Optional Blog Post on Violent Images

Note: I chose to take on the newsroom perspective of the issue of violent images. I used this article as my reference: https://niemanreports.org/articles/how-newsrooms-handle-graphic-images-of-violence/
The following letter is from the perspective of a TV producer at CNN, writing to his boss, William Inkwell

Dear Mr. Inkwell,
There are new images out of Kharkiv. The war rages on and the atrocities have led to more innocent civilian deaths. I am writing to request your permission to air a one particular image. This image is of a dead child in the town square, after an early-morning attack. Now, I understand your sentiment towards the proliferation of violent images. But please, hear me out. This senseless war has gone on long enough. People are dying in droves. The only way that we can put an end to the war, is by stirring up enough public sentiment, to urge action. The people of the European nations surrounding Ukraine, need to be outraged at the atrocities being committed. Simply because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, or the EU, does not mean that the people of the world can turn their backs on them. Allow me to echo the sentiment of the Washington Post's Liz Sly, "We're violating their dignity by not publicizing them and having them die in silence in the dark." By not honoring the people Ukraine, by telling their story, we disgrace them, and make their death just another routine occurrence. Now, I understand that there are bigger issues on the home-front, with midterm elections around the corner. However, this topic will surely influence the voters to some extent, based on what the candidates deem an appropriate response. A war of this magnitude cannot be ignored, and neither can its victims. Sir, I beseech you, do not disgrace the victims of this war. Let this image be aired.

Sincerely,
Joe Mama

Comments

  1. Sohum KapoorOctober 23, 2022 at 6:38 PM

    I really liked how you chose such impactful words and used them to convey your message in your letter. I also appreciate how you humorously used "Joe Mama" as your sender.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jacob ROctober 24, 2022 at 6:16 PM

    I really liked your opinion and hot-takes, it was very easy to nod along with you and your points. I really liked how instead of just inserting a quote you stated that you would instead "echo the sentiment" of the article you chose.

    ReplyDelete
  3. kushyOctober 24, 2022 at 7:05 PM

    I thought it was interesting that you signed your letter off with "Joe Mama". While this was probably meaningless, I thought it well crafted. Joe Mama is often used as a joke to someone that is dumb/stupid. Signing off this letter with Joe Mama shows that even someone as (stupid) as Joe Mama can understand this situtation and how obvious it is to show the violent images to public, thus supporting your argument.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dot Com Bubble and the Great Recession

Image
The 1990s was a period of economic growth. Aided by Bill Clinton's post-inflation economic policy, interest rates were considerably low. This lead to a mass proliferation of startup companies, which did business almost exclusively on the internet, or dot com companies. Many of these companies had goals that were far too ambitious, but investors, drawn in by the novelty of the dot com company, put their faith in these goals. This created a stock market bubble, or a massive rise in share prices for these dot com companies, with no real backing. Naturally, when these companies failed to meet their goals, the bubble burst, and stock prices plunged.   Sweat   shows the effect of the burst bubble on the stock market, in their little scene builders, showing how the DOW falls " a record 617-point drop.. after the tech bubble bursts". It is no surprise, that this is precedes the chapter with the greatest economic turmoil, wherein Tracey realizes that Oscar and other immigrants are
Read more

What is the real meaning behind Mercy?

Image
      The word mercy is a relatively large part of our lives. Whether it's getting 'Mercy-Ruled', or 'showing mercy', or 'University of Detroit Mercy', we can't seem to escape mercy. But what does it actually mean? The dictionary defines Mercy as: compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm . So yes, mercy means to forgive, or to show compassion, instead of harming someone. Makes sense. But why is it, that people do not always show mercy? The concepts of kindness, compassion and forgiveness have been a staple of how society raises us. In kindergarten, we all enjoyed those warm, fuzzy books about the little rabbit who made friends with a dog, or the mouse who made friends with the lion. Children that show forgiveness, and kindness are rewarded. But why do these ideals not hold through? Much like the communist ideal of 'sharing is caring', the idea of mercy does not carry forth into a person&#
Read more

Opinion: Picture books-The same as Comic Books?

Image
 My earliest childhood memories are of story time, with my mother. I thoroughly enjoyed reading books such as It's the Bear! by Jez Alborough, or Library Lion, by Michelle Knudsen, or my personal favorite: Noddy goes to Toyland, by Enid Blyton. All of these books incorporated some level of wording. Let's analyze  2 crucial scenes from these books, and how words affect them. "Blueberry Pie... YUM YUM" Arguably my favorite scene from It's The Bear! , this scene is the climax where the main character, who has been spending the whole story seeing the bear, finally convinces his mom, that the bear is behind her. The 2 run away from their picnic, and the bear is left to eat the blueberry pie. Now, Scott McCloud contends that this is in the "Duo-Specific" style, wherein "both words and pictures convey essentially the same message". In this story, either element could stand alone, and the reader would understand that the blueberry pie is "YUM, YU
Read more