The Reproduction of News Stories

For this assignment, I was asked to discuss various topics concerning modern-day journalism in response to a meeting we had with a radio host from the CBC here in New Brunswick, Terry Seguin.  I was absent from school on that day, and so I did not have the privilege of listening to the experienced journalist speak.  However, I will try my best to present my views on similar topics that were discussed in that meeting from that day, to the best of my ability.  

Topic #3: Churnalism

Churnalism is the art of creating news stories based on older articles from other sources and is done by the writers to meet the demands of producing (or churning out) news on a regular basis.  After I learned about churnalism, I came to the conclusion that originality in the world of Journalism is indeed something that is hard to find now-a-days.  

Although there are some purely original news stories out there, it is almost certain that they will soon generate some sort of churnalism offspring.  And even of these original stories, some of them are not entirely composed of information gathered from personal investigation by the writers and reporters, and are in a way half-breeds, containing a certain percentage of primary news sources and a certain percentage of secondary and tertiary news sources that have been taken from other news articles.  

Do I feel that these stories are fake?  No, they do contain, to some extent, factual information.  Yet, I would be more cautious if I were to know just how many times a news story has been reproduced and changed by the writers own personal input each time, before reaching my ears.  Hmm, when you think about it, it is kind of like a game of "telephone" where the more times a sentence or phrase is reproduced, the more unreliable or fake the statement becomes.  

Media Brainwashing! The Zombie Apocalypse Is Nigh!

For this assignment, I was asked to discuss various topics concerning modern-day journalism in response to a meeting we had with a radio host from the CBC here in New Brunswick, Terry Seguin.  I was absent from school on that day, and so I did not have the privilege of listening to the experienced journalist speak.  However, I will try my best to present my views on similar topics that were discussed in that meeting from that day, to the best of my ability.

Topic #2: Bias News: Separating Facts Form Fiction

Naturally, I always seem to want to question everything I am told.  That's just because I have a curious personality and I am always interested in how different things function in nature and in human society.  So this does not change for me when I am reading a newspaper, listening to the radio, watching the news, or reading a page of text on the Internet from a computer screen.  It can be a bit of a nuisance at times to be this way, and it often got me into trouble when I was younger (it still does today), however, it does allow me to be careful about the news I hear.  I don't really need to make much of an effort in doing so, but lately I seem to try to be even more cautious than usual.

One of my greatest pet peeves in life are those who believe absolutely everything shown to them on television.  In my head, I feel as those these innocent people have allowed themselves to be consumed by the media pros who have them believing in absolutely everything they flash before their eyes.

Everyone knows one: a friend or relative that believes that eating a certain kind of food will automatically give them cancer just because Dr. Oz, or some other source, has told them so.  You set them alone in front of the television for twenty minutes, and all of a sudden, they are telling you that they're going to have absolutely no Mr. Noodles or frozen pizza for the rest of their life.  It drives me up the wall!  (I should know; I live with people like this.  It is worse when this person is your own mother!) 

There is supposed to be a non-bias way of producing news that is replicated in almost every form of journalism, however I feel that it is hard to maintain.  I am no exception and would have hard time following through with this as well.  I don't tend to get all that angry about the injustices I see, even though I maybe should -especially when they are on topics that concern me directly, and believe me, there are many- but my advice for people like me is to keep your tone of voice neutral.  Bite your lip when you're not on camera (maybe not physically, but mentally) if you think that you are going saying something bias or something that you would regret. If you predict that you are going to have a hard time in doing this and feel you might slip up, then try avoid it by asking someone else to stand in your place in conducting the interview or covering a story. 

My advice for the journalism audience is a little different.  In your head, as you are reading, watching, or listening to the news, keep a running track of what is being said and separate facts from weighted opinions that come from the journalism personnel themselves.  It is more important for you to develop your own personal view of a story than it is to have yourself adopt the same opinion as the news makers.

Not only is it unhealthy for you to agree with everything you see, it can be dangerous too.  In a sense, it is kind of like a more subtle form of brainwashing...

Avoid becoming a FOX News zombie!  You have a choice on whether you want to choose sides with Bill O'Reilly or not!  Use your own discretion!  Avoid the zombie apocalypse at all costs!  (hehe I had to buy into 12/21/2012 somehow.)

Journalism In Social Media

For this assignment, I was asked to discuss various topics concerning modern-day journalism in response to a meeting we had with a radio host from the CBC here in New Brunswick, Terry Seguin.  I was absent from school on that day, and so I did not have the privilege of listening to the experienced journalist speak.  However, I will try my best to present my views on similar topics that were discussed in that meeting from that day, to the best of my ability.

Topic #1: Social Media's Ties to Journalism
Modern journalism is greatly impacted by the influence of social media and the internet.  With sites like twitter and Facebook quickly becoming more popular sources for individuals with internet connection to access their news, we are seeing a lot more discussion in the form of two ways conversation between the journalists and their readers via comments posted on the web. 

There are many pros and cons to this, as some would argue.  For example, the solidarity of a news source is often lost when viewed on the web as some people are less likely to trust what they are reading than when they hear it on the radio or watch it on TV.  On the other hand, the internet and social media create an environment where validation of a news source can occur.

Personal response allows different accounts of the same story to emerge.  In this way, an entirely new article can be formed, based on the conversations between the readers and the journalists themselves.  Critiquing and correcting miss-information is also allowed, and if the journalists choose to listen to what is being said, then they can ultimately create better news articles than they did before.

Study of Composition in Photography

Title: Gypsy boats seen anchored near the ferry pier at night
Technique: Rule of thirds
This is a good example of a photo where the rule third of thirds is used.  The vertical lines and the points of intersection maybe aren't being used to the best of their ability, but they don't really need to be because the two rows of boats and buildings along the warf match almost perfectly with the horizontal guidelines in this image. 

Title: Foreign tourists seen on long beach at sunset on October 19

Technique: Framing
There are times where it is debateable whether or not the technique of framing is being used in a photo due to unplanned framing that happens unintentially or by chance. Sometimes images come in a form of partial framing, but in this photo, that is not the case.  This was obviously skillfully planned by the photographer and shows that he has good command of his/her camera. 

Title: Peruvian peasant plays a trumpet during the Yawar fiesta
Technique: Filling the frame
The man in this image is the dominate subject that fills this frame.  Although there are other men that can be seen standing in the background, not all of their bodies can be seen and some are obstructed by the man's large hat and trumpet.  Although the men in the background are a little distracting, they add to the image and make it more interesting to look at.

Title: Closeup of a donkey

Technique: Point of view
This is an example of a closeup -as the title implies- so although the object fills the frame, I feel that there are other principles of photography at work as well. 

I would say that the point of view is the more dominate principle in this image.  It is a top-down view of the subject and probably required some kind of assistance, either by ladder or some other object to give the camera its desired height. 

The rule of thirds is also being used as the donkey's head seems to be encased by the two imaginary vertical lines.