Final Class Reflection

       My impressions about writing were that it was something very hard to do. Also that it would take a lot of practice before I could write well. My impressions did not change in the fact that it is very difficult to write and keep everyone focused on what you are writing about. All of the assignments that I did were very challenging to me because of all the things that we had to include. Basically having to learn how to write well and at the same time having to meet all the requirements in order to get a good grade for the paper. My favorite assignment was the documentary that we did with our groups because it was a really fun activity. What I learned about social issues is that sometimes we believe that some issues are minimal. We really do not realized how big the issue is. The assignments helped me understand the issues more and also helped me to be able to know how to find a credible source. The assignment that helped me a lot was the documentary that we did with our groups. The reason why it helped me was because I was able to apply all of the resources that we had learned. I was able to do research and find good and credible sources about our topic. My least favorite was the literature review because it was very time consuming and difficult. The skills that I have learned are how to use good research and organize my assignments properly. I see myself in the future using these skills with the rest of my classes. Some of the things that should improve would be the organization how all the assignments were organized when we had to upload our work everything was all over the place. 

Citizen Journalism Reflection (Invisible Children)

             The documentary “Invisible Children” is about the children between the age of 5 and 14 of Uganda being abducted to become soldiers. The LRA would force them to kill at least 20 people a day including their parents. The age at which the kids were abducted made it easy for them to be brainwashed easily. Children from that age group were chosen so that they could go to school and abduct other kids so that they would be forced to join Joseph Kony’s army. Some kids would hide in hospitals to avoid being captured at night. They would study and do their homework there under very little light.  Some children living in an orphanage were offered protection but lived under extremely poor conditions, often eating once a day. Kids would often mention having gruesome nightmares while they were captured, one child said he needed to see blood daily in order to comfortably go on about his day. The documentary adds a lot of emotions when they focused on the children’s eyes even when they are not crying. It gives a feeling of sadness that this children say that they can not even cry anymore. The documentary is credible because everything that they show is current and are actual recordings that they did. They show how this is not right for children by demonstrating logic.

            This film is related to citizen journalism because its a prime example of it. An average person went out and documented something that not many people knew about and brought back a great product. He completely embodied what being a citizen journalist is all about. They had to do research in order for them to be able to retrieve all of the information that they displayed in the documentary.

            My opinion is that many of this information you yourself have to actually see it in order to believe it. We all perceive things differently. The internet complicates the situation because it makes it a controversy. The questions should be approached with an open mind.

            It is safe to say he is too involved in the coverage of the film because making it completely took over his life. He tried so hard to make the campaign work, and in the end it got him nowhere and the campaign died. Everyone knows what happened to him with his public melt down.  The fact that he fell to deep into the subject affects the way he made the film because it is not professional it is completely personal. It is a negative to be too involved in a subject you are covering because journalism is a profession; it cannot be personal.

            If you want to be a citizen journalist, you cannot be biased at all. It has to be as professional as possible.  Being biased makes your work unreliable because there is not two parts to the story. The story only follows the side that the maker wants you to follow. 

            There were only citizen journalists involved in the making of this film. No professional help was used. the partnership between professional and citizen journalists would be beneficial to both. It would help the professionals by making them look more open minded to new ideas and bend the rules a little. The citizens would strive because they have the capacity to make credible products, the problem is that they are not as disciplined as the professionals and tend to make more mistakes. If they had the help of the professionals, they would have a louder voice in the media.  

Citizen Journalism Reflection and Response (Part A)

         Citizen journalism and blogging are very similar because they both are independently reporting on what is going on in the world without having to answer to anyone. Politicians and pubic officials should fear citizen journalists because they are not afraid to say what they feel. Their work is not edited like a regular journalist. The level of writing is higher than that of an average newspaper with a more narrow audience. They receive nothing but unregulated fresh of f the press work that is often imitated but never duplicated. The blog that I have been following has impacted my research because it helped me by giving me an example of how I could do my research. It also helped me with my writing by giving me examples of how to write without being to wordy or overusing words. I now follow real world events because I have immersed myself in this topic. Court cases, and recent arrests are goof examples of what I see differently now. It is important for citizens to know who they are and where they are. It relates to my research because it has the same point of not being biased.

Deconstructing Citizen Journalism

              Citizen journalist and citizen journalism is something that has a conterversy because of how there is people out there willing to do everything a journalist would do but without getting paid. Journalists are loosing their jobs because of this. Blogs are growing everyday with information about citizens. This cites are winning journalism awards. In the year 1996 there was a change to the US Telecommunications Act  which meant that publishers were now owning and earning revenue from journalists. Then journalists decided to stop asking publishers to publish their information and began to put their information out there without their consent. Citizen Journalists have both negative and positive terms. The positive include democratize, pluralize, and enable. The negative are devalue, erode, and undermine. The citizen journalists are known as the story seekers and the “professional busybodies”. These journalists are afraid that the might have a lot of competition from citizens voices and also they say how they are concerned about quality.

The Caliber of the American Way

English 1312 from melanie cardona on Vimeo.

Opinion Piece

The United States of Abuse

-By Melanie Cardona

People say that there is no place like home, but for some, home is where they least want to be.  Verbal, physical, and emotional abuse is the most common types of domestic abuse in the United States.

All types of abuse are extremely bad, but the most common type is usually the most overlooked form of domestic abuse. It causes the most damage and people do not know they are being abused.

Emotional abuse damages most men and women in the United States today and usually it goes unreported. This form of abuse is usually categorized by the way spouses talk to each other. Put downs and insults are considered abuse and cause substantial damage. It starts of simple and eventually it gets worse to the point where you might actually believe what they say to you.

When your spouse calls you dumb enough times, you tend to feel that you cannot do anything right and it becomes self-loathing. Depression always follows and only gets worse. Then you reach the point of no return.

Verbal abuse also plays a large role in the countries ongoing issue with domestic abuse. Name-calling, cursing, and fighting escalate quickly and in some cases, ends up getting physical. Threats are the big reason why spouses hold back and do not tell anyone about their abuser. They fear that the aggressor may actually carry on with what they say they will do.

The aggressor usually threatens the victim by saying he or she will leave them. The victim’s self esteem is so low, that they believe they need the aggressor to carry on with their life. Another dangerous threat is harm to them or their family.

Physical abuse is not as common but it is very deadly. Physical domestic abuse goes both ways. A man hits a woman in most cases, and a woman hits the man in rare occasions. Beating, pulling, scratching, biting, and using objects against one another is unfortunately getting more and more common.

Open and closed hand beatings occur a lot and they usually take place in front of children. Alcoholic men are usually the cause. When women hit the men, the men do not speak up because they are afraid of being ridiculed by society. The fact of the matter is that women are increasingly attacking men and no one speaks up.

References

Daniel Coker. (August 20,2012). Mississippi Family Matters. In What is Domestic Violence?. Retrieved May 10,2013, from http://www.familylawms.com/what-is-domestic-violence/.

Dunwoody Police Department. (n.d.). Dunwoody Smart People Smart City. In Domestic Violence. Retrieved May 11,2013, from http://dunwoodyga.gov/departments/dunwoody-police-department/Community-Outreach/Domestic-Violence.aspx.