Wordblog is now two blogs
Wordblog is returning to its roots by resuming blogging about the media. That does not mean that events in Suffolk, where I live, are going onto a back burner.
Rather than have a single blog dealing with both topics, it has been split into two — Suffolk Wordblog and Media Wordblog — taking advantage of the the multi-site capabilities of the latest versions of WordPress.
I am not a techie and setting up the new system has been an interesting experience taking me to places I have not been before, such as editing the database. I believe I have got the basic structure working but undoubtedly it is not the finished site I want.
It looks a bit rough and ready but that will change over the coming weeks. Please bear with me.
Why am I returning to my interest in media? Firstly, I have found myself playing a small part in what is often called “citizen journalism”. I don’t like that description, but is better than “voluntary sector journalism” which echoes the Big Society idea’s jargon.
Whatever you call it, the localism espoused by all political parties is responsible for a resurgent interest in local affairs at a time when the local press is struggling.
This is leading to the development of local news sites and blogs which are starting to play a part in holding councils to account.
At the same time mainstream media is changing at an increasingly rapid rate.
As a former paid journalist and teacher of journalism, I think I have a slightly different perspective to bring to media blogging.
So there are now two Wordblogs to read:
Or follow the latest posts links on the right
If your blogroll links to the site, please change the link to http://wordblog.co.uk/suffolk/ or http://wordblog.co.uk/media/ if you want users to go directly to one or other section. The main rss feed for the site will not update in future. Please use http://wordblog.co.uk/suffolk/feed and/or http://wordblog.co.uk/media/feed.
- In praise of Suffolk cheesesOne of the nice things that has happened in East Anglia this century is the increasing number of really good cheese makers. I enjoy surprising visitors from other parts with a fine range of local cheeses. Another good thing is that they are now much more widely available. Memorable Cheeses in Dial Lane, Ipswich is […]
- Three controversial donors backed Ben Gummer’s Ipswich election winThree controversial Conservative party donors helped finance Ben Gummer’s successful campaign to win Ipswich, 113 on the Tory target list, at the last election. Between them the three donors contributed £35,000. Two of them Andrew J. Clark (£25,000) and Abdul-Majid Jafir (£5,000) are listed without an address in Mr Gummer’s entry on the Commons register [... […]
- Donor who supported Tory campaign in Ipswich on Cameron’s guest listOne of the Conservative party donors entertained by David Cameron was billionaire businessman Michael Spencer who has a house near Woodbridge and is an associate director of Ipswich Town. The Ipwich Star picked up on this story today and went to local MP Ben Gummer for a quote in which he called for a £50,000 […]
- Suffolk libraries: let’s work together for best futureA call for the new organisation charged with running Suffolk Libraries to take a gradual approach to change is made today by James Hargrave on his blog. I entirely agree with his post which could serve as manifesto for most library campaigners in the county. Please read it. Following the resignation of the county council […]
- Don’t tell me pensioners have been protected from austerityIt is not so much the “granny tax” that is making me angry but the suggestion that pensioners have been protected from the worst effects of the nation’s austerity. We are paying heavily, will continue to pay, and pay more because George Osborne thought he could slip a nasty little measure into his budget. Pensioners […]
- How social media brought Trayvon’s shooting to world attentionThe fascinating story of how the shooting of a teenager in Florida became an international news story, is told by Kelly McBride, a journalist working for the Poynter Institute. She writes: Ten years ago Trayvon Martin’s family would have had a hard time getting the national media’s attention. But with the help of a […]
- Blogger told ‘we are monitoring you for defamation’For any journalist to get a message from an organisation he or she is writing about saying they monitoring what is written about them for defamation, is an endorsement. It usually means the journalist is getting things right and the organisation has poor media relations advice. And now it has happened to Suffolk “citizen […]
- Churnalism: fine example from Archant SuffolkChurnalism is the habit of some media of using press releases without much added. There is a fine example of it from the Archant Suffolk newspapers and websites today. The chairman of the new Industrial and Provident Society set up by the county council to run its libraries resigned yesterday and was replaced by the choice […]
- Daily Telegraph: awards dinner at the Dorchester expensive, shockThese days you can find a date, plan a weekend in Brighton, arrange your wedding, and insure your new house through the Daily Telecraph. OK, I invented the bit about arranging weddings. Every newspaper and magazine is searching for more and more ways of bringing in cash as they try to cope with with […]