Hiroshima Assignment

Hiroshima Assignment:

What works in this book?

I really enjoyed the wide range of characters in the book. The six people that John Hersey the author chose to focus on were very different and at different stages in their lives. In my opinion, this made the story more impactful. Each character went through their own experiences, reactions and perspectives including their invididual outcomes from experiencing the atomic bomb. All of the details used to describe these experiences were very clear and brought the characters to life.

Using the exact time to describe what each character was doing precisely when the bomb struck was a very impactful way to tie the story together and keep it consistent. This technique really made me feel like I was there with the characters every step of the way and made me invision how vulnerable Hiroshima was.

The intense descriptions of the injuries that the Hiroshema victims endured really impacted me. My first time reading it was hard as it was unimaginable that people could have even survived such a blast in the first place. The human triumph that Hersey wrote about that came from such horrifc circumstances was overwhelming as well as inspiring. The heroism Mr. Tanimoto displayed was unbelievable. How he was able to be so determined to help as many of his fellow men as he did under such stressful and unknown circumstances was incredible.

What didn’t work for me?

What didn't work for me in this book was the flip flopping back and forth of all the different characters because I found it very confusing. I had to read the names back a few times before I was able to follow the characters properly.

The pronunciations of their names also made me stumble before I became comfortable with them. I would have liked guidance on how to pronounce the names beside them the first time I read them.

The raw truth of it all I found difficult to absorb. On one hand, it made the story more real however, I found it very hard to read and digest at times because of how raw and gory the imagery was. It just disturbed me greatly to read that human beings could have done this to each other.

What can journalists learn from this book?

Journalists can learn about history from this book. They can use it as a reference guide for dates, as well as different organizational bodies that resulted from the tragedy.

From reading Hiroshima, journalists can learn how to write a human tragedy story without putting their own feelings or biases in it. I also think Hiroshima is an excellent resource for a journalist to refer to if he or she needs to learn how to organize factual information on a a large scale. Hiroshima is very thoughtful as far as how it is laid out and organized. Hersey is also very effective in his writing techniques to describe passages of time that move the story along.

How does it compare to another non-fiction work of your choice in any medium?

I can see similarities between John Hersey’s writing style and Mike McIntyre’s writing style especially in McIntyre’s book To The Grave that was the inside look of a spectacular RCMP sting operation. At first, I was not sure how to answer this question but when I started to give it some thought I remembered McIntyre’s writing style is similar to Hersey’s.

In both situations, both authors had enormous amounts of information to organize. They both used the same technique in so far as using specifics such as pertinent times of day or dates to not only create passages of time but to actually organize events and information.

I also found in both pieces of work, the authors kept their own biases out of their writing and kept to the facts and details of the story they were telling. This allowed the reader freedom to come to conclusions and theories about what was actually happening or going to happen in their own.

How was this Hiroshima received when it was published in the New Yorker in 1946?

From researching this question online, I came across an essay written by Steve Rothman back in 1997 when he was a student studying at Harvard University. In his essay, Rothman said that Hiroshima first started out as an article that ended up being 31,000 words in length and it took over the entire magazine.

The story was to be published in August 1946, on the one-year anniversary of the dropping of the bomb. Rothman said the New Yorker published the article in its August 31,1946 issue. The book Hiroshima was published the same year the article came out, 1946.

It was updated in 1985 to tell the stories of the six main characters 40-years later. Rothman said the article created a blast in the publishing world. Rothman also said that The New Yorker sold out immediately, and requests for reprints poured in from all over the world. Following publication, "Hiroshima" was read on the radio in the United States and abroad.

What effect did reading Hiroshima have on you?

It was hard reading Hiroshima to think such devastation would have been acceptable in our world. It really brought home how vulnerable we are to each other’s actions. It also reminded me that we are all human no matter what colour or race or language we speak. The terror of that day, the unknown and the baffling fear of what happened to those poor people is saddening and sobering and thank goodness Hiroshima is there to remind us all of the horror of nuclear weapons and war.

It makes me appreciate peace and my own safety as I wake up every day and fall asleep each night under a warm blanket in a safe place. It also made me proud to be a Canadian.

Community Journalism Assignment Reflections

What I have learned from working at the Headliner:

Over this semester, all journalism majors had to write five stories for the Canstar Newspaper. Currently, I am on my fifth story. I wanted to take this time to reflect what I have learned about this experience. Before this class exercise, I had always wanted to work as a freelance writer for a newspaper and never really had the guts to actually follow through with it. This assignment forced me to have to follow through with it and I am very happy that I did. I really enjoy this type of work. What I really enjoy is thinking of new story angles. I never knew how much I would enjoy this. What I like most about this is the fact that the idea comes from my own head and then it is turned into a tangible piece of news. I just absolutely love this feeling.

From working in public relations and raising awareness for whatever organization I was working for, I had to attract the attention of journalists to entice them to cover my story. Now, on the other side of the fence, I am the journalist pitching the news angles. It is really interesting to have had both experiences to see what each entails. I think I like both but when the idea is born in my head and accepted by my editor and eventually published, the sense of ownership and accomplishment is really rewarding to me.

My last article that I submitted was about a congregate meal program that the RM of Macdonald is trying to get off the ground. I found this story because I was thinking that with the transition of winter, seniors in rural areas must be facing different challenges than urban seniors. My research produced information about a contact in the RM of Macdonald who is the Seniors Coordinator. I cold called her and we talked about seniors issues that she was contending with and the congregate meal program angle surfaced and I knew this would be a story. A congregate meal program is providing a public venue where seniors can purchase a balanced meal at low cost for either their lunch or dinner.

I submitted this completed story last week Thursday. I ended up driving out to Starbuck Manitoba. Luckily, the roads were still dry at this point. Starbuck is a real little town. I was able to meet with a group of seniors and the Seniors Coordinator at the same time as they were attending a lunch and learn about living with Alzheimer’s. The seniors were a tough crowd and I was only able to take photos of two of them but I at least got the visuals I needed. When I submitted this story, I felt very accomplished because it was my idea from beginning to end and I was very proud of what I had uncovered and developed.

Another thing that I learned that I love doing is meeting all the new people from having to interview them. The relationships that you make from this experience are people I would never have before met. I am really happy I also chose the rural newspaper instead of my original choice of the paper for the River Height area. Writing for the Headliner has given me the opportunity to get out and explore rural Manitoba which is something I would have never done before. Some of the little communities are so quaint and pretty. The people are also very real and down to earth.
I have also learned a lot about writing for newspaper. I realized that I had a tendency to editorialize too much and learned to paraphrase quotes better.

Plus, I now pay close attention of the order of my paragraphs putting the most relevant information first and making sure my story angles are timely. The feedback from my editor was really helpful. Each time he supplied me with constructive criticism, I tried to incorporate this into my article. He was very understanding and patient and understood that these things take time to learn. This assignment as a whole didn’t feel like work to me. I really enjoyed the process and the journey.

This experience made me became more familiar with how to learn how to take photos as I had never used a professional camera before. So, even that was a bit daunting at the beginning. I learned the power of auto focus!

I would like to continue working as a freelance writer. I think I am now curious to find out what it is like to be a freelance writer for a magazine. That will be my next step.

I would love to hear about your experiences throughout this semester doing the community news assignment.

Phone Interview Jitters

For my latest Canstar article, I had to interview a big wig from RHA. My interview was to discuss congregate meal programs in rural areas of Manitoba. I had this interviewed scheduled for about a week. When the day finally came, I wrote down my questions, how I got my contacts information and made sure I had the five w’s in question format in front of me.

I also wanted to make sure I had a quiet location where I could interview my subject. I went to school a bit early to make sure I could find the appropriate space. I wasn’t able to find a single breakout room available on any floor. I did manage to find the boardroom on the 4th floor, before I used it, I phoned the number on the door to make sure I could use the space.

The person who answered thanked me for calling before I used it and also informed me of the student boardroom that is available to students on the second floor. I was told that you have to book this space from Klara but students are free to use it plus, I believe it is a private room. The boardroom I used on the fourth floor had walls that did not touch the ceiling so it wasn’t a sound proof area. I never knew about the student board room so I just wanted to share that with you.

I had the phone number of my contact written out in front of me along with my questions and I was ready to go. I had to call my source at 1:00pm so I was counting the minutes down on my phone and reviewing my questions. The time finally came when I was supposed to call and I picked up the phone and dialed. I felt a bit nervous at this point but I was able to go through with the call.

My source picked up the phone right away. She needed clarification about why I was calling her and the publication I was writing for so I told her that information and I was able to proceed with the questioning. What I didn’t like was how nervous I soon became. My voice even sounded different to me when I was speaking and that threw me right off.

I also find it very frustrating because I don’t know short hand and I find it hard to keep up with my source while I am writing information down. I always let them know ahead of time that I might have to ask them to repeat themselves upfront to make sure I capture what they are saying accurately. I just really get frustrated with myself having to do this.

I really wish I learned short hand because I am really feeling that would be an invaluable skill. I really do not like doing phone interviews for this reason but I know I have to get used to doing them and find a way that works for me.

I heard a funny saying today called Run on Ralphs and I really have to say, those are the worst. Especially for someone like me with the frustration expressed above. I have done sales in the past and have been trained to focus the conversation and not be afraid to ask for the sale so I am thinking that perhaps I have to use some of those same techniques for my phone interviews. I think I might always feel a bit nervous about phone interviews. When you are not nervous, doesn’t that mean you are too complaisant? Isn’t being a bit nervous an indicator that you care about if you do a good interview?

I am not sure as I am a student learning and this process is a journey. While I was interviewing my source, I did ask her if it would be alright with her to exchange emails should I have any questions while I am writing the article about her piece. She did agree. I asked her if I would be able to email her what I had written about her part to ensure accuracy and she said that would be fine.

I ended up writing out the quotes I was going to use and then sent them off to her for her review and she emailed me back the same afternoon with just a few minor changes in the quotes. So now, I feel confident in the quotes I captured and will submit. I realize that this won’t be possible every time but it worked out well for me this time around.

If any of you have telephone interview jitters, please leave a comment or share with me your tactics to combat your fears. I would love to hear them.

My Favourite Remembrance Day Memories

My favourite Remembrance Day memories go back to 2007-2008. I had a great experience working at the Manitoba Military Aviation Museum as their Manager of Volunteers and Community Relations. The museum is located on Canadian Forces Base 17 Wing Winnipeg which is North of Ness Avenue between Sharp Blvd and Whytewold Road. The museum is on the second floor for building 66. You can contact the museum by calling 833-2500 ext 4739 or visit themonline at http://www.manitobamilitaryaviationmuseum.com.

My job required that I recruit and train volunteers and managethe image of the museum to military and civilian communities. At first, it wasreally overwhelming because working in the military is like learning a new language. I didn’t have any military experience behind me what so ever so I was startingfrom scratch. I soon realized how far a smile and calling someone sir actuallywent.

The mission of the museum was to acquireand display artifacts which bring to life the contributions of Manitobans inmilitary aviation at home and abroad with an emphasis on showcasing thepersonal stories of Manitoba Military Airmen.

During the time I was there, the museum hosted a reference library of over 6,000 titles and was comprised ofprint and video resources. There was a resident Military Aviation Historianthat I worked with called Norman Malayney. His mission was to organize these 6,000 books and interview and video tape veterans so their stories wouldn’t beforgotten. Norman is a maven in aviation history. If you ever need informationin this area, he would be the person to talk to.

One of my goals I made for myselfwas to get John Sauder to come out onsite and broadcast the news from themuseum on Remembrance Day. I thought this would be a very effective way toraise the awareness of our museum in the community and at the same time, notbreak our bank account as we operated as a non-profit organization. I rememberI must have left at least 50 messages for Mr. Sauder over a four month period. I just wouldn’t give up.

I remember when he finally agreed to come out, it was amazing. He actually told me that my persistence was one of the main reasonsthat made this happen and he also believed in the cause. I remember that afterthe broadcast aired, we tracked museum visits and they increased by 50%. Needless to say my boss and volunteers were thrilled with the free publicity.

My Second Law Court Assignment

On October 31, 2011, I had to go to the Law Courts again to find a story and write it. This time, I had to do it on my own. I have a contact who I volunteer on the University of Winnipeg Alumni Council with. His name is Mike Cook and he is a defence lawyer. I emailed him last week to see if he was going to be at the Law Courts today and as luck had it, he was. He invited me to come and see him in action. I met up with Mike in the hallway in front of room 403. From working at Osborne House, I remembered that the councilors would meet their clients at court to provide assistance and I thought to myself, this is probably where they came to. So, it was nice to be able to see this.

Mike was very gracious and helpful. He is such a humble man with almost a boyish charm to him. He has brown hair and was wearing a charcoal greyish suit with a blue shirt. He looked very proper and professional. He guided me over to the couches to sit down before the preliminary inquiry started. Mike explained to me that in this particular case, his client was a woman and normally he represents men so this was a bit out of the ordinary for him.

After the inquiry was over, I asked Mike if he ever found it difficult to be a defence lawyer.
He said not at all. He said he liked his job. He did also say that 98% of his clients are guilty but he usually is able to give them second chances by creating some sort of reasonable doubt.

Mike told me about a story when he first started practicing law. He phoned his mom to tell her about his day and what the end result was of a court case he was in. He was representing someone who had a sexual assault charge. His mom yelled at him and said “Michael, don’t be representing garbage like that. I didn’t bring you up that way.” He had a cute smile on his face sharing this story with me. He said that he never forgets his mom saying this to him. He also believes however that people deserve second chances and everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

My Cathartic Law Courts Experience

Today, I had to visit the Law Courts for a journalism assignment. Our goal was to find a story and have it handed in on our teacher's desk by 6:00pm. I have been to the Law Courts twice before in my life. Once was to watch a friend of mine go through a sentencing because he was charged with drug trafficking and the other time was when I eloped and married my husband. My husband and I have been married for almost 12 years now so that is a pleasant memory! I have heard of the Law Courts most of my life because my father practiced law for a living. He was a corporate lawyer and used to call the Law Courts his old stomping ground and visited it frequently.

I decided to settle in to the court room 210 where there was a drug trafficking case being heard. Govinda Toorie pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges. I sat in the court room and listened to the court proceedings. It was difficult at first to capture all the factual information as the lawyers were speaking very quickly and there was a bit of an echo in the room. I was able to capture most of the information required for the assignment though. The Crown Attorney asked that Toorie receive 3.5 years and Toorie’s defence lawyer requested that Toorie receive two years less a day and hoped for house arrest as he did not have a prior record. Both parties agreed to a pre-sentencing report that will examine Toorie’s background and help the court make a proper sentencing decision.

I noticed that Toorie was soft spoken and kept his head down most of the time. His parents were there as well to support him. I can appreciate that this would be a stressful time for Toorie and his family. It was nice to see his parents there during this difficult time.

That leads me to discuss what happened after the court proceedings were done. I went to talk to the defence lawyer, J. Prober to inquire more about the case and to clarify some factual information. During our conversation, I asked him if he knew my father. Winnipeg is a small city so I thought what the heck, you never know. Well, it turns out Prober did know my father. We chatted for a little while. He said he knew my father well and that he was over at our house a few times for social gatherings. He said he remembered my father being a vibrant man. He said he also remembered my mother because my mother used to work for the Variety Club of Manitoba and organized their telethons and she got him to answer phones on television.

The emotional part of this for me was my father’s health is failing him now. He has diabetes and is in a nursing home at 75 years of age. My father is not a vibrant man anymore. His mind is there but his body isn’t what it used to be. Remembering my dad how Prober knew him brought back several emotions for me. I ended up becoming very emotional with Prober about my father unexpectedly. I began to cry to be honest. I was so embarrassed I felt terrible. I had no idea that being at the Law Courts today would be such an emotional experience for me. What was nice though is that Prober was very kind and compassionate and took the time to comfort me about my father.

The next thing that happened was even lovelier. The court recorder that took the notes at the hearing asked if I wanted some Kleenex. She and I were now in the court room alone together. She told me her sister had passed away recently and she began to cry as well. She asked me if I would like to have the court room door closed for a bit and said if I needed a moment it was alright. So, the two of us shared our stories about our loved ones. We cried together and comforted each other. I know that must sound crazy to do this with someone that you have only met. However it was so simple and natural with her. It was wonderfully therapeutic. We ended up helping each other at the end of our meeting she actually said to me that she was glad she met me. I said that I was very grateful to her as well for being there for me when she certainly didn't have to be. There are some amazing people that work at the Law Courts.

What I learned from this experience is that if you are on a reporting assignment, you may never know when your emotions may be impacted by the story you are covering. I certainly did not have the intention today of becoming emotional at the Law Courts. However, I did. It wasn’t looked down upon by the professionals around me. My emotions were actually accepted and respected immediately by complete strangers. It was really amazing. It reminded me that I am human. Journalists are human too with their own feelings, and challenges.

I guess I just had an eye opener in the fact that you are not immune to your emotions and your surroundings no matter how hard you try to be. Perhaps that can even make a story more authentic. It also allows you to develop real relationships with people along the way and to know that you are not alone even though you might feel that way sometimes.

Learning Experiences

Writing for the Headliner has been an interesting experience for me over the past several weeks. My first article was about an author who lives in Oak Bluff Manitoba. Her name is Shawnda Muir and the book she published is called Cancer Scores-a Hat Trick. Muir’s story is inspiring because her family had three cancer scares in six months. She and her husband were both diagnosed as well as her father all in six months. Her father unfortunately didn’t survive.

Muir has written a really inspirational book detailing how she stayed positive through her cancer journey. I was able to go to Muir’s book launch and take photos of her and it was super great to interview such a positive person. This was my first article I wrote for the Headliner. It was also great learning how to use the fabulous cameras at the library and actually take great photos as well as get them on my computer and send them out with cut lines. That was a learning experience in itself for me!

My second article was about a lady that lives in Headingly Manitoba who is a water conservation activist. She works for Waterlution that is a national nonprofit organization that promotes water awareness and conservation issues. Her name is Renne Bennett. Bennett tried the Water Conservation Challenge that required her to live on 30 liters of water a day for one month.

Bennett did this challenge in March 2011 to coincide with Water Awareness Month. It was really awesome listening to her stories about her experiences. Bennett lives in an apartment and didn’t have much control over what type of toilet she used. She found out that her toilet used 13 liters of water each time she flushed it. This really limited her water usage for other things! She was able to convince her landlord to put in a more water friendly toilet and now her toilet uses 6 liters of water each flush rather than 13 liters which she is very happy about. The water challenge also made her think about how long it took for her tap water to turn from cold water to hot water. She just boiled water for things after that. Plus, I was able to meet Kevin Freedman who was running in the election for Fort Gary/Riverview. He is the creator of the Water Challenge and he was super inspiring as he really cares about water conservation issues.

My third article that I am presently working on is about domestic violence. I pitched the idea of a domestic violence story to Prescott and he thought it was a great idea but had no idea how to find someone to interview. Prescott told me that the only way I could write about this topic would be if I could find someone from the RM’s that the Headliner went to that would be willing to open up and share his or her story. He basically said to me, happy hunting at the end of the email. So, I was determined and began my hunting process. I used to work at Osborne House before Crecomm so I knew there were ways in which I could connect with domestic violence survivors. The only thing is, I haven’t spoken to anyone there in a long time and my ex boss doesn’t work there anymore so I wasn’t sure if I should call again or not. So, I called anyway but I didn’t hear back for a little while and I had to keep on digging. I called everywhere from Klinic to the women shelters in Portage La Prairie and Selkirk. It was tricky because I wasn’t completely familiar with all the RM’s that the Headliner covered and all the shelters I was calling were out of those RM’s.

So, I came to a few dead ends but finally, I was able to connect with someone I used to work with at Osborne House that remembered me. She works with the clients after they leave Osborne House. She said that she had the perfect person in mind from an RM that the Headliner covered. I was so excited about this breakthrough. I really wanted to write the domestic violence article because I think the challenges to leave are different for rural rather than city women. I wanted to investigate this further. The individual I was able to interview said that rural women do have different challenges than city women. She said feelings of isolation and not being able to talk to anyone about your problems are more prevalent in smaller towns.

My contact told me she didn’t have a driver’s license either or any money so she was completely dependent on her husband for everything. She had to ask someone for a ride into the city when she was going to Osborne House and said that this was one of the hardest moments for her cause she had to tell someone for the first time.

I also was able to receive quotes from the Rural Farm Stress Line that really made my article show what rural women go through when they experience domestic violence. What I didn’t expect from writing this article would be managing the relationship of my source regarding her safety and the safety of her children with the needs of the news paper.

I was told that my article had legs and that they were thinking of placing the article on the front page of the newspaper. Here I am super excited that one of my articles may be on the front page but realizing, it might not make my subject feel safe. I thought I should ask her how she would feel about this as she just left her husband seven months ago. I am relieved I did because she wasn’t comfortable with the article being on the first page. I had to email my editor and let him know that she wasn’t comfortable about it. I was also worried because I didn’t want to upset my editor in doing this either. I had to respect my source and put myself in her shoes. She was willing to go out on a limb to tell her story and open up when she still had some reservations. I didn’t want her to feel concerned or regretful about doing this in anyway. It was such a learning experience for me to be in that position. I wanted to please the paper and my source all at the same time. I realized through this process that telling people's stories makes you more than a writer, it makes you a relationship manager too!