Giving a Voice, Finding a Voice: Diving in the Deep End with Multimedia Storytelling

"Like context in a modern debate, I just took it out". With these lyrics, The 1975 frontman Matt Healy hints at his lack of faith in our generation's ability to present fact-based opinions. This lack of faith is something that I've also experienced (and not just because I'm quite possibly the band's biggest fan). I see it every day; we yield to our biases and take news and current affairs only at face value, mindlessly sharing and retweeting what is fed to us before thinking about the larger implications of how we choose to communicate. What happens, though, when we relax our twitter fingers and look beyond the buzz? As a student of Multimedia Storytelling this semester, I'm hoping to create answers to my own questions.

My interest in journalism is deeply rooted in my penchant for writing. Admittedly, when considering my place in journalism, I find myself always leaning towards the industry's background roles (as opposed to being on the front lines). Still, my aim is to be a well-rounded media creator, and I hope that Multimedia Storytelling will force me to develop skills of interviewing, aggregating and making sense of statistics, and importantly, pointing readers and viewers to the truth. I know that this course will effectively catapult me out of my comfort zone, particularly as going out into the field, approaching strangers and asking the important questions will require me to step out of my introverted tendencies.

Image via Pexels by Jessica Lewis

I'm eager to learn about the various types of storytelling that have evolved from the more conventional print, radio and television media. Our information age, although a blessing, often becomes diluted with rumors, baseless conclusions , and to quote an infamous Councelor to the US President , 'alternative facts'. I want to ensure that in whatever role I undertake as a communicator, I understand not just the most appropriate ways of telling different stories, but also how to do so ethically. Additionally, I'd like to continue to shape my voice and refine my writing style.

Most importantly , I want to keep in mind that stories, although multi-faceted, are always about people. If I can demonstrate this in my work, I think I'll have made this a productive semester.