Our first link is about ‘FYLP’

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Well, it took only a few hours for one of you to submit the first link in our contest — an E-Media Tidbit from Poynter Online about the multimedia magazine FYLP. It's from Kaitlin D. Trina M. submitted a link on another topic by commenting on the posting about the contest a minute later than Kaitlin’s e-mail. While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I've asked Trina to resubmit hers via e-mail before I repost it here.

Here's what Kaitlin said with her link:

“Working for my high school newspaper for two years, I know how important the cost of making a newspaper is. There were many times when we actually had to shorten our newspaper or cut stories and fill it with ads just so we could have an issue.

So when Jim Gaines said in the article linked above, “There is no reason for publications to spend so much money on ink, paper, and distribution, expenses that can cause magazines to fail,” I understood completely. Our newspaper was almost cut on several occasions for the simple fact that the it costs so much to print. Not only did we have to raise money, but we also had to sell ads more than we even wrote stories. It was an unfair balance completely.

The article also stating that the two advantages of the Web are not having to worry about costs and not being limited to one storytelling medium also made since to me. I have been blogging for a little over a year now and find it so much easier to get my point across by including things like audio and video.

Gaines saying that, “You talk to your readers every day and all day long” also hits home. I always read letters to the editor in high school, but I didn’t always respond. I tried my best, but most of them were just from students complaining about irrelevant things. But when someone leaves a comment on my blog, I usually reply as soon as I see it. It’s so much easier and quicker than writing a letter and many people aren’t expecting an incredibly detailed response when it’s just a blog comment. It’s a totally different format and I think it makes it easier to communicate with readers.

-Kaitlin D.”