The article, Vets try to save leg of dog hit by stolen van, was an obvious violation of journalism just by reading the title. It was located as one of the top stories under national news. This article violates so many of the 9 principles and 7 yardsticks of journalism.
A principle that it violates is making the important interesting. Yes, it's sad, but it's not important, especially not important to be a headliner under national news. People have other things to worry about than a dog that just got a hurt leg. Yes, it includes a crime which is a core topic, but the crime is based off them hitting a dog. The important variable in this story is the stolen car. Why was the dog more important than a criminal driving around in a stolen car? The writer states in the first paragraph that this chase was being televised so why wasn't that the subject of this article?
A yardstick that this article violates is newsworthiness. How does this story affect anyone? It will affect the owners, but not for a very long time. If it doesn't affect the audience the first time, then it won't ever be a huge impact. For example, the journalist states, " Gordo, (the dog), won the hearts of the hospital workers." This is not significant; it's pointless.
Another yardstick that relates to newsworthiness that was also violated is local relevance. This event happened in Los Angeles, California. This should have not have been under national news. It's understandable for it to be on the news in LA, but not in Louisville, Ky thousands of miles away or anywhere else for that matter.
The journalist could've exceeded these yardsticks by changing the main subject of the story. The journalist could've wrote about the car chase and used the dog hit as an example of one of the things that happened. This would've made the important interesting and it somewhat newsworthiness. It would still not make this story contain local relevance unless you live in LA. It's not significant to any other county, city, or state. Also, Wave 3 news could've not included this under national news on their website.
In conclusion, the reporter was too focused on the dog. Their is more important factors in this story.
http://www.wave3.com/story/26571617/vets-try-to-save-leg-of-dog-hit-by-stolen-van
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Response to Classmate: Kate Neal
If I didn't know about mass communication, this wouldv'e been a great resource to look at. You explained everything to where it coud be understood by anyone. I enjoyed the example about Youtube. Examples in my opionion always make things more comprehendable and realistic. It was also laid out very nice which was good when it came to switching topics. The highlighted words let the readers know what was important. Overall, I thought this post was a great review about mass communication and could be really useful for a studying resource.
You can find Kate's post here: http://keepingupwithkateneal.blogspot.com/2014/09/mass-communication-what-is-it.html
You can find Kate's post here: http://keepingupwithkateneal.blogspot.com/2014/09/mass-communication-what-is-it.html
Response to Classmate: Yamini Polcum
You made a great point about the truth. I totally agree that it is the foundation of journalism. In order to be the watchdog you have to be an honest person. In my opinion journalism is the truth; it's the answers that people need. As you said, democracy depends on it. I also liked how you pointed out that without the truth, journalism would just be a fictional story, for example like the ones Stephen Glass wrote. Overall, I felt like your post was very simple, but just enough to understand your thoughts about the 9 principles.
Yamini's Post can be found here: http://shreddedparanoia.blogspot.com/2014/09/class-response-to-truth-principle.html
Yamini's Post can be found here: http://shreddedparanoia.blogspot.com/2014/09/class-response-to-truth-principle.html
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Binary Models and Conglomeration
Conglomeration is when one large company buys a lot of smaller ones. A lot of binary models, two types/parts of mass media, could be affected by conglomeration.
One binary model that could be affected by conglomeration is elitists and populists. Elitists are more concerned with their content, while populists are more concerned about their popularity. If a populist company buys an elitist company the whole content of the elitist company will be potentially modified to what fits the populist's company's needs. This could affect the company negatively or positively; it just depends on how the customers/viewers handle it.
An example of this situation is if People Magazine buys the New York Times more than likely the New York Times' content will change. The content might be more about celebrities, Hollywood lifestyle, etc. New York Times would most likely lose customers and readers because it's not their taste. They are used to real news and the message New York Times portrays.
Why Newspapers?
Many people ask why people still get the newspaper. It may not be as popular as it used to be due to innovated technologies, but it still exists for a reason.
Older people can relate to the newspaper. This connects with two characteristics of a newspaper, tradition and low-tech. A decent amount of older adults are used to the newspaper, it's what they grew up with. For example, every morning my grandma has to read the newspaper in her rocking chair while drinking her coffee, it's a tradition. The tradition of the newspaper is classic and simple; it's low-tech and that's what makes it so accessible.
Older people are not used to technology. It tends to confuse them and becomes difficult for them to access information on the Internet. This why the newspaper is easy because it's so low-tech. It does not require any technology what so ever except your literacy.
Since the newspaper is low-tech it makes it more portable and more of a physical object. It's something you can save, take with you, etc. You cannot save things on television or the radio most of the time or bring your television wherever you go, but with the newspaper you can.
The low-tech quality connects with one more thing which is affordability. A lot of money is not being put into making and distributing newspapers because it's just paper with print. More people can buy and have access to a newspaper to get information rather than a computer.
The newspaper is also non-linear. Don't you hate it when you are watching the news and you have to wait for a certain topic you want to hear about? With the newspaper you don't have to wait. You can flip to the story you want to read without waiting.
Overall, newspapers are a great resource that are traditional, low-tech, affordable, non-linear, and portable.
Older people can relate to the newspaper. This connects with two characteristics of a newspaper, tradition and low-tech. A decent amount of older adults are used to the newspaper, it's what they grew up with. For example, every morning my grandma has to read the newspaper in her rocking chair while drinking her coffee, it's a tradition. The tradition of the newspaper is classic and simple; it's low-tech and that's what makes it so accessible.
Older people are not used to technology. It tends to confuse them and becomes difficult for them to access information on the Internet. This why the newspaper is easy because it's so low-tech. It does not require any technology what so ever except your literacy.
Since the newspaper is low-tech it makes it more portable and more of a physical object. It's something you can save, take with you, etc. You cannot save things on television or the radio most of the time or bring your television wherever you go, but with the newspaper you can.
The low-tech quality connects with one more thing which is affordability. A lot of money is not being put into making and distributing newspapers because it's just paper with print. More people can buy and have access to a newspaper to get information rather than a computer.
The newspaper is also non-linear. Don't you hate it when you are watching the news and you have to wait for a certain topic you want to hear about? With the newspaper you don't have to wait. You can flip to the story you want to read without waiting.
Overall, newspapers are a great resource that are traditional, low-tech, affordable, non-linear, and portable.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Printing Press
It's quite funny how history has shaped so many things. My journalism teacher, Mr. Miller, taught us that the printing press is the most significant technology in history. If you think about it, it's very true.
Many people, including myself before the lecture, believe that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but actually he just improved it. The real creators behind this magical invention are the fellow citizens of Mesopotamia. They created stamp seals which later influenced the Romans to invent the screw press. From there on inventions like those kept improving, etc. Johannes Gutenberg made the printing press moveable. The innovated printing press made prints letter based. It also made it cheaper and faster to print things.
The printing press has had a lot of impacts on the world. Without a printing press, there wouldn't be books so how would people learn to read. Literacy, one of the most important technologies, wouldn't exist. There would also be a corrupt government if the printing press didn't exist because there would be no history; public records to prove things. The government could just take advantage of people.
There would be less colonization because how would people and explorers explore without maps. This could also lead to a poor and corrupt government and less cultures spreading.
Finally, there would be no journalism. Without journalism, people would be unaware of what's going on . This could be good and bad. Good, because it could cause less wars and revolutions because a lot of those long, tough battles were sparked through the spread of news. Bad, because I believe people need to know the news. It helps connects cultures and bond people together. The news brings awareness to many things and gives people a voice. It helps solve problems. It gives people the right to speak their minds, have freedom of speech and press.
Many people, including myself before the lecture, believe that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, but actually he just improved it. The real creators behind this magical invention are the fellow citizens of Mesopotamia. They created stamp seals which later influenced the Romans to invent the screw press. From there on inventions like those kept improving, etc. Johannes Gutenberg made the printing press moveable. The innovated printing press made prints letter based. It also made it cheaper and faster to print things.
The printing press has had a lot of impacts on the world. Without a printing press, there wouldn't be books so how would people learn to read. Literacy, one of the most important technologies, wouldn't exist. There would also be a corrupt government if the printing press didn't exist because there would be no history; public records to prove things. The government could just take advantage of people.
There would be less colonization because how would people and explorers explore without maps. This could also lead to a poor and corrupt government and less cultures spreading.
Finally, there would be no journalism. Without journalism, people would be unaware of what's going on . This could be good and bad. Good, because it could cause less wars and revolutions because a lot of those long, tough battles were sparked through the spread of news. Bad, because I believe people need to know the news. It helps connects cultures and bond people together. The news brings awareness to many things and gives people a voice. It helps solve problems. It gives people the right to speak their minds, have freedom of speech and press.
What Makes Great Journalism?
What makes great journalism? Some people like to think great journalism is ET news and People Magazine, but that's not accurate. Though lots of people find hollywood gossip interesting, they should also come to the realization that it has no relevance in their lives. In my journalism class my teacher, Mr. Miller, covered the 9 principles of journalism. It consists of the truth, loyalty, verification, independence, watchdog, forum, make the important interesting, inclusive, and finally room for dissent.Journalism is the truth; it's a journalist first obligation to tell the truth. Journalism wouldn't be here today if it was just filled with lies. Loyalty ties along with the truth. A journalist has to tell the truth to not only the high elite, but to everyone; all citizens. Also, be inclusive. This means respect everyone and their culture.To make sure the truth is real you must verify your piece; include multiple witnesses and sources. Always be independent. Be the person that goes for it on your own and not with a group where you may not get to speak out your thoughts. While hopefully being independent, watch out for the people with power, there the ones you need to look out after and sometimes for.
To get a better understanding on how to improve your writing and journalism, make sure to include a forum, public feedback, to help you strive for more. This will help you make room for dissent; a chance for you to speak your mind and criticize other work.
Finally, make the important interesting and not the interesting important. This goes back to People Magazine. They make like what Harry Styles is wearing interesting, but it's not important. Balance what the audience wants and what it actually needs.
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