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“Miss Representation” News Story

            The documentary titled “Miss Representation”, which showcases how America’s youth is sold to the degrading of women in mass media, was shown in Rm. 189 of the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering Building at the San Jose State University campus on Thursday evening. The documentary screening was presented by San Jose State University’s department of Journalism and Mass Communications. Open to students of the university and surrounding communities, the premier was welcomed by Professor Gustavo of San Jose State who introduced the film with enthusiasm. “I’m excited for you all to watch this film,” said Gustavo. This was the first time the film was shown in the city of San Jose.

            The film, written, directed and produced by Bay Area’s own Jennifer Siebel Newson, features multiple commentaries from Katie Couric, Gloria Steinman, Rachel Maddow, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson, and Jennifer L. Pozner of the feminist media watchdog group “Women In Media & News”.

Also featuring startling statistics of women belittled in society, the documentary “Miss Representation” presents publicized media images that demean and objectify women and other cultures at large.

Prior to the on-campus screening, the documentary had won and earned multiple awards at the renowned Sundance Film Festival, the premier showcase for independent films held each January in Park City, Utah and had its television debut on Oprah’s network channel OWN on October 21, 2011.

CEO and founder of MissRepresentation.org Jessica Newman also aims to extend the documentary’s motive beyond the screening to inform the public of the degrading of women through use of weekly podcasts, blogs and educational curricula posted on the documentary’s official website.

A panel discussion had also taken place after the documentary’s screening.

“How wired are you?”

1. Could you create  web page? Are you able to use Web0authoring software like Dreamweaver — or better yet. write your own HTML code — to produce a Web page that includes text, headlines, images and links? Sort of/Maybe.
2. Have you written a blog? Many of us create a blog, post an entry or two, then abandon the whole thing. But have you blogged more consistently that that? Have you tried building a loyal following by posting several times a day? Sort of/Maybe.
3. Are you an avid consumer of digital content? Do you watch YouTube videos? Download podcasts? Shop online? Stream TV shows and movies? Is your music library digitized? In other words, if your daily life plugged into cyberspace? No.
4. Do you comment, chat, and tweet? Are you active in online social networks like Facebook, Myspace or Twitter? Do you participate in discussion groups, post comments and even get into arguments in response to online stories, blogs, wikis, etc.? Yes.
5. Are you familiar with different online platforms? Are you comfortable using a wireless laptop to send long text messages and photos? Surfing the Web with a smartphone? Yes.
6. Can you shoot a video, edit it and post it online? Online editors expect all their staffers to provide visuals as well as words. Can you be trusted to shoot edit and upload video that meets basic journalistic standards? Sort of/Maybe.
7. Can you record audio, edit it, and post it online? Could you interview someone then turn the highlights of your conversation into a podcast? No.
8. Could you create and interactive graphic? Have you tried turning a database into a Google map mashup (like this one, pinpointing local gang-related crimes)? Or could you produce a clickable chart of diagram using software like Flash? No.
9. Is the web now your primary news source?Are you a loyal reader of news sites and blogs? (“Loyal” mean you visit these sites at least twice a day or get updates via RSS feeds.) Sort of/Maybe.
10. Could you cover an event at 9 a.m. where you shoot photos and video for your narrated slide show, then post a 6-inch story (complete with links and images) by noon? Yes.

Scoring: 6-10 pts. Time to reboot and install lots of new brainware.

Gordon Greb Day

The founder of the Broadcast Journalism degree program at San Jose State in 1857, Gordon Greb made an appearance at SJSU’s Mass Communication and Journalism department today, October 5, 2011—which is also his birthday. Greb was welcomed by students in a classroom in the Dwight Bentel Hall building at San Jose State, as students immediately greeted him with a “happy birthday”. Gordon Greb told of his educational career and journalistic accomplishments, while also openly answering questions and giving advice to aspiring journalists.

Greb spoke of the beginning years in his career and also told of the personal quotes that he has abided by. “We have to start thinking with the concept of “we the people” Greb says.  He had also mentioned that radio broadcasting is rooted in the city of San Jose, and also says “We live in a place where great ideas have happened over and over.”

Before leaving, Gordon Greb opened the floor for questions from students. In turn, a student asked the speaker to give a word of advice for aspiring journalists. Gordon replied with “You have the power and freedom of speech that can influence listeners and viewers.”

“Got What It Takes To Be A Reporter?”

1. I enjoy reading. I consume a lot of books and magazines. Yes.
2. Writing is fun and rewarding. And I’m confident that people genuinely enjoy the stuff I write. Yes.
3. I am lousy at spelling. My grammer and punctuation ain’t so great, neither. No
4. I’m technologically skilled enough to shoot video, download files from the Web, post photos online, etc. Yes.
5. I can organize my ideas and write quickly when I need to. Yes.
6. I’d make a good game-show contestant because I’m good at remembering facts and trivia. No.
7. I’m efficient and self-sufficient when it comes to tedious library or internet research. No.
8. I’m generally more curious than most people I know. Yes.
9. In public situations, I’m pretty shy. I avoid asking questions in class, for instance. No.
10. I think it’s unpatriotic to dispute or criticize government officials. No.
11. When I choose a career, I’ll need a stable 9-to-5 job where my workday is routine and I make big money. Yes.
12. If I really want something, I’m tenacious until I get it. Yes.
13. When I’m under pressure, I’m able to stay calm and focused without losing my temper. No.
14. Whenever people criticize what I say or do, it really annoys me. Who do these people think they are? Yes.

Scoring Yourself: 20 points (20-25): Reporting is a good fit for you, mostly — but it may require you to change you attitude or improves some skills.

After honestly answering the survey, I am not surprised with my score. I feel as if I lacked many points due to the fact that I am not religiously devoted to the news. However, this is not a case due to a lack of interest in news, but actually the result of having little to no time to stay updated.

Student Journalists’ News Attitude Survey

1. I think news stories usually: Contain inaccuracies and distortions.
2. I prefer to get my news: by watching pictures or video footage, with audio narration.
3. Generally, I think the government: should do as little as possible to restrict what the news media publish.
4. The president is assassinated. What would you most likely do? Turn on the TV, see what’s happening, then turn it off and get on with my life.
5. Which of these people do you consider to be journalists? Katie Couric.
6. In general, the news is biased in favor of: Neither.
7. If you hear conflicting versions of a news story, which version will you most likely believe? The national TV news.
8. Which of these adjectives would you generally use to describe most news today? Useful/Negative.
9. How often do you generally watch TV news? Daily.
10. How often do you generally read newspapers? Occasionally.
11. How often do you generally read news online? Daily.
12. A news reporting career seems like it would be: Frightening/Frustrating/Important/Rewarding.

Confidential Sources: What would you do?

As a reporter, I’m obligated to protect my sources, even if it means going to jail.

Which one of these statements do you most agree with?

• I prefer news that’s presented with an attitude even if it’s opinionated, because it makes the topics more interesting.
• I could easily go for days without reading any news.
• Journalists don’t do enough to challenge public figures and expose governmental problems.
• I generally feel that most news stories have little relevance to my life.
• When I read newspapers, magazines or Web sites, I usually just browse a few paragraphs at a time. I hardly ever read stories in depth.
• Generally, I prefer to read celebrity news and lighter, offbeat stuff.

FOG Index blog post

To demonstrate curiosity and wonder while facilitating with the first person in a small group dialogue for the City of Cupertino on race relations in the City, I might ask him or her if they have had any other similar experiences perhaps in a different city. I would immediately take the “not knowing position” and ask if any other attention has been brought towards a situation similar to this one. In order to keep the small group dialogue more general instead of specifically focusing on this instance, I might ask the first person speaking if he or she had any other concerns that they were willing to share with the group.

Average # of words/sentence – 40

Total # of “hard” words – 7

40 + 7 = 47

47 multiplied by 0.4 = 18.8

Reflection: I’m a little startled by the number of my fog index. I’d like to think that my writing isn’t too “verbose” since I’ve actually put in a genuine effort to tone it down. Clearly, I need to re-evaluate my choice of words when writing. I enjoy writing very much and I would hate to think that my writing isn’t able to be understood by the majority of any population.

Intro

My name is Melissa Escusar and I am enrolled in JOUR61 in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the fundamentals used in news broadcasting. I am also currently pursuing a minor in journalism along with a major in communications for the duration of my college career at San Jose State University.