Is the News Today Still Ethical?

While browsing on CNN.com today I came across a video that showed a 35-year-old father beating up on a younger teenage boy. This video was on the home screen of the website in the “featured” video section as one of the top stories of the day. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/08/31/exp.pn.dad.fighting.teen.hln?) But why is this a top story some people may ask? It is a news story because this video seems to be the quality of news level that people are interested in today. The American people have drastically changed the news they tune into over the past decade. News has gone from an unbiased physical newspaper article about politics and other daily issues to an informal blog controlled environment. Even the way news is being reported on the television has become informal, almost like the newscaster is attempting to have a back and forth conversation with the viewer, not just give them the information.

            In this video, the newscaster is dressed in an unbuttoned sports coat and talks to viewers like he or she is across the dinner table, he gives warnings about the violence and makes statements about the “brutal beatdown” occurring. In the past, newscasters would report the news in an unbiased fashion, giving the facts of the story but no more and no less. Now with the surge of blogging having mushroomed over the past decade and the attention of the current audience slowly changing, newscasters need to be able to relate to their audience in a fashion that today involves bias and casual communication while still attempting to report the news.

            Although I do enjoy my fair share of easy to watch videos such as these since I do get tired of constant facts being reported to me this level of reporting has become almost unprofessional. The use of the same mug shot photo over and over again at the end of the video show the lack of research and funds used for the story as many of my University journalism classes have discussed. The news as we know it is changing for better or for worse and news videos such as the one above are the new generation of reporting so get ready America because blogging is the new reporting.

Day Blog: The Last First Day of School

The first day of school has always been an important day whether it was the first day of first grade when you stood on your front porch while your mom took pictures or your first day of college walking into the large campus buildings. Today, Tuesday August 23rd was my last first day of school ever. Now in some people’s heads that may be a day to rejoice but for me it means that pretty soon I will be entering the real world with a real job and no longer having the freedom of being a just a college student.

            According to the Colorado Daily, this year’s freshman class is made up of 5,600 students. (Here is the article if you are interested in reading about the first day back on campus: http://www.coloradodaily.com/latest-stories/ci_18730627#axzz1Vz9xE3Jp) By just walking around campus today I could see a large number of those freshman walking around with maps in big groups attempting to find the correct class rooms. Walking around and finally being the “big dog on campus” is really not all it was cracked up to be. There are responsibilities that were not around this time four years ago and teachers expect much more quality work out of each of their students. This year, as a senior, my fellow classmates and I have much more on my mind than just finding classrooms. We have interviews for jobs and internships as well as finishing up classes for our majors. For me this list also includes keeping my GPA up as well as going out of my comfort zone and taking classes that I would not normally take both inside the Journalism school and outside.

            Today is the start of a new year as well as a new me. I have officially changed from taking a majority of psychology classes to a majority of media related classes, which I have enjoyed much more over the years. Although I am nervous for the start of a new year (especially since it is senior year) I am also very excited about the prospect of attending new and interesting classes. Today, the first day of senior year really is the first day of the rest of our lives.

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