October 2007 Archives
Chapters 7 & 8 in It ain't Necessarily So
So for 7, it seems as though spreading fear among the people is actually what the people want. Though we all suspected that anyway right. It makes sense the something really important that threatens your life will get your attention. That's why there was so much fuss about breast cancer and smoking. And this takes us back to statistics. Anyone can make a statistic work; and by work I mean you can make it support whatever side of the story your writing about.(hopefully that's not the case since as journalists we aim to be non-biased) But without the hated word drama, what would be exciting and catching about news anymore? "Breaking News! bunny's are even cuter than ever!!" or would you rather hear about, "Breaking News! Mutant rabbits terrorize your neighborhood!" This quote from chapter 7 really says it; "..the risk free society is an impossibility: all we can do is choose---one hopes intelligently--among the variety of possible risks that confront us."(pg 128)
If you don't report something i guess it can't be used in the statistic. In chapter 8 we explore how some cases may say, for instance, that the number of reported child abuse cases are going up, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there are more abused children; It might just mean there are more being reported. Maybe people were being quiet about it before, but now they want to talk. In some cases, such as for disease, reports may increase not because there are more cases, but because the technology to locate it are more accurate and advanced. And not all Americans know to take things with a grain of salt. In fact, most Americans rely on and trust the news to deliver them with accurate information, which is the way it should be....
There is always two sides to everything, and anything can be contradicted. This book, 'It Ain't Necessarily So', isn't bad and I don't hate it or think that all journalism is wrong, but I think it's helpful because it doesn't sugar coat anything. It tells the mistakes which everything has and some good points, but it's for future journalistic reference so we don't repeat the same mistakes again.
Chapter 5 says how there are two sides to everything, such as minority application rejection being twice as high may be right, but so it is approved eight-nights as often too. They are both right, it's just which you decide to write about, or what gets written about more often. For as much as I’ve seen, the news usually writes about negatives first, like smoking, and what foods are bad for you before they tell you good scientific research they're doing to solve illnesses.
Chapter 6:
Do you like how the school curriculum is these days? "Yes I do" Do you like the way the school curriculum is these days? "No, I don't" but you just said you did......
Yes, sometimes we can't make up our minds. That’s why I don't think poll are very effective. Poll results can be affected by too many a number of things like area, community values, ect. If you take a poll you should have to travel around the Us to get all different kinds of opinions from different people, but if our poll depends on something in your area, the results should be valid. But that doesn't mean people can't change their minds whenever they feel like it....
My first thoughts on President Boyle were, "have I ever even met her? I don't believe iv'e ever seen her before but now that you mention it I may have seen her at orientation......" So I joked some more and who comes through the door? heck if I know; I probly wouldn't have known unless Dr. Jerz told us and we hadn't done an exercise about her the night before. But none the less it was unexpected, and the whole class was a little shy to start the questioning, but once we got going we couldn't stop. There actually is more than I thought that I wanted to know about Seton Hill. And I learned a lot too, more than I expected (that day was just a series of unexpected events:)
I do know that now I am even more excited about the new Art/theatre Building, and I never expected there might be plans for more buuildings.(so that intrigued me a bit) None the less, I think that was a great way for us to get a little experience on what a press conference is like(personally i've only seen one on Tv and they looked a little frazzling(for all you that have no idea what frazzling means, it means nerve-wracking(so why not say that instead?(because it's more fun the other way:)
For our IANS readings of chapter 2:
Intresting enough to see how badly things go when you rely on statistics that aren't accurate. I especially love how people do that everyday, even Ido sometimes. I remember discussing this in class as well, that some news stories will get more attention than what they deserve. Why is it that we pay more attention to something if it has scientific statistics? And sometimes findings get more attention if their significance is stressed, and pertains to you. These aren't the right ways to get attention in news writing, but they are a way that many take.
Chapter 3:
How many things can you classify as rape? How about abuse of any kind, because there are many different kinds.(do you know how many?) What do you call a chicken thats crossed with a spoon? What's your interpretation of the musical Cats? Yeah, there are too many answers to all these questions, but here's another; How do you decide what answer to use for a statistic that you want to release to the public, like a news story? Yeah, that's a tough one also isn't it. I think i'll leave the statistics up to true professionals; mabey just to be safe i'll leave them out all together (like surveys)...but you just can't do that all the time. News is too demanding, and so is the public...
Chapter 4:
Poxies anyone? here you go; How do you measure life? What the meaning of life? What is hunger and poverty? How do you measure all of these things? Everything is debatable, so it's difficult to measure these things, especially since different people have different perspectives on them.
For our IANS readings of the introduction and Part 1:
The introduction was a little long, but gave good depth in what the book would talk about and alos an inside look at what journalism is broken down in to. It was also somewhat of a wake-up-call for me, and really lets you know some do's and don't of journalism. I especially like this sentence, "In reality, no news other than that in which we directly participate can ever be 'immediate', it cannot come to us without first passing through the hands of another" (which made me think, 'thats why it's our job to do it correctly)
In Part 1 it's intresting how it starts out showing different bias's that some news casters have and how they pick and choose what to tell the public (which is wrong to do) And it's good that what's not reported can be criminal. It would be wrong to only give certain information(which could be bias) to get the attention of the public but withold that which would sway the publics intrest. I remember Dr. Jerz talking about the 'man bites dog' is newsworthy but 'dog bites man' is common and not newsworthy. It's intresting what things make the news and what is ignored. This theory explains why people have very unrealistic veiws of the world, since all they hear on the news or read in the paper are things meant to get their attention(and maybe inform them, but only on newsworthy topics)
Well, coming to college having no jounalism skills, and personally, being someone who never paid much attention to the news, I think i'm doing okay in my News Writing class. I have learned a great deal of 'restraint' in my writing and never imagined there was so much(and so little) that went into News Writing. Everything is to the point and concise but still full of information. And now it's easy to tell why the tv news is bogus most of the time (reading was always better for you anyway). Here is my collection (so far) of different topics in my class, as well as what blogs I have written are strong in certain areas'::
::For entries that were to be posted 24 hours before my class so as to have disscusion on, and portray timeliness::
Hey! Whats the catch?! >> This is a blog about chapters I read in our Ap Guide to News Writing
What about the accident? >> I read and compaired two accident articles
A Dog an the Crime >> I chose two crimes to read and comment on
Can you say 'News Satire?' >> I enjoyed these videos, here's why
For entries that go more in depth than just a comment..::
What used to be serious just got "Fair" >> This is my favorite blog, I talk about rape victims.
::Entries that had some feedback::
What used to be serious just got "Fair" >> This entry got some feedback I wasn't expecting, but i'm glad!
::Comments I have made::
::Other assginments that were made before we had our blogs up::
Take 'much' and make 'not-so-much' >> This assginment was difficult
One way to get attention >> I thought the story was bogus, and I write about it
What the book has to say >> Another blog on our AP Guide to News Writing
The 400 word story was a bit rough i'll admit, especially since I didn't really know what I was doing. It worked out okay though, and it helped me realize what was important in the story and how to put the important first and end with what an editor could cut. I wasn't really sure how to make the nut-graf but I think the story was okay for my first attempt.
The 'Little Red Book' news story brought an abundance of attention to a student who claimed to be visited by federal agents when he bought a copy of Mao Tse-Tungs's "Little Red Book". This was an intresting story to read about, though I would be sketchy to beleive he was visited by federal agents in the first place and wondered why this would get news coverage.(you can kinda tell it's phoney) why does the news do the things it does...sometimes I think they just can't get any other stories....that would be one way for someone to get attention.
The first two chapters in the AP guide really helped me get a grasp on what and how I should be writing. The first chapter, Language: Pompous, Pedantic and Plain, focuses on keeping your writing clear and concise. Get rid of tiny clutter words like 'up' in 'free up' or 'head up'. The second chapter titled Information is Not Enough, explains how you need to beware of clutter but also get the information across to the readers. There are examples of what adjectives should not be used and how to make the information intresting to read without adding fluff. It's a good and informative read, check it out.
These are pretty entertaining,especially for a news writing class. If you don't know the difference between Tv news and paper news, these videos are a great (and exaggerated) way to show why Tv news isn't really news at all sometimes. Check em' out!
Recent Comments
Jeremy Barrick on You don't have to speak to have a voice: I do agree with that Carrie. J
Corey Struss on The End: Yeah. I feel the same way on
Michelle Polly on CONFILCT OF INTEREST PEOPLE!!: You brought up a good point ab
Corey Struss on Well Well, so that's what you think huh?: There really are two sides to
Michelle Polly on For Better or for Fear: I agree with what you are sayi
EllenEinsporn on For Better or for Fear: The quote that you chose from
Jackie Johns on For Better or for Fear: You make an interesting point
Maddie Gillespie on Well Well, so that's what you think huh?: You make a good point when tal
ChrisU on Well Well, so that's what you think huh?: Actually, nevermind, it seems