Response to student blog
Jade Broderick's evaluation of the class lecture on magazines.
Link below.
I think this was a great lecture. It really changed my perspective on magazines, which was always that magazines only post news that wasn't newsworthy. I feel like that assumption of mine is wrong now, because we learned about all of these great journalistic innovations that occurred because of magazines. You did a great job of summing up the lecture, explaining all of the innovations that occurred. It seems like you understand the material really well. Nicely done!
Jade's blog post
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Response to student post-
Responding to Media Critique by Ella Mays. Link below.
I couldn't agree more with what you said on the article from People magazine. The article titled "Bite Size: What Youe Favorite Stars are Eating & Drinking Right Now" has about no newsworthiness and is completely not relevant to the audience's needs. I also believe that the article violates the "make the important interesting" principle of journalism, which I think you hinted at in your critique. To be completely honest, a large amount of People's articles are this way unfortunately. You did a great job on the critique in my opinion, your explanation was valid and thorough. Great job.
Ella's Media Critique
Responding to Media Critique by Ella Mays. Link below.
I couldn't agree more with what you said on the article from People magazine. The article titled "Bite Size: What Youe Favorite Stars are Eating & Drinking Right Now" has about no newsworthiness and is completely not relevant to the audience's needs. I also believe that the article violates the "make the important interesting" principle of journalism, which I think you hinted at in your critique. To be completely honest, a large amount of People's articles are this way unfortunately. You did a great job on the critique in my opinion, your explanation was valid and thorough. Great job.
Ella's Media Critique
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Media Critique- Car crash story, is this simply to worry the masses?
On WDRB's website, under "Top Stories", there is a story titled "Single-car crash in Washington Co. Kills one". While this is very sad news, it does not affect their audience. The newsworthiness of this story is incredibly low because it simply does not affect many people other than the family of the driver. Also, the story has the potential to simply cause worrying amongst the public. Many news outlets are reporting a high amount of negative yet mostly unimportant stories, which only convinces the public that the community is dangerous, or in this case, that the roads are unsafe. Furthermore, the fact that this story is under "Top Stories" is a problem, because the story really is just not a big deal. The inclusive principle of journalism states that the news should be proportional, meaning that stories should not be blown up or minimized. In this case, the story was definitely blown out of proportion, which, as I stated earlier, can be dangerous. Car crashes occur very often, there does not need to be special coverage on this one car crash. This journalistic error could be fixed by simply being taken from the website or at the very least taken out of the "Top Stories" section. Again, this is a tragic story, but it simply does not meet journalistic standards.
On WDRB's website, under "Top Stories", there is a story titled "Single-car crash in Washington Co. Kills one". While this is very sad news, it does not affect their audience. The newsworthiness of this story is incredibly low because it simply does not affect many people other than the family of the driver. Also, the story has the potential to simply cause worrying amongst the public. Many news outlets are reporting a high amount of negative yet mostly unimportant stories, which only convinces the public that the community is dangerous, or in this case, that the roads are unsafe. Furthermore, the fact that this story is under "Top Stories" is a problem, because the story really is just not a big deal. The inclusive principle of journalism states that the news should be proportional, meaning that stories should not be blown up or minimized. In this case, the story was definitely blown out of proportion, which, as I stated earlier, can be dangerous. Car crashes occur very often, there does not need to be special coverage on this one car crash. This journalistic error could be fixed by simply being taken from the website or at the very least taken out of the "Top Stories" section. Again, this is a tragic story, but it simply does not meet journalistic standards.
Response to talk on John Peter Zenger
The First Amendment. Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, the press, and criticism against the government. The precedent for this amendment was, in part, set by John Peter Zenger. Zenger was a journalist for the New York Weekly Journal in the mid-seventeen hundreds. In 1733, he published a criticism against the governor and was put in jail. When it came to Zengers' trial, the governor confessed that the criticisms were true, and the judge let John Peter Zenger go free. This was an incredibly important moment in the history of journalism. This set the precedent for the right to criticize the government, which is one of the most important jobs of a journalist (watchdog principle). It amazes me that Zenger was courageous enough to publish something like that. Back then, criticizing an authority figure could result in jail time and even execution, so obviously Zenger knew that the public absolutely needed this information for their own well being. Journalists today are risk takers, and they do what is right. This responsibility of journalists was set by John Peter Zenger.
The First Amendment. Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, the press, and criticism against the government. The precedent for this amendment was, in part, set by John Peter Zenger. Zenger was a journalist for the New York Weekly Journal in the mid-seventeen hundreds. In 1733, he published a criticism against the governor and was put in jail. When it came to Zengers' trial, the governor confessed that the criticisms were true, and the judge let John Peter Zenger go free. This was an incredibly important moment in the history of journalism. This set the precedent for the right to criticize the government, which is one of the most important jobs of a journalist (watchdog principle). It amazes me that Zenger was courageous enough to publish something like that. Back then, criticizing an authority figure could result in jail time and even execution, so obviously Zenger knew that the public absolutely needed this information for their own well being. Journalists today are risk takers, and they do what is right. This responsibility of journalists was set by John Peter Zenger.
Response to newspaper lecture
Being young and busy, as many students are (especially here at Manual High School), I simply don't have time to read the newspaper. Believe me, I would love to be able to sit down in the morning and read, but between sports and school and SLEEP I am unable to. During journalism class on September 10, 2014, we spoke about why newspapers are still around today, even though it seems like most people are relying on the television and internet for their news. First of all, newspapers are non-linear media, meaning that you can start anywhere and still understand what is being said, unlike TV, where you must watch from beginning to end. Also, newspapers are traditional, the first monthly newspaper came out in 1556! Some people simply are not going to move on to TV news stations and websites when they have been reading newspapers every morning for their whole life. Newspapers are also a physical object. This means that they are shareable and archivable. This is probably my favorite thing about newspapers, the fact that they are tangible. I love that it can be saved and highlighted and written all over (this is also why I refuse to move on to E-books). This lecture actually made me wish I had time to read a physical newspaper. Maybe I'll start setting some time away in order to do that..
Being young and busy, as many students are (especially here at Manual High School), I simply don't have time to read the newspaper. Believe me, I would love to be able to sit down in the morning and read, but between sports and school and SLEEP I am unable to. During journalism class on September 10, 2014, we spoke about why newspapers are still around today, even though it seems like most people are relying on the television and internet for their news. First of all, newspapers are non-linear media, meaning that you can start anywhere and still understand what is being said, unlike TV, where you must watch from beginning to end. Also, newspapers are traditional, the first monthly newspaper came out in 1556! Some people simply are not going to move on to TV news stations and websites when they have been reading newspapers every morning for their whole life. Newspapers are also a physical object. This means that they are shareable and archivable. This is probably my favorite thing about newspapers, the fact that they are tangible. I love that it can be saved and highlighted and written all over (this is also why I refuse to move on to E-books). This lecture actually made me wish I had time to read a physical newspaper. Maybe I'll start setting some time away in order to do that..
Response to the printing press lecture
The printing press is easily one of the most important and influential inventions ever. Every existing culture has ultimately been shaped by Gutenberg's improvements in the printing press. Gutenberg's printing press was cheap, sturdy, and efficient compared to earlier models. This allowed him to create the first bible in German, which meant people could learn to read the bible. The domino effect that occurred after this point is incredible. Corruption had occurred in churches, but now people could understand the bible for themselves and could point out all of the issues going on within the congregation. Martin Luther was able to read the bible 30 years later and created the 95 theses against the Catholic Church. These criticisms were spread because of-guess what- THE PRINTING PRESS. Literacy levels increased drastically, people could share cultural ideas, the Renaissance occurred, the Protestant religion was created, maps were made and therefore new colonies were created. All modern technologies would be non-existent without the printing press, or at least much less widespread. My point is, the printing press ultimately created entire modern cultures and ideas, and we would not be the people we are today without it.
The printing press is easily one of the most important and influential inventions ever. Every existing culture has ultimately been shaped by Gutenberg's improvements in the printing press. Gutenberg's printing press was cheap, sturdy, and efficient compared to earlier models. This allowed him to create the first bible in German, which meant people could learn to read the bible. The domino effect that occurred after this point is incredible. Corruption had occurred in churches, but now people could understand the bible for themselves and could point out all of the issues going on within the congregation. Martin Luther was able to read the bible 30 years later and created the 95 theses against the Catholic Church. These criticisms were spread because of-guess what- THE PRINTING PRESS. Literacy levels increased drastically, people could share cultural ideas, the Renaissance occurred, the Protestant religion was created, maps were made and therefore new colonies were created. All modern technologies would be non-existent without the printing press, or at least much less widespread. My point is, the printing press ultimately created entire modern cultures and ideas, and we would not be the people we are today without it.
Nine principles and Seven Yardsticks of Journalism
Response to lecture one
Nine principals and seven yardsticks of journalism, specifically, the watchdog principle.
Mr. Miller gave a great quote on the first day of class to explain the watchdog principle of journalism, "Afflict the comfortable, comfort the afflicted". This quote, said to be coined by Finley Peter Dunne, basically defines the work of journalists. A journalist's job is to keep an eye on the people (aka "the comfortable") who have enough power so that they can make decisions that will afflict the masses (aka "the afflicted"). A journalist must tell the people what they need to know, and in order to do this a journalist must uncover truth, corruption, and secrets having to do with those in power. The watchdog principle is very possibly the most important principle or yardstick of journalism. Without this principle, powerful people and organizations could (and would) abuse their power in order to get what they want from vulnerable people. Journalists are the first line of defense against corruption, and that is why they are so important in any society.
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