Monday, November 23, 2009
Second Essay Rough Draft
Here is the link to my second essay rough draft, I feel that it has more voice than my other one.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Taking an Approach
In taking an approach, we are told to take all that we have been taught by Harris and do not exactly the opposite but rather apply them to the different approach he wants us to take as writers (Harris 74). What we have been doing as bloggers over the past semester is nothing in respect to “Taking an Approach”; what we are doing is forwarding what we get from our different sites and sources and respond to them and in a sense are adding our opinion to a story that has already been gnawed on by possibly millions of people. The next question that follows this is how then if we are just forwarding information and ideas around that we can take an approach and actually fulfill this duty to writing, and the answer is just to take an idea and put a spin on it or in essence just write it from a different point of view (Harris 75). Even though this seems similar to responding, it takes more effort to come up with personal ideas to support this approach; as Harris says, "To reshape, not replace or rebut." (Harris 74).
In my blog for example, it is evident that they try to take an approach (in respect to the news sites/ each other also) by adding either a question or a specific part of a story and make that the highlight of the topic. One site has its opinion blog which is basically taking an approach, while the other one has the day’s highlights and allows people to dictate them to the best of their abilities and react. For me to take an approach takes away some of the fire associated with the story or subject being discussed; if only one aspect is shown or the story has no background with it then there is information lost and a qualified opinion can be hard to conjure. In retrospect, the fact that the subject is being discussed and that now people are giving their views on a subject opens up a new and positive can of worms in which everyone with a blog can now see different points of views and either agree and tell why or disagree and elaborate on their feelings. Nevertheless, in terms of “Taking an Approach” The World Newer Blog does not compete with the New York Times in the sense that it is more specified and organized for what Harris is saying as taking the approach rather than forwarding, which is the key to what ABC News does in their blog for World News.
In my blog for example, it is evident that they try to take an approach (in respect to the news sites/ each other also) by adding either a question or a specific part of a story and make that the highlight of the topic. One site has its opinion blog which is basically taking an approach, while the other one has the day’s highlights and allows people to dictate them to the best of their abilities and react. For me to take an approach takes away some of the fire associated with the story or subject being discussed; if only one aspect is shown or the story has no background with it then there is information lost and a qualified opinion can be hard to conjure. In retrospect, the fact that the subject is being discussed and that now people are giving their views on a subject opens up a new and positive can of worms in which everyone with a blog can now see different points of views and either agree and tell why or disagree and elaborate on their feelings. Nevertheless, in terms of “Taking an Approach” The World Newer Blog does not compete with the New York Times in the sense that it is more specified and organized for what Harris is saying as taking the approach rather than forwarding, which is the key to what ABC News does in their blog for World News.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Forwarding
The Vast Majority
As I go through my classmates’ different news sources I see that we as a class have a common “fall guy” as I like to put it. The majority of the class seems to be interested in searching the known news sites such as CNN, ABCNEWS, FOXNEWS, etc. It may be the fact that the lack of televisions on campus force students to go to these sites, or maybe the commonality or recognition that comes with these news sites give a comfort to students that they can trust the material they are getting from their trusted news site. This, however, I see as a misconception due to the fact that different sites/stations have their different approaches and biases.
Hedges and Carr would both see this as the fallout from the advancement of technology. Both would perceive these methods of getting the news as I interpret it as a sign of the times; less radio and television, and more surfing the internet and doing less research. With online news, the reader has the option of what they want to read about. The web page is organized so that instead of having to read the whole paper to find out what you wanted to know, now you can just look under the organized tab or column and search for the specific article you were searching for. Nevertheless, Thompson would see this as the advancement of the human mind to be able to organize a system that would assist people to find out what they were looking for as quickly as possible. The ability to find out about the world in a matter of seconds is a revelation that we are more civilized as a nation and have more information to indulge our minds into.
The fact of the matter in which I write this paragraph over shows the difference one class and chapter in a book can make. The reason why these news sources are popular are because we are forwarding the information given to us by different web pages, and word of mouth along. As you are reading this, I am forwarding to you what people have told me and doing what Hedges and Carr might see as adding to the downfall of human nature by the blogging and technological world.
I revised the whole last paragraph as I had a whole different aspect on how people got their news. Rather than see the obvious fact that the news is forwarded from one source or person to another, I was stating my idea as whoever is giving the news is the firsthand witness to the event. As Harris tells us that we are just forwarding information and not changing it, it surprises me how different sources forward information but yet change it when they have no right to do so. If the story is being used on a opinionated program then by all means tear and do whatever you want to do to the story, but when it comes down to reporting the news, the facts are all that should be given.
As I go through my classmates’ different news sources I see that we as a class have a common “fall guy” as I like to put it. The majority of the class seems to be interested in searching the known news sites such as CNN, ABCNEWS, FOXNEWS, etc. It may be the fact that the lack of televisions on campus force students to go to these sites, or maybe the commonality or recognition that comes with these news sites give a comfort to students that they can trust the material they are getting from their trusted news site. This, however, I see as a misconception due to the fact that different sites/stations have their different approaches and biases.
Hedges and Carr would both see this as the fallout from the advancement of technology. Both would perceive these methods of getting the news as I interpret it as a sign of the times; less radio and television, and more surfing the internet and doing less research. With online news, the reader has the option of what they want to read about. The web page is organized so that instead of having to read the whole paper to find out what you wanted to know, now you can just look under the organized tab or column and search for the specific article you were searching for. Nevertheless, Thompson would see this as the advancement of the human mind to be able to organize a system that would assist people to find out what they were looking for as quickly as possible. The ability to find out about the world in a matter of seconds is a revelation that we are more civilized as a nation and have more information to indulge our minds into.
The fact of the matter in which I write this paragraph over shows the difference one class and chapter in a book can make. The reason why these news sources are popular are because we are forwarding the information given to us by different web pages, and word of mouth along. As you are reading this, I am forwarding to you what people have told me and doing what Hedges and Carr might see as adding to the downfall of human nature by the blogging and technological world.
I revised the whole last paragraph as I had a whole different aspect on how people got their news. Rather than see the obvious fact that the news is forwarded from one source or person to another, I was stating my idea as whoever is giving the news is the firsthand witness to the event. As Harris tells us that we are just forwarding information and not changing it, it surprises me how different sources forward information but yet change it when they have no right to do so. If the story is being used on a opinionated program then by all means tear and do whatever you want to do to the story, but when it comes down to reporting the news, the facts are all that should be given.
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