Blogging software recommendations?

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

I hope this question isn't too far off-topic.

I'd just like to ask if anyone would like to recommend to me any of the
various specific blogging packages that are available as either ports
or packages for FreeBSD.   I've never used any of them myself, but
I have a very deep desire to begin doing so.  I just don't have any
idea what the specific pros and cons of any of them are, and thus
would apperciate some advice and opinions.

I don't have a lot in the way of specific requirements.  I'm assuming
that pretty much all of them will have an HTTP interface which supports
a WYSIWYG kind of editing, including the ability to select text fonts,
styles (e.g. bold, italics), colors, and embedded links to both local
and remote additional content, such as image files, video files, etc.
I will definitely need all of that.

Also, having tried, briefly, to use Google's free blogging platform in
the past, I already know that I'd like to have more and easier control
over page layout, in particular the size and placement of images along
with the text.

The only other feature I really need is the ability to allow some select
set of people, e.g. proofreaders, to preview individual blog posts prior
to them going "live", but my guess is that my knowledge of ordinary UNIX
and Apache adnministration should allow me to accomplish this with any
of the available blogging packages, and to do so in a manner that is
entirely independent of the packages themselves.  Still, it would be
helpful if I could find a blogging software package that already has
support for password-controlled previews of individual not-yet-live blog
posts pre-integrated, right out of the box.

Thanks, and I look forward to any & all replies.


Regards,
rfg


P.S.  Actually, I would be more than happy to use one of the pre-existing
online blogging platforms, sucgh as the Google one, but again, I need
something that wll allow me to give just some specific people a "preview"
view of individual blog posts before they go live, and I never managed to
figure out how to do that with the Google blogging stuff.

Also, of course, I worry about things like security and the ability to
easily make backups.  For years I've heard security horror stories
involving Wordpress, so that one is probably going to be last on my list
for consideration, behind all of the others.