Action plan on how to be a good online journalist

Strengths

As this is a fairly new form of journalism for me there are certain skills I need to acquire to be a good online journalist but there are certain abilities I have already which could make me a good online journalist. One of my strengths is that I am literate with computers thus allowing me to operate a computer with minor trouble. This is obviously important for an online journalist as they will be working mainly with computers and need to be able to operate them. Another skill I possess is the ability to find out and keep up to date with the latest news. I do this by regularly scouring the Internet for news to make sure I am up to date with sporting and current affairs. Another important necessity I have is the ability to research news which can be used to generate stories. I have already had brief practice as an online journalist by submitting a piece of work on the FA website regarding the FA cup while doing work experience at a sporting agency.

Weaknesses

The skills I need to ascertain to be a good online journalist are writing quickly as it is essential to get a point, view or story across to audiences as quickly as possible. Keep up to date with what the audience or target audience require and understand their needs and interests. To understand the trends of the Internet and to react as fast as possible to news to therefore get the stories across as fast as possible.

A website I have analysed

A website I have looked at is the BBC football website. I chose this as I am a regular viewer of the website and have always been a fan of the way it is layed out and presented. I think it is very easy to use as it has its list of contents on a left hand margin and has its main headline in the centre of the page so it can be easily seen accompanied by the other headlines to the right of the main headline. The service the BBC provides during match days are also very comprehensive as you can watch a vidiprinter of your teams matches witch updates of what is happening in the match every two minutes. The layout and presentation of the website is very simple with the background colour white with black text. The only other main colours are red and yellow therefore allowing for simple viewage. The stories are always accompanied with a picture with prominence in relation to the story making it more interesting to readers maybe as well as drawing readers.