ISO 200, f/4.0, 12mm, 1/1250 sec.Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain. October 14, 2008.
ISO 200, f/4.0, 12mm, 1/100 sec.Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain. October 14, 2008.
ISO 200, f/4.0, 24mm, 1/30 sec.Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain. October 14, 2008.
Fall is the perfect excuse to take pictures of trees (and their remnants).
But I'm being a boner when it comes to Journalism - still. However, I did attend a semi-exclusive luncheon with a handful of Vietnamese journalists today. They told us about some of the censorship issues that they have to deal with (Viet Nam is Communist, but not Communist in the sense of China or North Korea or Cuba - they're a bit more relaxed) in their day-to-day reporting. Though they can criticize countries other than their own, when it comes to investigative reporting on their own economy or government, they enter sketchy waters.
Political scandal in the highest regard (read: Bill Clinton) is a definite no-no. In order to start a newspaper, the government has to issue licenses to the company before they can begin print. Just little things like that. But all four guests said that journalism in Viet Nam is considered a heroic career, much like it is in the U.S., and that reporters are always finding ways to push the boundaries of truthful reporting.
What I found most interesting is that the Viet Nam News website gets over 6 million hits a day. That's more than the New York Times. And they started it a mere 5 years ago. What's more bonkers is that it wasn't until 1986 that Viet Nam even had an open press. I failed to ask just how their internet site exploded so swiftly, but suffice to say that Viet Nam has latched onto the Internet Age with full force.
One of the speakers ate his potato chips with a fork.
1 comment:
Beautiful pictures. There is always a soft spot in my heart (not on my head) for pictures of leaves. Just yesterday the yard guy at our house was burning coconut leaves a mere 15 or so feet from my house. While we were deathly afraid our metal house would become a toaster oven, I should have gone out and taken some pictures of the flames jumping 10 feet in the air.
I think it's pretty bad ass you got to participate in that meeting with the Vietnam journalists. As I ignorantly apply to jobs with local papers and magazines on Guam, none of which I am hearing back from, I am realizing that there is way more to being a journalist than being a decent writer and I think you are doing the right thing getting all this experience and these connections under your belt before you graduate. You're setting yourself up well.
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