This is the problem I deal with every time I talk to a new group of people, students especially. Who are they, what do they want, why do they all keep looking at me? (This is a post from the blogging seminar for UBC journalism students)
Mostly, it’s because I look funny. No, that’s just what I worry about the night before. Mostly, it’s because I’m in front of them, making noise.
But seminars like these are often more like lectures, and I’ve always been a little more into conversation. Where do they surf for news? Where do they spend their time when they’re not in front of the computer? Do they download music from iTunes (now in Canada) or from file sharing networks (legal in Canada)? How many own cell phones with digital cameras?
How many of them are in journalism because they love to write? How many because they love to snoop? And how many because they love to hear their name over the airwaves or in print?
Oops, gotta talk, back in a while. If you’re a journalism student reading this—please answer in the comments.
“The superior man contains the means in his own person. He bides his time and then acts. Why then should not everything go well? He acts and is free. Therefore all he has to do is to go forth, and he takes his quarry. This is how a man fares who acts after he has ready the means.”
“kindergarchy n. Rule or domination by children; the belief that children’s needs and preferences take precedence over those of their parents or other adults.”
“As in 2007, the average U.S. worker has 14 vacation days this year. Just across the Canadian border, our counterparts get an average of 17 vacation days annually. But if you want a real “vacation envy” complex, consider the vacation banks of European workers. France tops the list with an average of 37 days, followed by Italy (33 days), Spain (31), the Netherlands and Austria (28), Germany (27) and Great Britain (26). “
Student Jhenifer Pabillano here. Thanks for the insightful talk this lunchtime. A question jumped into my mind at the end of the talk that I didn't quite get to ask: What, ultimately, sets apart the journalist from the blogger? What unique talents are a journalist endowed with that a blogger could never touch? I guess I'm curious because it speaks to the utility of journalists in the future--if bloggers could do what journalists do, then there may be a case for worry. But if journalists have singular talents that could never quite be emulated by bloggers, then bully for the newspapers.
Here's an identical question: What sets snowboarders apart from being journalists? Nothing.
If a blogger does what a journalist does, I believe he too is a journalist. However, in the earlier context, I was talking about "journalists working for traditional media outlets and publishing in traditional ways, such as newspapers, TV, radio, and online news sites."
Journalists have singular talents, and they can blog. Or bloggers can learn how to be journalists through training or hard experience or (rarely) through innate natural tendencies.
There will be a role for journalists in any society that has freedom of information, or needs it. Whether blogging would be allowed in an oppresive future, is not as clear.
Posted by Travis Smith at 1:02 pm on Oct. 16, 2005
China is certainly cracking down on Internet sites (including blogs) that do not "promote its democratic aims", i.e. the party line. But in some sense it might be easier (and more anonymous) to be a blog-based journalist in an oppressive environment, rather than attempting to use traditional publishing methods.
You can scroll right easily by holding down the SHIFT key and using your scroll wheel. (Firefox users trying this will end up jumping to old Web pages until a) Firefox releases a fix, b) they change their settings like so.)
