Talbot Reporting

"Johnson, who was wearing what he called his "lucky cowboy hat," stepped away to talk to one of the professional actors. Another man- a bald whit guy, unprpossessing in jeans and a T-shirt- remained by the monitor, and he answered the kids: "Hey. He's the director. You don't believe him? He kinda sorta knows what he's doin'."" The bald guy was David Simon, the shows creator:..."

"Because Simon and his writing partner, Ed Burns- a former Baltimore homicide detective who was once one of Simon's sources- are both middle-aged white men, people tend to assume that the dialogue spoken by the drug dealers and ghetto kids is ad-libbed by the black actors on the show."

"If Simon's characters were to deliver the kind of doomy social criticism that Simon does, "The Wire" would, as he likes to say, "Lay there like a bagal. "Fortunatley, his characters bristle with humor, quirks, private sorrows; his drug dealers express intricate opinion about Baltimore radio stations, chicken nuggets, and chess. One reason for this is the writer knew people like them."

This quote(s) was great. Talbot allowed the reader to really know who the people behind the scenes. He lets us know that the writers and creators are people who have had personal experiences with thelife they portray or write about. I learned that it is important to 'introduce' the writers, creators, producers, etc. This lets the reader know where the storylines come from. I believe that people recieve a message better from someone who has actually experienced!

The Letter 'I'

The letter they filed off the type writer was the capital I so that reporters would not use first person. Reporter, back then, felt that if you are reporting a main news story it should be more factual. If the letter I was filed off today, that would probably not be good, in Illinois or in a feature story. People, today, are more personal. First Person writing is popular now. It gives great detail and allows the reader to ‘get inside the head’ of the protagonist.

Fisk

"I was never afraid of death," he replied. "As Muslims, we believe that when we die, we go to heaven." He was no longer irritating his teeth with the piece of mishwak wood but talking slowly and continuously, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. "Before a battle, God sends us seqina - tranquillity. Once I was only 30 metres from the Russians and they were trying to capture me. I was under bombardment but I was so peaceful in my heart that I fell asleep. We beat the Soviet Union. The Russians fled ... My time in Afghanistan was the most important experience of my life."
The Great War of civilization is a wide- ranging description of the Middle East. It speaks on the past and the present. Robert Fisk made it his duty to explain the wars that have taken place since 1976. Because Fisk was pretty much an eye witness on behalf of the Middle East, I believe he was able to report with passion and anger. He spoke on the killings and hatred of the west by so many Muslims. I believe that Fisk’s main goal when he wrote this book was to help the reader understand why 9/11 took place.
Fisk interviewed Bin Laden three times. I believe that Fisk’s reported his interview openly, critically, and sometimes sarcastically. I could see through this chapter that Fisk is devoted to Arab-Israeli conflict.
In his first interview with Bin Laden, Fisk describes him;
“His hands were firm, not strong, but, yes, he looked like a mountain man. The eyes searched your face. He was lean and had long fingers and a smile which- while it could never be described as kind- did not suggest villainy.”
Fisk said, “He was a machine checking out another machine.”
Although Fisk seemed pretty objective in the beginning, I believe by the end of the book subjectivity somewhat took the lead. At the beginning Fisk referred to Bin Laden as a “monstrous beast”
“The monstrous beast figure he would become in the collective imagination of the world.
Robert Fisk is an excellent reporter. I believe that he followed the principles of ethics completely. He definitely considered the principle of limitation. He referred to many as Arabs. I could also see that he may have filtered out a lot of information for confidentiality purposes. He made sure that he quoted the important pieces from the interview.
I believe that Fisk wanted to tell Bin Laden’s story. He wanted the reader to somewhat understand why Bin Laden was so bitter.
“"What I lived through in two years there," he said, "I could not have lived in a hundred years elsewhere. When the invasion of Afghanistan started, I was enraged and went there at once and I went on going back for nine years. I felt outraged that an injustice had been committed against the people of Afghanistan. It made me realise that people who take power in the world use it under different names to subvert others and to force their opinions on them."
Some common elements that this piece included were objectivity, sources, and accuracy. I don’t believe that he had a problem with slander or libel. I don’t think that any reporter discussing an interview with Bin Laden would give false statements!
Fisk also gave really good detail. He described Bin Laden and the men surrounding him.
“What did he think about the war in Algeria? I asked. But a man in a green suit calling himself Mohamed Moussa - he claimed to be Nigerian although he was a Sudanese government security agent - tapped me on the arm. "You have asked more than enough questions," he announced. So how about a picture? Bin Laden hesitated - something he rarely did - and I sensed that prudence was fighting with vanity. In the end, he stood on the new road in his gold-fringed robe and smiled wanly at my camera for two pictures, then raised his left hand like a president telling the press when their time was up. At which point Osama bin Laden went off to inspect his highway. “
My overall opinion of Fisk is that he is a great reporter. His use of words was exquisite. After reading this chapter I believe that Fisk is a legend. On the other hand I don’t really care for ‘the man.’ I have questions in the back of my mind like, Is he really close to Bin Laden? He interviewed him three times. Why did Bin Laden feel so confident in talking to Fisk? Why didn’t Bin Laden kill Fisk?
The "evils" of the Middle East arose from America's attempt to take over the region and from its support for Israel. Saudi Arabia had been turned into "an American colony".

Feature Story

This story talked about the prohibition laws in Chicago. The Title said We Got Beer Back! It spoke on how crazy things were in Chicago when beer was prohibited. The writer touched on how it affected businesses and people as a whole.

"Naturally, the nation's brewers agreed whole-heartedly with that logic. Prohibition had all but destroyed their industry."

"Those who are obeying the law are being ground to pieces by its very operation, while those who are violating the law are reaping unheard-of rewards. Every rule of justice has been reversed."

People were murdering, crime increased, etc, due to this law. This just let me know that there were alot of alcoholics in the past that had not been diagnosed with alcoholism.

Eventually prohibition was reversed. the writer spoke on how people reacted to the change.
"Once all of the ballyhoo of New Beer's Eve and New Beer's Day had subsided, beer drinkers and brewers awoke to a sobering reality."

"Heavy taxation of beer, however, is not Prohibition's only surviving legacy. A strong regulatory environment was also a key component of
repeal."

The story also talked about the difference in the prices from before the prohibition and after.
"But, without question, the most critical legacy of America's dry era is the wisdom offered by its monumental failure."

The Line

"The Line is a fragment of language-sometimes a single word, often a phrase or series of words, rarely a sentence-that makes me follow it.

The elements in a line have Tension, Conflict, Irony, Energy, Play, Discovery, Music, Form, and Ease.
I believe that the line for the 'War' trailer focused on the negative aspects of the war. There were lots of personal horror stories. The producers/writers wanted the viewers to get a feel for how horrible that time really was.

There was alot of time and work that went into this film. I was surprised at the number of people that were still living.

I believe that when the producers ( creative people) first started this project, they were pretty open to whatever information they could find. I don't think that they had a specific line that they wanted to cover. I believe that they found their line after recieving their information. I'm sure the finished product surprisede them; It went beyond their expectations!

I believe that their points of tension were in the personal stories and the images. These are the things that kept my eye.

What is Poverty and the Subsequent Affects on the Child

In order to write a great story on poverty and children, I would obtain my information via interviews. I would interview children and their parents. I would interview those parents who were poverty stricken as children. After interviewing both groups, I would compare the answers.

I believe that with this topic I have to be open for surprise. I believe that the only problem I would have is getting honest answers from the parents. I think that the children will be very open and honest.

In order to prepare for the interview, I would first find out the demographics. I have to know where the most povery stricken people are. I would make sure that I have educated myself on the topic and then I would ask people for their concent to interview. I would make sure that I have proper recording equipment.

The List!

1. How do you keep toddlers occupied while cleaning the house!
2. Why do toddlers love Dora and Blues Clues.
3. Is "The Baby Channel" really good for a baby?
4. How important is reading to your child?
5. Do toddlers really know what you are reading to them or are they just fascinated with the pictures?
6. Is yelling at your child really neccesary sometimes?
7 Neighboorhood Watch- What does that really mean?
8. Techniques that single, young adults use to keep safe?
9. The bind between mother and son.
10. Is moving away from parents a stress reducer?
11. How much time and money does it take to host a free block party?
12. How can you keep campus clean?
13. Male Ego- Does it ever stop rising and can the woman bring it down?
14. What is marital equality?
15. "House Husbands" Are they becoming more common?
16 Is being a "House Husband" OK.
17. What is poverty and how does it affect the child?
18. Why are African American Churches so loud?

Surprise

Murry said that "The best writer's seek surprise." Good writers expect the unexpected. They have a main purpose when it comes to reporting but "they treasure the contradictions...the unexpected that reveals." Murry makes it clear that he is very open to change. He feels that a good journalist has to be receptive to "the quotations that goes against the grain."

"Writing is a lifetime act of self-displacement."

"The more professional we become, the greater the danger that we will see what we expect to see."

Interview

“What you loose in juicy quotes you often gain in deepened understanding which is the much more important thing in the long run.”

I believe understanding what you are writing about is very important. If the writer doesn’t understand what he/ she is writing about, then the story will be nothing but quotes. To a reader, the story would be a bunch of words thrown on a piece of paper. Understanding opens the door for great detail.

“Collecting details is not difficult; seeing them often is.”
I agreed with this answer because I have a problem seeing detail.

Unexpected discoveries are the raw materials of vitality in a story.”
This is very true. I believe that every new writer should be taught to be open for surprises. I even feel that they should be taught to look for surprises. Expect the unexpected!


He also said that when he feels that something is boring and feels that his writers feel the same; this thought drives him. He said, “This leads to twists and variations and odd leads, which are all to the good.”

This was interesting because I believe that most beginner writers have this belief that everything they cover will be interesting and exciting. He makes it clear that not beat will be fun. You have to make the story interesting.


When He was asked about whether he used an outline and organized his notes. He said No…I do push all the other crap out of the way.” I liked his response to that question because it reminded me of you/ your office. This means that you’re a great writer!!! LOL!

“I think stories should end and not simply stop.”
I agree, The ending is just as important as the body.

“I think we should be intelligent in our approach to what we do, not in the sense of braininess, but in the sense of espionage.”

This is a very important piece of information because how the writer interprets the information is usually how it will be expressed to readers.