A Huge Step in Citizen Journalism: Liveblogging Experience

Joy Walter

Like any student looking for distraction from homework or desperate for their thoughts to be heard even by just a few other people feeling the exact same way, I’ve done my share of blogging. Like any student looking for distraction from homework or desperate for their thoughts to be heard even by just a few other people feeling the exact same way, I’ve done my share of blogging.

Whether on Myspace bulletins or my own Xanga site, I have had some experience with the wondrous excitement and potential embarrassment of writing on a live blog. The liveblogging event that JRN 108 held during the CNN Youtube Republican debate last Wednesday, however, was something I was not ready for.

As a class, we (being around 250 freshman aspiring to be journalists) had the chance to participate in blogging for the Detroit News website during the debate. Some of us signed up take polls, others to write questions, others to create links to graphics for the actual student writers to use. A few volunteered to take video footage, and one student meandered around taking pictures to document the evening.

So on Wednesday night, I hauled my laptop over to the Comm Arts building and set up on a desk in front of a small TV along with thirty other “livebloggers”. I’ll admit, it was exciting to see my headshot on the Detroit News homepage and kind of a thrill to be sitting there, surrounded by peers and people ready for some friendly competition on the debate platform.

What we weren’t ready for was the competition for the wireless internet, as bloggers had to keep moving their desks around and were literally waving their laptops in the air trying to get service. As the debate got rolling, Mitt Romney started attacking everyone, and the blogs began to go on live, things picked up pace—FAST. It was a lot harder than it seems, trying to watch the debate as well as write about what was going on and add in your own unique and interesting thoughts on the goings-on all at the same time. Add in free pizza and some commercial breaks that were few and way too far-between and you’ve got our evening.

Now don’t get me wrong—it was tough work and at times more than a little frustrating, but I still think it was a good thing to do. These days way more people browse the internet than watch the news, so our blogging probably gets more coverage than anything else we could have done to get involved with the debate. It also helped me, personally, to get in gear about learning about candidates and becoming more politically aware. If I’m going to be voting this election, I want to know at least something about the candidates, what they stand for, and where our country is going to be headed when one of them eventually wins.

So even if no one really read my entries to the blog pool, at least I know that I tried something new by blogging on politics, helped my classmates get their voices out there by using polls and information they found, and had fun doing it.

Myspace bulletins are so last year. Myspace bulletins are so last year.