Final Paper

by Jordan Kamikawa

The Media Impact Tour in New York and Washington DC was a highly beneficial trip for me, and gave me insight into possible future endeavors. In addition, being the East Coast for the first time was great experience in itself, and just getting a taste of the culture and lifestyle there was exhilarating. In this paper, I will first talk about our meetings with the many media corporations and the information I learned from them, and then I will discuss a little about our extra-curricular activities, such as the museums and Inauguration. Finally, I will talk about what the trip means to me, especially in terms of future application.

Meetings

Our first meeting with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) set the tone for the meetings to come. This is because going in to it, I had no idea what to expect from the meetings, and how they would be laid out. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be conducted more like a lecture, or more of an open discussion. However, this meeting proved to be a good mixture of both, in which Janine Jackson gave us some background of the organization, and then proceeded to answer questions from the group. I found this layout appealing because we not only got a taste of the organization, but also additional information that we were curious about. Overall, I found this meeting to be highly informative in giving us a peek into a media watch group who analyzes and critiques various outlets. Even though I sensed from the outset that Jackson was heavily biased towards left-wing politics, she made it certain that their research is solid and that their scrutiny of the media is thoughtful and heart-felt. This is due to the sensitivity of some of the issues they tackle, such as race and gender discrimination. Another key point that I pulled from this meeting was that media is our climate, which Janine further explained by saying that even though a person doesn’t come into contact with a certain newspaper or publication, it can still affect him/her. I thought that this was a fascinating and true point, and displays the media’s impact on society. Thus, I think that it is great to have an organization like FAIR to serve as a kind of watch group on the media, and to point out things that may lead to biases.

The next meeting with The Smoking Gun was one of my favorites on the trip. The humor and comradery that all three editors displayed were a treat to witness. It seemed as though each of them thoroughly loved coming to work everyday and finding a new, interesting story to tackle. It was also fascinating to see them working on a new story as we were there, and the process of how they went about doing it was very meticulous and efficient. The chief editor, William Bastone explained that being first is everything, which clarifies the immediacy of the project at hand. Also, it was great to see how they rallied information from government sources by using the Freedom of Information Act. That added to the authenticity of the publication, because the reader knows that whatever he/she is reading there will be accurate. I think an inspiring point from the meeting was hearing about how the Smoking Gun grew from a small website based in a room to the widely known media entity it is today. This really displays the drive and commitment that Bastone had, and how he was able to capitalize on these things and reach his goals.

Next was our meeting with The Onion, which I have been a fan of ever since reading their book, Our Dumb World last year. When I first heard that we would meet with them, I was ecstatic. Their hilarious sense of humor conveyed through fantastic writing skills really enthralled me, so I was quite excited when we walked into their office. Like The Smoking Gun, this meeting also turned out to be one of my favorites because of the ease and down-to-earth mentality that the staff displayed. From the start, I could tell that everyone writing there had a great sense of humor, which was translated through their obvious love for their job. One of the questions I had going into the meeting was if they were cautious about covering certain topics and if some areas were considered taboo. In response, they explained that they are never scared about tackling tough issues and that no topic is off-limits. However, they did say that when they take on issues like this, they put extra care in planning it out and in writing it. They said that one of the best examples of this was their September 11th issue, in which they were the first comedy publication to take on the tragedy. Because they were sensitive enough to the issues at hand, they said that no one really took offense to anything in the issue, and that many people actually felt “relieved” because it broke some of the tension during that time. I thought that their ability to take an almost impossible task, such as 9/11, and somehow find a different slant on it, was truly amazing. It is this attention to detail and ability to be delicate on certain topics that really impressed me, and made me gain so much more respect for their organization. Overall, this meeting was not only hilarious and entertaining, but it gave us a look into a publication that isn’t afraid of breaking the rules and pushing the envelope.

Our next meeting was with Channel 13, and was our first encounter with a Television broadcast corporation. I thought that the people here were very professional, and did an excellent job in explaining how their shows are produced. One of the highlights for me was the discussion with Charlotte Madson, who is involved with the production of the documentary show “Wide Angle.” The immense amount of work and time put into each show was especially evident, which in turn illustrates the organization’s commitment to quality. Also, authenticity was stressed, as the reporters would get in-depth information on a particular country, and try to tell stories that are largely unheard. This often spurs on people to react to the stories, which definitely proves the impact of the show on the general public. Throughout the meeting, we were also given many pieces of advice on being better journalists and reporters. One of the main points stressed in this meeting was that as a journalist you have to be flexible, and to be skilled in not only writing, but in producing as well. This includes being able to shoot videos, take pictures, and edit pieces. They explained that the reason for this was because nowadays people have to do most of the work themselves, rather than having a large TV crew accompany them. I thought that this was great advice considering that we are in the midst of a new digital media age, in which technology will continue to change how reporting is carried out.

Our meeting with the Nielsen Company, the biggest marketing and research company in the world, was definitely a change of pace for us considering most of the places we visited have been on the other side of the spectrum in terms of media. Although I thought that this meeting was not the most beneficial for me in terms of my future, I still enjoyed learning about how Nielsen analyzes corporations and products. It is impressive how they can gather information about the viewing habits on so many people and still provide accurate results. However, one of the issues discussed was how DVR and Tivo are changing the game, in a sense it makes it harder to track if people are watching advertisements or programs. Also, it was interesting to hear that Nielsen is often compared to an Umpire in the sense that no one really takes notice until a bad call or mistake is made. Therefore, they are pushed to provide the most accurate data and research possible in keeping their standards high.

Personally being more interested in public relations rather than the journalistic side of the media, I was looking forward to our next meeting at Ketchum Public Relations. One of the first points stressed in the meeting was how the field has grown tremendously in the last few decades. John Palusazek, senior PR practitioner, attributed this growth to four main points. The first was that PR has grown because they offer communication resources of all types and to all kinds of audiences. Therefore, the attraction of PR is very broad. The second point was that every kind of institution realizes the need to relate to their publics, which PR professionals help them to do. The third point was that PR today is considered a global practice, thus showing its scope. Finally, the last point was that digital services are influencing all business, thus making their job more crucial and involved. I thought that these points were very true, and that more and more corporations are realizing the need for a PR department in order to better interact with their publics and to reach their goals. Also, they said that one of the biggest parts of their job is evaluation, and that relying on research is key. This is very important considering that because they are such a large-scale corporation, they often have many different clients with differing needs, thus making feedback and research extremely vital to their service. Ultimately, this meeting was highly educational for me, and provided me with a good look into how the field of PR is evolving and how the organization conducts business in response to these changes.

Our next meeting with Barron’s Magazine was probably one of my least favorites from our trip. This is mostly due to the fact that I have little interest for stocks and big business finances, so the information presented didn’t really catch my attention. However, Flemming Meeks, the editor of the daily online newsletter there, did give some good advice on general writing skills. He said that one of the most important things to remember when writing a story is that you have to gain the reader’s attention from the outset. Even though he does write about financial issues, he tries to remember that it’s not the numbers; it’s the people that bring about a good story. I found this compelling because I came into the meeting expecting to hear about numbers and math, so his emphasis on people and human nature was refreshing.
The New York School of Law was the next meeting on our list, and it was also one of my least favorites. Similar to Barron’s, the topic covered never really appealed to me, thus seeming not as important for my future career. However, they discussed some interesting information concerning new technology and the switch to digital cable. They covered many of the technological components of the switch, which I never fully understood before. In addition, a good piece of advice was given to us, which basically implied that we should brush up on our technological terms, especially because of the approaching digital age which is on the horizon. I thought that this advice was important, especially as most of us will be dealing with more and more technology in the future to come.

Our next meeting, which was with the Associated Press, really impressed me as far as the organization and professionalism of the tour. Having two experienced and very intelligent speakers was definitely a treat for us, and both conveyed different aspects of the issues in the media and within the organization. One of the key points that came out of the first discussion was that the demand for news is still as great as it’s ever been. Even with the changing of times, the media is still thriving and growing. I thought this was sort of counterintuitive because as the Internet becomes increasingly vast, it seems as though the role of journalists may decrease. Another valuable statement that came from the first discussion was the thought that the media is constantly changing, and that people must expect the change and move forward. I felt that this was good advice considering that some people rigidly try to hold on to dying technology, which doesn’t get them anywhere. The second part of the meeting involved a tour of their facilities, and even a sit in on one of their meetings. This tour gave us all a better sense of how a giant like the Associated Press actually works, and in my case, brought the whole experience to life - instead of just listening to the people telling us about the organization, we were able to see it in action first-hand. Overall, the entire experience at the AP was definitely a highlight of the trip, and helped me get a sense of how a successful newsroom is run.

Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising was our next meeting and really stood out to me as an interesting and fun organization. One of the first things I noticed when walking into their office was the very modern decorations and furniture. This gave me a fresh, innovative first impression of them. When we started our meeting, I was really impressed by their work on various advertisements. Their emphasis on simple, but heart-warming messages really drew me in. In addition, many of their ads were humorous and memorable, such as the Tide stain commercial. Erin Lyons, the communications team leader there, explained how they utilize an idea called “Lovemarks,” which she explained as being the act of elevating and evolving brands to a high level and also producing an immense level of respect. This concept was very appealing to me, because they seemed to operate with a lot of thoughtfulness and meaning behind their work. In addition, their thought process was made up of an abbreviation that included the objective, the issue, interest, and the creative challenge. I thought that was an innovative way to go about their planning, and probably helps in keeping people on track and focused. Also, their emphasis on positive messages and support for humanitarian causes such as UNICEF really intrigued me. This showed that they actually care about constructive issues, and how to better society. The tour of the facility was also a highlight of the meeting, and displayed the fun and easy-going atmosphere of working there. Overall, I think that this was one of the organizations that most appealed to me in terms of future employment due to their mix of professionalism and creativity.

Columbia University, the next stop on our list, was a very interesting due to Sree Sreenivasan, a professor and media expert. From the start, he made us feel welcome and encouraged for our meeting to be more of an open discussion rather than a lecture. He then discussed a wealth of information about new media and Internet tools. One of the points that he stressed was that people need to have a new media mindset, rather than just having a new media toolset. Thus, this implies not only having the technological tools to keep up with the changing times, but a mindset that adapts with the technology as well. An interesting term which he told us about in the meeting was called a “tradigital journalist;” which basically describes a person who has all the traits of a traditional journalist, but also knows his/her way around digital as well. Another fascinating point Sreenivasan brought to the table was that the media is facing a challenge due to the business model, not the technology or the journalists.
Our next meeting was in the same building with Mike Hoyt, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. My first thoughts about the publication that Hoyt gave us were that it looked very well put-together and professional. The articles were well-written and scholarly, and pertained to appealing topics. However, I thought that the rest of the meeting as a whole wasn’t as interesting, and dealt with issues that didn’t spark my attention.

Project for Excellence in Journalism was our first meeting Washington DC. There we met with Tom Rosenthal, who gave us an inside look into how their organization goes about critiquing journalism. In addition, Rosenthal talked about how news is becoming a more active environment in which we pick and choose whatever we want. He described the shift from the old media as going from being the gatekeeper and having people be consumers, to people now becoming their own editors. He also described news-gathering as being like a “diet,” in which people need the right amount of nutrition, and not too much “junk food.” Overall, he concluded by saying that technology has the potential for a much richer journalism.

The Podesta Group, which focuses on lobbying and public relations, was our next meeting in DC. Claudia James, who is the telecommunications expert there, mostly explained how Obama’s administration is changing the policy on disclosure, and how it shifts the focus to a policy of openness and affects the FOYA applications. James also talked about how DTV will be an issue in the future concerning their work.

National Public Radio was our next stop, and instead of a conference type of meeting, we were given a full tour. Although the tour was interesting, I felt that it wasn’t as informational as the other meetings, because we weren’t able to ask a lot of questions that we wanted answered. Instead, it seemed like more of a show and tell type of experience. However, it was really neat to see the main sound studio, being that music and recording are some of my biggest passions. However, as a whole I would say that this meeting did not stand out that much to me simply because of the lack of depth in the content covered.

Our next meeting with Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press was a nice change of pace because they were an advocacy organization that dealt with legal issues. Being that I don’t write for a paper, I had never heard of this organization before. However, if I was a reporter, it would be nice to know that an organization like this would be able to help me if I got into some legal issues. It really seemed like they do a thorough job in investigating each case, and try to defend journalists who have been treated unlawfully to the best of their ability.

Similar to the previous meeting, the Student Press Law Center provided the same kind of legal services to student journalists. Frank LoMonte, director of the SPLC, also talked about the internship program which seemed very hands-on, evidenced by the intern-produced final project which we were able to look at. The piece was put together very nicely, and featured stories and articles pertaining to cases they’ve dealt with.

The next meeting with The Express was very inspiring because we met with Aimee Goodwin, copy editor who was also a former student at Whitworth. Not only did I think that the paper was well balanced and a good read, but the fact that a person who was in my position a few years ago and is now in a successful position really encouraged me. Also, it was great to see that they try to keep the office light-hearted and fun, such as stacking their papers like well-earned trophies.

The Washington Post Online was also a refreshing change of pace, dealing with more of the website side of things. Chet Rhodes, assistant managing editor, not only was funny, but also gave us an extensive tour of how the website operates and is managed. Rhodes also displayed a new system of displaying news called TimeSpace, which was a unique way for the viewer to experience events. Overall, I thought that this was a very intriguing presentation, and Rhodes was able to give us a taste of how news is presented on the Internet medium.

Our final meeting with PBS was definitely a great way to end the trip. Just the fact that we met with the President and CEO of the corporation, Paula Kerger, was exhilarating to say the least. Let me be honest and admit that I was not expecting a woman to come walking through those doors. That being said, it was an extremely nice surprise to see that a woman made it to such a position of power, which is unfortunately not as easily achieved in our society. It’s a sad fact in itself when we are surprised or taken back by a woman who is in a high position of authority, and I hope that this can change in the near future. The meeting was very interesting and informative, and it was especially fascinating to hear how they balance such a wide range of shows aimed at varying demographics. Ultimately, this was a great meeting to end our trip on, and I’m glad that we were given the opportunity to meet someone of the caliber of Kerger.

Museums and Other Events

In addition to the many great meeting we had, our group was also fortunate to experience a little slice of life that both New York and Washington DC had to offer. This took the form of museums, shows, and of course, the Inauguration.

First, the museums we visited were all intriguing and fascinating. The first museum we saw in New York was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and was overwhelming to say the least. I have never seen an exhibit as extensive and thorough as the Metro, which featured art pieces and artifacts from numerous cultures. I felt that the Egyptian section was the most interesting part of the museum for me because just seeing some of the tombs and buildings in person was very breath-taking. In addition, it was great to see some of the hieroglyphics and early forms of communication, which related much to the Mass Media History course I took last semester.

Along the trip, we also visited other museums featuring different aspects of history. One of those that stood out was the National Holocaust Museum, which was enormously powerful and saddening. It hit me hard to see how the events played out, from Hitler’s rise to power to the tragic massacre of millions of people. Out of all the museums, this one definitely had the biggest impact on me, and made me recognize how large scale the holocaust actually was.

The National Archives was another interesting museum we went to, and I felt it was the most important in terms of our nation’s history. Seeing the actual original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, as well as many other important documents was a very unreal experience. I felt as though I was staring at our country’s foundation in a sense, especially in terms of the freedoms we enjoy. In addition, seeing the Constitution was very exciting from a media and particularly journalist point of view, because it laid the foundation for the freedoms we use in the practice. Thus, this was a very big part of the trip for me, because I feel that the media’s impact wouldn’t be the same without the fundamental roots that these documents established.

However, one of the most beneficial activities in terms of relation to our class was our trip to the Newseum. I thought that museum illustrated all the different mediums of the media in intricate detail; from its early beginnings to the digital age. One of the highlights for me was the wall that displayed all of the Pulitzer Prize photos. Some were really heart wrenching and intense and display was overall inspiring to lay eyes on. In fact, this exhibit almost inspired me to consider photojournalist as a possible career; however, after thinking it through, I’m not sure that that will happen. Also, I enjoyed the section about the digital age, and how technology is changing the way that media operates. I thought this section went hand in hand with many of the meetings we went to considering that almost everyone we met with discussed this issue.

Another high point of the trip was when Pat and I went to see a Conan O’Brien show live. I have always been a big fan of Conan for his humor and spunk, so I was thrilled when we finally got in after three hours of waiting. I never realized how much goes on behind the scenes and during commercial breaks before I witnessed it at the show. The studio looked much different in person, and featured a lot of equipment and cameras which you never see on TV. In addition, there were a lot of staff involved on the set and in the area much of the time, including cameramen and make-up artists. Ultimately, it was captivating to witness the show from a behind-the-scenes perspective, and in the end, it was extremely funny and well worth the wait.

Finally, the biggest highlight for me, and probably for many others from the trip, was being able to attend the Inauguration. When I first heard I would have the possibility to attend this historic event, it sounded almost too good to be true. Just the thought of watching the first African-American president take his oath into office was tremendously exciting. When the day actually arrived and we headed downtown at 4:30 AM, it slowly set in on how historic the event would be. Just standing out there in the sub-freezing temperatures with thousands of other people was literally and figuratively a bone-chilling experience. However, when we finally got in and I realized how many people were around me, it really started to hit me. Just looking around at all the people from different races and walks of life, gathered together in joyous anticipation of what was to come, was something that I’ll never forget. You could tell people traveled far and wide just to be at this event, which made it feel like I was part of something immensely significant. Hearing the chants of “Obama” from about two million people in unison was also a memory that will be engrained in my head for the rest of my life. It was truly a historic moment, and I was glad I was able to be a part of it.

Future Application

In terms of my future, I feel that this trip was an exceptionally beneficial and valuable experience for me. Although I don’t really see myself going into journalism or broadcast, it was great seeing how they operate first-hand. Places like the Smoking Gun and The Onion really stood out to me, and if I was to take the journalistic route, I could imagine myself being at a place similar to those two. I’ve always enjoyed writing in more of a creative and humorous manner, therefore making these seem like a perfect fit.

However, the real highlight for me was seeing both the advertising and public relations side of the media through meetings such as Ketchum Public Relations and Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising. This is the area of Communications that I could really see myself doing in the future, so it was a great experience to visit these places in person. I especially was interested in Saatchi and Saatchi and the work they do there, because I admire their creativity and innovative approach to their ads. I could definitely see myself working at a place like this in the future, and thoroughly enjoying my work while doing so. In addition, the visit to Ketchum Public Relations solidified what I learned in a PR class I took last semester, and it was neat to see how the concepts in class actually played out in the real world.

In addition, hearing about the advancements in technology and how it is affecting the media will probably better prepare me for my future. Because we are in the midst of a digital age, I feel that it is important to be able to keep up with the times and adapt accordingly. Thus, hearing many different professional opinions on this trip helped me to get a better sense of where the industry may be going in the near future. Therefore, this knowledge may prepare me for advancements and changes to come. In turn, if I am able to apply those pieces of advice to my future career, I may be ahead of the curve in terms of technological knowledge.

Just going to the East Coast for the first time also meant a lot to me, and may have an impact on my future. Who knows, I may end up working in the East Coast. But even if I don’t, I feel that the experiences and knowledge I have gained by being on the East Coast for three weeks is something that will definitely better me in the long run. I firmly believe that the more you travel, the more you grow intellectually and culturally as a result. I have lived in Hawaii most of my life, which is basically the total opposite side of the country from the East Coast, so going there for the first time was definitely a shell-shock. Even compared to life here in Spokane, the differences between the two places are night and day. One of the biggest differences I noticed was the pace of lifestyle. In New York everything’s faster paced, and if you are not up to speed, you could get left behind in the dust. Also, the diversity mix was extremely different from Spokane, where most of the population is Caucasian. In addition, I got to see how a very efficient public transportation is run, something that neither Hawaii nor Spokane really has.

This trip has also quelled some wrong suppositions I’ve had about the East Coast. For example, I always had the assumption that New Yorkers were very self-oriented and rude individuals. This assumption was mostly based on what I have seen in movies or TV shows. However, I found the reality to be quite opposite. In fact, pretty much all the people we met with and ran into on the streets were courteous and kind, and were more than happy to help us. It is revelations like these that I would have never known if I had not gone on this trip, and I now feel more knowledgeable and content as a result.

Ultimately, this trip not only broadened my horizons academically, but also showed me some options for future careers and pathways. Wherever I’m headed in the future, I’ll be able to apply the knowledge I learned on this trip, especially in terms of the changing digital times.

New York and Washington D.C.: Sights and sounds

Students met with media professionals in two cities over the course of two week in New York and Washington D.C. Check out an audio slideshow of the media-related experience from the trip below.

Voices of Inauguration

Four students took on a project to document the people attending the inauguration ceremonies from all 50 states. They came up a few states short but found a diverse array of perspectives to share:

Part One:




Part Two:




Part Three:



-Video and interviews by Derek Casanovas, Danika Heatherly, Jasmine Linabary and James Spung. Production by Jasmine Linabary

JMC 346: Final Paper

This happened to be a great excuse to finally start my own personal blog...
My final paper has been posted here...

-Erica

Final Project - Yong Kim

Click here.

The Journalist's Digital Dilemma: Part Two

-Multimedia by Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

View part one of this series here: The Journalist's Digital Dilemma: Part One

Final Paper

Media Impact January 2009

Dr. McPherson

Hannah White

Media Impact Personal Reflection Paper

        

         I spent the month of January in 2009 on a media criticism tour through Whitworth University. Our group met with a variety of companies and organizations that are involved in the media and we discussed with them the current state and direction of the media industry. I enjoyed each of our meetings for specific reasons relating to each individual, but in the end the people we met with, the companies they work for and all our new cultural experiences made me realize three things: the impact of respect for opposing views, points and differences, the importance of professionalism and the significance of learning to adjust and adapt to new technologies and situations.

         Experiencing the culture of the East Coast and the two vastly different cities we visited also resulted in a few life lessons for me.  I tirelessly tried to look like I belonged there – in New York & Washington DC.  I spent time imagining whether or not I could one day belong in one of those famous cities. 

         I was also fortunate enough to attend one of the most historic events of United States, and through this event and the city it was held in, I learned a little more about my career interests and where I want to go with my life.

         Our very first group meeting was with F.A.I.R (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting). We met with F.A.I.R’s Program Director, Janine Jackson. Jackson’s job is to look for inaccuracies or loud omissions in mainstream media publications and F.A.I.R is a liberal organization so her criticisms are mostly directed at conservatives. Since I am a conservative and I tend to appreciate conservative media I was not expecting to be so impressed with F.A.I.R. Through out our meeting with Jackson it was clear that she was well informed about the current issues that she critiques and her goal is not to tear others down, but expose truth if it is hidden. As the meeting continued my respect for F.A.I.R grew because of F.A.I.R’s respect for people.

         My next encounter with the importance of respect for people and beliefs was through our meeting with The Smoking Gun. The Smoking Gun is a rather humorous publication that writes about celebrities’ criminal faux pas and other fun facts about laws and regulations. Initially such a publication may seem disrespectful, but The Smoking Gun does not do gossip - just the story. In my mind it is fair game to print a story that may be embarrassing to perpetrator of the crime if it is true and unelaborated. If a criminal did not want a story printed about their mishaps then they should have thought of that before doing it. The 3 person staff at The Smoking Gun specifically explained to us that they do not exaggerate or pass judgment they just run a story for exactly what it was.  Which is impressive because through their work they have the opportunity to totally ridicule well deserving celebrities for their brilliant stupidity, but they do not and that is admirable.

         Channel Thirteen was another place I got a dose of how important respect is in the media industry. This lesson in respect hit a different note than previous meetings because Channel Thirteen has deep respect for people, but also for the world we live in.  The purpose of the programming on Channel Thirteen is to educate the world about the world because if people understand each other and other cultures then they are more likely to respect them.  Americans seem to have a natural tendency to adopt ethnocentric mindsets if they are not exposed to other cultures or the issues and lives of other people across the world.  Wide Angle is a perfect example of a show Channel Thirteen uses to promote respect for different ethnicities.  Wide Angle is a show that follows a single person or family in a foreign country and in their day to day life experiences.  They explore the make up of the country’s government, economy, agriculture and current issues. Channel Thirteen is broadcasting great programs that have a higher goal of education and an ever present theme of respect for the people we live with and the planet we live on.

         A second running theme I ascertained through this trip is the magnitude of being firmly rooted in journalistic integrity and morals. The media industry is not exactly thriving right now, making it hard for new journalists to break into the field and it is also difficult for current reporters to keep their jobs.  During several meetings we asked the executives we were meeting with what young journalists or struggling ones can be doing to find or keep jobs? The answer always included two things, one: keep journalistic integrity and two: do what you’re good at. We have all heard horror stories of journalists who crossed a line in one way, shape or form and the only way to make sure that does not happen is to be grounded in integrity.

         We spent the majority of the time in our one-hour meetings discussing the current state of the media industry and how new technologies and the bad economy are affecting the field.  The huge outbreak of the Internet and the coming switch from analog television to digital is making lots of waves for the media.  It seems that everyone is affected by it in the same general way, but it is interesting to see how each individual company handles it.  Many of the publication type companies we met with are trying to create the perfect balance of print and online material because neither one is completely dominant to an entire reading audience. For example, The Onion focuses mainly on their online content because that is where most of their readers are.  Or Fleming Meeks, who writes for Baron’s magazine.  He writes an online and subscription-only newsletter.  But for “Express” which is a daily commuter paper printed by the Washington Post, they do not do any online work because their audience wants to read tangible print. Although the Internet is a bit of a scary new territory for the media industry it is important to remember that the radio did not replace the newspaper and the television did not replace the radio.  In time everything fell into place and coincided.  The key to adapting to the Internet challenges is knowing your audience.  The various companies that we met with work hard on keeping up to date with who their audience is and what they want.  If you can continue to provide your audience with what they want, then your company is probably not going to go out of business.

         The other big issue for media companies right now is the upcoming switch from analog television to digital.  Marcellus Alexander of the National Association of Broadcasters said that the switch is the number one issue for all television relatable companies right now.  Nielson Company records the number of viewing audiences in all mediums and they are taking precautions for the digital switch so that they do not get an inaccurate count.  From another perspective, Claudia James from the Podesta group, a government relations firm, in Washington DC is not busy getting ready for how companies handle the change.  She is trying to prepare the people for the change. Congress is currently discussing whether or not the date of the change needs to be pushed back.  The present date is set for February 17^th, but the American population will probably not be ready by that time. One option people have for continuing to use their television once the signals have been switched is to buy a moderately expensive converter box that will connect to their television sets.  But the bad economy and people’s tendency to procrastinate are proving that lots of people have not yet gotten a converter box and are on a long waiting list for a government coupon that would help cushion the price.  Professionals from the Podesta group, like Claudia James, work with Congress in discussing the effects and outcomes that the pending legislation will have on the people. Overall it was interesting to listen to the voices of companies who would be affected in varying ways by the transition and their thoughts on the issue.

         Ironically enough despite these running themes of integrity, being flexible during changes and having respect for opposing viewpoints, my favorite meeting of the trip was with the quirky publication The Onion, and they don’t staunchly follow any of those themes.  The Onion is a publication that parodies and makes fun of mainstream media.  The brainless trends and the big, widely broadcasted events.  For example one of their post inauguration headlines read: “Hillary Clinton mouthing along to Presidential Oath”.  I laughed more in our one-hour meeting with the staff members of the The Onion than I had on the whole trip up until that point! I think part of the reason I liked this working atmosphere so much was not only that they are hilarious as well as educated; they are carefree and untraditional.  Just look at their track record - first they started with a website then began a print publication, and when they write a piece they start with the headline and build the story around it. One of my personal little self-mantras is “don’t take yourself too seriously” and I felt that The Onion embodied that phrase. Their staff was young, fresh and completely competent, but not over bearing or constantly nearing fatal stress levels.  I think that is important!  Certainly society could not handle too many publications like the The Onion because it could become inappropriate if tons of media outlets started mocking current events and celebrities.  But for now I think it is a much needed breath of fresh air and is being done by a good team of writers in a healthy way.

During this trip we visited two major cities, New York City and Washington DC.  I had never been to either place before and I was excited for the new experience.  Being that I am a people watcher New York subways were constantly entertaining.  New Yorkers have a sort of “mojo” that while fascinating to watch and go along with, I do not think in the long run I could keep it up. My favorite part of New York was the vibrancy, an odd vibrancy that could be borderline obnoxious, but still so full of life. What they say is true, New York really is the city that does not sleep. Although the city is vivacious, colorful and very fun to visit I could definitely never live there.

                  Before this trip I was convinced that New York was the coolest place ever and Washington DC was going to be the drab part of the trip, well I’m an idiot! New York was just the opening act. I absolutely loved Washington DC! DC has the hubbub of a city with the cleanliness and charm of a small town. The streets were all spacious and easy to navigate, the buildings were tall and beautiful, and everything was clean. My two favorite parts about the city was the overflowing history and the buzz of intelligence. Being that Washington DC is the capital of the United States and has been for a very long time the place is just teeming with history! Gorgeous monuments (like Lincoln Memorials and The Washington Monument), dignified cemeteries (Arlington Cemetery which is also the grave site of the Kennedys and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), immaculate museums (like National Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian), huge libraries (housing Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural bible and Thomas Jefferson’s personal book collection) and archives (displaying the original copy of the Declaration of Independence) are just some of the historical venues scattered throughout the city.  The city also has this perpetual buzz of intelligence and importance. Federal legislation, true justice and our most brilliant leaders reside there and the citizens of DC clearly understand the importance of that. It was a neat vibe to be a part of and an incredible city to explore; I am undoubtedly going to go back!

      A major highlight of my trip was the inauguration of President Barack Obama.  President Obama was inaugurated into office on January 20, 2009 and I was blessed enough to be there. For me the most incredible part of the occasion had nothing to do with politics, parties, winning or losing, but the history the event.  The dream of racial equality that Martin Luther King spoke of almost 40 years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial finally reached the White House!

One of my favorite aspects of being in Washington DC during inauguration week was all the historical reporting that the media was publishing and broadcasting.  Remembering the story of America step by step. Our foundation, leaders, struggles, triumphs, heroes, wars, leaders, lessons and decisions were recalled and considered so that today we could began writing a new chapter to unfolding story of the United States of America. I am a huge history buff so getting to be in the Capital of the National while history was being made was very exciting for me.

         I spiraled into a contemplative personal reflection session upon hearing President Obama’s Inaugural Address. To be perfectly honest not all of my political beliefs align with Obama and his administration, but nonetheless a resounding message of hope and change became much more then a campaign promise, they came to life with more vigor and intensity then I had ever imagined.

Several of Obama’s statements in particular really stood out to me. For instance, “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” When Obama said this I just wanted to yell “Amen!” America was built on God and built on freedom and that foundation has repeatedly proven its durability throughout history. The freedom of equality and right to pursue happiness is the uniqueness of America that cannot be forgotten, even amidst threats of terrorism, war and crumbling economy, nothing can change the founding principles upon which this country is built.

The concept of change, huge political policy and administrative modification is scary! I am a traditionalist, so the thought of changing so much of has been our “traditional” was daunting, but I was pleasantly surprised by a feeling of assurance I felt upon hearing Obama’s words. “Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.  Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done…What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” Well needless to say that statement pretty much addressed and subsided my fears instantly. All the coming change is not erasing our past but embracing. America has always withstood hardships and growing pains in the past and it is from those growing pains that we thrive, strengthen and prosper. The one thing we can always predict is change and we should embrace it with complete confidence that we can adapt to and overcome it. Obama is right when he says that the ground has shifted. Change in our world has come and we must answer it with change in our government.

Near the end of speech the President tackled that one subject left unaddressed, race. When speaking about the promise of equality and citizenship in America he used himself as example and said, “a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” Well if nothing else in the speech made you cry then this did! In remembering the great history of our nation, we would be remiss if we skipped over the low points. Racism in the United States has been a dark stubborn issue for almost decade, but the election of Obama to the Presidential office is a milestone for the nation plagued with racism. Through the election of an African American man to the highest office our country has a bridge has been built between new and old. Maybe skin color could be a characteristic with absolutely no connotation or automatic assumption of any kind for the next generation or the one after that. It truly is possible.

At the end of that day I was just completely overwhelmed with pride of my countries past, future and growth and had a much greater appreciation for the direction our government is going.

 Being in Washington DC this past month has provided me with plenty of food for thought about my future and career goals. Government was never a path I considered for myself, but being in the capital of my country and watching it work and buzz has peaked my interest a lot. After one our meetings in Washington DC we visited Arlington National Cemetery and inscribed on one of the great stones surrounding JFK’s grave was the famous quote from his inauguration speech in 1961 “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” I have always had a strong sense of patriotism and pride for my country, but I never thought that I had anything to contribute to it, but maybe I do.

In personal, social and work related situations I have always been a good communicator, a peacekeeper and great negotiator. When I chose communications as my college major I was just really glad that there happened to be a major that combined a few of the things I am good, past that I did not think too much about it because I was too busy keeping my grades up and working part time, but this trip allowed to take a breath and figure out what I actually want to do with the degree I was working so hard for. Out of all our meetings in New York the only company I could see myself working for was Ketchum Public Relations firm. I knew it was something I would be good at and I found their work decently interesting, but it did not make me excited.

It was not until we got to Washington DC that I realized I might actually want to work in government. It is funny that somehow I never once considered that path for myself, I never had the dream of becoming a lawyer and going into politics and for some reason that was just about all I imagined government jobs to be, lawyers who turned into politicians. DC opened my eyes to all the opportunities of working and being involved in our government there are.  I have started looking into careers that a person with a communications/public relations job could have in politics and government and I am excited about my results! Basically every Capitol Hill department needs public relation people and I could be legislative assistant, department of defense, health or agriculture researcher or executive, a lobbyist or a good number of other things. I want a career that allows me to work toward justice, promote what is right and help people… which is why I am not sure how working in government never occurred to be before. I know it is a tough field that is laced with deceit and conniving, but I can handle it. I believe that if I work hard and honestly and seek the Lord in all I do, I will be successful.

In conclusion, this trip was awesome! I learned so much about media, the industry, history, the east coast, my country, myself and the list could go on forever, but truly I gained life experience from this trip that I could not have obtain anywhere else. The things I got to be a part of, the friends I made and people I met all helped shape my view of the world and of myself in a good way. This trip has taught me how to be a working professional, the skills I need to acquire and subjects I need to study more. Best of all I actually found direction in my career and I am so excited about it! If it were not for this trip allowing me to visit and experience life in the Capital of the nation I would have stayed ignorant about the opportunities in government and would still be searching for my career purpose.

        

 

15pg Reflection: Trip in Review

When you think abroad you usually think about traveling far way and seeing places that you never thought you could go see. So before this trip when people were asking me what I was doing for Jan Term and I said study abroad, I’m going to New York and Washington D.C. they would then reply well that’s not study abroad that’s just traveling the states. Well in my opinion study abroad is going off to different parts of the world whether it is in the states or half way around the world and learning new information or experiencing a different culture. This is what I received from going on this trip along with the fact that I had never been to New York or D.C. and it was also fun to get to know people that I had never met before.
Going into the trip I really didn’t know what to expect because I had never traveled to a place without my family so to go with twelve strangers who I had never met before besides Jordan Kamikawa and Yong Kim I was a little nervous. I have also never been a really good flyer because turbulence sometimes makes me nocuous and don’t feel good. I was glad that we had our first meeting for this trip over first semester so that we could get all of the information and meet the people that were going to be living with for three weeks. I think it made the trip that much easier because we knew each other and the overall background for the trip itself. Leading up to the beginning of Jan Term was very exciting because I was ready to get this trip underway and experience another part of the states that I had never been to. When the first day of Jan Term came around and we were going to have our first meeting the night before people were hoping we would get classes cancelled. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted class or not because on one hand I didn’t want to wake up that early but on the other hand I really wanted to know who we were meeting and where we were going to be staying for the next three weeks. On the day of our first meeting I received a lot of information that was really helpful and found out that we were going to be living in hostels. I didn’t know what a hostel was so I thought it was going to be interesting to say the least. It always makes me laugh when teachers make kids get up early because when I saw our flight to New York and saw that we had to get to the Spokane airport by 4:30 in the morning I found that to be funny because no college student likes to get up at that hour.
The three meetings went by and they were very helpful because we finally got to see who we were going to be having meetings with and received the complete schedule. When I got the schedule and looked it over I was very pleased to see that we had a lot of free time because I really wanted to experience New York and Washington DC for what they really are. After having the meetings I knew that the trip was for us to experience media and learn about different types of jobs in media and how these people got to where they are today. During our last meeting I really started to think about how interesting this whole thing was going to be and how lucky I was to get to meet professionals in the media business and the negatives and positives of having these jobs. I was also really interested to know how the current recession we have been in is affecting their businesses and how they do their jobs. The last night we were in Spokane I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Nervous because I had to go on the plane but excited because I was going to New York and Washington DC the capital of the United States of America.
Finally the day had arrived and I had only gotten about two hours of sleep before I had to be at the airport checking in by 4:30am. I always like traveling on new airlines to see which one I like better and for most of my life I only know Alaska Airlines so to travel on Delta was pretty fun. As Jordan and I got to the airport it looked as though we weren’t the only ones that were very tired. The quick little flight from Spokane to Salt Lake City wasn’t bad because I slept the entire time and neither was the flight from Salt Lake to JFK airport because Delta provided us with our own monitors and to my surprise they had TV so I watched ESPN the entire way down there.
When we finally landed I was interested to find out how we were going to get to our hostel but lucky enough for us we found a van taxi that took all fourteen of us to our hostel. We had people smashed all over the place and even Derek was sitting on a stool and Danika lay across me and four other people so we were pretty squished. When we arrived at our hostel I had a lot of things going through my mind but none of them really matched the way the hostel actually looked. I would say that I wouldn’t mind living in the hostels again but I wasn’t a big fan of the fact that we had some random kid living with us at the hostel in New York and he looked like he had ran away because of how young he looked. Based on how the hostels looked and their accommodations I would say that we paid just the right amount of money and they were a good place to sleep.
When we got to the Hostel in DC for some reason I was expecting it to be worse than the one in Manhattan and that’s mainly because some of the group looked it up online and they looked at the pictures but to our surprise it was a lot better. The showers were much nicer and another plus was that we didn’t have some random kid living with us so that was nice. I would say that each was a great place to stay and I wouldn’t mind living there again if I had to but each hostel needed to add things but overall it was an enjoyable stay. I won’t mention any names but I’m sure you could guess. It was funny to see some of the girls freak out about how they had to stay in the hostels and one of them was going to book a hotel the first night we were in New York but she decided not to.
Getting ready for the meetings I was really excited to meet with some of the people that we were meeting with but others I wasn’t. Some I was really fascinated by them and was surprised to find out that I did like them. I would say that after visiting all of them, besides a couple there really wasn’t a bad meeting and it could have been that some of them were bad because of the speaker and the other reason was partly because I just wasn’t interested in that particular company. When we had our first day of meetings I didn’t really know what they were going to be talking to us about and I didn’t know that the questions we made on our first paper we didn’t have to ask them we just came up with our own if you even had one. I am not the type of guy that usually asks a question in class, I usually tend to ask it after class if I have one so sometimes asking a question was a little nerve racking but I managed and I think I asked some pretty good ones. I think that there were a couple of times where I felt that I had to ask a question so I would force it out and to me it sounded like a bad question. Every meeting that we had I felt I came out of that meeting with knowledge and some idea of knowing what I want to work in.
Our first meeting that we had was with Fairness and Accuracy in Media with Janine Jackson program director. I didn’t really know what we were going to be doing in this meeting since it was our first meeting of the trip. I learned how the business of media and their magazine have been affected by the recession that we are currently in. I learned that in running a company there is going to be ups and downs and somehow you must power through the bad times and know that in the end things happen for a reason. If you try hard enough and keep up with your writing skills you can be a successful journalist or any type of business you see yourself working in.
Our next meeting was with The Smoking Gun with William Bastone, editor. I thought that these guys were really cool from the way they started their company to how they are successful right now. It was very interesting for me to see their company being run by only three guys with all the work and information finding that goes into their stories. From them I pretty much learned that it doesn’t matter how many people are involved you can do whatever it is you dream of. I also learned that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication because if any of them go on vacation then the other two have to do that persons work. To me that shows a strong will power that has helped them with their careers. It was cool because we got to sit in on some action because they were trying to get a voice over of Charles Barkley but it was very clear.
The next meeting was with The Onion with Joe Randazzo, editor and it was cool because about four other people ended up coming to the meeting and talking to us about their jobs and how successful their newspaper has become. This was one of my favorite meetings we had because all of the writers were so funny and the titles they come up with for their stories just crack me up. I had never heard about them before so it was interesting to see a real newspaper that made fun of real stories. I am the kind of guy that likes to make people laugh so to see that I could do that through news articles was awesome to me. I learned that news articles take time to come up with, write and edit and that the process can sometimes be strenuous. The funniest thing I heard from them was that they try and follow AP style rules but if it makes the article funnier they will break them. I never really thought of myself going into that line of work but I don’t think it would be a bad gig.
Our next meeting we had was with Channel 13 with Mary Ann Donahue. It was very interesting to see all the aspects to Channel 13 there are and the information they put out. They try and educate people from their documentaries and their news shows. I learned that sometimes non-profit organizations have hard times coming up with money to produce what they need and when they don’t get enough they just end up scraping the project and saving the money for something new. I also learned that you have to be patient and that documentaries can take a while but you must finish by the deadline. It was very cool to see inside their newsroom and we even got to sit where their lead anchor sits and gives the news. It was really hard because the anchor has to push the lever with his foot while reading the teleprompter, I could never do that.
Our next meeting was with Nielson Company with Dave Thomas, President of Global Media Client Services. This was a very interesting company but it was amazing to see how the development of technology has really advanced companies to the next level. Media has become more advanced and people are watching shows in more ways than just the television. “Internet TV has increased overall media as well” stated Dave. I was fascinated to see how the television side of things works in the media business.
Our next meeting was with Ketchum Public Relations/Public Relations Society of America with John Paluszek, senior PR practitioner and director of PR for PRSA. This was a meeting that I was very interested in because I took a PR class over first semester and we did a service learning project that dealt with a PR firm and we had to help them get ready for an event that they were hosting. So coming into this meeting I had questions on topics that I had learned over first semester and it was interesting to see what they had to say. One of the questions that I asked them was about their crises plan and what it was and to me it seemed like they had a good process for solving their problems. I learned that there are for major aspects in the growth of PR. One address all of your audiences, two every kind of institution must relate to your audience, three PR is a global process, and four coming up with a Digital Crisis Plan because if you don’t have one in place when a crisis happens you won’t be ready for it. The one word that I heard over and over again in the meeting is that to be great in anything you do you must PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and PRACTICE.
Our next meeting was with Barron’s Magazine/Barron’s Daily Stock Alert with Fleming Meeks, editor of daily online newsletter about stocks. I felt like I listened a little more in this one because I really don’t know much about the stock market so to hear what he did for his job was exciting to learn about. The bad thing about this meeting was even after we had him scheduled with us for some time, when we got there people were having a meeting in the conference room we were supposed to be in, so all fourteen of us had to squish into his little tiny office so it was very uncomfortable. Then I asked him what he had been doing on 9/11. Thankfully he hadn’t come into work yet because he got a call saying not to come in because of the attack on the World Trade Centers and their building was only a block away from the attack. I learned that if you trust what you are doing it usually ends up looking good.
Our next meeting we had was with New York School of Law with Professor Michael Botein. I learned that with this switch from bunny ears to digital television cable companies need to figure out what they are. People didn’t rush in advance to get their converter box so many families with the switch coming will soon be without TV. This meeting wasn’t too interesting because it was on the law side of media so for me this meeting wasn’t as exciting but I still came out with information.
Our next meeting was with The Associated Press with Xavier Williams, Senior HR Administrator. He had Michael Oreskes and Robert Naylor come in as guests and talk about their jobs and how media has impacted the way the AP does their job. I learned that it is important to know new ways of doing things and technologies coming out of college when applying yourself for a job. “People who understand media and business will be in high demand” said Michael Oreskes. I also learned that the biggest challenge in media is figuring out what people want and how to give it to them. The AP meeting was very exciting because we got to sit in on one of their meetings and they discussed what they were going to be putting in the papers. It was cool because about 20 minutes after we were done with our meeting and the tour we went on the internet and saw one of the articles put up that they had talked about.
The next meeting was with Saatchi and Saatchi with Erin Lyons, Communications Team Leader. I learned that when making commercials you want to try and develop a real insight to the public. Their process in how they do that is first they come up with an idea, then they bring it to the storyboard and start thinking about how they should shoot this, then it’s brought into production and finally it is edited and put out on television. It was cool to see some of the products that they had made for companies because a lot of the commercials I had already seen before and they were very funny. During this meeting she toured us around their entire building and it was cool because the last part of the tour ended with us going on top of their building and we could pretty much see all of Manhattan, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. What was even cooler was the fact that from their roof I saw the Statue of Liberty which I did not go and see so that was pretty amazing. This meeting was also interesting because they had a weight room and before we could pass we had to do ten jumping jacks but overall it was a really good meeting.
Our next meeting we had was with Columbia University with Sreenath Sreenivasan, professor of professional practice and new media expert. It seemed to me that he was a very down to earth guy who really knew what he was talking about. I would say that the biggest thing I learned from Sree was that you need to know all of the technologies but most importantly you need to know how to use them. I also learned that with journalism you need to know how to connect with your audience so that they will read and like the stories that you write. I also learned that you must pick and choose because every year new technologies become available and it is important to figure out what is better and what is not helpful. When we ended the last couple things I heard which I have been taught from my parents and friends is that you need to be smart and that it helps to know someone that can help you get started.
The next meeting we had was with Columbia Journalism Review with Mike Hoyt, executive editor. I learned that there is print and then there is the internet and it is important to work on both equally as hard and not to focus on one because then you could potentially lose some of your audience. Journalism has always been a big contributor to society and the world needs good journalist. “We need good journalists to have a breathing democracy” said Mike Hoyt.
The next meeting we had was with Project for Excellence in Journalism with Tom Rosenstiel, director. I learned that people want to hear about the news all the time and it must be given in many ways because sometimes people aren’t able to watch it at home on the television and the development of the internet has helped this. I also learned that the top five news destinations are Yahoo, MSNBC, CNN, AOL and the New York Times. The one that I found most interesting was defiantly yahoo because I don’t really see that as a big news site but more of a place where people can chat with one another.
The next meeting we had was National Association of Broadcasters with Marcellus Alexander, executive vice president of television & president of NAB. This meeting was very interesting because I have heard all about the switch to DTV but I never really knew the reason and why it would help out society. I learned that the switch coming up has cause so many problems because there will over 60 million sets without cable which in return will hurt stations because they will have lost viewers. I also learned that the issue in Television is the DTV switch and the issue in radio is performance tax. What I thought was really stupid is that because of downloads both legally and illegally, musicians are losing money so an idea was to have radio stations pay musicians for playing their song but if that were to be the case then radio stations would lose all of their money.
The next meeting we had was with The Podesta Group with Cluadia James, telecommunications expert. This was the meeting that I had the most trouble with and it seemed like everyone else did too. Out of every single meeting we had I felt like this was the only person that barely told us anything about what she does. When we would ask her questions they were short and sometimes didn’t even answer the question in the first place. So without lying I would just for the sake of me saying I learned something say that DTV is a very big issue right now and that something needs to be done.
The next meeting we had was Nation Public Radio with Jeffery Cabiness member of program services who ended up giving us a tour while talking about what they do. I learned that right know with the stations that they play they are attracting a much older age group and have been trying to connect with younger people. I learned that NPR doesn’t put their shows on the internet until after they have aired because they do not want to lose revenue so the people that miss the shows have to wait. It is always interesting to hear how different nonprofit companies make their money and what happens when they don’t make enough. Something that I learned that I thought was really interesting was how they are coming up with a technology such as HD radio and platforms that will help the deaf.
The next meeting we had was with one of Nikki’s parents friends who they have known for a while that works with Cable Television Association for Marketing. I learned that they try and help companies market more efficiently; it was pretty interesting to hear what they do. It was also interesting to hear what they had to say about the DTV switch and how they were in favor of not moving the date back. That is pretty much what we heard from everyone that we asked.
The next meeting we had was Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press with Lucy Dalglish, executive director. I thought this meeting was very interesting because I learned that if journalists ever get in trouble by the law for doing their job that they can come to RCFP for help and they will try and get them out of trouble. I asked Lucy if more often than none they are always released of the charges and she said with firm voice “yes”, not even hesitating. One thing she was really strict on was how bloggers are not journalists unless they get the story and write about it instead of just talking about their own opinion. They want you to come to them with your problem so they can help you out but they believe that as a journalist you should know what is crossing the line and what isn’t.
The next meeting we had was with Student Press Law Center with Frank LoMonte, director. I also thought that this meeting was very interesting and knowledgeable. This was very interesting because they do the same thing only they help and protect students that are still in school. One thing that they find very hard and cannot help students is when they are at a private institution rather than a public one. Public schools tend to be more lenient with the rules and how you follow them, but if a private school says something goes than it is a lot harder to find a loop whole. They don’t only help students from high school and college but they also help faculty if they are ever having a problem. High school is also harder to help out than college because they have more censorship around high school than they do in college. Most importantly it has to be a journalism case to be taken on by the Student Press Law Center.
The next meeting we had was with the Washington Post Online with Jim Brady, managing editor of Washingtonpost.com. I learned that the focus for the Washington Post is on long term revenue to keep journalism going. I also learned that not only do the companies that hire you decide if you are a journalist but so does the public you write for. I also learned that as people are on the go and want the news but want it fast they want quick hits at the top of the news article to tell them the main points of the story. Even though the internet has made it so much easier to let people read the newspaper, the Washington Post gains most of its revenue through print which I found very interesting. After we talked with Jim in the conference room he took us on a tour of the building and it was really amazing to see how they operate.
The next meeting we had was with The Express with Aimee Goodwin, former student of Whitworth University and now copy editor. We had a nice sit down lunch with her across the street from her work at this little café where they served amazing sandwiches and great tomato soup. The best advice that she gave the group was probably that when applying for a job it is important that you apply for more than one so that in case you do get rejected you have more backups. She also said that if you want something you have to go and get it yourself which means that after you apply you should call them to make sure they got your application and then keep calling them asking them if they have made a decision or not, just be extremely pesky to show them that you want this job really bad.
Last but not lease our most important meeting that I found very informational was with PBS with Paula Kerger, President and CEO. It was very exciting to meet the CEO of PBS, there has only been one other time in my life where I have met the CEO of a company. So to meet one from a television network that I grew up watching was pretty amazing. I was fascinated to learn that PBS was one of the first stations to pick up HD TV and that they are trying to do more animated comedy for adults while still keeping the children’s programming. Towards the end of the meeting she started talking with us on a more personal level and giving us information that she thought would be helpful in building a future. “Don’t close yourself off to any possibilities” Paula said. Overall I got a lot out from each meeting that we had and it was a good experience because I think that it helped me better understand what I want to do with my life after I get out of school.
When we were not inside meeting with different media professionals we were out and about going around each city looking at all of the amazing things that they had to offer. In New York I felt like we were the busiest because it seemed like there was so much more to do there than there was in Washington DC. It felt like we visited almost every important place that New York had to offer. We did a lot of really cool stuff when we were in New York, I even got to hang out with my mother because she stopped by and I stayed with her for a night. When she got in I rode the taxi over to her hotel so that I could put my stuff down and get settled in. After that we finally headed out for our evening of fun and excitement. Before she got to New York I was asking her what she had planned for us that night and when she wrote me back she said that we were going to be going to a musical. I have never really been a big fan of musicals but I thought I would go just so I could hang out with my mom and it would be the nice thing to do. So we headed over to where the musical was performing and apparently it had been sold out for months but lucky for us one of my long time friends dad got us tickets so we were able to go.
When we got inside we headed towards our seats to watch what I thought wasn’t going to be that exciting of a musical. When the musical had ended and we were leaving I thought that it was the best musical I had ever seen. No wonder people say that you must experience Broadway when going to New York for the first time. After the musical we headed over to this Italian restaurant that my mom had been to before and we had a very nice meal. Afterwards we were both pretty tired so we headed back to the hotel where we just laid in our beds watched some television and headed to bed. Towards the end of my time in New York we went to a Knicks game which I thought was just totally awesome to be at a game in Madison Square Garden. Going to that size of an arena really made me think of what I have been doing going to games at the Key Arena for the Sonics. They have so much history in Madison Square Garden so to say that I had been there was really cool. Not only did we do those things but after a meeting in New York Jordan and I decided to stay at NBC studios to try and get tickets for the Late Night Show with Conan O’Brien. We waited in line and at the studios for nearly three hours and finally got tickets. When we were sitting inside it was pretty crazy to see how small the studio actually was and before the show started he came out and was talking with us to tell us how this show that we were watching on Tuesday was for Thursdays showing on television. So every time he cracked a joke during the show about having one more day before the weekend everyone in the audience started laughing. It was a great experience and I will always remember being able to go to a talk show.
When we headed to Washington DC all the hype was for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was so excited to be a part of history that I could tell my children I watched the first African American President sworn in. So when Tuesday finally came we got down to the mass crowd of people around 4:30 in the morning and by 6:30 after standing around for two hours to let us in my leg started throbbing so Yong, Erica and I headed back to the hostel and just watched it on TV. I was a little disappointed but due to medical reasons I couldn’t stay any longer. In DC when we had free time we went to go see a lot of museums that where in the mall area. Some of the museums included The National Holocaust Museum, The National Archives Museum, The Liberty of Congress and The Newseum. They were all extremely interesting and I would have to say that I couldn’t choose between The National Holocaust Museum and The National Archives Museum for which one I liked best. They all had a ton of history, some that was really amazing and other history that was incredibly sad and hard to swallow. It was just awful to see what the Jewish people had to go through but to hear their stories of the ones that survived this awful attack was truly incredible. Some of the movies that we watched were very gruesome and to listen to. What was done to them was hurtful and I can’t understand why no one would stand up for them and try and stop what was going on. It was cool to go to The National Archives Museum because I got to see the history of the United States of America. I got to see not only The Declaration of Independence but I got to see The Bill of Rights as well.
The first night I got to Washington DC I had planned to go and visit one of my friends who I have known since kinder garden over at Georgetown University and to be able to see what a Division 1 school is like and how big it is was pretty cool. I think the coolest part of my time in DC was defiantly when we got to see The Capital, The Washington Monument, and The White House and of course The Lincoln Memorial, he was a lot bigger than I thought. After The Holocaust Museum on our last day Jordan, Maddie, Yong and I headed over towards The Lincoln Memorial and on our way we took pictures of us in front of The Washington Monument. When we got to The Lincoln Memorial I was not expecting it to be that big. We took pictures in front of it so that we could remember our time here. As we were walking down the steps you were able to see all the way to The Capital and all the lights that lit up the entire Mall, it was pretty cool. Heading back to Spokane I was both sad and happy at the same time because I knew that I wouldn’t be back to New York or Washington DC for a while but I was excited to see all of my friends that I had not seen in a while.
After being on this trip and going to all of the meetings we had with the Media professionals was very fun and helpful. I learned a lot from this trip and it helped me prepare myself for getting a job and entering the real world. I have always thought about being a real estate agent but after visiting all of those companies and seeing what they do every day was very exciting and made me think about me doing what they do. My favorite meeting was defiantly The Onion because if I could have fun doing that kind of job everyday while making people laugh at the same time would be pretty awesome. I think the meeting that I got the most out of was defiantly Ketchum PR Agency because after going through a PR class I knew what to expect and my questions were very well answered. I am still not sure what I want to do for a job but going on this trip has really helped me further my decision. If I had to choose a job today I think after this trip I wouldn’t mind being a PR agent. I am glad that I got to experience New York and Washington DC this way both academically and see our country at the same time. All in all I think this trip was very successful and I would do this again in a heartbeat and I am glad I could be part of something amazing.

Patrick Kenney

My Final Project

This paper is the culmination of our trip to New York City and Washington, D.C. I can't believe it is already over, but I gained so much valuable insight from our meetings.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11462045/Final-Project-15-Pages

Maddie Hayes

The Journalist's Digital Dilemma: Part One

-Multimedia project by Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Watch for Part Two in an upcoming post.

Media Impact: Public and Personal

While in New York and D.C., I discovered the direction of the media industry, but more importantly, I was also able to pursue and discover the directions of my future career. Meeting with professionals from all ends of the media spectrum, I was able to ‘cross off’ jobs which I had no interest in and ‘circle’ jobs which I could research further on my list of possible careers. I never imagined myself as a hard news reporter, but never shut the door on journalism as a profession. I learned on the trip that the art of journalism is dying for a few reasons. Blogs, the economy, law makers, and even the normal citizen all test the credibility of the media. Over the next few pages, I will attempt to summarize our meetings and then I will look at the state of the media from my perspective as well as its influence on my future career decisions.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting aims to critique news media and straight news in their magazine, EXTRA!, and in their radio program, Counterspin. Their studies focus on the stories told and the writer and the factual problems, omissions, and biases. Their website provides an ‘action alert’ which allows readers to combat the biases of media. Before FAIR, people had no idea that you could challenge the media and talk back to the authenticity and credibility of papers. According to Janine Jackson, program director, there is a “…conflict between goals of journalism and making profits.”

Business decisions are taking over journalism decisions. For example, for a higher profit, TIME allowed Ford to sponsor an economic issue. This goes to show the institutional climate that certain stories will enhance a cover and others will not, affecting sales. FAIR calls attention to the ownership of content as well as depicts how mainstream media finds it hard to accurately, if at all, cover issues of war and criticism of Americas objectives and politics. In our meeting with Janine, we also learned that corporate media struggles to accurately cover race and structural inequality is also a taboo subject. In terms of a left-right bias, there tends to be a top-down bias where the most powerful people get to speak. This leaves journalists with the question, who gets to speak and who is spoken for? Janine said the best way to succeed in this industry is to know something beyond journalism and to pursue interests beyond one area in order to support your media criticism.

While at the Smoking Gun, we learned that one person can achieve many things if provided with resources and gumption. The Smoking Gun is owned by TruTV, formerly CourtTV, and is a subsidiary of TimeWarner. As a small operation run by three men for twelve years, the Smoking Gun attempts to maintain a relationship with their readership by responding to every email which comes their way. Their advice to us to obtain resources was to never show your hand that you are a reporter. We learned that if you are credible, no matter what the content of your story, if you don’t pay for your stories and don’t gossip, that there is a real value in reporting. Investigative reporting seems like a lot of work because it is founded on exact documents and can sometimes be a long, enduring process. I don’t think this form of journalism would be for me as I tend to loose patience on long projects.

When walking away from The Onion we were all able to see the optimism in the future of creative journalism. These men, although a little rough around the edges and occasionally unfocused, were proof that there is a way to tell the news in a refreshing manner. They run a fine line between delivering stories with meaning and making people laugh. The employees at The Onion had good rapport between each other and we all walked away thinking that we would love to work in that environment. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact we felt we were in a grown-up playground or behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live. I think the best part about meeting with The Onion staff was when we were the test audience for three headlines they would use in their Inauguration edition. We placed our bets on our favorites and anxiously waited to read the paper in D.C. To our surprise, they used all three headlines on the front page.

Visiting Channel 13 was a good experience because we were able to view the studios and production rooms in order to get a better understanding of the role of public broadcasting. Our visit was the same day as The Onion and these two news organizations could not be more opposite. Channel 13 delivers serious news while The Onion’s main goal is to be funny. We met with the producers of Wide Angle and Front Line. Channel 13 is the largest of 350 stations in the PBS system. They produce some of their own programming, yet also maintain jurisdiction of programming their own shows. Wide Angle is an intimate, character driven approach to international communities and under-reported stories. They produce ten films a year and show them between the months of July and September. Due to the economy, they now have to share the rights with BBC.

Channel 13 takes the stance that the more they maintain original formatting, the more they become unique in the changing landscape. I learned that in order to be successful in broadcasting, you must be flexible and have a back up plan. Mary Ann Donahue gave us the advice that, “…the news cycle is no longer something you wait for. You must create your niche.” Due to blogging, Channel 13 feels the pressure to be accurate with news delivery and authenticity. It is because of their dedication to standards in journalism and non reliance on traditional advertising dollars that PBS news broadcasting has been voted the most trustworthy source for five years. “Once you lie to viewers, you loose their trust and they will no longer watch your show. We can’t afford to lie,” Donahue said.

According to Dave Thomas of Nielsen Co., television remains the principle marketing and advertising medium. Due to the increase in viewing choices on television, there is an increased opportunity to advertise. Nielsen Co. uses the approach of “A2M2” which means Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement to gauge the attitudes towards new perspective products. With this information, they then are able to understand if the consumer would be inclined to buy the product. They then deliver the data to clients in order to give them a clearer understanding between internet and television marketing. The company in turn then produces something that combines sight, sound, and motion in order to appropriately advertise on television and the internet. During this meeting, we discussed the role of Nielsen in the upcoming transition to digital broadcasting. They have become the source for the digital transition announcements and have taken an anticipatory stance. Thomas says that the media industry is seeing a shift from program bias to commercial bias.

I have always been interested in public relations, and eventually want a career in this field. I was ecstatic to meet with Ketchum Public Relations and the Public Relations Society of America. Due to the importance of advertising and marketing as well as the other opportunities which new media is providing, public relations is a flourishing field. Ketchum has a variety of audiences and a variety of techniques which they use when they represent their clients. Every institution knows they must listen to and address its critics, Ketchum provides clients with the tools to do so. We learned that PR is a global profession and interaction which is booming in spite of the economic condition. Clients are not cutting back because they understand the high value of return on their investment in Ketchum’s strategies.

Their holistic viewpoint to doing business and cross communications platform streamlines resources, allowing them to conduct business in a competitive field. Their job is to make clients happy. This company heavily relies on research. “Research starts before the relationship and you win business based on the research you present them,” said John Paluszek, senior PR practitioner and director of PR for PRSA, “Ketchum’s goal is to achieve our client’s goal”. This organization stressed the importance of internships for employers.

Flemming Meeks of Barron Magazine online was a testament to the revolution of new media. His article is only produced online and readers must pay $1,000 dollars a year to receive his financial tips. His audience is a bit older and his goal is to give information to individuals who have a lot of financial power. In order to do this, the source must be credible and ‘every page has to sell the story’. Meeks is given more freedom to write freely due to not having to advertise, all profit is from subscriptions. This is unlike other publications which have traded their credibility for advertising dollars. I enjoyed hearing Meeks personal story of his road to journalism as he is a testament to the saying ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know”. He stressed multiple times that a liberal arts education is vital so that you can understand human nature in order to have an attentive audience.

Our meeting with Michael Botein of the New York School of Law took an unexpected detour when we discussed the technical workings of the digital transition for a majority of our allotted time. However, I was most interested in what Botein had to say about the digital environment and the problems it presents to media lawyers. His perspective is that the internet has made intellectual property a blurry area and that he has no faith in Digital Rights Media as a long term resolution.

“Print journalists don’t know how to technologically appeal to readers, they need a business plan. No one has a clue how to make money from print journalism right now,” said Botein. He stressed the importance of taking a business course in college in order to succeed. Botein does not believe that bloggers will have a true impact on print journalism and that citizen journalism is not a threat. He said, “…bloggers have certain self interests, they are not credible sources, they won’t make money in the long run, and they will self destruct.”

One of my favorite meetings was with the Associated Press (AP). Xavier Williams brought two guest speakers to the meeting, allowed us to sit in on the morning news brief, and took us on a tour of the expansive offices of AP. What I learned from this meeting was that Associated Press is perfectly suited to adapt to the internet age since most new forms of distribution end up existing side by side with the old. The internet is developing the other areas of journalism and helping to reexamine the roles of writers. Again we heard the importance of being business trained when Robert Naylor said, “One thing that will be in acute demand are people who are media and business minded and trained who can present a creative business role model.” Due to the economic struggles, the AP is driven to produce a better product and to invent a delivery platform that caters to the reader.

Of the non traditional journalism meetings, I most enjoyed meeting with Saatchi & Saatchi advertising. When walking into their main office, a potential client would be swept off their feet into the breathtaking views of the New York City skyline and forget about the woes of their business plan. However, the consultants at Saatchi & Saatchi understand that when presented with a marketing scheme, they must start on a strategic side and address the objectives, issues, and creative challenges of the organization before planning an advertising campaign.

I loved the setup of the creative suites which allowed for open communication between employees to bounce ideas off of one another. The environment of Saatchi & Saatchi seemed to address community holistically, making it an organization I would trust in the future—as an employer or employee. Their focus on “love marks” as an advertising campaign rings true within the office environment, as seen in the high love and respect for each other.

Two of my roommates, Stephanie and Hannah, and I were blessed with a lifetime opportunity to meet with Sean Hannity of Fox News. Now, I may loose some audience right off the bat when I mention his name, but I do believe that no matter what political stance one may have, there were valuable lessons to be learned from our experience. Due to the nature of the airplane crash that day, Sean’s taping of his television show was delayed so that it could have live coverage. This meant that we would have less time with him, yet we could see the behind-the-scene nature of producing a live broadcast of breaking news.

Upon entering the building and receiving our credentials, Sean’s assistant Elise brought us up to the recording studio and gave us a brief tour of that floor of the building. She was very interested in our tour and repeatedly made the statement that she ‘wished she would have had the opportunity to take part in a study tour such as ours”. We were then ushered into a green room where the guests of the show were being miked-up and made-up. We met pilots, witnesses, firefighters, Wall Street journalists, stock brokers, a professional blogger, author of new book American Grit, a colleague of Don Imus’ and employees of Fox. We chatted with the guests of the show until we were able to meet Mr. Hannity. When walking into the studio I was surprised at how expansive it was. He immediately walked up to us, made us feel welcome, shook our hands and took an interest in our lives. We had prepared multiple questions, none of which we were able to ask due to the easy conversation which flowed regarding our trip and his genuine interest in our career goals. We then watched the rest of the show and enjoyed the company of the guests.

We were exposed to multiple career opportunities pertaining to broadcast media and left with many contacts and ideas for our futures. The most enjoyable part of the evening came in the form of a picture with Mr. Hannity when we were all exiting the studio. I had insisted on wearing towering heels, and when combined with all six feet of my natural height, the end result was this picture of the girls, Sean and I--soaring a whole head above him.

Our last meetings in New York took place at Columbia University. Sree Sreenirasan, the Dean of Student Affairs and professor of journalism, spoke mainly of new media. “Every journalist must have a new media skill set, but also a new media mindset,” said Sreenirasan. We learned that the problem with the media industry isn’t with the consumer or producer, it is with the business model. Sreenirasan gave us tips on how to develop new media tools and how to acknowledge that the audience may know more than the writer. Most importantly, we learned that if you can create a following, people will notice you and in order to do so, you must promote yourself.

While in New York, I received the vibe that media professionals were sweating bullets because the sky seems to be falling. Conversely, when leaving the meetings in D.C., the sky seems to be blue and almost cloudless. There is generally a positive attitude in D.C. regarding the future of the media. Perhaps this is due to the overall nature of D.C. being a city that thrives on writing public policies in order to better society, and creating opportunities through these policies is a daily deed.

At the Project for Excellence in Journalism in D.C., Tom Rosenstiel spoke of the revolution of media and of how some credibility of journalism was lost to cable news and internet. I learned that we as consumers have evolved from passive to active hunters and gatherers of information. As a part of the ‘On Demand’ generation, I have contributed to the power shift from journalists narrating a story and agenda to the consumer who is their own editor of news. “You are assembling your own diet of news. In the same way Americans are obese, it is because things are made convenient to us. If you have a sweet tooth for celebrity gossip, you need to moderate it,” said Rosenstiel.

The most important thing I took away from this meeting is that the current predicament in the media industry is not the loss of audience, but a loss of revenue. The internet is decoupling news from its revenue source as there are no subscriptions. The internet also provides a bad platform for advertising because you don’t need the news to sell the product. Nevertheless, Rosenstiel was positive that the internet is giving way to a richer form of journalism, only if we learn how to use the medium to make a better product.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) represents television and radio stations in court settings. We heard again that in order to be successful on television, you must have a robust, easy to navigate website in order to have an audience in broadcast. “Innovation and creativity are not only necessary to survive, but also to thrive,” said Marcellus Alexander, President of NAB Education Foundation.

When meeting with National Public Radio, we were given a tour and learned about being a broadcast organization which exists solely on memberships. Depending on the size of the audience, stations can purchase programming from NPR if they pay dues. I was most interested in the digital media department which develops progressive technology to keep radio programming up to date in this changing world. The most interesting technological advancement is radio caption technology for the deaf.

When meeting with Lucy Dlaglish of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, I was blown away when she maintained a positive attitude about the direction of her organization, regardless of plummeting donations, and obstacles presented by previous policies. Perhaps the best news for this questionably floundering profession is that “44”, as locals refer to our new president, has reversed the Ashcroft memorandum within his first two days of being in office. This first step to revive the public interest in government by attempting to allow viewing of documents according to FOIA regulations, will permit for a more ‘transparent government’.

The work that Frank Lomonte of the Student Press Law Center is also allowing student journalists to enjoy and take advantage of the privileges of the First Amendment. This group which deals with combating high school and college level censorship, is taking large strides to not only educate student journalists but also to inform the deans, teachers, and advisors of these student groups of their rights in journalism.

Chett Rhodes of Washington Post Online (WPO) presented the idea that we are in a “newsy time” but the news industry is failing due to the dominance of the internet. People can pick and choose what they want to read instead of being presented with the news. Most of the WPO’s audience comes from website traffic nationally, unlike other newspapers. When designing web pages, Rhodes builds for users who may not be familiar with the internet. In other words, he designs with his mother in mind. In order to succeed in the media arena, Rhodes suggested we develop news judgment, the ability to write clearly and succinctly, and the hunger to tell stories.

Our meeting at PBS was incredibly informative and very impressive. I walked away with a new respect for the mission of the organization. PBS combines legacy media with new media and their biggest issue this year is placing content online. They are developing social media tools for their website and are experimenting in order to understand what works. Paula Kerger believes there is a place for both non profit and corporate networks. “Our shareholders aren’t on Wall Street, they are on Main Street,” said Kerger when asked about how to balance advertising for their network with the economic situation.

After the scheduled meetings, I was thrilled to also learn that people in the media business were not the only ones who see a light at the end of the tunnel, but also a few Washington lobbyists. Hannah, Stephanie, and I went to dinner with Sally and Bill Murphy, friends of Stephanie’s family. We were spoiled with an extraordinary meal at the Capitol Grille where we were able to enjoy a clean environment (unlike our hostel situation), rich conversation, and amazing company. Amongst a serenade from Bill, joyful and optimistic tears about our Inauguration day experiences, and steaks which must have come from heaven, we also discussed the uphill battle newspapers have in order to appeal to a technology savvy generation. The positivity that emerged from this conversation lifted our spirits, and I think a lot of that generated from the outlook that we as Americans can do anything we put our minds to-- a theme which has resonated through the election season and especially this past week.

Our experience at Inauguration was fantastic as we were able to see the world come together to support one man and one nation. When I tumbled out of my wooden bunk bed at four in the morning, I was alarmed that my friends in Spokane were still awake and text-messaging me ‘good night’ whilst I responded ‘good morning’. The day’s game plan looked something like this: wake up, have breakfast with Congressman Mike Thompson at 8, leisurely stroll into our ticketed area by the reflecting pool, watch the inauguration and then stroll to the Anheuser Busch/Honeywell parade watching party where we would be the ‘belles of the ball’. However, in reality, our day went something like this:
4 a.m.—Wake up, shower, dress.
6:30 a.m.—Walk to Starbucks, pick up coffee and breakfast and begin trek to Capitol.
7:00 a.m.—Begin to see swarms of people lining up around the city blocks just to enter the Metro system. Immediately understand that the route our tickets advised us to take via Metro was no longer a good idea. Walk with the masses.
7:15 a.m.-Abruptly stopped in a horde of angry people chanting, “Open the gates! Open the gates!” Stupidly wait with these people after being told ticket holders must go through these gates as well.
8:00 a.m.—Became fed up and after talking to an ABC correspondent, we took his advice and attempted another route.
8:30 a.m. -- Stupidly paid 30 dollars for a very short bike ride to a tunnel.
9:300 a.m. - Emerged from a tunnel and found the “Silver ticket” grouping.
10:00 a.m. - Finally went to the security line for our ticket section. Patted down by security guards.
10:05 a.m.—Took pictures in front of Capitol, called family members, looked at Capitol. Realized that because jumbo-trons aren’t pretty, they weren’t placed in ticket holding areas, making any view of Obama and friends look like ants.
10:15a.m. - Began trek to the Anheuser Busch/Honeywell party.
11:00 a.m.—After being pummeled by angry ticket holders not able to get into Inauguration, walking back through the tunnel, and briefly loosing each other in a crowd, we arrived at the party and collapsed in the lobby.
11:05 a.m.—Sat down in the plush 5th floor overlooking the Capitol and parade route, stuffed our faces with catered food and beverages.
4:00 p.m.—After chatting with numerous people in powerful positions, eating our fill of good food, and viewing Inauguration activities, we were saddened to leave and have to walk home.
4:15 p.m.—Feet went numb/ lost feeling, knees were buckling, hailed a cab home.
5:00 p.m.—Went to bed, passed out. Awoke a few hours later, ordered a pizza, and we collapsed once more. Feeling in feet still missing.

Our experience on Inauguration was completely unexpected and although things went haywire, we made the best of it. We met and chatted with so many people, sang happy birthday to three different complete strangers (yes, it was legitimate), met families from Zimbabwe, Peru, Puerto Rico, England, and numerous states, political figures, and lobbyists. However, the same theme remained: No matter what happened to each person that day that could have turned a beautiful moment into a disappointing one, each individual understood that the underlying theme of this occasion was unity as a country. No matter where we went, people of all races, religions, viewpoints, social and marital status, and age were all there for one reason: to support this great country and what it stands for.

I heard from multiple sources that the best way to succeed in this industry is to know something beyond journalism. When meeting with Dave Thomas of Nielsen Company, Ketchum Public Relations, Flemming Meeks of Barrons, Michael Botein of New York Law School, Associated Press, and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, it was made very clear that writing skills are a must in the media business, yet there are numerous other qualities which are attractive to employers. When asked about their hiring processes, all organizations defended their stance that connections, personality, and drive are the most essential components of a desirable employee.

As a Communications major and Business Management minor at a liberal arts university, I
believe that I have been afforded the rounded education which employers are seeking. The impact of this trip on me has been that contacts are necessary to advance your career, you can not close a door on any opportunity, and you must find a mentor in order to succeed.

I learned that the definition of a journalist has changed, and will be evolving as long as technology advances. However, true journalists have standards and bloggers don’t follow these codes. Ethically, the standards have and always will be the same: to deliver fair, accurate, credible, and accountable. Bloggers tailor their work for this audience whereas journalists write to tell a purposeful story.

Journalists are not threatened, yet newspapers are. Journalists must work to expand their skill sets and take new approaches to writing stories. Newspapers must not root themselves in tradition but if to stay afloat, must be a step ahead of the reader and a step ahead of technology.

To wrap things up, I am inspired by the students on this trip who feel that journalism is their duty to society, and am also inspired by the students who believe other forms of in the communication field are their calling. All the professionals we met with agree that if you are not happy in your job, it is not for you and that in order to succeed you must want to go to work every morning, regardless what criticism you receive from others or the obstacles in your way. This trip not only influenced the way I read newspapers, blogs, and magazines but also influenced the way I will think about my job search in the coming months. In fact, I may even start a blog.

-Nikki W.

The Job of a Journalist

“I don’t have to read the New York Times to be affected by what the New York Times is saying,” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Director Janine Jackson said. Media influences us whether we are aware of it or not.

The past month has brought deeper knowledge about the strength of journalism in American culture and an understanding that journalism, through any media can, and will affect society.

Not only did the twelve of us hear that message preached over and over again, but learned it through interactions with individuals in both New York City and Washington D.C.

The contemporary media influence dialogue and promote change in the American society through a variety of media: in print publications, radio, television, Internet, and by word-of-mouth. Information surrounds us to a degree in which the “consumer” isn’t a consumer anymore, but rather, a participant. In my observation, we are incapable of ducking from strangers, ignoring the talk on the streets, or hiding from newspaper stands. But that’s a good thing. The inevitability of the media’s impact on whom we are and how we choose to live gives validity to the journalism profession, and as a result, journalists become the individuals responsible to provide and disseminate that information accordingly. It’s a big job.
The way I have begun to see it, journalism affects the American society in a variety of ways. The following categories provide organization for recommendations and insight from New York City and Washington D.C. media professionals regarding recent trends in the field and steadfast, traditional journalism. It is my goal in the following pages to define and describe the long-established and emerging job and value of journalism.

Much of journalism is contingent upon on the audience you are attempting to reach, so while some publications and media outlets fall into all of the following categories, some may only apply to one or two. The way The Onion approaches a story about Genocide in Darfur is vastly different from the way Wide Angle, an international documentary program on Channel 13, a PBS affiliate, would tell the story. Similarly, Columbia Journalism Review has a far different business agenda than an advertising agency like Saatchi & Saatchi.

Provide Content and Information

If the three-person team at The Smoking Gun made one thing clear, it was that providing the reader with information and proof therein, and doing so quickly, was the single most valuable service they could offer.
“People may be interested to see documents they can’t get their hands on” editor William Bastone said.

Their collection of public documents is impressive, but their method of obtaining such material, simply amazing. Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) the news source gathers and arranges government and law enforcement documents, distributing information and making it available on the Web, instantaneously.

Fleming Meeks, a daily stock alert analyst for Barron’s Magazine has a different job description with a similar purpose.

“We must get good information out there that other people are not saying, and be right, because better information is better for everyone,” Meeks said. “We are giving information to people who have financial power.”

The provision of documents, sources, and information in general is what makes journalism, journalism. Lucy Dalglish, executive director for the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press argued that journalists provide an invaluable role in providing the information they have, to the public. She went on to say that journalism is a 6-part job starting with the collection of information, talking to people, digesting that information, synthesizing, providing editorial content, and disseminating the information where it will be most valuable to society.

“The only way we’re going to survive is to produce a quality product,” Associated Press director of career development in news, Robert Naylor said. If it wasn’t clear before entering the newsroom, it was more evident upon leaving, that the Associated Press seeks to provide readers with up-to-date information from across the globe that is both relevant and interesting.
Professionals at Channel 13 agreed. With the massive amount of information available, reporters and journalists need to be investigative, find the truth, and report it well.

Find an Audience and Sell Your Story

Without an audience, journalism couldn’t be called journalism. It may as well be locked away on a dusty shelf, similar to a diary, full of the scribbles from a 12-year old girl. But because there’s an audience, there’s an agenda, and with that agenda, follows maintaining that audience.

Barron’s Meeks is editor to the online newsletter launched last April, but already, the audience remains his first focus.
“My audience is businessmen and women in cubicles on Wall Street and in the financial world,” Meeks said. He added, “My office is either sitting in an office or in a cubicle. Either retired with money or young and currently with a big income.”
Meek’s advice and statistical analysis affects those who make decisions that affect others.

“Every page of the magazine has to sell the story,” Meeks said. Other journalists may define their role differently, but with the same goal in mind.

“Our goal is not to create profit for the owners, but content for society,” Associated Press managing editor Michael Oreskes said.

Newsrooms across the nation are competing for the attention of the American people, and as people multi-task, it makes it even more of an obstacle for media outlets to get their message across.

Without a defined audience, a targeted people with whom to share the information discovered, writing, broadcasting, podcasting, etc. is in vain. President and CEO of PBS, Paula Kerger, understands the significance of finding an audience and taking the necessary steps to keep it.

“Our shareholders are on Main Street, not Wall Street,” Kerger said. The mission of PBS is to create interactive, appealing, accessible television for people of all ages that is based on the idea of educating the American society. The Corporation is continuously generating ideas to strengthen and expand their audience by providing elements like a national satellite, closed caption service, high definition television, and giving consumers varied viewing choices and options.

Advice from Columbia Journalism Review’s Mike Hoyt is this: acknowledge that the audience knows a lot. Hoyt addressed the fact that society can learn about news from anywhere, but it’s the job of a journalist to express that information in a clear, understandable fashion, creating a desire for news across the board. He also expressed the significance of citizen journalism and encouraged students to use the tools we have efficiently in order to reach the audience to whom we desire to communicate.

The big challenge for journalists today is to figure out what audiences want and how to attract them. It’s to create a marketable product, and market it. In the midst of a receding economic climate this becomes not only the goal, but also the necessity in order for companies and organizations to “stay alive.”

Build a Connection

It’s all about the people and the stories yet untold. A Newseum film was dedicated to the point that personalities drive the news and that it’s only after society chooses to connect with the people, that they will truly takeaway something or be affected in some way by the news.

“It may be surprising, but most of the time it’s not about numbers but about people,” Meeks said. As astonished as I was to hear those words from the lips of an online stock analyst, and someone who seemingly has little contact with other people throughout his day, he has a point. Reading and analyzing one thing or the other may be informational to a certain degree, but it’s the people and their stories that help to maintain interest after the numbers are presented.

Channel 13’s John DeNatale expressed that the goal of the station was to, “…build a connection for people to the place in which they live.” And as a result, programs like Frontline and Wide Angle have been established and produced. He added that the role of Channel 13 was not only to bring the viewer information, but also to demonstrate why something should be important to them and why it matters in the community.

“The reporting is driven by the takeaway,” DeNatale finished.
MaryAnn Donahue of Channel 13 reiterated the point that the more the original journalism format is maintained, the more Channel 13 and PBS are able to be a unique news source. Personal stories exhibit why the publication or program is pertinent to New Yorkers.

NBC sportscaster Bob Costas expressed it this way in a Newseum film about baseball: “Really, its just three pillows out on a field-it’s meaningless unless we care, and we care because of the people and their stories.”

Create an Experience

A Columbia Journalism Review article about the history and future of sports reporting communicates the capability of multimedia and the new age of journalism to provide readers, listeners, and viewers with an “experience,” unparalleled by traditional journalism. It is the change to new media that seeks to give the audience the experience they want, using all facets of journalism and appealing to more senses than previously used to communicate a message and share an event.

This idea was made particularly obvious at the Knicks basketball game at Madison Square Garden. After the first half another student and I moved down to get closer to the action. But the “action” we thought we’d witness by being closer courtside was different than what I had expected. We watched reporters, journalists, and photographers working together to create a journalism package and that was going online right before our eyes. Viewers on the Web had access to game updates, scores, injury reports, photographs, and live video feed, immediately.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photo-journalist Eddie Adams said that “If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips our your heart, that’s a good picture.” Along with finding an audience and building the necessary connection with the audience you seek to reach, comes evoking emotion through the story you’ve told and ideas expressed.

Assistant managing editor for news video for the Washington Post online, Chet Rhodes, said that it’s not necessarily about telling a linear story, but instead, making news interactive. It’s generally the news that draws them to the Washington Post online, but progressively throughout the last decades, visitors to the site seek ways to interact with news, and ways to change and define their own news-getting experience.

Entertain and Engage

While all of mass media is focused on the entertaining and engaging of the society, perhaps it is The Onion that best exhibited a business model for entertaining journalism.

“We don’t have an agenda, it’s just when something stupid happens, we make fun of it. We’re not scared of breaking a rule if it makes the joke stronger,” Onion editor Joe Randazzo said. He added, “We’re never told what we can and can’t do.” The publication, which started in 1988 and was originally popular among college students who picked it up for the pizza coupons, is now a novelty—written comedy in prose form.

“The appetite for news and information will always be there. If anything, it’s growing. We are looking to discover delivery platforms that allow you and me to choose what we want to see while also trying to cover all the bases,” Associated Press’s Naylor said. It’s exactly these delivery platforms that will create the response needed on behalf of the readers.

Washington Post’s Rhodes said that “Figuring out how to drive people through a package in a way that doesn’t frustrate them…” is one of the industries most pressing, current challenges. Not only is the media looking to create easily navigable packages, but cover the bases that will engage a wide variety of Americans.

“It’s not a matter of just covering the easy, low-hanging fruit but reaching beyond those ideas to generate more engaging, dramatic, and effective story ideas,” said Channel 13’s DeNatale.

Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising specialize in elevating and evolving brands that bring recognition and connect people emotionally. The company uses humor, emotion, and provides philanthropic reasons for purchasing from the brands they represent and create material for.

Engaging media will of course, be defined differently by the individual, but just as finding an audience becomes the job of a journalist, so does evaluating that audience enough to know what news will draw them to your publication and program. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren is just one of these American’s that knows the news he wants to read and where to go to get it.

“I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people’s accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man’s failures,” Warren said.

Promote Discussion, Gain Trust, and Find the Truth

While entertainment is vital to draw readers, listeners, and viewers into the publication or program, it’s not until proven as a trusted news source, that many who seek to find the truth will do so through that medium. If unable to do so, many will abandon the media outlet until they are able to provide content that is both factual and engaging.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s Jackson spends most of her day looking for the fallacies in news and reporting such information to the public as to promote discussion about controversial issues and provide society with the truth that Americans deserve. FAIR views itself as a public education group that focuses on news media in particular and monitors mainstream deficiencies in reporting from such sources. Jackson spoke about the big news organizations and how much of what she does is simply holding them accountable since more often than not America goes to those outlets for their news.
Meeks, who spends the majority of his day analyzing stocks and delivering information to Wall Street brokers, says that across the board of journalism, you must have accountability.

“If you’re going to tell people to invest, to have credibility, you have to have accountability,” Meeks said. He finished that the goal was being right most of the time, and giving useful, actual information.

“We aren’t interested in making it glitzy or sensational, and as a result, the show stands out.” Channel 13 has devised a plan to locate and define its audience, and as a result, gain the trust of those who turn to the PSB affiliate for their news. They produce sometimes-controversial pieces but always seek to know the truth and educate society.

According to Washington Post online’s Rhodes, the job of a journalist is to help filter news and provide information that will help people live their lives. A journalist may be citizen or professional, but in all cases, follows and ethical code of conduct and seeks to tell the truth.

“In the end, the audience decides who the journalists are,” Rhodes said.

Employ Business Model and Implement a Marketing Plan

“You screw up the business and you screw up the journalism,” managing editor for United States news Michael Oreskes said. While the media professionals that we spoke with over the past three weeks had a wealth of knowledge about journalism, their confidence in the growing necessity for a successful business plan was even more impressive.

“We’ve been tinkering with our business model to figure out how to respond to what people want to hear and provide readers with what they want to hear and provide them with a news package that satisfies that interest,” AP’s Naylor said. Between Oreskes and Naylor, the Associated Press acknowledges the need for a business and marketing model, and the sooner the better.

Columbia Journalism Review’s Mike Hoyt understands that the goal of media and journalism specifically is to get the news where people want it, and recognizes that the Internet is largely the commander in chief of the change. He offered advice to promote yourself and manage your brand, and new media is the fastest –growing, most effective way to do that.
PBS’s Kerger has a different idea about a business plan than most other media outlets because of the station’s non-profit title, but maintains the idea that a business model would be a welcomed aid.

“At the end of the day, we’re not trying to sell eyeballs,” Kerger said.

The role of PBS is one of service to the American people, and while Kerger and her colleagues at PBS stand by the idea that it’s service over selling that drives the station forward, without a business model and marketing plan in place, the provision of free, public television will be abandoned.

The goal in reporting is to do the piece and then stop to think, with the information that was just put on the table, what the next question the viewer will look to have answered. Start on plan A, but plan B needs to be in place long before you need to employ it.

Be Open to Change

“Change has always been a part of journalism,” Sree Sreenivasan, professor of professional practice and new media expert at Columbia University said.

“You become what you eat and what you read.” Political and civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson said during a January 11, 2009 address to the Harlem church congregation at the Apollo Theatre in New York.

Jackson delivered a political sermon, asking church members and visitors to think of themselves as links in a long chain, and accompanied that advice with the following: have a strong mind, courage, see others as they are, and take pride in your religion-who you are and what you think. His points were engaging, but his message even stronger: change is right around the corner.

The state of the media is such that Americans have a recent privilege to pick-and-choose the news they want to hear, and with the changing chemistry between how people get their news, journalism is evolving into a different type of storytelling (Tom Rosenstiel, director for Project for Excellence in Journalism).

A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art brought some of what New York media professionals had been saying into perspective. In the same way media is changing to suit the needs and wants of the American people, so was art and language designed centuries ago. Journalists may write and broadcast to influence or to describe, but the reader or listener has the power and control to define the message through a lens of their own. Interpretation of each message is vital to the understanding of the individual.

For the sake of brevity, I will compile the strongest, most effective advice and observances received from media professionals in New York City and Washington D.C. regarding the change to new media and the persistence of traditional journalism.

• Experiment. Make information accessible and interactive. (PBS)
• “I love all my children,” Hoyt referring to print vs. online journalism
• Online is the direction things are going but believe in the partnership between the two. (Mike Hoyt, CJR)
• Print provides a chance to go deeper into the stories but online, writers and editors and finding this incredible, unleaded creativity that is shaping the future of the journalism profession (Hoyt).
• “You are assembling your own diet of news. And that adds responsibility,” (Rosenstiel, Project for Excellence in Journalism)
• Just as television didn’t replace radio, Internet will not replace newspapers, it’s just a different experience (Kerger, PBS).
• The challenge facing traditional news sources is not an audience problem, but a revenue problem.
• Online is making for richer journalism because of the vast amount of elements that can be involved to tell the story.
• Excessive time spent on Twitter or blogging can detract from the event the journalist is covering—and avert their attention.
Be careful to use the power tools in the right way.
Project for Excellence in Journalism’s Rosenstiel had a wealth of knowledge regarding the history and future of journalism. Decades ago, Walter Cronkite acted as what Rosenstiel called the “god-like narrator”-telling America exactly what needed to be heard (at least, according to one news source) but through technology and creativity, individuals are not just passive consumers, but proactive hunter-gatherers of news. Americans have a new ability to consume news from a variety of sources, and do so “on-demand.” Before, society read or listened to the news for complete content and information, but with the rise of the Internet, technology, and independent news writing and gathering, many choose to skim, looking for what information may be pertinent only to their situation.

“It’s more like research than having the news wash over you,” Rosenstiel said. Promos, teasing, foreshadowing, etc. have become essentially irrelevant in news because we will find what we want to regardless of what’s presented. He added, “We are becoming our own editors.” Growing amounts of Americans are assembling their own diet of news, and with that comes the responsibility to digest healthy information.

“The only change we can predict with absolute uncertainty is change. The past wasn’t all a waste. Some things need to be preserved,” Associated Press’s Oreskes finished.

-Danika Heatherly

Relection Paper on Media Impact

Reflection Paper

After returning from New York and Washington DC I have learned a lot about where the future of the media is headed. This trip has also helped me to realize where I am headed in my career. This trip was such a great experience. I have learned so much, met some great people, and lived in two of the most exciting cities in the world. All of the meetings we have attended have really helped me to realize what direction I should go down on my career path.

Our first meeting with Fairness and Accuracy in Media opened my eyes to the very liberal side of the media. FAIR taught me how they do their best to make all of their stories accurate and with the correct information. Our second meeting was with the Smoking gun which is investigative journalism. That was a real eye opener to see how hard it is to work with such an extremely small staff. There were only 3 men who ran that website. It seemed like so much work and very time consuming. Even during our meeting each of them continued to work while they talked with us at the same time. The Smoking Gun taught me a lot about how difficult investigative reporting can be because you have to base most of your information off of real exact documents. I also learned from the Smoking Gun that it is a lot of work to run even a small business.

Our next meeting was at the Onion, which is a satire paper. The Onion was definitely my favorite paper that we visited. From the moment we walked into that office I could feel that the atmosphere was warm and welcoming and it was. We were greeted by the editor who was a fairly young man. He showed us around and introduced us to some of the other journalist and then took us into a conference room where we talked about the paper. The entire office was filled with fairly young people. Some of the more outgoing journalist came and sat in on the meeting and talked with us as well. The Onion has a non conventional way of bringing the news to America. Their main goal is to be funny but also they want to draw attention to news that is happening around the world. I think that this is a good idea and good way to just make fun of things that are happening in the world. It is a nice break from the traditional news. I learned that they look for something that is funny first and then they make it smart which helps to draw attention to audiences.

We then met with Channel 13, which is completely different than The Onion. The Onion is all about being funny and Channel 13 is all about the news. The goal of Channel 13 is to educate everyone about the rest of the world. They just want to tell the news. I also learned from Channel 13 that it is a tough industry to be working in during this economic crisis. They have very tight budgets and must produce shows in a short amount of time. I also learned that the news industry needs to make people watch their news stations by adding more entertainment news. Ratings are showing that people want to know more about the entertainment industry. Channel 13 also discussed how they first start off a news story. They said that in order to make a story intriguing you have to start off with something that grips people’s attention and makes the listeners or watchers want to hear or watch the rest. The best advice I took away from this meeting is that we have to be a trustworthy journalist and not lie to the viewers. Once you lie to the viewers once you lose their trust, they stop watching or listening to that show or station.
Our next meeting was with Nielsen Company. Nielsen Company is the biggest marketing and media research company in the world. At Nielsen Company we learned what they do which is to basically track the performance of shows. I learned that the TiVO and DVR systems have made it more difficult for this company to see what the viewership is, but they are working around it and trying to figure out new ways to work with the DVR systems.

We then met with Ketchum Public Relations. A public relations company basically just represents clients and gives them advice on what to do. Ketchum Public Relations has three main jobs. The first is to offer communication services of all matter to their clients. The second is to relate to selective publics. The third is global profession; they represent companies that have companies from all around the world. From meeting with Ketchum Public Relations I have learned that PR companies are doing very well and growing. I have learned that in order to be in the public relation business you have to be a people person because you are constantly working with people all day long, whether it is just on the phone meetings, or meetings in person. Your job as a public relations person is to make your clients happy. I also learned that when in the Public Relations Business you can not represent two companies that are at odds with each other. I learned that Ketchum Public Relations goal is to achieve their client’s goals, and once they have done that, they have done their job.

Our next meeting was with Barron’s Magazine Online. We met with a man who was in charge of the stocks page for the online magazine. The main advice I took away from Barron’s is that every page written has to be marketing now. You have to make the reader want to come back the next day and read it again and again. The news business is about the people and you have to remember that and base many of your stories off of things people would be interested in. The main goal of Barron’s Magazine is to tell the reader what they need to know.
We then went to New York School of Law where we met with Michael Botin. We learned that Law schools focus more on economic and federal issues. We mostly discussed the digital environment here at the New York School of Law. One of the interesting remarks made by Michael is that the United States still needs to catch up with technology. We are behind other countries. I learned that in order to find out how the technological systems work we have to understand the new technology. Another interesting fact that I learned from the New York School of Law is that the copyright sticker is meaningless today. I find this very interesting because it is true. There are so many ways to get around the copyright laws now such as downloading music and movies illegally. It is interesting to hear that because it seems odd that they would not be enforcing stricter copyright laws.

We then went to meet with the Associated Press. The Associated Press was a very cool building with tons of employees. We got to learn about how the Associate Press was formed which was in 1846. Then we got to meet with some of the employees there and we discussed the current conditions of the media. The best thing about the going to the Associated Press is that we were able to attend a staff meeting. This was a great experience to witness. It gave us students a feel of what the work world is really like. During our meetings with the Associated Press we discussed how the media is changing at a rapid pace. The most interesting fact stated was that people are worried that the internet will replace the newspaper. Then Xavier Williams made a good point by saying that “the radio did not replace the newspaper.” This was a smart comment because it is true everyone is worried that the internet is going to change the media forever, but we the radio didn’t replace the newspaper and the internet has not replaced the newspaper yet. We cannot see the future so we do not know yet if the internet will change journalism, but so far it has not, so we should not be worried. Change is really hard for people, but we can always predict that change will happen. Another interesting point made at Associated Press is that the journalism world needs people who understand media and business. People need business skills to keep up with the rest of the journalism world. I also learned that journalism is all about credibility and accountability. Another man we met with at associated press was Robert Naylor who is the Director of Leadership and management. Mr. Naylor talked about how he helps managers understand that there will always be conflict, but he gives advice on how to settle that conflict. We then discussed what people are looking for in newspapers, which is one of the most difficult things about being a journalist. The lifestyles and entertainment are the fastest growing in newspapers. The best advice I took away from our meeting with the Associated Press is that the most successful journalist will be the ones that present what people want to see. The Associated Press was most helpful in terms of telling us what journalist goals should be and how they should go about in achieving these goals.

Our next meeting was with Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising. Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising were very useful to me because that is along the lines of what I want to get involved in after school. Marketing is such a major part of our world and most people do not even realize it. I really liked the Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising work environment. They seem to be a very close group of people which is good for an advertising and marketing group, because that way they can all work together and come up with ideas. One of the neat examples that Saatchi and Saatchi showed us were some of the commercials that they have made. My favorite one was the Crest toothpaste commercial. Saatchi and Saatchi were very helpful to me because it assured me that I am going down the correct career path. The one downer at Saatchi and Saatchi was that it seemed that you basically had to live there in order to work there. They had gyms and kitchens there to accommodate their employees. They even mentioned that the reason for this is because most people never leave this office because they are always working. The main advantage to having to “live” there at Saatchi and Saatchi was the amazing the view that they had of New York City. The main lesson that I learned from Saatchi and Saatchi is that advertising is such a big part of our world right now and it is a booming business, so if you’re ready to give your life to the advertising world, jump on board, because they are always looking for fresh people with new ideas.

One of the best experiences I had in New York was getting to go to Fox News Studio and meet Sean Hannity. This was such a great experience because we got to go behind the scenes and see what the production of a news show is like. We ended going to the show the same day of the plane crash in the Hudson River so we got to attend a live taping of the show. We first got there and met with Sean’s assistant who showed us to the green room where there were many guest for the show. Then she took us to the studio where we met with Mr. Hannity. He was such a nice guy and so down to earth. We talked to him a little bit about why we were here and his show, and then when his show was about to start we went to watch it in the green room with the other guests of the show. The studio itself was cool to see because it looks a lot different in real life then on television. There were cameras everywhere and it was very bright. The green room was neat as well. They had food, TV’s, and couches set up everywhere. It was cool to talk to some of the guest and hear their perspectives on what they thought of the plane crash and what not. All in all going to Fox News was a memorable experience that I will never forget.

Our next meeting was with Colombia University. We were meeting with Sreenath Sreenavasian. At this meeting I learned many new journalism terms. For example he talked about a tradigital journalist. A tradigital journalist is a journalist who is a traditional journalist, but also a journalist who knows all about the digital world. This is an interesting term because it is so true in this new world of media a journalist must understand all the new technology, but at the same time they must be able to know the traditional ways of journalism as well. While I learned that we need to have both the traditional and digital ways of media in journalism, I learned something different from the Colombia Review.

At the Colombia Review, the newspaper at Colombia University said that journalism is going completely in the digital direction. Since the web allows us to do so much it gives journalists an advantage to research and what not. We were told that online is the direction things are going. That in some point in the near future all things will be online. I did not get that from any of our previous meetings. Most of our previous meetings stated that things will be online but at the same time there will still be newspapers. Here we were told that the direction we are going is completely online.

Our next meeting was in Washington DC, where we first went to Project for Excellence and met with Tom Rosenstiel. Project for Excellence is a Pew Research Center helping to make journalism better and more accurate. At this research center they analyze news stories. One example of a news story they analyzed was the Clinton/Lewinski scandal. We also discussed how people do not watch the news at night anymore because they can get the news whenever they like because it is all online. We also discussed how the one big change in technology is a power shift. The consumer is now the journalist because we are always searching and hunting for news. We talked about how our news consumption changes every day. We can consume anything we want whenever we want and that is what is causing the internet to boom. The web has brought everybody back into breaking news.

Our next meeting was with the National Association of Broadcasters where we met with Marcellus Alexander who is head of the Television Department. The National Association of Broadcasters represents television and radio stations across the country. There we discussed the digital transition which the National Association of Broadcasters is really pushing for to happen on the upcoming date. He also mentioned how viewers want content when they want it and they will get it then. The best advice I took away from the National Association of Broadcasters is that I need to find a job that I love. I am glad that he said that because there are so many people in this world who have jobs that do not like and so they have no passion for what they do. I want to be excited to go to work and not regret the career paths I have chosen. Mr. Alexander was the only person who told us to find a job that we love. He mentioned that he loved his job and you could tell just from the way he talked about, he just seemed happy and that is how I want to feel about my job.

Our second meeting in Washington DC was with Claudia James at the Podesta Group. The Podesta Group is a lobbyist group. We talked about what a lobbyist actually does which is they try to change policies and they are the eyes and ears for their clients. On the day we were at this meeting, it was the first day that President Obama was in office. So there were a few changes made in policies. When asked how the lobbyist felt about these changes most of them seemed very positive about them.

Our next meeting was with National Public Radio. We got a full tour of the building, where we got to see all the studio rooms and their library’s full of tapes. Throughout the tour we learned that NPR produces shows in their studios. They also talked about how the digital transition allows some of their other content to be provided on to other shows. Also at National Public radio we discussed how they were trying to attract a younger audience by adding music to some of their radio shows. We also discussed how they are trying to get local and national content all together and they are hoping the digital transition will help with this.

Our next meeting was with a friend of Nikki’s. We met for a lunch meeting at a cute restaurant call Bilbo Baggins which is located in Old Town Alexandria. Nikki’s friend Dwayne Dick brought along two of his colleagues and we discussed the digital transition. We discussed how there could be a delay in this transition due to money problems, but all three of the men we met with thought that it would be best if the digital transition occurred sooner rather than later. We were also told that a call center would be set up to help people with the digital transition. It was mentioned that digital converters might not work so they are pushing people to by cable instead of the converter box. Some good general advice they gave us is to take some business and marketing classes. Marketing classes will help to market ourselves and business classes will help us to understand the business models set up through journalism.

Our third meeting that day was with the Reporters committee for Freedom with Lucy Dalglish. Lucy was a former journalist who went to law school. She works for the reporters committee for freedom which is an advocacy organization that works with legal matters. They have a 24/7 hotline you can call if you get into trouble with the law. They also have a magazine, newsletter and website. They get funding from big America news stations. She gave us some of her views on journalism as well as some good advice on how to be a good journalist. She told us that we needed to be “truthful, accurate, and timely,” when we are writing news articles. She also made some interesting comments. She said that blogging is not journalism, but in some of our meetings people told us that blogging was a part of journalism. It just depends of the person’s point of view. She also mentioned that in our near future we can predict that there will be more online journalist.

Our last and fourth meeting that day was with Frank Lomonte who works at the Student Press Law Center. They also have 24/7 hotline for students to call if they need advice in the law department. They receive about 2, 500 phone calls a year of people who are in trouble and need advice. They have specifications though on whom they can help and who they cannot help. They only help people in journalism cases.

Later on Thursday night Nikki, Hannah, and I went out to dinner with our friend Sally and her husband. Sally is the one who got us passes to get into the Inauguration watching party. We went to Capital Grill which is by the Newseum. It was very good food. The restaurant is famous here for its steaks. It was a lot of fun talking with Sally and her husband, they are great people. We talked about the inauguration and how it was for them. They had very good seats and in fact such good seats that they were sitting right next to Leonardo DiCaprio! They also sat by numerous other celebrities. Although they had great seats they also had trouble getting to their gate as well as most of the people attending the inauguration did. We all had such a good time and great food. Sally also gave us some good advice on how to approach the job world and even gave us a couple of names of people to call and ask questions about their jobs. The dinner was a great end to a very long Thursday.

On Friday we had our last three days meetings in DC. We first met with The Express which is a newspaper that one of Jim’s former Whitworth Students works at. It is neat to see a Whitworth grad at work. Aimee first showed us around her work area. There were piles and piles of papers everywhere and she mentioned that is what a typical journalist desk looks like. Then she talked a little about her transition from Washington State to Washington DC. It was a nice to change to hear about because we will all be facing a big move soon, so to hear a story from a recent grad was nice.

Then we met with The Washington Post Online. We met up with Chet Rhodes there at the Post. They are a for profit corporation, meaning they want to make money off of their papers and websites. Their online website is very modern with advanced technology. On the website they have in setup so people can read the most viewed articles which are bold and some have pictures, so that the reader can easily find them. He mentioned that when building things on the web you must think of the user. He also said that short stories actually help out the paper because readers will actually read the whole thing versus long ones. The main advice Chet told us was that the audiences decides who the journalist is.

For our last meeting we met with the CEO of PBS. The CEO of PBS happens to be a woman named Paula Kerger. It was neat to see a woman so high up in the corporation. It just shows how far women have come today. PBS is marketed more towards children because they have so many children television shows. They also have a website that is geared more to older teens and adults. The website is pbs.org which is one of the top broadcaster’s website. PBS had some good ideas on how to get more people to watch their television shows and go to their online website. They have videos and games on their website that attracts more people. PBS is also heavily involved in the digital transition and agrees that is would be best to move forward with it. One of the main points Paula made is that advertising is a big part of their business. Advertising is still how they support there corporation. An interesting way they advertise is by adding polls to their websites. One example of one of the polls they did was a Sarah Palin poll which asked “is Sarah Palin qualified to be Vice President.” This poll gave their website a lot of hits. All in all PBS was a great place to visit because it set a good example for women to strive for greatness because we are just as capable as men to run a business.

I have learned a lot from these meetings. Almost all of the places we visited said it was a tough time for a journalist because of the state of the economy. What I took away from all these meetings in terms of my career in the future is that advertising in key. All of the places we met with stated that advertising is what brings in the money and keeps the business going. Also a few of the places we went to mentioned that we should have some classes in marketing and in business. This assured me that I am going down the right career path because I’m double majoring in business management and marketing. I am glad that most of the media people told us that marketing and advertising is a huge part of their business because I think that marketing is overlooked a lot. If you really think about you will see that marketing and advertising is everywhere it surrounds our daily lives. It is all over the internet and it is on commercials for radio and television shows. Even when you are going to apply for a job you have to market yourself so that the employer will pick you. Another example of daily advertising is the clothes that people choose to wear. For example if a person is a wearing a shirt that say “Abercrombie,” that is advertising. That person is helping to bring attention to the clothing store Abercrombie and Fitch. Marketing and advertising is what draws the viewers in to that particular program or paper. I am glad that I chose marketing and business for my major because it is something I love learning about and after going on this trip it has assured me that this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.

This has been a fun, but very busy trip. I’m a little sad to leave the east coast because I really like it here, minus the freezing cold weather. Looking back on all the meetings we have had I have learned a lot about the media and how it is rapidly changing. This trip started in New York, a city that seems to never sleep. I thought New York was fun and exciting, but I could never live there. My favorite place we visited was probably the Onion. They were so funny and very memorable. I like the atmosphere that surrounded the people and the office. I also really enjoyed meeting Sean Hannity. He was a nice guy and so down to earth. It was cool going to see the production and behind the scenes of a news show. An interesting vibe I picked up in New York City is that many of the media people we met with there had a negative perspective on the way the media is right now. They seemed to think that journalism was in a bad place at the moment. All in all though, New York City was a lot of fun and I am so glad I got the chance to go there and meet some great people. Washington DC has been fun too. The most memorable part of the DC trip was of course the Inauguration. It was great to see all these people come together for this one historic event. My favorite meeting in DC was the National Association of Broadcasters. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the digital transition and why they are pushing for it to happen. DC is such a cool city filled with our country’s history. I think that I like DC more than New York because it is cleaner and the people seem to be nicer. I could see myself living in Washington DC more than in New York City. An interesting vibe I picked up in DC is that they all seemed to have a positive outlook on the media; they all seemed to think that it was doing fine versus New York who seemed to think it was struggling a lot. It was funny to see that the two cities had very different perspectives on the media. I have really enjoyed this trip and recommend it to all communications and marketing majors. It is a great experience and an eye opener to what the job world really looks like.

-Stephanie D.

As promised....

These pictures are a bit delayed, but they are here at last.
The first picture is of Hannah, Stephanie and I (Nikki) with Sean Hannity after his show.
The second picture is of us at the Lincoln Memorial.

Trip in Review

I would say that overall after being on this trip it was the greatest experience I have ever been on and I would tell anyone that study abroad is a must before you graduate college. The first thing that caught my eye about this trip was that I had never been to New York of Washington DC, so to experience those places with my fellow classmates was that much cooler. I had a lot of great times in both cities and wouldn’t have changed anything at all.

Best experiences in New York
· Going to a Broadway play called the Jersey Boys. I have never really liked plays before but everyone says you must go to one play in New York and for it was a really good decision and it was funny too. I also loved hanging out with my mom and she was lucky enough to be able to go to New York at the same time I was down there even though she didn’t have to.
· Going to all of the great food places that we went to even though I dropped some serious coin on this trip I wouldn’t have changed anything. I would say that the next time I go to New York I will make sure it is with my parents so I don’t have to pay anything. I think my favorite place that I ate at in New York had to have been ESPN Zone because I am a big sports fan and they had over 50 plasma screen TVs playing tons of sports. I also had the best rack of ribs there but they ended up costing me $25, o well that’s the cost of good food.
· Last but not least I loved visiting all of the important buildings and places in New York such as the Empire State Building. For me I have always been fascinated by the 9/11 attacks and why someone would ever do that so to see ground zero and what they have accomplished from that attack and how we came together as a society to help one another out was very special.

Best experiences in Washington D.C.
· I would say number one for me was defiantly going to see all of the important monuments in the mall area. My favorite was probably the Lincoln Memorial because Yong, Jordan, Maddie and I headed down there when it was getting dark and by the time were there the entire place was lit up which I think made it that much better. From the Lincoln you could see all the way to the Capitol which was pretty amazing.
· I would say we had the best food in DC and it felt like it was a little less expensive but still not cheap. For me the best place we ate at was probably the Old Ebbitt's Grill right next to the White House. I had the best bacon burger ever so that was really fun but I don’t think the waiter liked me very much and I have no idea why.
· I would say that I experienced some great museums while in DC as well. My favorite one was probably the Holocaust Museum because I had never really thought of the Holocaust before and to see the troubles that the Jewish people had to go through and to hear of some of the survivors stories was truly remarkable. It was also cool to get to go to the Archives Museum and see how this country was founded. We even got to see The Declaration of Independence and well as The Bill of Rights so that was pretty cool too.

Overall it was an awesome experience and I would totally do it again.

Patrick Kenney

After all: A three-week trip through the changing world of media

Many call this modern era in which we live the “Age of Information,” and for good reason. In centuries past, societies have assigned value to a range of commodities and treasures. Imperial England valued tea and opium. Nineteenth-century Americans valued gold or other precious medals. Ancient Rome valued land. These values, in each case, helped to define the time period and the culture. Thus, the term “Information Age” is an appropriate designation our own American society—for what, these days, is more desired and consumed than information itself?

Like the valued goods in these past civilizations and eras, we must now also have processes by which we assure the integrity of our most prized merchandise. In England, they had to know the origin of the tea and opium to assure its veracity. American gold traders tested the weight, color and shine of purportedly golden nuggets before purchasing them from hopeful profiteers. Romans would seek land already thriving with agriculture and business to guarantee themselves an advantageous acquisition. All societies have mechanisms for assuring the value of their most important possessions. Today, however, Americans face mounting difficulties in acquiring truthful, worthwhile information with the advent of the Internet as a news source and the importance of citizen journalism to our modern news cycle.

I began my journalism major at Whitworth University enamored by the practice of telling a story through words. In the last few years of studying journalism, holding key positions at The Whitworthian and interning at professional publications, I have learned the ethical standards and technical norms of journalism that, to me, turn writing stories into a profession with tremendous meaning and weight in American society. But as I have watched the development of citizen journalism—which I will define as reporting by non-traditional journalists through alternative means, mainly made possible by the expansion of the Internet—I have grown increasingly wary of journalism. Reading online sources from which many members of the public glean their news or other information, I began to question the virtue of a degree in the field of journalism. To me, it began to seem like a degree in mowing lawns; the yard of a professional lawn-mower is very possibly just as well-mown as the yard of the person next door with no professional or academic experience in lawn mowing. With an Internet connection, everyone and anyone can “do journalism”—it is quite plausible that a mechanic’s blog is every bit as credible and accurate as The Washington Post’s homepage.

So the question in my mind when we departed to New York City earlier this month was this: Is there still a need for professional journalists in a society in which any citizen can post news and disseminate information? In other words, do we really need journalists? Does society need me?

When we left, I believed that journalism was becoming a game for amateurs. I believed that competition between the bloggers and YouTubers on one side and professionally trained journalists on the other would only whittle everyone down to the lowest common denominator, leaving consumers to collect their news from an assortment of questionable and undisciplined news sources.

Now that we have returned, I feel quite the opposite.

This reflection essay will detail how the visit to New York City and Washington changed the way I view news outlets and the mass media. I left skeptical and have returned awed. I tried, from our meetings and other experiences, to always ask how we may define the term “journalist” and how that definition will determine how we consume information from journalists. Not only was I surprised to find that professionalism is still a priority in modern journalism, but I gained an appreciation for the value of citizen journalism through a small civic reporting project of my own.

It seems now that the profession of journalism is very much alive and will be for some time. But it appears that adaptation to a new consumer climate will be crucially important.

The business model

I heard it first from Michael Oreskes, managing editor for U.S. news at the Associated Press. (Oreskes has an impressive background in traditional mass media, including a long tenure with The New York Times.) In response to a question of whether people would lose interest in traditional news sources in the near future, Oreskes pointed out that it wasn’t the demand for news that was diminishing—in fact, he said, the ultimate demand for news has always been extremely high. Columbia University media expert Sree Sreenivasan echoed Oreskes’ comments by comparing journalism to the record industry. Just as the record industry is slowly dying while the demand for music continues to skyrocket, so the traditional media industry is starving while the demand for news reaches unprecedented heights.

Public relations professionals confirm Oreskes’ and Sreenivasan’s statements. Sarah Yeaney, representative for Ketchum Public Relations, said the idea that traditional media are being deemphasized as news sources is a myth. In fact, she said, traditional media still represent the greatest delivery of audience for public relations purposes—more, at least, than the digitized and fractionalized media on the Internet.

It is clear, then, that demand for news remains high from traditional sources. So what’s changing?

The answer, according to all three sources above: The business model.

Traditionally, news outlets sell space in their pages to advertisers, who then will see a spike in revenues as a large number of people read about a particular business in what they believe to be a credible publication. But as more and more news moves to the Internet for free consumption, commercial outlets are seeing less incentive to post advertisements in the pages of a print publication. Simply moving the advertisements online, however, is not very effective, said Tom Rosenstiel, director of Project for Excellence in Journalism. Online ads are easily ignored and deliver less of a revenue increase to businesses. So businesses may look to other ways of advertising, and media outlets lose their source of income as a result.

The business model question is a particularly interesting one because no one really has a coherent answer. Every news outlet I visited told me, in so many words, the same thing: They haven’t figured out a way to make money off their Internet publication yet. Everyone is trying to “monetize the Internet” (to use Washington Post Online editor Chet Rhodes’ phrase), but so far, paid content—and especially paid news content—lacks popularity among the public. So for now, publications will continue to provide free online news from which they make little return. In Oreskes’ words, “If I had an answer to that [business model] question, I wouldn’t be in this position anymore.”

Clearly, the practice of reporting news will never disappear as long as there is a demand for it, and the demand thereof remains high. The Internet, however, is a great equalizer in that perfect strangers can provide content in much the same way as can, say, the New York Times—free of charge and easily accessible. Here, I arrive at the heart of my problem with the shifting world of journalism. Professional and citizen journalists operate from the same plane and have the potential to grab the same audience. Who, then, is a journalist? How does the audience know who to believe?

The journalist

I will examine the definition of “journalist” first. The topic came up in several of the meetings I attended, and as I might have expected, the media representatives gave a range of answers to the question of what type of person actually constitutes a journalist. Several of the definitions valued traditional journalistic roles and discounted the conventional blogger, or a writer that simply contributes to discourse about a particular news item. The following is a list of definitions different media professionals gave:

Bill Bastone, editor of The Smoking Gun: Journalists are those who do original, credible reporting through any medium (as he does on his news-breaking Web site owned by Time-Warner).

Charlotte Mangin, coordinating producer for PBS program Wide Angle: Journalists introduce multiple viewpoints in order to maintain maximum objectivity, as opposed to many bloggers who simply interpret and analyze from a single perspective.

Michael Botein, professor of law at New York Law School: Journalists are those who, legally, can represent the credibility of mainstream media outlets in a court of law (this definition typically excludes bloggers, Botein said).

Rosenstiel: Journalists are those who are accepted by professional organizations or societies, such as the Society of Professional Journalists. These organizations usually exclude bloggers and one-person news operations.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director for Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Journalists are those who identify themselves as such to sources, assemble and process information and disseminate that information to a wide audience. Bloggers who simply editorialize upon real news do not count.

These media representatives all seem to have a certain definition of “journalist” in mind. One common thread can be drawn out of these separate definitions: A journalist, in order to be considered as such, must engage in independent fact-finding and original reporting. Beyond this central descriptive statement, the title of “journalist” can be applied rather loosely. None of the above sources specify a particular medium by which a journalist must practice his or her trade, an indication of the multimedia era in which we live. Interestingly, only two of the five sources attempt to connect the term “journalist” with a greater, standardized organization, suggesting a growing acceptance of independent news gatherers and citizen journalists. As a profession, it seems, journalism has adopted (or is adopting) a broad-minded definition that encompasses several media and non-mainstream news sources.

Or perhaps, as Rhodes suggests, a journalist really isn’t a professional at all. Rhodes noted that a journalist “can be anybody,” because without a formal licensing system, it is difficult to say who a journalist is or should be. Personally, he believed that anybody willing to follow the ethical standards of journalism could be a legitimate journalist, but then Rhodes made a particularly poignant point.

“In the end, the audience decides who a journalist is,” he said.

To those who have studied and practiced journalism as I have, that is a frightening thought.

Still, Rhodes may be right. In this changing world of reporting and information-gathering, a world in which most information is available at the consumer’s command, it may be the audience who controls the definition of “journalist” by flocking to media outlets they deem to be acceptable.

Overall, the definition given for journalism and its practitioners is important for the sake of credibility. As Rhodes says, journalists are simply those to whom the audience goes for credible information. The next logical inquiry, then, is into the audience’s behaviors and preferences. I thought at first that readers were flocking to blogs and other questionable outlets for information—a belief central to my overall disappointment in journalism. After this trip, however, I have come to realize that consumers are pleasantly smarter than I gave them credit for. In fact, consumers themselves may be upholding the standards of journalism in the new media age.

The audience

As I sat in our meetings and watched the people of New York City and Washington consume news, I realized that the readers, indeed, have developed a discerning eye and a critical mind for media. Newspaper trays line the street corners of New York, but it is almost always the New York Times’ tray that is empty by noon while the other newspapers sit abandoned. People in the Washington Metro read The Washington Post or its affiliates instead of alternative newspapers or news magazines. Janine Jackson, program director for media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, said her publication’s efforts to create a more critical audience had been showing signs of success. Readers and consumers are becoming more skeptical and questioning, she said, which indicates a high level of critical awareness and knowledge of media ownership.

Sources at Channel Thirteen in New York agreed. John DeNatale, executive producer and director of local programming, said the station is confident in the consumers’ ability to discern good information from bad, and that the biggest challenge in the modern era of journalism is proving to the consumer that one’s information is correct. At Channel Thirteen, he said, there is a high standard of journalism that its audience recognizes and appreciates. Producer Mary Ann Donahue said the station is “relying on the good sense of the consumer” to continue to remain marketable to readers and viewers.

The Washington Post’s online publication holds a similar connection with its discerning consumers. Rhodes said the Post has been successful in the past because of its standards of accuracy and honesty with the audience to which it gives news. He was quick to add that the moment that standard is breached, the Post’s readers will punish it by switching to other publications.

Most consumers of media, it seems, show the ability to be critical when reading or watching news, both in traditional outlets and in online publications. Critical readers demand clear standards of journalism and credible information from trustworthy publications.

Who, then, are the trustworthy publications that stand as bastions of credibility in an increasingly uncertain media world?

The answer: all the traditional mass media.

I will define “traditional mass media,” here, as those media outlets that have been long established, have a wide consumer base and maintain an online presence in addition to their print- or broadcast-based news coverage. And it is to these types of publications that readers continue to go for accurate and honest information.

According to research by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, the top-visited Web sites for consumption of news online are connected with traditional mass media. Msnbc.com holds the top spot. Yahoo.com, which acquires most of its news from the Associated Press, is second. The New York Times’ Web site is fifth overall in online readership. In fact, the top 20 news sites on the Internet are all connected with traditional mass media except Huffingtonpost.com, an alternative online newspaper. Rosenstiel noted that all the big news publications, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, are only getting more popular online because they represent credible information and have a history of accurate and (arguably, anyway) fair reporting.

So it seems that, in the end, it is not journalist societies or organizational standards that are maintaining the professionalism in journalism—it is the audience that looks for credible, veritable and confirmable news through established media sources with a history of telling the most complete truth. For those journalists wary of the negative effects online journalism can have on the profession (like me), this is a very encouraging indication. If the audience can show a preference for information provided by trained professionals rather than a one-man operation with a news ticker, an educational and vocational background in journalism is not a waste, but a virtue.

This is not to say, however, that the professional journalist of today and tomorrow will have the same skills and expectations as the professional journalist of yesterday.

Indeed, while journalists’ professionalism is remaining intact, journalists’ skill sets and expertise are changing quickly. The tools available to reporters are changing, and what is more, the audience expects reporters to make use of these instruments. Rosenstiel said that while print reporting allows only six elements to be included in a news package (headline, photograph, caption, informative graphic, body text and pull quote), online reporting allows for 56 different elements, including all the elements of print in addition to video, audio or document links. These elements demand a broader expertise from traditional reporters, but do not damage the profession if skillfully executed, Rosenstiel said.

Sreenivasan used the term “tradigital journalist” to define what is expected of the modern era’s professional reporters. A “tradigital journalist,” he said, is one who has all the skills and ethics of a traditional journalist (one skilled only in interviewing sources and writing a story, for example), but has in addition an ability to utilize new media over the Internet or through other means. The profession is becoming much more demanding than it once was. As the Internet can provide the audience with newer and fancier modes of storytelling on the Web—like the Washington Post’s TimeSpace, which it used to cover the Presidential Inauguration this month—journalists themselves need a higher level of expertise in order to remain viable in their profession.

The citizen journalist

I have established so far that mass media are seeking new business models and journalists are having difficulty defining their position, but it appears that the audience has developed a taste for professional journalism at the online publications of traditional media sources. So journalism, as a profession, will remain firmly in place in American society, despite the threat of citizen journalism.

But does citizen journalism have a place, as well?

Before this trip, I would have scoffed at the question. Citizen journalism? What a waste of time for the American media consumer. All citizen journalists do is frustrate the mission and credibility of professional journalists by muddying the waters of media with their baseless claims and unrepresentative surveys.

In the days leading up to the Presidential Inauguration, however, I did a little citizen journalism of my own and discovered that, despite my previous thoughts to the contrary, civic reporting can indeed be valuable to society.

The project was as follows. Three friends and I decided it would be fascinating to gather video interviews of people from all 50 states in the nation talking about why they had congregated in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. With nearly 2 million people in town for the event, we figured it would be easy to find representatives from most states, and with a little digging, we believed we would eventually find someone from every state. I was not wild about the project initially; I thought it would be a waste of time journalistically, and asking everyone in sight from which state they came would detract from my ability to enjoy the inaugural ceremonies the way I wanted to enjoy them.

Our very first interview changed my mind.

It was a man on a street corner north of the city. I forget his name, though we have it recorded on one of nearly 60 videos we gathered in the process of collecting interviews. He was carrying a suitcase and appeared to be waiting for a friend to pick him up at the Metro station nearby. I walked up to him and asked him where he was from. When he replied that he just flew in from Massachusetts, I motioned for Jasmine to come with the camera. I told him who we were and what we were doing and asked if he would like to comment on why he was in town for the Inauguration. He welcomed the opportunity and told us that he had volunteered on the campaign and had voted for Obama. He wished us luck and told us he thought what we were doing - covering the Inauguration from the people's point of view - was a great idea.

That is when I realized what citizen journalism has to offer.

The New York Times or The Washington Post just covered his speech and the overall event itself. Very few from the Inauguration Day crowd were covered (and most of them were African American, despite Obama’s lack of emphasis on his own race during the campaign—but that is another paper). Online, traditional media outlets did cover some citizen observers through videos and photos, but the emphasis was (and remains) on Obama’s speech and his actions during his first week in office.

What citizen journalists can do is capture a different side of events. Citizen journalists can work outside the confines of mainstream media to produce a truthful and accurate look at a situation—from a citizen’s eyes. Citizen journalists can even serve as watchdogs of mainstream media by covering something from every possible angle, thereby exposing the stones left unturned by NBC’s or CNN’s reporting efforts. Mike Hoyt, of the Columbia Journalism Review, said that amateur journalism is still journalism, regardless of who does it or what it produces, and many times amateurs create more insightful productions than the professionals themselves. After trying it for myself, I see that value.

In the end, we found people from 45 states. The remaining five states (Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Nebraska and New Mexico) were tough ones to find, even in such a large crowd. I don’t think we will end up producing any video from our efforts. But I did gain a newfound appreciation for the role of citizen journalism in the modern media environment—and that, at least, will last a lifetime.

Media Impact’s impact on me

Overall, the trip to New York City and Washington was invaluable to me, for reasons going beyond the simple educational value. As a prospective law student, visiting two of the hotbeds for American legal practice and scholarship was eye-opening, especially considering that I received an admission notice from George Washington School of Law right before traveling to the District of Columbia in which the law school is situated. I loved being in the cities and trying to gauge my ability to live and work there. I do not think I would be able to live in New York City for much longer than a month, but I could see myself thriving in the somewhat smaller yet intensely meaningful environment in Washington.

As managing editor of The Whitworthian, going on a trip with five other members of the editorial staff was also extremely beneficial. We bonded as friends, and the relationships we have established outside of the context of The Whitworthian will (I hope) be quite useful as we produce weekly Whitworthians and daily online updates. We have a much greater understanding of our goals, interests and abilities after this trip, and more importantly, we know how to work with each other.

Newsroom relationships are important, but so are the new understandings and skills we have gleaned from our meetings and experiences. I think I speak for us all when I say we have a renewed understanding of how much we need to emphasize our online publication at the Whitworthian and how well we can (and should) utilize the tools the Internet offers us. Danika and I, for example, are discussing a live sports channel to broadcast sports games through the Whitworthian Web site, based on information given to us by Sreenivasan during our meeting with him. This trip has showed us ways we can improve both our Web site and our own skill sets to become very marketable candidates for the dwindling number of media jobs available.

I arrive now at my somewhat awkward position. Despite my journalism major, I have also nearly achieved a degree in political science and have essentially planned out a future not in journalism, but in law. There is some crossover here, especially when dealing with selected First Amendment issues I talked about with Dalglish and Frank LoMonte, director of the Student Press Law Center. But the awkward position stems out of my renewed interest in journalism. I said at the beginning of this paper that I had been discouraged by what I saw as an increasing “amateurization” of journalism. This perception constituted a small part of my focus on the study of law—I saw no future for myself in journalism, despite my love of reporting and writing.

Now, however, I believe I could happily work in journalism as a career, based on what I have found on this trip and have tried to explain in this reflection paper. While I still ultimately prefer the pursuit of law to the pursuit of a good story, my experiences in New York and Washington will stick in my mind as an indication of what might have been—or might (who knows?) still be. The trip has proven to me that journalism is still a very professional occupation that has and will maintain the mission of informing citizens in the society in which it exists—the very reason I began studying journalism in the first place. Now I feel compelled to pursue journalism almost as much as I feel called to study law.

Ultimately, I will continue on my path to pursue law for reasons I will omit from this paper for the sake of brevity. I wish, however, that I had taken this trip two years ago—and I wonder how that might have affected my decision to enter law or even continue with my political science major. I doubt that it would have changed anything too much; my passion for politics and law is ultimately stronger than my love of journalism.

But I wonder.

-James Spung

New York and Washington D.C.: nothing short of spectacular

Throughout the last three weeks I have been thinking about what this trip actually means to me, contemplating whether it was going to be just another study program or if it honestly would deliver me with the knowledge and skills I need to move forward, especially considering that my graduation is around the corner. In an attempt to avoid the feeling of “I’m special because I get to spend time in big cities with fancy media executives” I came the realization that this program truly meant one thing for me; becoming a better journalist. Although we did not have what you would call hands-on experiences, even the small things such as keeping a class blog brought me one step closer to my goal of expanding my skills as a journalist.
I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to participate in this incredible opportunity. Never in my lifetime would I have expected to meet and converse with most of the professionals that we encountered. I have to say that I certainly received more out of this experience than I originally expected. It was impressive to hear what these leaders had to say but also realizing that they to, just like me, have to adapt to this new concept of digital media. I knew journalism was facing challenges but it was reassuring to hear that organizations see it in an incredibly positive light.
As for relevancy purposes, I would say our meeting with the Associated Press happened to be the most beneficial to me. Because it's such a large organization I felt that the AP is adapting well to changes and also feel like they truly understand the future of journalism. I know the AP caters to all age groups and it was nice to see and experience that. What a great organization to be a part of.
As for the sights I would say my favorite, hands down, was our visit to Brooklyn Heights in New York. Experiencing the beautiful view was something I have no words to describe. I remember walking around and feeling at peace for the first time since we arrived there. If you don't now, Brooklyn is just outside of the city and in a way I felt like I was still in the city but in a much more calm and peaceful light.
Goodbye New York and Washington D.C., you're nothing short of spectacular.

-Erica Schrader

Highlights of the Trip

by Jordan Kamikawa

Looking back, the trip as a whole was an amazing experience. However, in short, I'm going to tell you about some of the meetings and places that really stood out to me.

Meetings:

The Smoking Gun

The comradery and cohesiveness that the 3-person staff displayed here really was impressive. In addition to their hard-working ethic and commitment to accuracy, I got the sense that all three of them really loved what they do everyday.

The Onion

This meeting was not only humorous, but also gave an in-depth look into a publication that is not afraid to push the envelope. I really admired how they are able to tackle tough issues, and still be funny while doing it. 

Saatchi and Saatchi

This company really displayed a positive attitude towards advertising. One of the key aspects to their company is a term called "Lovemarks," which refers to elevating a brand to a high level of respect and endearment. Also, they embrace creativity in their work, and try to always think "outside the box."

The Associated Press

This was an extremely organized and professional meeting. Not only did they have two very inspiring speakers, but also gave us a full tour of their facility, which included a sit-during a newsroom meeting.

Food:

ESPN Zone in NY

It was just a cool experience to sit in on what seemed to be the ultimate food and sports restaurant. Not only did they have massive screens streaming live sports, but the food and atmosphere were excellent.

Virgil's BBQ

This renowned barbeque restaurant was a treat to visit. The pulled-pork sandwich, which I had, was juicy and full of flavor. 

Sushi Aoi

This little place in DC was pretty authentic as far as sushi is concerned. I work at a sushi restaurant back home and was thoroughly impressed with this place, which was pretty inexpensive as well. 

Old Ebbitt's Grill

This is supposedly the oldest bar in DC, which has been visited by a slew of famous historical figures, such as former presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. The look of the whole place was very elegant, and the food was delicious.

Museums:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This museum was ridiculously enormous. We went considerably fast through most of the exhibits, which still took about 3 hours. There was much more we weren't able to see, due to renovation. The sections of particular interest to me were the Egyptian, Greek, and Armor exhibits. 

The National Holocaust Museum

This museum was very powerful and hit me hard. I never really knew about the holocaust in that much detail before, and just seeing some of the unjust and inhumane ways the people were treated really got to me. 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Bearing witness

Yesterday I experienced the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in a way I wasn’t expecting. Of course I knew it would be heart-wrenching to see what these people experienced, but I never thought it would hit me so hard.

First, thank you to the museum and all the donors who made this a place worthy of remembering.
As most of us who visited might say, one thing I visually remembering seeing consistently throughout was the quote by Elie Wiesel saying, “For the dead and the living we must bear witness.” I keep thinking, how could you not? Well, I’ve been to this museum before and clearly didn’t remember much of it. In my own life I’m really bothered when I can’t do anything in certain situations. In this case, I literally can’t. But I started to think about other things that I do and realized that I can contribute in other ways.

Adolf Hitler, the man responsible for this tragedy, served as Chancellor from 1933-1945 followed by what we would call the President of Germany from 1934-1945. He joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and made his way claiming leadership shortly after in 1921. This led to his appointment as Chancellor in 1933. It is believed that under his leadership six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

As for the museum, it was like this never ending stretch of darkness adorning the walls on both sides. I remember seeing the tattoo display and wondering what the prisoners were thinking when stamped with a number. Up until this year’s election I’ve always felt like just a small face in the crowd… but this is serious, it’s not a vote, it’s a live human being. I also vividly remember walking through the dark and empty rail car that was on display in the middle of the museum. Chills ran through my body as I stepped inside. Prisoners were subjected to starvation, illness and at times, freezing temperatures.

This is pure insanity.

I also recall reading an excerpt that was written on the wall on a partial quote from Hitler speaking to his military leaders on August 22, 1939. “I have issued the command—and I’ll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad—that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy,” he said. How can anyone think this way? I don’t believe a human being could be filled with this much hatred. You what this quote means, so I’ll leave it at that.

It’s hard to fully grasp how this happened. I think about surrounding countries and, with pure frustration and anger, wonder why nothing was done. How could they sit back and do NOTHING? Maybe someone can provide an explanation because I certainly don’t get it. We see the Holocaust as a historical event but fail to recognize that was the culture, that’s how things were during that time and nothing could be done about it.

Finally, although I can’t bear witness to this event, I can bear witness to a current situation. Mission work is incredibly important to me and I want to help those in need. The situation in Darfur is scary and although it’s still going on, people all over the world are contributing in many ways. As a direct result of what I experienced yesterday, I want to be an advocate for genocide in Darfur.


-Erica Schrader

Washington Post Online and PBS

Friday was the final day of meetings for the trip, without the inclusion of the Library of Congress tour yesterday morning. It feels like just yesterday, I was packing my suitcase to leave snowy Spokane to head to New York City. The meeting I found most enjoyable on Friday was with Chet Rhodes of the Washington Post Online. I am really interested in how the internet has affected newspapers and journalism in general. Like most people we’ve spoken to on the trip, he did not feel that online journalism would replace print any time soon. At the same time, the Washington Post is expending a lot of effort on making their website innovative and useful. Time and money are spent on researching their audience, testing the navigation ease for the site, and polling their online readers. Navigating and packaging are important to get people to read the articles. They’ve also created something called “Time Space,” which shows pictures, videos, and news articles on a map of where they were taken, or the place they were written about. They used it extensively for inauguration activities, showing what was going on around DC. It’s a really cool idea.

We also visited Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS on Friday afternoon. She was very nice, but it was slightly intimidating to talk to her. I think it is great that PBS is doing so much to get educational programming for kids on television. I know that when I was a kid, I loved watching PBS. One of my favorites was Arthur, and there was an afternoon program on called Zoom that I watched a lot. Most of PBS viewers are under age five, or over fifty, so a lot of work is focused on kids. They have interactive games online that are educationally based. They’re working with child development psychologists to figure out how young kids relate to television and are trying to create an interactive experience that’s also educational. I’m glad that there is still programming on for children that is wholesome, appropriate, and educational. It seems like these days, kids are watching Hannah Montana, which does nothing to increase their intelligence. I hope that these educational programs are still readily available when I have children.

Maddie Hayes

The journalist, per se

Here are the facts.

One: The Internet is changing the way newspapers function, creating a need for online aficionados on their staffs and a web-minded production every day.

Two: The economy is changing the way newspapers function. Staffs are smaller, elevating the value of multi-skilled journalists, and in some cases the belt tightening affects the professionalism of the production.

Three: Most people love to read most things on the Internet, including news.

Four: Most people don’t read things fully on the Internet, preferring instead to grab the main points and move onto other things.

So where, exactly, does that leave journalists themselves?

Coming into this trip to New York City and Washington, D.C., I figured that journalism, as a profession, was dying for a combination of reasons. I thought blogs were destroying the credibility of all online journalism with their ranting and fabricating. I thought the economy was creating the need for a flashier, attention-grabbing style of journalism, one not so concerned with accuracy or truth but more concerned with delivering readers. I thought that good newspapers were stepping into the ring with bad news outlets and the competition between the two would lower the overall quality of journalism. When the definition of “journalist” is “he that can usually spell,” how can journalism be considered a profession?

After meeting with several news sources, both traditional media sources like the Washington Post and alternative news sites like The Smoking Gun, I’d have to say I’ve been proven wrong.

All you really have to do is look at the most-visited news sites. Leading the pack is msnbc.com, followed by yahoo.com (which is the Associated Press’ largest customer for news articles). Nytimes.com is fifth. In fact, all of the top 20 news sites, as determined by hits, are Web sites run by traditional media outlets with only one exception.

That tells me that whether or not the Internet provides an unlimited base for news outlets to broadcast their views, the public still values accuracy, honesty and reputation. I’ve heard the same from several media representatives on this trip. In the end, I believe the audience is smarter than I gave them credit for. By and large, I believe readers will flock to the Web sites that have established a strong ethic and have been kind to those who visit them.

As such, the definition of “journalist” can’t be broadened to include everyone with a computer and a news ticker. True journalists, as they have since the days of Pulitzer, must have standards. There are ethical requirements of the profession determined not by a professional association but by the audience’s demands.

So, journalists are not a dying breed. Their skill sets are expanding and their approach is changing, but the standards to which they are held have not yet changed and are not really expected to.

-James Spung

My Last Day in DC

My last day in DC was very amazing and it was probably the best day out of my whole time in DC, but there was nothing bad about DC so don’t get it in your head that I didn’t like DC. The day started off by me waking up around 10:30am and heading down with some of the group to the Liberty of Congress for the 11:30 tour. We were a couple minutes late but we managed to squeeze into the tour with no problems. Seeing as how we had little time throughout our time in DC to do very much because of our schedule that after the Liberty of Congress we pretty much did everything that we weren’t able to do, this was quite a bit. After the Liberty of Congress we headed over to the National Archives to meet up with the rest of the group. Since coming to DC we all really wanted to see the Declaration of Independence so when we got there we headed straight for it.

I was very excited to see the time line of how our country had developed into what it has become today and how from slavery in the old days to having a black president has shown how much we have grown as a country. After visiting the National Archives we went to the restaurant Potbelly which had the best sandwiches I have had sense being in Dc so they were pretty good. We then headed over to the Holocaust Museum where we learned all about how the Hewish people were treated and put in captivity and it really took a toll on the group. It really hit us hard to see how they were treated and I didn’t understand why no one would stand up to Hitler and help the Jewish people out. After that half of the group headed back to the hostel while the other half went to visit the Lincoln Memorial and for me that was one of the best parts of DC so it was pretty cool. The only bad part about visiting the Lincoln Memorial was the long walk that we had to go through to get back to our hostel.

In the end it was ok because it made us really hungry so by the time we got back we decided to go to a nice Thai restaurant that helped us solve our hunger problems. During dinner we noticed that someone had left their whole foods bag with a fair amount of food by their dinner table and never came back to get it while we were there. So we decided to give it to a poor women who looked to be very hungry and which actually worked out because it was her birthday the next day, or so she says. It’s kind of funny because we did what this saying says, “take from the rich and give to the poor” and it felt really good to help someone who was in need. Then we meet up with the other half of the group and had desert at the Capital City Brewery, it was really good and that just caped off a good day and a good night.

Patrick Kenney

I Love Public Transportation

by Jordan Kamikawa

I’m surprised my legs haven’t fallen off.

You may be thinking that this blog is just going to be a long spiel about how walking crazy distances have been a pain, etc. etc. Contrary, let me say that I actually have enjoyed walking to most of our destinations. Although over the course of the trip we’ve walked quite a bit, it’s been great to get a feel for city life and to see the it from a slower pace. I feel that riding in a car often removes you from your surroundings in a sense, especially if they are just whizzing by.

In addition, the public transportation in both cities has really impressed me, and it’s been awesome hardly relying on a car for transportation (besides a couple short taxi rides).

I say this because I have never lived in a place that has had public transportation as easy or simple as both New York and DC have had. I grew up in Maui, Hawaii, where public transit was unheard of growing up, until very recently when they started a very small and inefficient bus service (which I have not ridden once). Thus, I grew up always driving to wherever I needed to go, even if the trip was short. Once I got to college in Spokane, Washington, my method of transportation was basically the same. I either relied on people giving me a ride to places, or driving myself when I finally got a car. Again, this was due to the less than mediocre public transportation system.

That being said, riding the subway system for the first time in New York was really a refreshing experience for me. Besides some weird smells and dirtiness, the ease of getting around the city was great. I love being able to just jump on the “train,” as locals call it, and follow a colored route to your stop. Also, it’s handy that the subway stations are located on almost every other block. Washington DC’s metro system was not as easy to use as New York’s, but it was still efficient in getting to all our meetings and the monuments.

However, our public transit experience was not all completely smooth sailing. We did get either confused or lost a handful of times, mostly due to confusing connections and/or directions. However, for the most part, I think we were able to get around very well.

Going back to driving will be weird, and not being able to find my destinations a couple stops away may get to me. Also, the exercise from the walking has been a nice change.

Who knows, you may see me walking around everywhere in Spokane.
Hmmmm...walking in snow and ice in sub-freezing temperatures just to get to Costco or Albertsons? On second thought, maybe not.

Last few days in DC

On Friday we had our last three days meetings in DC. We first met with The Express which is a newspaper that one of Jim’s former Whitworth Students works at. It is neat to see a Whitworth grad at work. Then we met with The Washington Post Online. Their online website is very modern with advanced technology. For our last meeting we met with the CEO of PBS. PBS is marketed more towards children because they have so many children television shows. They also have a website that is geared more to older teens and adults. PBS had some good ideas on how to get more people to watch their television shows and go to their online website. They have videos and games on their website that attracts more people. PBS is also heavily involved in the digital transition and agrees that is would be best to move forward with it.

On Saturday our last free day Nikki, Hannah, and I tried to see everything in one day. That did not work so well, but we did come close. We started off the morning with a good breakfast at and breakfast place by the capitol. Then we went for a tour of the capitol and the library of congress. They we went to the air and space museum to look for my grandpa’s award, but sadly we did not find it. Then we went to the castle and had lunch there and took a break from walking. Then we went to the museum of natural history where we watched a 3-D movie, which is our favorite. Then we went to all the monuments, the white house, Lincoln, Jefferson, WWII, FDR memorials, and the Washington Monument. It was a lot of walking and it was very cold outside, but it was worth it.

This has been a fun, but very busy trip. I’m a little sad to leave the east coast because I really like it here, minus the freezing cold weather. Looking back on all the meetings we have had I have learned a lot about the media and how it is rapidly changing. This trip started in New York, a city that seems to never sleep. I thought New York was fun and exciting, but I could never live there. My favorite place we visited was probably the Onion. They were so funny and very memorable. I like the atmosphere that surrounded the people and the office. I also really enjoyed meeting Sean Hannity. He was a nice guy and so down to earth. It was cool going to see the production and behind the scenes of a news show. All in all New York City was a lot of fun and I am so glad I got the chance to go there and meet some great people. Washington DC has been fun too. The most memorable part of the DC trip was of course the Inauguration. It was great to see all these people come together for this one historic event. My favorite meeting in DC was the National Association of Broadcasters. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the digital transition and why they are pushing for it to happen. DC is such a cool city filled with our country’s history. I think that I like DC more than New York because it is cleaner and the people seem to be nicer. I have really enjoyed this trip and recommend it to all communications and marketing majors. It is a great experience and an eye opener to what the job world really looks like.
-Stephanie

Washington DC is great

Last night Nikki, Stephanie and I had the privilege of going to dinner with an amazing couple that live here in DC that are friends with Stephanie’s mom. Sally Murphy and her husband Billie took us out for a wonderful steak dinner at the historical Capitol Grille. Sally and Billie are absolutely adorable, extremely intelligent and very generous; our dinner with them is definitely a highlight of my East Coast adventure! We talked all evening about our lives, history, politics and family and I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it and I truly hope I will be able to keep in touch with them!

Today we finished up the last of our meetings! At the Washington Post Online we learned some cool things about how to format a website to fit the viewer. It was interesting to try and take on the mindset of someone else and think “now what would I click on and why”. Chet Rhodes was our guide for this tour and meeting and I was refreshed by his dry humor and laidback attitude.

We ended the day at PBS with a meeting with the CEO of the company. I was primarily interested in the new technologies and ideas that were being developed for children. Being a nanny of 3 girls under the age of 5 and having a younger brother that just turned 2, children’s programming is of interested to my family, my boss and me. I was very impressed with the direction and new venues the company is working on.

Being in Washington DC this last week has been extremely thought provoking for me. Government was never a path I considered for myself, but being in this city and watching it work and buzz has peaked my interest a lot. After our last meeting today we visited Arlington National Cemetery and inscribed on one of the great stones surround JFK’s grave was the age old quote from his inauguration speech “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I have always had a strong sense of patriotism and pride for my country, but I never thought that I had anything to contribute to it, but maybe I do.

 

-Hannah

Public Broadcasting Service: Paula Kerger

Public Broadcasting Service chief executive officer Paula Kerger said the hope of nonprofit organizations is to make the world a slightly better place everyday. With educational content spanning multiple platforms, PBS is attempting to change the way their diverse audience can access content.

“For every media organization, there are layers of challenges,” Kerger said. For PBS, these challenges include moving video programming online for Web streaming, creating social networking and discussion tools on the Internet’s top broadcaster site, PBS.org. PBS tries to seek out viewers for their site through online tags and search optimization tools.

Kerger said the corporation has historically been a pioneer, being the first to utilize closed captioning and a national satellite. Today, the corporation does multicasting, and distributes much of their content in high definition. In addition, PBS allows some users to publish their own content with the corporation, Kerger said.

PBS also looks for their programming to help parents in their day-to-day lives with their children. Short video segments for mobile phone distribution can help mothers keep children busy in the grocery store, and television programming for children who use English as a second language can help improve literary skills.

Content is also geared for a more senior chunk of PBS viewership as well. PBS uses mediums like Xbox and Hulu to distribute programming, Kerger said. All you have to do is look down to see people getting media from iPhones and laptops, she said, to know that mobile media will probably be the next frontier.

Finding success, Kerger said, involves tinkering with the traditional formula of media until something that works sticks. The digital world has evolved as an on demand offering and as needing user generated content, she said.

“You have to experiment or otherwise you’ll never move forward,” Kerger said.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Kerger? Check out the video below:

Washington Post Online: Chet Rhodes

Journalists and journalism students should start thinking about how they read they read on the Web and make their online coverage reflective of that, Chet Rhodes, assistant managing editor for news video at the Washingtonpost.com, told students Friday.

Originally people thought the Web had an “endless” news hole, but statistics are showing that’s not the case, at least in the view of readers, Rhodes said. The news audience tends to be busy and wants quick hits providing exactly the information it wants without having to exert much time looking for it, he said.

Because of this, figuring out the Web is about discovering the right navigation – how to drive people through or to a package, Rhodes said. Washingtonpost.com staffs spend time thinking about how users will use their creations and do testing to see what’s effective. TimeSpace, a new feature that aggregates content based on location and time, and plots it on a map, is one example of a feature to help people navigate coverage. Only in the past year has the ability to analyze data about viewership become more manageable, he said.

More people read the Washington Post online than in print, but 75 percent of the Post’s revenues still come from its print newspaper. Rhodes describes the state of the industry today as one of the most, if not the most, turbulent time in the industry with the most aggressive news cycle.

The changes in the industry have blurred the lines of journalism. Today, there is no such thing as a “professional” journalist, Rhodes said. Anyone who is willing to tell the truth and follow a code of conduct, like that created by the Society of Professional Journalists, could be considered a journalist, he said.

“In the end, the audience decides who the journalists are,” Rhodes said.

The next generation of journalists are those who use convergence. Chris Cillizza of The Fix is a model for this, blogging, gathering video, using Twitter and going on TV, Rhodes said. Over 200 Washington Post reporters have video training and the online office has two video divisions: news video and documentary video.

The most valuable skills for a journalist, however, have not changed significantly, Rhodes said. Journalists need to have news judgment, the ability to write clearly and succinctly and be hungry to tell great stories, he said.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Rhodes? Check out the video below:

Thursday in D.C.--Policies and steak.

While in New York, I received the vibe that media professionals were sweating bullets because the sky seems to be falling. Conversely, when leaving the meetings in D.C., the sky seems to be blue and almost cloudless. There is generally a positive attitude here of the future of the media. Perhaps this is due to the overall nature of D.C. being a city that thrives on writing public policies in order to better society.

When meeting with Lucy Deglish of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, I was blown away when she maintained a positive attitude about the direction of her organization, regardless of plummeting donations, and obstacles presented by previous policies. Perhaps the best news for this questionably floundering profession is that “44”, as locals refer to our new president, has reversed the Ashcroft memorandum within his first two days of being in office. This first step to revive the public interest in government by attempting to allow viewing of documents according to FOIA regulations, will permit for a more ‘transparent government’.

The work that Frank Lomonte of the Student Press Law Center is also allowing student journalists to enjoy and take advantage of the privileges of the First Amendment. This group which deals with combating high school and college level censorship, is taking large strides to not only educate student journalists but also to inform the deans, teachers, and advisors of these student groups of their rights in journalism.

After the scheduled meetings, I was thrilled to also learn that people in the media business were not the only ones who see a light at the end of the tunnel, but also a few Washington lobbyists. Hannah, Stephanie, and I went to dinner with Sally and Bill Murphy, friends of Stephanie’s family. We were spoiled with an extraordinary meal at the Capitol Grille where we were able to enjoy a clean environment (unlike our hostel situation), rich conversation, and amazing company. Amongst a serenade from Bill, joyful and optimistic tears about our Inauguration day experiences, and steaks which must have come from heaven, we also discussed the uphill battle newspapers have in order to appeal to a technology savvy generation. The positivity that emerged from this conversation lifted our spirits, and I think a lot of that generated from the outlook that we as Americans can do anything we put our minds to…a theme which has resonated through the election season and especially this past week.

-Nikki Warner

Thursday: A Very busy day

Yesterday was a very busy day. Instead of the usual 2 to 3 meetings we had four. The first meeting was with National Public Radio. We got a full tour of their building and studios. My favorite room was the recording studio room that John Mayer has recorded in. NPR is a very large building with about 6 floors. We discussed how NPR is trying to draw in a younger audience by adding music to their radio stations. Our next meeting was with a friend of Nikki’s. We met for a lunch meeting at a cute restaurant call Bill Bo Baggins which is located in Old Town Alexandria. Nikki’s friend Dwayne Dick brought along two of his colleagues and we discussed the digital transition. We discussed how there could be a delay in this transition due to money problems, but all three of the men we met with thought that it would be best if the digital transition occurred sooner rather than later. Our third meeting was with the Reporters committee for Freedom with Lucy Daglish. She gave us some of her views on journalism as well as some good advice on how to be a good journalist. She told us that we needed to be “truthful, accurate, and timely,” when we are writing news articles. Our last and fourth meeting was with Frank Lamonte who works at the Student Press Law Center. They have 24/7 hotline for students to call if they need advice in the law department.

Later on Thursday night Nikki, Hannah, and I went out to dinner with our friend Sally and her husband. Sally is the one who got us passes to get into the Inauguration watching party. We went to Capital Grill which is by the Newseum. It was very good food. The restaurant is famous here for its steaks. It was a lot of fun talking with Sally and her husband, they are great people. We talked about the inauguration and how it was for them. They had very good seats and in fact such good seats that they were sitting right next to Leonardo DiCaprio! They also sat by numerous other celebrities. Although they had great seats they also had trouble getting to their gate as well as most of the people attending the inauguration did. We all had such a good time and great food. The dinner was a great end to a very long Thursday.
-Stephanie

Thursday

Well we had a bit of a busy day today! We started off the day with a meeting with Pew Research Centre for the project for excellence in journalism. The work this group does was actually interesting to learn about, out of all the companies we have met with so far I think they have the most comprehensive idea of the state and future of the media.

Our second meeting was with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and they prepared a nice presentation with visual aids like video clips to use as they explained their work and current issues they are dealing with. He explained the current number one issues in radio broadcasting and television broadcasting. The largest issue in radio broadcasting is the problem of performance tax which deals with the relationship between radio stations, the music artists they play, and the economic condition. Television broadcasting is dealing with the huge transition from analog to digital and all the factors and problems that are circulating through that. 

The last meeting of the day was with a lobbyist from the Podesta group. Unfortunately our meeting could only be half an hour long, but we were able to cover interesting content. Nonetheless I enjoyed this meeting because I am fascinated by the work  that the Podesta group does. I like the combination of government/law with media and public relations.

-Hannah

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Lucy Dalglish

With seemingly new innovations in the digital world coming out daily, the law remains technology neutral, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press executive director Lucy Dalglish said to students during a meeting Thursday.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is a “one-stop shop” for full legal defense and advocacy issues for professional journalists. However, the RCFP’s role in representing journalists has changed as the technology has tweaked the definition of the traditional role.

More often than not, Dalglish said, blogging is not journalism. Real shoe leather reporting done by bloggers is definitely considered journalism, but commentary on reporting done by news outlets is outside the realm of the industry, Dalglish said. Bloggers often have problems with posting non-original content to their site.

“Bloggers don’t have a right to lift and copy from one site to another,” Dalglish said. Additionally, as bloggers and online publishers have the same rights to put out content, she said, they have the same responsibility to print the truth. Libel is a serious issue online journalists must understand, Dalglish said.

To that end, the RCFP offers protection to people they consider journalists. Those who do not meet the criteria the RCFP considers journalists can look for representation from other organizations such as the Online Bloggers Association, Dalglish said. Either way, writers need to know their rights.

“You need to know what the law is, and you need to get to know us,” Dalglish said. Just as print journalists are held to high standards of ethics, so too should online journalists, Dalglish said.

For more information, check out the RCFP on Twitter and Facebook.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Dalglish? Check out the video below:

Student Press Law Center: Frank LoMonte

Every day the Student Press Law Center is having a debate about who is a journalist, director Frank LoMonte told students Thursday.

The answer to this debate is important for the SPLC, which provides legal resources for student journalists, because it determines which cases they will accept and who they will provide counsel to, LoMonte said. SPLC receives 5,000 calls and e-mails a year from high school and college faculty and students dealing with free press and censorship issues.

The answer is always changing, LoMonte said. Today, the SPLC has sought to define a journalist as someone who works in traditional media forms – broadcasting, newspaper or a web site that relates to one of the two and is journalistic in nature, LoMonte said. Text messaging and social networks are currently not considered part of the SPLC’s jurisdiction, but that may change as the technology lines blur, he said.

There is a misconception that Internet is a “scary magic box” that should have different First Amendment principles, LoMonte said. Part of the job of the SPLC and of journalists is to educate others about the Internet and what the law allows.

“The federal courts have been very consistent that there’s only one First Amendment and that all the same First Amendment freedoms apply to printing something in a magazine or a newspaper also apply to printing someone online,” LoMonte said.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from LoMonte? Check out the video below:

National Public Radio: Jeff Cabiness

When the average age of your audience is 53, you know you have some work to do to remain relevant and thriving in the future, National Public Radio’s Jeff Cabiness told students Thursday.

NPR, an organization that produces and distributes radio content to 90 member stations, is working on brand recognition, particularly online and with younger audiences, Cabiness said.

The way the organization accomplishes this in the future will likely be through programs and resources online, Cabiness said. One option could be combining local and national content in podcasts, he said. Currently, 13 million podcasts are downloaded from NPR each month, Cabiness said.

NPR gains 50 percent of its budget from its members purchasing programs like “Talk of the Nation” or “Morning Edition.” Currently, NPR delays putting its shows online until after they’ve aired to not bypass its stations and lose half of its revenue source, Cabiness said. It has experimented with its first web-only program, “All Songs Considered.”

“It’s an old business model. It’s very tricky. And they’ve got a lot to do to straighten it out,” Cabiness said.

NPR’s labs are working on new technology and delivery platforms including developing HD-audio and caption technology to make radio accessible to the deaf, Cabiness said.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

National Association of Broadcasters: Marcellus Alexander

National Association of Broadcasters executive vice president of television Marcellus Alexander met with students Wednesday to forecast the challenges broadcast television, and he said either rain or sunshine could be on the horizon for his organization.

“There will be more change in the next five years than in the last 25 for television,” Alexander said. Alexander, who also serves as president of the NAB’s education foundation, said the industry wide shift from analog to digital transmission is the biggest issue facing broadcast stations.

In addition, internet and mobile television viewing has an adverse affect on television stations the NAB represents, as local affiliates of networks lose audiences and revenue when television consumers opt to see programming online, Alexander said. The business model then, Alexander said, for network newscasters and content managers is hurting.

The answer for television companies, Alexander said, is still somewhat unknown. Content must be produced for more than simply the evening news, as local updates from the community can be the main draw for network affiliates.

“If you’re producing local news, distribution on all platforms is essential,” Alexander said. Additionally, broadcasters must tap into what is relevant and accessible to all of their diverse viewer groups on laptops, mobile devices and televisions.

Despite stiff competition from 24-hour news networks during the peak of election season, Alexander said he believes a future exists for broadcast television. Once the tight economic market loosens, advertising dollars and broadcast companies that can produce original content stand to remain major players in the television market.

As an organization, the NAB is responsible for representing roughly 70 percent of the full power network television stations on the political scene at Capitol Hill. In the radio industry, the representation has included taking a stance against the recording industry’s proposed performance tax on each song played by each artist. Alexander said innovation is needed in that industry from young professionals who are “living” the world’s current technology once they enter the workforce.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Alexander? Check out the video below:

NPR and CTAM

We’ve been in DC for about five days now, and the time has flown by. We had four meetings today and they were all really interesting. I think my favorite part of the day was the tour of National Public Radio. I have hosted a radio show on Whitworth’s student radio, KWRS, so it was cool to see radio production on such a large scale like that. Some of their developments are unbelievable. They have created captioned radio for deaf passengers in cars, which is something I had never even thought about. Personally, I don’t listen to public radio that often, and our tour guide told us the average age of NPR’s listener is 53. They use music to go after the younger audience, which is the one part of it that I would actually listen to. Unfortunately, I rarely listen to broadcast radio any more at all, let alone public radio. I don’t even have a radio in my dorm room. Most of the time I listen to music on my ipod through a speaker, through my itunes library on my computer, or I’ll find music to stream online. There’s also a really cool website called Pandora, where you can create playlists and listen to them online. It’s interesting how, at least for me, radio has become mostly an afterthought. It is rare that I don’t have a CD to put on in my car while I’m driving, but on the rare occasion that I don’t have one and decide to succumb to listening to the radio, I usually just get frustrated. There are so many commercials and interruptions, when all I care about is hearing the music. Why would I waste my time listening to all that, when I have a CD of music with no interruptions?

Our tour guide didn’t give the impression that public radio has been losing popularity with all of the technological advancements. Though, I suppose that their average listener, age 53, probably isn’t as technologically savvy as the younger generations. They have been listening to the radio for a long time, and are generally less accepting of new gadgets like ipods.

We also had a lunch meeting with Seth Morrison of CTAM, the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing. He mostly discussed the transition to digital television. Most of what he said coincided with the other people we’ve met with, though one thing stood out in my mind. There is all of this information out there saying that if you use rabbit ears to watch TV, you will have to get a digital converter box in order to see anything. Seth told us about a sample city where the transition has already been made to digital TV. Some people who were using antennas to get channels and bought the converter box were not able to get a signal after the transition, even with the converter. It upsets me that they’re trying to make this huge change in the television industry, and they’re not even making sure that everyone will be able to adapt to the change. It seems like a money-making move – trying to get more people to buy cable. I guess that’s the American way.

Maddie Hayes

Project for Excellence in Journalism: Tom Rosenstiel

Technology is revolutionizing the way people get their news, Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, told students Wednesday.

PEJ, a part of the Pew Research Center, studies the performance of the news media. With PEJ, Rosenstiel sought a different approach to media criticism, transferring the focus from the thoughts of older members of the industry to an empirical approach. PEJ issues reports based on content analyses weekly as well as topical and a year end “state of the industry” report.

The weekly reports synthesize studies of 48 different media outlets across mediums. This year, PEJ has upped the number of online outlets from five to 12, making a total of 55.

The reason for upping the number of online outlets has to do with the way technology has changed how people consume the news, Rosenstiel said. Evidence for this can be seen in the shift from all of America turning to a network news figure like Walter Cronkite on CBS Evening News and trusting him to deliver their news at dinnertime to a fragmented viewership shrinking the network news’ share of the audience from about 75 percent to 30 percent, he said.

This revolution reflects a shift in power. Consumers have moved from “passive consumers” to “proactive hunter-gatherers.” The audience is increasingly its own editor, assembling its own diet of news and taking over the journalist’s role as a gate-keeper, Rosenstiel said.

Despite the changes in media consumption, traditional media still has an audience, and that audience is actually growing, particularly online, Rosenstiel said. Of the top 20 news destinations online, all but one are traditional brands.

“The challenge is not the loss of audience – the problem is a revenue problem,” Rosenstiel said. “The Internet is decoupling news from its revenue source.”

News outlets, especially newspapers, are funded by advertising. Advertising as a revenue source has insulated the news from political influence as news organizations with many advertisers can afford to lose some if they question news judgment, Rosenstiel said. This is more difficult with only a few underwriters, he said. The problem is that the Internet has currently been a bad outlet for reaching consumers as they interact differently with advertising online – seeing it as a nuisance rather than part of the content, Rosenstiel said. News outlets will have to come up with a new revenue model if they are to survive, he said.

This technology also presents challenges online in the type of coverage. As outlets can find out what coverage is most popular, some will abandon other coverage and in turn alienate some of their audience as network news did, Rosenstiel said.

However, new mediums and technologies present opportunities for richer journalism, Rosenstiel said. Where newspapers have five or six elements that could be used to tell a story, the Internet has 56 elements, he said.

“The medium has the potential to make a much better journalism if we as journalists learn how to use it well,” Rosenstiel said. “It’s like we used to be able to build houses with basically a saw, hammer and screw drivers. Now we’ve got this whole litany of power tools you can use. You can make a better house, but if you use the power tools the wrong way, all you’ve done is use power tools poorly.”

- Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Rosenstiel? Check out the video below:

Public transportation: A tribute

After enjoying Metropolitan Transit Authority's "train" in New York and the "metro" of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, I think some scenes from our time spent in each area are long overdue.







-Derek Casanovas

U-turns + the unexpected = unity

I think I can speak for all of us on this trip when I say that sirens do not phase me. When speaking with my father this evening, I could hear the concern on his voice when he asked if the noise in the background was sirens. Unfortunately, yes, ambulances, fire trucks, helicopters, and squad cars are the sounds we wake up to, sleep to, shower to, and have become used to in the past 72 hours. If you see a police chase in Spokane, it’s probably me because I have become immune to the sound that once signaled me to pull over.

When I tumbled out of my wooden bunk bed at four in the morning, I was alarmed that my friends in Spokane were still awake and text-messaging me ‘good night’ whilst I responded ‘good morning’. Today’s game plan looked something like this: wake up, have breakfast with Congressman Mike Thompson at 8, leisurely stroll into our ticketed area by the reflecting pool, watch the inauguration and then stroll to the Anheuser Busch/Honeywell parade watching party where we would be the ‘belles of the ball’. However, in reality, our day went something like this:
4 a.m.—Wake up, shower, dress.
6:30 a.m.—Walk to Starbucks, pick up coffee and breakfast and begin trek to Capitol.
7:00 a.m.—Begin to see swarms of people lining up around the city blocks just to enter the Metro system. Immediately understand that the route our tickets advised us to take via Metro was no longer a good idea. Walk with the masses.
7:15 a.m.-_Abruptly stopped in a horde of angry people chanting, “Open the gates! Open the gates!” Stupidly wait with these people after being told ticket holders must go through these gates as well.
8:00 a.m.—Became fed up and after talking to an ABC correspondent, we took his advice and attempted another route.
8:30 a.m. -- Stupidly paid 30 dollars for a very short bike ride to a tunnel.
9:300 a.m. - Emerged from a tunnel and found the “Silver ticket” grouping.
10:00 a.m. - Finally went to the security line for our ticket section. Patted down by security guards.
10:05 a.m.—Took pictures in front of Capitol, called family members, looked at Capitol. Realized that because jumbo-trons aren’t pretty, they weren’t placed in ticket holding areas, making any view of Obama and friends look like ants.
10:15a.m. - Began trek to the Anheuser Busch/Honeywell party.
11:00 a.m.—After being pummeled by angry ticket holders not able to get into Inauguration, walking back through the tunnel, and briefly loosing each other in a crowd, we arrived at the party and collapsed in the lobby.
11:05 a.m.—Sat down in the plush 5th floor overlooking the Capitol and parade route, stuffed our faces with catered food and beverages.
4:00 p.m.—After chatting with numerous people in powerful positions, eating our fill of good food, and viewing Inauguration activities, we were saddened to leave and have to walk home.
4:15 p.m.—Feet went numb/ lost feeling, knees were buckling, hailed a cab home.
5:00 p.m.—Went to bed, passed out. Awoke a few hours later, ordered a pizza, and we collapsed once more. Feeling in feet still missing.

Our experience yesterday was completely unexpected and although things went haywire, we made the best of it. We met and chatted with so many people, sang happy birthday to three different complete strangers (yes, it was legitimate), met families from Zimbabwe, Peru, Puerto Rico, England, and numerous states, political figures, and lobbyists. However, the same theme remained: No matter what happened to each person that day that could have turned a beautiful moment into a disappointing one, each individual understood that the underlying theme of this occasion was unity as a country. No matter where we went, people of all races, religions, viewpoints, social and marital status, and age were all there for one reason: to support this great country and what it stands for.

-Nikki Warner

January 20, 2009

President Barack Obama was inaugurated into office today and I was blessed enough to be there. For me the most incredible part of the occasion had nothing to do with politics, parties, winning or losing, but with history. The dream of Martin Luther King that was spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial has reached the White House.

I have really enjoyed over the last few days all the historical coverage that the media has done. Remembering the story of America step by step. Our foundation, struggles, triumphs, heroes, wars, leaders, lessons and decisions were recalled and considered so that today we could began writing a new chapter to unfolding story of the United States of America.

My 2 good friends and I had an unforgettable day today as we tough the crowds to our ticket area for the inauguration ceremony, got some amazing pictures, and enjoyed the rest of ceremony and parade from a party with a fantastic view of the entire capital.

When I say we “toughed the crowds” I literally mean TOUGHED! This historical event was prospected to draw an estimated 4-5 million people and it did not fail!! The streets were absolute madness.

Now we loved our inauguration day party for 4 big reasons. And they are as follows: it was located in a warm building, there was free food and dessert all day, there was a fantastic view of the capital, presidential parade and live streaming coverage of the event, and lots of fun happy people to talk to.

We all like to chat with people and get to know them a bit so we were absolutely entertained all afternoon until our poor self abused feet made us head for home. But we met several executives from Ann Hauser-Busch and Honeywell who

are actively involved in politics here in Washington DC and they offer a fascinating “personal friend” view point of Biden and The Clintons.  

            My overall attitude of the day is a combination of anger because I think I permanently ruined my feet with all the walking, nostalgia and pride for my country, and a little more hope for the direction my government is going. Washington DC is reshaping my perspective and understanding of national politics and our government system. I’m excited to stay here for the next week to see the after math of the inauguration and just what makes this city tick.

Hannah

Inauguration Day

Inauguration Day
Today was a crazy day. I got up at 4 this morning to get ready for the inauguration. Myself and two other s had tickets and passes to a parade watching party thanks to my mom. So we got all dressed up in dresses and headed to the capital. We thought that leaving my 6:15 we would not have any trouble getting through with tickets. We were very wrong though. There were so many people and it was so cold outside. We get to the first checkpoint, which was a mass checkpoint that went all the way around the block. We waited at the first checkpoint for about an hour without moving and decided we would try to get another way in. So we started walking towards the metro when a man on a bike with a trailer said he could give us a ride. We were so cold and tired that we decided that it was cold. So the three of us hopped on and then the guy shouted it would be 40 bucks to take us to the capital. So then we went a whole three blocks with him before we got to a dead end and the guy said “sorry can’t take you any farther, that will be 30 bucks and don’t forget the tip” Nikki told him 30 bucks without tip would be plenty and that “you took us two blocks!” So we hopped out of the most expensive bike ride of my life and headed to the capital. We finally made it to the silver gate which is where we were supposed to enter with our tickets. We were at the silver gate for about two hours before they let us in. We finally got in and went through security. We stayed for a bit and took some pictures and then decided we wanted to go to the party where it was warm. That was another fun adventure that took 2 more hours to get to. We basically had to walk back under the tunnel to get to the building our party was in. When we finally saw our building that our party was in we saw that we had to cut through a big crowd to get in. That was not a fun experience. These people were so upset and angry because they had purple tickets and they were not being let it. So they decided to take it out on everyone around them. I can’t say that I blame them; they had been waiting out there for hours and hours. After getting separated and yelled at a few times we finally made it to the party. It was a beautiful building with a great view of the capital. We were on the fifth floor overlooking the capital. We stayed there for a few hours and watched the parade. Then after the parade we took a taxi home and came back to our room and went to bed after a long and exhausting day.

The Inauguration was such a cool experience and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to be here for it. I have never seen so many people in one place before. It is cool to see our country stand behind our new President. There are so many people here from all over and it gives me chills to see how much people respect this man. It is so amazing to see and witness. Finally our country seems to be coming back together and just in time to welcome and support our new President.
-Stephanie

New York City in nine days

by Yong Kim

I took the liberty to city map our excursion during our nine-day stay in Manhattan. It's impressive. Below is virtually a complete list (a few missing) of restaurants, businesses and areas of New York City we visited. Click on the colored marks on the map for more information.

1. Viacom – College Publisher/MTVU
2. Associate Press
3. Barron’s Magazine
4. Bean & Bean Organic Coffee
5. Ben & Jerry’s
6. Blockheads
7. Bread
8. Broadway Restaurant
9. Brooklyn Bridge
10. Brooklyn Heights
11. Café Lalo
12. The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
13. Channel 13/WTN
14. Chrysler Building
15. Cleopatra’s Needle
16. Columbia Journalism Review
17. Columbia School of Journalism
18. Columbus Circle
19. Empire State Building
20. ESPN Center
21. FAIR
22. Financial District
23. Flat Iron Building
24. Grand Central
25. Greenwich Village
26. Grimdali’s Pizza
27. Ground Zero
28. Hostelling International
29. Ketchum Public Relations
30. Liberty Island and Statue of Liberty
31. Lincoln Center Plaza
32. Little Italy
33. Mac Store
34. Madison Square Garden
35. Mama’s Pizza
36. Max Brenner’s
37. The Metropolitan Museum of the Arts
38. Mill Restaurant
39. NBC Studios
40. New York Law School
41. New York Public Library
42. New York Times
43. Nielsen Co.
44. Ocean Grill
45. The Onion
46. Penn Station
47. Qdoba
48. Radio City
49. Red Mango
50. Rockefeller
51. Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising
52. Smoking Gun
53. St. Paul’s Chapel
54. Stage Deli
55. Starbucks
56. Sushi!
57. Time Square
58. Tom’s Restaurant
59. Toys R Us
60. Trinity Church
61. Trump Tower
62. Tudor City
63. The U.N. Building
64. Vermicelli
65. Virgil’s
66. Wall Street
67. Washington Park

Washington a police state

We arrived in Washington, D.C., more than two days before the Inauguration of new President Barack Obama, and I thought we had stepped into a Ray Bradbury novel.

Washington was a police state. The red-blue flashes of sirens continually lit the streets and yellow blockades stood at every corner. Police officers watched the growing numbers of tourists warily with their hands on their hilts. Helicopters flew overhead, washing spotlights over the buildings of Chinatown and K Street.

And, true to totalitarian form, the face of a national leader littered the city.

It was Obama’s face in Washington, but the T-shirts, posters and water bottles (yes, water bottles) depicting Obama’s profile called to mind Stalin’s face in Moscow or Mao’s face in Beijing. People called his name in the streets and businesses posted his heroic pictures in their windows. Residents and visitors in the District get excited about every appearance or utterance:

”Obama.”

It is a fashion statement more than it is a name. Of the estimated two million visitors to the National Mall today, easily half wore thick Obama beanies. Another fourth donned some other presidential paraphernalia. Vendors sell Obama gear in the streets by the carload. The United States’ 44th President has become, at least during this brief hysteria in Washington, an idol.

Exciting as it is, I cannot help but wonder how Obama’s chic image and trend-like popularity will affect the American public’s perception of the man in office. It was clear from his reception by the Inauguration crowd that the people expect a savior with the face of a model and the persona of a rock star. The public looks to him for deliverance from the economic difficulties, political partisanship and social division that we have faced in the past few years.

These are lofty expectations, and ones that Obama may not be fully equipped to meet.

Not that Obama ever claimed to be a savior. Throughout his campaign, in his election night speech and in his stirring speech today, Obama has emphasized the importance of public responsibility and civic duty. For all that the government can and should do, he says, American citizens need to take ownership of their country. His refreshing message could not come at a more important time.

Nonetheless, I worry that this message will be lost in the roadside pamphlets and bobbling figurines that claim Obama as America’s liberator. I voted for Obama because I believe he can rejuvenate America’s patriotic spirit, but I have never seen the obstacles to this revival as clearly as I do in Washington these past few days.

So, as the peddlers and tourists leave, litter is cleaned from the grass of the Mall and this city returns to the dull roar to which it is accustomed, we may finally have a chance to see Obama’s real promise – beyond the hype.

-James Spung

This blog is cross-posted at James Spung's personal blog and the Spokesman Review's Inauguration coverage.

Two Million United Americans

During my senior year of high school in 2006, my US Citizenship teacher, Mr. Belcher, showed the class a taping of an Oprah show. On this particular show, she spoke to Barack Obama, who was currently the senator of Illinois. At this time, he had no intention of running for president. I turned to my classmate and said, “I hope he runs, because I would totally vote for him.” On November 4th, 2008, I did just that. Today, I witnessed his inauguration as the President of the United States of America.

Today was a whirlwind. January 20th, 2009 is a day that will go down in the history books for generations to come. The first African American president was inaugurated into office in the United States, and I was there to witness history in the making. The 4 AM wakeup call didn’t rustle my feathers. The anticipation of the event was enough to keep me from a deep sleep.

The most recent estimation I’ve seen is roughly 2 million people in attendance. When you hear the number, it seems like a lot, but it is a completely different situation when you are there in the middle of it all. In fact, it was quite amazing to see. This inauguration brought the country together in a way that I have never seen. As five other students and I walked through the crowd, we heard the stories of people from all over the nation. Many spoke about how Obama represents hope, change and forward movement. There were no racial barriers in the crowd, just 2 million united Americans, cheering for a man that can hopefully change this country for the better.

I feel blessed to have been able to attend Barack Obama’s inauguration this morning. I think the whole country is ready for a new leader, one equipped with plans to help pull the United States to its feet once again. With tiny American flags waving violently in the wind, 2 million people shouted “O-ba-ma” at the top of their lungs to ring in the new president – a new era in American history.

Maddie Hayes

Inauguration Insanity from Wash. D.C.

A line of people stretched many city blocks before sunrise this morning to witness the inauguration of our 44th President of the United States in Wash. D.C. Hours later the same inauguration-bound crowd fought their way to the National Mall-past street vendors and into the sea of those struggling to do the same.

In one case, a particular individual had been waiting since 10 p.m. last night and early this morning finally abandoned hope of getting in, turning around in disbelief and shock with the massive amount of people on 4th street at 6:00 a.m. But we eventually resolved to put an end to the crowd fighting when stopping near the front of the Smithsonian, just a block in front of the Washington Monument.

The crowds weren’t a surprise to me. And neither was the hype, nor the intensity with which each person stood with their eyes glued on either the capitol building or giant televisions placed throughout the Mall. It was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed before. After all, this was what many referred to as “a historical event-“ the inauguration of the first African-American president will never happen again.

There was some surprise to the whole adventure, however. One would think that a city like Wash. D.C., that has now hosted dozens of inaugurations, would have a process established. Not the case. I moved like a sardine for most of the morning, listening to another classmate express how he felt we were treated as refugees-no place to go, nothing to eat, and jam-packed into a city far too small for the amount trying to maneuver within it.

Trash was overflowing, filled with pamphlets and advertising, and the streets were littered with the name “Obama.” Police on 3rd street provided conflicting information with those who yelled to the mob on 18th. There wasn’t nearly sufficient food to feed the millions, and Porta Potties…well, yuck! It was temporary insanity.

I learned yet another thing today. For the same reasons that many of my journalism friends disagree with the concept of advertising, I disagree with politics-at least, in the way they were presented today. The hype just doesn’t work-it’s not my thing, it’s not truth, it’s not genuine, and tends to be a show. I respect what politicians do, who they are, and the way they choose to live their lives (at least, most politicians), but I have an issue with the fake way they present themselves to the public. It’s just not something I’d like to have my hand in.

Cross-posted at http://danikabrittany.blogspot.com/

-Danika Heatherly

Days Building up to Inauguration Day

In my time sense leaving New York and entering into Washington DC all the talk from the city and people with-in my class has been nothing but Inauguration Day. My class and I have prepared ourselves for this day or as much as we could but still I think it wasn’t enough. As the day drew nearer I thought to myself whether I would be able handle the day that newspapers said there would be over two million people to attend this event. I wanted to do it though because I wanted to be a part of history and have something to tell my children as they grew older.

The day before Inauguration Day some people and I from class headed over to the Capitol to prepare ourselves of our surroundings and where we might be standing. We hung around there talking with different people from all over the United States asking them why they were here and what they hoped to get from this experience. The sun started going down so we decided to head back towards the hostel to get some food because we were all starving. As the night came to a close we were all sitting in the main lobby talking and trying to decide what time we should get up in the morning and whether we were all sane for doing this. We first thought we should meet down stairs at 5:30am but after we talked with a police man that night we decided to meet at 4:30am so that we could be the large group of people that was going to attend this event. We all went to bed around midnight with the mindset that we could do this and we would just hangout around the hostel after Inauguration day.
I woke up and I was ready to get this day started with only 4 hours of sleep under my belt but there was nothing that was going to stop me. As I got down stairs with the rest of the group the girls were already down stairs waiting and they had called our professor to tell him we were leaving earlier than we had planned. Once the rest of the group was here we headed outside ready to face the cold weather that was upon us. We headed towards the Mall to get in line with the other people that wanted to see this momentous occasion. At first when we got downtown we saw many lines backed up forever but we didn’t know which line to get in. So we asked the cops but every cop had a different answer until we had two cops tell us that the line for no tickets started at 3rd ST so we headed in the direction. Once we got there half the group went and talked with other people from different states while the other half of the group waited in line. We got there around 4:30am and at about 6:30am after just standing around waiting to get in some of us wanted to head back to the hostel because we thought it wasn’t worth it. I was leaning both ways because I wanted to see Obama sworn into presidency but on the other hand I have bad knee problems and I couldn’t stand on my knee anymore. So two other people and I walked back while the other group stayed and watched.
After this day I feel that even though I wasn’t there I was still a part of history in the making and coming to D.C. has showed me so much. I still have so much more to see and witness and I hope that the rest of this trip is as good as the first half of the trip has been and I am thankful that I have been given this opportunity.

-Patrick Kenney

Inauguration: Pandemonium

3:30 a.m. was an early start. But after arriving at the 7th Street entrance with crowds bottlenecked back to nearly 4th Street, it was looking as though an earlier start may have been necessary. We eventually settled about two-thirds of the way to the Washington Monument, nestled in with people from Germany, California and Kent, Wash.

Despite the diversity of attendees, the crowd was unified by their purpose for turning out. Buzzwords like “history”, “hope” and “first African-American” were used often to describe why people were there.It is hard to describe what the scene looked like today.

The fever pitch of the event was amazing, as more and more people spilled onto the grass canvas as the clock approached 10 a.m. As each minute passed, the anticipation of the moment heightened for the millions of people who attended.

The energy was unlike anything I had seen before. “Obama” chants resonated from the masses, pins clung to supporters’ hats and jackets and the crowd swarmed around JumboTron screens to await President-Elect Barack Obama’s arrival.

As both Vice President Joe Biden and Obama took the oaths of office and were sworn in, jubilation rang out from the crowd. As the final words were spoken, clenched fists cloaked in insulated gloves, digital cameras and waving flags shot as high as the decibel levels did.

In a fragile era of American politics, the turnout felt like a testament to the renewed faith the country has in its elected leaders and the promise of a healthier nation. Despite the bone chilling cold, smiles stretched from ear to ear as Obama emerged in front of the podium. The audience ranged from those too young to remember to those too aged to walk.

Although I am excited for the start of Obama’s Presidency, I remain skeptical of the impact Obama will have in his early days as in office. Change is neither easy nor comes rapidly. With the economy in dire straits and wars abroad still raging on, the former Senator has some critical decisions to make. As he alluded to today, this period of American history will “define a generation.”

In my own way, I hope today’s events will define my generation as much as it defines our President’s. Patriotism, financial restraint and mutual respect, all tenets of Obama’s inaugural address, must be restored by the true saviors of our nation: the citizens themselves. My generation, largely responsible for Obama’s sweeping victory in November, must shoulder the load of restoring our nation’s greatness. We must foster global relationships, change our lifestyles and be stewards of our peers. We each need to take responsibility for being a cog in the bigger picture, and working towards a better future.Our 44th President has sounded the alarm for where we are and what we must do. While Inauguration Day was a wake up call, we still have much work to do to reach the distant horizon of prosperity.

Cross-posted at Spokesman Review's "Obama's Inauguration" blog.

-Derek Casanovas

INAUGURATION DAY: Not what I had in mind

I will be the first to admit that I bowed out of the masses around 6:30 this morning. For some reason the bitter cold weather got the best of me and I left not realizing it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I wanted to say that I’m sorry to my friends and family who were jealous and envious of my chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity that was presented and not taken full advantage of. You deserved to be there just as much if not more than I did.

On a positive note I can still say I was closer than millions and millions of people and I don’t regret being in D.C. for a second. Don’t ask me what I was thinking because I’m honestly without words. I keep hoping that I’ll wake up from a dream…

There’s just something unexplainable about standing in massive crowds. I can’t even imagine standing in the midst of a crowd that size with people who supposedly believe in one cause. I know for a fact that the picture I have in my mind is nothing compared to what my friends probably experienced this morning.

But, ever since I arrived in the nation’s capital the experience has been nothing but surreal. For a while it was extremely hard to believe that I was among the masses. Sirens constantly sounding off and vendors lining the streets selling t-shirts and hats in hopes to make you feel part of the movement. Just like the buzz in New York City, I once again got caught up here in Washington D.C.

Today, after hours of contemplating and hating myself, I realized that I didn’t have to be at the inauguration to feel like I’m part of the movement. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been spectacular, but it’s not about owning Obama memorabilia and standing in a crowd for an extended amount of hours. It’s about this country and how Obama plans to change it. My generation is responsible for a greater portion of his victory, what else could I ever ask for?

For history’s purposes consider this: George W. Bush’s inauguration attendance reached somewhere around half a million. Obama’s reached a few million. Everyone keeps saying history has been made and it’s exciting to say they’re right… and up until this evening I thought I had missed it. Yes, I didn’t attend the inauguration, but I still remain part of the history that lead to this glorious day.


-Erica Schrader

WASHINGTON D.C.: In the midst of an awe-inspiring presidential buzz

I’m fortunate enough to say that this is my third time in Washington D.C. The first experience came from the typical eighth grade spring break trip. Unfortunately all I remember is being paraded around the city with 24 other students while we all complained about how many stops our tour bus had to make. Oh yeah, my mom, who I love dearly, was chaperone numero uno. I feel guilty that my parents paid for something that I truly had no appreciation for at the time. My second trip came a week after I graduated high school. I saw many attractions including the National WWII Memorial. But I didn’t come to Washington for Washington; I came to attend a concert by Christian artist Chris Rice. I paid for my trip and completely underestimated the cost leaving me with zero dollars to do anything else.

They say the third time’s a charm, and this time they were right. Not only do I have the opportunity to experience Washington D.C. for a third time, but I get to be here during one of the most historical presidential inaugurations in history! How ridiculous is that? I know it’s a big deal because all my friends are now jealous and envious of me.

My headline speaks for itself in saying this has honestly been an awe-inspiring experience. Walking through the streets of D.C. creates a feeling of greatness that I will never be able to describe. Yes, I voted for Obama and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. It’s exciting and exhilarating to walk among the masses in support of one cause; a greater America. What’s even more spectacular is the fact that I know my vote made a difference. Last January Time magazine reported numbers on the first caucuses sharing proof that my generation was ready make our mark. “The youngest slice — the under-25 set, typically among the most elusive voters in all of politics — gave Obama a net gain of some 17,000 votes,” David von Drehle said. “He won by just under 20,000.”

Although I most likely won’t be able to see anything up close, I will be among the masses… and I can’t wait another minute.

Check out a blog post written by Jim Brady of the Spokesman-Review. It includes comments from Jasmine Linabary and a photo I took the day before the inauguration. Not the best quality. But hey, I e-mailed it from my cell phone.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/obama/2009/jan/19/its-security-thing/#more

-Erica Schrader

Pre-Inauguration Thoughts

by Jordan Kamikawa

I usually try to stay away from big crowds.

That being said, going to see the inauguration live tomorrow probably wouldn’t normally sound like the greatest idea. However, there is just something about watching history in the making and being able to someday tell your future grandkids that “I was there” which makes it too hard to resist.

As the day fast approaches, I can only guess what is in store for us. Countless hordes of people, intense security, extreme hunger, thirst and bathroom pains (I read that there will be about 1 bathroom to every 3000 people) will probably await us. However, the meaning of this event is so significant that it makes enduring these things seem manageable.

First, let me say that I was never a really gung-ho Obama supporter. In fact, I was torn between the two candidates for almost the whole election. However, towards Election Day I began to lean more and more to Obama’s side, and finally decided to support him.

The day he was elected, I, along with many other Americans, felt that a major barrier in American History had been shattered; a black man became President. Regardless of whether you agree with Obama or not, the fact that an African-American was now in the highest position of authority in the US was a pretty exciting feat. Just watching the diversity of the crowds celebrating on that night was truly a tear-jerking experience.

Now, being in Washington DC, I have been able to feel the excitement first hand. One of the first things I noticed when we arrived was the sheer number of people crowding the entire city. It is obvious that people have traveled far and wide to witness this historic event. Most of the crowd have been made up of African-Americans, many wearing Obama apparel to display their support and pride for the new leader. However, the mix of people from different backgrounds and countries has also been quite overwhelming and inspiring (in fact, there are quite a few foreigners staying in our hostel, one of which is supposedly a very prominent figure in Africa). Also, some of the people in our group have been conducting interviews with various bystanders asking them about their thoughts on the inauguration, which have produced some in-depth and sometimes very powerful replies (watch for the feature on whitworthian.com in the near future).

Overall, there is an excitement in the air that’s almost palpable, and for the first time I really feel that some kind of change is being brought to America. Hearing some of the stories of people from different places and backgrounds really makes me believe that I am being part of something big, and that a greater sense of unification is being created.

In all reality, this may very well be one of the most memorable days of my life; I just hope I won’t have to use the bathroom.

Class photos from New York City

I think everyone would agree the Media Impact trip has been an amazing experience to date. We have all had some memories we will never forget. Here are a few photos of the class during our time in the Big Apple.



-Derek Casanovas

A New Media Expert

I’m all for the future – the future of anything and everything. Technology, politics, the economy, people, it’s all interesting to me. So when we went to Columbia University to speak with a new media expert, I was excited. His name is Sreenath Sreenivasan and he’s been teaching at Columbia Journalism School for sixteen years. He had a lot of interesting things to say about the future of media, mostly in relation to how the internet is changing the industry. He stressed the importance of being technologically savvy in this age, using the phrase “tradigital journalist,” someone who has all the skills of a traditional journalist, but is knowledgeable in the digital age. All journalists need to not only have a new media skill set, but also a new media mindset. I found it interesting when he said that sometimes the audience knows more than you. On the internet, you can open up your articles for comments to start a conversation with the readers. He also said that you can learn about news from many media outlets today, not just traditional news media. Sometimes you have to use different formats to tell certain stories. There are so many tools available and the hard part is deciding which one to use and when. It’s important to keep an open mind about new technology, but also be careful and somewhat skeptical. He ended by saying that there will always be a market for print media. It’s been around for a long time and hasn’t been replaced by television or radio, so why should the internet replace it?

Personally, I am not that interested in print media. Like I said, I am all for the future. I am glad that something that’s been around for so long isn’t going anywhere any time soon. There are so many possibilities with the internet. People can market their own brands and get the word out to the public at an exponentially faster rate than ever before. The internet is convenient and is seen by the entire world. It is changing media in so many ways, though it doesn’t seem like it will replace any of the other forms of media.

Maddie Hayes

What newspapers can learn from the record industry

By Yong Kim

The news market isn’t the only sector in media being affected by the presence of digital technology.

It was only a few decades ago when the main medium used to listen to music was the compact disc. You know, those thin and shiny plastic looking circles that held information to play audio. Before then, Vinyl was replaced by 8-tracks, and 8-tracks replaced audiocassettes which where then replaced by CDs. People would insert CDs into their six-disc changer in their homes. Joggers used to listen to music while on their run via portable disc players.
But with the creation of electronics and a new digital age, music can now be conveniently stored onto computers, phones, mp3 players, online and any other place where digital information can be recorded.

Thousands upon thousands of audio files can be stored into a tiny iPod or laptop instead of having to carry hundreds of compact discs in a binder or in your car. Even burning discs to make music mixes has become obsolete. People can simply make a
playlist on an audio program like iTunes or windows music player and upload it to their mp3 players.

“The record industry is broken, dying and in bad shape,” said Sreenath Sreenivasan, p

rofessor of professional practice at Columbia University and new media expert.

Digital audio has become the next evolved form in the evolution chain. CDs are big, clumsy and the audio quality decreases over time due to scratching and age. You don’t have to hold digital music. And why drive to a music retailer to buy the latest Beyonce album when you can download it from iTunes for a lower price?

Think about it, when was the last time you saw someone listening to music via CDs or portable walkmans? The majority of people in the US are shifting to the new medium for listening

 music and as a result, the record industry has felt the deepest consequences of the shift in how people listen to music.

The popular Virgin Megastore in Times Square and other locations in New York City is soon to be closing, according to reuters.com. There is speculation according to several news sources as to why they are closing but I’d wager the era of the digitization of music had some impact.

Data on national record sales from Nielsen Co., a market research company, show a 20 percent decrease in physical sales of CDs since 2000 and sales have been off since then. Conversely, there has been a 32% increase of digital album sales in 2008.

The news media and record industry are going through similar circumstances. Why read the news on paper when you can get it online digitally anytime, anywhere? It seems newspapers are being sold or closed down left and right.

But the decline of print readers and CD users isn’t due to lack of information and music. It is due to the slow adaptation of the old business infrastructure to the new.
The problem is with the business model, not the music or artists, Sreenivasa said. It’s the same thing with journalists, he said.

Similar messages of figuring out a new business model that works for the new direction of news have been spoken during meetings with editors and executives in media companies like the Associated Press, Channel 13 and the Columbia Journalism Review.

“The questions is how to pay for it,” said Mike Hoyt, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. “You have to pay for the reporting somehow.”

Though the consensus seems to be so, no new and effective business model has been created thus far.

And with the bad state of economy on Wall Street and Main Street, who knows where we can go to find the solution.

Columbia Journalism Review: Mike Hoyt

In a time of uncertainty for the media, online and print editor of the Columbia Journalism Review’s Mike Hoyt said this era should be exciting for new journalists.

“We’re kind of in the best of times, the worst of times,” Hoyt said. With twenty years with CJR, Hoyt said his university is adding classes for entrepreneurship and journalists. The industry, Hoyt said, is in need of a new economic model. CJR plans to hire a beat reporter to cover the search for a new economic model.

“The people who just focus on the web are really doing incredible things,” Hoyt said. Hoyt said while he remains partial to print because of the opportunity for deeper reporting, the younger online demographic allows for conversations in real time, the story to develop through that democratic discussion and for visual interaction with the story.

“We’re sort of tip-toeing into the possibilities there,” Hoyt said. Crowdsourcing, a type of journalism where public feedback is used to obtain information on behalf of the writer, is an area Hoyt said is growing. However, it does involve a leap of faith and trust in the public’s respect of traditional journalistic values.

People are hungry for information, Hoyt said, and more entrepreneurship is needed to figure out exactly how to get the public the features they crave.

“People want this quality stuff, but journalists need to figure out how to pay for it,” Hoyt said. Read some of Hoyt’s work on The Brooklyn Ink, or check out the sites for some of the authors for CJR's next issue:

1. Politico
2. Planet Money
3. Global News Enterprises

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Hoyt? Check out the video below:

Associated Press and Columbia Journalism Review quiet the naysayers

As a journalist I tend to become defensive when people have no faith in print. Yes, circulation numbers have significantly dropped, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to bottom out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see that the media world is changing and growing, but I also believe that growth can occur in all mediums, including print.
Although our meetings with both the Associated Press and the Columbia Journalism Review happen to be my top picks, I also appreciated the fact that both advocated for this new idea of digital media but strongly held firm to the idea that print is still here and it’s not leaving in the near future.
I knew our meeting with the AP would be nothing short of spectacular and I was right. Thanks to the AP for supporting college students in realizing that we already have and will continue to make an impact on the new digital face of the media.
If you don’t know already, the Associated Press is considered to be the largest news organization in the world and has been around since 1846. Just like any other organization, the AP has been adapting to the idea of new media.
“The ultimate demand for information is changing and growing bigger than it’s ever been,” said Michael Oreskes, managing editor for U.S. news. Although they have a lot of work to do, Oreskes said the Associated Press is perfectly suited to adapt to the Internet age. While the AP spends time evaluating changes that need to be made, the idea of print disappearing has never phased this organization, including Oreskes.
“The radio didn’t replace the newspapers and the television didn’t replace the radio,” he said. I agree with Oreskes and I wonder what makes people think this new digital media won’t replace television? Why is print apparently the only valid target?
I have to admit I wasn’t overly excited about meeting with Mike Hoyt, executive editor for the Columbia Journalism Review. The only disturbing flaw occurred as Hoyt admitted not knowing there specific target age group.
After time was given to ask questions I decided to ask about the priority level of their online content verses print content. This year The Whitworthian is striving to put equal importance on both to show no separation. Hoyt shares a similar light.
“I love all my ‘children,’” he said. “Print is going to be around for a long time.” Hoyt also emphasized the important of unity between the two.
“Print and online should be a partnership trying to create a single entity,” he said.

-Erica Schrader

Columbia University: Sree Sreenivasan

Today, every journalists should have a new media skill set, but more importantly, a new media mindset, new media expert and Columbia University professor Sree Sreenivasan told students.

Columbia University's Journalism School was founded by Joseph Pulitzer, who desired to professionalize journalism. At the time, other schools rejected his offer, thinking journalism was a trade profession like plumbing.

Today, there are journalism schools across the country and now Columbia offers new media courses and has been since 1994. Change has always been a part of journalism, Sreenivasan said. Sreenivasan, who has been teaching at Columbia for 16 years, says the program focuses on teaching students how to apply new media tools and think about them, rather than just how to use them.

Sreenivasan said journalists need to develop four mindsets in thinking about new media:

1. Acknowledge that the audiences knows a lot, often more than you, and harness that energy.
2. Realize you can learn about what’s going on from anywhere, not just traditional media outlets.
3. Recognized that there are more effective ways of doing what we do.
4. Realize you only have the start of a story and think about different formats

Sreenivasan also provided a list of new media tools journalists should learn:
-How to write in 140 characters (i.e. Twitter)
-Simple video editing
-Capture really good audio
-Slideshows
-A little Flash
-Programs available on the web for editing, hosting your work, and broadcasting

To figure out which tools to use, journalists should figure out what works and is effective for them and should find someone to follow and guide them along the way, Sreenivasan said.

Journalists today who capitalize on all of these skills are “tra-digital journalists” – they have all the skills of traditional journalists but also the digital tools and know-how. Journalists who have both will be the ones with careers in the field, he said.

“Those who are successful not just work the hardest, but work the smartest,” Sreenivasan said.

Journalists need to learn how to promote their work and manage their online brand. This can be measured by “ego surfing,” or doing a Google search of your name, Sreenivasan said.

Despite his interest in new media, Sreenivasan still has a love for print.

“I think there’s something magical about print,” Sreenivasan said. “I think it will be around.”

News organizations can capitalize on new media by setting up “skunk works” – sending out a few people to incubate a project and see if it works before putting it into place. Traditional news media are not the only ones affected by the Internet age.

“If you think journalism is in trouble, compare it to the record industry,” Sreenivasan said. “The problem isn’t with the music, the problem is with the business model.”

Want more from Sreenivasan? Here are some online tools and links he shared with the group that are worth checking out:

-On Twitter: Themediaisdying
-Regret the Error
-Snipshot
-Blogtalkradio
-Mogulus
-Qik
-Sprout Builder

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Sreenivasan? Check out the video below:

Thursday, January 15, 2009
So it has been awhile since my last blog, but I have been having a great time in New York. Since the last time I have blogged we have met with many different people in the media world. Today was a very exciting and fun filled day. It started off with everyone waking up to loud banging noise that sounded to me like it was an earthquake. That has been one of the many highlights to staying at the wonderful hostel in New York City. I heard DC’s hostel is not better so that shall be another exciting adventure.

Today we went to the Associated Press and Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising. Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising were very useful to me because that is along the lines of what I want to get involved in after school. Marketing is such a major part of our world and most people do not even realize it. I really liked the Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising work environment. They seem to be a very close group of people which is good for an advertising and marketing group, because that way they can all work together and come up with ideas. One of the neat examples that Saatchi and Saatchi showed us were some of the commercials that they have made. My favorite one was the Crest toothpaste commercial. Saatchi and Saatchi were very helpful to me because it assured me that I am going down the correct career path. Another plus to Saatchi and Saatchi was the amazing the view that they had of New York.

The last part of my day was very excited as I got to meet Sean Hannity with Nikki and Hannah. It was so much fun. First we get there and had to wait downstairs with security because they were not ready for us to come up yet. During that time though we made friends with the security guard who kept us entertained. Then Sean’s assistant came down to get us and took us upstairs where she told us that we would be watching a live taping of the show. Then she told us that they decided to do a live taping of the show because of the big plane crash in the Hudson earlier today. So she set us up in the green room while we mingled with some of the guests on the show and then she came back and got us and took us to meet him in the studio. He was very nice and down to earth and showed a lot of interest in us and what we were doing here in the city. Then he said we could stay and watch the filming in the studio but the camera men said there were too many of us to do that. So Sean’s assistant escorted us out and we watched the show in the green room and met some of the other guests. Then after the show we got to meet Sean again and take a picture. The picture is great because Nikki is a whole head taller than him because she wore 4 inch heels. (She thought he was taller than he actually is.) We got a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put at news show on every day and night. Meeting Sean and all the guests was a great experience and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to do so.
Stephanie

Sean Hannity

Last night two of my good friends and I were blessed with the amazing opportunity to meet conservative fox news show host Sean Hannity and watch a live studio recording of his television show. The whole evening was a wonderful experience and gave us a first hand view of what live television and media broadcasting looks like.

It just so happened that that afternoon there had been a non-fatal plane crash in the Hudson River so the Hannity show was pushed back to cover the crash and his show schedule was rapidly changed to interview people involved with the incident.  Fox News was in chaos when we arrived at the building, bookers and crew members were running all over getting ready for the impromtu show. Depsite all the madness Mr. Hannity’s assistant invited us into the studio to meet him. I had to smile as we walked in and Mr. Hannity , the crew and several other show guests were tossing around a football and joking together. 

We had a great time talking with him and I was really amazed at how interested he was in talking about us and uninterested he was in himself. He asked us lots of questions about our trip so far, who we met with, and what we were looking to pursue in the media industry. 

Once the live show began we sat in the green room and talked to the show's guests for that evening. It was cool to watch the process of someone sitting in the green room, getting pulled into hair and make-up, hooked up with a microphone and then be put on live national television. I also really enjoyed getting to meeting and talk to so many fun people that were involved in the broadcast. Everyone was very friendly and happy to have us.

Over all it was a great night. We learned about real television broadcasting, met some fantastic people and had a lot of fun.

Hannah

Lovemarks and Hannitizing America

Allow me to preface this entry with the statement that in five years I do not envision myself as a print journalist. However, I do understand that writing and creating reader-friendly and remarkable stories will always be a piece of my career.

When meeting with Dave Thomas of Nielsen Company, Ketchum Public Relations, Flemming Meeks of Barrons, Michael Botein of New York Law School, Associated Press, and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, it was made very clear that writing skills are a must in the media business, yet there are numerous other qualities which are attractive to employers. When asked about their hiring processes, all organizations defended their stance that connections, personality, and drive are the most essential components of a desirable employee.

Of the past few days, I most enjoyed meeting with Saatchi & Saatchi advertising. When walking into their main office, a potential client would be swept off their feet into the breathtaking views of the New York City skyline and forget about the woes of their business plan. However, the consultants at Saatchi & Saatchi understand that when presented with a marketing scheme, they must start on a strategic side and address the objectives, issues, and creative challenges of the organization before planning an advertising campaign. I loved the setup of the creative suites which allowed for open communication between employees to bounce ideas off of one another. The environment of Saatchi & Saatchi seemed to address community holistically, making it an organization I would trust in the future—as an employer or employee.

The day wrapped up when two of my roommates, Stephanie and Hannah, and I were blessed with a lifetime opportunity to meet with Sean Hannity of Fox News. Now, I may loose some audience right off the bat when I mention his name, but I do believe that no matter what political stance one may have, there were valuable lessons to be learned from our experience. Due to the nature of the airplane crash that day, Sean’s taping of his television show was delayed so that it could have live coverage. This meant that we would have less time with him, yet we could see the behind-the-scene nature of producing a live broadcast of breaking news. Upon entering the building and receiving our credentials, Sean’s assistant Elise brought us up to the recording studio and gave us a brief tour of that floor of the building. She was very interested in our tour and repeatedly made the statement that she ‘wished she would have had the opportunity to take part in a study tour such as ours”. We were then ushered into a green room where the guests of the show were being miked-up and made-up. We met pilots, witnesses, firefighters, Wall Street journalists, stock brokers, a professional blogger, author of new book American Grit, a colleague of Don Imus’ and employees of Fox. We chatted with the guests of the show until we were able to meet Mr. Hannity. When walking into the studio I was surprised at how expansive it was. He immediately walked up to us, made us feel welcome, shook our hands and took an interest in our lives. We had prepared multiple questions, none of which we were able to ask due to the easy conversation which flowed regarding our trip and his genuine interest in our career goals. We then watched the rest of the show and enjoyed the company of the guests. We were exposed to multiple career opportunities pertaining to broadcast media and left with many contacts and ideas for our futures. The most enjoyable part of the evening came in the form of a picture with Mr. Hannity when we were all exiting the studio. I had insisted on wearing towering heels, and when combined with all six feet of my natural height, the end result was a picture of the girls, Sean and I--soaring a whole head above him.

To wrap things up, I am inspired by the students on this trip who feel that journalism is their duty to society, and am also inspired by the students who believe other forms of communication are their calling. All the professionals we have met with agree that if you are not happy in your job, it is not for you and that in order to succeed you must want to go to work every morning, regardless what criticism you receive from others or the obstacles in your way.

-Nicole Warner

Saatchi and Saatchi: a youthful and unique approach to advertising

By Jordan Kamikawa

What happens when a corporation utilizes both innovativeness and youthfulness in creating their end product? 

I believe the answer looks something like Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising.

From the time we first walked through the doors into the company’s main office this afternoon, I knew that they would be something different. The furniture in the room reflected almost futuristic-like styles, including a pink plastic couch in the form of two connected pods. Bright-colored art lined the walls of the office, which featured a center conference room surrounded completely by spotless glass walls. In addition, the view from the large windows that surrounded the room exhibited a first-class view of New York, with numerous skyscrapers dotting the horizon. The whole sight was really a treat to take in.

Unlike many of the other corporation we have met with so far, we were introduced to a very young tour leader, Erin Lyons, who looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her extremely extroverted and charismatic personality was evident from the outset, as she explained a little background on Saatchi and Saatchi and what they do. She then proceeded to show us a short video, which many of the other companies have not really used so far. About a half-dozen commercials produced by Saatchi and Saatchi were shown, some reaching the audience through heart-warming messages and others intending to get a good laugh.

The next part of our meeting involved a full tour of the facilities, which really blew me away. The trendy and tasteful look of the whole place really impressed me, as most rooms featured wide-open spaces, bright colors, and modern furniture. She also led us to a display of art pieces created by their company, which endorsed brands such as Cheerios, Tide, and Saran-Wrap in fun, unique ways. The last part of our tour took us to the top of the building, which featured not only a staffed gym, but also an outside running track that was surrounded by a 360 degree view of the entire cityscape.

However, the tour not only highlighted the beauty of their office, but also revealed some of the company’s values as well. Erin explained that there was also a functional reason behind most of their layout, one example being that the large open offices created an environment that encourages cohesiveness and teamwork. In addition, much of their company seemed to operate on positive principles like this, including a term that is very key to their organization called “lovemarks.” This term basically reflects a relation to a certain brand or product that is highly endeared, particularly to the point where the consumer feels like they can’t live without it. These “lovemarks” are the backbone for all of their work, which frames their optimistic approach to advertising. 

Also, Saatchi and Saatchi makes it a point to emphasize messages promoting emotions and human nature through simple stories. One instance of this took form in a JcPenny’s commercial we were shown, which centers on a little girl dreaming about flying to the north pole and her adventures to accomplish this. I thought that this attention to small details of life made the advertisements powerful and hard-hitting. Also, Saatchi and Saatchi also supports organizations that deal with aid-giving and sustainability causes, such as Unicef. All of these examples of the company’s firm morals and attention to positive causes really furthered my interest in them.

Overall, the entire meeting was well organized and gave us a inside look into how an advertising agency is run with a fresh mindset and style that could pave the way for future advertising.

Saatchi & Saatchi

I was very impressed with Satchi & Satchis' presentation today and the overall information that they gave us. A lot of the commercials that they showed on the television today were commercials that I have seen before and they were very funny. It was very interesting to see the process of making a commercial for a client. It starts out with an objective that the client wants to present, then the idea starts to form, then shooting and production and then finally is the editing and after this whole process the commercial is put on tv. I think my favorite commercial that they showed was the miller light commercials, I just think those are the funniest. Two questions that I wanted to ask but didn't get enough time was, what is the average cost per ad and where do they get this money to make the ad? I know that channel 13 even though they weren't commericals, they were movies they still had to raise the money themselves. The coolest part about going to visit Satchi & Satchi was going on the tour and getting to go on the roof and see the entire city of Manhatten. If we had gone up there 30 minutes later we might have been able to see that US Airways plane crash but thankfully no one was hurt. I thought Satchi & Satchi was a very interesting company to go and visit and I am glad that we did.

Patrick Kenney

Associated Press: Michael Oreskes and Robert Naylor

A lot of people struggle with change – but it’s inevitable, Associated Press editors told students.

The Associated Press, a non-profit newspaper wire service and co-op, is one of the oldest and largest news organizations in the world, dating back to newspapers sharing resources in the Spanish-American War. Today, Yahoo! Is one of the biggest clients, giving more money to the AP than most newspapers combined.

To service news organizations, AP employs more than 3,500 people who report the news in five languages to participating organizations around the globe.

Michael Oreskes

While the fundamental underpinnings of the industry are changing, the desire for journalism is not, said Michael Oreskes, managing editor for U.S. news. The AP is best situated to respond to the Internet age, as the organization has operated on a 24/7 news cycle and delivers news when it happens.

New distribution methods in the past have tended to exist alongside traditional media. Whether this will be the case with the Internet, which incorporates other mediums, is one of the big questions facing the industry, Oreskes said.

“The only change we can predict with absolute certainty is change itself,” Oreskes said.

The challenge is determining what is essential to journalism and what is just form, Oreskes said. For example, the inverted pyramid was the result of technological revolutions to the point that competition among newspapers necessitated finding ways to draw readers in. Traits like honesty, credibility and accuracy are those that need to be preserved, Oreskes said.

“Look hard at what you need to do and try to make the changes you need to make,” Oreskes said. “We’re not there. We’ve got a lot of work to do ourselves.”

The AP is currently taking a hard look at what can be done with video and figuring out what can be accomplished practically with the available people and resources, Oreskes said.

Robert Naylor

Robert Naylor, director of career development in news, deals with leadership and management development in the newsroom, a unique position among news organizations that is used to help groom people for jobs and manage the newsroom more efficiently.

Naylor, with a background in print journalism, said critical thinking, good writing and research skills remain the most critical skills journalists can possess. In his own career, Naylor said the technical skills he had helped set him apart when he was entering the field and suggested that the same would be true for today’s students. He said if he was a student today he would seek to build as broad a skill set as possible.

Naylor predicted that an appetite for news and information will continue to exist and grow with new players and platforms. He suggests that newspapers will become smaller, more specialized and fewer in number.

“The biggest challenge is figuring out what the audience wants, how they want it presented and how we can make money off of it,” Naylor said.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Hear more. Check out the videos below:

Saatchi & Saatchi and Love Marks

Today was my favorite so far. We visited Erin Lyons, a communications team leader at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. I was really looking forward to this meeting since marketing and advertising is the field that I intend to enter after graduating from college, or with some luck and hard work, before I graduate. The office was on the sixteenth floor of this amazing building in Manhattan. The view from the wall of windows was spectacular. It felt like we could see the whole city. The hallway was lined with colorful art and a seemingly important meeting was ensuing in a peek-a-boo conference room behind the reception desk. Erin was extremely inviting and seemly truly pleased to meet with us. She showed us down to a conference room where we watched a short video of commercials, or “spots,” that Saatchi & Saatchi had done. They had some very well known clients, like JC Penney and General Mills. There was one commercial for Pillsbury that I remember seeing multiple times during Christmas break. It was weird to be sitting in the office of the company that made that advertisement.

She took us on a tour of the entire office. It was a really beautiful, open space. Erin said that it was so open because it facilitates more team work between the employees. She took us up to the roof to see an absolutely beautiful view of New York. We could even see the statue of liberty. During our Q & A session, we got some good information. One concept that I found really interesting was the idea of “Love Marks” that their CEO, Kevin Roberts, has come up with. It’s the idea that we all have brands that we emotionally connect with on a deeper level than just liking it. She also mentioned that for their commercials, they almost always film outside of the United States because it costs less. I would have thought that it would be cheaper here, especially with the insane airfare these days.

Overall, I really enjoyed this meeting. I know that I want to go into advertising, but this helped solidify that fact in my mind. I could see myself working in that environment, and it was especially encouraging to find out that she had gotten that job without a college degree! It gives me hope that I will be able to find a good job that I’ll enjoy once I graduate.

The amazing view from the rooftop

Maddie Hayes

Saatchi & Saatchi: Erin Lyons

Tide, Pampers, General Mills and Crest: all are very diverse retail products available to consumers on most supermarket shelves. Communications team leader Erin Lyons said her job at Saatchi & Saatchi is to ensure those brands are ones consumers feel they must have.

Saatchi & Saatchi works on advertisements and commercial spots for television, print and internet clients. Television is still king in the advertising world, but Lyons said the future lies in a no-nonsense approach to delivering products’ messages.

“It has to hit clearly and straight to the heart,” Lyons said. With the average advertisement taking seven to nine months to brainstorm, plan out and shoot, online advertisements need to not only get internet users engaged but keep them engaged.

In addition to being concise, Lyons said, advertisers need to create interaction with Web users in order to get them to act on their interest in an advertisement with a behavior in the marketplace. Lyons said her company also does advertising on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

During job searches, Lyons gave the students three recommendations. First, standing out from the pack by doing solid research on a company prior to an interview will give candidates a leg up on fellow applicants. Second, a firm handshake is also a sign of strength, Lyons said, especially for female job seekers. Thirdly, confidence is everything, even if you’re insecure and unsure of how to approach a situation. Lyons said she has bestowed the “fake it to make it” mentality to her sisters as a way of finding success in the professional world.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Lyons? Check out the video below:

Advertising (or, The Dark Side of Media)

This is a brief history of advertising.

People have always wanted to sell things, but they needed ways to tell people that their products were for sale. So they decided, back in history, to explain to consumers why the consumers should buy their products in little messages, sometimes with pictures. It was reasonable and rational. It made sense.

Then, in the early 20th century, a car company decided that it would sell a lifestyle rather than just a product. The ad, which was for a now-defunct car make, told its readers that if they bought the car, they would be living out an adventurous lifestyle, and who wouldn’t want to do that?

So the thing in advertising since then has been selling lifestyles. You buy Downy, you’re a caring mother. You buy Chevy, you’re an American man. You buy Bud Light, you’re a dedicated football fan. And that’s how companies have tried to get American people to buy their products—through the image.

But that’s no longer good enough.

At Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the largest (and, by the looks of their offices, most profitable) advertising firms in the country, we learned about the “lovemark.” This is the newest development in advertising genius, and can be defined as the emotional connection advertisers try to create between a consumer and a particular brand name. So no longer do you just buy Downy for the lifestyle; you love Downy and wouldn’t do laundry without it. The way it was explained, the lovemark sounds like a tremendous humanitarian effort to promote love and good feelings throughout the world. The Saatchi rep who told us about it seemed to believe that the lovemark would end hunger and war for dinner and save the rainforests for dessert. She told us that the lovemark, essentially, made advertising mean something greater than profiteering.

But when it comes down to it, the lovemark is just another way to manipulate consumers. And that’s why I would have to sell my soul before I would ever work for an advertising agency.

By definition, advertising is manipulation in order to make money; it has no other purpose. Some commercials pluck your heartstrings or make you laugh, but what they’re really doing is grabbing your attention and selling a brand. There is nothing greater, nothing more foundational, in the business.

In journalism, there are greater principles at stake to which journalists may strive. The same is true for the profession of law, politics, sometimes business, and the list goes on. But in advertising, I just don’t see it.

-James Spung

Old vs. new media: the fight over the share of a shrinking pie

By Yong Kim

Several years ago, photos were considered fact. The saying used to go "the proof is in the picture." It was the smoking gun. But now in the digital age, photo manipulation software like Adobe Photoshop allows people to change the original image to look like just about anything.

In an age of new media and digitization, the lines of reality, fiction and professionalism have been blurred.

What gives a professional journalist writing for the daily paper a leg-up against the citizen journalist blogging on his or her computer at home?

It's primary information versus secondary information, Fleming Meeks, editor of Barron's Magazine, said.

Reporters get information directly from the source, whether that is from a person or document. Bloggers on the other hand will most of the time make a post with referred information obtained by an article or reporter who gathered the data.

The second- or third-tier reporting is the fallacy for bloggers, Meeks said.

The current dilemma of news is the competition between traditional journalists and average citizens reaching audiences with the same news information.

The piece of pie news organizations has been fighting for has shrunk, and continues to shrink with competition from new media. News companies like the Christian Science Monitor and U.S. World News & Report has moved exclusively online due to the ailing newspaper industry.

Many traditional news organizations have adapted to this new era of digitization. Most newspapers and T.V. broadcasters have online counterparts full of exclusive and original content visitors can find separate from what is already offered.

Still, however, many news companies are still struggling to keep afloat the tidal wave of new media that has, in many ways, leveled the playing field and reality of where and how information is accessed.

“[The biggest current challenge in media law is] trying to figure out what the hell to with the digital environment,” said Michael Botein, a New York Law School’s professor of law specializing in media.

The problem with citizen journalists or bloggers is that they don’t adhere to the same journalistic standards reporters do, he said.

Sure, new media like blogs are more personal, interactive and personal compared to, say, an article from the NY Times. But that same blog probably isn’t as credible or reliable as the story reported in the NY Times. But traditional journalism like the newspaper still has some serious disadvantages.

A paper that runs on a weekly, biweekly and even daily basis would hardly be able to compete with an online news blog that runs on a 24-hour news cycle.

Why wait a day or week for you to read the news when you can get it this very minute online?

So when the pros and cons of each side are cancelled out, who will turn out victorious? Or will either of them be left standing when the smoke clears? Will it be some kind of hybrid?

John DeNatale, director of local programming for Thirteen/WNET, one of the largest PBS programs, said the next fight would be on the fight of authenticity.

But so far, the media experts and those working in it we have met does not seem to have a definitive answer as of yet.

The New Yorker in us all

I came to New York expecting the hardened city I’ve seen in countless movies and shows based here, a place pulsing with methodical fervor but lacking human warmth. I was steeling myself for New Yorkers’ impatience with tourists and hoping to avoid stepping on anyone else’s toes.

And then I met Joe.

He was just like what you’d expect of a New Yorker: green heavy coat, scruffy goatee, clunky workman’s boots and that crisp, coarse New York accent that plays sarcasm so well. It was Sunday, our third day in this town, and we were riding the subway (or “train,” as the natives call it) from Coney Island to Atlantic Avenue in the center of Brooklyn. One woman cautioned us about that stop as she left the train, saying that it was a terrible area. After the doors closed, Joe looked at me from across the subway car.

“Don’t believe it,” he said.

I asked why not. He waved his hand dismissively.

“She’s from out of town. There’s no way she’d say that if she was from the city.” He paused, gazing out the subway window as if reviewing what he’d said. Then he continued.

“People always see this stuff in movies and TV about how if you come to New York, you’re going to get mugged or shot. People think gangs are everywhere. People think they’re going to get run over or yelled at.” Again, he waved his hand (a gesture that seemed to come as naturally as breathing). “That’s crap. It’s a safe city. The police are everywhere. And we’re nice people, too.”

It was the inelegant but poignant speech every New Yorker longs to give but never has the chance to. And thinking back on the encounters I’ve had with random strangers in the streets and tunnels of this town, I’d have to say that Joe was right.

All you need to do is ask for directions.

During our trip, we have asked several people for the location of buildings, of subway stops and of restaurants (some of which we were standing next to). Not one of them brushed us off or ignored us, and most showed more than a passing interest in us.

One man in the middle of Times Square asked where we were from. We said Spokane, and he commented on the floods in Spokane at the time. Every police officer we have talked to has been kind, conversational and helpful. One woman helped a member of our group from one subway stop to the next when her card would not work. Two guys in a Brooklyn bar went out of their way to direct me to the nearest train station. Many New Yorkers have offered restaurant recommendations, including an elderly couple that guided us when we were lost. An older man even gave us a personal tour of the Chrysler Building lobby and Grand Central Station.

In fact, we have yet to meet a native of the city that has been rude or standoffish to us in our more than five days in town.

That says something.

It tells you how much New Yorkers love their city. Kindness toward visitors shows love of place. The city’s residents have a remarkably giving attitude to those who come to their city, contrary to what you might expect from Law & Order or NYPD Blue. It is clear to me that the people in this town have a sense that they are united by something greater than themselves: their community. Moreover, New Yorkers seem to realize that citizenship comes with the responsibility known as civic duty. It can be as grand as running for office and as miniscule as picking up trash, as consuming as heading a community center and as effortless as helping 12 strangers from Washington state.

I think we can learn something from New Yorkers.

Now, as ever, our country faces innumerable crises, starting with the economy and continuing all the way down to the potholes in Spokane’s roads. To address them, we can create policies and regulations. We can raise taxes and reduce expenditures. We can vote, we can lobby and we can yell. (And hey, we can even blog.) But crucial and foundational element to solving the issues that confront us is today as it has always been: a sense of our responsibilities as American citizens.

It’s not something the government can enforce and it’s not something the economy can require. Civic duty is the profound “X” factor that drives individuals and nations to greatness.

From what I’ve seen, New Yorkers have it. As we look toward a new presidential administration and the most trying time in recent American history, I can only hope that we, as Americans, can bring out the New Yorker inside us all.

-James Spung

Barron's Daily Stock Alert: Fleming Meeks

Students had the opportunity to speak with Barron’s Daily Stock Alert editor and writer Fleming Meeks in his Wall Street office today.

Meeks said his job is to provide readers with a daily e-mailed profile of one stock and recommend a buying or selling strategy. On Fridays, Meeks updates previous stock profiles and offers current insight for buying and selling.

One advantage to his publication, Meeks said, is the great profitability it provides.

“The experiment right now is can you have a high value, low cost production,” Meeks said. With low overhead cost in staff members, free advertising from Barron’s magazine and the Wall Street Journal and no print editions to distribute, expenditures are minimal. Subscriptions for the exclusive stock e-mails are $800 per year.

Meeks said other publications would have a difficult time mimicking Barron’s Daily Stock Alert’s business plan because making money solely on advertisements is not yet feasible. Studies have shown recall on advertising content is 10 times lower online than in print, meaning Web sites would have to attract 10 times as many readers for equal exposure.

Part of what his publication sells is credibility, Meeks said.

“The stocks that I picked lost less in the market,” Meeks said. Last year, consumers who followed Meeks’ advice would have sustained losses of roughly two percent less than average investors.

Despite increasing internet traffic from bloggers, Meeks said he and other news sources should not be worried.

“Without the news, bloggers don’t have anything to write about,” Meeks said. Despite the downward economic situation and the “worst possible time” for launching this type of publication, Meeks said journalism will always hold a place for those who can write and report important information.

-Derek Casanovas and Jasmine Linabary

Want to hear more from Meeks? Check out the video below:

WAKE UP New York

It’s all fake.

Visiting Good Morning America was a great experience, and one from which I learned a lot about television media, but quite literally, the whole thing is a show.

My intention is not to come across overly critical, it’s simply to express the inconsistencies in perceived media versus actual production of a television show. Here’s a little bit about what I learned:

Fact: Diane Sawyer is an aging, 60-something year-old woman who looks 40 on camera and 70 up close.

Good Morning America’s winter coat drive is a good PR move for the network