Bruce Jackson’s “Fieldwork” ch. 7 (response)

This chapter started off with some great tips for interviewing. I found it interesting to see how complex the interviewer’s position was and how such small things, like the tone of voice you ask questions in or the way you pay attention, can deeply affect how the participant answers questions or even feels about the whole interviewing process. I like how he doesn’t give ultimatums… Throughout the whole chapter he gives advice on how to go about certain techniques, but he makes sure to cover all grounds for the “what if” situations and exceptions to the rule. Like how it’s usually wise to tape record interviews, unless (the key word here) something like your instinct directs you otherwise. I also learned that the seemingly small behaviors can be so detrimental to the interviewee. For example, Jackson mentions that little things like turning the tape recorder on and off, or stressing the details of a certain question can lead the interviewee to believe that some information is more important than other, which can ultimately lead to a skewed answer. I also learned that it is important to make your interviewees feel comfortable, which makes sense because people are more likely to be open about their lives if they feel safe talking about it.

How I cover the Afghanistan War with the 5dmkII (response)

This article took all of one minute to read, and that’s one minute I wish I could take back. It was 100% mumbo jumbo technical nonsense that I couldn’t understand and didn’t really care for. Maybe if I was looking for an instructional guide on how to use a camera in the field I would ask Danfung (author). But other than that, this story had no life, no personality, and none of my interest. Giant yawn.

Lucian Read — The Long Haul (response)

Lucian begins his piece with short, to-the-point sentences, that in just two paragraphs, make me feel like I already know the guy. Rather than setting the scene with beautiful imagery, he gives us an intense character description that to be totally honest, I really dig! I mean, he doesn’t just talk about himself in a way that’s boasting or superficial, but rather he states aspects about himself and his life that give you and inside look on who he really is and what makes him tick. He doesn’t list his best and worst qualities like most would do, he tells us about the people, places and things closest to him…and because of that, I felt an immediate sense of trust towards him…all because of some well-organized words that put his real self on display in a matter of seconds. I respect him for that.

Throughout the whole article he jumps around between his personal life, his job and where he fits, physically, mentally and emotionally in the middle of it all. Right off the bat you know he’s a real person that lives for his work, not just some reporter who happens to be in Afghanistan for his job. The way he writes is very similar to the way one would think; a sort of logical, regular development of thoughts that skip around a few different topics but are all are part of his job, which is a part of his life. He also cracks a few jokes and has a few parenthetical citations, which proves he knows his audience well.

His personable writing style probably is a reflection of his personality in real life. I found his article to be a delightful read.

David Bathgate – Sides of the Wire: America in Afghanistan (response)

Bathgate begins with a fabulous description of the scene he begins his experience in, in Afghanistan. I really liked his use of transitional sentences that helped connect the scene-setting, to the person introductions, to the further explanation of the rest of his trip. Those segwaying sentences are: “My new colleagues were here to meet me.” and “This is where I first met Afghanistan: through the eyes and interactions of my students…” Bathgate does a terrific job of highlighting the important aspects of his trip without drowning them in a sea of less significant information, all with an influx of original creativity.

I really admired the sentence, “These transitions seemed bizarre and ironic on so many levels, not at all seamless and frequently a challenge to focus on — both mentally and with a camera in my hands.” In addition to the literal meaning, I thought those words also implicitly showed that a reporter is still a person that has human thoughts and emotions just like everyone else.

I enjoyed his use of brief dialogue regarding the patrol leaders questions; it illustrated the priorities of the leaders of that country. Finally, I thought Bathgate concluded his piece with an appropriate expression of his opinion on the development and simultaneous destruction of Afghanistan’s people and environment. Overall, he made great use of space by saying as much as he could in as few words as possible. He gave the past, present and future all an appropriate and proportionate amount of space on the page, and was able to tell a true story, with real facts and interestig details, all while working in a unique writer’s artistry.

Online Journalism ch. 10 Response

The main thing I learned from this chapter is that reporters need to be proficient at gathering all types of media (still photos, video, audio, text) so that they can be prepared for any given situation and can use the tools that best fit the story at hand. Having multiple options in a profession that is built on spontaneity and rapidly changing and evolving material is always a wise decision.

The majority of this chapter focused on the specifics and details of technology use to gather and edit audio and video for reporting. I learned a great deal on the manual adjustments of a camera and video camera, the different controls and their purpose, and examples of the situations that would call for these specific camera adjustments. Those examples indirectly gave me ideas for how I could set up some shots for my project on the West Side, and how I can make each picture unique by messing around with the camera’s white balance, resolution, focus, and other artsy variables. I also learned in this article that when you are conducting an interview, you should always have the interviewee looking slightly off camera, despite my first instinct to have them look directly into it — that’s simply too intense on the viewer. Finally, I learned that capturing just the natural sound of the environment where the story takes place can be very useful in a video when perhaps you need scene-setting audio to help place the audience in the story.

This chapter contained a great deal of technicalities that will come in handy when I’m doing fieldwork and gathering media. They may be basics, but as an amateur journalist, they set a strong foundation for me to commence by reporting endeavors.

Online Journalism ch. 6 Response

This chapter was about the difference in writing styles when one is working with print newspapers versus online journalism. I’m not at all surprised that online versions of printed publications are a tad bit more personable. From this article, I found that writers for newspapers tend to be more straightforward with the facts of the story, probably because they’ve only got so much room on the page to fill, and whatever gets printed is final…there’s no updating or revising of a printed story once it’s printed. However, when writing for an online publication, I would argue that writers are more lenient with their style because the medium is directly interactive with the audience so feedback is easier, and stories have a “rolling deadline” so new information regarding the story at hand can always be posted after the initial story is posted.

In addition, online reporters can enhance their stories with audio, video, visuals, and interactive things like polls and forums. Therefore, the reporter may take more of a personal interest in the story and may be more willing to share their own opinions when feedback is just a click away. Furthermore, I believe that when a writer takes a personal interest in what they’re writing about, their style of writing becomes more personal as well. I think that this “Way New” journalism style the author is talking about is actually the real voice of the reporter speaking for the first time. In my opinion, it’s not a new style of writing, it’s the writers being more comfortable with their medium, therefore they are being more honest in their work, and their personalities are showing. I really enjoy it. I’m sick of the news being over-controlled by people who think they know what’s important and what’s not. Maybe with this new style of journalism, the news and it’s reporters will become more honest.

Single West Side Photo

This is a photo of a typical West Side street that contains vacant houses, empty lots and graffiti on signs and buildings. I chose not to incorporate the name of the street as to symbolize its representation of most West Side streets.

Photo Sequence

I call this 7 photo progression “The Grueling Process of Door Decorations”.

Being that I am an RA, I used the process of making my residents nametags for their doors as the subject of my photo sequence. It shows someone completing a task, which is similar to what I would be photographing on the West Side, whether it may be working in one of the houses or the MAP farm, or likewise.

Tools beforehandTracing Pipe cleaning Painting1st Person ViewFine TuningFinished Product

3 story ideas

1) I was thinking about writing about the MAP – Growing Green farm that is totally sustainable by using fish feces to feed the plants and the plants to feed the fish. I’m not sure if there’s another link in the cycle but the entire farm is completely sustainable, which is an amazing feat to accomplish whether we’re in the West Side or not. Also the farm employs youth from the neighborhood, which gives them a positive environment to be in as well. For my story premise, I was considering tying together the sustainability of the project to the sustainability, or independence of the youth — and how it’s benefititng the community twice as much because of it.

2) This story idea revolves around the NetZero house, which uses solar panels to create energy for the house, which is able to stored for the Winter time when the sun comes out less frequently. This project also employs youth, who now the ability to get involved in another positive program. The effort to reduce wasted energy in the house mirrors PUSH’s effort to reduce the wasted energy in troubled youth’s by getting them off the streets.

3) My third story idea introduces Debra Williams into the picture and the organization she works for, YWCA. A few of the services her organization offers really interested me. They provide housing for domestic violence victims and teach the women how to be self-sufficient. What I’m wondering is, is do they not only provide lessons on how to be self-sufficient, but are they teaching the women how to be stronger mentally and emotionally so that they are able to detect and avoid abusive relationships before they get serious? In addition, the organization helps teenagers who are raised by the grandparents for whatever the reason may be that their own parents can’t be there. It’d be interesting to see if we could do something more to help them out as well.

“Photojournalism” Response

I especially liked this piece because I didn’t know much about photography prior to reading this article, but the author did a fabulous job of working in the anecdotes and narratives while explaining the art and beauty of photography. Also, I definitely thought that the photos that were included in the article were all positive additions to the piece and when called for, illustrated the point the author was trying to make in that section. For example, on page 15, the ‘overall’ picture example of the surfers attending the memorial for another surfer out on the water was outstanding. Just that picture alone said more than any form of words could trying to explain the event. I think it was that picture that caused a light bulb to go off in my head; I’m finally beginning to understand how well-taken pictures can really aid a written piece. Additionally, I’m learning that photography is not about a set scene…it’s about capturing the action of the moment, in the moment, without the subjects noticing the camera. See, I’m a writer primarily, but just reading this article with all the visual aids made me want to learn so much more about the art of photography.

The words, “avoid taking all your pictures at eye level” (pg 17) really stuck with me. I made the connection that the photos I found most captivating were the ones that were taken from extreme aerial views or from down on the ground, and the like…and the only way to get those shots is to mix it up on every assignment — finding ways to get up high or down low…or even really close to the action without the subjects knowing. Fred Larson’s technique on page 11 gave me a great idea for when I’m on the West Side taking pictures. He dressed “unobtrusively” and hid his camera in a boombox, which was brilliant for photographing youth on the street who most likely would get incredibly sketched out being photographed by some random chick like myself. He even got a great angle on the shot that was published in this article because having your camera in a boombox that’s hanging at your side provides an unusual yet appealing angle for pictures. Photography, good photography, is art. And I kept getting the vibe from this article that the more creative you can get with taking pictures, the better your product is going to be, and the more likely it is that you will get published. Very cool 🙂

Lastly, the author mentioned a famous quote while referring to a successful style of getting the shot off, “do as the Romans when in Rome.” The story following couldn’t have been a better example with the female bathing naked in the hot springs in California. The photographer, obviously out of place, stripped just as the female had done, and was able to get off a beautiful shot simply for the fact that she wasn’t afraid to join her. Perhaps I’ll encounter something of the like while doing research on the West Side… hopefully I won’t have to strip, haha, but maybe I’ll get to exercise the same principle.