Blogs: The 21st Century Journalist

This week's reading is focused on the field of Public Relations expanding into the phenomenon of blogging. When I first think of a blog, I think of individuals with a little too much time on their hands ranting about anything and everything they can think of. In my mind, blogs are similar to the old online journal site, Xanga, where middle schoolers like myself would write about whatever excitement entered our preteen lives. But this is not the case at all. Blogs are taking over the way the public receives news and completely overturning the process. Instead of companies pitching to journalists to write about a new product or service, a company can now create a blog and communicate that information directly to interested publics themselves. Microblogs like Twitter provide real-time updates of any news that a company deems shareable, whether it's about a last minute sale or a new shipment of products.