Online Editing

Chapter 6 of Brian Carroll's work Writing for Digital Media focuses on the idea of online editing, from both the perspectives of design and publishing.  Carroll brought up several excellent points, and I want to highlight and discuss each individually, below.

Carroll asserts in one of his first paragraphs:

 "Online publishing is not at all like editing for print, at least in terms of job responsibilities.  In print, there are clear distinctions between roles and duties among writers, designers, editors, and copyeditors.  Media convergence online is blurring and blending the job descriptions and responsibilities traditionally assigned to writers and editors.  Even hotshot page designers need to know how to write a declarative sentence; writing skills are not optional" (Carroll 120).

His assertion stating that writing skills are not optional was of particular interest to me.  Am I the only one who notices the constant spelling, grammatical, and content errors spread across Internet websites?  To what writing skills is Carroll referring to?  

Certainly, there are well written pieces available on the Internet - but because anyone can "publish" his or her work on the blogosphere or create a website, I definitely feel as though writing abilities and quality is decreased on the Internet.  Something to think about . . . .

I also enjoyed Carroll's online editing step-by-step directions.  I found it very appropriate and useful for people who edit and publish their work independently on the Internet.  In particular, I enjoyed his recommendation to define the style of the website or Internet source that content is published on - I agree it makes a difference to how the piece should be edited.

The case studies Carroll featured in this chapter were also quite informative.  I especially appreciated Case Study 3: Error Prevention Project in Brazil, because I found the idea of training writers and editors to learn how to prevent errors really interesting.  If we start with educating children as they learn to write, perhaps writing skills will only be enhanced and nourished as they grow up.

What do you think about all the various elements of online editing?  Do you think it is the same or different than print editing?  Why?

Digital Media vs. Analog Media

The parallels and perpendiculars of digital and analog media are more numerous than I thought possible.  After reading Chapters 2 and 3 of Writing for Digital Media by Brian Carroll, I am intrigued by the major differences between these two forms of media, which are so often lumped together as one – they are both major forms of media, after all.

My perspective of the chapters is that although both digital media and analog media strive to inform readers, they are vastly different.  Digital media is much more instantaneous.  Credibility must be established with a virtual audience – one that can easily respond either positively or negatively in a comment section; one with the ability to conduct instantaneous Internet research to confirm the facts while simultaneously reading an article.  There is major competition for credibility on the Internet because as Carroll states, it is constantly changing.  Hearsay and rumors are written about, proven false, and deleted from the Internet in a matter of minutes – but that doesn’t stop an audience from already having read it.  As a result, there is also more “accident forgiveness” available for digital communication - because information emerges so rapidly, audiences understand that mistakes are made.

 

 Analog media has much more riding on it.  It dates back for centuries.  It is established.  It is printed out and publicly distributed.  For all of these reasons, it has much more of a reputation to protect and uphold.  In major newspapers and magazines, credibility already been established with audiences, and as a result, readers are much less forgiving and much more disappointed when mistakes are made.

Additionally, the format and layout of both forms of media differ significantly.  Web design is centered on drawing the eye in with a strong headline in the upper left corner, on striking images with concise captions underneath, with important information hyperlinked to make it easily accessible for readers.  Every article and page on a Web site is what Carroll calls an “island” – it should be able to stand on its own.  Conversely, the layout and design of analog media is traditional.  There are major headlines and multiple stories per page and a fixed paper structure.

The ideals of good journalism remains celebrated in both digital and analog media, however.  Clarity, simplicity, and credibility are sought earnestly by journalists despite the medium, which is the most important aspects of journalism.  Good journalism is out there – it is just now up to the reader to determine which medium he or she wishes to read.

Thoughts for discussion:
Is it the audience that demands changes from analog media to digital media?  Maybe the audience's progression with technology is part of the reason why there are so many differences.
Because digital media is so rapidly emerging with changes, will analog media begin making changes to keep up with this progression?