AL JaZeera ConTrol RooM

What most people see is a well dressed reporter standing in front of a camera reporting news. What the film Control Room showed the viewers is the behind the scenes of reporting and the obstacles and loop holes and tasks these people take and make to deliver hard hitting news stories. This Arab news station i think shows a whole different side to news reporting as americans know it. I feel they utilize different strategies and motives into what story it is there reporting on. There values are fueled by different things then what normal american stations are, I think they deliver hard hitting news and go to many lengths to get their story as due american reporters in that aspect i feel they share a common trait as do most people who consider themselves journalists. Watching this documentary opened up a different view of the war from the "other side" then just what is shown on american news stations, I think Al Jazeera is a well run and good news source. It most def shows the struggle between trying to remain unbias and then targeting the interest of the viewers who watch and get their news and information from Al JaZeera.

FrontLine Persuaders

The Persuaders was a great Documentary on Advertisers and just how successful they are on praying on consumers subconcious desires and mentally attracting them to what ever product it is they wish to sell. what many people don't realize is that years and years ago the orginal founders of public relations realized that the key to successful PR is utilizing psychology and emotion to target people. What advertisers do is the focus on a specific group of people because advertising is more effective on the mass then an individual. The use what people most desire that is kept inside to sell their products , politicians do the same thing, they make people think there one in the same so that a sense of trust and comfortability is formed to the consumer and thats how they become successful. The Documentary Persuaders does a great job and showing and explaining just how these large companies get what they want and sell what ever products they need/ or want to. Some of these companies have large teams of people specifically to study and read people to understand how they should be targeted so their products are sold and bought. These people are very effective and the reason is the consumers don't even realize how their being sucked in to certain products etc. PR and advertising is a very successful business.

Scott Kennedy Q's

After seeing Scott's film on "The Garden" and then meeting him was a very good experience. Two questions i have for him was, 1. What drew him to this specific area, and people and what made him deem that their story among anything else going on, sufficient to spend all that time into focusing on "The Garden". My second question would be how has his opinion changed on farming and neighborhoods like that changed since he first began filming and up until a year or so after filming, what connection has he made to those people and how has it affected his views on the government, and big businesses. I think the film was genious i think its not often that inner city situations are brought to light and not enough people fight for those whose voices are ignored. I believe films like this and acknowledgement of these type of situations helps grow much needed awareness on what many people turn a blind eye to.

InterVieWeeS

I took the liberty of finding other Old Westbury Students to give me their opinions on some of the many pressing issues those who attend the college have. One of the major issues that students face is the accessibility to obtain information when off or on campus. I asked two different students one a female who is a commuter and the other a male who stays on campus who actively participates in various organizations. the Female commuter student said "registrar sucks, bursuar sucks and they never answer their phones, because old westbury is so laxed, i have gotten around some rules and it worked in my favor, it sometimes made my life easier". The male student said "its hard to get anyone , then when you do lines are long, answers are always backwards, one department says one thing another department says another, after a while you just learn stuff on your own and find a way to get it done". Im sure these are just 1 of many opinions in regards to the school and how they work with each other and the students. College is suppose to be advanced and everything should be run efficiently.

Old Man and the Storm

When the horrible reign of Hurricane Katrina invaded New Orleans it was more then most people could stomach to say the least. All over the news you just seen the sorrow and pain and destruction of what Katrina had done to those who only knew New Orleans as the only home they've ever had and known, that was now destroyed. However a Film maker named June Cross took a step and decided to go down their for several months almost two years and spent time with a family and there steps to getting their life back on track. The Gettridge family has in some ways been broken apart by this disaster. Their home destroyed, their family and friends homes destroyed, leaving everyone to fend for themselves and move to other places so they can maintain some type of life and function. However Mr. Gettridge the "Old Man" was so determined to stay at the home he's built with a family and wife and get things back to the way they were, no neighbors , no family, no wife but he was determined to fix up his home and get his life started all over again. there was such a love and determination in his soul and eyes. Even though there were hundreds of obstacles including the political mess that surrounded the situation and the slow movements of the governement and state to help ensure his ways of rebuilding his life.

Democracy Now

Two questions I would have for Karen Ranucci, is after attending the university what steps did she take to get where she is now, and my second question is what was her specific passion that drove her to the career that she is in now, what qualities does she feel she holds to make her great at what she does.

I actually really like Democracy Now and how they news is reported, i feel that its not as corporate and ratings hungry as most of the other news stations are. I feel with democracy now theres a personnable appeal that is delivered throught the camera, I also feel that they use language and stories that "regular" normal average household middle class and lower class people can relate too and understand. The clip they did on the olympics in Vancuver and how the other residents of that area felt about where the money was going too and how their homes where being taken away for more expensive homes that they can't afford, it really showed first hand rage and opinions and fustration. The other news broadcasts they do touch on situations that appeal to the common person and do get one on ones but i feel that they dont take as much time and focus on the people being affected and their purpose and stand as well as Democracy Now did. I really feel like Democracy now is for the average person aged 18-70 its straight to the point, its open its opinionated and whats big is that the anchors seem like down to earth people, who really want to inform whats going on in the world.

Same Story, Different Approach

This weekend I followed the Story of the conflict and issues with former Vice president Dick Cheney and current Vice president Joe Biden. I followed the stories in the NEW YORK POST, DAILY NEWS, and FOXNEWs.com. The main point of this story is Cheney and Biden going back and forth over how Obama is handling the current situation with al Queda and Iraq, Biden is voicing his opinion on the fact that " dick cheney is trying to rewrite history, or he is misinformed or misinforming". While Cheney voices his opinion on how obama should be saying thank you to Bush and his administration and how Obama isn't handling the terriost situation correctly and should be using more force in Cheneys opinion obviously. In the Daily News the cover is a split of This weeks fashion week and the Cheney and Biden dispute with a Bold title " Grumpy Old Men" and directs the readers to page 4-5, the daily news dedicates two pages to this story, they use better vocabulary and gives a more in depth story and gives a flashback of Biden previous issue against Bloomberg. The pages give huge pictures of both men , and uses bold titles with jokes to attract the readers. However in the New York post the Front page does not even advertise the Biden and Cheney story instead its Blazing with more Tiger Woods Baby mother Drama, which automatically attracts a different crowd of people, those who are more interested in Gossip and this gives a wide age range of the intended audience this attracts teenagers all the way to the elderly. However as soon as you open the paper the Cheney and Biden story is the first story in the paper, a small box with the story a quick mention of politics, doesn't seem like thats a huge topic they are trying to get across or advertise because it has such a small section, the vocabulary is pretty simple and this story is in black and white in contrast with the daily news where the biden and cheney story are in color with color photos. Lastly Fox news which most know is not the most creditable source, however gives a pretty 50/50 side of the story dedicating an even amount of time and quote from each party and there view. Then again the Fox story was aided by the AP.