Freedom of Speech: Global Perspective

7:01: The freedom those 45 words give us is amazing, and I think we take it for granted. Many other countries do not have that fundamental right, and I think tonight will make me appreciate even more the 1st amendment.

7:05: Chinkhand Dorj is from Mongolia, Javed Afridi is from Pakistan, and Daria Marjanovic is from Croatia.

7:08: Mongolia has had for 18 years what we’ve had for 219 years (at least, we’ve had it in practice). There is a difference between having a freedom of expression as a law and actually practicing it– even here in the US, freedom of speech has not always been practiced. Although we have never executed anyone over free speech, like 23 journalists have been in Pakistan.

7:15: Thankfully we have freedom of song here in the US, and in Croatia.

7:19: Stopping the flow of information has proven across history to be the key to maintaining a dictatorship, and Pakistan is not the only case. But all governments fall– that is a fact. Eventually, the information gets out and people see the truth, and they revolt.

7:27: Government sponsored newspapers in Mongolia? That sounds like it would lead to anything but a free press. How can papers publish what they want to say about the government when they can only receive their funding from said government? Banning funds from advertising makes papers an astronomically difficult business to make profitable.

7:30: People know everything about politics in Croatia? That sounds like something we should strive for here in America. So many of our problems would be solved if everyone did their duties as citizens like Croatians do. But even though our citizens aren’t as informed as Croatians, they still suffer from verbal diarrhea, but with even less information in it.

7:32: Croatia seems to be the country of the three represented here tonight with the most freedom of speech. Not that they are at an ideal point, but their progress is encouraging.

7:37: Has our incredible liberty in this country made us lazy? The journalistic process in Pakistan takes so much more work and dedication because of the government there. Is laziness one downside of too much freedom of the press? In Pakistan, they are practically working undercover all the time.

7:50: It’s no surprise that women experience the same problems in the workplace in other countries that they do in this country. Wages are lower, there is a glass ceiling for them, and men are sometimes treated with more respect than women are.

All the President’s Men

6:56 p.m.: It’s quite the honor to have this movie introduced to us by Len Downie, Jr. Does he have a character in this film? Maybe, but regardless, he was in a prominent position in news during the time of the Watergate scandal. His insight will be invaluable, and I think he’ll really be able to add to the film experience when he talks about this to the JMC class in Nov.

7:03: Although the technologies that we have access to as reporters in the 21st century are incredibly useful, part of me wishes I could have been around to experience that simpler time in journalism. There is just something really special about taking all your notes on a notepad and using a typewriter for your story. I think using a typewriter caused reporters to be extra careful with accuracy, whereas today, journalists can get lazy with spell check and the thing we all take for granted: the “delete” key. Those times are gone though, so the best we journalists today can do is practice the same tried and true techniques Walter Cronkite. did in his time.

7:10: It would be incredibly ironic if a movie about the biggest story in American journalism was inaccurate. I am glad to hear i, and I will pay attention to the reporting techniques used by the reporters in the film.

7:31: I think there is a moment in every big story where you realize the impact of it and you just have to say “holy shit,” like Woodward did. Although it might have helped him if he could speak Spanish.

7:40: It must have been painstaking to make the set look the way it does. There are books balancing precariously on Woodward’s desk. All for the sake of accuracy… It’s fitting.

7:42: The humility that Woodward had when it came to giving the story to Bernstein surprised me. He could have let his pride take over, but he admitted that Bernstein’s story was better. But Woodward put the facts first, like a good reporter should, and gave Bernstein his notes. Who knows, they may have never broken the story without each others help.

8:00: Something that is really tough about being a student journalist is having to take those pesky classes. The journalists at the Washington Post were able to do such extensive reporting because that was their job– I can’t devote that kind of time to my stories because I have my education to worry about. I’m looking forward to having more time to pursue good stories.

8:15: Old white guys. That is who decided what news was in 1972. I think today other groups might be a little bit better represented.

8:31: The message of this film: Smoke. Because if you smoke, you have an excuse to get into someone’s door who won’t talk to you. What alternative is there?

8:55: Old timey reporter tip #2: Call your sources’ home phones in the middle of the night so they are confused and give you information they wouldn’t normally give you.

9:22: The government would never confirm any report about corruption within its ranks. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when the White House came out against the Post. They had to deny it, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

9:26: There could never be a modern day source like Deep Throat. Parking garages are too well lit now.

News21 Immigration

6:40 pm: All I have to say is that this had better be a real DISCUSSION on immigration, or Christian’s gonna go nucular.

7:04: The News21 summer program sounds like an incredible opportunity, but it also sounds like a huge commitment. I would definitely consider doing it since the experience would be invaluable– it would really be a once in a lifetime opportunity. That is, of course, if I could get in. With something this prestigious, it seems like it would be very competitive. One question I would have would be what year most of the students are who do it.

7:10: Arizona has over 400,000 illegal immigrants. Although the idea of a sanctuary city is something I support, I think it would be much easier for cities like San Francisco to employ that strategy simply because they do not have as many illegal immigrants as Arizona. While I do not support SB1070, immigration is clearly a problem here in AZ, and I think people who have never been here can lose sight of that.

7:15: The sanctuary city video is not very well-lit. The sound is also kind of iffy. Not to be mean.

7:23: Should illegal immigrants receive criminal records? That depends. Children shouldn’t receive criminal records. But I think people who enter this country illegally do so with the knowledge that what they are doing is against the law. My issue with SB1070 is that I do not believe that illegal immigration is worthy of receiving so many of our resources in order to stop it. I support immigration reform as an alternative to SB1070.

7:27: I imagine that Lauren would have to be able to speak Spanish in order to communicate with many of the immigrants. Being able to take on a story like this is one advantage of paying attention in Spanish class.

7:40: There are a lot of small but meaningful (and shocking) facts regarding immigration, like 6 in 10 women being raped on their journey and all of the women taking birth control with them to guard against the (what they saw as) inevitable rape they would experience on their journey.

7:45: How would anyone be able to prove that a crime was committed against them? How would the perpetrators be caught if there were no witnesses and it occurred in the middle of the desert? If utilized more, would U-Visas be exploited more?

Shattered Glass

7:00 pm: I wonder what the message of this film will be… my guess is that it will show us journalists that it is okay to fabricate stories as long as no one finds out about it. That way you don’t have to do any work!

7:08: He should have just mind tricked everyone into believing his stories were true.

7:13: I don’t know if going undercover is against the journalistic code. That is how some of the best stories get written. You can get information that you could never get otherwise, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

7:24: Oh look, foreshadowing. The whole psychology story is obviously meant to show us something about Steven’s character. That, and the motif of “It’s probably nothing.”

7:36: With the invention of the Internet, it became a lot easier to fact check and a lot harder to get away with errors, let alone fabrication. If Steven Glass had lived in an earlier time, he might have been able to get away with his lies. Maybe some people did get away with it then. But now, it’s just careless and stupid to expect to get away with it.

7:46: I think it would take less effort to just do the work than take all the effort to cover up a lie.

7:58: When Glass said “off the record,” the woman reporter picked up a pen. Journalists!

8:23: Glass was sitting on a ticking time bomb. Why did he expect to go forever and never get caught? Eventually, someone was going to fact check him. He was eventually going to run into someone like Chuck who would not fall for his crap. He found a hole, but that hole was not going to stay open forever. It closed.