Natalie ...

One Story, Two Perspectives…

I was watching FOX News this evening and a feature caught my attention which I thought was blog-worthy, so here goes…

The difference between the press in Great Britain and America interests me greatly. Two allied countries, which are both English speaking, can have radically different views on certain topics, and notably different ways that these views are reported. I’m not going to pretend that I’m an expert on American news. If I’m honest, I really don’t know that much about it at all, particularly in depth in comparison to Britain, but there are some obvious differences that can be observed just from watching for a short period of time.

However, it was on The O’Reilly Factor show on FOX News tonight that actually compared how one particular story was reported on ABC and NBC news channels. This story is about the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old teenager, who was killed at the NBA All Star Game in Sanford, Florida on 26th February. George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder.

It was said on this show, and is worth noting, that in Great Britain the court can prevent certain stories from being reported on for fear of “tainting” them. However, the Zimmerman trial has been heavily reported both on ABC and NBC, but very differently. Bill O’Reilly, the veteran journalist who anchors this FOX News programme, pointed out that 42 stories related to this trial have been reported by ABC since 10th March. The reporting has been very focused on the news story, with little commentary attached to it. Furthermore, ABC has published graphic images and evidence, which could be seen as controversial and perhaps not appropriate for such a wide audience.

On the contrary, NBC’s reporting has been very opinionated and one-sided towards the prosecution of George Zimmerman and the justice for Trayvon Martin. This is not to say that they should be defending the accused, but it’s clear to see they are explicitly and openly pushing Zimmerman’s prosecution and that ideology is dominating their angle of the story. In the words of Geraldo Rivera, an American talk show host and FOX News reporter, they are “cheerleading for [his] conviction”. It’s almost as if NBC are being accused for advocating rather than reporting.

Different media organisations in countries like Great Britain and America, whether on broadcast, print or online platforms, are not obliged to have the same political stance or opinions, therefore variations in reporting are inevitable. However, reporting on court cases can be a dangerous thing to do. Journalists can only report on what they have been told, and placing a firm opinion on certain issues can lead the public astray and perhaps cause inaccuracy within reporting.

O’Reilly ended the report emphasising that FOX News will “continue to cover the story without prejudice”.

It’s interesting how a story of a murder case can create such polarised angles…

What I miss most about home…

OK so tonight, I’d arranged to go to the cinema with one of my friends.. let’s call her T. We “wanted” (I use that word lightly) to see the Woman in Black for “old times’ sake” as we both studied the book in Year 9. It sounded like a “good” (again, using it lightly) idea and kinda sentimental, considering I don’t see her that often. Anyway, I’d also asked my friend A to come, who then asked another friend, E. That made the four of us, which was fine, because we could all make use of Orange Wednesdays :)

So, I offered to be the driver, which isn’t a problem, I like to make use of the car when I’m at home! I picked up A, and on the way to T’s house, A realised she didn’t tell E the time of the film. Running late anyway (as per usual) we decided we had to go to a cinema in a different town at a time when everyone was actually ready. Me, T and A went back to A’s house, and as I’m not 100% confident driving in new places, we got into A’s car, picked up E, and (running dangerously low on petrol) set off to the next cinema about 25 minutes away.

Halfway there, A realised that we couldn’t in fact make it there and back without breaking down, as we were currently “rolling there”, so we pulled into the nearest petrol station (coincidently the one that’s meant to be haunted) to fill up. Naturally, she didn’t park close enough to the pump and after cursing the “short length of the pump lead” she asked me (the only person she ironically trusted) to put down the handbrake so she could move her car. This caused us, and all the other people in the petrol station to laugh watching her struggle to push a Peugeot 206 with three people in, by herself! After filling her car up with what she thought was enough petrol to get us through the night, she went to pay and came out with an expression that told us she’d done something wrong. Apparently, the man told her the petrol she used was £1.53 a litre. Obviously that’s more expensive that usual, so she asked why, to which he replied “you use V-Power diesel. V-Power for fast car.” v_v

After belting out Sean Kingston full blast down the motorway, we FINALLY made it to a cinema and after driving past an expensive Audi three times to get a good look at it, parked up and went in! Oh. My. Goodness, the film was an ordeal to say the least. I was sat next to T and we watched the film through our jumpers. E and A on the other side of me, spent the film laughing at us both jumping at everything. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that no one else was screaming at all at the jumpy bits! I’m pretty sure people must have thought we were being murdered or something. T was on the verge of tears and I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. Walked out of the cinema totally embarrassed, with people next to and behind us pointing and laughing at “the two girls who screamed at everything.”

And of course, the night wouldn’t have been complete without a good old McDonald’s drive-thru, fit with Happy Meals to make us a little bit less scared and a bit more happy! We sat in the car park reminiscing about old drive-thru times (there have been quite a lot) and then drove back. I took T home, but made A come with me as she lives in a location that basically looks like it’s stepped straight out of the film.

So these sort of events pretty much made up a standard evening when I lived at home. Nothing was really organised and nothing went to plan, but these made the best times ever! I’m really really happy with everything in London, but it’s when I come home and do what I used to take for granted, I realise that it’s the simplest things I miss with my nearest and dearest!

5 months down the road named Future…

If you know me, you know that I never used to take life seriously… at all, in fact.

I pretty much spent my time “going with the flow” and despite everything, I dealt with problems when they arose and pretty much took each day as it came.

Therefore, it is a bit of an understatement to say that the thought of making serious decisions in life FREAKS ME OUT.

Choosing to go to university and moving to London was quite an important path to take but it’s always been my dream to live in the city… call it a life goal. But now I’m here, I’m at the point in life where I have to look beyond my teenage dream and work out where to go next.

Before moving here, I used to wake everyday feeling trapped and frustrated, thinking that I didn’t have many opportunities to go out into the world and do anything I wanted. I had countless debates with my dad, arguing that experience was more important than school, only to be reminded of the status quo that is “school = qualifications = good job = money to do what you want”, followed by ”you’re only 16”. For someone who considered themselves to have no real life ambitions, except to live here, I realise now that I did. Having a dream to live in the city is actually an ambition in itself.

When you’re in one of the most fascinating cities on the planet, the world really is your oyster. You’re a stone’s throw away from centuries of history, culture and entertainment. Everyday is the beginning of the rest of your life, where you can find new places, meet new people and discover new opportunities.

Yes, serious decisions in life do have to be made at some stage, but I like to think that living for each day and taking opportunities you get causes the whole “Future” thing to fall into place. Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today.

God, I hope it’s that simple.

Michael Forever

On Saturday night, I was lucky enough to attend the Michael Forever concert held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to.. the performers were simply phenomenal (even JLS weren’t that bad……!)

However, it was also the most disorganised, and the staff at the stadium clearly did not know the seating plan. After arriving in the queue at about 1.30pm, we were quite obviously in the first 20 people for the Golden Circle. When the time came to open the doors, one of the doormen let his queue out early, causing uproar in the rest of the lines of people as the crowd began flooding through by the entrance. When we were all eventually allowed to enter the arena, there were very few workers in the standing area itself directing the masses. Running around the barrier of what “looked” like the Golden Circle area, we managed to secure a spot at the front, only to see people running inside the area which was originally cordoned off! People were getting really confused and started following everyone inside the front area directly infront of the stage. We were centre front with quite a bit of space, and thought we were good to go. After about 10 minutes, the area behind us, which we thought was the General Admission, started filling up. Then this security guard came to us all and told us to clear the section we were in as the Golden Circle was infact the place we went to in the first place and was now full of people! Everyone went OFF and was so angry, upset and confused as to why we were originally directed into this area and then told to leave it. Therefore, all the people who had queued the longest did not have the front spaces.

I also heard that the seating plan was changed THE DAY of the concert. The front space was originally the Golden Circle, but because they couldn’t sell all the tickets and make enough money, they split the General Admission pit into two, and people who wanted the front VIP pit (originally where the Golden Circle was) paid additional money to their original tickets to secure that spot.

HOWEVER, aside from the poor organisation, the concert itself was brilliant, and I’m not going to let the mis-haps spoil the experience I had. Regardless of some acts who pulled out, the final line-up was very good! The reason I went in the first place was to see Alexandra Burke perform at such an iconic event and pay tribute to someone who has inspired her, and basically watch her live her dream. That alone was worth every penny and every second of travelling. She stole the show, and all her performances were crowd favourites, complete with intense choreography and amazing pyrotechnics. I could not fault her vocals at all and the whole setlist was just beyond incredible! Alexandra was also the only performer to have a VT played on the screens before the performance.

Other highlights of the show for me were Yolanda Adams’ rendition of “The Earth Song” even though it went on for like 32 verses and it was just before Alex so we were dying, Christina Aguilera (she can belt a note and a half…), and Ne-Yo was pretty awesome too!

SO glad I went <3

Change is coming..

This weekend I will move to London and begin my Journalism course at City University. I cannot believe how quickly it has come around.. when I get past the nerves and the daunting realisation that I will be moving out, I’m actually quite excited.

I’m not a huge fan of change, but this sort of change is essential. I will fulfill an ambition which is to live in the country’s capital and also persue an ideal career.

Let’s hope I can learn to cook.