Are you interested in one week's work placement in The Irish Times? Transition Year students can learn first-hand about the workings of this newspaper if their submissions are published in Media Scope's weekly 'Over to You' column.
Just send us a 220-word piece on a media-related topic - if it's published, a representative of The Irish Times will be in touch with you about organising the dates for your placement.
Johnny O'Mahony, Colβiste an Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, Co Cork
Many claim that computers turn children into de-sensitised robots; I beg to differ. The feeling when I turn on my computer is one of intense anticipation. The 33 seconds it takes my computer to start up, unbearable. The 51 second delay as my ISP connects, intolerable. The sense of appreciation and acceptance when I open my inbox to find messages letters or photographs from such far away places as San Francisco, New York and Templemore is indescribable.
Last year my sister went gallivanting off to the States and we lost all touch. Our only news of her was what we could glean from short telephone conversations. It was only when my brother convinced my parents (okay my mother) to cast off the shackles of technophobia that we learned of the great time she was having. The gleam in my mother's eyes when she saw my sister grinning at us from the screen will remain with me forever.
So all of you who consider the internet as a harbinger of doom, look upon the face of a woman who hasn't seen her eldest child for 18 long months, then answer me: can something that brings so much joy be so bad?
Aidan Maughan, Templeogue College, Dublin
The USA is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Thus it has the most extensive media. News is broadcast non-stop and within three minutes of an event the American people can have access to all the information.
This power was put on display on September 11th. American news networks such as Fox and CNN gave the world a live view of the second hijacked plane tearing through the second tower of the World Trade Centre.
Now, nearly two months after the attacks of September 11th, the aftermath still dominates the worldwide media. In my opinion, if these attacks had been directed at a country with a less powerful media, the people of the world would not have experienced the same horror and realised the enormity of this catastrophe. In this way the American media is one of its country's most potent weapons.
Media Scope is a weekly media studies page for use in schools. Write to Media Scope at mediapage@irish-times.ie; or by posting your comments to Newspaper in the Classroom, The Irish Times, 11-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, or faxing (01) 679 2022. Be sure to include your name, address and school, plus phone numbers for home and school.
Faxback: Worksheets on each week's topic are available to teachers who place group orders through their schools. The worksheets are sent to all subscribing schools by fax. If you have problems, telephone (01) 679 2022, ext 8568.
For group orders, FREEPHONE 1-800-798884.
Media Scope is edited by Harry Browne.
