Blog 2

The assignment was to read an article that is not on the front page. The article I found in the Keystone can be found on page 12 in the Arts & Entertainment section of the paper. The article is titled "KU illustration professor publishes children's comic book and was written by Viviana Vidal. I chose this article because as a writer, the word book appealed to me. Every section in a newspaper has something to draw a reader in, whether it be a word or an image.

In this article, you can tell the pride the author holds in that the author is a professor here at Kutztown. Professor Kevin McCloskey is a professor of communication design and illustration. He named the book, "We Dig Worms." The book itself is too teach children about earthworms. The article also features a picture of McCloskey holding the book with a smile on his face. You can tell his pride in his work not only from the image, but in the entire article.

Throughout this article it is reiterated that this illustrated book is to draw and enthuse kids about reading. To those who are reluctant to read, through vibrant images he hopes to bring those readers into the story. He also states that it unites all kinds of children because no matter the background they have seen a worm before.

Through this article, it is easy to see that McCloskey loves nature and the environment around him. Even his book is printed from recycled paper bags in support for his conservation efforts. You learn how seriously he takes those efforts not only from the way the book was printed, but in the subject matter. The earthworm is part of nature.

As consumer's, the article also tells you where you can purchase the book. Vidal gives four different locations where you can buy it. I see this as, if the article interested you enough to want to buy the book, well then here is where you can get it. The last paragraph tells us to look out for his next book release in April of 2016 and that it will be about pigeons. So we know the subject matter of the book and around the exact date that it will be released. Well go out and pre-order it now is what is being said.

Introduction and Reflection

Hello,

So there are a few things you need to know about me. First, my name is Shannon and I created this blog as part of my Mass Communications Class. As a Professional Writing major, my hobbies include reading and writing. My overall goal for myself at the moment is to publish a book within the next two years.

Reflecting on my professor's post, I would have to put myself in the middle. Neither agreeing to it nor disagreeing. The virtual world and its media can be daunting. How much should you share about yourself to your audience? You do not want to share too much or too little. Create a balance on what you are comfortable with sharing. This will be your presence and no one else's on the internet. Your words, thoughts, and ideas being shared throughout the world. The media and trends are ever changing, and that is something that will not stop. You could follow them or you can take your own path. Make of it what you will.

In the virtual world, it can be hard to look beyond the words on the page. Whether those words are harmful or encouraging. One will make you feel better about yourself and the other can bring you down. In the end, they are just words and words can be forgotten. As I have mentioned before that the media and the trends are ever changing. Online, what was popular last week might not be popular in the present. Each of us have a different experience, new ideas on what is important, and what will fade away. What do you choose to look deeper at? How do you consume and examine media?  This is all up to you.