The movie Shattered Glass certainly caused me to raise an eyebrow at all the intricacies behind ethics in journalism. First of all, I was taken aback by how intricate the editing process of news is. More so, I was surprised that this system could be tricked. It's worrying that reporters could potentially get away with publishing pieces that are embellished or completely false. After all, the news is supposed to be reliable, and it is the journalist's job to uphold the integrity of this. Even the smallest facts were brought into question in the movie, which just goes to show that thoroughness is one of the most important parts of reporting. Each detail is scrutinized and inspected.

Overall, I enjoyed being in this class. Reading the news every day helped keep me up to date on current events as well as modeling methods for journalistic reporting. I also enjoyed learning photoshop for our advirtising unit, but I didn't think it was a very precise way to do page layout for our articles. Maybe I didn't get everything done on time (senior sliding, oops), but I nevertheless enjoyed the exposure to realistic concerns in the journalism industry, such as libel and ethics.

Editorial

Communication is innate. From our humble beginnings of crying, babbling, and using our tiny hands and feet to the letters we ignore in the mail, the small-talk we make while in line at Target, and the nods and signals we give other drivers at a stop sign, humans are always communicating. We communicate to share inform others, to persuade, to convey emotion, to understand. We use our gestures, facial expression, vocal expression, and technology to do so. But most importantly, we use our words.

However, these vital pieces of communication are losing their value. It’s true this is not a new phenomenon; language has always been growing and adapting with the changing world. Even Shakespeare molded the language of time to suit his needs, coining words like assassin and bump. He revolutionized the language of his time, and compared to the way we speak now, it’s quite apparent that English, sans the ‘thou’s and ‘methinks’ of the 1700’s, has been changing. Look at James Joyce’s Ulysses, which begins in Olde English and evolves in its linguistics chronologically as the book progresses on to show the progression of language through the ages.

Yes, our language is malleable. It bends to suit the times. But in the rapid-fire nature of our society, now rampant with instant communication, can often strip language its basics. Sure, language is essential in sharing the necessities of information, the who’s, what’s, and where’s. At its barest, words are tools to say what needs to be said. But as we limit our text messages to quick snippets of words and begin to think in ‘LOL’s, we forget that language has a much deeper value.

We’ve evolved from the sonnets of Shakespeare for a reason. While we used to script poetry in iambic pentameter, poetry has broken formulaic standards of the past and opened new doors. It’s not a bad thing. In this case, language has still been fine tuned and crafted to an art. English often gets a bad rap for being an ‘ugly’ language, without the flourish and ‘issimo’s of romantic European tongues. But English is beautiful when seen as an art, with the potential to be spun into brilliant stories and descriptions.

The problem at hand lies in the fact that now we boil what could be art to nothing more than raw material. English is being broken by the fast paced nature of society. We abbreviate everything, add ‘like’ between words to fill in our silence, and rely on easy crutches for descriptions: cool, lame, sucked, etc.

When we abuse English by treating it as nothing more than a vehicle for basic communication, we lose the richness and value of how much language can actually convey. Falling into sound byte traps of society is an insult to the true nature of language. Yes, it’s a means of communication. But it’s more than that. We don’t have to simply ‘LOL’; we can share our emotions with phrases like ‘the immense pleasure I feel is immeasurable, and I can’t help but nearly combust from this laughter’.

We hold in our minds the potential for true art. Not all of us are poets, but we can all appreciate the effect language has on our world if we value how rich our communication through words can truly be.

In light of the recent Japanese disaster, members of Eastview's Japanese club kicked off their fundraising efforts to contribute to the relief effort on Wednesday, April 27^th. They plan to raise money to donate to victims of the March 11^th tsunami and ensuing nuclear emergency.

Nearly two months ago, Japan’s coast was struck with an earthquake registering a 9.0 on the Richter scale. This tectonic movement resulted in a devastating tsunami, leaving thousands dead or missing. The New York Times recently reported 14,133 people are proclaimed dead, while 13,346 people are still listed as missing.

Meanwhile, the country was plagued with radioactive gas leaks and explosions. Traces of radiation were found in Tokyo’s water and the ocean, endangering the people of Japan even further. In this time of crisis, the global community rallied together to raise support and funding for relief efforts for the island country.

The relief efforts have taken a more localized avenue in the past week at Eastview, however. The Japanese club at the school is reaching out to lend a helping hand for Japan in this time of crisis through their fundraising efforts.

Starting on the 27^th, the J-Club will be selling an assortment of items for money to donate to the Red Cross Japanese Relief efforts. One of the most popular items so far is a ‘Help Japan’ wristband. These can be seen on the wrists of various Eastview students, reading ‘Help Japan’ in English on one side and Japanese on the other.

And what else is in store?

The J-club is also featuring $1 raffle tickets to enter in a drawing to win a series of prizes, including things like movies or even prom tickets. In addition, Japanese candy is being sold.

Paper cranes are also on sale for $1 each. The volunteers have been folding the origami cranes for weeks preceding the fundraiser. While most people have opted for the bracelets over the cranes, Alissa notes it’s the symbolism of the cranes that’s most important to her.

“There’s an old Japanese legend that if you can make one thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true,” Alissa Wong, active member of the Japanese Club’s relief effort committee explains. These paper cranes can also be seen in classrooms around the school to remind students of the J-Club’s hopes to raise enough money to help Japan significantly.

And have they made a thousand yet?

“I’m sure!” Alissa laughs.

However, questions have risen about whether or not the fundraiser is doing its job. “I think it's really great that they are helping the quake victems in Japan, but the ticket sales in the commons hasn't really caught anyone's attention,” said an observing junior, Derek Thomas.

That hasn’t stopped the J-Club promotions yet. They have been advirtising heavily in the halls and even made an appearance to sell at the May Day 5K Scholarship Run.

And finally, why should we help?

Student Maddie Catlin puts in her two cents, explaining “Well, we should obviously help Japan because it's the right thing to do, but beyond that it's also important because if we can show that we care and get the ball rolling, others might do the same.”

“When a disaster hit a country as prepared as Japan, I think that people underestimate the aid necessary,” Junior Nita Chai explains, who purchased Japanese candy and a wristband from the fundraiser. “But the fact is, that this was a MASSIVE natural disaster, and well developed or not, Japan definitely needs our help.”

As Eastview’s J-Club strives to raise money, they also do something else important for the Eastview community. “[The fundraiser] makes a financial difference,” Maddie went on to say, “But more importantly, it also raises awareness.”

Interview Questions

Alissa Wong - grade 12
Maddie Catlin - grade 11

Derek Thomas - grade 11

Nita Chai - Grade 11

How has the Japanese crisis affected Eastview?
What are you doing to help?
How can students get involved?

What do you think of the J-Club's fundraiser?

Have you bought anything from the fundraiser?
Why is it important to help Japan?

Lead:

In light of the recent Japanese disaster, members of Eastview's Japanese club kicked off their fundraising efforts to contribute to the relief effort on Wednesday, April 27^th

Hard News Notes

Hard news -Around 600 words
Starts with a lead: who, what, where, when, why, how. Summarize story in one/two sentences.
Writing: clear, uncluttered. Give the information that the reader needs.
Allows for editing space, written in inverted pyramid.

Soft news - anything that's not time sensitive.
Feature story - about twice as long, explores an issue, more narrative style.
Editorial - a person's opinion, persuasive.

Story - Japanese crisis spurs student response at Eastview.

Definition: Define “Journalism” in 1-3 sentences. The telling of current events that are newsworthy through writing (newspaper, magazines, internet). Six criteria of newsworthiness.

1. Timeliness: things that are current- Latest weather, recent sports, new developments on issues, etc.

2. Prominence: updates on important/famous people - Obama getting a dog, Prince William's marriage (Us Weekly, People)

3. Proximity: news that's close to us - Traffic and weather, smaller stories (i.e. crime) in the area

4. Significance: events that are large and affect many people - Japan disaster, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina

5. Unusualness: events that are out of the ordinary - Murders, house fires, natural disaster

6. Human Interest: 'feel-good' stories - Baby pandas, rescue stories

What are the advantages of print journalism?

1. Detail - stories go into much more depth than broadcast journalism.

2. Control - reader chooses what they read and how much they read.

3. Tangibility - can take it with you, easily archeived, etc.

What are the advantages of broadcast journalism?

1. Timeliness - keeps up with current situation.

2. Video and sound - powerful footage to emphasize story.

3. Ease - can access almost anywhere

Why has online journalism (convergent media) become so popular?

It combines the best elements of broadcast and print journalism. Up-to-date, instantaneous, and with many options, it revolutionizes journalism through melding the two.