Dianne de Guzman

Animals caught in the fire

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:48:15 -0800

You hear them before you see anyone. The incessant barking can be heard in the lobby whenever two double doors to the side open.

Welcome to Northeast Animal Shelter, the rescue center for animals affected by the fires. Finished with construction in July, this shelter has remained closed due to recent budget cuts. With the recent fires, this has become a place where animals can be taken while homeowners figure out what to do after these natural disasters.

It's been interesting to hear what the different stories are behind these animals. One man's four cats are being kept here, while he stays at his in-laws house. Visiting everyday, he's still in the process of trying to build an outside enclosure for his beloved pets or look for a new apartment.

He used to live at the Oakridge Mobile Home, where everything was destroyed.

Covering a felony court story

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:03:32 -0800

A Compton man on trial for murder testified Thursday that he played no part in the killing of a father and son, but that two other defendants in the case were responsible.

Reyon Twain Ingram, 23, told the court that he was standing at a car when he heard the shots that killed Derrick Kellum and his 10-year-old son, Octavius. Ingram's two companions, Earl Arthur Lee and Calvin Dennis, came running back from the direction of the shots before the three men drove away, he testified.

A Lesson in History

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:03:12 -0800

Nailbiting. That's all I could do.

At four p.m. in the afternoon -- having already cast my votes earlier in the day -- I was sitting in my apartment and was, frankly, a big mess. Papers strewn across the floor, laptop open and repeatedly hitting "refresh" on my nyt.com election map, CNN on my TV and friends instant messaging me for election results and assurance (one status message read: "I don't want to look."). I was sending my sister funny links to single-serving websites on the event, with web addresses like isobamapresident.com and ismccainpresident.com, as well as howisobamadoing.com and howismccaindoing.com -- which have now since been updated.

I was hopeful that Obama would win, but the early returns didn't look good.

Presidential Debate #2: Obama-ites Spin McCain's Words

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:14:01 -0800

The Internet moves swiftly when it is miffed, and if the sites I read are any indication of the internet-at-large?

The Net loves them some Obama and they're not gonna put up with McCain-isms.

I was online during the debates, watching Hack the Debate over at Current, keeping up with those who were on Twitter and those liveblogging (What can I say? I have MTV to thank for my attention span). As McCain wandered around the stage, saying "my friends" this, and "my friends" that, I was inundated with tweets like this during the debate:

A couple of hours after the debate, I spotted the following shirt for sale online (created by Derek Powazek, who explains his creation on his blog):

Obama supporters are a force to be reckoned with online -- especially after the debate on Tuesday.

Obama-ites were a Twitter'ing, blogging, "My Friends" remixing/YouTube clip-posting, McCain criticizing blur of motion.

Obama supporters are young, Internet-ready and were not taking the debate lying down.

Oh, and I'm assuming that you've already heard the story about "That One"...

Los Angeles Art District

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:19:10 -0800

Being new to Los Angeles, I have become interested in finding little pockets of neighborhoods. I live near the Los Angeles Art District and became interested in the juxtaposition of the artists who are living in this area, with the rapid development of lofts and new housing.

I don't know much about the area, but from what I can see there are lots of everything: fencing, barb wires and vacant lots. But along with that are areas where artists are putting their stamp on anything standing still. From political posters to graffiti on the walls, stickers on stop signs, the artists seem to be trying to make this neighborhood their own.

It's odd to pair such a freewheeling enterprise with the expensive housing that's starting to crop in; while walking around, I noticed signs advertising apartments or lofts for either rent or sale.

My slideshow's finished...

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:22:15 -0800

.. but if anyone could help me figure out how to upload it from a Mac to USC, I'd be truly grateful.*

*It's currently hosted on an outside site. Thanks!

Twitter + Current = Bringing debate audiences together

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:54:30 -0800

Although I'm usually the first to complain about "digital gluttony," I was extremely excited about a new take on the Presidential debate. Current TV -- one of the best television channels that no one seems to be talking about -- and Twitter -- an online application for users to broadcast 140-character messages to friends and strangers -- teamed up for what they called "Hack the Debate." [Here's the promo vid created by Current TV]

Hack the Debate was to air live on Current, complete with Twitter users' messages -- known as "tweets" -- that would appear at the bottom of the screen as the candidates debate. This was done to encourage dialogue about the candidates and the topics being discussed.

The Internet was abuzz with the possibilities of this endeavor; Hack the Debate went beyond just a few people talking about the debates in a chat room -- Current was moving the online discussion into a different medium. Television.

Digital Satisfaction / Digital Gluttony

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:02:35 -0800

There's a thin line between love and hate, as the saying goes, but that thin line -- the one that is often crossed -- goes for a lot of other topics, too.

Take for instance the difference between being satiated by food or stuffing yourself silly. All it takes is that extra bbq wing or cocktail to push you from happy to overstuffed.. and it didn't take much, did it?

Our digital world is much like that today. We hear about the Sarah Palin - Katie Couric interview and "Google it", land at the LA Times "Dish Rag," which links to Sarah Palin stories in the LA Times, which links to Daily Kos, which links to a YouTube video of Sarah Palin in church with her crazy pastor.

Wait. What was I doing again?

The Politics of the 2008 Presidential Election... Journalists

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:26:24 -0800

Forget about hyper-partisanship. Let's talk about a different kind of hyper: the hyper-journalism of this 2008 Presidential Election.

Journalism has gone beyond being neutral and has found many political journalists waving their pro-Obama or pro-McCain flags everywhere. Not that this is a problem, but political fighting has gone beyond the candidates and into the news arena. Instead of reporting the news, journalists are being drawn into battles of words, quick video edits and blogs.

And it isn't pretty.

To Yelp or Not to Yelp...

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:42:50 -0800

Ethical transparency and neutrality issues can come up at the oddest times.

Take for instance a recent visit I took to a friend's wine bar. I had a wonderful time, great food, drinks and service but at the end was implored to "please write about us on Yelp, just don't mention you know us."

Immediately, I bristled at the request. And who wouldn't? Not that I necessarily felt my "journalistic integrity" would be compromised by a nice review on the popular social networking site (which I might have voluntarily written anyway after proclaiming I knew the owners), but I instinctively felt wrong about the deception. Even if we're all anonymous strangers on the internet, I still didn't think it would be right for me to disguise my alliance with the business.

Others didn't agree with me. Sneaking a peek at Yelp, I saw the familiar names of friends crowding Yelp with positive anonymous reviews (which the restaurant definitely earned, but solicited); in the end, I declined to review the bar. I felt that all of those positive reviews would be taken in a negative way if it was ever found out how the reviewers knew the owners.

Journalists: Scribes in Modern Times?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:33:42 -0800

The role of journalist is dead.

I am a journalist and this scares me. I am also relieved to see this happen. While I still believe in "legacy journalism," I am excited by the prospect of the journalist as a human. The New Journalist writes the straight copy, but can also have an opinion of their own -- even reactions to news events.

We are the picture takers and the news writers, but we are not cruel, emotionless people.

We write the stories, but that doesn't mean we're not affected by what we report. If we report good stories, heartbreaking stories, we go home and lament the world, too.

Yet, this is what we journalists have been billed as: vultures feeding on society for our next story.

What Does Journalism and Journalists Mean in Society?

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:17:49 -0800

The role of traditional journalism and journalist is shifting. In this state of new technology, most journalists are worried about what should define their role in journalism. This is similar to the situation scribes found themselves in the 1400s. In Clay Shirky's book, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, Shirky describes the disappearance of the scribe with the arrival of the printing press. If journalists were to compare themselves to scribes in the wake of blogs and online news journals, there would be reason to worry indeed.

On the disappearance of scribes, Shirky writes:

"The entire basis on which the scribes earned their keep vanished not when reading and writing vanished but when reading and writing became ubiquitous. If everyone can do something, it is no longer rare enough to pay for, even if it is vital." (79)

Journalism, however, is not as simplistic as just the ability to read and write. Journalism is the ability to report the truth in an unbiased and ethical manner. The form journalism takes is less noteworthy than what journalism does; whether news comes in the form of an online article, a newspaper or radio show, most often it is its truthfulness that most people look for. If journalism retains that, then it will remain a source people turn to find out what is happening with the world.

In the article "Good Decisions and Great Journalism: The Marriage of Ethics and Craft," Bob Steele defines what obligations a journalist has:

The primary obligation of journalists is to seek the truth and report it as factually, contextually and fairly as possible, and, given consumer and public interest, as quickly as possible. That responsibility is not simple.

The responsibility of the journalist truly is not simple, which is why many journalists worry about who should be identified as a journalist. The integrity of blogging is often called into question, as many bloggers post items quickly, often eschewing research and lacking an editorial check that most reporters rely on to keep from mistakenly reporting a lie. If bloggers are regarded as journalists -- even without thoroughly checking their facts -- then the profession of journalism can be called into question.

Bloggers, however, should not be dismissed as factless journalists. While journalists try to be as transparent as possible when reporting (which is often best when reporting fact), bloggers have the ability to allow themselves to be human and react to things on a personal level; this is an important thing when trying to reach readers on a different level. Instead of a barrier such as a news desk keeping viewers from watching the news, blogs allow people to hear reactions from reporters and interact with the writer instead of simply being told the news.

So where does that leave journalists in this evolving media? At a crossroad, so to speak. While inclusion of bloggers as journalists may take away from the journalistic credo of always telling the truth (since not everyone with a blog can be expected to uphold this journalistic standard), it is still worth establishing the blogger as part of the definition of journalist. In fact, it adds a wonderful new dimension to journalism never before discussed. In the article "What Journalists Can Learn From Bloggers," Steve Outing writes:

The popularity of bloggers is leading to a new way of thinking about news. [Jeff] Jarvis said in an e-mail interview that the most profound thing he learned when he started blogging is this: News is a conversation, not just a lecture. The story doesn't end when it's published, but rather just gets started as the public begins to do its part -- discussing the story, adding to it, and correcting it.

A journalist, at their most formal definition, was once defined as a person through which truthful, ethical and unbiased reporting is done. While this is important, I think the definition of a journalist should be someone who starts a dialogue on topics happening in the world and engages people in thinking and discussing events and news. While accuracy in reporting is always key, blogs should not be dismissed merely for inaccuracy (if any should occur); instead, they are important in their role to incite discussion and possible action.

A true journalist should inspire the people to look at what's happening in our world and get them talking about what we don't like in our news and (furthermore) to do something about it. Lofty ideals of what a journalist should do aside, this is what a true journalist does in its simplest form -- whether by blog, news article, documentary or radio show.

Wrestling with Jamiel's Law

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0800

Ask Cynthia Buiza of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) or radio talk show host Doug McIntyre about their thoughts on Jamiel's Law, and they'll tell you. Each will overwhelm you with facts and examples, offering their well-argued standpoints on the issue until you find yourself agreeing with both sides -- despite their opposing views.

McIntyre, host of "McIntyre in the Morning", exemplifies the attractiveness of KABC and their sleek studios in his manner of talking (which is nonstop) and how he expresses himself. Standing behind the radio host's desk, McIntyre postulated about his feelings on Jamiel's Law and Special Order 40. A supporter of Jamiel's Law, McIntyre sees Special Order 40 as being "designed to protect an illegal immigrant community." McIntyre believes that by repealing Special Order 40, known illegal immigrant gang members can then be deported, making streets safer and avoiding another incident such as the killing of Jamiel Shaw, Jr..

"Every murderer off the streets is good. We have enough homegrown murderers without importing new ones," says McIntyre.

While McIntyre peppered facts into his statements to further his purposes, Buiza draped herself in facts and sought to make our group well-informed of the issue. A video documentary was shown, handouts were given; the media from CHIRLA sought to educate, but betrayed the fact that immigration rights were an uphill battle -- so much so that their presentation almost seemed to be overkill. CHIRLA is prepared to handle the task of being pushed against the fence by anti-immigrant groups, providing rebuttals to every argument against immigrant rights.

"[Special Order 40] is a small buffer between LAPD inquiring about immigrant status," says Buiza. "It's a whole slippery slope when you let LAPD [stop and question immigrants on immigration status]."

While not an issue that can be easily resolved, immigrant rights is a difficult debate fraught with emotional stories from those either against or for Jamiel's Law. There seems to be no "right" answer as to whether Jamiel's Law should be passed. Instead, the only move seems to be forward and whether voters decide to pass Jamiel's Law, only time can tell whether the move will be a positive one or not.

My Place in Journalism

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:35:54 -0800

What do I intend to do in the world of journalism? Discover everything horrible and wonderful about the world and document it. Yes, this is a lofty and vague answer, but that was the most encompassing statement I could come up with for such a broad question.

The long answer is that I enjoy writing and journalism and have many things I'd like to do within journalism. I hope to be busy writing for a magazine, hopping on a plane to check out a new variety of beetle discovered in South America one week for an article, scheduling a documentary shoot on child workers in the Philippines another week. The plan is to learn something new and interesting, then report on it.

Wildfire chasing and court case coverage never really held an interest for me. What I'm intrigued by are human interest stories, or stories that take you beyond what you already know. If someone can step outside of their own reality and understand an experience beyond them self, then I would consider my writing/documentaries (my career) a success. What I hope to bring to journalism is a different perspective, whatever route -- or form -- that may take.