Storytellers: Media Producers & Media Consumption

I recently watched this TED talk about single stories and the consequences of serving the public only one perspective. I found this discussion very intriguing. Adichie highlighted the importance of diverse characters and how careful journalists should be in picking a subject and in their coverage and portrayed interpretation of said subject/event. Media consumers are very dependent on the information media producers create and distribute, therefore we as journalists are in a sense largely responsible for how people interpret and understand the content we release. We must make sure that coverage is fair and doesn't play into human bias and stereotypical portrayals. In regards to media producers, let's discuss the progress I am making when it comes to camera work and editing! I am so excited. First thing I did when I saw my improving scores and feedback was call my mom (I'm a 20-year-old child apparently, haha). I am so proud of my improvement. I knew it would eventually come to me, I just have to continue practicing and perfecting. There is always room to get better, always more steps to be taken. I was very pleased with how my television news style piece turned out especially given the difficulties I encountered during filming. I have really been trying to take good notes on well-composed shots and apply all the feedback and the lessons from class to the field. I enjoyed our in-class activity, it challenged me to think on my toes and capture all the imagery I needed in a short designated time - training me to think out the scenes in a mental storyboard. While this assignment didn't incorporate too complex of audio clips or video layers, I liked that we had to edit our sequences within the class period. When you are an actual reporter, especially if there is breaking news, you simply don't have hours on end to shoot and edit. You need to be quick and efficient in your news gathering. Looking forward to seeing what's to come in this class as we start to wind down to it's close! 3...2..1..Signing Off Andria Kirkland