North Korea #NoFilter

David Guttenfelder, a photographer for the Associated Press and Asia correspondent, has been receiving much attention lately. This time, it isn't his photojournalism in various publications that is causing a buzz, it is his personal Instagram account.  In the last three months, he was in North Korea on an assignment for the AP. Aside from taking photos with his usual professional camera gear, he took advantage of the internet privilege granted to guests entering North Korea to document photos instantly from the lens of his iPhone. 

This has created an interesting bridge between professional and citizen journalism. He uses the option of taking a quick iPhone photo for moments or scenes that are happening right before his eyes, which may not allow too much time to prepare an SLR camera to captivate it. 




Typically, on Instragram, a photo must be cropped into a square and one has a choice of putting a filter or going with out one. From reviewing David's photos, I see that he has applied either black & white filters or a colour enhacing one. Aside from the app filters, there is no screening or filtering process upon the instant upload of his photographs. He acts independently, like a citizen journalist, in deciding to put up any photo he feels illustrates North Korea best in his eyes.  His Instagram account, which is public, also engages the public sphere in a dialogue and to share his photos on social media. However, because it is only framed through the eyes of a Western photographer, it also misses the mark in highlighting beyond what the eyes can see. Although he is taking the photos in public, it is also difficult for him to talk to North Koreans, and so we must form a sort of a narrative through the caption he provides, what we already know about North Korea through what we've seen in mainstream media. We rely on the western discourse about North Korea to form a full story, as we decode fragments of their lives through Instragram photos. 

Western media have made great attempts in showing us what life in North Korea must be like. CBC's the fifth estate produced a 45 minute documentary, titled "The Last Great Escape", that is no exception. Entirely different to Instagram photos, the documentary is narrated by journalist Gillian Findlay, includes two studio interviews with the main subjects of the documentary, and include animation. 

All three characters we given anonymity and a different name in order to keep their identities and families safe. 

Particularly, I find the animation quite interesting to convey very real and harsh stories. From lacking actual footage of the individuals' escape from North Korea, the CBC presented their stories through an animated medium. However, I didn't feel as though the animation took away from the gravity of the full story.

Screenshot from the documentary: one of the animators illustrating scenes. 

The report also included archived footage of North Korea's prison camps and government activities. Further, we see Findlay reporting in South Korea and speaking with North Koreans who've escaped before. She is more involved with the storytelling, whereas Guttenfelder's Instagram photos depict him as an observer, never seen in front of the lens. 

This documentary goes beyond just photos and conducts in-depth interviews and an detailed look into the lives of people who succeeded in leaving North Korea. Their descriptions of the oppressive and dictatorial regime of Kim Jung Il were a more clear explanation to the way they live their lives compared to Guttenfelder's Instagram photos. This documentary explored issues of globalization and its absence in North Korea. 

In conclusion, it becomes clear how important it is to integrate citizen journalism into the realm of mainstream media. Through David's Instagram photos, we are able to receive photos instantaneously that magnify North Korea's way of life. On the other hand, with documentaries, we are able to learn beyond photos and form a more complete story, especially by interviewing the main subjects crucial to the narrative. Finally, it is important to be open to different techniques of journalism, and to go further than the regular framework. The animation used to complete the story is arguably as filter used to prevent the banality of the war images and the gruesome reality of suffering in North Korea. It highlights the balance we need in the way we tell the story, which reflects the balance we need in our realities. This displayed perhaps the harm and disadvantages of lacking globalized media and resources in a society. It became an ironic comparison between Noam Chomsky's description of a bewildered herd at the hands of media, and the North Korean's as the bewildered herd at the hands of a ruthless dictator. It calls on us to be fully aware of the information that we not only receive, but what is beyond it. 

War on propaganda: West vs. East

W E S T

On September 9, 2013, Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad appeared on an hour-long interview with American broadcast journalist, Charlie Rose, which aired on CBS.

The interview given by president Bashar Al-Assad to Charlie Rose in a one hour slot on CBS gave us a chance to see Syrian conflict through the perspective of the country's leader. Al-Assad, often labeled as oppressive and criticized by American media for running a dictatorship regime, this was a rare opportunity to hear from the "other side". I find that this interview, if arranged by the American network, was an attempt to be "balanced". However, if this interview was asked for by Al-Assad, then it was possibly an attempt to defend his government and deny the blame of chemical attacks in Syria that was placed on them. 

The interview is a dialogue between respected reporter, Charlie Rose, and the Syrian president.  It was aired live on CBS and was also made accessible on Youtube. It was taped in Syria. The journalist put Al-Assad on the "hot seat", asking him hard and pressing questions that challenged Al-Assad. The interview's attempt to achieve the notion of balance was over-shadowed by the anti-middle east discourse and pro-America filters followed by Rose. The questions laid on Al-Assad were challenging, accusative, and critical towards his leadership and his government's role in the chemical weapons of mass destruction. 

However, the interviewer did not critique the Obama administration and their approach towards the conflict. Al-Assad constantly pointed out that the accusations against him and the information released in American news networks about the Syrian conflict were false and unproven. Rose seemed to vilify Al-Assad and the Middle East as a whole, asking questions that labeled the U.S. as the defenders and Syria as the offenders. CBS news used the interviewer as a filter, to direct Al-Assad's answers that would fit the discourse they want to follow. They also included graphics at the bottom screen of the interview, emphasizing keywords that they wanted us, as the audience, to focus on. It was also cut and edited some clips of the interview, so we are not receiving the full and raw answers from the Syrian President.

In addition, racial and religious misrepresentation were present in the presentation and context of words and vocabulary. Looking specifically at war language, many journals have discussed the pro-war discourse created by the American government and media, which stems from placing the prejudicial identity of terror to words like "Islam", "rebels" and "Middle East". Issues of Western globalization were also discussed by Al-Assad, condemning what he says are lies and propaganda that are being spread by the U.S. government and mass media. When Rose said to him that "conclusive evidence" was found that Syria waged a chemical attack on it's own people, Al-Assad countered that they presented convictions and confidence, not evidence. 

For interest's sake, this was President Obama's National Address on Syria, two days after Al-Assad's interview. This address was aired on all major U.S. networks by the government. 

E A S T 

Citizen journalism and online activism are increasing significantly on Youtube. This video, titled "Syrian War what you're not being told", was created on a channel called "StormCloudsGathering". Compared to CBS's interview with Al-Assad to highlight the Syrian Crisis, this video was created by individuals who are strongly protesting the U.S. government's intentions and propaganda through online disobedience. Without interviewing anyone, they collect various interview clips of U.S. government officials on their statements regarding the conflicting reasons for America's past wars in the Middle East. These interview clips seem off-the-record and were not broadcast in regular American news stations. 

In the video, this American general is discussing the conflicts of interest and the incomprehensible reasons the U.S. went to war with Iraq.

The narrator also states his objective in this video clearly. There is no attempt for balance, but an attempt to "uncover" the American government's propaganda and abuse around the Syrian crisis. The narrator acts as the reporter, doing a round up of past conflicts leading up to the Syrian conflict. He also included pictures of anonymous American soldiers who are torn about their military involvement because they disagree with the reasons of U.S. involvement in the Syrian crisis. The video includes a series of war photos that involve war victims, torture, etc. that are too graphic to be seen on mainstream news media. 

It is clear that this video was made to debunk what "StormCloudsGathering" believes to be myths and lies about the Syrian war. It has a clear tone of activism and protest. For instance, in the end of the video, the narrator challenges us to revolutionize against the U.S. government and take back power from their hands. Through engaging the online public sphere with a topic that is newsworthy, this activist group is able to provoke critical thinking in individuals who may likely not question the information received from mainstream news. For a view so opposed to the U.S. government, it takes courageous citizen journalism to present such a stance. He uses war images and unfiltered information and interviews not released by mainstream media to the public in order to form his activistic argument. Through an anti-war discourse, StormGloudsGathering challenges its viewers to reconsider what we believe and know about the Syrian Crisis. 

From watching the Youtube video, I realized how vilified the Middle East is in the mainstream Western media. I realize also, how similar and one-sided the discourse that journalists follow in telling stories of war. The language and dialogue used in portraying conflicts in the mainstream media are in favour of the American government. Although the Eastern governments have also produced oppressive propaganda, it is important to consider the two different truths. It allows us, as an audience, to not only see a bigger picture, but to hold those who are most powerful accountable for their actions, and to always be critical over their intentions. We may never know the whole truth about wars and why they are started, but it is important not to thoughtlessly place all our trust on the message we are given. The comparison of the two journalistic sources affirms our need to rely on citizen journalism as much as we rely on mainstream media, to get the fullest scope of a story, and to decide for ourselves, how we ought to perceive the message. 

Dialogue on euthanasia through the media

The Humanist Mag is an award-winning, bi-monthly magazine produced by the American Humanist Association. This is the first page of a story they ran on euthanasia.

Euthanasia is a very challenging news story to cover. Because it raises many undiscussed and unanswered ethical questions, it is often written about as an opinion piece, and hardly reported as unbiased news. This topic demands the discussion and exchange of people's core values and beliefs about human dignity and life itself. Because people have different sets of moralities determined by culture, religion, or non-religion, there is no accepted middle ground; either you are for it or against it. Here, we will analyze two articles from private media organizations that discuss euthanasia. One is is for it. The other against it. 

The image you see above is the first page of a story that was printed in the September/October 2013 issue of the Humanist Magazine. It is a personal account of a woman, by the byline "Non-theist" to keep anonymity. The article, entitled "The End", also sets the stage to the tone of the article. Humanists are non-believers, and often parallel themselves to atheists. The story she tells is essentially an Op-Ed piece. It subliminally supports her own personal views and reflects the views of the publication as a whole. 

Right away, I am grabbed by the full-page picture of a married couple's hands resting on one another. I see this as a symbol of love. This highlights the author's thesis that euthanasia is bore out of love. The style in which the story was written encourages empathy from us, because it is such a personal story. It is written in a manner that is relatable and reasonable. She explains the emotional and psychological processes her and her late husband took in deciding to perform euthanasia in his late 60s. She explained that to avoid suffering and his inevitably painful death to Alzheimer's, the most loving and compassionate thing she could do as his wife was to support his decision to commit a well-orchestrated and prepared for suicide.  The magazine's online version also allows for comments and has provided a link for further resources available to people who desire to choose their own death. 

Margaret Somerville includes this documentary trailer in her article, which talks about Belgium's euthanasia laws and her opposition to it. 

Margaret Somerville is a prominent figure in ethical discussions in medicine. She is a Samuel Gale Professor of Law and director of the McGill Centre for Medicine. Those are up to date or have engaged in public panel discussions about the past decade's ethical dilemmas may have heard of Somerville before. She's given input on the changing institutions of family, marriage, abortion, and most significantly, on euthanasia. 

Margaret Somerville (left) at a panel discussion at McGill University on June 3, 2013.
Photo: Louis Brunet

Her article, entitled "Belgium, where death becomes the norm, living the exception" was posted on Life Site News' website, a passionately anti-abortion, Christian news blog. It is also written as an opinion piece, like the Humanist Mag's story, to shed light on the ethical dilemmas of euthanasia. It uses vocabulary and language that are significantly anti-abortion and focus on life with dignity instead of death with dignity. 

She also uses a documentary that follows the real lives of two Belgian individuals who are faced with the choice of life or death to illustrate her points in opposing assisted suicide. Interestingly, she found that the documentary followed a pro-euthanasia discourse. "End Credits" was funded by “Recht op Waardig Sterven,” a pro-euthanasia movement comparable to “The right to die with dignity” in Canada. However, though she uses the same images that would promote euthanasia, she decodes it with a different set of ethics and values. 

"The End" from the Humanist Mag is form of citizen journalism, in that the journalist provides a first-hand and objective account of her experience with euthanasia. She uses the imagery of married hands holding one another to emphasize the intent of love in the act of assisted suicide. The article also relies on the public sphere for some sort of validation and sense of community. Individuals who are subscribed to the Humanist Mag are probably humanists themselves, and may therefore share the same views as the authors of its content. It follows a non-religious, non-theist discourse and conveys the message of "progress" through trying to persuade the reader that suicide must be a socially accepted way of death to those who are in great, incurable and unbearable suffering. 

On the other hand, Somerville's article relies on the strong imagery in the documentary "End Credits". She explains that the individuals enduring great pain in the documentary are in great need of love. She also reflects on how she perceived the documentary as something that could also discourage euthanasia, as it highlights the loneliness, sorrow, and banality of death experienced by both subjects in the story. Further, the discourse of faith and Christianity present in her article is reaffirmed by the audience who've left comments as a form of discussion, in support of her views against assisted suicide. 

Reflecting on the different messages of the two news sources, it is evident that online publications and social media are becoming platforms for the creation of a public sphere open to discuss a topic considered taboo during dinner with friends. This builds a community of debaters that are willing to share their beliefs, ethics and values on such an issue. With the security of anonymity for the commenters, there is less apprehension in engaging in a dialogue that may not be acceptable in day to day social interactions. This is true progress, because dialogue is not just important. Sometimes, it is a matter of life or death. 

The "Pink Star" diamond sold for $83 bloody million dollars

Al Jazeera's Catherine Stancl reports from London.

On Oct. 24, 2013, Al Jazeera English released a short news feature on the world's rarest diamond going up for sale. On Nov. 13, the Pink Star diamond was sold at an auction for $83-million dollars. 

The pink diamond was mined in De Beers, Africa, in 1999. It is an astonishing 59.6 carats in its finished state. Al Jazeera reports this story in a positive manner. Stancl, the reporter, narrates with an enthusiastic tone in her voice. Her admiration for the diamond is clear when she tries on the ring and describes its rarity.  The main purpose of this new report is to inform the public that a rare and expensive diamond is on the market, up for grabs. Al Jazeera also interviews Sotheby's chairman to add a positive spin to the sale. From watching this report, I am led to think that this diamond is beautiful, highly valuable, and almost unattainable.

Al Jazeera's report, however, is countered by an article published by The Guardian's "Africa Network", which talks in depth about the enslaving industry of "blood diamonds". The article, published on June 5, 2013, sets a negative tone towards the diamond industry. It reveals, instead, what is behind the commodification of diamonds. It captured my attention through three powerful and unusual photographs, taken in Africa. Greg Nicolson, journalist for The Guardian, used these images to convey oppression, conflict, and suffering, as a result of the diamond industry. He then reinforces these captivating images with facts on the effects of the trade, the "Kimberley Process", and its establishment to stop rebel groups from using profits of diamonds to fund their coup d'etas.  The Guardian's article goes beyond the diamond. To me, it has taken an activistic, didactic approach and strives to reveal a truth that is unknown to us, especially in the West.

Miners pan for diamonds in Sierra Leone. Ben Curtis/AP

Amnesty International France led a campaign that shows the consequences of conflict or blood diamonds.
 Photo: Amnesty International

Miners dig for diamonds in Zimbabwe's Marange fields. Photo: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

In the Al Jazeera video, filters and a commercial discourse can be identified. English Al Jazeera, a product of the west, mirrors the concerns of western society. The discourse presented supports values of capitalism (the starting price of the diamond was at a ridiculous $60-million) and utter luxury, which can only be attained by the extremely wealthy. This discourse ignores the narrative that is experienced by the Africans who are enslaved by this business, or by the civil conflicts it finances in these regions. Specifically, the only filter used to tell this story is through the voice of the diamond company's chairperson, who's priorities lie in making a big sale. 

On the other hand, The Guardian "Africa Network" relies on war images and humanist photojournalism to convey a different, more investigated and newsworthy story. The article sheds light on the workers in sufferable conditions. These images bring a sense of discomfort because we do not identify with the conditions the miners are working in. We also see, through facial expressions, that they may be overworked and visibly afraid. The article also uses Amnesty International's campaign photo, which equates one's diamond encrusted jewelry to death of another. 

This topic reminded me of the movie "Blood Diamond" (2005), which was actually what introduced me to the grave reality of this industry. Though the blockbuster movie may not have been a factually accurate representation of character story lines, I think it reaffirms the truth of blood diamonds with the story itself. 



Between the two pieces of journalism, I learned a greater deal from The Guardian's article. It provided me with context and facts that would otherwise have been unknown to me had I only watched Al Jazeera's promotional Pink Star video. Nicolson's article, however, followed Hall's description of the news, "it is about making sense of a problematic reality within a conservative consensus". 

Kanye West's music video for "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" came out in 2006, just a year after the box-office hit movie, which proved that it was news worth talking and thinking about.  The topic went beyond the news lines and for a moment, was venerated by mainstream Hollywood. 



The subject of "blood diamonds" is no longer a foreign issue to us. But even with the information presented to us, Al Jazeera reaffirms and mirrors our conservatism, as we come full circle from recognizing the problem, then seeking comfort and pleasure in the news, instead of justice. 

Professional astronaut, space commander and tweeter

Chris Hadfield sings David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in the International Space Station. This music video was uploaded to his Youtube account, and has garnered almost 20-million views to date. 

Col. Hadfield launched into space in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on Dec. 19, 2012. Hadfield, along with Tom Mashburn, an American physician, and Roman Romanenko, a Russian Airforce officer, left Earth together and headed to the International Space Station, where they remained for five months. They overtook the ISS from the previous crew, who headed home in March. Hadfield assumed the leadership role as the ship's commander.

I watched the live coverage of the spacecraft taking off on television. Although coverage of their lift-off was widespread, both in broadcast and print, their actual mission in space, in their 5-month stay, were not as publicly discussed by the mainstream news media. As a common fate that breaking stories face, after only a couple of days, the timeliness of the news story had passed, and the fire had fizzled. 

Looking at CBC's online report on Dec. 19, 2012, when Hadfield and two other astronauts blasted off into space, you can see a heavy reliance on other informative platforms. The clip CBC provided, where Peter Mansbridge reports, uses the live-streamed footage shot by NasaTV. In the online article, they also embedded a window that follows the live tweets of NASA and Chris Hadfield during the launch. 

It is arguable that in order to construct a story around this event, CBC used only external sources of information. Because NASA conducts its projects with great confidentiality, security and bureaucracy, this was most likely a hindrance for news outlets to shoot the event with their own equipment, or to speak directly with the astronauts and team involved with this mission. It is evident that their coverage on the story depended solely on the information given to them by NASA and the individuals who were directly involved with the mission. 

 

As mentioned previously, Chris Hadfield's twitter-feed played a primal role in completely telling the story of their mission. His activeness on this social media platform, and the reliance of mainstream news organization on his tweets, prove the significance of citizen journalism in stories that are not always physically accessible to journalists. The images only Hatfield and his fellow astronauts were able to share reflected what they observed from space, and mirrored the world in which we live in. These space images could only be captured, accessed, and shared by those who have the means and involvement to do so. In addition, not only did journalists on the ground rely on their reports, but so did NASA's ground station, who would then relay information to the public. 

The popularity of Chris Hadfield's tweets and the public's trust in his own personal reports from space more than highlights the importance of citizen journalism. It emphasizes the necessity for first-hand accounts from those who are embedded in a certain environment, place, or culture, in telling a story accurately, truthfully, and fully. We needed Hadfield's knowledge and experience in making sense of the space photos they took from the ISS. Because of citizen journalism, Hadfield was able to make the unknown known to the public. Specifically with a subject as foreign as space, journalists on Earth simply can't match the perspective of an astronaut in orbit around our world. 

The Australian Outback is effortlessly crazily beautiful. pic.twitter.com/wspJub04WF

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) April 21, 2013

Tonight's Finale: Dawn sneaking in under the Northern Lights. When we turn our lights down, nature lights up the sky. pic.twitter.com/GyFmRcxzhg

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) March 23, 2013

CBC's presentation of the news online was more of a compilation of information from external sources, rather than a story that they invested time and effort in. I found that Hadfield's tweets were more reliable and accurate representations of their space mission. I believe that citizen journalism is changing public discourse, in that the way we are communicating and sharing ideas to one another is becoming simultaneously personal and communal. Hadfield's tweets, accessible by every person on the internet, created a dialogue between a human's personal experience in space and humankind's personal experience on earth. To be given the opportunity to view our planet from the exterior has created, I hope, a mutual understanding of how grand our world truly is.