Philosophy of Journalism Statement.

Philosophy of Journalism Statement.



“ Aaron? How do you load photos onto the computer?”
“Sue? Sue? I don’t know how to turn it on?”
Don’t even get me started on how many annoying questions Des had to endure about the disaster that was my understanding of protools and the beginning of the Convergent Journalism class!

It would be an understatement to say that I found JOUR215 challenging. There were many times when I felt like pulling my hair out when I lost a file on the computer or simply ripping the stupid M box out of the socket, throwing it out the window and crying “It’s all too hard!” Thankfully, thanks to lots of help from the tutors, classmates and good old Google, I managed to improve my skills and end the session with a knowledge of Convergent technology that I feel proud of.

The audio project taught me about time management, the need to ask relevant questions and how to navigate the winding labyrinth of Protools. I left recording to the very last minute and had to think of a story that could be covered in the few hours in which I had a zoom. This experience, though stressful, forced me to think of news values and make the most of what I had to work with. I decided to go to a local school and cover ‘ Grandparent’s Day’.

I learnt a lot about interviewing children from this project as it was difficult at first to get the kids to be quiet, answer the question and speak clearly into the zoom. I also found that , when interviewed together, the children copied each other’s answers and didn’t contribute original thoughts to the interview. If I was to cover this story again, I would definitely interview the children separetley and ask different questions to each of them to avoid similar answers.

The project also taught me how to communicate with elderly subjects. When they were apprehensive about the interview, I found that explaining that it wouldn’t be published, how the recording technology worked and the aim of the story allowed them to relax and answer questions more naturally.

I spent many hours playing around with Protools in order to submit this assignment. Although I felt annoying having to always ask questions, I found that this approach, along with writing down what I was told, allowed me to learn how to use the program. My Protools skills were significantly enhanced by this project and I felt proud that I was able to create a successful piece by embracing the simplicity and innocence of the topic.

The photo essay was the hardest project for me to complete. I felt at a disadvantage because some of the class had completed a similar topic in summer session and knew all the technical parts of the camera. I had no idea what aperture or shutter speeds were!

I was upset when I was told to scrap a collection of photos i had taken because they were ‘artsy’ rather than newsworthy. I then decided to focus on a narrower, simpler topic and covered the last surf patrol of the year. Once I got started I finally understood the role of the photo essay in allowing viewers to interpret some of the story on their own while also gleaning facts from the photo’s caption.

I also found the examples given in the lectures interesting and enjoyed the World Press Photo competition winners. This topic opened my eyes to a field of journalism I had never been exposed to and has sparked a new interest in photography and photo essays.

Having learnt the power of time management from my earlier mistakes, I arranged in advance to photograph the closure of a Blue Scope Steel plant for my final project. I was lucky to have been given permission to cover the event and interview two of the redeployed workers. The interviews taught me that it is important to make your subjects feel comfortable before asking the hard questions so that they can relax and reveal more about their true feelings. I found it difficult at first to get the workers to speak but, after asking questions about the fun things that the employees would do together and taking an interest in their jokes and anecdotes, they were happy to answer more pressing questions.

I enjoyed using sound slides but once again had a few problems with protools. Knowing that I would be slower at the editing process, I came to class a few hours early each week to make sure that the project was done in time.
This session’s feature writing class assisted me in recognising interesting stories which could be developed into convergent pieces. The graphic design subject helped appreciate the visual representations of stories and the power of images and colour to tell a story.

My main concerns regarding journalism are my uncertainty as to which area of the field I would like to work in and the feeling that I lack the confidence and street smarts required of a journalist. However, I feel that my writing and technology skills have dramatically improved as a result of this session’s classes.
I would still love to be a television news correspondent but have developed an interest in working as a media adviser for large corporations from my Media and Communications degree.

I hope to study broadcast subjects next session and further polish my radio voice and ability to use computer programs. Hopefully, thanks to the millions of questions asked this session, I will be able to give the tutors a bit of a rest!


LISTEN TO THE AUDIO OF THIS STATEMENT BELOW!