Last posts on journalism

Last Night's Paper

2008-07-12T23:30:00+02:00

I read a good article in the New York Times last night. I forget who wrote it but they were talking about the work of James Bond writer, Ian Fleming. One of the things the article spoke of was pace and they credited Fleming for his quick pace and the way he wrote of his characters actions and their doings without a lot of interior monologue. The writer, never stopping, brings in more detail between the characters ears and heart. Wall E, the new animated movie is credited with doing the same. I've heard that about the beginning of the movie there is no talking and just action for 35 minutes. The reviewers were saying that the 35 minute action sequence was very good movie making.As for me, I tend to go the other way. I usually choose to fill in paragraphs with sentences that supply more information about the person. I define my characters more to the reader by adding in their thoughts, opinions, likes and sometimes their wants. So, one thing to consider in your story writing is "quicken the pace" or simply give the reader, the actions of your character without further defining it. The article quoted Fleming, who said that a quickened action based pace can help you add a lot more words in your novel.

The Warm Holiday

2008-07-03T21:10:00+02:00

July 4th is a warm holiday in Vermont and on Friday this year. To me, the 4th is about cookouts, water and sports. There are fireworks tonight in Randolph. Today, the 3rd, I went to Barre and got my hair cut, washed my car and I got my car's blinker light bulb replaced. I love wearing v-neck t-shirts and I got a white one on today. a pair of green, creek shorts and a pair of Crocs. I went to the mall and bought a CD and I took a walk in the tall grass. We are getting into wildflower season and the grass is 2 to 5 feet high. We are kind of in a good place between heat, clear skies, clouds to now an overcast impending rain that seems to be building as the wind blows through. Its been a good summer and maybe for me as the Good Summer or another Good Summer. My hair has lightened and I've grown it longer. My hazel eyes changed from green to brown a few days ago.Did you know, that you can heat your home with 100 percent vegetable oil. You can use it in a traditional oil burning heater. There are a few diesel engined cars (mostly old Volkswagon's and Volvos) that are also run on vegetable oil. They call em "Greasers"! You will probably start reading a lot about alternative fuels in the papers soon. I'm up at the Pratt center (Goddard College) library and I'm surrounded by an incredible collection of books. Sitting here writing near them. It is one of my favorite places to write. Just walking around and reading the book titles has always helped me write snappy post titles.

CBS Mini-Series ”Hitler, The Rise of Evil”

2008-06-29T03:05:00+02:00

I've bought a DVD of that show a few years ago. I've watched it many times. I highly recommend all the people on the earth to watch it.

The show was produced amid the fear of coming war in Iraq by Alliance Atlantis. It caused controversy because the show featured Hitler as living man not just as evil guy.

Maybe the producer was worried about the atmosphere in the U.S. after 911 was like the one in Nazi-Germany.

Focal point of the film is indifference of ordinary people of that time. People did not want to care about politics because they were too tired of hearing serious news.

But the result of such indifference was Auschwitz.

In the show, there was a journalist who became counterpart of Hitler. His name was Fritz Gerich. He established the newspaper "Straight Path" to criticize Hitler's Nazism. But at the end, he was murdered in Dahau concentration camp after Nazi regime took over all the authorities of Germany.

Fritz wrote letter to his wife, it said "Urge others to speak up even what they say is unpopular."

That impressed me a lot. That may be most difficult thing on the earth but necessary to change things better.

The other thing that impress me was a leader of Storm Troops, Rohm was gay. Rohm was Hitler's long time comrade and Hitler knew Rohm was gay. Interestingly enough, Nazi murdered hundreds of thousands of gays in concetration camp along with Jews and Roma (Gyspsies).

I will visit Berlin and Auschwitz soon. I will telll you what I feel about the sights and their histories.

Exposed - Business Journalist for Plagiary and Unauthorized Lifting of News

2008-05-29T23:45:00+02:00

Breach of Press Council of India Act: Principles & Ethics Section 52 & 53War Against Plagiary is a forum to enforce the self-regulatory regime for Principles & Ethics to be followed by newspapers and journalists. The War Against Plagiary starts with the biggest Plagiarist who has blatantly and immorally lifted and copied news already published in other media. A synopsis of few reports with bylines of the journalist, Ms. Rashmi Pratap, during April & May 2008, and the sources they have been lifted from are:Lifted Story No. 1: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 21st May : Tata Tele GSM to ride on CDMA infrastructurehttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Telecom/Tata_Tele_GSM_to_ride_on_CDMA_infrastructure/articleshow/3057397.cmsStory already published on 13th May, on PTI : http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=37438Lifted Story No. 2: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 2nd May : Telekom Malaysia wants Spice control http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Telecom/Telekom_Malaysia_wants_to_up_stake_in_Spice/articleshow/3010371.cmsStory already published on 3rd April on Rediff.comhttp://www.rediff.com/money/2008/apr/03tel.htmLifted Story No. 3: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 23rd April : AT&T eyes Maxis' Aircel stake http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Internet_/ATT_in_talks_with_Malaysias_Maxis_for_Aircel_stake/rssarticleshow/2973491.cmsStory already published on 17th April on NDTV Profit : http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/04/17213549/ATampT-keen-on-Aircel-stake.htmlLifted Story No. 4: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 5th April : Videocon telco arm in JV talks with global companieshttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2924090.cmsStory already published on 17th March on the link below : http://www.domain-b.com/print_article.aspx?sect=dom&docid=sGcrPDGeZ%2bE%3d Lifted Story No. 5: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 16th April : BSNL takes pvt route, to hire towers from 6 cos http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2954762.cmsStory already published on 28th February on Telecomtiger.comhttp://telecomtiger.com/fullstory.aspx?storyid=904Lifted Story No. 6: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 18th April : Israeli firm may buy 10% in Tata Tele for $720 m Story already published 17th April on koor.co.il. http://www.koor.co.il/news-in.asp?num=422Lifted Story No. 7: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 22nd April : BSNL calls up private cos for tower sharing http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Telecom/BSNL_calls_up_private_cos_for_tower_sharing/articleshow/2969360.cmsStory already published on the website below : http://personal---finance.blogspot.com/2008/01/tower-cos-line-up-to-offer.htmlLifted Story No. 8: Rashmi Pratap reports in ET on 20th May : Long wait before you ring in mobile number portability http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Telecom/DoT-TRAI_face_off_may_delay_number_portability_again/articleshow/3054620.cmsStory already published on 18th May on PTI. http://ptinews.com/pti/ptistories.nsf/AllByUNID/C3036B1D56F2F8AD6525744D003BB77AMs. Rashmi Pratap indulged in “Plagiary” and “Unauthorized lifting of News” can be ascertained from the attached reports authored by Ms. Rashmi Pratap alongwith the striking similar reports published by other journalists prior to hers. Read with the definitions laid down by Press Council of India (http://www.nwmindia.org/Law/Bare_acts/Norms.html), Plagiarism: Using or passing off the writings or ideas of another as one's own, without crediting the source, is an offence against the ethics of journalism. Unauthorised lifting of news: The practice of lifting news from other newspapers publishing them subsequently as their own, ill-comports the high standards of journalism. To remove its unethicality, the 'lifting' newspaper must duly acknowledge the source of the report. The position of features articles is different from 'news'. Feature articles shall not be lifted without permission and proper acknowledgement.We appreciate the fact that Times Group had flagged off the War against Plagiary when Ms. Anusha Subramaniam, then with Business Standard, had verbatim lifted a report available on www.indiatimes.com and brought it to the notice of BS management. The entire media fraternity including Management, Reporters, Desk staff and Readers are requested to contribute to this initiative by curbing the immoral acts of Plagiary by highlighting such instances. The Economic Times Desk and Editorial decision-makers should be more stringent for upholding the sanctity of the popular business daily. Wire Agencies and TV channels flash news on Friday 9th May. The ditto stories find their way in ET with a byline on Monday. ET Story on 12th May: Trai wants finmin to review stand on 3G auctions, Joji Thomas Philiphttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3030797.cmsWire Agency Flash carried in Financial Express on 9th Mayhttp://www.financialexpress.com/news/3G-players-not-suited-for-India--Trai-cautions-finmin/307479/ET Story on 12th May: BSNL set to ring in stiff terms for 93 m GSM lines tender, Joji Thomas Philiphttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/BSNL_set_stiff_terms_for_93_mn_GSM_lines_tender/articleshow/3030788.cmsPicked up from telecomnewspill.blogspot.com on 09 May. http://telecomnewspill.blogspot.com/2008/05/bsnl-floats-rs-40000-cr-tender-for-93.htmlJoin the War against Plagiary movement. We can weed out Plagiarists. Yours Faithfully,Yudhvir Singh ChairpersonWar against Plagiary Disclaimer: War Against Plagiary has no bias or malice, whatsoever of any kind, against any person, gender, organization, association or body named in “Plagiarist of the Month” update. The objective of War Against Plagiary is solely to bring unethical and immoral acts of plagiary and unauthorized lifting of news that has is infecting the moralities of the noble profession of journalism. War Against Plagiary will in way name a person, association, body or organization without factual instances based on information, published or telecast, and available in the public domain.

”Revolution of The Weak behind The News” by Mika Tsutsumi

2007-12-13T13:30:00+01:00

I just recently happen to know Ms. Mika Tsutsumi and read the book written by her.

The title was "Houdo ga oshiete kurenai America, Jakusha-kakumei (Revolution of The Weak behind The News, Why America still has Hope)."

The author graduated from the university in New York. Her major was the same as mine, International Relations.

After she graduated, she worked for Nomura Securities near the WTC and witnessed 911 attack. She got shocked to see what happened there and how Americans reacted to this incident. Then she became journalist and wrote the book. The book won the hornorable Journalist Award in Japan.

The book described how severe living in America is if you are poor. The most common bankruptcy case is inability to pay medical expense. If you are born in poor family, you cannot go to college because the tuition is too expensive for you. Military recruiters take advantage of high school children of the poor families. The military has all the lists of children left behind. High schools are obligated to provide students' personal information to the military by law. They call you and tell you that if you join the army, the army provides you the college tuition, and free medical treatment.

But such things never happen even after you join the army. You have to pay advance fee to get scholarship for the college, it is too high amount to pay by your cheap military salary. The military hospitals cannot provide adequate services because there are too many waiting in line. Why recruiters lied to you? He was afraid to go to the front line in case he could not meet the target line for recruitment.

People in general are mindless and ignorant about the current situation. That is why they are easily manipulated by Big Powers. They don't know how Bush cheated the elections.

America was not free country as many believed. But she claims there are still many who want to change this harsh situation and some of the things they tried succeeded.

Well, I hope this book would be published in English, in USA.

There are things you don't know as long as you live in your country.

I learned some new things about my country when I was in U.S. Let's know about both of us each other.

If you want to contact her, I recommend you to visit her blog site. It is in Japanese. But you can easily find her email address on that site.

I am writing a novel using the facts introduced in her book. The title is 4 American Hostages in Baghdad.

Looking Back: 9 May 2007

2007-05-09T17:25:00+02:00

9 MAY is ...

"Europe Day" in the European Union. From 1964 to 1985, Europe Day was celebrated on 5 May, to commemorate the official founding of the Council of Europe in 1949, but at the Milan summit in 1985, it was decided to celebrate Europe Day on 9 May, to commemorate French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman's proposal (now called the Schuman Declaration) on the creation of an organised Europe on this date in 1950. The speech was mainly about the need to pool French and German coal and steel production.

Sources: EUROPA / Konsument Europa / Wikipedia /

-----

>>> 17 years since journalist Jimmy Breslin was suspended from his job for two weeks without pay for racial and sexist slurs (1990). After Breslin's May 3 Newsday column about how his home life had suffered since his wife became a city councilor, a Korean-American colleague, 25-year-old reporter Ji-Yeon Mary Yuh, wrote a letter criticising the column as sexist. Breslin responded with a verbal barrage (spoken in the newsroom) of racial and sexual epithets about Yuh, for which he apologized, but then soon afterwards on Howard Stern's call-in radio talk show he joked about the incident. Some of the slurs: yellow cur, slant-eyed c***, f***ing bitch, and so on (details at Wikipedia). In light of recent events involving radio talk show host Don Imus, it's important to note that this was not an isolated instance of racial and/or sexist slurs by journalists in 1990; the Indiana Univ. School of Journalism's Year in Review 1990 mentions, besides Breslin's suspension, that 60 Minutes essayist Andy Rooney was suspended for three months for "anti-black comments," and that conservative politician Patrick Buchanan was criticised for anti-Semitic comments.

Sources: NYT "Not for Publication" (May 13, 1990) / totse.com: Village Voice: "She Tackled Breslin: Mary Ji-Yeon Yuh versus the Real New Yorker," 22 May 1990 / CJR: "Fit Punishment," by Nat Hentoff / Wikipedia: Jimmy Breslin

The Blog novel ”Japanese and Wars”

2006-10-09T14:50:00+02:00

The below is the novel I am writing in my Japanese blog.

This is translation of first chapter of the novel. I wonder if you might be interested.

Please try.

CHAPTER 1

Pentagon, Washington, USA, July, 1944

A 44 year-old man named Richard Whiteriver was sitting in front of the old lady aged around 60, named Ruth Benedict. They were alone in the room. He was told that she was one of the most authoritative scholars for cultural anthropology. She started to talk about her mission assigned by the Department of Defense.

“Thank you for coming here from so far away. You may be surprised that a woman like me is part of war-time intelligence mission. I have to do the research on our enemy, oh sorry, it is my country.”

She seemed hesitant to use “our” because she was informed that a man was ex-Japanese national.

“No, ma’am, that is fine. In fact Japan is not my country from the beginning. The fact of the matter is I was not born in Japan. I wasn’t even raised in Japan.”

“Oh, really, I was told you were a journalist for Japan’s mainstream newspaper. Then you became a political advisor for the prime-minister prior to Pearl Harbor Attack. You have witnessed Nanjing Massacre and then Pearl Harbour Attack. You have quite experiences for my project to complete.”

“Actually, my father was Japanese. But my mother was exiled Polish. I am mixed breed. The place I was born was Shanghai. I grew up there until 15 years old. Then my family moved to Japan later.”

His explanation seemed convincing to Dr. Benedict. He just looked like a pure white American man, but if his hair color is changed from light brown to dark black. He might look like a Japanese man.

“All right, Mr. Whiteriver, oh how should I call you? May I call you “Richard” like American way?”

“Oh, please call me by first name. You can even call me “Richey.” That was what I have been called.”

“Even by Japanese?”

“Yes. That was my nickname.”

“What was your name when you were Japanese before you became American citizen?”

“Shirakawa Ryuichi. The family name “Shirakawa” literally means “white river” in Japanese.”

“Interesting” she said.

Dr. Benedict stood up and walked to the sideboard. Richey and Dr. Benedict looked at two objects placed on the sideboard. One is chrysanthemums arranged on frog in flat vase. This kind of flower arrangement is called “Ikebana” in Japan. The other is traditional Samurai’s sword. Richey asked her why such things are placed on the side board.

“Because they seemed represent the nature of Japanese personality. The beautiful chrysanthemums arranged like this represent gracefulness. The sword represents aggression of military which we are fighting against. Japanese soldiers are so barbaric but easily to surrender themselves. I have collected and read so many things about Japanese culture and politics. But it is not good enough for me to make a complete book of Japanese culture which is to submit to the military intelligence. That is why you come in. I need your help.”

“Why does military assign you the mission like this? It is almost certain that sooner or later Japan would surrender. You do not need to interview with me for knowing Japanese culture. You’ve read so many documents, books, films and so on. The two countries have had almost a century long relationship. You’ve had enough sources.”

Richey talked laughingly.

“The military is thinking about what to do after the war. How to occupy Japan. You can’t just conquer the enemy. They should always be afraid of rebellion. In order to gently control the enemy land, you have to know what they are always thinking. Interviews are important because it is part of field work which I cannot do, as you know I am too old to get in the enemy field.”

Dr. talked as laughingly as Richey did. Then they both smiled each other.

After a moment of silence, they became serious and started talking.

“Well, first of all, tell me more about yourself. Things other than written on reference I was given” said Dr. Benedict.

“What would you like to know?” Richey said.

“How did you become a journalist for the newspaper? What was a lead?”

Her question started to remind Richey of his last month spent at the house in Kobe city, Japan. That was one of most shocking events of his life although he had worse later.

It was March 1918, Kobe City Japan, when Richey was only 18 years old.

A 18 year-old Shirakawa Ryuichi was looking out of the window viewing the whole of Kobe city. His house stood on the hillside of the city. He was also overhearing the record played in his father’s study, which is next to his room. The music was Italian opera, which was his father’s favorite.

Then he heard the sounds someone was knocking on the entrance door. The knocking sound was very loud.

If you are interested in what will happen next and can read Japanese, please go to this page.