What is journalism?

Mary Turck challenged me to really think about what constitutes journalism? Blogs, tweets, citizen journalists... the new media can be a threat to any of us who are inclined to think that only those with a journalism degree can call themselves journalists. I am old enough to remember when street reporters laughed at us degreed people. ... a real journalism degree is earned on the streets, where the real stuff happens. I believe that journalism is changing along with the model that conveys our stories.
Mary and the Twin Cities Daily Planet are on the cutting edge of all that is new in journalism.

Mary's contact information:

Mary Turck- editor

editor@tcdailyplanet.net

Writing to your audience

Charles Hallman joined the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder in 1990. He brought his wit to our class Monday, March 23. He really nailed the topic for the evening: Defining Your Audience and Going Where Mainstream Rarely Goes. He defines himself as a rebel of sorts, and is not afraid of controversy. He hit home his belief that, at a small paper, you can have access to stories that larger papers just can't get to. Why? People trust you, and if you live up to that trust, you will serve your audience well. His advice to students ... keep writing and read, read, read.

His contact information: Charles Hallman MSR Columnist 612-827-4021 challman@spokesman-recorder.com

No go-hers here

There were at least 50 communication majors from across the state at the Society of Professional Journalists event last night looking for information about internships.
The print and TV hopefuls looked to the panel (where I was a participant) for tips that would help them access one of these highly competitive prizes ... of course all eyes were on the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press, WCCO and KSTP intern coordinators. But it was quickly apparent to me and the students that even if a student was to get an internship in the "big" market, they most likely would be doing "small" tasks.
We all know that internships and clips are key to landing a job. Brovald Sims Practicum students are very, very lucky, and I would encourage them to write Prof. Tims (dean of the J school) timsx001@umn.edu to express their gratitude for a class that actually provides an intern experience ... that provides a meaningful opportunity to get a byline, not just a chance to shadow a working reporter or be somebody's go-pher.

Homework - Make it worthwhile

Just a little about homework.
Now that I'm a student, I'm learning that homework can be irritating. I'm not referring to the actual task of doing the homework; it's when, as a student, I do the homework and nobody else in the class does, or if the teacher doesn't refer to it in class AT ALL, or gets behind and says "we'll go over today's homework the next time we meet." So what's the point of the homework! If it's just busy work, well sorry, I gotta lot of work to keep me busy.
So, let me put my teacher hat on and make a clarificiation ... when homework is assigned for the Brovald Sim class and the student is instructed to turn it in, that means turn it in! Only two students turned in the paper's contact information on Monday, as assigned. Let's see if we can get that number up to 100 percent this coming Monday.

It's a new semester

A new semester, a new group of interns, and I am excited to be part of their new experience as it unfolds over the course of the next few months.
There is so much information that Joni and I try to convey during the first class that the students seated around the table look like deer caught in the headlights by the end of our time together. I know they won't remember even half of the important points that we talked about ... but that's OK. I just need to remember to have patience, afterall this is all new to most of them.
I have added some new resource material on the class Web site under the category "story resources." Quite timely is a report about what new voters expect from election coverage.
Oh, if you're reading this, and are one of our students, I forgot one very important point:
Have fun with your internship!
I look forward to seeing you next week.

An a-ha moment

I had an a-ha moment today. I have heard Joni's presentation on the marriage of word and art - and the importance of presenting the news - several times over the past five years. But today, I heard something different.
She explained and detailed on the white board the conversation about a front page story between herself -a visuals editor- and the paper's editor. As she laid out the questions regarding information she needed to create a meaningful package, I couldn't help but think "these are the questions that every reporter and editor needs to ask before beginning to craft a story."
Why is this new park important? What will change? How much will it cost? What do people think about the project?
Sometimes I read stories that seem as if they were written on the fly, with little thought. Sometimes I read stories that are almost like reading minutes of a meeting. They lack focus; they lack concern for the audience - the consumer of the news. What a shame.
So my a-ha moment is this: Thinking visually empowers another part of our brain; if forces us as writers and editors to think through the issues in different ways -ask questions in a new way. Can this be better communicated through words? A photo? A graphic? A map?
Reporting is no longer just about the written word. We have so many tools at our disposal today to communicate to our audience. The challenge we have in this new world is deciding which tools will best convey the message of the story.

Pressing forward

This morning I met up with Brady Silver, a 2007 Brovald-Sims student/intern, at a press conference being held in the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Anderson Kelliher. He has been hired by the Mesabi Daily paper as a capitol reporter for the session. Wow ... was I proud. There, in the room with seasoned capitol reporters - the likes of Eric Eskola and Mary Lahammer - was a former student of ours.
He didn't ask any questions, but what an experience for him. I'm anxious to read his account of the p.c., which was about the budget-balancing efforts going on at the capitol, and this week's line-item vetos by the governor of the capital investment bill.

Good leads draw you in

I just finished reading a story on the Web by Lori Wolter.
So, Lori, you are my first blog post.
The story is definitely worth a look. Putting a Face on Food is well-written and very interesting. But it's the lead that I want to draw your attention to.
"The Fleishman family know where their food comes from."
It grabbed my attention, and it drew me right in. The second paragraph didn't waste any of my time, and it let me know quickly what this story was all about.
One more thing ... I loved the closeup of the tomato ....right under the headline.
Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.