Lessons from Indian Journalism

Indian journalists display much of social consciousness, compared to other internationals. In their writings, one can clearly see that they have a fight - against poverty, ignorance, lawlessness, corruption, complacency and the like.

While most writers would focus on the more expected topics about day-to-day existence, Indian journalists seem to have a beyond-self orientation with an eye to their future as a people. They write about their society in a way enjoining the common tao to progress.

Indian journalists try to project the changes in their society and interpret them for the people. Acting as able guides, they write about their rise from poverty, their recent access to education and technology, the new roads going to places that make market and going to school feasible, the new role of the women, the citizens' role with police matters. As such, they invite readers from other cultures to understand them, but more especially encourage their people to make further steps forward.

Indian journalists try to project the strength of their people that make their society secure. They capture pronouncements of their leaders and chart possible implications for the future. They make suggestions in their writings, thereby participate some way in development. They capture, too, the values of their people which they want to perpetuate through their writings. For example, there was that mention about Indian women putting a price at caring for their young - close to them always, no matter what activity they do. If they have to use repetition to stress some value, they do so in many varied ways as in the use of photographs. Even the photographs and their captions show this concern-for-my-brother orientation.

Although a great majority of Indian journalists are not quite good at English which we can call the international language, in comparison with other internationals, they are the best any country can be proud of.

Can't talk, dear

Learning German - Gratefully

In my busyness, I had to show my willing teacher that I appreciated his teaching me and that I must have some progress. It is not everyday that someone offers free service.

Deutsch or higher German is a language most people think is hard to learn. This was my first impression, too, but I have a very patient teacher.

I noticed three articles in Deutsch used before every noun: der, die and das. I thought for a while that der was for male; die for female, and das for neuter. Then I looked again and I noticed that what pattern I thought I had observed was not there anymore.

I wondered then if there were general rules for use of articles. Or if German was like English that it breaks its own rules.

In Chapter 6 on articles in the URL that Amikeco, my self-appointed teacher, provided me, I found the answers.

And yes, some nouns seem to turn feminine when they become plural!

Wow! What could be the logic behind that? But then English, too, is illogical sometimes.

Where Man's Limitation Lies

FOR Ed (iTalkNews)

You wonder about my new avatar.

The picture is that of Pocahontas, daughter of an Indian chief. By many counts, I am like her – beginning with her short upturned nose. She looks Asian, right? And she’s quite a thinking woman. I like her being native.

I had a grandfather, too, chief of a small old town. So couldn’t I have some claim of similarity here? He he! Here we come again.

Actually, in God’s little planet called Earth, we are all equal. It is only that people try to limit others by the color of their skin or by the location of their birth. Not so with me! They say man is only limited by the size of his hope – this, I believe.

And She did Some Growing Up . . .

Although her Grandfather was Tall

If There's a Will, Why Not?

Topic in OhmyNews Citizen Reporters

Intelligent Contribution

One quick way of contributing to news is in responding intelligently to those already published. See my blog and how I do it - [link]
by Koteet - 9:49am

Voices from the Margins

Topic in OhmyNews Citizen Reporters

Jane Abao

Hi from the Philippines! Thanks for the invitation. I do not believe that after one graduates from the university it is time to hang one's diploma. I see that we have to hew out a line towards placing communication on equal footing for everyone. Wayward media had its power for a loooooooong while that it has come to its decadent end - looking at manufactured news even for its fare. Let's not say we don't know of this. Congratulations to those who make sure voices from the margins are not muffled. Thanks, Todd for the thought.

In Sync: My God is not a Stone nor Piece of Wood

For the last two days, we were in the area of Clark Air Base shooting for my life story. From there we went somewhere else but not after we were caught “for obstruction” on the road. One of us at the front thought he knew the directions and the driver had followed him. Alas! The traffic officer gave us a ticket and we had to turn back to claim the driver’s license. For ignorance, we failed to be in harmony with the flow of the traffic.

Just before this, we spent a long, long time waiting for something that didn’t come. Anyhow, all things work together - in sync with what is best.

As we went about our task, the director was telling me to mouth aloud some statements that I had given before. He told me to say this and that – but at a time I had to act. I said, "But that’s not reality! I don’t normally think aloud. I don’t talk by myself!" After some discussions, we left it at that.

In everything we do, we find that the natural is best; reality is best – because we don’t have to act. Back at the office, the editor asked me, in reviewing the footages taken, if I ever had taken theatre arts. I said, "No, why?" I looked into his monitor and there I saw myself. He was laughing, saying I was a very good actress.

The truth is, I am not. I don’t like to act. It is not my forte. I happen to be acting as good as he saw it because I was only hewing to what is natural. This is what happened.

In the many instances I had to give my share in the television shows where I am supposed to be President for the Productions, I was hedging - having made up my mind that I will not be where there are visuals. I was only contented in being with print. Then one time, shorty after I had to do a 2-minute interview for HUGE of UNTV37, I was asked about my life story - for www.truthcaster.com. And I was to act it out!

What was my life? Well, I’ve lived a colorful one – in activism, the military, the university. I ran after the intellectuals. I followed the philosophers. I had my dreams in the lofty pedestal of the universities where thinkers are supposed to thrive. All in all, I was very busy as a career woman.

I had no time to check on my religious beliefs. I left them to those who made a profession out of preaching. At least my God was neither a stone nor a piece of wood that one had to dress up or brush the dust off - not a god that had to be carried around and cannot speak for itself. I was to reach out to most professionals - educated in the best universities of this world - who arguably bow down to this kind of god!

It was a heavy task – just thinking about acting. Finally, it dawned on me that everything was not about me anymore. It was for something bigger than life. Something where others too, caught in the net, could come up and find freedom. This one I was to do was a testimony.

I took the step and gave my all.

In keeping with reality, there is really no need to act. Most of all, when you consider that you are doing something for someone great, there’s no need to act, but to be in sync with what is true. You then lose your personal self in the whole thing and you can do your best.

But come to think about it, was that just you – that’s why you could do it so naturally?

Train of Thoughts

Last night I was interviewed for a program in the Internet. Upon entering the room, I already was feeling something was amiss but could not place what it was. I noticed that the camera operator was different from the previous.

The lights! Yes, I hated lights directed at me. They make me very conscious. Worse, they hurt my eyes. They were soon transferred over there and back. They later were directed upwards the ceiling, and I felt better.

We soon started and I could see that my camera operator was an artist all right – a perfectionist at heart. He checked and measured everything from intensity and direction of lights to sound and position of everything. He would test and test again – let me sound out, let me face that way and that. I would start talking, stop, and talk again, while he did his measurements.

Then came my time to deliver. I stammered my way, managed to pick up, and then stammered the rest of my talk, all the while putting no punch in what I was saying. I didn’t like my performance.

Some three days before this, I was also interviewed for the Huge Event of UNTV37. There were no lights to speak of. The camera was simple – a handcarried one. The interview went smooth, as I was able to talk spontaneously. I did say sensible things and I was my natural self. No stammering.

In a project where there are components that have to work together, it always best to think wider and beyond one’s own objective. We cannot do things just by ourselves. There are always others who have to have an input and their existence have to be acknowledged by looking also into their needs. Each part must have a tenable output.

In my second interview, the camera operator was clearly thinking only of his own presentation as though it was all that mattered – how good his work would appear on the tube. But come to think of it, which was the more important: my appearance or my message? Suppose I had the one and only chance to be covered and it cannot be repeated for lack of time, which should be given priority? Should I be allowed my concentration in what I was going to say? Or should it be treated as just plain material that had to be tested and tested for an artist?

Technical people should give some importance and care to the message or content to be delivered. In this regard, the interviewee should be allowed to keep her train of thoughts. After all, what is a channel or medium without a good message?

Oh, blimey! Will 38,000 be emailing me?

OhmyNews International said we were 38,000 citizen reporters all over the globe. Todd Thacker had opened a Google group for us to introduce ourselves together and be able to discuss issues. This was a group where membership was by invitation. I felt grateful, as I was one of the first ones invited. Suddenly my gmail kept burning blue all the time. I was receiving emails after emails and I could not concentrate on my writing.

I went then to my profile in OMNI and shifted my email address to that of my Yahoo. I use this address for matters that I could attend to later. Gmail is reserved for urgent matters. In Yahoo, I was told to apply for gmail as our group was that of Google. I then began having second thoughts. Will I unsubscribe from this group? If not, what if the 38,000 email me? There was not much option as this was a getting-to-know-you affair. I left it at that: no return to my gmail account.

As it is, it was about Chile we were talking about. One had introduced herself saying she was from Chile and did not know English. I thought we were with the international version and had expected that everyone did. The subsequent emails from the citizen reporters revolved around that language challenge. I was writing something that had a deadline and I was beginning to hate those Chile conversations.

Then the nagging thought came back: for a formally trained journalist like me, will I be able to stand mixing with unschooled journalists which citizen journalism espouses? Right now, I am piqued even by the slow and groping stance of others who talk of things I think are non-essential.

Jay Rosen of Poynter, maybe now I’ll begin to read what you were saying about audience - all your ideas about repackaging media today. Maybe I will not throw those principles we were taught in journalism school, after all. Maybe I will join your fight.