Write about something new you learned today (something you didn’t know before) and tell us how you will apply it to your work at your internship site.
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Vickey D Williams
05.24.09
I learned stuff. I know it seems funny for me to say I learned stuff but I learned what stuff means in terms of media. Stuff is anything you don’t know that you have learned that is totally new to you. I will take this and apply this to my internship site because I will be more observant and open to learning a lot more things that will be beneficial to me in the future. I also learned that reporting news is harder than writing news because when you write news you have more time to research, edit, re-edit and come out with a finished project that you are satisfied with. With reporting you don’t have all that time to edit so you have to be more prepared and ask more questions than you will probably need so that you will have all the information that you need to adequately depict whatever story you are reporting. I will apply this to my internship by being prepared for anything. I would rather be over prepared than under prepared any day.
Stephanye Gilyard
05.24.09
During the first day at the institute, I learned several different componets that make up journalism. One of these ideas was the importance of learning multimedia.
Due to the recent cutbacks in newsrooms, it is important for a journalists to be skilled in all the areas that deal with mass communication. This inlcudes being up to date and trained on using software such as Final Cut Pro, Audacity, and Adobe Photoshop. Also, using and editing film and soundtracks.
In a later workshop, I learned that when writing a lead that “time” is not the most important information in the first paragraph. It is better to elaborate on the latest information, and be ahead of other media sources.
I plan on applying all the information I have learned today in further projects throughout the internship by watching carefully the information I choose to include when producing stories.
Carmen Smith
05.24.09
Day one at the Diversity Institute has been good and welcoming. I have been forewarned about all of the knowledge I will be receiving these next nine days and I am excited but a bit nervous about the challenge.
Today I learned more in depth about the field of journalism and the importance of news. I will apply this to my internship by gathering more information while reporting than I can use so that the writing part of journalism is easier.
I hope to gain relationships while here and I look forward to learning and exploring multimedia.
Ashley Reid
05.24.09
First days are always the longest ones, because of all the information crammed into your head. It wasn’t that bad compared to my other first days.
What did I find the most beneficial today? Lead writing! All along I thought I knew how to write a lead until today, but all of the critiquing was good because it’s going to help me get better. I learned that if your lead does not hit the exact points, the reader will not read past it or even the whole lead.
I also learned that I will have some pretty entertaining teachers during this course!
Janelle
05.24.09
A new piece of information that resonated with me was the importance of making sure that your articles have all of the right “stuff”.
Our teacher, Bill Elsen, introduced this everyday term to help us understand that once you step away from your article, there should be no unanswered questions or issues remaining in terms of reporting the story.
A journalist’s job includes completing the story to the best of their ability and even updating it after it has been sent to the copy desk, so that the “right stuff” is never missing.
I will use this approach at my internship to not only maintain contacts but to push the lifespan of any story that I come across. Through this, I can be assured that the story is well rounded with different angles, information, and viewpoints.
Imani Jackson
05.24.09
My plane was struck by lightning after leaving Tampa.
The Jacksonville airport attendants assured passengers that our plane had been switched for a plane that didn’t experience the natural mid-air jolt.
The flight was delayed twice.
I was going to be late, I thought.
I was going to be a minority late to a scholars program.
CP time.
And it wasn’t even my fault.
It eventually arrived.
I boarded and ended up seated beside a jolly, plump woman and an aisle that managed to magnetize my arm to every stray purse, briefcase, hip, and/or baby carriage.
Then I overheard a flight attendant say that we were on the plane that was just struck.
“There was no damage to the aircraft,” she said.
I folded my hands and said my prayers. Shortly thereafter I was lulled to sleep.
Zoom, zoom. Slight turbulence later we landed in Nashville.
Once in Nashville I met the friendly program coordinators, heard about a phenomenal program success rate and had my palm greased for dinner.
It was a good day.
And I made it out alive.
Brieun Scott
05.24.09
Today was the first official day for training at the Freedom Forum Institute. There was an over alll introduction about the program and what we will learn, as well as information about the teachers, staff and participants. One of the things we did was to interview a fellow participant and introduce that person to the class. I learned a lot about the other participants as well as my new roommate, which was very interesting.
I also learned some different concepts in a lecture that pertains to what journalists do. I learned about stuff. Stuff, meaning anything you don’t know, so as a journalist it’s my job to learn as much stuff as possible. Another concept was brite, which is considered the funny, cheery story that is oppose to bad news.
And last, done done. You are complete when you are done done!
J.J. Alcantara
05.24.09
The most memorable thing I learned today was the difference between “charged for” and “charged in connection with.”
While we were practicing writing leads, Dr. Reggie Owens was reading one of my practice leads and just freaked out. I reread my lead and noticed what was wrong. Then throughout the entire exercise, everyone else who made the same mistake I did, he would always ask me.
Even though I was put on the spot, it’s one of those things where the reaction and subsequent actions he made helped me to remember never to make that mistake again. It’s been cemented.
I used to write crime reports for my college newspaper, The Daily Reveille, but I’ve only dealt with arrests, but not charges. Now, if I ever write a crime story, I know to always include “in connection with.”
Janelle
05.24.09
After dinner, we learned about the changes in peak website traffic times due to the current shift in news being streamed online.
It was interesting to learn that lunchtime (noon) is the time to check the status on stories and find out what’s happened since you woke up.
I will keep this information in mind at my internship and will look for multimedia additions that can be posted throughout the day.
Everyone has time for a video update while they devour their tuna sandwich, right?
Madoree Pipkins
05.24.09
During the writing leads excercise I learned how to write crime stories without implicating guilt or being bias.
This is important because readers take what is written in articles to heart. During the excercise Mr. Elsen used the example of “Legally Blonde” when the person accused of murder did not actually commit the crime. Same principle works for writing articles. It it the little phrases or words that make a difference.
Overall I don’t have much practice writing structured articles. Most of my previous works is just what comes from the hip. With my emphasis of study being broadcast a majority of my writing skills have been developed through scripts and blogs. However with the new information I have learned I will be able to utilize it to make other portfolio pieces both multimedia and regular print.
Tiffany Williams
05.24.09
I already knew that I would not be getting a lot of sleep for the next 10 days, but it seemed as if I learned that for the first time today because it hit me very hard. You see, I’m not a morning person or a night person. I am a person who likes to sleep, and I have a feeling that Val doesn’t care about that. (I don’t appreciate that, Val).
I am looking forward to the experience as well as learning new things in multimedia, but I am very sad that it comes at the expense of my sleep time. However, I am ready for the training and the many cups of coffee I will be drinking. Bring it on, Val. Bring it on!
Aside from my sleep deprivation, I also learned from Bill Elsen that ‘Stuff’ is anything you don’t know. All the information you want to, need to, or should know is stuff. As a journalist, it is my job to report the news as accurately and truthfully as possible, so finding out that ‘Stuff’ for others becomes my responsibility.
I feel this lack of sleep and intense schedule will help me at my internship because it will teach me responsibility and better time management. It will also, hopefully, teach me not to procrastinate. I feel exploring as much stuff as possible will teach me new things and will allow me to change the way I view the world.
I am excited and ready to learn. I am also ready to sleep if you can believe that…lol.