Acting and journalism are combining these days.
Graphic by Rachel Seymour using Mircosoft Word Clip Art.
I was in one play during my junior year in high school. I had a minor, 10-line role.
Had I known the future of my career, I would have jumped on the theater-geek bandwagon. Unfortunately for me, I could not, and still can not, tell the future.
Four years later, I am journalism student at The University of Kansas, and all I keep asking myself is, "Where are the theater classes for future journalist?"
I may not be able to see the future, but I can read trends when they happen.
Convergence? I hear a lot of talk about it in the school, but where I can learn to anchor and "report" the news as well as act out the scenarios? Think about how valuable that would make me as a journalist?
Now, I know what a few, and I stress few, people might say about this.
"Why not photograph / video tape the story as it happens, if it really is?"
Journalists are people too. We have other things to do besides work. Acting out news scenarios will give us more time for more stories too. Besides, we do not need to "show" the actual news happening. We know the stories are happening. We are hearing about them after all.
Plus, drama gets people's attention. WDAZ had the right idea, but think about how a little acting scenario of "emo" kids cutting themselves would have stepped up the drama. The station could have made a real difference in helping these "emo" individuals.
A few people might ask why did WDAZ not add some statistics of how many "emos" actually have depression problem or cut themselves? Why not talk to an "emo"?
Apparently there are such things as stupid questions.
Everyone knows "emo" kids hate life and want to die. Has anyone ever heard of an "emo" that wants to live a happy life?
There are a few people that just can not see the future of journalism. Take Jon Stewart for instance. Funny man, but come on, Jon. The "responsibilities" of media are being redefined. Times change.
Teach me, teach journalism students, the future to their career… acting.
I hear it pays better too.
Actually, in the 1930s Time Magazine did a radio and newsreel show, The March of Time, that used actors.
Retro is so in, but why did it take us almost 80 years to bring this idea back?
The answer lies somewhere in the cable TV land of the history channel and comedy news. The history channel gets actors to portray events that happened when there were no cameras around and comedy news uses actors to somehow get at a different "truth" than the facts. Take a look at the new Onion TV launch on the tv.ku .edu site.