Blog Design Update

I have updated the top headings and most of the pictures so that all the stuff I have posted is adequately organized. There is also a list of tabs on the side which has anything I may have missed. When I post things sometimes they get put in weird places/timeslots so I am sorry if it looks like I have posted things at weird times.

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Journalism Analysis Project: Infographics

Infographics are the first form of media I will be analyzing in relationship to the Newtown tragedy for my project. There are a lot of different infographics focusing on this topic. Many are about the gun laws that have come "under fire" as a result of this event. I will, however, be focusing on the infographics that show a broad description of the shooting as that is the topic of all of the articles I have collected thus far.

This was one of the first infographics I came across in my research. I was surprised at how quickly it was created; I say this because you can see that under number one it says that "his mother taught kindergarten at the school." When this event was first recorded many people believed that she was a teacher. However, soon afterwards it was revealed that she did not teach there. That "fact" was reported my many news outlets during the confusion following the shooting. 

I like that there are a lot of details included in this infographic. It explains the events very well to someone who may not have already known them. If this is the only thing that you have read about the shooting you may be more inclined to look for more information via other articles. This effect is basically the most important goal of infographics, to draw you in and make you want to learn more. 

The design of this infographic is rather simplistic. Because it was probably made in a rush, I can understand why it is this way. Your eye isn't really drawn to anything in this infographic at first glance. the colors are not very bold which makes the images blend in to the background. Where all the text has been placed makes the infographic slightly hard to read. The movement is very inorganic. Instead of having a left to right or up to down reading motion, the information is presented in a way that makes you have to look with a weird mix of the two. If this doesn't make sense take a look at the four steps that are presented.  While going from one to two you probably looked at the images and other side information. Then from two to three there is another image on the side; it would be more beneficial to have all the steps next to each other and the images later. 

If I was grading this I would probably give it a 7/ 10

To be continued.....

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Journalism Analysis Project: Beginning

In this post I am going to explain this mythical journalism project I have been hinting at and have made a page for. So far this year I have explored some of the characteristics of modern news. Now I plan to compare modern news sources, ways the news is presented, and whether print journalism produces news similar to all digital formats.
A common thread has been found in each article, and report I have chosen. They are all reports on the events of the Newtown shooting. I chose this topic because it has had a great impact on modern life and was reported on my many sources.
I have saved a newspaper, several online articles, infographics, and videos that have this topic. In the end I hope to have a better understanding on the quality of different publications, and the medias in which they present news; whether it is wise to still directly pay for news in the modern age; as well as which forms of media provide the most in depth, balanced, knowledgeable news.

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Cool Infographics

http://www.coolinfographics.com/
Cool info graphics really lives up to its name. This website collects and  displays a ton of info graphics from a variety of topic. I love how so much can be presented in this format. Utilizing info graphics is an important aspect in modern news as it brings a lot of information to the public in a way which is visually appealing and interesting to the viewer. I will definitely be posting new things I find on coolinfographics.com. 

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Raising Prices on Mobile Subscriptions

The following is an article I wrote for my group writing blog thirdquartet.blogspot.com. I'm focusing on displaying the theme through the "narrators" thoughts on the topic. I tried to tie this writing into my analysis project which will begin next week. In the article I attempted to keep a structure similar to that used in news articles. A more in depth analysis of this work and the work of my group mates will be posted next week.
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This week it has been reported that The New York Times may be significantly increasing its subscription prices for mobile readers. It unclear whether or not this change will be implemented but if it is this change could mark a significant change for the publication.
Many factors could be attributed to this change; costs are being cut to compensate for lack of revenue, and as more and more people are getting their news online it can be important to benefit from this format.
Although I agree that if subscription based news is better than its free counterparts it deserves to come at a price. The problem comes when the same content is found on both free and priced news publications. If the New York Times rises their subscription fee but does not provide superior services its readership will certainly go elsewhere for its news.
Many people are not willing to pay to obtain news content. More and more news is in fact free and the sites that provide the best free content are getting more viewers. If the New York Times raises its mobile subscription cost the people who were willing to pay for it might consider going elsewhere.

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Semester wrap up

So this semester is basically over. The year, and possibly the content on this blog, is half done. I wrote a reflection on what I've done this far, but I don't think I'm going to post it here. I feel like I have done really well this far. I've established leadership roles in my group projects, expanded my knowledge on a bunch of topics, and learned about the whole concept of "giftedness." As a whole class I have learned about a bunch of my friends topics as well. The blog format, which has troubled a lot of my other classmates, seems to be a good outlet for my work. Despite the troubles I had with all the template stuff, my blog seems to have worked out pretty well. Honestly I don't know whatelse to post. All the other evidence of my work Is in my blog. All the research I have done, or lack of it, has been documented. I guess all you can do is wait until I start my new projects second semester.

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Update

I feel as if someone reading this blog thinks I forgot it. In reality I have just been really busy trying to set up the new design. The html stuff is getting pretty difficult, I may just leave somethings the way they are as opposed to going crazy trying to fix them.

My analysis project will begin the beginning of second semester by the latest. There will also be a new original composition crossposted from my first group blog soon as well.

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Three Goals

These are my three (SMART) goals that I want to accomplish in the near future for my three gifted projects.

Individial: Finish the redesign of my blog, fix pictures, complete pages. Done by the end of break/first few weeks of school.

Group: Complete another chapter of the story. Done by the second or third week after school resumes.

Assessment Literacy: Finish assignment for program with Teacher. Done by end of break. Redesign of blog. Done by end of break. Begin third presentation.

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Blog Edit Progress

I have allowed myself to pause the research process to revamp my blog. As you can see I have added a custom template, and have become familiar with the HTML codes that make up my blog. I have not  enabled all of the links and pages yet but I will soon. As soon as the blog is finished I will let you know.

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HTML What?!?

You have (hopefully) noticed that I completely changed my blogger template tonight. But now to edit some of the page headings and captions I have to edit the HTML code. I am in no way technologically gifted so if things look a little messed up just bear (bare?) with me for now.

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