First Reading

One of the things I enjoyed about the reading was trying to define what the truth is. If reporting on the truth is a pivotal piece of journalism - which it is - we all need to come to an agreement on what the truth is. Unfortunately, this is inherently flawed because we all bring our own personal backgrounds and biases into our reporting even if we don't mean to. Personal experience and opinion always seem to find a way into what would otherwise be "just the facts."

Another point that I thought was interesting was regarding the health and livelihood of journalism. Does it even matter anymore with the way technology is advancing? Everyone thinks they are a journalist, now. When someone hears about something and relays it - whether it be via Facebook, Twitter or a blog - they have now become a reporter of information, and others could accept that as a form of journalism. Who is to say this information is any less valuable than another news source?

Lab 2 post (podcasts)

NPR Tech podcast:
There were several topics discussed on this podcast: hackers looking for weaknesses in software, electronic devices being used to repel sharks, how renting apartments in San Francisco using sites like VRBO is affecting the housing market, tech security breaches (DefCon conference) and buying cheap drones/making drones.

Although this podcast addressed some very interesting topics, it was kind of all over the place. The transitions between the different topics was awkward because they didn't saying anything about switching to a new topic. I would have liked this podcast more if there had been some kind of roadmap at the beginning telling me what was going to be talked about and what order the discussions points were going to be in.
I did like the way each story was structured, however. Each story was broken up with interviews of experts in the different fields. One reporter interviewed a speaker at the DefCon conference and another interviewed a student that was researching using drones to create a 3D map of a college campus. These interviews helped keep the stories interesting since there were no visuals.

Dan Carlin: Common Sense-The Wages of Fear:
This podcast discussed the 4th amendment and what happens when our system is run on fear. "In order to be free we must be brave."

Unlike the NPR podcast, this podcast was about one topic. I liked the focus on one topic, but there was not a lot to break it up. Carlin tried to keep his podcast interesting by using quotes and more of a narrative style. He also began with a hypothetical situation to hook his audience and addressed the audience as "you". I did like the conversational style, but I found myself getting more distracted because Carlin was the only person talking on the podcast.
The topic of the podcast was interesting and Carlin brought up some points about national security that I hadn't heard before. Unfortunately, because Carlin was the only person on the podcast it was more opinion based and had shades of his biases.

I don't know if I can necessarily say that one podcast was better than the other. They were presented in very different formats. If NPR gave more structure to their podcast and presented the audience with a roadmap of their discussion points it would have been more enjoyable to listen to. On the other hand, if Carlin's podcast had been a little shorter and he had included some interviews or had other people talking in some capacity I would've had a better experience with his podcast.

Week One Reading

    This week's reading is mainly about the history of journalism, the nature of news, the journalists' roles, and the changing media landscape.

    In The Element of Journalism, the authors well defined the truth and objectivity of the news. The authors claimed that the truth and objectivity of journalism were not absolute.  But good journalists should make every effort to present enough information for the readers to make their own minds.      

    With the development of the technology, new media quickly occupied the media market and totally changed the media landscape. The 2008 Pew study showed that more and more people got news  online, and young generation had less interests in reading news. Whether or not newspapers will disappear in the future is always debated by people.  

    The same question also bothers Chinese scholars and journalists. Last month, a top student in the college entrance examination showed interests studying Journalism in college. Several journalists persuaded him to change his mind during the interview because of the low salary and the changing environment. Finally, that student decided to take economics as his major. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/jryw/2014-06-28/content_11912556.html

    This was just a small case. But it did show that many people lack confidence in traditional media area.

   In the book of News Reporting and Writing, the authors thought that some legacy companies would continue to thrive, but they would like to hire young people who have multiple skills to deal with emerging media environment. 

   In my opinion, journalists are still needed by the market. A good journalist must be really passionate about journalism, good at storytelling and familiar with multiple reporting skills. Also he or she must have the consciousness of the society. 

    

Week 1 Reading Response

While reading, I was struck by the concepts of "we media" and "citizen journalism". Having lived in St. Louis, I have followed the events in Ferguson fairly closely. Potentially emotionally-charged events tend to result in confusion, at least immediately after the fact. So many conflicting reports from so many there can exacerbate those feelings of confusion or disbelief. The differences between accounts of those actually there in Ferguson were striking. Given the amount of conflicting information, it was difficult for the public to judge which was accurate. 

In this rise of citizen journalism, how can the general public sift through all of the various accounts available to determine what is factual and accurate? Do they accept reports from professional journalists who may not be at the scene over accounts of those observing the event firsthand? Which is true? Or, is the "real story" some combination of the accounts out there available via social media, television news sources, and print news? Will the rise of citizen journalism result in the public perceiving that journalists are less credible than before? And if so, how can we combat that?

Honestly, I’m still stuck on the answer to most of these questions.

Week One Reading Response

I'm convinced that journalists are all optimists or they don't really understand the profession they are getting into. At least that was my take away from the reading.

The reading seemed to paint a bleak picture of the news industry, but new media is the most galvanizing part about the journalism field, not to mention all the transferable skills. With the proliferation of media sources because of the internet, it seems that young students and recent graduates have a leg up in the industry because, as the book mentions, we have skills that many older people in the industry may not––graphic and video skills, as well as social media acumen.

I believe that younger generations are still connected to the news, just in a different way. The internet and other "consolidated" forms of media can be very profitable with the amount of money news sources stand to make through advertising on their webpages when they get a high amount of traffic. The book was absolutely right by making the assertion that young people don't watch news on television anymore. There is a plethora of reasons for this, and one I encountered as an avid social media user during the outrage in Ferguson, MO. I have encountered numerous young people express their disdain for major news sources like CNN and MSNBC because of their obstructed news coverage, many claiming that social media websites have become some of the most credible sources for our news.

Younger news watchers have become leery of the traditional news correspondence, and are turning online to seek out news that is raw and untainted. Even though media has become so fragmented, it would seem that there would be profitability in "real time" news coverage online that appeals to a younger audience.

Week 1 Post

One of the main focuses of the reading was the future of journalism and the transition from print to Web formats. In order to survive most major newspapers now have websites and some even post articles on social media sites. The fate of small local newspapers was also brought up. While some hyper local papers have garnered a loyal following in their communities others have fallen by the wayside.

I observed this transition firsthand when I worked for The Journal, a small newspaper in Seneca, SC. The journalists and editors at this paper were very stuck in their ways and didn’t really feel that Web was important because they were writing for an older audience. As a result their website was pretty terrible.

This reading resonated with me because I know how frustrating it can be when a legacy news outlet doesn’t want to get with the times. I knew the paper had a lot of potential, but because of its local focus and the staff wanting to appeal to an older audience the paper couldn’t realize its full potential.

            This weeks reading really focused on the role that news plays in the publics’ lives, and I was surprised to read about the amount of impact that journalists have and their “power” over society.

            A journalist’s job is tough, and the reading really emphasizes that aspect because not only is it a journalist’s job to inform the public, which is what I always thought of it as, but journalists also have to consider things like what the public wants and what they need. When writing an article, I never realized that journalist’s have to keep in mind their audiences’ different beliefs or what they are going to want to read about that day, so it’s not just about tracking down a good story and telling people about it.

            Another main point of the reading that really stuck out to me was the changing community for journalism. Now people don’t have to wait for a news article to come out, and they have the ability to post news themselves on websites. So a journalist’s job isn’t just reporting the news anymore; it also includes photos, videos, editing websites, blogs, etc. It was interesting to see how the roles of journalists have changed and are always changing.