Popping back in here for a quick bit of media analysis, or at least what I'd like to think counts as media analysis.
Before we get started, it's so interesting/nice when people give me their business cards, I think because of the novelty of it. I'm still young enough, I suppose, for this to hold a minuscule thrill. So I'm building a collection and I'm keeping it in a cigarette box I found at a bus stop in the past. It was in surprisingly good condition.
I think the boxes are pretty cool the way they flip open. I wanted to think of something surprising I could store in there instead of cigarettes, to get some use out of it. So now that box is having a second life upcycled into a business card holder. They fit so nicely in there and the box is a nice turquoise Newport brand one. If I find any other nice cigarette boxes while I'm out and about, I'll be sure to collect them.
On to the media analysis. Brian Stelter, who went to high school maybe 20 minutes away, if that, has a Sunday show on CNN, where he talks about all things media. Here is a tweet I saw with a quote from one of his guests today: "Media: 'Journalism is necessary to make sure our voices are heard. As citizens, we need to use our right as voters to vote out the people who won't listen to us.' Rebecca Schneid of @EagleEyeMSD to @brianstelter on @ReliableSources (newspaper: http://eagleeye.news/ )" [emphasis mine]
Admittedly, I might be missing some context here, or misinterpreting things, but here are my thoughts:
I'm guessing the guy who tweeted this is trying to address the media to pay attention to the quote? What with "Media: [...]" at the beginning of the tweet. What follows is a quote (bolded above) of a high school student's view about journalism.
As my favorite journalism professor (maybe my favorite professor altogether to date? [what an honor! {I wonder if I'll have another professor in the future who becomes my favorite?}]) says, journalism is about telling other people's stories. Other people's. Not your own, as the journalist. The use of "our" in the quote could be interpreted as meaning that the journalist's voice is the voice to be heard, seeing as the student who said this quote writes for her school's newspaper. Or it could be interpreted as meaning that journalism provides a way for citizens' voices to be heard. While journalists can also be citizens, they shouldn't be putting their voices/opinions into what they write/otherwise produce.
The thought about journalism not being about your own (as the journalist) opinions/voice was echoed recently when I spoke to a working journalist the other week. He said that you aren't supposed to include your own opinions and/or tell people how they should feel about whatever topic it is.
I'm not completely sure I organized or conveyed my thoughts well and clearly here, but I figured I'd at least try. Maybe if I think about it some more I'll be able to offer a clarified version of said thoughts.
Closing thought: Media literacy feels like a full-time job these days.
[Maybe I can be the next Brian Stelter?? Or maybe someday I'll become the editor of a larger, professional newspaper/organization... Who knows!]
No comments:
Post a Comment