Prompt: Watch the following videos and answer the attached questions.
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/50-years-ago-cbs- evening-news-made-history-with-first-30-minute-broadcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcp4Fw7m4yU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh Y4FP6crHI
https://youtu.be/rWhgKuKvvPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db8N38_7EoE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs8cRQqsB_I
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/07/tamron- hall-black journalist_n_7744662.html (print)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G8uZvr9mnI (video)

Which video resonated with you the most and why?

I’d have to say the video with Tamron Hall refusing to answer the challenges she’s faced as a black woman resonated the most with me after watching each of the videos provided. Her response made me think, argue with myself and question what I would do or should be doing if ever asked the same. I had to ask myself why we as people like for others to share their negatives with us? Just how much does misery love company? Do we ask these questions because they will actually help us advance in any way or do we just subconsciously want our negative anxieties reinforced? Maybe Tamron is onto something by refusing to acknowledge her challenges. I always saw roadblocks that don’t stop me as things that only made me stronger, but I can somewhat see her point of view. Clearly, I’m still having trouble deciding how to handle her thoughts and this is why the video resonated so deeply with me so much.


How has broadcast news impacted the Civil Rights movement?

America’s first 30-minute broadcast anchored by Walter Conkrite from CBS impacted the Civil Rights movement greatly as it allowed for visuals of the movement to be seen around the nation for the very first time. As we discussed in class, it’s one thing to read about black people being quieted during protests in the newspapers, but it’s another thing to see them being hosed down, harassed in the streets and beaten by police on the television screen. In addition, it allowed for those from the northern states to see firsthand what was happening in the south. Where racial issues could be ignored by print agenda-setters, they could not be silenced in broadcast. For the first time, the entire nation was forced to address what was happening in the country. What was finally being seen couldn’t be so easily ignored anymore.

OUTSIDE SOURCES:
https://www.paleycenter.org/the-civil-rights-movement-and-television
https://onlinemind.org/2015/12/02/the-role-of-the-television-in-the-1960s-us-civil-rights-movement/

How has CNN revolutionized the news industry?

Lois Hart, the first co-anchor of CNN says, “CNN has provided a product over the years that the world would never have gotten any other way, which is a window to the world that wouldn’t have happened and wouldn’t have driven the rest of the cable networks to even be born.” CNN was the first news station to broadcast on cable television which was far beyond its time. Previously, all stations like ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS broadcasted on public television. Public television stuck to mainly educational programming. At first, people were skeptical about news through cable. They didn’t think it was very credible and didn’t really want to take it seriously. But, perhaps because it was something so new, Hart says the ratings for the first broadcast were huge. CNN’s broadcast showed relatively clear and emotional images of serious issues, like the bombs over Baghdad. The most revolutionary thing CNN implemented, however, was 24-hour news. People were interested in seeing how the station could possibly fill up 24 hours with constant news. Certainly they would eventually run out of things to say. But it never happened. David Walker, Hart’s co-anchor, said they would start out with the hardest and most important news, then fill the rest of the time with fun and entertaining pieces. Being on air for 24 hours also opened the station up to be able to report breaking news as it was happening. Because CNN was so daring, every other news station had to step up their game to compete. CNN, the underdog, revolutionized the news industry.


How has convergence affected the news industry?

Convergence, the coming together of different media forms with internet being the dominant medium, has definitely affected the news industry, especially over the last few years. In the youtube video “How does the modern newsroom work in the digital age?”, quite a few ways in which it is done were mentioned. Donnacha DeLong, President of the National Union of Journalists, said that more people are focusing on using Google to get their stories and ideas for stories rather than sending reporters out to hear from human sources. He also says the number of print journalists in the newsroom has decreased drastically as people make the switch to learn multimedia. Other news outlets, like Howard University’s “The Hilltop”, still rely heavily on the print version for readership. However, The Hilltop, like many other publications out there, also provides online copies for every issue. Adrian Warner, a BBC correspondent, says that now, the audience is involved real time in the stories produced before they ever even get broadcasted or published online because their tweets and comments are usually what brings attention to the issues. Before, journalists were finding stories and then informing the people that “this is happening”. Now, it seems as though the people tell the journalists “this is happening”, and the journalists work to present it to the rest of the world.


What is the most challenging aspect for a journalist in today’s changing media environment?

“Words aren’t sufficient anymore. I mean, you need pictures, you need videos…It’s multimedia…all of the time.” — David Downey, Manager of Program Development (CBC)

I would say that the most challenging aspect for a journalist in today’s changing media environment is having to always be so prepared for the mediums in which people consume their news to shift. For me, a 21-year-old millennial watching the video “Journalism Today”, none of the things that the people were complaining about or explaining in the video would bother me. Tweeting stories out, recording voice overs via iPhone in the car right after getting my interviews, and checking trending topics to stay on top of what’s going on the world is my specialty. But, at the same time I understand that I would feel quite differently if I went to school during a time where none of the above existed. I see how it would be challenging if I had learned the art of storytelling in a completely different way, had received a degree with it and then worked for 10 years using a system I was comfortable with, only to have it be ripped from my fingertips and told that if I didn’t adapt to the modern technology, I would be losing my job. It’s a scary thought. New social media platforms pop up every single day and you really have to be a master at it all to win over the people. Although the basics of the job stay the same–to tell the story–we should never expect the way in which we do so to remain stagnant. That right there is probably the most challenging aspect for a journalist in today’s changing media environment.


What did you learn most from “A Day in the Life of a Newsroom”?

The biggest takeaway from “A Day in the Life of a Newsroom”, for me, was the speed and accuracy in which these professionals have to move in to get the news out to the world every single day. I was very aware of the jobs each position in the newsroom was responsible for. But, I had no idea how quickly and efficiently they had to work until I saw it with my own eyes. In the video, the anchor mentions that there is no room to edit live broadcasts, and all of the sessions from CBS air live. That means, there’s no stumbling over words, the teleprompter must be correct and able to be read well enough for a person to sound conversational. It means, videographers have to be diligent in their shots and make sure to double and triple check their footage before sending it back to the station because there are no redos. It means, the producers and director have to be in solid accordance about what issues they’re going to tackle that day and in what order to show them because there are no take-backs or ‘on second thought’s in news. Being a news anchor is a privilege to the highest degree. It takes forever to build your name and notoriety but only an instant to become the laughing stock of the industry.


Finally- what are your thoughts on Tamron Hall’s comments? And why?

After reading the article about Tamron Hall’s view of her challenges in life as a black woman, I was taken aback. I was ready to write her off as another one of those black folks that just HAS to appease the white man to be accepted in her high paying position. But, I told myself that I would also watch the video and then sit on my opinion for a while to decide if that’s really what I felt about her.

I loved her on the Today Show. As a New Yorker, as a black woman and as a journalist who has dreams of hosting, I look up to Tamron as a symbol of who I can be if I just work hard enough to get there. Hearing her dismiss the things that we, as black women, face was kind of disheartening. To me, she had a moment to just keep it real, but she chose to give it away. But I had to look at the bigger picture. What if she did go on a rant about all of the nasty things people did to her because she was black? What would that do for me? I don’t think that it would drive me away from my dreams because I am so determined to achieve them. But would that negativity house itself in the back of my brain?

I think that I wanted Tamron to be honest about what she has and still has to face because of her skin color as a result of me wanting to know just how thick to make my own skin. But at the same time, I have to understand that if she puts what people have done to her into words, then she is admitting that what they did really did block her. Perhaps brushing it off takes the power away from them.

All in all, although I understand why Tamron chose to be so aloof when addressing this question, I think she could have chosen her words differently. By saying that everyone faces challenges as a response to what challenges she faces, I feel as though she kind of placed all types of discrimination on the same level. Surely, a black woman being refused for an anchoring position because her nose is just too wide, her natural hair is just too nappy, and she’s just downright just too black to appear on the televisions of homes across America to deliver the news is very different from, let’s say, a white woman being refused the same position because she’s not very attractive. Yes, both areas of discrimination have to do with appearance, but one has racial implications, and one does not. One might has to start up her own station to get the position that she desires, the other might just have to try radio.

Of course, my examples here are a little off base, but I think the concept still lines up with what may have been suggested in the interview. I’m not sure whether or not to support Tamron’s decision to ignore the challenges she’s faced as a black woman, but I have a right to critique it and I’ve given her the benefit of bringing myself to understand it.