Kodak Bankruptcy

With the financial state of today’s economy, many companies have filed for bankruptcy.  One of the most popular film companies, Kodak, recently filed and is now having to make serious business changes.  Many things have switched to technology in the past several years and the 131 year old company had to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy after they spent all of their profits.  Through the process, managers of the company have accepted financial help from Citigroup to keep the company going.

While attempting to come back from bankruptcy, Kodak is selling portfolios of digital image patents to raise money for its losses.  Many companies fell long before Kodak did.  Borders Group filed for bankruptcy after electronic books did not work out for the company.  So, it appears the digital switch is not going to be easy for anyone; even those who have been around for 130 years.

Just to Write

It suprising to me that I am coming back to write outside of my journalism class.  For some odd reason I did not want to write this down pen and paper style.

There are many life lessons that one tends to learn during the college years.  For me it is who my friends are and figuring out who cares and who does not.  Those friends from high school that said they would be there for me are not.  It may be because I and one of the three people who chose to go out of state or just growing older and apart. Who knows? I have found the three best friends a girl could ever have.  Haley, Stacie and Morgan have been with me through thick and thin, but suprisingly we still have at least 45 more years together.

To me it is shocking that we are all from different states and one school, Lindenwood, brought us together.  We are all some way or another connected to the shotgun team.  Some are shooters and the other half of the group is not. ”The girls” is a common way we talk about oursleves.  Ya, we like to do the things other best friends do such as hair, make up, clothes and eat. But most of all we love to goof around, aka have fun. Whatever may bring us together that day is what we do. Whether that be dancing infront of the television or shooting guns in the back yard. Some people find only one best friend in their lives, but luckily, I have found three.

Although my girl friends fall into the category of people who care about me, the majority happen to be adults. Of course my parents care deeply about me. I am finally understanding how unconditional a parents love really is. There are also shooting coaches who have made an impact in my life. Shawn and Steve have put a lot of trust in me and responsibility.  I have a responsibility to them, but both men are easy for me to talk to and father figures.

Until we meet again…

Good Night and Good Luck

When teachers schedule a movie into their syllabus, students normally get excited.  Normally black and white movies are very interesting to me, but with all the confusion of “Good Night and Good Luck,” my attitude quickly changed.  Although the beginning of the movie was a little more confusing than the last half, it turned out to be more understanding with the help of some research.

With the scare of Communism on the rise in America, the 1950’s was a crucial time.  Journalism is a career where you take the positives and the negatives.  When Edward R. Murrow, a television news man, gets accused of being a communist by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy things take a turn for the worst.  As in all news rooms, reporters and anchors are dedicated to reporting the correct news.  Murrow and his staff of Fred Friendly and Joe Wershba take matters to the Senate and McCarthy was made powerless by bullying tactics are uncovered.

Not many people know who CBS news broadcaster, Edward R. Murrow is, except for the fact that they hear of News Channel 4 winning the “Edward R. Murrow Award for News Excellence.”  To all types of journalism majors, he is the founder of broadcast journalism and the pioneer of the ways that many news reporters follow today.  In most ways Murrow defined bravery in broadcast journalism.  When McCarthy made those false statements about members of the CBS crew, Murrow stood up to them and put those who made the wrong statements back in their place.  When standing up to a person who said something wrong about the person or the station that is running the show.

Although George Clooney directed the film, he also played the part of Fred W. Friendly.  Being an important factor in the movie, Clooney was the friend and mentor of Murrow.  Wershba, another one of Murrow’s staff members, faced the wrath of a reporter and could not handle the pressure.  In the end Wershba, ends up taking his life and taking the easy way out by gassing himself to death.  With the death of Wershba, Friendly was there.  As well as with the Communism scare with McCartney.  As in all movies we find out who the real friends are.  In “Good Night and Good Luck,” the truth of friends comes out.

Impact also has another large aspect of what Murrow did to the broadcast stage.  He stood up to the people who shot him down.  Even when it was hard and no one thought he could, Murrow prevailed and overcame what the lies.  Murrow handled the Communism scare the way no other broadcaster of the time would.  Professionalism and perfectionism are two words that describe Murrow perfectly.  With the professionalism of a news anchor of 20 years, and the perfectionism of a new journalist; Murrow deliberately made the choice to stand up to those who did wrong.

There are a lot of movies that have documented journalism history.  “All the President’s Men” is one of my favorites, but one needs to consider other movies that have made a difference.  All movies make a difference in one way or another.  Print journalism’s movie is “All of the President’s Men” and “Good Night and Good Luck” is broadcast journalism’s film.

Journalism Platforms

To begin writing this blog, I first googled “journalism platforms.”  To my surprise, Lindenwood University Professor Jill Falk’s slide share power point that she shared with the class showed up.  Who would have thought that something so closely related to what our class would have shown up on Google?

While browsing on the slide share sight, I noticed a lot of advertisements for broadcasting colleges and universities.  One ad stated careers in broadcast journalism require the best training, which is very understandable for today’s technology.  In order to become the best broadcast journalist one has to be able to work behind the scenes.  It is important that a broadcast journalism major know how to operate all of the microphones and recording equipment.  Not only will a journalist have to operate electronics, he or she will also have to be able to produce or direct the news.

Being behind the camera or in front of it also has its benefits.  Meeting and interviewing celebrities is one of the perks of being a broadcast journalist.  Sports announcers and news analysts are also sub categories of the wide variety of positions it newscast journalism.

Radio is another source of journalism.  Hearing something is very different than seeing or reading it.  Sounds give off a different emotion than visuals ever could.  Although many listners tune the radio to their favorite music station to hear the latest songs, there is more that radio offers.  Local emergencies are often heard over the radio first because it is easier to interrupt a song than a television show.

Within the last few years radio has went through a lot of changes.  Now fewer companies own more radio stations.  Some of this is shocking to the public because several companies are afraid that the news is not concentrated enough to serve the other communities in the wide area.  With concern to this issue, I have noticed that there is not enough local news.  In my small community there is one radio station that covers the entire county.  Since I do not want to listen to country music all the time, I have switched radio stations and now receive St. Louis County news.  Unfortunately St. Louis County is not even in the same state as where I live.

Although some may say radio journalism was the first form of news, I beg to differ.  To me and many others, print journalism will always reign at the top.  Written word is more meaningful and easier to come by than any other form of journalism.  In today’s society many people receive their news through their phone which is threatening the original form of news.  With all of the upcoming technology graduate students with print journalism degrees are having trouble finding jobs.  The technological side of journalism might take over print one day, but the writing will still be recorded in the form of a blog, tweet, or post.

Since the world is rapidly changing before our eyes broadcast, radio, and print journalism are changing too.  Just as long as the communications teachers instill a firm background in the history of the three will be strong in the hearts of journalists forever.

Teachers

In high school teachers pick favorites. You know the students who never fall asleep in class, always turn homework in on time, and actually participate; those are the one’s i am talking about.  Reality hits and college comes a part of the picture.  Professors do not care about your grade; it is the student’s responsibility to follow the syllabus aka “the Gospel.”  With all of the various backgrounds of the professors, I have learned that it is a race to the top literally. Print journalists have to beat broadcast journalists or vice versa.  This not only happens in communications; business, biology and fashion are involved as well.

For the past few weeks, one of my class mates has been having a hard time with a history teacher on campus. Now stubbornness is one thing, but rudeness is another. When the class mate described the multiple absence situation and told me who the teacher was, I replied with I really enjoyed that professor. I guess age affects a person’s teaching style. Who knows?

Until today, I thought teachers would work with you when you have missed school for an illness or sports, but I take that as a huge NO. Okay, okay, I know that statement is very harsh, but there is a fine line between mean and flat out harsh. Today I also realized that I enjoy the teaching style of my history professor. “I’ll tell you once, remember it fine; don’t, it’s your fault.” As I am finding out, not all teachers are straight to the point. You have some who like to hear themselves talk and others who like to talk about their cats. When a teacher or professor has something to say, he or she should just straight out say it.

There are also classes that are ignorant, but teachers do not help the situation. Religion classes are the worst, according to most students at Lindenwood. The teachers need to learn different ways to teach. Not every student is a listening learner. Incorporating the other types of learning should be important to teachers because reaching all students learning needs is key.

Math is often a difficult subject for a lot of students as well. Power points do not work, especially in mathematics because the examples need to be worked out by hand for the students to understand the topic. Another pet peeve of some students is that teachers assume students do not have questions. With all the steps that take place in math problems, it is no wonder why student get lost when a teacher moves on and no one in the class understands the equation.

With some subjects some teachers have to make sure the class understands the topic. Take psychology for example, with all of the researchers and theories that date back to the 1900′s the students have no way of relating to the theory. Instead of just lecturing on the subject, make it relatable to the students. For example the professor could bring in something that is relatively common to the students.

Patch Pannel

The panel of patch editors who came and spoke to the class were by far the best in their field.  From dedicated sports writers to horse enthusiasts, they all had something to contribute to their specific Patch.

When asked about the characteristics a journalist should have, Kurt Greenbaum said “The key is to be curious.” The other panelists elaborated by saying there’s is no story if a reporter does not dig for answers.  By asking questions, the reporter gets answers and is then able to achieve more layers of the story.  In class Professor Falk has asked us the question “Can you teach someone to be curious?”  My answer has always been no.  I believe that curiosity is something that a person is born with.  A person either has it or not.

St. Peters Patch editor, Joe Barker, said “Sources matter.” When a reporter interviews a source, try to get him or her to say what you want to say.  If the reporter is unable to do this, fine, it is not the end of the world.  As a journalist and writer it is important to stay out of the story, which is sometimes difficult.  This is where sources play a part in the story, their stories and opinions are told and focused on.

Tammy Duncan of the Lake Saint Louis Patch said that “You need to be reading the news, and you need to be reading every day.”  I feel that Duncan hit a nerve with this statement.  All of my journalism teachers have been emphasizing the importance of reading the news and not just news papers either; watching the news, reading a magazine or even reading what is going on with your twitter account is important to read.  All of those media sources allow a person to keep in touch with what is going on in the world.

One of my favorite topics that was discussed was the fact that Patch editors work at their own pace and on their own schedule.  All of the editors liked having the freedom of working at their own pace.  “Freedom” from bosses was the word that was frequently used.  Joe Barker told us of his job stories.  He said that he went from a 60 person staff in college to a 6 person staff at a small town paper.  Barker also commented on job loss.  He said “Bosses keep the employees who do the most work. So if you are sitting around doing nothing you lose you job, thus keeping the most productive people on the staff.”

Chase Castle, editor of the Ballwin-Ellisville Patch, was a quiet man.  Although when he spoke he moved mountains, when commenting on higher education, such as a master’s degree, he said that most employers look for the higher degrees.  Some of the students who earn those degrees are too smart for their own good.  Journalists in particular, need to know how to interact with their audience and with the higher degree it sometimes interferes with the interaction.  Some of the journalists and reporters have kept, like Castle and the other panelists, have kept that polite interaction with the public.

Members of the panel made it enjoyable compared to the original assignment.  It was nice they took time out of their day to take the time to come and talk to the aspiring journalists.  I did not like that the students were unable to ask more questions.

Figuring It All Out

A couple weeks ago some of you may have seen my tweet conversation with my “new found friend,” Jessica.  We had discovered in one of our classes that print journalism was not for us.  She and I had contemplated nursing, environmental biology, and plain biology.  Between the both of us I think by the time everything is finalized the total number of changes will total up to at least 15.  Talk about two people who cannot make up their minds!  The final change for the both of us, or last I heard, is mass communications with an emphasis in media management and sales.

Miss Edgell, regional editor of the greater St. Louis area at Patch.com, came to talk to the Lindenwood University introduction to journalism class about what Patch is and what she does.  She explained that Patch is a blog site that is specific to a certain town.  There are bloggers who blog about local sporting events, city council meetings and breaking news.  Patch is open to anyone who wants to read what is happening in any town that has a Patch.

Edgell also explained that she oversees 12 different Patch sites, manages budget, micromanages her people and travels talking about Patch and informing others about the site.  Reaching the position that Miss Edgell is at is the goal that I am reaching for and I believe mass communications is going to get me there.  Micromanaging a company and working with the greater community is my dream job.  I am an organized person, friendly and I am becoming more multimedia friendly.  All of these characteristics have been formed by my parents and molded by my shooting coaches.

Shotgun  shooting has opened up so many doors for me.  From being interviewed for Pheasants Forever television as the only girl on the trap shooting team, to being the communications lead of the only collegiate team to hold 8 consecutive national titles.  The doors are only beginning to open and the fun is only beginning.  Writing and taking photos about what I do is all a part of mass communications and I am very excited about putting the first foot forward in fourth chapter of my life.

My mother has always told me there will be a journalist in our family.  I believe I am one in disguise.   Some may think so and others not so much, but with a camera and pencil in had I am untouchable.  Okay I might need my gun too, but that is only on the range.

With Patch regional editor coming to talk to the class about what she does and internships I believe the class should have taken away so much.  The contacts a person makes in life is unforgettable and in today’s media, especially journalism, contacts count.  It is interesting at who you meet, their story and where they are from.  With the millions of people in the United States of America you will never know when you will run into the CEO or president of a company you could potentially work for.  A word of advice: first impressions always count so make a good one!

Tests

With all of the tests that are up and coming, introduction to journalism has to throw another test in the mix.  Some of the test this mid-term
section will be difficult because they are all cumulative.  Most of my tests will be hard, but I am looking forward to journalism’s test.  With some of the topics such as the seven deadly sins and libel the test is going to be interesting.  Although, I am worried again about the writing topics the studying will be a great help, if I get a change.

With all of the reporters in the United States, there is a law known as the “shield” that protects reporters and their confidential sources and notes.  I believe this is a good law because of the various situations that reporters may find themselves in they need to be able to have protection against what they write.

Another topic the class discussed was libel.  Libel is the publication of a false statement that deliberately or carelessly damages someone’s reputation.  Although I am still confused on what exactly libel is, there are five things that constitute statements as being libel.  They are false, deformity, published, with identifiable plaintiffs, and fault of defendant.  There also three things that defend against libel which are truth, consent, and privilege.

Some of the adults in the class have grown up with good moral backgrounds, but the ethics part might not me in the right places.  Journalists have to have good ethics and credibility.  Without the factor of good ethics, a reporter will not know what the right decision would be.  Some adults believe that ethics is learned and others believe ethics is taught.  I believe ethics is learned through how a person is raised and how their family is.  Coming from such as tight knit family, my ethics are pretty good.  Others trust me to make good decisions and I have proven to them that those are great leadership decisions.  With reference to shooting, I am the communications leader, so I have to communicate well with the coaching staff and make ethical decisions that represent the team in the proper way.  My coaches depend on me to communicate what they want to be said to the other shooters on the team.  Where it becomes tricky is when the students have problems and I take them up with the coaches. In the transition process of one communications lead to the other I have had to deal with the students who have no ethics and thought for others.  With those students a person needs to be extra patient because the conversation can easily turn back on the communicator.

All in all I believe that being the communications lead of the Lindenwood Shotgun team has put my ethics to the test.  Give out people’s numbers or not; nicely respond to the rude question or politely answer the question with kindness, aiding the coaches in every way that I can or just sit back and let the others do the work.  How a person answers those questions all comes down to who has ethics and who does not.

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html

The Big Debate

The communications 135 class at Lindenwood University was extremely tense with the debate over an infograph.  Color or no color was the big question.  The question came about then Professor Falk told us to find the parts of a page.  There was one example that showed a black and white graph of some stats which gave emphasis to the article.  Other students in the class found a picture of a knee with labels that was in color.  A student in the class asked which image better fit the description of an infograph.  Professor Falk then asked the class our thoughts.  Most of the class agreed and argued color was an important part of the graphic situation.  The single student still argued that her black and white boring image was an infographic and greatly contributed to the article.  We will see where this debate goes, but I still believe infographic=color. End of discussion.

http://www.coolinfographics.com/

Another topic we discussed was the seven deadly sins of journalism.  Fortunately they are not based on the movie Se7en.  The first, deception, is the thought of denying that you are a journalist.  If you are not willing to admit you are a journalist do not even think about taking the basic steps to write the story.  Conflict of interest is another sin.  Accepting gifts from others is alright if it is Christmas, but not if they are the person you happen to be interviewing for an article.  Being bias is one largely debated topic.  Some reporters may twist the facts to change readers’ opinion.  In the end it will not matter who likes the story and who does not.  It will still be a 50/50 split.  The act of imagining a source or making up a quote is known as fabrication.  Some journalists may fabricate their stories because they do not have strong sources and need others.  Stealing not only takes place in department stores, but also in journalism.  The term is still the same.  Theft.  Some get away with the act, others do not, but they all get judged in the end.  When someone speaks of burning a source, images of the KKK burning crosses instantly pop into my head. Do not ask why, some things just happen.  Fortunately the sin is not related to the KKK, burning the source is actually , letting down the source who put so much confidence in you, the reporter.  Some examples may be letting the name of the source out and he or she ends up getting arrested.  Finally, the most common of all, plagiarism.  Stealing someone elses words and claiming them as your own.  The most common place for plagiarism to take place would be at the high school and college levels, but shockingly grown-ups do it to.  Unfortunatley every one of these sins has taken place in the newsroom  and some reporter has lost his or her job.  The thought of even participating in one of the seven sins is unimaginable and can ruin the career of a journalist forever.

 

The Six News Values

Thursday, September 22, 2011, was not just a special day because it was my parents anniversary, it was also important because my journalism class talked about the six news values. The six values are proximity, timelines, impact, prominence, conflict, and human interest. These six values are what reporters used to help them decide what goes in their story.

Proximity, or the where, is important to readers because everyone reading the article will want to know where the event takes place. The Legacy,
the Lindenwood University student paper is where I am taking my examples from. “Campus provides Newman Center for CSU” is one headline on the front page. The Catholic Student Union (CSU) needed a place for learning and prayer, so the university is letting them use room F at the Spirit Shoppe. Bible studies and CSU meetings will also be held in room F.  Page 17 of the Lindenwood Student hand book give a little insight of the Catholic Student Union.

http://www.lindenwood.edu/studentDevelopment/docs/HB/StudentHB.pdf

“German Festival” is a perfect example of timelines. The article tells the reader the times and dates of the Festival within the first glance at the page. Most every article will inform the reader of the timelines within the first paragraph.  The majority of the times the dates are one of the most important aspects of a story.

http://germanfest.com/

Among the classes there are many events that impact their year. For freshman it might be the first day of classes, juniors one more year of school left, seniors the stress of an upcoming graduation and sophomores the writing proficiency test. At Lindenwood and many other universities, all students have to take the Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA) before they can graduate. There is an article called “Graduation Assessment Requirement,”informing students on campus how to sign up. The article also gives advice to those who are worried about the assessment. This article is an example of impact because if some forget to take the WPA they will not graduate.

http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/testofc/gradwriting_reqs.htm

Twitter is becoming to impact the world we live in in a negative way by making followers interested in the type of cereal the tweeter eats for breakfast.  At first it was thought that twitter was going to be a come and go fad, but in reality it has stuck with its users.  I am now a huge fan of twitter because of the fact I am such a random person.  The impact that twitter has had on the online world is growing steadly and changing the way adults look at the world.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1902818,00.html

Within the world there are many conflicts, such as war and crime, but the most important one at the moment is the political world. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are the forerunners for the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential nomination. When I was a senior in high school the thought of me reading politics is scary because I could care less, but since I am growing older the topic of who will run our country seems to raise in my list of importance.

http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/mitt-romney

Human interest articles are always my favorite because I am able to read about topics that interest me; for example shooting, movies, and fashion. Suprisingly I was able to find an article about a wonderful movie called “The Help.” I went to see the movie with my parents. My mother really wanted to go see it and I did not know what on earth it was about. After it was all said and done, I was in tears. A woman journalist wanted to tell the true story of woman slave housekeepers in the south. Some housekeepers had it pretty well off and others had it very rough. Again, human interest was a very inviting topic of mine.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903918104576502103132966330.html