audio file that is added in to give the reader a visual on the actual content of the story.

After reading the news story Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek that was published in the New York Times and posted online, I can honestly say I was blown away by the impact that the addition of this multimedia content had on the story.  I was initially struck by the wording of the story because it was so descriptive, I could imagine myself being there on the slopes that day, but then I started to wonder if the images and visual content behind the wording played into my feelings.  I have to believe that this multimedia content that showed snow falling on the mountains as the background of the wording, to video clips of the survivors discovering the victims to the slideshow of images of that day all played into the impact that the story had on me.

Images, slideshows and video clips seem to hold the most impact as far as telling a story is concerned.  Words paint a picture in the reader's mind but if there is visual content to back this up or videos showing the actual details of what is being written about then it makes the details that much more crystal clear for the reader.

It seems that overall multimedia added to blogs or online news articles definitely adds some additional impactful content, if it is used in the right capacity.  It is a struggle for new bloggers on how to add the content correctly and make sure it adds to the story as opposed to distracting the reader with multimedia content that does not need to be there.

Many of us have heard of Brittany Maynard, who is a young wife dying of brain cancer.  She moved to Oregon because it is a state that allows a person to end their life legally with medical help, if they are terminally ill.  Basically she is choosing when enough is enough and when to end the suffering.  I found a great article on the Huffington Post which has a video embedded in the article of Brittany in her own words describing her struggle and her decision.  The article also incorporates a slideshow of celebrities who battled cancer before the age of 40.  It uses two visual mediums to add more of an impact to the words.  However, in this case the story is so emotional it doesn't seem necessary but it definitely adds that much more emotion that it takes the story to a whole new level.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/30/brittany-maynard_n_6075800.html

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The Struggle is Real

Have you ever noticed the cute pictures of cats snuggled up together or cleaning each other because they are so bonded?  Well when I adopted my cats I thought for sure this would be the case for my four pawed children...

I guess it's not a perfect world but as long as they tolerate each other then we are one happy family...in my mind anyway.

Betsy Devillier

Blogging Best Practices

The Huffington Post is a website that I visit each day.  I have the site book marked on my laptop and have the mobile app installed on my iPad and iPhone.  I guess the site would be considered a hybrid site because it has news information and also a considerable number of blogs as well.  When I started to view this site it was for news only.  I originally thought The Huffington Post was great because it gives headlines of major stories and links to the stories but it also provides a quick read feature, which is a synopsis of the story, so with limited time a person can catch up on a great deal of news.  I never used the site at first for the blog feature because at that point in time I was not really into reading blogs.  Overtime that has changed for me, now I read the blogs on the site more and scan the news headlines quick for any late-breaking news.

The Huffington Post categorizes the blogs and provides a bio on the author so the reader can get a feel for where the person stands politically and what angle they are approaching their post from.   Every subject is covered from politics, to food, to religion and even issues that students are facing on college campuses these days.  In other words the blogs on this site tend to be all inclusive of any and all issues a reader may be interested in.  The Huffington Post is smart with how and whom they choose to blog on their site.  It is not a traditional blog as I previously mentioned.  An author contributes work for their blog and if it is deemed worthy and credible it will be published on the site.  It takes some bloggers years of submitting work to be published on the site for the first time.   After a writer proves him or her self they tend to become a regular blogger on the site.  Many celebrities post blogs regularly including Alec Baldwin, certain political figures and other popular media journalists, which draws a reader in simply by who is writing the blog post. 

To me the blog portion of the Huffington Post is great because it covers every popular topic happening in the world today.  I can view each blog post, decide if I like the writer and the content and choose to read that writer’s posts in the future or not.  It also saves me time because I can read ten different blog posts on various topics and not have to skip from site to site to read the posts.   If I take a particular interest in a writer’s blog I can fan it in order to receive updates when the writer blogs again and allows me the ability to comment and provide feedback on the blog, which allows the blog to become interactive between reader and writer.  This is something that shows the true credibility of a writer, allowing the reader to provide feedback and comments.  Writer’s who do not give this option on their blogs makes me question their credibility.  In order to write on the Huffington Post this is a must for the writer.  

The fact that The Huffington Post takes the time to vet it's blog writers and makes them accept feedback from the readers are two of the best journalistic practices I think a site can choose to enforce.  Overall for me the ease, convenience and topics covered are what makes The Huffington Post amongst my most popular blog sites that I visit each day.  I do not have a lot of free time to indulge in blogs that often but when I do this site is my first choice each and every time.

   

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-blog/

The Death of Joe Paterno

For Immediate Release:

"JoePa" Hero of Penn State Football Dead at age 85

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania-January 22, 2012-Today Joe Paterno, the hero and father of Penn State Football died from complications of lung cancer at the age of 85.  Paterno is survived by his wife Suzanne and his five children.

Paterno a native of New York, was involved with the coaching program at Penn State University for 62 years, 55 of them as the head coach of one of the most successful college football programs in the United States.  The community grew to love Paterno over the years because of his dedication, hard work and success which is what earned him the nickname "JoePa".  His record as head coach at Penn State was an astonishing 409-136-3 over the course of those 55 years.

In 2011, Paterno's final coaching season, was his 62nd which makes him the record holder as a coach for any college football program as far as longevity is concerned.  His final coaching season in 2011 was cut short by a scandal so horrifying that it caused him to be fired, even after he said he would resign after the season was over.  The Board of Trustee's voted and decided that Paterno should not finish out his final coaching season and was to leave the program immediately.  The love and support of JoePa from students at the University caused a riot when the news of his firing was released to the public.  Thousands of students took to the streets in a rage of violence to protest what had just happened to Paterno.

The scandal did not involve Paterno directly but his defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.  Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of child sexual abuse which occurred during his tenure at Penn State.  Before Sandusky's arrest and when Paterno learned of what Sandusky was suspected of doing he followed protocol and notified his immediate supervisor as was required by Pennsylvania law, however it was not enough to save his career.

Whether from complications of lung cancer, or the heartbreak of being fired from his position as head coach at Penn State the death of JoePa has sent a shockwave of emotion through the area of State College, PA that many passionate fans will feel for years to come.  It is unfortunate that his death has the black cloud of this scandal lingering over him and his legacy.  JoePa was a true hero for many and will remain that way in the hearts of thousands forever.

Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno



Facebook Post:
Joe Paterno also known as "JoePa" - Hero of Penn State Football died today at the age of 85.  He was a hero, a father, a coach and an inspiration to many.  JoePa holds the record for the longest college coaching career at 62 seasons.  His dedication to the Penn State program could not be measured in any way.  He bled blue and gave everything he had to his players throughout the course of his career in State College.  Although scandal has shrouded his legacy as of late, he will live on in infamy for thousands of dedicated supporters and fans, after all he always wanted everyone to remember one thing..."WE ARE PENN STATE"!

Social Media Tools

The social media tools that I will be using to impact my research paper on a writer's role in the online mass media environment include the following:

Twitter
LinkedIn
Blogger

The links and rationale behind this are as follows:

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/betsy-devillier/62/4a6/6b9?domainCountryName=&csrfToken=ajax%3A0635503385904038262

I chose LinkedIn because I have used this site before, well I started using it years ago and never really followed up with it once I initially set it up.  I will use this site to promote my paper by directing my contacts to my blog and my twitter site which I will use to promote my research paper, hopefully opening up my work experience to more than just sales which is an area where my career has been stuck in for a long time.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/awritersrole

I chose to use twitter because you can make a point in 140 characters.  This site also allows users to link to certain topics that are trending.  Twitter can also be linked to other social media sites easily which made this an easy choice to promote my research paper.  I believe my connections from LinkedIn will build up my followers on Twitter.

Blogger:  http://awrinmme.blogspot.com

This is where I will post my efforts for my final research paper and even the paper itself.  I believe that my LinkedIn connections will also bring readers to my blog posts.

-Betsy Devillier