The classes this
week were really interesting. It was especially useful getting to know the
Slideshow program and how to make a slideshow for the ending project. I’m
hoping to get some skills I can use as a print journalist out of this course,
which is why I’m enjoying Telling True
Stories. Storytelling is something I’ve always tried to display in my
journalistic writing, and I’m trying to grow in this aspect by drawing from my
experiences as an editor-in-chief and writing material for the news section of
The DePauw on a regular basis. I would like to see a healthy focus on this in
our course syllabus, as well, since I’m at a bit of a loss in working with
visual media—i.e., taking photos and making videos and/or slideshows. I’m sure
that it will be useful information for me in a modern media setting, especially
pertaining to the current situation facing newspapers—which I’ll get into now.
I read Losing
the News before beginning my first semester at DePauw, and it had a profound
effect on me. I agree with Alex Jones’ view that iron core news as provided by
newspapers is shrinking and just generally in danger with the rise of the
Internet and “citizen journalism,” and I’d like to think that there’s something
we can do to keep newspapers going. Print media, after all, have survived other
technological revolutions through film, television, and radio—why should the
Internet wipe them out, as long as we play our cards right? Newspapers have to
maintain their income, especially through the expenses of printing and distribution—but
there’s a way if they can use some of their online revenue to replace funds.
One idea in Losing the News I liked
was making the search engines pay (More? This part of the book is fuzzy) for
the news content they take from other online extensions of newspapers. Not only
do I believe we’re losing an in-depth quality of news if we let newspapers go,
but I’m rather loath to write shorter stories on a time crunch for the
Internet. For the hope that I can write for a physical paper after graduation,
I’d like to see newspapers survive—and even thrive—in the digital age.
I began reading
hard copies of the New York Times
last semester as they became available to Media Fellows. Not only did I love
the smell of newsprint and the feel of opening the pages, but I also became
much more aware of current affairs—I’d even call people to discuss the news if
I had time. I liked this feeling most of all because I wasn’t heavily involved
in campus news, not any more than I was obligated to be as a writer for The DePauw.
Admittedly, I no longer have time to read the Times every day, but I pick up issues when I can—two to three times
a week, now that they’re required. One story in particular that popped out to
me this week was “Ban on Gays May Be Lifted By Boy Scouts” (link provided to online version at bottom of page—title listed here is print), which initially
shocked me—I thought that, no matter how unethical it was for an organization
of such magnitude to propel discrimination, bigots would continue to be bigots
for a very long time. Once I got over this shock, I noted where the article was
placed—above the centerfold, marking the Times
with a liberal slant. (I’ve got no problem with this as a hearty liberal.
Besides, during the election last year, I noticed Romney getting more coverage
than Obama—probably because he was a new candidate. The Times has no problem with objectivity, least of which in content
and coverage.) Anyhow, I was excited to read about the news, even if it allows
for decisions to be made by individual organization about whether or not to let
gay scouts in—this would merely change national policy about sexual
orientation. Still, it’s a step in the right direction, far sooner than I
anticipated. I’m also interested in finding out about the standing of religious
discrimination in the Boy Scouts and how that progress transpires. As of right
now, out atheists still won’t be allowed in the Scouts—which pisses me off, as
an atheist. Huffington Post and Washington Post state that their policy
is unchanged. It’s understandable, since we comprise such a minority. Still, I
can hope it’ll come soon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/us/boy-scouts-consider-lifting-ban-on-gay-leaders.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
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