Oh, NPR. We were doing so well. Your content was great and your layout clean. Your sound bytes and glossy photos added new dimensions to your written posts. You even designated a special spot for social media platforms on your sidebar that was uniform across your site. Then I went to your blogs.
Finding your blog directory proved to be relatively easy. Finding individual blogs that suited my interests was challenging. The News section was overwhelming and disorganized. It contained multiple blogs that had no common link, including The Political Junkie, which is a political blog, and The Salt, a food blog. The Arts and Life section only contained two blogs, Monkey See and The Picture Show, which had titles that gave no indication of the blog topic.
As I scoured through the directory, I noticed that there were only four music blogs. For the National Public Radio to only have four music blogs is horrendous. Every radio host should have a blog, detailing their show and discussing songs or new topics related to their music genre. One positive from the music blogs is that they seem to utilize the other platforms more often than the other blogs. On All Songs Considered, readers have the opportunity to record a dedication for Valentine's Day and the DJs will add your requested song to your dedication later.
This is one of the few interactive features that NPR has implemented. Their comment sections are overflowing with comments, but have virtually no responses. The only mention of comments being addressed that I could find was on the 13:7 Cosmos and Culture blog, which revolves around science and its' impact on other fields.
As I scoured through the directory, I noticed that there were only four music blogs. For the National Public Radio to only have four music blogs is horrendous. Every radio host should have a blog, detailing their show and discussing songs or new topics related to their music genre. One positive from the music blogs is that they seem to utilize the other platforms more often than the other blogs. On All Songs Considered, readers have the opportunity to record a dedication for Valentine's Day and the DJs will add your requested song to your dedication later.
This is one of the few interactive features that NPR has implemented. Their comment sections are overflowing with comments, but have virtually no responses. The only mention of comments being addressed that I could find was on the 13:7 Cosmos and Culture blog, which revolves around science and its' impact on other fields.
I do not mean to diminish this blog or it's subject matter (see this article on why you should care about science), but for this to be the only NPR blog that incorporates reader comments is unacceptable. NPR is a political hotspot with lots of key information and analysis for voters. There should be dialogue between the NPR contributors and the audience. Engaging with the audience is a key part of being a journalist and NPR has failed to achieve that objective.