I spent a very, very, very long time this morning trying to figure out what song I titled this post after. "The beginning of something good"...it's on the tip of my tongue and I cannot remember the song name! Nevertheless, what I'm trying to say with the title is this: this semester is the beginning of something good. If you were following my earlier posts, I described what it was like working as a journalism student and rising up to work at the Columbia television station, KOMU8. Now, with just two weeks remaining of the entire semester, I'm finding myself reminiscing about this semester. Okay, I always thought the word reminiscing sounded sad...I'll say: looking back in retrospect (I like that phrase better!), this semester has been a great journey. I had, without a doubt, one of the most challenging classes I've ever taken. That's Broadcast 2. Since it is in my sequence for my journalism major, of course it's supposed to be challenging. I always appreciated the challenging classes the most. Even if I didn't score a high grade in the class (Political Science freshman year...a decent, mid-range B, but I thought I would make a C or lower), I walked away with an experience and knowledge I'll never forget. Broadcast 2 takes that to another level. There are times in the class I felt quite comfortable, grade-wise. I felt like I was doing well. Then other times I thought "Uh-oh. This is getting a little bumpy". Same way with the class work in the class. The most work-intensive class I've had, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Why? Because every time I go to lecture for Broadcast 2, I learn something that I'll never forget. Every time I go to the 2 and a half hour lab where we critique our work for the week, I learn something from my work as well as everybody else's work. It's a win-win situation (well...unless you do something really bad and don't want anybody else to see it). I also believe Greeley Kyle has been one of the best professors I've had and met at the university. Have you ever had a professor who is so passionate about what they are teaching and they'll help the students out in so many ways? That's Greeley Kyle times 100. His stories and lectures may be the most epic things I've ever heard.
Moving on from classwork, I've learned my fair share of broadcast language and knowledge by working as an actual reporter at KOMU8. Last week was Thanksgiving Break; therefore we didn't have any classes. The Thursday before Thanksgiving break was the last week I reported at the station. The last story I worked on was about MoDOT improving narrow, two-lane highways. After budgeting the large projects for more trafficked highways, MoDOT realized they had more money to spend on roads. This story ended up turning out much better than my horrid second reporting shift (read my last blog related to KOMU work), however I shot all footage, spoke with all my official sources, and found my main character for the story all between 3-5 pm. After this story, I realized that I can work well under pressure and finish my story so long as I work with my CCC moto: Cool, calm, and collected. I believe this is my slogan from working as a broadcast journalism student. So, all in all, this entire semester I feel like every time I didn't remain cool, calm, and collected, everything fell apart. This semester equals one of the best experiences of my life, and most definitely one of the moments in my life I will never forget.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Through the Mists of Recession, Jobs Rise
I have a feeling I'm not the only American who frequently speaks about the nation's unemployment rates, the stimulus plan, and the dreaded "R" word, recession. I even covered a story about unemployment rates at KOMU about 4 weeks ago. Since then, the government has good news for the American people:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2009/db2009124_771110.htm
So, is it true that there will be fewer pictures like this?
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/news_impact/2009/01/large_unemployment-line-outside.jpg
One thing I have learned taking a few business classes this semester and speaking with my politicians, many Americans are afraid to use the word "recession". To some, a recession means harder times. Times that will look more like the Great Depression. On the contrary, other Americans say the country is without a doubt wading in recession. However you describe the state of the economy, there's no denying certain facts. Facts like unemployment rates skyrocketing. After many months of an increasing unemployment rates, the numbers are finally seeming to stop or at least reverse. According to the article above, people are now finding jobs. This is a great article from the facts and figures side of things. It's great to see that the jobless are now finding jobs, and this article does a great job providing those concrete and hard facts that can give Americans a (better) piece of mind knowing that finding jobs may be getting easier.
Still, I wonder if it's more than just the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act providing the jobs to the jobless. Yes, I do believe this stimulus package is helping, but is it really helping America that much? Last year when this stimulus package was announced, I had a very interesting conversation with a USPS mailman. For more than an hour, he and I discussed the stimulus plan and the economy. One thing I won't forget him speaking about was how he believed the stimulus package won't help matters. He said if the government just waits, in due time the economy will work itself out of this bind and people will begin finding jobs. Since then, I've debated that topic with myself. Is that true? Just as an accountant says in this article I found, "it's going to get worse before it gets better."
Although the article does a great job giving statistics and showing figures, I wish it went into more detail about why people like the accountant feel this way. Maybe it's true what the mailman said, or maybe it's completely wrong. Maybe the only way to fix the economy is through this stimulus plan. There's no easy answer, and there's no way to find out if the other answer would have worked out better or worse (not issuing the ARRA; the stimulus plan). So, like anything else, choose a side. But in the end, we should be grateful for the small things. Like the fact unemployment rates are slowly declining.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2009/db2009124_771110.htm
So, is it true that there will be fewer pictures like this?
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/news_impact/2009/01/large_unemployment-line-outside.jpg
One thing I have learned taking a few business classes this semester and speaking with my politicians, many Americans are afraid to use the word "recession". To some, a recession means harder times. Times that will look more like the Great Depression. On the contrary, other Americans say the country is without a doubt wading in recession. However you describe the state of the economy, there's no denying certain facts. Facts like unemployment rates skyrocketing. After many months of an increasing unemployment rates, the numbers are finally seeming to stop or at least reverse. According to the article above, people are now finding jobs. This is a great article from the facts and figures side of things. It's great to see that the jobless are now finding jobs, and this article does a great job providing those concrete and hard facts that can give Americans a (better) piece of mind knowing that finding jobs may be getting easier.
Still, I wonder if it's more than just the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act providing the jobs to the jobless. Yes, I do believe this stimulus package is helping, but is it really helping America that much? Last year when this stimulus package was announced, I had a very interesting conversation with a USPS mailman. For more than an hour, he and I discussed the stimulus plan and the economy. One thing I won't forget him speaking about was how he believed the stimulus package won't help matters. He said if the government just waits, in due time the economy will work itself out of this bind and people will begin finding jobs. Since then, I've debated that topic with myself. Is that true? Just as an accountant says in this article I found, "it's going to get worse before it gets better."
Although the article does a great job giving statistics and showing figures, I wish it went into more detail about why people like the accountant feel this way. Maybe it's true what the mailman said, or maybe it's completely wrong. Maybe the only way to fix the economy is through this stimulus plan. There's no easy answer, and there's no way to find out if the other answer would have worked out better or worse (not issuing the ARRA; the stimulus plan). So, like anything else, choose a side. But in the end, we should be grateful for the small things. Like the fact unemployment rates are slowly declining.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Journalism Stories and Depth
So I found this story while reading about the Fort Hood case. If you're not familiar with the story, it's about a solider at a Texas post that goes on a rampage to kill 13 soldiers and overall wounding 29. This new article I found about Fort Hood said that the woman proclaimed as the hero of this incident may no longer be the hero after all. Here is the link to the story:
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-real-hero-fort-hood-shooting-story,0,3638333.story
After reading this article, I started thinking to myself, "When do journalists have to retell a story just in order for viewers to understand and/or make the correlation between older stories and a newer story on the same situation?" While most who have watched the news recently will have heard something about Fort Hood and the main contents of the story. However, what about smaller stories? Do journalists have to restate most of the facts and other information from a previous story in a more recent, updated story? I did enjoy how this article gave new information along with a written piece and a video piece, but what if people wanted to know more details? Of course in this internet age, it's not difficult to find more information about a story by just searching for it. Also, a journalist could link a previous story to the updated story for people interested. This would provide somewhat of a roadmap or chain to all the stories a station or a particular journalists does.
More about this article I found: I thought it was an interesting piece about how Kimberly Munley just now confessed she was not the person who actually stopped the criminal, Nidal Malik Hasan. While Munley may not have known another officer helped her take down Hasan, I thought she would have mentioned before now that somebody else shot him. While this story seemed to simply state recent news, I enjoyed the video better because it actually gives more detail. This leads me to my next question: Is it better for web stories about broadcast pieces to be shorter and give less detail than the video? Personally, I think the written web story should give just as much information as the broadcasted video, but it should be written in a way that encourages viewers to actually watch the video to see more information. I believe the written story should dive into more detail and give more facts and/or sides to the story. It seemed with this station's take on this story, they hint to watch the video in the writing. I think this can be a good thing, especially if there are different things presented in the written web story and the video included on the web.
http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-real-hero-fort-hood-shooting-story,0,3638333.story
After reading this article, I started thinking to myself, "When do journalists have to retell a story just in order for viewers to understand and/or make the correlation between older stories and a newer story on the same situation?" While most who have watched the news recently will have heard something about Fort Hood and the main contents of the story. However, what about smaller stories? Do journalists have to restate most of the facts and other information from a previous story in a more recent, updated story? I did enjoy how this article gave new information along with a written piece and a video piece, but what if people wanted to know more details? Of course in this internet age, it's not difficult to find more information about a story by just searching for it. Also, a journalist could link a previous story to the updated story for people interested. This would provide somewhat of a roadmap or chain to all the stories a station or a particular journalists does.
More about this article I found: I thought it was an interesting piece about how Kimberly Munley just now confessed she was not the person who actually stopped the criminal, Nidal Malik Hasan. While Munley may not have known another officer helped her take down Hasan, I thought she would have mentioned before now that somebody else shot him. While this story seemed to simply state recent news, I enjoyed the video better because it actually gives more detail. This leads me to my next question: Is it better for web stories about broadcast pieces to be shorter and give less detail than the video? Personally, I think the written web story should give just as much information as the broadcasted video, but it should be written in a way that encourages viewers to actually watch the video to see more information. I believe the written story should dive into more detail and give more facts and/or sides to the story. It seemed with this station's take on this story, they hint to watch the video in the writing. I think this can be a good thing, especially if there are different things presented in the written web story and the video included on the web.
I Can't Sleep Because I've Got the Journalism Blues
Do you remember when I posted early on Friday mornings because I had just awaken from a nice, cozy slumber and wanted to tell you about all of my journalism situations since I'm blunt in the mornings? Well now I've added another element: I can't sleep! That's right. I finished my second reporting shift last night and I couldn't sleep so I did some work and decided to blog about it!
So, as I said, last night was my second reporting shift at KOMU8 News. Reporting provides me with lots of excitement and an ability to really improve upon my journalism skills and knowledge. I feel thrilled to be doing this work! As with the real world, this experience gives me good days and bad days (I'll get to that in just a few minutes), but I take my blessings for the good days. I appreciate working with other hard working peers and faculty members at the station, and every time I work with somebody, I get to know them that much more. It is funny looking back from Freshman year when I went to the station for either a tour or just to "shadow" a friend working there. The station seemed much more like a foreign world to me in those days, and now I feel like pitching a cot in an editing bay. I really love the experience of actually working in a newsroom and getting hands-on practice for reporting, making contacts, and always challenging myself to different tasks. I feel like the station is a temple of broadcast knowledge, and I can't stop consuming it!
For the most part, I've had good days while reporting at the station. Sometimes, contacts just fall in your lap, you get tipped off about a certain event or story, or maybe you speed through editing and writing. Then there are the days that nothing seems to go right. I don't mean to sound like a "Danny Downer", and honestly I never regret what happens because as my father always told me, "Failures are more important than successes. You learn from those the most." I have learned through the years that I'm a perfectionist, especially given the time to perfect the art of something. The first reporting shift I had, I finished my story an hour and a half ahead of schedule, found more facts for the story, and started working on my web story before the television piece ran. This provided me the comfort of knowing I had time to change anything that is wrong and critique minor things I noticed in my story. However, I have also learned that I can work quickly when under pressure. Frankly, I work best under pressure because I don't spend much time worrying about one issue.
Now I hate classifying a certain day or happening as "bad", but last night it seemed like nothing was going right for awhile. My story was about the overdraft protection plan and how people can now opt-in to get the overdraft charges. Just to name a few things, nobody was calling me back and it seemed that all my contacts had a reason to be out of the office. I tried to make some phone calls earlier in the day, but these soon failed me since I left a message and called back to check in to only hear their secretary say "They've left for the day." I then lucked out when I went to Jeff City to speak with a representative from the Missouri Division of Finance. He pointed out the president of the Missouri Bankers Association, who gave me more good information. When I also was out shooting footage to use in my story, I didn't shoot a stand-up (where I appear on camera to explain something on location or in person) because I thought my story may turn into an on-set (which is where I speak in the studio while on air). My video was also dull and unexciting (I thought "how can I make this story look visually appealing?") and my central main person for the story couldn't speak very long and wanted to meet at a place in-between the locations he was going to last night. I finished running around and getting footage for my story at 7:30 last night. This gave me a strict timeline to capture all my footage, write my scripts for the story, and edit it. I learned quickly how to make adjustments and give a little if the producers ask for something. After my story no longer had an on-set, I prepared a graphic instead. However, this took up too much time, so it also had to be cut. I'm not considering last night's reporting shift a failure, but it just didn't go the way I intended (on my part; I didn't have a problem compromising with the producers at all).
Still, I think it's hard to have a second experience like my first reporting shift. Here, all the calls I made before going to station helped out and all of my contacts were good about meeting with me. I struggled in a few situations with some complaining about being on camera, but I finished the story with much time to spare. I also found out little tricks of the trade from the producers to make my video quality a little better. This story was about how Mid-Missourians can now apply for longer unemployment benefits. Since I couldn't find anybody who does use extended unemployment benefits to speak with me, I found somebody who used the Missouri Career Center in a way that transformed the story into something a little different than I originally imagined. I met a gentleman who used the Career Center for years, but he never found a job through them. While he currently has a job, I did get a few good quotes from him about his opinion on the unemployment benefits extension and his opinion about organizations like the center that help unemployed people find jobs. This is one of my main loves for doing a story: the story can change by the time you leave to station to the time you come back. It's amazing how this works!
To conclude this week's blog, I just want to say I'm in disbelief that next week is the final week before Thanksgiving Break...and the last week I'm reporting. It seems like yesterday (I'm sure it does since I was reporting last night...) that I was doing my first package for Broadcast 2 class. Now I'm down to my last assignment (maybe) for B2. Funny thing is, every time I'm working on a story, I can always hear my professor, Greeley Kyle, in the back of my mind, keeping me on track and focused. I wonder if I will still have little Greeley on my shoulder 20 years from now reminding me to not use that shot because it's a little too dark or shaky...ok that's not a maybe, it will happen. In all honesty, journalism wouldn't be the same without GK.
So, as I said, last night was my second reporting shift at KOMU8 News. Reporting provides me with lots of excitement and an ability to really improve upon my journalism skills and knowledge. I feel thrilled to be doing this work! As with the real world, this experience gives me good days and bad days (I'll get to that in just a few minutes), but I take my blessings for the good days. I appreciate working with other hard working peers and faculty members at the station, and every time I work with somebody, I get to know them that much more. It is funny looking back from Freshman year when I went to the station for either a tour or just to "shadow" a friend working there. The station seemed much more like a foreign world to me in those days, and now I feel like pitching a cot in an editing bay. I really love the experience of actually working in a newsroom and getting hands-on practice for reporting, making contacts, and always challenging myself to different tasks. I feel like the station is a temple of broadcast knowledge, and I can't stop consuming it!
For the most part, I've had good days while reporting at the station. Sometimes, contacts just fall in your lap, you get tipped off about a certain event or story, or maybe you speed through editing and writing. Then there are the days that nothing seems to go right. I don't mean to sound like a "Danny Downer", and honestly I never regret what happens because as my father always told me, "Failures are more important than successes. You learn from those the most." I have learned through the years that I'm a perfectionist, especially given the time to perfect the art of something. The first reporting shift I had, I finished my story an hour and a half ahead of schedule, found more facts for the story, and started working on my web story before the television piece ran. This provided me the comfort of knowing I had time to change anything that is wrong and critique minor things I noticed in my story. However, I have also learned that I can work quickly when under pressure. Frankly, I work best under pressure because I don't spend much time worrying about one issue.
Now I hate classifying a certain day or happening as "bad", but last night it seemed like nothing was going right for awhile. My story was about the overdraft protection plan and how people can now opt-in to get the overdraft charges. Just to name a few things, nobody was calling me back and it seemed that all my contacts had a reason to be out of the office. I tried to make some phone calls earlier in the day, but these soon failed me since I left a message and called back to check in to only hear their secretary say "They've left for the day." I then lucked out when I went to Jeff City to speak with a representative from the Missouri Division of Finance. He pointed out the president of the Missouri Bankers Association, who gave me more good information. When I also was out shooting footage to use in my story, I didn't shoot a stand-up (where I appear on camera to explain something on location or in person) because I thought my story may turn into an on-set (which is where I speak in the studio while on air). My video was also dull and unexciting (I thought "how can I make this story look visually appealing?") and my central main person for the story couldn't speak very long and wanted to meet at a place in-between the locations he was going to last night. I finished running around and getting footage for my story at 7:30 last night. This gave me a strict timeline to capture all my footage, write my scripts for the story, and edit it. I learned quickly how to make adjustments and give a little if the producers ask for something. After my story no longer had an on-set, I prepared a graphic instead. However, this took up too much time, so it also had to be cut. I'm not considering last night's reporting shift a failure, but it just didn't go the way I intended (on my part; I didn't have a problem compromising with the producers at all).
Still, I think it's hard to have a second experience like my first reporting shift. Here, all the calls I made before going to station helped out and all of my contacts were good about meeting with me. I struggled in a few situations with some complaining about being on camera, but I finished the story with much time to spare. I also found out little tricks of the trade from the producers to make my video quality a little better. This story was about how Mid-Missourians can now apply for longer unemployment benefits. Since I couldn't find anybody who does use extended unemployment benefits to speak with me, I found somebody who used the Missouri Career Center in a way that transformed the story into something a little different than I originally imagined. I met a gentleman who used the Career Center for years, but he never found a job through them. While he currently has a job, I did get a few good quotes from him about his opinion on the unemployment benefits extension and his opinion about organizations like the center that help unemployed people find jobs. This is one of my main loves for doing a story: the story can change by the time you leave to station to the time you come back. It's amazing how this works!
To conclude this week's blog, I just want to say I'm in disbelief that next week is the final week before Thanksgiving Break...and the last week I'm reporting. It seems like yesterday (I'm sure it does since I was reporting last night...) that I was doing my first package for Broadcast 2 class. Now I'm down to my last assignment (maybe) for B2. Funny thing is, every time I'm working on a story, I can always hear my professor, Greeley Kyle, in the back of my mind, keeping me on track and focused. I wonder if I will still have little Greeley on my shoulder 20 years from now reminding me to not use that shot because it's a little too dark or shaky...ok that's not a maybe, it will happen. In all honesty, journalism wouldn't be the same without GK.
Friday, October 30, 2009
It's Time for Work at KOMU8 News
I'm not going to bluff you, I'm in a trance. I've been slightly sleep deprived due to multiple exams this week. Not the easy, "oh-that's-a-joke!" exams; these are serious, "please-don't-give-me-another-one-like-that-again" exams. So far I've been doing well on the exams, but I have a Communication Law exam in t-minus 3 hours from now, and I have prepare minimal for it. Why? I simply have not had the chance this week to study just that material. I'm worried, and that's an understatement.
Anyways! On to a good note! Since the last time I wrote about my progress through my broadcast 2 class, I have begun working at the University of Missouri Journalism School-owned television station, KOMU8, this week! I finished my shadow shifts and last night I went out to shoot video on an event. The event was "Name That Tune", an event the Moog School of Columbia hosts to raise money for the organization. KOMU8's anchors Sarah Hill and Megan Murphy attended, so I was able to get some footage of them. Since this was technically my very first piece of work for the station in broadcast 2 class, it wasn't that stressful. I'm actually very glad I received something like this story in the beginning just to get my feet wet and become more experienced. I felt comfortable going out and shooting video by myself (I live for that! It's exciting!), but I just wanted more experienced with minor things at the station. For example, I wanted a little more experience uploading the video and writing on deadline in the actual newsroom. As I said before, things went well and I definitely felt more comfortable with many things after my shift last night. I especially got a feel for what it's like in general before tackling a large story.
Last night, my story was the kicker in the newscast. That's the very last piece of the show. Sometimes there's video for it, sometimes the anchors may just speak about it or build it up for the next show. Although it was at the very end of the show, it seemed less stressful, especially for my first story at the station. One of the main reasons why I was slightly nervous last night before my shift was the fact I didn't feel 100%. I hate going out to do a story or trying to make progress on a story when I'm not feeling the greatest. All in all, it's that I need more sleep. So that leads me to Halloween! Right now, I'm just ready to start the weekend so I can sleep. That's all I want. I'm counting down. Approximately 16 hours from now, my head is homebound for that feathery pillow. Wow, that seems like a long time from now...
Seriously? People Believe Strawberry Milk Comes from Pink Cows?
So I have seen multiple stories lately regarding farming and gardening. I believe the recent flurry of garden-related articles is due to Michelle Obama's promotion of an organic garden. A few articles I've read speak about the first lady doing her own garden work to cultivate an interest in today's youth to learn more about farming.
Here is one article from the LA Times that I found interesting:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-daum29-2009oct29,0,2987190.column?track=rss
So, is it true that farming is becoming more popular in today's generation? If you define popularity based on more attention, then yes. With multiple issues that have arisen in the news, farming is without a doubt an important factor in life. It always has been. Without farmers to produce food and other resources that help in our existence, society would be at a loss. Coming from a small, rural location dominated by farms, I've seen and heard stories of people working around the clock to make even small ends meet (such as waking up at the crack of dawn just to check the farm and begin the daily process of farm work). Moreover, since I grew up in this environment, I knew farming is important to life.
So why is it now gaining so much attention? Well according to this LA Times article, social sites are a main source of gaining popularity. After all, now facebook has FarmVille, where everybody can be a farmer. We can't forget Michelle Obama utilizing publicity to promote gardening. Is this enough for people to become interested in starting their own farms or working on a farm? I doubt it. These online games such as FarmVille are merely that: video games. Some people may actually use it as a get-away from their life to raise cows in a virtual world.
I noticed that this article didn't really bring up any issues of people not showing interest in farms. It did speak about how today's culture may be convinced that strawberry milk is actually produced from pink cows (this brought great laughter to my morning when I read it...and at the same time, it startled me). However, that small joke didn't really make it seem like much of an argument. I would have liked to have seen this author ask people on the social networking sites or just somebody on the street if they play farming games and if they would ever do it for a living. This would be an interesting aspect to the story. I also think this could have given the story a little more depth (although the awareness of farms and a slight look of what happens in farms is portrayed in the video games was a nice piece). I was just looking for somebody's opinion on what it's like to raise a virtual cow. I would also like to ask the people playing the games, "So where does strawberry milk come from?"
Here is one article from the LA Times that I found interesting:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-daum29-2009oct29,0,2987190.column?track=rss
So, is it true that farming is becoming more popular in today's generation? If you define popularity based on more attention, then yes. With multiple issues that have arisen in the news, farming is without a doubt an important factor in life. It always has been. Without farmers to produce food and other resources that help in our existence, society would be at a loss. Coming from a small, rural location dominated by farms, I've seen and heard stories of people working around the clock to make even small ends meet (such as waking up at the crack of dawn just to check the farm and begin the daily process of farm work). Moreover, since I grew up in this environment, I knew farming is important to life.
So why is it now gaining so much attention? Well according to this LA Times article, social sites are a main source of gaining popularity. After all, now facebook has FarmVille, where everybody can be a farmer. We can't forget Michelle Obama utilizing publicity to promote gardening. Is this enough for people to become interested in starting their own farms or working on a farm? I doubt it. These online games such as FarmVille are merely that: video games. Some people may actually use it as a get-away from their life to raise cows in a virtual world.
I noticed that this article didn't really bring up any issues of people not showing interest in farms. It did speak about how today's culture may be convinced that strawberry milk is actually produced from pink cows (this brought great laughter to my morning when I read it...and at the same time, it startled me). However, that small joke didn't really make it seem like much of an argument. I would have liked to have seen this author ask people on the social networking sites or just somebody on the street if they play farming games and if they would ever do it for a living. This would be an interesting aspect to the story. I also think this could have given the story a little more depth (although the awareness of farms and a slight look of what happens in farms is portrayed in the video games was a nice piece). I was just looking for somebody's opinion on what it's like to raise a virtual cow. I would also like to ask the people playing the games, "So where does strawberry milk come from?"
Friday, October 16, 2009
This Is A Scary World for Banks
So I came across this interesting article about Bank of America suffering from a large loss for this year. Here is the link to the story I'm talking about:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE59F1TJ20091016
Although this is a good story, I didn't learn much about one important question that I've asked myself recently: Do people still have faith in banks?
This question is often something that is brought up when I'm speaking with my parents because I find it interesting that banks are financially hurting, but I haven't heard if many people are withdrawing money from distrusting the strength of banks. As this article states, Bank of America has been financially strained for this entire year. As many banks across the nation are announcing their losses during this recession (or during this current time in America's history), I'm surprised I haven't heard more stories about people and their thoughts about banks. I would like to have heard what customers of Bank of America are doing about this announcement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE59F1TJ20091016
Although this is a good story, I didn't learn much about one important question that I've asked myself recently: Do people still have faith in banks?
This question is often something that is brought up when I'm speaking with my parents because I find it interesting that banks are financially hurting, but I haven't heard if many people are withdrawing money from distrusting the strength of banks. As this article states, Bank of America has been financially strained for this entire year. As many banks across the nation are announcing their losses during this recession (or during this current time in America's history), I'm surprised I haven't heard more stories about people and their thoughts about banks. I would like to have heard what customers of Bank of America are doing about this announcement.
If You Say Broadcast 2 Class, I'll Say...CLEARED!
So let me begin by explaining what I mean by the title. In my Broadcast 2 class, once my peers and I meet the expectations that we can find and create good stories under a deadline, then our professor approves us to begin working at the local television station owned by the Missouri School of Journalism, KOMU8. Anyways, on the last package/story I did two weeks ago (wow, it does not seem that long ago) for class, I heard the best three words..."good to go". Those are the words of Greeley Kyle, my professor for Broadcast 2, approving me to begin working at KOMU. I seriously wanted to hug Greeley after hearing those words. So, in other words, that's what my post title means by "CLEARED". No, I'm not a nurse...but I may be doing a story on a nurse in the coming weeks. You never really know what good story will come up in a few days (hey, even a few hours!).
So, you may be asking yourself, "Daniel, what have you been working on since that last story in class two weeks ago?" Okay, maybe you're not asking yourself that question. Nevertheless, I've shadowed multiple news people in the last two weeks. This is another requirement for Broadcast 2 class. We have to shadow four people working as 1.) a live-truck operator, which is the person who controls and shoots the video for the reporter who is reporting live, 2.) a reporter, 3.) a producer's sssistant, which gets video from the national news to put on KOMU newscasts, and 4.) a producer. I actually just finished shadowing Becca Habegger, a student producer for KOMU, last night. Additionally, that was my last shadow shift. Honestly, I really enjoyed all my shadow shifts. I found it strange that most of the people I shadowed said that many of the students who shadow them are usually quiet and don't try to get that involved. I found it somewhat of my responsibility to ask as many questions to familiarize and get comfortable working in these positions at the station. Moreover, I asked Becca many questions regarding producing because I'm interested in becoming a news producer.
For the shadow shifts, we have to ask particular questions and write a one-page reflection on the shadow shift. For the most part, I answer those questions just by observing the people work. I also ask questions that I'm wondering about, and this is how I've learned a lot on my shadow shifts. I thought it was funny at the end of my shadow shifts when the people I shadowed asked me "Don't you have any questions you have to ask for class" and I reply with "No, I've already answered those questions." I suppose this is just me being a journalist, but I ask the questions in a conversational way, usually when I'm just speaking with the person about their job and asking what all they do. This is how I've learned that if you're talking with a person, you can ask questions and sometimes they may not even notice you asked a question. However, if you read from a list of questions and sit the person down in front of you like it's truly an interview, I feel like you get somewhat of a staged, or preconceived answer. It's our role as journalists, in my opinion, to paint a picture of somebody's life and those candid moments that go along with it. We get real answers if we converse with people. Alright, I think that turned into more of a Posey's Philosophical moment than I expected.
Well, that's all for now. I'll see you all in the not-to-future.
So, you may be asking yourself, "Daniel, what have you been working on since that last story in class two weeks ago?" Okay, maybe you're not asking yourself that question. Nevertheless, I've shadowed multiple news people in the last two weeks. This is another requirement for Broadcast 2 class. We have to shadow four people working as 1.) a live-truck operator, which is the person who controls and shoots the video for the reporter who is reporting live, 2.) a reporter, 3.) a producer's sssistant, which gets video from the national news to put on KOMU newscasts, and 4.) a producer. I actually just finished shadowing Becca Habegger, a student producer for KOMU, last night. Additionally, that was my last shadow shift. Honestly, I really enjoyed all my shadow shifts. I found it strange that most of the people I shadowed said that many of the students who shadow them are usually quiet and don't try to get that involved. I found it somewhat of my responsibility to ask as many questions to familiarize and get comfortable working in these positions at the station. Moreover, I asked Becca many questions regarding producing because I'm interested in becoming a news producer.
For the shadow shifts, we have to ask particular questions and write a one-page reflection on the shadow shift. For the most part, I answer those questions just by observing the people work. I also ask questions that I'm wondering about, and this is how I've learned a lot on my shadow shifts. I thought it was funny at the end of my shadow shifts when the people I shadowed asked me "Don't you have any questions you have to ask for class" and I reply with "No, I've already answered those questions." I suppose this is just me being a journalist, but I ask the questions in a conversational way, usually when I'm just speaking with the person about their job and asking what all they do. This is how I've learned that if you're talking with a person, you can ask questions and sometimes they may not even notice you asked a question. However, if you read from a list of questions and sit the person down in front of you like it's truly an interview, I feel like you get somewhat of a staged, or preconceived answer. It's our role as journalists, in my opinion, to paint a picture of somebody's life and those candid moments that go along with it. We get real answers if we converse with people. Alright, I think that turned into more of a Posey's Philosophical moment than I expected.
Well, that's all for now. I'll see you all in the not-to-future.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Talkshow Headline: Sex Scandal Revealed!
So I'm sure the title of this post is something that everybody has witnessed before. If you're like me, probably more times than once. I'll share the link to the story I'm talking about:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/10/02/2009-10-02_david_letterman_sex_extortion_plot_the_story_of_a_career_jesters_private_transgr.html
There you have it, David Letterman is accused AND confesses to some saucy activity during his late night show. Growing up, I can't remember the Late Shows ever becoming the pedestal for major announcements. The first major news-related story I remember to stream from a late show was when Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his run for the California governor. Since that point, it's seemed that politicians, activists, and even comedians use the late shows to make major headlines, or address them. Has this always happened? Well, speaking with my parents it seemed that even on the Johnny Carson Show, people made major announcements. It just appears to me that it's becoming more popular, mainly because that news is reaching people in a different way. This seems to be a trend that we can expect in the future. Just as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" uses an entertainment value to spread news, so will the late shows. And David Letterman will continue to make major headlines, whether it's upsetting the former Governor of Alaska or sex scandals, take it away Dave.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/10/02/2009-10-02_david_letterman_sex_extortion_plot_the_story_of_a_career_jesters_private_transgr.html
There you have it, David Letterman is accused AND confesses to some saucy activity during his late night show. Growing up, I can't remember the Late Shows ever becoming the pedestal for major announcements. The first major news-related story I remember to stream from a late show was when Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his run for the California governor. Since that point, it's seemed that politicians, activists, and even comedians use the late shows to make major headlines, or address them. Has this always happened? Well, speaking with my parents it seemed that even on the Johnny Carson Show, people made major announcements. It just appears to me that it's becoming more popular, mainly because that news is reaching people in a different way. This seems to be a trend that we can expect in the future. Just as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" uses an entertainment value to spread news, so will the late shows. And David Letterman will continue to make major headlines, whether it's upsetting the former Governor of Alaska or sex scandals, take it away Dave.
The Trials and Tribulations...Another Week
Well, here I am. Just as I said two weeks ago, I'm sitting in the same spot: typing away at my desk, glancing outside every once in awhile to notice the rising sun. This seems like it may be a tradition. At least for now. I honestly enjoy getting some sleep and resting before I write a blog. It definitely helps me wake up.
So, I put the final touches on my new story/package last night. My third package is finished for Broadcast 2 class. I am much more fulfilled to watch my 3rd package compared to my last one. This week, my story is on the "Miracles for Kids" Radiothon hosted at the MU Health Care Hospital. Although I wanted to do another story, this event just so happened to be occurring in a timely manner, so I decided to snatch it up. Last week, my 2nd package was about homeless shelters and how the occupancy is rising at the shelters. I tried to turn the story into a feature; however, as everybody in class witnessed, it was a train wreck. My largest problem with that story was that I tried to cover too many aspects of the story. Instead of focusing my story and trying to tell the major things about one homeless man's life, I tried to tell it all. As I said, my classmates were able to see this is my weakness. The story telling is just so sloppy because I have so many things I throw into the equation, it's confusing and vague. That story was one of the few that after I watched over and over, I continued to dislike it. Why? I could see all the faults with every viewing experience. That's a feeling I hope never occurs again, because it makes your work look bad. It also makes you look like you don't know what you're doing/talking about.
So, moving on since last week, I've gotten much sleep and concentrated more on broadcast class. I had two exams in the middle of last week and I spent most of my time studying and preparing for those exams. Needless to say, my work decreased in broadcast class. I even found myself last week going out to shoot the footage and not really thinking about the video until later in the week because I was completely in exam-study-mind-set.
Therefore, I feel much more happy with this week's story. The hardest part about this week was actually shooting all the footage. I shot my story in between my classes, and I made it work. I wasn't late to any of my classes, and I wasn't late to any of my interviews. Lucky? Of course. I did plan ahead, but still, that was very lucky on my part that everything went so smooth. I thought about Peterson's Law - "Murphy was an optimist, everything that can go wrong WILL go wrong." While shooting went well, I just had to worry about writing and editing it all together. How did that part go? Tune into lab, today at 1pm...but for those of you that can't, it's better than last week.
Well, I will return to my perch in another two weeks. Until then, I'm going to enjoy a doughnut, some ice cold water, and a view at the lovely sun on a beautiful Friday morning.
So, I put the final touches on my new story/package last night. My third package is finished for Broadcast 2 class. I am much more fulfilled to watch my 3rd package compared to my last one. This week, my story is on the "Miracles for Kids" Radiothon hosted at the MU Health Care Hospital. Although I wanted to do another story, this event just so happened to be occurring in a timely manner, so I decided to snatch it up. Last week, my 2nd package was about homeless shelters and how the occupancy is rising at the shelters. I tried to turn the story into a feature; however, as everybody in class witnessed, it was a train wreck. My largest problem with that story was that I tried to cover too many aspects of the story. Instead of focusing my story and trying to tell the major things about one homeless man's life, I tried to tell it all. As I said, my classmates were able to see this is my weakness. The story telling is just so sloppy because I have so many things I throw into the equation, it's confusing and vague. That story was one of the few that after I watched over and over, I continued to dislike it. Why? I could see all the faults with every viewing experience. That's a feeling I hope never occurs again, because it makes your work look bad. It also makes you look like you don't know what you're doing/talking about.
So, moving on since last week, I've gotten much sleep and concentrated more on broadcast class. I had two exams in the middle of last week and I spent most of my time studying and preparing for those exams. Needless to say, my work decreased in broadcast class. I even found myself last week going out to shoot the footage and not really thinking about the video until later in the week because I was completely in exam-study-mind-set.
Therefore, I feel much more happy with this week's story. The hardest part about this week was actually shooting all the footage. I shot my story in between my classes, and I made it work. I wasn't late to any of my classes, and I wasn't late to any of my interviews. Lucky? Of course. I did plan ahead, but still, that was very lucky on my part that everything went so smooth. I thought about Peterson's Law - "Murphy was an optimist, everything that can go wrong WILL go wrong." While shooting went well, I just had to worry about writing and editing it all together. How did that part go? Tune into lab, today at 1pm...but for those of you that can't, it's better than last week.
Well, I will return to my perch in another two weeks. Until then, I'm going to enjoy a doughnut, some ice cold water, and a view at the lovely sun on a beautiful Friday morning.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Trials and Tribulations of an Inspiring Journalist by Daniel Posey
Well, well, well my friends, the time hath come. I am typing the second blog of my life, but I feel like I've typed more than 50 of these. Maybe it's because I used to type stories on computers a lot as a kid. I find it fun. Then again, I was always that person who asked "Why read what is on somebody else's mind?". Needless to say, blogging has grown on me. Thanks to facebook and it's tool of learning about people 24/7.
Anyways, here I am, sitting in my room the morning the first package is due in my Broadcast 2 class. In just 7 more days I will probably be in the same exact place (hopefully with some different clothes on), typing about my experiences as a budding journalist. To give a quick rundown, my package/story idea this week was "How Preschools/Daycares are Handling H1N1 in their Facilities". I focused on how the daycares and preschools are battling this flu, and I'm also checking to see if the schools are doing anything different than previous years due to H1N1.
So, I shot my package last week and watched the raw footage in class. I wasn't happy with the footage (well, let me back up; I wasn't happy that I didn't get some footage I set out to get). So what do you know, I went back out. I started calling around to preschools and daycares, asking if I could shoot some footage at their facility. So many were extremely nice and said "Yes", but I couldn't shoot footage with children. Well, at the beginning of this week, I found a daycare and a nice lady that allowed me to gain the footage I wanted. All is well then, right!? Well...yes. However, I get a strange feeling every time I get good footage of something, that the writing will turn out horrible. I just don't want to slack off and think since my video is good, I don't have to have as stellar (yikes, that a strong word. Let me go with, quality) writing.
This is the part that I turn my head down and shake it. I have learned within the last year that broadcast journalism is changing at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, not only do broadcast journalists need to shoot well, they need to write well. I spent a lot of time critiquing my writing this last summer, and now I do feel more confident. That still hasn't taken away the fact I'm a perfectionist who can waste a lot of time trying to make extremely small changes.
The bottom line is that every time I have an extended period of time to work on something, for some reason, it doesn't turn out as well as something that I've worked on in a shorter period of time. Maybe it's the pressure, but I seem to create better stories when I have less time. My dilemma for my first package is my thoughts that since I've had two weeks, will it turn out of lesser quality than I hope? I don't think so. Not this time. I feel good about it, although I could use some real food (the last time I ate something other than a cookie was for lunch yesterday), a little sleep, and another story...
Actually, I started thinking after I worked on this story. How many daycares are managed/run by fathers/male figures? Maybe this story has been done before, but I did not talk to one male who was running a daycare. I talked to many, but perhaps I just didn't call to any of those daycares. I think that's my next story idea: Daddy Daycare!
Anyways, here I am, sitting in my room the morning the first package is due in my Broadcast 2 class. In just 7 more days I will probably be in the same exact place (hopefully with some different clothes on), typing about my experiences as a budding journalist. To give a quick rundown, my package/story idea this week was "How Preschools/Daycares are Handling H1N1 in their Facilities". I focused on how the daycares and preschools are battling this flu, and I'm also checking to see if the schools are doing anything different than previous years due to H1N1.
So, I shot my package last week and watched the raw footage in class. I wasn't happy with the footage (well, let me back up; I wasn't happy that I didn't get some footage I set out to get). So what do you know, I went back out. I started calling around to preschools and daycares, asking if I could shoot some footage at their facility. So many were extremely nice and said "Yes", but I couldn't shoot footage with children. Well, at the beginning of this week, I found a daycare and a nice lady that allowed me to gain the footage I wanted. All is well then, right!? Well...yes. However, I get a strange feeling every time I get good footage of something, that the writing will turn out horrible. I just don't want to slack off and think since my video is good, I don't have to have as stellar (yikes, that a strong word. Let me go with, quality) writing.
This is the part that I turn my head down and shake it. I have learned within the last year that broadcast journalism is changing at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, not only do broadcast journalists need to shoot well, they need to write well. I spent a lot of time critiquing my writing this last summer, and now I do feel more confident. That still hasn't taken away the fact I'm a perfectionist who can waste a lot of time trying to make extremely small changes.
The bottom line is that every time I have an extended period of time to work on something, for some reason, it doesn't turn out as well as something that I've worked on in a shorter period of time. Maybe it's the pressure, but I seem to create better stories when I have less time. My dilemma for my first package is my thoughts that since I've had two weeks, will it turn out of lesser quality than I hope? I don't think so. Not this time. I feel good about it, although I could use some real food (the last time I ate something other than a cookie was for lunch yesterday), a little sleep, and another story...
Actually, I started thinking after I worked on this story. How many daycares are managed/run by fathers/male figures? Maybe this story has been done before, but I did not talk to one male who was running a daycare. I talked to many, but perhaps I just didn't call to any of those daycares. I think that's my next story idea: Daddy Daycare!
The Future of...Cars?
So at the beginning of the week, I read an article about GM releasing a car that can travel more than 240 miles on one gallon of gas. I know that cars like this have been conceived of in the past, but after reading the article I felt as though this car is the beginning of the future of cars.
Well, skip ahead a few days to the end of the week, and I read this little article:
http://autos.yahoo.com/auto-shows/frankfurt_auto_show_2009/1106/Volkswagen-L1-Concept
I didn't feel as impacted by this story as the one I read earlier in the week. However, I still thought this is the direction that all new cars are taking. The 240+ mpg sounds wonderful, and even though the car(s) will cost a load of cash when it's first released, the price will come down in due time. Something that I always look for in car articles (especially for new cars) are pictures of what the cars will look like. So, I was thrilled to see that Yahoo!/Car & Driver had a picture of this VW to go along with the story. I noticed the design of the car and realized how Jetson-ish the VW car looks. I had to laugh at myself for thinking of the cartoon and relating it to this new VW. That's just my imagination getting wild again...or is it?
Then I started to ponder on this issue. This is a futuristic car, so how will the general public react to these cars? Are cars like this to last?
Although I didn't answer my first question (I have a feeling that will be an extended period of time type of question), I did however say "yes" to my second question. At the turn of 2000, I remember car companies trying to make car models and designs that were revolutionary to the time. The cars look cool, but there really was no promise. It seemed illogical at the time. However, I now feel like this is changing. Right now. We will begin seeing more cars like this on the market in the near future. We will also begin seeing more articles like the one I posted. The times are changing, and times like this, I have to tell myself we're living in the future.
Well, skip ahead a few days to the end of the week, and I read this little article:
http://autos.yahoo.com/auto-shows/frankfurt_auto_show_2009/1106/Volkswagen-L1-Concept
I didn't feel as impacted by this story as the one I read earlier in the week. However, I still thought this is the direction that all new cars are taking. The 240+ mpg sounds wonderful, and even though the car(s) will cost a load of cash when it's first released, the price will come down in due time. Something that I always look for in car articles (especially for new cars) are pictures of what the cars will look like. So, I was thrilled to see that Yahoo!/Car & Driver had a picture of this VW to go along with the story. I noticed the design of the car and realized how Jetson-ish the VW car looks. I had to laugh at myself for thinking of the cartoon and relating it to this new VW. That's just my imagination getting wild again...or is it?
Then I started to ponder on this issue. This is a futuristic car, so how will the general public react to these cars? Are cars like this to last?
Although I didn't answer my first question (I have a feeling that will be an extended period of time type of question), I did however say "yes" to my second question. At the turn of 2000, I remember car companies trying to make car models and designs that were revolutionary to the time. The cars look cool, but there really was no promise. It seemed illogical at the time. However, I now feel like this is changing. Right now. We will begin seeing more cars like this on the market in the near future. We will also begin seeing more articles like the one I posted. The times are changing, and times like this, I have to tell myself we're living in the future.
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