The Unintentional Journalist

Rosanna Scott

You’re a journalist. Don’t be offended – it happens to the best of us. It began when you started summarising the debaucherous happenings of last night in your Facebook status, and then when you informed your stalkers and co. on Twitter that you’ve finally managed ‘The Half Lotus’ position in your yoga training.

So – whether you’re aware of it or not – your contribution to live media is considered journalism. Albeit, a journalism that is concerned with ‘ordinary’ individuals; a celebration of those not directly involved in the autopsy of Michael Jackson or Obama’s visions for Guantanamo Bay. You and this blog have this ‘ordinary’ in common.

This blog is written with the intention of addressing the more ‘mundane’ things – the events have become ‘insignificant’ compared to heinous crimes or spectacular celebrities. Yet the commentary on daily life is surprisingly engrossing, why shouldn’t it be when you are engaging with material that is realistic and immediate? It is an opportunity to explore themes that relate to you. Consider punch lines that capture your dilemmas, rather than those of distant and detached idols who mainstream news insists on worshipping.

While you were being convinced to take Glamour’s ‘Who Wore it Better?’ seriously, you forgot that that you had your own opinions – opinions that are more relevant and entertaining. This blog looks at some of the most successful … and unsuccessful journalism, providing critical and entertaining views that reflect your interests. It employs the voice of the ‘ordinary’ person and assumes they’re more sophisticated than what mainstream media would have them be.

Because it’s written by part of the ‘audience’, this blog is accessible and readable. It doesn’t have the pretentiousness that ‘academic’ journalists subtly portray. It’s only authority is derived from the fact that it’s writers come from the readership, creating a loyalty and intimacy that cannot be achieved through mainstream journalism.

Lets take a moment to swallow some academic arrogance and admit that it’s difficult to consume endless traditional, hard news. Yes – take an interest in world around you, but don’t neglect the voice that most echoes yours: the average blogger.

But notice too, apart from shortening paragraphs that serve your diminishing interest in this post, that you have the opportunity to comment. Use your mouth (…an inappropriate instruction for computer media) and engage… simply because you can.