My Digital Self

My online news habits consist largely of two categories, those being social media and NBA basketball news and information. I do not have a Facebook or Instagram profile, but I have continued to maintain an active presence on Twitter for the better part of the last decade. The sites I visit frequently for NBA news include NBA.com, ESPN.com, TheAthletic.com, Basketball-Reference.com, Basketball-Video.com, and Bucks.com, the home site of my favorite NBA team the Milwaukee Bucks.

I digest NBA basketball content in multiple fashions. By consuming text, video, and audio content from the above websites, I have found both a greater appreciation as well as understanding of basketball as an entertainment industry and showcase of peak athleticism. More popular outlets like ESPN and the NBA’s own site are great resources for text articles and short audio/video clips from professional journalists close to each organization, but the real fun comes from browsing the libraries of Basketball-Reference.com and Basketball-Video.com. Basketball-Reference allows users to access analytical information regarding any player or team, and Basketball-Video allows for viewing of full NBA games after they have happened. Together both sites are great for watching real film of players and comparing statistical trends to accurately understand how my favorite team is performing and what to expect against different opponents.

One other outlet I like to visit for not just basketball news, but all sports in general is The Players’ Tribune website (theplayerstribune.com). This site contains articles written by athletes themselves about any number of different topics. It’s a phenomenal source for first-person information that otherwise wouldn’t be available unless you were able to talk with an athlete directly.  It has allowed many different athletes to lend a public voice to topics that are important to them without the stories being twisted through the voice of a different author.

It has become increasingly more difficult to find non-biased national news sources in the last few years, and because of this I have made a concerted effort to follow a large number of legacy news media sites such as ABC, CNN, FOX, NBC, and CBS, on Twitter to provide myself the opportunity to view current news in multiple perspectives.  While this strategy can often clutter my feed with subjective information, I still feel that having all these perspectives available is better than alternatively relying on one source to obtain current event news information. More often than not, a tweet from one of these outlets will prompt me to visit the home site online to read related articles and comments of anything that piques my interest.

When looking for un-biased information online, my favorite source is the Pew Research Center. While I don’t necessarily use it as an “as it happens” news source, Pew Research Center is a non-profit organization that provides peer-reviewed studies and information on many different topics. Because of the non-partisan nature of the site, I enjoy reading the publications without having to be as mindful of the source of the information.

Add comment September 20th, 2021

Hello World!

My name is Evan Helbing, This blog has been set up for use in my Journalism 347 course. I hope you Enjoy!

Add comment September 20th, 2021


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