So I noticed that I've been on a kind of downer note for a while. Sorry about that. I can promise that as soon as the nice weather comes back and the sun sticks around longer and-oh yeah- school's out for the year, I will be more positive. And I mean, it's not that bad right now. It's just that it's almost exam time and I'm worried about grades, like everyone else. And therefore, my eating habits are off, my sleeping habits are off, and basically everything else is too. Oh, and I might be sick. But not too sick thankfully.
But on that note, one of my friends has recently become rather sick. Chicken pox. In university. Now, that is rather unfortunate, since the older you are, the more dangerous it is to have it. Oh, and the timing is off too. So I've had the opportunity to help out in the past few days--you know, sick meals, that kind of thing. It's kind of odd, but I really like helping people when they're sick. Or just not doing well in general. It might be because of some sort of twisted psychological thing where I like it when people are vulnerable and I have the power to influence their health, or at least to glorify my own...or it might just be that I like helping. I'd prefer to think it's the last but I'm not entirely sure.
Tomorrow's a busy day and I have a ton to do so really, I think I ought to head to bed now. One smart(er) decision after a slew of bad ones (I really like that word...slew...magical). And I'll work on updating this more often. And being happier and more entertaining. But no promises.
peace.
25.3.10
10.3.10
Nellie Bly and the curious practice of stunt reporting
After my most recent journalism project, I have made a discovery:
I want to be a stunt reporter.
And just in case you didn't know or aren't suitably impressed by that statement, I'll explain what that means.
The woman who I researched in order to complete my project was a woman who went by the pseudonym Nellie Bly. She was the pioneer of women's stunt reporting, and did a bunch of ridiculous stunts for her job, such as faking insanity in order to be committed to an asylum, and therefore being able to observe the treatment of its inhabitants from the inside. She also posed as a prostitute in remission, a shopgirl, shoplifters, underage prey for prostitute recruiters...she was a woman of tenacity and courage, as well as an undeniable draw to the sensationalistic and dramatic.
But hey, that's why people read her stuff. She entertained them, and she was honest about her experiences and observations: a sort of combined hard news/soft news story that had both the news and opinion, intermingled so much that it would be difficult to tell where one element started and the other ended. But then, modern news can be kind of like that anyway.
All the same, it's unlikely that I'll ever do this, for several reasons: first, there is far less of a draw for stunt reporting now. And lawsuits have a lot more prevalence. Women are also far easier to find in terrifying circumstances, and there's also the safety aspect.
And of course, there's the fact that journalism isn't the profession it once was. In fact, it isn't the profession it was ten minutes ago. Always, always changing.
NOTE: This was a draft from last year, approximately this time. It still stands.
I want to be a stunt reporter.
And just in case you didn't know or aren't suitably impressed by that statement, I'll explain what that means.
The woman who I researched in order to complete my project was a woman who went by the pseudonym Nellie Bly. She was the pioneer of women's stunt reporting, and did a bunch of ridiculous stunts for her job, such as faking insanity in order to be committed to an asylum, and therefore being able to observe the treatment of its inhabitants from the inside. She also posed as a prostitute in remission, a shopgirl, shoplifters, underage prey for prostitute recruiters...she was a woman of tenacity and courage, as well as an undeniable draw to the sensationalistic and dramatic.
But hey, that's why people read her stuff. She entertained them, and she was honest about her experiences and observations: a sort of combined hard news/soft news story that had both the news and opinion, intermingled so much that it would be difficult to tell where one element started and the other ended. But then, modern news can be kind of like that anyway.
All the same, it's unlikely that I'll ever do this, for several reasons: first, there is far less of a draw for stunt reporting now. And lawsuits have a lot more prevalence. Women are also far easier to find in terrifying circumstances, and there's also the safety aspect.
And of course, there's the fact that journalism isn't the profession it once was. In fact, it isn't the profession it was ten minutes ago. Always, always changing.
NOTE: This was a draft from last year, approximately this time. It still stands.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)