What the Heck is true? (Caught in Lies)

As a teenager I often find myself browsing the internet and usually asking myself questions like, "is that true?" or "is this just click bait?". I think a lot of the times articles can be extremely exaggerated or fabricated to make them look more interesting than they actually are, to catch the attention of potential readers.

I was not surprised to find out that professional journalist have fabricated news. I think journalist fabricate news and exaggerate the truth simply because it makes their article much more interesting which will attract more attention to their article and it makes people actually want to read it. I think that journalist feel like they need to exaggerate the truth because some people may not find the truth interesting enough. I think Janet Cooke should not have made that false article about the child being abused but in reality that does happen all over the world. I think that Shawna Richer and Jaime Irving were completely in the wrong because their article was very disrespectful towards the prime minister of the country and it made a lot of people hate him.

"Most liars make things up for the simple reason that they don't have the talent or the ability to get the story any other way." - Jack Shafer. 

I agree with Shafer in this statement because if you need to lie or exaggerate the truth to make an article you are not a very good journalist. I also think that if journalist had the ability and thought that they could get the story and make it interesting without telling a lie or fabricating the truth they would. A Journalist that lies to draw attention to their article isn't a well known Journalist for good reasons.

I feel that universities and colleges should be doing a better job at graduating journalism students who can handle the pressure and responsibility's. If they are not prepared and cannot handle the pressure they will not be successful journalist and they should have been advised to look into another profession.

I think that an ombudsman would be great. They could address complaints and concerns sent in from readers without being bias and taking sides, they also wouldn't take any of the complaints of concerns personal because they are the middle man and are not connected to the source of the story. I think this would better improve news articles.

Work assignments: Reflecting and planning

Video announcements:
My job assignment in Journalism 120 is the video announcements. Jasmine and I record, edit and post the video announcements almost every single day unless we do not have announcements to record. I feel as though this year I have really expanded my knowledge with technology from doing the video announcements because it has taught me how to edit videos and also use different apps and devices. So far this year I also feel very strongly that Jasmine and I have improved the quality of Blackville Schools video announcements. We have added an intro, a silly outro, we make sure that the video announcements are clear and easy to understand, they are filmed at eye level, and we also like to spice them up sometimes by adding funny bloopers to intrigue our viewers.
Jasmine and I plan to accomplish two goals in the future to improve the Video announcements. We would like to try to film in different locations of the school and also outdoors to make the announcements more interesting and we would also like to work hard to ensure that we include different things in the video announcements, for example the details of sporting events and also future events students may be interested in.
For the source related to my job assignment I have chosen this church announcement video. It includes and intro and important future events for the church just like how we try to announce important future events involving our school and students. Overall I really enjoy my job assignment and hope to continue doing the video announcements next semester in a coop.

Hard news vs. Soft news

Hard news: Veteran, his wife, child and mother found dead in apparent murder-suicide
This article is considered hard news because often any news article involving crime fit under the hard news category. Hard news is considered to be very fast-paced news which events require immediate reporting. Hard news articles usually state the who, what, when, where, and why, are reported widely on and also updated and reported on quickly. 

Soft news: Country star Madeline Merlo shares her secrets for getting perfect beachy waves
I would consider this article to be Soft news because it is simply human interest and only personally useful. This article was also written for entertaining not informing, it only attracts a certain audience, it was not reported on a great deal, it does not have a serious tone and does not require immediate reporting which hard news does.

In between news: Someone Changed The Hollywood Sign To Read "Hollyweed" 

I would consider this article to be in between Hard news and Soft news because although it was meant to be a harmless prank to make people laugh it is also a form of vandalism and on some levels considered a crime. This is something that has been widely reported on but not in a serious tone, it has been reported on with laughter and  often said to be an "ambitious prank". Because of this, I would consider it to be Soft news. 

What's Newsworthy?

Accident victim wants stiffer sentences for drunk drivers

Timing 4/4:
This news article has been published very recently and is already a hot topic among Canadians especially Atlantic Canadians. This article shows the very emotional and upset victim of a drunk driving accident as he is very vocal on his opinions and feelings toward Robert Drew Shannon, the intoxicated driving who struck him. I gave it a 4/4 on trimming because it is very current and there will be updated news articles very soon keeping the public up to date with the progress of the trial.

Significance 4/4:
I believe this article has great significance because drunk driving is such a topic of discussion and it is something that a lot of awareness has been brought to within the last couple of years. I gave this article a 4/4 because I think that this article is on a very significant a popular topic and will get a lot of attention brought to it by the public.

Proximity 4/4:
This incident in this news article takes place in Fredericton New Brunswick which is very close to home, and is also a place that many people in Atlantic Canada are aware of. I gave it a 4/4 on proximity because not only did the accident take place in Fredericton but the trial is also taking place there.

Prominence 2/4:
I gave this article a 2/4 on prominence just because although it is a hot topic right now it wont be for a very long period of time. Discussion of this incident will quiet down and it wont be discussed very much in a year or so. There will be other stories and headlines out there that people will talk about and they will forget all about this one after awhile.

Human Interest 4/4:
This article is a very emotional and interesting story. Drunk driving incidents are a topic of discussion and people are very interested in hearing them and bringing awareness to them which is why I gave it a 4/4 in human interest.

Final Newsworthy mark: 18/20

Hilary Duff says sorry for culturally inappropriate Halloween costumes

Timing 4/4:
This news article was published on October 30th which is the day before Halloween. I gave this article a 4/4 on timing for the reason of it being published one day before Halloween, I think that this could have prevented other people in the world to think twice before wearing culturally offensive Halloween costumes.

Significance 4/4:
This news article has a lot of significance in today's society in my opinion because different cultures are greatly accepted at this date and age so i think people should be aware of things such as different Halloween costumes that will offend different cultures, which is why I gave this article a 4/4 on significance.

Proximity 3/4: 
This article takes place in the United States but culturally inappropriate Halloween costumes are also being worn in Canada which is why I gave it a 3/4 on proximity.

Prominence 3/4:
I gave this article a 4/4 on prominence because it involves two famous people who are in the public eye and impact many lives of fans. Also this is a very popular article and this story also appeared on television making it very well known.

Human Interest 4/4: 
I gave this article a 4/4 on human interest because it involves two very famous people, Hilary Duff and her man, which are two people who are in the public eye quit frequently. Many people are interested in the lives of these people and many people are also interested in things like this involving different cultures.

Final Newsworthy mark: 18/20

Python Deaths trial hears mother say she never felt her boys were in danger 

Timing 4/4:
I gave this article a 4/4 on timing because although the death of the two boys actually happened in 2013 this is still a very popular story in New Brunswick. After the two young boys were killed by the Python while staying at a friends house the mother has appeared in court several times which has kept this story very relevant.

Significance 4/4: 
I gave this article a 4/4 on significance because this story has impacted the lives of many Canadians and an extraordinary amount of people in New Brunswick, this article is very significant to many people who have heard of the situation and will continue to be very significant to many people until the result of the legal aspect of this situation is released.

Proximity 4/4: 
I gave this article a 4/4 on proximity because it happened in New Brunswick. Also the people involved were from New Brunswick, the incident took place in NB and the court hearings are taking place in NB.

Prominence 2/4:
I gave this article a 2/4 on prominence because although this is a hot topic in New Brunswick this story probably isn't well known in other parts of the world. This article doesn't involve any famous people so it probably is not talked about in other parts of the world outside of Canada, this is why I gave it a 2/4 on prominence.

Human interest 4/4:
I gave this article a 4/4 on human interest because it is an incident that is very popular in the minds of many Canadians. Most people that have heard of the incident would be keeping themselves updated on this interesting and tragic event.

Final Newsworthy Mark: 18/20

Writing the News Articles

Fatal Car Crash taking life of 1 teen and injuring 3 more!

November 13th was a devastating night for the entire community of Blackville, when a car accident took the life of one senior from Blackville High School and injured 3 more. Lauren Vickers (17) died instantly at the time of the crash. Vickers (17), Tyler gorbett (17), Laura Sturgeon (17) and Jessica Donahue (16) were involved in the single car crash on Sunday night when they were going through the Rapid road and lost control of the vehicle trying to avoid a head on collision with a Moose, resulting in hitting a hydro pole. Vickers who was sitting in the front passenger seat was thrown from the vehicle due to not having a seat belt on, she was declared dead when RCMP arrived at the scene. 

Tyler Gorbett, who was a first cousin to Vickers and who was also in the car during the crash, gave this brief statement to the media. "I always thought we wouldn't graduate together because one of us would get poor grades and get held behind a year, not because of a freak accident like this." Sargent Casey told reporters that "No charges will be laid, there was no foul play involved, this was nothing but a terrible accident leaving the community grieving the loss of a young teenager. On behalf of the RCMP we give our condolences to the family and friends of Lauren."

Gorbett who was trapped inside of the vehicle said he "felt helpless". Donahue and Sturgeon who managed to leave the scene with very few minor injury's say they rushed out of the car to try and help Vickers but the knew it was too late when they got to her. Donahue said in an interview "I wanted so badly for her to be okay but I knew when Laura and I got to her that the position she was in wasn't normal, and her head injury from going through the windshield was beyond repair." Gorbett is suffering from a broken leg and punctured lungs from where the steering wheel was pressed against his chest. Sturgeon and Donahue are considered very lucky having only bruises and scrapes. 

The classmates of Lauren will have something dedicated in her memory at graduation. This is a very difficult time for the grieving Family and friends of Vickers and donations can be made to Blackville School.  

Starting With the Basics

Autopsy results confirm Nia Eastman, 7, victim of apparent murder-suicide 

Nia Eastman was a 7 year old child from Saskatchewan. Her body was discovered by police on Thursday after an amber alert was issued because her father did not return her to her mothers custody. Her father was found dead 20 kms from where Nia's body was.

I think that the lead is very efficient because it draws the reader in, They will want to know more about Nia Eastman like how she was murdered, who murdered her and why.

The spokesman for the RCMP, Dan Climenhaga announced that the police believe that her father, Adam Jay Eastman, caused Nia's death. The autopsy showed that Nia was a homicide victim and her father died from suicide. The source for this quote is the RCMP from Saskatchewan.

The most important information was told in the middle. The very first of the article was made to draw the reader in, but the middle has the information regarding how she died as well as how her father died.

This article had an appropriate ending because it told of the legal information regarding the murder-suicide and gave all the information we needed to know.

Woman's body found in Peticodiac River

Codiac RCMP in Moncton are investigating after a body was discovered in the Peticodiac River on the morning of November 27th. Police say they received a call around 8 a.m. by a person walking near the Chateau Moncton Hotel. Police haven't identified the body but have said the body is female and about 50-60 years old, and they do not believe the body was in the river very long. RCMP said the body is not believed to be associated with any missing persons case currently on file. An autopsy will be performed Monday is Saint John to confirm the identity and the cause of death. 

I think this lead is very efficient because it draws the reader in and has them wondering what happened to the suspect, who the suspect is, and also if foul play was involved.  

“Police was dispatched with the fire and the ambulance,” said Codiac RCMP Spokesman Sgt. Andre Pepin. “About 40 minutes later the Riverview Fire Department recovered a body.” It took first responders longer than usual to recover the remains from the water because of the moving current.

Yes the most important information in the article is told first and carried down into the middle of the article. From the beginning of the article to the middle we know about the body, where it was found and about the ongoing investigation. 

I think the article would have had a better ending if we could have known more information but considering the investigation is ongoing it makes sense that we do not. Keeping that in mind, I think the ending of the article is good. 

Reflection Entry 1

  Today's newspaper is very different from historical newspapers. Some of the differences are the layout of the paper, in today's newspaper we have photographs, more intriguing and eye catching tittles and color in the photos. The language used in the historical newspaper is very different from what we use today. Also many newspapers today are online and contain video interviews of certain events.

  I don't think that the government should have that kind of power over newspapers because the newspaper is meant to get the word out about current events and issues in society. The government might not always like what is in the paper, for example if something scandalous happened within the government it should be printed in the paper because people have the right to know.

  In today's world we have freedom of expression which they did not have when historical newspapers were published. Although we have freedom of expression if something that could endanger the lives of others the government could sue.

  I was very surprised to learn that the first newspaper in Canada was published in Halifax because I would have expected it to be written in a place with a higher population and more advanced city like Vancouver or Montreal. I was also surprised to learn this because you would think that because Halifax is so close to us it would be more of a known fact that Halifax published the first newspaper.