Thursday, January 17, 2008

Breaking Down the January '08 Issue of Spin

As I stated in a previous article, I do not like the direction the Wakefield High School Spin is going in. The January '08 issue features two articles on the front page instead of one, which is certainly how every issue should be set up. A few articles, which Étudiant viewers got a taste of a few weeks ago, were written by the Étudiant's own Ben Tan. The other topics of articles included the Father Ron Barker Harry Potter incident, a recap of 2007 at W.H.S., a reflection on Martin Luther King, and the new Dunkin' Donuts being built in town. Another article regarding study skills was published! And another one was about two W.H.S. Hockey super fans. Have I not seen that type before? I will say that the content was diverse and most of the articles were informative. I'm sick of seeing the same stuff in every issue. A few Journalism students have taken the initiative to write about unrecognized and unpopular items. And good for them!

The structure of the January '08 issue is screwed up. Photo placement is random and causes some confusion when reading. (For an example, please check out the image on the first page). The articles are placed according to their category and that is always good. I still want category labels to appear at the top of sections like in the issues from the 2006-2007 school year. I also want Ben Tan's awful movie reviews to be removed from publication. His articles are the reason why censorship should be permitted here in the United States. No, no, just kidding. Ben fails to tell us why Enchanted is a good movie. He instead describes how packed the theater was. Tan tends to get off topic quickly so I suggest reading his articles with an open-mind (you are better off looking at the Boston Globe movie reviews). He is funny when he wants to be and often includes obscure references in his reviews.

On a side note, you can expect an editorial from me in the next issue of the Spin. I might even muster together a couple of articles. I will tell you that one of them will be a response to the article on page 15 entitled "Times Have Changed, But Why Should We Act Any Differently?" The author seems to think that Americans should adhere to the false ideologies of patriotism and militarism today just like we did following 9/11.

5 comments:

  1. Patriotism, is the strong love for one's country. What most fail to understand is this does not entice support of the current government. America is under no inherent danger from so called forces of evil and their towel enshrouded heads. Events as 9/11 do grip the population to back the government, but this is going too far, the voiding of civil liberties by laws like the Patriot Act bear too strong a resemblance to Hitler's reaction after the burning of the Reichstag.

    As Franklin once said, "He who is willing to give up freedom for security deserves neither".

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  2. Although it may not directly entice support of the current government, patriotism is rooted in the philosophy "I support my country right or wrong." In times of war, that statement is extended to the current government.

    Yes, of course the Patriot Act voided civil liberties.

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  3. I'm curious, do you go to WHS dzvera and how did you come across the Etudiant?

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  4. I am a member of the dejected establishment's population, yes. This was on the board in my history class, I've often wondered if people would go to any link because its on the board.

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  5. Looks like they do. And looks like writing the URL on chalkboards worked.:)

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