17 | Seminar on Media Literacy
Monday, November 30, 2015
Listening to a person talking about media literacy isn't new to me. Before I attended college, I used to encounter and research about this a lot because I was actually kind of interested in it.
There were three speakers. they talked about "How to effectively write a story." She said that journalism is basically "storytelling with a purpose." Kind of like Miss World's slogan "Beauty with a purpose." She discussed about the elements of Journalism and the 5 W's, and 1 H. The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. And insisted upon telling us that we often forget one more element. The So What.
When we're writing an effective story, she taught us to think about the important questions.
- Content - What's the story
- New? - Value added information
- So What? - Why people should care
- And then? What we want to happen
Those are the important questions that you should be telling yourself when writing an effective story. She shared a few So What issues:
- Duterte declares intention to run for presidency
- Six years ater Maguindanao massacre and justice still remains elusive
- Pnoy: Laglag-bala scam sensationalized
- Kalyeserye: Alden, naguguluhan dahil ayaw niya magpakasal kay Cindy sa Sabado.
Another thing she shared with us is the Art of Interview
- Embrace the Silence
- Don't be afraid to play dumb
- Take notes for more questions and angles
- Research is a process of gathering data, not the result
- Start strong, end stronger
Aside from those, she said in writing a story, we should follow some of these rules
- List main findings of your field work
- Decide which facts and details go together
- Write nut graph (hard lead, newspeg, background)
- What's the point? (context first)
- Put the human face
She also told us some of her key experiences as a journalist.
Be critical when asking questions. Red key blues, make sure grammar is correct and composition. Take time to destress. You will be busy as hell so brace yourselves. And lastly, report the unreported.
The other speaker was all about the talk of "Deglamorizing New Media." She really opposed the mob mentality. She taught us about the role of the media and advocacy of journalism For media, first is to inform, to educate, and to entertain. She also showed us examples.
One thing is for sure, the internet and the media are powerful tools that can either help society move forward, or destroy humanity. We must all be careful when browsing and posting in the net. We never know what lurks about.
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