I slightly regret my last post on why I dislike blogging. Even more so I regret publishing it on TNTJ — a VERY public place — for all to see. I don’t love blogging, yes, but I will always do it. Maybe not everyday like some, but for at least as long as I can tell. Why? I’m not exactly sure but after hanging out with a childhood friend of mine Rich Abdill, who just started an online journalism blog called Burning Type, I was inspired by his grand ideas for his blog. As a result, I have felt like nothing short of a quitter for publishing my last post — as if telling the world publicly that blogging is just “too hard, so I’m giving up.”
It was lame and I’m embarrassed. It’s also not the real reason why I temporarily became disgusted by the idea of blogging.
My change of heart over blogging has been a slow process. It began after attending a few online journalism conferences in the spring when, after meeting several bloggers in person that I thought I respected, I became nothing short of left down. Too many of them were neurotic, know-it-alls. I’m talking about the college journalists here. Not the Jeff Jarvis’s, Jay Rosen’s of the world, who have – in my opinion – every reason to be overly self-assured.
However, when people in my age group start to think that they have nothing new to learn about journalism or the way the media industry works, I can’t help but feel completely irritated. Younger people know a lot more about new media and the internet than older people. Yes, I believe that. However, few of us are in a position where we are able to lecture older people about what they know or don’t know about the industry they’ve worked in for so many years. It’s insulting and unprofessional.
I was afraid I was getting lumped into that same category of these types of bloggers and I wanted absolutely no part of it. I saw — time and time again — older journalists attempt to lessen the arrogance of some of these younger bloggers only to be insulted in return. I was humiliated to be apart of such a group. So, I retreated, trying to find what I wanted to do, what I wanted to say and how I would be different.
I’ve decided that the fear of sounding like these people should be no reason to stop. I can assure you there will be times that I will sound like a know-it-all, but believe me when I say that I’m definitely still figuring it out. I’m not going to attempt to mislead people. I’m no expert. I’m not a leader in this field. I’m just a girl with an interest in online journalism, new media, and in particular social media. My opinion on one theory could change when I learn of newer one on the next day. I’m 21. That’s what 21 is all about, right?
My internship is almost complete and I’ll soon be back in the swing of things as I start up my final year of college. As a result, I will be taking advantage of the time I will have and will be blogging – completely and totally committed this time. Hopefully, there’s still someone out there who is willing to figure things out along with me.
As the Web Editor of my 
Upon hearing that many journalism students are throwing in the towel in light of a shaky job market and low pay, I began to sit back and analyze why I’m still a journalism major. I like money just as much as the next person, yet I’m still here. I am one of those people that needs stability but yet I’m a journalism major.
Every newspaper can fall into a pattern of static publishing and not growing with the times. The faltering economy and pessimistic job opportunities in journalism can level college journalists feeling discouraged and downtrodden. Don’t let it. Start the year 2009 with a new outlook on your college newspaper’s potential and all that you are capable of in the coming year.
The Whit just started it’s own Ning which we will be perfecting and inviting writers to join over winter break. We first came heard of this idea from 