Personal Brand Idenity

Brand Journalism: Is it really controversal?

Brand Journalism is a word you hear often but may not actually know the meaning of. To some it is a great thing and helps bring in revenue, while others say it does not following the true meaning of being journalism. These people can be divided into two categories: Traditional journalists and brand journalism. Traditional journalism follows older foundations set at the beginning if journalism. While brand journalism looks at a new approach to still making money while being a journalist. This is what has caused the controversy between both roles, but while it may be bad there has been some good too. There are just as many negatives as there are positives, it just takes a reader who can tell the different and come to the appropriate thought.

            To understand why brand journalism is controversial you must first understand what traditional journalism is and why they view the other side the way they do. Traditional journalism works by gathering information, assessing, creatingstories, and making sure these stories help readers make the best possiblechoice or decision about something. (Cowlin, 2014) This is a time-consuming process that makes it longer to get a story out to the readers and or viewers but overall is for the good more than the bad. Traditional journalism follows a rule referred to as the “Fourth Estate” that sets the standards for journalism to keep it truthful and informational without personal opinions or thoughts. This is a major difference between the two, because one feels opinion is alright to have while the other side sees things differently.

            Brand journalism is a form of journalism as used to advertise or persuade readers and or views to a certain direction. It is known for being used alongside content marketing where there is a specific audience in mind and the story is used for profit. (Cowlin, 2014) This types of journalism is used to make a profit which makes readers and viewers question the ethnicity of the story. Though some of these stories are just marketing ads that help to sell items or benefit a company. The issue with this though is that even though a company pays for their brand to have a good image if the company is a bad company overall it will not help them. They can have all the positive feedback and advertising and stories they want but if a customer calls into a call center just to spend hours waiting to solve an issue then it truly does not help the company.

            While the difference between these two are great if you combine them, and use the strengths from both sides you will be able to get a strong story with the correct view. A journalist is a good starting point for branding, they know how to find a story, be a team player, and they understand where their job description begins and ends. This leave for the perfect opening of a brand journalist to let the journalists be journalists but then step in the associate the story or subject into a conversation where it makes the subject look good.They can provide constructive feedback that is beneficial for developing the story or brand they are working on. If these two forms worked together they could create a powerful story with good views but this is where the trouble lies.

            Journalists want to give you a story and you can form your own personal opinion on it. While a Brand Journalist wants to persuade you to a side. This is what they are paid to do and this is also the reason they are seen negatively. You must question how real a story is when someone is being paid to make something look a certain way. We have seen this a lot during the last election. When a party is paying someone to make the other party look bad then things will be taken out of context. It was so bad during the election that they had to start running statements each party said about the other through fact checking sites. This is where you can see that just people you are being paid for a story, when you put in personal opinion you can have devastating results on someone’s life or goal. This was made known more now than ever but it was also made known the fact people are not able to tell the difference in these types of stories. This tells you we have some good journalists out there who can take false facts and turn them truthful all because they convinced one person to share a story.

            Brand journalism will only continue to grow. They have mastered how to use the internet to advertise and tell their stories. They have mastered getting news out quickly, and to make it eye catching to who their intended viewers are. The viewers are just going to have to become better at telling truth from false because in this world the quicker the news is released the better your ratings.

 References

Burg, N. (2014, May 14). Journalists vs. Marketers: How to Ease Tension Inside Brand Newsrooms — The Content Strategist. Retrieved December 11, 2016, from https://contently.com/strategist/2014/05/14/journalists-vs-marketers-how-to-ease-tension-inside-brand-newsrooms/

Cowlin, M. (2015, January 12). Why the Controversy? Traditional and Brand Journalists Need to Hug it Out - Thismoment Content Marketing Blog. Retrieved December 11, 2016, from http://www.thismoment.com/content-marketing-blog/brand-journalist/

Wandrick, J. (2015, August 22). Color Her Fierce. Retrieved December 11, 2016, from http://jwandrick.wixsite.com/colorherfierce/single-post/2015/08/22/Journalist-On-Two-Sides-of-A-Great-Divide-Controversy

RISE Self-Evaluation

The purpose of this assignment is for us to evaluate ourselves and how
we believe we done over the month. Also to tell what we liked throughout
the month and what we wanted to learn more about and also how it will
help us in our future careers.

Fictitious Project Revision

The purpose of this assignment was to take feedback on our Reel Deal Tacos sites and improve our websites. Using the YouTube review gave a visual of things that need changed. 

 The first thing that I changed was adding the logo as the main image on the home page instead of the boat picture.

 The next change I made was to the menu page, I changed the image in the background to a single image instead of multiple images.

 Next I reduced the bio to the most necessary information to the business. That way there is not too much to read.

 Lastly I changed the background image on the FAQS page to a question mark instead of the cut-off logo. 

RISE Portfolio Feedback

I had the pleasure of  reviewing Malikah Frederick's portfolio site.

REFLECT

    Over all I love this layout. The color is calming and not overpowering. I love having the video at the end of the page.

INQUIRE

    Did you consider putting your name towards the top of the page? Also do you plan of adding content to the circle at the bottom or do you plan n getting rid of the?

SUGGEST

I would suggest adding your name towards the top of the page so people do not have to search for it. I would also suggest using the same font for the titles in the same cases.

ELEVATE

    Perhaps you could add your descriptive line under your picture above your picture with your name. Give people an exact idea who you are before they even need to scroll. Also the circles at the bottom could be great for showcasing some of your work as well.

Portfolio Site

Portfolio Site

Are you proud of what you created here? Why?

I was kind of rushed but I am pretty satisfied with what I have starting.

    Do you understand how you'll leverage this site moving forward? Explain.

Yes, I do understand how I’ll leverage this site moving forward.

    What area of your portfolio site do you feel is the strongest? Why?

The mission statement part of the site is the strongest part of the site. It gives an extra guarantee.

    What area do you feel needs the most work? Why?

The whole site still needs work; I need to add more personal detail.

    What are 3 goals you'd like to set for yourself when revisiting this site in upcoming portfolio courses?

To add some of my actual work, to feel comfortable sharing the site, and to give it more of a completed feeling.

Diigo Exploration

 The purpose of this assignment is to use article found and the
Diigo site to book mark them with notes so we have material to refer back to while working on our portfolios.

College Students: How to Create Your Professional Online Portfolio

   

 Why did you choose this particular article? Creating an online portfolio can be a great advantage to getting a job.

    Identify 3 points of interest from the article - What did you learn? Three points of interest I found was the list of what is needed, that a preparation time is suggested, and that each step is broke down and easy to follow.

    How can you apply the insight gained to the portfolio site you are building this week? It give me an idea of things I may need to look for within my portfolio that may need added.

How-To Price Freelance Projects Successfully

   

 Why did you choose each particular article? Freelance is something I know nothing about, so getting some insist on the subject is helpful.

    Identify 3 points of interest from each article - What did you learn? Three interesting points I found was adding a buffer and why it is useful, how to collect money up front and thing to look for to avoid certain clients.

    How can you apply the insight gained to the portfolio site you are building this week? I can look at how long it took me to create the portfolio and get an idea of just how much a project like that would cost.

How to self-promote without being obnoxious

Why did you choose each particular article? Selling yourself correctly is an important thing, you need to be confident but not overly so.

    Identify 3 points of interest from each article - What did you learn? Focusing on results when promoting yourself is important, praising others is a good thing as well because you’re not solely focusing on you, and do not make the entire conversation about you.

    How can you apply the insight gained to the portfolio site you are building this week? While the focus is on the owners, at the same time we need to focus more on the business itself.