As of February 16th of this year there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. With this many web logs out there in order to comment on all of them I would have to comment on 650,000 blogs a year for twenty years. New blogs are being added everyday, and it can be a challenge to find the one that gives you exactly what you want and need. In this blog entry I'm going to play the role of a blog critic as I critique three different political blogs to let you know what I think about them. Take a look at them for yourself and let me know if you agree or disagree with my opinion. I'm in search of blogs with excellent content where the writers report the facts and don't clog the blog with meaningless banter. Fasten your seat belt and ride with me as I make my way through cyber fog identifying the clear messages of some of today's political blogs.
CNN Political TickerAll Blog:
http://politicalticker.blogs.
Likes: Overall I like CNN Politics' Political Ticker blog, and I give it four and a half out of five stars. The CNN brand in itself carries the credibility of a trusted news source. Across the top of the homepage are pictures with easy access links to articles that readers may want to read immediately. In the upper right hand corner of the page is a brief statement to let visitors know exactly what the site is all about along with links for following the blog on Twitter and Facebook. The site has huge, bold, and intriguing pictures to go along with their articles as well as a Twitter and RSS feed, related links, and links to recent posts. The site has a good look and setup and is easy to navigate. They even make recent comments on blog articles, top topics, and archives readily available with the click of a mouse. The article posted on this blog peek interest and consistently report on current political stories and issues. CNN gets an "A" in my political blog grade book.
Room For Improvement: While taking Jakob Nielsen's 113 Design Guidelines for Homepage Usability into consideration, I was unable to identify any improvements this site needs to make. Though the site looks good as is to me it is my belief that there is always room for improvement even if I don't see it myself. I think improvement for this site will come as new Internet technologies emerge that they can incorporate. All websites should update to new and more efficient versions from time to time and the CNN Political Ticker can do this best by conducting periodic usability studies to continue to project a site that best serves their users. I like the fact that the site doesn't really have any advertising on it which can take away from the potency of the site, but there is a lot of blank space in the bottom right hand column that could be used for tasteful advertisements which would help monetize the site and increase revenues for CNN. One other place for possible improvement is for CNN to make sure they report a variety of stories without bias as they have been accused of doing.
Reliability Rating: On a three tier reliability scale of three being low, two being medium, and three being high, the CNN Political Ticker gets a rating of three for high reliability. Their news stories come across as valid and even seem to report things that are about to happen as opposed to what has already happened. One danger in reporting what is about to happen is whether or not it actually happens. The proof is in the political pudding and so far CNN's pudding tastes great.
In My Opinion: In my opinion CNN has been known to report in an opinionated way. It has been alleged that CNN has a liberal bias. While their partial projections of news are not always obvious, the stories that are published and how they are worded do seem to portray some favoritism at times. Though Republicans have been said to be portrayed in a negative light on CNN they are not the only ones. In the 2008 presidential election both Clinton and Edwards ended up with more negative news coverage than positive news coverage on CNN overall. Even so, CNN has been referred to in the past as the "Clinton News Network". Maybe CNN is reporting the news accurately and the accuracy of how the cards fall make them appear biased, partial, or partisan at certain times. I think they report the true news and sometimes the truth appears as biased. If what I've stated seems to jump from one side of the track to the other I might be able to get a job reporting for CNN.
Feature Article: "Democrats ramp up anti-Romney ad attack"
Wow! The ad is titled "Mitt vs. Mitt" while in reality it is "Mitt vs. Obama". View the ad below.
It is the belief of the Democratic National Committee that Mitt Romney will ultimately be Obama's opponent in the 2012 political race for the presidency which is why they launched this ad. The ad fragrantly displays the stink of an inconsistency of Romney's views on healthcare and abortion. Death is the most serious medical condition of all and it seems as though the Democratic National Committee is attempting to abort Romney in fetal stages of his campaign.
In the class Media and Public Affairs I took at Arizona State University this article relates to several topics from the class. First and foremost it relates to media influence. Through advertising media this ad can influence voters by the message it communicates which appeals to their beliefs and the positions they take on certain issues. Since the ad paints Romney in a negative light, people that have previously supported him may change the decision of their support. The ad is like a mini one-sided debate which displays the power of the media message. In Media and Public Affairs I learned about the strategies involved in campaigning; this strategy is both tactical and strategic from a political campaigning standpoint. This ad and article also display that political candidates are armed with a knife that cuts deep, and it is called the media. Media influence is as real as it gets, and those who represent political candidates will do what they think they must do to win.
The Washington Roast:
http://thewashingtonroast.com/
Likes: I can't really say that I like this site, but I threw it into the review for contrast. I do like their savvy approach to political news with outrageous, highly visible pictures, font that mimics The Washington Post, and well-structured website that is credible in appearance. This is a satire site so one thing I like about it is the comedy involved. The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife so I'm sure most people who read it know not to take everything said seriously. It is funny however how so many jokes are serious business. We laugh and joke about the comments and actions of politicians as they operate in a hilarious realm they call truth. I like the humorous atmosphere of this blog site along with the parodies, ridiculous ridicule, and laughable exaggerations that pinpoint serious political issues. I like that this site has a tagline immediately beneath the boldly branded name of the site.
Room For Improvement: The site itself is actually well put together. The appearance and navigation of the site are both good. A reduction in clutter for the arrangement of the site so that it is more aesthetically appealing would be an improvement. Though comedy is the site's claim to fame I think a focus on more serious stories that report the facts would enhance the site. Maybe they can find a way to mark their stories in such a way where readers will know which stories are serious business about accurate news and which stories are news that makes fun and jokes about the facts. Some spots on the homepage of the site/blog seem a bit busy. The major suggestions that I have to improve this site may take away from what the purpose of this site is. One improvement I'm sure they need to make is in the quality and length of their stories. In spite of this being a comical site for political news, they need more news-worthy stories period. I can't really find out what us happening in politics from this site. Their news reporting on current issues sucks and that isn't funny.
Reliability Rating: How reliable can you be when you are always making jokes? I think the stories on this site/blog tell a little bit of truth mixed in with a lot of jokes. The content is fairly reliable, but due to all the other stuff which is pure comedy the reliability factor goes way down. On my three tier scale I rate this site as a one and three quarters rating. It is above low but not quite credible enough to gain a medium rating.
In My Opinion: This site is definitely smoking the opium of opinion. That is what comedians do. Not to say that nothing they say is valid, it is just that comedy usually is highly opinionated. That is what makes people laugh. It is the exaggeration of the obviously stupid that people attempt to pose as something that makes sense. With its comedic expressions this site is no doubt biased. I knew this the moment I logged on and saw Herman Cain in a picture next to an Avatar. Maybe someone should construct a political amusement park since so many things in politics are already taking people on a ride.
Feature Article: "The Poor Live Better Than the Rich"
http://thewashingtonroast.com/
I've lived in poverty in America in the past and due to my first hand knowledge of what it is like I think this article is complete hogwash. The poor absolutely do not live better than the rich. Sure, billions of dollars in government aid are given to poor families, but a person has to be practically destitute to qualify. Funding for this aid has been cut at every corner and if the poor are living better than the rich, why are so many Americans without basic healthcare coverage? The cars and televisions they own may have been purchased before they were in a poverty situation, and even if they were obtained in poverty I can assure you that they weren't purchased with food stamps, unemployment income, or the minuscule $200 to $600 a month a person can get only if they have children and no income at all. Some poor families receive gifts from family members and live in tiny homes without enough room for the people who live there. I know a lady that lives in a half million dollar house who lost her job and now can't even pay her light bill. This article is an insult to all the families scraping every day just to survive. If the poor really live better than the rich, why don't the rich become poor to live better? I don't think so! Based upon what I've learned in media and public affairs this article is an example of opinionated and inaccurate media. False perceptions by someone who obviously does not know what it is like to be poor, and this perpetuates a negative media influence. If a poor person is living better than a rich person it is because the rich person is living beyond their means. There seems to be more justice for the greedy than the needy in America. Ask Warren Buffet who wanted to know why his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Granted, I will say that some people take advantage of public assistance benefits, but the number of those who do are far less than the ones that are truly poor and are by no means living better than the rich. I'm sure the Westchester, New York business man that makes $90,000 a year quoted in this article has nicer cars, TV's, computers, and DVD players than the poor people in this country. I'm also sure he is living better than them. The words in this article are like a pile of dung to me.
Politico:
http://www.politico.com/
Politico is a great political blog so I wanted to review it but came across another blog that required more critique. I've posted the link to Political above so you can visit the site and enjoy the articles they post. The site is well put together and the stories are valid and current. Now on to my next review.
News Blog 5000:
http://newsblog5000.blogspot.
Likes: I only liked two things about this site. 1.) The site has a nice patriotic look. 2.) The site has good white space, typesetting, proximity, and overall good aesthetic quality. There is a third thing I like about this blog which is that they call "comments" for the blog "complaints". I'm not big on complaining, but I thought it was a unique twist in the blog scene.
Room For Improvement: When I went to this blog site I was looking forward to seeing some good articles and being informed with current political news. To my disappointment, the most recent post was posted on August 12, 2007. What? Did the person who created this blog fall off the face of the earth? Maybe they did so I don't want to be insensitive. Blogs need to be kept up-to-date and this one isn't. I don't know what the problem is, but there is a lot of room for improvement starting with the need to blog on a regular basis. Maybe the blogger quit blogging, but if they did they should have posted an article informing their audience of this decision.
Reliability Rating: I have no idea how reliable this blog is. The fact that it is outdated doesn't say much for reliability. Because of that I will have to give it a low reliability rating, but on the high end of low since the articles that have been posted seem valid. However, don't look here for the next great and up-to-date political news story.
In My Opinion: This blog uses quotes to substantiate the messages of its articles and reports various facts and statistics, but the tone of the blog is biased. The way the articles are written seem to sway towards the writer's opinions on the issues. In my opinion, this blog is partially partial.
Feature Article: "Nine of Ten say no to Text Driving"
This article was so short that I found myself clicking on the title looking for the rest of the article. In regards to what I've learned in media and public affairs, I felt that this article displayed what it is for media to communicate current issues that are being deliberated. Statistics, quotes, and references to credible organizations strengthen the article, but overall the article left the readers deprived of a full story. As far as what I've learned in my media and public affairs class I can also relate this article to issues that are debated on both a local and national level. "All politics are local politics."
Thanks for tuning into Deneene Says...once again. This is the blog where I have something to say so I say it regardless of how it may be received. I found out through this post that critiquing blogs suits me well so I've decided to dress myself up as a blog critic at least once a week. You can view my upcoming blog on blogs The Blog Frog Report at: http://hoppingblogfrog.blogspot.com/.
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