Blog #10

First, off I would just like to say that I love going to a school where the topic of religion isn't ignored and where we are encouraged to keep our faith no matter what career we go in. In fact, it seems that we are tought how to be faithful dispite a world that tells us not to be and to stick to the so called "facts".

Second, I love that we are allowed to be relligious and encouraged to hold to our honor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1xzd9CoX8E. This school has taught me a lot. I doubt that I will ever lose my faith and I think it would be impossible for me to not carry that with me in all that I do--journalism especially. Not that I will be brainwashing my audience with propaganda. No, I can still act upon my religion, have objectivity, and still report a good story.

Third, here is a journalist who is LDS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=donMKpPhf18. She says "I always find strength in my faith and I think that's what keeps me going and going".

The examples of journalists of our faith and of other faiths is proof that we can keep our faith and still do good journalism. We need not to cast it aside while we are on the job. Our religion is us--whatever this religion may be--it is in us and apart of us. If we can cast it aside for something like a job then we have no real faith.

Fourth, we can colaborate with other journalists who are like us, holding onto the faith, if we feel like we need a support group in a world where religion is often frowned upon. For example, one could attend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXpcZmUSqQ a conference based on journalists of faith.

Blog #12

Elements Chapter 8 "Engagement and Relevance"

Journalism is hard work--we don't want to become too involved as we fear becoming apart of the story which will somehow take away the objectivity and integrity of what we are writing about.

One of the stories given in this chapter was about R. J. Voigt. His story interests me and so I went and researched him a bit. See http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-angelsjournal,0,5346345.story. The article features a few of Voigt's journal entries. We see this sweet Godly boy who just wants to be happy and can't wait for the one in four weeks when he doesn't have to take his oral chemo treatment. He takes it with apple juice but he still hates the taste of it.

Sure, there is more to this chapter but I guess I was too taken aback by this story. Through the Voigt story we see how people can become engaged, attracted to the story, and it is still relevant to reality. For me, I can relate somewhat. I love good stories and the motivational stories of children's deaths--not that I love children's deaths--that would be atrocious--but I love the story behind the story. Okay, the kid dies but who is this kid, what makes him special, what makes me want to learn about him as a person, to see his struggles, and to see a glimpse of hope for myself and others. That's a story. --One such story like Voight's is the movie Johnny. See trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sYQJfge5eQ.

Minds Chapter 7 discusses celebrity journalists. I don't really know what to say about how I personally feel about this. Sure, as a future journalist the money and fame that would come with the job would be enticing but then whatever I report would not be entirely objective and also what I would report would be for my own gain, rather than the people of whom I would report for. Here is Amy Goodman's take on celebrity journalism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fva8YU4iEPY where it basically says that the Iraq war ended celebrity journalism as it has made us so immune to certain stories and we turned our back from the media as we grew tired of the stories, the lies, and the extremism. In all, we turned our back on journalists and the media all together; thus, we ended celebrity journalism. We had lost faith in the media and it's role in democracy in our lives.

Blog #11

Readings: Chapter 9 & 11

Titles: "Make the News Comprehensive and Proportional" & "The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens".

My discourse on Chapter 9:

I thought it was genius for the teenagers to answer the question of "What do you think the next trend will be?" with "What do you mean, what will the next trend be? We rely on you to  tell us what the next big trend will be". It is so true! We do rely on the media to tell us what will be the next trend and what we will want--kind of discerning, to me, as that doesn't really allow for an individual's full and complete independence. However, of course researchers are the ones who tell us what is trending but I believe that will prove to be too influential. Check out this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3_rTT9gfnU which tells us some of the hot trends like the Prius PHV. Of course, the research of trends may not come via word of mouth or old-fashioned "pounding the streets for information" like such results used to come out of. No, instead these days a lot of research on trends comes from researchers keeping an eye on the social networks that we use--like Twitter.

A little bit into this chapter it talked about journalists who put too much effort into writing about celebrity scandals because they know it will make a good story. I hate that type of journalism! We, as citizens, get drawn into that stuff, the reason why it sales, and in all perspective it is quite useless. How many of us have heard about the Kardashian divorce, two million dollar ring, the new baby on the way, and any other pitter smatter of their daily lives. I can't even recall why exactly they are famous. They don't sing, dance, act, etc. They just look super good in front of a camera and who knows why they have their own reality TV show? I don't. I am sure there is a reason for their fame but it is pretty nonexistent now. (sorry for my banter on these celebrities--I have a personal distaste for them). For any of you who may be wondering why they are famous just watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYuwfohfflU video and you will see not only how pointless their fame is but also how exactly this family just makes for good stories. After all, their fame started out with an over-publicized sex tape, or it pretty much did anyway.

My discourse on Chapter 11:

Information helps people become informed citizens and "public opinion, in turn, made possible the rise of self-government" (book, page 247). Basically, journalism and democracy came together. I am a big fan of democracy, but like the chapter heading of the "Responsibilities of the Citizens" I am no fan of much responsibility so my first question is "What exactly are these responsibilities?". I mean, as a present citizen I do not want any more responsibility than I can currently handle.

The following is a list of responsibilities:

On truthfulness: "The citizen has an obligation to approach the news with an open mind and not just a desire that the news reinforce existing opinion".

On loyalty to citizens: be transparent in giving information

On Independence: no divided loyalties

On monitoring power: news sources should be focused on the major issues, rather than the minor issues.

A Public Forum: our views and values should be reflected in the news

On Proportionality and Engagement: keep things simple, not over-exaggerated, and to be read or viewed in a timely manner.--Even these kids know when the news is being exaggerated. This is a video of some random kids and their rendition of the news http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNiK_2CcUzY