Posts Tagged news
Why hello there, Union County.
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101, Spilled Thoughts on June 3, 2010
What my planner looked like my first 3 days of my internship
If you want to find me this summer, you are going to have to look.
Most consider where I live, Webster County or outside of the small town of Dixon, Ky. to be “in the boondocks.” (Don’t bother looking on a map if you don’t know where that is, because it won’t be on there.) But outside of Webster, even further into the country, about 15 miles Northwest, you’ll hit a town called Morganfield.
And sure enough, that’s where I’ll be.
Last winter in the midst of a hunt for a summer internship, I received an e-mail from the editor of the Union County Advocate, Carrie Dillard, requesting me for an interview. After a few phonecalls, a trip to Union County and some conversation about where I wanted to spend my summer, I accepted the job.
Sure its roughly a 35 minute drive for me everyday, a smaller community newspaper, but I’ve never been more sure this is where I need to be.
My first day of work, I was sent to the Feed Mill Restaurant to cover a story on the Red Hat Ladies. The next I interviewed a pastor and his wife at First United Methodist Church. Then that Saturday night, I was thrown head first into Union County High School’s graduation. All in three days. All too much fun. All amazing experience for a hungry little intern.
I was especially nervous about my first day of work at the Advocate. Why?
Because when I got the job, I was told I would be doing it all. I would be reporting, writing, taking pictures, designing, working in an office and whatever else we all stumbled across together. And so far, I’ve been doing just that.
Another hurdle I feared was saying goodbye to sports writing and hello to news writing. Something I feared I would hate, but surprisingly I have loved it.
Like the Kentucky New Era, this newspaper is a real paper. Its real people trying to make real money. Its a paper that people read cover to cover. And what I’m discovering slowly is that this is a paper that is a huge part of the community.
While I know most of my journalism classmates at Western Kentucky University frowned on the thought of interning at a weekly newspaper, I know that this weekly has been a perfect fit for me. I’m learning what community journalism is all about. I’m learning how to find the soul of a place, how to understand people and how to tell stories.
I believe internships are more much than simply a summer job. To me, internships are a way to connect you to other people in the business that maybe you wouldn’t have known. Internships are a way to get that real hands-on experience. You learn if this is for you, or maybe another path is more suitable. You learn if you can handle it.
Yesterday, I celebrated my bylines with friends and family and read over my stories at least ten times to myself.
Its good to know that I’m right where I need to be.
Keep up with how I’m doing at the Advocate by clicking here.
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Who Am I, Really?
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on April 26, 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.
In the Palm of Your Hand
Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on March 15, 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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