"Information will just all be basically free, so there's no money to be made in journalism," says de Nevers, an 18-year-old from Portland, Ore. "As much as I would like to pursue my love and all that, I like food, too. And I just don't want to sacrifice it all."
That quote right there is why Journalism is so important. Everything is about making money now, and one of the most important things in a democracy (if you call this a democracy) is questioning the rulers. If there is no one there to investigate and question the government, corporations, capitalism, and just anything in general then what is going to happen to democracy? The small amount of democracy that is even left in this country will be gone. There are so many things happening right now with the way the United States is being run that are wrong and need to be questioned; and the fact that people are worried more about making money than doing what is right worries me.
I believe journalism will never die because there will always be people who question and make other people question what is really going on and if it is right. There is a difference between the news reporting we see on a lot of television and radio programs and newspapers, and actual Journalism. The people who believe Journalism is a dying industry might be right, but not in the sense that they are talking about. Journalism is supposed to be objective, and in a sense anti-government and anti-big business. In this sense Journalism is dying, because it is being controlled by these same institutions that it is supposed to be questioning.
I am going to go as far as to say people should be wanting to go into Journalism rather than not because there is no money it in. Journalism needs to be taken back to the people, for the people. The watchdogs of democracy need to regain that title, so that everyone isn't sucked into the money wanting pushed through our society by capitalism. Journalism can't die, or democracy dies.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Commonalities
All four of these stories (Fear and Loathing Outside Worcester, Yankee Fan Meets Pot-Banger Guy, The Unforgettable Fire Turns 25, and Indifference to Authority) tell a story. They all share a personal experience that happened with someone or something. They all give an introduction to set up the story, and they all use a quote from someone or a verbal interaction with someone (Fear and Loathing Outside Worcester being one with himself). This quote in each of the stories serves the same purpose of bringing the story together.
Each story is told from the eyes of the writer. Unlike some first person stories, in these you actually read the story from their eyes. This is a great strategy to get and keep the attention of the reader. Similar to good movies where the audience forgets they are watching a movie, this style of writing makes you feel like you are experiencing something rather than reading something. It brings out feelings and emotions. That's what good writing is supposed to do. Story telling is one of the best tools of learning, and it is an interesting, artistic type of writing.
Each story is told from the eyes of the writer. Unlike some first person stories, in these you actually read the story from their eyes. This is a great strategy to get and keep the attention of the reader. Similar to good movies where the audience forgets they are watching a movie, this style of writing makes you feel like you are experiencing something rather than reading something. It brings out feelings and emotions. That's what good writing is supposed to do. Story telling is one of the best tools of learning, and it is an interesting, artistic type of writing.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
History of W.E.B. Du Bois Stairwell Murals
This link to a Umass article gives great insight on the murals from the perspective of the artists. It also gives a slide show of fifteen murals in the stairwell. A good mix of history and culture.
http://umass.edu/umhome/news/articles/41972.html
http://umass.edu/umhome/news/articles/41972.html
South Hadley Bullying Blog (Masslive)
First of all I need to already disagree with the enactment of the anti-bullying law. The Massachusetts State Legislature is trying to intervene in something that has been part of human nature since the beginning of time. Something people have tried to change time and time again; but frankly, bullying is a part of growing up. I am not saying that it is okay, I am just questioning the motivations of the law. Bullying will never be stopped, so why not stop the "new age" phenomenon of people killing themselves as a solution. This isn't just in South Hadley. This is and has been happening for a few years now. I just feel like more can be done to prevent people from hurting themselves than from preventing the bullying. I am sympathetic to these situations, but to be brutally honest these suicides would not happen like they are now even twenty or thirty years ago. The new age media has something to do with this, because instead of these "victims" finding ways to deal with the bullying (fighting back, talking to their parents, talking to their siblings, talking to their guidance counselors, ETC.) they are willing to give up their lives to get back at their bullies. This big case in South Hadley justifies that statement entirely. So I think this blog and study is looking at the wrong issue. They should be teaching people how to deal with bullying, and not trying to prevent bullying.
Twitter News
There were multiple "Twitvids" released this week from Celtic players, including Nate Robinson, that are starting to show everyone the personality the team is going to have this upcoming season. Nate Robinson posts a video in which he says Shaq told him he would give him a prize if he could dunk over him. So what does Nate do? He dunks over Shaq when he's not looking, who proceeds to chase after Robinson in a joking manner. Another video was of Paul Pierce and Nate Robinson trying to figure out "who was a better shooter," by shooting popcorn into the open mouth of the snoring diesel. It looks like this team is going to be relaxed, and they have a very different swagger than previous Celtic teams (in a good way). Shaq might have brought some of this joking with him when he signed a two year deal.
(Videos also on Barstoolsports.com)
(Videos also on Barstoolsports.com)
Newsworthy-Dantonio will Coach vs. Michigan
Michigan State football head coach Mike Dantonio is making it a point that he is returning for the in state showdown against Michigan on Saturday. Michigan is of course led by high powered Heisman candidate Denard Robinson, and this game is set to be a heavyweight battle.
For Michigan State, a game against Michigan is unlike any other on their schedule. He had to return to the hospital after the heart attack because of a blood clot; and despite being released from the hospital Monday, it seems he hasn't lost a step.
Dantonio, who suffered a mild heart attack Sept. 19 and underwent surgery, had planned to coach from the press box last Saturday for the Wisconsin game. But a blood clot discovered Thursday during a routine post-operative examination forced him to return to the hospital.
For Michigan State, a game against Michigan is unlike any other on their schedule. He had to return to the hospital after the heart attack because of a blood clot; and despite being released from the hospital Monday, it seems he hasn't lost a step.
"I feel outstanding," Dantonio said. "I was restricted because of the clot, so all day Sunday and all day Monday I watched film. From that standpoint, I've been able to be sort of secluded. I'm back in the office now.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Boardwalk Empire
The new HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" is riveting. From the same people who brought us "The Sopranos" with Martin Scorsese guest directing an episode, it is a look into the 1920's mob scene in Atlantic City, New York, and Chicago controlling alcohol during the prohibition. It got a lot of hype and the first three episodes have lived up to it. We are shown a lot of action, strategy, and a little bit of love. Steve Buscemi plays main character "Nucky Thompson," a mob boss in Atlantic City who is also the mayor with an upcoming election. He tries to continue to keep the cash flowing in from his casinos, his pay-offs from everyone, and his new alcohol business while trying to keep everything quiet for his election. It is an hour of HBO television that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Definitely worth getting into, especially if you like mob or mafia shows or movies.
Q&A Interviewing
The first interview was quick, easy, and surprisingly informative. I thought it wouldn't be as informative, but the key with the first interview is asking the right questions. Because you can't do follow up questions you need to try and cover all the areas you want information on. It helps if the person you're interviewing takes the time to give you some nice long responses.
The second interview was interesting. It was easy to link the previous response to the next question. I went into that interview planning to ask questions about the actual website structure and the last question was about how Jeff enjoyed seeing shows while on the job. Different from the first one because you don't know where the interview is going to end up, it's open-ended. After doing the second one the first style is too closed for the audience to get to know the person you're interviewing. This style is also harder in the sense that you need to be interviewing someone committed to answering your questions or you need to have a longer deadline.
The third interview I did was a phone interview with Jeff. This was my favorite, but the hardest for editing purposes. Because I am friends with Jeff it was such an informal conversation that I had to go back and pick out different parts of the conversation to post. If I didn't know the person I was interviewing I think it would have been a good balance between awkward and comfortable. An in person interview might be a little awkward, but not having to look someone in the eye while you ask or answer questions relaxes both parties.
I think I got pretty good information about MySecretBoston, how Jeff got into writing, and a lot about how he does and enjoys his job. This was a good experience.
The second interview was interesting. It was easy to link the previous response to the next question. I went into that interview planning to ask questions about the actual website structure and the last question was about how Jeff enjoyed seeing shows while on the job. Different from the first one because you don't know where the interview is going to end up, it's open-ended. After doing the second one the first style is too closed for the audience to get to know the person you're interviewing. This style is also harder in the sense that you need to be interviewing someone committed to answering your questions or you need to have a longer deadline.
The third interview I did was a phone interview with Jeff. This was my favorite, but the hardest for editing purposes. Because I am friends with Jeff it was such an informal conversation that I had to go back and pick out different parts of the conversation to post. If I didn't know the person I was interviewing I think it would have been a good balance between awkward and comfortable. An in person interview might be a little awkward, but not having to look someone in the eye while you ask or answer questions relaxes both parties.
I think I got pretty good information about MySecretBoston, how Jeff got into writing, and a lot about how he does and enjoys his job. This was a good experience.
Q&A Number Three
"MUSICIANS HANGING WITH MUSICIANS"
This interview with Jeff Wallace was a little different because it was on the phone with him. I used my girlfriends iPhone because there is an application that allows you to record whole conversations and play them back. Instead of rushing and struggling to write everything down I had it on record and I could relax and talk to him a little. The combination of me bring friends with Jeff and me not really talking in formal interview language it was hard to pick out the parts that were worth writing down. So the editing to make it a presentable interview was tougher in this one. I asked the "Banana Phonetic" question because that is my brother's band and Jeff is good friends with all of them, and they played in the festival.
Q:So how did the festival go?
A:A huge success. Through ought the 6 hours 1500 people came. The aftermath of it was really good. People around town have been talking about it and our facebook page has gotten a lot of fans because of it, so overall it was good for MySecretBoston.
Q:Did u get everything out of it that you expected to?
A:There's always more. More press would have been nice, but at the same time we are competing with all these other websites so we can't really use them to get the word out. So yes absolutely it was everything we wanted, it was pretty ambitious for a new website and nothing went majorly wrong.
Q:How did banana phonetic do?
A:They are my friends obviously, but now my professional opinion is that they can hang. They hung with bands that make a lot of money doing it and they carried themselves, played an amazing set, and the crowd and other bands loved them; and some of the bands want to do more gigs with them. That's what it's all about: musicians hanging with musicians.
Q:How did u get all the bands?
A:The five bands that I got I've seen them all a bunch of times living in Alston and I said,"what the hell?" Local bands I knew personally. Jeff Robinson is the sax player for Duppy Conquerors, a sweet Marley tribute band that plays every Monday night at a bar in Somerville called precinct (one of my favorite spots, and one night I was having a beer and I asked him, "yo you wanna play a show?" and he said yes. Some were more official, those had performance requirements and can sell out the paradise in Boston, but if the price is right they will always play. Overall, the five bands that I got flowed together perfectly.
Q:Did you write about it?
A:I felt couldn't write a review because it would have been completely biased. I made sure people knew it was a success, but we beat the coverage to death and we didn't want to take it too far.
Q:Are you going to try and do another?
A:Absolutely. Immediately after we set up a meeting to see what we can do to make it bigger and better next year. For us it was a perfection situation, because all we needed to do was promote it and pick the music for the day. None of us really had any experience doing something like this and it went well so we are definitely trying to take it further. I can't wait to see it grow. Going in I was most excited about the bands. I spent days, weeks, months piecing together the lineup and there isn't a single band on there that I wouldn't vouch for. The best compliment I got was from someone in one of the bands who said, "Thank you for bringing all of us together." There was a strong sense of community amongst the bands who played and there were even a lot of people from bands who didn't play just in the crowd checking things out. Everyone was happy to be there.
This interview with Jeff Wallace was a little different because it was on the phone with him. I used my girlfriends iPhone because there is an application that allows you to record whole conversations and play them back. Instead of rushing and struggling to write everything down I had it on record and I could relax and talk to him a little. The combination of me bring friends with Jeff and me not really talking in formal interview language it was hard to pick out the parts that were worth writing down. So the editing to make it a presentable interview was tougher in this one. I asked the "Banana Phonetic" question because that is my brother's band and Jeff is good friends with all of them, and they played in the festival.
Q:So how did the festival go?
A:A huge success. Through ought the 6 hours 1500 people came. The aftermath of it was really good. People around town have been talking about it and our facebook page has gotten a lot of fans because of it, so overall it was good for MySecretBoston.
Q:Did u get everything out of it that you expected to?
A:There's always more. More press would have been nice, but at the same time we are competing with all these other websites so we can't really use them to get the word out. So yes absolutely it was everything we wanted, it was pretty ambitious for a new website and nothing went majorly wrong.
Q:How did banana phonetic do?
A:They are my friends obviously, but now my professional opinion is that they can hang. They hung with bands that make a lot of money doing it and they carried themselves, played an amazing set, and the crowd and other bands loved them; and some of the bands want to do more gigs with them. That's what it's all about: musicians hanging with musicians.
Q:How did u get all the bands?
A:The five bands that I got I've seen them all a bunch of times living in Alston and I said,"what the hell?" Local bands I knew personally. Jeff Robinson is the sax player for Duppy Conquerors, a sweet Marley tribute band that plays every Monday night at a bar in Somerville called precinct (one of my favorite spots, and one night I was having a beer and I asked him, "yo you wanna play a show?" and he said yes. Some were more official, those had performance requirements and can sell out the paradise in Boston, but if the price is right they will always play. Overall, the five bands that I got flowed together perfectly.
Q:Did you write about it?
A:I felt couldn't write a review because it would have been completely biased. I made sure people knew it was a success, but we beat the coverage to death and we didn't want to take it too far.
Q:Are you going to try and do another?
A:Absolutely. Immediately after we set up a meeting to see what we can do to make it bigger and better next year. For us it was a perfection situation, because all we needed to do was promote it and pick the music for the day. None of us really had any experience doing something like this and it went well so we are definitely trying to take it further. I can't wait to see it grow. Going in I was most excited about the bands. I spent days, weeks, months piecing together the lineup and there isn't a single band on there that I wouldn't vouch for. The best compliment I got was from someone in one of the bands who said, "Thank you for bringing all of us together." There was a strong sense of community amongst the bands who played and there were even a lot of people from bands who didn't play just in the crowd checking things out. Everyone was happy to be there.
Q&A Number Two
This second interview with Jeff Wallace from MySecretBoston started as an interview about the actual website in terms of setup and his input, and ended up being about how the website helps him do his job and the process he goes through at shows.
Q:MySecretBoston, the music section specifically, is set up in a cool way with a music playlist, your twitter posts about bands playing, and general music news in the center. Did you have any say in the ideas of the actual set up or do you just fill in the information?
A:I had a lot of say in this. It was basically my page to design. We're changing over to a different multimedia server so expect more music on the site shortly. We also are putting together a video team. Pretty soon I'll be adding another music blog with a rotating cast of writers. We're hoping to make the page into it's own site and the more we can offer in terms of multimedia the better. Yeah I can sit there and write about a band, but I'll always be limited by words. Sometimes people need to simply hear the band for themselves and make their own judgments.
Q:How do the twitter link and the playlist help you do your job?
A:he twitter feed is great for quick updates while I'm at shows. It's also a useful tool to drive traffic to our site. Basically I'll post a teaser and then have a link to a page on the site.
Q:Do any bands know about your name? In other words you are in a great position to publicize and get the word out for bands struggling to make a name for themselves. Have you been approached while out at shows?
A:I've made it a point to get out and meet as many people in the local music community as possible. This isn't limited to musicians either. Bartenders, door people, booking agents, club owners, photographers, promoters, and other writers are very important as well. It's all about who you know and more often than not people are willing to share resources. I'm getting to a point where I show up at a local music club or bar and I feel like I know at least a dozen people in the room, important people too, at least on the local scene. I've been drinking beers with some seriously talented people. I guess that happens when you average 4 to 5 shows per week.
Q:If you are there for an assignment do you make any notes while you are actually there or do you enjoy the show and do write ups when you get home?
A:I very rarely take notes at a show unless I know something is too important to forget. I always bring a notebook just in case, but I think it's important to experience a show just as everyone else in the room does and let your memory decide what's important.
Q:Does it make it harder to enjoy the music as a fan when you are on assignment or is it just as enjoyable?
A:As long as I'm listening to a piece of music I'm always on assignment. Everything I hear is part of a bigger picture and can be put to use at some point. Music is endless.
Q:MySecretBoston, the music section specifically, is set up in a cool way with a music playlist, your twitter posts about bands playing, and general music news in the center. Did you have any say in the ideas of the actual set up or do you just fill in the information?
A:I had a lot of say in this. It was basically my page to design. We're changing over to a different multimedia server so expect more music on the site shortly. We also are putting together a video team. Pretty soon I'll be adding another music blog with a rotating cast of writers. We're hoping to make the page into it's own site and the more we can offer in terms of multimedia the better. Yeah I can sit there and write about a band, but I'll always be limited by words. Sometimes people need to simply hear the band for themselves and make their own judgments.
Q:How do the twitter link and the playlist help you do your job?
A:he twitter feed is great for quick updates while I'm at shows. It's also a useful tool to drive traffic to our site. Basically I'll post a teaser and then have a link to a page on the site.
Q:Do any bands know about your name? In other words you are in a great position to publicize and get the word out for bands struggling to make a name for themselves. Have you been approached while out at shows?
A:I've made it a point to get out and meet as many people in the local music community as possible. This isn't limited to musicians either. Bartenders, door people, booking agents, club owners, photographers, promoters, and other writers are very important as well. It's all about who you know and more often than not people are willing to share resources. I'm getting to a point where I show up at a local music club or bar and I feel like I know at least a dozen people in the room, important people too, at least on the local scene. I've been drinking beers with some seriously talented people. I guess that happens when you average 4 to 5 shows per week.
Q:If you are there for an assignment do you make any notes while you are actually there or do you enjoy the show and do write ups when you get home?
A:I very rarely take notes at a show unless I know something is too important to forget. I always bring a notebook just in case, but I think it's important to experience a show just as everyone else in the room does and let your memory decide what's important.
Q:Does it make it harder to enjoy the music as a fan when you are on assignment or is it just as enjoyable?
A:As long as I'm listening to a piece of music I'm always on assignment. Everything I hear is part of a bigger picture and can be put to use at some point. Music is endless.
Q&A Number One
This interview is with Jeff Wallace, a music writer from MySectreBoston.com. You can see Jeff's profile at http://mysecretboston.com/our-team/jeff-wallace. He is A Boston College graduate who loves music, and was recently preparing for a music festival "Rumble on the River" that hosted music alongside the Head of the Charles crew races. The first Q&A I wanted to ask Jeff how he got into writing for MySecretBoston and where he wanted to go next, and I think I accomplished that.
Q: How did you get into writing for the webMySecretBoston?
A:During the last semester of my senior year at BC I took a Feature Writing class with a professor by the name of Jon Marcus. He was the former editor for Boston Magazine and I was told to take his class if I wanted to become a better writer. I had written for the newspaper at BC for two years, but never had any official training until that point (I was a marketing major). The class was exactly what I needed. Jon really knew his shit and is a master of writing things the way they should be said (if that makes sense). Three or four classes in I asked if there was anything I could do outside of class and that's when he told me about his site MySecretBoston. At this point they'd been designing the site and collecting write ups for about 6 months and there were maybe 20 interns and 7 or 8 admin sort of people (we've streamlined it considerably since then). It would be almost another year until we launched (Feb 1, 2010). I started as an intern, basically doing a few short write ups per week about restaurants or bands. Thankfully the economy sucked when I graduated because there were no real jobs for the taking. That's when I decided to take my role with MySecretBoston more seriously.
Q:Why music? What do you like best about writing about music?
A: Why not? I hate news writing. It's too formulaic I spend almost all hours of my waking life thinking about bands, shows, and the music bizz. I suck at playing music so I feel like this is my best way to get involved. The best thing about music is that it's endless. It's overwhelming. There's no way that you can hear everything and pinpoint every influence. But you can try!
Q: Where do you want to take this writing career next?
A: To be brutally honest, I'd like to monetize it, whether that means driving more traffic to MySecretBoston, or leveraging the contacts I have to find another job for a legit company. The best part about what I've done so far is the networking. I've met a lot of people who might be able to help down the line. The sorts of people who are good to know if you ever want to get something done.
Q: How did you get MySecretBoston to give you money for the music festival?
A: MySecretBoston actually didn't front the money. Community Rowing, an organization that promotes public rowing on the Charles River did. The just opened a brand new boathouse and are celebrating their 25th anniversary. They wanted to make rowing seem hip and attract new, youthful rowers. That's where we came in. It was a win-win, great exposure for both of us. Our web-numbers have grown substantially as a result. It's one thing to be online, but to have an in-person presence on top of it is most important to our survival. I plan on using this experience to host more music events.
Q: How are you going to use this festival for your writing career?
A: Everything I do is simply a means to meet more people and learn some new skills along the way. Writing is a great skill to have, whether I use it directly for a publication or indirectly in some other manner. I'm sometimes hesitant to call myself a writer because there's so many other things I do.
Q: How did you get into writing for the webMySecretBoston?
A:During the last semester of my senior year at BC I took a Feature Writing class with a professor by the name of Jon Marcus. He was the former editor for Boston Magazine and I was told to take his class if I wanted to become a better writer. I had written for the newspaper at BC for two years, but never had any official training until that point (I was a marketing major). The class was exactly what I needed. Jon really knew his shit and is a master of writing things the way they should be said (if that makes sense). Three or four classes in I asked if there was anything I could do outside of class and that's when he told me about his site MySecretBoston. At this point they'd been designing the site and collecting write ups for about 6 months and there were maybe 20 interns and 7 or 8 admin sort of people (we've streamlined it considerably since then). It would be almost another year until we launched (Feb 1, 2010). I started as an intern, basically doing a few short write ups per week about restaurants or bands. Thankfully the economy sucked when I graduated because there were no real jobs for the taking. That's when I decided to take my role with MySecretBoston more seriously.
Q:Why music? What do you like best about writing about music?
A: Why not? I hate news writing. It's too formulaic I spend almost all hours of my waking life thinking about bands, shows, and the music bizz. I suck at playing music so I feel like this is my best way to get involved. The best thing about music is that it's endless. It's overwhelming. There's no way that you can hear everything and pinpoint every influence. But you can try!
Q: Where do you want to take this writing career next?
A: To be brutally honest, I'd like to monetize it, whether that means driving more traffic to MySecretBoston, or leveraging the contacts I have to find another job for a legit company. The best part about what I've done so far is the networking. I've met a lot of people who might be able to help down the line. The sorts of people who are good to know if you ever want to get something done.
Q: How did you get MySecretBoston to give you money for the music festival?
A: MySecretBoston actually didn't front the money. Community Rowing, an organization that promotes public rowing on the Charles River did. The just opened a brand new boathouse and are celebrating their 25th anniversary. They wanted to make rowing seem hip and attract new, youthful rowers. That's where we came in. It was a win-win, great exposure for both of us. Our web-numbers have grown substantially as a result. It's one thing to be online, but to have an in-person presence on top of it is most important to our survival. I plan on using this experience to host more music events.
Q: How are you going to use this festival for your writing career?
A: Everything I do is simply a means to meet more people and learn some new skills along the way. Writing is a great skill to have, whether I use it directly for a publication or indirectly in some other manner. I'm sometimes hesitant to call myself a writer because there's so many other things I do.
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