Blog/Diary Assignment 1

60 Minutes, is considered the preeminent investigative television newsmagazine in the United States and is the only regularly scheduled television program in American. In CBS 60 Minutes on Jan 11 2009, Steve Kroft explores the change of oil prices. The gas price is still a sensitive issue because nearly every family in North America owns at least a car. Steve Kroft says in his investigation of the swings that, "There must be someone answerable for this because some large corporations are controlling the gas price but general market factors”. （http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4713523n.) Next David Martin introduces Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Then Scott Pelley features Wyclef Jean, a famous Haitian American musician and the creator of the foundation Yele Haiti. They talk about providing resources and assistance to Haiti because Haitian is in rioting and food shortages now. Last, in A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney, Andy Rooney shares his favorite holiday: Fourth of July. Because it involves fireworks.

Gimme Shelter is a 1970 landmark documentary film and is called “the greatest rock film ever made”. It follows the Rolling Stones on their disastrous 1969 US tour. After 4 months of the Woodstock Music Festival, Rolling Stones gave the free Altamont concert. It originally could be a significant festival for their fans. Unfortunately, about 300,000 people collided with a few dozen Hell’s Angels, security guards around the stage, and the terrible scene was recorded in the film, Gimme Shelter. The film is named after the lead track from the Rolling Stones' album, Let It Bleed. The film begins with the Stones watching at rough cuts of the concert and then captures the disastrous events in the history of rock and roll. It also profiles the performances and violence.

Today, the National Geographic Channel brings me back to China. The topic is the Forbidden City this time. A film crew from America took a chance and captured the scenes of the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City, located in the center of Beijing, is one of the best preserved imperial palaces in the world. It was the Chinese imperial palace for 500 years and was a city within a city. From 1420 to 1912, Twenty four Chinese emperors lived and ruled China there. It is reported that there are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City. For almost five centuries, access was denied to all but the Emperor and his household. Now the Forbidden City opens as a museum. National Geographic Channel provides us an extraordinary access to the largest palace complex in the world and uncovers some secrets about it.

Unlike CBS 60 Minutes and the documentary film, Gimme Shelter, during this program, the National Geographic Channel involves more communications with audiences. For example, it often tells viewers how they took those amazing pictures. Therefore, we can see the camera and the photographer from the documentary clearly. While the main pattern of CBS 60 Minutes involves a number of interviews, different from Gimme Shelter, which more like telling stories to audiences.

LEo