This semester one of the main things that I oculd take with me in my experience in News Writing was 'more trust' in the credibility of on-line sources. One such trustworthy source I've used was Wikipedia. For my British literature, I had to write a paper on Jonathan Swift. The books and references I've read closely matched the info in Wikipedia. They were mostly similar in content, but Wikipedia provided me some specifics. Wikipedia was also helpful in providing other information on concepts I didn't know (they had a link).
The main thing about It Ain't necessarily So was the multi-sided arguments that could be interpreted using statistics. Now I am wary (skeptical) about them in a sense that I do not immediately take them for "gospel truths." The numbers presented to me do not shock me as easily as before (I just hope that I didn't become apathetic or something).
The other readings we've read (AP Guide to News Writing, Elements of Journalism etc.) helped to affirm my beliefs in community and serving the people. It is possible for people to take actions in order to make the world a better place (grassroots journalism).
Posted by Michael Diezmos at November 28, 2005 2:17 PMMy experiences were similar to yours, Michael. Prior to taking this course, I felt that online sources weren't as reliable. However, those worries about unreliability were my own fault. I didn't take the time to properly research whether the information offered was valid or not. I automatically trusted the majority of hard-copies. Times have changed and I realize (more so now) that academic works have found a home within the world wide web. Granted, my searches may become more tedious; but, I especially appreciate them when I've seen the final results of my paper.
Posted by: Bethany at November 30, 2005 7:06 PM