journalism

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Difference Between Fake Journalism(film) and real Journalism(real life).

First and foremost, thank you for showing us a video on photos. It was truly inspiring.

The Pulitzer Prize video was so raw as i watched it. Knowing that these photos were taken by an actual photojournalist made it all the more real to me. In State of Play, we didn’t get to see the whole film, but it felt fake to me. Of course there is a plot, and some mystery involved. All films involve action and things to intrigue the audience. The Pulitzer prize film was a story through real life photos that were taken on the day of the happening. There was raw emotion instead of posed or acted emotion.
In the state of play, Russell Crowe made journalism look so easy and nice. The editor-in-chief really calm and easy-going, but in movies like “The Devil Wears Prada” The editor in chief is a mean old lady that is demanding. I don’t know exactly how real like editor-in-chief are but I think they always try to make things (like the editor, places, or certain characters) look and seem a certain way when in real life, they aren’t that way. In the Pulitzer Prize video, everything is on point and very “as it was.” The police cars were long and old, the guns were big, and the expressions were pure. It was a good depiction of what was happening and the era it was in.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

coding!

SGranitz/WireImage

Inside Maria Shriver & Arnold Schwarzenegger's Relationship

By Stephen M. Silverman

Now "living apart, while we work on the future of our relationship," as they said in their joint announcement Monday, Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger were married for 25 years, after first meeting 34 years ago.

All the President's Men

coming soon...

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Media Observation #2

Coming into the meeting, I was confused as to what eagle vision actually does and where the production center is. I’ve been there a couple of times, but I always get lost. Luckily, as I was on my way to the production center, I saw a friend of mine, Elizabeth Mak. She is working with eagle vision this semester and was on her way to the meeting as well. We went together and I ended up not getting lost. We talked about how I was interested in what eagle vision does and how they make packages. We also talked about a package I saw on my favorite graffiti artist, Banksy.

The meeting was in a mini theatre I never knew our school had. I walked in and met the director of eagle vision, Stewart Olsen. He was really friendly and really excited to show up what they had been working on. Instead of a “story” like the articles they have in print, in broadcasting they call it package. We got to review some packages and point out good things and bad things about them. This is when I learned that broadcasting is pretty similar to print. They go through different categories like weather, media, sports, world new, campus news, etc.

After we reviewed a whole episode of news, the executive producer, Taelor Smith checked in with each person to remind them of which package they needed to work on. I didn’t know it took so much preparation for someone to record a small story. I also learned how flexible you need to be in order to do eagle vision. People aren’t assigned to a package on one certain subject and are stuck with that forever, but you must have variety in your packages and learn to do all different kinds of stories. Smith also went through questions people had on their assignments and wanted to know where everyone was so far.

There was also a lot of enthusiasm in the room. Everyone loved to be at those meetings and really enjoyed each other’s company. They weren’t so strict on the outcome of the packages but would laugh at the little mistake that they made. There optimism really made the vibe of the room comfortable to be in.

Coming in, I didn’t really do much. I just took a seat and really observed what we were doing and the different personalities that were in the room. There were very big personalities that were part of this broadcasting crew and I found it a little intimidating to talk. One thing I could see from them is there love for news and broadcast. They really live and breath eagle vision, and their hunger to go out and do this for the rest of their lives was very evident to me.

My experience here really opened up something like this for me. I came into the major of visual journalism wanting to emphasis on photojournalism, but this definitely puts video journalism into perspective. There is even an interest in being involved with broadcasting as an anchorwoman. Maybe I will even consider doing my first practicum with eagle vision. There is so much I learned about broadcasting that I never knew. Now that I know, it puts me in this position of wanted to explore it a little but more.

I don’t know if I feel as strongly about it as I do photojournalism, but something about telling the news and helping others with health issues sparks an interest inside my heart. I feel that for now, I will stick to conveying a message through images, but really making an effort to learn more about eagle vision will help me to really understand exactly what goes on behind the scenes. I’ve only touched upon what eagle visions is during this meeting, so I really have no idea what it takes. This was a really good experience and I hope to have more like this.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Why it is important to record tragic events.

Having visuals connected to a story shows real emotion in what happened. When we read about 9/11 and the tragedy that happened on that day, we experience the actual destruction in little ways. But when we see videos of the Twin Towers actually crashing down, or photos of people running away from the building, we can see the fear and distraught of the whole thing. They are not fake emotions or just a building falling down. In videos, we see the planes crashing into the buildings, the smoke coming out of the building, the building falling with people inside, and all the people yelling and running away. It is America experiencing a disaster.
These things need to be recorded in order to help us remember those lives that were lost and the hardship America went through together. So many people had passed away which can only mean so many other family members, friends, and loved ones were affected by this as well, whether they are from America or overseas.

The 9/11 tragedy specifically could have been used as a source to find who did it all, and who helped out. It was video footage to prove to the world that there is someone who doesn’t like us and is against us. Certain events can lead up to the way America or the world is today, and other generations that are coming may not understand those things. This is also when the past events that have been recorded are useful. Younger generations can better understand why we are the way we are.

Not only do they help younger generations understand what is going on, it also helps the average non-news reading American to easily understand what is going on with the world. With the detailed, straight-forward writing of journalists and the clear, emotion-based photos of photographers, readers can easily grasped the news and what is being recorded.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

God's Creation and Photography

After every day that God created this earth, he saw that it was good. When He created us, it was for His glory and it was all for Him, but do you ever wonder why He saw that it was good? Who it was good for? A friend of mine told me it was for me. God created this perfect world that caters to us daily for us. He wanted it to be perfect for us to live in. He wanted the sun to be a perfect distance away so we won’t burn or freeze to death. He thought of us as he made this universe. God is so sweet.

As I look into photojournalism more and more, I become more passionate about everything God has created. I used to take things for granted all the time and let the little moment slip by like it was nothing. Through taking photos and experimenting with what I can do, God had truly shown me the beauty of Himself. His glory and face shines through every beautiful living thing on this planet.

There is something about being able to convey a message through photos that can’t be done any other way. When we grab a newspaper, do our eyes look to the story first, or the photo? I'm sure the photo will catch our attention first. A photo needs to be able to capture the attention of the reader and tell a story on its own. An amazing war photographer and star of the documentary “The War Photographer,” James Nachtwey said, “We must look at it. We’re required to look at it. We’re required to do what we can about it. If we don’t, who will?” This is exactly what I want to portray in my photos. Things that people need to see to believe. Things the world are neglecting and ignoring because it's not happening in America. We as believers need to get the word out, and to show the corruption the enemy brings.

I can’t wait to start my journey in being a photojournalist whether it be wedding photographer, or a war photographer, because I know God will be pleased and glorified by my photos of his creation.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Should Christians explicitly state their faith when writing a publication?

I think this depends on the publication you’re writing for and what the topic is. Personally, I would have a hard time not including God in the things that I write because He is such a huge impact in my life. When writing about everything he created how can I not admire and adore Him? Every ounce of me and every breath I take is only by his crazy grace upon grace. At the same time; I can understand why one would have to leave God out of the picture. Depending on the job that I get, I would have to deeply think about this issue. Would God be most glorified if I risked my job in writing about Him, or would he want me to build a stable career writing about other things first? There can be great power that comes out of a newspaper or magazine if they are internationally known first.

I don’t think I know an exact answer yet, because so much good can come out of both choices. I have a friend that is a co-editor in chief of a magazine in New York and that magazine is on men's fashion. I see her struggle through parties and dealing with non-Christians on a daily basis. It really takes a strong person to stand your ground and plant it firm on the Lord. She does a really good job of being calm and collected as well as rejoices in the Lord for everything in her life.

She is such a great example of someone I hope to be like. What a great ministry it would be to be out in the world with many unbelievers, but be able to work with them. Hopefully when my time comes, God will use my life as an example whether I work as a Christian writer or not.