Introduction to Development Journalism
My personal philosophy is too focused to be applicable in to the environmental piece that I did, although it influenced me in the decisions I made for my developmental journalism piece. So whilst I cannot say that I was successful in conceptualising the environmental story in conjunction with close reference to my personal philosophy I was able to find some of the agency document guidelines applicable. The development piece drew on both my philosophy and the agency document and is therefore a more relevant subject of evaluation.
To begin with the development story is sports orientated. It complies with my personal philosophy in almost every aspect as evidenced by the way it is scripted and the voices I have chosen to include. The piece focuses on garnering attention for a sport, and its athletes, which are largely ignored. This is in line with the new detail I have to my personal philosophy. The narration clearly indicates that I as the journalist am not removed from the story, and that I am firmly on the side of the boxers. The way the piece is structured hopefully indicates, as I wished it to do, that I am in a position to pass judgement which makes my estimation of the situation a trustworthy one.
In line with the agency document this piece is very people orientated. It is a human interest story which positions the participants as credible sources. The way in which the narration presents them always tries to underline what traits make them an authority in an effort to further convince the audience they are worth listening to. In the case of the boxing story the credentials of the trainers and the fighters are given prominence during the introduction process. During the editing process the utmost care was taken, where possible, to clean up the proficiency of the interviewees English.
I believe that this story tailored itself well to adhering to the prerequisites set out by the agency document and general literature about how a development piece should manifest itself. The marginalised nature of the voices and the fact that within that parameter I located a further subordinated voice (a young female) all lent itself well to the successful creation of a piece that I felt existed within the bounds of the professional standards I have set for myself.
Some people call it a brutal blood sport, others refer to it as the sweet science. Opinions are mixed but there are those that dream of becoming the next Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones Jr every time they don those 12 oz gloves. The hard work has paid off for some, and Grahamstown is home to a number of quality professional boxers. Grant Bisset jumps in the ring with them...
