My Personal Website

Online portfolios are gaining popularity as a way to sell yourself to future employers. My personal site embodies who I want to be as a health journalist while also showcasing my pre-existing accomplishments.

wilesmkayla.wix.com/kayla-wiles

An Honest Community Is a Successful Experience

Jill Walker Rettberg’s Blogging: Digital Media and Society Series (2008) and Nathan Shedroff’s Experience Design (2001) both claim that the most meaningful experience is created when information is communicated honestly and shared by a community.

Rettberg says in Chapter 6 of her book (“Blogging Brands”) that the “human voice” of communication can often get lost when blogs are written primarily for money or due to some sort of incentive, such as a free computer (128; 152-3). Blogs can earn money through advertising on their sites, micropatronages (donations), and sponsorships. The last option usually makes a blog the most susceptible to fraud, especially if the blogger does not state that he/she is sponsored. With sponsorship, the blogger is writing for the interests of that company rather than for his or her own sake – a personable, trusting relationship with the reader is less attainable.

The Huffington Post vs. CNN – Which is more journalistic?

The Huffington Post and CNN sites both deliver news to the public, but which one does so more effectively?

1.  Is this site journalism?

The Huffington Post: This online publication, while informal, is actually produced by a team of professional journalists, as seen on the site’s About page.

CNN: CNN is definitely mainstream media that is built up by multiple teams with journalistic careers. The CNN Profiles page lists all of the reporters, each with a skilled background.

Personal Authenticity vs. Institutional Credibility

The lines between blogging and journalism are becoming more and more blurred as the 21st century progresses. Jill Walker Rettberg points out several ways in which blogging is merging with professional reporting in Chapter Four: “Citizen Journalists?” of her book Blogging: Digital Media and Society Series (2008).