Tag Archives: bloggers

Blog, Schmog: Why You Absolutely, Positively Don’t Have to Blog

You hear “blog,” and think, “Blah!” As in, “Yuck!” No, make that “Blah-blah-blah!” As in, “A royal waste of my time—as a reader, and certainly as a writer.” OK, I hear you. And it’s true—you don’t have to write a blog. Isn’t it so 2007, anyway? Of course, if you are looking to grow with […]

Just Who or What Is `Mainstream Media’?

Lately, there has been much discussion and debate on my Medill School of Journalism alumni list-serv about what constitutes “mainstream media.” Of course, the phrase is often used in the context of claims that the aforementioned nebulous institution is biased, out-of-touch and worthy of tongue-lashings from all quarters. On a related note, someone recently got […]

Blog A Vital Cog in Paralympian Coverage

How important are blogs? Sometimes, they can provide essential information and help spur on media coverage. A recent case in point was Chicago Sun-Times reporter Andrew Herrmann’s story on U.S. Paralympian Melissa Stockwell, the first female U.S. amputee in the Iraq War. Over the past nine months, Herrmann wrote two fine stories about Stockwell. The […]

Media Free-For-All Presents Opportunity

Some thoughts spring to mind on the heels of the Democratic National Convention, where bloggers played an increasingly influential role. In 2000, when I began working a four-year stretch as a freelance reporter for Time magazine’s Chicago bureau, I was amused by the speed with which sources returned my calls. If I had called those […]