Since
my last critique seemed to bash The National Press Photographers Association
for their use of unnecessary official style in their website preamble, I
figured I should give them back all the positive credit they deserve! They have
super cool aspects on their website like “The Visual Student” which is a blog
that gives an overview of what many of the student members of the association
are up to in relation to their journey of becoming a photojournalist. And guess
what, it is mostly written in plain language! Here’s the kicker though, plain
language style doesn’t have to mean it’s boring, nor does it have to sound uneducated!
The popularity of blogging has been
increasing rapidly in the past few years, and if done correctly can be a great
way for anyone interested in media of all kinds, even visual journalism, to get
themselves out their for public viewing. NPPA has the student blog, “The Visual
Student,” which is a website any member of the association, from students to
professional photojournalists. On this blog members can learn about internship
possibilities, view contest-winning projects, participate in live chats, read
about emerging photojournalists and their work and receive tips and advice on
their own work.
Since this blog is open to all
members of the association, each member can post on the blog, and each person obviously
has their own style of writing. With that being said, I am sure there are posts
on the blog written with official style involved. Since blogging is so informal
however, many of the posts are written with more plain style usage than
official. Tone plays a big role in plain style writing, and also in blogging.
The less formal, almost conversational tone of this blog also allows the reader
to feel more comfortable with the information they are trying to take in. To me
this is extremely important because as a student interested in photojournalism
with almost no background knowledge, reading things written at more of an
accessible level is very helpful for me.
The section of the blog, “Chats” is
completely in a conversational tone, which would make sense, as it is a chat
room. Here is what the chat room’s look like:
Sarah Z: Hi! I graduate this winter and I
need time to put a stronger portfolio together. What sort of things/variety do
I need to include, and how long after my graduation date will I still be
eligible for internships?
Sean D. Elliot: Sarah, a lot depends on
what you're looking to do. if you're aiming for newspapers you do need to show
the range of work. everyone is a generalist at newspapers these days, so show
as much as you can. of course don't show crappy photos just to show you've done
something. I guess that should be obvious, but I've seen portfolios with the
crumbiest spot news photos just for the sake of having spot news.
bettinahansen: I think it's important to
show a range of work that reflects your personal vision.
Maddie McGarvey: So if you're not
necessarily good at shooting sports or spot news, do you recommend including
them in your portfolio anyways even if it's not your strongest work?
Michael P. King: Variety is good but
don't sacrifice quality for variety. Edit your work to play up your strengths
and conceal your weaknesses.
Sean D. Elliot: Better to show you do a
few things very well and not show what you don't do well.
The
chats are extremely informal and completely conversational. The readability
score for this section of the chat was a 7.8. This use of plain language is
important because the chat is clearly not meant to confuse people, but instead
is meant to help them. These tips are aimed to help whoever reads the chat
complete the task at hand or at least helps them to wrap their head around what
needs to be done. Not much detail is used in these chats, most people use few
to no descriptive words or phrases. They simply state the facts.
Another section of the blog is
completely comprised of the perspectives of current and past interns. This is
set up in a question and answer format and the intern’s talk about things like
what they have learned through interning as a photojournalist, how they landed
the position, what their biggest struggles were and what their favorite part of
the experience was. What I love about how plain style fits into this is how the
blog is truly set up to help young adults interested in the field of visual
journalism. The articles and posts are written without any hidden context, in
words that the average person uses regularly, and are concise and get the point
across.
One of the advice column articles, “Designing
a Better Portfolio Website” was written by an accomplished photojournalist and
professor at UMass named Brian McDermott who has had his work published in the
New York Times, The Boston Globe, Bon Appétit magazine as well as in many other
places. I took this opening section of
McDermott’s article and entered it into the readability calculator:
“A photojournalist needs a website.
Having a portfolio website in 2011 is as pro forma as getting your pictures in
focus. Editors use portfolio websites to find freelancers, gauge job and
internship applicants and follow the progress of photographers they know.
Potential subjects use websites to see if you’ll present them fairly. Yet for
some photojournalists, having a website is an afterthought– even though for
editors and sources it’s often a first impression. If you have a poorly
implemented website, that first impression is the digital equivalent of having
a piece of lettuce stuck in your front teeth.”
The scores came out higher than I had
anticipated, which I assume is because of some of the word choice he used. But
with an average grade level of 11.5, I would think it safe to assume that this
piece is fairly accessible for most readers. I mentioned McDermott’s
accomplishments to point out the fact that he is indeed a professional, and
knows what he is talking about. While he
may not have written this piece at the seventh grade reading level, he did
write it in a style that is not too dense, fairly plain and still interesting.
This proves that writing in plain style does not lose credibility for the
writer.
Based off of my observation of the
National Press Photographers Association blog website I have drawn a few
conclusions about plain language in general. In this situation, as well as in
similar situations, the use of plain language is important for many reasons.
Plain language is useful when communicating to the masses. It allows
communication between most age groups, educational backgrounds, and professional
status. Plain language used on all blog websites is efficient because it allows
the people communicating to clearly state what they want to say, how they want
to say it, so it is easily interpreted. After all, the purpose of a blog such
as this is to help people, not confuse them. I can also see how plain language
can be a slight hindrance. Sometimes being too plain can be similar to being
vague which could be just as confusing as if official style had been used. But
in this situation I believe that plain language is more helpful than harmful.
Plain style doesn’t mean a
compromise in writing ability is being made. The use of plain style does not
make you sound uneducated. It does not make you seem less credible. And it
certainly does not need to be dry. Using plain language helps us see the upsides
of keeping things short, sweet and to the point with out over complicating
things. In a setting like the National Press Photographers Association student
blog, the use of plain language is perfect. Short logical sentences, the right
amount of detail, conversational tone, common words and the use of strong
active voice are all extremely important when talking about plain language and
when trying to help someone get their foot in the door as an emerging photojournalist.
THE VISUAL STUDENT: Student NPPA blog
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