My Balancing Act
Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts on September 9th, 2009
It’s time for you to prove,
Within your ruby shoes,
You deserve a smile with no regret,
Look at you kicking off your shoes,
Dancing for the world to see,
Now open up and see, And go be free and fly away…
I probably do not know what I am getting myself into honestly. This whole college experience journalism thing? Yeah, who was I kidding?
I thought for a few minutes there I had this whole college thing down. Freshmen year was knocked out of the park and my summer living on my own in Bowling Green was a complete success. I had figured out where the bathrooms are in all the buildings on campus, found the quickest way to master the hill from my residence hall to TCCW, and even seemed to say, “Meal Plan” with such confidence I appeared to be saying it for years.
But I guess it serves me right for thinking I had it all figured out. And how intelligent am I for thinking 15 hours of classes and working part-time at the university was just not enough?
Now here I am working to perfect that amazing balancing act I have going with class/work, (all on my head of course), putting my fancy journalism major to good use as I freelance for the Kentucky New Era and work as the newest College Heights Herald’s sports general assignment reporter.
With my fancy voice recorder in hand, pen working furiously, questions buzzing in my head, I have never done anything more exciting than the work of a journalist. From the few stories I have been involved with thus far in my brief career, I can say I have learned more from those experiences than from hours and hours in a classroom. Suddenly this whole journalism thing I have been studying for the past year has become a beautiful and real thing to me. Beautiful. Yes. Real. YES. But I refuse to sugarcoat this for you, because honestly I feel like as I am seeking truth and answers to my many questions about the industry, you are probably on the same scavenger hunt.
I’ll give it to you straight: Its not easy. Deadlines are a constant. If you think you have some time, well you are wrong. If you think an interview will go smoothly when you are crunched for time, well you are wrong. You always need more information. You always could have done more research. Each day, I feel like I have no idea what I am doing. I feel like I have everything to learn and no one is just going to pass out the answers to the test. But maybe that’s the process. Maybe its better to start out brand new, so that you can dig deeper and seek a little harder. Maybe everyone has to start at the bottom to make reaching the peak so breathtaking.
While what I do know is little, what I have learned in the past few weeks speaks volumes. This experience I am gaining right now is vital after the next few years of college pass. I am so thankful to be surrounded by amazing people, who will go to many vast places in this huge world and will inspire me to do the same. My high stress level is worth every minute.
I do not have everything figured out. Fifty years from now, I probably still will not have it all figured out. But I have never have I anticipated the small discoveries along the way more.
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Office of yada-yada, this is Emily.
Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts on June 30th, 2009
Courtesy of Nika Fadul
“You stumble down your yellow brick road
Spinnin your shoes in the air, the air–
Then you hold your breath and count to nine
Hopin that soon somebody will find you, find you.”
I am staring down an empty hallway of TCCW on Western Kentucky University’s campus. Occasionally a man with a foreign accent will come in and pass my desk (as he just did) and other times I clear my throat, ease the phone into my right hand on the second ring and say so rhythmically, “Office of yada-yada, this is Emily.” Say hi to my summer job.
The next two months seem so daunting. For starters, I am living on my own. Yes (scary thoughts). So in short that means living off of pizza rolls, eating the “Breakfast of Champions” (strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts), learning to love Ramen noodles, and truly appreciating the time I spend at home.
Every morning I am awake and ready to go by 7:55 A.M. and at the office by 8 A.M. sharp (and trust in this: waking up early hurts). Its not the best feeling to set an alarm each night before you close your eyes, but the money in my bank account is worth the painful process of opening my phone, then the main menu, organizer, and finally the alarms tab. I must note my summer’s have not normally been this way.
My “average” summer:
- At home.
- Horse-back riding every evening.
- Swimming/laying out for the majority of the day.
- A part-time 20 hr or so a week job.
- Seeing friends every night.
This summer:
- In Bowling Green.
- Trying to make new friends and hoping to see my old friends every weekend I can.
- Working 40 hrs. a week.
- Soaking up an interior lights tan as a secretary.
Note the difference? But that’s okay, I think…
(Pause as I learn how to use the fax machine.)
Earlier my Mom sent me a message on Facebook (yes, my mom has a Facebook now…) that read, “I am so proud of you Emily. This job was a huge step for you and you are doing so well.” And sure that sounds like just something a mother would say, but I will hold on to it for a little while longer. I do not know how well I am doing, but she is right. This is a HUGE step for me. Living on my own. Making my own dinner every night. Two hours from the place I consider a colossal part of what makes me who I am…
A couple years ago, the thought of dropping off a job application terrified me. The possibility of attending an interview made me hyperventilate. And for ages, I considered myself SO INDEPENDENT, but came to a rude awakening when that shiny flashy image in my head of myself [ me hopping in my yellow mustang convertible, my dark brunette hair down, speeding off into the sunset, not for a second glancing in the rear view mirror] was simply a falsehood. The portrait of that girl was not me at all. Oh no. I pull out of the driveway in a mid-nineties vehicle that often looks black, (yet really its green) and stare misty-eyed as I proceed in the distance, occasionally tapping the brakes. So it must have came as kind of a shock to my parents when I called rejoicing about accepting a summer job offer away from home. A shock not only to them, but to myself as well.
As classes met their conclusions of the spring semester, cars waited to be loaded for drive homes, and finals grade were posted, I was walking across campus by myself one afternoon and it hit me. The true fear smacked me in the face. The terror of being alone struck. I had only a few days to gather my thoughts, relax after classes, take a few deep breaths before I dove into summer employment. My time away from campus was short. I was originally given 5 days off, but received a phone-call from my boss a day early asking if it was at all possible, could I come into work early…. Not what you really want to hear…. AT ALL. I laughed later with my parents as I hurriedly packed, “My boss could ask me, ‘Do you want to come in on your day off? Do you want to organize this 50 year old office? Do you want to move to Asia?’ The answer is always yes. I want to do it!”
I did not have time to be nervous. Work would not wait for me to get over my longing to be home for the summer. [Note: Nothing is going to wait for you to be ready for it.]
But this heart piercing fear that I felt post acceptance of the job and observing my friends pack to head home somehow evolved into the need to arrive at work five minutes early each day and smile as I locked the office at 4:30 every afternoon. I found myself comfortable in my office chair, laughing with my boss, after work running a loop around campus waving at people I know, and having Tuesday night dinners at a work friend’s apartment.
To me the first year of college was the year I learned more than I wanted to know about myself… the good and bad, pretty and oh so ugly truths about myself. To name a few: I am addicted to football, (which I am so thankful my amazing roommate and neighbors accept my screaming rampage when a Manning interception is thrown). I like home. If my Hilltoppers Basketball podcast won’t upload, best leave me alone. I like to study when its dead quiet. The better my relationship is with God is the better I feel. Night classes make me grumpy. I love having a job. And many many more…. This summer has followed gracefully as a second act, contributing steadily to the countless discoveries that Western Kentucky University has unveiled for me about myself. And as much as I look forward to Fridays, I have learned that I also look forward to the start of a new work week.
So I sit behind my desk recently informed that I will have my own name plate that reads with professionalism and maturity, “EMILY PATTON,” experiencing a summer quite unlike any other, and learning more than I ever thought with closed books, nonexistent homework assignments and outside of a classroom… and that’s more than okay.
Hi Journalism career, my name is Emily.
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on May 3rd, 2009
So I have this plan. My plan is not carved in stone, nor an outline of what to come complete with Roman numerals, A’s, B’s, C’s and 1’s, 2’s, 3’s. This outline allows for ample ounces of Wite Out and crossed-out words. And the wonderful thing is that these revisions are encouraged. What is this s
cheme up Emily’s sleeve, you ask? Oh just my future career plan…
I want to be involved in journalism. Period. The end. Any aspect. I’ll take it any or all. Every part I feel is vital. I have never been more thrilled to start at the bottom of the ladder and climb.
My plan is one that changes as the industry changes as well. The online epidemic will continue to spread allowing my job at a print newspaper to tap into my technological skills, become a dedicated member of Twitter, and keep my Word Press blogging account going strong. Long ago I would have said my career plan was to get a job as a print journalist. Now a days, my future title can have quite a few more bi-lines: Photojournalist, Broadcaster, PR, Web Designer.
Once upon a time long LONG ago, I thought working for a newspaper was only about writing your chosen story. Not about taking your turn at writing the obituaries or learning about HTML. How young and stupid I once was? (Don’t answer that.)
Who Am I, Really?
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on April 26th, 2009
Hi. My name is Emily Patton. Well, I think it is. And this is my identity crisis. Maybe. I’m a journalist. Well, I thought I was. Right now I am blogging at my computer. So I guess you could call me a blogger. But wait, can’t I be both? Who am I, really?
Mark Glaser asks us this question in his article: Am I a Journalist or Blogger? And honestly, I have never taken a moment to really define myself, what I am or who am I, really? I never found it a necessity…. (until this very instance.)
I grew up sitting on my father’s knee as he told me I could be anything I wanted to be. Anything. Such a wonderful thought. There were no limitations to that statement. Anything. An astronaut. A jockey. A pizza deliverer. A writer. Clear distinct separate definitions of who I could be in this life.
Fast forward ten years. Suddenly, the outlook of the world changes when you are sitting on your dad’s lap as a child to walking down the halls of a high school. The jock. The nerd. The cheerleader. The good girl. Labels. Clear distinct separate definitions of who people say you are for four years.
So here I am. Survived high school with little scars and the sticky labels never staying. Grown up with dreams swarming my head. But what is that telling you? I never have believed in labels or confining definitions that others assign you —- after all most of the time that is just not who you see yourself as or who you are… But hold the phone a minute! Why are we letting these people dictate OUR OWN identity? I mean its our own, it is not there’s. After all its only relevant to us, not others. We all realize this is a definite problem. Thus, I provide a solution (Get ready).
Define yourself (Yeah, that’s the big miracle working solution). Ridiculous sounding, correct? Yeah, I know. I’ve always had the hardest time defining myself. Why? Most of the time I was all those things. Some days I was venturing to the moon with my older brother when he would give me a double bounce on the trampoline, or a jockey riding my horses like we were storming home in the Derby (in 6 days, I should add, cannot wait). Other days I was picking up a pizza with my mom or sitting in the back yard writing a novel. I was so much of a jock when someone handed me a pair of running shoes, the football team’s loudest cheerleader in the stands every Friday night, the front- row- seat- in – class- nerd, and the good girl who did not have to go party to have a good time. I was a bit of each and continue to take on a few more aliases as the years pass by.
So who am I, really?
I am a journalist. Yet I proceed on typing this blog post.
People argue that the definition of a blogger is someone who keeps a blog. The definition of a reporter is someone who reports the news. So that would make a journalist someone who keeps a journal? Well, not exactly…. a journalist is someone who can keep a journal, diary, or daily record of events. A journalist can keep a record of events whether online, magazines, newspapers, or blogs. As the job market continues to grapple, the competition increases for that person who can do it all. Employers, meet a journalist. And maybe that’s perhaps why I find such a passion in the journalism field. I am enabled to be a bit of everything: a blogger, a social net worker, a columnist, a photographer, or E. all of the above. I can have infinite childhood dreams come true or write about a new product description of non-stick labels teenagers use in high school.
Before this blog post, I never took a second glance at the word. Sure, I’d call myself a journalism student, but I had forgotten what that means. And knowing the clarification, past all the ambiguity and vagueness —– well you just beat someone to a career opportunity by better knowing your job description.
Sometimes you need to define yourself, not for other people, but for yourself. Forget how others view you. How do you view yourself? Understand your identity. Reiterate your objective. What you want to accomplish. Who you are not. Who you would like to become. The definition takes you a step back to reexamine who you are, really. And you become better because of it. Period. The end.
Tweet Tweet
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on April 19th, 2009
What are you doing?
This question is one you hear nearly everyday. When you answer the phone. When you pass a friend in the hallway. When you check your text messages. When you log onto Twitter or Facebook. One question. One simple question. This one question has turned into a journalist’s dream (or reality).
Social networking sites, like Twitter, are opening doors to the “new journalism” wave like never before. (104 characters)
How?
Well let’s take a look around the world via Twitter (what a wonderful world):
jordinn somebody has been using my credit card information to stay in hotel rooms in Europe. lovely.
rubeedoo Finished making homemade pizza for dinner. You would have thought I handed the hubby a million bucks.
kevbow7 thinks his GPA is going to be a negative number this semester. Anyone up for selling grass skirts and coconut milk in Bermuda for a living?
kairarouda Watching Peyton Manning play golf at Scioto Country Club. Signed autograph for my son! He’s wearing a bright orange shirt, big smile.
These “tweets” are from real-life people describing what is happening in their worlds or in their minds in 140 characters or less. Imagine a headline news source at your fingertips whether you are a journalist or an ordinary person curious about a world other than your own. Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn link people to the world around them, and has become a tool for journalists unlike any other.
Using Twitter, the response is fast. Most people tweet information as soon as it happens, before placing it on a blog, or texting a friend about the same information. Pemily has done this on many occasions. This winter she drove her car on an icy road and tweeted the fact she was in a ditch before calling for assistance (Notice the third person and under 140 characters). Stupid, maybe? Or keeping my faithful followers updated?
From “How We Use Twitter for Journalism” written by Marshall Kirkpatrick
Whether it’s natural disasters, political developments or breaking tech news – it’s common to discover items of interest first on Twitter.
Robert Scoble wrote a year ago about how Twitter users reported a major earthquake in Mexico City several minutes before the USGS did. Zolie Erdos chronicled last month how Twitter users beat government agencies and the world’s (formerly) leading news organizations in reporting on March earthquakes in both China and Japan.
We discover tech news tips on Twitter first on a regular basis. When Google bought Twitter competitor Jaiku, for example, we learned about it on Twitter. That early news tip lead to our covering the news before any one else and getting our story on the front page of Digg – good in this case for tens of thousands of pageviews.
To access this article, click here.
Minutes and seconds are so crucial in today’s journalism. If Twitter is a way to beat those competitors, it will be utilized, and obviously already is. Just take a look at the “Trending Topics” on Twitter, the headlines of tomorrow are right there. Yep, a journalist’s dream realized. (Thank you Twitter for this beautiful creation.) These social networking sites have connected a journalist to their future story in a flawless fashion. Journalists can “follow” their tweeters in a non-creepy non-stalkerish way and assemble a story that produces thousands of hits with the facile idea influence of a five second tweet by an ordinary everyday person or the inner workings of the most famous celebrities.
Tweeting helps spread the word to your followers what you are trying to do, whether its featuring a new blog post, directing viewers to an online broadcast, or advertising a live event your friends should check out. Forget the days of being the one who is the last to know the information. This information can be sent directly to all of your friends’ cellphones, with a text message of the new status and updates the website, automatically.
Newspapers are learning to master Twitter and Facebook as well. Want the latest news story? When its tweeted, you have it. Journalists are also using a “Tweet this” function on their blogs so with one click, their followers are now linked to their latest post. Readership becomes a daily habit, not a daily chore.
Sites like LinkedIn keep you updated with what is going on within your business company, other companies like that one, and the industry itself your company belongs to with news articles and contacts in your own personal posse.
As journalists begin investigating the powers of social networking, new journalism continues to make its way into our lives.
And this new journalism, well its connecting people by presenting news to both journalists and readers. Both journalists and readers connected better than ever. And that, my friend, is just a beautiful thing. (139 characters)
From “In Your Facebook: Why more and more journalists are signing up for the popular social networking site” by Kelly Wilson
Across the board, social sites are a way for people to interact as they never could before (or at least, never could with such ease). For journalists that means contacting others for ideas and support on tough assignments or connecting with editors for advice and job opportunities. As in any form of journalism, if you don’t understand where the audience is and what it’s doing, you don’t understand the audience. To access this article, please click here.
Its Not Your Fault.
Posted by Emily in The Sports World on April 12th, 2009
I live for one day a year, and one day only. Not Christmas, not my birthday, nor Thanksgiving. This day is unfamiliar to most, but its my holiday. Its my day. Kentucky Derby day.
Since I was eight-years-old, I have followed horse-racing. Maybe the word “followed” is putting it lightly. Let me revise that statement. Since I was eight-years-old, I have been obsessed with horse-racing.
Facts of my obsession:
- Each year Derby Day fell on the day of my High School’s prom. Before accepting any invitations from potential dates, they first had to agree that I would be able to watch the race sometime during the prom festivities. (Only high-maintenance when it comes to the Derby, I promise)
Some of my horse-racing memorabilia: Derby glasses, goggles signed by Stewart Elliott and John McKee, photos of myself with Smarty Jones and his owners, etc.
- Every year I eat spaghetti, its a good luck tradition for a Triple Crown winner. (Don’t ask.)
- My sister’s wedding fell on Belmont Day. Me and some friends disappeared briefly from the reception to watch the race in a neighboring bar, watched Rags to Riches beat the boys, and made it back before the YMCA started. (True Story)
- For my 16th birthday, I did not ask for a car. I asked for a trip to Louisville to explore Churchill Downs for the day. (On that day, I ran into Roy and Pat Chapman, Smarty Jones’ owners in the museum. Nicest people I have ever met.)
- Each Derby Day, I am up by six in the morning, watching ESPN’s “Breakfast at Churchill” and the replays of Secretariat on ESPN Classic.
- I cried for days after Smarty Jones lost the Belmont.
- I can recite all the Triple Crowns winners, names and dates, and the last couple decades of Derby winners
- I often am found at home watching TVG (24 hour horse-racing network) and making bets with myself.
- I collect dirt from various tracks. (Promise I am not crazy. Really.)
Hopefully your eyes did not glaze over at the mention of the word “horse-racing.” The average person knows little about the sport, even those who have aspirations of being sports columnists. But why is that?
I know that even in the heights of my own personal obsession, following horse-racing has not been easy. I will be completely honest: no media, no advertisement nor headline story on Google News is helping me follow the sport.
Its not your fault that you do not like horse-racing.
The blame should go to the media.
The second-rate quality of journalists covering the horse-racing beat has led the fans to find the sport second-rate as well (if even rated at all in their list).
The coverage of the sport is minimal. Pick up a paper prior to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and read the brief sentences dedicated to informing you about the sport. How can an international event be reduced to a few inches in a newspaper?
When it is covered, often poor or false information seeps through. How can you attract new fans when you are losing your faithful supporters? Its an impossible act. And when the “supposed to be” horse-racing analysts stumble through the broadcast, because “no one is listening anyways,” well I lose faith in what will come to our Sport of Kings.
Horse-racing once carried our nation through the Great Depression with a small horse named, Seabiscuit. During the Watergate scandal, countless images could have
One of my stops on a visit to California was to Del Mar Thoroughbred Race Course
claimed the cover photo on Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Newsweek, yet it was Secretariat who shined on the front page. It was then when THE STORY was centered around a four-legged athlete.
I worry over the fate of the sport. I worry the stories that will go unheard. I worry over the idea that if someone who has followed horse-racing for more than 10 years is having trouble staying afloat on the news surrounding the sport, how will the industry ever survive?
I cannot explain how I fell in love with the sport, nor what motivated me to memorize the winners on the back of my first collectible Derby glass. It just happened. But my passion for horse-racing has been sustained with the help of the few eloquent story-telling of the pieces of journalism I stumbled across..
Let us shape up our act as journalists so that you can experience the truth of one of the best kept secrets in sports.
So for now, I’m truly sorry.
Want to experience the beauty of horse-racing? Watch this.
Hilltoppers Run in the 2009 NCAA Tournament
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101, The Sports World on April 5th, 2009
Orlando Mendez-Valdez celebrates after the victory over Illinois. Courtesy of Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
My first podcast covers the Hilltoppers Run in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The podcast involves my own commentary and clips from the actual tournament play. Listen and Enjoy.
Timeline:
0:00 Introduction o:10 First Round Summary0:20 Clip from Announcers
0:30 First Round Statistics
1:00 Conclusion of First Round
1:30 Introduction of Second Round
2:15 Wrap-up/Conclusion
To listen, click here.
I Have to Confess Something…
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on April 2nd, 2009
So I have to confess something… Umm… well today, I cheated. And honestly, I am not really sorry.
Cheating, huh? Emily Patton cheats? You thought I was better than that, didn’t you?
Well let me explain…
I don’t know about you, but I have been raised to associate “cheating” with a negative connotation. Emily, don’t cheat on a test. Miss Patton, don’t you dare cut off that last quarter of a mile from your run, that’s cheating! To me, reading the newspaper, as illegal and wrong as it sounds, well its not necessarily a bad thing, is it?
According to an article by Jack Shafer, “Democracy’s Cheat Sheet? Its time to kill the idea that newspapers are essential for democracy” — well this is “cheating.”
The definition of democracy from Dictionary.com is, “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.”
This government is designed for me, exercised by me, or by the elected representatives in our democratic system. Yet I, myself, do not know all the Supreme Court Justices by name, nor do I know what role Joe Biden played in politics before he became our Vice President. But I pick up the newspaper or visit Google News each day, in an attempt to become better informed.
From the article, Jack Shafer’s article, “Democracy’s Cheat Sheet? Its time to kill the idea that newspapers are essential for democracy”
The only group that holds a consistently high opinion of newspapers is newspaper people. They’re the ones who do the bragging about how newspapers enrich democracy by uncovering pollution, malfeasance in office, abuses of power, and unsafe consumer goods.
The insistence on coupling newspapering to democracy irritates me not just because it overstates the quality and urgency of most of the work done by newspapers but because it inflates the capacity of newspapers to make us better citizens, wiser voters, and more enlightened taxpayers. I love news on newsprint, believe me, I do. But I hate seeing newspapers reduced to a compulsory cheat sheet for democracy. All this lovey-dovey about how essential newspapers are to civic life and the political process makes me nostalgic for the days, not all that long ago, when everybody hated them.
To access this article, click here.
I do not know what your average day is like. I do not know how it begins. Maybe you hit the snooze button six times in the morning before stumbling into Personal Health class appearing half-drunk. This is one possibility. Maybe you have a full-time job that continues nine to five each day, but not before making your children peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as they load the school bus.
I do not know if you grab a newspaper while on your lunch breaks, or if pick up the College Heights Herald when you enter the Downing University Center. I do not know if you turn on CNN to hear the latest on our brave American troops fighting for us on enemy lines. I do not know who you voted for in the last election, or why in the heck you voted for that guy…
As a college student, believe it or not, I go to class. I go to class A LOT. My average day begins at eight in the morning and continues through the two classes in the morning, the ten minute lunch break to chat with a friend, the brisk almost 5K sprint up The Hill, (no exaggeration needed), to arrive to my secretary student-worker job, depart for brief dinner, attend a journalism lecture, and end the day with a night class.
The day is full. And yours is probably too. Jack Shafer tells us, don’t you dare try to know a little bit about the democracy you live in by reading the newspaper when you have a few minutes to yourself, oh no. That’s just a disgrace. That’s “cheating.”
And sure, I am one of those full-fledged “newspaper people.” Go ahead, give me the stink-eye, and talk behind my back about why I am pro- an informed society. Just answer this for me: How can a society function without the news, or without that additional check and balance on government? Well good ol’ Jack, covered that too.
More from Jack Shafer’s article, “Democracy’s Cheat Sheet? Its time to kill the idea that newspapers are essential for democracy”
When the conversation turns to democracy, I turn to Adrian Monck, who rejects the idea that newspapers play an irreplaceable role in the institution’s well-being. Indeed, American democracy survived its first century without much in the way of the investigative and accountability journalism we associate with newspapers. That kind of journalism didn’t start to spread until the end of the 19th century.
The question is, why would we let our democracy deteriorate back to a time when it was not as good as it could be? Why be second best if you have the ability to be number one? Why live in falsehood? Why not investigate? Why not dig deeper? Why not uncover the truth? (And here my journalistic side screams out again with the many questions.)
I could spend forever defending the dynamics of journalism, what it does for you and what it will always do for you, but I will keep this short and sweet.
Journalism answers the simple questions. Yes, you need to pack that umbrella today. Yes, we knew you had work early the morning, but the Packers did win in overtime. No, don’t worry about taking that street today, take the detour and miss the traffic jam.
And journalism answers the even harder questions. No, you probably should not vote for John McCain if this is where you stand on the energy crisis. Yes, that is what was going on behind closed doors with the Louisville Police Department. Yes, this is a safe environment to send your child to school.
Journalism will always be needed.
We are always going to be in the dark on some things. There is no way to “know it all.” But now never before has more information been out there for the taking. So if you have a few minutes to yourself, pick up that newspaper. Newspapers may not be “essential for democracy.” But they are essential for you. And you are the vital, (the water, the food, the oxygen, the shelter) component of democracy.
So just this once, steal a glance at that cheat-sheet. And if you get caught, don’t say you are sorry…
Join the Crowd
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on March 23rd, 2009
Game plan: Join the Crowd.
Players look confused, hestitate on which play to run next. Whispering to eachother, “Join the crowd? What happened to being your own person?”
Coach calls a brief time-out on the sideline. Team huddles.
Yes, the play is join the crowd! But wait! Let me explain… (My disclaimer statement, if you will.) I am in no way saluting peer pressure, and I will strictly avoid using the phrases “following the crowd” or “all the cool kids are doing it.”
Coach concludes the pep talk. Team breaks. Clock restarts.
Welcome to an important part of a journalist’s world: Say hi to crowdsourcing.
What is crowdsourcing? Simply, crowdsourcing is where a journalist uses you, your friend from across the hall, that weird guy in Psychology, your cousin David (that really isn’t your cousin, but you call him that), and others to get our story.
According to OJR’s Robert Niles, A Journalist’s Guide to Crowdsourcing:
Crowdsourcing, in journalism, is the use of a large group of readers to report a news story. It differs from traditional reporting in that the information collected is gathered not manually, by a reporter or team of reporters, but through some automated agent, such as a website.
Crowdsourcing does not ask readers to become anything more than what they’ve always been: eyewitnesses to their daily lives.
To access this article, please visit: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070731niles/
This collaborative form of reporting is nothing new. Each contributor simply researches and adds to the overall collection.
The crowd is from all over the globe, bringing to the table a wide range of information, helping a journalist produce a story with the information that could be nearly impossible without the volunteered information.
Let’s say there is a website discussing an imaginary company. Customers and employees both contribute to the crowdsourcing project.Want the brilliant, yet hidden truth of crowdsourcing, do you? Turns out the average, everyday, ordinary collection of customers shopping at the business prove more knowledgeable than the actual employees within the business.
More from A Journalist’s Guide to Crowdsourcing:
The core concept is not new in journalism. At its heart, modern crowdsourcing is the descendent of hooking an answering machine to a telephone “tip line,” where a news organization asks readers to phone suggestions for stories. Or asking readers to send in photos of events in their community.
Need an example of crowdsourcing? College students, like myself, are all familiar with Wikipedia, ‘the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.’ Another example, one of my favorites this summer was GasBuddy.com, finds the highest and lowest prices of gas in your area, by different communities that share the information.
So why do our professors beg us not to use Wikipedia as a reference source in our research paper?
Well, crowdsourcing has its dangerous sides.
As a reporter using a crowdsourced project, the information collected should be verified before publishing. Many crowdsoucing projects aid this process. In an attempt to reduce faulty information, sites request the user post verification of the report and personal identification.
Also, sometimes… your “crowd” can have a case of A.D.D. and short attention spans. Hold the phone, now what was I saying? Oh, now I remember. This makes sifting through the material submitted extremely necessary to find what belongs and what can be left out.
In addition, sometimes your crowd let their own personal or political agendas overshadow key content that should be discussed…. But because the majority is focusing on the best liked featurette…. the minor, yet vital details can be lost. Ratings and comments can drastically manipulate the crowd’s direction. On the other hand, perhaps you need to write an article on the most popular topic.
Joining the crowd has revolutionized the way reporters use the access of the Internet. Crowdsourcing simply goes back to the basics with the plain ideals of finding a story through observation and research. Using the collaboration of information at their finger tips, reporters can produce journalism for everyone to take advantage of. The beauty of crowdsourcing is the sharing between you, others, and the journalist.
So join the crowd. And maybe for once, we can say honestly, all the cool kids really are doing it.
In the Palm of Your Hand
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on March 15th, 2009
See the television there…. Yeah, you know the one. Turn it off.
You do not need it on.
That evening news program, nah… not important.
Close those other tabs in your browsers.
Yep, even facebook.
Hit the X. Go for it.
You do not need that either.
So now, you are thinking I am being extreme. I made you close out of facebook for goodness sakes. I must have something really important to say. Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll do my best. And I promise after I’m finished you can go back to updating your status.
Quick question.
How do you get the news? The recent events from around the world… How do you receive that information? Seems like a simple enough question…
Well, maybe not.
The classic six o’clock news may not be one of your answers. Nor the print newspaper edition. Now you must be thinking, “She must have dove head first off the high dive, because if you do not get the news from a broadcast or newspaper, well how do you?”
Let’s look at a few examples of how I sometimes receive my information.
The other day….
I was sitting with an extended family member watching television. I was falling asleep on the couch (as usual) and he turned off the program, heading to bed. The next morning, our conversation stumbled on the latest March Madness drama. This led into me dishing out the news of the six overtime game Syracuse vs UCONN that had occurred while we both were sleeping. He seemed surprised that I had watched the game while he slept. Yet, I hadn’t watched any of it. I had to explain that I found out about the game through the help of facebook and tweets.
The next day….
Over spring break, I did a little traveling. While being out of state, enjoying the sunny weather, I discovered there was snow and freezing temperatures in my home town. Not from the weather channel, but by tweets from Twitter.
And a few days later…
After spending the entire week in California, I was flying back home. My phone’s battery was dying, and I needed to call my dad when I landed, so I could have a ride home, not a big deal or anything. Luckily, I talked to him for a few minutes before my flight home explaining the fading life of one of my best friends, a Nokia flip phone, before its life was lost. As I headed to baggage claim, I found my parents waiting, discovering my dad had logged onto Southwest receiving mobile updates of my flight information.
From Mindy McAdams’ “Mobile data: Next hurdle for journalism”
Zac Echola, a young wired journalist, is already using his phone the way older folks use a printed newspaper. He’s that guy in the deli who’s staring at his tiny screen while he chews on a cheeseburger:
“When I’m at lunch, I can pull down any news I’m subscribed to via RSS. On a mobile device. Text, pictures and video come together on my phone. I can do the same on the bus … or on the crapper. And I’m engaging with the news. I’m sharing it …” To access this article, please visit http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/mobile-data-next-hurdle-for-journalism/
The way we receive our news is not quite how we used to do things. Sure, I still grab the USA Today and College Heights Herald each day, and log on the Internet, checking out the latest headlines on CNN, but that’s not all. No wonder I was nearly stranded at the Nashville International Airport for my cell-phone is becoming a work horse of information and this is a cold that everyone seems to be catching.
On our cell phones, much of our news comes through are RSS feed. RSS, is abbreviated for “Really Simple Syndication,” which enables you to find all the latest information from each site you visit.
Not familiar with RSS? Think again.
When you’re receiving the “Word of the Day” from dictionary.com on your cell, sports scores from ESPN, or the latest weather information, you actually hanging out with your new best friend, Mr. RSS, didn’t you know? Or as Rick would say in Casablanca, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” (Did you say it with the accent?)
From Mark Briggs’ “Journalism 2.0″
The push for immediacy will continue as news operations master breaking news on a Web site and move to present breaking news on mobile devices. It also means a broadening of the scope of information that will be considered worthy of an immediate update, meaning all types of information and news (sports, business, entertainment) will be part of the mobile equation.
To access this information, please visit: http://www.j-lab.org/Journalism_20.pdf
The signs are flashing, blinking, and some, yes, are even dancing around, telling us that more and more mobile devices will be continually used in the future.
Don’t believe me?
According to “Journalism 2.0,” there are 200 million mobile phone users in the United States. 70 percent of those users are Web-enabled. Need more? The Weather Channel has 4.8 million paying subscribers a month for its mobile service. ABC/Disney has 2 million subscribers at $15 a month delivering ring tones, voice tones, wallpapers and video clips.
Almost every week a new and better mobile device is on the market. And with each new invention, we are progressing. Never before has our society been more apt to better ourselves with technology. And as we get better, the mobile devices will continue to adapt to improve to meet our needs. In ten to fifteen years, desktop computers will begin fading, like digital cameras that use floppy discs or video recorders that require VHS tapes.
Information, news, ordering a pizza, running to the bank, placing a bet on the number five horse in race 9, well… it will all be in the palm of your hand, (not quite the whole world, but pretty close.)
So by all means, go ahead, visit facebook and update your status…. using your mobile device, of course.
Want a little more? Find the 100 most subscribed to RSS Feeds. Please visit, http://radio.xmlstoragesystem.com/rcsPublic/rssHotlist
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