Editing Detective, Terra Poole

Regret The Error?

In this ever-changing world, writers still need to be as accurate as they possibly can. This is a world where social media like twitter and blogs are becoming an extremely popular way for people to spend their time. If writers are making grammar and/or spelling errors then this affects the credibility of the writer. However, this blog report will take a step back from social media and focus more on traditional mediums because authors of novels and songwriters make errors too. The question is, do they regret the error?

Mistakes Everywhere

Just like Steven said in his blog post, there are examples of mistakes littered everywhere in all forms of media. There shouldn't be errors in novels either. However, like Steven suggests, humans make errors. Stephanie Meyer, is indeed a human and makes several errors throughout her novels. She is the author of the novels:

• The Host (2008)
• Prom Nights From Hell (2007)
• Twilight (2005)
• New Moon (2006)
• Eclipse (2007)
• Breaking Dawn (2008)

An example of an error Meyer makes in one of her novels is on page 425 of New Moon, Meyer wrote

"Alice's voice dropped till it was nearly inaudible, though I was sitting inches from her..."

This is a misuse of the word "till" and should read "until." This is not a significant grammatical error, nonetheless, it is still considered an error. Another error example in New Moon is on page 426:

"...We could try to stop Edward ourselves - if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive."

This sentence is slightly confusing because it suggests "him" is Emmett whereas "him" is actually referring to both Edward and Emmett. It should properly read:

"We could try to stop Edward ourselves - if Emmett could get Emmett's hands on Edward, we might be able to stop Edward long enough to convince Edward you're alive."

Though, it could be argued that correcting those errors changes the flow of the sentences from smooth to awkward, the errors should be noted regardless. However, songwriters sometimes purposely make grammatical errors for the purpose of artistic "flow". There are many examples of this in songs. "Can't Hardly Wait" by the Replacements is an example.

Song Example

Technically, it should be, "Can Hardly Wait" because the other way suggests a double negative which would imply the person could wait, which the song does not suggest with the rest of the lyrics. It could be argued that "can't" sounds more appropriate, poetic or more sing-song than "can" and that is why Paul Westerberg chose to use it. Songs seem to be considered differently than novels for some reason. This is likely because songs tend to be more poetic than novels. Novels and songs differ for some reason in that songs tend to be able to make more grammatical errors without repercussions from fans or critics.

Note: Image from Beautifulmurals

Screen capture from: Stlyrics

Social Media and Multi-media, Terra Poole

Social Media

Social media is not going anywhere, despite how unwilling some aspiring journalists are to accept it as a essential part of journalism. Twitter, Facebook and blogs are easier ways for people to have access to the news and so journalists need to learn to embrace those mediums even if they don't know how to (or don't want to, like Jayme said) use them. Journalism is heading in a direction where if journalists aren't constantly tweeting or blogging, then the fast-pace of the digital era will leave those journalists in the dust. Credible journalists (those who went to school) will have to compete with citizen journalists (those who did not) because a popular trend is that traditional journalism is dying.

Other Tools

On the bright side, journalists have access to a plethora of multi-media tools that are here to make their jobs easier. Wordles take words a person inserts and scrambles them up to make"beautiful world clouds." These are important from an image standpoint. Having wordles make the blog post, or online article look more attractive and this is important in the online world of journalism. Another important tool that journalists (and people) can use to enhance the quality of their blogs or online news articles is Toondoo. These are a simple yet effective way of applying humour to the blog or news article. Journalists should definitely embrace these tools in order to put them a step ahead of other journalists (citizen or actual) who aren't aware of them.

Multi-media

Video, images and audio clips are useful in the online world. People tend to read 25% slower on the web than they do with print. These other multi-media tools are helpful so that people can have video or sound impact rather than just print. This helps keep the reader interested and engaged in the article or blog post. A wise teacher once said, "show me, don't tell me." (Shelly Decker)

There are so many different facets of journalism in this day. The digital era is taking journalism in a different direction leaving the journalists who choose not to embrace it in the dust.

Note: Image from Wordle

Toon from Toondoo

Image from Killerj

By jaymehagen | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Final Blog Post, Terra Poole

Importance of social media

The thing I feel was most stressed throughout this course and will remain in my mind for years and years to come is the importance of accepting social media and the direction journalism is taking. I have come to realize and sadly accept that traditional journalism is slowly a dying industry. I think I feel that way from the constant emphasis this course has pushed for social media. I have learned how to tweet, and that a "tweet" is the verb form of using twitter. I have also learned how to use a blog, something that was completely beyond me before this course.

Copyediting and proofreading blogs

Another thing that I have learned through this course is the importance of copyediting and proofreading my work before I submit it. Some blogs are viewed by millions of people making the author of that blog responsible for its content. If the author makes multiple grammar, spelling or factual errors then that author should be responsible for the repercussions that may follow. Twitter and blogs are important ways in this changing world for distribution of news and ensuring the facts are as accurate as possible is crucial. I would never want to read something somebody submitted that was littered with errors. However, I also learned that making mistakes is a great way to not make potential mistakes. Perhaps, proofreading the copy before submitting it is a good way to have initially made the mistake but catch it before it comprises my credibility.

My future of journalism

I don't know how much I will embrace these new forms of technology in my future. I wouldn't say I am opposed to them but I just didn't expect this is where journalism was heading when I first entered the course. I have to admit it's a little disheartening to realize that the use of Twitter and blogs are so important to my future. Similar to what Jayme said in his blog post, I don't want to be tweeting 24/7 about what is happening in my city. What happened to waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee and a newspaper? Everybody is in such a hurry now and there is no time to enjoy the news. I think I will grow to accept this fate but I would say the traditional form needs so much support right now in order to survive. It needs a way to compete with the ever-changing online news outlets that people are embracing for their news sources.

Comment 1

Comment 2

Comment 3

Comment 4

Comment 5

Note: Image from MikeWhite

Biased About Being Biased, Terra Poole

Objectivity in reporting

People often make the assumption that journalists remain completely objective in their reporting. However, there is no way a journalist can remain absolutely objective for each journalist is her/his own person and would tell each story differently from the next journalist. The journalist's selection of facts, quotes and wording all suggest there are different ways to tell a story. Each journalist has biases too, it goes along with being a human being. However, this is not a negative thing. Biases are a good thing because they make a person more passionate about what she/he is reporting on. However, biases exist in many different industries.

Bias in politics

There are even biases in politics. For example, President Barrack Obama and the health care system in the United States. He is specifically trying to make change in that area of politics because he thinks it is important. Is this a bad thing? Being biased towards a certain topic is not necessarily a negative thing because it helps promote change. Perhaps having a government that is not passionate or biased towards any topics could result in little movement and/or change.

Bias in film

An extremely biased filmmaker is Michael Moore, who directed documentaries such as Sicko (2007), Fahrenheit 911 (2004) and Bowling for Columbine (2002). He has received a lot of criticism for his one-sided approach to telling the truth. People argue that he often exaggerates the truth, misleads people with cinematography, and omits certain facts to defend his points better. However, people should be criticized for merely taking everything they hear or read at face value. Moore is offering one perspective, though it may be biased, people have the right and freedom to research the opposing side and find out how much truth is hitting the light. Moore cares a lot about certain issues about the United States and he's making an attempt to draw some light to those subjects.

Bias in blogs

Is it a bad thing to have opinions and to have those opinions shine through in writing? Even Kevin's blog post about Fox News has bias throughout it, which should be considered a positive thing. Kevin clearly has a distaste for Fox News and it shines through in his writing. Perhaps his blog post would not have been as compelling and engaging if he didn't use lines like, "and it sickens me to see how many ratings they get." However, people should be proactive enough to consider that perhaps Kevin could be biased against Fox News and research for themselves the other side to Kevin's argument. Perhaps even this blog post is biased towards being biased.

Note: Image from Jrenseyblog

The Digital Era and Global Awareness

Before the digital era

In 1994, the United States (and other parts of the world) was extremely hesitant to call the killings in Rwanda a genocide because doing so would have required United Nation intervention. President Clinton said, "we did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name: genocide," when he was apologizing for ignoring Rwanda's suffering. In comparison, the crisis in Darfur has been labelled as "genocide" hopefully resulting in more United Nations' action and international support (However, I think the issue shouldn't be the labeling but rather how to stop and prevent mass killings in the future).

Citizen journalism impact

Citizen journalism exists because people are becoming digitally literate. Paralleled to the frequent updates about the earthquake in Haiti that Jayme discusses in his blog post, people can easily and frequently upload audio, video, text and pictures to display what is happening in Darfur. Blogs such as The Darfur Blog offer information about what is going on in Darfur currently and offer ways for people to gather more information. The quote from the homepage:

"The United Nations has called it the greatest crisis in the world. The United States calls it genocide,"

addresses how the United Nations is hesitant to label the 10 000 to 500 000 people (the exact numbers are unknown) who have been murdered in Darfur as victims of genocide. The pressure created by media attention (citizen journalism and/or credible news sites) is needed in order to enforce United Nations intervention to save innocent people.

Digital era impact

Today's digital era makes it much easier for the public to learn about what is going on in the world. It is more difficult to cite ignorance as a reason for not acting when genocide is occurring. The public is now able to find information about the genocide in Darfur if it chooses to because of the digital era. There are many sites that promote peace for Darfur and provide people with an outlet to try and make a difference. If the public chooses to, it can pressure its government to be accountable for what it has promised to do. People are only able to ignore what is happening in Darfur if they decide they'd rather be blissfully ignorant, which many people choose to do despite the digital era. The internet can only direct people to the truth, it cannot force them to open their eyes. At least not yet.

Note: Photo from ScrapeTV.

Comedy Central