Fear the former civil servants, for their hatred burns as fire

RBC Firebomber Sentenced

1. What is the story? (What is the point of the news report)

Last month, a former civil servant by the name of Roger Clement pleaded guilty to firebombing a Royal Canadian Bank, receiving a sentence of three and a half years in prison.

2. What is the establishing shot in the video?

The establishing shot of the video is actual footage of the bank itself being engulfed in flames, footage taken by Roger Clement himself. Next, the view changes to the aftermath of the fire, showing the charred remains of the building's interior and forensic teams combing the area for evidence.

3. What is the introduction?

The introduction actually precedes the opening shot, and begins with the host of the program giving the barebone details of the story, then moves to reporter in Ottawa Jeff Semple, who begins informing the audience of the fine details, such as number of people involved, specific details of the judge's ruling, etc.

4. Name two sources.

The first and foremost source of quotes and information was the judge who handed down the ruling on Roger Clement. Another source seems to have been Clement himself.

5. Based on what these two sources say, what questions do you think they were asked? Create two questions for each source that you feel they were probably asked.

From the video, I gather that no (or very few) questions were posed to the sources themselves, but instead from the proceedings in the courtroom. It is a safe assumption that reporter Jeff Simple either sat in the courtroom during the proceedings, or saw a taped version of the proceedings.

If they had been asked questions, they probably would have been asked these:

Judge

Q1: "For what reasons did you settle on a sentence of only 3 and 1/2 years, which is less than what the Crown wanted?"

Q2: "Did Clement's recent personal tragedies affect your decision?"

Clement

Q1: "What message were you trying to send with this fire?"

Q2: "What drove you to such an extreme action after so many years of exemplary behavior?"

6. Identify two types of B-roll in the video.

Two examples of B-roll in the video are the actual footage of the burning bank and the forensic crew sifting through the burnt-out shell of the building.

7. What are two other types of B-roll footage that you think they could have used?

One type of B-roll they could have used is footage taken from the courtroom during Clement's trial. Another type they could have used is a shot of Clement and his lawyer leaving the courthouse after the trial.

8. Identify two different voice overs and briefly list what facts are in each voice over.

Contrary to the usual style, the closest thing to a voice-over is in fact two "screens", one with the reporter's face as he reports on the right and the other playing the B-roll on the left. This is the only voice-over in the video, and the two-screen effect sustains throughout it. During this segment, Jeff Semple informs the viewers of Roger Clement's guilty plea, the severity of the fire damage, Clement's motive, and the details of his conviction.

9. What is the closing to the video?

The video closes with a head-and shoulders shot of Jeff Semple summing up the report, then the host of the program thanks Mr. Semple for the report and says his name and location.

10. Who is the reporter and what is his tag at the end?

The reporter, as stated before, is Jeff Semple, reporting onsite in Ottawa and his tag at the end is simply the closing remarks of the story.

Cold Facts and Warm Hearts: Hard News vs Soft

The CBC article "Canadian resident sentenced to death in Iran" is the very definition of hard news. The hard hitting title combined with the concise and uncompromising stating of the facts paint pictures of torture and injustice abroad. The entire article conveys a sense of helplessness, both in the situation of the accused, Saeed Malekpour, and in the situation closer to home. The fact that Canada can't swoop in and save this man from his death is a fact that is brutally and plainly laid out for the reader. There are no soft touches, no kind words in this article, only the facts of forced confession and unjust torture. The quotes, which include statements like "Most of the time, the tortures were performed by a group," are uncompromising. This article is hard news with a vengeance.

Another story that personifies hard news is the article "Haiti cholera death toll tops 2,000" from the CBC website. Obviously, stories of tragic death are hard news. This is so much the more when there has not only been one tragic death, but over 2,000. This story gives us a very grim view of the situation in Haiti, and does so without reserve. The facts are put forth without any comforting assurances that Haitian happy days are just around the corner, quite the opposite in fact. The number of people afflicted by the disease(over 91,700) and the death count (over 2,000) are stated plainly, and the situation is reported just as it is: dire.

Now, we'll avoid the system shock of going straight from hard news to soft by looking at one that's in the gray area between the two, namely CBC's "Spider-Man working out bugs for Broadway debut". This one is hard to place mostly because of its shameless blending of comic book lore(soft) and the problems besetting a 65 million dollar Broadway production (hard). It strikes a fair balance between hard and soft by incorporating the best of both; for soft news, the article goes into great detail concerning the history of the play, from the beginning of the writing process nine years ago to the present, one month before opening night. However, it doesn't shy away from the hard news aspects either, bluntly describing the many hitches and troubles currently afflicting the technical aspects of the play, such as perfecting the devices which will allow Spider-Man to scale the walls. However, if I had to classify it as one or the other, I would classify it as soft news, because the soft news aspects of the story get much greater attention.

Just as it's usually easy to spot hard news, it's just as simple to spot soft news, and boy is this article ever soft. The article looks at something many people who work in a cubicle use to relax, casual video games. News about casual video games is soft news indeed, for obvious reasons. First of all, they're games. Second, they're the kind of games specifically designed to be simple, rewarding, and relaxing for the player. Much like the article on Spider-Man theater above, this article is soft news because it goes into the history of the game and explores where the game came from, instead of what focusing solely on what it's doing right here and now.

"Dark Genius" doesn't exactly sound like something one would classify as soft news. However, the title describes the subject of the article(Tim Burton) quite well. This soft article isn't even really news so much as it is a tribute to the career of Burton. The news side of the story/tribute comes from the opening of a gallery that showcases much of Tim Burton's work. The story has a distinctly personal touch, with many quotes from Burton himself explaining his feelings about the gallery. It discusses many of Tim Burton's influences from his youth, and concerns itself mostly with the artistic, the theoretical and imaginary than with cold facts and faceless figures. In closing the article, there is a quote from Tim Burton concerning thank-you notes that he got from parents who brought their teenage children there. The personal side of the story is embraced fully, making this soft news without a doubt.

Barbara Frum, more than the average Broad-caster

It is clear from the get-go that Barbara Frum is not conducting an average interview when she gets on the line with Manson follower Sandra Good. But this odd interview takes a turn for the utterly abnormal when Good starts talking about a fanatical devotion to nature, and a murderous malice for those who would destroy it. Through this strange and baffling tirade, Barbara Frum refuses to give up the chance to talk with a mind, which through cultist ideals is probably exactly the same as Lynette Fromme's. This interview, whether Frum realized it or not when she scheduled it, would be an amazing insight into a mind like Lynette Fromme’s. I think that about two minutes into the interview, Frum realizes this and starts to run with it. Her questions shift away from “When did you last see Lynette” and “How was she emotionally” to more personal questions for Good herself, hoping to understand more of the mind of a person capable of killing for the benefit of trees and plants.

Because of this desire to see into a crazed mind, Frum refuses to let go of the interview. She stays in control, but in a subtle way. She doesn’t ask the same question twice, but instead maintains her line of questioning through asking a different question that would lead to the same answer, and unfortunately for someone trying to gather the facts, every question did lead to the same answer: “you’re ignorant... and killing trees.” Despite Ms. Good’s irritation at her “ignorance” this subtle and crafty style of questioning allows her to keep Sandra Good on the line for 7 minutes. Only when she begins to interrupt Ms. Good’s psychotic recital of the Manson-inspired manifesto does Good finally hang up the phone. Had Frum been very aggressive and confrontational, the interview may have lasted 70 seconds instead of 7 minutes.

The most effective thing that Frum said throughout the interview was “Ms. Good, how come you’re talking about trees that you care about, but you don’t care about killing men?” because this question causes Good to state her goals and the intent of her actions outright, as well as the reasoning behind them. Good makes it very clear that her intent is to see trees live, even if men must die. It is this exact state of mind that Barbara Frum was trying to uncover when she asked “what was the condition you last saw [Fromme] in?” One thing that I learned from this as a student journalist is that it is very important to get to the answer that will define the interview, but you cannot force it. You are an important part of the interview, but the interview is non-existent without the person you are interviewing. If that person gets out of control and you lose them altogether without getting that all-important answer, your interview has been virtually meaningless. You need to get that answer without destroying the contact between you and the person you are interviewing.

If I had to choose one person to interview, it would be Rudolph Hess, the Nazi general who was arrested in Scotland after his attempted independent peace treaty with England ended in disaster. He was a man who was very close to Adolf Hitler, and he would be very interesting to interview about his reasons for trying to end the war. It wouldn’t be a tough interview, because the man seemed to have firm convictions about the war, thus he would likely talk freely about them to propagate his ideas of peace.

Journalism: A swirling storm of confusion and lies, essentially

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge news-watcher/reader. Usually, when news comes my way, it has to be pretty major to even take my notice. When it does, whether or not I take it all with a pinch of salt depends on the individual story. If it's a story about a major political figure doing something awful, I usually dismiss it completely. If it's a story about a soldier's death or a natural disaster, you can bet its been fact checked.

As stated before, the article about Stephen Harper(political figure) and the communion wafer being pocketed(doing something awful) made me a little skeptical for two reasons. The first reason is that Stephen Harper is currently an individual who some people love to hate, and the second reason is the headline of such a story seems overly sensational to the point of ridiculousness, sounding more like idle gossip you would overhear than a newspaper story.
The article about "Jimmy" on the other hand was nothing less than shocking. It's a story that appeals greatly to human nature and sympathy, and calling it fake would basically make you a monster. Janet Cooke used this weakness of society to put out a story that was ironclad to all but the most stonehearted of skeptics, and for once, the skeptics were right. The fact that a Pulitzer Prize was awarded to a pack of lies is nothing less than disgusting.

I believe that Shafer's assertion is accurate in part. Almost every lie is made for personal gain, whether it be absolution from responsibility or gain of power. In this age, where knowledge is power, information that you have created is extremely easy to use for your own ends. It's easier to invent a story than discover one. Because of this, in university level journalism courses, one thing that must be highly emphasized is ethics. It must be ingrained into the minds of future journalists every day that they must never fabricate the news.

When issues of these ethics arise, an ombudsman is absolutely necessary to ensure that the paper maintains its credibility. If a paper's credibility is destroyed, the paper is destroyed. An ombudsman can make or break the paper's future. The ombudsman can make that connection with the public that can make all the difference in the world. If an ombudsman makes sure that the paper responds to public complaints about the errors/falsehoods in the newspaper, it can save the newspaper from being absolutely dismissed by the public.

Is it Newsworthy?

Baghdad Church Siege Kills 52

Timing 4/4


This story is an example of lightning fast information gathering. The attack began at dusk on Sunday, and after a four hour hostage situation, quick, perhaps even hasty action was taken against the terrorists holding the occupants of the church. The story was posted at 8:18 the next morning.

Significance 4/4

A story like this is always enormously significant, even when the death toll is low. This time however, it was not. While the actual total of the dead is not yet certain, at least 52 have died due to the attack, and 67 have been wounded. Also certain is that a priest and 10 policemen were among the dead. For these reasons, the significance is very high.

Proximity 3/4

While the story did occur far from what Canadians would consider "home", many Canadians who are Roman Catholic will most likely feel a strong connection to this story, as the act of terrorism was not against individuals, but against their beliefs.

Prominence 4/4

The Pope publicly denounced the attack, drawing the eyes of Catholics everywhere to this tragedy. The Pope is and was a major figure in current society and throughout history, elevating this story in prominence considerably.

Human Interest 4/4

This story practically defines human interest. Stories of violent terrorism always appear to the sense of humanity, and this one is especially violent and horrible with such a high death toll.

Total newsworthiness mark: 19/20

Munsch Book Contest Won by Labrador Town

Timing 2/4

The story is relatively new, although the contest to decide where the book would take place has been going on for months. Also, the book will probably not be published for a while, perhaps months, and the author is not scheduled to visit the town until next May.

Significance 2/4

Robert Munsch is a beloved Canadian author, and to many who enjoyed his books as children and later as parents will be affected by the story. However, to the poeple who did not, the story will little to no meaning.

Proximity 3/4

The contest is Canadian based, won by a small Canadian town, and concerns a Canadian author. The story is extremely close to home, giving it good proximity.

Prominence 2/4

Munsch is an author who is known worldwide for his children's books, but as far as celebrities go, he is not very significant. While he is loved dearly by his audience(the contest drew a total of 150,000 votes), his level of fame is not high enough to warrant a high mark for prominence.



Human Interest 1/4



The story is really only interesting to Munsch fans, and even to them, the result would probably only bring a smile for a few moments.



Total newsworthiness mark: 10/20.



Indonesian volcano erupts for 3rd time in week


Timing 4/4

This story is quite timely because for the 3rd time in one week alone, the volcano has erupted. The eruption happened early Monday morning, and seeing how it is 11:52 Monday morning right now, this is a good testament to its timeliness.

Significance 4/4

38 people have been killed by the volcanic eruptions already, and if it keeps erupting, the number of deaths will most likely continue. Also significant is the tsunami at the other end of the country which has killed 450 people.

Proximity 1/4

The story has virtually nothing to do with Canada, and as such has a low proximity. Even the concept is fairly foreign, as modern-day Canadians have seen very little(comparatively) in the way of natural disasters.

Prominence 3/4

Natural disasters are always prominent, and this one is no different. The misfortune of the country experiencing two different natural disasters at once is strange and thus brings the story prominence.

Human Interest 4/4

The number of deaths and the pure misfortune that the country is experiencing is more than its fair share of tragedy gives this story great human interest. People are always interested in the tragedy of others, and love to feel empathy towards people who are downtrodden.

Total newsworthiness mark: 16/20

Alcohol Ranked Most Harmful Drug

Timing 2/4

This story is a story of research, and because research is typically done in a period of weeks, months, or even years, this severely detracts from the overall timing of the story. However, at any time, someone around the world is drinking alcohol, thus giving it a fair score in terms of timing.

Significance 4/4

As stated before, there will always be someone somewhere who is drinking some kind of alcoholic beverage. This makes this discovery extremely significant, and because it basically effects everyone, its significance is absolute.

Proximity 4/4

Alcohol is a part of most lifestyles, and as such, a part of society. Prohibition certainly does not exist in Canada, and most likely never will. Since this is such a part of society, and society defines the country, alcohol is important to Canadians.

Prominence 2/4

The research study gives us important information, but really nothing earth shaking. The study calls to the surface a fact that most people already knew; alcohol is everywhere, and it can most certainly be destructive.

Human Interest 4/4

We all know people who are destroying themselves with drink. We all know people who have alcoholism and are obviously affected by it. Alcohol kills many people every year through drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and it can destroy families as well. The human interest in this story is universal.

Total newsworthiness mark: 16/20

Bizarre moose collision hospitalizes student

Local firemen were called early Monday morning to respond to what at first seemed to be a virtually non-existent accident. Around 6 A.M. Monday, college student Andrew Portman's car hit a moose and flew off the road. According to the fire department, the car hit the moose, and then crashed through the trees on the side of the road to slide to a halt in a field just beyond the trees. Portman is currently in the hospital recuperating from a sprained ankle he sustained staggering away from the car, dazed.

"To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what had happened," Portman said. "I was just driving down the highway, and I was really tired, so I must have nodded off for a second, and then next thing I know I'm in some field. The car was absolutely destroyed. I managed to get out when the door fell off, but then I saw blood all over the front of the car, and really freaked out, started running and twisted my ankle really bad. I had my cell phone on me, and I managed to call 911."

The accident bewildered the firemen, who drove down the highway trying to find the accident, and stopped when they saw a dead moose on the side of the road and expected to find a car nearby.

Fireman David Cripps said during accident cleanup that "It took us about a minute and a half to figure out what happened. There was just this huge moose on the side of the road all beat up and pretty obviously hit by a vehicle of some kind, and we just puzzled over it until someone saw a couple of trees broken down in the woods beside the road, and decided to check it out. They found the student, and he was okay, and what was left of the car, which wasn't much."

Andrew Portman is due for release from the hospital on the 30th pending further medical testing.

"I don't mind the hospital, I'm lucky to be alive." he said.

Evaluating Articles

Article 1

On Monday, September 27, a building near Lafontaine Park, Montreal partially collapsed, killing one and injuring another. The building was undergoing extensive renovations when the collapse happened in the third story of the building, killing the 54 year-old worker.
If there is one thing that people will always read about and investigate, it is a tragedy. Like a car crash just around the corner, a lead that promises details of a tragic death is impossible not to pursue, making this lead very effective.
"For reasons we don't yet understand a part of the building collapsed onto the workers," Eric Berry, a worker for Montreal's ambulance service told reporters.
the article gets to the point, telling the facts of the construction worker's death in the very first sentence. It provides the who, what, when, where, why and how very clearly and concisely.
The story doesn't come to any kind of definitive ending because available details on the story are few, and because of this, certain important details such as the worker's name and the definite reasons of the collapse are left out and only a theory of unnoticed structural damage caused by fires earlier in the year is given.

Article 2

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is still uncertain about pulling out of Middle East peace tealks as of Monday the 27th, and intends to deliberate at least one week before his final decision in order to provide time for U.S. mediators to come up with a compromise concerning Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The president opposes the construction because of Palestinian intent to establish a future state in the areas of construction. Abbas intends to discuss the matter one week from the 27th with a 22-member Arab League.
With the Middle East being a global hotspot because of war, oil and political turmoil, an article concerning it is almost always of interest. However, some people prefer to see no evil, hear no evil, so anything in the Middle East may be offputting news to some. The effectiveness of the lead hinges very much on the person reading.
President Abbas said that "We will not have any quick reactions," which in a case as sensitive as this is quite wise.
In this article, the news of the Palestinian president's decision to wait is told first, but the most interesting part of the article comes near the end. Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to extend the slowdown of Israeli construction, which expired midnight Monday morning.
The resolution of this matter has not yet been reached, and will take at least until next Monday to reach. The article instead assures us that the Israeli government is still open to compromise, a comforting thought.

Article 3

Kim Jong-un, son of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has been named a military general, which is the first step in dynastic succession. Little else is known about the youngest son of the dictator. Virtually no evidence exists to suggest why the youngest son was chosen as the next successor except that he has been the "favorite" of Kim Jong-il all along. However, many clues exist confirming the eventual ascension of Kim Jong-un.
The lead is veery effective, and for two main reasons: the air of mystery surrounding the succession and the current political importance of North Korea. The article does its best to uncover facts about the succession, but details still remain sketchy, which only heightens interest in further installments about the matter.
"Should the conference itself open the door for an orderly leadership change and in one way or another economic reform, we see a great deal of underlying, long term economic benefit for a united Korean economy," says economist Goohoon Kwon.
The most important information(that of the ascension of Kim Jong-un) is told first, but the most interesting information is told during the middle and end of the article. The reporter who created the story found that several political events have happened recently in North Korea that haven't hpapened since immediately before Kim Jong-il took power, very clear indications of a power shift.

Job Applications

Mr. Carter
Teacher
Blackville School

Re: APPLICATION FOR TALON REPORTER

Dear Mr Carter,

I believe that I would be suitable for the position of Talon reporter/photographer because I have strong writing skills and good interpersonal skills and live near the school, so work after school will not (barring unforeseen circumstances) be a problem, and I would be willing to sacrifice flex periods for the job. Also, in a pinch, I can provide my own digital camera. I would be interested in working in entertainment and/or sports.

Mr. Carter
Teacher
Blackville School

RE: APPLICATION FOR YEARBOOK EDITOR

I believe that the position of Yearbook editor would be right for me because I have good design and organizational skills. I am also willing to work long term and a good photography skills and am willing to work after school, during flex and into the next semester. I have a great interest in producing an excellent yearbook, especially with this being my last year at school.

Reflective Journal Entry #1 - Public Occurences and Other Fine Publications of Noble Station and Merit

The Bostonian newspaper Publick Occurrences, previously removed from English soil to the Americas for "differences of opinion" with the English crown(read: editor jailed for sedition), was the first to ever incorporate a page completely blank for the purpose of feedback and opinion sharing. Because of the tendency towards small communities and neighbourly spirit as well as blatant and outright poverty in the fledgling United States, newspapers were passed on from person to person. Benjamin Harris, the creator of Publick Occurrences, seeing this tradition among the Puritan people, decided to take it to another level by adding a completely blank fourth page, on which the people could write their responses to the news and matters at hand. Then, they called it "a blank fourth page". Today, we call it blogging.

Obviously, the two are not identical manifestations of the same concept, but the core concept is shared. That core concept could be defined as putting out news and passing on opinions within the same outlet, which both certainly do. Obviously, when one looks at newspapers today, the concept of putting on a blank page certainly didn't catch on in any permanent fashion. This fad probably completely died off with the rise of newspaper owners/editors like William Randolph Hearst, who was of the opinion that "whatever I report is the news, and the news is the truth, so whatever I report is the truth." This mindset certainly inhibited any kind of feedback, but as communication with others with others grew quicker and easier, people once again became free to communicate whatever idea they desired about the subjects put forth by news outlets, and with the modern ease of internet access this freedom of ideas soon formed itself into a concrete and defined idea: Blogging.

So this raises a question that is peculiar at least. Is blogging truly the unique brainchild of young, energetic minds concerned with free speech and the spreading of their own opinion, or is it the resurrection and new age restyling of a centuries-old tradition which has faded away in modern times: honest discussion.