My Final Reflective Blog

Before I started this class, I think everything I knew, or what I thought I knew, was based off of misconceptions. I assumed that journalism, meant solely print journalism and broadcasting; I didn't think a journalist was anyone whose work wasn't in a magazine or newspaper, or wasn't reported in the evening news on television. I assumed that blogging was something that people did when they wanted to chronicle their daily lives, like an online journal, which I think had been put in my head by movies and television shows that I've seen. Any other form of blogging was assumed to be entertainment blogs, about celebrities, like Perezhilton.com, or other forms of pop culture. And I had no idea was citizen journalism was, so I had no prior thoughts about it, before the class. Overall, I think I had a black and white thought of what journalism was, and wasn't, and obviously I was wrong.

After taking this class, I learned that journalism is basically the action of writing. I learned that a person does't have to be Diane Sawyer, or a famous novelist, to be a journalist. If a person writes, whether its a blog, or an article, they can be a journalist. This proves true with the phenomena of the citizen journalist. These people are writing their thoughts, opinions, and experiences, often times without having any professional background, but a keyboard and a message, and allowing other people to see their work, which I learned, makes them journalists. One of the outlets for this work can be blogging, which I learned doesn't always have to be about the latest tabloid gossip, but about important events, like politics, and other serious issues. The thing I remember most from the readings, which was probably my favorite section, was the issue in Convergence Culture. The Harry Potter issue really hit home to me, because when I first heard that the section was about him, I assumed it was going to be something that glorified the books, movies, or JK Rolwing, and what the franchise has done for pop culture. No, alas, there was a conflict, one between adults and children, that really intrigued me, and opened my eyes to how things in our society can be perceived and written about. And maybe because it was formally written about, rather than on television or a gossip blog, but in a well-known book, I liked it even more. I didn't disagree with anything in our readings, in neither Convergence Culture, or We The Media. Especially in We The Media, I felt like everything discussed always came from a valid and relevant place; I never wondered why I was reading a particular section, or if I would be able to apply it to the class. And the events discussed were actual and true, so I didn't really feel like I could necessarily disagree.

The hands-on element of the class was by far the hardest part. I learned a lot, which was good, for more than just an education value. I learned how to film and post videos, which helps me a great deal, since I was want to be a newscaster. I also liked the audio portion of the class; I had used voice recorders before, but I never used them for any substantial record keeping. Journalists use recorders to record their subjects so they can go back it later. I know really learning how to use it was also more than just for education. In the real world, at my job, I'll more than likely have to use a recorder at sometime, and learning how to pull quotes and information from the data, and edit will undoubtedly help me with my job. The writing portion, which I was the most comfortable with, was probably the portion that I learned the most from. I had to learn how to use my sources to write a good article, and also be able to interject my own thoughts and ideas into it. I was used to writing opinion pieces, and I have never interviewed anyone for anything before. For once, Jacara was not my only source, but I had to find two others. Obviously learning how to have outside sources will help me in the real world with my other classes, outside of those for my communications major, and when I finally become a journalist. Covering stories that happened on the Albright Campus and around the Reading area, I must admit, was a pain. It was fun in the beginning, to interview people I knew, and people I didn't know, but after a while it got to be extremely tedious...and a bit boring. I think that we still should have been limited to the Albright community to interview, since outside sources may have be difficult to reach, but we should have been able to discuss topics that we wanted to choose. I was itching to do a video piece on effect of Barack Obama on the campus, and/or how Michelle Obama has influenced fashion, and interview Albright students (mainly those majoring in fashion), and I never got the chance to do that, which was a disappointment. The class critiques of the blogs and podcasts were okay; I was never uncomfortable to do them, or the possibility that someone would critique mine, because they would be posted on such a public site anyway. I sometimes thought that the grades of the critiques were a little harsh, especially since this was the first class, of its kind, for a lot of us that demanded so much work and dedication. Although I said I didn't like that we didn't get to choose topics beyond the Reading area, I did like how we could choose the topics. Granted, I had to do my projects on somethings I was less than ecstatic to do, but I didn't hate any of them. I'm glad the professors didn't choose them for us; it would have made it extremely boring, and by choosing our own topics, we were able to freely choose the angles that we wanted to focus our stories on, and do it on our own time. of course, we had to be responsible for our stories and make sure that they "balanced", which I hated having to concentrate so hard on in the beginning, but enjoyed challenging myself towards the end. The way I look at it is, when I become a paid journalist, I won't always be able to choose my topics, and even if I do, I won't always like them. I detest extreme discussion of politics and foreign affairs, but my job may ask to research that, so I'd have to do it. This class prepared for having to deal with that situation.

In conclusion, this class taught me a lot about the role of the journalist, especially the citizen blogger. I know think that citizen blogging is a part of journalism, and I understand the importance of the voice of the people. These random, freely speaking people have something to say, and I now think they have the right to say it. People can read anything online, and now they have not only the opportunity to read the Daily News but Joe Schmoe's thoughts too. I like that, and since this class, I have been reading more citizen blogs. Blogging plays a big part in the role of communications. Not only is it an open range for people to tell how they feel, but they can join with people who feel the same way that they do, and talk about their thoughts. I don't think if people have an outlet to discuss how they feel, then they may as well not write anything. Whats the point of writing, when you have to be censored all the time?