Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / March 31, 2010, edition 1 / Page 8
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Whines & Gripes Collected by Jillian Curtis Coming back to ice cold showers and no air conditioning isn’t exactly how I imag ined my homecoming. Thanks Meredith. Dear Professor who assigned a test on the day we came back from Spring Break: you successfully ruined my vacation AND I still failed the test. To My Lovely Roommate: Please feel free to clean up your side of the room. Living in complete and utter filth is getting old. Dear stick thin friend: if you tell me you’re fat one more time, I’m going to scream. It’s impossible to he fat when you're a size o. Maintenance: You were supposed to come clear out my drain 2 weeks ago. I’m still showering in 2 inches of water. Please hurrv. All This Twittering Causes a Racket Virginia Claire Tharrington, Contributing Writer In Ellen Goodman’s article, “Jour nalism in A Twitter Era,” she writes about her skepticism of mixing Twitter and journalism, yet she is amazed at the speed of information from around the world that Twitter facilitates. I believe that Goodman does not go far enough in her ar ticle of being doubtful about Twit ter. I can see Ms. Goodman’s point about the speed of information from places like Iran, where Twit ter gives voiceless people “tweets” to the world, but I do not know if the world is listening. Goodman also wisely points out that being part of the Twitter revolution does not replace good ol’ fashioned civil disobedience and action when one is tiying to get a message across. I am sure that most college students on Twitter are not following their fellow students’ Twitters in Iran; instead they are following Ashton Kutcher and Kim Kardashian. Sure, they can be funny in their posts, but I think it can change a person’s per spective because often somebody can get so caught up in what others are up to that they themselves are not doing anything. The Twitter revolution does not seem to spark much besides self-promotion and self-absorption in my eyes. People are so connected through Twitter. It is scaiy. What do I need to know about Kim Kardashian or Ashton Kutcher? Nothing at all. Being so connected to celebrities seems to make them more like the average person, yet they are known throughout the country. I am sure there are people who use Twitter for good, but I have not met them yet. Obama tweets, yet in reality it is just someone in his office tweeting for him. Somehow I do not think that is the same thing. As for following my friends, give me a break. I need a break from them. We are already connected though Facebook, per sonal blogs, text messaging, emails, and Blackberry Messenger. I can find out what they’re doing and how they’re feeling at almost any Everyone’s a Journalist point in a day. Twittering, to me, is just another form of cyber stalking that celebrities and average people have taken to as a form of exposure and publicity for themselves. Overall I do agree with Ellen Goodman’s skepticism about Twit ter, yet I want to push that uncer tainty even further. I do not think the average college student is on Twitter for the news rather I think they are “following,” or stalking, celebrities. I do see some celebri ties as trying to use Twitter for a positive effect on society. Ashton Kutcher does have a Twitter list called aplusk/end-slaveiy, which is in place to inform the public of the problem of slavery in today’s world, yet on this account he has only 794 followers against his 4,565,466 followers on his regular Twitter. This difference seems to speak to the nature of Twitter. Goodman explains by saying, “Twittering is just frittering.” We seem to be wast ing pointless time'and information with “tweets,” while there are other things to do in the world. Sallie Hedrick, Contributing Writer In her essay titled ‘Journalism in a Twitter Era,’ Ellen Goodman argues for ‘old-fashioned journalism.’ Us ing the social networking platform, Twitter, as an example, Goodman questions the validity of news that is broadcast through an informal medium moderated by the public. Accusing Tvdtter as a ‘dramatic and dangerous uprising,’ she advocates for ‘validated, vetted, and edited’ journalism as the ‘central’ vehicle for transcribing history. She reflects on the eye witness reports from cen sored Iranian reporters who fear lessly shared news through the aid of social networking technology and cell phones. In a simple, poignant con clusion Goodman decides that voices cannot be modified- except potential ly through viral forms of communica tion. And she furthermore concludes that the most legitimate way to inter pret history as it unfolds is directly from the source. In her evidence, she encourages one to accept the vitality of actual protesters as a genuine news source instead of tweets and texts with far less credibility. Goodman’s argument is extreme and I must disagree with her accusa tions. While I am willing to recognize the stability of ‘good old fashioned’ journalism, I will not consider it the bedrock on which history is documented. What makes a formal edited report by an official journalist any more valid than one provided by a layperson on an informal platform like Twitter? New is news, regard less of who distributes it. I think that Goodman is insinuating that ‘good old fashioned’journalism is more focused than tweets because it is more credible. But she doesn’t define what is ‘credible.’ She notes that the actual voices of the protest ers are infinitely more credible than texts or tweets that translate their message. How are those texts and tweets that document the event not valid? I don’t understand her argu ment. No matter how you slice it, reporting is relative. And the news that is reported from an individual’s point of view is just as valid, perhaps more, than news that is edited and ‘officially’ validated. A text or a tweet from the ‘front lines’ of news should be considered as credible as ‘good old fashioned’journalism because reporting history should not be nota rized to be considered reporting. Re porting history is reporting history, and eveiy person, regardless of who they are or how they communicate should be allowed that opportunity. The future of communication is becoming increasingly controlled by individuals. Common people from every background and every perspective have being given the unprecedented opportunity to share information because of technology. Social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook and tangible technology like texting and photogra phy are made possible by cell phones and computers. People around the world are incredibly poised to share information, including history. And why shouldn’t they? I want to know what people see, what they witness and what they interpret as histori cal. Goodman insinuates ‘good old fashioned’journalism preserves his tory, but history isn’t concrete. The news that is our history is subjective. Everyone is a journalist. And if we are to be faithful to our intrinsic gift of perception, then we, as journal ists, must believe in the credibility of subjectivity. Otherwise, ‘good old fashioned’journalism will surely dictate our future. Townhouse for Rent! $1120/month. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1700+ sq. feet of space. Great for two or three people! Located off Tryon between Gorman and Lake Wheeler. Available after May 1st. Please email candimb@yahoo.com If Interested. Correction: Last week’s article, “Is Hovering Smothering” by Browder, Gamiel, and Triplett was accidentally cut off. The last sentence of the article should have read: These parents use the argument that they are ‘protecting their investment’ but in the end, they are more likely to bring about its demise. These young people are as ill equipped to deal with adulthood upon graduation as they were when entering college.’
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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March 31, 2010, edition 1
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