The Stranger Piece

I've been studying for a Sociology exam and got a little distracted by George Simmel's definition of the stranger.  Perhaps Simmel's 'stranger' explains why the new girl always seems so popular. Simmel expands on his basic definition with the idea that strangers are more objective than others in a group - they are in the group but not of it - because of this they are often accepted easily as an open-minded confidant. The thing is, I moved around a lot as a kid so I'm always cautious with new people, I'm not the sort to use strangers as confidants. Maybe New Girl senses this and has misinterpreted my caution as nonacceptance. Or perhaps I'm misinterpreting my nonacceptance as caution. Something to ponder.

Intro Piece

So here I am, a student journalist, contemplating the competitive nature of the profession I have chosen to study. There are so many journalists out there. How can I make a difference? What's the point of this profession if we can't make a difference?

I'm a 35 year old mother of two, wife of one, mature-aged student, considering the meaning of life. Not exactly a rip-roarin bio but I'm comfortable here. I don't have an amazing career to go back to now that my kids are a little more independent but I do feel good when I'm writing. So here I am - feelin good.

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish

Well this is the last official post for my NCT class. I hope I haven't gotten carried away. I think this is my 18th post in 14 or so weeks. Is that too many? Is it too few? Am I too neurotic? I guess at this point its too late to really worry about it. I have enjoyed this class. When talking to classmates about the subject I have gotten mixed responses but I think it is a really interesting summation of how the different technologies throughout history have converged to bring us our version of modern technology and mass media. I had no idea what the textbook title "From Broadcast to Narrowcast" meant when I bought it so I feel I've learned a lot. I really hated the first few chapters of the book and that put me off for the rest of the semester to be honest. I skimmed through bits and pieces but only really picked it up and read it in preparation for the exam. Then of course I was disappointed that I hadn't read more of it throughout the semester because it was really interesting. If we had skipped those chapters and stuck them in somewhere else (no suggestions about where) I probably would have been more inclined to actually read more of the text. The whole "convergence as a dialectic" and "political economy of communication" was a bit too much for me so early on in the class. I just didn't get it. The class overall has really opened my eyes up to the possibilities in journalism and made me think about where the industry is going. It has also made me more comfortable expressing my written thoughts publicly (even though only a few people will ever read it) through the blog experience. I've shared a little piece of myself with the universe. Thanks for your help Adam.

Copyright vs Copyleft: Life Without Microsoft

I enjoyed Adam's lecture this morning about open source software as opposed to proprietary software. I hadn't ever heard of Gnu/Linux much less used it but I definitely like the sound of it. Primer confused me but I found the rehashing of the time travel parody surprisingly interesting. Especially after Adam's lecture spouting the glories of Gnu/Linux: as much as we resent and criticise Microsoft and its proprietary software regime, one has to wonder if it was the advent of these very programs which provided the catalyst for a more basic/user-friendly open source program such as Gnu/Linux. Any thoughts out there? Anywhere? Anyone?

Microsoft Excel

I've never considered myself to be computer literate but I generally feel that I am able to navigate around basic programs fairly easily. Not today. I had some difficulty with the excel spreadsheet exercises. Its definitely a case of operator error rather than computer error in this case though. This task was interesting because, while I have used the very simple excel applications before, I have never had the opportunity (or the inclination) to delve any further than the standard equations. I certainly never realised it could create colourful graphs. I can definitely see how it would be useful in organising household finances, though the idea of an expenditure graph frightens me.

Global Citizenship

More rambling thoughts inspired by my textbook readings:

As a dual citizen of the United States and Australia I often feel torn between my allegience to either country. Amid the tension and turmoil that is racism throughout the United States there is one thing that seems to bind American people together - patriotism. The pride that goes with being an American citizen. The intensity of it is matched in only a few countries around the world. So as a US citizen I have that pride, like or lump it. Unfortunately, during the Bush administration that pride fits more in the lump it category. It is difficult for many to separate Americanism from the often menacing global policies of its government. For this reason I am occassionally inclined to be silent for fear of being pigeon-holed as a result of my accent. Unfortunately, Australia doesn't offer a very robust option in the way of patriotism.

I've decided rather than choosing Australian or American patriotism I prefer the idea of global patriotism. Sound like a greenie? Not really - its certainly not my intention. While I am interested in preserving and protecting our earth what I'm talking about goes beyong conservation. Its a very naive and idealistic approach to patriotism. Global citizenship - respecting and appreciating different cultures, ideas and religions without the need to change, erradicate or possess them. Not a new concept but one that I like and one that I hope I can pass on to my children (along with a healthy Earth of course).

No Such Thing as Freedom of Speech

I've started reviewing our textbook, Communication and New Media, and comparing the lecture notes with the "appropriate" required readings for each week and I must say that I am completely confused. I'm into chapter five and looked over the lecture notes for week five and they don't match up. So, do I focus my review on the book or on the lecture notes?

On a completely different tack I was reading the bit on page 88 about poor Upton Sinclair. The passionate and disgruntled left-wing journalist who wrote The Brass Check in 1920. The basic idea running through the Brass Check seems to be the sell out (or prostitution as Sinclair implies) of journalism to big business. This brought to mind a talk I attended earlier this year at the Somerset Celebration of Literature. It was called "Freedom of Speech: The Highs and Lows of Journalism". It was led by journalist/writers Phil Brown, Karen Brooks, and Michael Jacobson. One of the first statements thrown out was "there's no such thing as freedom of speech as a journalist" which immediately peaked my curiosity and made me realise that my idea of journalism is too idealistic to be realistic. It seems Sinclair was right on the money after all. There were a lot of little journalistic philosophies given at the talk such as: "if it bleeds it leads" and "if in doubt leave it out" and repeated twice: "people should think about what they say rather than say what they think", but I found Karen Brooks' thought especially endearing. As a columnist, while she doesn't always agree 100% with what she writes, she sometimes writes an article to evoke thought and response. In my little idealistic world I think that's what more journalism should be about. Less propaganda and more thought provoking.

Perhaps the internet will help pave the way for this type of journalism - but will it put food on the table?

Anyway, back to the drudgery that is our textbook.