JCOM 1500 Film Project Spring 2012

State of Play starts out with a boy, Deyante, being killed, and another boy, a pizza boy being shot. Cal the reporter who works for the Washington Globe thinks it is just a typical drug deal murder, and is there to report the case. Later on the news Sonia Baker, who works for Congressman Stephen Collins, who is also friends with Cal from College, dies at the Metro Station, they say that it was an attempted suicide. When Stephen Collins is announcing it on T.V. he starts crying, so now everyone comes to learn about his affair with Sonia. He then goes to Cal to help him out. Cal then does whatever he can to investigate the murders and learns that Sonia's murder, the other boys murder, and the pizza boy shooting are all connected. He then learns about Point Corp, a military corporation, and Sonia's affiliations with them. Congressman Collins was fighting against them and found out that she was working for Point Corp.

There are many different ethical dilemmas present in this film. In the beginning after Collins mistress, Sonia, dies the media just assumes that it is a suicide. When Collins seeks out Cal for help and a place to stay he says  "I co-sponsored two bills in the last ten years and am in the middle of co-authoring another one, and this is what I will be remember for, I will get more coverage on this then anything else I will do in my life."
This is an example of selective exposure. The film is based and made in 2009, there have always been scandals involving congressman and their affairs. People often have experiences with this because it is so common. So after Collins comes to Cal and tells him that Sonia didn't kill herself, Cal tells him that they need to turn the story around, do some "framing." He suggests making the stories about the Metro not being safe. In the Codes of media Ethics it says Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived, it also states that they should be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. Because Collins was Cal's friend he was willing to do whatever it took to make him look better, he was willing to twist the story in different ways. Another Ethical dilemma is when Cal gets some pictures from a girl, who is a friend of the kid who was shot in the beginning, the pictures are of Sonia Baker, somebody was stocking her. So the other reporter Della goes to interview the pizza boy who is still in the hospital after being shot. While she is there the pizza boy gets shot from a man outside the window.  When Cal comes to get her she says this...

Also when Cal finds someone who is connected to Sonia Baker he wants to tape him, and that is very much illegal. The New York Times stated about the movie " Della and Cal spar over journalistic ethics and habits, but their arguments carry no real dramatic force." In the movie they are always arguing over whether something they are doing is ethical or not, yet even if it isn't ethical Della never does anything about it.


Some of the consequences from the actions of the journalists are when Cal gets a bunch of pictures from a girl whose friend died because he stole the pictures from a brief case. The brief case contained pictures of Sonia, someone was obviously stocking her. Cal kept these images and he realized the two murders were connected instead of handing the evidence to the police they keep it for their own gain. The pizza boy then is shot, and he may or may not have been saved if they would have handed over the evidence to the police first. They do make a deal with the police after this that they will give them any information they gain if the police will cooperate and share information with them. Another consequence is since Cal is friends with Stephen Collins he tries to side the story with Stephen, when later he finds out that Stephen was just using him to do exactly that, so no one would find out the truth about Stephen and how he hired a man to follow Sonia Baker since he found out she was working for Point Corp and using Congressman Collins and was a spy for Point Corp. He may have been able to find out this truth sooner if he didn't have his rose colored glasses on.

When the Washington Post wrote a review of the state of play "Taking some cues from such recent headlines as Chandra Levy and Blackwater, not to mention "All the President's Men," the genre's urtext, "State of Play" plays politicians and journalists against each other in a continually shifting game of back-scratching and back stabbing."  At the time the movie was filmed there were real life stories similar to that of that which was really happening. There are often scandals of politicians who cheat on their wives. I believe this is why the movie was made because it happens all the time.

My main point here is that in this movie the reporter will do anything to get a story. In Times magazine on the review of State of play the reviewer, Richard Corliss said "If there's one thing I learned from both versions of State of Play, it's that a journalist never gives up." I agree with this statement completely. Cal does a lot of illegal things to get the story going in the direction that he wants it to go in. He steals phone numbers from Deyantes cell phone when his body is being examined, and finds Sonia Bakers phone number in it and this is how he finds out that the two murders are connected. As he digs even deeper he finds out that his own friend Stephen Collins is the reason she dies.

True or False Questions
1. Selective Exposure is based on how we see the world, individuals tend to pay attention to different kinds of information that is more or less relevant and familiar to their own experience.
2. Gatekeeping is not only what is decided in the end message, but also what a reporter decides to cover.
3. Agenda Setting is how news and information are presented once through the news "gate" and on the public agenda.
4. It was ethical for Cal to take the pictures without releasing it to the police first.
5. One of the Code of ethics for journalists states "Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived."
6. One of the code of ethics for journalists states "Journalist should do whatever it takes to make a story sell"
7. It is legal to tape someone without their knowledge if you are a reporter.
8. Breaking the law is just Damn fine reporting.
9. The pizza boy is shot.
10. A journalist never gives up.

State of Play. Dir. Kevin Macdonald. Universal Pictures, 2009. DVD.

Corliss, Richard. "State of Play: Better on the Small Screen."Time Magazine Apr. 2009. Time Entertainment. Web. 19 April 2012.

Scott,A A.O. "The News on Paper, and Other Artifacts." New York Times April 2009. Web. 19 April 2012.

Hornday, Ann. "State of Play." Washington Post April 2009. Web. 19 April 2012

Time Management.

I work two jobs and go to school. As you can imagine time is a very important thing to me where I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done that I need to. One skill that I have learned very well is how to manage my time. I believe that time management is a very important thing to learn in a working environment, one can be given a lot of projects to do and it is important that the employee makes a time schedule when to get everything done. Time management is a skill that I think everybody needs to learn. I clearly have a problem with procrastination always doing my assignment on sunday night. But the smart people are prepared and get things done before the very last minute. I believe you can even get things done better when you put more time into them instead of doing them at the last minute. When you set time aside to do things and actually use that time time to do it a great product could come out of it. With work there are tasks that I need to get done and it is always nice when I get all of those things done before I do anything else. With time management even more things can get done.

Leadership

As we work in teams for our group project, I learn that having a leader is very important. When no one takes control of what is going on, its like running around with your head off. People are still willing to work and such, but its hard to get things done by a certain time period. So I think it is important for everyone to learn to be a leader. I thought I would list some important skills a leader should have. A leader should have a positive attitude. As a leader there is a lot going on around you, some of which may be good, some which may not be exactly what is expected. The leader should keep the atmosphere around him a fresh and healthy one. That way he or she is able to convince the people about the decisions taken by him.
Of course a leader should be able to be a problem solver. When a problem arises he or she should be able to take a step back and find the best way to fix the situation. A leader should be open. Other people are going to have ideas on how to get things done. If the leader is open the other people in the group will be more willing to share the ideas that they have and that way your project could be better. A leader needs to be a good listener, he or she should make appropriate decisions at a certain time. A leaders should have a good sense of time. There are a lot of deadlines when working on a project, so he or she should keep his or her commitments and make sure that the others also keep theirs. A leader should be able to delegate responsibility and authority. By doing this it takes weight of his or her shoulders, and also makes others feel responsible and it helps them feel important and build confidence.

5 skills for an employee.

Companies hire and fire everyday. Even in this economy there are still jobs available for those looking. Here are five skills that I believe to be important for a future employee to have.

1. Motivation.
An employee needs to have motivation. They need to be able to do things on their own and not be told to do things multiple times. I think it is very important for an employee to be able to do things that he or she is not told to do but he or she does things they know need to be done.

2. Typing.
My Brother-in-law is over Human Resources in his company. When I asked him what are five skills he looks for in an employee, the first thing he said was typing. In most office jobs, typing is a very important commodity. A fast typer is more likely to get more achieved.

3. Time Management
Time Management is important to those in school, and even those who are not in school. For those who manage their time wisely they are able to accomplish more and be able to get things done when they are supposed to be done.

4.People Skills.
Of course getting along with people is a very important skill to have when it comes to working in a business. If a person doesn't get a long with others, they make it a difficult place to work. Also when it comes to the company's clients, it is important for employees to get along with those as well.

5. Honesty. Last but every bit as important, is Honesty. An Employer wants to be able to trust his or her employees. Without trust it would be hard to leave people on their own to do their own thing. When you can trust someone it makes things to be so much more stress free. Trust is so important.

Listening.

Listening is a great asset to have. It reminds me of the telephone game, where one person whispers into another persons ear and they pass the secret around in a circle and it never ends up as what you originally said. If people would take the time to actually listen a lot of problems would be solved. Sometimes people are hearing what others say, but they don't take the time to actually listen and comprehend what another person is trying to tell them. Listening helps get the job done right. I work in an office where everything is about listening. We listen to our patients hearts make sure everything is normal. We listen to our patients lungs, make sure everything is normal. So sometimes in this situation, listening could cause life or death. If there are any abnormalities we report them. If we didn't listen well enough to hear these abnormalities then it could cause some of our patients to get worse. Other situations should be so severe when it comes to listening also, listening could get you a job, or the lack of listening could cost you your job. Listening to a person speak shows that you care about what they are trying to tell you. It shows that you actually do want to get the job done and to get the job done right.

Facebook

My father is an accountant. Recently he has considered making a Facebook account for his business. It was interesting watching the slideshow presentation for Facebook in our class. Facebook can get your business out there. I think it would be a wonderful idea for my fathers business to get a Facebook account. People are on Facebook on a regular basis and there are so many different kinds of people on Facebook. You can "become a fan" of a business. I see it regularly, more and more businesses are becoming a part of Facebook. I also hear on the radio that some businesses even giving away items only to those people who are friends with them on Facebook. The best part about Facebook is, so many different people use Facebook, not just younger people, but also grown ups. My mother loves Facebook. She also has so many different friends on it. I see people's mothers, fathers, and even grandparents on Facebook. Facebook allows businesses to connect with their customers and future customers. It would be a great way to increase clientele. Which in turn will increase profit, and in the business world that is what the business owners want, more revenue.
Technology is continuing to grow, every day there seems to be something new for people to use. it would be a good idea for my father's business to keep up with the technology, and get a Facebook account.

Working in teams.

I am currently working two jobs. Something that I find crucial to our success in both of my places of occupation is team work. Recently at the pediatrics office I work at, we have been put into teams. In our teams we are supposed to come up with ways that we can better improve our office. Surprisingly enough it actually has helped. Each team comes up with different ideas and at our next staff meeting we introduce our ideas and how they will improve our office.
Although our office is not perfect it has improved greatly. I think working in teams can make a workplace better. When you are on your own you are not able to come up with as many ideas as you can as a team. Sometimes when a person comes up with an idea more ideas spark off that one idea. Also working in teams helps you to get to know your coworkers better. When you have a better relationship with your coworkers you are able to enjoy work more and it makes working easier. As we continue through the year I can see these teams definitely improving our office.