Most magazines have become wallpaper, they're all the same, all the same celebrities. It's really an abysmal time in American journalism right now. But occasionally one story or two will pop out.
-David Talbot
Today was a busy day I had my first job at 9.30 which I went to with a photographer. It was a picyarn about quilts. When it came time for the photograph everyone wanted to be in it, which was fine. But later the photographer was telling me how usually there shouldn’t be more than eight people in a photo. I thought this was a good point to make because there is not much room in a newspaper so the less people in the photograph the better it will turn out.
She also told me that I should start bringing my own camera, because you never know when you might be able to grab a shot of an interesting subject. She also said that it would be helpful to keep in mind the type of photograph that would accompany the article. Whether it should be a group shot, where it should be taken and who should be in the shot. Most times the people in the photo are the ones who have spoken in the article which seems pretty obvious. As the journalist we can assist the photographer with ideas and how the shot would be more effective.
Once I was back at the office I was given another story about a local high school who was receiving a special accreditation. I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get the press release. But before going out with the photographer I did a little research of my own by looking up the award on Google©. I was lucky enough to find a website although it was quite basic. This just made me think about how important it is to not rely on press releases. If you can do your own research and gather some information, it is better than knowing nothing at all.
The article I had trouble with today was a fundraiser. I wrote the article and thought I did a decent job only to be told to re-write it. I had to relate the theme of the fundraiser back to the sporting club. So I had another go adding a bit more colour which was something I was definitely lacking at the end of the day. My last interview of the day was a phone interview with a TAFE student. Having interviewed a student before I know how shy they can be. So this time I was not going to make a mistake by not grabbing decent quotes. I wrote some open questions and tried to listen to what the student was saying so I could get ideas for questions from her answers.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
In the real world, nothing happens at the right place at the right time. It is the job of journalists and historians to correct that.
-Mark Twain
Today was my eighth week at The Bulletin and I felt I was finally feeling comfortable in these hectic surroundings. Fridays are considered as ‘slower’ news days so for me to have my internship day fall on a Friday can be inconvenient. But luckily for me there will always be picyarns that need to be written.
My first job was out with a photographer to interview a local hairdressing salon about some awards they had done. After booking in the photo I did a little background research and then it was out to the salon for an interview and photo. I had already written my questions but I found that it is really important to have the five basic who, what, where, when and how questions before talking to the subject. So then you can ask other questions from their answers. I asked all the questions I wanted to and the hairdresser was very helpful. When I got back to the office I wrote up my story. I thought that this may be my only story on the day- it wasn’t.
The next story I had to chase up was about a school Mother’s Day pampering session they were doing. I didn’t get to go out with the photographer so I rang the contact while the photographer was there. He couldn’t speak to me and said he would call me back later so I asked if I could speak to the mother in the shot. I did and I asked her a question, which she didn’t seem to understand. She came across as a bit rude and I was trying to think of how I could re word the question. So I did and eventually she became more open and I got a few good quotes. The first contact said he would ring within a half hour but didn’t so after an hour and a half I called him back. He was a great source to talk to though he spoke quite fast which only let me think of how easier it would have been with shorthand…
My third story for the day was to re-write a media release. It wasn’t about anything too interesting but it had a lot of information which made it a bit easier. I learnt that this was something that I did not enjoy- rewriting something that had in a sense been already written. So I continued on and wrote it hoping that the one I had written didn’t sound too much like a press release. Overall today was a quiet day and by 3pm I was tired and ready to crawl into bed. Today I learnt I could work on my question writing skills and maybe phone manner having been at the company for awhile I feel I am learning a lot and how it helps to have someone who is willing to help you.
-Mark Twain
Today was my eighth week at The Bulletin and I felt I was finally feeling comfortable in these hectic surroundings. Fridays are considered as ‘slower’ news days so for me to have my internship day fall on a Friday can be inconvenient. But luckily for me there will always be picyarns that need to be written.
My first job was out with a photographer to interview a local hairdressing salon about some awards they had done. After booking in the photo I did a little background research and then it was out to the salon for an interview and photo. I had already written my questions but I found that it is really important to have the five basic who, what, where, when and how questions before talking to the subject. So then you can ask other questions from their answers. I asked all the questions I wanted to and the hairdresser was very helpful. When I got back to the office I wrote up my story. I thought that this may be my only story on the day- it wasn’t.
The next story I had to chase up was about a school Mother’s Day pampering session they were doing. I didn’t get to go out with the photographer so I rang the contact while the photographer was there. He couldn’t speak to me and said he would call me back later so I asked if I could speak to the mother in the shot. I did and I asked her a question, which she didn’t seem to understand. She came across as a bit rude and I was trying to think of how I could re word the question. So I did and eventually she became more open and I got a few good quotes. The first contact said he would ring within a half hour but didn’t so after an hour and a half I called him back. He was a great source to talk to though he spoke quite fast which only let me think of how easier it would have been with shorthand…
My third story for the day was to re-write a media release. It wasn’t about anything too interesting but it had a lot of information which made it a bit easier. I learnt that this was something that I did not enjoy- rewriting something that had in a sense been already written. So I continued on and wrote it hoping that the one I had written didn’t sound too much like a press release. Overall today was a quiet day and by 3pm I was tired and ready to crawl into bed. Today I learnt I could work on my question writing skills and maybe phone manner having been at the company for awhile I feel I am learning a lot and how it helps to have someone who is willing to help you.
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