07.00 Reporter's Notebook

     Before I started this course I thought that a journalist was a person who reported the news whether that was via television, newspapers, pictures or other sources. I thought that the purpose of journalism was to inform the public about what goes on around them.  I believed that the ethics of journalism were just to make sure to relay the truth and not to take bribes or give bribes in order to enhance the story.  I understood that impartial reporting was when there were no opinions stated and the writing was not biased. Opinion writing included opinions and had bias. Prior to starting this course I was not interested in a career in journalism because I was just not into the idea.  I really had no aspirations of becoming a journalist or in having a career in journalism.

   My definition of a journalist has changed because I know that journalists are responsible for reporting the truth to the public and keeping them informed.  There are many types of journalists and they do different types of writing such as impartial and opinion writing. I know that journalistic ethics are a set of rules put in place by each news organization to prevent bias and opinion from entering the media that is produced. Codes of ethics keep journalists as impartial as can be.  Now I know that there is more to ethics than just preventing bribery. I have learned more about the differences between impartial and opinion writing. I learned that impartial writing contains no opinion and has no bias. Opinion writing is the opposite.  I am not interested in journalism as a career. I did learn lots of information about the career but I still do not want a career in journalism. I find journalism interesting but it is not something that I want to do. I believe that there are lots of possibilities for journalism in the future. The possibilities are endless, especially with all the advances in technology. As technology changes there are opportunities for journalism. This is certainly one career that will not come to an end in the future.

06.01 Your Interest Inventory

    A job in the journalism career that interests me is a news anchor. I found an opening online via payscale.com. The anchor/reporter job is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. A person in this position would write, shoot, report, and edit stories. Also, they would need to anchor breaking news. The skills required are the ability to think quickly in case they need to ad-lib, be familiar with local and national news, and have a good delivery style. Other requirements include a degree in journalism communications or something similar, and two years of anchoring and reporting at a broadcast or cable station.  The salary ranges anywhere from about $27,000 to $126,000.

 Sources:

~http://www.ihirebroadcasting.com/PremiumJobResponse.aspx?PJobID=6366293&Campaign=IndeedPPC

~http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=News_Anchor/Job-Listings

~http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=News_Anchor/Salary

06.00 Reporter's Notebook

       Anderson Cooper got his start in journalism in 1990 working for Channel One.  He began as a fast-checker for the channel and he did that for six months.  Soon after that he became the chief international correspondent for Channel One.  Cooper has also worked with the news stations ABC and CNN.  The different positions he has held are reporter, co-anchor, and anchor.  I feel that he has had lots of experience in the journalism field.

      Anderson Cooper currently works for CNN as an anchor. He anchors the most major breaking stories that occur. Also, he does 20/20 reports and 60 Minutes.  His job is different from the previous jobs because now he covers bigger stories and he does news worldwide. The job is similar because he is still doing anchoring work and he is still working for CNN where he has worked for many years. Yes, I believe that he is in the top of his career because he is doing hard hitting stories and he is working for a major news station. A person in his position reports news stories. They do this usually live, but sometimes they record the report. The usually do their work on camera.

Sources:

http://www.wisegeek.com/

http://usliberals.about.com/od/peopleinthenews/p/AndersonCooper.htm

05.00 Reporter's Notebook

  Currently, I like writing in general. To me writing is something that is relaxing and fun to do. I really like it because you can write about anything that you want.  If you are just writing for fun it can be as short or as long as you want it to be. I think that written word is very important because it is what you read. Reading is everywhere and it’s unavoidable. That is why written word is very important to the world. Reading is a part of everyday life. For example, you read signs while driving on the road and your read text messages and emails every day. Without written word there would be nothing to read. I really like writing personally because you can let your imagination run wild when you are writing.

I believe that it is truly possible to write impartially. To write impartially takes lots of practice and it takes a long time to write. Impartial writing requires extra effort and work because you must keep checking to make sure you don’t include opinion anywhere in the writing. Credible news reporting takes lots of effort because the reports have to be checked and examined to make sure that they remain impartial. Credible news reporting is not very difficult if the report is about the weather or something that you don’t have an opinion on. With the weather there is no need to share your opinion because you are just sharing the temperatures and other weather factors.

   Human beings have a difficult time being impartial especially if it is a subject that they have an opinion on. Human beings have an opinion about most things so that makes it extra difficult to remain impartial while reporting. However, remaining impartial is possible. I think that reporters can remain completely impartial in their work. Reporters can remain impartial by not stating their opinion in their reports. Also, they can try to avoid topics that they already have opinions on.  Reporters around the world remain impartial every day. Although there are some that do not remain completely impartial, many reporters do.

04.00 Module Four Pre-Assessment

    Today I paid close attention to the persuasion media messages around me.  This morning while I was watching television I saw a few different commercial persuading people to buy a product. I watched a commercial about Garnier Pure Clean shampoo and conditioner.  The commercial tried to persuade me that this is the shampoo and conditioner for me.  They tried to get the audience to buy the items because they are “pure” and 100 percent biodegradable. This message was not effective in persuading me because I am not that concerned about having my shampoo and conditioner being “green” and eco-friendly.  I believe this message was targeted more towards people that are very eco- friendly.  The message used words like “pure”, “clean”, “eco-friendly”, “green” and “natural” to give the viewers a sense of all natural and that this product is great for the environment.

    While I was on the computer an ad popped up on the screen. The ad was for Nexus Pro- Mend hair care products. This message tried to persuade me that this product will mend my split-ends after a few weeks of using this product.  This was effective in persuading me that this product worked because it used the technique of testimonials to prove it. The ad had people that used this product before and it showed the before and after pictures.  It showed lots of evidence that the product actually works.

   On the way to the mall I saw a billboard. The billboard had the McDonald’s logo on it and it had a picture of their Mango Pineapple Smoothie. The billboard read: Come in and buy our refreshing mango pineapple smoothie. This was persuading me to stop by McDonald’s and purchase this smoothie. It was simple yet straight to the point. They didn’t try to cover up the fact that they wanted you to buy their smoothie.  This was effective because it was very hot outside and they claimed that the smoothie was refreshing.  The billboard made you want to go to McDonald’s and try the smoothie.

 All in all, some of the media messages were persuasive while others were not. The effectiveness also depends on the person. If it is something that you need or want it will be more effective in persuading you to buy it.  Persuasive media messages are all around, some are obvious about persuading you others are not.  Some media messages are not persuasive because they don’t provide any evidence that the product works. If you can’t be sure that it works you will be less likely to purchase it. By Providing evidence that seems too good to be true can make a media message not effective.  Media messages that are effective generally show evidence that it does what it says that it does, gives you plenty of information about the product and it seems realistic.

3.00 Introduction to Ethics

      To be ethical means to have good morals, and to have good conduct.  Being ethical requires you to do think things through before you do them. You need to think of the consequences that can arise if you make a bad decision.  The main qualities of an ethical person are honesty, reliability, respect, integrity, citizenship, trustworthiness, and fairness.  The following are some examples of things that an ethical person would do.  If you found the answers to a test on the ground, the ethical thing to do would be to give them to the teacher and not keep them. This represented the trustworthy and honest quality. If your boss or teacher gave you a task to do you should do it. This shows respect because you are following their orders.  An example of being fair would be to not discriminate or judge others, and give everyone an equal chance at whatever you are trying to do.

     The situation that was presented in the lesson was that a girl was faced with the dilemma of whether or not she should tell her friend’s parents about her giving her address to a stranger online. I believe that she should tell the parents. The reason for this is that a stranger knows where they live and they need to know. This should not be kept just because they are really good friends. This secret that she is keeping from her parents jeopardizes the family’s safety.  The stranger online may decide to show up at the house, and they don’t know who he/she is or what their intentions are. With all of this taken into consideration, I believe that the girl should tell her friend’s parents.

   Ethics are very critical to journalism. Journalists must use ethical behavior because they are giving information to the public. The public needs to know that they have a journalist that they can count on.  Journalists are responsible for reporting the truth, which is an example of how ethics is needed in journalism. Journalist must be honest, reliable, respectful, and responsible and have integrity while making their decision of what they should do if faced with a dilemma.  They should not make up stories or stretch the truth in an article/story because that is not the ethical thing to do. Also, they should think about the consequences that can arise from a choice that they make. Journalists should not take bribes from people because this can cause them to not be fair, and it goes against the code of ethics. This explains how ethics play a part of news presentation.

Source: FLVS Module 3

  

 

Coming Soon

Hello, I haven't made a post in a few days. Either today or tomorrow I will post another reporter's notebook response. This one will be about ethics in journalism. Also, if you are wondering about the posts, they are for my journalism class. Tootles <3