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To video or not to video is the question swirlng in my head in preparation for the final project.  What is the essential purpose of video? Isn’t it designed to tell a story through moving pictures?  If this is true, then what is the purpose of a video interview? How much can a face move while answering a question. How much does a close-up on someone’s nose enhance their expression. Aren’t we  interested in his or her words and ideas more than the whiteness of their teeth.

How often is TV news cheapened by sensational images? To see a blazing three alarm fire? To monitor the progress of O.J. Simpson as he flees from Los Angeles police? Or worst of all, the top model explaining tomorrow’s wind gusts. Why can’t they turn a camera on, set it up to a tri-pod, and leave it there…..leave it on. When anyone too lazy to walk outside wants to know the weather, they simply turn on the television and presto-abracadabra they will see how it is outside.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not a neo Luddite, anti-technology hermit. I am proud to say that not even in my idealistic youth did I ever live without a TV. Watching the electric tube and attending  movies is one of my favorite therapeutic activites. I can instantly escape from all stresses and worries with “power on” button. Anxiety is almost completely eliminated and death is no longer an issue. Of course the credits eventually roll, the lights turn on, and a man with an industrial broom pushes you out of the theatre, but the time was well spent. I almost always feel better. The same can be said for  a double episode showing of ”Two and a Half Men.”

The intoxicating and numbing effects of television and movies are, in my opinion, the ultimate use of television or “moving pictures.” I am wondering if news, in contrast, is better suited for print, radio, and slide shows.

The quick and easy access to television and internet videos is understandably  holding the reigns of the chariot these days, but does this necessarily mean we as potential journalists need to follow the norm. For the purposes of paid employment, the answer is probably a resounding yes. For the purposes of our final assignment, there may be more room for experimentation and discussion.

In order to combat existing trends, it would probably be effective to use the same snake the opposition is using. In today’s electronic media culture, it seems that marketing and advertising and reaching the largest possible audience will win readership, loyalty, and ultimately, more time as an effective media outlet.

Was journalsim ever any different? Hasn’t advertising been the key to keeping a newspaper or magazine above water since the dawn of the printing press?  I bring it up as a  rally cry to avoid the whirlpool of this new hunch on how things are supposed to be.  We can still swim upstream if we choose to do so…if we believe in something strong enough. And we can do it while wearing the empire’s clothes.

All this to say that Wednesday’s class on sound slide presentation may be the beginning of a dynasty. The space and silence in between photographs allows the viewer to think and reason and hopefully come up with their own perception. In contrast, the rush hour of images flying across a video screen leave viewers in withdrawal for more.

The morning walk through the Bell Center. Many Montrealers leave their cars in their garage and take this route to work. Let’s say for the sake of this blog that the Canadians lost a heart breaker the night before 2-1 to the dreaded Mapleleafs. This means many things. For starters, the Canadians magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains frozen, the david versus goliath efforts of encore baseball Montreal maybe receive a boost, and according to statistics Canada, the amount of women receiving punches to the face increases.

It may not be data produced from Statistics Canada, but there is proof somewhere out there indicating that spousal abuse is highest following a Canadians loss, in Montreal anyway.

So, during the morning walk to work, an irate man is pushing his way through the Bell Center underground ground and female slapping along his way. The shock of his antics amidst an otherwise sedate  morning stroll provoke citizen journalists into action.

Claire Rasputin is from Peirrefonds. She works at The Eaton Center selling perfumes and fragrances. She barely finished high school and actually completed her GED much later than her teenage friends, somewhere around the age of 24. Claire’s older sister Mary Lou is an actuary and earns a nice, fat income. Mary Lou prides herself on being up to date with all the technological gadgetry flooding the market, so she bought her baby sister a blackberry. It was a great gift, not only because Claire could barely turn on a computer and needed to know something related to the 21st century. Mary Lou’s generosity was far sighted and maybe a little clairvoyant, no pun intended. Clair took an immediate liking to her little blackberry. She even gave it a special name, Badinga. She searched on line, joined chat groups, took photographs, and even commented on perfume related articles she read on line.

On the morning following the Canadians devastating overtime defeat to the lowly Leafs, Claire received one of those slaps from the anonymous slapper roaming through the Bell Center underground. Claire reacted instinctualy when she pulled out Badinga from her purse and started clicking away. It turns out that the woman directly behind Claire and next in line to be slapped was none other than Celine Dion. This proved to be no ordinary slap. Celine fell to her knees and then lay flat on the floor unconscious. In a matter of seconds, her left eye swelled up and turned black, blue, and purple.

Claire shot off a round of photos that exceeded 100. She captured not only Celine’s condition, but a close up of the fleeing man. Celine knew what to do. She pitched her story immediately to the Gazette and relayed a message to the police precinct #9. Within a matter of cyber seconds, both the Gazette and Constable McGinnis replied with a financial reward if she would kindly produce not only the photographs, but a short article describing the events.

Claire had guts. She was sort of a clean slate. She was not polluted with the rules and etiquette of seasoned journalists and some say she was delirious most of the time due to inhaling perfumes for so many years. She fell to the floor with Celine, long before the police arrived. She clicked on her audio recorder and started popping Quebec’s most recognizable female star all sorts of questions. Claire was unknowingly preying on Celine when she was most vulnerable and without the protection of a media coach. Celine leaked all kids of information.

The details don’t matter for the sake of this blog post. What does matter is the role Claire played. She was in the right place and the right time and she was compensated financially. Claire Rasputin replaced the Gazette’s news reporter on this tragic Canadian’s day.

The question becomes, do we really need journalists anymore? Trained, university educated journalists? News happens everywhere and every moment of every day. There is no way journalists can be there to cover all of the going ons around town. The abundance of news would sky rocket or it already has if the doors to publication would by dynamited open for all the public to participate. If quality journalism is what the public wants, then why not open up online training schools. There are already many I would imagine. These training schools would provide the public with the necessary skills to crank out a quality feature story or cold news coverage. The course would be free, online, and completed in a matter of two months.

The public would become producers rather than consumers of news. This seems to be the trend these days anyway. Quebec Mile-Enders live by the locally organic grown vegetable and who doesn’t have at least one friend who skips University lectures due to their homemade windmill needing attention. The device traps all the wind produced from the centralized vacuum system or converts all the wind into usable energy. The poor student returns home from school and has trapped enough energy to boil some water for a cup of brown rice and light the lamp for some nightime reading entertainment.

All this to say, self sufficiency is as popular as Tellytubbies once were. The  elite group of educated journalists who ran around town with clipboard and tape recorder may be doomed to the dustbin. Personally, I welcome the change. The competition is a spring time cat fight to win the twelfth spot on a pitching staff out of spring training. The quality can only increase.

A Dog’s Nose is More Than A Metaphor

Multimedia platforms is one way to describe the current way news is presented to the public. There are others.  Last week, Lisa Lynch presented the options as a challenge of definitions.

Today has been called new media, multi-media, convergent, web, cross platform, digital, online. There is no consensus on what to call today’s media situation, but do we really need a definition or a name?

Writers are always looking for alternative ways to say the same word, so when it comes to new media, multi-media, convergent, web, cross platform, digital, online, and whatever else, repitition is alot easier to avoid.

Right after mentioning multimedia platforms in the course schedule is a question. ”Does media affect story choice?”

This may have nothing to do with finding a definition, but it does indirectly explain the title of this blog post.

Earlier today in advanced writing workshop, we discussed the George Orwell article, “Politics And The Englsih Language.” 

The second  section called ”Dying Metaphors” sounded a warning to not use outdated expressions.  According tou members of our class, old, stale metaphors  don’t provoke enough imagery in the reader’s mind. The example iron resolution was given. The teacher added that metaphors need to bring something new to the table.

I bring this up because the metaphor mess made me a bit self conscious  when I was considering a title for this blog post. My first thought was          New Nose To The Grindstone. Outdated?  I didn’t think so after spotting a dog doing some sniffing along Ste. Catherine Street, but then I realized that this was not about a dog. That would be “sniffing one’s own turf.”

So, I looked up the grindstone phrase on phrase finder and learned. 

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/217200.html

Origin(s)….. Nose To The Grindstone

“There are two rival explanations as to the origin of this phrase. One is that it comes from the supposed habit of millers who checked that the stones used for grinding cereal weren’t overheating by putting their nose to the stone in order to smell any burning. The other is that it comes from the practice of knife grinders when sharpening blades to bend over the stone, or even to lie flat on their fronts, with their faces near the grindstone in order to hold the blades against the stone.”

“Dogs sniffing their own turf” and “nose to the grindstone” do share something in common. They both require a gret deal of focus. If you mess up as a miller, your nose will no longer be a nose, so you better pay attention.

A dog thinks with its nose. I remember reading somewhere that a canine’s smell gene is the equivalent of three football fields. I’m not sure what this means, but it makes alot of snese when walking a dog or when I’m walked by a dog. Their pull is almost unbearable especially when the sidewalk is an ice skating rink.  

When it comes to researching and editing a story, there are moments when I feel like a dog or a miller. My survival instinct takes over and that moment arrives.   

Media relies on fellow media outlets maybe too much. In radio class, we were always encouraged to listen to the headlines from other stations. In print, the stories we pitch need to be newsworthy. Is this determined by a New York Times headline? Can’t we keep our noses to the grindstone-sniff our own turf and as a result delve deep into whatever we discover? Can’t we find our own stories to pitch and write without being dependent on the media for ideas?

I always associated branding with hard core fraternity initiation.

After looking closer at the origins and considering the sudden use of the word viral, I immediately thought about branding in terms of the Expos logo. What a brillant emblem-logo. The concept behind the design, the colors, the timing of its launch, and I guess most importantly the potential places it could spread.

Until recently, I always confused the word viral with vile or maybe I was confusing it with virus. Now I realize that going viral is a crusade gone right with branding as the means. Or maybe I’ve mixed up the terminology and all will be straightened out tomorrow during our guest lecture.

When it comes to a blog or website, there is the obvious benefit of gaining exposure for fame or fortune, but who needs either? Well, the fortune would be nice. I think the longer lasting effect will be fast forward specialization and as a result a far more efficient and effective production system. WHo knows? Maybe, we will return to a toil and strain lifestyle in home made laboratories. 

Take the viral-ness of specialist relievers. Are there any current major league teams without one? We can thank mastermind Tony Larussa for showing everyone else the way. The point is that through the use of specialization relievers, we maximizize the efficiency and effectiveness of both starters and relievers.

There are many who cry cow manure theory and attempt to turn back the clocks to a time when complete games were spelled Jack Chesbro as in 48 of them in 1904. Cow manure theory claims that pitchers no longer work in the off season on farms-shoveling manure and as a result fail to strengthen the periphery muscles supporting the more important ones. The consequence is more injuries.

Anyway, in 1904, Chesbro  won 41 games and threw 454.2 innings. I won’t even try to explain that one. It is way ovwer my head. All I can say with any degree of sincerity is that Chesbro was the last pitcher to win 40 games.

These are unbelievable numbers, but in order to determine the pluses and minuses in terms of his contribition to the overall well being of his team,  we would have to look at more numbers. I wouldn’t know where to begin, so I am speculating here for the sake of branding-specialization-effectiveness.

I am speculating that there was too much dependence on Chesbro to perform and as a result the rest of the pitching staff rotted away from lack of use.

Compare that to today’s arrangement where a pitcher learns his 6th inning role by rote. Habitual de la ritual has its benefits. 

There is a predictability and a comfort, but more than that there is a manager who has identified the best possible scenario for his various pitchers. There is no cap on this specialization…..full moon-rainy night-bases empty reliever.

Sounds crazy, but imagine if them old time Chesbros were alive today? There’d be alot more of them John Gibbons-Ted Lilly scuffles.

Branding expressions or ideas distinguishes one from the other. The consumer or reader in this case has a clearer idea of what to expect from each brand.  There is a segregation going on here. It creates a field of specializations. We don’t waste time browsing a plumber’s catalogue when we need varnish for a wood deck. We become more efficient. We have more choices within each specialization. We find what we are looking for.

Hank Aaron was born on February 5.

Babe Ruth was born on February 6.

That’s some serious astrological domaine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-2lg5fpQ4

With the introduction from Tim McCarver. I thought McCarver liked Floyd?

One of these days, Ryan Garko is gonna get his chance. Maybe he alread has. Someone must have said that before, probably a Giants fan. He seemd like such a great fit in power hungry San Francisco. Lemonticule was certain his trade to the Giants last August would be remembered as one of those under the radar deals that doesn’t get noticed until early October when analysts peek in the rear view mirror to better understand how San Francisco won its first division title in X number of years.

There was no denying their potent pitching staff. Lemonticule backs all things Cain and Lincecum and had high hopes for no-hitter Sanchez. Throw in the legend, Randy Johnson who was in the midst of chasing down number 300 and perhaps no pitching staff in Golden Gate City history was comparable. Wondering now about Juan Marichal’s tour of duty and who may have accompanied him on the staff. Roger Craig?  Well, that was a good guess. It wasn’t Craig. It was Gaylord Perry, always a first name that confuses teenagers not yet secure in their sexuality. Marichal was Pedro Martinez dominant in 1966 and right beind him in the Giant’s rotation as well as the league’s pitcher leader board was Perry. They both won 20 games. Who was the last team to carry two 20-game winners on the same squad?

So, Garko is a Mariner and the answer to perhaps  the most burning question troubling all of North America throughout most of December and January. Who would bat clean-up for Seattle and inherit a most favorable table setting. Of course, the question hatched following the announcement that Chone Figgins would be playing a little ways up the coast from his long time guru-Mike Scioscia. The little beaver must have benefited considerably with Scioscia pulling strings. Anyhoo, with Suzuki and Figgins, the Mariners ducks on the pond has been established and bronzed. Enter Garko who has yet to realize his full Luzinski potential or maybe 20 homeruns will be his peak performance. Born in 1981, that makes him almost 30 years old, so this bette rbe his boom boom year. He didn’t accumulate enough at bats last year with the Giants to determine if the National League rubs him the wrong way. If he clubs 20 homers for the Mariners, it will be money well spent.

While considering a topic for the final project, I realized that maybe certain subjects are better suited for print media. So, I began to brain storm and couldn’t come up with any examples. No matter what subject popped into my head, I quickly thought of ways to enhance the presentation with the help of a blog and its many uses.

The question now becomes how to effectively use what is available in such a way that the reader’s experience is improved. A common complaint I often hear is the length of blog posts and the reader’s lack of patience. We have to take this into consideration. Often times, I begin a post and my mind shoots off in 10 different directions simultaneously.

We are writing to an audience or to readers who have very short attention spans. We previously discussed in class the structural technique of including a short summary to the reader with an option to delve deeper on a different page. I think the two examples given were Wired and The New York Times.  This format seems very effective.

If the reader wants to skim the headlines due to time constraints or lack of focus, presto! The blog offers the equivalent of an abstract. If they have more time and interest, there will not only be a longer and maybe well researched piece, but there will be video, photographs, and further links.

The crux of the blog’s biscuit, as also discussed in class, may be the linking option. The sense of community is greatly enhanced as one individual writer or blogger includes fellow bloggers who researched a different angle, conducted better interviews, or added some other intriguing component to the story.

WordPress may be designed for writers rather than HTML coders. It may seem too user friendly, but it was probably designed this way intentionally.

Multimedia blogs still require raw research tactics like consulting primary sources, completing research,  and conducting interviews. As mentioned earlier, there are blogs that use the new possibilites to their advantage and others who add too much.

It seems like a new level of editing. How to shorten sentences and trim words is  yesterday’s limit and today we’ve added the skill of inserting photographs video in effective places to amplify a story.

Tomorrow, we may be editing telepathic messages. In the waiting room, I hope to apply the HTML codes we are learning in class to blog writing. In order to do this, I should probably start a new blog on a site other than wordpress.

The answer to this blog post is yes! We should definitely blog!

I am in the midst of securing the webmaster position for the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA). If this comes to be, I hope to use this volunteer venture as my final project. It requires alot of networking with the few people who captured video and shot photographs of last year’s Concordia Stionger’s baseball team. In addition, I will need to communicate with the sports information department from various school for rosters, statistics, and additional photographs.