7.00 Pre-Assessment

Before starting this course, I didn't have a very great knowledge of Journalism. I knew it had to do with writing and reporting news, but that's about it. I thought a journalist was someone who wrote. I didn't know what kinds of writing they did or to what extent the word "journalist" meant. I thought the purpose of journalism was to write to get information (news) to people. I didn't know there were so many forms of journalism. I knew that as a journalist you had to be ethical and use your own work, not copy off someone else's, but I didn't know that if you did use someone else's work and claim it as your own that it could ruin your whole career. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that journalists had to be impartial, but I had never really thought about what it meant, that you couldn't use any opinion in your writing or reporting. In all the types of writing I've done for school in the past, the whole idea is to give your opinion on the matter, but in journalism, that is not always the case. Before starting this course, I knew that journalism had to do with writing, and I knew I wanted to be a writer, but after taking the course and learning about journalism I discovered that even though I loved this class, a journalism career is not for me. However, I did learn many, many useful skills that I will use later in my life, and taking this class has broadened my horizons. Also, I now have a much greater appreciation for journalists.

My definition of a journalist has changed quite a bit. I now know that journalists do a lot more than write: they report, edit, speak for crowds, do interviews and talk on radio shows as well as many other things. Now I believe the purpose of journalism is to inform the people in our country of what is going on around the country and the world. There are many forms of journalism, so everybody can find a medium that they like. I learned a lot about ethics, and I know that journalists have to follow a code of ethics. Before taking this class, I didn't really even know the definition of ethics. My definition of impartial and partial reporting is different than it was before. I had never really thought about how journalists have to be impartial in their writing, or risk sounding biased. There is not a lot of partial reporting in journalism because it is usually fact, and fact cannot be mixed in with opinion. Despite how I loved taking this class, Journalism specifically is not the career I want to be in. I want to be a fiction author, and even though I probably won't pursue journalism, I have learned a lot of useful information that will help me with my writing career. I believe Journalism has a big future ahead of it. With new technology coming out all the time, journalists will have new ways to display their work, and since there is always news, there will always be something to write about!

6.01 Interest Inventory

The journalism job that interests me the most is photojournalism. There is an opening for a photojournalism position in Tampa, Florida. In this position, a person could expect to make anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000, depending on the newspaper they work for and how much experience they have.

The skills required for this job are strong photography and video-editing skills. You have to be able to effectively operate in a "live" environment, be able to work deadlines, you must be able to adjust to changing situations while covering news, and you must exhibit strong news judgement.

To become a photojournalist, you have to have a Bachelor of Art in Journalism with emphasis on photojournalism. Others choose to do a bachelor's degree in visual communications. You also need a certain level of experience. A good way to get experience is being an intern for a newspaper company, or an assistant for a magazine, newspaper, or online publication. Then develop a portfolio of all the experience you have.

http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=c5e0a9ad510dd9c3&ea=1&utm_source=publisher&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=de_noemail

6.00 Pre-Assessment

Maureen Dowd has been a journalist for over 30 years. She started her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for the Washington Star, where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter, and feature writer. When the newspaper closed in 1981, she went to work with Time. In 1983, she joined the New York Times originally as a metropolitan reporter. She began serving as a correspondent in Times Washington Bureau in 1986. I think Dowd is a very experienced journalist. She has been a journalist for over 30 years and has had many different positions and worked with many companies.

In 1995, Dowd became a New York Times columnist, and has been working in that position ever since. This job is different from her other jobs because her previous positions did not allow her to ever state her opinion; she always had to write impartially. However, being a columnist allows you to share your opinion with the community. The job is similar, however, because she is still working for a major newspaper. I think this writer was at the top of her career in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. At that time she was winning many awards such as Woman of the Year in 1996 by Glamour magazine, the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, the Damon Runyon award for outstanding contributions to journalism in 2000 and became the first Mary Alice lectureship speaker at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. As a columnist, it is Dowd's duty to provide the community with her opinions, whatever they may be, good or bad, negative or positive.

5.00 Intro to the Writing Process

1. I have always loved writing. Ever since I was 5 years old, I have been writing stories and journals and novels. It is such a great way to express yourself. Writing really allows you to say what words cannot. I think it is completely necessary in our world to have writers. And even if you're not a writer, you can still find ways that writing influences your daily life.

2. Although it may be difficult, I think it is possible to write impartially. Some topics might be harder to write impartially than others, but if you know certain helpful tips and are writing about a certain topic, it is possible.

Proof of impartial writing is credible news sources, like the Today Show or several other news shows or papers. Writing un-opinionated work is a lot harder than writing opinionated work. You have to always be aware of what you are doing and make sure that you aren't putting your opinion into it, but I do believe that it is possible to write impartially.