9 - Classmate Blog Critique

Classmate Blog Critique: Abby Flow and Judd Samples

This semester, I have grown significantly as a student and as an individual. I have become a stronger writer, communicator, and media analyst, and this class has been integral to my growth. I loved creating my blog and seeing my classmates' unique, personal approaches to each assignment. I especially loved how broad each assignment was, which allowed everyone to truly let their personality and creativity shine. While everyone did a fantastic job, two blogs stand out to me as being particularly thoughtful and creative: Abby's and Judd's.

*Image contains a link to Abby's blog

Abby Flow is a junior Mass Communication major at Southern Arkansas University. Her blog for Directed Study in Mass Media I is one of my absolute favorites. I appreciate the thoughtful way she put each post together and included visuals throughout to support her narrative. I can tell she put a lot of time into each assignment, demonstrating her eye for detail and commitment to telling stories in full. The topics she chose were interesting and gave me a better understanding of many media and entertainment-related issues. One of my favorite posts of hers was #6 - Critiquing a Media Critic.

For this assignment, Abby discussed talk-show host and radio personality Wendy Williams. Her choice of individual helped expand my concept of what a media critic is. When I approached the assignment, I could only think of people on YouTube who reviewed movies, books, etc. I did not consider the essential role that talk show hosts play in the media criticism realm. Wendy Williams is a perfect example of someone who has made a name for herself through her direct, often controversial takes on celebrity gossip. Abby did an excellent job describing Williams's appeal and providing visuals to showcase the host's questionable moments.

*Image contains a link to Judd's blog

Judd Samples is also a Mass Communication major at Southern Arkansas University. His blog for Directed Study in Mass Media I demonstrates a strong appreciation for and creativity regarding many media-related issues. I love his blog because of how personal it comes across, with posts about his favorite musical artists, like Gracie Abrams and Tate McRae, adding to his authentic persona. One of my favorite posts of Judd's was #3 - Lifestyle & Popular Culture.

In this assignment, Judd discussed social media personality and influencer Trisha Paytas. Although I had heard of Trisha before, I have never watched her content because it does not necessarily appeal to me. Judd provided an overview of Trisha's influence on lifestyle and pop culture, which gave me a better understanding of this controversial icon and the reasons so many people love her. His use of bullet points to set apart different sections of his writing made the post aesthetically pleasing and easy to comprehend. I loved his use of videos throughout the piece, highlighting just how chaotic Trisha's content is.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this class and learning from my classmates' unique perspectives on media topics. Great work!

Gold Star