Editor’s note: As part of my master’s class I was asked to review three sites that I use as resources for my beat – media. Broad topic, yes.
I should preface all of this by saying I rarely go to a website’s homepage. Instead, I have a tendency to click on articles in my Twitter feed, from Facebook friends, or from a daily email log. I am the type of user who depends on sidebar suggestions to click on the next article.
That said, I find myself on these sites frequently and often read more than one article in a single visit.
Lost Remote focuses on social TV. That can mean anything from how a show is using social media to engage viewers, what a network is doing to change the way we watch television, and where primetime shows stand in social presence. Additionally, there are job listings, opportunities to like or follow them on social, and comment yourself. There’s a lot of cross promotion with other Mediabistro sites, their owner.
Poynter is a good resource for historic news, tips, and discussions regarding ethical questions or dilemmas. As like Lost Remote, Poynter offers users ways to connect via social, users can comment on articles, and there is a running Twitter feed on the homepage. I was asked whether Poynter screens comments. Al Tompkins, a faculty member at Poynter, responded via Twitter saying, “No, but reads behind and requires registration.”
Huffington Post seems to have its fingers in every pot, and media is no different. Huffington Post Media is a go-to for any and all media news. It has stories about networks, newspapers, anchors, writers, personalities, primetime shows, and social media. Its homepage is a pure demonstration in “the homepage is dead,” in that it is a continual flow of stories with no sense of organization. It looks like a RebelMouse page.
If I wanted my site to look like any of these, I’d say a combination of Lost Remote and Poynter. I’ve never been one to shy away from conversations regarding ethical dilemmas or questions. Those are where you find out a lot about a person. I also am – as I always have been – drawn to network and television news.
Kara Matuszewski Sassone 