Answering the "Why"

Last week, Bill Frakes' presentation not only provided optimism for the future, but reassured me that I am in the correct professional field. Although the world of journalism is slightly up in the air right now, my experiences this year, including the words of Bill Frakes, reminded me that it is something worth fighting for... and in the long run, will pay off.

Bill's stories of traveling all over the world, his various assignments and working against deadlines were captivating. It is my dream to be able to travel with my job, experience new things, and face surprise with each new day. I think these ideals are the main reason why I love writing and the thought of being a journalist so much.

With my experiences this year(writing for the Trib and reporting) and my past experiences throughout high school, it always astounds me to recognize the beauty of people. In high school, I obviously did not expand very far from inside the school's walls; but here, I have had to push my limits to reach sources, find story ideas, and become educated on topics I never truly understood. I have learned that for the most part, one wants to help with stories and will always provide the answers necessary. Although some do not necessarily agree with the topic at hand, it leaves room for debate and furthering ones knowledge on both sides. These past couple of months have been eye-opening for me, and any doubtful thoughts of my path taken have completely diminished.

Although I know it will be difficult upon graduation, and even still while in school regarding internships, I am willing to face the hardship to attain my ultimate goal. I have never been one to work toward something that I know will not make me happy or just for the money... this is why I am not a business major. I cannot imagine sitting in an office and looking at numbers while meeting with clients to discuss business propositions. Boring. I want adventure, intrigue, and to continue learning throughout my entire life. The field of journalism offers this. Whether it be traveling across the world, meeting incredible people, or pushing myself personally and professionally, I will never give up on my hopes to become a true journalist.

I know I have a long way to go, but I am looking forward to each and every step of it along the way.

My first bashing...

Last week I learned for the first time what it feels like to upset someone with an article...

In last week's Tuesday issue of the Trib, I wrote a story on Scott Walker and his "scandal" involving student government while he was in attendance at Marquette. I worked an incredible amount to ensure it showed no bias, and spoke with individuals on all sides of the issue. In writing the article, I made sure to cover all of the bases and present information that was of fact, not opinion.

However, one student(and I'm sure many others) felt the need to express his disdain for the article I had written in the Thursday issue Viewpoint section. His submission said things like "it was one of the most biased articles I have ever read", "I have come to expect more from my campus newspaper" and noted it would be best if the "Barrett supporters" wouldn't try to sway voters with unnecessary and irrelevant items of the past.

Well, I do have to say that upon reading the submission, I felt a little bit bad about myself. In all of the articles I have ever written, whether it be in high school or college, I have never had anyone be legitimately angry about a topic I covered. Nor have I ever been accused of being biased. In fact, his submission not only saddened me, but it offended me on the account of him acting like I do not know how to do my job correctly.

Seeing that I cannot rebuttal against him, I have a few things to say about that article and his opinions of it.

First, he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. After going over the article many times, I still cannot see a trace of personal bias. Yes, the story was about Scott Walker and cast him in a little bit of a bad light, but from the very first words, it also spoke of the ways in which Tom Barrett has used attack methods in this election. I simply presented the facts and portrayed absolutely no personal opinion. Not to mention the article had to go through six reads, so any bias would have been removed in that process. But this random person writing to the Trib obviously did not know that.

Second, he referred to me as a "Tom Barrett supporter" and as someone on the "left side" of things. Although he is correct in the fact that I consider myself a bit of a liberal, he had absolutely no idea or fact to base that claim off of. I have never met this individual in my life, nor do I have political affiliation or anything of the sort on my facebook... so he had no way of knowing who I support. For all he knows, I could be a Walker supporting Republican, yet he was so naive to jump to the conclusion that I simply did my job incorrectly and wrote a story trying to persuade voters. No. Half of me wanted to e-mail him saying, "Hey guess what, I support Scott Walker", but that would just be unprofessional.

Finally, he honestly did not say anything in his submission to back up his claims. He simply called me out(using my name multiple times) and then spit out a bunch of facts about Walker's campaign... the same ones that every. single. Republican supporter of Walker says. "250,000 jobs...less government is more government..." So basically, HE was the one writing in and trying to persuade voters. Although he can do this, he very clearly thought he was calling me out and showing the Marquette community that it was wrong what I wrote. Instead, for anyone that read my article and sees politics for what it really is, they would have seen that he was very ignorant. And then if they would have facebook stalked him like I did, they would have also seen that his profile picture is a campaign ad for Scott Walker.

Wonderful.

Needless to say, I am thrilled the elections are today. I'm tired of negative campaign ads, angry individuals and so much partisan hatred toward one another. The government is going nowhere fast and the manner in which it is looked upon now is not going to help it at all. In fact, after watching the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear last weekend, I would love for my next President to be Jon Stewart.

That is all.

It All Pays Off

Two fridays ago I covered the gubernatorial debate for the Trib. Seeing that the event was on a Friday, it was pretty much impossible to get a photographer to go with me, so I had to take pictures myself. As expressed in an earlier blog, I am by no means a photographer... but the knowledge we gained from the lecture on photography definitely helped me to feel more confident and do a better job in making the pictures. Things such as the rule of thirds, cropping, and focus and frame stood out in my mind and they enabled me to produce a pretty decent picture.

This is a classic example of putting what one learns into action. It is especially important in the field of journalism, for as is well-known, is going through a process of high transformation. It will be key for journalists to be able to use a camera, make videos and produce multimedia packages. Luckily, this class is enabling its students to know how to do these things, and how to do them well.

The final project is so much more than merely creating a website and hoping to receive an A in the class. For some students in other majors, that is really the only thing they think about while in class-- the grade. They obviously know that statistics and how to write a paper will help them along their way, but they don't see those things as detrimental as to whether or not they get a job. In the realm of journalism, practicing and mastering the curriculum of the classes is a key step in attaining a job. As time progresses, the idea of print publications might be shrinking, but more and more is expected of journalists. I have learned through my classes and experiences that it is simply not enough to do homework and study for tests; one has to engage themselves in what they are learning, and truly understand the effects it will have on their future.

I'm Late, I'm Late!

Yes, this blog is very far behind. The title however, made me think of Alice and Wonderland(one of my favorite Disney movies). Thinking of Wonderland led to thinking about Disney movies in general, which led to thinking about entertainment within the media. So although it isn't exactly related to the class, I am going to discuss media entertainment and its decline.

Entertainment is going down a terrible path. Whether it be television shows that do not provide quality content, popular magazines that depict the individual in an impossible manner or music that portrays unrealistic messages to society, the entertainment realm of media is decreasing in its potential each and every day.

When I was younger, there were such fantastic television shows, and I'm sure that before my time they were even better. I remember coming home from school and watching "Boy Meets World" on the Disney channel. There was also a monthly "original Disney channel movie".  Older generation shows like "Saved by the Bell", "Dawson's Creek" and "Happy Days" were also of great quality. Now, shows such as "Spongebob" and "Wizards of Waverly Place" plague household television screens; they don't promote anything, and they aren't even funny.

If I could change anything about the media(and this is a large thing to allude to, I know) it would be the way it portrays women. In decades before, women were deemed unhealthy if they weighed less than a certain amount. Movie stars appeared classy in magazine ads, not as if they had just gotten out of jail...which sadly is the case most of the time. Women like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn were idols to girls all over the country. There weren't idols for being unhealthily thin though, but for their radiant natural beauty and talent.

Media today teaches viewers that they must appear a certain way in order to be accepted and liked in society. Women are depicted as thin, fake and oftentimes dumb or as sex symbols. Men are encouraged to be buff and exude an overly masculine aura. Not only are these things unrealistic amongst all, but they are unhealthy and degrading. The media needs to figure out some other way to sell magazines or heighten ratings.

Entertainment within the media is something that is only going to get worse. With the onflux of technology in today's society, there are countless ways to produce and view various forms of media. Whether it be televison, movies, music or publications, the media is expressing an unattainable ideal to men and women all over the world. Society needs to realize this as a whole, or else it will never be able to fight back.

Oh, the concept of group work...

Classroom group work is something that one either loves or hates. Some might find themselves constantly doing the entire project by themselves, where others might sit back and do absolutely nothing. In my case, I have a very hate/love kind of relationship toward group work. On one hand, I am oftentimes the individual that does the entire project on my own. Most of the time I don't trust the rest of my group members enough to do a good job, so I typically decide to take on the task by myself. On the other hand, I enjoy getting to know others through group projects. There is always something new to learn and it is interesting to discover little things about those around you.

I feel as if the final group project assigned in class last week will be a very interesting process for many reasons. The team that I am on should produce intriguing circumstances. I'm fairly certain that all three of us are typically the ones to take on the role of "doing all of the work", so it should be a surprise to see what happens. Also in regards to this, I feel like all three of us like to have things done our own ways/feel a little power-hungry sometimes. Again, interesting things will occur.

Adding to the intrigue that this project presents is the topic we chose to cover-- food. Food is a huge part of any college student's life, and it should be interesting to investigate the different aspects of it both on and off campus. We divided the roles up so that I will be covering "Marquette-known" restaurants(Dog Haus, Real Chili, Marquette Gyros...) and campus vendors. This will actually be quite a learning experience for myself, seeing that I embarrassingly have never been to the Dog Haus or Real Chili.

Although the project seems as if it will be a decent amount of work, I believe that it will be an enjoyable work effort. I'm happy with the team I was placed on, and although it should be interesting, I am certain that we will do an excellent job. I'm excited to explore a part of Marquette that I personally am not very knowledgable of, and expect a good number of months to accompany this project.

The Irony of Everyday Life

Human beings are interesting creatures.

Going back to my first post, I spoke of the fact that many of us in JOUR 1550 have all of the same classes together, yet we barely know each other. After a month of being in school this semester, two full semesters previous and a lot of classes together, I still find it ironic how awkward people are. Whether it be passing someone on the street or avoiding sitting next to someone in a class, the habit of humanity is a very interesting aspect to explore.

For example:
You're walking down Wisconsin Ave. to your 12 p.m. class. You're just passing Raynor and a person that has been in atleast four of your classes is walking toward you. A couple of those four classes were of very small size. The person continutes toward you, looking every direction possible except at you. As the two of you finally pass each other, this person either looks up quickly and gives a small smile, or just keeps walking on by with their head down.

What? Awkward.

Individuals show a very distinct discomfort while walking on the street. I will admit to doing the same. It's an intriguing couple of seconds leading up to passing someone you "semi-know". Your mind kicks into high-gear and you start to think "Do I say hello to them?", "Should I just smile?", "Maybe I'll just put my head down and act like I don't see them."  These are common thoughts that go through everybody's minds on a typical walk to class. Even the most outgoing individuals fall victim to these mind games.

In order to change this, we need to revert back to a more comfortable time of years ago. A time when saying hello to a passerby was common courtesy and when ignoring someone you have seen/know was something only done out of anger. As college students, we are supposed to be more comfortable with ourselves than in the odd stages of high school. We need to not worry about what others will think or whether or not the person opposite us will wave back. Just do it. It will cause a lot less stress on the walk to class and there's absolutely nothing to lose.

I'm Falling Behind! Frantic.

This post is late. I've had some family issues to deal with over the past week, so I really haven't been able to get very much done.

For last Tuesday, we were supposed to tell a story in photos. While I was in Ohio at my grandmother's funeral, I made a photo of a pink carnation that came off the top of her casket. I was actually very happy with it(it was really artsy and I wish I was cool like that more often). I felt it would symbolize the story of my grandmother's life. Even with her old age, she still thrived with life and was one of the most beautiful individuals I have ever known. The carnation portrayed the beauty of life and that even when it is over, not all is lost. There are memories and laughs that can be looked back upon. My grandmother was an amazing woman, and with her passing, I felt the most important story for me to tell was one involving her.

Unfortunately, I left my camera at my Aunt's house in Ohio...therefore I need to make another picture. Disappointing.

I've never truly thought about the art of photography in its truest form though. Yes, individuals of all ages take pictures in order to record their lives, but photos can mean so much more than that. The way photography has developed and grown over the many years astonishes me.

While I was in Ohio, my cousins and I spent a good amount of time creating picture boards for the viewing. We rummaged through photos dating back to the 1930s. It was amazing to see the contrast in those images to the ones of today. Although they were black and white, some tarnished and some bent or folded, there was one thing that remained the same in every picture. Spirit. Even in the pictures of 70 years ago, the same individual spirit of now shone through. People of then not only laughed the way we do now, but they even posed and came across similarly in the photos. It was hilarious to see my grandma at the age of 20 posing provocatively(jokingly) for the camera. It brought her to life in a way that I never had known or seen.

Photos are not simply for recording events, they are for bringing life to a moment and broadening our horizons to things we might not have even known otherwise.