In the first textbook reading, one particular section called out to me. On pages 32-34 of “The News Media: What Everyone Needs to Know,” the authors discuss how Mark Twain, Theodore Dreiser, Stephen Crane, Willa Cather, Ernest Hemingway, and other novelists were also journalists. This caught my eye because I like Mark Twain and I enjoy any opportunity to learn more about him. Mark Twain was really funny, and his quotes on Congress still ring true (especially recently).<\/p>\n
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
\n– Mark Twain, a Biography<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe section starts out with a small mention of Anne Frank, which I skipped over because when Anne Frank is mentioned, people are usually trying to guess what she would do if she hadn’t been murdered. I would rather not think about her death, especially given that my brother is the same age now as she was then.<\/p>\n
What I found interesting is that Jack London was a journalist, and I would have been excited to learn more about London’s journalism because I read so many of his books as a kid. According to the book, John Steinbeck wrote about Okie migrant camps in California before writing\u00a0The Grapes of Wrath<\/em>. George Orwell, author of\u00a0Animal Farm<\/em> and\u00a01984<\/em>, worked as a journalist.<\/p>\n
The text points out that authors are told to write what they know, which would make journalism a logical occupation to chase. Many authors also wrote nonfiction in non-journalism form. Isaac Asimov\u00a0was a scientist, and wrote scientific pieces as well as humor-filled science fiction.<\/p>\n
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not \u201cEureka\u201d but \u201cThat\u2019s funny…\u201d<\/p>\n