Noah's Journalism 120 Blog

Canada passes law to protect whistleblowers and journalists’ confidential sources                   This Vice news article explains how the Canadian government passed a new protective law that shields journalists and their anonymous sources from search warrants and police surveillance. In my opinion, protecting the anonymity of sources is quite important. Their jobs or sometimes even their lives may be in jeopardy if their names are exposed to the public. so protecting their identity is something of the utmost importance. As well, journalists can now uncover the dirty details of a case without the threat of being harassed by the police. They'll be able to uncover anything unjust that goes on behind closed doors of the government and big companies.                   The Journalistic Source Protection Act, also known as Bill S-231, was first introduced in November 2016 after news broke that Quebec and Montreal police had been spying on journalists to find the sources of leaks. T

     Though not as often as I should, I have considered that the news I'm exposed to may be factually incorrect, and I like to think that I'm good at checking sources to know if something is true or not. I don't consider myself to be someone who blindly believes anything they see on the internet. Most of the time I check the source because I don't want to seem dumb for believing something that was fake.       My reaction to the "Wafer caper" as I will be referring to the article about two senior staff members of the Telegraph Journal getting fired over a fake news story was that of shock and a bit of humor. The original story about Harper putting the wafer in his pocket isn't exactly the hardest hitting news story I've seen, and the fact that the paper had to lie about it to run the story is funny to me. Just the fact that it was all fake is a shock to me because didn't anyone bother to fact check before the story was published? The fake story abo

Hard News: At least 54 killed in Egypt after police operation ambushed      I believe this article would be considered "hard news" because nothing is sugar-coated. The article states cold hard facts about the story and doesn't beat around the bush with anything. This story isn't meant to entertain the reader, but to provide facts about the attack. The article is informative and gives insight into what is happening in Egypt, and while it may not be in the human interest to see this story, it needs to be told. Soft News: Taiwan Police Department's Newest Recruits are Sleeping on the Job      This article would definitely be considered "soft news" because its purpose is to entertain the reader with a lighthearted cute story about the puppies joining the department. The headline of the story leads the reader to believe the story will be about actual officers but leaves them pleasantly surprised. It also provides some very cute pictures of the "recruits

Mogadishu Truck Bomb: 300 Casualties in Somalia's Worst Ever Terrorist Attack Timing- 4/4 The news story describes a terrorist attack that took place on Saturday October 14th. It provides updates as more information is learned. it is relevant as in the past year there have been many attacks, and this provides information on the most recent. For these reasons I gave it a 4/4 Significance- 4/4 This attack left a huge impact of the city of Mogadishu, 300 people have been confirmed dead, while many others are injured. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed. For the scale of this attack and impact felt around the world I gave the significance of this article a 4/4. Proximity-3/4  On a geographical scale, this attack happened far from us. As Canadians however, we can relate to having acts of terror performed in our country and in our neighboring county of USA. We know the fear and helplessness of being attacked, and can sympathi

Narcotics Operation Exposed After Meth Lab Explosion      A local narcotics operation has been exposed after an explosion at a meth lab, a statement from police reads.      Residents of Shadyville Ohio were shaken yesterday after an explosion shook the tiny town during the early hours of the morning.  Homeowners dialed 911 after what they described as a "mushroom like cloud" was seen rising above an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.            Police and Firefighters arriving on the scene discovered a distraught man trying to put out the flames with a garden hose. Witnesses say the man was screaming incoherently about "his crystal" and how "the whole operation was ruined."       As the smoke settled it became apparent that there were components of a methamphetamine laboratory among the charred remains. Boxes of common ingredients in the deadly drug was also found in a trailer not far from the warehouse.          The man was tak

Saudi Women Will be Allowed to Drive in 2018          This past Tuesday, September 26th, 2017, the country of Saudi Arabia lifted a 32-year ban on women drivers in the country. CTV news reports that the decision comes after three decades of campaigning from activist to lift the misogynistic ban. Activists said on Wednesday that the decision is just one on a long list for demanding equality in the country. Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world that barred women from driving, women often faced arrest for their protests and for getting behind the wheel.  The lifting of the ban, which comes into effect next summer, is the most dramatic step yet in a campaign by the king's son, 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to modernize the kingdom. The young royal has been promoting change as needed to boost the country's economy and ease international criticism, but he risks a backlash from powerful clerics from the ultraconservative Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. Sa