My break...

Sorry I forgot to tell everyone, but I am taking a break from the blog until after the new year. In fact, I won't be posting again until Jan. 5. I need a chance to recenter myself and refocus on what I want to do with journalism - online? reporting? designing? editing? teaching? Stay tuned for the conclusion!

Narrative writing

I've posted a glowing report about this blogger before, but I feel like I am still surprised by her everyday. Today's post spoke about her experience discovering prostitution in the African country she was visiting. Her words paint a perfect emotional picture for you (her pictures give you the physical picture just wonderfully). Read Maryam's account. Enjoy it. Use it as an example of really good narrative writing. And, as per her style, its done in the third person. Which somehow makes it even more riveting to me.

Why we need the press...

I admit. I may be a little biased here. But maybe its not so much bias as truth. And while I would hope you would take my word for it, I don't expect you to. Instead I ask that you just consider a few words about why you should care about newspapers from a free newspaper in New York City called AM New York. Some parts that stuck out to me:

"What this means is fewer voices, fewer opinions presented in fewer ways, all of which has a tremendous impact on the public discourse in a very dangerous way," said Mary Boyle, a spokeswoman for Common Cause.
“How do they do investigative journalism and keep politicians and businesses honest?” he said. “Blogs can fill in some of the vacuum but do they have the resources to risk lawsuits for taking on the powerful?”
As newspaper staffs shrink, so might the ranks of those who dedicate their careers to the profession.

All of these are perfect points that explain why I'm still in newspapers and why I want to fight so hard to save them, or at least the main idea behind them. We aim to share the news and safeguard the people. As long as I am doing that, I am quite happy in any medium. But sometimes its hard to beat the design found on paper (even glossy magazine paper)
Take a look at the AM New York's cover for the story discussed about at Mario Garcia's blog about newspaper design. I send you there not only because the head is so well done and shows how to use both color and words to make your point in design, but also that Mario is quite informed about all things designed. A good resource if it has any interest for you folks.

And, for a laugh (because one really can't be in the newspaper business without a sense of humor, morbid or otherwise), the blogger over at News after Newspapers has an interesting list of predictions for 2009. The most amusing:
"A major motion picture or HBO series featuring a journalism theme (perhaps a blogger involved in saving the world from nefarious schemes) will generate renewed interest in journalism as a career."
And hey, this could mean a revival for journalism.

Disrespecting 'real' writers

When you're a nobody who suddenly becomes the centerpiece of a hardfought presidential campaign, I can see the urge to want to tell your story. But when that nobody is a (unlicensed) plumber who hasn't paid his taxes in years and failed a takeover of his boss's (who actually is licensed) business, he or she should not be the one who gets a book deal when there are so many other talented authors who can't get their novels published or people with real stories that we can learn from can't get published because they live in China. Really, Joe, or whatever your name is, cease and disist.
As Timothy Egan writes in his guest column in the New York Times opinion section, "With a resume full of failure, he now thinks he can join the profession of Mark Twain, George Orwell and Joan Didion."
I love books. I hate people who write books that waste paper and money that others deserve.

Sticking up for the bossman...

Okay, okay. All traditional journalists have a thing or two to say about Sam Zell (CEO of the Tribune Co., the parent company of The Daily Press, where I work). Most hate him and the rest can just barely stand him. I think he came at an inopportune time to do something the business needed: shake it out of its self-induced fog of contentment. Unfortunately, it was too little too late to save us the easy way. So this means that we have to save ourselves the hard way, which is exactly what Chapter 11 is. A way to save ourselves from debtors so we can have time to do a drastic reorganization, the same reorganization we've been needing.
As a sort of nontraditional employee here (I'm new to the newspaper business and in fact have no real stake in the Daily Press other than a biweekly paycheck that isn't worth that much) its odd that I suddenly have such strong opinions about Zell and his top minion (Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams). Even odder is that my instinct is to finally stick up for them. Timing seems to put Zell solely to blame for the apparent collapse of a respected media giant. But in truth, he was given the mess we're in now. It may be his drastic cuts and quick decision to try to sell-off such superfluous holdings as Careerbuilder and the Chicago Cubs (why a newspaper would need a baseball team is something I have not been able to understand) that are keeping us from actually having to go bankrupt.
So that said, all of those commenting on the situation are really not helping by attacking Zell and gleefully cackling about the downfall of his plan. All that does is make it harder for those of us actually affected by the company's failures to buckle-down and try to remake journalism.

For other comments on the Tribune check out Buzz Machine, Newspaper Deathwatch, Recovering Journalist, and Web 2.0h really?. These are all blogs and offer a range of comments about Zell's affect on the Tribune and the news industry. My favorite is the old rebuttal from Jeff Jarvis on the Buzz Machine which says that Zell can't be blamed for something that is the result of "decades of egotistical and willfully ignorant neglect by the owners, managers — and staff — at" newspapers.

on the job search..

Let's just say that in the current condition that journalism is in, it is always better to be perpetually looking for jobs. Especially when your company is set on putting a smiley-face on the numbers while it secretly considers how best to stave off bankruptcy. Oh Tribune, why are you so grim...and so unwilling to give your "valued" employees a heads-up?

And so I scan: job banks, classifieds, journalismjobs.com, even media bistro's job bank (which holds relatively few newspaper jobs). Sadly it seems that these companies need a great deal of help, considering the sorry state of their ads. Case in point (errors idenified by italics):

DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR
The ideal candidate will have Web content experience, including the development of podcasts and/or videocasts. This person will be expected to rap up projects quickly and should be proficient in all aspects of Web technology. This person should also have excellent document management and organizational skills. Video experience is a plus, as is an interest in the manufacturing industry. A Bachelor's degree in Journalism or Communications, or equivalent work expeirnce is required.
This position is responsbile for developing new eMedia projects, including e-newsletters, videocasts, web forums and other Internet realted programs. This position is also responsbile for editing content for style, grammar and spelling.

I'm gonna go with "help needed immediately". I am torn between wanting to work for them because they are so obviously in desperate need for editing assistance and not wanting to work for a company that has such a lack of editors that they couldn't take two minutes to scan their ad to correct such egregious errors. I mean really...it took me less than a minute to find these.

Who needs tv...

While I may have favorite TV shows, I realize that I can't really call them that. Why? Because I haven't watched TV in a long time. Yet, almost everyday I can log on to my computer and watch a favorite show streamed onto my higher quality laptop screen. So when I read this wonderful little anecdotal opinon on the New York Times Web site I couldn't refrain from sharing it with you. This is my view in a nutshell about TV:
"Who Needs TV? I'm Watching on a Laptop"
Apparently I am an "urban myth." Who knew?

Myer-Briggs for blogs

Ever heard of the Myers-briggs test? It's the one where you answer over a hundred questions which are analyzed and somehow turned into a series of letters that is supposed to mean something to us. This is often used by career counselors (especially in the college setting) to tell you who you are and what you are meant to do in life.

Well now a Web site called Typealyzer has turned this test into a scanner that analyzes your blog and tells you who you are and what your blog is meant to do. Which I think is odd, but hey, it's always fun to have someone tell you how you are supposed to approach life based on a few arbitrary items. To Typealyzer, their analysis of my blog reveals that I am a:

ESFP (which still means nothing to me) - 'The Performers'

"The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don't like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions."

Not quite to a 't but close enough. I'd be interested to know exactly how they ascertain this, but it is smart to note that they themselves say "Note: writing style on a blog may have little or nothing to do with a person´s self-percieved personality." So have fun but don't take it seriously.

Hidden in plain sight...

Norfolk has presented to me a vast array of attractions. I used to live and I've lived literally minutes away for more than 4 years now. So the question is: Why haven't I taken in the beauty that the area has to offer? Or the random and interesting little gems hidden all over the place.
For example, when Norfolk got a sister city, that city gave them a pagoda. Since then, the area has been refurbished into a beatiful garden (complete with zen-style waterfall and large bonsai trees) with a charming restaurant that offers asian american fare mixed with random dishes, such as a Moroccan inspired wrap and a Sicilian style meatloaf.
The Pagoda Garden, located on the waterfront near the USS Wisconsin/Nauticus, also offers some beautiful photography, as the entry hints at.

Nearby there is a view of the Elizabeth River, which offers its own opportunities for photography. I walked through the area as the sun was setting and the water was calm, but offered enough ripples to provide these beautiful shots:

Painting with Light...

...On a canvas of water

It just shows you that even when its cold out, there are some wonderful opportunities for outdoor fun right next door.

Sunset...

It's ridiculous how easy it is to ignore beautiful places when they are located nearby. Such as the waterfront at Norfolk. Here are some shots I got as the sun was setting Friday.

What I did instead of adding to consumerism...

So as I wrote before, Black Friday is a ridiculous day and it is not even worth the hassle to get the 'deals' that they advertise. So instead of contributing to the consumerism of the country, I went to on an adventure to Norfolk with my dad. We went to visit the USS Wisconsin and Nauticus (I got to pet a nurse shark!). Here are some photos from our trip:

On the USS Wisconsin

The back of the ship

American Flag

In front of the battleship

Black Friday

I'm a self-professed introvert. But I'm also a frugal shopper. So I am always slightly miffed that the biggest savings of the year can be had, but only if you are willing to cram into tiny spaces with hundreds of people...


I mean, who would want to deal with the above? Can you see the tiny people waving from the very back of the store as they stand in line for hours? No, because they've passed out from the lack of air already...-__-

What I'm grateful for...

I'm thankful for many things:

Beautiful, tiny puppies...

...and huge lovable dogs.

Being able to see beautiful fall colors.

Having crazy people to make faces with.

Being able to call myself a 'college grad.'

Knowing people will stand with me...

...and smile with me...

...and have adventures with me.

Having great experiences with crazy newspeople...

Meeting new friends...

Having family to depend on (my sister and neice)...

All the mint tea to drink...

And the chance to see the world through a viewfinder...

A Happy Thanksgiving for our furry friends...

Charlie (a beautiful Staffordshire Terrier at the SPCA)

I generally try to do very little to cause this blog to be considered 'political.' By that, I mean I try not to have an agenda. Every now and then I have a beef about something, but it's never meant to convince someone else to follow my views. I simply have a view about something that I want to share with you.
One view that I have and cannot keep myself from having is that animals, especially our companion creatures, deserve all of the love and care that they unconditionally give to us. Unfortunately we cannot always afford to love our animals. There are also a lot of people who don't care enough to do so.
For those of you who would like to give back and offer a Happy and belly-filling Thanksgiving to our furry friends (or a belly-filling meal to those friends any time of the year), go to the Animal Rescue Site. Right on that site's front page there is a clickable button. For every click, their sponsors give money. The beautiful thing is that there aren't pop-ups or annoying ads that we have to wade through once clicking. So anyway, share a little love with our less fortunate four-legged friends.

As my guitar gently weeps...

I'll be the first to admit that it has taken me a ridiculously longtime to jump on the YouTube bandwagon, and to be honest I haven't 'jumped on' per se. Really I use it every once in awhile, but it's in those every once in a whiles that you are rewarded. Why? Well, sometimes I just need good guitar music to make me happy. Screw vocals and drums and everything else. I often just want to here that acoustic guitar taking on some of my favorite songs.
Here to my rescue is a web developer who also happens to make guitar compositions out of everythng from The Beatles to the Back to the Future theme song.

Take a second and enjoy Adrian Holovaty's strummings.

Speaking of photography...

I mentioned in one of my other blogs that one of my favorite photographers is Henri Cartier-Bresson. Bresson, who died in 2004, was a french black and white photographer famed for catching what he called 'the decisive moment.' In fact i'm pretty sure he coined the phrase, or at least made it a mainstay in photography. He's had a great impact on photojournalism, essentially creating a real basis for the genre (for more read a National Press Photographers' Association article on his influence).

Anyway, it is this 'decisive moment' that has always been the basis of some of my favorite photographs of people. In my browsing of other sites, I came upon a BBC blog, in which the blogger speaks about a photographer who tells the story of him accidently capturing a decisive moment. The series of shots taken together is beautiful, and yet each shot on its own has an amazing 'decisive moment' quality. Take a look at this photographer's site for the full tale of a decisive moment for this couple:

Grammar Nazi

Those who know me will tell you that I am a grammar nazi. Hearing bad gammar is like nails on a chalkboard for me (Unless of course I am intoxicated; and therefore, I am a infinitely more relaxed person than in normal life. Hey, I even like people when I am in said state.)

So there is a wonderful site for people like me (especially those of us who work in newspapers) to learn how to be even more of an ass as far as picking apart people's speech/writing goes. So, if you want to truly annoy the crap out of people by yelling at them for speaking incorrectly, please, visit this Web site: You Don't Say. It's created by a veteran copy editor and involves a good deal of humor as well, especially if you are the sort of person to snicker at other people.

Wowing the world.

I've already written about my favorite silent film comedian, the always amazing Charlie Chaplin. But there is another actor who has similar chops. You've probabaly heard of the guy to the left. He's considered one of the most athletic silent film comedians. While Chaplin may have wooed the world with his Tramp, Buster Keaton wowed the world with the physicality of his comedic stunts. He truly was a great.
While he has many hilarious films (including one called College where he plays a hapless geek who can't quite by the athlete he wants to be to win the girl), there is one that stands above the rest for his subtle humor and beautiful vision.
For a wonderful review of the movie (since I haven't seen it in a few years), please see what Slate magazine's Gary Giddins has to say on The General, a spoof of a real historical event that occurred during the Civil War. The link also includes some sample clips of the movie, which has been rereleased in crystal clear quality (generally the only downside of silent comedies is that they are poor quality since they were made in the 1920s).

Today I shopped for a good chunk of the day in Williamsburg. All I bought was a 2-pound bag of moose munch coffee. I may have a slight addiction.

Beating around the (George W.) Bush

Every four years politics in the U.S. can reach an awkward stage. Between Election Day and Inauguration Day there is a couple of months where 'the most powerful man in the world' often has to deal with the end of his/her era. Known as the 'lame-duck' period, soon-to-be-former presidents either seize the moment to make a legacy, or shuffle through the end of an unpopular presidency.
Ever since the world heard the news that Obama would be the America's new president, Bush has been treated like the unpopular kid at school. It makes you feel sorry for the man who did help the U.S. through the second biggest attack on our soil (9/11).

A study in faith...

A city in beautiful Morocco. Though it can be a maze of streets with suprising discoveries waiting to be happened upon, one aspect will always be there...The mosque.

Mosques are the Muslim faith in 3-D. Minarets stretching to the sky for joy and to call others to them to rejoice as well.

Mosques can seem imposing, filling up whole city blocks and last for ages....

But there is always the reminder that they do not. All that can sometimes remain are columns. But the minaret of a mosque sometimes survives as well, preserved for all to see.

Inside, dark silent halls stand for the ages: a solemn reminder of a faith's piety.

But others choose to revel in the light, creating intricate designs for the sun's rays to delight in.

Morocco is a place where all are welcome and each city has its own draw. But one can always find a mosque, silent but joyful, standing for the world to view for their beauty and for a Muslim to view for a renewal of faith.

Farewell Autumn

Well it flurried here early this morning. So now I think it's safe to officially say farewell to Autumn, unfortunately. And as a send-off to a wonderfully joyfull and colorful season, I made an apple spice cake. DELICIOUS. That's all I have to say about that.

Fact-checking

I wonder sometimes where some of these reporters we have working at this paper went to school. How about a little fact-checking? As hard times cuts into the number of positions available at newspapers, one must accept that there will never again be individuals tasked with the sole job of making sure all of the facts (from name spellings to peoples' ages) are correct. By acknowledging this fact, we must also accept that each journalist is now also a fact-checker. Reporters should check their facts. Copy-editors should check those facts, too. But something as simple as a person's name should never be something I have to fix.

First rule of reporting that I learned: If you are interveiwing someone named John Smith, ask that person to spell their name. Why? Because of the Jon Smythe (or many other variations) that you will indefinitely run into in this business. And if this rule applies to the John Smiths (and Jon Symthes) of the world, why wouldn't you check a name so complicated that it consists of 30 letters, 10 syllables and one dash (if spelled and said correctly)?

Though it does give me great pleasure when I am the one who catches such mistakes. It makes this not-always-ideal job worth it.

Faux fall

For the last week the weather has been fairly tricky, with warmer temperatures and rain seemingly right out of late spring. Apparently I'm not the only entity that noticed - my azalea bush started throwing out buds and bloomed a day after the weather turned warmer. I'd worry, but this particular strain is actually supposed to survive blooming from spring to late autumn. Here are some pretty pictures (I picked this variety because the stems had this beautiful rich auburn color that would look good even when not in bloom):

My 'Encore Azalea'

Autumn Bloom

Mouthwatering Morocco

So one of my favorite experiences in Morocco was the food. Until you eat lunch where the ingredients were slaughtered/picked that morning, you cannot possibly understand the taste of Moroccan food. I'm not even joking. Such food has the ability to heighten your senses to a level you never thought possible. Suddenly you are enjoying a depth of taste you never imagined could come from food. It's that amazing.
One of my favorites foods from my time in Morocco was bastilla, seen above in the unique single-portion (food in Morocco is traditionally served platter style, from which everyone grabs handfuls - not fork/spoonfuls - and chows down). Bastilla is basically chicken (traditionally pigeon), eggs, almonds, ginger, cinnamon, pepper and cilantro wrapped in layers of buttery phyllo dough and fried. Powdered sugar and more cinnamon is sprinkled on top. It is an example of the sweet yet savory dishes that the U.S. has largely abandoned. And it is the most amazing food you will ever eat.
Because I have yet to actually make this dish, I will send you to a recipe from FabulousFoods.com. Try it and let me know how it goes. I'll do the same if I ever get brave enough (and nostalgic enough) to try this dish.

Pushing Daisies

I don't watch that much TV. I'd rather read a good book than be blasted with all that rubbish. Thirty to 60 minutes is not enough time to get interested in characters or a plot. And all the in-your-face commercials are fairly sickening. Which is why you will rarely see anything on this blog mentioning the medium. Except for right now.

It's rare to find something extraordinary on television. Most of that is mindless drivel that could use a good dose of books to really be interesting. One show that has a similar soul as some of my favorite movies and books is called "Pushing Daisies."

Overview
Set in a technicolor fantasy land, a pie-maker named Ned can bring the dead back to life. He runs into an enterprising private detective who decides to black-mail the hapless Ned into helping him solve murder cases. Ned can only bring the dead back to life for a minute, after that a nearby life-form of similar size will drop dead. And if he were to touch that living being a second time, they would be dead again, this time permanently. With his strange gift, Ned brings his murdered childhood love back to life, and he refuses to send her back to death. Adventures ensue and wonderful characters that you absolutely fall in love with flit across your screen.

It's usually these shows that are also put to an early death because not enough people will give such oddities a chance. Such is the case with my beloved show, or so the rumor mill would have me believe. Oddly enough, the plot would finish out for it's followers whether it is cancelled or not. Writers say they will create a comic book to finish the story, so unlike fans of shows like Firefly, 'Daisies'-lovers will not be so unfulfilled.

Bottom line

Go out and buy or rent this amazing show. It really was the best thing on tv for an unfortunately short amount of time.

Christmas has already arrived

As I was scanning my saved radio stations on my way to work a few days ago, I was shocked to hear christmas music blasting from a station that normally plays lite rock. Thinking it was just a one time deal (foolishly) I stuck around waiting for something worth listening too. That's when the DJ came on and announced the station was 'our' source of christmas hits for the remainder of the season. WHAT? It's not even Thanksgiving yet!
While I don't mind a month-long Christmas station, such things weren't supposed to happen until Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). So to hear it this early just drives home the consumerism and obsession that this country has begun having with the holiday that was originially a harvest/winter solstice festival celebrated in the name of Saturn (Jesus' birth was not on Dec. 25, but is placed on that date to avoid rebellion by Romans who valued their holiday. The Roman Catholic church had a habit of doing so in order to attract converts...nothing wrong with it, I'm just saying that's what they did). But that's a whole other post...

...this one is about the meaninglessness that the so-called 'spirit of christmas' has taken as time has gone on. I for one, will not listen to that station until at earliest, a week before x-mas (if even then). And I am also feeling more stressed than ever about whether I wil get christmas shopping done this year.

Much ado about (literally) nothing...

Bill Bryson is a journalist who turned to nonfiction novels years ago. His subjects range from travel writing to science to language and even history (generally incorporating historical knowledge into most of his books). His writing is marked with a humorous style that is also informed by a huge knowledge of words and language. So you get highly informed, flowing prose that is both simple and straight forward as well as deep and reflective, all wrapped in a tone of humility and amusement. Upon reading Bryson, right, you tend to get a sense that he is a genial fellow with a big laugh who has a unique love of learning, and who wants to impart that love as well as the learning itself. I also feel as though he is quite bemused by the world around him as well. Bryson has a long list of titles to his name. His most famous ("A Short History of Nearly Everything") garnered him an Aventis award for general science writing and a Descartes award for science communication. Both awards are highly prestigious for a book not really written for the science community, but for those of us who can't really understand what all those big words and five-chalkboard-long equations mean. I have quite enjoyed the first book that I read by him, called "Shakespeare: The World as Stage," published in 2007.

Overview

From the beginning, where a quick look at the three visual representations of the literary giant show that we still don't know what the man looks like, Bryson whisks you away on a journey into the unknown, literally. As Bryson is fond of saying, there is little we can actually know about Shakespeare other than the 4 or 5 recorded mentions of his name (spelled several different ways, by the way).
On the journey you learn from Bryson all of the legends of Shakespeare, mostly false, cooked up by a populace that needed to know more about the man that shaped so much in theatre and literature. It is written in his trademark humorous style and with an audience that is clearly not an expert on the subject. And yet, his use of language is so strong that you can almost hear him speaking in your mind (or I can, at least). Oddly enough, my head makes the 57-year-old American sound like David Attenborough (the British naturalist responsible for such BBC specials as "The Living Planet"). Maybe I've been watching these shows too much recently.

Bottom line

I would recommend this book to anyone who is mildly curious about the man who gave us so many words, phrases and plays. It's also a must for those out there who, like me, have a special obsession about all things Shakespeare.
But don't stop there. I myself am moving on to "A Short History of Nearly Everything." I've actually already begun reading it and have laughed out loud several times (making me look like a crazy person to my roommates). And so begins a new obsession, with a man with arguably as much wit and command of language as his subject himself had.

The art of still life...

I had a lot of fun in my nature photography class. I did really enjoy the assignment where we had to make 'still life' photos, but try to to so out in nature. So a bowl of oranges really isn't going to cut it here. The above is an example of when I found some random stuff lying next to a tree. To me it provided a simple yet powerful reminder of the clash of man and nature.

Words, words, words...

Sorry for the tiny-sized example, but if you click on the following thumb-nail you will be redirected to an interesting site:

The Web site is called Wordle. I've known about it for a long time, as have many others. I figure its about time to share this really cool little diversion (especially since I'm getting a little tired from 10 days straight of in-depth blogging).
Here's the deal: Wordle is an application that creates world clouds from either a group of words that you paste into a window...OR by accessing a blog that you provide the address to. It basically searches throught all of the words on the blog/group of words you give the site. Then it ranks the words by most repeated and then displays however many words you want displayed, making words you repeat more often bigger than words that you repeat less often. You can change the # of words, color scheme, font, whether the words are capitalized and whether they are displayed horizontally or vertically. It then becomes a very personalized picture of a group of words.
There's nothing cooler than mixing visualizations with words. And in this instance...'a picture is made up of a thousand words' (well maybe not a thousand...but definitely at least 100!).

Forests of our memory...

Memory is a very volatile entity. One memory that you thought was forever lost can come running back to you in an instant with just a hint of a smell, a touch...even a photo. I think that's why I am so obsessed with photography. I generally don't take photos because they have some cosmic interplay of light and color that can be considered 'art.' While I do view photography as art, for me the medium is about capturing a moment in time. It can be something you want to remember forever or a timeless scene. But in my mind, it's generally a moment that reminds of me another one that I thought long gone.
Like the one above. When I saw it I instantly thought of my time in London with my father. There was something about the interplay of rain and English ivy that had those good times returning to my mind in an instant. Whenever I glance a the photo I can do nothing but smile, usually inwardly and with a touch of sadness. But it's my memory, and I love it to death, just like this photo.
It's the fact that I know I can always look to this photo to jog those particular memories that gives me a sort of peace.
I hope you enjoy it too.

The only overtly political words you will hear from me...

I have been shocked recently by some of the stuff coming out of the election. Happily shocked in the way most people seem to suddenly be so full of hope. Our newspaper is selling out not because we are awesome writers/editors/designers but because everyone wants to read about the message of hope that we are being given. It's a wonderful time to be in America. Let's hope that the hope holds out and becomes something real and tangible.
Unfortunately, I've also be unhappily shocked by some of the reactions of people. Those who just completely shut down and say they must move elsewhere - and are actually serious about it. Why? Because the president-elect is black? Because he's brought hope to a dark country? There are people who have good reasons: they fear the 'give to the poor' attitude, and they have a right to that feeling. But what I feel most people are missing is that Obama seems to want to listen to them, too. He's the first leader that I've ever seen who I can't make a cynical joke about, because I cannot believe in my own cynicism enough to apply it to him.
I'm not stupid. I know he'll make mistakes, probably big ones, but I think he'll own up to them, and better yet actually fix them.
What is the most important quality I see in all of this, and you notice if you knew me, is that these are not my normal, everyday cynical, pessimistic comments. I am not that person. In fact I make fun of that person all the time. But these days, I can't.

And that is all I'm gonna say about that.

Jump on the Word Train

Sometimes the creativity of the people in the newspaper business astounds me. When we are given the challenge of translating the feelings of people, newspeople have traditionally shown it in pictures and in 'pull-out quotes.' But the New York Times came up with a really new concept. It's the idea of the word map, but taken to a completely interactive level. They have created a system by which you can input one word that describes your reaction to the election (or more). Then you can view what others have written based on the time they inputed it and who they support. It's actually a pretty neat thing to do and an interesting way to visualize the reactions of a nation. Plus there's nothing better than boosting the interactive nature of a news Web site.

Here's the site if you'd like to take a look: Election Word Train.

Addressing the 'death' of journalism

With all the job cuts and newspaper closures, it seems like we are at the end of the newspaper a we know it. And we are, to be honest. No matter how much I love the feel of newsprint between my fingers and the smell fresh-off-the-press ink, we must admit that this is the end as we know it. But it is also a beginning. And it is not until we acknowledge that this is a beginning that we can save newspapers. One hintof an option is the Christian Science Monitor's (a successful newspaper) decision to drop a daily paper and instead focus on launching the Internet news. They will have a weekly 'news magazine,' but they call it a supplement to the online version only. I think that will be the key to saving journalism and it's high time the old fogies accepted it.

In "The Media Equation: Mourning old Media's Decline" by The New York Times' David Carr, the business reporter addresses just this subject. But far from mourning old media's decline, we should be celebrating the arrival of a whole new day for journalism, a day for us to continue our pursuit of news without compromising the passion that so many of us newspeople feel for newsprint.

Also, I think this election season has proved the need for newspapers. My own paper sold out of their Nov. 5 edition and then later sold out of the Nov. 6 edition, which carried a 'commemorative poster.' I think this could be proof positive that in certain situations, tangible paper trumps the intangible Internet.

Life in a newsroom...

...on Election Night

Nov. 4, 4:00 p.m.: The motto for our Election section is "The Nation Chooses." It'll be the pagetopper on every page and comes complete with a pretty flag/star graphic. This is more involved and crazy then I thought. Stay tuned!

Nov. 4, 4:15 p.m.: As we came into work we learned that we would need to design and edit all of our non-election pages by 10. We'll have a newsroom-wide meeting soon to tell us how the night will go. That's right - none of the designers actually know what's going on. It's sort of stressfull because we're all in the dark here, even down to which designer is responsible for which page. And, oh yeah, the local section (normally 10 - 12 pages) is going to be 22 pages long! Of Election material! That's almost double what that section normal is.

Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m.: Just got out of our election night meeting and while pages are finally assigned we still don't really know what's going on. It will be a confusing night I'm sure.

Nov. 4, 8:02 p.m.: And the predictions begin. Not one single state has fully reported their results (highest is Vermont with 21% of results reported), and yet news networks are already 'calling the race' or predicting who they think will win what. My advice is to ignore it all until about 10 pm. That's when the more full reports will actually be finalized.

Nov. 4, 10:12: The newsroom finally looks like the stereotypical newsroom: people running around, steady murmur of people calling to double-check facts, and updates being yelled from one end of the room to another. This is what journalism used to be. I wish it would stay like this.

Nov. 4, 11:20: And McCain has conceded to Obama. I personally thought his speech was really good and I am glad he spared the country a prolonged race. It takes a lot of class, and I respect that he didn't let his pride get in the way of what's good for the country. Well done McCain and well done Obama.
Nov. 5, 12:20: And our first edition is out. I can't tell if I'm shaking because of adrenaline from rimming (editing) a front page story with less than 8 minutes before deadline or if it's because of the giant thermos of coffee that I finished seconds before I started rimming said story. This was an amazing experience, from the entire newsrooms crowded around several TVs to hear McCain's concession speech to the Editor in Chief of our paper crouched over an thesaurus trying to come up with a 'sizzling' hed to mark this momentous milestone. It was all incredible to be this keyed in to our democracy and my paper.

My democratic right

To kick off Election Day, I thought it only fitting, as the word smith I am, to bring up several words that bear particular relevance to today (and in fact to the last couple of months). These were brought to my attention by (bear with me here) the venerable blogger of "Web2.Doh!," who was informed of these oddly perfect words by Very Short List (VSL is a daily e-mail of random and yet awesome finds on the Web) which found them listed on Anu Garg's A.Word.A.Day Web site. So without further ado (or really, too much ado):

~barrack (verb): 1. To shout in support: to cheer. 2. To shout against: to jeer [from a Northern Ireland word for 'to brag']
~obambulate (verb): To walk about [from Latin word for 'to walk']
~meeken (verb): To make or become meek or submissive. [from an Old Norse word meaning 'meek, soft']
~bidentate (adjective): Having two teeth or toothlike parts [from Latin - 'two' and 'teeth']
~palinode (noun): A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem [from the Greek words for 'again' and 'song']

So I finally exercised my democratic right in the normal way (i.e. actually going to polls as opposed to sending in an absentee ballot). Virginia was supposed to be one of those states with ridiculous lines out the door. No.

I bundle up in three thick layers(for a stint waiting in the rain), grab a book to read during the 'long' wait and pack the Daily Press Voter's Guide for my roommates and we walk to the polls. The walk takes us like five minutes. We walk into the polling place expecting a huge line. Granted, we went at 9 to miss the 9-5'ers so we were expecting less people. But after we enter we realize there is absolutely no line. We literally walk up to our specific sign-in station (three separate tables according to alphabet), immediately sign in, go to the next table to pick up a ballot and then walk up to the tables with 'privacy' things. We fill out the ballot, pop it in the box (I, of course, freak out cause I can't remember if I filled in the right holes - just like i did after tests in school) and then grab an "I Voted" sticker and leave, all in about 3 minutes tops. It took us longer to walk to and from the polls than to actually vote. I was so worried that the line would be longer but now I kind of feel gipped that it wasn't. But then again this just might prove that voting is ten times easier than most people (including me) thought.

It's also my first Election Night in a real newspaper during a presidential election. It's going to be interesting once things start hopping. I hope to offer some thoughts on my experience later tonight, so stay tuned for tomorrows post on the subject.

The craziness may soon be over....

This was my first election season in a professional newsroom. Meant to be the highlight of any serious "newsie's" career, this year has actually been more of a bummer. So many stories that are 'new' just repeat old news and the same old sound bite. And just as I thought it was coming to an end...well, thanks for getting my hopes up and then dashing them, Mr. Newspaper Reporter.

At the end of a story breaking down when results will be reported across the country, the writer finishes his story with this wonderful promise: "And then it's all over...Or not. As the past two elections have shown, there’s no certainty. If it’s a contest at all, the victor may not be declared until Wednesday’s wee hours. Or later."

Which means I may be in the newsroom until well past 1 a.m. for tomorrow's shift waiting to inform all the sane people who went to bed at a normal hour of the name of the new President of the United States as they eat their breakfast in the morning. I will also have been up since 8 am that day, waiting in the expected huge lines to cast my own vote. Yay for democracy and the free press.

I'm excited, though, because being in a real newsroom on election night is exciting. Unfortunately, I've also been in a real newsroom five nights a week, every week since May (it is my job, you know). Which means the election has lost its "exciting" glamour for me. I will be getting free food, including sandwiches and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, however. Plus I guess it'll be nice to finally hear what the past year has been leading up to.

PS: I'm participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). So this means I will be posting every single day for the month of November. My goal is to not resort to something completely frivolous and attempt to stick with the professional nature of this blog. Let's see if I can accomplish this task, even with me being a notoriosly lousy poster.