Newspaper

What is the difference between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers? Does one always deal with more respectable news / produce more professional journalism than the other? Are there in-between types of newspapers?

The most distinctive difference between a broadsheet and tabloid would be its size. A broadsheet, as it name suggests, consists of broadsheets, which means that it is bigger while tabloid, on the other hand, is smaller. A more generic term to describe a broadsheet and a tabloid would be serious and dramatic respectively.

The purpose of a broadsheet would be more to inform the readers of happenings. They are more in the factual and objective tone, whereby there is a minimal point of view on the topic. The language used in broadsheet is also more complexed as it mostly accommodates for the more educated readers who are seeking information and knowledge. It consists of more text and has a more serious and intellectual readership as compared to a tabloid.

The purpose of a tabloid is more faint, as consists more of gossips, scandals and include very sensational headlines. In the articles, it consists of many point of views, which broadsheet is lacking. Lastly, as a broadsheet is more for recreational purposes, it uses lots of visuals a more casual as well as emotive and dramatic tone with much simpler vocab to relate well with the audience.

There are, of course, in-between types of newspapers. This would mean that the newspapers would most likely relate to you well while at the same time, giving valuable information. This type of newspapers would include Todays and Homes. These newspapers might also include bits and pieces of abstract from the two types of newspapers, thus being able to portray an in-between of the two newspaper types.

TKAM

Question: How is world happenings around us related to the context in the fire at Miss Maudie's house? (Extension)

Firstly, we will start off by evaluating the issue in Miss Maudie's case. During the fire, people from Maycomb were all working together to help Miss Maudie in saving her valuables from the house. Among all these people, Mr Nathan Radley, who was actually quite anti-social and not on good terms with everyone in the neighbourhood, was the last to leave the scene and the one who continued bring out her things until the last minute. This shows that in times of need, people would still show their help and support, regardless of who they are. This incident also showed the unity of the people in Maycomb.

Now, we will be discussing about the recent disaster: the Japan Earthquake. In this incident, the undersea earthquake triggered triggered destructive tsunamis up to 40 metres, which swallowed up everything in its way. it was estimated that 13,000 people died, 5,000 injured and 15,000 missing and over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, incurring over 300 billion USD, being the most disastrous earthquake Japan had ever faced. The fire could be compared to the tsunami and the people trying to save Miss Maudie's valuables could be compared to the people around the world who offered help and assistance to Japan.

The fire was the one who initiated all the people in Maycomb to gather and help Miss Maudie, and the tsunami was also the one who initiated people from all over the world to help Japan. The people who helped Miss Maudie is the same as those who helped Japan, as they were all trying to ease Japan's pain during the earthquake. Likewise, Mr Nathan can also be compared to those countries who were under Japan during the Japanese Occupation. Although Mr Nathan was not very close to Miss Maudie, he was still willing to lend a helping hand. After the Japan earthquake, the country who were tortured by the Japanese during the Japanese Occupation did not show signs of hesitant when helping Japan, but forgo all she had done to them and helped them regardless.

The moral of this two stories, as said in the Reading and Reasoning Paper 2, is that people show their best side in life only during crisis. If everyone could change their views that other people only need help in crisis to people should offer help all the time, I'm sure the world would become a better place for you and me.

Prejudice_Telephone Conversation

Telephone Conversation
by Wole Soyinka


The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"

This poem is basically a conversation of two main characters: the narrator, a black, who is trying to rent a flat and the landlady, who is trying to rent her flat. This poem was able to bring out a strong feeling of racism and prejudice against the black within it as they made us of the two skin colour to show the displease and unhappiness between the two colours.

In this poem, we can see that the landlady who is renting her place was very prejudiced against blacks and had a strong sense of racism. This is evident from the point where she started speaking into the phone saying "How Dark?". This meant that she was very concerned about the skin colour of the narrator, thus showing the fact that she was unwilling to rent her room away to someone who is indifferent in colour with her as she was also hesitating alot in the conversation, which can be seen from the long silences. Also, the fact that she said "What's that" and "Don't know what that is" could also mean that she was not very smart and did not understand the meaning behind why blacks should be discriminated and only did it because everyone else was doing so too.

Favourite Poem

Blog Prompt: Pick a poem or prose extract that has left a deep impression on you. Write about why it left such a deep impression on you. Write about why it left such a deep impression and what you learnt from it. Include the poem/prose extract in your post.

Racial Understanding - James Di Fiore

I wasn't asked at birth
When mamma squeezed me out of her still slight girth
If I preferred my skin to be dark or light or in the middle
Nobody asked me to fiddle with
My pigment
So how am I to explain the actions of my ancestors, even a little bit?
I know the history, I just wish it were her story
Instead of the bloodshed washed through the claims of glory
I'm sorry

but I don't think I can say I have any pride
Take a ride through the past and you might see where I reside
They looked just like me those who committed homicide
They looked just like me those who committed genocide
They looked just like me men who brandished weapons at their side
They looked just like me but they never really looked
They never looked at all, from proverbs to graffiti in the bathroom stall
and voices in the hall laughed as they watched them fall

But it wasn't me

But I can identify with those who believe they have a right to look down on me
I can see their frustration and can almost agree
With sentiments that state they hate what people who looked just like me
did to their family's fates
It's crazy
But stillit just wasn't me
I wonder what it would be like if I woke up black
Given my temperment I know I'd fight back
And want to lynch those who looked just like you

But what did you do?

Nothing that you can undo
Nothing that makes you the epitome of the evil that men do
If I woke up Chinese would I hate the Japanese?
If I woke up Japanese would I hate the Canadian authorities
from the 1940s?
If I were a Jew would I hate a modern day German?
If I were made of two races, would I hate the puritans?
I'm through man, with all of this hate
I can't take it
Is there anybody that can take racism and bust like me?
And if I were a black man, would I hate someone who looked just like me...?

I like this poem very much as aside from being in such close reference to the issue of racism, this poem also brought out a very deep sense of feeling that was not only able to discuss the issue of racial understanding, but also brought out a very special feeling in the second stanza when the phrase "They looked just like me" was repeated several times.

In this poem, however, I liked the last stanza the best as I felt it made a lot of sense. We can't change our past, what has happened has already past by; why are we still dwelling on things that happened and maybe hate those people who caused this? What's the whole point of this? Hatred for pride? Wouldn't it be much better, if the world could just live harmoniously, with no issues of discrimination or racial tensions? Quoting from Martin Luther King, Jr., a member of the Civil Rights Movement "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

Ku Klux Klan

This post would be about the history of the Ku Klux Klan in America. The Ku Klux Klan engaged in many terrorist activities and members of this Klan also wore white costumes, consisting of robes, masks and conical hats, which is meant to be terrifying. The history of Ku Klux Klan is separated into 3 different Klans, the first started in 1860s and died by the early 1870s. The second Klan started in 1920s while the third started after World War 2. As such, this post would be focusing more on the timeframe of Mississippi burning, which would be the third Klan.


The third Klan which appeared was strongly against the Civil Right Movement as well as the idea of desegregation. It adopted the anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist and anti-Immigrant perception. Some common acts the KKK carry out would be to burn crosses as a form of warning that the KKK was there. This Ku Klux Klan was also closely allied with the police forces and as such, was able to lay down attacks at appropriate times and places, carrying out several bombing and assassination in the 1960s. To curb the issue of the KKK, the FBI paid informants in the Klan in places like Birmingham as they seemed more concerned about Communist links to civil rights activists than about controlling Klan excesses against the citizens.

Lynching

As I was quite curious about this topic of lynching and more specifically about how lynching occurs, I have done some research on this topic.

Lynching is basically an unofficial, an illegal execution of someone which is carried out by a group of people. Some methods of lynching, besides hanging being the most common, would be burning, or even shooting. As such, between 1882 to 1968, up to 3,500 African Americans, the blacks, were lynched. Now, in United States, the government and the nation strictly adhere to the law that lynching of a person is a serious crime and those who were found to portray acts of lynching would be punished seriously.

Blog Post - Mississippi Burning

Reflect on the phrase, 'Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing'. What have you done when you have seen people being discriminated against? What more can you do the next time you witness discrimination taking place?


The phrase "Anyone is guilty who watches this and does nothing" is especially applicable to this film, "Mississippi Burning". In the story, we can say that not all of the whites were discriminating the blacks; at most to the point where they just ignore them entirely. However, this people are also guilty in not standing up for the right values that blacks should not mistreated by the whites. Some examples would be the supposedly "unprejudiced" police force of the town. When they saw that a black was being dragged into a car and beaten up, all they did was close one eye and acted as though it never happened.

When I see others being discriminated against, I have the same thought in mind as what those police in Mississippi Burning would do; "close and eye and avoid trouble unless necessary". I do understand that this form of thinking is a very selfish thought, only caring about yourself and not willing to spare a thought for others, especially the one being discriminated. However, seeing how these innocent people were being lynched in Mississippi Burning, I feel that someone must initiate and step up to defend this poor people like how the FBI agents were helping the blacks in the town. As such, next time, upon encountering situations of discrimination, I would first try my best to break the argument up. If all does not work, I would inform a teacher of this incident for him / her to take over.