Letter from The Editor: What they really want from a Journalist?
February 9th, 2010 | Published in Letters, Uncategorized | 5 Comments
Which would you rather read
about? A newborn panda bear or a child molester that just moved to your county?
Those of you who answered panda bear either really likes baby panda bears or is one of the many people that are sick and tired of hearing disturbing news from the media. Those of you who answered child molester either have children or will be the next senator. Drastic equation I know, but in my best DMX voice I must ask “What do you really want from a journalist?”
Many people opt to get their news from media outlets other than television so they can choose what type of news they take in. I’m sure the numbers would show that people spend more time and more search engine power looking up celebrity gossip as opposed to serious world changing news. Journalists call the two: soft news and hard news, or as I like to call it: bubble gum and steak. One difference between hard and soft news is the tone of the presentation.
A hard news story takes a factual approach: What happened? Who was involved? Where and when did it happen? Why did it happen? A soft news story tries to entertain or advise the reader. Here is some bubble gum for you: who doesn’t want to hear about the new iPhone that records and streams live video? It’s probably sold best when said “girl when you see your best friend’s boyfriend in the club grinding on a hot young tender and you can immediately stream to your best friend’s phone as well as online for the whole world to see!” Now who wouldn’t want to catch a player up!? Soft news is a clear winner because it could be both factual and entertaining. Hard news is just serious. Who wants to be serious all time?
In September 2009 the Kanye and Taylor Swift fiasco was publicly aired. It was devastating right… wrong: soft news. Two weeks later the tragic beating and death of Derrion Albert surfaced: hard news. Which do you know more of? Which do you still talk about? Which do you even care about? Both Kayne West and Derrion Albert are from Chicago, so a Chicagoan would know and care about both, but I can bet $5 everyone is still talking about crazy ass ‘Ye (and yes I can talk, as I am rolling my neck and smacking my lips, because I’m a Chicagoan.) But for those of you not in or from Chicago, which got more coverage?
Has everyone forgotten the type of world we live in? Life is not all about skinny jeans, Ciroq, bald head Amber Rose or even lace front wigs… SURPRISE! We live in a world where bad things happen and the only way you would be able to hear about these things is through media outlets: newspapers, magazines, radio, television or the internet. Knowledge is power people. It has always been better to have known and dismissed than to never have known at all.
From now on I urge you, young business people, to stay focused on what’s really important in life. Continue to support the hard footwork journalist risk their lives doing. They go directly to the war zone to report, some go undercover to get the real nit and grit… do we even appreciate their hard work? Value the timeliness of the information given, the factual although sometime sided words. Think about what it is you really want from a journalist. If it’s a drastic change from the one we have, then maybe you should be the one implementing it.
Love,
The Editor
February 10th, 2010at 11:43 am(#)
To answer your first question… BOTH. I appreciate journalism. I want to read EVERYthing so in the end I can say, “Ugh… Who the heck cares about pandas?” and “MORE bad news? Dang.” I don’t think caring/talking about the Kanye/T.Swift thing means you don’t care about bigger issues. It seems to me that teenagers dictate the news now. They don’t seem to have a context for hard news, because they haven’t lived. They will — I hope. But hey, I appreciate you. (…if that helps.) =]
February 17th, 2010at 6:11 pm(#)
Journalism is defintitely a time consuming tasks. You either love it or hate it; no in between. I appreciate Journalists because if their dedication. Journalists keep the public informed. It can be challenging deciding what to write about or which story to eloaborate on. Society is a variation of age, race, intelligence, etc. You have to know what peoples’ interest are in order to gain their attention. Please continue to keep us informed on what you think is the news for that moment because you know it can change at anytime depending on who is doing what, when, where and how.
February 22nd, 2010at 6:44 pm(#)
Ms. Nicole: It’s good to know that someone cares about real journalism girl. I agree, the news is swayed but the younger population but we must take over!
Mrs. G: Journalists do keep the public informed and I am glad to be apart of this field. It is very rewarding especially if you know people are learning from the information that you are giving.
March 3rd, 2010at 7:09 pm(#)
HARD NEWS ROCKS! i could care less about ‘bald head’ Amber Rose and skinny jeans! yes its entertaining but there are SO many other serious things going on in life world wide that we need to be focused on. things that affect our present and future. thanks for putting this out there and i truly appreciate REAL journalism!
*i was born on the south side of Chi-town! holla!
March 16th, 2010at 7:44 am(#)
I can still appreciate good old-fashioned journalism.We still need to know what’s going on.But I love my gossip too! It makes money and its entertaining. So I’ll take my USA Today with a side of Bossip.com please.