Michelle Dione Snider
My name is Michelle Dione. I’m a journalist blogger. Yes—good old blogging—I’m bringing it back like Myspace.
What’s the difference? I could write an article for a publication, which would undergo an editorial process to ensure ethical accuracy. The problem with going through other publications is that they all have an angle I’d have to fit my content towards.
I want to write in a style of my own, infusing sociology, social science, research, and philosophy into everyday topics in a way that sparks the imagination. I’m not trying to create clickbait. I’m not interested in fast-paced corporate media, which takes little to no time to research and follow up stories to save profit. While I admire non-profit journalism, I often need to put my interpretation and experiences or the experiences of others in my writing style to express a point. Non-profit journalism tends to be highly ethical, so I often use it as a reference source and deeply respect the journalists who dedicate their careers to that necessary, usually thankless work.
Nowadays, anyone can claim to be a journalist without ethical input and editing, which can be considered blogging. There’s nothing wrong with blogging. It’s just a matter of being honest as a journalist.
Elsewhere, I would keep my opinions to myself and write well-researched articles. Here, I write philosophical stories based on current and past events based on my theories, which could border on opinion or perspective. I’m not into telling people what to think or how to think. I’m into making them think. It’s okay not to agree; it’s okay to challenge my views. That just means you thought my content was worthy of reasoning.
The real end game is to own my publication. Classic8Media is a dba I’ve had since 2007, when I first started photography. My skills expanded into video editing and writing. I have been writing blogs on LiveJournal and Myspace since 2005. I co-owned Dope Era Magazine from 2015 to 2018 and started PantherTimes.com in 2018. I’d like to eventually build a network of creative content creators and own a publication where they can feel free to publish their content ethically.
After documenting violent Northern California political rallies throughout 2017, my videography was used for an Emmy award-winning PBS/Frontline documentary called “Documenting Hate.” That experience inspired me to take journalism classes to learn how to become an ethical storyteller, providing well-backed research.
Before I could finish my first semester at Laney College in Oakland during the Spring 2018 semester, another one of my documenting videos went viral worldwide and was dubbed “BBQ Becky.” The viral sensation was talked about for years and generated countless memes while raising concerns about how police are weaponized for racial harassment in public places.
To Skip to my Portfolio, click here.
After a lot of hard work going to school, working freelance, and as an employed Associate Editor of a local newspaper, I took a break. I focused on slowing down while studying philosophy.
Ethically sourced stories with truthful twists, add some philosophy, and voila! We have creative new ways of seeing the world with honest twists.
If you have suggestions or input, you can contact me at ShelleDione@classic8media.com.