Bookmarks for March 09

Some notions of the fourth estate [wikipedia]. The link introduces the media’s perceived role as a guardian of democracy and defender of the public interest. Anyone with even a passing interest in serious journalism needs to get to grips with such notions;

A history of Hansard [wikipedia];

Official Hansard; verbatim reports of parliamentary debates and written answers;

Hansard Archive 1803 – 2005

They Work for You – an alternative version of Hansard (highly recommended).

Biography of John Wilkes (right)  “libertine and libertarian”. The man who led the campaign to win the right to report from parliament.

Girls race ahead as halfway stage draws near

Just to say that the last week has been easily the best week so far. Most of you are now blogging with some confidence and that’s great to see. There is, moreover, a clear gender divide emerging. With a couple of exceptions (and it is a couple) the girls are racing ahead of the boys. Here’s why:

This week’s star performer is Zlata Rodionova who’s Islington Green is a good example of how a global issue (climate change) can be applied to a local area (Islington) to great effect. Snappy title too – a really effective but simple pun.

I know I’ve singled her out already, but Raj Sandhu is worth noting again. This time for a lively account of how local surveillance is affecting her daily routine. Raj has built a blog with a variety of different types of stories and different lengths. It is short of pictures and the blog title is not quite right but it’s building into a fine body of work.

I also thought that Hoa Pham’s brave work on childhood abuse is both technically accomplished and journalistically significant; Joanna Aniel Bidar‘s “Gaza through the open lens” is belatedly coming into focus and Laura Jane Thompson is motoring away, although I’m not sure if her most recent post re-cycling the names of the winners of the NME awards is on-topic. Why read it there rather than at NME.com?

Mentions too to the visually arresting “Murdered in South London” by Tamara Obeng; a first look at Beatriz Arroyo’s thoughtful elegy for the tropical rainforest; while Ylenia Lemos and her blog on student health care is also worth a look. In terms of writing flair, Kiki Pattison Smith’s look at animal welfare demonstrates a whole heap of potential. Note how many original turns-of-phrase she deploys, in each post. Indeed “more than you can shake a cattle-prod at”.

I would really have liked to have featured more boys in this list but, alas, they are being outflanked by more mentally agile and industrious girls. Come on lads, surely you can step up before Friday …

Orwell Prize targets political bloggers

Further evidence that blogging is being taken more seriously. The prestigious Orwell Prize, which each year awards the best political writing, has been extended to included blogging and other forms of internet journalism. You can listen to Jean Seaton on BBC R4’s Today Programme yesterday morning saying that if Orwell were alive today, he would have been a blogger. She added: “He was always absolutely avid about whatever was the contemporary form of media.”

Elsewhere, DJ Taylor, Orwell’s biographer said: “He would have been interested in the democratic possibilities of it – anyone can do it as long as they’ve got access to a machine.”

share this
———————–

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

New blogs of note

There’s been a sudden flurry of activity week. Here’s the pick of the bunch:

Although she can’t quite hide her admiration for Pete Doherty, I think Laura-Jay Thomson’s serious look at the politics of youth and music has made something of a head start. Junior Walker is on similar ground with his blog about music and censorship.

Monika Braun has impressed with here ability to take the initiative with some promising first-hand reporting. Note the excellent use of photos.

Sonila Reka has been most industrious. Covering the topic of teenage suicide with insight and confidence. As has Stephanie Ott with her blog on the diamond trade.

I’ve also enjoyed reading about how the police are using anti-terrorism laws to curtail the freedoms of press photographers. Good work by Marina Watson Peláez.

Mentions too to Carolyn Charlton, Danielle Stacey and Dursaff Ibrahim. Keep up the good work.

Why short is often sweet

There are no rules to how long a post needs to be. Sometimes, just sometimes mind, the shorter they are the sweeter they read.

One of the blogs I visit most is that of Jason Kottke, who blogs often and in and extremely pithy way. He makes his point and moves on – posting several times a day.

Another favourite is Things Magazine which breaks one long post into several subjects. Note how rich in links it is.

Some writers take the “less is more” ethos to the extreme. Paul Ford is famous for writing six-word music reviews; London’s Devon Dungeon reviews whole plays in just five words.

Of course I am not saying that all your posts should be a few words long, just that sometimes they can be.

Blogs, bloggers & blogging: the basics

Feeling confused? Here’s a few links that might come in handy.

Getting started: The absolute basics

Martin Stabe: How blogging is transforming journalism

Video tutorial: A step-by-step guide

The Observer: The world’s 50 most powerful blogs
I’ve sent you this by email – but it’s still worth a read – especially if you haven’t yet done so.

Further reading: Check out Rebecca Blood’s exhaustive set of links