The Project Blog

I have really enjoyed this final project, and I can honestly say that this has been my favorite class of senior year.

...And I'm not just saying this because my professor might be the only one who reads this blog.

I've always had an interest in broadcasting, radio, and journalism. These have always been my dream jobs. However, I've always been told that this market is one of the toughest markets in which to "make it."However, this is the one class that makes that dream seem like a reality. The insight from both professors and Wallace-Fellows has been so useful in trying to figure out this crazy business.

I'm not a huge fan of "old school" journalism and structured writing. Maybe that's why I am such a huge fan of the freedom I get from the blogosphere. So, in true blog post fashion, here is my breakdown of COMM 439:

The Lecture: I've never been a fan of going to lectures longer than an hour (Who is???). However, I think the level of interactivity makes the lecture much more enjoyable. Class became more of a "conversation" than just a professor preaching from the pulpit. Just like much of the news business, very few things are "written in stone." It is interesting to be part of a class that is very fluid, just like the subject being taught to the class.

I don't think I would change much about the lecture. I like the style and the content. And its the only class of my four that I haven't missed once this semester. That's got to mean something, right?

The Readings: I really enjoyed the Advancing the Story. I thought there was A TON of great information. Having worked at a news station this past summer, all this material made sense. There were also a lot of instances where I read a passage and found myself remembering reporting tips from the summer, thinking "Oh, Yeah! So that's what they were talking about when they told me this."

The other books I didn't enjoy as much, but definitely saw they were assigned with a specific lesson in mind. Against the Machine was great because it was meant to move us, and it did just that. However, I thought Tuned Out was a little bit dated in its information because I thought the 2008 election really changed how/why people "tune in" for news. A book in a similar mold would be good, but maybe something published within the last 12-18 months.

The Project: I have really liked the project. I am sure I'll like it a lot less while I'm editing inside a 5ft by 4ft room that I will be referring to as "My Cell" by this time next week (Just kidding, Prof Warner!).

The project has allowed me to expand my horizons (I did a print story, which is something I don't do a lot in my job). It also allowed me to take a step back and examine my video work through the eyes of people who aren't close to the broadcasting industry. It was a huge reality check because working with my group helped me see things from the average viewer's perspective. While I wasn't always comfortable being the one in the room with the most experience in television, I appreciated everyone's willingness to help and do the work as needed.

The only change (and this didn't always sit well with me) would be to require all students to learn Final Cut Pro. More and more, FCP is becoming the industry standard for video editing (much like Microsoft Word became the standard for Text Documents in the 1990s). A producer at my news station once told me, "If you know how to edit video, you will be able to find a job in this business without a problem." If this is true (and I'm hoping for my sake that it is), this is such a valuable tool to learn for people in this class.

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Earlier today, I saw a friend of mine that I hadn't seen for quite a few months. She is a Communications Major, and is trying to become a broadcast journalist like myself. She had just finished registering for classes, and made mention that there are no classes in this department that are "Journalism Orientented." I told her about my "Blogosphere" class, about the project, and about what we had learned. "That's awesome!" she said. "Is there still room in the class for next semester?"

Sadly, I told her it wasn't offered for the fall semester. And as I told her this, it dawned on me...

This is the thing I'd like to change most about this class.