Mastery Inspiration Week 2, August 18th 2017
In my second inspiration post, I will overview correspondent Elle Reeve's VICE News Tonight piece that went viral online this week titled, Charlottesville: Race and Terror (Reeve, 2017). The HBO piece went viral this week and provides a mix of on the fly and sit-down interviews, where Reeve's masterful and relaxed style aided in laying bare the raw expression of contemporary white nationalist ideology through one it's leader's, Christopher Cantwell (Reeve, 2017). It is striking to see the juxtaposition of the emotional temperaments between Reeve and Cantwell, where Reeve's professional and calming interview style underlines the aggressive and combative tenor of Cantwell's demeanor. Reeve's composure in this very tense environment is aspirational and what I want to emulate as a contributor.
Regarding the story structure of the video, the consistent Vice aesthetic of utilizing cards with day and date information as the audio of fading into each segment reinforced the palpable and increasingly tense atmosphere. In the unpacking of the escalating violence that occurred and its aftermath, Reeve's courageous reporting garnered 4,389,633 views in an astonishingly short period. This piece reaffirms my notion of the immediacy and importance of new media journalism in today's society.
References
Reeve, E. (2017, August 14). Charlottesville: Race and Terror. In VICE News
Tonight. Retrieved August 18, 2017,
from https://youtu.be/P54sP0Nlngg
