Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Blog #2: What is journalism, anyway?

Due date: Sunday, February 2
Minimum Word Count: 400
Minimum Links: 3


If you're like me, it's been a long time since you've gotten most of the news about your world from a print newspaper (besides The Hoofprint, of course) or traditional television news broadcast. Subscription numbers and revenue is starting to drop for traditional media outlets. Chances are, you've been getting your news from websites - even sites like Facebook and Twitter - your cell phone, YouTube, or other non-traditional media. More and more, Blogs are becoming news sources, and phrase Citizen Journalist and Participatory Journalism are becoming part of our common vocabularies.

This brings us to two important questions for the modern journalist:

  1. How does journalism survive when digital devices have made centralized printing presses and TV stations all but obsolete?

  2. What is journalism, anyway, in a time when citizens with a cell phone and laptop can tell stories, take photos and be journalists for a day anytime they want?

Tackle one or both (or neither) of these questions in your blog. Remember to make these posts your own. Link to and quote from other sources, including your classmates' blog. Proofread your blog after you post and feel free to make changes to it after you've proofread it or read more of your classmates' work.

Gentle reminders:

  • Please use paragraphs.
  • You need to include links to outside sources in this blog. Don't just say "Here is a link I found about this". Include a sentence or two that relates what you've found to your point. Use them as evidence.


Our classroom discussions and notes may help you as you consider this topic.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Blog #1: What is truth?

"The task is the same no matter where the skilled journalist plies his trade: be inquisitive, be honest and be loyal to the truth and your reader. Advocate for the community, and tell it like it is. Ask and learn. Share the knowledge."
Source

Due date: Thursday, January 23

Although all journalists are supposed to be loyal to the truth, truth is a difficult concept to define. For the past two days, we've discussed your interpretations of the meaning of Truth. We came up with a wide variety of possible definitions and characteristics for the concept of truth, but we were unable to come up with a broad definition that could satisfy everyone. Your first blog entry should tackle this difficult situation.

Take a look at the following questions and respond in any way you choose on your blog. Try to include the word "Truth" somewhere in your post's title.

  1. What is truth to you?

  2. What should all journalists know about the truth?

  3. What does it mean to be loyal to the truth?

  4. In what ways can a high school journalist find a report the truth?

  5. Can you find or link to a story/video/podcast that exemplifies the pursuit of Truth.

Your response should be thorough and personal, capturing your unique voice and perspective. Try to write at least 200 words. A true blog will contain links to outside sources or responses to the thoughts of the other blogs in the class. Look to last year's examples to see what a good blog should be like.

Good luck.