Twilight vs. Mormon Beliefs and Values

Last week, I attended a very interested lecture that was part of the Mormon Media Studies Symposium which talked about a lot of different topics. The lecture I attended was one that talked about a few topics, but the one I found most interesting was talking about a paper titled, "Twilight as a reflection of Latter-day Saint Beliefs and Values” given by Trudy L. Hanson. There have been an arguable amount of Mormon beliefs and values instilled in this series, and some of them discussed were the values of family and the important role that it plays in the lives of the twilight characters and also in the lives of Latter-day Saints. Another value is that of Agency and also restraint. The last main value mentioned in the lecture was the value of power and control in relationship. I have only seen a few of the Twilight movies, have never read the books, but the value I can see most is the value of family and the important role that it plays. As a Latter-day Saint, the importance of families is stressed, in my mind, more than any other principle. It is of vast importance. This can also be seen in the Twilight series in the characters of Bella and even Edward. They both have a strong tie to their families, with Bella’s family being divorced and Edward’s family being so close. They have different family relationships, but the idea is that family is stressed as being important.
I found this lecture fascinating and it really made me want to actually read the novels to get a better understanding of the values that it stresses and which of those values run right along with values of Latter-day Saints.

here is an actual news piece on the topic:

http://tinyurl.com/2cujryh
http://tinyurl.com/o35o6v

Watchdog Journalism

So the topic in class this last week was journalists working as Watchdog's in society and what watchdog journalism it. One of textbooks makes this statement: "More than 70% of journalism say the 'watchdog role' of journalists is the most important role they have, especially when it comes to investigating government." I believe this is a very powerful statement that journalists really need to live by. A statement that believe needs to be considered is that the watchdog principle is intended to "comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable." Is this true? In many ways this is the way that watchdog journalism works. It is imperative that journalists look out for those they cover and be the "watchdog," so to speak, of the people they write for, their audience. If the press doesn't look out for the needs of the audience, then who will? I will end with this one statement that i feel sums of the idea of watchdog journalism. That statement is, "The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.

Here is some news:

Online classes are all the rage now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/us/05college.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

"Dare to trash your boss on Facebook?" take a look at this video and article.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/11/09/facebook.firing/?hpt=C1

Independence and Journalism

So the most recent topic in my journalism class was Independence and Journalism. Its a very interesting topic if you think about it. The basic idea that was covered is that a journalist must maintain independence from those they cover. Is that really easy to do though?? I think it depends on the story that is being covered. But two very important questions were posed that i have been thinking about the past week. The first of these was "Can a person be politically active and still publish an unbiased article?" To answer that... I think they can, but it takes a very practiced journalist, in my mind, to do so. If a journalist can present the facts and not slant it towards his/her views, i think its possible. Now for the second question: "Can a homosexual man write an article on Prop 8 fairly?" I think the answer to this question is NO. To be quite honest,i am not sure a heterosexual person could write a fair article on this subject, however someone needs to cover the information. In very hard topics like sexuality, I think the journalist covering it really needs to step back and only present the facts, after all, that is the journalists job right?

here are some links to some recent news stories that you may find interesting. One story that has really caught my eye recently is that of bombs being sent in print ink cartridges and getting into planes and not being stopped.

Links:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-29/us/security.concern_1_suspicious-packages-petn-explosive-material?_s=PM:US

http://www.infowars.com/toner-bomb-results-in-more-airport-molestation/