Words Matter: Week 3

"Hillary Clinton And The Populist Revolt"

New Yorker
31 October 2016



"As she plunged into the details, her eyes widened, her color rose, and her finger occasionally gave the table a thump for emphasis."


 What description! It shows how much observation and attention to detail the author has. He was really watching what Ms. Clinton was doing, not just listening to her voice. Journalism is just as much observing as it is listening. These observations make the story come alive and interest the reader.

Words Matter: Week 4

"Online, Everything Is Alternative Media"
NY Times
10 November 2016


"And the self-identified alternative media of this election was, on the other hand, unembarrassed by its ideology, aggressive not merely in the pursuit of stories but in the election of one candidate and the destruction of another." 

This could be a very simple sentence. "The alternative media puts out whatever it believes, and openly supports one candidate." But the author used descriptive language that makes the sentence stand out. "Destruction" is a very strong word that adds a weight to the sentence, showing how hard the media is trying to put down a candidate. "...unembarrassed by it's ideology..." is another part that really caught my attention. It's just good writing. 

Words Matter: Week 2

"An Ex-Cop's Remorse"
The New Yorker
October 24, 2016


      "Its main roads are flanked by malnourished trees and low-rise buildings with faded awnings—storefront churches, transmission-repair shops, dollar stores. The year that Forcelli began working there, the precinct was the city’s most dangerous, with more murders than anywhere else in the five boroughs. Almost every day, officers were confronted with knifings, shootings, disembowelments, and “dump jobs”—bodies that showed up in parks or rivers."


      The description really sets the scene, and along with the facts, it lets you know that this isn't the best place to be. Description lets the author control the readers mind, making them see what the author wants them to see. It allows the author to create a mood within their piece that is always in the back of the readers mind and it makes them feel immersed in the story.

Words Matter: Week 1

"Donald Trump's dark warning that dead will rise to rig the election"
The Guardian
October 18, 2016


"On Monday Trump described the press at the Wisconsin rally as “the enemies back there” and repeatedly accused the media of “poisoning the minds of voters … the media is an extension of the Clinton campaign”.

As the crowd chanted “CNN sucks,” Trump answered: “They really do.”

This is just one of the many things Trump has said that is creating a divided America. He is isolating himself from everyone, by attacking them in every way possible. This is a man who could be President of the United States, and he is going out and saying that the media is "the enemy." Instead of focusing on real problems, he spends most of his time, making negative comments, attacking and worrying about people who are just doing their job. That is not the way the POTUS should act, ever.

21st Century Journalism

     NowThis News ( http://nowthisnews.com/ ) is a news source which solely broadcasts its stories on social media platforms. It has a Snapchat "story" everyday, which is comprised of about 10 different headlines from all over the world. They gather their stories from other news providers such as NBC News, Huffington Post and Washington Post, but they also have stories that they find themselves. On Snapchat, the stories are shown as little GIFs or video clips with, at most, a small paragraph of text on them. It is a very quick way for people to get updates on what is happening in the world, and it does not require for people to read entire articles so they can get updates even when they have a very short amount of time to do so. NowThis also posts longer videos on Twitter and Youtube and a couple of other social media platforms.

    NowThis News is a new sort of news broadcast. It doesnt require a TV or a paper, all you need is a device of some sort and internet connection. At the surface it doesnt seem like real journalism, where a journalist goes out, collects information and writes a story ( that is a very dumbed down explanation, it is way more complicated ); frankly because there is no writing! But it is most certainly journalism. A person IS going out and collecting information, but they are doing it with a camera in hand and creating a video instead of an article. And by doing this they are bringing news to people who otherwise wouldn't know about it because they wouldn't want to read a 5 page article, they'd rather watch a video.