Comm455/History of Journalism

Though Germany has made many contributions to journalism, none are comparable to the invention of Johannes Gutenberg. Though printing presses were already a popular technology at the time, the simple invention of movable type would change the world.

Before Gutenberg’s invention, printing was both a time consuming and incredibly expensive process. In fact, during Gutenberg’s time, books were considered a sign of wealth and position in society.

The only people who could afford books were no
bility, rich merchants, and the church. Due to the fact that books were such a rare commodity at the time, the overwhelming majority of the population of the time was illiterate.

Movable type would solve both of these issues in a matter of decades. Most importantly, movable type made printing much more affordable for individuals or groups who wanted to spread their messages.

With the increase in publication came an increase in literacy. Magazines and newspapers were not mass produced before moving type both because of the cost and the lack of an audience, but the more books and other reading material became available, the larger the markets for newspapers and magazines grew.

So not only did movable type help create the newspapers and magazines we read today, but it also helped encourage literacy among the general populace. We can see the effects of this achievement less than a century after it’s invention in the case of another German, Martin Luther.

Without Gutenberg’s printing press, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses likely would not be talked about today, as it would have been a discussion within the church only. However with the ability to mass replicate the 95 theses, the message spread like wildfire, and as a result Martin Luther was not able to be silenced.

We see an example of how far his message traveled as he is on his way to the Diet of Worms. As Martin Luther was making his way to Worms, he was approached by many common people who praised both him and his work. If he had been born a century earlier, Martin Luther’s message would likely never have reached these individuals, and even if it had, the majority would be unable to read it.

Overall, movable type not only helped create the forms of mass media we see today, but also helped create an audience to consume that media. Without Gutenberg and his invention, journalism as we know it today would not be possible.

The Grammy’s is a night to celebrate musicians and award their accomplishments. Viewers tune in to see who wins, who looses, who gets snubbed, and my favorite – the fashion. Any of these things can become viral news in today’s day and age. But how does something at an event like the Grammy’s become newsworthy?

Cue: Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift at Grammy’s 2016

Why did everyone know about Taylor Swift’s Grammy speech immediately after it happened and why did they continue to talk about it on almost every news outlet, radio show and blog. Most importantly,  why did we pay attention? Seriously, I’m not a fan but yet she had my attention.

Was it simply because so many people covered it? Was it the correspondents and newspapers that analyzed it? Or was it something a lot simpler? In chapter 4 of Mitchel Stephens History of News he makes the argument that in pre-literate societies, writing didn’t matter. News is fast and writing was slow. Slow, because writing on clay tablets took a lot more time than telling your neighbor what happened.

I’m a strong believer in the saying ‘There’s nothing new under the sun’. With that phrase in mind, I began to question the way that I thought about news and how it spreads. Why was I immediately in the loop about Taylor Swift, and artist who don’t follow?

The answer is simple, word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth in today’s society looks differently than it did in pre-literate societies, but operates quite the same. One person tells another person, it’s overheard and it’s shared. In this day and age, it’s the sharing of a post, Tweeting, re-tweeting, instagramming, more simply put – social media. Yes, you can argue that all of those are forms of writing, but it’s not the writing that makes something news, but the sharing of such. It’s the people tuning in, finding it interesting, and sharing it online in mass amounts. It’s someone in your office talking about it because they heard about it, you overhearing, and checking it out.

So, while writing is important, it’s the impact of the writing and it’s reach that makes it truly newsworthy.

-J.

When we are not consuming hard hitting news, we often find ourselves reading human interest stories, or more commonly known as feature stories.

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Feature stories are set apart from hard news stories due to the memorable crafting and creativity of the reporting. These stories also tend to be longer and gravitate toward subjects that would interest the public.

Some of my favorite feature stories have been found in Rolling Stone. Their long-form profiles of celebrities and people of interest are always captivating from the first word to the last. If you want to read a great feature on Adele, I highly recommend this one.

This act of human interest writing goes all the way back to 47 a.d. when the Roman acta started including what we call today feature stories.

The acta included human interest stories and sensationalism that attracted readers. One of the first feature reports was that a phoenix was being displayed in Rome.

quora.com

These stories were first carved in stone or metal and were displayed in public places like the Forum of Rome. This would be equivalent to the magazine stands you can find in almost every store today.

Feature stories have come a long way, from actually being carved in stone to being published in magazines like Rolling Stone. But while the act of printing the stories have changed, the root purpose of them has not. These stories are still written in order to not only inform an audience, but also entertain them.

A page from one of Gutenberg’s Bibles Credit:http://www.lambethpalacelibrary.org /files/images/MS%200015%20f%20046r2_ edited-1_0.jpg

Johannes Gutenberg was not the inventor of movable type, but he is credited with the development of the printing press that would ultimately change the history of the world. Why is he credited with this invention despite the invention of movable type hundreds of years earlier? He created the business-like model that would let the press flourish for years to come.

Johannes Gutenberg was responsible for developing a realistic and efficient printing press, one in which his Chinese counterparts could not. In comparison to the Chinese, Gutenberg did not have to create thousands of characters to match his language. In addition, Gutenberg had wine presses, metalwork experience, and paper mills at his disposal, which would ultimately allow his invention to flourish. In order to make his product work, Gutenberg went through various trials and undertakings to develop the perfect product.

He manufactured his own ink, his own type pieces, and developed the technicalities involved with applying the proper pressure. It is said that the top-piece of the press weighed as much as a human person.

The first printing press. Credit:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-brkhsxdaL6w/Uhyof04qhdI/ AAAAAAAADPI/nFYELH0Jtsk/s1600/ movable_typography-gutenberg_press- 14501317174421646.jpg

Despite Gutenberg’s inability to predict the legacy of his invention, he was wary of the content he produced. The period called for censorship, as heretical paranoia was widespread. Gutenberg knew he needed to create a product that would sell. A product that would appease the masses and give him widespread popularity. The Gutenberg Bible would be the product to transform the book-selling market, and in turn create a basis from which an enterprise would flourish. At 1,282 pages, the Gutenberg Bible was a challenging undertaking. Gutenberg’s invention cranked out 180 copies of these aesthetically brilliant Bibles in the time it took a monk scribe to make one. Ink was developed that would make the printed paper appear better than a scribe’s writing, and better on the eye. Efficiency at it’s finest. It would be hard to imagine our past without this invention, mainly because there would be no record of it.

The 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend was full of revival and goodbyes. NBA All-Star Saturday night has been a big draw for fans to watch the NBA players compete in the skills challenge, 3-point contest, and the slam dunk contest. This year none of these contest disappointed. The skills challenge saw a new addition in to the competition, big man were added to the field to compete against the guards. And even a big, Karl Anthony-Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, upset a guard, Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics. The video below displays Towns win over Thomas. 

The 3-point contest has been a highly anticipated contest over the last few years with guys like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, and J.J. Redick of the Los Angles Clippers have headlined the field. This year’s field saw an unlikely contestant make it to the final round in the Phoenix Sun’s rookie Devin Booker.

Stephen Curry congratulates teammate Klay Thompson after winning the NBA 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend. Credit:http://heavy.com/sports/2016/02/who-is-in-the-three-point-contest-nba-all-star-2016-three-point-shootout-players-participants-prediction-vegas-odds-today-tonight-toronto/

However, the real the competition was between Warrior teammates Curry and Thompson. Curry was the reigning champion and the the 3 point championship came back to the Bay Area but it was Thompson winning it this year.

The main event of NBA All-Star Saturday night has always been the slam dunk contest. Last year’s slam dunk contest saw a revival with Zach LaVine bringing down the house but years prior people questioned if slam dunk should be the close to the night. They got their answer this year with an epic revival of the slam dunk contest with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Zach LaVine and Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon going back and forward with spectacular slam dunks. LaVine and Gordon competed back to back getting the top score of 50 six consecutive times. People watching this event saw the competitors have to improvise on their dunks as they had used the dunks they had scripted for the competition.

Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine break out all their best dunks in the 2016 NBA dunk contest. Credit:http://www.sportingnews.com/nba-news/4694910-aaron-gordon-zach-lavine-greatest-dunk-contest-ever-maybe

Lavine won the dunk contest back to back but Gordon made the dunk contest competitive again. Many, including the NBA, compare this dunk contest with the infamous Michael Jordon versus Dominique Wilkins dunk contest of 1998.

The real winner of the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend was none other than Kobe Bryant, who was playing in his 18th consecutive and final NBA all-star game. Bryant’s last all-star game stat line read 10 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. But that night was more than his stat line, it was about honoring a man who had excelled to be one of the best in the game of basketball. NBA All-Star weekend allowed the young players the chance to talk and receive advice from Bryant as well as praise and remember how much he meant to the game of basketball.  Prior to the game, Kobe Bryant with Turner Sports reporter Craig Sager reflected on how some of the players like Stephen Curry were around during his first few all-star games with the fathers and his children were about the same as Curry and he’s doing the same in his final all-star appearance. NBA All-Star Weekend showed that it was a family affair from honoring Kobe Bryant to the many players that brought their families to enjoy this moment with them.

Imagine going to work one day and discovering an ancient ship from many centuries ago! How would you react? What would you do?

Well that is exactly what happened last week in Old Town Alexandria. A group of construction workers were working at a hotel construction site, when they discovered an 18th century old ship, which is believed to have been some type of war ship or trading vessel. Archeologists and residents       of Alexandria have made a big deal of this find.

“… we will never see this again, probably, right?” says a woman admiring the 50 feet long old

ship. 

Francine Bromberg, who is an archeologist in Alexandria said,

“It was a pretty good day… a remarkable archeological dream basically.” 

The area where it was found was discovered to be in the Potomac River, before it was expanded to Alexandria’s waterfront.

This ship has become quite the celebrity, with residents lining up eager to see this treasure.

What’s next for Alexandria’s history?

Literacy is the ability to read and comprehend. This is a well known concept. We talk about it in class, online, in the newsroom, in politics, and in education. But what is media literacy?

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.

Today it’s easy for people to be media literate… or at least partially media literate. The ability to access media has become extremely easy. Anyone that has a smart phone has access to media. Anyone that has a tv can watch the news (even if it’s just local news), and anyone that has a car with a working radio can listen to talk shows or popular music. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.

http://sunnibrown.com/2010/12/the-washington-post-spreading-the-doodle-revolution

Analyzing, evaluating, and creating media is still easy to do today if you have the right skills and equipment. Newspapers have made children friendly papers that introduces students to media and journalism so that they may begin to analyze and evaluate news.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/03/practical-tips-top-wordpress-pros/

Creating media is just as easy as obtaining it. If you have a smart phone you can create media. Instagram is a form media; you create photos and share them with followers. Facebook posts are a type of media as well. Also, if you have a compute and access to internet you can definitely create media. You can create a blog to discuss whatever topics fit your fancy. For example, I have a blog that I use as a creative outlet (because most of my writing is formal history papers). Blogs are very common and very easy to create, which allows a large population to create media.

Credit: http://whythe95thesesareimportant.weebly.com/short-term-and-long-term-impacts.html

Martin Luther was born on Nov. 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. Hans Luther had envisioned a future for his son as a lawyer. Luther had a troubling childhood while growing up as portrayed in the PBS documentary Martin Luther. Luther went to the University of Erfurt but in 1505 there was a strike of the plague and three of his friends were killed. He was caught in a thunderstorm that became a life changing experience when he was close to death. Something sparked in the mind of Luther and he devoted himself to God and became a monk despite having been so close to becoming a lawyer fulfilling his father’s wish.

As a monk Luther feared hell and the wrath of God while trying to find salvation day and night at the monastery. He was always in choir, wore uncomfortable robes, ate the most basic of food types, and harmed himself to imitate the suffering that Christ had once endured. He took all his duties to the extreme and became a black robed monk but he remained troubled despite all his efforts. Luther still suffered from a great deal of spiritual anguish and still remained seeking the enlightenment he was looking for at the monastery.

In 1510 Luther went to Rome however he was greatly disillusioned because it was the complete opposite of everything he was expecting. He was disgusted at what he saw and the advertisement jingle. His order sent him to Vittenberg to teach where which in theory would help him become more at ease freeing him from the isolation of the life in the monastery. However while he was there he came to the revelation that one only needed to simply accept salvation from God.

Credit: http://amuseorbemused.com/glossary-of-vocabularia-obscura/definition-diet-of-worms/

Pope Leo X in 1517 advocated and supported the sale of indulgences to people to fund the building of St. Peter’s Basilica. Luther wrote his iconic 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the university chapel. With the help of the printing press copies of the 95 Theses spread throughout Germany and Europe. Luther would not recant and would be excommunicated from the Church. The Diet of Worms in 1521 released the Edict of Worms banning Luther’s writings and labeled him as a heretic.

Credit: http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2012/10/31/what-was-luther-doing-when-he-nailed-his-95-theses-to-the-wittenberg-door/

Luther was the spark for the Reformation. He perceived the importance of the printing press and the way sin which it greatly aided the spread of ideas. Luther is a prime example demonstrating that you cannot kill something that has been published. Through his single-minded pursuit of an idea he was able to unleash a hurricane leaving his mark in history. Luther recognized that for movement to spread, idea also need to spread and that is exactly what he did portraying the power of individual charisma.

Propaganda feeds on people’s fear, lack of knowledge, as well as naivete. It is a weapon used by many individuals, organizations, and countries in order to influence citizens so they pick a side, support or reject their governments’ involvement in wars, or deliberately harm a person or a group of people by spreading half truths, exaggerations, or lies with the intention to cause harm or win an election at any cost.

Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, has been using propaganda to sell himself to American voters. He uses fears many Americans have towards certain issues, to score political points. And thanks to today’s abundant means of communication, and media bias Trump’s positions have been amplified just

the way he wanted or maybe better than he even wanted. The more he says controversial things, the more he goes up in polls.

He has said many offensive comments about Mexican and other Latino immigrants. He accused Mexico of sending “rapists and criminals” to the U.S. His bluntness makes him more popular among GOP voters. Trump does not care about political correctness, the implications of his statements, or the consequences they might have both in the U.S. and abroad. Unlike other candidates in this election season and previous ones, the billionaire thinks he can say whatever he wants no matter how offensive to some Americans it may be, even when he is running for president; who ideally should be a figure that strives to unify rather than divide. Whether or not he would actually be able to implement any of his “plans and solutions” should he become a president, is something to watch.

One of the other groups, Trump has been bashing with all ease, is Muslims. American Muslims and Muslim immigrants or even Muslim tourists are not welcome in America, according to Trump. He forgot that many Muslims were among the first comers to the New World. Visitors or immigrants of Muslim background should be temporarily banned from entering the U.S. according to Trump; others should wear mandatory badges that say who they are. Outrageous as his suggestions may seem to many, Trump only kept going up in polls.

For the time being he is saying things because he wants to win the ticket to the White House, but he is careless about the potential harm it would cause not only within the American society but also with U.S. partners in Muslim countries.

In the meantime, Jon Stewart had proposed months ago a set of suggestions for Muslims to appear less scary. Following is the funny video.https://youtube.com/watch?v=hSTywVwZCjw%22+width%3D%22560%22+height%3D%22315%22+frameborder%3D%220%22%3E%3C

If Trump was not running for president, he would just be another person who has strong opinions popular or not, and does not shy away from sharing them. However, what he says is of tremendous significance and danger because he is not some media commentator or pundit, but the man who wants to lead America.

Picture credit NBC

Are Madeleine Albright and Gloria Steinem, longstanding pillars of feminism, pandering to the very societal stigmas/stereotypes that they’ve spent their entire lives overcoming and condemning?

It would seem so.

This weekend at a New Hampshire rally for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Ms. Albright, 78, who has been hailed by feminist communities as an icon due to her immense achievements, most notably becoming the first female Secretary of State, made quite an impression. In her quest for further progression, Ms. Albright capitulated to cheap publicity tactics at the expense of the very group she has conquered time and time again in the name of.

In a rather patronizing tone, indicative of the glaring generational gap Clinton struggles to close, Ms. Albright announced, “We can tell our story of how we climbed the ladder, and a lot of you younger women think it’s done”. She then went on to proclaim, “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!

Quite interesting. I do believe Monica Lewinsky is owed an apology.

Ms. Albright has just condemned the vast majority of young women — who statistically are showing  a preference for the quite lovable and adorable (if I do say so myself) Democratic socialist contender Bernie Sanders — to the bowels of Hades.

Last time I checked, condemning your target audience to an eternal fiery damnation is probably not the best PR strategy.

But who knows, I’m not in public relations.

But the claws didn’t stop there. Steinem, 81, arguably one of the most notable leaders of the feminist movement, who came to prominence in the 60’s and 70’s, went on Bill Maher to express her opinions as to why she felt young women are shying away from the Clinton vote. Ms. Steinman was no less vitriolic in her sentiments, saying her presupposition was that young women were more interested in their own sexual whims than the societal progression of their gender if they were voting for Sanders. Steinem said, “When you’re young, you’re thinking: ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie’ ”.

Shots fired!

How ironic, these women who have made their names in the advancement of feminism and as a result are held as icons are now shamelessly berating, belittling and condescending the very marginalized group they’ve spent much of their lives on a mission to progress. It is unfortunate, on an epic scale, that these two icons of feminism have succumbed to cheap political tactics pandering to long standing societal stigmas against women.

Dare I say that Ms. Albright and Ms. Steinman are condemning female voters for….having an opinion? For being critical? To denounce young women voters as immature, oblivious and misinformed for daring to be multidimensional in thought is in essence to go against everything they stand for. The foundations of feminism are rooted in a quest for equality and credit where credit is due, not merciful advancement.

Every candidate is where they are today due to their tenacity, ambition and perseverance. The  very fact that we as women are trending towards not voting for a candidate solely based on a one-dimensional aspect of solidarity is absolutely indicative of the progression that we have made as women in society.

While I definitely agree we still have a long road ahead of us — Steinem, Albright and Clinton would do better to find a strategy to appeal to young voters as well as address and ameliorate the painfully obvious generational gap that has come characterized her campaign (Hey Hill — I love ya, but Bernie’s talking college loans) rather than exacerbate it.

How Luther Went Viral

To the general public, Martin Luther is known as the man who sparked the reformation of the Catholic church and issued in a new school of religious thought entirely. His impact is still felt today in the world of Christianity and religion as a whole. But lesser known is Luther’s impact on press and propaganda. Luther could easily be called “the first propagandist”. His use of the printing press to spread his 95 Theses about the abuses of the Catholic Church was a revolutionary use of modern technology to spread his ideas.

The fact that Luther recognized the value in the this little known technology was just as revolutionary as the words in his works. The mass production allowed his ideas to reach new locations and to target those who he knew would support him in his mission to further what he thought was the right way to follow God. Luther used his knowledge of the mounting disapproval of the Catholic Church’s financial demands in his home country of Germany along with the printing press to create a perfect storm of new, influential ideas.

Luther’s innovative use of the printing press to spread his ideas to Rome, Germany and the whole of Europe represents one of the most significant milestones in the marriage of technology, the press and freedom of speech. Like Twitter and Facebook many a century after, new ideas spread with higher velocity every day, and Luther’s ability to recognize the value of such spreadability is to credit for one of the largest religious revolutions in history.

On November 19, 2014, Sabrina Erdely of Rolling Stone published an article that destroyed the reputation of a fraternal chapter and tore apart the UVA community. The article entitled “A Rape on Campus”, told the story of a girl named Jackie Coakley who was apparently raped by multiple individuals in a heinous hazing stunt. The perpetrator, known as “Haven Monahan”, forced Jackie into this terrifying escapade. Despite the witnesses and numerous perpetrators who may have been there, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence. All police resources have been exhausted and nothing has been found. In fact, there is really nothing to go off of.

Credit:http://wvir.images.worldnow.com/images/5920384_G.jpg

Jackie Coakley, the supposed victim of the UVA rape, has been recently ordered to give over her communications with her supposed rapist. If there are no communications, there will be little to no evidence of any incident ever occurring. The Columbian School of Journalism additionally reviewed the Rolling Stone article, pointing out many discrepancies in the article. Nearly all investigations into the case have found inconsistencies in the story given, further reducing the reliability of the article. Nicole Eramo, associate dean at UVA, has pushed a 7.5 million dollar lawsuit against Rolling Stone. Eramo filed this case after her reputation was defiled in the aftermath of the apparent “rape”. Eramo blames Rolling Stone for their lack of fact-checking and willingness to take such an edgy story without any evidence. In addition, Eramo claims that Jackie Coakley is a “serial liar” and that she fabricated the story in order to gain attention.

Protest in the aftermath of the UVA rape incident. Credit: http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/2014/article/a-weekend-of-protest-at-uva-as-rolling-stone-rape-story-jolts-campus-20141124/175438/medium_rect/1416787594/720×405-AP811265161227.jpg

So how could this article be published in a renowned magazine without any form of fact checking? Perhaps it’s the political agenda of Rolling Stone, paired with their lack of sympathy for anyone who does not represent their audience. Whatever the truth may be, there is one thing that is evident: one article can leave a path of destruction. It is without question that many journalists do not understand the impact of their writing. In this case, I believe Sabrina Erdely knew exactly what she was doing, and that’s the sad part. If she wasn’t on the traditional fraternity witch-hunt than she ultimately failed to provide accurate journalism to her audience.