Response to Achenbach Article

This blog post is a response to Joel Achenbach’s Washington Post article called “I Really Need You To Read This Article, OK?”

Picture of Joel Achenbach

Joel Achenbach, http://www.learner.org/catalog/extras/interviews/jachenbach/jachenbach.html

In his article, Joel Achenbach points out that the journalism business is changing from print to online. Consequentially, page views are determining content instead of what is really news. Achenbach points out that most journalists did not consider the business side of journalism until now. Now, page views are the driving factor.

The problem is that the page views aren’t always associated with what readers want since they are driven up by merely refreshing the page. Both those who do and don’t prefer good writing will be on the Internet. It is the journalist’s job to support the “fluff”. The Internet is also useful in providing reader feedback on a story like the discussions we have on Blackboard. I also love how Achenbach ends the article by mentioning his site and wanting his readers to refresh the page.

Media Pyramid

Click to enlargeLexie's Media Pyramid as of 2/8/11

Lexie's Media Pyramid

In both my online journalism class and my introduction to journalism class, I had to make up a media pyramid to show where I get my news from.

Twitter feeds are the main way I get my news. 🙂 I usually use Friend Stream to check them.

Friend Stream

Friend Stream

I am guilty of checking my smartphone constantly before and after class to do this. Checking Friend Stream is the first thing I do when I wake up.