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Elements to Successful Journalism

- Put interesting facts in the beginning

- Paint a picture for your audience

- Do not tell your audience what they can see for themselves

- Write the story as an experience

- Pictures and videos enhance audience engagement

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After reading the article on the Elements of Journalism one factor that stuck out to me was interpretative investigative reporting.  In the beginning of journalism success was determined by how fast one could put out a story, no matter what the details included. With this new style of well thought out stories that involved sometimes years of investigation and interviews. For example, a great story that was released in 1971 about certain papers that the Pentagon had withheld form the public about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. When this information was finally revealed by editors at the New York Times, the public, as well as the government were shocked when the story hit the front page. If it were not for the editors patience and depth of research and data, the government would have simply swept their wrong doings under the rug and forget that any of it happened. Stories similar to the one stated previously are why this new style of reporting has become so important to the public. Without patience and determination that this style requires the higher power of the United States could simply get away with whatever they wanted and keep it all under the radar without care for the public’s opinion.

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Independence From Opinions

From a psychological standpoint humans are naturally biased towards their own opinions. Likely to agree with those who have similar views, this mentality can cause journalists to be associated with the category of journalist-activism. By using a platform to spread their own propaganda the writer is not only jeopardizing their own reputation, but as well as their entire company’s. Although school shootings are a serious problem in the United States a good example of failing to create independence between journalism and activism is Rebecca Schnied’s involvement in the Parkland School shooting. With good intentions I believe Schnied’s campaign for increased gun control was what the US needed to see, but journalist were not happy with how the rally was used to support activism rather than reporting a story. Many believe that journalism is meant to just be the facts and allowing the reader to decipher the message they want to stand behind. When a writer cannot separate their personal beliefs from writing on a subject this act can create a lack of trust between reader and writer.  Journalists often disagree with the oppression of connecting their beliefs to a story especially when it involves instances such as Parkland. When all is said and done “journalism is not activism”, a well supported statement from National Journal politics editor, Josh Kraushaar, sparked controversy amongst journalists. His statement was not meant to single out Schneid, but he claimed this is a common theme amongst younger writers. A key theme journalists must maintain, especially when covering significant events, is the independence from a specific point of view. Although, a writer might personally agree with one side more than the other it is up to their professionalism to come up with proper information to allow readers to establish their own opinions.

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The Watergate Scandal’s effect on Trump

The Watergate Scandal during the Nixon Presidency has led to relentless coverage by the media. Journalist took advantage of the massive media breakthrough. Uncovering the Watergate scandal proved corruption and dishonesty took control of the highest ranking people in the United States. With an increasing amount of media coverage, President Trump has been under a microscope to say the least. Leading to the information leaks about controversial situations he has had before his presidency. Some would even connect that reasons leading to his win over Clinton were affected by media coverage. With a situation such as Benghazi being leaked to the public, there was a major decrease in support of her campaign. The trust between our government and the general public has been decreased after scandals such as Watergate and overall weakened relationships between the two.  A president’s demeanor can allow the public to generalize their character and after these valuable leaks of information journalists have dug deep to reveal similar characteristics that some would relate to Nixon’s term. Radical with his demands after it had been revealed that tapes were hidden from the public. Nixon’s connection to the burglary forced the government to become more open when it came to how things were being handled in the White House and what was actually going on behind closed doors.  Scandal after scandal the media continued their relentless path towards unveiling the corruption in our government, and to this day fights for more and more rights to report as much information as possible that would allow U.S. citizens to become involved and take action when it comes to the governing of our country.

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Take this quiz to find out how ethical you are!

Ethics in Journalism is what holds together the industry. If journalist did not report with morals and ethics such as, fact checking or not practicing plagiarism, there would be no journalists or at least none that would be trusted sources. People are avid consumers of news and we depend immensely on the honesty of the writer. Not only does this attitude towards writing help your reputation, but remaining honest and ethical help the whole business around you. I believe the most important principle when reporting, or reading into a report is to be skeptical. A common theme of believing anything we see in the news has plagued the United States. Today with the availability of technology reporters can find a story in anything and could still possibly get plenty of views or attention without any fact checking or background checks. Especially with the two-sided fallacy gathering information to back up what you say is even more important. If a reporter just throws their story out there for everyone to see and contradicts other stories on the same subject, not only is their job now at risk, but you have convinced a select few that your story is true and they should believe your lies. This can discredit not only you and your company, but the whole news industry would be under the microscope trying to prove that journalists are mandated reporters here to help you get the news of what is happening around us. Opinions and personal preferences are the exact opposite of what a journalist should be reporting to the public. Leave the opinions and conclusions up to the reader, the journalist is only there to inform the public what is going on, even if this news might ultimately hurt you or your career it is still on the writers hands to give the people what they need. On the topics of opinions. I found this article to be interesting from the fact that it is written by a company such as BuzzFeed. This company and their employees have been put on the chopping block for controversial articles, but now one of their writers wants to take a crack at telling others how to be ethical. From the writers who talk about Disney princesses being “gropped” at fan meet and greets, to President Trump’s impeachment, and quizzes about what your hair color says about your future, these people who write over at BuzzFeed are too young and inexperienced to handle serious topics. Over exaggerated, dramatic, opinionated is exactly how I would describe this company and have never trusted any news from these people. Although I agree with many statements in this article, I would not say it is challenging to write about why people should be ethical when writing any kind of publications.

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Resilience

Resilience across a lifespan can happen many different ways from physical development to cognitive development.  Resilience has also been applied to the impacts of disasters and traumatic experiences.  Resilience is described as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress (American Psychological Association, 2016).�� As a person grows older resilience grows as well.  A person’s past can most certainly affect how a person uses resiliency in the present.  If a person is not affected negatively a lot in their past when it comes time for them to bounce back, they will not bounce back as smoothly as a person who has had a very traumatic past and has learned how to bounce back from past experiences. The article suggests that resilience can  be found in everyone, but the levels of adaptability also affect how each individual handles their resiliency. For example, one of the test subjects in Dr. Werner and Smith’s study had a troubled upbringing due to lack of parental guidance. After joining the military and facing the hardships it brought forth, mentally pushing himself to stick with it and gave everything he had. This resulted in a better life for not only the individual, but now his very own family that he strives to provide the best possible life for. The fear of failing, or any fear of not becoming the person we want to be is one of the biggest setbacks humans can put themselves through. Your goals are only as strong as the mindset you use to accomplish said goals. Life does not give free handouts and the article explained very well that most often those who have experienced the worst have the ability to come out the best version of themselves with enough determination to achieve whatever they set their minds to. With children being so impressionable, it is easy for them to be taught or pick up bad habits that their parents have shown them or in some cases haven’t showed them. Healthy self-esteem is like a child’s armour against the challenges of the world. Kids who know their strengths and weaknesses and feel good about themselves seem to have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures. If a child is self confident within themselves and doesn’t show fear when trying new things like, climbing up the steps of a slide. However, the staff need to be aware of risk and the child’s capabilities and be sure that they are not hampering the child’s confidence by perhaps refusing to allow them to take a risk. The biggest impact on a child’s life is making sure that they do not feel controlled and are capable of figuring out this thing we call life.

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Sports & Statistics

The start of the NBA 2019-2020 season kicked off two nights ago and fans were left wondering what this season has in store for them. The Boston Celtics faced off against the Philadelphia 76ers, and reporters were comparing the game stats to something they would see on a MMA card. Recording 63 total fouls on the night both teams seemed to embrace the physicality making the game intense for both players and fans. With the 76ers star players Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons combining for 39 points, it was up to the new additions to show out for their new team. Josh Richardson and Al Horford, former Boston Celtic, did not hesitate to make a statement to the league recording 33 points on the night. These statistics to the average person might not mean too much, but when it comes to basketball fans it’s a whole other story. With 63 fouls on the night and the Celtics shooting a historic low of 36% this can be worrying for the young squad, but fans should not lose hope since this is common for season openers. The Celtics have recently lost five of their top players to trades or retirement, so a slow build to the team chemistry they had last season will be difficult to perfect this early on.

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Blog #7

Today in journalism we have seen a comfortable amount of reporters who have been caught in releasing false reports, or leading a story in a different direction from the actual situation. Being thorough throughout your story is in my opinion the most important principle in the article. Without being backed up by facts and only writing about the statistics you have gathered after immense research the story is only as good as your opinion. Opinions in journalism are as useful as fiction and if taken too far can discredit an entire company. Therefore, it is key to conduct as much research as a journalist can and become an expert of your own on whatever topic you might be covering.

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Principles of Media Consumption

The most important principle when reporting, or reading into a report is to be skeptical. A common theme of believing anything we see in the news has plagued the United States. Today with the availability of technology reporters can find a story in anything and could still possibly get plenty of views or attention without any fact checking or background checks. Especially with the two-sided fallacy gathering information to back up what you say is even more important. If a reporter just throws their story out there for everyone to see and contradicts other stories on the same subject, not only is their job now at risk, but you have convinced a select few that your story is true and they should believe your lies.

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The NBA On Beat

Topics like the NBA and news involved with each team is a good example of covering a beat. With 30 teams in total there is plenty of news to cover. The Boston Celtics a well known organization in the league has just suffered top pick Anthony Davis stating in an interview that he is highly against accepting any trades from the team. The organization after losing their franchise player to the New York Nets has had a hard time refocusing their team for the upcoming season. With the introduction of Tacko Fall and Kanter the Celtics are trying to maintain a positive attitude for the younger players to build a strong team chemistry. These statements could not be made possible without beat reporting because this is the information that the average person does not want to keep track of. Specified statistics and breaking down an entire organization’s inside information is what creates interest in fanbases and keep audiences intrigued. Without the beat system, sports fans would be left with way less obtainable information on every team. Not only the Celtics, but every team in the NBA has breaking news sometimes everyday especially as the season gets closer. Even now that sports betting has become legal the beat system is now even more important. Gamblers all over the world keep track of any possible information that could better their chances of going in on the right team, although gambling is still a risk, like in all sports, the information provided daily by report covering a beat is what leads to strategic guesses.

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Reliable Information

What makes a good, reliable story? Journalists nowadays are faced with the difficulty of keeping up with social media and its influence on society. Social media can be very useful to journalists and gathering information because of its availability and reach to its audience. People from all over the world can tell you what is happening right in front of their eyes, but what is difficult for journalists is finding the information that is backed up by evidence. The key factor that can make or break a journalists career is reliability. If one source is posting about stories such as the one described in the article and only relying on how quick they covered it then what is there to say they are trustworthy. In this day and age false reports litter our feeds and timelines trying to make us believe in someone else’s ideas and opinions. These types of reports can discourage readers from buying into a news company because of the lack of evidence. In the article it is discussed that time is money and like most careers consumers want immediate results so they can justify buying into the company. For journalists it can be easy to just assume what is right and wrong, but by taking shortcuts just to get a story out can result in more harm than good. Fact checking, evidence and quality research are an absolute must especially when dealing with potential front page stories like a death, severe accident, or natural disasters. When people read a news source they want to be able to put their faith into the writer and with the amount of competition in the news industry consumers will not hesitate to look somewhere else that they might feel is more trustworthy. I agree with the statements made in the article on how journalists need to take their time with stories and make sure that what they are about to write about is true and backed up with evidence and facts. There is no instance in which assumptions should be made, or evidence should be created by one’s own opinion on a topic. For example, if journalists believed what they were seeing on Twitter mass hysteria would’ve broken out on the platform and created false chaos, but instead the professionalism of the writers helped figure out the real story and gathered enough evidence to get the real story out to the public clearing up any uncertainties caused by these false reports of the shooting.  With the access to technology today pretty much anyone can become their own journalist, but what is most important in this industry is what can and cannot be trusted or backed up with evidence. This is why it is so important to make sure a writer utilizes every single fact checking source available to them to create a solid case that they can not only be proud to release, but can also back up stand behind 100%.  

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Awkward Interviews

Being an athlete throughout my childhood I always had to talk to the local newspaper reporters every time we won a game, or something significant happened at school. I remember a couple of those interviews being some of the most uncomfortable times of my life, then I heard about this interviewing assignment and I knew this was my real journalist moment. My number one rule for interviews is to ask interesting questions that make the person being interviewed feel relaxed and comfortable with saying what’s on their mind. So many times in interviews I have felt like the individual conducting said interview was trying to lead me into their questions so I would say the answers they were looking for. Which to me, puts a lot of pressure on the interviewee and results in uncomfortable answers. At the end of the day an interview is just a person talking to a person so why should it not feel that way.

ML

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Technology vs. Humanity

After reading the Richtel article I looked back on my own usage of technology. In today’s society we see the majority constantly on their cell phones or computers staring mindlessly at some post or thread that most likely has minimal relevancy to their lives. Three points made in Richtel’s article that resonated the most with me started with Mr. Campbell’s early usage of technology. Starting with just a simple game as Pong Campbell was already hooked on this new technology reprogramming and playing daily. As children we neglect the fact that there isn’t much responsibility in our early lives, even with constant reminders from our parents. I believe this leads to a false truth of being able to handle all of the distraction because we have only experienced the least bit of responsibility that life has to offer. Another point made in Richtel’s article was that technology can cause separation amongst family and friends. Not only did Mrs. Campbell complain about her husband's constant usage, but even his children light-heartedly made jokes about him being so “disconnected” and wishing he just put the phone down. I believe that this can be seen in almost all tech. Users. Everyday we can look up and see people locked into their phones or computers even at places it seems unnecessary such as mountains, oceans, and other areas that can only be truly witnessed in person. Lastly, Richtel writes about how Campbell believed he was fully capable of multitasking all of screen time. Also addressed in the article was research done proving that multitasking actually decreases your focus and awareness on specific tasks. I believe the over consumption of technology and the information it gives to us has led society on a misguided path towards believing that we as humans are great multitaskers because we do it from early childhood all the way to adulthood. As stated in the article technology is rewiring our brains, although this is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are better possibilities to obtain all of this information while monitoring our usage.