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At the going down of the sun and in the morning...we will remember them

I met Private Alan Sheldon last year on Remembrance Day over a cup of black coffee and bag of old war keepsakes.

I had arranged the interview with him ahead of time through my grandma, as he was one of the last of her friends from the Second World War she was still in contact with.

I was always under the impression that soldiers didn’t really like to tell their stories, that they had experienced too much and their ability to try to explain it to a third party had been turned off. Then I met Sheldon. I don’t know if it was because so much time had passed, because he had lost the majority of his old military buddies over the past few years, or because young people just don’t ask about it anymore.

When I had originally decided to get in touch with Sheldon again, it was to delve a bit deeper into a part of his story that we had barely skimmed last year. I wanted to hear more about the relationship between he and his girlfriend at the time (who passed away a few years ago after 68 years of marriage) who sent 408 letters to each other during the war.

I don’t know if its my prematurely jaded outlook on romance that causes me to feel disbelief towards his story, or the fact that I just can’t imagine living that way, being a child of the technology age in which communication is as easy as the click of a keyboard.

But this year, Sheldon had his own story he wanted to tell me.

“I don’t think we talked about my time in North Africa much last year. Did I tell you about that?”

After I agreed that we hadn’t spoken much about it, he went on to tell me about the nights he spent cramped in a tiny tram filled with about 35 people with no legroom.  He said he remembered waking up one night to an Arab trying to steal his large pack off him while he slept.

“I woke up and right away saw this Arab trying to be sneaky with my bag. So I fired two warning shots. I never hit him, but sent him off running. I’m glad I didn’t hit him though. In those days they told us, ‘if you hit an Arab and hurt him, you might as well just go back and kill him.’ You see, it costs more to take them to the hospital and get treatment than the $1 it costs to have them cremated.”

Hearing those words come out of this super sweet old man’s mouth was mind blowing to me. It actually BLEW my MIND that at one point, not that long ago people were taught to think that way about other people.

But, as awful as that story was, Sheldon also had some amusing stories to tell about his time in North Africa, particularly about being robbed by a group of Arabs.

“One night we’d been traveling for a few days on foot and we were really tired. So we set up tents and fell right asleep. A couple of us had figured we should be careful about the way we set up the tent because those Arabs sure were sneaky. So in the morning, when we woke up, one guy’s entire tent had been stolen from on top of him in the middle of the night. He didn’t even notice! We never let him forget it.”

I find talking to men, like Sheldon, fascinating. I know how privileged I am to have grown up where I have, but the sentiment is reinforced after hearing those stories.

But on top of that, just having the story told firsthand is proof that all of these things actually happened and to people who weren’t that much older or younger than myself. It definitely helps get the message across, in my opinion.

Sheldon ended this year’s conversation much the same way he ended our previous years: “I can’t imagine forgetting everything I’ve seen. For young people like you, it might seem like this didn’t really happen. But it did. And that’s why I kept all these things.”

                         Statue erected in 1922 in memory of fallen soldiers in WW1, WW2, and Korea in Stonewall

Remembrance Day 2010

Last year for Remembrance Day, I accompanied my grandma to the Stonewall Legion for their ceremony. We arrived at like 10 a.m. and it was already packed. My grandma and a couple of her friends commented that the ceremony had been growing much bigger of the past couple years and soon it would have to change locations to the new Stonewall arena.
I'm headed back this year to check this out. I'm going a half hour earlier, in accordance with my grandma and her friends' suggestions. Apparently everyone around town is saying to get there over an hour and a half early or you won't get in.
This year, our plan is to head there at 9:30 a.m.. A whole HOUR AND A HALF before anything starts. I have plans to do a follow up interview with one the veterans I spoke with last year. I had written an article about Private Alan Sheldon. Sheldon told me about the objects he found throughout his tour through Europe, including an unharmed plate he uncovered in the rubble of a demolished castle. He also told me about the 408 letters he sent back and forth with his girlfriend at the time.
I wish that I would have asked more questions about the letters and written an article about that aspect of the time he spent overseas. And I think that's what I'm going to do this year. I'm going to revisit Sheldon's story and dig deeper into his letter exchange.
To quote SV: "This is where the real story is. Start writing the movie script now and call it 408."
This has potential to be a good story.

Why I want this job.

I want the job of new host on The (204) at CBC. 

Why?

Because I conceived this idea in my head that I want to do radio. Who cares if I kind of have a weird voice, I'll just train myself a new one. NBD. I want to do radio.

Because I've spent basically the past year digging up arts and culture stories for The Projector. It's what interests me. That being said, I think it would be really cool to get local bands on the radio. I always imagine that every artist gets all crazy when they hear themselves on the radio the first couple times... ya know, like they do on TV. 

Radio class is one of my favourites. Sure, class isn't work and that's probably kind of lame to say because I'm still learning. But I love writing for radio, Dan seems to think I'm kind of good at it. 

In terms of what they want? I think I can do it.

You propose program ideas- Check, I do this once a week or so anyway for the Proj. And this show is weekly, so the timing wouldn't be as awkward.

Suggest and line up guests/interviewees-Check, I'm actually really good at getting interviews. 

Interviews on or off air and provide narration and linking continuity between program segments- Well, I think I know what this means and I want to say CHECK! But I could do interviews outside of the show and make it like a voicer or a script and clip. And I could have a theme that follows through my show. So its not just some scatterbrained episode after another. 

You interact extemporaneously with program participants (such as guests, interviewees, members of the audience and phone-in callers)- Sure, no problem. This could be fun. I mean, yeah, this could be kind of tricky on a show where the subject may or may not be my specialty. But the way the job posting is worded, leads me to believe that I would have a large influence on the show's content. So I think this is definitely doable.

You also have the ability to participate in public and/or community relations activities as appropriate, to promote the program(s) and/or Corporation- Check, I can definitely do this. I love promotion. I have no problem promoting my work to people I don't know. I think of this in the same terms as getting interviews. Just be confident about it.

 

Sex sells... but does death?

I always wondered how effective the use of graphic material is in the news.
Take, for example, the recent murder of Libyan dictator Muammuar Gaddafi.
Since his death on Oct. 20, social media sites have been purging stills and videos showing moments just after his death where anti-Gaddafi fighters rallied around his dead body.
Cell phone videos of the slain general’s body have circulated also circulated on different news stations, like BBC.

Sure, I know this is a pivotal moment in the history of Libya and the things he did during his reign were atrocious. But why do news sources air footage like this?
Does death sell as well as sex?
I guess the shock and curiosity factor is more likely to draw in larger audiences.
And I guess its “more acceptable” for someone like Gaddafi’s death to be shown worldwide, but what about someone like Nick Berg?
If you don’t remember Berg, he was the businessman who went to Iraq after the US invasion and was later beheaded by Islamic fighters.
While many news stations aired the footage of Berg’s decapitation, I appreciated ABC’s way of informing the country about this execution.
You can watch it by clicking here.
I might be one of those kind-of sick, desensitized from TV youth, but I know a lot of people aren’t. And to me, videos like this, aren’t meant for TV.

What do you guys think?

Learning to be in charge

Being at the top of the foodchain this year in CreComm has been a bit of a learning experience as an editor.

I spent the first half of last year and bits of the second half being a fervent writer for the Projector, rain or shine. 

By the time I was given the reigns on intern editing or full-time editing last year, my peers and I had learned the fundamental rules in writing an article. Not that there was no need for editing, but I just wasn't doing serious surgery to their words either. 

Come year two of CreComm, being the older (and hopefully more experienced) journalist, I have come across a few editing lessons learned.

1) Maintain serious communication. Within 24 hours of assigning the story, I send out emails to all my first year writers with the article information and possible contacts (for their first story only). Once I hear back from them, I give them a couple of days (maybe two) and bug them about whether they had any progress, what did they think their angle was going to, etc. And on the day before the articles are due, I send reminders to all writers. I don't know how I could do this job without a smart phone. 

2) Don't be too in-depth about articles. I spent a lot of time last year wondering why we just cover events and why we couldn't do more serious arts issues or something. Well the reason is because The Projector is training writers how to be journalists, so expecting people brand new to the game to start whipping out New York Times-esque stories is just a little too much expectation-wise. 

3) Set aside some serious hours to go over those articles. And this isn't because anyone is a bad writer or journalist, its more about making the story consistent with the rest of the section (in regards to format, amount of content, and proper grammar, etc) I've been giving myself, on average, about six hours per issue to make sure that stories flow, information checks out, they're newsworthy, and don't contain any auto-fails. 

4) Keeping a good relationship with media contacts is key. You don't want to burn any bridges by ignoring pushy PR people or being dismissive when they ask or send a reaction email to an article about them. Be honest when things can't run in the upcoming issue, apologize when mistakes are made, and always be friendly.

5) Set an initial deadline for writers a couple days before the real one. This is something that has come in handy for me in the past couple weeks. If writers get busy or someone doesn't get back to them in time, you have some extra padding.

6) Tell sources a fake deadline. Its important to let people know when you need to hear from them by so they can plan accordingly. Normally, the person you want to quote in the article will want to be quoted, its just a matter of telling them when. People are, by nature, procrastinators, so tell them a deadline a day or two before your deadline so you know you'll hear from them in time.

7) Make sure writers explain who sources are and why they are relevant to the story. Don't just say "24-year-old Dana Loewen thinks youth crime has risen in Manitoba rural towns." Explain why anyone should care what she thinks. For example, "24-year-old Youth Drop-in Worker Dana Loewen thinks youth crime has risen in Manitoba rural towns." Go a step further in the next sentence by saying, "Loewen, who has worked with teens in her town for five years, said, "....."
These added details make a story flow better, give better context to readers about the topic, and make your source all the more credible.

I'm sure this list will continue, especially after the first-years are done their mandatory articles and I'm begging people to write for me. I'm sure those editor lessons will be much more like this much cuter and much furrier beggar.

My selection for the election and more.

As many (if not all) of you know, Tuesday night was the provincial election in Manitoba. And as journalism students, we all went off to our media outlets of choice.
I had chosen CBC and was really excited to get in there and see what they would have me doing for the night, not to mention seeing what THEY would be doing for the night.
I chose CBC because its CBC. Growing up, that was the big new source in my family, and in my opinion, one of the top of the line that Canada has to offer.
Anyways, my excitement risen when I got an email from my contact there saying we would probably be going out with videographers and shadowing reporters in the field. I don't have a huge interest in doing television news, but I have an open mind about all things that make a journalist and want to know all of the different paths that can get me there.
Back to the story, so my classmate and I get to CBC at 7:25 p.m. (20 minutes earlier than we were told, but what can I say? We were keen.) All afternoon we were wondering what we were going to do and, almost as importantly, what should we wear?! But we were finally there.
After being introduced to our evening "supervisor", Pat (who is super nice and great), we were told that we missed the boat on going out into the field with reporters and we would be staying back in the hub with everybody. After a dose of mild disappointment furthered by the knowledge that first years were on camera upstairs, I realized that what we would be doing tonight was much more valuable. Sure, it would have been fun to help reporters at candidate HQs but at CBC we got to see how an integrated newsroom operates and how CRAZY busy everyone is all night.
An integrated newsroom is when all the different kinds of outlets (radio, tv, online, etc) all work together in the same room and alot of the content comes from the same person, breaking down the barriers between departments. For instance, a person who writes for the web may also do some live hits for the tv station.
I was a bit suprised with how few people were working that night, but was pretty impressed with how much a writer can get done in just an hour.
So our job for the night was to observe. After we toured the building, we sat in some empty desks in the hub with the online writers, editors, and reporters who were writing for a scheduled live hit, along with many other jobs.
In such a night of frenzy, it was pretty funny to watch reporters freaking out, trying to get their hit done by their deadline. We were standing outside with one particular who had been working since 4 a.m. who had just finished writing hers, and we watched her vent for a bit then turn into a complete pro as soon as the camera was on her. The transfomation in her was amazing, and hilarious- to just watch people switch off their current mood and get into reporter mode. I know everyone does it, and if I've learned anything from Anchorman, crazy things happen before the camera turns on.
My night at CBC was a big eye opener to how people are adjusting to the evolution of journalism. One of the reporters told me that a journalist's job has definitely exanded over the past years with social media, needing an online presence, and needing to have skills across the board, not just in one specialty. But this just confirmed that I was in the right program because these are things we do everyday, or at least once a week. AND it was also a nice slice of reality to know that I will be busy for the rest of my life, if this is something I choose to do forever, anyway. I had suspicions but seeing how quickly everyone moved and the stress that came with it, I know now. BUT, that's okay, I'm the kind of person that likes to be busy and feels useless when I'm not.
It was really cool to watch pros like Janet Stewart host the show. Yeah, I know that she reads of a teleprompter so everything she says isn't off the cuff, but teleprompters aren't easy either!
Last week we did a teleprompter exercise with Joanne Kelly that tested our ability to pronounce foreign names and not just rely on what the screen in front of us was saying. Some of the stories would have typos, a bunch of names that sounded the same, complete words missing, and run on sentences-all while listening to Lora talk in your ear. This was no piece of cake.
A few lessons: you need to read your stories first, know the pronunciations, take your time, and bring personality to the show. Also, there is no such thing as Lead Zepekin.
Even though Thursdays are never my greatest days, I'm always amazed that I made it through. But, I figure once I'm used to writing for tv, editing video, and talking on camera and trying to have it done within two hours, this should be a piece of cake, right?
Until then... I'll take comfort in the great names making some mistakes.

Is this what we've been waiting for? ..Or is she just a nut?

Just today I was pointed to an alternative news channel in town.
The Natalie Pollock News Channel. 


Started in what appears to be June 2008, Natalie Pollock has taken journalism into her own hands on the YouTube channel NiftyNataliePollock. She's covered a variety of local events from the Winnipeg Gay Pride Festival to this year's provincial election. 


And by covered, I mean she has gone out with a shaky video camera, acting as the videographer, and asking inane questions or pretending to be the interview subjects. 


This news channel could resemble a satirical Onion-esque tv channel. But for the most part it lacks the sophistication and intelligence of actually reporting news or having real interviewees. Pollock chooses "stories" that have more comedic content than actual news worthiness. For example, her (or her husband's) interview with Joe Chan, Liberal Canadidate for the Logan area.

Other instances of Pollock's "reporting" include a camera focussed on a Jon Gerrard picture online, adopting a fake voice and pretending to be Jon Gerrard, Liberal leader of Manitoba, begging for votes.

Is this the future of journalism? No. To play devil's advocate, I suppose, she does accompany all of her videos with a brief summary of information regarding the clip. For example, in the following clip, Pollock describes the older man in blue, St. Vital Liberal candidate Harry Wolbert, who claimed last week that Jon Gerrard was not equppied to be Liberal leader anymore. However, there is absolutely no news content in the accompanying video or credibility behind a woman who considers this a news story:

Though it doesn't appear that Pollock has collected much of a following in the past three years. Her video with Joe Chan has only accumulated 363 views even in the time of an election.
But the big question I have is: Is this a joke? Are these "news stories" just for amusement for Pollock and her husband? Or is this just the satirical news source that Winnipeg has been waiting for since the creation of (Our) Beaver magazine?

And when Natalie isn't reporting her breaking news, she takes part in another YouTube channel of hers called GossipShow, where she takes the on-cam spotlight.

I think you guys are wrong. Kind of.

As soon as Page One was over, I immediately wanted to buy another ticket and watch it again, but I also kind of didn't. I was also kind of freaked right out.

Walking to my car, Allison Marinelli and I started chatting about the film, what it meant for our choice in career path, the message it was sending about journalism, and the Journalism program at Red River College.

Before going to the Cinematheque, our Journalism instructor Duncan McMonagle, suggested that we read up on historical events like Watergate in 1968 or the Pentagon papers that were leaked in 1971.
For those of you who aren't particularly familiar with Watergate, I'll give you the Coles Notes version.

Watergate happened in 1972 when President Nixon hired five men to break into the opposition's (Democrats) headquarters and tried to cover it up. This story was followed and broken by two men, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who worked at the Washington Post.


The Pentagon papers were a study conducted of the political-military relations in Vietnam without the permission and under the radar from President Johnson. Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara created the Vietnam study to keep record of the American involvement in Vietnam for future generations. Though, few- if any- people in the Johnson administration were included in this project and were unaware of its existence until it was published in 1971.

While we were getting in the car, we wondered why Duncan had us research these topics before the movie because we didn't feel there wasn't huge reference to those events in the film. I guess he wanted us to be as prepared as possible, but other than that, be aware of two very pivotal moments in tradition journalism's history. These two occasions are perfect examples of what journalists do. We find our information and report it. We inform the public of what is ultimately their right to know.

Sitting in the car, Allison and I were both on the same page about one thing. David Carr was hilarious and he knew how to make his point.

Carr, American coke head turned (New York Times) journalist, was the voice behind the film and the newspaper for that matter. Carr was filmed proof that being a crackhead doesn't necessarily mean you're uneducated or talentless. He was taped conducting interviews that blew me away with his no-nonsense manner, worldly outlook on international affairs, and representing and defending the newspaper to those who predict its death.

I was amazed by the journalism in this film. We watched as Carr conducted interviews with previous employees of the Tribune Company (LA Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe) about sexual harassment at the company. The entire time I was watching him conducting his research and interviews, I kept thinking that this is the kind of journalism I hope to do one day. (Not necessarily about sexual harassment, just the investigative aspect of it)

As much as we loved this movie, it also was scary for people like us who are majoring in Journalism to hear all of these much more professional and knowledgeable opinions than ours claiming that our very career paths are dying. But, like what was mentioned by Carr and other believers in the film, I have my own ideas about how journalism will progress in its current evolution.

Sure, the rage of social media has completely changed the way people are getting their news. A person can sign into Twitter or Facebook and hear that Miley Cyrus got pregnant the moment the plus sign showed itself on that stick of doom, rather than wait until the next morning to read about it in the paper. However, the problem with social media, like many others have mentioned before me, is that what you see is not necessarily a credible source. For example, that status that keeps getting posted on Facebook about implementing monthly charges.

This is proof you can't just trust all regular joe's and what they have to say because some people just like to lie. (I know this is a lie because I read it  online)

Anyways, so much-if not (basically) all of the news is found online these days. Sure, I also love to flip the pages of a newspaper and be traditional, but that's me. And its probably because I grew up on a farm or something. So much of the world is ready to look to the web for sources and updates, that a journalist would have to be crazy to not try and update their Internet intellect or sign up for Twitter.

David Carr, who presented himself as a firm believer in traditional journalism, said that at the New York Times, they have 120 Twitter feeds and 80 blogs to keep up with the evolving industry.


This where Allison and I agreed on another thing: Creative Communications is legit training us for the real world. Everything we do, from 10 assignments in one day, to blogging at least once a week, to sharp deadlines, to the design work we do in Photoshop and InDesign. And the electives we are offered: Website Design, Broadcast Journalism, Photography, News Radio, these classes definitely turn us into modern journalists that fit right into the current mold or be able to do a swift and clean transfer to television or radio journalism.

I think there will always be a place for journalism as long as there is news to share and stories to tell. People want to know that the information they get is from a reliable source, whether it be an online news source or in print.

I'm sure at some point, too many newspapers will equal too many logged trees to the right people and won't be available quickly enough, and journalism will become an online industry or maybe available via hologram. But until then, I'm going to embrace what's left of the traditional print journalism and hold on tight until it chokes.

From Hawaii to Cali: A jackass journey-in headlines

Yesterday, the Winnipeg Free Press posted a story online about 120 donkeys that were flown from Hawaii to California by the Humane Society of the United States to save them from becoming unusable and abused.

Anyways, I've read about five versions of this story covering the donkey movement from the Big Island to the mainland and the headlines were one cheesy (or hilarious) stab afer another at grabbing the reader's attention.

"When donkeys fly: 120 jennies and jackasses"- The Canadian Press
"Donkey airlift"- LA Times
"Yes, it's true! Donkeys fly!"-Hawaii News Now
"No jet lag for 120 donkeys after Hawaii-LA flight!"-Kansas City Star
"Operation Donkey Airlift"-Hawaii 24/7
"Have you ever flown with passengers like this?" -Gretawire blog

So the easily amused geek in me is cracking up at these headlines, thinking of how clever some of them are, or cheesy, whatever. But the other half of me is shaking my head, thinking of how lame they are. Like, its funny if I think of it but if my mom were to tell the joke, I would not laugh- kind of funny.

Anyways, from what I've learned in Radio class this year, this is what we would call a "kicker", which is a news story that doesn't tell of someone's untimely (or timely) death, violent criminal activity, or natural distasters. This story can be twisted in a somewhat humorous way to lighten the mood after what may have been a series of grim news reports.

For example, Monday night on CJOB, there was a cow on the loose in Charleswood. They were warning motorists to beware for the "beast" that was roaming through the streets.

A lot of kickers usually include stories about animals, the somewhat silly celebrities antics, non-violent crime (depending on circumstances), or a story about the weather or firemen helping kittens stuck in a tree (but I guess that's cats again).

From Hawaii to Cali: A jackass journey-in headlines

Yesterday, the Winnipeg Free Press posted a story online about 120 donkeys that were flown from Hawaii to California by the Humane Society of the United States.

I've read about five stories covering the donkey movement from Hawaii to California and the headlines were one cheesy (or hilarious) stab afer another at grabbing the reader's attention.
"When donkeys fly: 120 jennies and jackasses"- The Canadian Press
"Donkey airlift"- LA Times
"Yes, it's true! Donkeys fly!"-Hawaii News Now
"No jet lag for 120 donkeys after Hawaii-LA flight!"-Kansas City Star
"Operation Donkey Airlift"-Hawaii 24/7
"Have you ever flown with passengers like this?" -Gretawire blog

So the easily amused geek in my is cracking up at these headlines, thinking of how clever some of them are, or cheesy, whatever. But the other half of me is shaking my head, thinking of how lame they are. Like, its funny if I think of it but if my mom were to tell the joke, I would not laugh- kind of funny.

Anyways, from what I've learned in Radio class this year, this is what we would call a "kicker", which is a news story that doesn't tell of someone's untimely (or timely) death, violent criminal activity, or natural distasters. This story can be twisted in a somewhat humorous way to lighten the mood after what may have been a series of grim news reports.

For example, Monday night on CJOB, there was a cow on the loose in Charleswood. They were warning motorists to beware for the "beast" that was roaming through the streets.

A lot of kickers usually include stories about animals, the somewhat silly celebrities antics, non-violent crime (depending on circumstances), or a story about the weather or firemen helping kittens stuck in a tree (but I guess that's cats again).

Journalism 1: The results and the lessons

On the very first Journalism class of 2010, my instructor Steve Vogelsang, treated his bright-eyed students to our very first assignment. Pair up and interview a classmate for 40 minutes. Ask them questions about who they are, what they do, and their interests. Then you have another 40 minutes to write a profile about your new classmate.

Problem 1) What the heck is a lead?
Problem 2) How do I decide what is relevant about another person’s life?
Problem 3) Who is this crazy person that expects me to have this written, printed, and in his hand at EXACTLY 2:49 p.m. Oh, and why does he keep mentioning he was on TV? 

Start at 6:46 and just let it run.

One of the best and worst parts of CreComm is the way you do something first and learn how to later. This was the case with leads. I didn’t know how to start, so I started the way I would with an essay: an anecdote about my classmate’s tendency to stockpile items. 

Later, we learned that leads were a brief summary highlighting what the rest of the article will be about. Note, this does not give away all important or exciting information in the first sentence, as we still want to keep readers interested.

For instance, I wouldn’t say, “John Smith remembers waking up to his cat struggling through the cat door with the neighbour's beach towel in its mouth. It was 1 a.m. and his cat was at it again.” 

Instead a lead for this type of story would be, “Wolesley is on watch for a four-legged critter that appears to be spending its nights bleeding the neighbourhood dry.”

Fast forward to our Blue Bombers human interest assignment where we would be interviewing the masses about anything and everything that was somewhat relevant to the football game. This is when I learned a few lessons. 

1. Don’t ask if you can ask someone questions. Say something like, “Hi, I’m doing (blah blah blah) and I just need two minutes of your time for a couple questions.” And continue on with your questions.
   
2.  Make sure you get someone to spell their name for you or copy an organization/business name directly from a reliable source. Caps and Spelling is your best friend, which reminds me I need to find mine…
   
3.  Know what is happening around the city. For instance, I was thrown into a conversation with David Asper about his plans for the new stadium and what would happen to the Polo Park location. And well, embarrassing as it is to admit, I knew next to nothing. I didn’t even know about the high-end strip mall he wanted to build.
   
4. Tim Hortons is not spelled with an apostrophe.

4)    These rules and lessons learned play a large part in the current analistic work strategy that I practice when conducting important journalism assignments. Reading your work over and over again doesn’t mean anything unless you question everything you thought was safe or common sense. (ie. How did YOU think Tim Hortons was spelled?)

Before deciding to major in Journalism at Red River College, my grasp of the profession was limited. My opinion was based off news sources like Entertainment Tonight, US magazine, and The Stonewall Argus. I didn’t come to Creative Communications to pursue a career as a journalist, unless I was to be on TV, of course. To me, being a journalist just meant you reported on the facts, whether that meant a celeb break up, a murder, a drug bust, or about the thrilling Canadian government. And, pre-CreComm, that didn’t equate as much excitement or effort.

Boy was I wrong. 

I don’t usually like to define something by what it isn’t, but I’d like to clear up the Bradshaw myth.

As a typical teenage girl, I watched all the Sex and the City seasons to the point of reciting them in my sleep. Backwards. In Parseltongue. And I’ll admit that watching Carrie Bradshaw sit comfortably in front of her Mac computer, sipping on a Cosmo, jotting down her thoughts on love and sex, whilst being able to afford 100 pairs of shoes that run $500+ a pop certainly made journalism look gooood. Like, really good to a materialistic 16-year-old girl with no expenses and ample minimum wage spending money. 

Bradshaw let her viewers believe that journalism was relaxed, which it rarely is. That it pays the big bucks, which, unless you’re a big-time on-camera reporter, it likely doesn’t. She conducted her method of journalism by interviewing within her circle of friends, which I’ve learned is not the way to go about covering a story.

Rarely in Sex and the City did Bradshaw mention deadlines, editors, and finding a different angle for her topic. Three things which I think are very important in being a journalist. 

Being a journalist is being passionate about portraying proper and important information to the public. A large part of journalism is taking direction from your editor, meeting extremely (almost wildly) strict deadlines, and finding a different way to look at every story. Being a journalist is being a story teller. To get the good quotes and vital context for an article, a journalist can’t be afraid to approach multiple, random (but relevant) groups of strangers for different opinions, expertise, and information. 

A journalist’s job is never over. This is what I’ve come to love most about the profession, though. On one day, you can spend a couple hours poring over websites and keeping your ear out for the next breaking news to write about or compile story lists for writers. Then scrounge up contact information and conducting interviews, doing research on your article’s topic, writing a 500ish word article, and submitting it to your editor or editing your writers’ work. 

Then the next day, it starts all over. I didn’t think this kind of cycle would be something I would like, feeling like I never really made progress on something. But the excitement of something new every day attracted me, rather than put me off.

Words that Murray Burt said in a presentation at the Irish Club last spring stayed with me, especially when I think about progress as a journalist.

“The best journalists make a conscious effort to make changes to bad policies or situations.”

Though he was talking more along the lines of ethics, I consider this in terms of progress as well. Burt attributes much of the success in Cairo to fair and effective journalism. And this success was not done overnight.

To juxtapose Carrie Bradshaw’s faux journalism with, what I feel is a proper portrayal, The Paper. This clip from the movie portrays the life of a newspaper editor (Michael Keaton plays Henry Hacket): an always-on-the-go guy, having 10 conversations at once, attempting to keep his staff under control, getting a newspaper to print, and trying to lead a personal life. These characters, to me, sum up a newspaper writers and editors.

Editing our wants

The average person wants to feel well liked by their peers, respected and accepted by their family, cherished by their significant other, and adored by their pets. (That’s not just me, right?) Focusing solely on romantic relationships, I feel as though I’ve learned how to control what I want from another person.

I spent a good portion of my life expecting all of my relationships to be perfect. I watched far too many Freddie Prinze Junior movies, where there would be some conflict or misunderstanding, then a grand gesture and a happily ever after. Then I spent the last year or so realizing, more than ever, that life is not a movie.

I am starting to understand why the male gender always thinks females are “crazy” or why they don’t understand us. I think its because females have this happily ever after notion in their heads and after any fight or break up, the guy will come to his senses and realize he can’t live without her. I also think these fantasies never even cross the minds of our male counterparts. But in a girl’s perfect world, he’ll drive over in the rain and bang on her door, begging for her to take him back. Or in an equally unrealistic, movie-driven ideal, he would fly across the world to tell her he was sorry.

Fortunately for myself, I think that I’ve overcome my own wistful wanting for a fairytale romance, and stopped expecting people to be perfect. There are too many emotions, like pride, self consciousness, and the ability to be distracted by the next shiny thing for anyone to play out that Hollywood romance that movies make so many of us dream about.

For my own good, I’ve realized that no one will ever say exactly what you want them to say or do what you want them to do, so I’ll no longer:

-Plant the perfect conversation in my head

-Let the flawless date sit at the back of my mind

-Allow disappointment with imperfection poison my thoughts

-Believe that I’m starring in my own romantic comedy

Though, to be clear, I’m not saying I’ve necessarily struggled with being disappointed in flaws, or dating for that matter on any large scale.

Who am I to complain? This is all the man I could ever want, anyway.

(Kidding. Half-kidding)

Editing Expression

The way we express ourselves to the people in our lives can differ, depending on our relationship with them and how that relationship has been nurtured since its birth.

I believe our circles are divided into groups of people we feel comfortable saying things to, and those we don't. For instance, telling a person you love them. Whether it be romantic, familial, or friendly, each person expresses themselves differently.

For instance, for me, I have no problem telling the friends that I've had for over 10 years that I love them. We've grown up saying it to each other or grown into it and are comfortable with each other. Though, we aren't like Full House and say it like we're giving out hugs every time someone leaves a room. It comes out in situations when one of us is having a hard time and isn't forced. I guess, in my case, the way I express myself to my friends is not edited.

In terms of family, I didn't grow up in one like the Tanners, who were all about hugging and I-Love-You's. Over the years I've come to realize that the way my dad shows affection for his children is by fixing our cars, buying us medicine when we were sick, and pretending to drop woodticks in our hair. The way my mom expressed her love for me, is through support and endlessly giving us anything we need. (Note: Not anything we wanted-we were not spoiled children)

The way my brothers and I express how much we care about each other is through obvious respect, interest in each others lives, and how close we are. We don't need to tell each other because its very apparent to anyone who knows us just how much we love each other.

It took a long time to figure out why my "love" comfort levels seemed be so unbalanced within different groups of people in my life, but I came to the conclusion that the way we edit how we express ourselves is based on the way we are nurtured by our first, longest, and closest relationships.

Labels given to us and how they edit our identities

The way other people think of us is not always in our control. We may try our best to present ourselves in a certain way by editing our speech, looks, and personality, but first impressions can be immediately influenced by how we are introduced or referred to.

Winnipeg, in particular, is a small city. More often than not, when you meet someone for the first time, you will discover a mutual friend or acquaintance. In my experience with meeting new people, all introductions seem to follow the same script:

Hey _____, this is John Smith's (sister/brother/friend/girlfriend/boyfriend/cousin/ex-girlfriend/roommate) Sara. 


Sara, this is John, he is best friends with my sister's boyfriend's cousin. 

From these first words, impressions are immediately made about you, based off who you are connected to in the introduction. I spent a lot of my life being introduced as ____'s girlfriend, instead of just Sara Harrison. It never really bothered me when I was younger, because at that age I just wanted to belong to something, or someone. Now, I just want to be introduced as myself and maybe throw in the mutual connection later. I feel that when I'm introduced in regards to who I'm related to, my entire identity (in the eyes of that person) is warped by what they think of my connection. 

For example,
John, this is Sara. She's Tracy's little sister.
Sara, this is Mike's older brother, John.

Sara knows Mike is really intelligent and has a great, sarcastic sense of humour. John knows Tracy from high school and has heard really scandalous rumours about her. People often take this knowledge and transfer it to  the person they're meeting.

Some of my girl friends are often introduced as _____'s little sister and feel like their identity is overshadowed by who their sibling is, whether she is gorgeous, or incredibly charming, or is the Harvard Law School-type smart. And after being introduced as related to someone so smart and great, they feel like who they are is edited by who their connection is. Instead of being able to make your own impression, you become who your connection is. I guess, hence the expression, "you are who your friends are."

Selectivity--What we choose to acknowledge

I've always been told that I'm a selective listener. Since I was a kid, my mother has been telling me I just hear what I want to hear, like "Sure, you can go to your friend's house" and *insert muffled sounds of her saying* "but not until you clean your room." I experienced numerous situations like this as I was growing up where I would hear what I wanted to hear and completely blanked on chores or other things expected of me. Luckily, this is is no longer a task-related problem.

As an adult, I recognized that I tend to see what I want to see. This isn't the case in obvious circumstances, like when I look outside I don't see sun when its raining. I'm not delusional. But in more subjective situations when I'm supposed to pick up on cues, I find myself taking into consideration what I want to see happen, rather than looking at what's really happening in front of me. A past case for myself, and possibly other females (I will make no assumptions here), is the decision of what actions to take seriously from the object of my affection. What is more important to take into consideration: The fact that he tells you that being with you "feels right" or should you take more notice of the fact he notices and expresses a lot of appreciation for all other females? Selective vision is dangerous and should be used with caution, and medication if at all possible.

I find the way we edit what we acknowledge to be the most frightening. Do we actually pick and choose our experiences unconsciously based on our wants? Won't the choices we make to get our desired outcomes potentially make a bigger messes and cause more errors?

The Power of Words

I felt as though this video summed up the way words can affect people and alter their behaviours.
Unfortunately, I couldn't help but notice the woman did not give the blind man any money.

The Makeover- how we can edit our looks

Editing our appearances has become easier and more popular due to shows on HGTV("Double Take"), Women's Network, and magazine articles telling you "How to Get Stephanie Pratt's Hair."These television shows and magazine articles teach us how to edit the way other people see us and our belongings. 

I think this is more of a problem for women who have a rather inexpensive option of giving themself a new, fresh face. One visit to the MAC store and $50 later, a girl can walk away with more defined cheekbones, smokier eyes, darker eyebrows, plumper lips. All of these products alter the appearance of our faces, giving us a new look, and satisfying that bored feeling we get when looking in the mirror. 

Women also tend to dye their hair when looking for a change or to liven up their appearances. Whenever I feel like my look is starting to seem dull, I book an appointment to brighten up my hair, which will then directly brighten up my life. The last time I went, my hair dresser tried to convince me to dye my eyebrows a really light blonde. I was a little hesitant to make such a large change to myself without sleeping on it for a while. Its been a couple of months now and I still haven't grown used to the idea of dying my eyebrows, though I'm not ruling it out completely.

Some women resort to plastic surgery to change the way their bodies look, if they have the money to spend on it. A lot of women I know would gladly turn their B-cups into D's, given the money to spend on that option. I recently downloaded an App for my iPod Touch, called iSurgeon, which allows its users to perform different kinds of surgery on an uploaded photo of themselves to see how they would look with a nose job, tummy tuck, or breast implants. 

What makes women want to change the way they look? Is it the way celebrities are constantly changing their appearances for different roles in movies or different interviews on TV? Could it be wanting to look similar to another female they know? Women have a sincere appreciation about how other females look and often take pointers or rip off certain styles from their friends. I think editing our appearances satisfies our superficial mentalities, making us look more like a celebrity and less like regular people we are supposed to be, though it doesn't quench any 

I used to be disgusted at the thought of increasing the size of my bust or unnaturally changing my nose, but enough exposure to it via Apps, TV, magazine articles, or people around me doing it has sensitized the way I look at editing my appearance. 

This is the original picture with my Grandma.

Going online to TAAZ virtual makeovers, I was able to achieve the way Stephanie Pratt does her hair, and change how I do my make up. The first photo is the original, followed by the one with Pratt's hair, and two other alternatives to how I look. 

This is the results with Stephanie Pratt's hair style.

I always wondered what I would look like with red hair. I don't like it.

Editing Ourselves

Editing doesn’t always require a red pen. It doesn’t mean that the results will always be an error-free product. Editing, to me, doesn’t always mean marked up paper, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors.

In the past, former classmates have edited outside the norm, like motion pictures with Neil Babaluk, entire countries with Stacia Franz, and our management of time with Kim Lawson.

I thought about how we edit ourselves, whether it is biting our tongues instead of lashing out on our mothers, sisters, or brothers during an argument, erasing and re-writing one sentence in our emails or IMs multiple times before sending something completely different, or backpedaling and attempting to change the meaning of something we said, after we said it.

Our job as editors (of print and online media) is to fix mistakes, avoid portraying information incorrectly, and fairly represent our stories. On a larger scale, we also edit ourselves before offending, before saying something we probably shouldn’t, or after, we try to make a correction to our previous statements.  

Will making these changes to ourselves make us better, more perfect drafts of people? I don't think that stopping ourselves from saying something rude when we really want to say it, is a bad thing. But I think there is a time and a place for these edits, which is something that I think I have always struggled with. I tend to think that a lot things are better left unsaid and am always amazed and almost in awe of people who can say whatever they want, whenever they want.

I can't speak for those people and whether they experience an inner battle, like I often do. But it reminds me of a scene in You've Got Mail, when Tom Hanks is confessing to Meg Ryan that he often wished he could edit the words that come out of his mouth, whereas she said she wished she could have the courage and proper timing to say exactly what she was thinking to people.

Joe Fox: [talking via email to "Shopgirl"] Do you ever feel you've become the worst version of yourself? That a Pandora's box of all the secret, hateful parts - your arrogance, your spite, your condescension - has sprung open? Someone upsets you and instead of smiling and walking away, you zing them? "Hello, it's Mr Nasty." I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about. 

Kathleen Kelly: [talking via email to "NY152"] No, I know exactly what you mean, and I'm completely jealous. What happens to me when I'm provoked is that I get tongue-tied and my mind goes blank. Then I spend all night tossing and turning trying to figure out what I should have said. What should I have said, for example, to a bottom dweller who recently belittled my existence? 

[stops and thinks] 

Kathleen Kelly: Nothing. Even now, days later, I can't figure it out. 

Joe Fox: Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could pass all my zingers to you? And then I would never behave badly and you could behave badly all the time, and we'd both be happy. But then, on the other hand, I must warn you that when you finally have the pleasure of saying the thing you mean to say at the moment you mean to say it, remorse inevitably follows. 

Sex, lies, and the absent patriarch -the Mennonite way

Sex- Check
Lies- Check
Absent patriarch- Check
Armin Wiebe is a true Mennonite writer. And not just because his last name meets the criteria.


Last spring I took a Manitoba Literature course at the University of Winnipeg studying the work of authors Armin Wiebe, Patrick Friesen, David Bergen, Di Brandt, and Miriam Toews (who quickly became my favourite author) so I was relatively familiar with the themes in Mennonite literature.

Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz (written by Armin Wiebe, directed by Kim McCaw) deals with the sexual frustrations of a young couple who want to conceive, a single female who is in love with her married friend, and a random drifter who transfers his "affections" for someone named Sophie onto the same married women.  The married couple at the centre of it all, Obrum and Susch, wish to conceive a baby and have been unable to, which may be due to Obrum's past brush with poison ivy on his parts needed to reproduce. So, one day, instead of bringing home a washing machine for Susch, Obrum brings home a broken piano and Beethoven Blatz to fix it when NEITHER OF THEM know how to play the piano. Beethoven then sets up shop and camp at the couple's home for many months to fix this piano.

What struck me as weird about this was how random the piano was in the story even though it was basically the reason for the story. From what I have read in Mennonite literature, the patriarch was very unlike Obrum. Obrum was far more flexible like Nomi's father in Toews' A Complicated Kindness, communicative, and modern than the stern male characters in other Mennonite lit, like Lucy's father in Toews' Summer of My Amazing Luck. In the Moonlight Sonata, Obrum appears to give his houseguest permission to have sex with his wife, which does not fit with the typical male Mennonite character portrayed in other novels.

The language in Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz came as no surprise either. Similar to that of Wiebe's Salvation of Yasch Siemens was the improper sentence structuring of English, like when Susch said "What want you with such a thing on a farm?" (referring to the broken piano). I also recognized the combination of Flat or Low German used exclusively in Wiebe's novels.

I have yet to read a Mennonite novel where sex doesn't play a large role. The Salvation of Yasch Siemens also relies on heavy sex content with a comedic angle, where a young man accidentally impregnates a Mennonite girl. All deal struggle with feelings of rebellion towards tradition and religion.

The lies and ambiguity that I find present in many Mennonite novels were too in The Moonlight Sonata, particularly in the end when we are unsure of who the father of Susch's baby is and Susch decides to say nothing of her affair with Blatz. Miriam Toews' A Complicated Kindness (ACK) contains many ambiguous parts that lets the reader's imagination take its own course, like whether Nomi's mother did kill herself or what happened to her father, Ray, in the end.

One thing that I obsessed over during my Manitoba Literature course that stuck out with me the most, was the patriarch's tendency to be absent throughout the major parts of the story, whether it be emotionally or physically. Like in Sandra Birdsell's Agassiz Stories, Maurice Lafreniere spends many days away on drunken binges and later died, without much of a role in his children's lives. In ACK, Ray Nickel was emotionally absent for much of the novel after his wife and eldest daughter disappeared. Obrum was away doing carpentry work during much of Susch's pregnancy, as one of the scenes was of Susch deciding whether or not to tell Obrum of the pregnancy but she doesn't need to since she was already showing.

The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz is another hilarious example of Mennonite work riddled with sexual content. It was a great performance played by very talented actors. I don't think the talkback given from Armin Wiebe furthered my knowledge on the story, but provided context to certain aspects of the story, like that his inspiration for Obrum's previous brush with poison ivy came from a similar story he heard about his grandfather.

**All of the above information is based off of opinion and classroom assignments and discussions about novel themes. I don't believe this information to be true of all real-life Mennonite families.**

$#!% My Cat Does- Part 3

He's the King of the castle and we are all the little rascals.

Hanky, who I have always compared to characters like Stewey from Family Guy or The Brain from Pinky and the Brain, likes to leave his mark on every piece of furniture and room in the house. I don't mean the gross kind of mark, he's an impotent male (sorry ladies). I mean fur, claw marks, and his bum print.

Since the renovations at home have stopped and the vents have been put back on the wall, things had been pretty quiet in terms of his wacky wackiness and adventurous adventures. 

Until yesterday.

It was a busy morning since I was rushing around trying to get to my IPP panel on time and the rest of the family was heading off on their days and whatever that entails. 

Anyways, so after the "man of the house" (besides the real man of the house) was fed his Turkey and Cheese Friskies, he was ready to head out for his morning stroll. Since it became warmer out, he races us to the door everytime we get up from the couch or look in his direction. 

CONTEXT:

Another thing to know about Hanky is that he makes ME look like the most decisive being alive. So since the house has thawed, we have been able to let him in and out of the window if walking to the door seems like a struggle. But the window behind where I normally sit on the couch is missing its crank. So I've been forced to get up and walk to the door to let the little hyper guy out.

So when my mom gets home at the end of the day, she walks in to find the window behind where I normally sit wide open and the cats have been grazing in and out of it all day. Leaves were littered all over the floor and burs stuck to certain pieces of furniture and the living room area rug. 

So no one is home ALL day but a window that I had been toying with all week, trying to open so I don't have to get up off the couch is wide open. I've seen the little guy knock vents off the wall, open pantry doors, and climb mountains of stuff that would make my knees shake from my fear of heights. 

I know what you're thinking. This CAT opened the window. This is his next step before world domination. And what a world it will be. 

This video was probably inspired by my little kitty kins. He has friends in big places. 

Usually Before and After shots are an improvement...

Chris Brown's appearance on Good Morning America Tuesday morning sure took me by surprise. And not because he was promoting a new album, F.A.M.E, but because I guess I haven't seen a picture of him since 2009.
And my has times a' changed him.

<Here is a picture of Chris Brown in 2008 endorsing Wrigley's gum, who pulled him from their campaign after his assault on then girlfriend, Rhianna.
(Before)





Brown as of March 22 on the set of Good Morning America                                                               >>
(After)


Notice any differences? He definitely gained weight right? Um NO. He actually gained like 30 pounds in TATTOOS and decided to bleach his hair like he's Sisqo in the Thong Song.

More importantly is what happened during and after his interview with Robin Roberts on GMA. Roberts (apparently foolishly) asked Brown about his incident with Rhianna during their conversation, which apparently set the guy off. After making it through the rest of his interview and performance (though "appearing agitated"), he turned into The Incredible Hulk wreaking havoc on the GMA dressing room.

How does C Brown NOT expect to have to answer questions about the whole Rhianna fiasco for the rest of his life? Magazines STILL print stories about the Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt/Angeline Jolie love triangle.

And when we're not reading about the Brangelina/Aniston triangle or the Rhianna/Chris Brown fiasco, we will likely read about The Incredible ChrisBrown Hulk or whatever other .

I guess it doesn't matter how "old news" you are, you can still come back from your one-hit wonder or after you beat your girl friend, like Bobby Brown. Err nevermind.

Anyways, speaking of comebacks, I hope to see a comeback album from Aqua next.