Media Minorities

Discussions concerning minorities in the media can get touchy along with painfully politically correct. Race often takes center stage when discussing minority groups and topics like class and wealth receive less attention while dominating our television and film industries.

If there’s one U.S. minority that gets constant airtime, it’s the wealthy. Most Americans aren’t millionaires, decked out in designer clothes, driving Range Rovers—even if primetime TV portrays them in that light.

Primetime can’t get enough of rich people. Big Shots follows four extremely wealthy, country club men. Dirty, Sexy Money is about the Darlings, a New York business tycoon’s family that, shockingly, has so much money it causes continual problems.

Gossip Girl revolves around wealthy, New York prep school kids featuring fashion trends that most high school students can’t afford. Attractive doctors in L.A. live comfortable lives on Private Practice. Even shows like the former Gilmore Girls about a single mother raising a daughter brought money into the picture in that she came from a very wealthy family. The list goes on.

Even shows that don’t blatantly discuss money, like friends, portray lifestyles that are financially unrealistic. Average people can’t afford enormous apartments in New York City, yet Friends makes it seem pretty run of the mill.

With all the wealth, it’s not too surprising a recent study found that 74 percent of college seniors believe they will be millionaires. Not that TV alone caused this—it’s just too bad that one of the few minorities in the limelight is the rich.

Movie Effects

One of the first scary movies I remember watching was The Shining , a 1980s psychological thriller based on a Steven King novel. I watched it with my best friend—we didn’t react too much during the movie, but it definitely left its mark.

Throughout the movie, the director, Stanley Kubric, made good use of excitation transfer, which involves arousing the viewer with different techniques before scenes to enhance a reaction. What made The Shining was the music. Whenever the young boy experiences trauma, all you hear is this heartbeat in the background.

I never realized how much this one feature impacted me until a few years ago. Around the time I saw the movie, I started having nightmares where all I heard was my heartbeat. Nothing really horrible even had to happen in the dream to make it horrifying. Every time I would wake up in a sweat.

After I learned in school about film techniques people use to captivate audiences, scary movies haven’t had too much of an effect on me, but I don’t think I’ll ever really forget that heartbeat.

Nagging Fear

I’m a natural worrier. When I was 2, I would scream when my parents tried to put me in sand. At 4, bugs terrified me. For years I had a serious phobia about my teeth falling out. Fears seem to follow me, and any medium that highlights old or new worries never ends well for me.

Right now I’m reading a fictional book about leprosy. Now, this is a disease with an actual cure, yet I still get the creeps and secretly have started thinking about any possible way I could contract the disease.

It’s sad how paranoid I am. After reading about new studies in the health section of the news, I find myself avoiding foods or activities doctors link to cancer or some other health problem. When I was around 12 years old I remember seeing on the news that strawberries were said to cause some cancer. I gave up one of my favorite fruits out of fear.

I would love if journalists could lay off the scary health and safety topics because I really can’t handle them. I tell myself that I’m an adult, so worrying is pathetic, but all my logic flies right out the door the second I hear about some new scary aspect of the world.

So, I don’t watch or read enough news as I should as a journalist major. Now, in all fairness, injustice and harm from corruption does not scare me. I just hate hearing constantly about health problems and crime.

Who wants to think about kids having sex?

Take one look at primetime TV and it’s not so surprising that a lot of teens are having sex. I know it’s not fair to blame the media for every moral crisis in our country, but sex is one thing the media has changed. Fifty years ago, you would never watch a TV show constantly highlighting extramarital sex, but now the majority of sexual exploits involve the unmarried or adulterous.

Frankly, I’m sick of shows’ that revolve around sex. I’ve grown up believing that casual sex is normal and expected largely based on what I’ve learned from TV shows. My generation already has widely different ideas about sex than our parents, so will things reach another level with even younger generations?

On a recent episode of Private Practice, a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy, a 13-year-old had a severe case of gonorrhea and nearly died due to a miscarriage. This girl, in her grade school uniform talked about how she always used condoms and has had sex with multiple boys. I’m sorry, but 13? I think this was irresponsible. I know sex sells, but let’s not sell it to kids quite yet.

Sex in Primetime TV

If an alien were to watch any primetime show, it would think humans must be having crazy sex, every hour of the day. I had recorded this week’s Grey’s Anatomy and Big Shots and watched them back-to-back the other day. It’s insane how much sex drives the plot of both show. I know that sex sells, but you would think the writers could be a little more creative.

Between the two shows, I watched a doctor have sex with a former patient in the hospital, a casual sex-only relationship, the aftermath of an affair brought to light, a husband getting sex tips from his former mistress in order to better please his wife, and the aftermath of a soirée with a transvestite.

Funnily enough, a guest lecturer told my wellness class that teen abstinence is on the rise…who would’ve thought?

Sex scenes with parents equals awkward

There are few things more uncomfortable than watching or listening to sexual content with a parent. For me, it tends to far more awkward when I am with my dad. Since leaving home and coming to college, I haven’t had to deal see too many sex scenes with my dad present, which means fewer awkward moments—yay!

Unfortunately, last summer there was an exception. My family has driven to Destin, Florida for vacation ever since I was a kid. That means a 12-hour car ride usually drawn out over two days. Now, my dad loves a good mystery book, so he always buys an audio book tape or two to entertain everyone on the drive down.

We haven’t gone to Florida for a few years, so when my dad pulled out a book tape, I decided it would be fun to listen to one again. For the most part it was great and made the trip seem a little quicker.

However, there was one, well actually four, painfully uncomfortable moments—the good ole sex scenes. I’ve come to realize that sex scenes in books are far worse than watching them in movies. A quick two-minute scene in a movie drags on forever in books, and it’s so much more intimate to hear descriptions versus watching them.

I realize I should be an adult, but sitting next my dad in the car listening to what the female cop is doing to her husband was really awful. Books leave so much for the readers to imagine, and I was far too aware that my dad and I were both imaging this sex.

After I made it through the first one, I made sure to close my eyes when listening, so he wouldn’t know if I was awake—childish but very effective.

Desensitized

I think I’ve become very desensitized…I can watch the news about rapes and robberies, and I don’t feel much of anything—this disturbs me!

I react more strongly to uncomfortable emotions than violent deaths. For example, I can’t stand to watch a show like friends and watch a character do something really embarrassing because I hate to feel embarrassed for him or her.

Yet, when I see on the news that a mom most likely put her dead baby in an attic I’m horrified but don’t feel anything. I can’t imagine it, so I almost block out the fact that it is real.

Femme Fatale

I was surprised to read about the concept of femme fatale in Cynthia Carter’s Violence and the Media. Carter says this character, an evil, lethal woman, came about in the 1940s.

I guess I’m surprised she has been around so long. I think of characters from Kill Bill, where women are pure evil and deadly. I think those characters usually end up as weak fillers with little depth. If it has been around that long, you would think someone would develop something a little more interesting.

Iraq War

It’s not a question whether or not television is a good medium for news—it spreads information relatively quickly and can show more emotional aspects of situations.

However, sometimes the news feels a little like entertainment. I watch movies about war and soldiers and bombings—then I can tune into the news and watch the U.S. bomb Iraq. Reporters were in a frenzy during the initial stages of the Iraq War in 2003.

This morning, Iraqi officials reported the death of at least 10 civilians. Up to 52 civilians were injured. I know this is a gritty side of things, but unless I looked at pictures of mourners online, this story wouldn’t be real to me. Why give Americans a show with the bombing but keep the ugly aspects of war comfortably vague?

Frank Sesno at SMU

CNN correspondent Frank Sesno spoke to SMU students about media ethics at the Sammons Media Ethics Lecture last Wednesday. After 25 years in the news business, Sesno provided some sound advise for future journalists. The journalism field is ever changing—that involves making informed and often difficult decisions.

One issue Sesno discussed really resonated with me. He pointed out that it’s easy to get caught up in a “media popularity contest” with other media outlets, where competition for ratings rule the industry. I’ve noticed a heightened competition between cable networks the past few years, and it only seems to be getting worse.

For example, Fox News Channel commentator Bill O’Rielly, of “The O’Rielly Factor,” opens every show with the mantra, “the most-watched program on cable news.” I realize that journalism, like anything else, is a business, but the competition between channels seems ridiculous. It’s having an impact on the quality of news as well.

Not only are all the channels blurring into one, but the news content has changed a lot. Just this weekend, I’ve seen so much about Anna Nicole Smith’s ex boyfriend’s alleged boyfriend, I thought I would lose it. It’s a slightly more adult version of tabloids, and I never want to hear about it again. Unfortunately, I know I most likely will hear about it again and again if I tune into any major news station (even local news!).

I want facts—I’m tired of pretty news correspondents and fluffy news. Yet, there seems to be a growing trend of news becoming just as superficial as the rest of the media.

This issue leads to the question that begs to be asked: Who’s setting the agenda? Can I naively hope it’s the peoples’ interests? Or, is it the media corporation’s who fight for higher ratings?

Sesno recognized another agenda setter with more subtle influences—political parties. He lost an interview with President Reagan because he refused to allow the administration to dictate what the kind of questions he asked.

So, while it’s hard to know exactly which group dictates the obvious shifts in mainstream news media, the only think I can do is stay strict and remain critical.

Desensitized

I have a pathetic reaction to violence. Certain themes or emotions in movies make me very uncomfortable but violence just isn’t one of them.

So, I guess I’m a proof that a cumulative effect exists—just not in the sense one might think. I know repeatedly viewing media violence should increase my own violent behavior, but it increases my desensitization to violence.

I can watch a grisly movie or real news and my reaction is pretty similar. It’s sad how numb I’ve become. It’s been so long since I’ve witnessed actual violence, so maybe that’s added to distancing myself from it on TV.

Heat attack

A more dramatic effect media violence has had on me occurred in high school. I saw 21 Grams, a movie involving a woman (Naomi Watts) whose husband and kids die in a car accident and a man with a hear condition (Sean Penn), who dies at the end of the movie. Nothing about the movie is overtly violent but the undercurrents of the movie were.

I don’t know why, but I left this movie very disturbed. First of all, I have weird hear moments where it skips a beat—which happened multiple times during the movie, so that bothered me. (Especially sine the guy dies of a heart attack!)

When I was driving home, my arms and legs went numb—I pulled over on the highway and made my friend take me to the hospital. I truly believed I was having a heart attack. After calling my dad, who is a doctor, he told me to come home. Turns out, I hyperventilated.

I blame the large coffee I drank and the fact that the movie and the conflicts seemed realistic, which is proven to inspire fear in older children…or high school students.

Violent animals

Violence draws attention. Now, it’s not always obvious violence like a shooting or attack. A subtler variation was on National Geographic’ Dangerous Encounters. A scientist studying pythons entered a pitch-black cave filled with murky water. The scientists found the python, which proceeded to bite scientist Brady Barr. Those clips add excitement, so I guess violence sells.

Dillon Cossey

Another Columbine could’ve happened. Fourteen-year-old Dillon Cossey admitted he planned a shootout for Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in Pennsylvania. Not only did he plan an act of violence, but his mother bought him the guns.

The whole situation is undoubtedly disturbing, but what surprised me most was Cossey’s possession of a video of the Columbine shooting.

This teen learned how to attack a school based from media coverage of an event. If people are learning violence from the news, maybe we should tone it down in the media.

Women's Boxing

It my women’s studies class we discussed sexuality and how our culture assigns gender norms. Well, we watched a woman’s boxing match, and I must say I was surprised. It isn’t a very popular sport in the U.S., and I didn’t like it. However, I don’t care for men’s boxing either.

The losing woman left the ring with both eyes swollen shut and cotton sticking out of cuts on her face. At least with TV shows you know it’s fake…boxing is way too real for me.

Prison Break violence

I was watching another episode of my current favorite show, Prison Break, an undeniably violent show. I was trying to take note of each violent part and even after watching two seasons, the amount of violence surprised me.

It involved a Panama prison, where one convict was shot by the guards while trying to escape, the main character hand fought another convict. The other guy died. A riot broke out over a lack of water, which involved rock throwing, pulling out knives, and drowning a man. A high-ranking woman threatens a man not only by pulling out a gun but also holding his son hostage. I could actually go on.

Now, I don’t think any of this really affected me, other than I had to look away at times, but I guess I can’t really know how I’m affected deep down.

Health Channel

I love to watch the Health Channel when I can’t sleep. I’m really content when I catch Mystery Diagnosis, a show that follows people with bizarre health issues that doctors don’t understand (the mystery is always solved in the end, thankfully).

It’s almost like I’m addicted to hearing these stories, and when I tell my family about it the following morning, they think I’m nuts for watching—I guess I just love how satisfying it is when patients are finally diagnosed. Although, I have to admit, sometimes I convince myself I have the rare conditions I see—so far it’s just been in my head.

TV rut

In the past, I didn’t really use TV for anything. I didn’t watch it to escape (I usually like to read or hang out with friends) or to de-stress. If I watched TV to learn, it wasn’t a conscious effort. I liked mindlessly flipping though channels or watching multiple shows in an attempt to avoid all commercials.

However, now that I can record shows, TV is way more organized. I never miss an episode and I just zip through commercials. As a result, I think my TV watching is way less varied…I’m definitely in a TV rut because just thinking about it makes me bored.

Lauren Greenfield

In my photojournalism class, we looked at photographer Lauren Greenfield’s Web site. I love that she reports without any dramatization—she just examines cultural issues and shows you people’s stories, so the viewer can make up his or her mind.

The story about spas for children especially freaked me out…

TV and dinner

I realized that my sisters and I have and interesting relationship with eating dinner and watching TV. I have been trying to catch up on some old Prison Break episodes, but I don’t have a lot of free time. So, it would make sense if we watched it while we ate.

However, anytime we really want to focus on a show (like Prison Break) I can’t eat at the same time. Instead, I record any and every episode of Friends (it replays on three different channels, so there are tons to pick from) and turn it on while we eat. It’s just a nice background and easy to follow without thinking too much.

You think you know someone...

Now, I don’t really like to talk about people behind their backs, however, this actually relates to the media, so I can’t resist.

I’ve never been a huge watcher of 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network, but my sister is. She watches Rachael Ray and refuses to change the channel when I ask because she loves how “real” Rachael is. You could say she has a parasocial relationship because she thinks Rachael is so nice and down to earth.

Unfortunately, a friend of mine told me otherwise. She worked for Rachael Ray’s magazine, so she worked with her a bit. My friend says Ray is full of herself and was very rude to her. We may think we know people on TV, but we really just don’t.

Dirk

Dirk Nowitzki sat at the table next to mine at dinner last night. I really wanted to play it cool—you know, no giggling and glancing over my shoulder every 10 minutes or so. Sadly, I discovered that I am not nearly as cool as I would like to be. Not only did I gawk, I surreptitiously took a picture on my phone and sent it to a friend.

Texting Over (for a day)

The other day I realized I’ve been texting quite a bit lately. I’ve been undeniably lazy. Instead of calling someone, I can text and watch TV at the same time. Now, some people are fabulous multitaskers, so chatting with friends and catching up on TV is simple. Unfortunately, I can’t do both at once.

So, in response to my out of control texts, I decided to spend a day without my trusted friend. I wasn’t too surprised with the response…classes were slightly more boring, but my actual conversations with friends were far more fun. I could really let my sarcasm flow without worrying about any uncomfortable confusion.

Narrow news experience

I subscribe to the Dallas Morning News. Unfortunately, it’s a rare morning that I can actually relax enough to read the paper. Instead, I usually catch up on the day’s news on the Internet in between classes.

I realized this week that my looking at news online is like my experience with iPods. It is far more convenient than newspapers, but I don’t really get a well-rounded experience. Once I got an iPod, I didn’t listen to my full range of music as much since I had to search for names instead of breezing through my CD case.

Similarly, at online news sites, I go to topics that immediately interest me and rarely venture out…it’s kind of sad and probably less rewarding if I really wanted to analyze myself.

Dog

I bought a dog…online! A couple of years ago (even a couple of months ago) I would have balked at actually buying a pet via the Internet. I mean, thoughts of over bred, caged puppies filled my mind. However, after unsuccessfully finding the breed I wanted in the classifieds for months, I started browsing breeders online.

Well, I found a listing, made the down payment, and in a month I will drive to pick up my wheaten terrier mix in Missouri. She looks adorable in the pictures, so I guess I’ll find out soon if the Internet is a good place to find a dog.

I've Been Primed

I rather shamefully admit to watching What Women Want starring Mel Gibson (pre meltdown). Gibson plays a sexist bachelor who magically starts hearing women’s thoughts—by the end of the movie he does a 180 and is sensitive and all that. I guess I kept watching because I am taking a women’s studies class, so I enjoyed analyzing the movie in light of what I’ve learned.

One theory is that men are all for women empowerment but squirm at the thought of giving up power in order to make it happen—so, when Gibson admits to stealing his love interest’s ideas at work in addition to his declaration of love and she fires him, it really primed that theory for me.

Sex and the City

I was watching an episode of Sex and the City today, and the topic was abortions. I was really surprised when two or three of the friends said they have had at least one abortion. I know a lot of the show is unrealistic, so I wonder if that number was based on statistics or not. Either way, it was definitely interesting to see a TV show broach the subject. I highly doubt that would be on network TV.

decor8

I love interior design, so I try to keep up with some design blogs. One blog I like is decor8. The author is traveling to Stockholm in a couple weeks for a design show. I was surprised to see that she will meet up with another famous design blogger and extended the invitation to meet up to all the readers.

The Web has allowed people from all over the world to share ideas, but this blogger is taking it further. People with Web relationships can actually meet, and in my eyes this makes blogging more personal and real.

Confusing Crime

I was watching the local news and heard about a small robbery. I know that I that the news shows more crime than there really is, so I probably think the word is scarier than it is. But, maybe it could also give people who commit crimes the impression that there is more crime, thereby normalizing it. Couldn’t the news cultivate this perception of high crimes, which could make people feel more normal committing the crimes?

Video games...a little scary

At the movie theater, I watched a couple of kids playing a shooting video game in the front—the one where you actually hold the fake gun to get the “bad guys”. If people learn from modeling behavior, it seems that actually copying the action of shooting a gun might not be such a good idea. Video games may not make most kids act more violently, but that one in a 1,ooo just might have the motivation, so the game might make that kid think shooting someone wouldn’t be so crazy.

Too much info

Lately, I’ve been trying to keep up with multiple media—newspapers, TV, blogs, magazines, etc…it gets exhausting. Today, my art teacher said something that really hit home—there is just way too much information available. I start feeling guilty if I don’t keep up with everything, but I rarely examine one medium in detail. I would probably get a lot more out of a newspaper if I did read it thoroughly instead of running after the next news source.

My mom rocks technology

My mom bought a laptop computer a couple years ago as an attempt to stay afloat with new technologies. It has taken her a long time to learn to type, and she still gets turned around with small problems. However, it surprised me how much she loves surfing the Web at night. I called her today and she said she was tired because she stayed up late looking up articles and information about something she had read. It gets addicting.

It's a love thing

I love the Internet. I breezed through today’s newspaper and checked out parts of the news on TV, and the main stories are always the same. But the Internet…now there are so many possibilities there. It’s still so new and there are so many sites, that you can always find pieces of news the mainstream media ignores. Now, having enough time to dig those stories up can get tricky.

ACL

Some media will never go out of fashion, and the leader of this list has to be music. I went to Austin City Limits music festival today, and looking around the park amazed me. Thousands of people move from stage to stage, where they stand still and intently or do full out dance moves you never want to see again. If aliens looked in on us today, they would most likely think humans are insane.

Life's too fast for me

In every class today, I saw someone on the computer. People checked E-mail, googled who knows what, or checked the news. We consume so much information all the time. I wonder if we can keep up with such a high paced life forever?

Whoa facebook

When I got to my 8 a.m. class today, multiple people were already checking out Facebook. It was way too early for me to check people out and connect.

School's not healthy

I realized today that when I’m at school and need to relax after class, I turn on the TV and zone out for 30 minutes. During the summer, I don’t watch a lot of TV though. I normally read a book outside or find something else to do. I guess school makes me live a more extreme lifestyle—I use my brain all the way or am completely lazy.

Laughing is great

If anyone needs to bounce out of a bad mood, just come to my apartment. As soon as my sister turns on the TV, she finds something funny to watch and just laughs for 30 minutes every day. I’m talking really loud, truly happy laughing. I love listening to her, even when I can’t watch the show with her.

Kids and Media

I recently babysat a five-year-old named Gabby. We followed a pretty typical routine—she watched her allotted one hour of TV, I gave her dinner, but when I suggested we play a game, she opened my eyes to a new side of childhood. Gabby plopped in front of the computer and proceeded to play some sort of reading game. She grew bored, switched to a different game, and finally left technology behind for a game of evil witch (me) and captured princess (Gabby). When she outmaneuvered my attempt to give her a poisonous potion, she was giddy. I never saw that expression when she played on the computer.

I may be only 22, but I must be getting old fashioned. Kids should be using their imaginations and reading outside instead of spending hours at a computer or TV everyday. They have the rest of their lives to do that, right? Henry Jenkins’ “Why Heather Can Write, Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars” reveals a new media creature that combines both worlds.

The article shows how in the wake of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, kids and teens around the world created fan fiction Web sites, where people write their own stories about Harry Potter’s world at Hogwarts. They take on imaginary roles in this fantasy world, and develop writing, editing, and critiquing skills as a bonus to their fun.

It sounds great—cutting edge changes to society. Kids learn and grow on a virtual playground where people from any and every background can come to the table without judgment. While I don’t deny the positive possibilities of learning in this new environment, the fact is, it’s all fantasy. Kids don’t really meet or play—they’re on a computer…alone. The Web provides an isolation that could limit a kid’s social development. People need to be together to play and laugh and learn in their own worlds.

After watching a PBS documentary about Sesame Street, TV actually seems like a safer medium that virtual realities. Granted, there has been plenty of research on the negative effects TV has on children. Commercials for sugar and toys, violence, objectification of women…the list goes on and on. However, Sesame Street has bucked that trend since its birth in 1969. Globally, its importance outweighs that of the Internet because most homes don’t have computers.

However, Kids in 120 countries watch Sesame Street and learn about local issues. Children in South Africa learn about life from an HIV positive puppet named Kami. Sesame Street is reaching kids and possibly changing prejudices. Instead of getting lost in an imaginary computer world, kids can take what they learn and apply it to their actual lives.

Virginia Tech Response

I first heard about the Virginia Tech massacre from my sister—in passing, she said a lot of students died in a shooting, but she didn’t know details. I was in a hurry and remember thinking, “wow, that’s sad,” and then rushing to class. I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t feel much of anything.

When the extent of the shooting came to light, I tried to ignore and deny my initial apathy, but I couldn’t shake the memory of my reaction. I’ve heard people talk about how the media only show “bad” news, so people grow immune, but I never considered myself in that boat. I guess I was wrong.

My disconnect from the media makes me sad. I’m entering the field of journalism, yet I cannot honestly say the broadcast coverage of the United State’s deadliest mass shooting has made me feel much. The profiles of the victims delivered with the same news package vibe as every other story felt stale. News stations covered every angle of the event—fear, anger, blame—but it just didn’t reach me.

On April 16,2007, Thirty-two people died. One potentially mental ill student, Seung-Hui Cho, stormed West Ambler Johnston Hall and Norris Hall, went on a shooting spree, and ended it by killing himself.

This event became real when I could personalize it and bring it

One aspect of the broadcast coverage that struck a chord was the release of Cho’s manifesto package sent to NBC. People criticized the network for airing the photos and videos, but I think that information was vital. It opened the door to Cho’s skewed world as no profile or background information could. Maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but those clips broke something in me. The killer did exist, and he did go on a rampage he felt Virginia Tech students deserved.

The most crucial medium during breaking news like this is the Internet. It’s up to the second updates can be accessed during class, at work, or on a cell phone. In the middle of the day, most people cannot watch TV, so the Internet remains the easiest, fastest medium to find information.

The in-depth updates are perhaps even more important than initial reports. Broadcast shows must come to an end, but the Internet has all the time and space it needs. For example, on a blog, one student posted graphic plays Cho had written. Within hours, people not only heard a peer’s insight into Cho, but they could see a document that proved his critique. The plays made Cho real in a way that student’s opinions couldn’t do on their own.

The Internet also provides multimedia, interactive packages that make the event real. The New York Times’ "The Rampage at Virginia Tech” hit home the most for me. No other coverage forced me to put myself in the victims’ shoes like this package.

It takes users through a series of slides that tell the story. When I got to the individual classrooms and saw circles where victims and survivors struggled during the shooting, I was stunned. Actually picturing the classrooms with blurbs about how individuals responded was chilling. It was then my heart broke for the dead. The teachers that died while barricading the doors and students who happened to be sitting in the front row—this tragic event happened, and I finally realized what it was like.

Kristof Packages

This week has been crazy. I’ve gone nonstop (finishing a cookbook, writing a Spanish paper, tests, meetings…I could go on and on and on). I need sleep, and I won’t lie—I’ve had a few pity parties along the way.

Imagine my surprise when, sitting down to do this assignment, I find rejuvenation instead of a tedious check off my list. My boost in the arm came from Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times. He spoke for the Human Trafficking symposium sponsored by SMU's Human Rights Education program Tuesday.

Kristof focuses his Op-Ed columns on human rights issues around the world. He’s won two Pulitzer prizes, his most recent in 2006 for commentary, with attention to his coverage of the genocide in Darfur.

Kristof grew up on a farm in Oregon. He graduated from Harvard College and studied law in Oxford. He started coving economics for The New York Times in 1984 and has been a columnist since 2001. Kristof has traveled to 120 countries and has focused his attention on Darfur.

According to the SMU Daily Campus coverage of his lecture, Kristof blames the media for apathy about Darfur. I have to agree, but with a twist. It’s the business of the media that stunts public interest. Parent companies think Americans want celeb gossip and glossed over world events, so that’s what Americans get. Maybe people do want that, but journalists should give information people don’t always want. Unfortunately that seems to be a dying reality.

However, a glance at Kristof’s columns assures that all is not lost for journalism. His multimedia packages push the field towards the future. They’re subtly electrifying. They inspire people to become involved in world issues without shoving it down their throats. I know they gave me a much needed reality check. Sex slaves, AIDS, village slaughtering—his packages quickly pop my college bubble.

His package, ”China: a Maturing Power,” highlights this hopeful turn for the media. It reviews China’s growing world presence, examining political, social, and economic changes. Using the Internet forces the user to be involved. He has a map of China with points connected to his different stories in the series. People can learn what interests them at their own pace.

Perhaps the most powerful element of the package is his use of photographs. When dealing with human rights, adding real faces makes impossible to imagine situations real. You hear and see people, but you have to pursue it, unlike TV.

Even so, I still doubt powerful packages like Kristof’s will become mainstream. The Internet is the future, but Big Business will find a way to tell you what to consume, even on the Web. I hope I’m wrong because I wish everyone could have the reality check Kristof’s packages gave me.

Journalism Transformed

I embraced journalism for my major in part because I like writing, but also to avoid math and business. Apparently, the joke’s on me because business now reveals the news, says
Rob Insana, senior analyst at CNBC.

Insana visited SMU, and spoke as guest lecturer at the William O’Neil lecture Monday.

In 2006, Insana left the anchor seat for “Street Signs,” and now acts as head financial analyst, so he can pursue personal interests.

At the lecture, Insana focused on how financial markets move before major events, a topic addressed in his latest book, The Message of the Markets. Journalists may pick up on stories after the fact, but business investors know about financial or political events before they occur. Bottom line: if people want news early, watch the stock market.

Insana pointed to John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the First Gulf War to prove his point and urged future journalists to keep up with business. Because our culture is so economy driven, journalists can’t afford to be in the dark about the stock market and flourishing industries because that will lead them to news.

Insana’s warning threw me for a loop.

As a journalist student, I’m told to know what’s going on in the world by consuming news, write, and write some more. I know the media industry was shrinking and journalists sometimes get bullied into stories for business reasons. I did not realize I needed to embrace the business world voluntarily.

Of course business is important and newsworthy, but I never foresaw myself analyzing the stock market or having connections with major investors. I guess I better start learning.

I could rant and rave about the state of our culture if business dominates the news, but really there is no point. The arts won’t die—niche audiences, if not the mainstream, will demand that.

If more people want business related news, that’s fair. I guess I just wasn’t prepared to turn to them for the inside scoop. Maybe if I did follow our economy I would already know that’s where journalism was headed.

The Internet Adds a Twist

There’s a hot new trend burning in the news industry. No, it’s not a gossip column on politicians or scantily clad reporters—this change is infinitely more intriguing, depending on your level on the news junkie barometer.

Multimedia packages, digital narratives, online packages—call it what you will, online news is finally pushing the industry into the present, and, dare we hope, the future. The Internet has birthed a digital medium. Hardcore print or broadcast fans might oppose, but the mellowed out morph of the two provide a pretty model of convergence journalism.

"Three Sisters," a series on The New York Times website, highlights this new breed’s capabilities. The series follows three Mexican sisters who immigrated to the U.S.: one is a legal immigrant, one illegal, and one returned to Mexico.

Published from a print platform, the package contains no conventional video clips. However, a new form of visuals takes the stage. Each sister has her own clip in which a slideshow of photographs accompanies the audio of the story. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the story is that each woman tells her story in Spanish, and subtitles appear under the photos. Reporters added facts under the stream of photos to expand on points made.

Returning to the series main page, users can read in-depth articles about the sisters along with stories addressing broader issues concerning immigration. To throw in extra elements, the package includes links to encyclopedia entries, related immigration stories, and forums, where users can discuss the package.

If the story only ran in the paper, not only would each sister have one photo to tell the story, but each story would most likely run at different times. Space determines content. Because the Internet provides limitless space and multiple media, broadcast elements join print’s in-depth coverage.

Enter emotion, the storytelling gem in broadcast journalism. Photo slideshows take users to communities and two-room homes, making a story reality. Audio deepens the piece by adding clips from a football game or a bar.

Most striking is the use of Spanish. Broadcast rarely bothers since its passive viewers might not read subtitles. Online users can pause or rewind to catch what they missed.

Users call the shots. If they need it short, they can view the slideshow. If they want more, the information is theirs for the taking. At last, the best of both worlds.

Alone, the slew of information on the Internet overwhelms users at best. Molded by reporters, information is organized and put in context. Finally, a fresh media where you call the shots.

The Blogging Revolution

http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/welcome.cgi

With the number of bloggers, both reporters and everyday people, growing exponentially, the face of journalism cannot help but transform. This new medium of communication turns everyone into a journalist. Your own grandma can now observer the world, write about it, and have a loyal following.
But how to stand out in such a monumental crowd? One possible solution: be big and outrageous enough to send shock waves through cyberspace. Why did the kid in second grade eat a worm? It got everyone’s attention. All eyes were on him. In blogs, many writers are doing the same thing. Make outrageous comments and hopefully have the brains to back them up.
Ann Coulter, a Universal Press columnist notoriously known for her biting jabs at liberals and bold, often politically incorrect statements, has fine-tuned this technique. Coulter’s blog weekly presents the news with enough wit and sarcasm to prevent the mid-story skim.
In her most recent post, “The Stripper has No Clothes,” Coulter examines Sgt. Mark Gottlieb’s questionable investigation and The New York Times’ extensive use of his report in its story, “Files From Duke Rape Case Give Details but No Answers.”
While journalists might report the fallacy from a neutral standpoint, Coulter can skew the story from any angle and unabashedly does so. Instead of stating that the accuser had lied, Coulter wrote, “The accuser made up so many stories about the incident that the Times was forced to offer her Jayson Blair's old position.” She discusses serious events with a light tone.
Yet “The Stripper” exposes another role of blogs in society. Journalists might be watchdogs of the government, but bloggers now watchdog journalists. Sources that feel wronged can post their frustrations to set the story straight and other journalists can discus different paper’s mistakes.
Coulter thoroughly points out errors in the Times’ article. “In repeatedly citing Gottlieb's after-the-fact memo as if it were the Rosetta stone of the case, the Times also neglected to mention Gottlieb's dark history with Duke students,” said Coulter.
While Coulter may not follow rules for objective reporting, she writes a column, thus has leeway to voice her opinion. Yet, blogs get tricky when hard news reporters write blogs or a random person tells the news.
There are no rules of engagement, no code of ethics, no fact checkers. Blogs satisfy entertainment needs and even keep journalists on their toes, but giving anyone the authority to write news gets dangerous. We can only hope people follow the honor code and stick to the truth. However, the sense of freedom and anonymity the Internet provides makes blogs an ethically questionable medium for telling the news.