Last Friday I was cranking out stories a mile a minute. The other Mizzou intern and I were talking about how it’s easier to write stories when you’re not in a hurry running to and from class or worrying about a test or after school activity to run to. I was able to finish three news briefs and have two published to the website. The information wasn’t anything new for me in regards to the procedure in how to get information. I would call a source and they would give me some quick tidbits of information to include in the story. I liked being able to focus for hours at a time without having to worry about anything else other than my deadline. I know I’m only an intern so I have less responsibilities, but it was satisfying to be able to go home from a long day’s work and not have a million things to still work on at home. This makes me excited to start working in the real world. To be able to have a sense of accomplishment everyday and not have to worry about a grade, but to just be accountable for your work during the day. I start the orientation for my third internship next week and that’s when things might get hectic. Hectic but in a good way because I’m doing what I love: Journalism!
Category: News Reporting
Being Shown the Ropes: Suburban Life Media Day 2
Last Wednesday was my first full day at Suburban Life Media. The other editorial intern and I learned about the scheduling and the map of the newspapers. Our supervisor told us that the papers were organized much like a magazine, which means the breaking news and less important things go online while the stories that go to print get published once a week. Suburban Life handles 22+ publications, not including its magazine Suburban Life Media, in the western suburbs of Chicago. I cover the newspapers the Westmont Progress and the Woodridge Reporter, which cover the areas of Westmont, Woodridge, Lisle and Naperville. I like the way the format works because things don’t seem as rushed as when I worked for another newspaper. Things are more timely, and more people take a look at your story before it goes to print. It definitely gives the vibe of quality over quickness.I also have a fellow intern who is a Mizzou Student as well and that’s always helpful as we compare newsroom experiences. I’m going to start on-the-street reporting soon as well as cover the page three feature stories and possibly write for the Suburban Life Magazine. More opportunities to come!
Unpleasant Day, New Opportunity: Suburban Life Media Intern Day 1
I started my internship at Suburban Life Media on Wednesday and the day did not get off to a good start. I woke up at 6 a.m. in order to arrive in Crystal Lake for orientation at 9. It was an hour and 20 minute drive with traffic and it started to pour. I was rushed to the facility but the experience was rewarding. I filled out some forms and we were able to get a look inside the headquarters of the parent company, Shaw Media. We were able to talk with advertising, marketing, accounting, photography, newspaper editors and a magazine editor. It was interesting because I was able to see the inner-workings of the brand instead of just the newsroom. Shaw Media also has a coupon and event information website called PlanIt with sites for northern areas near Crystal Lake as well as a PlanIt Life for the area near our office in Downers Grove. The site has coupons for restaurants and events as well as articles about what events to attend in your area. The website seems like a unique place that combines couponing and journalism that caters to different areas in the Chicago suburbs.
Speaking with the editor of Kane County and McHenry County magazines, I was able to get an insight on how local magazines work. Because they are county magazines, the magazine is able to cover different areas that may carry over to be content for other regional magazines. Each magazine has a theme each month and they coordinate sources to talk to based on that. The May issue was the Women’s Issue while June will be the Father’s Issue.
I also spoke to the editor of the new Suburban Life magazine, which covers towns such as Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale and Lagrange. The first issue just launched for May and she said I might be able to come to photo shoots and write features.
So far, my experience at Suburban Life Media seems potentially exciting with many opportunities The newspapers are organized well with content throughout DuPage, Cook County etc. And I might have the chance to work with the new magazine.
True reviews from True/False Film Festival
This passed February I had the pleasure to review a film and a panel during the True/False Film Festival through Vox magazine. The atmosphere at both events was fun and inviting that included things such as a folk band with an excited drummer and a cozy room with comfy chairs.
I was able to experience an exciting environment at the Blue Note when viewing “Expedition to the End of the World.” There were brightly colored stained-glass art works and a warm environment of people excited to view their first film of the weekend with a beer in hand.
When participating in the panel called, “Every Cut is a Lie: Editing the Truth” I was able to be in an intimate environment with well-known documentary film writers and editors. The chairs were just as comfortable as the room. We were able to have a conversation with these well-known artists to understand the ethics and psyche behind documentaries.
Having True/False under my belt, I was able to explore the world of documentary film, and I would definitely like to venture in the genre further. It was the first time I conducted a film review and been to a panel about video editing. Considering I love movies and have experience with video editing, I thought it was rewarding in a journalistic sense and was just as entertaining. Every one was so kind and creative, from laughs from conversations in line to the quirky responses of the films producers and editors; it was an effervescent crowd. I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I did writing them and I hope my experience of my first True/False Film Festival is able to translate from mind to page.
Instead of just writing about a conflict, being in the conflict
In class a few weeks ago we watched the documentary entitled “Reporter” by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof has won the Pultizer Prize twice for this documentary about reporting in conflict areas such as Darfur and the Congo. His bravery and courage is not in question, but towards the beginning of the film I wondered, “Instead of only helping the people in trouble, is reporting enough?” As the film progressed Kristof saw people starving and dying and reported on these events and the conflicts at large. The humanitarian in me wondered why they didn’t help these people. When they helped a woman named Yohanita who was raped by a soldier, dying of starvation and taken to the hospital where she died shortly after struck my idea down. Kristof argued that there were millions of people just like Yohanita who have died because of the Congolese Rwandan conflict, and when put on paper, people only cared about the one person. Since 5.4 million is a daunting number, when people read the statistics, they only feel sorry for a few seconds because that fatality rate is not a number people can wrap their heads around, according to Kristof. I later realized that it was effective to report on these issues because people need someone to angle the idea so people will care.
On a related note, I was an intern for the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation last summer and learned more about the Rwandan genocide in a perspective I could have never imagined. I met Paul Rusesabagina, his wife Tatiana, and his children through that experience. Paul is an inspiring man. He saved about 1,300 refugees by giving them shelter in the hotel he was managing in Kigali during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The first time I watched the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” based off his story, it made me sympathize and feel sorry for those people. Watching the movie after meeting Paul was a completely different experience. Being able to see what happened while watching the movie a second time and the pain he endured through was almost hard to watch. Feeling sorry for an actor in a movie based off historical events and understanding the pain for a person you met while watching the same movie changes things. Working in that internship helped me to be able to advocate for Paul and people of Rwanda in an active way. It took a burden off my conscience and helped me to be able to understand a complex concept and be able to help in a tangible way. I will remember that experience for the rest of my life, and in Paul’s words:
“History keeps repeating itself but doesn’t teach us any lessons. ‘Never again’ has turned into ‘again and again and again.’…Take Hotel Rwanda as a wake-up call and a message to be our messenger that people are the ones who can change what they want to change.”
The Holiday Season is upon us!
I wrote a story today about the Mizzou Forestry Club having their annual Christmas tree sale this weekend and next weekend at the Reactor lot off Providence Road. Ben Tiefenbrun, manager of the MU Turkey Farm Lake and member of the club, said they relocated from Memorial Stadium because of construction.
This article was interesting because I learned that the Forestry Club raises money to go to a lumberjacking conclave. It’s like a lumberjacking carnival, expo, competition thing for Midwestern college students. Like the timber Olympics. Although I did not put a lot in the story about the conclave, it sounded pretty cool. They have events like cross-cut sawing, underhand chopping, ax throwing and pulp toss. Tiefenbrun said the last place winner won a cross-cut saw that was worth $3,000.
I talked to the president of the Forestry Club, Abby Kircher, and she said as one of the few girls in the club and at the conclave. As one of the few, she said she did a lot more events than some of the other members and said it is quite the workout.
It’s impressive for me if a girl carries anything weighing 50 pounds. It’s a whole new level if you can chop down a tree. That’s pretty awesome.
Back to the tree sale, Kircher said she enjoys the sale because she can help kids and families find their perfect tree and kick off the holiday season.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of summer I think of fresh cut grass; but when I think of winter, I think of the smell of Evergreen from my Christmas tree in my living room.
Hot Box Cookies
My partner and I wanted to do a multimedia piece that was hands-on. When I see a video or a picture, I like being able to visualize it as if I am there.
When we worked on this piece about Hot Box Cookies, a late night cookie delivery service in Columbia, we wanted to record the ambience of the kitchen. The buzzing of the timers on the oven, the kneading of the dough, the hum of the blender, etc. We also wanted to incorporate these sounds with the images of the cookie making process. I thought this would be an interesting angle because when people visit Hot Box, they are blocked by the counter and can’t see the full kitchen. Now with this video slideshow, customers can see what hard work the owner and employees of Hot Box cookies put into their cookies every day.
It was interesting to interview the owner, Cory Rimmel, because he said he started the business when he was a sophomore business major at Mizzou. When I was a sophomore I had a minimal grasp of what I wanted to do in the future, but Rimmel made it happen.
It was a cool experience because we were able to talk to him about how his idea turned into a real bakery. He said he is trying to perfect the kinks in the recipes and has major improvements in production because of his new location. It is fascinating how even though Rimmel was able to make his dream a reality, he is still making changes to enhance the bakery to become “a staple of Columbia.”
Really listening to what people say
People talk all the time. You probably have at least 50 conversations on a typical day, but do you remember what was said?
There’s a difference between hearing and listening, and it’s been a gradual process for me to discern that.
Even before I started writing for the Missourian, I have been trying to be more attentive in conversations about what other people have to say versus what I am going to say. Let’s be honest, people love to talk about themselves. It was a challenge for me to start to listen to what people are actually saying in an everyday conversation. These conversations can be more difficult to remember because I don’t have a pen, paper or a recorder to recall the conversation.
Listening is an important skill than is sometimes overlooked because it’s more passive than being the speaker of a conversation. But listening is the most important part of journalism. Throughout this semester I have learned to be more attentive to what sources are saying and I work off their responses instead of just questions in my notebook. Sources usually don’t have a straight forward answers to questions. They sometimes have an interesting story or an analogy to explain something and I might overlook it if I stay too focused on what answer I expect to hear.
I have now become really attentive about what my sources have to say and how it will help with my story. I think this skill is helpful for my writing and will be a gradual process to help me become a better journalist.
Sleek New Police Vehicles
Police Interceptor
I wrote an article yesterday about Columbia law enforcement updating their vehicles to the next big thing.
MUPD is exchanging the good ol’ Crown Victorias that everyone associates with as the transportation of city protectors to the new sleek 2013 Ford Police Interceptors. The Interceptors hit the market in January of this year and have made some Columbia police forces to update.
MUPD has 2 SUVs and 2 sedans of the Interceptor. The SUV is similar to the Ford Explorer and the sedan similar to the Taurus, Kelly Sells, fleet manager at Joe Machens Ford Lincoln in Columbia, said.
The SUV comes with a 3.7 liter V-6 engine and the 3.5 liter V-6 sedan.
The Police Interceptor has two types of sedans, the V-6 and the V-6 ecoboost twin turbo. Sells said the twin turbo charger lets air get into an engine, spins the air and forces it into the engine.
The Police Interceptor has 20 percent better fuel economy than the Crown Victoria and a five-year, 100,000-mile power train warranty.
The SUV obtains about the same gas mileage as the sedan, Sells said.
The twin turbo sedan’s top speed is 148 mph, Sells said.
The SUV and the V-6 sedan without twin turbo have the same top speed as the Crown Victoria at 131 mph, Sells said.
Columbia Police decided to stick with rear wheel drive Chevy Tahoes when the Interceptor boosts efficient all wheel drive that can power through rain, sleet, snow and off road terrain.
The Boone County Sheriff Department found out that Ford was going to introduce the Interceptor a few years ago and planned accordingly with testing out Dodge Chargers, Chevy Tahoes and Chevy Caprices in loo of their debute.
KOMU also had a feature about the new vehicles.
Writing about Cars
Writing this story was very interesting because everyone likes to learn about new cars. People will also know that some Columbia law enforcement are updating to these vehicles and to observe that these law enforcements are going to be safer and more efficient because they will have all new vehicles.
I’m not very car-savy but I was able to figure out what all the terminology meant and how it would affect the law enforcement because they would have a faster and more efficient car because of it’s all wheel drive and V-6 engine.
It’s also interesting to note that during this story it was one of the first times I had to talk to an officer as a reporter. I thought it would be difficult because it seemed intimidating for me to do so, but once I gained my confidence and knew what questions to ask it was like any other story.
Not only am I learning about how to talk to different types of people in different positions, but I’m learning how to write on a topic I know nothing about and become an expert on the subject.
I think that is one of the most fundamental parts of journalism: to learn about unfamiliar topics and to tell others about it.
Diversity event featuring Martin Luther King III
The city of Columbia is hosting their 20th annual Columbia Values Diversity Celebration
Jan. 17th 2013. The event is going to have keynote speaker Martin Luther King III, Martin Luther King Jr.’s son. It will be held from 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Expo Center, 2200 I-70 Drive Southwest. Tickets are only available in advance and are $14. The deadline to register for the event is 5 p.m. on Jan. 11.
The theme of this event is “the Dream Revisited,” recognizing people of Columbia with the same qualities as Martin Luther King Jr.
The city of Columbia will give 2 awards, one to an individual, another to an organization that demonstrate diversity and the dream of MLK.
At the 10th event the keynote speaker was Bernice King, the daughter or Martin Luther King Jr. Cari Utterback said. She said having Martin Luther King III at the 20th event will make it special. Having King III there will honor Martin Luther King’s legacy.
“Martin’s dedication to creating and implementing strategic nonviolent action to rid the world of social, political, and economic injustice has propelled him to the forefront as one of the nation’s most ardent advocates for the poor, the oppressed, and the disillusioned,” according to Martin Luther King III’s website.
I think it is a great thing that King III is going to be in Columbia to influence people’s lives and help the advocacy of diversity for our community.
KC Digital Marketing | Becky Neems 