Media Court

I have recently read about the guidelines for Media and public access to the courts of Nova Scotia. The first part I read was about the justice system. I personally don’t agree with what the Justice System is doing right now because recently they just released a man that committed 2^nd degree murder, and said that “we educate our citizens about the law and enhance their confidence in the fairness of the legal system and the way it operates”. How is this fair? I think the law is not telling us certain things and want us to believe that our justice system is fair, but judging what they have done lately this proves that it hasn’t.

The next section I read was about the use of cameras and other recording devices in the public areas of court facilities.  I agree with having cameras outside of facilities and allowing journalists to videotape anywhere along the grounds of any building. I never ever had an experience in court, but I have observed other people in court. I have wanted to cover a story in a courtroom for the longest time because there is so much drama, plus I am interested in doing crime stories in the future. Our court system states that there is a notice of application for cameras to be in the courtroom that should be filed with the registrar and all other parties on their counsel with two clear days of receipt of the notice of application. 

After I read these sections I have learned a lot about the media courts that I never knew before. Now when I go out on a news shoot I will have the basic knowledge of the do’s and don’ts of what goes on in our court system.

Diversity in the Media

I chose to watch the CBC broadcast, with Tom Murphy and Amy Smith.  I chose three reports, because I found that an hour and a half was a lot of information to cover. The first anchor was Tom Murphy, a white middle aged male. The first report I chose to cover was a story about international students from all over the world that have unique cultural backgrounds, and they have to pay double tuition in Nova Scotia. In the story the reporter interviewed a black man who shared his views and opinions about the situation. An interesting fact is that 20% of the university’s population is made up of international students.

 At 5:30 CBC switched anchors and it was Amy Smith at the desk. The story that I found interesting was about the racial slurs that were spray painted on boardwalks in Eastern Passage. Amy Smith interviewed Jackie Barkhouse, white Caucasian middle aged women, and they were discussing safety precautions they have to take, and what they would have to do if the same thing happens in the future. The words have been there all morning but have now been removed.

For the final half hour they went back to Tom Murphy. His top story was about someone falling out of a 7 story building and surviving with severe injuries. They interviewed the mother of the victim and she didn’t appear to be a diverse race. She was explaining how it was a miracle that her daughter survived the fall, and her daughter is expected to stay in hospital for the next few weeks.

 As you can see there is a lot of diversity in the media with these three stories that I have chosen. I think diversity should be continued to be covered in the workplace, and all over the world. If the world was not diverse it would not be unique as it is today.