4 Fascinating Journalistic Photos

This first one is a breaking news picture. The guy was crying because he lost his bother during the Kenya war in 2008.  I like this one because it recorded the  real human emotion. A guy could be also very fragile when he lost their relatives.  The picture has a strong visual impact, and reminds the audience how crucial the war was.

The second one is also a breaking news picture. It was shot at a train station a during the Spring Festival travel peak in China.  It is the largest annual movement in the world, with more than a total of 2 bn journeys during over three weeks.  People would take trains to go back home to celebrate the holiday. Every train station is crowed of people during that time.  This picture did a good job in taking people's facial expression. It showed how difficult to get home. Everybody who has experience about the spring festival rush would has the same feeling.

The third one was a scene that a teacher taught students in a poor room in China's rural area. They did't have books or blackboards. Their desks were also not suitable. There was even a girl standing there listening to the class by holding her sister on her back.
This picture showed how poor the studying environment was in some remote areas. At the same time, those children have a strong sense of learning. It shocked me.

This fourth one was simply about a giraffe. I like it because it well captured the moment of the giraffe running in a river.  It was energetic. The color is beautiful.

4 Fascinating Journalistic Photos

This photo is of a Syrian boy waiting to be treated at a hospital after his family's house was shelled. The look on his face conveys so much emotion and heartbreak, and the soldier standing by only adds more gravity to the situation.


This photo of U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas captures so much motion even though it is just a still frame. It makes for a more compelling shot than if she had just been standing on the beam.


This photo does a great job of capturing differing actions in a time of conflict. The police officer on the left is attempting to kick the downed rioter, while the officer in the center is attempting to protect him.


This is a photo of Obama during a conference discussing the mission of dealing with Osama bin Laden. The intensity on his face conveys a good sense of the gravity of the situation.

4 Fascinating Photos

This photo is of a young man watching as members of the Red Cross bury his father who they suspected died of Ebola. The raw emotion on his face is what makes it so powerful.

This is a photo from Ferguson, MO. Having lived in St. Louis, I find images such as this one almost unbelievable. Some people may see bravery in this image, but all I see and hear from all of the stories, videos, and photos coming from this entire situation is fear. The protesters, police, and residents of surrounding neighborhoods are all scared of one another.

This photo comes from a photo essay about a now 16-year-old girl with quadriplegia, who was in a car accident and suffered a bruised spinal cord at the age of six. After her accident, her doctors, nurses, and specialists told her that she was lucky to be alive. This index card comes from a school project that she did about her injury, recovery, and life since. After working with people with disabilities as a result of an accident of some kind, I found many feel this way. Seeing a 16-year-old articulate this so bluntly, however, gives the sentiment even more strength.

This photo shows a vending machine in a former rice field. It was pushed inland by a tsunami. I’m not sure exactly what I like about it. I think it’s a mixture of the light and perspective. I think this one also shows strength, but a different kind.

4 Fascinating Photos

This first picture was part of an AP article. I found it compelling because it gets across all the emotion surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing even though it's not a picture of victims at the finish line. I like the angle of the picture because it makes you feel like you're kneeling at the memorial. This picture gives a good sense of the support of not only the Boston community, but also the support of people around the country for the bombing victims.

This second picture was part of an article in The Mirror. This image shows the seriousness of the Ebola epidemic by portraying UN workers in an area where an outbreak is present. However, the use of a traffic sign to let people know Ebola is present in the area seems to lessen the seriousness of the situation.

This third picture was used in a Bloomberg article about the protests in Hong Kong.  People took to the street to show their support for free speech and to protest an attack on a newspaper editor. The angle of this shot showcases the massive crowd and the overwhelming support for free speech. Not only is the large sign in the middle compelling because of what it says, but also because it's in English. This is interesting since the protest is in Hong Kong and the other signs are in Chinese.

This fourth picture is one of the AP editors' picks. It shows traditional Rajasthani dancers performing during the Modi festival at Madison Square Garden. I really like all the bright colors and the dancers' facial expressions. This picture captures the lightheartedness of the event.

Four Fantastic Journalism Photos

This first image is interesting to me because of how much context it gave to me about the events in Ferguson, MO the first time I saw it. Also, I saw so much discussion of the photo on social media. The photograph is of a demonstrator throwing a can of tear gas back at the police. When the photo first came out, the gentleman (whose name I can’t seem to find) said on his Twitter account that he was trying to get the can away from the children who were out on the street. There has been much discussion about the irony of this man wear an American flag shirt while putting on a show of defiance against the police.

I really liked this point of view shot of legs hanging over the city. This photo definitely arouses my inner acrophobic, but it leaves many questions to the imagination: Is this the magical work of Photoshop? How is this picture being taken? Is this person really sitting over that ledge?

I saw this picture on The Guardian and they were admonishing Mirror for using this photo out of context and calling it a lie. I honestly can agree. As a journalist, I would never put this photograph with a story unless this child was directly related (with parental consent, of course). One thing that really pulls at the heartstrings of Americans is sad looking animals and crying children. This photo is heartbreaking to look at, as it seems that despair is in this child’s eyes. In reality, the tears could be from a normal child temper tantrum and used as a stock photo.

I picked this photo, because I thought it was very visually interesting, not just with the bright colors, but the mise-en-scene. This is so much social commentary that is going on within this photo. The American flag, matched with the classic “more perfect union” sign, provides a stark contrast to the constraints of Washington D.C.  in the backdrop.

Four Fascinating Journalistic Photos

     When looking for journalistic photos that fascinated me, I looked at the National Press Photographers Association. I found some really cool pictures that were recently taken, and I was amazed with the talent of these photographers.

     This first picture was from an article about a student protest agains the Chilean President of a university there. I thought it was amazing that this moment was captured because it puts readers into the middle of the protest, and we are able to see the intensity of the situation. It also shows the troubles with the education system and the lengths that students will go through to protect their rights. 

This picture was taken for a story written in the Associated Press, and it was about a tornado that swept through Oklahoma in May of last year. I thought this picture was very fascinating because it shows the destruction going on for miles. We can see what kind of land this tornado took out; however, it also gives readers a small personal glimpse of the destruction by showing the woman in the front. I thought it was a really heartbreaking picture that shows what a tornado can do.



     I really liked this next photo because it is so simple, but it's also really cool. The story for this photo was about a woman in Florida who'd been collecting yard decor or these pink flamingos for years. I loved how the photographer got down at a lower angle and used their main focus as one of the flamingos, but then, the intensity of her collection really sinks in when you see the background of the photo.




     Finally, this last photo was taken during some of the bombings during the Boston Marathon. I thought the bright colors in the photo made it really fascinating because you can see the contrast of the people and the smoke from the bombs. It gives the story so much more depth because you see the chaos that was occurring and how even those running in the race were seriously effected. This guy that was knocked down was apparently really close to the finish line, according to the description.

Reading Response 4

Of course the part I gravitated to in the reading was the discussion of the transcript from when Jon Stewart was a guest on Crossfire. I think this exemplifies the news in a meta way; Jon Stewart - a news host himself - was compelled to chastise a program for not really delivering the news. I liked the idea that Stewart could be a watchdog as well, and he upholds the importance of journalism.

In News Reporting and Writing, I was interested in the chapter on reporting with numbers. I find myself guilty of trying to use too many numbers in any story. The idea that numbers can be misused and make things unclear is the exact opposite of their purpose. Even though numbers always seem like hard facts, they can be skewed based on context and made to make a point that isn't necessarily for the purpose that they were collected.

Week 4 Reading

Chapter 7 of The Elements of Journalism introduced us to the concept of "Argument Culture". I found the entire chapter interesting, but the idea that shouting matches and not-always-civil debate had, and is, been condoned and encouraged by not just the general public looking for a new form of entertainment but also by those entrusted with the dissemination of news and information, somewhat unsettling. I understand that news is a commodity, and as such has, to a certain extent, be run like a business, however when television programming is operating within this Argument Culture partially because it is cheaper, verification of facts can fall by the wayside because there is a greater emphasis on furthering that culture that brings in money rather than checking facts. That idea is somewhat discouraging if not unsurprising. One of the reasons that news programs aren't frequently on at my house is because they often seemed to be peppered with bickering. Are they all that way? Certainly not, but I guess in this instance I operate under the "one bad apple can spoil the bunch" mantra.

I still see the significance and value in journalism being a public forum, however. I agree that it will be important for journalism as a whole to expand the foundational values of correct facts and contextual details (184) to that forum. I also thought the point that there is potential in the future for the public to correct one another. Hopefully this will be done politely or at least respectfully, but I think the concept of a conversation could ultimately provide new insight and perspective (perhaps questions raised that hadn't been considered) that we would otherwise be lacking.

Week 4 Reading

The reading this week tackles a major advantage that we as young journalists have in the 21st century: search engines and social media. With the click of a button, we have access to tons of research before we even begin to conduct interviews or receive a formal briefing. What is scary about a career working in a newsroom, is the constant pressure for timeliness in journalism. The news is typically reported as it's happening or shortly thereafter. But no matter how great the demand is to get the news out there quickly, it is so important not to forget fact checking. One mistake in accuracy could end your career.

The reading also warned us about the trustworthiness of online news sources and aggregate journalism. I like the assertion that relying on online news sources as a crutch. We should let materials picked up from other sites serve as lead. In a culture of aggregated journalism, that can be the difference between a good journalist and a great one.

Week 4 Reading

This weeks reading is about investigative reporting and the weakening watchdog role of journalism. I thought it was interesting when Kovach and Rosenstiel talked about how new investigative reporting is mostly “tabloid treatment of everyday events” (151).  When I first read this I was surprised because I hadn’t really thought about what was investigative journalism and what wasn’t. I just watch or read the news and don’t think about which stories are investigative.

When I thought more about what Kovach and Rosenstiel said, I realized I had been exposed to these types of stories a lot without even realizing it. Watching things like local television news and seeing stories about what’s really in your food…I never thought that was investigative journalism. It’s sad to think that this is what we consider investigative journalism and that we are relying on each other as watchdogs.

The press was designed to keep those in power in check and now it’s primary job is being compromised.

Reading Response 4

This week's reading talked a lot about verifying information. With the development of technology, we get used to getting news from Internet. However, the authors of News Reporting and writing reminded us that good reporters don't simply pick up and use materials from other websites. They will verify the sources and find experts they need to interview. We must be very cautious when we use materials from websites like wikipedia and yahoo answers.

Another thing is how to find the news in news releases. I think most of  the news releases are very boring. It's really not easy to find something interesting and worthy to write if you don't know much background of those news release.  Maybe that's the reason that news companies prefer to hire reporters who know very well in a certain area.

The Elements of Journalism talked about investigative news. It is really an exciting process to write an investigative story. And many journalists won the Pulitzer Prize because of  investigative news. But in the meantime, writing investigative news means huge risks. Several investigative journalists died each year because of their reportage.  I remembered that one investigative journalist from my internship company always wore sunglasses and respirator because some people wanted to kill him because of his reportage.

When writing an investigative story,  it is very important to serve as independent monitors especially if the story related to some anyone's benefits.We must make sure that no one takes advantages of us if we want to expose something. Recording is necessary when we interview deep throats. And we also need to verify everything from different sources and try to keep balance.