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Entertainment Journalism Class No. 5: Blogging

By Michael Barnes | Monday, October 4, 2010, 12:21 PM

After a month of micro-blogging, the Entertainment Journalism class at St. Edward’s University edged into full-scale blogging. With post frequency established — students must keep up the multiple entries daily on Twitter and Facebook, as well as commenting on other blogs — this next step heightened the complexity and polish of their work.

I wish I could say that all the students were prepared for the leap into the longer form. One mistakenly has written mostly about political issues, not entertainment. Another posts seven times in one day, rather than once a day for a week. Others carry over the casual breeziness and occasional sloppiness from micro-blogging habits.

I am impressed, however, with the design of several blogs. Tumblr seems to be the easiest application for this group. WordPress appeals to the more serious types interested in interactivity and metrics. Blogger remains in contention.

All students are attempting short-form entertainment reviews this week. From the evidence I’ve seen so far, about a third of the class carries around the formula for traditional reviews in their heads; another third lean almost entirely on personal evaluation; and a third really don’t get review format at all.

As discouraging as this is, I am more than pleased with the vigorous discussions engaged every Monday night. So there is hope …