Thursday, July 26, 2012

LA Observed, Reading & Analyzation



LA Observed is a news blog site updating you on the latest headlines that are happening in LA with a sophisticated edge. Its void of snarky headlines and attitude but you'll a get personal opinion here & there from their writers.

The first post I read was a feature article "High Reason For Wrangling Rattlers,"about a snake wrangler, Bo Slyapich. After reading halfway through it I got a little bored. The story was a bit too long for my taste, maybe a good read if you had the time for it. Although the writer did fill it with interesting pictures and a video of Bo wrangling a rattlesnake, having the vid saved the story for me.

On the top right corner there was a link to a story about athletes getting naked for ESPN's The body issue. "Angeleno athletes all over ESPN's Body Issue," Hooray for that! Off-course which I've already seen on ESPN's website. Last years issue had my favorite athlete, Alicia Sacramone. An artistic gymnast who I love and adore, not an Angeleno but the pic is awesome!

LA Observed also provides links to major news outlets, like the LA Times, BBC, Gawker and many other world and LA news sites. It's nice to have friends and rivals in high places. An awesome feature on the sports page was the SoCal Venues lists, which links every sports venue you could possibly find in LA. This is where The LAO scored some points from me.

I clicked on Hollywood Closeup, thinking it would be filled with Hollywood drama, not a chance on LAO. I get the feeling they don't indulge in that sort of nonsense. "Weird Day of Actual Celebrity News" a quick little post about celebrity news, obviously the writer was reluctant to put it up but did. I thought it was funny, because they are not a tabloid of any kind.

Also read the blog post "Hollywoodland -- your land, my land" I loved it. It had great pictures of the Hollywood sign as well as the beautiful landscape views. This is why I love Los Angeles, it's filled with rich history and interesting pictures and sometimes you find a gem in all the mess. I felt a sense of pride to be an Angeleno.



Friday, July 20, 2012

Post Class Rant

Thursdays class was interesting. We had a chance to read our homework in front of everyone. Which I think is a great idea? It gave us the opportunity to hear our fellow classmates styles of writing. We have some really great writers in this class. Some were eloquent, funny and very detailed. I on the other hand, not so much. I still feel very elementary with my style of journalism writing.

I know I have a voice and I can be very snarky but I feel like I balance of the edge of vulgarity. I always have. I must have gotten it from my father, he was an Army Sergeant and always used foul language around me. Hearing it made me laugh when I was a kid. People always tell me to stop cussing. It's a habit I've been working on.

Learning about Gawkers writing style was like making a new friend. The headlines and articles make me laugh and I think this type of journalism is interesting and I'd love to explore it more.

We discussed how the front pages of Gawker and The New York Times compare and contrast. I actually enjoyed reading both. I like Gawkers tabloid style of writing for entertainment purposes. The NYT is informative and effective. I prefer to read the LA Times, just because I live in LA.

I'm hoping to improve my writing techniques and find a way to be snarky and vulgar without it being distasteful.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

THE FRONT PAGE, GAWKER VS. THE NEW YORK TIMES




Front pages of  Gawker & The New York Times  Wednesday July 18, 2012 

The first thing noticeable about the Gawker’s front page are the headlines, which are hilarious. Full of sarcasm and foul language. Exp. “If You Don’t Want Your Daughter To Be A Little Asshole, Don’t Send Her to Rushbiddies.” The article is full of attitude and more foul language. It's the new age of media, trying to get readers attention by being over the top. When I began reading the article I realized that there is a lot of aggregation going on here. The story comes straight out of a New York Times article “Pledge Prep.” 


What is aggregation? Definition: a group, body or mass of many distinct parts or individuals. I myself was confused with what this means when applied to journalism. The Gawker article is taken form NYT article and the writer puts his personal opinion into the story giving credit to the original article. Its half ass journalism to me but I like and you still come out with a great story. 


Gawker reels you in by shock value. Their approach to journalism is sarcastic, witty and providing you with tons of personal opinion. They represent the light side of the news by taking an article form the NYT that seem to be to snooty and turn them into stories that we can laugh about and poke fun at.

Readers come to Gawker to be entertained, to catch up on the latest gossip. To sum it up, they come here to get what they are not getting from The New York Times.

Trying to compare and contrast Gawker and the NYT is like comparing and contrasting a street walking hooker and a high paid escort. They both do the same job, but one does it with class and the other with sass. This is my spin on trying be Gawker-ish. A little much but it was fun. 

The New York Times front page is classic. It's a newspaper on the internet. Its filled with national and international breaking news, it's basically eveything you need to know. It's traditional journalism at its best, giving you the most important news constantly. They approach the news with a very serious tone, you'll find no funny business here.

In my opinion, the NYT will probably stay the same for another century. They do have a blog section where writers can be more opinionated and the articles contain aggregation. But you'll never find that on the front page.

Both entities provide the same thing, news. They are extreme opposites working for the same goal.

I myself like to indulge in both whores, (What have you done to me Gawker?).