Facing Fake News

                                                                           Fake News

              I think that the photo of the flower is true because I checked an official site where scientists stated that the photo might actually be real, they agree that radiation could be a factor, the link does not have all caps, and it did not come from an unknown site. So I think that the photo is most likely real, the scientists didn't think it was that rare for this to happen to the flowers, but radiation could be the defect.

                                                                      Yellow Journalism

                   The Spanish American War is often referred to as the very first media war that happened during the 1890s. Today historians point to the Spanish-American War as the first press driven war, although it might be bad to say that a certain few guys stared the war but it is fair to say that the press fueled the public's passion for the war .

                                                                       Satire News  

                           Satire News is like comedy news, like when your turn on your TV and you hear someone making fun of Donald Trump, it is for a from of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or make a statement about someone, it is not Fake News.

                                                               Dangers of Fake News

                                 Fake News can be dangerous especially when you think of Click Bait, you see a lot of Click Bait on Facebook, people make something look really exciting so when people read about it they share it, but most times you are sharing Fake News, if you see Click Bait do not share it because it's not true. Another issue people have is spotting the difference between Real or Fake News, Click Bait can also play a role in this because some people just can not tell the difference, if you notice that everything is in all caps it is most likely Fake, if you know that the information is coming from a reliable source it is Real.

                                                               Spotting Fake News 

                                      Ways to spot Fake News if you see all caps or and obviously photo shopped picture it is totally Fake,  if a bunch of pop ups come up that's a very good sign that it is pure Click Bait, and finally if you feel that the story is not true don't share it. Another way to spot this is with a Fact Checking Toolkit which is mostly in the headline, you can tell when somethings sounds Fake most of these are classified as stories, do not believe any of it.
              
                              

WikiLeaks and Whistleblowers

WikiLeaks

          Since 2010 when WikiLeaks released a video showing American Forces killing Iraqi civilians, there has been multiple attempts to silence the organization. The organizations ability to stay afloat and continue to source and release insightful documents is remarkable, the story built on the 2010 Afghan war logs has uncovered yet another level of "Kill everything that moves". 

           In my opinion WikiLeaks is far from perfect, but they are able to release information that I think the world should know, from what I watched they're are mixed emotions towards WikiLeaks some people accuse them of being bad, but a majority of people see the good in the organization.

          I think the information on WikiLeaks can be trusted, because it is secure Government information that they clearly did not want the world to know. I think Journalists may struggle with some of the information because it does deal with a lot of secure Government things, and they might get in trouble for writing on the topic. I think that this sort of thing can be hard to report on in news media .

         The danger of discounting or ignoring WikiLeaks can be hard when much larger new organisations still can't compete with the groups level of classified information, the value of the organization is not just uncovering new information, it is the groups published material which is one of the most important archives of our time.

         States across the world talk of democracy and free speech but restrict information and it's messengers, "This war on Whistleblowers is not ancillary to Journalism, but it directly affects it" says Trevor Timm I agree with his statement because it is the Journalists who get directly affected. He ends by saying that "It makes it much more difficult for the pubic to get the information it needs". WikiLeaks remains at the front of this battle.   
     

         
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/13/wikileaks-not-perfect-but-more-important-than-ever-for-free-speech

Are Articles Becoming Stories?

Caught in Lies

             Both Jimmy's World and The Wafer Story are very fabricated, in Jimmy's World it tells the heartwarming story of a little boy who had been introduced to heroin at only the age of 8 years old. Janet Cooke who wrote the article, won an award for her work, but years later when she was asked to prove that Jimmy was real, she could not and had to give the award back putting her job as a journalist to shame. For The Wafer Story, an article was written on how Steven Harper placed a Communion wafer in his pocket which was inaccurate and should have not been published. Both the Publisher and Editor have been fired and had to apologize to Mr. Harper.

           My reaction to both of these articles is how can you call yourself a professional journalist if you have to make up lies to get people to pay attention, fake news happens all the time and I think  that it should be stopped, if you are professional you will not have to make it up.

           I totally agree with Shafer, you either have the talent to tell the truth for a good story, or you lie your way through it and get nothing rewarding about it in the end . I think that if you want to be a Journalist you should make sure that before you leave school that you feel good about your responsibility's instead of pressured to have a great story and lie your way through it.

          Yes I do agree that a Newspaper ombudsmen would help, people should be able to talk about fake news , I for sure would not complain about having a Newspaper ombudsmen they can help and try to understand the issue within the Company.    

Hard News vs. Soft News

Spain just announced it is taking control of Catalonia 

           Spain will move to impose direct rule on Catalonia after the region's leader refused to drop his bid for Independence. This is an article that I would describe as Hard news because a Country is trying to take control, Spain claims that they want to restore the constitutional in Catalonia. These are examples of Hard News, it is a battle that Catalonia most likely won't win. Link to Article- ttps://news.vice.com/story/catalonia-spain-direct-rule-article-155 . 

Weed some, Lose some

            A weed website is taken off the internet after being threatened to be sued for copyright infringement. Weeedora is an illegal weed website that is located in Toronto, they had an ad on that breached the copyright act. This is taken as Soft News because it is not affecting anyone else but the company, and it is not a major concern. Link to Article- https://news.vice.com/story/weedora-website-taken-offline-after-foodora-threatens-to-sue-for-copyright-infringement    

Where is your Sanctuary City?

           This article is one that I would describe as a Blurred subject because people know about it, but it is also hard to describe. This Article has to do with people hiding in fear because they do not have a formal immigration status, it is terrible that these people have to hide and that's why I would describe it as Blurred, because it is a well known issue but also hard to describe. It is affecting peoples lives. Link to Article- https://news.vice.com/story/cities-arent-keeping-their-pledges-of-sanctuary-for-undocumented-migrants  

Assignment 4: What is Newsworthy

Timing

This news story that has been in the public eye since October. 13th 2017, it is about two convicted felons who coordinated fentanyl shipments to the U.S from their prison cells. This is the latest update of the article and the two inmates have been taken to court.

Significance

Fentanyl was linked to over 21,000 deaths in 2016 which is a significant number because that is double then the rate before. Fentanyl is very serious and it is a drug that is known all throughout the world , and it should be taken seriously. 

Link to Article: https://news.vice.com/story/inmates-accused-of-running-international-fentanyl-trafficking-ring-from-a-quebec-prison

Proximity

Canadians can connect to this story because Fentanyl is a growing issue in our Country, and if prisoners can access it from their cells,we know that this needs to be removed quick as possible.

Prominence

This story has prominence because Doctor assisted suicide is now responsible for a big percent of all deaths in Canada, I gave this a lower number because Doctor assisted suicide is something a terminally ill patient chooses. It is wanted by the patient .  

Human Interest

This story appeals to emotion because it is something that happens everyday with terminally ill patients and families have to make these hard decisions all the time.

Link to Article: https://news.vice.com/story/doctor-assisted-suicide-is-now-responsible-for-one-percent-of-all-deaths-in-canada       

 

Assignment 3: Writing The News Article

Devastating  Crash

 On Tuesday, October.10th the Police and Fire Department responded to a devastating Car Crash on Route 8, two were injured.

 The car hydro poled due to wet road, which caused bad driving conditions, One Police Officer stated that they arrived at the perfect time, he also stated that speed might have been a factor. The jaws of life were used as you can see in the photo below.

  The two that are injured were transferred directly to the hospital, the injuries were very critical and Police cannot release any names right yet.

   The photo was taken at the scene of the crash: By Olivia Randall.

                 North Korea calls Trump a "Barking Dog' after Rocket Man Gibe

            Responding to Trumps Recent threat to "Totally Destroy" North Korea, the country recently responded to this by calling Trump a Barking Dog, Trump has been known to say things that he doesn't mean.
    
            This lead is very effective because people find it very entertaining when Trump says something. he has been known to say things that he doesn't mean, so when he decides to threat a country, it is a story everyone would find interesting.


           The most interesting information is told first because the article kicks off right away with Trump threatening North Korea and the country responding back with calling him a Barking Dog.   
           
            The article ends with Korea's Minister saying "If he was thinking he could scare us with the sound of a dog barking, that's really a dog dream,. This article ends perfectly because Korea is bluntly saying saying don't mess with us Trump. 

 Link to Article:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x8x8a/north-korea-calls-trump-a-barking-dog-after-rocket-man-jibe-vice-news


                     
               Shooting on Las Vegas Strip Kills at least 50, Wounds hundreds

        A Nevada sheriff says the death toll has climbed to at least 50 in the attack on a Las Vegas concert Sunday, making it the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history, more than 200 people were wounded at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in an outdoor area known as Las Vegas Village. 

       This lead is effective because it is interesting but also very sad, it leads right into the subject and gives you all the information you should know about the shooting.

       The source of this article is CBC news and they were following the shooting live from Los Vegas, the most important part of the story was when the shooter was caught. 

       This story has a bittersweet ending, the shooter was killed by the police, but people still lost their lives. The Police state that it was"complete chaos".

Link to Article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/las-vegas-shooting-1.4316121