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worldwideWAMM July-August 2009
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by Bill Sorem, W A M M
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Blogs (a contraction of weblog) are one of the relatively new media of mass communication, and they are a mystery to many. I’ll attempt to remove some of the mystery.
Traditional news media are rapidly losing importance for a number of reasons, but I see two major factors. First, these news media have been conglomerated into business entities focused on short-term, bottom-line management. News reporting was once the core enterprise, while now the media live around the accounting department. A second major factor is that through this corporate ownership, information input is hardwired to the right-wing blower. This blower operates at warp speed to deliver right-wing blather all over the nation.
One of frequent highlights of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show is the juxtaposition of senators, representatives, and “news” announcers on all major networks mouthing identical words. With total control of delivery, there is no need for creativity.
The Twin Cities are blessed with many independent Internet news outlets, rapidly filling the void left by the mainstream media. They all offer an opportunity for anyone to participate. You can post almost anything you want to say. It is reviewed by the blog owner to screen out totally inappropriate material and then posted to an opinion area. The blog owner may promote it to a place on the main blog. Understand that all the blogs are dynamic media. They are continually improving their interface and making it easier for readers. The specific suggestions that follow below may become outdated, but the principles remain. Blogs post entries in reverse chronological order; the most recent posts are at the top.
It’s a good idea to peruse the site to get a feeling for content and interest. Most of the progressive blogs list a lot of other blogs, making browsing the news very easy.
Here’s how submitting contributions to the popular Twin City Daily Planet (http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/) works. Click on the Press block in the upper left corner of the home page. You can sign up on that page. You need to create an account with a user name and password. That takes you to the content entering page. You can compose your article online or paste it in from a previously prepared document. Follow the instructions from there. That’s all there is to it. You can also use the Free Speech Zone where you can say literally anything. Either go to the url: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/freespeechzone, or go to the Opinion menu at the top of any of the pages, go down the list and select Free Speech Zone and follow the instructions. You’ll see one of my recent postings on Israel.
Another popular local news source is MN Progressive Project: http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com. In the upper right corner of the home page is a place to log in. To set up an account, click on the new account link and follow the instructions. You can post anything to your area. If the editors think it worthwhile, they can “promote” it to the main page.
Articles posted to this page are not visible to all visitors to the main site. You have to tell your audience where to look, For example, http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/user/curmudgeon will bring you to Curmudgeon’s pages — me. Just substitute your user name in the above link. You can also distribute the speciic link for your article to interested friends. The link to my first (last) article is http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/3232/is-the-us-simply-a-puppet-state.
Jump in, you’ll enjoy it. Writers always appreciate seeing their words in print. Remember it is likely that few people will see your work. We are shifting the world a grain of sand at a time, not starting an avalanche. But many grains of sand a mountain do make. |
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© 2009 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete July-August 2009 Index - click here
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