Who are we?
As one of our many readers recently said: "It has been one year since you began this website. It has been (personally) one of the most accurate current informational sites I visit. You draw from many peer reviewed, respected science and medical publications and you always list your sources. You have interspaced the serious with comic relief and Scott has added his thought provoking commentaries. You grow, expand and explore new avenues and I have enjoyed adding you to my daily routine. Thank you for the uncountable hours you have spent keeping us up to date." Or: "You guys are providing an important service at this time. It would be good to see the site get a broader reach. I am really appreciative. Thanks so much for your good efforts!!!" Another: "Thanks you guys for doing this--a valuable service in these times of info overload, mis-information, fear, and additional stressors." Our media platform was originally created for seniors-related topics on the Sunshine Coast BC. In March 2020 we recognised that we needed a local source of credible information about the evolving pandemic situation, so we decided to start posting Coronavirus and Covid-19 related local and global information, news and latest research, including from pre-print servers to the group.. We are not health professionals (although we have worked in the health field for over 15 years) but have been following the situation since January 2020 very closely and are getting our information from many different, and verified (as best we can) sources. We recommend to please always do your own research. What we are up against, in Scott words: "I have been surprised when speaking with people, by the lack of understanding of what is going on and the risks involved, for themselves, their family, their employees and the public they interact with and as a result for the community at large. I have had people suggest I watch a wide variety of conspiracy sites and videos. Many otherwise very intelligent people are drowning in rapidly changing information. When I suggest that Zoomer's tries to provide moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical & community information regarding Covid19, they tell me, with some pride, that they don't do social media. It becomes increasingly difficult to engage people in a agile planning conversation when they can not, or will not, do their own research, and turn away from research that is moderated for them. |
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The Nature of MediaJournalism is collecting, writing and reporting news and more broadly, it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. Journalism applies to various media including, but not limited to, news papers, magazines, radio and television.
Bloggers, online journals and reporters, online radio, internet television, photographers and any other new media are becoming more and more part of journalism work. The concept of participatory or citizen journalism proposes that freelance and professional reporters can actually produce their own stories. Online journalists have to be considered as 21st century journalists and be treated equally to print press, television and radio journalists. (ifnm.org) What Is "Bone Fide" Media? Bone Fide means literally "good faith" in Latin. Good faith in human interaction is a sincere intention to be fair, open and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. (Wikipedia) This applies to business and the like, it stresses the absence of fraud or deception. (Merriam Webster) Bone Fide media means the outlet must be editorially independent, with no distribution restrictions. It must be open by how and whom it is financed. (Council of the European Union) |
The StoryPerformance is the physical manifestation of the story. Be it in the form or medium of dance, sound or sight. On a stage, speaker or screen. Language in it's broadest sense is everything. But not all language is words, spoken or written.
The medium of the performance of course constrains what can be done. Traditional print media on paper is not well suited to audio and video as screens are not well suited virtual or augmented reality. The internet provides a broad media platform enabling the amalgamation of radio, TV and print media. It goes beyond "letters to the editor" to provide much deeper response patterns not only to the original material but to the other responses as well. In addition, layer of social media enable a kind of sharing and new layers of curation and story telling. Find us on Mastodon: https://mstdn.ca/@SCZoomers |
Curiosity & HumorIn both the creation and enjoyment of a story have a lot to do with the context created by our curiosity and humour.
By asking questions we motivate the research necessary to communicate the context of the story. Who and where was this discovered, what work did they build on, where did they hear about it, why were they inspired to continue. Where did we hear about them? Why does it matter and to whom? The research sometimes goes deep. Well beyond the commentaries, the original event, discovery, thought, or scientific paper. To understand often requires additional research to provide context and substance to ground the story. Stories do not stand alone. They are part of arcs of stories that weave the fabric of our shared realities. Without humour, curiosity falls flat. It is the unexpected, the delight in play and interplay with our direct experience that both tickles and opens us to others and new understanding that can be increasingly shared. |