A recent post on the music blog on Relevantmagazine.com brought up the state of the music industry, how there is so much music being distributed through means like MySpace that fragmentation of the market follows.
The author, Seth Hurd of Shine.fm, a Chicago Christian radio station, brings up intriguing statistics from his inside vantage point.
He also points out that traditional media outlets like Rolling Stone and MTV are playing less of a role in determining which songs and artists succeed, with blogs holding more sway in influencing listeners.
So how do you find out about new music?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Relevant Magazine's blogs
Relevantmagazine.com has several featured blogs, including blogs by the magazine's founder, editors, interns and even guest blogs by prominent authors and lead singers of popular bands.
The music blog alone is worth checking out for its coverage of the music industry, Christian and otherwise.
The blogs are run by twenty-something Christians, as the magazine's mission statement reads, but all bring something unique to the table.
They all cover their areas of expertise well, though some aren't updated often enough to be a consistent source of news. When they do post, though (some update several times a week, but some have been dormant for a year), you can expect the writing to be insightful.
The music blog alone is worth checking out for its coverage of the music industry, Christian and otherwise.
The blogs are run by twenty-something Christians, as the magazine's mission statement reads, but all bring something unique to the table.
They all cover their areas of expertise well, though some aren't updated often enough to be a consistent source of news. When they do post, though (some update several times a week, but some have been dormant for a year), you can expect the writing to be insightful.
USA Today's Faith & Reason blog
One of USAToday.com's featured bloggers is Cathy Lynn Grossman, a religion reporter for the paper. She runs a blog called Faith & Reason, where she covers touchy topics from the Ten Commandments in courts to "under God" in the Pledge, to the spirit of Christmas.
It seems like a good forum for discussion on really interesting issues like John Lennon's views, which may be reported on in other blogs but likely not in USA Today.
Commenters are generally thought-provoking yet civil, though as I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure whether the comments are moderated so that could be a reason for their cleanliness.
Grossman's blogroll on the right side of the page is diverse and gives voice to many parts of the country.
She does a pretty good job of keeping her own views fairly benign in her writing, calling things into question while letting her readers discuss the issues.
It seems like a good forum for discussion on really interesting issues like John Lennon's views, which may be reported on in other blogs but likely not in USA Today.
Commenters are generally thought-provoking yet civil, though as I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure whether the comments are moderated so that could be a reason for their cleanliness.
Grossman's blogroll on the right side of the page is diverse and gives voice to many parts of the country.
She does a pretty good job of keeping her own views fairly benign in her writing, calling things into question while letting her readers discuss the issues.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Obama pumping iron instead of worshiping
According to a post in USA Today's Faith & Reason blog citing Politico, president-elect Obama has been hitting the gym the past several Sundays in lieu of going to church.
The post does a good job of linking not only to the original article but also some interesting outside sites, including a USA Today topic list on Rev. Jeremiah Wright and statistics on non-church-goers.
The topic, with the question raised at the end, started a respectful discussion on the comment board.
Whether that's because the blog's readers are level-headed, or because the comments are moderated is uncertain.
The post does a good job of linking not only to the original article but also some interesting outside sites, including a USA Today topic list on Rev. Jeremiah Wright and statistics on non-church-goers.
The topic, with the question raised at the end, started a respectful discussion on the comment board.
Whether that's because the blog's readers are level-headed, or because the comments are moderated is uncertain.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
USAToday football blogs
Sundays mean football and USAToday.com has two prominent football blogs, Game On and The Huddle, both of which are run by senior sports writers and cover chatter from internal and outside sources that may not otherwise be published.
Both add a different dimension to watching football, as the one updates scores and injury news on gameday, while the other covers college and pro football.
Both do a nice job of quickly summarizing news items from sources around the country, as well as pointing readers to stories in USA Today.
Both add a different dimension to watching football, as the one updates scores and injury news on gameday, while the other covers college and pro football.
Both do a nice job of quickly summarizing news items from sources around the country, as well as pointing readers to stories in USA Today.
Newest Rhodes Scholar is a student-athlete
Florida State safety Myron Rolle had a long weekend.
The Miami Herald has a story following Rolle throughout Friday and Saturday, from winning a Rhodes Scholarship in Alabama to playing in FSU's 37-3 trouncing of Maryland at College Park, Maryland.
It's a vivid telling of the days' events and relates Rolle's experiences as a football player and student. I have two major gripes, though:
The Miami Herald has a story following Rolle throughout Friday and Saturday, from winning a Rhodes Scholarship in Alabama to playing in FSU's 37-3 trouncing of Maryland at College Park, Maryland.
It's a vivid telling of the days' events and relates Rolle's experiences as a football player and student. I have two major gripes, though:
- The article never mentions the outcome of the game, let alone whether Rolle actually played (he did).
-and- - There was no video or multimedia outside of a single photo.
The article could have benefited greatly from a video of the scene of Rolle's police escort or at least a photo gallery. Maybe no cameras were allowed in the ceremonies, but photos there also would have helped.
And I understand the article was probably written for the front page (I haven't gotten a chance to look at the real paper), which means it's directed toward a more general audience, but to leave readers with Rolle arriving at the game leaves too many questions unanswered to feel any kind of closure at the end.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
High school football highlights on MiamiHerald.com
This year, the Miami Herald is partnering with Recruitflix.com to offer high school football video highlights online.
Check out the highlights from yesterday's Northwestern-Columbus playoff game.
The local newspaper is still one of the only places for parents and fans to get their high school football news, so this should be a valuable resource for the website.
Check out the highlights from yesterday's Northwestern-Columbus playoff game.
The local newspaper is still one of the only places for parents and fans to get their high school football news, so this should be a valuable resource for the website.
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