At the beginning of this semester, I was excited but apprehensive about reimmersing myself back into the student newspaper environment. After a particularly frustrating semester at the Columbia Missourian’s Jefferson City bureau, I realized I needed a change, so I headed back to The Maneater, MU’s student newspaper.
It’s been four weeks. I’m still apprehensive. But I’m still excited, but that’s the most encouraging part of this situation.
Working with new writers is frustrating sometimes. I’m used to being in more professional environments with writers used to certain standards. Many of the writers that I work with at the Maneater, as well as the editors, have not taken basic courses to teach reporting skills. They learn on their feet in the newsroom.
That’s where I come in. I’m in charge of long-term investigations and projects, so I work with some of the most enthusiastic writers to make story ideas turn into two-page features. In situations where I would largely be frustrated, I’m excited.
I remember being where they were, overstressed from writing five stories an issue and attempting to balance reporting with a full courseload. It wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. So I think I am lucky to teach them. The skills they learn now are going to help them so much, te way I know they helped me out. So in short, it’s tiring, but it’s worth it.
9 months ago - read more...
I am tired of the discussion about pay-for-content news Web sites. But here’s one interesting approach that actually got me interested.
What would happen if for one week newspaper Web sites went off the grid? Will it get the attention of consumers who take for granted their access to WaPo.com and the New York Times, two of the country’s most widely read news Web sites? Will it remind people that behind every byline, there’s a working (and probably terrified) journo?
The author makes the point that this particular move is no more drastic than asking journalists to work for free, which is what tons in my industry are doing now.
What would you do in a week without newspapers…?
(On a quasi-related note, this reminds me of the highly irreverent film “A Day Without a Mexican.”)
9 months ago - read more
I’m saddened to note that I’m breaking up with FishbowlDC after a one-year love affair.
I lived in DC last summer as one of many unpaid interns, and fell in love with the District - politics, gossip and all. However, with the departure of Patrick Gavin to Politico, I’m less than impressed with the blog’s content and lack of interesting updates. To be fair, Patrick Gavin is an irreplacable force who is connected with more media minds than I could list on my best of days.
I gave it the typical “two weeks” you give any failing relationship. I tried to let the bloggers get their feet wet in their new position. I even still track them regularly on my iPod Touch when I’m on the treadmill.
But I think I’m done. In a city that moves fast, bloggers need to move faster. FishbowlDC worked well for insiders and outsiders alike because it had a good tone, good quippy information and was also useful. Gavin established a tone, a back-and-forth with readers, and gave the blog a perfectly snarky personality. While the new author(s) of the site have attempted to emulate that, it’s not working. You can’t fake it.
So farewell, Fishbowl. It’s been fun, but I think I’ll be forced to read the DCist to keep me connected until I get back to my city.
9 months ago - read more...
This country’s take on race is tiring.
We use months to decide when we’ll report on difference, and we come at it through the same stale angles. While I love celebrating all the great things that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished, and singers like Aretha Franklin are definitely well known, we could do better.
Maybe it’s because I’m enrolled in my first black studies class (as a senior). Maybe it’s because a friend and I just sat down and she proclaimed that this was “her month.” Either way, I’m a little more sensitive than usual to this particular journalism failure.
Instead of playing clips from the I Have a Dream Speech on broadcast television, let’s go talk to young black men. Instead of traditional soul food recipes as Web extras, let’s talk about healthy ways to get it together in the kitchen.
Avoid tokenism. That’s a big one. The other day I was walking down the street in Columbia when a Missourian reporter approached me to interview me. I asked her what about, largely because I was curious. She said she wanted to interview me about being black. Were I a more forceful person, I would have asked her if she had ever been interviewed about being white.
We just elected the first black/multiracial president, so let’s learn how to cover race effectively instead of in the same tired ways we’ve done for forever.
9 months ago - read more
According to the testimony given by Harry Markopolos, the whistleblower in the Madoff scandal, the Wall Street Journal knew what was going on three years ago.
A quote from the blog post, written by Gary Weiss:
Markopolos just raised the issue of his contacts with the Journal at the hearing, saying “I believe that senior editors of the Journal respected and feared Mr. Madoff” and wouldn’t let him “get on the plane” and meet with him on the fraud. So I guess the cat is out of the bag, unless the media continue to ignore this intriguing aspect of the Madoff story.
I am a little horrified that as the media, we are not policing ourselves on this one. Let’s stop talking about the fact that Michelle Obama picked Pottery Barn and Anthropologie as decorating choices for the White House, and instead focus on real news. We screwed up. We need to make it better, and fast.
9 months ago - read more
