Blogging opened opportunities for career journalism

When James Kurisunkal began his blog Park Avenue Peerage 10 months ago, he never could have imagined where it would lead him. Kurinsunkal had always been interested in royalty and the socially elite. So, from his dorm room at the University of Illinois, he began a blog about the young socialites of New York City.

His subjects took notice. They began sending him photos and news to post. In May, Kurisunkal said that his site receives on average, 8,000 hits per day. Over the summer, he was offered an internship at New York magazine. Kurisunkal was only 18, a freshman in college.

There are several things that could be learned from Kurisunkal's experience. We discussed in class how public records can provide valuable info for stories. Although he was living in Illinois, Kurisunkal was able to access wedding and death announcements and certificates to begin his site and map together the lives of his subjects. His thorough research gained him credibility. He made a point to avoid salacious gossip and rumors which gained him the respect of his readers and his subjects.

One thing I questioned was his decision to not use his real name on the blog. When Andrew Keen gave the McBride Lecture earlier this month, he said that one major problem with the Internet is that people can hide. They can create fake pseudonyms to disguise who they really are. It's a huge problem because there's little credibilty and people don't take responsibility for what they post.

Obviously, in Kurisunkal's case, the pseudonym worked. I still feel it's something that should be avoided.