While there is a plethora of content and many click-through options on Michigan Liberal.com, reading and posting comments for an individual blog means clicking on a link and waiting for the page to reload, a rather cumbersome process. It also means that the casual reader won’t be introduced to user comments. With a fast connection this isn’t much of an issue, but it would be nice to see comments and posts on the same page.

Most of the tone of Michigan Liberal.com is only mildly left of center. The blog raises an issue, such as the right to dry clothes outdoors and then explains why they support this idea. This is done is a non-confrontational manner with little to do derisive language. Most of the postings are that way. However, a few bloggers get a little aggressive in their word choice, especially when talking about decisions made by the GOP. With tighter editorial reins the non-abrasive writing style that is prevalent in other blog posts might make this left-leaning blog more palatable to centrist and those, just right of center.

The topics covered by Michigan Liberal.com are varies and interested to those who are living in Michigan, as well as those who are simply interested in national affairs. There are articles about green technology, the Big Three car manufacturers, Michigan politics, education, and much more. The ecumenical topic selection and the two to three posts a day make this blog worth being on the reading list of a news junkie.

The format of The Bloomington Alternative doesn’t invite readers to dive right into their content. There is a large leader at the top of the homepage, but you must click “read more” to finish the story. Two shorter leaders are posted below it, but again, you must “read more,” a difficult decision when the leader is written in such a manner that you aren’t sure what the rest of the content of the article will be. Below these leaders are banners for further stories in that bi-monthly edition. Recent edition headlines are archived underneath that. Therefore it is possible to look at the entire homepage without actually reading an entire story. Busy readers many just pass The Bloomington Alternative on by.

The tone set by the writers of The Bloomington Alternative is nothing if not irreverent. The simple inclusion of profanities in the subheading of an article style shows the reader that alternative news apparently translates to less professional news. While journalism free from corporate dollars and editorializing is important, it is also important to keep alternative news as professional and traditional sources. The blog looses much of the legitimacy it is trying to garner through a newspaper-like format because of the casual tone of the writers. Comparing the DNR to pestilential insects is not a way to evoke confidence from your readers. At the same time, the editorial section reads like a Twitter posting.

Reading The Bloomington Alternative has been very frustrating because of their format and the impudent tone of their writers.