1. On WordPress The Use and Mechanics of J-Blogs and Blogs in High School Journalism Marcus Funk

2. What blogs do you follow? Why?

3. Three Kinds of Blogs Interest Blogs ▫She SimmersShe Simmers ▫Atlas ObscuraAtlas Obscura Business / Professional Blogs ▫Nuts About SouthwestNuts About Southwest ▫My websiteMy website J-Blogs ▫CNN Political TickerCNN Political Ticker ▫Greta WireGreta Wire ▫Dallas Morning News TrailblazersDallas Morning News Trailblazers

4. Blogging Credibility: Interest Blogs ▫Personal Credibility Business / Professional Blogs ▫Personal Credibility J-Blogs ▫Traditional Journalism Standards

5. J-Blogs are … Online newspapers Rapid news delivery systems Direct, concise methods of reporting Catered easily to niche audiences and interests Big brother of “micro-blogging,” AKA Twitter

6. Do high schools use blogs? Yes! … sort of

7. There are a few, but not many … Administration: ▫Newtown High School BlogNewtown High School Blog Teachers: ▫The Nerdy TeacherThe Nerdy Teacher ▫MissCalcul8MissCalcul8 J-Blogs: ▫… ?

8. Why aren’t there more? I have no idea

9. The 4E’s: What J-Blogs offer: Experience ▫For many students, a 250-word blog post is a much easier assignment than a newspaper or yearbook story  In my experience, at least in college, students very much tend to over-write rather than under-report Expedience ▫Much faster than traditional laborious printing

10. The 4E’s: What J-Blogs offer: Editing ▫You can fit that torpo quickly and easily, and embarrassment-free, online Economics ▫Blogs much cheaper to produce than print papers, although they also earn less revenue

11. Risks of J-Blogs: Expedience > Editing? ▫Swift media distribution can lead to sloppy editing or reporting, although this can be corrected easily after the fact Update or Perish ▫There’s nothing sadder than an abandoned blog

12. Risks of J-Blogs: Censorship? ▫Given how easily blogs can be edited, some administrations might exert constant influence?  Once a newspaper is printed, it’s printed. Blogs are never “printed” in the same way Anything I’m not thinking of?

13. What do you think? I’m not above arbitrarily calling on people …

14. How do you blog? You just blog …

15. … even if it feels insurmountable

16. Why WordPress? Because everything else is really annoying …

17. Contact info: Marcus Funk Ph.D. Candidate The University of Texas at Austin (210) 789-6057 Marcus.jfunk@gmail.com www.marcusjfunk.com