October 3, 2010 3:03 PM

October 3, 2010 3:02 PM

October 3, 2010 3:02 PM

schoooolssss out

I can not wait for this semester to be done so I can sleep for more than three hours!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I leave for London next week! woop woop! I like the end of November, even though the weather sucks and it gets dark to early... things are lookin up!

Out with the old in with the new

Quality journalism is in real trouble.  No matter what is going to happen to journalism I do not think it is ever become the profitable industry it once was.  That being said we are going to have a lot of "part-time" journalists that are not going to be able to put 100% into all of their pieces.  We are going to have an overload of stories that are all half done. We are going to have a lot of quantity and no quality.  I think for a lot of people it will just become a hobby rather than their passion and career.  Journalism can be sustained on-line, it is just going to have to take some restrictions and brainstorming.  An idea to help journalism survive online would be to have your newspaper read like a normal newspaper to a certain extent.  What if we could make it so you had your major headlines(to grab the reader's attention) and then a one liner to go with it(to draw them in further) and in order to get the full story you pay like fifty cents.  fifty cents is like nothing these days, but if everyone pays fifty cents it would be like the toll-roads, change adds up quick!! Who knows if my idea would work, probably not, but we should keep an open mind to all solutions. As for the commentators ideas, what is going to make Journalism survive is going to have to be a combination of all proposed solutions.  We should converge all solutions into one.  Local blog networks are going to have to get the story rolling, then take donators that will support your story to help you get started on digging deeper into the story, then when or if you need more funding for your story look for grants and funding from other foundations to help give you your extra shove.  If journalism is resolved this way, the "important" matters to the public will become priority and we can still have quality journalism because those journalists that provide the story will be receiving the funding they need.  This will also help weed out the amateur journalists who aren't putting all they've got into their stories.  I do not think just one predicted solution is going to save journalism, it is going to take a lot more than that. Whatever the solution really is going to be we need to figure it out fast before we lose all quality journalism and the important stories fall through the cracks.  

You're the producer

I personally am not a fan of "fan filmmakers".  I am very old school when it comes to my television and movies.  I like to watch my entertainment in the way the directors and writers intended it to be seen.  I do not like the "spin-off" effect, or the super fan sites, or the fact that some movies have become impossible to follow unless you are a super fan and have all the nitty-gritty details from following their fan sites etc.  It is to much work.  The point of television and film for me is to kick back and relax while I enter into some one else's world, it is not to make sure I read up on-line or watch the other mini movies before I go see my movie.  I hate it.  Now as for whether or not I think it is the future of movies is kind of up in the air.  Everything and everyone is so tied into the internet these days it would not surprise me if all movies become this way, and are viewed through You Tube and vimeochannels.   In my opinion, fan filmmakers are the future of blogging and convergence.  They are going to give Hollywood a run for their money and make them push to create the ultimate blockbuster.  They are going to help get the word out about movies and what they took back from the movie, it might even help promote the movie.  Either way something is definitely brewing in those waters... what the outcome will actually be is up in the air.  Times are constantly changing and something bigger and better is always coming along.  Fan Filmmakers for now are just challenging Hollywood to put their creative pants on and prove they're the professionals.   

Facebook for president

I think that social networking sites have become an outlet for grassroots because it is the easiest way for them to not only fly under the radar but also get their message out as far as possible and as quickly as possible.  The people  of places like Indonesia and Iran need their message to be heard before it is cut off.  When it is posted on a social networking site someone is bound to see it and help spread the word.  Everyone knows someone.  It is like you are playing the seven degrees of kevin bacon game.  It all ties together and helps give them a voice.  As for the US, I do not think social networks are used to as big of an extreme as they would be in other countries.  Here it is more used to help voice an opinion or view on politics, not so much to help fight against authorities.  Social networks here are more used for debate than to be a renegade.  Now social networks have also caught on for the other side of the fence.  Politicians have found ways to use things like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter to help spread their views and recruit voters to join their cause.