"Shattered Glass" Reaction

Shattered Glass, although not intended to be, was a horror film. It shows how easily swayed our public is, and how highly-glamorized news providers aren't as credible as they should be. The fact that the "New Republic" magazine was regarded as one of the most credited publishers in the nation, and read by the nation elites, makes the fact that Stephen Glass could botch over 25 stories even more horrifying. I think this movie reflects American news providers as a whole. After the news of Osama's death, I was honestly skeptical... which isn't just. I felt like confirmation wasn't provided, because there were no available photos or videos to verify the death. Just like with Stephen Glass, "fact checkers" may not be as true to their title as they should be. I really enjoyed the movie as a whole though. I think the story of Stephen Glass made for a great motion picture, and it exposed some of the yellow journalism that still exists in this day and age.

The class of journalism was very helpful to me. It honestly made me consider pursuing journalism as a career (well aware of the fact that it's a dead-end field). I've always been very interested in writing, but never wrote any real factual pieces. When I was younger I wrote a lot of short stories and essays from my own personal opinion. Journalism, for the most part, isn't about opinions. It's about collecting facts, statistics, and interviews to enlighten your audience to a certain subject. I enjoyed the stories and cartoons I did in this class, and would suggest it to under classmen to take in the future. I hope journalism takes me somewhere, and I know that the information I used in this class won't go to waste.

Photoshop Newspaper Pages

advertisement project

Editorial Cartoon

Intro to Editorial/Opinion Cartoon

1. What is a problem/issue that our entire student body (our school, community, country, etc.) faces today?
Twins off to a very slow start
2. What is your view/position on the problem or situation?
That these players are almost excited to be injured/ill, and it's sort of a party not playing in games
3. What would you like to achieve with your editorial? (What is the desired result?)
To make light of the situation, and point out how baseball players are paid too much to not even play
4. How will you persuade your audience to adopt your viewpoint as theirs? List at least 4 persuasive points.
-Have the injured players in high spirits in the locker room
-Show a lot of players sitting together to make it seem like a party
-More players entering the room, as though they got invited
-Players have their bags of money by their feet to show their worth
5. How will you motivate your readership to action in your conclusion?
There isn't exactly "action" to take, I just want them to realize that athletes shouldnt be paid as much as they are for their minimal work, and how the Twins are struggling really bad this year
6. How will your editorial serve a public purpose?
It will raise awareness on the lack of fairness in sports

Peer Edits

I peer edited Hunter Abramson and Garrett Runing

My paper was peer edited by Hunter Abe and Garrett Runing, too

Final Feature Story

“One Flow”

I still remember the first day I entered Eastview High School. A shy, sport-loving eighth grader, oblivious to the evolution he would undertake in his next four years. As I sat in the sauna-hot Performing Arts Center, my future principal, Dr. Peterson, began talking to me and my middle school class. My attention span was minimal back in the day, but I vividly remember one thing he said. “Four years from now, you will be sitting in this same room and wondering how time went so fast, and be amazed at how far you have come as a person. You will undergo a lot of new activities in your time at Eastview.”

                It’s four years later. Every time I reflect on my past, I can only laugh and think “damn, Dr. Peterson wasn’t lying.” Four years ago, I was about 5’5” and 130 pounds. I’m not 6’2” and 180 pounds. Obviously I have grown physically, but more importantly I have grown a lot as a person. I once had childish dreams of being on the basketball team in high school, and making game-winning shots. The whole crowd would erupt, and the cheerleaders would rush to my side. In reality, I stopped playing basketball after freshman year. With nothing but free time, I had to develop a new hobby. I had always been a great writer, but never found a way to present it creatively. Sophomore year of high school I started experimenting. I wrote my first rap song.

                “TC on my cap, TC on my back.” It was genius. I searched YouTube for more and more instrumentals that I could download, and start writing my own songs over. I was addicted. Currently, my e-mail folders are filled with numerous compilations of songs that I have crafted over the past two years. In those two years, I have scribed over 800 songs total. I started recording and releasing my music later in Junior Year, and just a month ago I released my first solo project; including 13 recorded and mixed songs. Rap is a disease; Not only effecting me, but the whole school. I would estimate that around 50 percent of guys at Eastview have either written raps, produced beats, or recorded. Which begs two questions: Why rap, and why now?

                “It’s just fun,” said Sean Devine, a young rapper from Eastview High School.

                Not only is it fun for most kids, but as Sam Ross points out, it’s a lot easier to start rapping than it is to start with other forms of music.

                “You don’t need to know how to play a bunch of different instruments,” says Sam, “all you need is a mic’.”

                Most rappers have just started pursuing music over the past couple of years. I got a head start with most of my friends, who started rapping mainly in Junior Year. There are two main types of raps: “writtens” and “freestyles.” Writtens refer to verses or songs that one has premeditated and wrote down on paper before performing. A freestyle is an impromptu rap that is performed as the words come to the performer’s head. Writtens and freestylers are night and day, as some rappers who excel at writtens (J. Cole for example) have a much harder time with impromptu raps, and some rappers who have success at freestyling, now struggle with writtens (Eminem circa 2009).

                “I like writing more than freestyling, because it takes more thought,” said rapper Derek Schatz. “It’s cool that I can put a message in a [written] song.”

                What separates a good rapper, from an average rapper, is one that can put content in their verses. Those who lack content give a bad name for rappers everywhere.

When I ask my dad his opinion about rap he says, “There’s too much talking about p*ssy and b*tches.”

He’s right. Most of the content of raps heard on the radio is all about money and women. That’s why many hip hop heads have turned their scope to underground music. The underground world of hip hop has allowed for the emergence of great emcees from both the east and west coasts. Now, names like “Lupe Fiasco” and “J. Cole,” once undergrounders, are common household names in the industry. This proves the desperate statement that rap isn’t dying at all. Good rap exists in a plethora of facets, and listeners stay true to their claim of listening to real rap.

“I listen for good flow, someone with lyrics, and originality,” says avid rap fan Sam Ross.

The fact that listeners are still looking for good content is motivation for rappers to keep spreading messages in their music. The first couple raps that I wrote were full of nothingness. It’s easy to talk about how “sick” you are, or how many women you have in a rap. As I evolved, I began talking about real struggles in my life; anxiety, faith, and family issues. Rap became therapeutic to me. Countless late nights were spent by my computer monitor, drafting various verses about my life problems. It took a while before I had the confidence to record these songs, because a lot of them were very personal to me. I could write about anything. In school, my vocabulary expanded and I had a lot easier time finishing essays because writing in general was a lot more enjoyable to me. So I will battle someone to the death who tries to tell me that rap corrupts the brain.

                The trend of rap has been expanded due to the new facets of presenting one’s music. The emergence of various websites, such as 2dopeboyz and HotNewHipHop, has made it a lot easier to have your music heard. All you have to do to get these songs on the websites are to either set up an account, or send your song to the head of the site and ask if they will put it up. The cool thing about these sites is that they are nationwide, and people from all the way in California can hear a single from a small-town Minnesota rapper.

“The internet has made new rappers a lot easier to find,” said Sam Ross.

That’s true. The internet serves as the medium between fans and artists. It has allowed for the expansion of small groups into national news. Odd Future is an example of this. This is a group of rappers from the ages 17-20, who have made headlines in the rap world for their originality and “odd” tactics. Odd Future is inspiration to many up-and-coming rappers, including myself, because of the movement that they have created and their young age.

I think the term “rap” has a very negative connotation, due to misconceptions about the genre. New rappers are trying to bring more respect to the art of lyrics, and flow, through the incorporation of concept-designed songs. Derek Schatz, and Sean Devine are fine examples of the new rap trend at Eastview, and I am sure that many more rappers will emerge from this school as their years continue. I never would have imagined myself writing songs and recording when I was that young eighth grade kid at Black Hawk, seated in the hot Performing Arts Center. But here I am.