iReport reviews assignment

Bully don't bother me

This is a very stern report. I really felt where this man was coming from. Although I find that the students who were responsible for Columbine were not in fact the product of bullying but rather the product of Nazism and personal hate, I still understood his position. I too have been a victim of bullying. I've always been the odd man out in everything in life. I've hated being different and I've hated being singled out. I terrifies me to know that it probably will not stop no matter how much progress we accomplish. The report itself is well worded, heartfelt, and a little controversial. This man has been featured on CNN many times, and rightfully so. He speaks softly and powerfully all at once. He seems to be a good person to listen to casually and feel what he's feeling.

Pirates vowing to kill U.S. Soldiers

This iReport lacks structure. This man spends too much time making noise. I'm not referring to how much he talks, but rather how much time he spends making noise that is not talking. "uh"s and "um"s occupy far too much space in this video. In addition he does not grasp that the tone he is taking is too bland, there is no feeling in his voice. He seems to be too close to the camera, which makes him come off as overpowering and in your face. His message is clear, but it is jumbled. He says that these pirates are not terrorists but they are despicable and comes to the conclusion that we must do what Thomas Jefferson did and blow them out of the water. He ends his iReport with "Our technology is much more advanced" which is ambiguous and is not really an ending. It's more of a general statement that belongs in the middle or beginning of someone's monologue and it should be followed with an explanation of what the person speaking means. It would have been better if he had ended it with "Thank you for listening" or something to that effect.

On 'Socialists' in Congress

This man, better identifying himself as Joe Puente, has either good editing skills or a good editor. His video was well put together. It had different shots, different tones, and even parts where he brings himself up to the camera to speak directly to the viewer. He addresses the ridiculous notion that there are socialists in Congress. The furthest left anybody in a position of power has reached is middle, and we call them liberals. In short, Joe has a point he is trying to get across and does it interestingly, rather than boringly with just a monologue in front of a camera. In addition, he has links in his story to articles with direct definitions of the terms he's using so there is less confusion as to what he means. I must say bravo to this man for knowing how to make a decent informative editorial video.