TruthAboutLies101

This blog had some very interesting posts, someone starting out at university for the first time. It was very reminiscent of the past year and many of the posts on our blog. We are clearly not the only ones going through this!!

Journalism is a broad term. It encapsulates so many forms and differing aspects that it cannot completely be placed in a box and given a definition. Unsurprisingly this is not something they tell you in High School. No, they let you believe that being a journalist means either writing for the Herald or being a war correspondent for the BBC. Ignorance, I have learned, is nowhere near bliss. As a naïve and overly complacent first year, I had a long way to go before being able to appreciate the impossibility of finding a true meaning to the word. To say that I broadened my mind through doing each course over the year would be a horrific understatement. This is why during this last term I was not particularly shocked when I was introduced to this modern form of journalism: Blogging.
Saying this I can remember my shock on hearing the name of the course. To my mildly embarrassing but completely justifiable astonishment, I was not all that familiar with this specific genre of news production. Actually, I should rephrase that. I knew almost nothing about the genre except small details I had heard from other people about it being something like having an online diary. Not exactly a whizkid, I was rather peeved at knowing that I would have to work twice as hard merely to gain some kind of understanding. Suffice it to say, I was ridiculously relieved when I realized that we would be working in groups. This meant delegation, and delegation meant less of having to crack my brain to accomplish the technological mission. The feeling I had when I finished my first post is still fresh in my mind. The letter to my younger self. I recall thinking how some poor, misunderstood soul might have been given false hope about being able to change the past through writing these letters. Was the exercise honestly accomplishing anything? What exactly was I gaining from it? Then it occurred to me that I had just written a piece based solely on emotion, personality and individuality. I had been given a platform to express myself beyond the confines of traditional news writing and as is typical of “The Life of Me” kind of stories, the world became my muse. My writing was now an outlet, not simply an assignment.
This however, did not mean that I would begin campaigning for animal rights and saving the whales because I had to stay within the characteristics of the group blog. Saving the world one reader at a time was not completely lost nonetheless, as dispelling myths and revealing the truth behind the lies we have grown up to believe can be just as effective as freedom speeches. Who doesn’t like bursting unrealistic bubbles? My group was very good about this particular aspect of the course, and it made it easier to write knowing that each member shared at least some of my enthusiastic pessimism. Consequently group meetings did not end in catfights about whose design was better looking. The creative juices will always flow when one person says something and the rest respond, “ja ja ja, that’s great. Let’s do that.” Support is always crucial. When people say they don’t need compliments form other people to boost their self esteem, they’re lying. It obviously helps to make the members of your group feel like their contributions are not only welcome, but actually purposeful. Even though you saw the reactions of the other members when the suggestion was made and were trying frantically to come up with something new before they all said, “ja ja ja, that’s great. Let’s do that.”
Having to work together on the blog was not really a problem. The problem was in having to integrate the assignments set out by the lecturers into the character of our blog. Being in First Year seemed to be a favourite theme in the topics, and to be frank became rather monotonous. Yes, let’s communicate with the rest of the world on issues that affect society, let’s stop being narrow minded in our opinions, but let’s also make sure it’s all about first year at university. Does anyone else see the irony in that? It’s because of this very fact that our ideas for various stories were rather limited in scope and imagination. As a result, we had a very restricted audience which to appeal to. That was another thing; the audience. Actual people who were not lecturers or tutors were reading what I was writing. This should have in fact left me paralysed and almost comatose but strangely enough it only excited me further. This idea made reporting or the writing process far more interesting because although there was still consideration of the genre, blogging remained an open platform of expression.
Finding the first years to interview and profile was not actually difficult. It was finding the right first years to interview and profile that was challenging. Who was interesting? Why were they interesting? Do they have more to say than “It’s chilled?” Observation became an essential aspect of the blogging experience. Acquiring the detail meant being able to spot the difference in everything. Some people however do not appreciate having the spotlight shining on their difference. One young man had a serious problem with my wanting to write a piece on his homophobic tendencies. According to him, he did not need to be made an example of in such a public manner. I eventually agreed with him after putting aside my own desires of creating an award winning masterpiece on such a controversial subject. Objectivity is very difficult when you have made yourself the subject.
Did I grow from the course? Well, the fact that I can even just ask that question tells me that I have. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would place myself at a 7. Whatever doubts I may have had about giving the public a chance to read or hear what I had to say, simply vanished with that first post. I don’t intend to be the Loise Lane that stole superman’s outfit and added a notebook and pen to the ensemble, but there is so much more to journalism that I cannot wait to explore and I believe that blogging gave me somewhat of the perfect push start.

In the blog planning process, the most important thing that had to be considered was the genre that would carry us through the whole term. The blog had to be a genre that we all agreed upon. The type of genre we could all relate to, in order for us to write articles about. Deciding didn’t take long at all, being a group of four charismatic and (secretly) cheeky girls our blog would suit all our personalities combined. I must admit that even I had to take a step out if the box. Starting with our catch phrase “We’re not feminists, just anti-idiots, hypocrites and idealists” we revealed our slightly tongue-in-cheek attitude. Sitting in the basement of the library, four seemingly shy and reserved girls with a blog so dense in attitude we discussed how to proceed.

First term Journalism was quite a shock to the system. In the first week of term as Rod Amner briefly went through all the assignments due I was having ‘miniature heart palpitations’. In an extreme panic I become an RUConnected junkie, I was as dedicated as a coke addict in rehab. Strangely enough, as I sit today in room 34 John Kotze and reflect, I find many similarities between this term and the first; not only in course content but in the way the lectures are executed. It led me to wonder if there was a manual for lecturers that gave step by step instructions to handling first years: Shock the first years in the beginning, all their assignments require them to dig deep into their souls and wrench out the darkest memories and emotions and so it would continue... If you haven’t had some heart-wrenching history your story doesn’t make the cut although every Journalism lecturer begins with the line “Everyone has a story”. Something I realised in the late stages of the year was that the ‘best’ are usually the ‘bad’. By bad I mean out of the box, shocking, emotional and controversial. This is reminiscent of the Oscars, rarely do the ‘soft and sweet’ movies win, it’s generally those whereby the character had to make some dramatic transformation, gain weight, look dreadfully unappealing and play a psychotic murdering lunatic. I do understand however that this sort of genre is appealing to the relevant audience, it’s the “Oh my God she dared to say that” factor that gets people talking. The reason I mention this is because it’s one of the difficulties I’ve encountered this term, thinking “What’s the most emotionally riveting story in my life that I could tell” but what I realised too is a quote that popped up on the overhead in a lecture, “There are no dull stories, only dull writers”. This resonated with me as it posed a slight challenge to my writing skills.

Our blogging genre seemed like the perfect forum to express ourselves fully, the problem was although the chosen genre was a group discussion, even for me it was really ‘out-there’, displaying extreme confidence in every aspect from the letter to the comic strip. It was an exhilarating feeling though, speaking out, becoming adventurous and knowing the responsibility of being held accountable through the comments which were made in response to the posts – my hand in the ‘cookie jar”. The group work was highly beneficial, we were able to gather ideas quickly and bounce off each others’ train of thought’. Working in a group here at University is fairly difficult as you’re not all doing the same subject at the same time so it becomes harder to get together. This is something you learn to adjust to and the way you really learn about time-management. We did however hit a creativity block with the comic strip; the genre was to be satirical and tongue-in-cheek. We debated around certain ideas that could have been extremely controversial such as suicide, perhaps not appropriate to mock suicide when it’s such as serious matter. Although, then you get cartoonists like Zapiro who continuously mock serious issues to make a point, then again we are just students. This also however leads on the genre of blogging as a whole as well as citizen journalism and new media. Everyone can blog, by the virtue of that fact everyone can make a controversial comic, professional or not. We openly discussed this in out tutorials, despite the fact that our tutor had initially divided us up into smaller groups to discuss whether or not blogging is journalism it turned into a class debate with opening and closing speeches (a bit dramatic) but undeniably fun. I knew I was going to love blogging from the moment I logged onto RUConnected during the September holidays and saw some of the readings already waiting for us. I still love blogging and will continue with it as I want to specialise in New Media.

Blogging in JMS I felt was highly beneficial not only to those hoping to specialize in it but for all students in general. Computer literacy has become of extreme importance and blogging in particular is a way to get your news to the world. Interacting with a global audience as the world becomes more intertwined is the way forward. As a result of the audience being so wide and not just for your tutors’ eyes it made me pay that extra special attention to detail. Subconsciously you wanted everything to be perfect. Dealing with sources as well was a challenge as you would have to explain firstly that all the information was going to be placed for the viewing of practically anybody. This could have in some way constrained the interviewee from giving too much information in fear of judgement or criticism. Despite the fact that blogs are easily accessible for anyone to partake in, it should in my opinion be considered Journalism. Within blogging, you’re engaging with people all over the world, therefore you should provide them with factual information, even if it’s an opinion piece the facts in the article should be based on a real event. However there are those who make comments without knowing the full background, this can be dangerous but then again some could argue that the point of blogging is to get more individuals involved in global affairs, this includes amateurs. I most definitely stepped out of my shell for the process of blogging and to reciprocate the idea of our blog genre. As journalists you write for the people, therefore to target them the stories must be appealing to their needs and desires. People like shock and drama but obviously at the same time stories must be credible, authentic and real.

Lotsa Love
Khatija

While reading this blog post I was struck by how many similarities I found with my own family and their reactions to me coming to Rhodes. However, instead of being given that annoyingly smug "knowing look" that you wrote about, I was given encouragement. Although Rhodes is well-known for its notorious parties, excessive drinking and barefoot souls at lectures, it is better known for its high standard and quality of education. It is true that everyone back home was terrified that I would turn into a weed-smoking, green-haired girl who was suddenly a completely different person. When my family saw me at the airport at the end of the first term, I could almost see them breathe a collective sigh of relief. I dressed the same (maybe a little scruffier), valued the same things and had most of the same views that I left home with. What was different, though, was my newfound independence and irritation with being told what to do by my parents, who, after running my life for eighteen years, cannot seem to shake the habit of instructing me now and then. They forget, of course, that I now do my own laundry and for this reason alone, consider myself an adult capable of making decisions without asking their permission. I definitely agree with your statement that Rhodes introduces a student to several different religions and cultures, among other things. I believe that Rhodes has one of the most diverse student bodies and think that belonging to Rhodes makes a person so much more open-minded and accepting to people different to themselves. My opinions and beliefs have changed since coming to Rhodes, and I agree that these, too, have been changes for the better. What I liked most about this post is the basic opinion that living in a comfort-zone is not possible at Rhodes: whether you want to or not, you are going to be exposed to different aspects of life. This is an extremely insightful, evocative post.

Diva from TruthAboutLies

Tales from a Rhodent: Academic Freedom? Comment on an Opinion Piece

This is one of those subjects you think about whilst writing that Politics essay due on Friday. “We’re teaching you to be creative, open-minded intellectual and critical thinking students of the 21st Century” is what they (the lecturers) tell you. Those who’ve dared to try it have either failed dismally or become an inspiration to us all. I can tell that you’ve obviously had experiences whereby you find out that writing your own opinion really would be detrimental to your mark.
There are however some lecturers who mean what they say and are teaching you to be critical thinkers and develop your own arguments on the other hand, there are those who would no doubt give you 48.5%. I know of a guy who in my opinion is a living legend. He was given the topic “What is courage?” the essay was out of 100 marks, after an hour of he handed his essay in. The page was blank except for one line at the top of the page which read “This is courage”. He walked away with 100%.

We attend lectures, and talks which tell us about and promote academic freedom but does this concept really exist? Is it not just something unique to freedom fighters to get us (the students) where we are today. Although it is also worth mentioning that the academic freedom we speak of and that which they fought for long ago is fairly different in that whereas they fought for rights to be accepted into academic institutions we want to secure our place and be able to express our true opinions. Really thought provoking piece!
Lotsa Love

Friendship. Supposedly a simple equation. People meet, find out they have things in common, decide to spend unlimited amounts of time together and there you have it, friends forever. Well, perhaps in Neverland, but in reality friendship is as fleeting a commodity as fuel in Zimbabwe. When one puts everything in perspective, there are too many obstacles within this equation that need to be overcome for it to be this simple. This is why when the nature of females is juxtaposed to the nature of males, the men are more likely to be able to move past these obstructions and form long lasting friendships.

It is perfectly justifiable really. Females, to be blatantly honest are too demanding. To elucidate: females are selfish, self-conscious, vain, imposing, envious and bitter. In other words, they know how to hold a grudge. First year is unfortunately full of many surprises, particularly for those who come to university with big hopes and big dreams which tend to be crushed within the first few lectures. It becomes clear that in fact just because someone smiles at you doesn’t mean they like you and your perky attitude to life is not refreshing, it’s just annoying. Another factor is ‘rez’ life. Your residence is not a home away form home, but rather the place where you sleep and keep your clothes. Females are always on guard in such cases, waiting to confront anyone who appears to be stepping in on their territory or displaying a similar fashion sense. So because I saw you, a person I don’t know, speaking to someone I know very well, you are now the enemy but also because you made no ridiculous effort to be part of my little exclusive group of friends, you have been black listed. To put it plainly, females never truly leave high school.

The male on the other hand is conveniently a less complicated species. As a man, or ‘guy’, if you happen to meet someone who shares your passion for soccer, you’re all set. His ‘feelings’ are not a concern of yours because you are trying by all means not to look gay. Your residence is not a war zone; on the contrary it is a fraternity, a brotherhood. The camaraderie found between males is unbreakable and so if your friend makes a move on your girlfriend, you do not plot his destruction through a series of evil eyes in front of his classmates. No. You merely punch him in the jaw, use a couple of profanities and then you move on. Not only do you remain friends with this person but you then go and dump your girlfriend for causing such a rift between you in the first place. First year males generally have a better chance of maintaining these friendships because there is no risk of waking up in the middle of the night with half your hair dyed green and your clothes ripped to pieces because you just happened to sit on the wrong table at lunch!

I know. This theory stems from a string of stereotypes and so cannot obviously apply to everyone in first year or in university. However, one should probably take into consideration that a stereotype does not actually create itself and therefore logically speaking, has an element of truth in it. Granted there are exceptions, that is where we find the unwavering “best friends forever” sharing a pizza in the common room in their final years; but as life shows us more often than not, ‘forever’ is only just a couple of months.