Reggies April 14, 2009
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Video; 18 Vs, 21 March 30, 2009
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Reggies Soundslides March 24, 2009
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Reggies Bar March 24, 2009
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Alcohol related traffic accidents in the US March 17, 2009
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Soundslide March 10, 2009
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NYT vs. Washington Post March 2, 2009
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Immediately, I was not impressed by the Washington Post photo essay.
First of all, there was an ad at the beggining of the piece, which is something
that I do not enjoy no matter what type of website I am visiting. Secondly, there
was a problem with the audio and I believe that a credible news organization
such as the Washington Post should be able to present their audience with
on-line material which is free from any glitches or technicalities.
At first glance, the New York Times slide show seemed much more professionally made
and compelling. The Times is known for its “grey” look so I found it amusing that
the whole piece was based on a black background and featured black and white
photography. I also thought that the journalist speaking for the NYT montage had a
very compelling and passionate voice.
In terms of photography, I found the NYT photos to be journalistically superior.
The Kabul photos worked very well in black and white and they were able to
tell a story that complemented the audio very well. As for the Post photography,
I do not understand why the photographer chose to shoot in black and white. I
feel this montage was more of a soft feature, and even an entertaining feature,
and would have been fine in color. I did however enjoy the angles the photographer
shot at in the Post montage.
As I began to videotape my interview subjects, I also had the idea to photograph them.
I am thinking of putting together a vuvox with black and white portraits of my
subjects followed by a color video of their interviews.
Audio Story March 1, 2009
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Audio Response February 17, 2009
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I thought this tutorial was useful, however as is the case with online courses, it is hard to set up a course that caters to a specific type of journalism student. Being a third year j-school student, there are many things that I had already learned from my previous radio classes such as Intro to Broadcast and Advanced Radio. I do admit that since I am a print journalism major, it has been nearly two years since I took my last radio class and I had not thought to certain techniques for a while.
As a print journalist, often record my interviews, however I do not pay much attention to the quality. For example; I once recorded an interview in a busy restaurant and the audio included people talking in the background and the noise of cutlery hitting the plates and so on. This did not really affect the way I went about structuring my story since all I needed from this audio was quotes which I transcribed in a written medium. Thinking back, I would never have been able to use this audio for a radio or broadcast piece.
The ethical questions were also interesting, however I do not find it is a big deal if we incorporate different sounds which may not be directly related to the story. I believe background sounds are meant to create an effect. I once produced a mini-doc for my radio class on the opening of the Concordia gym and I recorded the sound of treadmills at my local gym. I do not find what I did misleading because I wanted to get a feeling of people working out, and it worked out well.
Document only story February 17, 2009
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University life can be at times stressful for many students. This should also be a time for students to enjoy themselves and explore diverse aspects of their lives. Over the past decades, alcohol has become as integrated into the academic culture as midterms and long hours at the library.
Each year, over 1,700 deaths amongst 18 to 24 year olds can be linked to alcohol abuse. This number includes car accidents and accidental deaths. The effects of alcohol abuse also include academic shortcomings. According to an article published in the Journal of American College Health by Dr. Henry Wechsler of the Harvard School of Public Health, approximately one quarter of college students reported academic consequences related to alcohol consumption. These consequences included missing class, falling behind on class material, doing poorly on exams and term papers, and receiving lower overall grades.
In most Canadian provinces, the legal drinking age is either 18 or 19, a far cry from the 21 years needed to purchase alcohol in the United States. Most university level students will admit that drinking is no big deal, however moderation always plays a pivotal role in drinking amongst students. Many recent incidents in Canadian, American, and European universities are enough to prove that drinking beyond the tipping point can lead to vandalism, violence, sexual assault, and alcohol poisoning.
According to a study conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental health, a Toronto based institution, 32 percent of university students at the undergraduate level drink at perilous levels. According to the CAMH study; 9.8 percent of the students surveyed by the institution reported alcohol-related sexual harassment and 14.1 percent claimed to have had unplanned sexual relations while under the influence of alcohol.
The provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec have a legal drinking age of 18-years-old, while the other seven provinces and territories have set the bar at 19 years of age. Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a major advocate of raising the legal drinking age in Canada to 21. According to American federal highway crash data, the 21-year-old drinking age is responsible for saving nearly 25,000 lives over the past 30 years. In most of Europe, the legal drinking age is generally similar to Canada, however some countries such as Italy have a legal drinking age of 16-years-old.
Binge drinking is a major issue when it comes to alcohol abuse by college students. Binge drinking is usually defined as drinking with the intention of getting inebriated, it usually consists of five or more drinks in a short period of time. Binge drinking on the day a person turns the legal drinking age has become customary amongst college students. Patricia Rutelege of the University of Missouri conducted a study on birthday drinking and concluded that 83% of students reported drinking on their birthday. Of the 83%, nearly half the men and 35% of the women had a blood alcohol content level of 0.26, which may cause disorientation, coma and even death. In early 2007, Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported that alcohol misuse in the US had gotten worst. The Columbia study revealed that the percentage of college students who have abusive tendencies towards alcohol consumption is the same as it was 15 years ago, however the frequency of binge drinking has increased significantly.
More and more students are suffering serious medical consequences related to binge drinking. Headlines of alcohol related deaths have been very common in the past several years, especially south of the border. A recent AP analysis of American federal record showed that 157 college-age people (18 to 23-years-old) died as a result of alcohol abuse.
A lower Canadian legal drinking age might encourage American students to make a trip north of the border in order to drink legally in Canadian territory and risk fatal automobile accidents. This has caused many “border states” to advocate a change in to legal drinking age in either the US or Canada. This is a debate that will continue for ages, especially when young lives are at stake. Moderation seems to be the only solution in this case.
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