The Good, The Bad and The Media

One of our fatal flaws as human beings is how attracted we are to bad news. It is most troubling to see that we as a species do not take an interest in what is good in our world and celebrate it. I would, as an anti-journalism journalist, like to point out that a great deal of our fascination with the shocking and horrific events that take place in our society can be blamed on the media.
The media have an awful habit of reducing the focus on stories about triumph and success, whilst maximising the gloomier aspects of our world. One such example that I have found that the media have treated poorly on every account, is that of Caster Semenya. The media have put all their energy into the debate over whether she is a woman or not; whereas there has been little focus on her achievements at the World Athletics Championships that took place in August. After our dismal performance at last years Olympics, one would think that the media would make more of a hype about how our athletes did in Berlin last month. But of course due to our desire to feed on the misfortunes of others, journalists have spent the last couple of weeks questioning the gender of an athlete.
Not to mention these questions around Semenya's gender have been as subtle as Michael Jackson's plastic surgery. This poor woman is a human being. All that she has done was win a race in record time for her country and as the public we have celebrated her success by attacking her looks and gender.
This poor performance from the media saddens me. What society are we living in when we value hardships and downplay success?

Everybody knows a Kanye

The media world is up in arms yet again. It may have something to do with the little outburst Mr Kanye West had during the MTV VMA’s recently, where during the speech being given by the sickeningly sweet Taylor Swift, we as an audience were treated to a black man with the subtlety of clown rape. Not that I agree with Kanye, well I generally don’t agree with Kanye period, simply because any idiot who thinks it fashionable to wear glasses in the dead of night should be made to cross a busy intersection at 3 am. However, what I simply love about Kanye is how much like the Nazi War Regime he is at award shows; one minute you are politely going about your business, the next he is upon you trying to steal your podium space. So why is it that the media are sympathizing with Taylor Swift? It’s obvious; she is the cute and innocent country star who had her moment stolen by a drunk black guy. This begs two questions of the media today. One; why did nobody agree with Kanye and two; why don’t we let celebrities run more rampant? It’s no secret that the world of show business is one of violent subterfuge and evil little men behind curtains, would it not make sense on behalf of the tabloid press to stop creating stories for their precious little weeklies and start focusing on the real grit. Don’t delude us with mindless drivel about how many pairs of shoes George Michael managed to wank into before being caught in Sotheby’s, tell us about the figures and stories, the hard news behind what commonly is seen as a soft news topic. Can’t a man just watch an award show and laugh without having to be told how heart-broken Taylor Swift became and how broken Kanye West was. Let the entertainers entertain us, and the journalists enlighten.

I Write What I Bite

An afro yielding blend of burnt peach with an accentuated speech resembling that of your local cape coloured, coupled with a dose of intellect and source material and you have me – Jonny, Mr Critical himself.

With this here blog of critical analysis, my group members and I aim to dissect, inspect and project exactly what we think of news pieces and everyday occurrences which are in dire need of someone who can take a closer look and point out the specks hidden behind the silk curtain. Journalism is an art which has served as the bread and butter for the submissive housewife; the hardass businessman as well as the low-key street sweeper attempting to delay his lunch break for a tad longer. (Check me out, already using stereotypeadelicism to categorise my people)

The art, however, through the never-ceasing profit chase, has gone out and purchased a gold ring for its bride – entertainment value. Sure, we don’t see it right?, but this marriage of convenience has stood strong for longer than we thought we knew, watching us common folk nod our eager heads and raise our palms for another bowl of hot s(c)oup. People are discarding mom’s pure cotton jersey for a lavishly priced polyester replica that bears a picture of a monkey. What we as a citizenship have failed to realise is that this journalism, which we simply misconstrue as an innocent report of the day’s events, has in fact become the primal force in defining that sweet two-syllabic word – power. Ranging from petite disputes between unemployed workers and municipal elites, to senators seeking revenge against supposed terrorist groups, journalism has cemented both the foundation and the rooftop. Journalism schools teach students to free their minds and think outside the box, yet we are still bombarded with narrow-minded ideology which we as students are forced to use as our point of reference. I don’t see no free thinking (Now watch how my tutor penalises me for grammatical error…prescriptivism, damn it!)

So yes fellow citizens, have we scrutinized hard enough to confidently say that what lies before us can truly be set in stone and stamped with the TRC’s stamp of approval?or who then is the TRC? The Elite? Because they know better? Are you for real?

Let the blog begin…

Ingredients Include...

Welcome to the anti-Journalism blog where anything and everything that has to do with journalism will be criticised and scrutinised and victimised and every other –ised word. This entry will be all about what you can expect from this unique package that you have purchased. And by ‘purchased’ I mean, spending your well earned time to view this blog, when you could be writing an expose piece on some politician’s latest philandering actions. I guess it is one of my responsibilities to give you something good to read. I shall do my very best to entertain you, enlighten you and, of course, encourage you to stop by more frequently to read this most profound blog.

Now, let's get down to the "disclaimer"/warning/you read this at your own risk. I am completely aware of the fact that this is a public forum and my blog will be broadcast to millions of people – I hope. Therefore, I am aware that I will be taking the risk of advertising my opinions and points of view. So I know I will be opening myself up to a variety of people who think differently.

However, I will warn you that I will be giving you my conclusion of Journalism that has been formulated based on my own research, opinions and ideas. Therefore, at times I may require my readers to take what I write with a pinch of salt and if you truly cannot stand the utter drivel I post, well then kindly close the web browser you are using and return to your narrow minded view on the world. There is no need to leave rude and vulgar comments, however, if you so wish to leave such comments on my blog they will require some constructive criticism or else they’re just wasting cyber space.

Now that we’ve got the house keeping out of the way...

What can you as a reader expect from this very blog? Well, I promise you that it will not inform you of the two for one sale at Jay Jays or the latest moan about the liquor law that is having a drastic affect on the drinking habits of students in Grahamstown. No, this blog will provide you with a reason to question all things that involve journalism and the media. Expect harsh commentary on first year Journalism as well as the way journalists conduct themselves; not to mention there will be callous remarks made about the media’s ability to report on stories. However, as much as I may sound insensitive, I will of course provide my own constructive criticism.

The commentary provided in this blog is all based on a first year Rhodes student and her impressions of journalism. This will provide you, the reader, with a firsthand account of the media as it has been taught to me and how I view it with the knowledge given to me by the Journalism Department of Rhodes University.

Therefore, all I can ask of you is to sit back in that comfy office chair provided by the Jac labs; relax, if you can even though you know you have a psych test in a few hours; and enjoy.

In Case You Were Not Listening First Time Around...

I am not typical. Well at least I am as typical as much as everyone else is not typical. It is with this approach that the topic of journalism will be tackled by what can only be described as a slightly disgruntled student. Not that it will make me biased against Journalism itself, oh no! I just want to get a voice out there that will create some little change, however small, in the thinking behind prospective journalists. It’s more of a hope really. We were told to state our aims; the little hooks that will make you as a reader follow our blog posts with interest and enthusiasm, but what good is it to tell you as a reader about them if we as a group do not mean them. Obama asked for change, we intend to express it. So what is it that we intend to do? For one we intend to change the perception of journalism, our first little post stated that we will have a no holds barred approach to what we as journalism students study, that we intend to take the topic and turn it on its head. This is not because we are against journalism; it is merely because we see this as the most efficient way of questioning it as a subject. By highlighting the faults of an object, do we not eliminate everything from it that is not beautiful? With that said I hope I have justified the next action that we as a group will take; tearing down the subject of journalism and building it up again. We will not be constructing it in the image that we want it to be, but instead leave you as the reader open to interpret in a way that is most natural to you. That way you can take what we say and form your own, natural opinion about a subject which is synonymous with negativity and decide what you think is fact and fiction. Like I said, we are not out to shatter journalism, just hurt it into being honest. I hope you enjoy the work that will follow, the tongue and cheek attitude that will be presented to you will merely be a mask, a foil for what we are really trying to say: open your mind as a journalist, and the rest will follow.

A Needle of Heroin to the Eye of Journalism

This is not a blog, it is more a screaming, huffing rant that is meant to upset the people who put us in this position in the first place. The upstanding Faculty of Journalism on Rhodes campus here in Grahamstown South Africa have given us a task to write a blog about important issues to fellow journalism students. We will respond by telling them exactly what they don't want to hear. Nobody likes groupwork, nobody likes work in particular, yet here we are doing both thanks to the great minds who stand up on a daily basis and lectutre us on what they think is great journalism. In truth, none of it is, its all a deluge of conformist thinking and we all have to deal with it like a rash from a lover. With the first post from this blog fast approaching, you can only expect the best from us, or at least what we hope the faculty thinks is our best. There will be no sacred cows here, no room for crying about the colour of skin or the fairness of gender equality, if you don't like what is being said here, download porn instead.