Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care about time?

So here I am, Tuesday morning, splayed out on the hot griddle of July, and performing one of my most frequent tasks as a journalist-in-training: waiting. Andy’s got me calling the Health Department and the Chester County Hospital to get a few comments on the heat situation for a possible article, because other than that, nothing’s come in yet today. I’ve done some research on the current weather conditions and when the heat advisory will end. I’ve written my interview questions. And now the fate of my effort hangs on the balance of whether anyone decides they can spare five minutes and pick up a phone.

In a way, I’d kind of anticipated this before I ever arrived on the scene at The Daily Local. I come from a small town with a single local newspaper that serves the area, and having been interviewed for/connected to enough people and events that were featured in the publication at some point, I know journalists’ stories often rely on the ordinary citizens taking time out of their work schedule to contribute to theirs. However, I was not prepared for the extent of how often people just will not call you back at all. It’s bad enough when they call back after a story’s ideal deadline has passed, or when they call back and decline giving comments because they don’t want their friends/neighbors/the random roving Jehovah’s Witness to judge them based on their statements. But when you call repeatedly, leave a message, and receive nothing in return, it’s rather brutal.

Then, this past weekend, I read the book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. I highly recommend it for any journalist (or anyone with a sense of humor or who can read, really) because of one chapter in particular entitled “All I Know is What I Read in the Papers”. In this section, Klosterman, who was a journalist in Fargo, ND, before working for the Akron Beacon Journal and eventually the NY Times and The Washington Post, discusses how much of the industry is reliant entirely on chance rather than agenda. You can read some of the chapter here on Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=8bvFIHE0u4kC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=klosterman+All+I+Know+Is+What+I+Read+in+the+Papers&source=bl&ots=KNx2gbPi-F&sig=I-xEC9AuLTq3evqpZF-he0FzdWE&hl=en&ei=rkwzTIrfBYWErAe06OX2Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=klosterman%20All%20I%20Know%20Is%20What%20I%20Read%20in%20the%20Papers&f=false) though as usual, they cut out every other page to keep you from really enjoying yourself. Regardless, he makes some really interesting statements, and for those of you who don’t want to make the jump, here’s an excerpt:



"DON’T WORRY ABOUT AGENDAS. WORRY ABOUT CIRCUMSTANCE."
by Chuck Klosterman
"This is- indisputably and inarguably- the biggest misconception people make about the media. Everybody seems to be concerned that journalists are constantly trying to slip their own political and philosophical beliefs into what they cover. This virtually never happens. And I am not being naïve when I say this; it really doesn’t happen. There are thousands of things that affect the accuracy of news stories, but the feelings of the actual reporter are almost never one of them. The single most important impact of any story if far less sinister: Mostly, it all comes down to (a) who the journalist has called, and (b) which of those people happens to call back first.

Are media outlets controlled by massive, conservative corporations? Well, of course they are. Massive corporations own everything. Are most individual members of the media politically liberal? Absolutely. If talented writers honestly thought the world didn’t need to be changed, they’d take jobs in advertising that are half as difficult and three times as lucrative. So- in theory- all the long-standing conspiracies about media motives are true. But- in practice- they’re basically irrelevant… (the page cuts off here)

Since journalism is founded on the premise that reality can only be shown through other people’s statements, reporters are constantly placing phone calls to multiple sources with the hope that all of them (or at least one of them) will give the obligatory quotes the writers can turn into a narrative. That’s why the first person who happens to return a reporter’s phone message dictates whatever becomes the “final truth” of any story. Very often, the twenty-four-second-shot clock simply runs out before anyone else can be reached; consequently, that one returned phone call is all the info the journalist can use. And even when everyone else does call back before deadline, the template has already been set by whoever got their first; from then on, every question the reporter asks will be colored by whatever was learned from the initial source. Is this bad? Yes. Does it sometimes lead to a twisted version of what really happened? Yes. But it’s not an agenda. It’s timing."

Anyway, if anyone wants to borrow the book from me, feel free, because it’s extremely interesting, even when you don’t agree with his views. Also, Audrey, he also includes in this chapter a section on how all sports writers end up hating sports, which made me think of you.

But it’s time for me to stop blogging and get back to working. My contact from the Chester County Hospital just returned my call on the excessive heat article… to tell me that she’ll have someone more qualified to answer my questions call me back sometime later today. Gotta love it.

- Miranda

Stressing over deadlines?!

Hey, so recently I've been doing quite a few stories and balancing working part-time at a supermarket as well as finishing up an online class for college. But that's life. However, when you're a journalist balancing deadlines is important and usually being a journalist is your sole job (so hopefully it gets easier).

I have a couple tips I've found to help anyone with meeting deadlines...

-When dealing with multiple interviews for a story with multiple subjects, it is best to set up interview meetings within a close time period (the same day is ideal for one-day deadlines). So if you can get deadlines within a day or so, you'll be able to write the complete story sooner. --For interview tips see this link

-If you can multi-task: When interviewing or attending an event, try to think in your head..."what is newsworthy about this event or story?" If you figure that out then you will know which questions to ask your subjects or how to develop the basis for your story. --follow this link for descriptions of newsworthy criteria-


I also have some things I need to avoid in the future, to be more efficient...

-I struggle to write drafts for stories. I need to start easing the load of work I have to do before a deadline by creating drafts for my stories, instead of producing my story all at once. I know I should just start a draft with basic information, even if I'm not done compiling all the facts yet.

-I need to focus on writing with more style and structure. I also need to focus on AP Style a whole lot better in the next articles I may write, but I can get lazy sometimes and not look up a style issue. --Try going to this link for style help


----On an aside this is a funny story---So for a story I was working on about ATM Safety Month (June), I interviewed a lady by the name of Roxanne Miller (see above) who is the VP and fraud manager for National Penn Bank. The PR director sent me her head shot to be used if desired...however, Katrina jokingly said it would definitely not run with the story....but I put the photo here, just so her face got someplace!

Till next time..
-Connor

Wednesday's Post

Yep, I titled this Wednesday's post. Seems appropriate right?
So now that I'm convinced this is the best day to work because there was a cookout, I figured I'd update the blog too.

I was away for the past week or so and went on vacation, finished one summmer class and worked on a centerpiece for my college newspaper. However, now that I'm back in the swing of things (or at least until I leave again next week) I'm faced with a few new stories. With a local girl scout troop receiving praise, I contacted the troop leader this afternoon and she explained to me what the troop did in order to receive a signed letter by President Obama. I'd tell you all what she said, but that would take away from the story haha.

Also, with the AT&T National taking place in Newtown Square this week, tomorrow I'm heading out to Winner's Circle restaurant, which is 4.5 miles away from the golf course, to interview people. The restaurant is expecting a large turnout since it's so close to the event and it should be cool to see how crazy the area is since Tiger Woods tees off tomorrow afternoon. I'm expecting to see a lot of golf enthusiasts and can't wait to see if anyone still cares about Tiger's personal life drama or if they're ready to watch the greatest golfer of our generation compete? Something I've noted over the course of the past 5 months or so is how many more people like to hear about his personal life as opposed to his golf skills. Why rumors sell so much more that other stuff is beyond me. any ideas?

Begging the Question.

As someone whose only previous official experience with journalism comes from being a contributing writer to the WCU Honors College newsletter, I’ve learned a considerable amount since arriving at The Daily Local. Some of those lessons have been useful (such as economy of word count) and some have been frustrating (oh hey people, it’s called returning a phone call!), but all have been necessary.

One issue that has come up recently, however, is one I’m never really sure how to deal with: what to say to people who request a draft copy of the story to “look over” before it goes to print. On one hand, I can understand that people want to be portrayed accurately/fairly/not as gigantic genetically engineered evil wolverines and that they want to be able to see that I’ve quoted them correctly so nothing they’ve said could be taken out of context. However, I don’t know what level of control journalists give (or should give) to the people they interview. What if someone reads the draft and decides they don’t like the angle of the story, or (worse) tries to force the journalist to come from a very specific angle of their own choice? What if the interviewee decides they weren’t quoted correctly, or tries to change a statement they made?

It’s a question that has unfavorable results regardless of whatever answer you give. If I answer yes, I open myself to all the disastrous outcomes mentioned above. If I say no, I leave the interviewee thinking I’m going to scurry home to write horrible sekrit lies OMG about them which might forever result in their public defamation and destruction (or at least, this is what I figure they’re worried about).

And so I turn the dilemma over to all of you. Have you experienced this before? What have you said, or, what are you supposed to say? If you’re supposed to say “no”, how do you deal with an interviewee’s irritated reaction? Any guidance would be extremely helpful. Seriously. I’ll bake you cookies or something.

- Miranda

Almost Friday

Hi everyone,
So today I played a quality round of phone tag. Not too exciting really, but I left messages for my cartoon story, my feature story and my Good Neighbor Day story. It's definitely not the best part of the job, but waiting for people to call you back is all part of being a journalist.
In between talking across the cubicles with Connor and Chelsea, I wrote myself a to-do list. Once again, not too exciting but judging by the amount of work I still need to do between now and next week, it was necessary. With these stories I need to write, plus bugging Athletic Directors about this whole Big Ten Expansion dilemma, I'm going to have an interesting week ahead of me.
**10 minute pause**
Well, I just got one phone call back. So I guess I'm one step closer to writing this cartoon contest story.
I guess the interesting thing about being an intern is that you get all kinds of unique stories to write about. While I'm used to writing sports stories and sports features, this week I learned how to take events that may seem dull and liven them up! I'm getting better at finding a better, usually less obvious angle, and that's definitely a plus.
Well I must prepare for tomorrow morning's graduation event! If only I can find a unique angle for this...

Connor: Editorial Help

Hey Interns!

So I just finished my editorial on senior week, based on a borough discussion panel that included a couple of school administrators and college students; "Senior week panel a good first step in addressing concerns (6/9/2010)."

I would like to offer "y'all" (as Kat would say) some tips about writing your editorial, since we are all encouraged to write at least one this summer. I had never wrote one alone before, so I came across a few challenges, hopefully I can help direct some of you in the right direction for your own editorial.

Editorial Writing:

-Develop an argument: State early on in the editorial what your argument is about. It can be a negative or positive view, but you may need to discuss your topic/view with DLN before getting too deep in the writing process (to make sure it will be OK with the paper's morals/ethics).

-Try to pick a topic that is timely: It is suggested by journalists that the more current (past week/month) your topic is the better. For example, my editorial was about senior week and what students should be cautious of as they leave for the "beach week" within the next couple weeks.

-"Our Middle Name is Local!": So yeah, what that former DLN writer said...we are a local paper, so if you can find a topic that affects the county, that would be ideal (I would imagine).

-Write in the third person: The goal is to provide a consensus of the entire editorial board of the media outlet you are working in. However, I was instructed to use my best judgment and construct an editorial based off what I think the editorial board would agree with. (since I didn't have the chance to meet with the DLN staff to discuss the issue at hand) But, if you choose a controversial topic, you may have to discuss your angle with staff writers/editors.

-Suggestion on how to end the editorial: You should have some sort of definitive statement to complete your argument. See the ending to my editorial that Kat helped out with below...

We think the biggest step is the one the WCCTC has already taken — starting the discussion. While most people are aware that many recent graduates get their hands on alcohol at senior week, it can be hard to bring the subject up. As graduates transition to life out of high school, whether that means college or not, it usually means being confronted with more situations that involve alcohol — and to deal, graduates still need guidance and a trusted space for open discussion.

Make sure you get the editorial done in advance, so the editorial board has a chance to look over what you wrote (and they can get an opportunity to edit/rewrite whatever they want).

Length: 400-500 words is recommended, but it depends on your issue/topic

Resource: Univ. of the Pacific

Erin: June 9

Yesterday and today I have worked on contacting individuals for Good Neighbor Day, a 4th of July celebration in Downingtown. This event is going to be previewed in a special section of the newspaper in late June. If anyone is interested in gathering information in about a 400 word story for any part of this event, you can look on the master spreadsheet where I have placed contacts and simple directions. You can also see me for more information and a sample from last year.

Yesterday I also wrote a story about 'Dump the Pump Day' next week which is a day in which several public transportation systems allow their passengers to ride for free in order to encourage saving gas money and the environment. The story also highlighted the Beeline, one of these transportation systems, which is reducing fares for the summer months to specifically decrease commuter traffic in the Malvern area.

Tonight I will cover the Henderson graduation!

Until next time,
Erin