There are a lot of classes where a bunch of material is thrown at you and you still feel like you didn't learn anything. That is not the case with J2150. We learned a lot this semester and almost all of it I believe will be pertinent as I move forward as a journalist.
One of the really cool things about this class was its ability in one semester's time to make you feel proficient in a wide variety of skills. I came in with a rough understanding of Final Cut Pro and Audacity but almost no knowledge of Photoshop or how to use a DSLR camera. I left feeling comfortable using all of the above.
I also learned valuable lessons about time management. I was forced to scramble to find sources at the last minute at times, resulting in less than excellent work. Keys to good journalism, I've learned, involve strong organization and communication. This holds especially true to stay on deadline in the multimedia world.
As far as changes to the class, there aren't many that I can think of. I think one thing going forward that could be helpful would be to show examples of past work before some of the assignments are given out. Students could really benefit from seeing what is allowed creatively and what style is preferred on some of these projects. Beyond that, it's a great class!
Thanks for an awesome semester!
-Taylor Wilson
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Saturday, May 3, 2014
The Gerrymanderring of Information
You ever notice how a lot of the news you hear, particularly surrounding controversial issues, fits in to your idealogical beliefs? Probably not, but it likely does.
David Carr of the New York Times wrote an interesting piece last year on the 'gerrymandering" of one's news sources. He discussed how people tend to seek out news sources that roughly fit in line with their own beliefs. This led me to my own dissection of where it is I receive my news from.
One of the things Carr talked about was who you follow on social media platforms like Twitter. As someone who tends to lean toward the left, I've realized many of the people I follow think and express their views similarly. While my pure news comes from sources I think of as the pure journalistic standard and separate from political ideology like the Guardian and the New York Times, the truth is, if anything, these sources lean to the left. Individuals who I follow include comedians and writers who might not be as extreme to the left as someone like Sean Hannity is to the right but are still indeed left-leaning. On television, it's extremely rare that I turn on Fox News or Bloomberg, usually finding myself on MSNBC or CNN.
While I'm confident in my views and really like a lot of the aforementioned outlets, this is a pretty scary realization. Nothing good can come from the bubbling off of society that seems to be here with new media. Carr mentioned the village common, where everyone meets to discuss ideas, is shrinking and I think there's some truth to that. There isn't a simple solution to this and may be no solution at all but individually, as Carr stated, it's time we start looking out our windows and not directly in the mirror.
David Carr of the New York Times wrote an interesting piece last year on the 'gerrymandering" of one's news sources. He discussed how people tend to seek out news sources that roughly fit in line with their own beliefs. This led me to my own dissection of where it is I receive my news from.
One of the things Carr talked about was who you follow on social media platforms like Twitter. As someone who tends to lean toward the left, I've realized many of the people I follow think and express their views similarly. While my pure news comes from sources I think of as the pure journalistic standard and separate from political ideology like the Guardian and the New York Times, the truth is, if anything, these sources lean to the left. Individuals who I follow include comedians and writers who might not be as extreme to the left as someone like Sean Hannity is to the right but are still indeed left-leaning. On television, it's extremely rare that I turn on Fox News or Bloomberg, usually finding myself on MSNBC or CNN.
While I'm confident in my views and really like a lot of the aforementioned outlets, this is a pretty scary realization. Nothing good can come from the bubbling off of society that seems to be here with new media. Carr mentioned the village common, where everyone meets to discuss ideas, is shrinking and I think there's some truth to that. There isn't a simple solution to this and may be no solution at all but individually, as Carr stated, it's time we start looking out our windows and not directly in the mirror.
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