The internet has clearly changed the way we consume our news. People now live their lives much more on the go than they ever have before and that means that they may not always have time to read in-depth about currents events. Twitter and Facebook can give you a snapshot of what’s happening but looking for something that can deliver a lot of information in a short amount of time can be difficult. Podcasts have now emerged as an effective news sources that can be listened to in the car on the way to work or on public transportation or anywhere else where simply reading the news can be a hassle.

One podcast in particular that focuses on current events is NPR’s “Story of the Day.” A daily podcast about five minutes in length, “Story of the Day” focuses on one story and goes as in-depth as possible in that five minute run-time to give a good overview of what the story is and what it means to listener. What separates “Story of the Day” from other news podcasts is that it seems to try to take a more interesting and unique angle with its stories than other news programs. It’s not just a dry summary of the news story but instead looks at the news from an interesting perspective and intercuts all this with interviews pertaining to the topic. The most recent episode of the show covers the recent vote for Scottish Independence and more specifically, how the voting age has been lowered from 18 years old to 16 years old. Ari Sharpiro covers the story and much of the show is taken up by interviews with Scottish 16 year olds and asking them what being able to vote means to them. It’s an interesting take on the issue and an interesting way of communicating it with an audience. However, one criticism I would have on the format is that if a person had knew nothing about the Scottish independence issue itself, the show would not be very useful to them. Because the podcast is restricted by the 5 minute run-time, it’s hard for it to explore the issue in too much detail. There are certainly longer podcasts out there that can cover these stories in a more in-depth fashion but the appeal of something like “Story of the Day” is that is a bite sized looked at today’s news and expanding that into a longer, more involved show would mean less people could listen to it. The podcast also includes a link to a text based version of the story that provides a bit more detail but even then, it doesn’t provide all the information needed.

Still, podcasts are interesting way to follow the news and while not perfect, it’s an alternative that can be essential for a person in a certain situation. It gives a more complete view of the news than something like Twitter but saves the time of reading in-depth articles or tuning into the evening news. 

I chose my topic because as a journalism major, I am very interested in the history of the medium. I believe that in order to prospering write as a journalist, a person first has to understand its history and how it got to the point it’s at today. I first began my research by looking at the largest problems or controversies that have affected journalism throughout history. I decided that censorship was both the most expansive and interesting topic that could research and analysis. I looked at the different kinds of censorship such as prior restraint, post restraint and self-censorship in order to properly understand what censorship truly is and what kinds are worth focusing on.  I tried to mix my sources between important historical examples of censorship and present day, or at least recent history, situations in various countries. I focused mostly on foreign censorship because they provided much better examples of the problems censorship can cause than the United States. As far as writing the papers, I tackled each example individual formulating my thoughts on each and then deciding in what order they would go within the paper and how it would be organized. I made sure to couple the similar examples together in order to allow the paper have a more concise flow.

I believe I was able to take many of things I have learned during the semester and use them to help culminate into this final paper. I feel that I could have maybe done some better research but I think I organized and articulated my argument well with the research that I did have. I can definitely use this process of writing a longer paper for the future because I know that I will have to write more lengthy and well-researched pieces in the future, especially in regards to my major.

Journalism may be more up to interpetation than any other style of writing. There are countless types of writing and strategies in journalism that can be employed depending on the situation. 

Investigative journalism is used to explore a subject that the public is not completely informed in. The goal of this is to either expose some kind of truth or to further educate readers on a particular subject that the journalist feels is underrepresented. News is much more straightforward form of journalism. This is about reporting just the fact without any kind of opinion or bias from the author. The personal form of news reporting is columns, which give a much more opinionated view on current news. Columns have a personal flair to the writing that makes it clear who the author is that is writing the piece. These pieces are usually focused on pushing a certain viewpoint and attempting to convince the readers to change their view on the topic.

Another form of writing within journalism is reviews. These are used to evaluate commercial products and give purchasing advice to readers. These can be written about a book, television show, movie, car or any other kind of consumer product. 

Finally, one last form of journalistic writing is feature writing. These act as a combination of both news stories and columns to give a more fleshed out view of a particular topic. Features are generally longer than most other forms of journalism and generally serve as entertainment over something such as a hard news story. Feature writing encourages much more creativity and a vital aspect of these pieces is that they are timeless. A good feature can be read the day it's written and 10 years later and still have the same impact. 

In its early stages, journalism was often used as a tool of the government to further their influence over its people. Newspapers each had an agenda or person that they wished to push upon the general public. Different political papers were represented by different papers. For example, in early American journalism, Alexander Hamilton's Federalists were represented by the New York Post, who pushed Federalists policy and beliefs. In these days, the press was blatant and up front about their intentions and objectivity was not something that many journalists were concerned with.

In the years following, objectivity has become the essiential factor of all journalism. While some may not always abide by this, there's no question that times have definitely changed since the days of early America. While some may have their own biases, no newspaper represents a political party or make these biases clear. Broadcast journalism can sometimes be a different story. While the parties don't offically endorse one news station over another, the bias and agenda of the news stations are very clear. Fox News represents the Republican party, while MSNBC represents the Democratic party. These stations often claim to be objective but in reality, anyone can see that they are anything but. But in print journalism, objectivity is still an essential aspect.

Subjective journalism still has a place, however, when presented as such. The internet has created a huge avenue for opinion based journalism. The rise of blogging has changed the way journalism is precieved and changed what we consider journalism. Can anyone with a blog be considered a journalist? Jouralism is a constant changing organism that can take many different forms. The paradigms of journalism change constantly and are ever evolving. Over the years, it has taken countless different forms and will only continue to do so. 

To the editor:

Obesity is obviously a major problem that affects millions of Americans and New Yorkers every day. We, as a society, should look towards ways of combatting this issue and helping people develop a healthier lifestyle. However, there are certain boundaries that the government should not cross in attempting to solve this problem.  Banning large sodas or any kind large food or drink portion is the wrong approach.  People have the right to choose what they will or will not drink. The government should not be placing restrictions on what the general public can consume. While a sensible soda tax could be a helpful solution as well even that is straddling the line for what is acceptable. The current solution would be trying to educate people on the dangers of consuming all these sugary drinks. Develop programs that promote a healthy lifestyle and teach this in schools. Advertise healthy eating in a way that looks appealing to both kids and adults. The solution to the world’s obesity problem is not cut and dry but it’s obvious that completely restricting what a person can and cannot consume is the wrong answer.