The best thing about being a journalism student at City University is that in addition to covering news, we get to live in the midst of it.
When I was applying to grad school, I read that the University is the leading journalism programme abroad, but because that claim was coming from City, I took it with a grain of salt. I still don't have empirical evidence to support that claim, but if the past two weeks are any indication, I'm now a true believer.
Side note: You'll notice I wrote programme, not program. Today in my print production class we were warned to start avoiding American spellings, so I'm trying to get into the habit of writing colours and programme and privatise. Hopefully you lovely readers won't mind.
Anyway, as I was saying, one of the best aspects of this programme is what happens after classes end. I now realize that this journalism school is teaching students, but it's also the hub of the ongoing debate about the future of news media and 21st century media ethics. Nearly every night there is a lecture or panel or debate featuring the people who are covering the most important stories around the globe, and very often these events become stories themselves.
Last week, I attended a lecture given by Len Downie, the former executive editor of the Washington Post. Discussing 21st century online news, he described news aggregators like The Huffington Post as "parasites." This spawned a bit of a spat in the media world, in which Arianna Huffington responded by saying he was "pointing fingers and calling names."
Tonight, I went to a debate between Julian Assange and David Aaronovitch, a columnist for The Times. Some of you may have heard of Assange--he's the founder of WikiLeaks, the site that was condemned by the U.S. Department of Defense after it released tens of thousands of documents relating to the war in Afghanistan.
Because the names of informants and U.S. personnel were included in what WikiLeaks published, Assange was accused of having "blood on his hands" for having provided the Taliban with a list of who's who in the war effort. WikiLeaks specializes in publishing official documents never-before seen by the public, so the debate tonight was whether, as a sort of watchdog organization, WikiLeaks should be held to the same accountability standards as the mainstream press.
Tonight was Assange's first public appearance in some time, so the media surrounding the event was more than considerable. There were news services from as far as Japan, and the Associated Press picked up his appearance.
Much has been written about Assange, but it was quite the experience to see him in person. My personal view is that he was evasive and calculated, and to be completely blunt, a hypocrite. He railed against the press and the U.S. military-industrial complex for their secrecy and lack of accountability, but when he was repeatedly asked about the vetting process used on the sensitive Afghanistan documents, he refused to reveal his methods. Assange said that WikiLeaks is accountable to the public because it is funded by public donations, but when he was asked about his donors' credibility, he revealed that WikiLeaks cannot actually see who is donating to them, so in actuality he has no idea who's giving at all.
Assange's excuse was that institutions have to be transparent, but not people. He added that privacy has to be proportionate to power. But as Mr. Aaronovitch astutely pointed out, Assange has to be aware that his organization is no longer some minor startup, but a very major public player in the information industry.
The lecture hall was packed, with people sitting in the aisles and standing at the back, and rows of reporters and media industry VIPs. And because I chose this programme, I had a prime seat. If tonight is any indication of the kinds of things to come, it's going to be a great year.
Switching gears completely, last night Allister and I went to this pub called Cittie of Yorke. Possibly the coolest pub I've been to yet, even considering the Court. If anyone's making a trip to London, it's definitely worth a trip to Holborn if you fancy a pint.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Oxford Town, Oxford Town
Classes are in full swing and therefore I am embarking on many late nights fueled by coffee and occasional Facebook binges, but here's a brief update on the last couple of days.
I went to Oxford for the weekend, for a conference hosted by RIBI (Rotary of Britain and Ireland). Highlights included seeing the hall that inspired Harry Potter, the womping willow, and hanging out in the pub where Tolkein wrote The Lord of the Rings. If you've heard rumors that Oxford is beautiful, they're true, and I promise to post pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get them off of my BlackBerry and onto my computer (Tyler, are you reading this? I know you can help!)
For now, here's a group shot of most of the Rotary Scholars from the UK and Ireland this year. We had some great discussions about our host club's efforts and brainstormed ideas for service projects we can get involved in while here.
The ultimate highlight of the weekend was a barn dance hosted by the Rotarians. If any of you have seen the traditional country dance scenes in Pride and Prejudice, I actually learned how to do that! And surprisingly, the guys weren't horribly reluctant to participate. Shout-out to Jay for some particularly accomplished moves.
I was staying with two other scholars at the home of an incredibly nice Rotarian and his wife, who live in the kind of charming English country house you always fantasize about if you were to move to England, make your own preserves and use quills. The morning after the country dance my hosts took me for a walk in their back garden, which was actually a sprawling green space of countryside overlooking Oxford. I have never been so close to feeling like Elizabeth Bennet in my life.
The last few days have been spent with new friends and working my way into our course. I'll expound upon this later, but for now I'll say that it's tough, but in a good way. I was concerned that having been trained as a journalist at Northwestern, parts of this course might prove redundant, but this is a true professional agenda and they are really asking us to step up our reporting. As overwhelmed as I'm starting to feel, I'm really looking forward to this year.
I went to Oxford for the weekend, for a conference hosted by RIBI (Rotary of Britain and Ireland). Highlights included seeing the hall that inspired Harry Potter, the womping willow, and hanging out in the pub where Tolkein wrote The Lord of the Rings. If you've heard rumors that Oxford is beautiful, they're true, and I promise to post pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get them off of my BlackBerry and onto my computer (Tyler, are you reading this? I know you can help!)
For now, here's a group shot of most of the Rotary Scholars from the UK and Ireland this year. We had some great discussions about our host club's efforts and brainstormed ideas for service projects we can get involved in while here.
The ultimate highlight of the weekend was a barn dance hosted by the Rotarians. If any of you have seen the traditional country dance scenes in Pride and Prejudice, I actually learned how to do that! And surprisingly, the guys weren't horribly reluctant to participate. Shout-out to Jay for some particularly accomplished moves.
I was staying with two other scholars at the home of an incredibly nice Rotarian and his wife, who live in the kind of charming English country house you always fantasize about if you were to move to England, make your own preserves and use quills. The morning after the country dance my hosts took me for a walk in their back garden, which was actually a sprawling green space of countryside overlooking Oxford. I have never been so close to feeling like Elizabeth Bennet in my life.
The last few days have been spent with new friends and working my way into our course. I'll expound upon this later, but for now I'll say that it's tough, but in a good way. I was concerned that having been trained as a journalist at Northwestern, parts of this course might prove redundant, but this is a true professional agenda and they are really asking us to step up our reporting. As overwhelmed as I'm starting to feel, I'm really looking forward to this year.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The only thing constant is change
You've probably read this, but Nelson Mandela said, "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." While Mr. Mandela was likely referring to his nearly three decades in prison, and it's incredibly presumptuous to say so, I definitely know the feeling. It's been two years since I was here last, and I'm continually surprised (though I probably shouldn't be) about how different I am from the naive girl who came here at 20. Mostly I now look the correct way (to the right) before crossing the street, and I don't get lost on buses.
On the other hand, and with all due respect, I'd like to amend Mr. Mandela's words a bit. While there's nothing like returning to a place to discover you've changed, there's really nothing like returning to an old friend to realize that despite years and miles apart, nothing's really changed at all. Tonight I had dinner with Carly, one of the the most lovely people from my previous stay in London, and was delighted to find that she is as warm and funny as ever, and that we could still talk for hours over some good wine and ice cream.
Walking home, I was thinking about how lucky I am to be a part of this generation. Because no matter the lattitudes and longitudes that separate me from people I care about, they're always just a couple of double clicks away.
On a less sentimental note, I had another semantical misunderstanding last night. Niall and I were talking about something-- forgive me Niall because I'm sure it was memorable--and he said, "Oh yeah, that's such an aunty agony problem." Clearly I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently over here they call a "Dear Abby"-type figure an agony aunt. I think I might try to spread this across the Atlantic.
P.S. You know how they also say that a person is so nice he would give you the shirt off of his back? Tonight Carly gave me a butter knife. To me right now, and to my mutilated toast from the past few days, they're practically the same thing.
On the other hand, and with all due respect, I'd like to amend Mr. Mandela's words a bit. While there's nothing like returning to a place to discover you've changed, there's really nothing like returning to an old friend to realize that despite years and miles apart, nothing's really changed at all. Tonight I had dinner with Carly, one of the the most lovely people from my previous stay in London, and was delighted to find that she is as warm and funny as ever, and that we could still talk for hours over some good wine and ice cream.
Walking home, I was thinking about how lucky I am to be a part of this generation. Because no matter the lattitudes and longitudes that separate me from people I care about, they're always just a couple of double clicks away.
On a less sentimental note, I had another semantical misunderstanding last night. Niall and I were talking about something-- forgive me Niall because I'm sure it was memorable--and he said, "Oh yeah, that's such an aunty agony problem." Clearly I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently over here they call a "Dear Abby"-type figure an agony aunt. I think I might try to spread this across the Atlantic.
P.S. You know how they also say that a person is so nice he would give you the shirt off of his back? Tonight Carly gave me a butter knife. To me right now, and to my mutilated toast from the past few days, they're practically the same thing.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A tale of two scissors
You know that saying, "you never know what you've got 'till it's gone?" That saying is about scissors.
Or at least in my case it is. My mini-project at the end of each class day is to accumulate the things on my necessities list--everything from butter knives (still have not purchased) to a cork screw (purchased today). Yes, my priorities are in order. But aside from butter knives, the one thing I cannot seem to find is scissors. They don't sell them at the numerous grocery stores near me, nor do they sell them at the adorable market just down the road from my hall. They also do not sell scissors at the pharmacy (here it's called Superdrug or the chemist).
So today, finally, a woman in the grocery store told me to get them at Paperchase, which is this posh stationary store. I got there, and EUREKA! I have found scissors! For the equivalent of 30 American dollars. They are the same, bright-orange handled scissors you have sitting in your desk drawer right now, and they cost more than my entire grocery bill for the week. I left the store indignant and scissor-less.
Aside from scissors, London is expensive but in my experience not that much more expensive than any American city. The prices of things are actually numerically lower--it's the exchange rate that gets you in the end. And perhaps this is just my ignorance, and there is a secret scissor store somewhere in London that I don't know about. In any case, I'm just going to rip things open with butter knives. As soon as I get one.
Or at least in my case it is. My mini-project at the end of each class day is to accumulate the things on my necessities list--everything from butter knives (still have not purchased) to a cork screw (purchased today). Yes, my priorities are in order. But aside from butter knives, the one thing I cannot seem to find is scissors. They don't sell them at the numerous grocery stores near me, nor do they sell them at the adorable market just down the road from my hall. They also do not sell scissors at the pharmacy (here it's called Superdrug or the chemist).
So today, finally, a woman in the grocery store told me to get them at Paperchase, which is this posh stationary store. I got there, and EUREKA! I have found scissors! For the equivalent of 30 American dollars. They are the same, bright-orange handled scissors you have sitting in your desk drawer right now, and they cost more than my entire grocery bill for the week. I left the store indignant and scissor-less.
Aside from scissors, London is expensive but in my experience not that much more expensive than any American city. The prices of things are actually numerically lower--it's the exchange rate that gets you in the end. And perhaps this is just my ignorance, and there is a secret scissor store somewhere in London that I don't know about. In any case, I'm just going to rip things open with butter knives. As soon as I get one.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
British Television
Sure, we've all seen fantastic episodes of Poirot on PBS or the endless Dr. Who marathons on BBC America, but as I talk to more and more British people, I'm being introduced to some truly, truly great TV. And yes Mom, I'm studying. Here are a few you should probably drop everything and watch (note--they're all PG13 and pretty suggestive--they're a lot more lenient about what's allowed on TV over here. If you're easily offended you should pass):
1) The Inbetweeners. I have only seen one episode of this, with some people in the common room of my hall, and I laughed tears for an hour straight. Now I can't get enough. Remember how awkward you were in middle school and high school? Okay, remember how awkward I was in middle school and high school? It's like that, meets The Office.
2) Mock the Week. We had something similar called "Whose Line is it Anyway" years back, but this is a lot funnier than that. My personal favorite is an episode my friend Niall sent me, entitled "Unlikely lines from the final book of Harry Potter." Definitely off color, but definitely hilarious.
3)Posh Nosh. This was sent to me courtesy of Mary, who is American but one of my original British friends. "Posh" means rich, so this upper crust couple teaches you how to cook legitimate food, including fish and chips that begin with an architectural model and end with 40k sturgeon.
We had our first real journalism exercise today, where we had to go explore the area around our new campus. Our lecturer framed it as a quiz, with some pretty random questions. London is obviously a historic place, but it never fails to amaze me how OLD and storied everything is here. In one hour we found a bank that was a property on the original Monopoly board, the origin of the first ever ambulance depot, and a pub called The Three Kings that's been around for 250 years, and has Henry VIII, Elvis, and King Kong on its crest. Pretty clever.
Tonight I went to The Frontline Club with Niall, for a discussion panel on the U.S. midterm elections and what they'll mean for the next two years leading up to the 2012 Presidential election. Panel speakers included the head of Republicans Abroad, the head of Democrats Abroad, an analyst from The Brookings Institute, and a Politics Department Chair from London Metropolitan University. The panel was mediated by an American journalist who has lived in London for 20 years and reports for BBC World Service. While the discussion wasn't that revealing from an American standpoint, the venue was somewhere I think I may up returning over and over again. It's a club for journalists in London, sort of like the journalists' dive bars that speckle New York, but this one hosts lectures, documentaries and discussions throughout the year. Very cool place!
That's all I've got for today. I'm settling in and meeting so many interesting people, but I must admit that today I started to feel twinges of homesickness. If you all weren't so great, this wouldn't be a problem!
Love,
Jess
1) The Inbetweeners. I have only seen one episode of this, with some people in the common room of my hall, and I laughed tears for an hour straight. Now I can't get enough. Remember how awkward you were in middle school and high school? Okay, remember how awkward I was in middle school and high school? It's like that, meets The Office.
2) Mock the Week. We had something similar called "Whose Line is it Anyway" years back, but this is a lot funnier than that. My personal favorite is an episode my friend Niall sent me, entitled "Unlikely lines from the final book of Harry Potter." Definitely off color, but definitely hilarious.
3)Posh Nosh. This was sent to me courtesy of Mary, who is American but one of my original British friends. "Posh" means rich, so this upper crust couple teaches you how to cook legitimate food, including fish and chips that begin with an architectural model and end with 40k sturgeon.
We had our first real journalism exercise today, where we had to go explore the area around our new campus. Our lecturer framed it as a quiz, with some pretty random questions. London is obviously a historic place, but it never fails to amaze me how OLD and storied everything is here. In one hour we found a bank that was a property on the original Monopoly board, the origin of the first ever ambulance depot, and a pub called The Three Kings that's been around for 250 years, and has Henry VIII, Elvis, and King Kong on its crest. Pretty clever.
Tonight I went to The Frontline Club with Niall, for a discussion panel on the U.S. midterm elections and what they'll mean for the next two years leading up to the 2012 Presidential election. Panel speakers included the head of Republicans Abroad, the head of Democrats Abroad, an analyst from The Brookings Institute, and a Politics Department Chair from London Metropolitan University. The panel was mediated by an American journalist who has lived in London for 20 years and reports for BBC World Service. While the discussion wasn't that revealing from an American standpoint, the venue was somewhere I think I may up returning over and over again. It's a club for journalists in London, sort of like the journalists' dive bars that speckle New York, but this one hosts lectures, documentaries and discussions throughout the year. Very cool place!
That's all I've got for today. I'm settling in and meeting so many interesting people, but I must admit that today I started to feel twinges of homesickness. If you all weren't so great, this wouldn't be a problem!
Love,
Jess
Monday, September 20, 2010
Oh hi from McDonald's
Okay, okay, I know I promised I would post yesterday, but it turns out I don't have Internet in my hall yet, so I am writing to you today from a McDonald's where I have spent far too many of the last two days' waking hours. Quick updates:
1) I got into my hall yesterday and went to Primark, which is a heavily discounted clothing and home store in London, also known as the sixth ring of the inferno. I saw two women nearly brawling over a coat, utter mayhem, and a see-through lace leotard with a button up crotch. More on London fashion later.
2) Primark was out of pillows, and by the time I returned to Islington (my new home base), everything was closed. Things close around 6 p.m. on Sundays here. So, I got creative and stuffed my new pillowcase full of sweaters and slept on that. It was actually quite comfortable.
3) We started orientation today, and the people on my course are great. So far I've met fellow Americans, but also people from Italy, Somalia, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Ireland, Canada, Cyprus and, of course, England. Tomorrow we start out with a reporting exercise, so that will be our first real trial!
4) On the schedule for my course, it lists an English proficiency test on Friday. My American hubris led me to believe that I was exempt from said exam, because I obviously speak English. Nope. Not true. Our course director explained today that several years back, someone native to Australia failed this test. Everyone is on a level playing field. Gulp.
It's 9 p.m. here and I think the McDonald's employees are starting to wonder if I'll ever leave, so I think I'll go and study up on my grammar! I promise promise promise a better update as soon as I have real Internet! Miss everyone back home!
Love,
Jess
1) I got into my hall yesterday and went to Primark, which is a heavily discounted clothing and home store in London, also known as the sixth ring of the inferno. I saw two women nearly brawling over a coat, utter mayhem, and a see-through lace leotard with a button up crotch. More on London fashion later.
2) Primark was out of pillows, and by the time I returned to Islington (my new home base), everything was closed. Things close around 6 p.m. on Sundays here. So, I got creative and stuffed my new pillowcase full of sweaters and slept on that. It was actually quite comfortable.
3) We started orientation today, and the people on my course are great. So far I've met fellow Americans, but also people from Italy, Somalia, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Ireland, Canada, Cyprus and, of course, England. Tomorrow we start out with a reporting exercise, so that will be our first real trial!
4) On the schedule for my course, it lists an English proficiency test on Friday. My American hubris led me to believe that I was exempt from said exam, because I obviously speak English. Nope. Not true. Our course director explained today that several years back, someone native to Australia failed this test. Everyone is on a level playing field. Gulp.
It's 9 p.m. here and I think the McDonald's employees are starting to wonder if I'll ever leave, so I think I'll go and study up on my grammar! I promise promise promise a better update as soon as I have real Internet! Miss everyone back home!
Love,
Jess
Saturday, September 18, 2010
I'M HERE!
I'm using my host family's computer so I'll be brief, but I'm here!
Expect a longer post tomorrow after I'm settled in to my hall, but for now:
1) I saw the Pope today. And I also sat on the fence of 10 Downing Street (The British White House), and watched 12,000 people protest the Pope. Then I had a strange man explain to me his critical views on everything from why we should execute all kidnappers (which he told me we do in America), to why we shouldn't allow pedophiles to live in groups. It was an eventful afternoon.
2) My host couple is absolutely lovely, and I have picked their brains on what it was like to live in London during WWII and also why the British use roundabouts.
More on that later. Miss you all and am so encouraged by the Facebook posts and messages! Thanks for thinking of me! Stay tuned.
Love,
Jess
Expect a longer post tomorrow after I'm settled in to my hall, but for now:
1) I saw the Pope today. And I also sat on the fence of 10 Downing Street (The British White House), and watched 12,000 people protest the Pope. Then I had a strange man explain to me his critical views on everything from why we should execute all kidnappers (which he told me we do in America), to why we shouldn't allow pedophiles to live in groups. It was an eventful afternoon.
2) My host couple is absolutely lovely, and I have picked their brains on what it was like to live in London during WWII and also why the British use roundabouts.
More on that later. Miss you all and am so encouraged by the Facebook posts and messages! Thanks for thinking of me! Stay tuned.
Love,
Jess
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