After reading "Online Writing" by Molly Snyder, I read "When Creative Expression Causes Controversy" by Brooke Steiner from the OnMilwaukee MIAD series. For reference, Steiner's piece talked about the controversial reactions that Von Chrzanowski, AKA Case Maclaim's "The Unsung Hero" on the Dye House building received. While meant to be a beautiful statement about giving more recognition to the female working class, many people were upset that the figure did not have a head, seemingly continuing the tradition of ignoring female power.

In this article, I could identify many of the points that Snyder wrote about in her article "online Writing" used. I think the most useful and obviously used tip that Snyder gave was to put the most important information in the beginning of the article and leave the less important things for the second half. Steiner did this well, giving all the information about the mural in the beginning as well as the comments made about it, leaving other examples of this same thing happening with other artists for the middle and following up with a few more statements about the mural for last, tying the article back to the main point very nicely.  Steiner uses the active voice, rather than passive, making the reading much more engaging and impactful on the reader. She also makes use of hyperlinks as well lots of imagery to support her story.

Overall, Steiner makes use of most, if not all, of Snyders tips, writing an engaging, to-the-point story that draws from other artists to support the overall article. 

In Jason McDowells piece "These Buildings were Demolished for Soulless Surface Parking Spaces" is highly opinionated, bitter, and a little agitated. He goes through the streets of Milwaukee, seeing where old buildings were replaced with parking lots. It is almost shocking to see just how many buildings were gone and how many parking lots replaced them instead of a new building or a park. He writes his review of the city in a passionate and energetic way, making his opinion very clear. He does not cut corners by using any flowery words or justifying these parking lots in anyway, instead he points out that there is no lack of parking in Milwaukee, but instead an excess of free spaces that are used for litter to collect. He states "it removes the three-dimensional history and replaces it with a flat surface that can only hold two states: empty or littered". While I agree that these excess spaces can be a sore on the eye of Milwaukee, and they do in a way encourage more people driving individually rather than using public transit, they are still necessary because of how many events are held in Milwaukee, though I'm not sure that Milwaukee needs over 100 parking lots. The old cream city brick buildings will always be much more beautiful, interesting, and charismatic than a littered parking lot. 

Compared to other articles from OnMilwaukee, this seems a bit more cynical and disgruntled than others, which is not a bad thing. It is important to bring attention to the not so fun parts of Milwaukee and make sure that others are aware of them. McDowell even states that "surface lots form the black holes of a city's soul" which is not untrue, but still a very firm negative stance on a parking space that many other people don't think twice about. But that is the whole point of the article, to bring light to something that is never talked about.

Article Referenced:
https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/buildings-demolished-for-parking-lots

Todd Mrozinski is an artists as well as a writer. It seems he mainly writes about art and shows that are happening around Milwaukee. In his writings "Portrait Society Show Packs Emotional Punch" he writes about each artists work that was in the show and gives a detailed description of how it made an emotional impact. The way he writes about each piece is very caring, loving, and almost written like poetry. He makes use of many similes and metaphors, giving a heartfelt feeling to the art pieces. For example, he states "the youth starts his piano solo with determined vigor like a seed pushing through soil" when talking about the work of Ted Brusubardis and "the colors are ultra-saturated and seem to swell with a renewed sense of life" when speaking of the work of Thomas Haneman who had suffered from depression for many years. 

In another one of his writings, "The Power of Great Paintings" about the A Modern Vision: European Masterworks from The Phillips Collection” at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Again, he talks fondly and almost lovingly about each piece, as if they were an old friend. He pays great attention to the way in which the paintings were painted, whether the paint was "teased upon the surface of the canvas and then slightly flattened" or "pushed, smeared and built like the mountain, Mount Sainte-Victoire". I greatly enjoy how he speaks of the artwork he sees and finds a unique and creative way to describe each element, building the painting up as much as the paint does. 

Mrozinski's artists voice comes through very strongly while writing about the art of other artists. He creates a deep and personal connection with each piece, which I haven't seen from many other writers writing for OnMilwaukee.

Articles Referenced:
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/08/21/visual-art-portrait-society-show-packs-emotional-punch/?fbclid=IwAR0kNGMTiGN7tbhKaNTBLdiGTXa8R_poI57JG5aHHibVa4LI64u7ONAAyWk

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2020/02/18/visual-art-the-power-of-great-paintings/

Notes on various Milwaukee news sources:

On Milwaukee - I noticed that a lot of the articles had to do with drinking, where to find the best drinks and food around Milwaukee, and what's happening entertainment wise around the city. There was little to no news of political or "unhappy" events.​
The article I read was "Adam's new "Green Book" Inspired MAM mural references Milwaukee Sites" by Bobby Tanzilo. Here are some of the notes I took on the article.

• • ​MAM commissioned Derrick Adams to create a 93' mural
  • "our time together" inspired by "Negro Motorist Green Book"
  • will be unveiled Oct. 29
  • will include representations and references to important sites in Milwaukee's African American community. 
  • There were a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in the article, like they had written it quickly and didn't have time to proof read. 

Shepherd Express - There was a broader sense of news with more specific stories about local activities, crimes, and events. There were a lot of articles detailing public concerns. The article I read was "Milwaukeans Protest the Line 3 Pipeline" by Colleen Fischer. In the article, it details that

• several Milwaukeans went to Northern Minnesota to protest the construction on Line 3, a 1,000 mile pipeline bringing crude oil form Edmonton, Alberta to Superior, WI. 
• they were addressing the known integrity flaws and improving efficiency - Enbridge Energy
• the construction includes the laying of over 300 miles of new pipeline, pumping 760,000 gallons of Canadian tar sands oil through North Dakota, Minnesota, and WI per day
• the protesters also see it as a violation to the Anishinaabe tribe's treaty rights
• this will contribute to climate change and a destructive force to Manoomin (wild rice) which is a sacred food
• the movement is described as being welcoming and palpable

Urban Milwaukee - In Urban Milwaukee, there is a pretty good mix of both good and bad news around Milwaukee. It also includes information from all over Wisconsin as well as all over the world, not just Milwaukee. The stories are very opinionated, much more than most news stories. I also noticed that there were a lot of ads all over the website that were kind of distracting. I don't remember seeing all those ads on most other sites. I read "When Will we get Reform of Police?" by Angela Lang,

• this week (August 28th) is the one year anniversary of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha
• the author refuses to say the name of the 17 year old white supremacist Kyle Rittenhouse in the article
• the author says that black organizers were on edge that week
• on monday, the Black Leaders Organizing for Communitites (BLOC) kenosha organizer Kyle Johnson spoke at the event commemorating the Blake shooting, said "there's victory in defiance"

Milwaukee Magazine - This site was a lot more playful with quizzes about your style, where you should live, different things to do in Milwaukee and other entertainment related stories. There weren't a lot of unhappy stories, instead keeping it lights and un-opinioned. Like On Milwaukee, there are a lot of drinking, eating, and event guides. I read "Tickets are on Sale for Fringe Fest, but What is it?" by Archer Parquette.

• Fringe as in outside the normal political views
• this event dates back to 1947
• it started in Milwaukee in 2016 as a showcase of actors, painters, dancers, and musicians
• William Dafoe (from Lighthouse) donated to Fringe Fest, supporting Milwaukee where he got his start in acting. 
• Though this post was about a political event, I couldn't find anything on what the views were besides "outside the normal political views"

Milwaukee Record - There were lots of categories on this site, including comedy, food and drinks, film, podcasts, sports, arts, etc, that I hadn't seen on other sites. It was very focused on Milwaukee, and not really anywhere else. I read "MKE Sex: OnlyFans, sex work, and big banks as the keepers of morality" by Lucky Tomaszek.

• there are ties between pornography and credit card companies
• based on event hosted Tool Shed with adult performer by Jiz Lee in 2016
• sex workers discriminated against by credit card companies, banks, and other financial institutions

Milwaukee Independent - This site was very political with different vehicles for news (editorials, photojournalism, photo essays, audiocasts, etc.) The focus was on Milwaukee but there was still coverage from all over the world. There were also US articles form other news sites. I read "When Public funded Christian Schools use Rightwing Textbooks to Teach Slavery as just Black Immigration" by The Guardian.

• A recent study found private schools, especially Christian ones, use racially biased textbooks to teach their students, whitewashing history
• the textbooks "actually supports what critical race theory is trying to argue - that is racism is part of the fabric of American life" - Dorinde Carter

Overall, most of these local news sites kept their stories pretty happy, un-opinionated, and simple for people to read and understand. The main topics were drinking, restaurants and bars, and events happening this summer and fall. There was an overabundance of happiness and cheerfulness and a lack of important, relevant news that has an impact on everyone's life, not just the average Milwaukeans social life.