2.8.10

1.http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/448009Why_You_Should_Learn_From_Fox_News.php

A. It seems that the theme in many of these reports on Journalism is that people are constantly looking to be entertained. Although Fox news is constantly berated for all kinds of less than objective portrayal of information, the general consensus is that their version of “journalism” using commentators such as Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly is not only effective, it is keeping them in business. Media consumers are searching for entertainment and rejecting more conservative forms of journalism, therefore journalism is being forced to adapt to a new younger, audience who is constantly on the hunt for entertainment.

B. The question of “what is journalism” is constantly surfacing, and this article is no exception. Can news commentary qualify as journalism? In a world where objectivity once characterized the journalistic universe, a new culture where the only information that being digested is only appearing under the guise of entertainment, what hope of survival does traditional journalism have? Fox news is one of the most successful news stations in the world and there most watched programs are commentary, extremely bias commentary.

C. Finding ways to present information in an exciting way is the only way to stay afloat any more in journalism. Unless your information is extremely specific to your audience (and most of us do not have that luxury) your writing must not only be good, it must be captivating. As far as my beat goes I am blessed to be catering to a specific audience, however, presenting information in different mediums ( audio, video, as well as print) is essential to a successful portrayal of information that has any hope of maintaining an audience.

2.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/education/08school.html?scp=3&sq=2/8/10&st=cse

Great lead, once again from the NYtimes. The story begins with such great imagery that it is impossible to not read on. I really like the style of journalism that focuses on a specific individual and tells their story in an engaging way. The story begins using this style and gradually begins to present facts and quotes from reliable sources but checks back in with the subject later in the story, which makes for effective story telling as it appeals to our sympathies by telling us about an individual as opposed to an enormous group, which is often somewhat inaccessible due to numbers that we have no possibility of truly grasping.