"The notion that somehow changing the tone means simply that we let them say whatever they want to say or that there are no disagreements and that we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ is obviously not what I had in mind and not how I function. And anybody who thinks I have, hasn’t been paying attention.”-Obama in interview to NYT
There it is ladies and gentleme. Out in the open. Obama is ready to get down and dirty and show CLinton what he's got. But will the polls reflect his intentions? SO far Clinton seems to be leaidng the pack although Obama seems to be hoarding the news headlines with his statements. Obama has been very clear about his policies, Clinton has been a bit blurry and frankly a little bit discomforting. I do not know if Obama's "assertive approach " will get him anywhere because for some reason everyone likes Hillary Clinton...Obama kept saying thorughout the article that he is ready to directly attack Hillary..what good does that do Obama?
But what else would he do anyway? I mean the guy is trying his hardest for the people to accept him but he needs to convince the middle aga group and he older age group to vote for him.
I guess we will just have to wait and watch.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Beat.
Journalism as a job for some reasom, is continuing to scare me. I mean really. The fact that we have to pay attention to ALL the nitty gritty stuff is quite unnerving. So Ch 14 was all aboout beat reporting, which might seem easy because it is the same topic, but therein lies the trick. It may getter easiER down the road but the beginning could be quite tough. we need to start off being prepared (of course) and the preparation could actually be a lot of work...I thought the authors made agood pont by asking us to talk to the "predecessor" for more information. Because they probably will pave the way for you once they get started. I also like how they emphasized being insistent because that is a key skill needed by every journalist. But the one statement that really did stick out was when they said that reporters give up too easily. I do not know if that is true... ithought reporters are supposed to be these people with an undying urge to satisfy their neverending curiosity. I liked how they gave us the 411 on the police beat, court beat, school beat and the environmental beat. The last beat seems especially important in today's world.
The last part was nice segway into the website reading which continues to be more and more mind boggling. I felt like I was in the first week of Law 101 while reading all the chapter. It was all about the legal side of things which is great resource to have if you are assignined the court beat or the police beat. It is almost like law 101 for dummies...no offense.
I liked how they explained the whole process of the trial..from the arrest part to the verdict..and I liked how they explained the jury selection process and I did not know that you can actually be present for a jury selection..i thought it was this discreet method! Moreover I did not know a motion culd be made to challenge the jury selection. And I liked the explanation of all the motions too...I kind of enjoyed learning about all of this fancy stuff..sometimes the legal world is like politics..too confusing and complicated to even try to understand...I also did not know that after a death sentence, there is an automatic appeal state....
The whole civil court section was also quite interesting because I do not really hear about civil court cases unless the case has a potential to become national news..but I gues it is our job to find out if it does? I liked the little info piece on Pretrial activties...the more I read about all of this the more intimidating it seems....
I also did not know that a judge could reject an out of court settlement...i mean if both parties are okay then why does the judge have a problem?
Andlastly...i thought all settlement clauses were hands-off...PERIOD. I guess upon special request t is not.
Wow..there is so much I need to learn..and I thought biology was a pain.
psshhh.
The last part was nice segway into the website reading which continues to be more and more mind boggling. I felt like I was in the first week of Law 101 while reading all the chapter. It was all about the legal side of things which is great resource to have if you are assignined the court beat or the police beat. It is almost like law 101 for dummies...no offense.
I liked how they explained the whole process of the trial..from the arrest part to the verdict..and I liked how they explained the jury selection process and I did not know that you can actually be present for a jury selection..i thought it was this discreet method! Moreover I did not know a motion culd be made to challenge the jury selection. And I liked the explanation of all the motions too...I kind of enjoyed learning about all of this fancy stuff..sometimes the legal world is like politics..too confusing and complicated to even try to understand...I also did not know that after a death sentence, there is an automatic appeal state....
The whole civil court section was also quite interesting because I do not really hear about civil court cases unless the case has a potential to become national news..but I gues it is our job to find out if it does? I liked the little info piece on Pretrial activties...the more I read about all of this the more intimidating it seems....
I also did not know that a judge could reject an out of court settlement...i mean if both parties are okay then why does the judge have a problem?
Andlastly...i thought all settlement clauses were hands-off...PERIOD. I guess upon special request t is not.
Wow..there is so much I need to learn..and I thought biology was a pain.
psshhh.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The REAL DEAL: crime reporting
The timing of this assignment could not be more appropriate. Just last month, I spend around four weeks outting together a story for The Ithacan regarding Ithaca's rising crime rate. I know that my story was just a report on a statistic and not a real crime, but I did end up speaking to the IPD and some burglary victims. We'll get more into that as the post continues...
Ch 1:
I loved how this chapter essentially told us that as "rookie" journalists, we possibly have the most chance of covering the crime beat. Apparently that is the best thing...after reading the chapter, I actually agreed with the author. Being assigned the crime reporter could possibly be the best way to gain experience on the job. It challenges every skill that every journalist has possibly learned: the ability to pursue a story. I really liked how they speeled out the different criminal proceeding for us. For instance the description of the arrest process was extremely helpful and I probably read one of the best versions of the Miranda Warning and their use. But one of favorite section was the description of the police-media relations. I spent 3 weeks trying to get in touch with the IPD. I called everyday. If I was them they should have been annoyed and just given me a second of their time. I went down there twice. I do not know what they had againsat me, but ever since then, I have definitely developed a skepticism towards police response to journalists. I also liked how they fcused on the rights of victims and what we owe them as journalists and as humans. I never really htought that I would get arrested on the job of a journalist, but I now know what to do...just follow through with the procedure. I just hope I don't get tasered!
Ch 5
This chapter was probably the most enlightening of all because it focused on the individual who would be most affected by a crime story: the victim. It is always importat to understand the fragility of the victim's mental state while asking them questions. Unlike the text book where this point was hardly emphasized, this websites dedicates a lot of space to drive this point home. I found the fact that they spent a few paragraphs describing who a victim was very intriguing, mainly becaue you would think that you knew who was the victim bit maybe not?! The one thing that I am constantly worried abut is how I would handle myself if I was on the scene of the crime. Would it not be hard to report amidst major chaos? I liked how they said that expressing sympathy for the event is a good way to begin. I completely agree. If sympathy was not expressed then the journalist could possibly be seen as a cold person just doing her job which could then affect the answers frm the interviewee. I especially found the part about the intensity of the graphic description of the story to bever useful We need to find a line between understanding what the public needs to know ad what you wantto tell the public and what the victim and the family and the criminal will experience. While on the topic of senstivity, I think that names of rape victms should not be divulged but the names of the offender should definitely be divulged. There is no issue of fairness here. The story here is about the crime and the one who committed the crime is the main focus, the focus on the victim is a byproduct of the whole report.
Ch 7
This chapter was sort of hard to grasp and I giggled when the author said that a journalist who cover court proceedings needs to have the time and patience to read documents that are generally long. I do not know how I would handle that. I am quite impatient by nature and I hate when readings do not get to the point immediately. So if I was to be a court reporter, my patience would definitel be tested to the max. I liked the tips that were given on how to cover the court proceedings..especialy the one about knowing when the lunch time was of each judge, etc. And the sources part was great too...I like these tips! And lastly they focused on the free speech amendment and the freedom o information...these two claused in the judicial system are opf major importance to journalsits..we're better off not messing with the law and knowing our limits.
I really liked this website because it essentialy gave me a ready made guide to crime reporting which I probabl will be doing in the future. I do anticipate returning to this website!
Ch 1:
I loved how this chapter essentially told us that as "rookie" journalists, we possibly have the most chance of covering the crime beat. Apparently that is the best thing...after reading the chapter, I actually agreed with the author. Being assigned the crime reporter could possibly be the best way to gain experience on the job. It challenges every skill that every journalist has possibly learned: the ability to pursue a story. I really liked how they speeled out the different criminal proceeding for us. For instance the description of the arrest process was extremely helpful and I probably read one of the best versions of the Miranda Warning and their use. But one of favorite section was the description of the police-media relations. I spent 3 weeks trying to get in touch with the IPD. I called everyday. If I was them they should have been annoyed and just given me a second of their time. I went down there twice. I do not know what they had againsat me, but ever since then, I have definitely developed a skepticism towards police response to journalists. I also liked how they fcused on the rights of victims and what we owe them as journalists and as humans. I never really htought that I would get arrested on the job of a journalist, but I now know what to do...just follow through with the procedure. I just hope I don't get tasered!
Ch 5
This chapter was probably the most enlightening of all because it focused on the individual who would be most affected by a crime story: the victim. It is always importat to understand the fragility of the victim's mental state while asking them questions. Unlike the text book where this point was hardly emphasized, this websites dedicates a lot of space to drive this point home. I found the fact that they spent a few paragraphs describing who a victim was very intriguing, mainly becaue you would think that you knew who was the victim bit maybe not?! The one thing that I am constantly worried abut is how I would handle myself if I was on the scene of the crime. Would it not be hard to report amidst major chaos? I liked how they said that expressing sympathy for the event is a good way to begin. I completely agree. If sympathy was not expressed then the journalist could possibly be seen as a cold person just doing her job which could then affect the answers frm the interviewee. I especially found the part about the intensity of the graphic description of the story to bever useful We need to find a line between understanding what the public needs to know ad what you wantto tell the public and what the victim and the family and the criminal will experience. While on the topic of senstivity, I think that names of rape victms should not be divulged but the names of the offender should definitely be divulged. There is no issue of fairness here. The story here is about the crime and the one who committed the crime is the main focus, the focus on the victim is a byproduct of the whole report.
Ch 7
This chapter was sort of hard to grasp and I giggled when the author said that a journalist who cover court proceedings needs to have the time and patience to read documents that are generally long. I do not know how I would handle that. I am quite impatient by nature and I hate when readings do not get to the point immediately. So if I was to be a court reporter, my patience would definitel be tested to the max. I liked the tips that were given on how to cover the court proceedings..especialy the one about knowing when the lunch time was of each judge, etc. And the sources part was great too...I like these tips! And lastly they focused on the free speech amendment and the freedom o information...these two claused in the judicial system are opf major importance to journalsits..we're better off not messing with the law and knowing our limits.
I really liked this website because it essentialy gave me a ready made guide to crime reporting which I probabl will be doing in the future. I do anticipate returning to this website!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Blog Comments
http://lizzyswickedsweetblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/race-to-informality.html
All about Obama’s dirty socks and Hillary Clinton’s thoughts on Bill Clinton’s diet.
http://newsreportingicjessg.blogspot.com/2007/10/barackstars-and-hillyeas.html
Can the younger generation make a change or are we as useless as the older generation makes it seem?
http://the23yearoldsophomore.blogspot.com/2007/10/saving-one-polar-bear-at-time.html
Al Gore. Nobel Peace Prize. Enough said.
http://fallingfornews2007.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-glad-you-realized-who-you-are.html
Guiliani’s admission of him not being Hillary.
http://amusante123.blogspot.com/2007/10/colbert-kucinichs-deep-pockets.html
Money and Election’08.
http://reporterandrea.blogspot.com/2007/10/08_14.html
Thompson’s “hot babe”.
http://hollysmithnewsi.blogspot.com/2007/10/fred-thompson.html
Thompson should razzle dazzle?
http://thestorysofar-jt.blogspot.com/2007/10/fighting-like-little-girls.html
Dirty business in Election’08
All about Obama’s dirty socks and Hillary Clinton’s thoughts on Bill Clinton’s diet.
http://newsreportingicjessg.blogspot.com/2007/10/barackstars-and-hillyeas.html
Can the younger generation make a change or are we as useless as the older generation makes it seem?
http://the23yearoldsophomore.blogspot.com/2007/10/saving-one-polar-bear-at-time.html
Al Gore. Nobel Peace Prize. Enough said.
http://fallingfornews2007.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-glad-you-realized-who-you-are.html
Guiliani’s admission of him not being Hillary.
http://amusante123.blogspot.com/2007/10/colbert-kucinichs-deep-pockets.html
Money and Election’08.
http://reporterandrea.blogspot.com/2007/10/08_14.html
Thompson’s “hot babe”.
http://hollysmithnewsi.blogspot.com/2007/10/fred-thompson.html
Thompson should razzle dazzle?
http://thestorysofar-jt.blogspot.com/2007/10/fighting-like-little-girls.html
Dirty business in Election’08
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Showdown Hillary and Michelle..just verbally
I never quite thought of the London option. I mean yeah London has a lot of money and is an extremey expensive place and such, but could it really have a relationship with the American Presidential campaign of '08? Obama found a way in which London will definitely play a role in the presidential campaign. His wife will host a campaign dinner in London to raise money for her husband's campaign. Times Online's headline read :Obama’s wife takes fight to Hillary Clinton . And I was intrigued so I clicked on the link. And while the page was downloading all I thought was a descrption of a major showdown between Hillary and Michelle Obama. I was disappointed. There was no such fight. It was Michelle responding to the claimed inevitable victory of Clinton in the election. She said there was no inevitability mainl because her husband was a "uniter" unlike Hillary who could potentially create a polarizing audience. She said she understood the Clintons were well known around the US but she claims that the more people meet her husband the more they like him.
The article also highlighted the fact that Obama was continuing to vocally discredit Clitnon and said she gave the administration a blank check for the Iraq war. And that she was too close to lobbyists to care about her people.
I like obama because he has a vision that he seems adamant on materializing. I like Obama because he is new. He will bring a fresh perspective to the history of the White House.
I do not know what will happen in the elections'08. But i only hope that the American voters do not make the same mistakes that they did in 2004.
But right now I hope the London campagn is sucessful for the Obamas.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article2652770.ece
The article also highlighted the fact that Obama was continuing to vocally discredit Clitnon and said she gave the administration a blank check for the Iraq war. And that she was too close to lobbyists to care about her people.
I like obama because he has a vision that he seems adamant on materializing. I like Obama because he is new. He will bring a fresh perspective to the history of the White House.
I do not know what will happen in the elections'08. But i only hope that the American voters do not make the same mistakes that they did in 2004.
But right now I hope the London campagn is sucessful for the Obamas.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article2652770.ece
And the verdict is....and other disaster stories to cover!
WOW! This chaper was quite intense compared to the other chapters we have read so far. I almos felt like I was reading a summarized acount of the media chapter in Law 101. SO much information was presented in the book, and a lot of the information seemed hard to comprehend. Yes the chapter was presented in a simple manner, but the description of the ctories covering court proceedings proved overwhelming. Well, let's start from the beginning. Okay the chapter begins one of the most captivating examples in the book so far. I actually went online to find out the end of that story. Which means that the journalist did a great job with the story. But essentially the book said it is necessary to follow all the basic rules of journalism- answer the five Ws and insist on accuray in the report. But what intrigued me the most was the the tip box on p271. Thebox listed "Be sensitive to victms and their families" as the last item in the box. I would give that tip the same importance as the need to provide an accurate report. I do understand that as journalist our job is to deliver information to the public. But in a sensitive situation like a crime or fire, it is necessary to consider the mental state of the victim. I enjoyed how the authors addressed the vraious situations in which a reporter would need to write a story- deadline rpeortin vs. the other kind. This reminded me of the news updates on online news website. And reminded why i especially like the part on the webpage that reports the time when the report was filed (uder the byline it says 13 minutes ago).
What I amespecialy concerned about is the idea of reportign amidst chaos. The book did not provide many tips, except that we need to do the job to the best of our ability. And the diagram on p282 just freaked me out. It was weird such an intimidating diagram in a journalism book. The entire chapter was quite informative, and I quite agree with James Grimaldi-- crime reporting can really teach you the ropes of the job because it tests almost every journalism lesson oyu have learned. The information on court proceeding was also quite useful.
I think the main point ot take out of this chapter is the need to understand the fragility of reporting on issues like crimes, court trials, disasters, etc. Yes they will make for great stories, but we need to master the ways these situations can make for great accurate and effective stroies.
What I amespecialy concerned about is the idea of reportign amidst chaos. The book did not provide many tips, except that we need to do the job to the best of our ability. And the diagram on p282 just freaked me out. It was weird such an intimidating diagram in a journalism book. The entire chapter was quite informative, and I quite agree with James Grimaldi-- crime reporting can really teach you the ropes of the job because it tests almost every journalism lesson oyu have learned. The information on court proceeding was also quite useful.
I think the main point ot take out of this chapter is the need to understand the fragility of reporting on issues like crimes, court trials, disasters, etc. Yes they will make for great stories, but we need to master the ways these situations can make for great accurate and effective stroies.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Clinton= Democratic candidate= Republicans happy?
Rudy Giuliani said he is the one who will beat Hillary Clinton, because only he can do the deed. So reports suggesst that Clinton is going ot be the democratic candidate for presidency. Rudy says that the democrats will have a Clinton-Obama campaign at their hands. And Giuliani can easily beat them. I mean if you think about it the CLinton-Obama campaign will be a double whammy for the American citizen. A woman and a black man. Those are two big NO's rolled into one. I mean it is quite cheeky of Giuliani to predict the election result but the possibility of these events happening the way Giuliani predicts cannot be disregarded. I do not know how I feel about this. Giuliani and Clinton competed for the US senate post and Giuliani withdrew because of prostate cancer. Clinton has built her campaign on her experience as a NY senator to discredit Obama b/c of his lack of experience.
"The perception is that Rudy knows how to handle the Clintons," said Lee Miringoff, pollster at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. "It's an excellent strategy. The message is 'I know Hillary. I know how to beat her. I know her weaknesses.' "
Moreover not many republican candidates are discussed in the papers. He might win the the Republican ticket. But I am not quite sure if he will win the Presidential ticket. hmmmm.
The link:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=6d56f658-2b76-4212-a731-1ab982d913be
"The perception is that Rudy knows how to handle the Clintons," said Lee Miringoff, pollster at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. "It's an excellent strategy. The message is 'I know Hillary. I know how to beat her. I know her weaknesses.' "
Moreover not many republican candidates are discussed in the papers. He might win the the Republican ticket. But I am not quite sure if he will win the Presidential ticket. hmmmm.
The link:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=6d56f658-2b76-4212-a731-1ab982d913be
Keeping it simple, reevaluating TMI, and the book
I smirked when I read George Orwell's essay on the english language. For too long have I believed that using big words makes people sound smart. For too long, I have felt stupid when someone used a "big word" in a sentence that absolutely made no sense no me. I still believe that having an extensive vocabulary can be quite beneficial, but george Orwel's point will not be missed.
"A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible."
Hahahahha. I have never looked at the English language in that way. And he was right, those example were confusing. And within those lies, I remembered the first lesson my journalism teacher in high school taught me..."Write as if you are writing for a five year old." Because when I began to read those examples I found myself skimming the information rather than reading it because the sentences were too complicated. Throughout the essay, Orwell pointed many errors when the Modern English language loses the intended meaning of the sentence while attempting to sound good. I have always had a problem with Latin words. I mean I know that by using Latin words you sound smart but then the reader/listener feels foolish. I guess the point that Orwell is trying to make, and that directly affects us as journalists is, as journalists it is our job to serve our audience in the most simplified manner of information delivery, it is not our job to make us sound smart. Orwell's five rules at the end have been said too many times, but as student, I am used to writing essays that make thing "sound pretty." Therefore a coflict arises between "sounding pretty" and ensuring comprehensions amongst reader. I am working hard toward the latter.
The Academic Prose article was a good follow up to Orwell's essay minus the fun. In other words the prose document laid out the facts straight up. And while reading these documents, I find myself realizing that I practice many of the don'ts but I also know that after writing for newspapers , I have improved my style. I guess experience is the best teacher in this case. In the real world, if our editor knows the rules, then I think we will be okay as beginners. But that does not mean that we stop trying now.
The Thre Mile Island report was a pain to read. But I need to admit that it was quite useful. I do not really want to go in detail with the docment of its extensive nature, but I would like to point out certain things that I realized while reading. I cannot stop thinking about the one line that ABC news correspondent, Bettina said which was something like no information was enough information when she was justifyiing the need for multiple sources. That idea applies to me in real life too. I mean I need to go indepth in all that I lear. I ask a lot of questions, and I thought it was just me. But I realize now that part of it stems from my journalism training.
The second thing that caught my attention was the way the report was quoting the journalist and describing their hjistory. And they spoke about how many of them did not quite know about the topic. And honestly that freaked me out. I mean I could potentially be a subject of a report when all I wanted to do was write the story. They could analyze my writing based on a story and am I ready for that sort of scrutinization.
I was quite impressed with the amont of detailing that was done in order to generate a report of media content. I mea the fact that they had coders to understand and mark the ocntent was intriguing. But what intrigued me the most was the report that suggested that many of the media focued on alarmng the public rather than reassuring. "Give them the facts." but the stats said that for certaing elements of the story, the media reassured the public and for the rest they alarmed. The media is the watchdog of the society, but then our social responsibility calls for owing the public a sense of reassurance. If I were to cover the story I would try to do both.
ALso the fact that the media missed the part about the dumping of sewage into the river and focuesd on soemting else was also quite striking.
Basically this report taught me to do my research, rememeber that I am also a member of society, stick to the facts and understad the true news elements of the story.
PHEW!!!!
Okay now the books:
Ch8 was actually a great supplement to all that we were assigned to read today. It essentially demonstrated the writing that George Orwell stressed: simple and concise, and the need for good reporting.
Good reporting requires observation skills that can document everything in the room. You use all our sense to grasp the atmosphere of the story. And if you have the details thenwriting the writng the story could not be too hard. This chapter probably had the best introduction compared to all the other chapter I have read-- ridiculous! And I completely agree with Patricia Rodriguez's idea of writing for the ear. It is good to read your story out loud but sometimes time does not permit. Another key point made was the use of unbiased language. In a world with Internet and globalization, one needs to be aware of the speed with which the media travels. The need to be careful about language has never been more important than right now.
Ch22 is a necessary chapter in all journalism guides. And no matter how many times it has been reiterated, incidents do happen. As journalist we have the power to gain access to information that not many others can, yet we need to know ehn to draw the line. Ken Paulson's little paragraph is probably the most informative paragraph in the chapter. The questions he asks us to ask ourselves can easily determine where we stand with our story in accordance to the law. We need to stick with our duty toward the truth. I liked how the chapter gave us an insight into the court's point of view. It is always good to know the other side. I could continue talking about this topic for a long time but I would be repeating what I have learned so far. Basically be aware of your surrounding, but more importantly be aware of how you present that documentation of your surroundings.
"A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible."
Hahahahha. I have never looked at the English language in that way. And he was right, those example were confusing. And within those lies, I remembered the first lesson my journalism teacher in high school taught me..."Write as if you are writing for a five year old." Because when I began to read those examples I found myself skimming the information rather than reading it because the sentences were too complicated. Throughout the essay, Orwell pointed many errors when the Modern English language loses the intended meaning of the sentence while attempting to sound good. I have always had a problem with Latin words. I mean I know that by using Latin words you sound smart but then the reader/listener feels foolish. I guess the point that Orwell is trying to make, and that directly affects us as journalists is, as journalists it is our job to serve our audience in the most simplified manner of information delivery, it is not our job to make us sound smart. Orwell's five rules at the end have been said too many times, but as student, I am used to writing essays that make thing "sound pretty." Therefore a coflict arises between "sounding pretty" and ensuring comprehensions amongst reader. I am working hard toward the latter.
The Academic Prose article was a good follow up to Orwell's essay minus the fun. In other words the prose document laid out the facts straight up. And while reading these documents, I find myself realizing that I practice many of the don'ts but I also know that after writing for newspapers , I have improved my style. I guess experience is the best teacher in this case. In the real world, if our editor knows the rules, then I think we will be okay as beginners. But that does not mean that we stop trying now.
The Thre Mile Island report was a pain to read. But I need to admit that it was quite useful. I do not really want to go in detail with the docment of its extensive nature, but I would like to point out certain things that I realized while reading. I cannot stop thinking about the one line that ABC news correspondent, Bettina said which was something like no information was enough information when she was justifyiing the need for multiple sources. That idea applies to me in real life too. I mean I need to go indepth in all that I lear. I ask a lot of questions, and I thought it was just me. But I realize now that part of it stems from my journalism training.
The second thing that caught my attention was the way the report was quoting the journalist and describing their hjistory. And they spoke about how many of them did not quite know about the topic. And honestly that freaked me out. I mean I could potentially be a subject of a report when all I wanted to do was write the story. They could analyze my writing based on a story and am I ready for that sort of scrutinization.
I was quite impressed with the amont of detailing that was done in order to generate a report of media content. I mea the fact that they had coders to understand and mark the ocntent was intriguing. But what intrigued me the most was the report that suggested that many of the media focued on alarmng the public rather than reassuring. "Give them the facts." but the stats said that for certaing elements of the story, the media reassured the public and for the rest they alarmed. The media is the watchdog of the society, but then our social responsibility calls for owing the public a sense of reassurance. If I were to cover the story I would try to do both.
ALso the fact that the media missed the part about the dumping of sewage into the river and focuesd on soemting else was also quite striking.
Basically this report taught me to do my research, rememeber that I am also a member of society, stick to the facts and understad the true news elements of the story.
PHEW!!!!
Okay now the books:
Ch8 was actually a great supplement to all that we were assigned to read today. It essentially demonstrated the writing that George Orwell stressed: simple and concise, and the need for good reporting.
Good reporting requires observation skills that can document everything in the room. You use all our sense to grasp the atmosphere of the story. And if you have the details thenwriting the writng the story could not be too hard. This chapter probably had the best introduction compared to all the other chapter I have read-- ridiculous! And I completely agree with Patricia Rodriguez's idea of writing for the ear. It is good to read your story out loud but sometimes time does not permit. Another key point made was the use of unbiased language. In a world with Internet and globalization, one needs to be aware of the speed with which the media travels. The need to be careful about language has never been more important than right now.
Ch22 is a necessary chapter in all journalism guides. And no matter how many times it has been reiterated, incidents do happen. As journalist we have the power to gain access to information that not many others can, yet we need to know ehn to draw the line. Ken Paulson's little paragraph is probably the most informative paragraph in the chapter. The questions he asks us to ask ourselves can easily determine where we stand with our story in accordance to the law. We need to stick with our duty toward the truth. I liked how the chapter gave us an insight into the court's point of view. It is always good to know the other side. I could continue talking about this topic for a long time but I would be repeating what I have learned so far. Basically be aware of your surrounding, but more importantly be aware of how you present that documentation of your surroundings.
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