Media and War

To be a journalist, one must detach themselves from their current story and look at thing objectively; this can be difficult that that journalist is thrown into a war zone. War journalists have completely different experience; they in the action, experiencing it all first hand. Objectivity is difficult to maintain when one’s life is in danger.

A journalist’s job is to be a witness. One of the biggest issues for a war reporter is to remain detached. Sometimes journalists can be doubted, or even doubt themselves, because of who much of their own feelings, such as patriotism, they are allowing into their work.

Even something as important as a war, gets mixed up in petty network ratings "wars". Networks such a CNN and Fox News. All of the various types of reporting get labeled, such as pro-war and anti-war. Once labeled, anything is fair game for attack. The media should be devoted to reporting what is happening to the best of their abilities. The information for the masses should not be part of a political agenda.

Blog Use Motivations

Blogs are a huge part of the internet today. However, that wasn’t always the case. The popularity of blogs skyrocketed in 2001, after the September 11th tragedy. These were places that people could discuss events, share stories, and keep updated. Now, blogs have become their own source of news. They are forums for people to gather, provide, and discuss information.

Blogs are a very interesting outlet because there is no requirement for participation. A blog writer can post piece of information, and others and can read and respond, or just read; and the author does not have to respond to comments. Also, readers can have discussions among themselves with no further input from the writer. A blogger can post, respond, and discuss as much as you want.

Blogs can also be very influential. They can bring together massive amounts of people from many different places that all agree on one subject. A movement that large can have a lot of power in swaying decisions. And with that kind of attention, many things can be brought forward. Blogs have often shed light on things that the main stream media have not exposed.

The bottom line is that blogs of today are very influential and quite informative. They offer a place for people to freely discuss issues and topics of their choice. The modern internet, or even the modern world for that matter, would not be the same if it were not for blogs and bloggers.

My Media Diary for the week of Feb. 8th

Snow is everywhere. Nothing is moving. Everything is frozen in ice; quite literally. “The biggest snowstorm in the history of forever”…or something like that. A campus full of snowed in college students with nothing better to do than have fun. What are they going to do? Watch TV? Not at all.

During Shepherd University’s unplanned “Second Winter Break”, I’m sure there were many people who camped out in front of their favorite program, but I was not one of them. Movies; yes. I curled up in a blanket, surrounded by my friends, to watch a good film on many a night. However, the only television I tuned in for was the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

I watched the ceremony, which was on NBC, for 4 hours and 30 minutes. Watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony was a very interesting experience. The festivities were based Canadian tradition. There was also an exhibition of the Natives of Canada. There was a dance that showcased a tradition tap dance; the dancers performed to fiddle music. It was very educational to learn about all of the Canadian folktales and stories behind the show. It was also steeped in Olympic tradition. Everything from the flag rising to the torch lighting showed the pride of all those present. However, a shadow was cast over the festivities due to the tragic death of a Luge athlete earlier that day. Never the less, the Olympic Opening Ceremonies are always an exciting event that shouldn’t be missed.