Right now I am sitting in a cafe in the Endicott academic center. Coincidentally, I am directly facing the stack of newspapers that are put out everyday for students and faculty to take. The newspapers are part of the Collegiate Readership Program and feature some big name metro papers like USA Today, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times.
It has been about 40 minutes. As I sit on this fancy laptop, people watching as flocks of students run in to grab a coffee before their next class, I can't help but notice that not one student has taken a newspaper. Interestingly enough, about four faculty members came and got one, some took one of each paper.
This right here is living proof that....wait.... a student just took one....
Anyways, its practically living proof that young adults don't have any interest in reading a newspaper. The last thing on their mind in the morning is sitting down to a nice cup of coffee and reading the top stories about the airports closing in Europe or the latest on the war in Iraq. To be honest, most of these students could care less. Maybe they will go online to the Globe and read the headlines, but it is highly doubted. Students want quick info, snippets, and if it sounds important, or of interest, then they will read further.
My guess is that most people in the younger generation get their news via twitter updates or from a link a friend posted on facebook. Maybe they will go to AOL or Yahoo for some human interest stories. The big question is, are students today savvy about what is going on in the world around them? If I were to randomly select one student in this cafe right now, would they be able to tell me about the debate on healthcare legislation? I'll admit, I'm a bit worried that if my generation doesn't care about the news now, will they ever?
Soon enough, I'm sure, a new outlet will be created to get the days top stories across to those who aren't your daily news readers. Soon, however, can not come soon enough.
4.16.2010
4.14.2010
A Muffin Choker
While I don't know much about investigative journalism, I find this idea of a "muffin choker" absolutely hilarious. Just imagine someone sitting down to their morning breakfast, folding open the newspaper (or maybe pulling up their favorite news website) to the front page story. Suddenly they are so shocked by what they have read that they literally choke on their breakfast. Now that must be one good article.
Many big time newspapers are now collaborating with journalism schools to produce some really amazing investigative journalism pieces. It's a win-win situation: students get a great story to use on a resume, and newspapers get some free reporting. Let's just hope no one suffers to greatly from reading a great investigative story.
Many big time newspapers are now collaborating with journalism schools to produce some really amazing investigative journalism pieces. It's a win-win situation: students get a great story to use on a resume, and newspapers get some free reporting. Let's just hope no one suffers to greatly from reading a great investigative story.
4.13.2010
Pat Cusick shares his latest podcast episode
This week I have a break from creating a new episode, so here we feature Pat Cusick, a junior here at Endicott, who is also podcasting about the so called dying field of journalism.
Pat interviewed Greg Payne, the editor of our school newspaper, The Observer. Greg has created a successful blog (CelticsCircuit.com) which he transitioned into a job writing for CelticsBlog.com, a well known Boston Celtics website.
Listen here:
Thanks for sharing Pat!
Pat interviewed Greg Payne, the editor of our school newspaper, The Observer. Greg has created a successful blog (CelticsCircuit.com) which he transitioned into a job writing for CelticsBlog.com, a well known Boston Celtics website.
Listen here:
Thanks for sharing Pat!
4.08.2010
Episode number two
Podcast episode two is finished and ready to be listened to. It features Tim Healey, a senior from my hometown of Danbury, CT. Currently he is the editor of the Danbury High School newspaper, The Hatters Herald. He has done a great job with their newspaper and next year he will be moving on to bigger and better things as a freshman at Boston University.
One of my favorite quotes from this episode is when Tim is talking about what he hopes to accomplish next year at BU. He says "I just want to let people know I'm there." I think that is one of the best possible things you can do your first year. Don't stand in the background, let people know you are there and ready to work. If editors and professors don't know your name with in the first few months, then you are in for a long journey. I have found that when people can place a face to your name, then things like getting stories or even some extra help on a paper come much more easily.
Listen Here:
Good luck next year Tim!
One of my favorite quotes from this episode is when Tim is talking about what he hopes to accomplish next year at BU. He says "I just want to let people know I'm there." I think that is one of the best possible things you can do your first year. Don't stand in the background, let people know you are there and ready to work. If editors and professors don't know your name with in the first few months, then you are in for a long journey. I have found that when people can place a face to your name, then things like getting stories or even some extra help on a paper come much more easily.
Listen Here:
Good luck next year Tim!
4.01.2010
An interview in the North End
Yesterday was quite hectic. After my morning class I headed into Boston to do an interview with a friend of mine who is a journalism major at Northeastern University. I had just half a day to go into Boston, get the story, come back, and edit it. Gotta love deadlines.
In a cute little Italian Cafe in the North End I interviewed Laura about the obstacles she is facing now, if she is afraid of the future, and what qualities journalism students need to set themselves apart from the competition. She answered these questions among others with great honesty and expressed her love for the field of journalism.
My favorite part of the interview was listening to her talk about the latest story she wrote for one of her classes. She went to a speech at BC that was given by some Catholic nuns. They are feminists, who want to be priests, but they belong to a church that won't let them. Laura loved listening to the speech because she found a personal connection with it and went back to her room to write a great story that just flowed out of her. Then yesterday she discovered she got a C on the story and was disappointed.
We all know that feeling of getting a grade back that you were expecting to be great, but when you look at the letter grade on the paper you worked so hard to write, a pit forms in the bottom of your stomach. It's part shock, part nerves, part anxiety all wrapped into one. However, it's not the end of the world. We are still learning and have a long way to go. It goes to show that sometimes the stories we love to write are not always our best work.
Listen here:
In a cute little Italian Cafe in the North End I interviewed Laura about the obstacles she is facing now, if she is afraid of the future, and what qualities journalism students need to set themselves apart from the competition. She answered these questions among others with great honesty and expressed her love for the field of journalism.
My favorite part of the interview was listening to her talk about the latest story she wrote for one of her classes. She went to a speech at BC that was given by some Catholic nuns. They are feminists, who want to be priests, but they belong to a church that won't let them. Laura loved listening to the speech because she found a personal connection with it and went back to her room to write a great story that just flowed out of her. Then yesterday she discovered she got a C on the story and was disappointed.
We all know that feeling of getting a grade back that you were expecting to be great, but when you look at the letter grade on the paper you worked so hard to write, a pit forms in the bottom of your stomach. It's part shock, part nerves, part anxiety all wrapped into one. However, it's not the end of the world. We are still learning and have a long way to go. It goes to show that sometimes the stories we love to write are not always our best work.
Listen here:
3.31.2010
TimesCast
I just have to say I love the new TimesCast that plays on the New York Times. Everyday between 1 and 2 p.m. the New York Times features a video of the days top stories on their homepage. Simply amazing. I love that it is a short 5 to 6 minute clip of the biggest stories you need to know about and it also demonstrates how these stories are reported on in the newsroom. Viewers get an inside look into the meetings that decide the top stories as well as the chance to hear quick interviews with editors and reporters. What better way to get a quick glimpse on what is happening around the world?
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