I love entertainment. I love the glitz, glamor and drama of the industry. I thrive on television, film, music, novels and everything pop culture. I do hope to work in entertainment, however, I am actually studying hard-hitting real journalism.
I attend Ryerson University, a school that has produced journalists who work at the CBC, Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star among many other media. Everyday I enter classes that encourage me to be ruthless but kind, a go getter, thirsty for information and fearless. And although journalism teachers are training students to enter a newsroom floor ready to photograph the inhabitants of a crack house, interview the mother of a murdered child, and cover a dramatic court case; it is also training me to enter the world of entertainment journalism, because there is nothing more cut throat than the entertainment industry.
I love journalism. I respect hard hitting news journalists who cover a gory story without batting an eyelash. I grew up watching 20/20 and was fascinated by the stories of deceit, murder, abuse, and the absurd equally as much as I loved the latest celebrity interview with Barbara Walters. As much as I want to be an entertainment journalist, I still would love to do a little hard-hitting news on the side.
Perusing the shelves of books at Indigo, I came across Bridget Harrison’s memoir Tabloid Love: Looking for Mr. Right in All the Wrong Places. The memoir chronicles the life of Bridge Harrison after she moves to New York City on the exchange program from London. Her four-month gig at the New York Post turns into years when Bridget falls in love with the City That Never Sleeps. The premise of the memoir is about Bridget’s tumultuous dating life in New York, however, the book is really about working as a newspaper reporter. Although Bridget writes a dating column in the Post, she also works as a reporter, traipsing across the city trying to get a scoop. From boiling subway stations to a mother who just lost her son, Bridget must race to get her quote. Just like Barbara Walters’ Audition (which I highly recommend) is actually about her personal life, Bridget Harrison’s Tabloid Love is actually about working as a reporter. Tabloid Love is not a great book. Heck, it’s not even a good book; but for those pursuing a career in journalism, it really gives you a glimpse into that world.
For those pursuing a career in journalism and looking for a medium outside of television and newspaper, there is a fantastic website called MediaStorm. The winner of two Emmys, MediaStorm features incredible audio slideshows. Audio slideshows are photographs to audio edited together in a slideshow, which creates a documentary on various subjects. Founded by the Missouri School of Journalism in 1994 and relaunched in March 2005, MediaStorm pieces have appeared on PBS and the websites for MSNBC, Reuters and NPR. The pieces are an incredible cross between art and journalism and are sure to inspire anyone interested in journalism, photography, film, and documentary.
Documentaries have been gaining in popularity. Love him or hate him, a lot of that has to do with Michael Moore. While he is biased and not always accurate, Michael Moore has managed to bring documentaries to the mainstream. Although most documentaries have gone under-the-radar, the success of Moore’s films have created more opportunities for other documentary film makers. Capitalism: A Love Story is Moore’s latest film, covering the financial crisis in America.
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