Archive for March, 2009

El Periodico Newspaper

{ March 30, 2009 @ 7:56 pm } · { Journalism 2.0 }
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sunsentinelLooking over the El Periodico I noticed that most of the sections, such as sports and economy, are pretty much the same. My newspaper from home, The Sun Sentinel, is very similar in that aspect. They also both have newspapers for different regions. The Sun Sentinel for example is most of south Florida. It’s my area, Boca Raton, and the surrounding areas as well. While I was looking through the El Periodico I noticed that in the classified section they advertise women; women selling theme selves for money, also known as prostitution. This type of thing would never happen in a newspaper in the United States. Prostitution is illegal in the U.S and I am assuming from the newspaper it is not here. I think that it is vulgar and should not allow being in any newspaper. Women should not be selling themselves as though they are an object meant for sale. It disgusted me that they would even consider having that in a newspaper. I know that prostitution still goes on in the United States but it is not as clear as it is here.

Another aspect of the newspapers is that the El Periodico is a lot more colorful. The Sun Sentinel uses color but I felt as though the newspaper in Spain had more, and also seemed as though it had more pictures but that might not be true. The Sun Sentinel, while looking through it online, I noticed that they had a few articles about Spain and the El Periodico had a few articles about the United States. For both countries they mention each other, in my opinion, about the same amount. They write articles on what they believe should be printed.

Overall, my conclusion, is that media has influence on most people. Whether or not you read the newspaper or see little clippings of it while you are walking past a news stand, something catches your eye and that’s the point. Every newspaper is out there to get your attention one way or another. I am a mass media communications major and have learned the ways of media. They are all after one thing, you. Newspapers, radio shows and news shows, whether they will admit it or not, place things in certain orders and timing to make sure you hear exactly what they want and for how long. Even the newspapers control the length of the article and tell the writer the strong points to make sure they are in the article were the reader can easily spot it. Media has a way of getting to all of us whether we like it or not.

War Journalism

{ March 24, 2009 @ 7:29 pm } · { Personal Opinions }
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“Why photograph war? Is it possible to put an end to a form of human behavior, which has existed throughout history, by the means of photography?” This quote by James Nachtwey, in my opinion, sums up the reason one chooses to be a war photographer. A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories about a war. In my opinion, one of the most extreme jobs out there; their life is constantly in danger. These types of journalists have come across a lot of controversy in their day. They have revealed things to the public that we would have never found out if it were not for war journalists. They tell a story about an event through photos. They show the world what we need to see. I never thought about photojournalism before I took this class and I never stopped and thought about how much goes into it, especially when you are a war photographer. It entails more than just snapping photos and getting the next great shot. They have to be physically and mentally prepared. War journalists almost, in my eyes, have to relate with a criminal. They have to pretend they do not have a heart in order to receive the picture they want; to be able to go back and tell their story and get their point across with his or her pictures. James Natchwey could not have said it more perfect when he said “And I realized that many of the people I was photographing might have been the very ones who had committed the massacstarving-african-children-aidsres that I had witnessed just a few weeks before. And it was like taking the express elevator to hell.” He knew by taking the photos that he wanted, he was choosing to participate in something immoral. Even when Ahmed Fadaam made the statement about his pictures telling the world what is truly happening during a war, I completely agree with him but he is still participating in this circle of choosing immorality. Pictures that war journalists take are showing everyone what is really going on and letting us know what human beings are capable of committing. But what makes it right for war journalists to jus take the pictures and not help? When I saw the picture with the little boy starving and the volcher looking at him, with the intentions of eating him when he dies, I was disgusted. I was not disgusted at the picture but at the idea of someone taking this picture and than finding out that he took the picture and left the boy. I understand that journalists want the world to see the truth. To be aware of what is going on in the world besides what people and the government says. I am in agreement with this but what I do not understand is how they can just let the boy die. You have time to take the picture and save the boy because by you leaving the boy, in my eyes, you are just as guilty. You are participating in the war. I am a firm believer in the saying “practice what you preach.” These photographers want to relay the message back to the public but they also decide not to be involved. In my eyes, becoming a war journalist, you are involved. I will also sate the counter argument that if they save one, they have to save all. I see that point but when you have the chance to take the picture and save a human life, than do it. Yes you are risking a lot, but people know what they are risking by choosing that profession. Betrand Russel made the choice of taking that photo without saving the child but is that right or wrong? I feel that this is a debate that has gone on for a very long time and will continue to as long as journalists continue to take pictures like this and not help.

Blogs in the Corporate World

{ March 23, 2009 @ 2:44 pm } · { Journalism 2.0 }
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Why are blogs the way of the World these days? Blogs have made a huge impact in today’s society, especially because we are internet literate. Corporations are slowly choosing to make blogs between their employees and also for customers to read and discuss their opinions. There are both sides of the spectrum and I am going to discuss both. I understand why blogs could be beneficial to a company. They can receive feed back on a product and analyze how they can improve it. They also can become more personal with their customers and take into consideration their thoughts and feelings about different issues. I also think that blogs between employees is a great way to stay in contact. If a boss wanted to make a general comment to all the employees, writing it on a blog may be more beneficial than sending a mass email. Now for the other side of the argument; why blogs can not be useful. Companies, like Sony and Wal-Mart, take advantage of the idea that you do not know who the person writing the blog is and make up a fake story. This is one of the big reasons why my generation is not trustworthy of today’s society. You never know who is telling the truth, who is really who they say they are and so on. It makes us question everyone and this is not they way I would want things but it is the way it is because of people who do not tell the truth. Me, personally, I would not start a blog for my company because I feel that it has not made it big enough yet to make an impact. I feel that my generation is what companies aim to. We are the next generation of doctors, lawyers and politicians and we can make a difference. To further discuss the trust issue, I feel that Americans have lost the trust of many, even in their own country. If I was a company in a different country, I would probably have more motive to use blogs or even make a blog for my company because they are more trustworthy. I have learned this just by the few months that I have lived in Spain. I notice that Europe trusts their citizen much more, which I like. For example, even though this is the littlest thing, but when you go into a Tapas restaurant they trust you to bring the toothpicks to the front and pay. In American this would never happen. No restaurant would do this because many people would just walk out without paying. I wish things in America were more trustwrothy than they are. All of this comes back to why I do not believe the blogs out there. When they say that Obama has a blog and answers all of the citizens quetsions, I beg to differ. I do not have trust in many things of the world.

Ireland

{ March 22, 2009 @ 10:03 pm } · { Travels }
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saint-patys-51I choose to spend the weekend before Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland. I have never been to Ireland, so I was extremely excited to visit. I arrived in Dublin March 13th and we made our way to our Hostel, Abbey Court. This hostel was by far the worst hostel I have ever stayed in. I would highly not recommended it to anyone else. The rooms looked like jail cells and the bathrooms were very unclean. I stayed there three nights to long. The first day there we went to the Guinness Factory. The factory was displayed very well. That night was one of the girls we were with 21st birthday. To Americans turning 21 is a big deal, to every other country its just another birthday. We celebrated that night and the next because it happened to be another girls 21st the following day as well. Saturday we went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, one of the famous castle’s in Dublin and a museum. Sunday we made our way to a Saint Patrick’s Day festival that was going on downtown. I enjoyed Ireland a lot. The people were really nice and the food was very close to American. It was nice to have American food for a change. What I did notice about Dublin was the high prices. My friends and I had McDonald’s one morning and even that was a bit pricey. Overall I would recommend Ireland but even if you speak english you may need a translator.

Photography and Today’s Society

{ March 17, 2009 @ 6:11 pm } · { 1 }
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In my opinion, photography has made a change for the worse. The pictures are never what they seem. When a model takes a photograph for the cover of a magazine, that one picture is altered in so many ways. It makes the human look to perfect. One of the best examples of how fake today’s Ad pictures are, is from the dove commercial “Evolution.” It truly shows how much a person and a picture are altered from the beginning until the end. Not only is the woman in the commercial changed physically by make -up and hair stylists, she is altered by technology. When I saw this commercial for the first time in my Mass Media class at my university in Florida, it made me really think about the media as a whole. Photography is changing with the media, in the wrong direction. If my mom or dad thinks of photography, they think of great photographers of their time, ones that really made a lasting impression. If they asked me the same question, I would say one word, Photoshop. It does not matter these days whether or not you’re a good photographer, if the final photo is good than you make the cut. That is not how it should be and it is not how it used to be. Technology, in my eyes, is making the photography world crumble down. I look at the next Vogue cover and think to myself, how many times did they fix this photo before it was perfect in their eyes? For once, I would love to truly see a picture of a model or just an ordinary girl. I have even heard of celebrities getting upset when they see their final photo on the magazine cover and it was noticeably altered. Faith Hill was extremely upset when Redbook Magazine photoshoped her picture to look thinner. She made it known that she was extremely upset with them altering her picture without her permission. The fact that magazines and photographers are allowed to do that without someone’s approval is immoral. Photoshoping and editing pictures to make models look perfect also trickles down to society and what people are beginning to believe they should look like. When a man or a woman walks into a grocery store and sees the perfect female or male on a cover of a magazine, they strive to look like that. What is sad, is that person’s photo was edited so many times that they don’t even truly look like that. I am not completely blaming technology and the people who created programs like Photoshop and Pcnick because I am at fault as well. Everyone my age is at fault, for the most part. When I take pictures of a night out or a trip I have recently taken, I upload my photos, see how they look and then use Pcnick to change or enhance how I look. When the photos are exactly the way I want them, than I upload them to Facebook. Most people, including me, care what other people think so before any picture goes up, they are carefully altered and chosen.

Politics 2.0

{ March 17, 2009 @ 5:59 pm } · { Journalism 2.0 }
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American politics compared to most countries is very different. Politicians spend much more effort and money into their campaign. They start their campaigning almost two years before the election even begins and they are extremely clear in their beliefs. I have lived in the United States all my life so I only know America’s way of politics but I can say that I do not totally agree with it. Politics should not be swarmed all over the television for a year before the election begins. Also, the amount of money that politicians spend on campaigns is sickening. What happened to voting for a president or senate based solely on their views. Now a day it is based on how much money you put into your campaigning. I also feel that several Americans vote based on their party only. They do not listen to the candidates point of views before making up their mind, which in my eyes is what makes many voters uneducated. I believe, in my opinion, that there are more voters than there should be that do not totally understand what they are voting for. Several Americans just follow the rest of the crowd than truly vote for what they believe. There are also many that are ignorant and do not want to listen to the other side. I consider myself well educated when it comes to politics but of course I do not know everything. I try to always be informed and educated when it comes to what I truly believe in. I think that both parties whether republican or democrat has a lot of offer to make the United States better but we need to focus on that instead of the little things that do not matter. America needs to focus on America. We have a problem with wanting to save other countries but our country needs saving first, we are to worried about other countries that we have let ours get to the point it is in now. We also have made decisions in choosing a president that is very inexperienced. I worry about what is happening and what is going to happen in the future with the economy. It is hard for me to trust a man that does not have a lot of experience to back him up. From what I have read, and this is just based on that because I am currently out of the country, but he is not backing what he was saying. Obama is getting a lot of criticism from people for not pulling through with what he said but once again I guess this is just a another politician lying to get his way to the top. I hope for my countries sake, he proves me wrong.

Munich, Germany

{ March 2, 2009 @ 10:05 pm } · { 1, Travels }
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hofbraMunich, Germany is one of my favorite cities in Europe. I went there for the first time two and half years ago and I loved it. I just got back from their today and had a great weekend. We arrived on Friday and checked into our hotel, Novotel Hotel, it was a great location and very nice hotel for a good price. I visited the Modern Art Museum that day and went to the Hofbrauhaus house at night. The hofbrauhaus is one of my favorite places to go in Munich, even though it is a huge tourist place, I still enjoy it very much. If anyone ever goes to Germany, I recommend the Hofbrauhaus right away. The next day we went to Dachau, which is a concentration camp in Munich. It was an interesting experience and I learned a lot. After that we had lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Aran. It was a great lunch place with the most amazing open face Sandwiches. Later that day we made our way over to the BMW museum which was interesting but not as great as I expected. Saturday night we ate a great vegetarian restaurant. Sunday morning we woke up and went to a town called Fussen and went to an historical Castle which was absolutely breathtaking. Overall my trip to Munich was very successful and I felt I saw a lot. I felt extremely safe in Munich at all times, which a lot of places in Europe I do not feel so safe. They are very high tech in their technology, a lot more than Spain. They had the same phones and service they we have in America and it was extremely interesting to see that. My friend has T-mobile and they had that cell phone service in Germany. I love the people there, they are extremely friendly. Something I also noticed was almost every person we spoke to in Munich spoke English, which was great for us and it made me respect their country in the sense that so many people knew another language, not just because it was English. I feel that is one thing, out of many, that our country lacks. Not a lot of people can speak two languages. Even the lady at the McDonalds spoke English. It just goes to show how well educated they are.

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