Emily Patton 101

advertisements, College Heights Herald, community journalism, internships, journalism, Kentucky Press Association, KPA, little stugis rally, Morganfield, newspapers, summer, Union County, Union County Advocate, Western Kentucky University

Uh… can I speak to Nike please?

Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts, The Sports World on June 8, 2010

“But don’t tell me where the road ends,
Cause I just don’t wanna know,
No, I just don’t wanna know.”

Whoa. Now, here we are.

Into the next round of the Nike Field Reporter contest.

Must… keep… from… throwing… up.

Okay, sorry about that. Wow, I’m in the top 30 people in the nation to have an paid internship with Nike. I can’t think about it for too long or I start hyperventilating.

I received a fancy e-mail in my inbox late last Thursday night with the first lines reading, “You’ve done it!” And that, my friends, caused me to run downstairs from my bedroom, catapult myself onto my parents asleep in bed and begin screaming with excitement. Effect: My dad half-asleep thinking I had crashed my car and began barking out orders like the former Marine he is.

Then shortly after explaining myself, I began calling, texting, facebooking, tweeting, you name it, to all of you!

The next phase of the contest is having phone interviews with the fine people of Nike.

Yesterday at 4:20 CST, I made the phonecall to my interviewers and answered a range of questions from my favorite celebrity to the three words that best describe me.

Emily Patton is personable, honest and passionate. Gosh, I hope I chose the right words.

Another smack in the face AH-HA moment that always appears in one of my rambling blog posts, well, words are everything to people.

Sure, actions speak louder than words, but what you say about your actions, that’s a pretty big one too. Maybe that’s why I like this little thing called journalism. Hmm…

The interview went pretty smoothly. I find out things about myself all the time. You’d think after almost 21 years being me, I wouldn’t have to learn anything new, but of course I do. On the phone interview, there were about 6 people from Nike asking me questions. One person asked, “Well what’s Western Kentucky University? Where is that?”

I did the natural thing. I described the school by its sports programs, AKA how many Sweet 16 appearances, our new football coach Willie Taggart and our geographic location compared to surrounding sports venues.

Yes, I know I’m just a tad different, but maybe that’s what I have going for me.

In a few days, I’ll be receiving an e-mail with perhaps another interview or an update on where I stand in the contest.

It’s me vs. 29 other girls. Just a little better than me vs. thousands. If this is as far as my road goes, its been an amazing ride and experience getting to feel the support of the community, family and friends.

I just know I’m going to this this run along this road as far as I can.

journalism, Nike, Nike Field Reporter, Western Kentucky University

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.

internships, journalism, Kentucky New Era, news, newspapers, Union County Advocate, Western Kentucky University

Shot in the dark.

Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts, The Sports World on May 19, 2010

Emily Patton. The next Nike Field Reporter?

“Baby, maybe I’m the one you like
Maybe I’m a shot in the dark
and you’re the morning light
Whoa
Maybe this is sad but true
Baby, maybe you’ve got nothing to lose…”

So I know a thing or two about shots in the darks.

You know, those longshots that come out of nowhere and steal the race. The kind of longshots I am most familiar with are the likes of those in horse racing… maybe like a Super Saver in the 2010 Kentucky Derby or Mine That Bird in last year’s Run for the Roses, or how about the one that rocked everyone’s race world that cleverly named, Giacomo from 2005?

What’s the cool thing about long-shots?

Well in horse racing… if you are tempted enough to put down $2 to show, or maybe if you are feeling adventurous, God forbid, $2 to win, the pay-off… well, its kind of nice. But bet on the favorite. Well, you are looking at a return of a whopping .20 cents, if you’re lucky.

So what does that say to you?

I’ll tell you what it says to me. It tells me to take the gamble. The payoff in the end will be worth the funny looks at the betting window, the muffled laughter from the doubters and nonbelievers.

The quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” has always stuck with me.

Its a quote that I recited to myself as a clicked “SUBMIT” on Nike’s website a few weeks ago.

Nike offered a contest nationally to be the next Nike Field Reporter, an insane job offer for young women to work as reporters interviewing the dream athletes and writing for Nike Women.com. A bit insane to think that such a dream is even something you can enter to win.

So to cut down the thousands of entries, each girl had to write an essay to break into the top 100 girls. I mean, this is a national contest, LITERALLY thousands of people entered.

I’m shaking my head right now even thinking about it.

But I made the top 100. (Ridiculous, I know!)

Next, we had to submit a video, telling why we should be the next Nike Field Reporter. To explain the stress that this caused me is already an understatement. My first video, well, let’s just say was just terrible. Then it wouldn’t upload. After a couple visits to the IT department, a couple stressed phone-calls to my oh-so patient friends, thoughts of giving up, e-mailing Gabe from Nike, and just frustration… well, I ended up having to re-do my video. Oh, yeah, all this during, Western Kentucky University’s finals week too. Yeah, I wasn’t stressed out at all!

So finally, fed up and impatient, I started over. I plopped down in my back yard and started talking. I felt like I was rambling, but really I just talked about what I am most passionate about, which conveniently enough is just what this Nike Field Reporter contest is all about. Its about being passionate about reporting and sports.

Fortunately, my full name is Emily Lynn Passionate About Reporting Sports Patton. Its a pain filling out paperwork.

In two weeks, I’ll find out if I made the top 30. They judge on the popularity of the video, ratings, comments, views and all, but also the essay I submitted previously. Its a whole big combination of things. I had to pretty much “wow” them.

Its a tad scary to think that I could be on the brink of something so incredible. All I can do now is advertise my video so people can help make it more POPULAR — a word I secretly hate, but for the next two weeks, I’ll embrace it.

POPULARITY, come on baby.

Its a shot in the dark. But its one you’ll never hit, if you don’t at least go for it.

So that’s what I’m doing. I’m going for it. Wish me luck.

Hit up my video by going to Nike Women, click on videos, then channels and the “Vote Now for the Next NFR” tab and look for Emily Patton.

journalism, Nike, Nike Field Reporter, sports writing, Western Kentucky University

1 Comment

Love to Learn. Learn to love.

Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts, The Sports World on April 16, 2010

Oh, oh no.

Doesn’t it feel like that time in the semester where a train is heading straight for you?

The 2010 Lady Toppers softball team. Photo by Emily Patton

Just imagine that terrible, awful, no good train that screams its whistle right through the valley of Western Kentucky University racing towards you head on at full speed.

Here I am desperately trying to find a way off the track as work at the math office comes to a close, the Herald and a softball season comes to an end and finals week approaches.

When this semester finally concludes, I feel like I am going to have a couple more grey hairs. Not only from the stress, but from the feeling that I have grown up yet even more.

As always, the credit for me maturing and growing… yep, you guessed it… goes to…. the College Heights Herald (applause).

I guess you could say I stepped up in my beat when I was awarded softball after covering cross-country during the fall… although I’m sure that’s debatable. Its a sport most wouldn’t jump to have a byline next to. Its a sport I had never really paid much attention to.

Nonetheless, its a sport and I’m a sportswriter.

Unlike cross-country, I have never had any experience with softball. Not in high school, not in grade school, not even in the friends I spent time with had any connection whatsoever to the sport. I never went to softball games. I once played a few innings in a church league game, but honestly, that was the extent of my ties to anything remotely related to seven inning game. In the course of one spring semester, it was expected of me to make it my life.

Senior Kelsey McCauley of the Lady Toppers prepares to bat against conference opponent, Troy, on April 2. Photo by Emily Patton

I can’t tell you how well I have done or if I have met or exceeded any expectations. I just don’t know. What I can tell you is simple. I like softball. I like softball players. I have gained respect for the sport. I know the roster in and out of the Lady Tops.

Most importantly, I have learned more than you could ever imagine.

I am watching softball for the first time in my life, gaining experience, and learning every day.

And as a student in college on the eve of entering this dreaded “real world” that haunts my future every day and prior to my first summer internship — that’s really all I can ask for.

See how I am doing keeping up with the latest Lady Toppers softball news and see the latest from the Herald’s sport staff.

College Heights Herald, internships, journalism, Lady Toppers, softball, sports writing, Western Kentucky University

Office of yada-yada, this is Emily.

Posted by Emily in Spilled Thoughts on June 30, 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.

college, learning, summer, Western Kentucky University, work

5 Comments

Hilltoppers Run in the 2009 NCAA Tournament

Posted by Emily in Journalism 101, The Sports World on April 5, 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

0:55 Sound Clip from First Round Game

1:00 Conclusion of First Round

1:30 Introduction of Second Round

1:40 Buzzer Beater Sound Clip

2:15 Wrap-up/Conclusion

To listen, click here.

NCAA Tournament, podcast, Western Kentucky University

2 Comments

What you are NOT going to teach me…

Posted by Emily in Journalism 101 on February 15, 2009

From “Old Thinking Permeates Major Journalism School”

I am convinced that I am taking the only old-but-new-but-still-old media class in the country. At this point I may not learn too much I don’t already know about my generation and where it’s taking journalism. But one thing’s for sure — I’m certainly going to gain some insight into what exactly they mean by generation gap. To access this post, visit: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/09/old-thinking-permeates-major-journalism-school249.html

Alana Taylor, a junior at NYU, could be considered a quite controversial blogger (in the most negative connotation of the words ‘controversial’ and ‘blogger’), or… could she actually be onto something?

Taylor wrote in her post, “Old Thinking Permeates Major Journalism School” of the lacking in her “Reporting Gen Y” journalism class. After reading the post, I feel like I have sat through a journalism class at New York University, and have felt the anger and frustration that Taylor feels. However, is it justified anger?

For starters, let us move pass the obvious. College costs money. Money that most cannot just shovel out for an empty degree.

Question: Why do we pay the overpriced tuition costs?

(Hands raise)

Answer: To get a degree for a job to make more money. (Fine print reads: at least that is the plan.)

More from Alana Taylor’s “Old Thinking Permeates Major Journalism School”

Disappointment at NYU

What is so fascinating about the move from print to digital is the freedom to be your own publisher, editor, marketer, and brand. But, surprisingly, NYU does not offer the kinds of classes I want. It continues to focus its core requirements around learning how to work your way up the traditional journalism ladder. Here is the thinking I find here:

1. Get an internship at a magazine or newspaper. “This is good for your resume.”
2. Bring the New York Times to class. The hard copy. “It’s the only way to get the news.”
3. Learn how to write for a magazine or newspaper. “Writing for blogs or websites is not journalism.”
4. Become an editor at a magazine or newspaper. “This is the only respectable position.”

So hold on, hold on… let me get this right. According to Alana, she is paying money for a degree that is helping her land a job in the 90s. Well that is ok, sure, they are a few years behind, but you know what, our economy is doing lovely, so she will do just fine. (Cynical laughter follows)

In my first journalism class, I almost left with tears one morning. Not because of the stress level or perhaps it was a cold winter day, but it seemed to me I was attending a funeral without my knowledge. An industry, who had been on its deathbed for sometime, had officially passed over. I left thinking, “What am I doing in a major for a dying industry?” That is when fear overcame me. Suddenly, the grief over my loved one had vanished, and now anger and fear resided in its wake. The questions kept arising, “How am I going to get a job? How am I going to make any money? Where do I go to change my major?”

Then, something happened. The fear and anger slowly dissolved as I sat learning the next semester about blogging, podcasts, online reporting, and about the growth of journalism in the digital generation. I have always been a fan of blogging, from reading friend’s blogs to simply surfing on the web reading. But I had never known the simple beauty of typing your own thoughts.

Today, journalists have to learn to go digital. It is essential. Alana is paying money to become more knowledgeable about a career she wishes to pursue. The strange thing about this choice of profession is that it is changing. A university must adapt, change, and better itself to better its students. This may consist in letting go of the traditions, the New York Times (deep breath everyone), and negative connotations around the word ‘blogger.’

My experience has been a bit different, with my professors stressing the importance of the glorious things called Twitter, Wordpress, Mashable, Photoshop, Movie Maker, and the list continues. But is that all they reiterate, you ask? Of course not! It is about having that small idea in the back of your head that even when you have mastered the new digital media, it will always be about the basics. The basics of knowing how to write, report, ask good questions, translate the answers, and edit your work. No technology in the world will get you anywhere if you cannot do those things. Never have I felt more fortunate at Western Kentucky University for being blessed with that small idea in the back of my head.

I believe Alana makes wonderful points, yet sometimes there is a little bit more to it… If you are not receiving the education you want or need (yes, I chose the second word for us middle class families out there), go somewhere where you can receive the type of degree necessary to make it in this progressing world. Why waste your time complaining? Do something! Maybe the freedom that Alana talks about goes to a person’s head, being “your own publisher, editor, marketer, and brand.” And maybe, we should look at the classroom as a place to learn from others, their views and opinions, and not just walk through the doors with a long list titled, “what I already know and what you are not going to teach me.” And sometimes, just sometimes learning takes time, humility, patience, hearing, listening, curiosity, and that wonderful word that we forget in many aspects of our lives… faith.