The Top 10 Beyond Bylines Posts of 2021

Well, folks, we’ve made it through another wild year. Before we start fresh in 2022, we’re looking back at some of your favorite posts from the year. Of the posts we published in 2021, the most popular ones cover a range of topics.

Our roundups of top news sites took several spots on the list, reflecting readers’ interest in timely topics like the climate, social issues, and entertainment.

But our readers are also writers themselves, which makes it no surprise that several of the top posts offer tips and tools for journalists and bloggers.

Here’s what you read this year.

1. 7 Environmental News Sites to Inspire You on Earth Day

Despite COVID-19 still driving the bulk of the news cycle, this year also made climate a top-of-mind topic – and rightfully so. As of December 16, the U.S. reported a total of 54,350 wildfires across the country that had burned more than 6.8 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Combine those figures with the UN Climate Summit and other extreme weather events this year and it’s no surprise that our readers turned to this list of standout environmental news sites.

2. AP Style Rules: COVID-19, One Year Later

Like I said, the pandemic is still a constant part of our lives and the news we read. Understanding the terminology and rules for writing about it was key this year. In our first quarterly AP Style roundup of 2021, we discussed coronavirus vs. COVID-19, superspreader (it’s one word), mask-wearing (add the hyphen), and more. In addition to the pandemic terminology, this post also covered reminders for sports, impeachment, and food lingo.

3. Our Favorite Tools for Journalists and Bloggers

Writing a story can be tough considering all the pieces involved, from brainstorming to research, multimedia creation, promotion, and of course the actual writing. So we created a list of some of our favorite tools and apps to make the writing process easier. This is a great post to bookmark for the future when you find yourself in need of that perfect app for writers and creatives.

4. 11 Entertainment News Sites That Top the Charts

Since the pandemic began, many of us have upped the time we spend binging new shows, listening to podcasts, and signing up for all the streaming services – so the audience for entertainment news is a big one. We updated an older post to provide a fresh list of some of our go-to sites for entertainment content. This post definitely seemed to strike the right note with our readers this year.

5. 7 Headline Writing Tips for Your Digital Content

No matter how much time and effort you put into writing an article or blog post, chances are readers won’t see it if they aren’t enticed by the headline. The headline is critical real estate and is typically what will show up first in search results, so understanding what makes a good headline is key to your post’s success. To help out, we put together seven headline writing tips to consider the next time you’re crafting a title.

6. 10 Top-Notch Asian American News Sites to Follow

We celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month during a difficult time for the community. Anti-Asian hate crimes increased more than 73% in 2020, according to new FBI data. Activists and allies have been drawing attention to not just horrific recent events but a long history of bias against the AAPI community in the U.S. As these stories kept coming out, we were proud to celebrate several sites dedicated to covering news, politics, culture, and entertainment by and about the AAPI communities.

7. Follow These 9 Fashion News Sites During Fashion Week (& Beyond)

Our roundups of top news sites were clearly a favorite this year, with four posts making this list. And pandemic or no pandemic, fashion is a daily part of life. Even if it’s choosing which sweatpants to wear for the day, for most of us it’s a conscious choice. We reworked a previous roundup of fashion news sites as in-person fashion weeks began to ramp up in the fall. These go-to fashion sites cover the latest designer news, trends, styling tips, and more.

8. 10 Can’t-Miss Media and Journalism Podcasts

According to Pew Research, 41% of Americans ages 12 and older say they listened to a podcast in the last month and 28% say they listened in the last week. So over the summer, we decided to highlight a few of our favorite journalism podcasts created by and for the media. This list of standout shows covers a range of media-related topics, including freelancing, investigative journalism, journalism history, and more.

9. AP Style Rules to Remember for Your Writing

It can be tough to keep track of AP Style rule changes and reminders. The second AP Style roundup to make this list, our post from September included reminders on several timely topics. We reviewed guidelines for coronavirus variants, travel (vacation rentals, travel restrictions, etc.), and back-to-school terms like GPA, ABCs, and school principal.

10. 3 Tips for Avoiding Jargon in Your Writing

Clear, concise writing is important for attracting readers and keeping them on the page. During the pandemic especially, it’s key to avoid jargon as much as possible to ensure readers get the full picture and understand the latest updates. To help you avoid a jargon-filled, acronym-riddled rut, we put together three tips to consider when writing your next piece.

Bonus Reads

These posts published before 2021 were ones our readers kept coming back to this year:

🏖️ 5 Sites to Visit for Winter Travel and Road Trip Inspiration

📸 Choosing Photos for Your Blog: 3 Copyright Rules to Know

💻 Looking for Tech News? These 8 News Sites Will Keep You Updated.

✍️ Passive Voice in Journalism: How to Wield It Responsibly

📰 10 Must-Read Hispanic News Sites Covering the U.S. and Latin America

📧 15 excellent journalism & media newsletters for being in-the-know

The Beyond Bylines team wishes you and yours a wonderful holiday season. We’ll be back in 2022 with new posts covering media news, standout blogs, writing tips, and more!

Don’t miss out on our posts in the new year. Subscribe to Beyond Bylines to get new posts sent right to your inbox.

Rocky Parker is the Digital Content Lead at Cision PR Newswire. She works with journalists, bloggers, and content creators to create their targeted newsfeeds from PR Newswire for Journalists. Rocky has also counseled on content writing best practices. Check out her previous posts for Beyond Bylines. In her free time, Rocky can usually be found cooking, binge-watching a new show, or playing with her puppy, Hudson.