An Interesting story idea

This is a press release from the UWI St. Augustine Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA). I thought that it might be a good source of unique story ideas for you all.

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, ST. AUGUSTINE

Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Creative and Festival Arts

Presents

The Old Yard

(formerly Viey La Cou)

February 7, 2010

In the Gayelle, Department of Creative and Festival Arts, UWI,

St. Augustine

12 noon

Tickets: $50.00 - adults $20.00 Children

The Mardi Gras Black Indians at Creative Arts

The Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), Faculty of Humanities and Education, UWI, St. Augustine, will be hosting The Old Yard (formerly Viey La Cou) on Sunday 7th February, 2010, from 12:00 noon. Situated in the Gayelle at DCFA, Agostini Street, St. Augustine - an actual yard - complete with an architectural style reminiscent of long ago, this new event promises to offer a dynamic mix of a journey into cultural history and a carnival masquerade showcase within the format of a heritage fair.

A special feature of this year’s installment of The Old Yard will be Guardians of the Flame, the Mardi Gras Black Indians from New Orleans, USA. Guardians of the Flame will take patrons on a journey of the heritage traditions of the Carnival masquerade of New Orleans. The spectacularity of the Mardi Gras Black Indian costume is derived from its intricate bead work and detailed colourful design. Opportunity to witness the performance of this masquerade within the Trinidad landscape will be a phenomenal experience.

Also to be featured will be our very own traditional Carnival masqueraders – the Bats, the Minstrels and Burrokeets, Midnight Robber, Dame Lorraine and many others. As in the days of old when the masquerade would be made and prepared in the old yard before spilling onto the streets of Port of Spain, The Old Yard gives patrons a slice of this cultural history. In essence, The Old Yard offers a showcase of Carnival masquerade traditions beyond their historical location while stimulating contemporary imaginations. The young and old are therefore encouraged to come and experience the meeting of masquerade traditions in The Old Yard.

Tickets for The Old Yard priced at $50.00 for adults and $20.00 for children can be purchased from Department of Creative and Festival Arts at 663-2222 (direct line); 662-2002 ext. 3791/2510/2376 or email Marissa.Brooks@sta.uwi.edu.

Contact person - ROBERTA QUARLESS

A journalist as their own source

A student asked me an interesting question in class today as we were discussing story ideas and sources. Is is possible for a journalist to report on an event of national importance in his/her own newsroom, like the 1990 coup or a natural disaster?

I've been thinking about it a little more and wanted to give a fuller answer. Some camps believe that a journalist should never put himself or herself in a story, while others advocate using this technique to great effect. It really does depend on the editorial policy of your media house, and how effective/accurate/verifiable your own point of view will be, and what it will add to your story.

Sometimes, the journalist's point of view makes a great lede into the story, but it shouldn't be used as true support material. In that case, it's a technique to get the reader interested in the story. TV6's Fabien Pierre used it to great effect last year during one of Port of Spain's flooding episodes. The visual of the reporter wading knee-high in floodwaters, his pants rolled up, picking his way gingerly toward the camera added colour, life and realism to the story. But nowhere in his report did he refer to himself as a victim of the floods because there was plenty of material for that from other primary sources - real commuters and motorists trying to get home through the flood waters that day.

I believe that if your personal experience can be better illustrated with someone else's story, use their story rather than your own. If you are using your experience because you can't find another source, you had better change your story idea because clearly it won't have appeal outside your immediate circle. Personal experience should be the icing on the cake of the story, rather than the butter and eggs used to build its substance. Unless your story adds something extraordinarily special to the piece, it's better to leave it out, even if the story is in your own newsroom.

Photo taken from the Trinidad Express Newspaper website, Nov. 19, 2008

Photographer: Dexter Philip

My two cents

Let me join Kayode in welcoming everyone to the course. I'll also post some lecture notes, tips and interesting topics for debate on this blog every so often, as well as some links to helpful reading material.

This week we learned about the important elements in a definition of journalism. We discussed a journalist's rights, roles and responsibilities and we debated the changes that the internet has brought to traditional journalism. I also assigned you some important reading for our next class; don't forget it!

I invite you all to take a look at the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics to help you better understand the responsibilities of a journalist. And keep refining your personal journalism definitions to include more of the elements we discussed in class. Remember, journalism includes: a form of expression; reporting and commenting; the here and now; public media; events and ideas. To help get you started, here's my personal definition of journalism and journalists:

"Journalism happens when people gather, analyse and relate facts and evidence (usually through writing) about important/relevant events and ideas through public media to an audience. Journalists are the people who practice journalism, and they have certain specific roles, rights and responsibilities to observe during this practice."

Feel free to start a discussion or post your own helpful insights in the comments section. Looking forward to our next class.