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.

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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.

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RSA Shorts - The Power of Quiet

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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.   

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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

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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