This article by the New York Times is a great display of what digital media can, and should do. It mixes characteristics of print and digital media really well.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Snow Fall
This article by the New York Times is a great display of what digital media can, and should do. It mixes characteristics of print and digital media really well.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Three Goals
These are my three (SMART) goals that I want to accomplish in the near future for my three gifted projects.
Individial: Finish the redesign of my blog, fix pictures, complete pages. Done by the end of break/first few weeks of school.
Group: Complete another chapter of the story. Done by the second or third week after school resumes.
Assessment Literacy: Finish assignment for program with Teacher. Done by end of break. Redesign of blog. Done by end of break. Begin third presentation.
Individial: Finish the redesign of my blog, fix pictures, complete pages. Done by the end of break/first few weeks of school.
Group: Complete another chapter of the story. Done by the second or third week after school resumes.
Assessment Literacy: Finish assignment for program with Teacher. Done by end of break. Redesign of blog. Done by end of break. Begin third presentation.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Blog Edit Progress
I have allowed myself to pause the research process to revamp my blog. As you can see I have added a custom template, and have become familiar with the HTML codes that make up my blog. I have not enabled all of the links and pages yet but I will soon. As soon as the blog is finished I will let you know.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
HTML What?!?
You have (hopefully) noticed that I completely changed my blogger template tonight. But now to edit some of the page headings and captions I have to edit the HTML code. I am in no way technologically gifted so if things look a little messed up just bear (bare?) with me for now.
Friday, December 14, 2012
My favorite journalist?
In speaking with my instructors we talked about which journalist I liked the most. My response was Brian Williams. I really enjoy watching him on Nightly News, Rock Center, and occasionally on 30 Rock. He is a really entertaining journalist, his personality is more pronounced than many journalists. That view into his personality is why I believe he is so popular, and well liked. When he reports on something you really get the sense that he cares about what he talks about. Brian Willams is also involved in writing some of his material which is why I believe he can be considered both a journalist and a news anchor.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Digital Revolution
I really like these infographics....I will probably post more soon. They display information better than writing, especially for more visual learners.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Create: Part One
I have had the creating aspect of this blog in my head for a while and as my individual deadline had grown closer I have been striving to achieve it more and more. Honestly my english skills are being suppressed a bit in the class I'm in so I am needing to almost relearn things that I was a pro at last year. I have never really been educated in the art of journalistic writing. This lack of knowlegde lead me to the "all-knowing" google. Here is what I have come across thus far.
From Writing Journalistically to Learn In Any Classroom By Jackie FolkertPortage Northern High School, Portage, MI
Writing Journalistically
"When students write journalistically, they use
higher-order thinking to learn as they demand
accuracy, pinpoint relevancy, consider audience, and
synthesize information. When teachers trade
formulaic writing and worksheets for journalism,
their students have opportunities to personalize
meaning."
I believe this means that a sucessful journalist strives to achieve the truth, write with a specific audience in mind, and summarize the important details while still thouroughly covering the topics necissary. The higher order thinking is a bit offsetting, it may or may not be a fancy way to say an order of thoughts but im not quite sure.
'News writing places the most pertinent
information in the first paragraphs of the
article. In typical inverted pyramid fashion,
the importance of information decreases as
the story continues.
News writing is specific, accurate, and
delivers concrete, factual information.
New writing displays information clearly.
Sentences are short and paragraphs contain
one element of information; paragraphs are
rarely more than three sentences long.
News writing uses direct sentences, most
often subject-verb-object sentences.
News writing does not include the writer's
Opinion.
News writing focuses on one dominant
meaning. The reader should be able to
answer the question, "What's the single,
most important element in the story?"'
This helps with the understanding of the higherarchy. The way knowledge is to be displayed mirrors the funnel form of a conclusion in the papers that I am writing in my english class. The formatting description makes sence, but I feel as if this is less important in the electronic news that is becoming more popular today. I am aware however that people are more likely to read something if it is not just a wall of text so I will write as the article suggests. This page describes the sentence structure well. I have read this article, and it seems as if the stucture eliminates and condenses sentences well.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Modern Journalism Infographic
Still No Scholarships
I posted a while back about looking for scholarship opprotunities for people my age. It seems like all of the ones readily availible are either for higschoolers entering college or college students entering the job market. I did find one website that offered scholorships for highschoolers but ut seems that the website hasn't been updated in almost a year. There is probably something out there and I will continue to keep an eye out but the outcome is looking pretty bleak.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Future Of Mobile News
The Future Of Modern News
In summary this study says:
- The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners.
- Rather than replacing old technology, the introduction of new devices and formats is creating a new kind of "multi-platform" news consumer.
- There is growing evidence that mobile devices are adding to how much news people get.
- People who get news on both a smartphone and a tablet may carry added appeal for news organizations.
- Similarly, those who get news throughout the day on their mobile devices are more engaged news consumers
- Two distinct news audiences have emerged on tablets-new-found digital customers and customers who also remain loyal to the print product.
- People notice ads on mobile devices and may be even more likely to click on them than they are to click on other digital ads. There has been movement over the last year toward using the browser rather than apps for tablet news consumption.
Pew Project For Excellence in Journalism
The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism
I have recently stumbled upon The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. It seems to be an organization thats main focus is "trying to understand the information revolution." Their goals seem to be very similar to mine. A paragraph from their overview section states
"Our goal is to help both the journalists who produce the news and the citizens who consume it develop a better understanding of what the press is delivering, how the media are changing, and what forces are shaping those changes. We have emphasized empirical research in the belief that quantifying what is occurring in the press, rather than merely offering criticism, is a better approach to understanding."
Their views are, as close as possible, nonpartisan. PEW also conducts a lot of studies and writes articles discussing the state of modern news.
I will definitely be posting some of the thinks I find there on here because they have done some great work.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
News Anchors vs. Journalists
Most news anchors arent journalists but the most prominent ones that I have come across seem to do both. In order to become a news anchor you dont really need to posess the skills of journalist. Local anchors often times dont even know exactly what they are going to be talking about untill they are about to be on the air. One the most popular anchors of modern time, Anderson Cooper, at least makes it seem like he knows what hes's talking about. If he is completly cut off from the production of his show he hides it well. His enthusiasm for the topics he is reporting on resonates with the audience. He does seem to be a lot more connected to his work than many journalists. It seems that even if you arent a journalist being a sucessful news anchor comes with at least a little work into the creation of the what they present on the television.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Youtube News Channels
I know I already posted about this topic but I think, that like I did with news websites, I should post a list of good youtube news sources. Each of these also provide links to other channels in partnership with the ones posted.
ABCNews
Source Fed
What's Trending
wgn
CNN
Of course these are no where near all of the channels you can find on youtube providing news. These are just a few of what I consider to be the best.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts - Ep 1
Yet another video I found about intoverts and extroverts, this topic really fascinates me. I like that this one goes into more detail about the types of introverts (shy versus calm), and adresses the issue of introverts acting like extroverts in order to fit in better.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Scholarships?
After hearing about someone in this class who was looking into scholarships regarding their topic I decided to see what I could find regarding journalism. There are tons of opprotunities availible but the majority (all) of them are spscifically for upperclassmen, and college students. I have found a couple that could be related to me but Im not sure if much will come out of it. Nevertheless I am looking more into it and maybe, if im lucky, something good will happen.
Writing Journalism
An article I read by The Guardian has helped me quite a bit in my pursuit to begin writing quality journalism. The biggest aspects that I took away from this article are that sucessful journalists need to be cunning, entertaining, and oftentimes able to throw out their inhibitions in order to get the good information on a topic. Articles are written very quickly and need to be very good in order to even make it into publications. If a journalist cannot deliver quality work they wont be published. Now that I know some of the characteristics of a good journalist I need to find something that describes how to write well. The easiest way to do this would probably be through my English class but I dont feel that me teacher would be a lot of help in this outlet.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Youtube Journalism
Youtube is a budding hub for journalism channels are popping up covering an extremely wide variety of news topics. This type of user-generated content is really refreshing in the modern age. Not only can the news be spread faster than ever before, youtube journalism is completely free and even presents the opprotunity for the creators to earn money based on their fanbase. Some of my favorite channels that produce this content are: SourceFed The Phillip DeFranco Show Vsauce. Professional news companies including CBS, ABC, even Youtube itself has been producing more and more news content.
Current Project Status
I havent been very acttive in this blog lately because of the time needed on my latest project. This blog needs to become a tad more active so I plan to post something at least once a week. To catch you up from last time. I have finished If It Bleeds It Leads, it got a bit repititive towards the end but it was a good book and I'm glad to have read it because it will also be able to help me in my english paper which involves propaganda. The information, and final result of this paper will also be posted here. Im working on the feature on the blogger format that allows posts to be sent at a specific time so if I can manage that I will write a ton of posts when I'm free and post them when need be.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Love and Hate Chapter Two
Below is my latest post to my group blog. Honestly I think this edition is rather sub-par but I plan on working on different journalistic writing techniques to prevent this.
Hate is a powerful emotion. Election season brings out the most hate, and anger in people than any other time. Opposing beliefs bring can bring out the worst in people. In the digital age Facebook, Twitter, and other social medias provide a platform for political debates. Democrats and republicans are often very fervent in their beliefs and refuse to back down when challenged by citizens that support the opposite party. These "debates" often turn nasty and end in anger.
Hate is a powerful emotion. Election season brings out the most hate, and anger in people than any other time. Opposing beliefs bring can bring out the worst in people. In the digital age Facebook, Twitter, and other social medias provide a platform for political debates. Democrats and republicans are often very fervent in their beliefs and refuse to back down when challenged by citizens that support the opposite party. These "debates" often turn nasty and end in anger.
However the hate and anger displayed during, and after an election never seem to last long. Several days or weeks of rage seem to disappear in an instant. For the next four years there will be much less fighting between parties, at least at the average citizens level. But not too long from now everyone will suddenly develop a political view akin to that of Bill O'reilly, and Steven Colbert. When that happens the political hate will begin to flow again, trampling everything that gets in its way.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
New Project Alert!!
I have been working on a new project regarding assesment literacy in my gifted class....here is our progress thus far.
For updates look on our new blog.
Task/Project Statement
We plan to implement a program which will allow students to meet with a teacher after tests or quizzes. In this meeting they will discuss what the student is struggling with and how the student can work to improve on these areas. Assignment(s) will be given to practice these techniques and credit will be given towards the students grade as an incentive to participate in the program.
Who is most affected by the problem?
Students who are not told why or how they can improve when they fail who then continue to fail due to a lack of motivation, and knowledge.
How does this affect the daily school environment?
Students are given the tools necessary to continue on a path to success with their studies. Their grades will begin to improve in the subjects that this program is implemented.
Drawbacks:
Students could get so used to the help they are getting they do not try very hard. -> Grade improvement should not be so drastic that the student doesn’t need to try in order to succeed. Instead of going from a D to an A, a student would be able to go from a D to a C at most.
Lack of participation due to laziness -> Stress the importance of the grade in the long run and how coming in can improve it and how grades can influence a future educational experience in colleges and universities. Try to affect their apathetic mindset. Appeal to students
Teachers may be unwilling to implement our problem -> Appeal to the teacher regarding the benefits of the program and why it is important to the students
Despite drawbacks is your project “worth it?”
We believe our project is, in fact, worth the shortcomings it presents. Steps will be taken to prevent the drawbacks from disrupting the success of the program. Schools should provide students with all the tools necessary in order to achieve great accomplishments in school and in life.
How can you change your project to lessen these problems?
The best way to find problems that need to be changed in our project is by talking with students, and teachers involved in this program. After these discussions we will deliberate as a group the feedback we receive and the steps that need to be taken in order to transform these ideas into new practices.
What are the negative effects of the problem?
People are failing their classes because they have too little motivation to try and succeed because they do not know why they are failing; which is a direct result of the inadequacy of the currently implemented testing process.
How does the problem affect the school?
There are a lot of quizzes and tests students get that they don’t understand, or just don’t do well. They should have the chance to try to learn the material at their own pace.
For updates look on our new blog.
Task/Project Statement
We plan to implement a program which will allow students to meet with a teacher after tests or quizzes. In this meeting they will discuss what the student is struggling with and how the student can work to improve on these areas. Assignment(s) will be given to practice these techniques and credit will be given towards the students grade as an incentive to participate in the program.
Who is most affected by the problem?
Students who are not told why or how they can improve when they fail who then continue to fail due to a lack of motivation, and knowledge.
How does this affect the daily school environment?
Students are given the tools necessary to continue on a path to success with their studies. Their grades will begin to improve in the subjects that this program is implemented.
Drawbacks:
Students could get so used to the help they are getting they do not try very hard. -> Grade improvement should not be so drastic that the student doesn’t need to try in order to succeed. Instead of going from a D to an A, a student would be able to go from a D to a C at most.
Lack of participation due to laziness -> Stress the importance of the grade in the long run and how coming in can improve it and how grades can influence a future educational experience in colleges and universities. Try to affect their apathetic mindset. Appeal to students
Teachers may be unwilling to implement our problem -> Appeal to the teacher regarding the benefits of the program and why it is important to the students
Despite drawbacks is your project “worth it?”
We believe our project is, in fact, worth the shortcomings it presents. Steps will be taken to prevent the drawbacks from disrupting the success of the program. Schools should provide students with all the tools necessary in order to achieve great accomplishments in school and in life.
How can you change your project to lessen these problems?
The best way to find problems that need to be changed in our project is by talking with students, and teachers involved in this program. After these discussions we will deliberate as a group the feedback we receive and the steps that need to be taken in order to transform these ideas into new practices.
What are the negative effects of the problem?
People are failing their classes because they have too little motivation to try and succeed because they do not know why they are failing; which is a direct result of the inadequacy of the currently implemented testing process.
How does the problem affect the school?
There are a lot of quizzes and tests students get that they don’t understand, or just don’t do well. They should have the chance to try to learn the material at their own pace.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Brainstorm, Thoughtstorm
I'm "constructing" the premise of my next chapter for my group blog The Third Quartet as I speak type. Because this blog is supposed to be a way to display my effort, I'm trying to make sure I love everything posted there. There are infinite topics I could write about. Of these topics there are very few I am knowledgeable on, and many fewer that I can find an angle to write about with the love and hate theme. My plan now is to try and write in a topic that isnt very closely related to the theme and somehow connect it.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
RSAnimate
Several days ago I posted a video documenting the advantages and disadvantages of intro/extroversian. The personality test we took resulted in me being labeled an INTJ. When we discussed this in class I realised how much I related to this personality type. RSA shorts produced this video in order to educate people on the first letter, whether it be I, or E, of their personality types. I really enjoyed this video, and because of it I decided to investigate more short films produced by the RSA. Although none of their videos dealt specifically with journalism, common themes that could be used to enhance my writing as well as my individual study. I hope to be able to include some of the lessons learned in Drive, Time, The Internet, and many more to further my education.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Interview Questions
As I continue to try and interview more people I have created a list of questions that I plan on asking these people. These will be the base questions that I have written that will be generic enough to ask to the majority of journalists. If I encounter more people with different backrounds I will add or subtract questions that relate to them accordingly.
How do you feel about the shift in popularity from print news (newspaper, magazines, etc.) to web based news?
What made you decide to go into journalism?
How do you feel about the rise in partisan journalism?
I know these arent super detailed but I believe that these questions are the most important that I have created as of right now.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Contact Progress
I just sent out an email to a new bunch of journalism experts. This time I focused on contacting professors (and assistant, assosiate, knight, managing professors if thats any different) from Northwestern. Someone told me the Medill section of Northwestern was a very good journalism school, so I decided to check it out. The faculty seems to be quite esteemed. My hopes of them contacting me back arent too high. Last time only one person actually answered me but I'm pretty excited to see what will happen. I will continue to look for more people to contact and interview in the future.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Collab. Blog Chapter One: Love and Hate
In journalism you must adapt or die. Ignoring the advances in technology has proven deadly for countless news publications. As the internet grows so does the amount of information available on it. Newspapers and magazines are now being threatened by various news websites.
This internet based content is easier to find, cheaper, and more eco-friendly than its print counterparts. These advantages have proven very important as companies rush to catch up. Most recently, Newsweek has transferred its content completely to the internet, becoming an e-magazine. Many critics believe this could mark the beginning of the end for all print news sources.
Switching from print to an internet news publication has its drawbacks as well. These disadvantages make some companies weary to make the switch. Workers involved in the making of the physical newspaper, as well as the people who distribute and sell these copies may find their job has become obsolete. These layoffs could prove disastrous for those affected.
News on the internet is not always trustworthy. Fake news sources such as The Onion have gained popularity. The stories written by parody news publications are often spread by people unaware of their falsehood. Popular social media sites have become a veritable breeding ground for false information. Pages and hashtags declaring the death of celebrities have become commonplace. These accounts can cause great trouble and make it difficult for people to acknowledge the internet as a valid news source.
This internet based content is easier to find, cheaper, and more eco-friendly than its print counterparts. These advantages have proven very important as companies rush to catch up. Most recently, Newsweek has transferred its content completely to the internet, becoming an e-magazine. Many critics believe this could mark the beginning of the end for all print news sources.
Switching from print to an internet news publication has its drawbacks as well. These disadvantages make some companies weary to make the switch. Workers involved in the making of the physical newspaper, as well as the people who distribute and sell these copies may find their job has become obsolete. These layoffs could prove disastrous for those affected.
News on the internet is not always trustworthy. Fake news sources such as The Onion have gained popularity. The stories written by parody news publications are often spread by people unaware of their falsehood. Popular social media sites have become a veritable breeding ground for false information. Pages and hashtags declaring the death of celebrities have become commonplace. These accounts can cause great trouble and make it difficult for people to acknowledge the internet as a valid news source.
Various advantages of news on the web still remain. Speed of print news is oftentimes not fast enough to spread important knowledge anymore. In the digital age news of world changing events spread seconds after their occurrence. The lag that is profoundly prevalent in print news is much to long to provide the reader with valuable knowledge.
More information and different points of view can be found on the internet. Everyone with access to the world wide web has the opportunity to spread what they know with the world. This culmination of ideas is what makes the internet the most diverse news source available at this time.
There is no denying the evolution of modern news. Although there are so many advantages of internet publications, eliminating all print news could have disastrous consequences.
Friday, October 19, 2012
If It Bleeds It Leads Analysis
Yesterday in class we discussed alternate means of displaying the information we have gathered. I attempted to film a "vlog" on this topic and have decided, at least for now, this is not for me. The book that I have been reading If It Bleeds It Leads has continued to entertain me in its explaining of why television news does what it does. Each minute of a broadcast is examined and the tactics news anchors use to play with the viewers emotions are explained. Sad stories are broadcasted soon before or after uplifting ones, in order to keep the audience entertained. Witness testimonials are specifically kept short and striking to make the simplest stories seem exciting. Clips from movies and videos/pictures depicting exciting bank robberies and shoot outs can be used to make boring incidents more similar to the happpenings in action movies. Weather reports, which often gather large amounts of views, are kept confusing and use words that are much more difficult to understand than the language used in other news stories. I have not infact read the entire book, so expect to see at least one more post analysing this book
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Field Research Interview: Lee Filas
I would like to thank Lee Filas of the Daily Herald for answering my questions about journalism.
Why did you decide to go into journalism?
[Filas, Lee] I chose journalism because I wanted to make a difference in society. Journalists have long been the public watch dogs, and been on the front lines, fighting for what is right - and wrong - in society.
How long have you been a journalist?
[Filas, Lee] It depends on the criteria. I became a part time journalist (a stringer) for a local paper while I worked in high school, so 1986. However, I didn't become a full time journalist until 1996.
What did you study in college?
[Filas, Lee] I was an English major at Columbia College of Chicago, though I took a few journalism courses while I was there.
What topics do you write about the most?
[Filas, Lee] Today, I work as the Lake County courts and police reporter for the Daily Herald, so I handle a lot of crime stories and a lot of court stories.
How do you feel about the shift in popularity, from newspapers to Internet publications?
[Filas, Lee] I feel as though technology has raced a head of the newspaper world and journalists/newspapers need to catch up or be left behind.
How do you find facts or information for your articles?
[Filas, Lee] This is really a broad question, but I get my facts through interviews, through information gathered on whatever topic I am covering, or by digging it up and counting it myself. For example, today I am writing about a man from Libertyville who was found guilty of theft from a charity. In order to get my facts, I will go to the courtroom and sit in on the trial, then interview the Assistant States Attorney. Then, if needed, I'll go review a law book to discover how long a maximum jail sentence the person may receive.
If you could have any job pertaining to journalism, what would you choose?[Filas, Lee] The one I'm doing. I love being a court room reporter and covering crime.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to go into a field of work involving writing (journalism, author, teacher, etc.)?
[Filas, Lee] Adapt or die. Have the ability to roll with life's changes or else you will be left behind. Also, never take yourself too seriously...
Why did you decide to go into journalism?
[Filas, Lee] I chose journalism because I wanted to make a difference in society. Journalists have long been the public watch dogs, and been on the front lines, fighting for what is right - and wrong - in society.
How long have you been a journalist?
[Filas, Lee] It depends on the criteria. I became a part time journalist (a stringer) for a local paper while I worked in high school, so 1986. However, I didn't become a full time journalist until 1996.
What did you study in college?
[Filas, Lee] I was an English major at Columbia College of Chicago, though I took a few journalism courses while I was there.
What topics do you write about the most?
[Filas, Lee] Today, I work as the Lake County courts and police reporter for the Daily Herald, so I handle a lot of crime stories and a lot of court stories.
How do you feel about the shift in popularity, from newspapers to Internet publications?
[Filas, Lee] I feel as though technology has raced a head of the newspaper world and journalists/newspapers need to catch up or be left behind.
How do you find facts or information for your articles?
[Filas, Lee] This is really a broad question, but I get my facts through interviews, through information gathered on whatever topic I am covering, or by digging it up and counting it myself. For example, today I am writing about a man from Libertyville who was found guilty of theft from a charity. In order to get my facts, I will go to the courtroom and sit in on the trial, then interview the Assistant States Attorney. Then, if needed, I'll go review a law book to discover how long a maximum jail sentence the person may receive.
If you could have any job pertaining to journalism, what would you choose?[Filas, Lee] The one I'm doing. I love being a court room reporter and covering crime.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to go into a field of work involving writing (journalism, author, teacher, etc.)?
[Filas, Lee] Adapt or die. Have the ability to roll with life's changes or else you will be left behind. Also, never take yourself too seriously...
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Outliers Analysis
In reading Outliers, the most interesting thing to me was the passage about being born in the correct time or place to be good at a specific thing. I wonder whether or not I was born somewhere or sometime that will allow me to be successful. The other main problem with this is whether or not the field I was “born to do” is around today, or if it is a career of the future. I don’t feel as if my circumstances will allow me to be brilliant at any one thing. There are so many factors that come into play with relation to my future. My personality type, age, location, and my relationship with parents and peers all come into play when deciding my fate. It is scary to think my ancestors could hold the key to my fate. In order to become successful, I either have to have been dealt the best hand in life, be born with an innate talent, or practice for many hours in my topic of choice. The KIPP chapter shows that hard work really does pay off. Even though these kids are very successful, they might not be fulfilled in these studies. Giving the kids more free time would be helpful to them. There needs to be a balance in between school, creativity, and socialization. I think that our school day could be slightly lengthened if it allowed for no homework after school. Outliers was a very enjoyable book. I didn’t agree with all of the authors ideas, but the majority of them resonated with me. The knowledge in this book transcends Korean pilots and Jewish lawyers. It connects things that would otherwise seem completely different and allows for a new perspective to look upon life.
Friday, October 5, 2012
In which I tell you things you really dont want to know.
I feel like I've been slacking on the blog-front. That may seem rediculous to you but all this set-up work I'm doing in order to get to the heart of my intrests is going too long. I'm going to be researching more and trying to post more on this blog, and ESPECIALLY on my group blog which will hopefully be seeing its first post(s) in the coming weeks. Here is (yet another) list of things I want to acomplish as soon as possible.
-READ: I need to get into reading more, but I've set up some more free time where I will, hopefullly, do so.
-Contact Journalists: I have some routes unto which I will do this so It will happen soon
-Create: I kind of want to start writing some journalistic literature in the recent future.
-READ: I need to get into reading more, but I've set up some more free time where I will, hopefullly, do so.
-Contact Journalists: I have some routes unto which I will do this so It will happen soon
-Create: I kind of want to start writing some journalistic literature in the recent future.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Basic Outliers Response
I was told I needed to post a rudimentary response to Outliers so here are a couple of journals I have written during class relating to this topic.
This is not my intellectual pursuit because I honestly don’t believe I have a future in the sport. The topic can in fact overlap, this overlap would include sports journalism. Sports is an important part of the news and even if it is not my favorite channel of journalism I would be interested in studying it further.
In life I do think I am probably smart enough. As compared to the majority of humans on this planet I could be considered a genius. Compared to americans i’m quite smart. But as compared to the people in my classes I’m basically average. I definitely think I’m smart enough but I am most certainly not a genius. I really don’t like the term gifted, it makes people judge you and make inferences on your personality. My parents often would rather make me ask a teacher if I have a people in class. They do however follow a different pattern of actions concerning my siblings. Yes, being smart makes people around you expect you to do better than most people in life.
10,000 Hours
I have spent most of my active time playing, or practicing basketball. I practice a lot at home and at camps learning. This is a newer pursuit to me so I don’t have a ton of hours spent at this pursuit, but I am continually practicing this in order to get better. This is not my intellectual pursuit because I honestly don’t believe I have a future in the sport. The topic can in fact overlap, this overlap would include sports journalism. Sports is an important part of the news and even if it is not my favorite channel of journalism I would be interested in studying it further.
Smart Enough
In life I do think I am probably smart enough. As compared to the majority of humans on this planet I could be considered a genius. Compared to americans i’m quite smart. But as compared to the people in my classes I’m basically average. I definitely think I’m smart enough but I am most certainly not a genius. I really don’t like the term gifted, it makes people judge you and make inferences on your personality. My parents often would rather make me ask a teacher if I have a people in class. They do however follow a different pattern of actions concerning my siblings. Yes, being smart makes people around you expect you to do better than most people in life.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Homecoming Assignment
This post isnt really for this class but I had a prompt for english where I could write in any format I wanted. So of course I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a journalism style essay. I haven't actually read the book about how to be a journalist yet. This essay is kind of like a before point in my journey to become a journalism master. Hopefully one day I will be able to look back at this post and laugh at how terrible I was. Here goes nothing.....
Palatine Highschool is celebrating Homecoming week with a variety of spirit days to get students excited for the big game on Friday. Each year the football teams play against their biggest rivals, Fremd. After the game a dance is held for the highschoolers at Palatine High School. Pep rally's marked the beginning of the year and introduced the theme of this years celebration. 2012 is the year of the circus and the school has been decorated for the occasion. Streamers hang from the ceiling and walls. Members of each grades club made posters with all of the students names, and sports teams made banners that get people excited for the game.
A pep assembly, aptly named Royal Rally, was held after school on this Thursday. Performances from Poms, Flags, Orchesis, Pep Squad, Cheer, and the Marching Band were given to a large group of students, faculty, alumni, and parents. This year was band director Mrs. Horn’s last year at Palatine. A selection of junior and seniors gave speeches to honor her. At the end of the assembly this year's Homecoming King, Queen , and court were announced. Nominees from each grade were announced. The winners will also be presented at the football game. With all the anticipation this years game will definitely be great. We hope to see you all there to cheer on your favorite team, regardless of preference.
Palatine Highschool is celebrating Homecoming week with a variety of spirit days to get students excited for the big game on Friday. Each year the football teams play against their biggest rivals, Fremd. After the game a dance is held for the highschoolers at Palatine High School. Pep rally's marked the beginning of the year and introduced the theme of this years celebration. 2012 is the year of the circus and the school has been decorated for the occasion. Streamers hang from the ceiling and walls. Members of each grades club made posters with all of the students names, and sports teams made banners that get people excited for the game.
Fun clothing spirit days were also held. This year these included: pajama day, sports day, clown day. The decorations brighten up the school and gave the student body a great sense of Pirate Pride.
A pep assembly, aptly named Royal Rally, was held after school on this Thursday. Performances from Poms, Flags, Orchesis, Pep Squad, Cheer, and the Marching Band were given to a large group of students, faculty, alumni, and parents. This year was band director Mrs. Horn’s last year at Palatine. A selection of junior and seniors gave speeches to honor her. At the end of the assembly this year's Homecoming King, Queen , and court were announced. Nominees from each grade were announced. The winners will also be presented at the football game. With all the anticipation this years game will definitely be great. We hope to see you all there to cheer on your favorite team, regardless of preference.
I don't really think this turned out to well but I guess its a good start for now.
Group Project, Progress and Problems
This I going to be basically a live post so I'm just going to be writing as I get ideas.
People havent seemed to think to much about the project since last meeting.
We need the software to produce (Ryans) posts.
Im not very famillar with the google sites format.
We need a timeline, when each character does the actions in a specific story, Old age-remembering past experiances,
Topics:
Introduction
Job
War (Conflict)
First/Last Day
This post may be updated later with more info.
People havent seemed to think to much about the project since last meeting.
We need the software to produce (Ryans) posts.
Im not very famillar with the google sites format.
We need a timeline, when each character does the actions in a specific story, Old age-remembering past experiances,
Topics:
Introduction
Job
War (Conflict)
First/Last Day
This post may be updated later with more info.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Fundamentals Of Journalism
Suggestions.
Ok so I have a lot of planned post topics and things I'm going to unveil in the coming months. I was just wondering if anybody else had topic ideas/suggestions/critisism for me. Feel free to leave it in the comments.
-Victoria
-Victoria
Sunday, September 23, 2012
If It Bleeds It Leads
I decided I should probably show you the book I'm going to be/have been reading and analyzing. So here it is, I got it at my local library, I got a bunch more books that I will probably be reading as well.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
If It Bleeds It Leads: Rundown, Disclaimer
I've began reading my first journalism book for the year. It is entitled If It Bleeds It Leads: An anatomy television news. The book seems to compare the different kinds of journalists. It's mission thus far is to show how much talk show hosts and the hard hitting journalists you watch everyday actually have in common. Because this book is a little old, some of the specific people they mention arent actually on the air anymore. I dont think this makes any of the information given any less valid, and I am still very interested in it and cannot wait to continue reading.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Looking To The Future By Learning From The Past
I hope to start making more "regular" posts here and the majority of them will be relating to the books I (plan on) reading. The majority of these books do involve techniques and information relating to radio, television, and print. This information will hopefully guide me along to knowledge relating to more modern forms of news, the internet in particular. I feel like these medias are more alike than they are different. Each of them deliver the news in a quicker time than the one before it. My studies will be focused more towards the internet because I believe it to be the most important form of news that is popular today. The intenet has the possibility to spread more information faster than any media at this day and time, and I feel like speed is as important as any other qualities that news contains.
-Victoria
-Victoria
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Ramblings of A Crazy Person
The first thing that went through my mind, as I assume it went through the minds of my classmates is when we got our class assignment is one that's been bothering me for quite a while. Our topic is supposed to be our life's focus, the interest to end all interest. Is journalism the thing that I want to do with my life.
The simple answer to that question is yes, but so many other things challenge me with this decision. I would love to work in journalism, honestly it is one of the most interesting things to me at this point in my life. After taking my personality test I have become more aware of my tendencies to over think things; the idea of being a journalist fascinates and terrifies me at the same time.
Honestly, I wish I was more interested in a field that was less risky. I envy the people who want to be engineers, but to be honest I hate math. The creativity of writing is something that I need in my life. Risk is something I don't like to take. Even with this topic I had to whittle it down from several related topics that I deemed too dangerous to pursue as a career.
Because I am smart, everyone seems to want me to go to a good college and get a great job. Although I agree with the first part of that statement, the second part frightens me to no end. I know that working as a journalist is certainly not a bad career. It just doesn't have the steadiness of many other careers and I am working my hardest to deal with that.
-Victoria
The simple answer to that question is yes, but so many other things challenge me with this decision. I would love to work in journalism, honestly it is one of the most interesting things to me at this point in my life. After taking my personality test I have become more aware of my tendencies to over think things; the idea of being a journalist fascinates and terrifies me at the same time.
Honestly, I wish I was more interested in a field that was less risky. I envy the people who want to be engineers, but to be honest I hate math. The creativity of writing is something that I need in my life. Risk is something I don't like to take. Even with this topic I had to whittle it down from several related topics that I deemed too dangerous to pursue as a career.
Because I am smart, everyone seems to want me to go to a good college and get a great job. Although I agree with the first part of that statement, the second part frightens me to no end. I know that working as a journalist is certainly not a bad career. It just doesn't have the steadiness of many other careers and I am working my hardest to deal with that.
-Victoria
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Background
I have been watching the news for as long as I can remember. Television has always been a big part of my life, for better or worse, and I have learned so many things that way. As I got older and my interest (obsession) with the internet grew it became another new way for me to learn what is going on in the world. I spend a lot of my time on websites that mix journalism and entertainment. Because of this I have learned a lot about things that television news shows don't talk about.
I'm not quite sure if this post made sense but I know a lot more facts from journalism than facts about it.
-Victoria
I'm not quite sure if this post made sense but I know a lot more facts from journalism than facts about it.
-Victoria
Monday, September 10, 2012
Topic Tags
I just decided to post a list of some of the topics I will be blogging about this year and the tags to them if you want to see every post about a topic, once I get started that is :)
USA
World
Politics
Justice
Entertainment
USA
World
Politics
Justice
Entertainment
Tech
Money
Lifestyle
Sports
I cant promise there will be a top of posts on all of these topics but I think this is at least a good start.
-Victoria
Introduction To The Internet
At this moment I am sitting at my computer with eight of the most popular and well-known news websites displayed, eight pages that serve millions of people knowledge about the world around them daily . Each page is displaying similar news articles but each seems to have its own opinion and a different way it delivers news to the people that visit it.
cnn.com
cnn displays the most multi-media on its front page. A variety of pictures, articles, and videos covering topics from the Chicago teachers strike, to where you can find mermaids. The most sad news is displayed in small text with no images, but the lighthearted entertaining news has larger text and is illustrated with bright images. Even if it is harder to find the more "important" news is still rather easy to find, but this website seems to focus on covering up the sad with the happy.
bbc.co.uk
bbc displays a lot of news from countries around the world. This page has a news that might be difficult to find on other pages displays front and center as important headlines. The colors are a lot more subdued than the majority of the pages I have viewed. This color palette, combined with how the news is displayed provides a simple, straightforward way to view the news. bbc seems to be a way to learn current affairs that are a little less mainstream easier than other web pages.
cbsnews.com
The most prominent color on this page is black which seems to go well with the darker nature of the news cbs provides. I find much more mentions of terrorists, arrests, and killing here than on the other websites. At first glance this page seems a lot more serious than the other news sources I have seen.
reuters.com
reuters is primarily a business news source and the headlines definitely display this.Affairs involving the stock markets, both global and national, are shown much larger and more often than any of the other pages. Reuters seems to be the page to go to if you want to find out whats going on in business, and finance.
buzzfeed.com
buzzeed may seem like an odd choice in news source, but I think there's great value in entertaining news. Buzzfeed has the widest variety in news topics. Most of the news stories, which are adorned with many different pictures, and graphics, are written to entertain while still usually teaching something. This website is mostly for fun news, and interesting things you might not learn anywhere else.
foxnews.com
The first and most prominent thing you see when you go on fox news is politics, and lots of it. The affairs of the president and legislation are all over the top of the page. Red, white, and blue are also basically the only colors you see on this website. I imagine this is to show patriotism. If you're not looking for the top articles you may have a hard time. Everything under the first four or five breaking news articles are rather small and hard to read. Fox seems to be a good place if you want to read the most important news at the moment.
news.google.com
Google news has the simplest interface but the most text. At first glance all of the information can be a bit annoying to read through. Lack of pictures does give the page a much more straightforward feel. In my opinion the best part of google news is that the articles are actually links to many of the other pages on this list.
ABCNews.com
ABC seems to be a little bit obsessed with Obama, the majority of the top news articles are about him. There are plenty of other news stories displayed through ought the site but the bigger more prominent stories all relate to either the election, or Obama. ABC news definitely seems like the place to go for lots of news related to politics.
-Victoria
cnn.com
cnn displays the most multi-media on its front page. A variety of pictures, articles, and videos covering topics from the Chicago teachers strike, to where you can find mermaids. The most sad news is displayed in small text with no images, but the lighthearted entertaining news has larger text and is illustrated with bright images. Even if it is harder to find the more "important" news is still rather easy to find, but this website seems to focus on covering up the sad with the happy.
bbc.co.uk
bbc displays a lot of news from countries around the world. This page has a news that might be difficult to find on other pages displays front and center as important headlines. The colors are a lot more subdued than the majority of the pages I have viewed. This color palette, combined with how the news is displayed provides a simple, straightforward way to view the news. bbc seems to be a way to learn current affairs that are a little less mainstream easier than other web pages.
cbsnews.com
The most prominent color on this page is black which seems to go well with the darker nature of the news cbs provides. I find much more mentions of terrorists, arrests, and killing here than on the other websites. At first glance this page seems a lot more serious than the other news sources I have seen.
reuters.com
reuters is primarily a business news source and the headlines definitely display this.Affairs involving the stock markets, both global and national, are shown much larger and more often than any of the other pages. Reuters seems to be the page to go to if you want to find out whats going on in business, and finance.
buzzfeed.com
buzzeed may seem like an odd choice in news source, but I think there's great value in entertaining news. Buzzfeed has the widest variety in news topics. Most of the news stories, which are adorned with many different pictures, and graphics, are written to entertain while still usually teaching something. This website is mostly for fun news, and interesting things you might not learn anywhere else.
foxnews.com
The first and most prominent thing you see when you go on fox news is politics, and lots of it. The affairs of the president and legislation are all over the top of the page. Red, white, and blue are also basically the only colors you see on this website. I imagine this is to show patriotism. If you're not looking for the top articles you may have a hard time. Everything under the first four or five breaking news articles are rather small and hard to read. Fox seems to be a good place if you want to read the most important news at the moment.
news.google.com
Google news has the simplest interface but the most text. At first glance all of the information can be a bit annoying to read through. Lack of pictures does give the page a much more straightforward feel. In my opinion the best part of google news is that the articles are actually links to many of the other pages on this list.
ABCNews.com
ABC seems to be a little bit obsessed with Obama, the majority of the top news articles are about him. There are plenty of other news stories displayed through ought the site but the bigger more prominent stories all relate to either the election, or Obama. ABC news definitely seems like the place to go for lots of news related to politics.
-Victoria
Friday, September 7, 2012
Mission Statement
This is my mission statement for this blog.
The mission of this blog is to provide an outlet, and a way to share my studies in the subject of journalism in my Critical Thinking class this school year. I will be sharing interesting articles that I come across from various news sources and giving my own opinion, and point of view on the news. A variety of sources including television and the internet covering any topics that I find interesting and/or important. These topics may include but aren’t limited to: trends, politics, sports, technology, humor, and art.
-Victoria
The mission of this blog is to provide an outlet, and a way to share my studies in the subject of journalism in my Critical Thinking class this school year. I will be sharing interesting articles that I come across from various news sources and giving my own opinion, and point of view on the news. A variety of sources including television and the internet covering any topics that I find interesting and/or important. These topics may include but aren’t limited to: trends, politics, sports, technology, humor, and art.
-Victoria
