No Access.

The media and China have been at odds before, so this is nothing new.

In other countries where journalists’ roles are not as important and prominent, it is more difficult to for reporters to gain access and the freedom to report as they please. In India, the media was limited when the Dalai Lama traveled, because they did not want to create tension with China.

In China, the media’s freedom compared to the freedom of reporters in the United States pales in comparison. The freedom of speech itself is considerably nonexistent compared to that of the U.S.

Now that we are in the 21st century; other countries should start to move toward the freedom to discuss and report issues within their people and government. It is essential to create a balance between the government and the people.

I am by no means glorifying the United States and saying we are perfect, but our ability to discuss and report conflicting issues helps our country grow like others are unable to.

Facebook frenzy

Even little children, as young as eleven, are using facebook these days. CNN reported a large increase in children using social networking sights.

Younger kids are now tuning into the real world as well. Kids are now lying about their age in order to be a part of the social network. But isn’t that we as a society are projecting? Reporters have twitters and facebook in order to connect with their readers and to gather new information, so why wouldn’t other people want to?

One of my friends babysits two girls, and the eight year old even has a facebook. How young is too young? I realize connecting, not only socially, is important within society, and that hiding things from young kids isn’t right, but eight years old?

Also, not only have young kids become dependent on facebook, but adults frequently check their sites multiple times a day. How much is it to connect with old friends and how much is it because of an obsession?

On the upside, facebook does help spread information. Certain groups help raise breast care awareness, and sometimes give out information concerning events at schools. Also, statuses give current updates to things that have just happened.

Talk about Perfect Timing

Rihanna, a pop singer, has agreed to finally release an interview through ABC over the attack she was subject to from ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. Her next CD follows closely behind, with a Nov. 23 release.

Rihanna’s interview with Diane Sawyer will be broadcast by ABC on thursday. There is no contending that what happened to her was tragic, but the release of her interview and CD during the same month is pretty coincidental. Actually, it is probably the work of her public relations agent.

The attention that will be shed on Rihanna after her interview with Sawyer will foreshadow the media frenzy that will be surrounding the pop star after the release of her new cd.

Is this wrong? or is this her way of getting back at Chris Brown for the pain he put her through? This makes her stronger, and shows she can bounce back, which will be good for her career, but should this be made public? How else could this be handled?

oh Michael…

The movie “This is It”, which is a film over Michael Jackson’s final performance, was originally supposed to only be in theaters for two weeks, but Sony decided to extend the theater time of the film until Thanksgiving.

Originally, the film was a tribute to the late, great Michael Jackson, but now it has become a real movie. A movie that is going to make Sony a lot more money than they had planned. The decision to continue to play “This is It” is financial.

This film started as a documentary to highlight Jackson’s great performance and his ability to entertain audiences with his great musical ability, but now it has become a financial deal. Even though it gives Michael Jackson a lot of PR and sheds a positive note on his death, it should have been about him as a person, and the company could’ve waited for the DVD sales.

Entertainment Weekly reported this story.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, what is video worth?

Israel and Turkey continue to have a strained relationship, after a Turkish television portrayed soldiers murdering children. Israel believes this is a personal attack on Israelis, according to their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel launched a winter attack on Islamic militants in Gaza, which also killed over 1000 Palestinians this past year.

The television show seems to portray Israelis in a negative light, showing a clip of a father and his baby being murdered in cold-blood after surrendering, but the Turkish producer claims the uniforms of the soldier in the series only look like Israeli uniforms.

The series is meant to raise awareness to the plight of the women and children who are caught in the middle of war according to the network’s Web site, but Israel believes it to be a personal attack. How does the effect of television play a part in a major international dispute here? Why do you think this is such a big issue? Why is film such a big impact?

Doing what Journalists do best

Numerous media outlets in Utah filed for documents blocked by the court in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case.

They claim to need these sealed documents to correctly notify the public about the proceedings of the court, and that vital information in doing so is missing. The media is in place for this exact reason: to educate the public and spread information. If there are pieces missing in the puzzle, they can not do this accurately. Their basis for filing is a legitimate excuse.

The documents were sealed because of medical issues with the defendant, and yes his privacy should be defended, but at what cost? He broke the law, and its the media’s job to let the public know what he did and why he did it. Do you think they should keep his records private? Does he deserve to have his history revealed? Does the fact that his mental health could have played a part in the crime change anything?

Wait, there’s a shadow in that clip…

Recently our class had the opportunity to learn a bit about news packages, and were actually able to re-enact short news clips that were recently used by the University’s own news team.

Dr. Suzanne Huffman gave a short presentation in news packages by showing an example of one a student had made in her freshman year. As we watched, we realized how important it is to get the right light, to make sure the person being interviewed isn’t creating a distraction, like talking with her hands, and making sure sound is good. There are so many different aspects to this type of news that one has to think about.

First of all, getting interviews makes the story much more interesting. Second, hearing the interview and being able to focus on the person who is being interviewed is important. If it’s outside, the wind will usually take over the sound, if they have to move the wind out of their hair, that takes away from what they are saying. Third, the light must be good. When you can not see their face, it is hard to watch, and you lose interest.

Not only is the filming and the interviews important, but the reporter has to know how long it is okay for them to speak, and how long they should film an interview. Interaction is always good to see in a package, but also the reporter needs to know when to speak over the actions in the film to help the audience understand.

I hadn’t realized how many things play into effect while making a news package, or what to look for in an interview while filming.

Also, after Dr. Huffman gave us some information about news packages, we also had the chance to read from a teleprompter and do a short reporting clip. The reporter and the person in charge of the teleprompter need to be in sync for that to flow correctly. The reporter has to speak steadily, making sure he or she doesn’t speed up for no reason or slow down too much. The teleprompter also needs to listen carefully to know when to scroll down so the reporter isn’t waiting for the teleprompter or having to catch up quickly because they scrolled too fast.

Needless to say, in every profession, there is always more to learn than just the basics, but Dr. Huffman’s simple presentation created an easy way to think about all the extra actions that go into reporting, besides simply writing the story.

What other things does a reporter have to be good at? What other things in packages are important to think about when filming or interviewing?

FOX versus Obama

Apparently, after a truce-talk in mid 2008, relations between FOX and the Obama administration have turned ugly again.

The White House and FOX have been continually making jibes toward one another since before Obama was officially sworn in as President. The White House believes FOX does not have any positive things to say about the president and FOX believes the White House is continuing to campaign instead of focusing on the issues at hand.

Several correspondents of FOX have been involved in controversial remarks, and some advertisers have even pulled themselves from the network or asked to be aired at a different time. Despite these issues, though, the amount of attention the White House is giving FOX has spiked their numbers, and put their viewer numbers at an all-time high.

According to the New York Times, though, last month the chairman of FOX News and a senior adviser to President Obama met to discuss an adjustment in relations between the two.

Even though all news organization are entitled to their own opinion, and exposing everything for what it really is, is their mission, shouldn’t they find a way to at least insert some positive about the president to at least keep a sense of unity among the citizens of the United States?

Finance over Journalism: A never-ending issue

Caijing, a Chinese magazine, which is known for pushing the limits in a country where journalism is much more limited than in the United States, has seen large amounts of employees resigning in recent weeks.

Eleven business executives resigned after a dispute concerning the reorganizing and future development of the business magazine. The magazine, which has sometimes been punished by government censors, is known for exposing corruption dealing with finance and the economy.

But once again, money and the economic side of journalism is taking over and affecting the important things, like the actual magazine. This magazine takes risks to expose the truth in a country where exposing the truth could mean severe consequences. The employees at this magazine believe in exposing people, and they want to expand their services. Their editor Hu Shuli, as been reported to be thinking about starting a new publication. It was also reported that if this did happen, most of the employees would follow her.

This is probably for the better. Employees who are only involved in journalism for only economic reasons should not be involved in journalism; they should be looking forward to what is the best for the magazine, which is exactly why this has become such a large issue.

The article, reported by the New York Times, only highlights how important it is to have journalists who are committed to seeking the truth, not the financial gains in media.

CRAP

Robin Williams, a design expert, came to our class and gave us a presentation in design. He left us with something hard to forget, something he tells people when he gives seminars: CRAP. It’s his philosophy when designing.

C stands for contrast. It is the way your eyes observe and point out things in the design.

R stands for repetition. Repeating elements appeal to people, like the text style and headline format. It reinforces structure and helps people navigate through the presentation.

A stands for alignment. Organization on covers of magazines, for example, that have text on the front are usually aligned on the left or right, assisting the eye in finding things

P stands for proximity. Things next to each other should be presented alike, or photos next to text should be easily identified with which text they belong to

He also says if it takes someone more than three clicks to reach their destination within a website than its not on the website or too difficult to find. Try thinking of these things when looking at magazines or newspapers, and websites. After his presentation on CRAP, bad design is very easily identified.