Now that I’ve watched the Our World show, I guess I can comment. Whether this counts for class or not, oh well.
Before I get to that I’ll talk about the website first. Its pretty evident they went for a simple setup and for what Mr. Jones had at hand, this is a good starting point. It would probably help to have links from these stories to places on the web where they can research a bit more about them. Later when this whole concept is more developed, the website should have its own exclusive stories to make people come back to it. It is essential that the website has a forum community and possibly even a place where people can post their own editorials, and have someone pick out the best ones. That is a great way to allow young people to have their voice heard. Ask them what they would like to see featured in “Our World.” I wouldn’t do I-Report style things because everyone’s quality is different and that can make the site look bad. Find ways to allow the people coming to the site the ability to express what they want from this, because ultimately if you are telling them to “Own the News” if its all based off what a group of people decide is news, you are not any different than the other news organizations.
I would agree with some that you may want to change the subtext, but then again, if the teens don’t watch the news maybe they can gain a respect for the news by watching this. It can be a stepping stone for getting them to watch the news. Personally, if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t watch the news because it depresses me. However, I found all the stories in this interesting. Probably because it didn’t have a car accident, murder, over-bearing talk about the economy or healthcare overhaul. It was just features that young people would probably want to watch. Personally, I’d like to see more of this stuff on the news.
Sourcing is still important regardless of whether or not you want this to be a “traditional news” program. Mainly because you don’t want to give off the appearance that you are biased towards one side or another. The tattoo story, though it may be common sense and a traditional form of job discrimination, you still need to state what kind of jobs denied them. Other than that, I didn’t have an issue with the stories. I have a feeling the show will only get better, but I wouldn’t change it. This pilot shows time was spent with this and there was thought put into it. Teenagers and young adults don’t respond well to the news, but with this you can inform them in a “cooler” way. The music, the big focus on feature stories, giving people what they want, may not be “the way” in news. However, I feel it adds to the program, so I suggest you keep them.
