The Four Core Journalism Courses

The Four Core Journalism Courses Photo by Ana Luisa Pinto It doesnt particularly matter which university you attend. For the overwhelming majority of schools, a major in journalism will either require or strongly recommend the following four courses in order to graduate. These courses will cover basic media and news information, the first amendment rights and ethical issues that journalists face in the field, alternative story formats such as photography, and actual reporting on the school newspaper. When put together, these classes provide the basis for the future of your career. They provide the meat and potatoes to your education and your writing. If you find that the school you attend doesnt include these generic courses (or a form of them) you should probably consider reading up on the subjects yourself. Your reporting and writing skills depend on it. 1. An Introduction to Journalism In this course, youll read the famous books. You know, Seabiscuit and All the Presidents Men. Youll talk about the future of journalism and the possibility that print media may not exist by the time you graduate. Youll talk about well-known ethical issues and the people who went against the rules of journalism, including Stephen Glass. Youll probably watch several groundbreaking movies. Youll also be expected to write, even if it isnt very much. Here, youll learn your basic reporting skills and youll get an overview of what the industry wants and needs from you. Youll practice with media, and talk about groundbreaking stories like those involving Richard Nixon. Basically, this class exists to help you familiarize yourself with the major. If, after taking it, you want to move forward, youll begin learning about the footwork of reporting itself. This is where the academic writing starts to come into play. 2. Journalism Ethics This course is all about the court cases and legal issues that surround the journalism career path. Youll get the answers to important questions, such as when to go undercover, when to use anonymous sources, and how to avoid slander or libel. This will feel very much like a legal class, but youll get into interesting discussions that help enhance your understanding of the field. Journalism is complicated, and sometimes messy. This class helps make it a bit clearer. When it comes to writing, youll probably need to develop a few reports. Youll also need to be able to identify mistakes in someone elses writing process, by reading their story and pointing out the ethical flaws. After passing this class, youll be ready to start doing some writing yourself. 3. Visualization in Journalism This class is about writing, of course. But its also about media. Here, youll learn photography and videography skills. Youll also learn how to utilize social media and blog posts. Basically, youre going to learn how to tell a story without having to write an actual story. Writing as a journalist is, essentially, one of the most difficult forms of writing that you can attempt to tackle. You need to be succinct, specific, prepared. This class allows you to take a break and explore your other options. Multi-media journalism needs to be every bit as succinct and specific, but it can also be pleasing to the eye. It gives readers the opportunity to take a break from the long blocks of text, and instead learn from charts and tables. 4. The News Room Now, it all comes to life. Youve been introduced to the subject, youve been given the information you need to move forward, and now youre actually in the room and ready to write. Here, youll gain essential knowledge about the field in which you want to work. Youll be able to use a hands-on approach to interview subjects and share your pieces. Youll also be able to take advantage of your visualization knowledge to create charts and graphs. In addition to experience in the field, working in a news room will give you the opportunity to work with a full staff. Most of your coworkers will be students, life yourself, trying to fulfill their requirements. But others will be paid interns, who have been on the paper for more than one year and are working to improve it before they graduate. You can choose to get more involved in the news room than your degree requires, or you can decide to get an internship that allows you to get your foot in the door at another publication. Either way, now is the time to get real, in-depth experience in order to improve your writing before receiving your degree. These courses take you on a journey, and they take your writing on a journey, as well.

Free Essays on Praisesong For The Widow

America is a country with people of various cultures all-trying to mingle in or in some cases trying to integrate themselves. Many people, especially in America go their whole lives not knowing their true identity, because they’re to busy trying to assimilate into another culture to feel accepted and wanted from the dominant group. As for Avey Johnson who is an African-American woman who obtains many leisure’s, is sought to be a lost and complex character. In the novel Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall is a about a middle class African-American widow, Avey Johnson who sets off into the Caribbean in a cruise ship, Bianca Pride with two of her friends. As the ship disembarks in Grenada she is haunted by nightmares of her Great aunt Cuney. Her nightmare awakens in her an emptiness and longing for something that she cannot initially explain. Her life about that point had seemed successful, especially in the eyes of others, almost like the American dream. Within this part of the novel a journey of reclamation and healing of a past that has been largely of her younger years and obtain in the American dream of financial security and a White-defined respectability. Paule Marshall takes the reader into a journey of a confused troubled widow on an expensive cruise, who then finds herself and liberates herself into a deeper understanding Guevara 2 of her cultural and familial heritage. Within the beginning of the novel, the reader can predict a sense of lost identity within the character, when her daughter, Marion addresses her as to why she feels the need to go on these cruises with people who don’t fully accept her as an equal. When she finally looked up it had been all she could do, from her expression, not to reach out and grab her mother by the shoulders and shake her the way she might have one of her pupils. To shake sense into her. â€Å"Why go on some meaningless cruise with a bunch of white folk... Free Essays on Praisesong For The Widow Free Essays on Praisesong For The Widow America is a country with people of various cultures all-trying to mingle in or in some cases trying to integrate themselves. Many people, especially in America go their whole lives not knowing their true identity, because they’re to busy trying to assimilate into another culture to feel accepted and wanted from the dominant group. As for Avey Johnson who is an African-American woman who obtains many leisure’s, is sought to be a lost and complex character. In the novel Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall is a about a middle class African-American widow, Avey Johnson who sets off into the Caribbean in a cruise ship, Bianca Pride with two of her friends. As the ship disembarks in Grenada she is haunted by nightmares of her Great aunt Cuney. Her nightmare awakens in her an emptiness and longing for something that she cannot initially explain. Her life about that point had seemed successful, especially in the eyes of others, almost like the American dream. Within this part of the novel a journey of reclamation and healing of a past that has been largely of her younger years and obtain in the American dream of financial security and a White-defined respectability. Paule Marshall takes the reader into a journey of a confused troubled widow on an expensive cruise, who then finds herself and liberates herself into a deeper understanding Guevara 2 of her cultural and familial heritage. Within the beginning of the novel, the reader can predict a sense of lost identity within the character, when her daughter, Marion addresses her as to why she feels the need to go on these cruises with people who don’t fully accept her as an equal. When she finally looked up it had been all she could do, from her expression, not to reach out and grab her mother by the shoulders and shake her the way she might have one of her pupils. To shake sense into her. â€Å"Why go on some meaningless cruise with a bunch of white folk...

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 25

Business Law - Essay Example â€Å"Procedures for settling disputes by means other than litigation; e.g., by Arbitration, mediation, or minitrials. Such procedures, which are usually less costly and more expeditious than litigation, are increasingly being used in commercial and labor disputes, Divorce actions, in resolving motor vehicle and Medical Malpractice tort claims, and in other disputes that would likely otherwise involve court litigation.† Reading and understanding from the above definition, it can be interpreted that ADR is an alternate mechanism for justice which is less costly and more expeditious. Alternate Dispute Resolution consists of Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation. Arbitration is a process by which the parties to the dispute appoint an independent Arbitrator who judges the case for the respective parties. This independent arbitrator is appointed on the behest of both the parties. Once the arbitrator is decided, the venue for the arbitration depends upon the parties to the matter. Unlike the Court system where the venue is decided as the courts itself, here the parties have more autonomy towards the way the case is going to take place. Hearings take place in accordance to the whims and fancies of the parties, and therefore the whole procedure is way more relaxed and chilled out. Mediation and Conciliation are the less popular form of ADR trials. These systems envisage a concept where the parties mediate and conciliate with the other parties on their own without the admission of an arbitrator. The process of Mediation and Conciliation is considered to be more in the zone of a personal conversation rather than a legal case going on. The idea of ADR has always been to allow a more open and calm approach towards justice delivery system. And it has ben quite successful in the Europe and UK with a streamlined method of arbitration, medication and conciliation process in practice. The ADR Group is a world-renowned

What is Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

What is Justice - Essay Example In that context, it will be really interesting to delve on the concept of justice in a lay and historical context. The laity tends to predominantly associate the term justice with fairness. In a general context, by justice, people tend to mean and expect to be treated fairly as a citizen and as a human in all spheres of public life. By justice, people expect not to be discriminated against owing to any personal or social attributes like race, ethnicity, gender, age and other political or social affiliations. In a biblical context, some principles tend to be rooted in the very essence of the concept of justice. As per Bible, justice is rooted in the very nature of God and, hence, humans should desist from dispensing justice as an omnipotent and all knowing entity (Greenberg, 1995). Hence, Bible facilitates a very liberal approach towards human justice, that extends due leverage to all the sides engaged in a dispute. Bibles envisages justice in the light of relationships and tends to settle the respective jurisdictions for the church, the state, the family and varied other constituents of the society (Greenberg, 1995). The Hebrews considered the God to be just and the one who expected his adherents to be just. The biblical idea of justice is rooted in the Covenant, which expects the believers to retain justice in interpersonal relationships otherwise they stood the chance of being judged. Plato gives much importance to the concept of justice in his works. Plato’s concept of justice is amply akin to the notions of ethics or morality that includes within its ambit all the duties of a man both as a citizen and as a family member (Parry, 1996). As per Plato, justice happened to be the virtuous aspect of the soul, before which men were expected to set aside the irrational desire to taste all pleasures (Parry, 1996). Hence, to a great extent, the Platonic concept of justice laid down the condition for exercising

The debate of hunting Essay Example for Free

The debate of hunting Essay Even though hunting should not be a sport, hunting helps maintain a healthy herd and promotes land, wildlife conservation. Because without hunting herds will over populate and become sick from starvation or spread disease. Hunters are a major supporter and play a big part in wildlife management. People for many years have debated about, hunting as a sport, or if it is only a means of people shooting at living targets. There can be many that say hunting is a part of American culture, how it benefits animal wildlife and also land conservation. Others say it is just a form of cruelty to animals and there are no benefits in hunting. â€Å"Encouragement of a proper hunting spirit, a proper love of sport, instead of being incompatible with the love of nature and wild things, offering the best guaranty for the preservation of wild things† (Theodore Roosevelt U. S. President). How hunting is cruel and that hunting has no place in the 21st century and is becoming evident by hunters waste and destruction of wildlife. In the past people used hunting as a means of supplying hunters and their families with food. Today animal activist say that hunting is not necessary and has no place in today’s society. â€Å"Hunting is not a sport, in a sport; both sides should know they’re in the game (Paul Rodriguez). In the last hundred years the United States has been going through a transformation out of the necessity to providing food and safety through recreational activity. There was a time when a majority of people lived in rural areas. Since then, the majority live in urban areas and this meant a change in people’s lifestyle. The change in people’s lifestyle brought the need to form organizations to protect animal rights. With this change many new animal rights organizations were formed such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and others to join in protecting wildlife from hunters. Animal activist argue that hunting: â€Å"In all cases, sport hunting inflicts undeniable cruelty- pain, trauma, wounding, and death- on living, sentient creatures. Most civilized and caring people will believe that causing suffering and death is by definition inhumane, regardless of method† (Miller, 2009). Some hunting is for the purpose of who can obtain the biggest trophy. In the 1950s’ an organization named the Humane Society of the United States organized to help in the protection of cruelty to wildlife animals. Therefore, in the 70s’ a group of students from Oxford decided to argue: â€Å"whether the moral status of nonhuman animals was necessarily inferior to that of human beings and whether animals should be entitled to their own basic rights and protection by law† (Laney, 2008 ). Then in the 80s’ many film productions, news articles, books were portraying that all hunters came from low class and uneducated people. Hunters today began to see themselves being portrayed as nothing more than a bunch of rednecks running through the woods with guns and wearing plaid, killing helpless animals. The NRA [National Rifle Association] caps and says in a 2004 New York Times article by a woman who stated â€Å"let’s go out and kill some defenseless animals† (Laney, 2008). Animal activist say that trophy hunting by Americans are responsible for killing tens of thousands of wild animals in other countries. In fact in 1997 the Smithsonian Institution’s received a donation of $20 million from a big game hunter named Kenneth Behring to solicit a permit, to allow the remains of two endangered sheep be allowed to be brought back to the United States under the (ESA) Endangered Species Act to aid in the research, and helping their survival. After they received bad publicity the Institute decided to avoid obtaining the permit. All though many are surprised to find that the facts on how hunting and outdoors sportsmen promote land and wildlife conservation. Hunting for many families has been a way to grow with the outdoors and bond with nature. In the Western societies like the United States and Britain, there is the argument of morals, this makes hunting a focal point for protracted and political debate. An organization named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also believe that hunters are insensitive and arrogant for participating in hunting described as â€Å"recreational† or â€Å"sporting†. â€Å" Yet many hunters themselves impose entirely different meanings on the hunt, and some, such as the naturalist Paul Shepard, even assign it spiritual significance, construing it as an activity that expresses a deep and profound reverence toward nature andliving things† (MacHalek, 2002). For many hunters of all ages, believe that hunting is a way of relaxation and an educating experience for all to enjoy. Many hunters think that â€Å"Education is lacking when an assumption is made stating hunting is only recreational and leaves damage without good† (Reed, 2008). Hunting is a human activity that in its â€Å"significance by a deceptively simple feature: the evasiveness or resistance exhibited routinely by prey. Because of the behavioral challenges that it presents, hunting has had far-reaching consequences for key aspects of human social, psychological, and cultural life† (MacHalek, 2010). Hunters have for years voiced their opinions to the public on the benefits of hunting. Hunters believe if hunting is banned, herds will over populate and there will be more animals dying of starvation, disease and more people could become involved in an accident with wildlife because of over population. Over population can lead to destruction of crops, the spread of disease, and more people acquiring injures or death in automobile accidents. Here is a picture of what happens when deer wonder out into traffic in search of food or water because there ecosystem can no longer sustain the overcrowding. For every deer that leaves an ecosystem there are two more to take its place. When food is plentiful deer will stay in one square mile. Deer prefer to stay near to where they were born and raised, in the area they know best. When deer refuse to leave their ecosystem or move to another range that has plenty of food, this leads to starvation of animals. Hunting has its educational benefit to the hunter by learning and watching and keeping track of wildlife breeding and migration patterns. â€Å"Therefore, the hunter will not only benefit by his knowledge within his hunt but also an understanding of what animals to harvest when hunting. Sick or deformed animals often give the hunter a sense of sympathy when hunting† (Reed, 2008). By understanding that these animals will probably not take long to die, they could spread the disease to other animals. Hunters help to keep track of where these animals travel and how many are sick. Hunters report these animals to the wildlife society to preserve the rest of the other herds. By addressing this problem at early stages hunters can help produce a healthier environment and aid in breeding a healthier and stronger wildlife. This will make wildlife less prone to starvation and disease. Hunting does not only benefit the hunter but it also benefits wildlife management, hunting is a good tool in wildlife management. President, Roosevelt was responsible for forming programs focused on helping to bring wildlife game back to a healthy level. Hunters benefit the economy in the way that, â€Å"Everyone benefits from the excise taxes that hunters voluntary pay on guns, ammunition and outdoors equipment. Since 1937, hunters have contributed over 4 billion dollars through the Pittman-Robertson Act for the benefit of all wildlife species† (NRA-ILA, 2004). This money is being used to buy up millions of land owned by the public in an effort to sustain wildlife in these areas. Through many other organizations that support wildlife management they have added another $ 300 million for wildlife conservation. â€Å"Hunting contributes over $30 billion to the economy each year, supporting over 1,000,000 jobs† (National Shooting Sports Foundation). Throughout the 50 states hunters and fishermen supply an annual income for the conservation agencies in that state. â€Å"Through license fees and excise taxes on arms and gear, sportsmen contribute $200 million per year for wildlife conservation,† (U. S. Fish Wildlife Service). Through the efforts of hunters and wildlife management the numbers of wildlife has risen, below is a chart that represents the numbers of wildlife species and how game species have recovered in the twentieth century. â€Å" Through legislative programs designed to channel funds back into the conservation process, hunters have restored population of deer, elk, antelope, turkeys and ducks to record numbers† (NRA-ILA, 2004). For years hunters have teamed up with organizations such as: Hunters Sharing the Harvest and Hunters for the Hungry to supply for people in need. One of the oldest hunting organizations, which are the most important to revenue sources named, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration of 1937 or the Pittman-Robertson Act. This organization is responsible for distributing more than $3. 8 billon to fish and wildlife agencies because it became a law. The members of organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, National Rifle Association, and hunters, are helping to finance a variety of game management programs. By hunters and organizations like the Wildlife Federation and others they have been the leaders in the way of promoting wildlife and land conservation. These organizations are working with communities to build a better understanding of how they can improve their local economy and how to establish a trust fund. â€Å"To establish an annual income the trust will purchase wildlife to be released in the conservancy, and the conservancy will later pay the trust for any increase in population over the original number of animals† (Burnett , 200). Hunting today has become a means of relaxation and experiencing one with nature. However, a survey conducted in 2006 by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the numbers of hunters are declining because fewer children and teens are learning how to hunt. Despite the demise of hunters because the era of about 12,000 years ago, hunting still has a great deal of significance in many human cultures. â€Å" In A View To a Death in the Morning (1993), Matt Cartmill traces the symbolism and imagery of the hunt from the hunting-gathering era, through the agrarian era, and into modern, industrial times. Cartmill Page 452 (MacHalek, 2010). In 2001 a group formed named , NWCP goal was to team up with National Wildlife Conservation, the goal of this organization is to set the course in the future of wildlife conservation. In setting the course these organizations works together with the President of the United States and congress to face the issues about wildlife conservation and hunting. â€Å"Thirty five hunting and conservation groups have joined NWCP. NRA is a member of the steering committee† (NRA-ILA, 2004). Hunting will be a subject that will be up for debate for years to come by many organizations. Animal activist believe that there is no place for hunting in the 20th, century. Hunters believe that without hunting wildlife will over populate and destroy valuable crops and have a devastating effect on their ecosystem. Over population will also lead to wildlife moving into urban neighborhoods and there will be more animal related accidents causing injuries and deaths to humans. Hunters are the leaders in wildlife and land conservation. Hunting is a vital tool for the preservation of all wildlife species and land conservation. Therefore â€Å"Knowing the history of hunting in the United States is important for understanding the diverse points of view surrounding this controversial subject† (Laney, 2008) . These views will probably will never see eye to eye,† If humans are, in fact, possessed of an evolved psychology that derives from a hunting-gathering past, it can not been determined if this evolved psychology and the contours of modernity are somehow reconcilable or rather, are fundamentally incommensurable† (MacHalek, 2010). References Burnett, H. S. (2001, November 12). Ideas Changing the World. Retrieved from http://www.ncpa. org/pub/ba377 Laney, D. (2008). Introduction to Hunting: Opposing Viewpoints. Retrieved from http://find. galegroup. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/gps/infomark. do? contentSet=GSRCtype=retrievetabId=T001prodId=IPSdocId=EJ3010504101source=galesrcprod=OVRCuserGroupName=uphoenixversion=1. 0 Miller, D. A. (2009). Sport Hunting Should Be Banned. Retrieved from http://find galegroup. com ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/gps/infomark. do? contentSet=GSRCtype=retrievetabID=T001prodId=IPSdocId=EJ3010062287source=galesrcprod=OVRCuserGroupName=uphoenixversion=1. 0 NRA-ILA. (n. d. ). Hunting Facts. Retrieved from http://www. nraila. org/issues/factsheet/read. aspx? id=124 Reade, C. (2008, October 13). Sport Hunting Should Not Be Banned. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles. com/? Sport- Hunting-Should-Not-Be-Bannedid=1578067 MacHalek, Richard S. Hunting. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Ed. Robert Kastenbaum. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 451-453. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CCX3407200148v=2. 1u=apolloit=rp=GVRLsw=w Gale Document Number: GALE|CX3407200148.

Essay on the Importance of Language in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Importance of Language in The Tempest      Ã‚   In discussing Derrida's view of Western literature, Geoffrey Hartman writes that "Western tradition has been marked . . . by a metaphysics of light, by the violence of light itself, from Apollonian cults to Cartesian philosophies. In the light of this emphatic light everything else appears obscure; especially the Hebraic development of aniconic writing and self-effacing commentary of textuality" (xix). This point is well illustrated by the nature of Prospero's power in The Tempest for his control of natural and supernatural forces is achieved through book-learning the bringing to life of Logos. That which Prospero does not control completely is the vilified character of Caliban. The denigrated and unwilling servant seems to represent Prospero's shadow, and in light of the above statement, perhaps Caliban represents the shadow of our light-infused Greco-Roman style of domination of the material world. The text tells us that when Prospero first arrives on the island Caliban wi llingly reveals its secrets to him. Only when Caliban threatens the chastity of Prospero's daughter, Miranda, does the relationship turn into one of master and slave. Prospero thus draws the line between the shadow realm and purity. His action suggests that sexuality, too, must be kept in a role of servitude if one is to retain control of one's kingdom. In affirming this schism, Prospero simply enforces the dualistic nature of the Western tradition. In heaping scorn upon Caliban, Prospero embodies the West's extreme dualistic nature vis-a-vis its perceived schisms existent between light and dark, mortal and immortal, good and evil.    Caliban's transgression is thus never effaced and brings the diametr... ...are Commentaries. (1877):787-800. Rpt.   Scott. 304-307. Hartman, Geoffrey H. Saving the Text: Literature/Derrida/Philosophy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1981. More, Sir Thomas. "Utopia." The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol 1. Ed. David   Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1999. 637-706. Platt, Peter. "Shakespeare and Rhetorical Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David   Scott Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999.   277-296. Sacks, David Harris. "Political Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David Scott   Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999. 100-116. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Rex Gibson. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. Snider, Denton J. "A review of The Tempest." The Shakespearian Drama a Commentary: The Comedies. (1890). Rpt. Scott. 320-324.

Lvmh in the Recession the Substance of Style

http://www. economist. com/node/14447276 LVMH in the recession The substance of style The world’s biggest luxury-goods group is benefiting from a flight to quality, but the recession is also prompting questions about the company’s breadth and balance Sep 17th 2009 | Paris | from the print edition * * Bloomberg â€Å"THERE are four main elements to our business model—product, distribution, communication and price,† explains an executive at LVMH, the world's largest luxury-goods group. â€Å"Our job is to do such a fantastic job on the first three that people forget all about the fourth. For decades LVMH's formula has worked like a spell: seduced by beautiful status-symbols, perfect shops and clever advertising, millions of people have swooned forgetfully towards the firm's cash registers. At Louis Vuitton, LVMH's star company, the model's pricing power has yielded consistent profit margins of around 40-45%, the highest of any luxury-goods brand. These days customers are finding it far harder to forget about price. The seriously rich, of course, are still spending freely.But much of the industry's rapid growth in the past decade came from middle-class people, often buying on credit or on the back of rising house prices. According to Luca Solca of Bernstein Research, 60% of the luxury market is now based on demand from â€Å"aspirational† customers rather than from the wealthy elite. The recession has quickly reversed the trend to trade up, and people are delaying expensive purchases. Bain & Company, a consulting firm, expects the industry's sales to fall by a tenth in 2009, to â‚ ¬153 billion ($225 billion).Some executives even expect a lasting shift in customers' preferences, towards discretion and value. Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, believes that the whole industry needs to rebrand itself. â€Å"The word luxury suggests triviality and showing off, and the time for all that has gone,† he say s. Brands which sold â€Å"blingy† easy-to-sell products, milking old names, he says, will fare particularly badly in the new environment. LVMH, by contrast, has never taken such an approach, he says, instead emphasising quality, innovation and creativity.To underline these values, the group is going back to basics in its daily operations. â€Å"Before the crisis, we were putting a lot of energy into beautiful stores, but now we care a bit less about expanding our network and even more about design and price,† says an executive. A few years ago, for instance, at the height of the boom, one LVMH brand was putting diamonds all over its watches, so that it was almost difficult to tell the time. â€Å"Now we are getting back to what really matters, which is nice movements and design,† he says.For some luxury firms, the recession's effects have already been brutal. Private-equity firms and other outside investors which rushed into the industry at its peak have suffer ed most. â€Å"At the top of the market this industry was perceived as easy by outsiders,† says Mr Arnault. â€Å"You borrowed 80% of a target's asking price and hired a good designer, but the strategy has not been successful in several cases. † Lenders to Valentino, an Italian fashion house, are reportedly trying to renegotiate its debt. Permira, a private-equity group, bought the firm in 2007 in a deal valuing it at â‚ ¬5. billion. Permira has since written down its equity investment of about â‚ ¬900m by more than half. Prada Holding, through which Miuccia Prada and her husband control Prada Group, another Italian house, recently restructured its loans in order to defer payment to banks. Prada Group has denied that there are talks to bring in a minority shareholder. Two particularly weak firms, Christian Lacroix, a Paris-based ready-to-wear and haute couture label which used to be part of LVMH, and Escada, a German maker of luxury womenswear, filed for bankrupt cy earlier this year.Amid this turmoil, LVMH is performing relatively well (see chart 1). It has benefited from an established pattern in the luxury industry: when people have less, they spend what they do have on the best quality. Shoppers are going for fewer, classic items—one Burberry raincoat, rather than three designer dresses, or a single Kelly bag by Hermes, a French luxury-goods group, instead of four bags from various lesser designers. For this reason, says Yves Carcelle, chief executive of Louis Vuitton and president of fashion and leather goods for LVMH, â€Å"Vuitton always gains market share in crises. As reliable and sturdy as one of its own handbags, therefore, Vuitton is carrying LVMH fairly comfortably through the recession. In the first half of 2009 the group's revenues were about the same as a year before, though profits were 12% lower. Two divisions—wine and spirits, and watches and jewellery—were the worst affected: their revenues each fell by 17% and their profits by 41% and 73% respectively (see chart 2). Rapid de-stocking by retailers exacerbated the effect of falling demand.But the falls were offset by Vuitton, where revenue rose by a double-digit percentage, registering gains in every market. â€Å"It is incredible that in a downturn the consumer still buys so many Louis Vuitton bags, but she or he does,† says Melanie Flouquet, luxury-goods analyst at JPMorgan in Paris. Vuitton's performance, and the overall robustness of LVMH, a global conglomerate with more than 50 brands and revenues of â‚ ¬17. 2 billion in 2008, should allow it to take advantage of its competitors' weakness in the recession. In the next few years we expect several failures in the industry and good opportunities to acquire assets at attractive prices,† says Mr Arnault. Shareholders in the firm are particularly preoccupied by what he might buy and sell in the next few years. What explains Vuitton's resilience? Beneath the gloss of advertising campaigns, catwalk shows and each season's fleeting trends, Vuitton brings a machine-like discipline to the selling of fancy leather goods and fashion. It is the only leather-goods firm, for instance, which never puts its products on sale at a discount.It destroys stock instead, keeping a close eye on the proportion it ends up scrapping (which it calls the â€Å"destruction margin†). In 2005, when Maurizio Borletti, owner of several prominent department stores in Italy and France, was preparing for the opening of a refurbished La Rinascente department store in Milan, he recalls, the Vuitton people built a scale model of the building in their offices to understand customer flows and get the best positioning. â€Å"In this they're the most professional in the industry,† he says.Unlike most other luxury marques, Vuitton never gives licences to outside firms, to avoid brand degradation. Its factories use techniques from other industries, notably carmaking, t o push costs down ruthlessly and to allow teams of workers to be switched from one product to another as demand dictates. It has adopted methods of quality control, too: one quality supervisor came from Valeo, a French auto-parts supplier. The result is long-lasting utility, beyond show, which is valuable in difficult times. Owning shops gives Vuitton control over levels of stock, presentation and pricing.It was not therefore affected by the panicked price-slashing of up to 80% by American luxury department stores in the run-up to Christmas last year—a â€Å"catastrophe† for others in the industry, according to Mr Arnault. Although other LVMH divisions have been hit by outside retailers de-stocking during the crisis, Vuitton has managed its own inventory, with no competition for space from other brands. With a global network, says Mr Carcelle, the firm can move poorly selling stock to shops where it has performed better. The luxury of diversityVuitton's ability to offs et the steep falls in other divisions shows the value of the diversified conglomerate model in luxury goods. Richemont, the industry's second-largest company, has a less varied portfolio and greater exposure to watches and jewellery, demand for which has been especially weak. According to a recent trading statement, its sales fell by 16% in the five months to the end of August. A group structure also yields savings when negotiating deals for advertising space, property and credit-card fees. It helps to have a specialist beauty retailer, Sephora, and a chain of airport shops, DFS, to sell perfumes and cosmetics.When Vuitton develops watches, say, it can call on the talents of TAG Heuer. But LVMH's breadth also comes in for criticism. Although there is undoubtedly value in some diversification, some people ask whether 50-odd brands under one roof are too many. Vuitton, for instance, would doubtless like to see disposals of weaker brands as a result of the crisis, and a greater concent ration of resources on the group's key businesses. The group's executives devote the bulk of their attention to the most important of these: Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy in drinks, TAG Heuer in watches, Christian Dior in perfumes and cosmetics, Sephora and DFS.The group has many smaller businesses, and these get much less attention in such a big group. LVMH does not disclose financial figures for individual brands, but at its presentation of first-half results the group's finance director replied to an analyst asking about fashion and leather-goods that a â€Å"handful† had lost money â€Å"somewhere†. There is speculation that Celine, a ready-to-wear clothing and accessories label, Kenzo, a fashion brand which analysts have long suggested LVMH dispose of, or Loewe, a Spanish leather-goods brand which has so far failed o win much of a following outside Spain and Japan, are among the less profitable. Nevertheless, the group can use the might of Vuitton to support its sm aller, upcoming brands. A department store, for instance, may be asked to take Loewe or Celine in order to get Vuitton. That often frustrates people at Vuitton, however, who would prefer to use the power of the brand for its own benefit, says a person who knows the company well. â€Å"They've never heard of another of LVMH's brands saying, ‘Either give this to Vuitton or I won't come',† he says.Apart from the synergy in watch design, Vuitton does not find that it benefits much from the rest of the group. The reason why LVMH has many small brands which aren't quite making it, says another person familiar with the company, is that Mr Arnault is an optimist who believes that every property can at some point be turned around. That can pay off: some years ago Mr Arnault halted the imminent sale of a make-up line. Thanks to the distribution muscle of Sephora, it has since turned into a bestseller in America.Investors, however, are nevertheless wary of what they see as Mr Arna ult's tendency to collect brands. The crisis has also underlined the fact that Vuitton dominates the group's results. Were it not for Vuitton, estimates one analyst, LVMH's sales would have fallen by 3% in the first half of 2009 and profits would have plunged by 40%. In normal times Vuitton contributes about half of the group's profits, and most of the rest comes from Moet Hennessy. In the first half of this year, however, Vuitton contributed an estimated 70% of profit.That leads some people to question whether LVMH is overly dependent on the leather-goods firm. â€Å"You can argue that there's nothing as good as Vuitton in LVMH's portfolio,† says Pierre Mallevays of Savigny Partners, who was formerly director of acquisitions at LVMH, â€Å"but that simply states the fact that LV's business model is the gold standard of luxury brands; no other brand in the world compares to it. † The biggest risk to LVMH is Vuitton, argues Ms Flouquet, since it accounts for such a big proportion of profits; the company depends on it, she says.The risk to Vuitton, in turn, is that it could fall out of fashion or lose its exclusivity in the eyes of consumers. So far there is no sign of fatigue with the brand. LVMH's senior managers have devised ways to refresh it. In the late 1990s, for example, Mr Arnault saw that there was a risk that as a maker of leather goods alone, Vuitton could be perceived as boring. In 1997 he hired Marc Jacobs, then a relatively unknown designer, to design a fashion line. The aim was to generate seasonal buzz and press coverage.Vuitton's senior executives at the time were against the idea, fearing that adding fashion could undermine a timeless image, but Mr Arnault's move proved successful. To avoid overexposure of its signature â€Å"Monogram† print, Vuitton has taken care to develop a wide range of products and other patterns. â€Å"We increase the number of product lines and we are careful to have several different colours and shapes,† says Mr Arnault. Thus Vuitton sells reasonably priced handbags—the smallest Speedy Bag costs â‚ ¬430 in Paris—but also wildly expensive custom-made luggage, reinforcing its exclusive image.Another effective tactic is to make limited-edition handbags which are hard to get hold of. Five or so years ago Vuitton depended to a large degree on one market, Japan. Most Japanese women owned at least one Vuitton product—and hence provided a large proportion of Vuitton's profits, which worried analysts at the time. Yet the Japanese market for luxury goods was souring. Spending on such items in Japan has fallen sharply since the end of 2005, according to a recent report by McKinsey, a consulting firm. Young women are more individualistic than their mothers, and are seeking out lesser-known brands. You used to see thousands of Vuitton bags coming at you in the Ginza shopping district but far fewer now,† says Radha Chadha, author of a book, â€Å"The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair with Luxury†. That reliance on one country is no longer so marked (see chart 3). Fortunately, Vuitton has since rapidly established a strong position in what it hopes will become another Japan: China. â€Å"The Chinese consumer is in a love affair with the Vuitton brand,† says Ms Flouquet. According to LVMH, in the first half of 2009 sales to Chinese people (at home and travelling) made up 18% of Vuitton's revenue.Despite widespread concerns about counterfeiting in the country, the Chinese are now Vuitton's biggest customer base after the Japanese. The key to the firm's success, says Mr Arnault, has been approaching the market exactly as if it were a developed market. â€Å"We treat the Chinese customer as being very sophisticated. † Many competitors, by contrast, have at times lowered their standards for shops in China, he says, using inferior furniture or positioning their stores poorly. Going into new markets and developing new product lines will enable Vuitton o continue producing double-digit growth for years to come, says Mr Carcelle. On every trip to mainland China—he makes five or six a year—he tries to discover a new city and meet its mayor. Mr Carcelle is also tackling other new frontiers: in October he will open a shop in Sukhbaatar Square in Ulan Bator. â€Å"Already if you go to an upmarket disco in Ulan Bator you will see a significant number of our bags,† he says. Vuitton's expansion into China, Mongolia and new product lines such as watches and shoes, suggest that the leather-goods firm will continue to be LVMH's main source of growth.However, it also means that the group may become more rather than less reliant on Vuitton. In theory, the answer could lie in strengthening some of LVMH's smaller names, such as Fendi, a fashion and leather-goods brand. But buying a big, established, global brand with potential for growth could be both a quicker and a sure r route. Or maybe that oneImagineChina A new collection? Analysts and bankers are convinced that Mr Arnault wants to buy the Hermes Group, a producer of leather goods and fashion which matches Vuitton for quality and design.Because Hermes is run so conservatively, says an investment banker who knows LVMH well, it is only a quarter of the size that it could be. â€Å"Mr Arnault would grow it while preserving its values,† he says. Earlier this year, there were rumours that LVMH would sell Moet Hennessy to Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, which already owns 34% of the business. Such a sale could raise money to buy Hermes. Mr Arnault, however, refuses to be drawn into commenting. For the moment, such an acquisition is impossible, since the family which controls Hermes does not want to sell, and the firm is strongly defended against takeover.Nevertheless, says the banker, the family which controls it has several branches, all with different views. â€Å"It's a pressure cooker and some day it will blow up,† he says. Chanel, another closely held global luxury brand, could also make a desirable target for LVMH. Some people recommend a merger with Richemont, which, Mr Solca argues, would address LVMH's relative weakness in watches and jewellery. Any such deals, or selling Moet Hennessy, would radically change the balance of the group. â€Å"I would be surprised if LVMH sold Moet Hennessy. The business has high margins, high ashflow and it is well managed,† says Ms Flouquet. â€Å"They would probably only sell it if they had a large deal ahead. † Shareholders are nervous that LVMH will pay too high a price for a large acquisition. For this reason the group's valuation may not fully reflect its performance during the crisis. Such concerns are not likely to deter Mr Arnault, who has demonstrated his confidence in LVMH's prospects in luxury by raising his stake in the group over time: he owns 47%. If LVMH does go shopping, it will prob ably behave like one of its best customers: with price in mind, but willing to spend on enduring prestige.