Toolkit II

How could I describe this semester? Last semester, I really enjoyed the Toolkit I course; on the other hand, this semester course, Toolkit II, was slightly more painful. There were simply too many notions to struggle with. Nonetheless, all this hard work made me aware of just how sharp my set of skills needs to be in order to stand out in the 21st century’s media environment.
From the very beginning of my studies at the University of Florida, my professors and friends have stressed to me the importance of new media and online reporting. They said I should focus on skills relevant to those new media, such as technology and creative thinking. With foreigners facing a language barrier to compete with native speakers in print and television reporting, this new wave of media provides foreign reporters a level playing field.

Recently, I have been exposed to new technologies and method that I had never experienced before. Shooting video footage, a task that demands extensive visual work and creative thinking, offers me a chance to develop my storytelling skills. It is always a thrill to find a lead,dig the story and present it creatively. In comparison to last summer’s soundslide, video storytelling has been a greater challenge for me, as it is difficult to effectively calibrate details such as view angles and lighting. I believe that a great video narrator must be a careful observer in daily life. I am glad to have spend time learning how to edit video footage, a task that, though it may seem boring, is actually very enjoyable. On only wish I could have more experience using Final Cut Pro.

Creating web animations with Adobe Flash was also a blast, and seeing my first Flash project successfully come together gave me great satisfaction. At the end of last semester, I wanted to develop my Photoshop skills; now, I really wanted to develop my Flash skills. Hopefully I won’t forget everything I learned…

This semester has been a definite step up from the Fall semester. It was more demanding, giving me the opportunity to challenge myself and strive to become the best news reporter that I can be.

analysis of flash package

For my second blogging assignment, I examined a flash package from Financial Times’ Why are food prices rising? As I examined the items in the package one by one, I found many similarities from one video to the other. Generally speaking, the design of the flash package is neat and easy to follow, containing one slideshow and four videos. The slideshow is good for the photos and the audio it provides. However, the videos disappoint me a little.

The videos, which mostly show one person talking and display some photos, charts or maps, are not that attractive. The information contained in the charts and maps is useful, but seeing someone talk for more than a minute gets boring, especially since the speakers are only editors and correspondents. As I watched the video titled “the impact of climate change”, I wished to see some footage about different places where crop production has been impacted by climate. Of course, those shortcomings may have been due to budget and time restrictions that would have prevented the producers to go abroad on-site.

The last video, an interview with Jacquirs Diouf, director of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, has a wealth of useful information. However, Mr. Diouf does not reveal any new information from other videos. His video is divided into four poorly cut parts by topic. Most of the videos begin showing his hands in air.

As I watched the videos, it made me reflect upon the way that certain journalists continuously repeat the same information in report just to satisfy their length requirements. In this package particularly, the makers showed the same viewpoints and comments by different people, which results in a bigger package of lesser content. Can this really attract an audience?

Anyway, I appreciated the charts and maps that the journalists created. Some of them look novel and contain a good amount of information.Take a look at this one.All the logos are clickable and information about climate events in different areas will show if you click different logos.

‘News video’ vs. ‘feature video’

I am not sure whether people categorize journalistic footage as ‘news video’ and ‘feature video’. Similar to print publications, we mark news articles with labels such as ‘news story’ or ‘feature story’. This said, the video ‘Are EPA coal emission standards strict enough’ could be marked as ‘news video’ and the other one, ‘Clean, safe and sterile at Toronto General’, would be a ‘feature video’. Besides the fact that they are presented in the form of video footage, these videos share many characteristics with both news stories and feature stories.

To begin, I like the ‘EPA’ video from Las Vegas Sun very much. Covering people’s reactions towards the plan to build three new coal plants near Mesquite City, it meets all the criteria that qualify it as a news video. The exposition of the video is quite clear, telling us the basic elements ‘5 W and 1H’ in the very beginning. I found ‘EPA’ very well organized and I believe that the journalist who shot it had a very clear visualization of the end result in mind. Furthermore, the shooting was beautiful and the final edition was edited very well. The journalist interviewed the protesting residents living nearby and recorded the keynote speakers at the conference. Also, he obtained opinions from both sides, making his report unbiased. Something else that I appreciated was that the author gracefully associated still photos with videos. In addition, I could tell from the quality of the photos that this person is a great photojournalist. If I had to point out some flaws in the production, I would say that the footage of people speaking at the conference felt a little bit long. While watching, I had the near-impression that I was about to hear the whole meeting. If the journalist had cut out two to three people’s speeches, the overall video definitely would have been better.

The second video, ‘Clean, safe and sterile at Toronto General’ from Toronto Star, is a nice feature video that delivers information about the cleaning of surgical instruments in Toronto. The opening line, “it is not car wash, and they are not cleaning dirty dishes”, immediately caught my attention. All the information provided in this video was very interesting and new to me. “Forty thousand surgical instruments per week, impressive!” I told myself. The footage shows us a very complete picture of the whole process of cleaning such surgical instruments. However, I felt sick when the footage suddenly switched from images of instrument cleaning to surgery. The blood and organs disturbed me unexpectedly. Such could certainly have been omitted without affected the audience’s level of understanding. When making a video, we should consider the audience’s reactions and attitudes towards images and information. Journalistic videos can be viewed by thousands of people from all age and gender groups, most of who may not expect nor desire to see such bloody images. If that footage were necessary to deliver the meaning and could not have been cut out, then another method should have been found to convey the information.

It’s a “Miracle”!

The past three and a half months, 100 days in total, were full of surprises!

The beginning of my time here was already very exciting. A Chinese student, I had the opportunity to come to the United States, the worldʼs media kingdom. At last I was going back to school, studying my favorite major and pursuing my dream career-Journalism! I met many new friends, discovered a new culture and challenged myself, every second, in every way! Looking back, the most surprising aspect of this first semester at the University of Florida is the substantial amount of new knowledge that I acquired. I feel like a sponge in the ocean, absorbing everything that I possibly can.

I chose to begin my graduate studies with three courses: Dr. Clearyʼs Mass Communication Theory, Dr. Leslieʼs International Communication and Professor Mindyʼs Journalistsʼ Toolkit. The latter two classes came to me as a surprise; I realized that, through hard work, I was able to succeed in this new school environment-just as much as a native student!. Leslie is a strict professor. Thanks to his strict criteria and his high work ethic, I find that I have made tremendous progress in my reading, writing and communication skills. Also, I was able to broaden and deepen my knowledge through reading scholarly papers of diverse subject matters.

During my Toolkit course, I was exposed to concepts that I had never seen before. In fact, prior to stepping into this class I was very unconfident about my English and the myriad of required technological skills. However, as I read back on all the blogs that I wrote during this semester, I notice a pattern, a recurring theme. On countless occasions, I wrote a sentence along the lines of “I had never realized that I could do this before, I’m learning so much!” Before this course, I had never even heard about making sound slides, I never understood how to frame a photo, and I never used HTML to make a webpage. This course truly challenged me to better myself and I know all the skills I have learned will benefit me my whole career. With every finished project and accomplishment, I had a renewed motivation to advance further into the world of journalism and media.

When done in Chinese, I conduct interviews with ease; interviewing in English, however, is entirely different. I feel timid, afraid that I cannot express myself clearly and conduct the interview well. Although I still lack enough confidence to comfortably conduct interviews in English, at least I have the opportunity to work hard at it and better myself.

During the course, I found my true passion, that of photojournalism. Kobreʼs book helped me develop some basic skills about photojournalism and build a good foundation. By shooting photos for my sound slides, I could see my progress, which made me want to learn more about photojournalism. Taking good pictures is not only an essential skill for successful journalism; it is also immensely enjoyable!

Affordable Housing in the U.S

At last I finished my final projects! I feel very satisfied with what I have done, as this is the first webpage that I have ever made.

When I finally got done with my final package, I sent it to my friend in Shanghai to ask for feedback. Her first comment was that affordable housing in the U.S. is a heavy topic. Another comment I received was that my project as a whole attempted to illustrate the problem from a perspective that emphasized the country’s quickly soaring house prices and somewhat overlooked Americans’ stalling income levels. According to my friend, such a biased point of view will paint too simple a picture-I agree.In fact, I have thought in depth about this problem. The reasons why people cannot afford housing are somewhat complicated. While some Americans are lazy, most are hard working and driven, but still cannot afford their own house. Even more, this is not only a problem in the United States; the whole world is affected. In fact, this issue is even more severe outside the U.S. Along with the urbanization and industrialization, global real estate prices are soaring higher and higher. Three web pages definitely cannot cover such a broad subject, so I think it would be best to focus on the disproportionate rise in house prices and the augmentation in household incomes.

On my introduction page, I introduce this issue. What is affordable housing? How severe is the shortage is in U.S.? I use the concept of “American Dream”, as I think this all-American idea can make audiences feel more involved.

In the slideshow page, I use a sound slide that combines the interviews of a citizen affected by lack of affordable housing and an official working to solve the problem. A few questions are addressed. What is it like to struggle with those difficulties? Is there help on the way? What people think is the main cause of this issue? In the sound slide, I try to illustrate that the perception that those who cannot afford housing are lazy is mistaken. In fact, most people work diligently to achieve their “American Dream”.

My data package contains a chart which clearly illustrates the change from 1974 to 2006. The data is relevant and updated, which I think can really help me illustrate the problem. Besides, I included government data on this page that shows readers what the government has done to solve the problem. Because of other factors such as inflation and regulations, it seems that the government cannot do much.

data and journalism

Using data to illustrate a news story is widely seen in daily news reporting, whether it be for a newspaper article or TV news. Originally, I thought that the data journalists use were exclusively represented in tables and histograms. I never thought that maps could be used to illustrate data. This kind of data can really help journalists to better tell a story. The example of the “Crime in Chicago” map, which Mindy showed us in class, is really interesting and offers a very convenient and clear way for users to search the information they want.I think that while data like Google Maps can be used in all kinds of media, it can only be effectively used on Internet. This is due to limited space and interactivity in traditional media such as newspapers and magazines. Nonetheless, no matter which kind of journalists one is, knowing something about making charts or maps can be very helpful.

I finished my first chart the other day. Before I started working on it, I expected it to be very difficult. However, I quickly realized that to make a good chart it is crucial to find relevant data. I spent a long time gathering data to make my regressions more accurate and thus better illustrate the issues at hand. Still, I feel that I have a lot to improve in my data searching. Nowadays, everyone can search data on the Internet and thus the research abilities are vital to being a successful journalist.

Issue reporting, beyond cultural difference!

My third soundslide is about the issue–lacking of affordable housing. I named it as Affordable Housing: How Attainable is the American Dream?

I was quite confident about my soundslide 3 topic when I first started it because I knew who I wanted to interview and I had a certain idea in my head that what I could get from the interview. However, after doing the interview, I feel a little bit confused now. Does this issue really matter?

My issue topic is the lack of affordable housing in the United States. As an international student, study in this peaceful small town, I was really worry about the issue topic I could find. Fortunately, I discovered this topic when I have a conversation with my classmate Laura. I contacted the organization Habitat for Humanity and went to shoot photos on Saturday. I got quite good pictures at the construction site where volunteers built houses. Also I talked to all three of the house owners there. During the interview, I found Radha, the lady I interviewed, lives in a rental apartment, in which her son and daughter share one bedroom. I thought pictures about her apartment may help me show the strong comparison that how terrible the living situation is. However, I soon found that I was so wrong. I went to her house and felt disappointed. Her apartment is much better than I have imagined, and their living situation is much better than most of the Chinese in my country. In the eyes of American, this may be a problem that a 17 year-old son and 10 year-old daughter share a bedroom, but look at the whole world, there are millions of people homeless. Owning a house is an American dream for every American, but does this really matter for the rest of the world?

When we have seen so many serious issues covered by media, such as AIDS, poverty in Africa, wars and conflicts, can this affordable housing problem really be called an issue? I think I am facing a really significant cultural difference or social difference here. From my angle, who is from the Third World, this is really cannot be called a problem. How can I change my viewpoint and view the issue like Americans?

Journalism, a challenge!

When I was browsing other classmates’ blogs, I saw a comment Mindy made on Laura’s blog. Mindy recommended one of her favourite Journalism blogs, so I clicked into that one and found many great things. The blog was called Maranda Writes, written by a new graduated journalist. She shares her experiences as a new journalist in her job and what she learned in journalism school. All her experiences, struggling and thoughts remind me of my last year experience as a journalist in China. Though we are in different countries which enjoy really different media systems and regulations, the feelings as new journalists are kinda of similar. She said that challenge is the core of journalism and liking challenge is the essential quality of being a journalist. I have been asking myself the same question “what’s my advantage of being a journalist” since I stepped into journalism school five years ago. I don’t know any field very well and I cannot write very well, I am always in a situation of question my capabilities. However, I know at least I have some merits that I like communicating with others, I like going out to find something I don’t know and I like challenging the world and myself. Knowing nothing is not the worst, but don’t realize that you know nothing is the worst. Challenge the knowledge you have may be the key of being a successful journalist.

Also I like all the quotes on her blog. These are the quotes I really like:

• “I became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world.”
  — Henry Luce
• “I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.”
  — Aldous Huxley
• “It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.”
  — Confucius

too rapport, a problem?

I didn’t know the band before I decided to do the story on them. But as the article ” Sound in the Story”suggests, I met the band members many times in my spare time to get familiar with them, as well as to build a rapport with my interview subjects.

I did my interview on Tuesday and before I went, I listed several questions I thought would be important to my story. But the feeling of the interview was a little bit weird. Because we are friends now, so the interviewee might not take the interview seriously. And for me, wearing a headphone, holding a microphone and interviewing a friend is a weird experience. And when I asked him some questions about the band, he would make the answers begin with “you know”, because he knew that I had known the information already. Of course, I can cut out the “you know” later, but I just doubt, if we have to interview a friend, how to deal with the personal relationship properly to avoid the weird feeling?

Natural Sound, So Amazing

I never knew natural sound could have so many funs. It just happen everyday arround me, but I never noticed that it could become very great sounds in an audio. From last week’s reading, especially the article, Natural Sound Stories: A How- to Guide, tells me why we need natural sound and how can we get them. So I chose my first soundslide topic on a school band, just because I think that people playing music can be really great natural sound if I record it and add it to my audio. When I was taking photos, I was just thinking about what kind of story I want and what kind of natural sound I need to tell the story better.

Besides, I really like the soundslide “the Art of Listening” . I love the photos and the different kinds of natural sound in the soundslide. It’s really amazing that all the natural sound, even the garbage can can make such a nice sound if we put it in the right place in an audio. Sound can be created as art if we listen with our heart. Usually, we are so familiar with one thing or one place that we just ignore the beauty of the natural sound it can make. But sometimes, an audio can be entirely different just because of a great natural sound.

As a journalist, I think that I should not only be keen when I go out for an interview, I should be keen all the time by listening and observing the surroundings carefully.