Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Promoting Democracy Speech
I have to comment on the speech we saw last week. That was the first time that I actually felt like a working journalist, and let me say, it was not easy. I felt like the entire speech was over my head, and that got me thinking...could I actually write an article on a speech I didn't understand? Then i started to realize how important it is that journalists are worldly people. They have to know a lot about everything that is going on in order to write good stories. I personally do not have great knowledge of democracy promotion in either the Middle East or Latin America. This made it very difficult to understand the detailed, wordy speeches of the professors. They discussed terms and theories so quickly, expecting that the entire audience was following them. This made me realize how important it is that I go prepared to the next speech, whether that means researching ahead of time or whatever. I found it very difficult to write about something I was confused about.
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4 comments:
… Yeah. Middle Eastern/Latin American affairs are not my particular bailiwick, either. I double checked some of their statements when I got home just to make sure they weren’t totally full of shit (i.e. the historical events they claimed occurred, etc.) – which is probably what I should have done before I attended the speech. Whatever. Nobody really knows EVERYTHING about the world around them (and if they do, they’re obnoxiously smart). I think you have a right to be skeptical of other people’s remarks, even if you aren’t familiar with everything they’re saying.
Besides. Witnessing a speech as an outsider can help you relate the topic to your audience better. You’ll be able to explain it in layman’s terms for them, which will make it much easier for everybody to understand. :)
first time working journalists never have it easy the first time, well, unless under certain circumstances. i can picture my first journalistic experience freshman year in college when i used to write for my prior university's newspaper. i was bit confused, nervous how my article would turn out, skepticle as to what info to write/jot down, but most of all, excited and anxious to write on and on and on and on and on and on. there were some instances later that just like all of us, i could not understand a DARN THING about the speech or event i attended. but yes lady i could not agree with you more in that fact that journalists are extremely knowledgeable and up to date people on global and nationwide issues: it's their job/role! preperation and getting background of the event is key and i always find it difficult if i don't do that prior. i'm also with you on the fact that i'm not very politics oriented, but i strive to and i truly want to know more. other than that, great blog and don't feel alone because i found last week's speech more than difficult to grasp, understand and write about. take care meghan.
-Roch
Hey, I would like to say that I felt exactly the same way, totaly overwelmed and stressed out. When the speech started I realized that I should have checked on the topic more to be more prepared. This gave me a good lesson that a journalist has to come prepared and like you said has to know a lot about a big range of topics. But even though that was a hard experience it makes us learn a lot and more ready for the next one.
Now that I think about it, it was my bad. As a working reporter, if you were assigned to a speech, and the subject matter seemed difficult -- or just something you were not familiar with -- you would have done a little prep ahead of time. You might even called someone with the sponsoring organization and asked for his/her overview of what might be said. You might have called one of the two speakers and asked for a preview. Indeed, a common story at small newspapers is a story not on the speech itself but a pre-speech story so that locals can read about the upcoming event and decide whether or not to attend. It would have been a much better exercise if we had done a short preview story.
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