Category: Multimedia J2150

Charles Davis talked about on Monday how journalists have to get permission to film/write/take pictures etc in places that are not considered a public forum. This is very important because it may offend the person’s involved and can get you in trouble. There is much debate as to what is a public forum anymore, and if journalists have the right to report without consent. It is important for journalists to get consent, not just from a legal standpoint, but if you are on fair ground with your interviewees, corespondents, etc. you can get a better story because they trust you. It is really easy to get access to certain areas by just asking who is in charge,  but if you beat around the bush, they may not give you permission to do your story. Talking to others and getting permission to film, etc. is one of the key things in being a journalist, understanding your limits and figuring out what to do with them and create alternatives. It is better to work with the system than against the system.

In class on Monday we discussed online magazines and if other print magazines should convert to an online format. The example we used was an entirely online magazine called Lonny. I went to the website to check out the magazine and it read like a normal magazine would, just not manually turning pages. The quality of the pictures was unbelievable, it looked like I was reading a high definition magazine. This can definitely bring in more readers because it catches the eye. Two other magazines I saw were High Gloss and Rue, both online. They had similar themes, home decorating and life style, image heavy topics. I thought these magazines, including Lonny, focused more on pictures than on articles and stories. The magazines on newsstands also have predominantly images for content, but I feel that those have more writing and thoughts. I found an article from the New York Times about Lonny and other online magazines for further insight. When we took a survey in class of how many people would read an online publication, not many did. Even though we are in the age of technology, people still like being able to hold something and turn the pages. Lonny is an amazing magazine, people just have to prepare for the new age in magazine platforms.

At the Stephen College Museum and Research Library there is an exhibit called “The Greatest Show on Earth: Fashion Circus. It is an exhibit that runs from September 10-December 15th 2011. This exhibit is located on the mezzanine level of Lela Raney Wood Hall on 6 N. College Ave, Columbia Mo. Elizabeth Hamman a sophomore at Stephens who is a fashion design major says that there is an,

“archive of 13,000 pieces downstairs, we pick a theme and bring out as many pieces as we can to fit that theme, a collection.”

The curators, Jennifer Cole and Bradley Meinke, choose a theme every semester to put in the gallery for alumnus and students alike to view and appreciate. The archive consists of garments donated by alumnus and pieces that are collected for fashion students to reference for their studies. Last semester, they had a theme about business attire and next semester they are pitching an idea of a gallery inspired by art pieces. The two garments I chose in these pictures are from the exhibit. The first is a black sweater with sequined elephant applique. The designer is Oleg Cassini circa 1980. It has a red tiered skirt is designed by Fiorucci, donated by Nestor circa 1984. The other picture is a black circus print blouse with a tie, and a hot pink silk circus print blouse, designed by Escada, donated by Meinke.

In class we talked about how to make an efficient graph to get your readers to understand the point you are trying to get across. The speaker, Nathan Fleischmann, talked about how not to use the color red for an upward trend because people associate red with loss in business. The four steps of graphic design, Fleischmann said, was to research, edit, plot, and review. Therefore, research would imply using authoritative sources and to avoid bias. Edit would imply identifying your message and make sure you are getting what you want across. Plot is using a chart or graphic that your readers can understand to concise your topic. Review signifies checking your data from your sources, using your judgement on your graphic, and to look at your graphic from your reader’s perspective. I found an article entitled “Why Your Design Blog is Failing.” The three “secrets” they had were 1.) You must solve problems for your readers. The article talked about how having a “How To” article is helpful to readers. 2.) You must know who your target audience is. The article discussed how to make sure what you are blogging about pertains to your target audience, and who you want your target audience to be, whether it be clients or fellow designers. 3.) You must stay involved on your own blog. The article says to make sure you are staying involved with your readers such as tutorials and Q & A. If you stay involved, your audience will stay more involved. And finally, 4.) You must learn how to define success on your blog. In order to have success on a blog you have to make sure you have goals for the blog. Whether it be subscribers, views, replys, having other designers notice you, etc. If you have a set goal, you can see how successful you want to become and see your progress. These ideas are important and can help a person strive on the path to achievement in creating graphics and a blog.

We learned in class on Monday that mobile apps are taking over long term leisure. Since people are always on the go, they check their phones for a quick joke, or a short headline about the news. In an article from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, “Just 13% of all mobile device owners report having an app that helps them get local information or news, which represents 11% of the total American adult population.” This means that many people are not getting their news on their phones because they don’t have time to read it. They also might not want to pay for these apps. “just 10% of adults who use mobile apps to connect to local news and information pay for those apps. This amounts to just 1% of all adults.” People want information that’s fast, concise, and cheap (perhaps free). News sources should consider this into their publishing and should perhaps create apps to appease the masses in order to create revenue for their companies.