Blog Nine.

     The movie, Shattered Glass, profiles the true story of journalist, Stephen Glass, and his downspiral while writing for "The New Republic".  Glass was a repeat offender of fabricating his stories from small details to the entire piece.  The movie zero's in on his article "Hack Heaven" in which he described a completely vivid and completely fictional story of a teenage hacker and his encounter with Glass' fictional software company," Junkt Micronics".

     "I tried to earn the love and respect of the people around me" Glass said in a 2003 interview on explaining his reason for deception. 

     Glass wasn't the last to forge a story.  New York Times writer, Jayson Blair, became notorious for his plagiarism just several years after Glass.
    
     A journalist's job is to deliver the truth, the facts and yet why do some feel the need to lie for a story? If accuracy wasn't needed in journalism then it would be nothing more than a collection of tall-tales and therefor wouldn't really exist. Perhaps there is a sense of desperation to have a great story by a deadline but I believe that a journalist should be fully aware of the work environment that they are getting into and should be able to sustain a level of integrity and professionalism there because IT'S THEIR JOB. It really all comes down to that and I think the movie Shattered Glass is an enlightening one for aspiring journalists to watch.

Blog Seven.

     The Earth Day co-curricular event at FCC was one that ultimately disappointed me.  I had been to one co-curricular event at FCC before for a political debate and enjoyed it so it was a bit of a let down for me to have been bored out of my mind.

      The event showcased a documentary titled "A Sea Change: Imagine a World Without Fish" which is about a man's journey to spread word about the ocean's dangerous levels of Co2.  Being a vegetarian-recycling-ride-my-bike-to-school kind of person, I found the message to be a good one but the film to be a complete snore. I think there are many better environmental films FCC could have shown. I fell asleep about three times so I checked out Facebook on my phone to keep me awake.  The only highlights involved mimicking the comical "flapping" the man in the documentary did with Corey and Jaclyn.

    In the end, I did get some good quotes for my next article which, in reality, is all I needed to get out of the film anyway.  I would have like to have been enlighted though, opposed to being put to sleep.

Blog Six.

Dangers of using the web as a reporter.

     The web has created a whole new world for journalism which brings both pros and cons to how we get our news. One downside to using the web as your medium is effectively reaching your audience.  I wouldn't necessarily call this a danger but I do think it creates a but of delimna for the writer to make sure the reader is interested. The textbook says:
     "Write short, simple sentances.  Reading on computer monitors is more difficult than reading print.  Avoid sentances with long clauses and complex sentances.  Be concise."
    
     I think avid writers are so used to writing with all the extra "fluff" to get their story across that when it comes to cutting it down significantly to fit web readers, it can be difficult.

When writing our latest class blog about the "H" building, my group mates and I found it hard to put everything we wanted into the piece without it dragging on longer than the assigned length requirement. We had to cut down one quote from Prof. Mike Small and there were many quotes and facts that we liked that didn't even make the cut for the post.

Blog Four.

     Coming into this journalism class I thought I knew more about journalism than I actually did. Growing up my dad would come home from work everyday, grab a beer, turn on the news and then I would come join him(minus the beer, I swear) which gave me my initial interest in journalism. Journalism, as I have found through this class, is more complex than you realize when you're reading the Sunday paper or watching the six o'clock news. It's full of terms, methods, styles and etiquette that I had never heard or thought of before but are essential to developing an effective news piece.

     Attribution has been the most helpful thing I've learned so far in this semester through the class. Attribution is defined in the textbook as where, how or who you obtained statements or facts from for the piece you're writing. It's very important to include attribution so your work is reputable. Even though I've always been an avid writer, I had never put as much emphasis on attributing sources as I now see is necessary.

     From the assignments I have done so far in the class, a good example of attribution can be found from my article on FCC parking: "This sounds like a really good deal for the city," says Alderman Michael O'Connor in a Frederick News Post article.  

    Citing the source of  the quote is infomative to the topic and gives further insight to the issue I was writing about to create a well-developed story.

Blog Three.

Last Year a female reporter by the name of Ines Sainz caused a stir in the media after she was sexually harassed in a New York Jets locker room. Sainz reportedly was victim to "cat-calls" and "hooting" in the men's locker room while she was interviewing NFL player, Mark Sanchez.

In the U.S.A Today article it states that in NFL policy "By law, women must be granted the same rights to perform their jobs as men. Please remember that women reporters are professionals and should be treated as such."  This quote is what bothered me about the case because it leaves the word "professional" to be openly interpreted. The photo to the right is of Sainz on the job wearing attire that is rarely seen in professional settings. I was honestly surprised while reading this when I saw the pictures of her. Is it reasonable and professional to present yourself like Ms. Sainz in a men's locker room? An anonymous commenter on the article expresses a humorous opinion on the case.

"Let me understand. Ladies spend billions on hot attire and men can be chatised and sued for aknowledging their appearence!!! While in the lockerroom "reporting" does that include interviewing a man sitting on the can???"

This brings the question of if women are still not taken as seriously in journalism? In my personal opinion, there are many professional women in journalism who break the "old school" barrier and are respected. Ines Sainz, in my opinion, clearly presents herself in an unprofessional manner which, if anything, sets women back in time by looking like a sex object.  I've never had a job where I didn't have a dress code or image to live up to and I think that's what makes this article so interesting.

Blog Two.

Dan Rather on the Crisis Facing American Media.

In this video Dan Rather speaks about how he believes that as the old media world is collapsing, the outcome of new journalism is in doubt. He goes on to stress that there is a crisis of diminishing quality in American journalism and how journalists are lacking "guts and grit."

What caught my eye the most in this video is how he says how we "desperately need creative thinking" in journalism. This is something I believe as well because so many media sources are putting out the same, in my opinion, tired ideas.  Just today I saw four magazines with essentially the same cover page feauturing the young girls of MTV's "Teen Mom".

The most important thing, and the idea that is emphasized most clearly, is that our media is in a time of dangerous transition.  Rather asks the the question of "How do we maximize this new media world?" while keeping it independant and not corporate.  I found this video to be very thought provoking because while I think many agree with Rather that good journalism on the web adds value, there is currently so much on the web that how to we filter the good from bad? This poses a big question as the the internet is becoming the main news source for more and more people.

Blog One.

"Speed Dating, Muslim Style." NY Times.

     Finding your dream match is often an exciting and personal quest but how would you feel about speed dating for marriage with your parents watching from the sideline? This is becoming the case for many single Muslims seeking suitable others of the same faith.  Written on February 11, 2011 by Adam Ellick of the New York Times, one Muslim father from the article really stood out to me. Mr. Baig.

“I don’t like a hobo,” Mr. Baig said. Then, shrugging toward his 21-year-old daughter, a nursing student, he added, “But it’s her choice. She has to like him, too.”
As his daughter approached graduation, Mr. Baig, a Queens wholesaler whose thin black beard adorns a pudgy face, had been on the lookout, going to the mosque more often, asking more acquaintances about their unwed children. But he had had little luck, so one Sunday last fall, he sat on the perimeter of a hotel conference room in Bayside, Queens, and watched as bachelor after bachelor sat across from his daughter, a beige veil draped over her plump face, for a few minutes of stilted conversation.

     I choose the article and excerpt to write about because I feel that I could really imagine who Mr. Baig is and visualize the situation fully as if I was there. I could put his facial features together in my mind and hear the accent I imagine him having in his quotes which really gave me the desire to keep reading. I find myself intrigued by other cultures and was initially drawn to this article because of the dramatic difference in Mr. Baig's daughter to my personal dating life but became ultimately more interested in this article simply because of Mr.Baig.