Conversion and Consolidation in journalism today has impacted us in many ways. The way we view the news, the impact the news has on us, and the amount of information available to us are a few ways that Conversion and Consolidation in journalism has slowly adapted throughout time. The change from strictly print media to today’s electronic media is one of the major conversions while the consolidation of many businesses into one large business is another change we have encountered.
Today’s media, what we may call modern media, has converted from the print media to a combination of print and electronic. Modern media is composed of resources such as television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and most significantly the internet. The internet has been a major breakthrough in journalistic technology. It has given journalists opportunity to improve their stories and provide information in ways that are available beyond the “print media.” For example, if you were to look in a newspaper today and read a story on the earthquake that occurred in Haiti, you would get the basics of the story with some background information and a few quotations. This can be sufficient for many people but for a person who wants a more in-depth analysis of everything that is going on, they can sit down at their computer, type in “Earthquake in Haiti” and find hundreds (probably thousands) of results. Not only do these results contain excessive amounts of valuable writing, but they may also include footage of the earthquake, people talking about the situation, thoughts from families who are in the midst of the terrible situation among many other things. This “footage” or “electronic media” can cause a substantial difference in how a person may view a situation.
Consolidation of companies seems to becoming a bigger issue over time especially when the economy is doing poor. Consolidation is of course the process of unification or combining things. I discovered a recent example of this from an article composed on January 4, 2010 done by the New York Times. Here is what happened:
Dow Jones & Company said Monday that it was dismantling the divisions separating its flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, from the unit that oversees its investment tools and other services.
Dow Jones’s consumer media group, a segment that included The Journal and Barron’s, is being combined with the company’s enterprise media group, which includes the Dow Jones Newswires, the Dow Jones stock indexes and the business research service Factiva.
Dow Jones, owned by the News Corporation, says the overhaul will enable it to respond to customer needs more quickly.
The combination does not involve any layoffs among Dow Jones’s roughly 6,000 employees, a spokesman, Howard Hoffman, said.
The shake-up resulted in the departure of Clare Hart, who had been president of the enterprise media group. As part of the changes, Todd Larsen, who previously led Dow Jones’s consumer media group, will become the company’s president. Stephen Daintith, the chief financial officer, will take on the additional job of chief operating officer. (New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/business/media/05dowjones.html)
This is simply just one example of a few smaller businesses combining into a larger one. This situation however is not as serious as many; this one does not include any layoffs or firings. Most of the time, many people lose their jobs when consolidation occurs. This means that there will be less journalists and specifically less journalists writing about “small” and local issues.
In conclusion, Conversion and Consolidation is a continuing process in journalism today. There is no telling what will be the new adaptations and inventions that occur in the future. It will cause both positive and negative effects as the current ones already do. Hopefully not too many people’s jobs will be lost and our media system will grow stronger each step of the way.
Jordan Swerid
January 26, 2010
Link To Site:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/business/media/05dowjones.html
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
3 Teens, 4 Year-Old Among Victims in Virginia Shootings
(Word Count - 500+ Words)
For this article I will be focusing on the accuracy, completeness, objectivity, balance and fairness, proper attribution, whether it is brief and focused, and whether it is a well written news story. This article came out on CNN yesterday afternoon (January 20, 2010) and is about a shooting that took place in Virginia.
Accuracy is very important to have in a news story. While talking about accuracy, you should first look at your source. CNN is a pretty reliable source, so that has one positive thing working for this article already. Next, I see that CNN’s information was released to them from the State Police. Another thing that proves its accuracy is that it has a video that also delivers the information. So, I would consider this article pretty accurate.
This story seems fairly complete to me. It gets the points across that the writer is attempting to accomplish. It summarizes the event, explains who the shooter was and also why they believe he was the shooter. It also gives minor information on who the victims were.
The writer in this case did not inject his or her feelings into the news story. Therefore, we can consider the writer objective. As you read the article, you can tell that the writer was just simply writing down information and facts about the incident.
Balance and fairness is a tough obstacle to run around in this article since it is such a one sided article. I believe the writer was fair by just naming the facts but he/she had no real optimism for the shooter in this case. As of right now, it would be tough to have optimism for the shooter. Therefore, I think the writer did their best job keeping the article balanced.
This article was definitely properly attributed as the writer named the source, the State Police, many times throughout the article. The writer also named County Sheriff O. Wilson Staples as a source at the beginning of the article. All-in-all, I believe the writer properly attributed the information that was written.
As you can see, this news story is a very short news story and gets to the point fast. It tells you all the necessary information in a very brief amount of writing. However, although it is brief, that does not mean that it was not efficient. This shows that this story is brief and focused.
And finally, was this story well written? I believe it must be well-written if all of the other components were done well. The story is compact, delivers proper information, and is interesting from beginning to end.
In conclusion, this news story was on a very serious topic and I believe the writer fulfilled all the components of necessary writing. The writer was accurate, accomplished completeness and objectivity, balance and fairness, proper attribution, was brief and focused, and made it a well written news story for CNN.
Work Cited:
CNN . (2010, January 20). 3 teens, 4-year-old among victims in Virginia shootings.
Retrieved January 21, 2010, "CNN Justice."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/20/virginia.shootings/index
Jordan Swerid
For this article I will be focusing on the accuracy, completeness, objectivity, balance and fairness, proper attribution, whether it is brief and focused, and whether it is a well written news story. This article came out on CNN yesterday afternoon (January 20, 2010) and is about a shooting that took place in Virginia.
Accuracy is very important to have in a news story. While talking about accuracy, you should first look at your source. CNN is a pretty reliable source, so that has one positive thing working for this article already. Next, I see that CNN’s information was released to them from the State Police. Another thing that proves its accuracy is that it has a video that also delivers the information. So, I would consider this article pretty accurate.
This story seems fairly complete to me. It gets the points across that the writer is attempting to accomplish. It summarizes the event, explains who the shooter was and also why they believe he was the shooter. It also gives minor information on who the victims were.
The writer in this case did not inject his or her feelings into the news story. Therefore, we can consider the writer objective. As you read the article, you can tell that the writer was just simply writing down information and facts about the incident.
Balance and fairness is a tough obstacle to run around in this article since it is such a one sided article. I believe the writer was fair by just naming the facts but he/she had no real optimism for the shooter in this case. As of right now, it would be tough to have optimism for the shooter. Therefore, I think the writer did their best job keeping the article balanced.
This article was definitely properly attributed as the writer named the source, the State Police, many times throughout the article. The writer also named County Sheriff O. Wilson Staples as a source at the beginning of the article. All-in-all, I believe the writer properly attributed the information that was written.
As you can see, this news story is a very short news story and gets to the point fast. It tells you all the necessary information in a very brief amount of writing. However, although it is brief, that does not mean that it was not efficient. This shows that this story is brief and focused.
And finally, was this story well written? I believe it must be well-written if all of the other components were done well. The story is compact, delivers proper information, and is interesting from beginning to end.
In conclusion, this news story was on a very serious topic and I believe the writer fulfilled all the components of necessary writing. The writer was accurate, accomplished completeness and objectivity, balance and fairness, proper attribution, was brief and focused, and made it a well written news story for CNN.
Work Cited:
CNN . (2010, January 20). 3 teens, 4-year-old among victims in Virginia shootings.
Retrieved January 21, 2010, "CNN Justice."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/20/virginia.shootings/index
Jordan Swerid
Friday, January 15, 2010
Rape and Journalism Don't Mix
(Word Count: 677 Words)
A question that surrounds many journalists is one that asks, “Should people’s personal information be released to the rest of society?” And if so, what is considered to be too personal? When it comes to the horrible issue of rape, it is illegal for journalists in the United States to release the name of the victim without consent from the victim. However, it is necessary for journalists to release the name of the rapist in the case. Do you think it should be society’s right to know who the victim is? And also, do you think knowing the rapist’s name is helpful to society? There of course are many viewpoints on this topic and in this short blog I will explain what I believe is important to society.
First of all, as journalist, there are a few things you must be careful with when writing. A short piece titled “Women’s Studies in Communication” described a few things a journalist must be aware of and pay attention to. “(1) Story selection that reflects the types of crimes that occur (i.e., attention to assaults perpetrated by acquaintances), (2) avoidance of sexist stereotypes that either blame the victim or mitigate
suspect responsibility, (3) attention to the role of social structures such as law, gender, race, and class in causing and normalizing gender violence, and (4) the inclusion of perspectives of victims and/or their advocates.” These of course are things that a young journalist must really be careful with when writing.
When it comes to whether or not society should be told the name of the victim and/or the rapist’s name, I believe that it is important for society to know the rapist’s name and I think it is also necessary to see the face of the rapist. I think that it is important to society because it allows people to stay away from a person like them and also to thoroughly explain the rapist’s punishments. By explaining the rapist’s punishments, it shows society the penalty for the huge mistake that the rapist carried out. However, when it comes to the victim, I believe that the victim’s name should not be released publicly because it could hurt them mentally even more than it did by the rape itself. It could put them in an even harder shell than the victim was previously going to face just from the rape itself. A quote from a victim written by “Women’s Studies in Communication” shows how a rape me affect a person very harshly, “It was horrific, what he did. He struck me in the head, which knocked me o u t . . . I was terrified that I was going to die during the whole incident. I was glad to be alive. I just felt so dirty, so disgusting. I just wanted to scrub my skin off.” Incidents like these will never be erased from a person‘s memory. If the media blew up the whole story with the victim’s name in it, the victim would have to replay the incident over and over again. However, if the victim felt that by releasing the information publicly could help society in some shape, way, or form, then I believe it could be very beneficial.
In conclusion, releasing personal information to the public is a complex debate that seems to not have a “clear-cut” answer, especially when it comes to a “rough-around-the-edges” type of topic like rape. I do believe however, that it is important for society to know certain things about issues but there has to be a line drawn. Where we currently sit, the line may be a little loose and could use some tightening up but as we go onward in time I believe we will find a solid line to base all journalism decisions off of.
Work Cited
1. Worthington, N. (2008). Encoding and Decoding Rape News: How Progressive Reporting Inverts Textual Orientations. Women's Studies in Communication, 31(3), 344-367. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.
Jordan Swerid
January 15, 2009
CMJ 236
A question that surrounds many journalists is one that asks, “Should people’s personal information be released to the rest of society?” And if so, what is considered to be too personal? When it comes to the horrible issue of rape, it is illegal for journalists in the United States to release the name of the victim without consent from the victim. However, it is necessary for journalists to release the name of the rapist in the case. Do you think it should be society’s right to know who the victim is? And also, do you think knowing the rapist’s name is helpful to society? There of course are many viewpoints on this topic and in this short blog I will explain what I believe is important to society.
First of all, as journalist, there are a few things you must be careful with when writing. A short piece titled “Women’s Studies in Communication” described a few things a journalist must be aware of and pay attention to. “(1) Story selection that reflects the types of crimes that occur (i.e., attention to assaults perpetrated by acquaintances), (2) avoidance of sexist stereotypes that either blame the victim or mitigate
suspect responsibility, (3) attention to the role of social structures such as law, gender, race, and class in causing and normalizing gender violence, and (4) the inclusion of perspectives of victims and/or their advocates.” These of course are things that a young journalist must really be careful with when writing.
When it comes to whether or not society should be told the name of the victim and/or the rapist’s name, I believe that it is important for society to know the rapist’s name and I think it is also necessary to see the face of the rapist. I think that it is important to society because it allows people to stay away from a person like them and also to thoroughly explain the rapist’s punishments. By explaining the rapist’s punishments, it shows society the penalty for the huge mistake that the rapist carried out. However, when it comes to the victim, I believe that the victim’s name should not be released publicly because it could hurt them mentally even more than it did by the rape itself. It could put them in an even harder shell than the victim was previously going to face just from the rape itself. A quote from a victim written by “Women’s Studies in Communication” shows how a rape me affect a person very harshly, “It was horrific, what he did. He struck me in the head, which knocked me o u t . . . I was terrified that I was going to die during the whole incident. I was glad to be alive. I just felt so dirty, so disgusting. I just wanted to scrub my skin off.” Incidents like these will never be erased from a person‘s memory. If the media blew up the whole story with the victim’s name in it, the victim would have to replay the incident over and over again. However, if the victim felt that by releasing the information publicly could help society in some shape, way, or form, then I believe it could be very beneficial.
In conclusion, releasing personal information to the public is a complex debate that seems to not have a “clear-cut” answer, especially when it comes to a “rough-around-the-edges” type of topic like rape. I do believe however, that it is important for society to know certain things about issues but there has to be a line drawn. Where we currently sit, the line may be a little loose and could use some tightening up but as we go onward in time I believe we will find a solid line to base all journalism decisions off of.
Work Cited
1. Worthington, N. (2008). Encoding and Decoding Rape News: How Progressive Reporting Inverts Textual Orientations. Women's Studies in Communication, 31(3), 344-367. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.
Jordan Swerid
January 15, 2009
CMJ 236
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
First CMJ 236 Blog - Introduction
Hey,
So I don't know how to write in a blog; whether it's supposed to be formal or informal, letter form or just simple writing form, but here is my first go at it. The basics about me are that my name is Jordan Swerid, I'm a young freshman here at Orono. Journalism has always been something that has interested me growing up but it wasn't necessarily targeted in world news but rather in sports journalism. So although I have an interest in journalism, I don't have much of a background in world news... Especially in American news since I used to live in Canada. I believe this course will help me a lot in my major, Communications, and my future in whichever field I end up in. So I am excited to learn a lot in this course and hope to end up with a good grade in the end!
Jordan Swerid
So I don't know how to write in a blog; whether it's supposed to be formal or informal, letter form or just simple writing form, but here is my first go at it. The basics about me are that my name is Jordan Swerid, I'm a young freshman here at Orono. Journalism has always been something that has interested me growing up but it wasn't necessarily targeted in world news but rather in sports journalism. So although I have an interest in journalism, I don't have much of a background in world news... Especially in American news since I used to live in Canada. I believe this course will help me a lot in my major, Communications, and my future in whichever field I end up in. So I am excited to learn a lot in this course and hope to end up with a good grade in the end!
Jordan Swerid
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