Albeit very, VERY slowly.
I'm going for journalism everyone (and I use the term "everyone" loosely). Of course, it's standard for most serious journalism majors to have 2-3 internships fresh out of college. Surprise! Not only do I lack any internship experience, I also lack a degree in journalism.
It's gonna be tough, but I am compelled to write. I'm converting this blog into my own miniature newspaper, media outlet, editorial column, opinion space (which, it pretty much has been anyway). I realize that I'm bound to encounter obstacles not only in the actual realm of finding fulfilling hands-on experience in the journalistic world, but also in my personal style of writing. I lack any sort of formal training in communications/journalism/creative writing, and am, for now, solely relying on the small gift I possess--a passion for the written word--to propel me (again, very, very slowly) into the rough waters of print news media.
Okay, maybe "propel" isn't an apt description for my sluggish journey into the field. Bad word choice. Noted for future reference.
The written word performs the crucial task of bridging perception and reality through a medium that's often taken for granted, often mislabeled as "universal." Yes, journalism is espoused as objective, as fact--but it's spun. Any two people can witness the same event, be told the same information, but, ultimately, when asked what happened or what they heard, two different stories emerge--with both authors swearing with vehement conviction that their story is the "most true." Yes, fact-checking, research, double-triple-septuple edits are going on, but there's hypocrisy inherent in the way journalism is conducted (at least in the U.S.): though stories are meant to be universally understood as the "truth,"because most journalism is conducted through voyeurism and not actual experience, all the public receives is a slanted interpretation of events.
Presently, this characteristic of journalism serves both constructive and destructive purposes. It's no secret that Rupert Murdoch owns pretty much all the major media outlets, transforming all readily accessible news networks into carbon copies of each other; however, though information control is rampant in the U.S., journalists, under the unfortunately conditional right to free speech, can manipulate this system through their own educated opinions. Now, I don't readily believe I could be considered "enlightened," but I don't hesitate to describe myself as inquisitive and hungry, with very little interest in informing people about things they already know. Combine that with a robust dedication to ethics, rebellion, and social justice, and voila! A recipe for some worthwhile reading.
Now, to figure a way out of this funk; writing in this manner feels so foreign, being where I am in this world feels so wrong, so ill-fitting. I must move. I must make elbow room. I must not fall. I must I must I must!
I'm going for journalism everyone (and I use the term "everyone" loosely). Of course, it's standard for most serious journalism majors to have 2-3 internships fresh out of college. Surprise! Not only do I lack any internship experience, I also lack a degree in journalism.
It's gonna be tough, but I am compelled to write. I'm converting this blog into my own miniature newspaper, media outlet, editorial column, opinion space (which, it pretty much has been anyway). I realize that I'm bound to encounter obstacles not only in the actual realm of finding fulfilling hands-on experience in the journalistic world, but also in my personal style of writing. I lack any sort of formal training in communications/journalism/creative writing, and am, for now, solely relying on the small gift I possess--a passion for the written word--to propel me (again, very, very slowly) into the rough waters of print news media.
Okay, maybe "propel" isn't an apt description for my sluggish journey into the field. Bad word choice. Noted for future reference.
The written word performs the crucial task of bridging perception and reality through a medium that's often taken for granted, often mislabeled as "universal." Yes, journalism is espoused as objective, as fact--but it's spun. Any two people can witness the same event, be told the same information, but, ultimately, when asked what happened or what they heard, two different stories emerge--with both authors swearing with vehement conviction that their story is the "most true." Yes, fact-checking, research, double-triple-septuple edits are going on, but there's hypocrisy inherent in the way journalism is conducted (at least in the U.S.): though stories are meant to be universally understood as the "truth,"because most journalism is conducted through voyeurism and not actual experience, all the public receives is a slanted interpretation of events.
Presently, this characteristic of journalism serves both constructive and destructive purposes. It's no secret that Rupert Murdoch owns pretty much all the major media outlets, transforming all readily accessible news networks into carbon copies of each other; however, though information control is rampant in the U.S., journalists, under the unfortunately conditional right to free speech, can manipulate this system through their own educated opinions. Now, I don't readily believe I could be considered "enlightened," but I don't hesitate to describe myself as inquisitive and hungry, with very little interest in informing people about things they already know. Combine that with a robust dedication to ethics, rebellion, and social justice, and voila! A recipe for some worthwhile reading.
Now, to figure a way out of this funk; writing in this manner feels so foreign, being where I am in this world feels so wrong, so ill-fitting. I must move. I must make elbow room. I must not fall. I must I must I must!
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