First Response to Literature

Before we had social media, television, or even the radio to get our news across, people still managed to distort the truth through spoken word. It’s a chastised habit that we often associate with narrow-minded adolescent girls, yet it is a far more prevalent practice than we would allow ourselves to believe. That’s right; I’m talking about gossip. Dating all the way back to the 17th century realm of colonial Massachusetts, The Scarlet Letter had its fair share of town gossips. These women, known as the magistrates, were responsible for the orchestration and public humiliation of wayward girl Hester Prynne. As punishment for her infidelity, Hester is forced by these magistrates, the clergy, and the townspeople to be branded with a scarlet “A” emblazoned in golden thread on the bosom of her garments that she must wear for the rest of her days. This serves, for her enforcers, as an effective penance and reminder of her sin. Yet are Hester’s mistakes any less a sin than that of those who condemned her? Or our own for that matter? Hester was an innocent, breathtaking youth begrudged to a loveless marriage, yet her society overlooked this back story in favor of dramatization and a skewed sense of the word “news.” The case is no different today. Manti Te’o has been besmirched and slandered by the public’s undying need to spread headlines without first deriving fact, and as a result his reputation will be forever marked by the scarlet “A” of insensitive jokes and hauntingly empty kiss-cams. The publicity and mocking of an innocent man’s mistakes has fueled the unforgiving side of our society and again shed light on our sensationalist ways. Yet if we were to put ourselves in Te’o or Hester’s shoes, we would not be so quick to judge. In school we are taught that gossip should not be bounced from every neighbor’s ear to ear, but in the real world we assume that just because we saw something scrolling along the bottom of the TV or on the front page of our internet provider its okay to retweet and repeat. But let us be reminded, next time, of how our own blunders would look if they were made into front page “news.” We never truly know the effects of what our gossip brings until someone is harmed in the aftermath. I leave you with a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter.

“In our nature, however, there is a provision, alike marvelous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pang the rankles after it…”

“The scene [is] not without a mixture of awe, such as must always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame in a fellow-creature, before society shall have grown corrupt enough to smile, instead of shuddering at it.”

Topic Declaration

I will study the effects and evolution of sensationalism in media and journalism by looking at classic literary texts such as:

The Scarlet Letter 

Fahrenheit 451

The 42nd Parallel

The Reason Why I Want to Make a Difference in Journalism

Modern media is awash with sensationalism. From Facebook, to Twitter, to Tumblr, more and more people are becoming actively involved in the journalism process– whether they realize it or not. Posts and tweets alike are used to report accidents, weather, and poll opinions. Unfortunately though, it is a double-edged sword. The dramatization that is partial to social media often portrays a more negative picture than what is reality. People relay striking, shocking outbursts in order to gain followers and attract attention to their forums, rather than to actually report the facts. What results is a world plagued by scandal, tumult and tragedy, a world not representative of the promise it cultivates. And while it isn’t in our power to control all the negative events that occur within our lives, we always have control over our reaction. Through the study of journalism, we also have control over the delivery, giving us the ability to alter the connotation, to promote positivity in an atmosphere that can often seem bleak and limited to the public. I am particularly drawn to the sports facet of journalism for this very reason. Sensationalism abounds, the struggle is omnipresent, yet the story of triumph, of picking oneself up and coming back to make the tackle, is equally likely. Throughout my life I have been challenged by negativity, something I observed at a young age, destroying many of the people who I looked up to as a child, but who didn’t see the same good in themselves. Through these models I was (unintentionally) taught to look down upon myself– a self-esteem issue I have struggled with throughout much of my adolescence. Yet there have been several positive influences as well, those who have shared with me a means to fight that inner voice of doubt, quiet the questioning, and instead embrace confidence. Various outlets, including writing and sports, have contributed to my self expression, which is why I find passion in conveying the same message to others. By studying Sports Journalism, I believe I can make a noticeable difference in the way modern media is portrayed, central to the idea of triumph. This special interest is a subtle art, but one that is capable of giving means to a drastic change, and a cause that I look forward to tackling.