The Heart of the Matter

Fragile Information???
Today in class we watched a movie called State of Play in which journalism was portrayed within a fictional lens. In this movie a journalist has a old college roommate who has become entwined in a political scandal. The politician had been having an affair, and his redheaded lover had either been killed, or committed suicide in a subway station. In this movie journalism was taken very lightly and was drenched with the sarcasm of the actor who played the main journalist. The truth in this movie was seen in a very interesting way. The politician had told the truth to only a few people and was continually beaten down with lies from the press that made assumptions about his lover's death. Therefore from this we can assume that truth is very precious. Its fragility should be handled with caution, and approached with gentility. Yet although it is fragile it is the most dangerous weapon of all time.

 The Weapon of Truth
Truth can break peoples hearts, and leave recipients who have received honest information with nightmares of horror and fear.  In a documentary we watched there was a photojournalist who arrived at a crime scene ready  to take pictures of whatever he saw. When he arrived what he experienced was the raw, dangerous truth of the situation. A man had killed an elderly woman and taken his  pregnant wife and two daughters hostage inside the house. The first person to come out after they had cleaned up the elderly  woman's body that was laying outside the house was one of the man's daughters. She was in the single digits of ages and was screaming 'Dont hurt my daddy!' even though he had mutilated her face and arms with a knife that the police expected him to have. The photojournalist saw this little girl, the fear in her eyes, and the scars from her raging father upon her skin and decided not to take a picture. The truth was too much to bear. The truth was frightening and not only did the little girl leave with emotional scars, but so did the police men and photojournalist.

The HEART
In conclusion, truth is a double edged sword. Depending on the situations journalists should be cautious in what they put out into the hands of the people. Journalists should be warriors for the heart, explaining the truth in a way that shows the deep recesses of humanity in a precious and informative way. Especially Christian journalists should be concerned for the heart, because that is the central piece of a person that God looks at.

Web Journalism In Class Assignment

Associated Press

Bin Laden Sons Say U.S. Violated International Law

By Hector Tobar

After months of public meetings attended by residents angry over then-council members' involvement in Bell scandal, new council's first meeting is a show of goodwill.

A Quagmire of Epic Porportions

Slander

In the movie All the President's men there is clear and vivid evidence that the Watergate scandal story written by Woodward and Bernstein undertook some serious scrutiny. Considering the fact that their story made a direct connection between the president and a B-and-E, and also revealed the fact that the entire US intelligence community was involved in a scandal of dishonesty and secrecy the story was destined for slanderous reviews.. 

You ARE going to ANSWER my QUESTIONS!!!!

The persistence of the two young journalists Woodward and Bernstein can be seen as a strength or a weakness. I personally see it as a strength because their persistence made them engrossed in their journalism and investigative reporting. Their so-called-hunger for this story made it happen and it shows most viewers Woodstein's dedication and love for journalism. Because their hearts and minds were intertwined with cracking this scandal they were successful in getting their story out, even though it took mountains of dedication and hard work to investigate. 

Enduring the Phone Calls

Most viewers of this movie can see that Woodstein makes calls, answers calls, puts calls on hold, and it basically seems like for a large percentage of this movie Woodstein is on the phone. The reasons there are so many calls is to further investigate this case. For this time period calls are the most effective way to get answers. Today it might be more effective to text, tweet, facebook, or something of an internet nature, although calls are still relevant, the internet might be more effective depending on the investigation. 

Number Games

In one scene Bernstein is on the phone with a man named Holtz to confirm that President Nixon was directly involved in this scandal. Instead of asking for a direct confirmation Bernstein plays a little 'number game' to get his answer. Bernstein tells the man, to confirm that Nixon was involved he shouldn't  hang up while he counts to the number ten. To say that he was not involved, the man should hang up exactly when he gets to the number ten. Indeed this is deceptive, and it is not an exact verbal confirmation, so this tactic could have been faulty. This and some other tactics that were used in this investigation may be a little questionable, but it got them their story.

The Deep Throat

Throughout the movie Woodward meets with this man named DEEP THROAT, and he gives him hints on sources for the story. In reality the man who was Deep Throat, was Mark Felt, did not come out about his alias until he was on his deathbed in 2008. Also Woodward claimed he would not allow Felt's alias to be broken either, as he said he would take the secret of who Deep Throat was to the grave. Personally I think that Woodward's meetings with Deep Throat were extremely risky, and a little too dangerous for my liking. This is the part of journalism that scares me the most. The fact that someone could be investigating something and put their life in danger. Yet again and again I am stuck asking myself the question, 'What's life without risk?'

Investigative Reporting: Deceptive, or Good Critical Thinking?

 How about a movie?
Good journalism is not only found in newsrooms, and news broadcasting studios, but it can be found weaved into the nuances of everyday life. When we read the paper, watch the television, or even check our social networking sites, journalism is there. One great movie that highlights the aspects of good, fresh, and young journalism is All the President's Men.

All the President's Men: Background of Journalism
The movie All the President's Men gives viewers an in depth look at the intense investigative journalism focused on the Watergate scandal that took place during the presidency of Nixon. The Washington Post at this time was seen as a Communist sympathizer, and was therefore overshadowed by The New York Times. Yet the people who worked for the Post were insistent on getting ahead to be able to compete with the New York Times.

Woodward and Bernstein
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are both two young reporters from the Washington Post that are investigating this scandal. Bob Woodward is new to the Washington Post seeing as he has only worked there for 9 months. Carl Bernstein however, has been working for the Post since he was 16. Both exuberantly young journalists for the Washington Post, they had many refreshing and unique ideas, and investigative tactics to cohesively incorporate into their story on the Watergate scandal of Nixon.

Woodward: Investigative
Bob Woodward is engrossed in investigating this scandal. He is inquisitive, persistent, and poised; hoping to construct an relevant and accurate story. Woodward cracks the aliases of the 5 men involved in the scandal, by going to the hearing for this case and talking to a man who is possibly a lawyer for the 5 guilty men. Woodward's perseverance gets him the answers to his direct, and carefully crafted questions throughout the movie.

Bernstein: Accuracy 
Carl Bernstein on the other hand, first attempts to steal Woodward's story. Their editor sees them in a quarrel, and then decides that with Bernstein's accuracy and Woodward's investigative skills they could be a great team. Sure enough these two were able to search through phone books, checkout cards at the Library of Congress, and make phone calls that got them eventually to make a direct connection between the president and a burglary.

Answer to the Question
Therefore the investigative reporting carried out by Woodward and Bernstein was not necessarily deceptive because of the situation. It should be seen as good critical thinking, and overall good journalism.

The Point

I wrote a paper for my media reflection.

Something about that moment.....

The Moments

"Life is not a matter of milestones, but a matter of moments." -Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

The still quiet moments in which our hearts are drenched in the substance of fear usually take place when we see the inevitable, destructive remnants of the fall of man. Humanity's destructive behavior is continual. Therefore as journalists we have an obligation to record all of the moments in which humanity's behavior is at its worst, and at its best. The moments in which our country, nation, or even our world experiences universal feelings of utopia, awe, sadness, fear, or exuberance is important because the God who created us feels all of those things with us.

THE Ultimate Storyteller

"All directors are storytellers." -Spike Lee


God is the ultimate storyteller. In the book of Job it can be seen that because he created words, he is the only one who can use them at their best. We as humans have an obligation to tell stories, because our lives are stories. God writes our story for us every day that we are here on Earth. He takes us to highs and lows, and gives vivid imagery of when we succeed and even when we fail.




Our Obligation

 "Journalism is the first draft of history." -Benjamin C. Bradlee


Journalists have a great job, because they get to tell these stories that God has hand crafted to the world. Stories can heal, stories can explain the very essence of our humanity. Therefore I feel a great need as a journalist to tell stories through my writing that heal and liberate the world.

WHATEVER I WANT!!!!!!

DANCE
A form of expression that uses the body to either portray a sense of emotion, or tell a story that can relate to the viewer. Dance is my favorite form of expression, and one winter I went with my mother to see Alvin Ailey's Dance Theater perform and my life was forever changed. I saw dance as a possible pastime for myself, so I started to take classes. I studied all kinds of dance, from ballet to modern to hip hop.

EXPRESSIONS
 This ballet theater carries on the tradition of its founder with a  special series that contains a peice called 'Revelations'. This piece is beautiful, engaging the audience from the first movement and carrying them through a stories that demonstrate the different states of humanity.

SHOW
Right now Alvin Ailey Dance Theater is on their North American tour, coming to California in the first week of April. I encourage anyone to go see them perform when they are presenting the 'Revelations' piece. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you stare in awe and wonder at the beauty of the perils of  humanity. Attached is a clip from 'Revelations', watch it and be amazed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce5pQkUZdWI