For my third media blog post, I was assigned the Huffington Post. This particular media outlet is different from the past two I have evaluated because it is only online. Having only heard of the Huffington Post I was unsure what to expect but what I found on September 19th publication was not out of the ordinary. It had its’ front page that had a much wider variety of top stories than previous news outlets I have evaluated. But along the lines of topics it covers the expected ones such as politics, business, technology, and world news while also covering other interesting topics like comedy, weird news, and a voices section. One other comparison I found interesting is that the articles published by Huffington Post do not seem to have a common length to them; some are rather length while others are unusually short. I think this is because they do not have to tailor their work to fit a hard copy, such as a newspaper.
The top story that I read was House Votes To Cut Food Stamps By $40 Billion. This story covered the passing of a bill in the House of Representatives to reform our country’s food stamp program starting in 2014. The House said that the goal is to make people want to find jobs by limiting the time they can be on food stamps. This article made the point that the purpose of food stamps is to assist those who need a helping hand when they just lost their job, not to support someone who does not feel like working. This bill, if passed, would change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in multiple ways. Beneficiaries will be required to pass drug tests and be able to prove their poverty through income and asset tests. Additionally, states will be able to deny benefits to people who are able to work that are choosing not to search for work. The article also said how both republicans and democrats feel about the passing of this bill in the House. Republicans see it as a way to motivate people to find jobs and to make sure those taking advantage of the foot stamps no longer could while, democrats called this bill a useless assault on the poor and stating “you don’t matter, you are not worthy of our help.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/food-stamp-cuts_n_3957509.html
While browsing the website, I came across this article How To Get An iPhone 5S On Launch Day (No Guarantees). This article caught my interest because I am in the market for an iPhone 5S because my poor iPhone 4’s screen has been shattered. This article said that the supply of the 5s is going to be extremely limited and some of the color options might not even be in stock with the capacity some people want. The article mentioned how the “space grey” model will be the one mostly in stock with a majority of 16 GB and 32 GB capacity with an inadequate amount of 64GB. Apparently, the go to place to get your hands on the new 5s is a RadioShack that looks like it “has been out of business for three-and-a-half years, then you’ll have no problem.” The article thinks that it’s smart to go to RadioShack because the Apple store is going to have the longest lines while who even thinks of RadioShack anymore. The best advice from this article would be “if you want a 5S, just pray,” Steve Kovach said. So I guess with the little hope I have left in getting an iPhone 5S tomorrow, I better get on my knees and send a prayer to the Big Guy upstairs. And if you find yourself in the same tight spot as me, I wish you happy hunting! J
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/iphone-5s-launch-day_n_3956514.html?utm_hp_ref=technology
Another article that caught my eye was Britney Spears’ ‘Piece Of Me’ Las Vegas Residency Finally Confirmed With Singer’s ‘GMA’ Appearance. This randomly caught my eye because as weird Spears had acted in the past I still must admit I loved her as a kid! This article mentions that Spears will start a residency with Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino for two years in Las Vegas. Spears mentioned she wanted to sing her classics while spicing it up with her new material. This is also exciting to me because there just might be a chance I can see her when the Baylor softball team heads to Las Vegas in February!
I believe the content on the Huffington Post is geared toward a younger audience compared to news outlets like the Washington Post. The Huffington Post captures readers in college all the way through the lower thirties because it has the current political news while also keeping the younger generations interest with more laid back topics. I enjoyed the content of this news outlet because it appealed to the vast amount of random things I might be interested in. One thing I did not like was the arrangement of the materials on the front page; it made me work harder looking through all the topics to find one I was interested in. I think I would read the Huffington Post again if I wanted to know information on a topic quickly because their articles do not get lost in the uninteresting details.