Day 7

March 11, 2010: Our girl did it!  This post is in follow- up to her previous one of the week prior. She writes about her experience in the race, running 13.1 miles and the craziness which ensued in preparation for the race. This is, in some ways true investigative journalism, in some ways true 'new- journalism.'

Mallary lived this story and experienced it with her own senses, serving as motivation for her writing about it. Within this style of 'free' journalism, the writer is in position to write on behalf of her own will. It almost seems as if she is quoting herself. She is a primary source, anyway. 

Personal accounts of her "... waking up in the middle of the night to run 13.1 miles..." are personal anecdotes and give her credibility on the issue. Her credible voice creates interest for the reader, as we are learning this from a seemingly- informed 'expert' on the subject, or at least a primary source.

"Was I crazy?" she asks herself. This drops the barrier of unfamiliarity. There is no reporter playing middle-man on this story. The subject is the same as the reporter. 

Again, I recognize the importance of freedom in the blog- world.

Day 6

March 5, 2010: In today's blog post, Ms. Tenore truly exercises her freedom as a blogger. Her journalism background has influenced this passage, though with the foundations of a new- journalism typed style, the story holds a deeply personal edge. In fact, the first word is 'I,' whereas the 'laws of journalism' has probably taught her (as it has me) that there is no room for such letter in news reporting.

The article is about her newfound passion for long-distanced running and her training for a half- marathon at Disney World next weekend. She writes about begrudgingly waking up each morning to build up her endurance with an early jog of a half-dozen or so miles and the constant burn she endures of muscle fatigue throughout each day.

Most notably to me is the sincerity of her writing. The way in which she speaks as a primary source keeps me reading. Running, honestly is pretty boring to me. I don't even really like doing it. I get bored quickly and when the possibly of taking a jog comes up, I suddenly find reason to clean, or do laundry, or allot sometime to watching a movie.

Ms. Tenore uses her internet blog as a source of confidence. Ironically, any web- surfer may stumble on her page, making the privacy of her thoughts quite vulnerable. As a journalist, her 'outer- personal' writing must adhere to specific guidelines. As mentioned, there are no rules on the internet and Mallary's writing remains as free as her trains of thought.

Day 5

February 23, 2010: Using my personal judgment of the author's few photos, I'd imagine her to be in her mid- to late- 20s. Whether she just looks good for her age or not, she is hip to modern journalism, for sure. 

This article furthered my knowledge of a recent problem in the field of journalism: dealing with internet journalism in terms of making money. Major printed press companies are turning belly- up, after struggling to keep up with the job market. 

Magazines, newspapers, and periodicals are not making as much money anymore since their content is more accessible online. It is that simple.

Mallary writes about a story that she wrote for the Poynter Institute regarding 'bounce rates,' a term which describes when a news company's website catches a reader for only a short period of time. News readers log- on to an article and commonly 'bounce' off, back into the web and far away from that news website.

The money link exists in the website's advertising. Many news media companies stay afloat with the help of advertising and are able to sustain themselves with the increase need of advertising on behalf of larger companies and the money that they provide for ads on the website. 

People who log- on to a website and do not 'bounce' away are obviously spending an extended amount of time (longer than the length of reading just a few paragraphs,) and are therefore, more likely to click on the advertising published in the website's margins.

My journalism professor, Ms. Lauro has incorporated this subject in some of her teachings. She likes to target aspects of journalism that are of value to my younger generation. It is ever- changing and the internet will forever be driving the journalism field from here on out.

Can Professor Lauro be my Mr. John Quinn as I'm to her Mallary Jean Tenore? In that post, she mentions how she hopes to somehow inspire young journalists as Mr. Quinn did for her. It seems a bit ironic to me on account of my need for writing this be as a college assignment, given to me from my journalism professor.