Comparing Blogs and Newspapers: A Focus on Brightest Young Things and The
Washington Post’s Style Section
A Capstone Project
Submitted to
The Faculty of Public Communication Graduate Program
School of Communication
American University
Washington, D.C.
In Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts
By Gabriela Meléndez Olivera
April 2012
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Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the copyright owner.
To obtain permission to use materials from this work, please submit a written request via
email to: gabmel9@gmail.com.
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Acknowledgements
My deepest gratitude to everyone who made this project possible! Thank you so much for
your time, thoughts, and insights.
Caty Borum Chattoo
Assistant Professor, School of Communication
American University
Joe Heim
Style & Arts Editor
The Washington Post
Chris Richards
Style & Arts Chief Pop Music Critic
The Washington Post
Svetlana Legetic
Co-founder & Editor-in-chief
Brightest Young Things
Stephanie Breijo
Assistant Editor
Brightest Young Things
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Abstract
The original research presented in this study aimed to identify the key similarities and
differences between blogs and newspapers. It also aimed to provide an updated context
and history of the current state of blogs and newspaper media. This project conducted staff
interviews and a case study analysis of The Washington Post’s Style section and the
Brightest Young Things blog. Surprising similarities and differences were found.
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Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………….……………………………………………………………………… p. 6
Problem statement…………………….…………………………………………………………………………. p. 6
Purpose & objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………. p. 7
Study significance…………………….…………………………………………………………………………… p. 7
Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 8
Overview……………………….……………………………………………………………………………………. p. 10
Literature review……………………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 11
Media profiles…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 24
Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 28
Results/Findings………………………………………………………………………………………………... p. 30
Discussion………...………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 37
Conclusion……..…………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 39
References……..…………………………………………………………………………………………………… p. 41
Appendices……..………………………………………………………………………………………………….. p. 43
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Introduction
The arrival of the Internet not only changed modern civilization considerably, it also
changed the way humans communicate. This specific change completely altered the world
of news. Keeping up with the fast-paced and ever-changing world of online information and
social networks has presented challenges to news organizations that used to be solely
print-based. Alternative media, a new type of journalism, was born and it ranges from
citizen generated content to blogs (“Web logs”) by Web-only publications. Online sources of
information give news consumers not only many different options but also different styles
and perspectives of information. Challenges lie ahead for print journalism to adapt to the
digital age, and digital media still needs to prove itself as a valid and trustworthy source of
news.
Problem Statement
Contemporary communication consumers have too many options and sources from
where to get news. This research project is interested in looking at the similarities and
differences between a blog and a major newspaper in what they cover and why, how they
present it, and who they are trying to reach, focusing in their arts and cultural coverage of
Washington, D.C. It is also of our interest to study the differences and similarities in
organizational flow (division of labor) and work culture.
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Purpose & Objectives
This capstone will explore the similarities and differences in the cultural coverage of
D.C. between a major newspaper—traditional media—and a blog—alternative new media.
One representative news source has been identified per category for this purpose.
Brightest Young Things will represent alternative media and The Washington Post’s Style
section will represent traditional mainstream media.
The objectives of this capstone are to:
Provide updated context and history of journalism and the new media environment.
Identify the key differences and similarities between blogs and newspapers.
Study Significance
This comparison analysis will provide further information on the ever-changing
world of news, specifically in regards to new types of media and how they relate to
traditional forms. Studying blogs closely and how they relate and differ to traditional media
may provide new foundations for news to further advance in influence and readership
during the digital age. This type of study might be particularly interesting for online media
producers, print newsrooms, communication scholars, and teachers.
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Background
Brief history of the press and relevant events
Tim Harrower’s “Inside Reporting” (2007) provides a timeline with the key events
that gave way to the birth of journalism, which will serve as a brief roadmap for this project.
1440s: Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, making way for the publishing of the
first newspapers and pamphlets in Europe and the United States.
1704: The Boston News-Letter became the first successful newspaper in the U.S.
1776: The Declaration of Independence was first published in the Pennsylvania Evening
Post, which became America’s first daily newspaper.
1791: Freedom of speech and of the press became protected under The Bill of Rights.
1800s: Twenty daily newspapers and more than 1,000 weeklies were published in the U.S.
1827: Three reporters became the first Washington correspondents.
1840s: With the advent of the telegraph, news began traveling long distances.
1847: Frederick Douglass founded The North Star, a newspaper dedicated to push for equal
civil rights.
1851: The New York Times was founded.
1861-1865: The Civil War was covered by reporters across the nation.
1867: The first typewriter was patented.
1876: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
1880: The first newspaper photograph was printed in the New York Daily Graphic and six
years later reporters started using bylines in dailies on the East coast.
1898: The famous competition between Hearst and Pulitzer gave birth to the peak of
yellow journalism.
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1901: Marconi sent the first radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean.
1920: KDKA-Pittsburgh began broadcasting the first regular radio programming.
1934: The Associated Press began transmitting the first wire photos.
1939: NBC and CBS began broadcasting commercial television programs.
1941: President Roosevelt declared war on Japan to the largest radio audience in history.
1963: Ninety-six percent of homes with television watched an average of 32 hours of the
John F. Kennedy assassination coverage.
1960s: Anti-war and anti-establishment underground newspapers emerged in cities and
universities across the U.S.
1976: Apple II became a popular home computer.
1974: President Nixon resigned because of The Washington Post’s Woodward and
Bernstein’s Watergate investigation.
1980: Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour news channel, was launched.
1990s: The birth of the Internet and the World Wide Web.
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Overview
This capstone will first present highlights of the history of journalism before the
Internet. This will be followed by a literature review, where a general idea of newsroom
culture will be provided and news values of traditional media will be defined. The
introduction of the Internet to journalism and the subsequent media convergence will
thereafter be discussed, along with its positive and negative effects (buyouts, shutting
down of bureaus, shrinking personnel, etc.). An overview of alternative media and blogs
will also be offered, with an aim to explain how they relate to the new media ecosystem.
The two sources selected for study, The Washington Post and Brightest Young
Things, will be profiled and a brief history will be provided. The methods and criteria for
the study of the two sources will be clearly defined thereafter. The results will include an
objective and straight forward presentation of what was discussed in each interview and
what was observed in the two-week coverage study.
The discussion portion will be based on the analysis of the in-depth interviews with
reporters and editors from both media sources, combined with a two-week study period of
their coverage. After providing the analysis, applicable recommendations will be made and
future areas of study will also be identified.
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Literature Review
What is news?
In “Inside Reporting” (2007) Harrower summarizes the seven generally accepted
traditional news values: impact, immediacy, proximity, prominence, novelty, conflict, and
emotions. Impact is defined with, “will this story matter to readers?” Immediacy refers to
whether an event just happened. Newspapers do not publish old stories, there has to be a
fresh angle for an event to be covered. Proximity addresses how close a story is to the
readers. This definitely depends on the type of newspaper and the audience it aims to cater
for. A local newspaper will cover smaller happenings compared to a national newspaper,
which will probably cover issues or events that affect the nation and some international
subjects as well. Prominence refers to whether the story deals with a public figure or
celebrity, who might draw in more readers especially does interested in lighter news.
Novelty refers to trends or a story’s “newness.” Conflict usually addresses politics, power
struggles, war, sport rivalries, etc. Emotion refers to stories that can cause high emotional
impact for readers.
Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill in “What Is News? Galtung and Ruge revisited,”
summarize the news values determined by Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge’s “The structure of
foreign news” (which is considered one of the landmark works on the definition of news
values) and provide an updated list, based on the empirical study of three major United
Kingdom newspapers. Galtung and Ruge first identified 12 news values in 1965: frequency
(how fast something happens), threshold (intensity and impact), unambiguity,
meaningfulness, consonance (prediction), unexpectedness (surprise), composition (strive
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for representational balance), reference to elite nations, reference to elite people, reference
to persons (individual vs. collective focus), and reference to something negative.
In 2001, Harcup and O’Neill provided a new set of values for the post-Internet world,
taking into consideration the 12 previously proposed by Galtung and Ruge, combined with
their study’s findings. The updated list consisted of: the power elite, celebrity,
entertainment, surprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow-up, and
newspaper agenda. They did however recognize that, “Although there are exceptions to
every rule, we have found that news stories must generally satisfy one or more of the
following…” (p. 278-279).
It can be concluded that while there is a general sense of what defines news, it also
depends on the agenda, location, and reach of a publication. News organizations can define
and select their own news values to maintain the company’s mission statement and values.
Traditional newsroom organizational flow
In “Inside Reporting” (2007), Harrower explains how The Oregonian’s newsroom
works. Located in Portland, by 2007, the newspaper had “a daily circulation of more than
350,000,” and 465 editors, reporters, photographers, and designers (22). It is divided into
teams/sections: Family & Education, City Life, Crime & Justice, Business, Sports, and Living.
Besides the newsroom, The Oregonian has advertising, production, and circulation
departments.
Reporters are usually assigned to cover a beat, for example: crime, elections, fashion,
etc. Editors on each reporter’s team handle their deadlines and check stories for accuracy,
organization, and fairness. Once they are done editing a story, copy editors take a second
look and check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. They also add the headlines. The
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story then goes to the presentation team, where designers manage the section’s layout,
photos, captions, graphics, and organization.
Working independently from the newsroom is the 15-person editorial department,
who produce the opinion pages. The staff writes editorials that present the newspaper’s
position on current events, selects the letters to the editor that run, and selects the guests
to write opinion columns and edits them as well. The Oregonian also has an editorial
cartoonist.
When it comes to the presentation desk, photographers select which photos to use
with the help of their editors. The designers do the page layouts with the stories, images,
and graphics. Some designers work with editors and reporters to create supplemental
graphic materials for stories.
While each newsroom and publication is different, The Oregonian newsroom serves
as an example and provides context as to how a traditional newsroom (pre-online
integration efforts) works. Newsroom size will also play an important part in how the
organizational flow and responsibilities are divided among the staff. It is also important to
note that the newsroom model described above dates back to 2007; now newsrooms have
added additional personal and departments dedicated to the online publishing of news and
maximizing the online experience.
The new media ecosystem: how digitalization changed journalism
According to Barnhurst and Nerone (2003) the introduction of the computer was a
difficult transition for newsrooms across the United States,
Journalists and editors greet this changed environment with the skepticism and
anxiety that they have historically exhibited toward change in their own workplace.
Although journalism is supposed to be dedicated to novelty, journalists in the United
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States have always done whatever is in their power to embargo novelty from their
work lives, resisting pictures, design innovations, and unions with psychotic gusto.
The tendency to demonize technological change has emerged in popular fictional
accounts of life in the newsroom written by journalists. (p. 448)
While the previous statement might prove to be a generalization, it does demonstrate the
previous aversion to change that can be found in some newsrooms. Boczkowski agrees
citing that, “The computerization of newsrooms has been one of the most pervasive
transformations in American media organizations since the 1970s” (2004, p. 198).
But what exactly did the introduction of the Internet and computers change in
newsrooms and journalism? In “The Processes of Adopting Multimedia and Interactivity in
Three Online Newsrooms,” he found that print and online structures varied across
newsrooms from integrated to autonomous, with factors such as participation,
communication, and collaboration between departments playing a crucial role. The
relationship between print and online structures directly defined the adoption of
multimedia and interactivity.
According to Boczkowski, two other important factors played a role in how a
newspaper evolved online, (1) how each newsroom viewed its readers’ technological
expertise and (2) whether readers were considered consumers and/or producers of news.
If newsmakers perceived their audience to be technologically savvy, they would not hold
back in implementing multimedia elements to their stories and vice versa. On that note, the
context of time and technology are very important. Computers and its tools have become
more dominant and widespread, as users have also increased in knowledge and dexterity.
Boczkowski also found that the more a newspaper considered itself as a “gate
keeper” and followed what he calls a “we-publish-you-read” philosophy, the more it would
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disregard reader-generated content. Thus some newsrooms would only view the reader as
an information consumer and not a producer. If they were considered as both, readers
would be given a chance to participate online. Considering readers as producers of
information would have a direct effect on the interactivity of an online newspaper.
Boczkowski’s findings can be summarized as, “we should view media convergence
as a contingent process in which actors may follow diverging paths as a result of various
combinations of technological, local, and environmental factors” (2004, p. 210). From this
we can understand how there is not one new digital and print incorporated model, but that
it again depends on each publication’s characteristics, and that the changes brought on by
digitalization are also individual.
Klinenberg (2005) does not view newsrooms as opposing or lacking change. He
provides a series of bullets that summarize revolutionary changes since the 1970s:
The advent of cable television, the beginning of a twenty-four-hour news cycle, and
the steady decline of newspaper readership levels (though not a decline in
newspaper profitability);
The introduction of advanced communications technologies, such as satellites, the
Internet, desktop publishing, and, most important, computers, which were rarely
used in the newsrooms of the 1970s;
The demise of family-owned news organizations with special interests in supporting
journalistic principles with lower revenues and the emergence of chain papers and
multimedia production companies;
The rise of conglomerate media giants that use synergistic production and
distribution strategies (in which different branches of the company share and crosspromote each others’ resources and services);
The related destruction of legendary divisions between managerial and editorial
operations, the mythical church and state of the journalistic field;
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The birth of new forms and formats, such as the television news magazine,
dramatized news footage, and product-driven news sections;
The deregulation of media markets, and specifically of restrictions on ownership of
multiple media outlets in the same city; and
A crisis of legitimacy for journalists, who often complain that new conditions of
production undermine their capacity to meet their own standards, struggle with the
emergence of a polarized labor force including a celebrity class of journalistic elites,
and consistently rank at the bottom of opinion polls rating the popularity of various
professions (Gans 2003). (p. 50)
In “Convergence: News Production in a Digital Age,” Klinenberg (2005) studies what
effects digitalization had in newsrooms. The first change he noted was that journalists and
staff were expected to be much more flexible and fast in their duties, with multimedia skills
playing a big role in work appraisal and hiring decisions. He also voiced some journalists’
concerns that they were expected to do more work in less time, which could undermine the
conditions of news productions.
Another big change he noted in the journalism world was the introduction of market
principles, marketing projects, and target marketing in the editorial department and its
decisions. Editors were now concerned with producing marketable and profitable
sections/products and even researching what consumers and readers want. Color graphics,
weather packages, business reporting, cross-promotional packages, and multimedia
packages were becoming more and more significant. According to Klinenberg, the lines
separating editorial from advertising were blurred, to a point of being almost non-existent.
He also concluded that there was a loss of support for investigative reporting, long-term
projects, and on-site works, except in some elite publications.
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In a general sense, “news organizations harness advanced communications
technology to speed up and extend the work process for reporters and to enhance their
local offerings to suburban markets” (Klinenberg, 2005, p. 61). Media convergence also had
the following effects:
Media executives and managerial-minded editors not only downsized their
journalistic staffs, they also invented new regimes of convergence production to
expand their offerings across media (Auletta 1998). They designed applications of
digital technologies to facilitate the process of multimedia work and increase their
capacity to repackage articles form one newspaper to another or one platform to
another (Harper 1998; Pavlik 2001) and invested lightly in innovations to basic
journalistic forms… (p. 62)
Physical, structural, and technological changes occurred as well. Each newsroom is
now equipped with “a television studio, Internet production facilities, radio equipment,
sophisticated graphics machines, and hundreds of computer terminals for print journalists”
(Klinenberg, 2005). There are also separate teams of staff members for each different type
of media, who have to communicate continually among each other to produce material for
different platforms. The creation of new teams and their internal communication processes
has blurred, “the craft distinctions between different genres of news work that historically
organized the field” (Klinenberg, 2005).
The news cycle has also dramatically transformed, “The advent of twenty-four-hour
television news and the rapid emergence of instant Internet news sites have eliminated the
temporal borders in the news day, creating an informational environment in which there is
always breaking news to produce, consume, and –for reporters and their subjects—react
against” (Klinenberg, 2005). This, he explains, has had the effect of newsmakers staying in
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the office and using information they find online to produce news faster and with more
ease than actually going out and reporting.
In “A Contemporary History of Digital Journalism,” Scott summarizes that, “Online
journalism is currently a supplement and a complement to the dominant print and
broadcast news media (Regan 2000)” (2005, p.93). He also notes that “actually making
money proved troublesome,” because now “the traditional news media were facing
competition from new and unusual places,” and found themselves competing head to head
for users and advertisers” (2005). According to Scott, during this time news wire services
like the Associated Press and Reuters grew to become important power players.
Scott also provides a definition, “Convergence in journalism does not refer primarily
to the technological reduction of all communication to a digital form. It refers to a new
strategy in the economic management of information production and distribution” (2005).
He groups the main convergence strategies into three and calls them, “newsroom
convergence, cross-media partnerships, and digital news networks” (2005).
Newsroom convergence, he explains, signifies the consolidation of the holding
company’s different industries and entities to “mutually reduce production and labor costs
by reducing duplicate reporting, and achieve greater leverage at the bargaining table with
advertisers…they all operate on the premise that convergence improves audience reach of
commercial journalism and increases revenue” (2005, p. 102). Specifically related to this
project, he calls the Washington Post’s convergence with Newsweek, NBC, and MSNBC the
most extensive one in the industry (2005, p. 102). Scott also touches on the next move of
newsroom convergence, the migration and consolidation of all newsroom resources and
information into one publishing platform across mediums, making possible the
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“recentralization of content production” and the repackaging of coverage into multiple
channels (2005). Scott summarizes the current media state of affairs perfectly in two
paragraphs:
The boom and bust cycle of the new economy did not produce a democratized
media with decentralized news production and a more informed polity. Rather, it
resulted in a hard-nosed set of business strategies that is rapidly handing even
greater control over public information to an ever-decreasing number of media
corporations. Concentration of ownership, consolidation of production, and
homogenization of cross-media content have become the orders of the day. Within
the industry, the profession of journalism is constricting and altering in its modes of
production—favoring a new breed of cross-media talent churning out a slate of
prefabricated, repackaged, and multimedia-friendly content. Standards of quality
and comprehensiveness are slipping even further, even as corporate directives
unabashedly hold editors to account.
As a result, bold infringements on principles of diversity, comprehensive
representation, and public responsibility are being passed off as financial necessities
and covered over by branding campaigns and more entertaining production values
in the newsroom. Meanwhile, the heady promise of free information has also been
squashed. Systematically, America’s most trusted news sources are walling off everincreasing portions of news sites and pricing them in the marketplace. In the digital
arena, advertisers have been given even more power to determine the direction of
journalism in the future. Though good journalism still manages to appear thanks to
conscientious reporters and editors, the economic logic that determines the nature
of the system and the trajectory of its future in multimedia, online distribution
works to reduce their opportunities and the resources at their disposal. (2005, p.
122)
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Thus, it’s clear that digital convergence has changed the media ecosystem on a
superficial and internal level. Newsrooms have incorporated new technologies, from TV
studios and its production capabilities to new teams of people devoted to the online
production of news and its maximization. It has also changed the journalism work culture.
Journalists are now expected to be fluent in multimedia and social media platforms. Faster
news production is expected of communicators. Marketing and advertising play a bigger
role in journalistic decisions. It also changed how newsroom staff members communicate
among each other’s section and departments, as well as how they communicate and
translate news to readers.
Alternative media and blogs: an overview
Scott gives us a starting point to understand the birth of alternative media:
Though there were failed efforts at digitizing text-based content in the 1980s, the
real explosion of online journalism occurred with the introduction of the first
commercial web browsers, Netscape in 1994 and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in
1995. By 1996, most news outlets, print and broadcast, had a web presence. At the
time, their content was generally limited to what the industry now calls
‘shovelware,’ text/video/audio that have been ‘repurposed’ from the original form
for web publication without changing substance. (Most online news still falls into
this category.) (2005, p. 93)
Dot-coms boomed during the mid-90s with almost all news businesses going online,
blowing up their initial capital by early 2000 and making little to no profit since people
were reluctant to pay for online content (Scott, 2005). Kidd pinpoints its beginnings with
the counter-culture movement in the late 1960s and 1970s (1999).
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Alternative media, “start-up, web-only news outlets,” became a big competitor for
traditional news, “Sometimes based out of small preexisting publications, institutions,
community organizations, or social groups, these forums vary in style and content, running
the gamut of the political spectrum and providing every cultural niche with its own unique
voice” (Scott, 2005, p. 96). Scott continues, “These sites need not be of universal interest
(even if they are available globally), as some of the most successful news sites provide only
local news and cater to residents of particular communities or regions” (p. 96).
Fuchs defines alternative media as “mass media that challenge the dominant
capitalist forms of media production, media structures, content, distribution, and
reception” (2010). He continues,
The model of citizen journalism, in which one finds the independence of writers
from corporate and political influences and pressures, challenges this production
model. Anybody can be an author without specific training or expertise. Ordinary
citizens can become journalists, so journalism is citizen-controlled. Individuals or
groups, that are affected by certain problems, become journalists or at least the
positive subject of journalism (concerned citizens). Such journalistic practice is
frequently part of protest movement practices. Consumers become producers
(prosumers, produsers) (sic), the audience becomes active. (2010, p. 178)
Alternative media “expresses oppositional standpoints that question all forms of
heteronomy and domination…that includes the voices of the excluded, the oppressed, the
dominated, the enslaved, the estranged, the exploited, and the dominated” (Fuchs, 2010).
Staffers of this type of media also seem to have overlapping roles in their division of labor
(Fuchs, 2010).
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The most applicable definition pertaining to this project is one by Alternatives in
Print (1980), discussed in Atton’s “Approaching Alternative Media: Theory and
Methodology” (2001). To be considered as alternative, the media has to fulfill three
qualities: (1) be non-commercial, preoccupied about ideas not profit; (2) content is focused
on “social responsibility or creative expression” or both; (3) the publishers consider
themselves alternative media (Atton, 2001). Atton also characterizes alternative media as
free of political party identifications, relying heavily on contributors for content, and
promising innovation and originality in form and content.
One of the many forms of alternative media is blogging. Trammell and Keshelashvili
provide a practical definition of blogs, “…Web pages with frequently updated posts that are
arranged so the newest material is at the top of the page… blogs provide a mechanism for
personal publishing, encouraging the expression of thoughts, feelings and commentary”
(2005). Blogs are part of the new alternative media ecosystem and developed their current
structure in the late 1990s (Trammell & Keshelashvili, 2005).
Lasica discusses some of the benefits blogs, specifically, have on the media
ecosystem. Blogs are credited with “pushing the envelope,” increasing the life of stories,
“enhancing reader trust,” “repersonalizing (sic) journalism,” and “fostering community”
(Lasica, 2003).
The relationship between alternative and traditional media is not an easy one to
define. One study shows that, “there is a complex, bidirectional relationship between
mainstream media coverage and blog discussion. Furthermore, to the extent that media
coverage and blog discussion exerted an influence on each other, the influence tends to
occur immediately rather than after a lengthy time delay” (Wallsten, 2007).
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There is not one clear-cut definition of what makes a form of media alternative. A
news source can be considered alternative without satisfying all of the characteristics
presented in this section. There is no doubt that alternative media and blogs enrich the
media environment and provide media consumers with a significant chance of
participation.
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Media Profiles
The two media outlets selected for this project will be profiled in this section. This
will include a brief history and description of each source. Profiling each source will
provide us with better understanding and background information for the sections to
follow.
The Washington Post: brief company history
The newspaper’s history presented here has been taken and summarized from the
company’s website. The Washington Post began publishing in 1877, founded by Stilson
Hutchins, and had a circulation of 10,000. Three years later it would publish its first Sunday
edition. In 1889, Hutchins sold the paper to Republican and Democrat politicians, Frank
Hatton and Beriah Wilkins.
By 1905, the newspaper was owned by John R. McLean, who also owned the
Cincinnati Enquirer. Under McLean, the paper increased in circulation and boosted its
advertising sales along with its profits. Yet, his strong ties and bias towards the Democratic
party hindered the paper’s credibility and influence. After McLean’s death, his Republican
son Edward took over in 1916; the newspaper weakened even more.
On June 1, 1933, Eugene Meyer bought The Washington Post in a public bankruptcy
auction for $825,000. Meyer, a financier from California, was interested in publishing a
newspaper suitable for all ages with strong principles of truth, decency, fairness, and
freedom in servitude of its readers and the general public. Under his leadership, the paper
tripled its circulation to 162,000 during the first ten years. However, the newspaper
continued to lose money.
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In 1946, President Truman appointed Meyer the first president of the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was succeeded at The Washington Post by
his son-in-law, Philip L. Graham, who was the newspaper’s publisher until 1961. The
Washington Post Company was incorporated in 1947. Graham became president, and
would hold that position until his death in 1963.
In 1954, The Washington Post Company purchased its rival, the Washington TimesHerald. With the buy its circulation increased to 380,000, which guaranteed The Post’s
survival and profitability. After Graham’s death, his wife and Meyer’s daughter, Katherine
Meyer Graham, took the role of president for the newspaper. For the remaining 1900s,
leadership would fall on Meyer Graham’s son, Donald E. Graham, and herself, who took
other important corporate and executive positions. The current administration includes
Marcus Brauchli, who was named The Post’s executive editor in 2008, and Katherine
Weymouth, who after several other successions was elected director of The Washington
Post Company in 2010.
In the June of 1996, The Washington Post launched washingtonpost.com. By January
of 1998, 11 years of the newspaper’s archives were published online. The Post’s online and
print operations would be integrated by 2009.
What is Style?
The Washington Post’s Style Tumblr page, managed by staff writers Dan Zak and
Monica Hesse, aims to explain what exactly the Style section is. They quote some of The
Post’s leaders and writers, who do a much better job at explaining the essence of Style than
anyone ever could. “We wanted to look at the culture of America as it was changing in front
of our eyes. The sexual revolution, the drug culture, the women's movement. And we
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wanted it to be interesting, exciting, different,” former executive editor Ben Bradlee is
quoted on the birth of the Style section in 1969 (Stuever, 2009).
In an essay celebrating Style’s 40th anniversary, TV critic Hank Stuever eloquently
explained:
Allegedly, Style has gotten it right, off and on, through many years, writers and
editors. Style showed up in a newspaper that was a sea of numbers, dull and gray,
Cabinet members and undersecretaries in horn-rims. It did parties, it did profiles, it
did criminals, it did first ladies, it did movie stars, it did the sad stuff, the weird stuff
-- and won Pulitzers for covering the arts. Readers loved it unless they hated it. The
stories have always been "too long." (There was an entire in-house study of that in
the late '80s, which seemed to have affected Style not a whit, until the rise of the
Internet and the death of the American attention span.) The stories were "too
mean," too this, too that. All of these complaints still happily apply. (2009)
Simply said, Style is the arts and features section of The Washington Post or as the
official website labels it, “Style: Culture, Arts, Ideas & More.” The Style section is the part of
The Post that runs art, music, and concert reviews. It provides voices and commentary on
current events, pop culture, and more, which departs from the “objective” and straightforward perspective traditional news reporting is supposed to take.
Brightest Young Things
There is no “official” Brightest Young Things history or description. The following
was taken from different news articles on the blog. In a Style article Dan Zak described its
beginnings as, “The way they tell it, this all just kind of happened in 2006: Legetic, then an
architect in Bethesda, met IT manager Cale Charney at a house party. Both posted party
photos on their MySpace pages. At another party, Legetic met Pratt, a Web developer. He
saw business potential in Legetic's popular blog and bought her a URL to build it out”
26
(2009). It was in the summer of 2009 that Legetic and co-founders Jason Bond Pratt and
Libby Ellsworth-Kasch quitted their jobs and committed professionally to the blog (Zak,
2009). The story continued, “Soon Charney was contributing party photos, a band
interview here, an album review there -- and contributors were lining up to post movie
reviews, party dispatches and concert previews…” (Zak, 2009).
Zak continued, “What began as a shoestring blog is now an incorporated media
entity with 150-plus volunteer writers and photographers and a stable of earnest interns”
(2009). A Washington City Paper article quoted Legetic as saying that, “2011 was Brightest
Young Things’ most successful year, and its first profitable one” (Fischer, 2012). By 2012
the blog would have, “…six full-time employees with benefits, plus two part-timers and an
army of volunteer contributors, compared to three full-timers a year ago” (Fischer).
But, what exactly is it? Zak attempted an explanation, “Washington's Brightest
Young Things have chronicled their nightlife exploits and cultural tastes on their Web site,
pulling 100,000 hip-hungry readers along to the latest, hottest
concert/exhibit/album/meme/whatever” (2009). He later added, “What evolved from this
gradual assembly was a free-for-all webzine curated (sic) by a core group of tastemakers
who have nurtured connections among the city's hippest DJs, bloggers, art mavens and
party planners. They became a united force of in-the-knowness (sic), and they spread that
knowledge to their readers” (2009). Brightest Young Things can be concluded to be a blog
that presents arts, music, and concert reviews, as well as pop culture and current events
commentary.
27
Methods
The goal of this capstone is to present the similarities and differences on cultural
coverage of Washington, D.C. between The Washington Post’s Style section and the
Brightest Young Things blog. Brightest Young Things will represent alternative media and
The Washington Post’s Style section will represent traditional newspaper media. For this
purpose, the research conducted tackled two aspects: the decision makers and the actual
product.
On the decision makers’ side, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff
members from both sources. Interviews were selected as a form of research to gain a better
understanding of each media’s background, coverage selection processes, news values,
intended audience, and workflow. From The Washington Post, Joe Heim—Style’s pop
culture editor—and Chris Richards –pop music critic—were interviewed. From the
Brightest Young Things camp, founder Svetlana Legetic and newly hired assistant editor
Stephanie Breijo were interviewed.
As a supplement to the interview, a list of 20 artists from iTunes’ top hits was
provided and interviewees were asked to select seven acts they would cover or assign.
Artists were selected at random, starting at number seven on the list and selecting every
seventh one thereafter. If one artist was already included in the list, it was skipped. Hits
with more than one artist, from a movie soundtrack for example, were also skipped.
Interviewers were asked to disregard any previous coverage of artists. Interview questions
and the artist list from iTunes will be provided as appendixes at the end of this project.
For the actual product portion of the research, a two-week case study period was
selected. From February 20th to March 5th 2012, Style’s print sections were collected and
28
BYT’s online links were archived. Special attention was paid to content trends, language
and writing style, and visuals/presentation. It is important to note that exclusively the print
version of the Style section was analyzed. In the case of The Post’s Style section, its online
version acts more as a supplement to the print. The Brightest Young Things links will be
provided as appendixes.
29
Results/Findings
Interviews
The Washington Post
The first interview conducted was with Style editor Joe Heim. A University of
California Berkeley graduate-school-trained journalist, Heim has worked at The
Washington Post for about 12 years. When asked how he would define the Style section,
Heim answered, “Style is the alternative conversation, not the official conversation in the
news.”
He defined his role for the section as a combination of knowing everything that’s
coming out and happening, especially in music, TV, and pop culture. For this he said he
definitely relied on writers. “Writers come to me with story ideas,” he said, explaining that
the ideas eventually end up in short- and long-term story lists. When it came to deciding
what to cover, he explained, “There are definitely taste issues… Is it interesting? Has it been
done before? Does it justify itself?” Heim said he finds more exciting to assign or cover
subjects that are not that well-known, in an interest to broaden readers’ knowledge. He
cited immediacy as a very important news peg for Style.
When asked about the role that multimedia and online coverage played in the
decision-making process, he explained that it is becoming more and more important. There
is now a need to “find solid online elements” in order to “gain momentum online” (Heim,
2012). He explained that with online coverage the job has “significantly changed,” and that
it “feels much more like a 24-hour job.” He continued, “[a story] either looses steam very
quickly or there is a need to produce a deeper, smarter, more interesting piece on the topic
30
a lot faster.” He added, “[We are] talking with writers since the beginning to maximize a
story’s online presence.”
As for Style’s audience, he said that the online readers are definitely younger than
those receiving the paper at home, who are older. He continued explaining that Style aims
to target both local and national appeal, and that it intends to write for a broad audience.
When provided with the list of artists, Heim selected only six artists from the list of
twenty for Style coverage. He chose Adele, LMFAO, Miranda Lambert, Madonna, The Band
Perry, and K’naan.
The second interview conducted was with pop music critic Chris Richards. His music
background comes from playing in a band. He started working at The Washington Post as a
copy aide because it was flexible and allowed him to tour. Josh Freedom du Lac, pop music
critic at the time, took him under his wing and mentored him. Richards took on his current
role in 2009. A George Washington University alumni and D.C. native, Richards only took
one journalism class as an undergraduate. “I wrote three concert reviews for the school
paper and thought the journalism students were very cliquey and had a bad attitude,” he
said of the experience.
Now he is in charge of the pop music coverage for the newspaper, which means he
has to be up-to-date on the latest musical happenings. “There is no normal day. It is a
balancing act between setting up stories, organizational stuff, to researching and being
prepared,” he said of his role. Richards explained he stays up-to-date by surfing the Web,
looking at concert listings, following venues on Twitter, and by actually talking to people.
He said that going to concerts and asking attendees what they are currently listening to,
31
what they are excited about, or which shows they are going to soon make for the best story
ideas. “You have to dig into those tangles,” he added.
When it came to deciding what concert or artist to cover, he said they usually fell
into two groups. The first included artists that people are already interested in, that have
cultural impact, and/or that have an already established fan base and are doing something
new —Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, for example. The second category included completely
unknown acts, not popular music, that he found compelling, or artists that had a personal
dynamic story that was reflected in their music. The selection also had to answer the
question, “Have we told it [this story] before?” He explained that the goal of his coverage
was more of a balancing act between presenting what is already known and what is new.
When asked about the role multimedia played in the decision-making process, he
said that it did not necessarily direct the coverage but that it definitely played a part in it.
He mentioned that some people within the industry think that music journalism is in
decline because now listeners do not need journalists to tell them what is new in the music
scene, they can find out for themselves. When asked about music writing for The Post, he
explained, “I love the idea of describing a Skrillex [dubstep] concert in a way that has to
make sense to everyone. It is a wonderful and fun challenge.” He continued, “Newspapers
are valuable in that sense [of] contextualizing.”
When provided with the list of artists to select from, Richards said he would assign
almost all of the twenty on the list. He commented that Style had written about mostly all of
them as well. If he had to select only seven, he said he would chose Adele, Pitbull, Miranda
Lambert, Fun., Madonna, Avicii, and The Band Perry.
32
Brightest Young Things
Svetlana Legetic, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Brightest Young Things,
describes it as, “An umbrella media operation that has a publishing hand and an event
production and consulting side. BYT media contains an online magazine, dedicated to all
things good in D.C. Then the events come as a natural extension of the brand, translating
this online experience into something real life.”
It began with a self-described awful Myspace blog in 2006. “It was pretty hard to
make it profitable; you don’t have a business model. You just have a blog. It started more
like with a favor system,” she said. “There wasn’t really a place in D.C. that had a platform
for these kinds of events or things of that nature. It really wasn’t intended to be anything or
be special, it was just meant to be a platform for us and our friends to talk about interesting
things. Then it just kind of kept going, and going, and going….,” she continued. “In 2009, we
bit the bullet and took a chance,” she said of Brightest Young Things’ beginning. She talked
about how they had to learn to do their own public relations/marketing, and learn how to
package the brand to make it profitable.
“D.C. is not a big city, in that sense it does have a niche audience,” Legetic explained.
“You can’t think of it as website hits, every person that goes to BYT is a potential ticket
buyer, potential diner in your restaurant… which is pretty rare. We only advertise within
ourselves. We have a proven track record of translating numbers into actual human
beings,” she said of the Brightest Young Things, or BYT, phenomenon.
As far as organizational flow goes, BYT has an events coordinator,
marketing/advertising person, two photographers, a newly appointed managing editor and
assistant editor, and a “general person—takes care of things.” Legetic described herself as
33
being involved with everything. She then added, “No one is anyone’s boss... Literally if
Stephanie sees something now, and wants to write about it in the next ten minutes, and
post it, she can.” Offering more of an explanation later, “Everyone that is here is supposed
to help with whatever we need in the office. Everyone is kind of in charge of something, but
you do know that you have that support system.” When asked what a typical day was for
BYT, she said, “We try to come into the office now, which is helpful; as opposed to working
from home. Lots of meetings during the day.”
How does Brightest Young Things’ content come together? Every month BYT sends
out an email to its contributors, asking them what they are interested in. The suggestions
then turn into spreadsheets. “We have to figure out if we are interested, based on our own
taste levels,” Legetic explained. She added, “It really is personality driven. We would like
you. The readers develop this sort of imaginary relationship. It builds more of a loyalty
base.” Legetic explained even further, “You trust us, presumably, and as a result we trust
our contributors. People that generally don’t match what we would respect as taste, they
end up phasing themselves out.”
At this point, assistant editor Stephanie Breijo jumped in, “Timeliness has a lot to do
[with what we cover]. Major events, concerts, big annual things… Interviews are done as
promos before an event.” Breijo continued, “Keeping a schedule, keeping current with
culture. Trends. Seasonal guides.” She then explained, “It is important to try and find things
first that people might be really interested in; it is important to be on the cutting edge of
things. But, at the same time people want to see what they already love. A good mix of
both.”
34
Candidly, the co-founder commented, “The thing with us is that, genuinely, we are
never going to be ‘the best’ music blog, ‘the best’ food blog. But, you want to maintain this
sense of a curated (sic) life that you could live through everything we do. You could, like,
live your life on BYT.” Legetic added, “Looking to grab a drink somewhere? Well, here are a
couple of new places. Looking for a weird movie to watch? Stuff like that is more likely for
us. But, we will also review big blockbusters movies.”
On running a blog, both had a lot to say. “You constantly have to be on,” Legetic said,
“In a weird way since it is such a lifestyle decision, a lot of the things you end up doing seep
into your social life.” Breijo added, “It’s so intense. No weekends, in the normal sense of the
word. But, it’s a lot of fun too.” When asked about the pros and cons of being a web-only
publication, Legetic said, “I would love, love, love, to have something in print. But, we
couldn’t afford it. In many ways, I both hate it and love it because it is somewhat disposable
[blogging]. We do try to do so much beautiful and original photography, more long-form
articles and interviews… Then they are kind of off the page and off the page.” Legetic
explained that social media and multimedia in relation to BYT, “…[are] not necessarily the
only thing that drives it.” Breijo did explain that they are a very photo heavy site, which is a
priority when covering something.
At the end of the interview, Legetic described Brightest Young Things’ audience,
“Basically us. We definitely have teenagers. Twenties to mid-thirties. A little more female,
like everything in D.C. Really well educated. D.C. proper or with a good Metro connection.”
From the list of artists to chose from, Legetic said, “We would probably cover most
of these people in some weird way, probably not The Wanted.” Breijo added, “We do try to
do some nostalgia posts.” From the list, Breijo selected Calvin Harris, Adele, Miranda
35
Lambert, Fun., Madonna, Tyga, and Avicii. Legetic chose Calvin Harris, Adele, LMFAO,
Pitbull, Madonna, Tyga, and K’naan.
Case study
For the two-week case study portion of this research, Brightest Young Things’ blog
posts and Style’s daily print editions were studied. In the 15 days selected for study, BYT
published around 135 posts. Style published almost 225 original, syndicated, and wire
stories (excluding the comics and horoscopes). Regular columns by usual staffers with
more than one byline and/or story component were counted as one (Kids Post, Reliable
Source, Book World, Going Out Guide). Style published on average 15 stories per day and
around 100 a week. For this portion of the analysis, it was of interest to look at the
language/writing style, content trends, and visuals/presentation/design of each media. By
looking at these publication elements it was possible to identify key similarities and
differences, which will be discussed hereinafter in the discussion section.
After analyzing clips from the Style section, it was noted that the writing style is
formal and followed rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. It did have a
conversational tone, but maintained a respectful one. Writers did not provide identifiable
information or personal anecdotes. The design of page elements was clean and fairly
distributed across each page. There was not that much color in the visual presentation of
the section and its graphics. It is heavier on text compared to images. The subjects
discussed on Monday March the 5th, selected at random, included the Girl Scouts’
anniversary, musician Bruce Springsteen, politician Rush Limbaugh, and rapper Young
Jeezy.
36
After analyzing the Brightest Young Things website or blog, it was noted that the
writing style is much more relaxed with rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It
provided an even more conversational tone, at times crossing the line of what is considered
appropriate. Writers provided self-identifiable information and included personal
anecdotes, however relevant or irrelevant they were to the subject of the post. The website
design was found to be heavy—colors and graphics proliferated greatly. It was found to be
less focused on text and more on images/graphics. Subjects discussed on posts made on
Monday March the 5th included photos of a Spy Museum event, singer Lauryn Hill,
photographer Mick Rock and band Fitz and the Tantrums, musicians Craig Finn and
Marcellus Hall.
Discussion
Based on our analysis, several conclusions were made about similarities and
differences between Brightest Young Things and The Washington Post’s Style section. Both
media forms were found to be merit-based; a journalistic education was not necessary to
hold editorial or writing positions based on interviewees background. Secondly, both Style
and BYT relied heavily on contributors and freelancer writers for content production.
When interviewed, both media representatives were more interested in covering
not-well-known subjects, as opposed to covering widely known topics. Taking into account
the interviews conducted and the artist selection results, BYT proved to be more selective
in music coverage. Surprisingly, Style sustained to want to include every artist featured on
the list in one way or another, even more so than Brightest Young Things. In terms of what
they selected to cover and why, Style reached for a broader audience and disregarded
37
issues concerning personal taste. Brightest Young Things thought of themselves as more of
a platform to disseminate their own “curated” personal tastes.
Audience for each publication was found to be different along with its intended
geographic reach. Style aimed to reach not only the DC metropolitan area, but surrounding
areas of Virginia and Maryland that do not necessarily have Metro access. According to
founder Legetic, BYT is intended for readers with a good Metro connection.
Style encouraged writer/contributor’s opinion and voice only if it was found to be
relevant to the subject in discussion; yet, it did not present unrelated personal information
or anecdotes. BYT allowed for personal identification of the writer and did not shy away
from providing personal information and anecdotes, even if unrelated to the story. The
writing style and voice was more formal at Style; Brightest Young Things’ was much more
conversational and relaxed.
Regarding organizational flow and work culture, both publications were found to be
completely different. According to founder Legetic, there was no supervision, approval, or
editing needed to publish a post in the BYT blog. On the contrary, Style was said to work on
an editor-writer relationship, with story selection and development discussion and
approval.
At The Post, writers and editors were expected to be multimedia savvy and
communicate with other staffers in charge of the online production; yet, there did not
appear to be much overlapping on journalistic duties. BYT staffers did say to experience
overlapping duties and responsibilities in content production and coordination.
Interviewers from both sides felt their job was 24 hours and seven days a week.
38
On content trends, Style had more extensive, dominant, and promotional
Sunday/weekend coverage; it even has an additional Arts section on Sundays (not included
in this study). BYT had little to none existent weekend posts. Based on content categories,
both publications cover more or less the same ones: art, music, trends, culture, etc. Using
the example of what was covered on March the 5th, the publications did not discuss the
same subjects. Both publications were found to be opposite on the visual and
presentation/design aspect. Style was found to be more focused on the text, with fewer
images and colors, and a simpler design. Brightest Young Things heavily utilized colors and
images, having a lesser focus on the actual text.
Conclusion
This original research project was guided by the exploration of similarities and
differences between newspapers and blogs. Most specifically, it compared cultural
coverage of Washington, D.C. through two different local representational forms of media.
Brightest Young Things represented local blogs and The Washington Post’s Style section
represented traditional newspapers. This project looked at what each media selected for
coverage and why, how it presented content, and what was the intended audience. There
was also an interest in exploring each publication’s organizational flow and work culture.
This type of research may be of particular interest to communication and media
scholars and educators alike, as well as newspaper and blog staffers and publishers. While
the research conducted demonstrated surprising similarities and differences, there is one
main over-arching conclusion. The Style section is intended for a general audience, while
Brightest Young Things is intended for a more selective and hyper-local audience. This
39
distinction was found to permeate and directly affect all aspects of coverage, presentation,
audience, work flow and culture.
However, limitations were found to be present in this study. The conclusions
presented here might only be applicable to the publications selected for this study.
Throughout the research it was concluded that publications are particularly different,
which greatly limit the findings of this project. For future research, similar studies might
look to include more than one publication per type, interview more staff members, and
analyze content during a longer time period.
40
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Appendices
BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS: LINKS TO POSTS DURING TWO WEEK PERIOD
MONDAY FEB 20
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so826.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-in-dc-on-yourpresidents-day-off.htm
TUESDAY FEB 21
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so827.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/portlandia-the-interview.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-burlescapades-birchmere.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/preview-mike-isabella-test-drives-hisbandolero-concept.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-emilie-autumn-rechertheatre.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/squishy-cathode-residue-a-heads-onsticks-qa.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/first-looktaste-blind-dog-cafedarnells.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/shannon-says-your-weekly-dose-ofrealness-48.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-mardigras-edition.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/shows-to-get-pumped-for-this-weekvolume-7.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-zola-jesus-u-street-music-hall.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-46.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-exact-opposite-of-fat-tuesday-videoof-the-day-iamamiwhoami.htm
WEDNESDAY FEB 22
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so828.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/40-fashion-challenge-is-back-make-meover.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/burning-the-boats-with-farewellrepublic.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/crashing-the-drag-race-week-4.htm
43
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-icon-of-the-week-arizona.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/play-dc-civilization-all-you-can-eatwoolly-mammoth.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-book-club-the-autobiography-ofmalcolm-x.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/live-dc-the-dead-milkmen-u-streetmusic-hall.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-191.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/taste-test-901-restaurant-bars-newmenu.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/playdc-peter-pan-the-boy-who-hatedmothers-h-street-playhouse.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-47.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/158889.htm
THURSDAY FEB 23
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so829.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/upcoming-shows-you-should-blow-youron-volume-7.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/bilb-burger-id-like-to-bang-9.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/grindrphiles-albie.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/weekly-food-news-round-up-117.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-the-portlandia-tour-930-club.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-street-style-round-up-2.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/best-weekend-bets-198.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/preview-saul-williams-black-cattonight.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-best-weekend-bets-25.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-interviews-butane.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-48.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/actually-a-short-film-video-of-the-dayjavelin.htm
FRIDAY FEB 24
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/geek-it-out.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so830.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-springsummer-guides-talk-to-us.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/another-movie-guy-wanderlust.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/another-movie-guy-bullhead.htm
44
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/style-licks-this-week-in-fashion-londonpart-ii.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/tops-and-bottoms-this-week-in-popculture-dominance-46.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-islands-black-cat.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-review-crazy-horse.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/ticket-giveaway-byts-local-tourist-partyspy-museum.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-review-rampart.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-49.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/heavy-rotation-video-of-the-day-alunageorge.htm
SATURDAY FEB 25
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/interview-voices-of-black.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/academy-awards-homework-bestforeign-language-nominees.htm
SUNDAY FEB 26
NOTHING
MONDAY FEB 27
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-fav-song-of-the-day-treyanastasio.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so831.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/paul-michel-a-to-z-of-dc-love.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/twitter-round-up.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/159276.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/shows-to-get-pumped-for-this-weekvolume-8.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-pink-floyd-the-fillmore-silverspring.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/shannon-says-your-weekly-dose-ofrealness-49.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/report-frida-kahloher-photos-opensartisphere.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-192.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-saul-williams-black-cat.htm
45
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-ticket-giveaway-john-carter-feattim-riggins-in-space.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-50.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/cool-music-video-of-the-day-koolmusic.htm
TUESDAY FEB 28
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so832.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/sticky-fingers-fridge.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/13th-st-meats-at-pharmacy.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-icon-of-the-week-angelina-joliesleg.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-maison-francaise-presentsmoulin-rouge-party-l2.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/weekly-byt-guide-to-dvd-releases-ondemand-instant-netflixing-3.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/whats-your-favorite-hendrix-song-ticketgiveaway.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-193.htm
WEDNESDAY FEB 29
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-javelin-red-palace.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-warhol-opening-the-fridge.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-51.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/cool-music-video-of-the-daychromatics.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so833.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/spy-movie-marathon.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/first-look-bar-pilar-expansion.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/crashing-the-drag-race-week-5.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-sisqo-in-dc.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/grindrphiles-4-mr-t.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-book-club-white-girl-problems-bybabe-walker.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-recommends-max-raabestrathmore.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-194.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/ticket-giveaway-lights-930-club.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-flogging-molly-fillmore.htm
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http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-52.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/cool-music-video-of-the-day-laurynhill.htm
THURSDAY MARCH 1
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-fav-song-of-the-day-they-might-begiants.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so834.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/upcoming-shows-you-should-blow-youron-volume-8.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/in-just-a-few-weeks-hirshhorns-aboutto-become-pretty-much-the-coolest-place-ever.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/style-licks-this-week-in-fashion-milanpart-3.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/taste-test-breakfast-foundingfarmers.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-street-style-round-up-3.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/best-weekend-bets-199.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/taste-test-mad-fox-brewery.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-best-weekend-bets-26.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-ticket-giveaway-silent-house.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-53.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/cool-music-video-of-the-daymemoryhouse.htm
FRIDAY MARCH 2
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so835.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/sing-me-swedish-electro-a-korallrevenqa.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-review-we-need-to-talk-aboutkevin.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/tim-eric-billion-dollar-movie-mediocrejob.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/another-movie-guy-project-x.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/tops-and-bottoms-this-week-in-popculture-dominance-47.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-review-charlotte-rampling-thelook.htm
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http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/behind-the-desk-37-with-grohl-inmind.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/another-movie-guy-undefeated.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/interview-crankparty2-headlinersproper-villains.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-54.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/cool-music-video-of-the-day-deus.htm
SATURDAY MARCH 3
NOTHING
SUNDAY MARCH 4
NOTHING
MONDAY March 5, 2012
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/byt-fav-song-of-the-day-quincyjones.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/rise-shine-the-internet-told-me-so836.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-byt-spy-museums-localtourist.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-twitter-round-up.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/lauryn-hill.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/shows-to-get-pumped-for-this-weekvolume-9.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/mick-rocked-at-the-w-fitz-thetantrums.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/photos-crankparty2.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/come-early-for-ambassadors-930club.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/the-hit-list-things-to-do-tonight-195.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-craig-finn-marcellus-hall-rnrhotel.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/movie-ticket-giveaway-a-thousandwords.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-55.htm
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/best-use-of-a-new-order-song-video-ofthe-day.htm
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BYT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What is BYT? Philosophy/style/coverage? What is BYT about? Music, Art, Theatre,
Pop culture, entertainment, fashion, movies, etc?
2. How did it happen? Year founded, etc
3. What is a typical day for you guys like?
4. How do you divide the work or what is the organizational flow? Editors/writers/etc?
what do each do?
5. Why would you assign or chose to cover something? What do you look for/criteria?
Are you partial to certain events/venues/etc? What makes something BYT worthy?
What news pegs would you say are more relevant for you?
6. How do you find out about what is going on around the city that would be of your
interest to cover?
7. What do you like about being a web-based publication? Pros/cons?
8. How does being web-based affect your coverage or coverage decisions? Is
multimedia very important/decisive factor in choosing what to cover? Have you
ever thought of / chosen to cover something mainly because of its
multimedia/online potential?
9. What do you look for in BYT writers /contributors? What would you say is their
style or voice?
10. Are you familiar with the Going Out Guide / Post’s Style section? How would you say
you are similar/ different?
11. Would you rather cover relatively well known subjects? Or is it in your
interests/goals to broaden a reader’s horizon and introduce them to new stuff?
What extent is it both or one more than other?
12. What would you say is your target audience? Can you profile your readers?
13. I know you are expanding to NYC, congrats! Do you ever think of going print with
like a magazine or expanding not only geographically but in how you reach readers?
49
CHRIS RICHARDS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Tell me a bit about yourself, background: school, what you studied, how did you end
up in journalism/ at the post?
2. What’s your role for style? What does it mean to be the pop music critic? What is a
typical day for you?
3. What is your own musical preference?
4. How/why do you decide to cover an event/artist? What criteria does it have to fulfill?
5. Are there any venues around town that you prefer?
6. How do you find out about concerts?
7. How do you decide which artists to profile?
8. When you think of covering a story, does multimedia/online coverage play a role in
your decision? Is it what you think of first or more as a supplement?
9. Have you ever chosen to cover something mainly because of its multimedia/online
potential?
10. How would you define your writing style/voice?
11. Are you familiar with the BYT blog? What is your opinion of their
coverage/philosophy/style? How would you say it’s different from Style’s?
12. Would you rather cover relatively well known artists/music? Or is it in your
interests/goals to broaden a reader’s horizon and introduce them to new stuff?
What extent is it both or one more than other?
13. What would you say is your target audience? Can you imagine/or profile the typical
style music reader?
50
JOE HEIM INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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Tell me a bit about yourself, background: where you went to school, what you
studied, how did you end up in journalism/ at The Post?
What’s your role for Style? What does it mean to be an assignment editor?
What is Style? What makes a story a Style story? What news pegs would you say
are more relevant for the section? What is Style about? Music, Art, Theatre, Pop
culture, entertainment, fashion, movies, etc?
How/why do you decide to assign a writer to cover an event? What criteria does
that event have to fulfill?
When you think of covering a story, does multimedia/online coverage come to
mind first or as an after-thought/ consideration as a supplement? Have you ever
thought of / chosen to cover something mainly because of its multimedia/online
potential?
How would you say your job as an editor has or has not changed with online
coverage? Pros/cons?
What do you look for in Style’s writers? How would you define their/Style’s style
or voice?
I know there’s the Arts Blog, are there other web-only Style publications? How is
Style transformed online? How is the Style experience adapted online/digitally?
What is your opinion on blogs from a journalistic perspective?
Are you familiar with the blog BYT? What is your opinion of their
coverage/philosophy/style? How would you say it’s different from Style’s?
Would you rather cover well-known subjects? Or is it in Style’s interest to broaden
its reader’s knowledge or even introduce them to new stuff? To what extent is it
both or one more than the other and why?
What would you say is Style’s target audience? Can you imagine/or profile the
typical Style reader? Who do you aim to reach or get to read the section?
Does Style have an “agenda”? If it does, what is it?
LIST OF ARTISTS PROVIDED TO INTERVIEWEES FOR SELECTION
Pick 7 from these artists to cover:
1. The Wanted
2. Calvin Harris
3. Adele
4. LMFAO
5. Pitbull
6. Miranda Lambert
7. Matt Nathanson
8. LoveRance
9. Sean Paul
10. Fun.
11. Madonna
12. Tyga
13. Rodney Atkins
14. Avicii
15. Luke Bryan
16. The Band Perry
17. K’naan
18. Victorious Cast
19. Montgomery Gentry
20. Lifehouse
52