Journalism from the 18th Century to Now (Sounds Ambitious but I Promise it is not), technically blog post 7

The question in the prompt for this weeks blog post reads: "Have you noticed a difference in your writing voice when you write for the public vs writing for an assignment dropbox?"

My answer is "no", only because I write a dropbox assignment with the idea that my work could potentially be shared with a larger audience than I anticipate (although I doubt any piece of mine has been that good).

The next question was about the advancement of the news since the 18th century.
The very little "journalism" I do follow today is very simple, which to me is something that older journalism would avoid. My generation has b.s. sites like Buzzfeed or VICE. I hate VICE because their articles are always these trendy/hipster/nonsense like: "I Sat Beside a Vietnamese-North Korean Warlord and Showed Him How to Enjoy the Films of Quentin Tarantino". Of course VICE is not representative of all 21st century news sources, but the trendy stuff aimed at my generation is garbage disguised as insight. A lot of reliable news sources (like "The Daily Show" of which I am not a fan, but hear many things about)  are able to poke fun at current events while also addressing many concerns. Comedy has always been utilized when it comes to attacking the lack of common sense in an opponent's argument so it is nice to see that this is a characteristic that is still prevalent. Now, "public writing" is an interesting concept to look at. I think social media has given a voice to people that may not have been able to get their voices out there into the world. Social media forces us to look at each other and see what we share and like on Facebook, or a blog like Tumblr, or what we choose to Tweet @ (that symbol was used intentionally, by the way) someone. However, I would argue that public writing has less substance and meaning. A tweet like "LOL @Donald Trump" serves no higher purpose than expressing your opinion on a topic. There is a lot of useless information going into circulation this way.

There are still professional news sources, such as The New York Times (one I skim here and there). Their writing is not as self-serving as CNN or Fox, and has less of the not subtle humor my generation seems to be fond of.

Picture: https://img.memecdn.com/not-to-mention-jon-stewart-is-funny-clever-and-actually-criticises-capitalism_o_2808637.jpg

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Locke's Influence on Modern Thinking (WEEK 4)

Image
"Thinking... for myself? ...Why?" John Locke pitched an interesting idea: the text he wrote was not subject to his reasons for writing the piece or his goal for the piece. You can write a piece that makes you feel a certain way. (Poetry is probably the best example) But people bring their own viewpoints and experience to the poetry you wrote. That sad couplet? That might make someone chuckle at an old flame. Or think of flowers in the rain or something weird. In regards to the Enlightenment, this was a heavy idea. A reader had a certain amount of responsibility and this idea was not heavily considered prior. A story was a story, right? Now, there is interpretation and theorizing. Ever watched an episode of Twin Peaks ? Same idea. You bring with you a level of understanding and experience no one else shares. I do like Locke's piece a lot, and I think it's very interesting he would make mention of this type of relationship unfolding between a reader and a work
Read more

My Final Restoration Blog Post: Did the Enlightenment Work?

In class, Dr. Harris posed the question of whether or not the Enlightenment, a movement that sought to pull humanity out of the dark, succeeded in doing so. I am to look at the world today and try my best to answer that question and for the most part I have it figured out. I think the Enlightenment was a breath of fresh air before the eventual pull-back into the water (the dark). This was a time in which things were questioned: religion and science were fluctuating dramatically, art flourished, and independent thought was overflowing. These days, in 21st Century America, are dark. The President, whether or not you agree with me, has put people on edge. From talks of potentially using the nuclear arsenal to making sexist comments about grabbing women, the guy is a menace. Granted, he was supposedly elected "fairly" and this is what our country is stuck with for the next few years. There seem to be more public shootings reported; American citizens grabbing assault rifles and
Read more

THE ENLIGHTENMENT, SON (Week 1)

From prior knowledge and history courses, I thoroughly love the idea and accomplishments of the Enlightenment. No other time had come before where people were in a mentality to question everything, challenge everything, to go forth into the unknown. I love this! Religion? Hold on! A king and queen telling colonies what to do? No way! Divine right is a joke, and art is an important thing. I enjoy punk rock. I think punk rock makes something new out of what has come before. It questions ideas and concepts: "the norm" if you will. You take the norm and you add some flavor, something new and unique. It might work and it might not. If it does not, you will fail and learn, pick up your pieces and try again. If it works, and it catches on, it can only get better. Punk rock challenged the tastes, skills, and standards that come before. But maybe the idea of punk rock came from a bunch of people who thought the rules of their society were weird. It came from people who were not afraid
Read more