tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364544062024-03-13T23:45:02.127+01:00Finding Your VoiceWill Durant said: "Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting and doing the things historians usually record; while on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry and even whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happened on the banks."
And, I shall add, the best way to tell it is through literary journalism!Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-85787210636036551822008-07-31T11:21:00.003+02:002008-07-31T11:27:38.258+02:00Us and Them<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/28/080728fa_fact_osnos">Here </a>is an interesting article from <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/">New Yorker </a>about China's angry youth. For all those who want to know more about the country and all those who wan to muse on things such as objectivity, cropping, fairness and balance in reporting, truth.<br /><br />Just look at this example:<br />A photograph on CNN.com, for instance, had been cropped around military trucks bearing down on unarmed protesters. But an uncropped version showed a crowd of demonstrators lurking nearby, including someone with an arm cocked, hurling something at the trucks. To Tang, the cropping looked like a deliberate distortion. (CNN disputed this and said that the caption fairly describes the scene.)<br /><br />But: isn't all journalism a crop of reality?<br /><br />We should be aware that every report is limited by the humannes of the reporter.<br /><br />That's why I like literary journalism. Because literary journalists admit their subjectivity. If not by the use of first person then by the use of their voice.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-51022778978901915472008-07-22T12:03:00.005+02:002008-07-24T10:53:07.384+02:00My BooksIt's been a while since I posted anything on this blog. In the meantime I had two books published and I was working on two others.<br /><br />The first, <a href="http://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/zalozba/pdf/2007/preteklost.pdf">Preteklost je prolog</a>, is a history of journalism and media; it is a textbook for students of journalism. It was published by <a href="http://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/zalozba/knjige_zbirke.asp?n=14#na_zbirko">Založba FDV</a>.<br /><br />The second, <a href="http://www.modrijan.si/knjigarna/knjiga.php?c=350">Literarno novinarstvo</a>, is my dissertation on Literary Journalism. It was published by <a href="http://www.modrijan.si/">Modrijan</a>.<br /><br />The other two are being released in September.<br />The first one, Dekle kot Tisa, is a novel, and is being published by publishing house <a href="http://www.zalozbamis.com/zen/">Miš</a>. It is a love story between a girl from the Adriatic coast and a boy from the Pannon lowlands. As they fall in love in the beginning of 1990s, at the time of the war in Balkans regions, their love has little future.<br /><br />The second one, <a href="http://www.univpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=%5EDB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0761841563">Literary Journalism in the United States of America and Slovenia</a>, is the English translation of my dissertation, and is being published in the United States of America by <a href="http://www.univpress.com/">University Press of America</a>.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-16201618676793016802007-10-30T08:58:00.000+01:002007-10-30T09:01:06.787+01:00The European Journalism Fellowships AnnouncedThe European Journalism Fellowships at the Freie Universität Berlin are a program for mid-career journalists, designed to give participants the opportunity to<br />take a two-semester leave from their professional positions and spend a<br />sabbatical year in Berlin to work on a major research project. Journalists from all European countries and the United States are invited to apply for one of the fellowships.<br /><br />The closing date for applications is January 31, 2008. Please note that the<br />closing date for applications for the Superior Scholarship of the<br />Abgeordneten­haus of Berlin (Berlin State Parliament) Foundation (special<br />requirements) is December 10, 2007.<br /><br />For more information go to: <a href="http://www.ejf.fu-berlin.de/">www.ejf.fu-berlin.de</a><br />================================================<br />Europäische Journalisten-Fellowships/ European Journalism-Fellowships<br />Otto-von-Simson-Str. 3<br />D-14195 Berlin<br />Fon: <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = SKYPE /><skype:span onmouseup="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',false,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" class="skype_tb_injection" oncontextmenu="javascript:skype_tb_SwitchDrop(this,'0','sms=0');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmousedown="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,2,'0',false,16,'');return skype_tb_stopEvents();" id="softomate_highlight_0" onmouseover="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,1,'0',false,16,'');" title="Call this phone number in Germany with Skype: +493083853315" onclick="javascript:doRunCMD('call','0',null,0);return skype_tb_stopEvents();" onmouseout="javascript:skype_tb_imgOnOff(this,0,'0',false,16,'');" durex="677" context="+49(0)30-8385-3315"><skype:span class="skype_tb_imgA" id="skype_tb_droppart_0" title="This is a Germany phone number. The country code cannot be changed." style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\DOCUME~1\Sonja\LOCALS~1\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\inactive_a.compat.stat.w16.gif)"><skype:span class="skype_tb_imgFlag" id="skype_tb_img_f0" style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(C:\DOCUME~1\Sonja\LOCALS~1\Temp\__SkypeIEToolbar_Cache\e70d95847a8f5723cfca6b3fd9946506\static\famfamfam/DE.gif)"></SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN><skype:span class="skype_tb_imgS_stat" id="skype_tb_img_s0"></SKYPE:SPAN><skype:span class="skype_tb_injectionIn" id="skype_tb_text0"><skype:span class="skype_tb_innerText" id="skype_tb_innerText0">+49(0)30-8385-3315</SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN><skype:span class="skype_tb_imgR" id="skype_tb_img_r0"></SKYPE:SPAN></SKYPE:SPAN><br />Fax: +49(0)30-8385-3305Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-89331040338386756142007-09-23T08:48:00.000+02:002007-09-23T08:52:11.135+02:00Razpis za mlade v novinarje (only in slovene)Mediji – posredniki med narodi<br /><br />Razpis<br /><br />Sklad Robert Bosch v sodelovanju z Berlinsko šolo za novinarje (BJS)vabi mlade novinarje iz Srednje in Vzhodne Evrope na trimesečnobivanje v Nemčiji.<br /><br />Študijski in delovni obisk bo potekal od 1. marca do 31. maja 2008 vBerlinu in obsega: v prvih štirih tednih posredovanje kompaktnega znanja o sosedi Nemčiji, odnosih med državami in skupnih perspektivah v Evropskiuniji - v obliki pogovorov, predavanj in srečevanj »na licu mesta«; v naslednjih osmih tednih prakso v eni izmed televizijskih, radijskih ali časopisnih redakcij v nemškem glavnem mestu – glede na lastne interese in ponudbo.<br /><br />Pri tem bodo štipendisti spoznali delovni vsakdan nemških kolegov kot t.i. »začasni dopisniki«. Prav tako bodo lahko pripravljali prispevke zaposamezne gostujoče, kot tudi za domače redakcije.<br /><br />Štipendisti prejmejo: mesečno štipendijo v višini 1000 €; mentorsko vodstvo v gostujoči redakciji; pomoč pri iskanju stanovanja.<br /><br />Od štipendistov pričakujemo: poklicne izkušnje; dobro znanje nemškega jezika; starost do 35 let.<br /><br /><br />Prijavijo se lahko novinarji s Poljske, Češke, Madžarske, Slovaške,Slovenije, Estonije, Latvije in Litve.<br /><br /><br />Kontaktni naslov:Berliner Journalisten-Schule (BJS) – Berlinska novinarska šola„Medien-Mittler“Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 2910178 BerlinE-mail: <a href="mailto:Info@medien-mittler.de">Info@medien-mittler.de</a>Prijavne obrazce najdete na internetu: <a href="http://www.medien-mittler.de/">www.medien-mittler.de</a><br /><br />Prijavni rok: 1. november 2007<br /><br />Informacije o skladu Robert Bosch najdete na internetu:<a href="http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/">www.bosch-stiftung.de</a> Ein Förderprogramm derRobert Bosch Stiftung inZu sammenarbeit mit der BerlinerJournalisten-Schule (BJS)Informationen über die RobertBosch Stiftung fi nden Sie unter<a href="http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/">www.bosch-stiftung.de</a>Kontakt:Berliner Journalisten-Schule(BJS)„Medien-Mittler“Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 2910178 Berlin<a href="mailto:info@medien-mittler.de">info@medien-mittler.de</a><a href="http://www.medien-mittler.de/">www.medien-mittler.de</a>Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-42176018854781634512007-09-18T12:32:00.000+02:002007-09-18T12:35:39.839+02:00As promised ...As promised, I am adding the abstract of the paper I prepared for the Future of Newspapers conference.<br />Many of the presentations were interesting, however, unfortunately we were not allowed to post anything from them. When they appear in journalis, I will try to link them.<br /><br />Abstract<br />Newspapers seem to be telling their readers what they already know. They have either read it the day before on the internet or heard it on television. Sometimes, even Wikipedia is faster than the local reporters are. Can Slovene newspapers survive under such circumstances? Moreover, how? Views, not news, is an old phrase, nevertheless, it seems to reveal the one true advantage of the traditional newspapers: the well-researched and written articles and opinions about relevant topics that should be important to the readers. However, these analytical pieces should not only be available in the paper edition, but also online, and should not appear only in the newspaper's mother tongue, but also in English. A good example might be the German magazine Der Spiegel that celebrated its 60th birthday this year. Der Spiegel was the first magazine on the world with an online edition (in 1994). Ten years later, it launched its English website, which aims to provide English-speaking readers with a different, more German or European perspective on world events. The magazine, which was in the past famous for its investigative journalism and analytical articles, recently became also a European beacon of literary journalism. Literary journalism stories appear on the magazine's website, where they combine the advantages of the Web with those of the narrative. In the era in which many publishing houses in Slovenia compete for readers only by adding cheap DVDs or books to their newspapers, it would seem sensible for those newspapers, which still aspire to quality journalism, to follow Der Spiegel's model. Bloggers in Slovenia and elsewhere have already shown that they can also do what journalists are supposed to be doing: expose the wrongdoings and injustice. However, until their posts are picked up by news media, their efforts are usually limited to the blogger community. Well researched and well written articles that can attract a large number of readers, inspire them and make them care, are therefore in the domain of journalists. That is why readers still want and need newspapers.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-47615545324468264562007-09-17T19:58:00.000+02:002007-09-17T20:47:36.364+02:00Future of NewspapersThe holidays are almost over. I am staying home this week, babysitting my little boy who is having a mont off from kindergarten. Next week we are going away for the last week together this summer. I hope the weather will be on our side.<br />I returned from the Future of Newspapers conference in Wales, organized by JOMEC (Cardiff Centre for Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies). It was very interesting and a good opportunity for networking. Unfortunately, the papers can be accessed only with password, so I cannot make a link. But I am posting <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/en/school/39/369.html">this link </a>one of the conference. I will add the abstract of my paper later.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-22877200519789689912007-08-22T11:54:00.000+02:002007-08-22T12:04:02.110+02:00TextbookThis summer, I spent every spare moment working on a textbook I am writing for my History of Journalism and Media course. I am now almost finished with the first draft. I have to submit it in the next few days to a committee that might alocate some funds for its publication. I hope they will support my manuscript. Please, keep your fingers crossed:)<br /><br />However, yesterday I took some time off from work, work, and Jernej. I had a chance to go to the movies. We went to see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478311/">Knocked up </a>and I found it hillarious. I recommend it!<br /><br />Now that my textbook is almost finished, I can start looking forward to holidays. On Saturday, we go to Bol on Brač, and when we return I am off to a conference on <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/en/research/28/369.html">Future of Newspapers </a>in Wales. I hope it will be very interesting and useful.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-4451080902148343642007-07-28T21:44:00.000+02:002007-07-28T23:06:35.751+02:00On Good and Bad JournalismI have returned from Paris where I attended the <a href="http://www.iamcrparis2007.org/">IAMCR </a>conference. In the workshop where I presented my paper on how feature stories might help raise the circulation we also spoke about the recent <a href="http://www.dnevnik.si/novice/e-strada/258331/">plagiarism </a>case.<br />It was interesting to see how many people in Slovenia defended the woman who plagiarized not one but many of her columns. They seemed to find nothing wrong in doing that even though it was not just parts of her columns that were plagiarized but all of them.<br />A collegue of mine once failed to mention that one sentence of her story was taken from some other story and she was forbiddent to write for that paper for good.<br />I think that journalists have to be transparent and they have to reveal their sources (either people or written material). However, sometimes it is hard to decide what should be quoted and what not. For example if you write that in 1913 there were three dailies in Ljubljana, should you quote your source or not? Obviously you were not there at the time, so what should you do?<br />According to <a href="http://bgradisnik.blog.siol.net/2007/07/19/se-je-mojca-mavec-vrnila-na-prizorisce-zlocina/">Gradišnik</a>, Mojca Mavec was plagiarizing also in her apology column because she used a sentence from Ana Karenina without mentioning that. But is that already so? Should we always quote Hamlet, khm Shakespeare, when we say 'to be or not to be'?<br />After publishing this post, I have reread Gradišnik's column and I have seen that he considers such sentences from Hamlet as common knowledge whihc means that they do not need to be quoted. Nevertheless, I still think that Mojca's version of Tolstoy wasn't plagiarizing.<br />However, there is no such dilemma if you plagiarize an entire column. And even less if you do that continiously.<br />In Paris, collegues said that in their countries they have also witnessed how many people, including students, found nothing wrong with plagiarizing. The collegues, however, have zero tolerance for that and the students who are found plagiarizing automatically fail the course.<br />On the other hand, after I returned from Paris I was able to read also some excellent journalism by Ranka Ivelja in <a href="http://www.dnevnik.si/">Dnevnik </a>. She was following the case of Kvarkadabra and I was most impressed by her <a href="http://www.dnevnik.si/novice/aktualne_teme/zgodba/259600/">interview </a>with the minister for science Zupan in yesterday's edition of the newspaper. It was really good to read how she retorted to him - when he asked her if she knows Jana Kolar who according to him is a good example of an interdisciplinary scientist which are lacking in Slovenia - that the same Jana Kolar is the member of editorial board of Kvarkadabra. He replied that he didn't know that. Well, perhaps he is not supposed to know everyhing, however, if he cites Jana Kolar as an example, he should have at least done some basic research on her.<br />Kvarkadabra, despite being a nominee for Descartes prize last year, recieved the least amount of points at the latest call for grants for promotion of science. Four other projects were accepted, and four rejected, among them Kvarkadabra, and when Kvarkadabra asked for the background information into the selection process of the projects, they recieved a very vague and formal answer. Only after Dnevnik and <a href="http://www.mladina.si/">Mladina </a>picked up the case, the minister decided to annule the call. It will be repeated in the autumn.<br />And now to something nice. I recently heard about a Slovene band Astorpia and in case you like tango, I recommend their CD Mar Del Plata. <a href="http://www.astorpia.com/videospot.html">Here </a>is a quick intro into their music. Enjoy!Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-7019604640899444252007-07-21T09:34:00.001+02:002007-07-21T10:11:50.355+02:00Marjana Držaj is Guilty of EverythingThis was a title of a Slovene drama. I was reminded of it today when I read a Letter to the editor in which again it was written that the School of Social Sciences is to be blamed for a bad interview in the newspaper despite the fact the author of the interview is not a graduate of the school.<br />Similarly, many in Slovenia think and write in their texts that if there is a problem for example in public health care system, it is only so because of senasationalistic media publicity.<br />The journalists are the messangers who let the public know about wrongdoings.<br />However, instead of fixing the it, those who are connected with the problem try to silence the media by forbidding employees to talk to them: as it happened the case of the Institute of Oncology. There the new manager ordered the doctors not to talk to the journalists. He explained that he wants the journalists to recieve the best and most competent answers. However, this was already the case in the past. It is much more likely that the new rule is the result of unfavorable, however fair reports on terrible planning, constructing and financing of new buildings of IO (which had elements of corruption).<br />All subjects of media reports that recieve what they consider unfavorable treatment forget to re-examine their actions. They seem to be forgetting that the journalists are only the messengers. It is easier to blame them than to fix the problem. Just as it is easy to blame the Faculty of Social Sciences for all the unfavorable reporters even in those cases when the school had nothing to do with their journalistic education.<br />Slovene journalists are commonly considered as Communists, and the school as an institution producing these red journalists despite the fact that the change of regime happened almost twenty years ago and that school's faculty is relatively young. When this last fact is pointed out,these people would say "they are all sons of former communists". And usually it is these people those who were in fact communists.<br />It is high time that journalists and School of Social Sciences would not be blamed for everything that's wrong in this country. Just as it is time that reporters would not get punished when they are revealing simple facts, as it happened in now famous Case of the Dog.<br />And that irony would be even bigger, when they should be, they do not get particularly punished, like in the Case of Pure Plagiarism. In fact, some readers and journalists even tried to defend the person who plagiarized her column, and they condemned those who said that this is simply wrong and cannot be done.<br />Perhaps I should sign off with Hamlet, if I started with Marjana Držaj ...Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-48899168029560949992007-07-14T23:23:00.001+02:002007-07-14T23:23:13.987+02:00FYI, drugičThe Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH is currently seeking applications for a position as<br /><br />ACADEMIC ASSISTANT<br /><br />in its unit INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH for a period of 3 years. Competitive salary. Preferred date of entrance: 1st September 2007.<br /><br />The candidate's profile should correspond to at least one of the following areas of international and intercultural research:<br /><br />- Journalism/News<br />- Political Communication<br />- Media organisations and systems <br />- Media reception and media effects<br />- International and intercultural communication<br /><br />The position is aimed at candidates who wish to pursue a doctoral degree and includes teaching and administrative responsibilities. Candidates should have graduated (Master's or equivalent) in communication and media studies or a related social science discipline. We are looking for individuals with<br /><br />- a pronounced interest in international and comparative media research;<br />- a very good knowledge of social science research methods (in particular content analysis, scientific interviews, SPSS);<br />- a very good command of both English and German. Knowledge of other lan-guages is an advantage.<br /><br />Please submit your application, comprising a detailed CV and cover letter, by 17th August 2007 to:<br /><br />Prof. Frank Esser<br />IPMZ - Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the University of Zu-rich, Andreasstrasse 15, CH-8050 Zurich<br /><br />For any enquiry please contact Mr. Thomas Hanitzsch (<a href="mailto:th.hanitzsch@ipmz.uzh.ch">th.hanitzsch@ipmz.uzh.ch</a> or +41 44 635 2041).Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-62491753888929839052007-07-14T23:21:00.001+02:002007-07-14T23:21:35.934+02:00FYIDear colleagues,<br /><br />the European Youth Press invites young journalists from all over Europe to the annual M100 congress of the main journalists and media- manager in Europe, that will take place between 31st of August and 2nd of September 2007 in Potsdam, Germany. Attached you find the call for interessted participants and we would like to encourage young journalists to apply until 15th July.<br /><br />If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.<br />Yours, Björn Richter<br /><br /><br />> M100 Workshop for young journalists covering intercultural dialogue<br /><br />To the biggest gathering of European journalists, the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium, the European Youth Press and Herbert-Quandt-Foundation invite young journalists from all over Europe to participate in the M100 youth media workshop "dialogue between cultures" between 31st of August and 2nd of September 2007 in Potsdam, Germany. In preparation of the annual meeting of the hundred most famous European journalists, this workshop deals with the question, how media can play a role in the "dialogue between cultures".<br /><br />The workshop will discuss with professional journalists and politicians from all over Europe and visit best-practise-projects in Berlin and Potsdam. In the end the participants will produce a magazine, that will be published as input for the participants of M100 Sanssouci Colloquium. All partners invite young journalists from all over Europe to participate. They apply individually or as small team of up to five people with short but concrete descriptions of their media-projects and products to <a href="mailto:m100@youthpress.org">m100@youthpress.org</a> until 15th July, 2007. The organisers will cover travel-costs, accommodation up to food and programme-expenses. Participants should be highly motivated to share experiences and open minded for the dialogue between cultures.<br /><br />--<br />Björn Richter board member<br />european youth press network of young media makers<br /><br />mobile (+49) 172 - 311 92 61<br /><a href="http://www.youthpress.org/">http://www.youthpress.org</a> <a href="http://www.orangelog.eu/">http://www.orangelog.eu</a>Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-86361634566113192212007-07-05T22:25:00.001+02:002007-07-05T22:25:38.460+02:00Pink- Dear Mr President - Live<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/9eDJ3cuXKV4' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/9eDJ3cuXKV4'/></object></p></div>Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-19348107083346433852007-07-05T22:08:00.000+02:002007-07-05T22:22:15.062+02:00In honor of Pink concert in Ljubljana ... for all the presidents unfortunately not left behindPINK LYRICS<br />"Dear Mr. President"(feat. Indigo Girls)<br /><br />Dear Mr. President,<br />Come take a walk with me.<br />Let's pretend we're just two people and<br />You're not better than me.<br />I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.<br /><br />What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?<br />Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?<br />What do you feel when you look in the mirror?<br />Are you proud?<br /><br />How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?<br />How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?<br />How do you walk with your head held high?<br />Can you even look me in the eye<br />And tell me why?<br /><br />Dear Mr. President,<br />Were you a lonely boy?<br />Are you a lonely boy?<br />Are you a lonely boy?<br />How can you say<br />No child is left behind?<br />We're not dumb and we're not blind.<br />They're all sitting in your cells<br />While you pave the road to hell.<br /><br />What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?<br />And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?<br />I can only imagine what the first lady has to say<br />You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.<br /><br />How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?<br />How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?<br />How do you walk with your head held high?<br />Can you even look me in the eye?<br /><br />Let me tell you 'bout hard work<br />Minimum wage with a baby on the way<br />Let me tell you 'bout hard work<br />Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away<br />Let me tell you 'bout hard work<br />Building a bed out of a cardboard box<br />Let me tell you 'bout hard work<br />Hard work<br />Hard work<br />You don't know nothing 'bout hard work<br />Hard work<br />Hard work<br />Oh<br /><br />How do you sleep at night?<br />How do you walk with your head held high?<br />Dear Mr. President,<br />You'd never take a walk with me.<br />Would you?Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-87121138452248441462007-07-04T21:33:00.000+02:002007-07-04T21:35:41.285+02:00In case you might be interested...Dear Sir or Madam:<br /><br /><br />>From now until August 15, 2007, the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships (AFPF)<br />is accepting applications from print journalists for our 2008 program.<br />Successful candidates will report for American news organizations from<br />March-August, 2008. Since 1984, AFPF has provided training opportunities to<br />approximately ten journalists annually. It is hoped that through such<br />training, Fellows will learn practices, standards and values of U.S.<br />journalism which they can adapt, share and apply in their own countries.<br /><br /><br />In addition to our general fellowships, AFPF offers specialized fellowships<br />by topic and region, including business, education, health, investigations,<br />religion, as well as the Daniel Pearl Fellowships which are offered to<br />journalists who come from areas that Daniel Pearl covered as a journalist -<br />South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Those receiving specialized<br />fellowships partake in activities related to their interests. For the Daniel<br />Pearl Fellowships, those activities are in line with the mission of the<br />Daniel Pearl Foundation - to encourage dialogue among people of different<br />cultures, reduce cultural and religious hatred and create a platform for<br />responsible and creative journalism.<br /><br /><br />Applicants for all fellowships must meet the following minimum criteria:<br /><br />* Current full-time employment as a journalist for the news or editorial<br />department of independent newspapers, wire services, online publications, or<br />magazines of general public interest in a developing country;<br /><br />* At least three years of professional experience as a journalist in the<br />print or online media;<br /><br />* Citizenship of a developing country;<br /><br />* Early to mid-career status and between 25 and 35 years old;<br /><br />* A demonstrated personal commitment to a career in journalism in a<br />developing country;<br /><br />* Ability and desire to share what is learned on the fellowship with<br />journalists at home;<br /><br />* Endorsement from the management of the home publication;<br /><br />* An excellent command of written and spoken English.<br /><br /><br />Attached to this email is an application for the 2008 program. Please share<br />with mid-career journalists who you feel are appropriate for this program.<br />Please make photocopies as needed or visit our website for downloadable<br />application materials: <a href="http://www.pressfellowships.org/">http://www.pressfellowships.org</a>. Thank you for your<br />time and assistance.<br /><br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br /><br />Susan Albrecht<br /><br />Executive Director<br />Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships<br />1100 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1310<br />Washington, DC 20036<br />Phone: 202-429-3740<br />Fax: 202-466-4344<br />Email: <a href="mailto:info@pressfellowships.org">info@pressfellowships.org</a><br />Website: <a href="http://www.pressfellowships.org/">www.pressfellowships.org</a>Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-40228540007721597072007-07-03T22:40:00.000+02:002007-07-03T22:52:26.482+02:00When it bleeds, it leads. Why?The old saying in journalism is bad news is good news. Similarly, when it bleeds, it leeds.<br />After being disconnected from the media world for a while, I get really upset when I turn the TV on or read gthe newspaper and the bad news fall on me like a landslide. Reading the newspapers it seems, that everything is wrong in our world. However, when I am not reading newspapers, life seems perfectly fine.<br />I wonder, are these sayings still correct? Should it really lead, when it bleeds? Do readers really want bad news all the time?<br />In the time, when the media analysts recommend that journalism should turn to local news (and local often means high school basketball games and profiles of soccer moms, not tragedies from all over the world and media scandals involving high-profile politicians attacking one another) and when citizen journalism and bloggers (who again are probably not reporting about one boring political party press conference or another) are increasingly taking over some of the jobs of journalists, I wonder if the maxim shouldn't change.<br />Perhaps readers want something else from their newspapers, as well, something that help them understand certain things - for example the world of their children, like the beautiful piece <a href="http://www.sptimes.com/2003/webspecials03/13/">Thirteen </a>did.<br />Or am I wrong?Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-78439048876584278272007-06-14T23:33:00.001+02:002007-06-14T23:40:12.079+02:00Congratulations!Dear Xiaoqing, I know I am a little late but I still wanted to congratulate you via this blog as well because I have difficulties posting comments on yours.<br />I am very proud to announce that my American roomate became a doctor of biochemistry this month. I think this is really great; I can only imagine what it means to become a biochemistry doctor in this developing world. All the best to you, Xiaoqing.<br />With Xiaoqing graduating and soon leaving Columbia, an important part of my life is coming to an end. Although I have not been there for quite sometime, the time I spent at MU is very important to me. I am using this opportunity to say hello and thank you to Xiaoqing, Annamaria, Frank, Wassim, Melanie, Moni, Eva, Joe, Jacqui, Jackie, Stephanie and all the rest of the wonderful people I met in Columbia. I doubt that some of them are able to or have time to read this blog, however this is my little thank you for the wonderful year we shared.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-17582109473729104282007-06-13T23:28:00.000+02:002007-06-13T23:35:35.839+02:00An Ultimate Love Song<a href="http://www.mp3.com/media_player/1429/4/viewer.php&context_type=1&context_id=512585&rgroup=7758">Here </a>is an ultimate love song. I mean how more romantic can songs be? Just look at the eyes ...<br />I listen to it whenever I want to feel (even) better.<br />Music is one of the things that makes life more beautiful. Another is being told that you have done something good. One of my students wrote me today to let me know how happy and busy he is writing for <a href="http://www.vest.si/">Vest.si</a>. Thank you, Nejc.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-59565033300189357732007-06-12T22:59:00.000+02:002007-06-12T23:09:03.229+02:00Busy, busy, busyThis days I am officially on holidays, but I hardly find any time to write emails or blog posts.<br />I am working on a paper I am going to present at the IAMCR <a href="http://www.iamcrparis2007.org/">conference </a>in Paris. It's title is "Feature Story in Newspapers: Putting Theory into Practice Might Help the Circulation".<br />I am looking forward to this conference as it will be a first really big one that I will attend. I hope to meet interesting collegues in hear about their work. However, I am also looking forward to spending a few days in Paris, especially as I will be there with my family.<br />Meanwhile, I received a note that the first <a href="http://www.ialjs.org/newsletter.html">IALJS </a>newsletter has been published online. It is good to read about things you are interested in. The newsletter brings along a list of scholarly bibliography on literary journalism which is wonderful as it is hard to keep up with every new text on the subject. An additional good feature is a list of good examples of literary journalism writing compiled by IALJS members.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-787669347501269532007-05-29T21:38:00.001+02:002009-12-27T21:40:58.080+01:00What is Literary JournalismI promised to B5 that I will try to explain briefly what <a href="http://www.univpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0761841563">literary journalism </a>is all about.<br /><br />First, <a href="http://www.sptimes.com/News/51099/Worldandnation/The_Smell_of_Money.shtml">here </a>is the link to an article that I personally think is one of the best examples of literary journalism. It was written by an American journalist Anne Hull and is the second in the three part series about immigrants in the States.<br /><br />LJ is in brief a journalistic text that reads like a novel. It seems to be an oxymoron but it is not. Literary journalism is firstly journalism. That means that the author needs to apporach its topic as any journalis would. The key difference is how he then writes about this topic. A literary journalist would also use literary or narrative techniques that would make the story similar to a novel or a short story. It would still be journalism, though. Every single sentence, every single word must be true, just like it should be in ordinary, traditional journalism. No scene can be made up, no dialogue invented. The literariness comes from the techniques not from fictionalized events.<br /><br />To make it more clear, here is the abstract of my article <em>Literary Journalism: the intersection of literature and journalism </em>that was published in 2004 in <em>Acta Neophilologica</em>.<br /><br />Abstract<br /><br />Literary journalism is a style of newspaper and magazine writing that developed as a reaction against factographic and objective journalism. Rather than answering the informational who, what, when, or where, it depicts moments in time. It has also managed to eschew the formula of newspaper feature writing, with its predictability and clichés. Instead, it appointed the techniques of realistic fiction to portray daily life. The author of this paper attempts to present the genre that belongs at the same time to literature and journalism; it combines the best of both practices in order to give the reader the most vivid and accurate picture of society. The author of this paper also attempts to present literary journalism as it exists in Slovenia.<br /><br />I am also adding the <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,476653,00.html">link </a>to an excellent feature story published in <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/">Spiegel </a>which I would nevertheless not consider literary journalism, but rather as that: an excellent feature story. I think that the key difference is in the quality of writing and the time spent in researching the story. While reading a literary journalism story one would not think to oneself that this is journalism, rather that this is literature. Whereas with a feature story one can still feel that one reads journalism.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-43878548189508477892007-05-24T22:59:00.000+02:002007-05-24T23:14:25.452+02:00Finding Literary Journalism in ParisLast weekend I flew to Paris to attend the second international conference on literary journalism, organized by <a href="http://www.ialjs.org/">IALJS</a>.<br /><br />As some of the participants said, I, too, felt like I finally found home. There were around thirty people discussing my favourite topic: literary journalism. I could join in the debate knowing that these people speak the same language, although they were in fact speaking different languages: they came from Portugal, Finland, Sweden, France, USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Ireland, and Slovenia.<br /><br />To make it clear: IALJS is a scholarly organization. The practitioners of Literary Journalism can look for tips elsewehere, the best site now being <a href="http://www.poynter.org/">Poynter </a>and <a href="http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/narrative/digest/">Nieman Narrative</a>. At the beginning, I, too, intended this blog to be a tipshit for aspiring literary journalists. However, I soon realized that it won't work mainly for two reasons: first, there are much better sites for that; and second, I simply do not have enough time. So, I will keep the blog for my own pleasure and write it when I have something to say and when I find time.<br /><br />Back to Paris: as indicated, this conference was not about tipsheets, rather we discussed the excellent works by its practitioners around the world. And that was truelly inspiring. Many participants had wonderful papers, my favorites being those that were more tightly connected to the journalistic part of literary journalism. Soon, te abstracts will be published on the internet and when that happens, I will post a link.<br /><br />Meanwhile, I am proud to announce that my <a href="http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/en/pubs/200/374.html">article </a>on the topic has been published in <a href="http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1461670X.asp">Journalism Studies </a>this april.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-77710148194105055862007-05-03T23:33:00.000+02:002007-05-03T23:45:34.840+02:00My ApologiesBy accident I turned on the comment moderation option and I didn't know it until now. That's why the comments did not appear. I am still not very familiar with blogger and sometimes I do things unintentionally and without knowing ...<br />Still no good news regarding the situation in the media in Slovenia (actually things are getting worse as procedings against journalists continue; besides more and more media organizations from abroad have noticed the appearance of censorship and selfcensorship in Slovenia and the loss of media freedom), but at least I find it extremely positive that a few weeks ago the constitution court ruled in favour of Breda Smolnikar, a writer who has been accused of insulting some women who said that they recognized their parents in one of writer's stories; they claimed that the writer was very offensive towards their parents. The constitution court finally decided that she is not guilty and the case is now closed. The process has been very long and I can't imagine what the writer must have gone trough during that time.<br />BTW: If you supposedly recognize your parents in a story that is offensive towards them (describing their sex life and so on), why do you tell this to the whole world? Only for money that you hope to extract from the writer?Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-48964502254228404122007-04-23T00:03:00.000+02:002007-04-23T00:19:46.500+02:00On Being ConvincedAfter reading Maja H.'s comment on my previous post (see below) I went on to see what's going on in blogosphere regarding the topic of media freedom in Slovenia.<br />I am even more convinced that my tactic about writing positive things is correct.<br />Why? Because from the posts I could understand that there is an ongoing division between those who are seen as leftists and those who are seen as rightists. It seems that whoever writes something positive on journalists is immediately leftist.<br />Half of commentators doesn't have a clue of what is going on in the media and they keep repeating the same old story about few jouralists that bother them (e.g. Repovž, Repovž, Lorenci). As if those are the only journalists in Slovenia.<br />Whenever is there a discussion on the state of journalism in Slovenia their names appear and usually they are always being insulted. It seems that those people who insult them cannot even think about anything else.<br />This is similar as when Drago Jančar, an acclaimed writer, managed to connect the Ambrus story with the events during the WWII.<br />Repovž and Repovž are representatives of journalists, like it or not. And as long as they are, they are doing their job. Like it or not.<br />There is lot of maliciousnes in those comments (in the manner: two journalists are going to be fired, it serves them right, more should go). Why those people who think like that even bother to read newspapers and articles written by those journalists? And why do they bother to write comments if they think that journalists in Slovenia are so bad?<br />There is lot of envy in this country.<br />At least this blog will try once in a while be positive and optimistic.<br />Does anyone has an idea how could the story about state of the media and journalism in Slovenia go around without being turned into a duel between so called leftists and rightists? How could it reach people who are not convinced one way or another and help them understand?<br />Because those who are convinced will obviously not change their opinion...Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-54999550113922638022007-04-19T21:27:00.000+02:002007-04-19T21:40:10.354+02:00DisclosureSome people who read this blog know who I am and what I do for living. Some of them also know what is happening at my workplace. In case someone is wondering why I do not comment directly what's happening, I want to say that the reason I am not writing about it is that I intend this blog to be positive, to perhaps provide solutions, answers, good ideas. I see no point in lamenting, there has been much of it in blogosphere without my piece of the puzzle.<br />Instead, I will rather write something about the amazing use of internet resources in the many newspaper articles about the massacre in Virginia. I think that in two years since the bombing in London when the possibilites of citizen journalism first became more seen in the public things have changed a lot for the better. The thing that impressed me most was how quick was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Virginia_Tech_shooting">Wikipedia </a>and how even the less known <a href="http://www.wapt.com/news/12158092/detail.html">media </a>used the internet to explain their readers as best as they could. They used video, audio, interactive maps, slide shows. There was even more information than one could handle. Reading newspapers the next day seemed like a disapointment.<br />I wonder when we will start something like that in Slovenia, too. None of the sites I checked used so many internet resources to present the story. Someone commented that this is not a Slovene story and that is the reason why not. True. But there are other important Slovene stories and none are so resourceful.Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-2416583136950892402007-04-16T18:26:00.000+02:002007-04-16T18:40:30.767+02:00A Slow DeathMy blog is dying a slow death. I rarely find time to post something and I wander if it makes sense to keep it. However, it seems that the maxim if you are not in the media you do not exist transformed into if you are not online you do not exist. I envy all those teachers and professionals who find time to write their opinion or post important information and are trendsetters in the blog world. I, on the other hand, am not even able to keep reading the blogs that are most important to me.<br />It's funny, if you think about blogs, how they are bizillion of them somewhere out there, and how on the side, there is no way that people will find or read them. But we still keep writing, hoping that someone will find our words interesting.<br />For now, I think I will continue to write this blog. I only hope that I will be able to keep it interesting.<br />And so that this post won't concentrate only on technical dilemmas. I was outraged by the latest <a href="http://http://www.delo.si/index.php?sv_path=43,49&so=Delo&da=20070414&ed=0&pa=5&ar=0bfb4dc1190cb1f53365b10a355ce0ae04&fromsearch=1">commentary </a>by <a href="http://http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%C4%87o_Mrkai%C4%87">Mićo Mrkaić </a>in <a href="http://www.delo.si">Delo</a>. I tried to figure it out if it is worth to write about it. One, because he is offensive and second, because I think he is doing it on purpose. Perhaps not so much because he really thinks what he writes, but rather because he likes to make scandals.<br />His idea that only people with a degree in economics should write about economy can also translate into that only politicians should write about politics and ministers about their ministries. He mentions that informed journalists could easily figure out that one of the economists writing in the media don't know anything. Does that mean that only those who agree with Mrkaić can have an opinion and relevant as columnists?<br />Mrkaić obviously doesn't care much about social sciences and humanities; he has already shown that culture means nothing to him. Why does keep writing about those topics, anyway? Just to ignite angry answers?Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454406.post-47679562854599531052007-04-08T21:47:00.000+02:002007-04-08T22:04:03.700+02:00Round Table on Media in SloveniaI have just watched some video excerpts of a <a href="http://www.vest.si/category/mediji/">recent round table </a>about the media situation in Slovenia. It was published by Jani Sever, former editor of <a href="http://mladina,si">Mladina</a>, who started a wonderful site <a href="http://www.vest.si">Vest.si</a>. Unfortunately the video is only in Slovene, so the English speaking readers or listeners cannot understand. I wish there were an easy to use tool to translate it. This way, they could hear what is going on in this country.<br />Excellent Slovene journalists are being labeled as not so good; the irony is that they are good enough for the Associated Press ...<br />The situation is such that the <a href="http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?Issue=EFJ&language=EN">European Federation of Journalists </a>felt it must <a href="http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=3839&Language=EN">say </a>something about it already last year ... According to <a href="http://www.novinar.com/novice/novica.php?id=439">Slovene Association of Journalists</a> website this year too it has issued a statement, but I cannot find a link in English.<br />Will things ever change for the better?Sonjahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08753865456886763568noreply@blogger.com0