The Journey

It's Been Fun

2012-08-08T20:06:00.001-04:00

I don't want to say a whole lot about this but I'll be moving my blog to WordPress. You can check it out here.

This blog has been around since 2004, back when I created when I played Lineage and World of Warcraft. Back in my gaming days in high school, where I didn't have much responsibility, had all the time in the world and life was just full of boring school work and a mundane routine.

I'll keep this blog up, for memories' sake. There's so much on here that I look back on and it makes me smile. A lot of these blog posts also give me a glimpse of how I used to be back in high school: my quirky personality, my awkward jokes and just over-the-top excitement for video games.

Also, it's pretty funny to see how my style of writing has changed over the years. Quite surreal.

Anyway, it's been fun here, but it's time to move on to bigger and better things!

Who knows, maybe I'll crawl back here again and post something, but for now: Adios and thanks for the fun times.

-TC

Expanding the Skillset

2012-06-07T16:29:00.002-04:00

Even as I continue the job hunt, I realize that I have a lot of time on my hands. On top of checking off my summer "to-do" list, I should really get my butt into gear and start playing around with some different platforms so that I can be more prospective candidate for a variety of jobs. Here's what I'll be working on soon:

Creating a WordPress blog.
I've given WordPress a chance a couple times in the past (albeit, not as long as I should have). I've always been a staunch Blogger fan, but I realize that a lot of news organizations are utilizing WordPress as a platform to deliver content to their audience. Thus, if I don't become more comfortable with the platform, I'm only hindering myself.

Creating a Tumblr blog
I never really understood the point of Tumblr. I always figured it as a Blogger/WordPress spinoff that didn't add a lot of value in terms of content delivery. However, I've seen some prominent journalists and social media folks, like Matthew Keys, use his Tumblr as an aggregation platform. I'm not a big believer yet, but it can't hut to not have one, so I'll be joining Tumblr soon.

Managing a Facebook Page
The big sha-bang. Alongside my effort to figure out WordPress and Tumblr, managing a Facebook page will be the biggest (but most exciting) challenge I'll face. A lot of social media people that I follow on Twitter and Facebook are all in charge of their organizations Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. With that being said, I need to learn the back end of Facebook Pages, and learn what it's like to be an administrator with the ability to alter a page, monitor its data and post different kinds of content.

I'm not too familiar with ROI or traffic management, but if I get my hands dirty with Facebook Pages, I bet I'll understand what prominent social media producers are talking about on Twitter and Facebook groups. I may just combine my WordPress, Tumblr and Facebook page into one entity - as in create a mock organization or something just so I can teach myself what it's like to manage multiple social media platforms under one banner.

Even if I don't know what I'll be doing exactly with all of these platforms, it'll be one hell of a learning experience.

Now I just need to figure out what my mock organization should be and what type of content I'll be producing. Hmm...

Finding the Right Place

2012-06-06T12:36:00.003-04:00

While I've been scouring the job field over the past couple of days, I've noticed that I've gone from applying to just a bunch of local TV stations, to honing my search for more specific roles at different organizations.

Mainly, I really want to find a job where I can fuse my love for video, social media and producing all into one. I realize though that if I wanted to work on video content, I'd be out in the field more rather than in the newsroom working on social media or producing. One skill is meant for the outside, the others, inside.

With that said, I still want to find out if there a role exists at some organization where I'll be allowed to do at least two of the three.

Now I know when you're trying to find an entry level position in the media industry, regardless if you're heading into print, online or broadcast, that you shouldn't be too picky. While in the back of my mind I'll feel thankful for any job that I can land, I can't help but really ponder over how I want to start my career in in this industry.

I had the chance meet Jeff Sonderman, a digital media fellow at Poynter, at a recent ONADC meetup. I've been following Sonderman since his days at TBD.com, and he even remembered that I was one of the first on Twitter to announce that TBD's website had gone live. One advice he gave me was to make sure that I like what I'm doing in my first job and not take a job where I'll be miserable.

While I've been applying to a plethora of positions, some that I know I'll have the opportunity to apply my skills recurrently, and some where not all my skills will come into play, I realize that the first job is probably one of the most important steps in one's career.

I feel like the first job can help make or break the direction you go as you navigate through your career. If you start out doing something that you really like, while learning more skills and enhancing yourself as a journalist (or producer, photographer etc), then the path to snagging your eventual "dream job" will be a lot less bumpy than if you just took a job that wasn't in your area of interest.

If you plan to take any job where you're not working on the content that you like, or not applying the skills that you want to apply, then will you be happy? I understand the importance of stepping in, paying your dues, getting your feet wet etc., but if you take your first job where you're doing something completely different from what you want, then I can only imagine that your first couple of years in this industry won't be fun.

My self-concern is that desperation sets in early and I take a job where I'll be restricted, rather than flexible; that I'll be trying to fit into a job where I'm not comfortable or really not qualified for.

I'll continue my research and hunt and stay positive and confident that I can snag something soon. The job hunt itself has shown me that there are really cool jobs out there with responsibilities that I would love to have.

While many require "x" amount of years for consideration, I can only hope that the first job I accept will be able to help refine my skills, keep me progressive and help lead me in the right direction.

Summer To-Do List

2012-05-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

Has it already been two weeks since I walked across a particular stage at Virginia Tech, received a very expensive piece of paper and stepped out of the large bubble that had sheltered me for four delicate years?

Oh man how time flies.

As I continue to apply to a plethora of jobs across the country while at home, I have come up with a short "to-do" list that I want to complete by the time summer ends (or a list that I may partially complete if I land a job in the near future). While this is in no particular order, you should definitely check out number four on the list. Go on, scroll right down to it.

1)Publish at least 50 posts on my blog.
One advice that I've seen pop up when professional journalists are asked what one should do while unemployed and looking for a job, is to continue to write and read. Write, write and write some more is the name of the game here folks! I think I read enough as it is, but

Now 50 posts may sound like a lot but, if spread out over the summer, I think it can be easily accomplished . Considering that I start on June 1, I'll have about 90 days to finish. I realize that since I have some free time on my hands I may as well attempt to be productive. Something that will aid me as I write will be to...

2)Read the AP Stylebook!
I need to get my AP style under wraps. I know I need to improve my writing; and I need to memorize how to properly use abbreviations, capitalize certain words and more. I can say I am much more comfortable with the broadcast style of writing, but I know it is very imperative that I kick my ass and really start writing in AP style wherever and whenever I can. If I call myself a journalist I damn well better know how to writ e like one.

With writing, one thing that could give me some new content to write about could be...

3)Travel!
In my last post I mentioned that I will be heading up the coast to visit my grandparents in New Jersey then go down south to Tech to finish packing up my side of the apartment. While I think Jersey doesn't have much to offer besides the beaches and Atlantic City, I will be heading east to check out Philadelphia and hopefully get a good taste of what the "city of brotherly love" has to offer. I am crossing my fingers that cheesesteaks will be consumed at an unhealthy rate because I need to find out if Tony Luke's beast Pats. I had Pats once in my life and haven't had anything better since!

    Besides Philadelphia, New Jersey, D.C. and Virginia Tech, I hope that I'll have a chance to travel to some other locations on the East Coast during this summer. While I'm up in Jersey I might see if a trip to New York could be feasible, and not too heavy on my wallet. The last time I went to New York to visit the city was in August 2001. If I do make it out there, I wonder if I'll remember anything else besides visiting the World Trade Centers and eating at Windows of the World in the North Tower.
     Speaking of going places, I wonder where I will land up once I...

4)Land a job.
     Pretty self explanatory on this list. So what are you waiting for? Check out my linkedIn profile, connect with me on Twitter and hire me! :)

Summer Plans

2012-05-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

Now that college is over, I join the masses of unemployed graduates figuring out their place in this world. While I'm unsure as to where I end up, I remain hopeful that I'll be able to snag a job sometime this year so I can start my career.

As I continue to apply to various stations across the country, I'm also structuring my summer just in case I can't land something within the next couple of months.

A great organization!

May-End of June
I'll be staying at my parents house in northern Virginia for the rest of May. While I'm here, I'll continue to hunt for an entry level job and plan to make some trips to D.C. There's an upcoming ONADC meetup next week that I'm really excited to go to. I'll be able to hang out with a lot of professional and talented journalists over drinks, and I hope to gain some valuable advice on how I can enter this industry and start working.

A quick trip to Philly.

Once June rolls around, I plan on heading up to my grandparent's place in New Jersey to see more of my family members, and make a trip to Philadelphia to see a friend. I've only been to Philly maybe once or twice as a kid and now that I have some free time, I figured it'd be a good idea to go back and see what the city has to offer.

After a couple of days in Jersey, I'll head back home to Virginia, stay at my parents for a day or two, then head back to Blacksburg for a relaxing, low-key, summer visit. Last year I stayed in Blacksburg while I interned at WDBJ7 in Roanoke and I had a blast. The weather was hot, the pools were refreshing and the atmosphere was so serene. Coming back to relax and hang with the friends who are sticking around will be a welcomed relief.

July

July will be an interesting month. I'm not sure how long I will be able to fund myself at Tech with no current income, so my focus will be to pack up and prepare to officially leave. If I have any more items that I need to throw away or dump into my car, this month will be dedicated to doing just that. I don't plan on staying at Tech for all of July, which is unfortunate since my lease doesn't end till the end of the month. If anything, my goal is to be packed and ready to officially move out by the second week of the month. After that I plan to be home for the rest of July.

August

If I don't land anything by August, then I'll be flying out to stay with my aunt and uncle in San Jose, California where I'll continue my job hunt.

If I can't snag anything by the time I move to California, I aim to attend my first ONA 2012 conference which will be held in San Francisco at the end of September.

I've always wanted to go to an ONA conference. It's an amazing convention where so many journalists and media people come together to talk about the current industry, hold workshops on new gadgets and tools and network with one another. I think this conference would be a great opportunity for me to meet more talented and bright minded professionals and get my name out as well.

October and beyond?

I haven't thought about what I'll be doing after California and ONA, but I hope to have some sort of job by then (any job at that point so I can start making money). Until then, the rest of this year is unknown.

An Update (Coming Soon!)

2012-04-06T16:42:00.000-04:00

It's been nearly a month since I've updated this blog. Recent comments about have sparked me to at least post a tentative post in regards to current content. Since I've been back from California I haven't had too much time to sit down and earnestly blog about what I've been up to since Spring break and my continuous hunt for a job.

But there will be posts, soon. I promise! It's been hectic these past couple of weeks, but an update will come before this month is over. Speaking of month, I nearly have one complete month before I complete my collegiate and leave school for good. I'll always be learning and doing my "homework" (as in reading up on topics and events relating to journalism) but it won't be within academia.

It's crazy to think about it and the idea that I'll be concluding the best four years of my life is a bit depressing. However, I look forward to seeing where I land and what I'll do to contribute to this world.

Fun stuff. Like I said this is a tentative post. Keep coming back, I promise it'll be worth the wait =)

A Mother's Plea. A Father's Silence.

2012-03-05T15:23:00.003-05:00

It was around 1 a.m PST and I was about to call it a night when I came across this re-tweet from Robert Moran that perked my interest.

I'm not sure why this tweet jumped to me, but for some reason I was curious. What did she mean by "shrugging off responsibility on state programs," and why was she publicly criticizing this guy? I clicked the original post, and found this woman named Alana Joy, a digital strategist and privacy advocate. I began to read her tweets, and what I found was something that really startling. Read her tweets below:

Who was this George Ruiz, the supposed father? Before I shut my laptop, I did a search and found his profile:

I didn't see any recent interaction between him and Alana Joy, so I used SnapBird.org to pull tweets dating back to 2011 and saw the last time the two interacted.

The interaction seemed lighthearted, and past tweets show recurring responses to Alana's tweets.
George's last public interaction on Twitter, with Alana, was on Jan. 13, 2012.

As you can see, Alana's tweets toward George are similar. They are lighthearted and funny. On Feb. 9, 2011, Alana announces on Twitter that her and George are having a baby. Her tone begins to change the day after her announcement. She begins to tweet more frequently, with evident frustration. George's responses however, stopped on Jan. 13.

After Alana spotlighted her situation to the public, she began to receive a lot of support from her followers.

As the last tweet noted, George Ruiz did in fact put his profile on lock.

Interesting, when I checked last night, his profile was public. Today however, it was locked.

Alana did in fact post her story on her blog, publishing an open letter to George and subsequently bringing to light the history between them.

So why does this story, of two people who I've never met, never knew and may never meet in real life, matter to me? Why do I care about two stranger's private lives?

Well as a child who's real father abandoned my mother and never supported her, stories like these will always hit home. My real father provided zero support, and has never once provided financial help to my mom.

The situation that Alana is going through isn't uncommon. It happens to millions of women. But to see this happen on a social networking site, and to read a story of this woman who's trying her best to receive unconditional support from a silent father hits home.

Yes the two are at fault for having unprotected sex, which does increase the chances of conceiving a child. It's both the mother and the father's responsibility to provide for the offspring, even if the parent's are not together. According to Alana, George has yet to respond to her calls, tweets or emails. A soon-to-be-father who steps away from his responsibility is just wrong.

It's odd that George was silent on Twitter, but I can understand why one wouldn't want a private matter placed in the public domain. However, Alana's tweets and blog post has brought the matter out in the open and I, along with Alana's followers, will be watching to see how (or if) George reacts and responds.

It's crazy how anything, even a private matter, can be brought to the public's attention with a simple tweet. This really shows how one tweet, one update online, can really spark a fire in an online community.

Virginia Tech & its Journalism Program Part 4: Final Thoughts

2012-03-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

My experience here at Virginia Tech has been great. In my time, I've had the fortunate opportunity to work with some amazing students and teachers. Both groups have helped me develop my skills and helped shape me into the person I am today.

Getting involved with student media groups like Planet Blacksburg, VTTV and the Collegiate Times, helped me develop my skills behind the lens and on paper. If I hadn't joined these groups, I wouldn't have had a lot of hands-on experience.

That's not to say that I didn't learn anything in class, contrary to what part two of this series may have implied. I enjoyed Media Writing, Broadcast Studio and Multimedia Journalism to name a few. The professors in these classes helped foster discussions and pushed for collaboration between the students. However, I still think every journalism class needs to be more hands-on. That may only come once there are enough resources to meet the demands of the students.

Even though the Department of Communication doesn't have all of the resources that I'd like for it to have (what department really does?), I think it's moving in a positive direction in implementing more classes that integrate multimedia and social media in the classroom. Once the supply is there, in terms of hardware (more cameras and audio tools), software (more Final Cut Pro would be nice!) and a studio that's available for every student, I think the journalism program will be something that more students will want to focus on if they are interested in working in the media.

Even with this progression, outside experience is still essential when it comes to gaining experience. As a student, you can't expect to pass all your classes and have nothing on your resume to show your skills. As an aspiring journalist, a student should make an effort to work with groups like VTTV, or the CT or at least snag an internship. Classes alone will not provide the student with enough experience to graduate and land a job. Plain and simple.

I look forward to seeing how the journalism program changes at Tech and it will be interesting to see how the curriculum changes over the years. I'm glad that I was able to surround myself with bright students that were eager to produce content for their respective organizations. It's humbling to see other students that are passionate to learn and gain more experience in this profession. In the end, if a student is passionate and driven enough, he or she will obtain the necessary skills to thrive in this ever-changing industry.

Virginia Tech & its Journalism Program, Part 3: Students, Step Up!

2012-02-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

In part three of how Virginia Tech can improve its journalism program, I will be discussing student participation both in and outside the classroom. Now, the level of activity in a class can vary depending on the mix of students, the professor, the topic and even the time of day. However for students who are interested in journalism as career should take note: Gaining experience both in and outside the classroom is crucial, no matter what.

Students
Work produced inside the class can help establish a foundation to which aspiring student journalists need to build upon. Specifically, it starts with formulating a story idea, seeking out information through sources, researching the topic, writing the story and in the end producing a solid piece of work that a student can show to future employers. We, as students, have the classes and professors that help shape our core skills and teach us about different areas within the journalism industry.

However, this training is all for naught if we:

Don't engage with our professors to learn and hone our skills inside the classroom.
If we don't apply what we've learned in the classes.
Don't seek out outside experience by joining student media or snagging an internship.

Allow me to break it down.

In my experience inside of the classroom, I've noticed that there are days when classroom engagement on the students end is lacking, and I'm no exception to this. As in, the professor will come in and lecture, but as soon as he or she asks a question to the class, there's sometimes a long delay before anyone responds. Sometimes there is no response at all, perhaps due to the fact that no one actually knows the answer. It happens.

But I think that if we, as students, can work with our professors and create a classroom experience that is more a two way street of communication rather than just forcing our professors to stand and lecture, I think it'd benefit the class as a whole. Engaging with our professors also means keeping the flow of communication steady inside and outside the classroom.

For example, if you're interested or confused about a subject matter, don't be silent! Speak up and ask, or if you're too afraid, ask after class is over. I've seen and heard a lot of students remain silent after a professor asks "any questions?" but then turn around and ask a peer for help rather than the professor.

I've done it before, and I realize that sometimes it bests to ask the professional rather than rely on a peer.
I've also noticed that the silence inside the classroom may lead to students keeping their confusion and frustrations to themselves, rather than going to the professors and working with them to solve the issue. The silent furstration spills outside the classroom and creates a pool of complaints about the lack of understanding, the lack of training and the lack of help among other things. If a classroom's silence and subsequent complaints are in any way correlated we must ask ourselves: Have we bothered to even talk with our professors to fix the issues at hand?

As an aside I realize, as I write this now, that if students don't bother to speak up, then complaints just keep piling on without the professors' knowledge. If I had stepped up years ago to discuss with my professors on what, as a student, I wanted from their class, then I wouldn't be here writing these blog posts and reflecting. I would have engaged more and figured out a way to work with my professors so that my needs were met.

It leads me to say that ultimately, how will our professors know what we want or need help with if we don't speak up? Silence doesn't help fix the problem, that's for sure.

As for keeeping the flow of communication steady outside the classroom, I've seen other professors introduce Twitter and a twitter hashtag designed specifically for their students to share interesting articles, discuss questions and just keep in touch. There's also Facebook groups, G+ circles, blogger and other platforms to remain in touch after class. Pretty neat concept, and something that I think could work here in some select classes, if applicable and if there is enough engagement between the students and the professor.

What we learn and practice in class needs to be applied. Getting good grades on your assignments, while awesome, matters naught if that's the only experience you're getting when it comes to this profession. As an aspiring journalist, consistent practice helps develop your skills. Continuous writing, reporting or producing videos will only help to improve the quality of your work. I think some students (not every) believe that taking classes and getting straight A's merits a job after graduation, then wonder why they are unemployed. The key is taking the initative outside the classroom to gain more experience and to improve your skills.

Having little to no experience outside the classroom will not help a student land a job. It's up to us to find ways to apply what we learn from our professors and to expand our knowledge. How? Well the first step could be joining with the various student media groups here on campus.

The Collegiate Times can help a student hone their skills as a writer, and overall journalist. Professors talk about deadlines, AP style, writing a story etc., and students can get a taste of these actual concepts by joining the CT and working to produce stories. Working with the CT not only gets your content out there to the masses and allows you to add another item to your resume, it gives you a chance to practice your writing outside the classroom and improve the quality of your storytelling.

This also goes with VTTV, which can help a student develop their skills as a reporter, photographer and editor. Working with VTTV has helped me improve the quality of my video packages, allowed me to get more acquainted with Final Cut Pro and gave me the opportunity to work on multiple stories all around campus. It's been a resume booster for sure, and a lot of my work that I've produced for VTTV will be used to show possible employers.

The Society of Professional Journalist allows for networking opportunities and a chance to discuss and work with other students who are interested in journalism. Meetings often include guest speakers from the industry, which provides insight on what is going on today and what students can do to improve their work.

As for WUVT, which I don't know too much about, I know it focuses on the radio aspect of broadcast. So if radio is what you're into, then go check it out!

And look, if you're also working with these student media groups, maybe even ask one of your favorite professors for feedback on the work you produce for the groups. They professors have been in the industry for years and have the professional experience. A second opinion and constructive criticism only helps.

Applying the skills learned in the classroom also means snagging an internship to develop these skills. An internship is more than just a glimpse of how the media industry works in the real world. A student can receive professional training and mentoring in one or more areas, and not only does an internship add professional experience, an internship could lead to a potential job. Yes some internships are unpaid but when it comes down to it, gaining the experience in your chosen field is what matters. It also gives you a chance to network and make connections with professionals. These connections can help form bonds, and may come in handy later down the road.

Our professors are here to teach us, train us and help us develop our schools. However, they are not here to hold our hands and tell us everything will be ok. In my last post I wrote how we could improve our classroom experience. I've heard many students complain about their experience and training in the classroom. While I've tried to provide some ideas and suggestions on how we, as a program, can improve, if students really feel that they're not receiving the proper training, then they ultimately need to do something about it. Complaints will get a student no where if they don't make an effort on their end and find a way to receive the training that they want. It's not our professor's fault if they don't know what we want if we don't speak up about it.

So with that said, students, it's time to step up and push for knowledge. The ones who are driven to learn, who pursue outside experience and are passionate about this field will obtain the experience that they need. It's tough to figure out what focus or what area is best suited to your interests, but the best thing about what Tech has to offer is that it allows students to dip their toes into multiple areas to find out what they like. Tech also provides the student media groups that are here to develop and improve your skills. Tech's journalism curriculum is improving and the professors here are willing to help.

If working with professors or joining a student media group is not enough, then it's the student's responsibility to find out other ways to obtain more experience.

Virginia Tech & its Journalism Program, Part 2: Improving the Classroom Experience

2012-02-10T18:07:00.002-05:00

     In part one of this series, I talked about Virginia Tech's progression in updating its journalism program. While Tech is slowly starting to update its current curriculum, much needs to be done before our program is even considered noteworthy. Much of the conversion of our journalism program needs to go beyond updating an out-dated curriculum. I'd argue that a lot of these changes need to happen within the classroom itself, from both professors and students.

     Professors
      First, it starts with the professors and their current knowledge on today's industry. As I continued to progress through the Communication curriculum, the first time I heard a professor mention integrating social media and social networking sites in a classroom was Roland Lazenby, who taught my media writing class. Lazenby went beyond just mentioning, though. He engaged with our class, advocated the use of integrating social media within news content, as well as pointing out that we should disperse our content using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

     Lazenby also emphasized that building a brand, and making yourself known outside of the classroom, was important if you wanted to get a job after graduation. Those lessons really stuck to me, not only because of the topics we discussed in class, but because Lazenby was passionate about these subjects. I fed off this energy and in a way, I think a lot of Virginia Tech journalism professors could learn from Lazenby. To teach about a subject matter is one thing. Getting the class driven and excited to actually use these tools is another.

     Our journalism professors should also stress that there's a shift in the journalism industry. Print is slowly declining and the industry is shifting online, and with the shift journalists are required to do more than write. Professors need to teach their students how journalists are incorporating web technology and multimedia tools to aid their reporting. No more can you just have a strong writing background and assume you'll land a job. Graphic design, computer programming, integrating social networking sites to generate public discussion, these are are crucial skills that can make a more well-rounded journalism student have a higher chance in landing a job when they graduate. Plainly, if you're not able to juggle other skills to incorporate with your reporting, you will be left in the dust as this industry continues to progress in a new direction.

     This ties in with both professors and Virginia Tech's current curriculum. More classes should integrate multimedia lessons. Using my 2012 checksheet, if students wanted to broaden their skills as a journalist and gain more experience in photography, video or multimedia there were three classes: Photojournalism, multimedia journalism, and broadcast field production. The first was tailored to photographers, and you needed to buy your own camera, the second was a senior capstone and the third was tailored more towards broadcast journalists. To take any of these classes you have to be a junior standing or a senior.

     Though the separation and focus in each class is not a bad thing, I'd advocate that the skills learned in these classes (photography, video and editing) should be integrated in freshman or sophomore level courses. A student journalist should be able to shoot video, take pictures and should be able integrate visual (or audio) elements within their stories. Why are we learning how to use Final Cut and learning how to take pictures/video as a junior or senior? These lessons need to be taught at the freshman, if not sophomore, level and developed over the course of a students career.

     Another hot topic that probably should be taught to student journalists is programming and web development too. If journalists know how to write code, build websites and know how to work with different content management systems, it makes them a stronger candidate come graduation. [The only time I ever had to "program?" It was in one class during my sophomore year where we had to use InDesign, which unfortunately taught me very little about coding. I still don't know a lot about Java, HTML5, and CSS.]

     It would be nice if some of these journalism professors had a background, or at least a working knowledge, of all of these skills. They should know how to use a camera to collect stills, shoot video and edit with Final Cut or another video editing software used in the industry. This knowledge should also extend to social media and social networking sites as well. [Albeit, asking for something like this is a stretch. Trying to find professors who are on top of their game and have a background in all of these areas is probably impossible. But one could dream, no?]

     Even with an emphasis on trying to train students to become "jack of all trades," journalism professors also need to stress the importance of social media and social networking sites too. They also should be involved in these networks (as examples: Robert Hernandez, Leslie-Jean Thornton, Kenna Griffin) Not to mention Professors should teach students how to engage with their community to build on their stories while forming close relationships with their readers.

     A professor can sit there and mention the importance or show a slide or two about community engagement, but if he or she doesn't actively participate with the students then what good does it do? An example is Leslie-Jean Thornton who gets her students to join Twitter and converse outside the classroom using a specific hashtag. I ask, how many Virginia Tech journalism professors are integrating social media within their classroom to communicate with their students outside the classroom?

     Sometimes you can't just teach about a topic, you have to train and push students to get some hands-on experience. If journalism professors can train aspiring journalists how to write, but don't know how to train them to use social networking sites to engage with their community, then doesn't that leave the students to a disadvantage? If a journalism professor can train students how to write and publish for magazines, but doesn't know how to integrate pictures to add a visual touch to the story, or design the layout of an article for publication in a magazine or online, then aren't the students at a disadvantage?

I Am Not Alone
   I know for a fact that I am not alone in this matter. I am but just one of many students who feels as if the lessons weren't sufficient enough to prepare us for career opportunities after graduation. For some, it's too late. To underline this, I sought out other students, both current and graduated, to see what they thought about Tech's journalism program.

"I wish the department had more HANDS ON classes. There was ONE production class, which was sweet, but nothing past that either. I wish there would have also been a class that focused on editing more. I think we should have had a class that focused a lot more on social media, writing for the internet, and blogging." Laura Jensen, Multimedia Journalism '12

"Many other journalism schools have an introduction to reporting and/or AP style as a 1000 level class. Having to sit through two years of classes before being allowed to take a reporting class seems really silly, especially for people who get involved with student media in their freshman year." Liana Bayne, English/Spanish '13

"The stuff presented in Field Production was so limited and vague that most of the people I know who have taken it didn't really get anything out of it. They also need to focus more teaching students how to write, rather than telling them to follow the AP style book and taking off massive points because they missed certain rules. AP Style quizzes being such a large part of many classes grades was absurd... Especially when we had no prior experience to it, and we were learning it at the same time as learning how to gather and write news." Nick Shrein, Electronic/Print Journalism '11

"When people ask how I learned to be a reporter I tell them it was working at the CT and the Roanoke Times. Not in class. The department needs to push internships as early as Freshman year. If we have to wait till we're juniors, we're at a huge disadvantage. We don't have any edge whatsoever on, say, a Columbia graduate. Get rid of the three-class-a-semester cap and pare down classes like comm law, media effect, etc to let journos take more relevant courses or get outside work experience." Dan Waidelich, Electronic/Print Journalism '10

There's a lot more that can be said about Virginia Tech's journalism program. A lot can be questioned about these class' relevancy, importance and skill development. However what makes the journalism program more frustrating is not just the professors and lessons, it's the students too that are weighing this program down with their lack of engagement in the classroom, general apathy and little involvement outside of the class.

This issue will be discussed in part three. Stay tuned.

WWW: A Big Reversal, Huff Post TV and a Giant Error.

2012-02-04T18:12:00.000-05:00

Time for another Weekly Web Watch! This one will be short as I've been quite busy these past couple of days. Here's some of the highlights of the week.
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If you haven't heard or read it yet, there's been a big blowup between Planned Parenthood, which provides services like breast cancer screening and abortions, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is the nation's largest breast cancer charity. Over the course of the week there was both public and political backlash against the Komen foundation because it had announced on Tuesday to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. Soon after, the charity reversed its decision. NPR does a good job in breaking down the issue and explaining how the cut in funding would have affected Planned Parenthood.

Just read about this today. The Giants website posted that it won the Super Bowl, advertising Super Bowl merchandise and all! Um. The game's tomorrow folks! Although the "victory celebration" has already been taken down from the site, you can see still what they were advertising.

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Looks like TV is becoming popular! Wait, wasn't it always? Last week I talked about how Reuters was experimenting with online TV. Now looks like Huffington Post seeks to establish an internet video channel! Hmm, wonder what type of content they will offer and if they will really be a threat to other organizations like CNN.

Speaking of Huffington Post, they published an article conducted by the Journal of Psycholigcal Science that showed that checking Twitter was harder to resist than having sex! Hmm, I guess is just TOO sexy for men (and women) to keep their hands off of. I do check my Twitter a lot, which is how I find articles like these! I wonder how many other journalists are glued to their twitter-streams as well.

Last, but certainly not least is a lecture to shooting better stories via USC professor, Andrew Lih.. The image takes you to ONA's interview with Lam Thuy Yo because there's a link in there that brought me to Lih's blog. Yo also provides some great tip on improving a standard video package, and embeds a youtube satire on standard TV packages (which is both hilarious and true). Bot Lih and Yo's posts are very good reads and if you're interested in photography, videos, editing and more. Check them out.

Next week, be on the look out for another blog post on how Virginia Tech can improve its Journalism program. Stay tuned!

WWW: Facebook Timeline, Star Wars, Reuters TV and More...

2012-01-28T12:46:00.000-05:00

Today is my first Weekly Web Watch (WWW)! Here are some articles, and a video, that I found interesting over the course of this week. Check them out.

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Facebook users, whether you like it or not, Timeline is coming to your profiles in a couple of weeks. Check out this Mashable post about the new features that Timeline will bring to you. Mashable has, however, published an article giving readers several ways to try and transition back to the old Facebook. It's not perfect, nor does it get rid of Timeline itself, but there are plugins and downloads that you can install to remove some of the new features.

Speaking of Facebook, I recently came across this question Quora, asking if Zuckerberg was an autocratic CEO and if he was hard to work with. Check out the responses.

CBS Correspondent Lara Logan was recently interviewed by Richard Huff of the New York Daily News. On February 11, 2011, Logan was sexually assaulted by a mob of men while covering the revolts in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.

On Monday a new study suggested that having a legal abortion is safer than giving birth. Women are 14 times likely to die during or after birth than die from legal abortion complications, according to the study.

And for your viewing convenience, if you have two hours to spare, check out this video stitched together by the folks at StarWarsUncut.com. In 2009, the sites creator, Casey Pugh, spread the word to fans to recreate Star Wars: A New Hope through 15 second fan-made clips. Now Pugh has patched all of the clips together to make a fan film! Pretty funny. Lot of dedicated fans out there.

I know that the majority of what I post to Facebook deals with Journalism. Thus, I will include a couple articles in this WWW that are tailored to Journalism.
________________________________________________

This is an excellent interview with Kerry Burke, a crime reporter for the New York Daily News (looks like they got a bunch of good reporters over there!)

Poynter published a nice article by Tom Huang, asking whether or not mentors are doing enough to train aspiring and young journalists and what you need to be a good mentor. This article really hit home for me because as an aspiring journalist, finding a mentor who can help you cultivate your skills goes a long way. Nothing feels better than finding a person who is willing to teach you, provide constructive criticism on your work, believes in your potential and pushes you to do better. I too hope to become a mentor someday, but for now, I'm still learning!

Last, but certainly not least, is the debut of Reuters TV this week on Youtube. Reuters is experimenting with online video news, and the article says that "they plan to offer on the new channel is a mix of news and analysis on politics, finance, technology and other news." Check it out, worth something to keep an eye on in the coming months.
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And that's a wrap for this week's WWW. Hope you found some of these articles interesting and educational! Like always, comments are welcomed. What would you like to see? Any other topics that I should cover in my WWW? Perhaps more video? Let me know below.

Weekly Web Watch

2012-01-25T09:49:00.002-05:00

Above is what my tab count tends to look like on any given week. Sometimes (unfortunately) it's more, but there are days when I'm not clicking the arrow sign to scroll through my tab list in Firefox. What usually happens is I check out HootSuite and start scrolling through my newsfeed. I end up clicking on tabs as I progress up the feed and start amassing a bunch of articles that I try to read throughout the week. Needless to say, if I keep looking at my newsfeed without reading the articles, I start hoarding.

It's a wee bit of a problem.

Ever heard of HootSuite? You should check it out.

But on the flip side, when I do go down the list, I find some really insightful articles. Sometimes I post them on Facebook, but a lot of times I read and exit. What I think I'll start doing is, at the end of the week, I'll toss out a post sharing some of the interesting articles that I've come across.

Each post will probably come on a Friday or Saturday, so stay tuned. I guess for this week I've already given you a sneak peek of what's to come. Feel free to check out the articles listed above and see what you learn.

Looks like I've got a lot of reading to do.

Virginia Tech & its Journalism Program, Part 1: Progress.

2012-01-24T23:01:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago as I was perusing through the history of my blog and I stumbled upon a post I wrote in 2010 about Virginia Tech and the need for the university to improve its Communication department and journalism track.

Concerning the journalism track that's offered here, I offered some changes that Tech should implement to create a stronger program for students who wish to become journalists. To spotlight what I addressed in my older post, I noted that Tech should:

1) Offer more classes focused on online journalism.
2) Offer more multimedia journalism courses from the beginning.
3) Make broadcast studio/video production classes more relevant.
4) Encourage students to join student media organizations.
5) Push students to seek out internships and on-the-field experience.
6) More hands on reporting/multimedia opportunities in class
7) Learn relevant software and hardware (audio kits, video camera etc.)
8) Stress the importance of social media.

I posted this old story on Twitter, and one of the associate professors at Tech commented on why the program wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be:

Ah, money. Should have thought about that in my last post. Seeing that Virginia Tech focuses more on other programs like Engineering, Business, Architecture and Biological Sciences, I understand why the Communication department isn't highlighted as much as the other departments.

But it's more than money that's keeping Tech from upgrading its journalism program. A lot more than that.

I was curious as to how many students had declared journalism as their focus in the department. After emailing the communication department, Wendy Hodges, the Administrative Support and Receptionist, replied that "almost half the majors are EPJ/Multimedia journalism."

After prodding a bit more, Doctor Marlene Preston, the Director of Undergraduate Programs, emailed me confirming that, while she didn't have the exact number, the amount of journalism students was close to half of the majors under the Communication Department.

Dr. Preston also expanded on the process of introducing new courses and updating the curriculum. See her reply:

It appears that change within a department, really any department, is a multiple step process. A lot of thought process goes into updating classes and incorporating new ones into the curriculum. On top of that you have to take in account of hiring, money, availability of classes...A lot of administrative stuff.

But! Tech is indeed progressing. Like Dr. Preston said, the new facilities and addition of new classes will help push Tech's journalism program into modernity. In fact, check out the 2014 checklist for students who wish to focus in journalism: MJ.option.2014-1 Now, compare to the checklist I had to fulfill: LAHS Comm Epj 12

Even with these new additions, I still see a lot of room for improvement. Yes, it starts with upgrading the classes, but after, it shifts to the lessons that happen within the class that really make a difference.

So, Virginia Tech's journalism program is slowly progressing, with a lot of room for improvement and experimentation. In part two, I'll give an updated version on what I think Tech should do to improve its journalism program.

Stay tuned.

The Producing Internship At WSLS

2012-01-24T19:59:00.002-05:00

Last week marked the start of my producing internship at WSLS10 in Roanoke. I work Monday and Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. During my first week I met most of the WSLS evening and night-side producers, as well as a night-side producer who worked with FOX21/27. Pretty interesting to hear that FOX paid the station to use its news set.

Week One: January 16th & 18th

On day one, I pretty much shadowed one evening producer, Erika Long, and one night-side producer, Whitney Law. I actually connected with Erika a couple months ago via Twitter so it was nice to meet with her in person and have her show me the ropes.

Example of ENPS system. Slightly outdated interface.

I learned how producers used the ENPS system, which is a news production system that's used in hundreds of stations across the country (the same system I saw in the ABC7 newsroom in D.C.). Erika also talked to me about the process of stacking a rundown and opened my eyes to the creativity and structuring process that went into creating a newscasts.

I knew producers were responsible for organizing a rundown, making sure the stories were written and edited properly and timing the production, but what I didn't know was that producers are also responsible for creating and adding in graphics as well as organizing and updating the web content (including updating the social media platforms).

Kinda like Inception...Without the endless loops.

In essence, producers are architects. A cool comparison, especially when I think of an architect, I think of Inception! The process of constructing an entire newscast and having the ability to control how the content of news is broadcast not just orally, but visually, is awesome. They are also tasked with making sure the whole newscast runs smoothly. And let me tell you, inside the control room things can get hectic if a producer is waiting for video to come in, or a story is being edited a minute before the show goes live or something crazy like that. Talk about an adrenaline rush...

Whitney Law, the 11 p.m. producer, got me acquainted with the wires that WSLS uses for national stories. She also gave me a national story to condense, which was about the cruise ship Costa Concordia that capsized off the coast of Italy. It took me a while to figure out what information needed to be kept and what needed to be cut off and I realized that the producer role was a very mentally demanding position. You need to be quick on your feet and know how to craft a story on the fly in order to strack your rundown before its too late.

Wednesday, January 18th, I started my day with an afternoon meeting between the producers and reporters, with the producers going through their rundowns and talking about each story that their including in their newscasts. Sometimes a newscast had to be reworked and modified, scrapping some stories entirely or changing which story was the lede.

I also started to tackle more writing assignments. I started off writing bumps, which are short clips of information teasing the audience of upcoming stories later in the newscast. It was apparent that my style of writing wasn't as good as I had thought, and most of the bumps I wrote were edited. However, I took it to heart when the producers told me that my writing would get better the more I practiced.

Once I start to write more and figure out the general structure of putting a story together (important information at the top) and learn how to shape a story to make it more conversational, my writing should start to improve throughout the course of this internship.

At least one can hope!

Final Semester. Time to Focus.

2012-01-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

I'm really ready for this semester to start. Academically my schedule is light, and it will probably lighten up even more come next week, when I may possibly drop a class or two. After all, I only need nine credits to graduate! Since my internship will count as three credits, that leaves me with just two classes to take.

Just two classes!

With all this extra time, save for my 2:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. shift at WSLS, I hope to spend my time working on more video packages for VTTV and possibly seek out a writing gig to improve my writing. There's much that needs to be done, in terms of my reporting and writing, so if I can find a role that allows me to integrate multimedia and reporting, then I think I'll be set for this semester.

The focus of this semester will be more on advancing my career and honing my skills as a well-rounded journalist. I want to produce articles that have a mix of multimedia elements that compliment my stories. I want to figure out a way to create a newscast that integrates social media on-air for a more community-engaged broadcast and I want to keep my photography skills up so I can create visually driven stories.

I've got a lot of work to do if I want to step out of here with a strong resume and enough examples of my work to showcase to potential employers. This will be quite the semester and I couldn't be more excited.

Stay tuned.

2012 "Resolutions"

2012-01-10T17:51:00.002-05:00

Now I know a lot of people make New Year resolutions every year. Some stick to them, others don't. When I visited the ABC7 newsroom, one of the producers said her friend rejected the whole New Year's resolution construction. Instead, her friend selected a word or phrase that she would incorporate in her life throughout the new year. It made me think, if I had to choose a word, what would my word of the year be?

If I had to choose one word to incorporate in my life this year, I think it would be educate. Like...

Educate myself on new topics that pertain to journalism
Educate myself on developing technologies that aid journalists
Educate myself on topics that I know nothing about (politics, for one thing.)

And so on and so forth.

While the first couple of months in 2012 will be spent focusing on my internship, school work and job hunting, I'm eager to expand my knowledge outside of the classroom. Already I'm trying to figure out ways to incorporate social media into a live broadcast, particularly engaging the audience during a live broadcast using platforms like Google+. So far, I'm still in the process of learning, as we all are, but I believe I'm on the right track for this.

What are your 2012 resolutions? Do you come up with any, if at all?

Winter Break Update

2012-01-05T22:16:00.000-05:00

About two weeks ago I posted a small list of things I wanted to do over winter break. In short, I wanted to:

1)Visit and explore Washington D.C
2)Attend an ONA DC meetup
3)Network
4)Blog a lot.

So far, I've been sticking pretty close to my plan. I've been pushing myself to explore the local area as well as meet up with some prominent journalists in the broadcast and print/digital industry.

D.C Capital from the Newseum

1)So, did I explore D.C? Yes!

Over the course of this winter break I toured D.C, taking three separate trips to the city to see what it had to offer. I mapped my adventure using Google Maps, and got to visit a lot of really cool restaurants, museums and stores. Some of my D.C highlights include:

*Visiting the Holocaust Museum for the first time ever.
*Visiting the Newseum (two day trip!)
*Eating at the Shop House Kitchen. Seriously, I can eat there every day.
*Eating a ton of sugary sweets including Georgetown Cupcakes and Sprinkles.
*Visiting Georgetown University's campus. Check out some pictures of the campus.

My three day campaign left me with a good feeling of what the city has to offer. D.C is pretty rich in culture, taste and is certainly a news hub. It's no wonder it's included in the top ten TV markets and plays hosts to multiple news organizations like Politico and the Washington Post. There's plenty of more places to visit, and I'm more than eager to go back when I can.

2)Did I attend a ONA DC Meet Up? In two weeks, I will!
In terms of ONA DC, I will be attending their first 2012 meet up on January 19. I know I'll be missing my Thursday and Friday classes but at this stage of my life, I'm more interested in meeting more professionals in person and putting a face to a twitter handle than sitting in class and browsing Facebook.

If you're going too, lets connect on Twitter! See you there.

3)Did I meet up with other journalists? OH YEA!
Along with my exploration of the city, I also made an effort to meet up with some prominent, innovative, journalists who I've connected with through Twitter. Here's who I got to chat with:

Ethan Klapper, National Journal

The first prominent journalist I met in D.C was Ethan Klapper, a graduate from American University. Ethan was one of the first student journalists I connected with on Twitter and his stacked resume really influenced me to increase my online presence and work production. Not only was he a web editor for American University's campus newspaper, the Eagle Online, he also interned at the Washington Post, twice. Talk about a passionate student. Now, he's doing big things for the National Journal as their online editor. Ethan will be going far, and improving the journalism industry for the better. His coverage on politics is stellar, and news orgs should keep a keen eye on Ethan and his work. I always a good time catching up with him whenever I'm home.

Greg Linch, Washington Post

The same day I met Ethan for lunch, I met Greg Linch and his colleague, Yuri Victor, for dinner at Stan's Restaurant, a nice little bar and lounge in McPherson Square. Like Ethan, I met Greg through Twitter (and I believe through the same chat, #wjchat) during my sophomore year at Tech. The first time I met Greg, he was working for a company called Publish2. Then in December 2010 the Washington Post recruited him in as a web producer and converted him to a world/national security producer. If you want a glimpse of Greg's level of thinking, I recommend checking out one of his blog posts about computational thinking and reshaping our mindset as journalists. That post really blew my mind (his whole blog is full of interesting topics and discussions. Search around and you'll be surprised at what you learn!). Anyway, I caught up with Greg and we chatted about his new position at the post. Also found out that he needs to catch up on his TV shows ;-)

Jummy Olabanji, ABC7

I recently connected with Jummy Olabanji thanks to, you guessed it, Twitter! I believe we met during a #wjchat after I returned from my long hiatus and have been connected ever since. During my recent surge back into the social media scene, I started to follow more broadcast journalists, and lo and behold Jummy not only works for ABC7 in D.C, she's a fellow Hokie! Small world isn't it? After bouncing emails around, Jummy was kind enough to let me into the ABC7 newsroom and show me the newsroom. She even went out of her way to let me sit in during a morning meeting, and I got to meet some of the ABC7 producers, reporters, anchors and meteorologists. All were very charismatic, bubbly, journalists! Jummy is doing big things for ABC7, which is also a top 10 TV market in the country! It's great to see a successful Hokie in the field, and I know I'll be keeping close contact with her as I step into the industry and start my own career. Thanks again Jummy for giving me a taste of what it's like to work in the big leagues.

Carla Correa, Washington Post

The same day I met with Jummy, I also got to hang out with Carla Correa, a multiplatform editor at the Washington Post. The first time I met Carla was at the VPA/AP Conference in Roanoke way back in March, 2010! She was one of the keynote speakers and talked about the growing importance of social media & mobile journalism. Carla also gave prominent examples of how her then-employer, the Baltimore Sun, was implementing social media into their newsflow. Ever since I covered the VPA/AP Conference, Carla and I have been connected on Twitter. After working for the Baltimore Sun she was hired by the Washington Post (WaPo sure is taking all the good talent around the DMV area!).

Since I was touring the city, I contacted Carla to see if I could get a sneak peak of what went on inside of the Washington Post. Carla not only said yes but she graciously gave me a nice, extensive, tour of the Post and its newsrooms. Then we had a nice catch up session at Starbucks. Carla is always fun to chat with. She's very energetic and outgoing and I'm glad that we were able to connect nearly two years ago. Now if only she wasn't a UConn or Michigan fan! Thanks again for giving me the nice tour, and the helpful career advice Carla! We'll definitely be in touch.

Steve Buttry, Digital First Media

I could probably write an entire blog post about Steve Buttry, who's the Director of Community Engagement and Social Media at Digital First Media. I connected with Steve in a #wjchat in 2010, right when my Twitter craze began to snowball. Probably more than he knows, Steve's blog, The Buttry Diaries, has continued to be my source and reference on nearly all things related to community engagement and multimedia journalism. I took notes on his post about landing the next job in digital journalism, I followed Steve as he joined what as supposed to be the hyper-local powerhouse TBD.com, followed his updates on the new start up and was saddened to see its eventual decline. Steve's gem of a post on how journalists can build an active, and engaged, community really sparked my interest in trying to figure out ways to connect with the local community around me; and this curiosity has stuck ever since. His latest guide-series on a digital first approach for journalists is a must read for both aspiring journalist and current journalists in the industry who wish to integrate social/multimedia media tools in their newsroom and workflows.

Seriously, just read all of his blog posts. It will make you a better journalist.

After nearly two years of chatting over Twitter, I finally got a chance to meet Steve in person at Reston Kabob yesterday. We sat down and talked about broadcast journalism, his current work with Digital First Media, TBD.com and I got to learn more about his very extensive career as a journalist. Meeting Steve in person and getting to chat with him face to face is a pretty big highlight of my whole winter break. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to sit down with Steve and know we'll be in touch as my career starts to unfold.

4)Did I blog a lot? Yep!
I had forgotten how much fun it was to blog! I know that some of my posts aren't relevant when it comes to journalism per say, but I enjoy getting my thoughts and feelings out and chatting about my current adventures. This winter break served as prime time for me to get back into the state of blogging and I've had a blast writing up these posts over the past couple of weeks. I'm sad that this winter break is nearly over, but I'm glad that I made use of it. I only wish I had the opportunity to explore and connect during my previous breaks (AKA wish I had a car a couple years ago for transportation), but better late than never as they say.

I'm excited to go back to Tech and finish my last semester. Stay on the look out for a post on my 2012 "resolutions" which will be written in the next couple days.

2011 Wrap Up

2011-12-31T21:44:00.003-05:00

For me, 2011 was a year of transition. I started off the year slow and absent both online and off, but as the months flew by I rekindled my interest in school, videos, film and social media. I slumbered in at the start, but now find myself ending the year with a drive that I haven't felt in nearly two years.

Spring Semester: January - May

During my Spring semester I took English 1106, Reporting, Introduction to Communication Research and Broadcast Writing. Overall, my classes weren't too hard. My favorite class was Broadcast Writing, as it opened my eyes to the style of writing in the broadcast industry. I learned how producers generated scripts and what important information should be included in a news script. I had a blast in that class, and it helped pique my interest in becoming a producer.

Planet Blacksburg

I wasn't having the best of luck trying to keep my student media group, Planet Blacksburg, afloat. I had lost my drive to produce content for the site, and the number of our members had dwindled over the course of the the 2010-2011 academic year. The renovations to Shultz dining hall eliminated our ability to use its TV station, and the loss of the station really crippled our web production in my opinion. As the leader I failed to figure out ways to recruit more students and implement different techniques to produce content to the site.

Had I done things differently, I would have emphasized the importance of video packages and trained the students that were left in creating videos for the website. I would have also pushed for a stronger online presence for both the organization and its members. There are plenty of other things that could have been done, but without a dedicated, core, group of students it became apparent that the organization was sinking. It makes me truly cherish the days we had the studio and all the members who were excited to work on the news and entertainment shows each week.

Summer in Blacksburg: June - August

Conquered Dragon's Tooth in Blacksburg.

I stuck around Blacksburg for the summer due to my internship with WDBJ7 in Roanoke. While I interned I also took a couple online classes so that my senior year wasn't too academically stressful. Sticking around Blacksburg turned out to be one of the best decisions in my collegiate career. I became real close to the friends who also stuck around, I explored nearly all the hiking trails around Blacksburg and took the time to just enjoy the long summer days at the pool or river. It was a real tranquil experience.

When I wasn't relaxing or finishing school work, I was interning as a photographer for WDBJ7. There I learned more about shot composition, how to work with your reporter on a story and the type of awareness needed to capture the right shots and produce a visually enthralling story. I also received a lot of hands on training with Aurora, which is a very simple video editing software used by photogs and editors.

The best part of my internship was the ability, and freedom, to really do whatever I wanted, even if it had nothing to do with photography. I'd sometimes sit in with one of the producers and watch them stack a newscast or I'd sit in the control room during a live broadcast and observe how the crew worked together to drive the show. Though I understood why I wasn't always allowed to handle their $50,000+ equipment, I was able to go out on a few stories with just me and a reporter to produce a VO or VOSOT. It was an exciting three months and I believe my ability and confidence as a photographer increased thanks to this internship.

I also blogged about my internship experience too, which revived my blog over the summer.

Fall Semester 2011: August - December

Fall semester was the start of the end. The slow conclusion of my collegiate career. In a blink of an eye, I had become a senior. I knew that this would be a very important year, and that I would need to establish myself as a hard working, content producing, student worthy of being hired right after graduation. My slump with Planet Blacksburg during my junior year hampered the amount of videos I produced, but my eagerness to apply what I learned from my photog internship prompted me to join Virginia Tech Television as an editor and photographer.

I made the most of what I could, producing a story about a new frozen yogurt place in Blacksburg, a Halloween themed art gallery and Emilio Estevez's "The Way." I also edited other reporter's packages and taught them how to edit using Final Cut Pro 7. It was a refreshing experience, working with a large group of talented and driven students and I glad I joined this organization. I can only hope to keep up my rate of production come next semester.

Academically, there wasn't anything to brag about. I took Medieval History, History of Modern Biology, Broadcast Studio and Spanish 1105. Broadcast studio was the highlight of my academic semester, and I learned more about the operations side of TV production thanks to that class. We had three total production projects: A panel discussion, a game show and a 10 minute sports show.

We also had multiple positions that each student rotated through and of all the positions offered, I enjoyed producing, directing, switch board operator and floor directing. Directing really made me feel like the captain of a ship, and directing the whole show and making sure everything showed up correctly kept me on the my toes. Producing was more mental, and sometimes a numbers game with time, but I thoroughly enjoyed producing my own newscast and deciding what graphics, video and shots would be incorporated in my show.

At the conclusion of my fall semester I also, under unfortunate circumstances, received national attention while covering the tragedy of Officer Crouse on December 8. I am glad that I had the opportunity to keep the general public updated on what was going on that day, and producing a video package honoring Crouse and spotlighting the candle light vigil held in front of the War Memorial Chapel. Words can't describe how proud I am in helping produce it.

Winter Break

And thus, here I am, back in Ashburn for winter break. So far it's been relaxing and an eye opening experience (when I was in D.C). As of now, I'm working on building back my online presence, connecting with some prominent journos in the area and ingesting a ridiculous amount of news. Two more weeks till the start of classes. I can't believe my academic career is about to conclude for good.

Well! That's how 2011 was for me, in a nutshell! Started at a low point, and ended on a high note. I can only hope life continues to get better come 2012. Happy New Years to all!

P.S

Here's a sneak peak of upcoming posts:
1) My 2012 projections and "resolutions."
2) Keeping up with my winter break "to-do" list.
3) Preparing for my last semester of college.

Georgetown Cupcakes vs Sprinkles

2011-12-25T19:03:00.003-05:00

Sprinkles on the left, Georgetown Cupcake on the right.

So on my last tour day of D.C I checked out Sprinkles Cupcakes and Georgetown Cupcakes to find out which of the two was better. I bought a red velvet cupcake from each place and sat myself down at Barnes & Nobles before my taste test commenced.

Now I will say that red velvet cupcakes are not my favorite types of cupcakes. I'm all about the simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting (or chocolate with peanut butter frosting), but since these were the two most popular choices I figured that if I found of the cupcakes more enjoyable than the other, then I'd have a winner.

It wasn't that simple per say. Let me break it down:

*Price
The price of each cupcake, in my opinion, was pretty expensive.

1 GTown Red Velvet Cupcake = $2.75
1 Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake = $3.50

Winner: GTown Cupcake

*Size

Big difference in size

Sprinkles by far wins the size category, and the size makes up for the extra $.75. I did like Georgetown's Rudolph treat on the top though. A cute additive to the small cupcake.

Winner: Sprinkles

*Taste
Here's where things get a bit murky. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of red velvet cupcakes. Sprinkles offered more in terms of quantity. It's cream cheese frosting was thick and rich, but the edges of the frosting and the cupcake itself were a bit hard. The center was chewy and soft.

Georgetown's frosting was pretty interesting. It was much creamier, softer and delicate. Like if I dabbed the tip of my forefinger to Sprinkle's frosting, the frosting wouldn't stick to my hand. GTown's frosting though, was so fragile and soft that one touch had cream cheese clinging to my finger. Everything about the cupcake was soft and moist, and I didn't find any hard/crunchy parts of the cupcake.

*Verdict
Now, I will say if I had to go back and purchase more from one place, I'd choose Georgetown Cupcake. Even though Gtown Cupcake lacks in size, it makes up for overall quality and richness. Also, because it's smaller, that means you can have more types of cupcakes to try, or the same type if you really enjoy it.

But if you like a larger cupcake to snack on and don't mind shelling out an extra $.75, then you can't go wrong with Sprinkles. Overall, it's really personal preference. I enjoyed both, and the sugar rush was worth it.

Exploring D.C Part 4: Ending with a Bang

2011-12-24T12:14:00.001-05:00

Thursday, December 24, concluded day three of my adventure in D.C. They say go big or go home, and on my final day I did just that.

Worth the price. It was huge!

I started the day exploring Dupont Circle. Thanks to Yelp.com I found this little place called Crepes-A-Go-Go, which had an extensive menu with a variety of crepes to choose from. I opted to go with the fresh apple cinnamon crepe, a crepe filled with real apples, slathered with cinnamon sauce and topped with powdered/cinnamon sugar and sweet whipped cream on the side. It did not disappoint what so ever and was definitely a nice start to my morning.

Much more would be consumed on this day.

Cool and refreshing.

As I walked back toward Dupont, this little bakery shop called Le Pain Quotidier caught my eye. I guess since the name reminded me of Au Bon Pain, I decided to check it out. Le Pain is a nice cozy shop that not only offers baked goods, but a communal table as well. I assume since its communal, anyone can come on in, sit down and relax without having to order.

Since the crepe I ordered left me a bit thirsty, I decided to try out one of Le Pain's special drinks. I ordered this cold Spiced Apple Cider, which was a sweet carbonated beverage that immediately quenched my thirst. I also took some time to relax read a couple pages of my book, the Book of Awesome (seriously, I definitely recommend it. It's hilarious)

Lunch. Curry burger with cheddar, lettuce &grilled onions.

As it neared 12 p.m, I left and proceeded to meet up with Ethan Klapper, an AU grad and current online editor for the National Journal. Ethan and I connected through Twitter nearly a year and a half ago, and we participated in twitter chats like #wjchat, #cjchat and others. We met up at Dupont Circle and went to Black and Orange, a nice little burger place that offers some unique combos. I got the curry burger with fried onions, and the blend of spices and the juices from the burger made me want to buy another for the road.

Eight places on M street to visit, but only went into three unfortunately.

After catching up with Ethan we parted ways and I began my trek to Georgetown University. Using my DC Travel Map via Google, I trekked west, weaving through streets and crossing a bridge before I ended up on M street, which was surprisingly packed with people. There were a bunch of places I wanted to check out while on this street, but I would only have enough time for a select few.

My first stop was Sprinkles which, on their website, claimed to be the original cupcake bakery. The website also says they were voted as America's best cupcakes too. Interesting! The inside is very nice and well decorated, and I went ahead and bought their most popular item which was the red velvet cupcake. I should have bought another one, since red velvet isn't my top choice, but if I was going to compare it to Georgetown Cupcakes, it'd only make sense to compare the most popular cupcake at each place.

I was walking down M street at a leisurely place, soaking in the atmosphere, glancing at all the different shops the lined the streets until I received this tweet -->

Mmmm...Pinkberry.

PINKBERRY in Georgetown? I love Pinkberry! Nathasha's tweet sent me sprinting out of Sprinkles and high tailing it to the new Pinkberry. I got there just in time, right before the line got ridiculously long. Along with the free mini cupcake, customers also received a free cup of custard. Free. I capitalized and got an original with mango, strawberries and blueberries.

Sprinkles, Pinkberry and I wasn't even done my sugary spending spree. Next stop was Georgetown Cupcakes right across the street. I was afraid that by the time I was done consuming all of these sweets I'd have a sugar overload, but hell it was my last day! Might as well go all out.

Gtown Cupcakes had a small line outside of it, but I didn't have to wait too long before it was my turn to enter and order. They, like Sprinkles, had an array of cupcakes to choose from, and I immediately noticed how small these cupcakes were compared to Sprinkles. No matter, I still ordered a red velvet cupcake and a chocolate frosted birthday cupcake. It was cool that in the back of the place you could see the workers preparing massive amounts of cupcakes, and the time to actually receive my order wasn't too long either.

With all three delicious treats in hand I began to scout for a nice comfortable place to settle down and test each cupcake. I ended up selecting Barnes & Noble since they had a little cafe shop to sit in.

Since this is a lengthy post already, I'll save my full analysis for the next post. If I had to choose though, I'd go with Georgetown cupcakes. The size is just right because these little cupcakes pack a punch in the sweet category and you can have multiple without feeling too stuffed. It's kinda like sushi. Quality over size.

Hello, Georgetown University!

After my sugar overdose was complete, I snaked my way north west before I entered Georgetown University. I didn't have too much time to wander the campus, and I only toured maybe 1/3 of the grounds but one thing that stood out was the architecture. Some buildings had a very Gothic style of architecture, which I'm a big fan of, and I liked that the stairwells that were visible outside, and in between, the buildings too.

I spent about an hour checking out the campus before I turned around and hiked all the way back to Dupont circle. I was meeting up with another friend of mine, Greg Linch, who's a world and national producer at the Washington Post. After navigating the metro I got off at the square and rendezvoused with Greg and his friend Yuri Victor at Stan's Restaurant and Lounge.

The lounge had a pretty decent crowd, and there might have been some company drink session of sorts but we were able to secure a place to sit for dinner relatively quickly. Stan's supposedly had really good fried chicken wings, so I opted to try them out along with my first alcoholic beverage in D.C (went with a Heineken).

It was nice catching up with Greg, since the last time I talked to him it was over the summer when he was working at a company called Publish2. His buddy Yuri was also a pretty funny guy, and through Twitter we found out that we had a common friend Josette Torres! Turns out they went to Purdue together and now she's at Tech. What a small world it is.

I was pleasantly stuffed by the end of dinner. I hadn't consumed so much food in one day in quite some time. My night was just about to end as I walked towards McPherson Square metro stop to catch the orange line home. My last day in D.C probably would have ended if my friend didn't shoot me a text inviting me to U Street Music Hall for an album release party. I'd been itching to see how the D.C night life was, and will admit I was skeptical that it'd be a large turnout on a rainy Thursday night, but the club was PACKED with people. The sound system was on point and the music shook the entire place. The wall that separated the DJ from the crowd pulsed with vibrations and our party congregated to the main floor after a couple rounds of drinks. We didn't stumble out of the club till about 12:30 or so.

The party was an awesome way to finish my three day tour of the city. Throughout my final day I ate a ton of food, met up with some professional, and inspiring, journalists and got my dance on. Couldn't of asked for a better conclusion. Below are some more pictures of my final day. Check them out!

Exploring D.C Part 3: Metro, Metro, Metro!

2011-12-20T22:09:00.001-05:00

Day two of my D.C. tour started with a personal conviction that I would utilize the metro more so that I could hop from one destination to the next without having to walk so much and burn out too early in the day. I actually stuck to this this conviction once I read this tweet:

Detours, ahoy!

I'm glad I saw the tweet because I had planned on taking the orange line to all the way to the National Archives/Navy Memorial to put me closer to the Newseum. Thinking fast I ended up getting off at the Metro Center (where the orange line terminated during the suspension), catching the red line to Chinatown then hopping onto the green/yellow line to get to the Archives. It wasn't too big of a detour for me but I'm glad I was able to reroute myself before I arrived at the Metro Center. It also allowed me to get acquainted with the other lines too!

Best part of the Newseum!

Detour aside, I finished up floors one through three at the Newseum. I saw the Berlin gallery, a video about sports broadcasting over the years, the memorial dedicated to fallen journalists, a section of the Newseum where you can try out your skills as a reporter and finally the Pulitzer prize photographers which, in my opinion, is the best part of the Newseum. All of those amazing pictures, coupled with the stories from the photographers, were really powerful in their own unique way.

I spent a good 2 hours finishing up the Newseum, really taking my time to soak in all the cool areas that it had to offer. After that, I hopped back onto the green line, transferred over to the red line, then went back on the orange line heading to McPherson Square for my second destination: The Washington Post.

What up WaPo?

Unfortunately, when I got off at the square and walked to the Post, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to waltz eight on in and check out the newsroom. I mean, who the heck would let some random student from Virginia Tech come in and just walk around? The security at the front confirmed my fears, but I was given the public relations number to call and see if the Post offered any tours. Turns out the Post is hoping to start their tours sometime next year. So I'd have to come back in 2012 to receive one. Well, there goes destination number two!

Good thing I was near Dupont Circle! I trekked over to the area, snapped a few pictures and visited this cool little book/cafe spot called Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe. The store resembled a normal bookstore, but it also promoted local writers and other works as well. It also had a neat little cafe and bar in the back, and I wanted to have a snack there but deferred so that I could have a bigger dinner. I did purchase a book though called, The Book of Awesome which has stories of the little things in life that are just pure awesome. I've only read a couple pages of it, but the book is hilarious and offers a lot of little things that are well...Actually awesome. Like the other side of your pillow.

AWESOME

I finished the day at ShopHouse Kitchen, a Chipotle-looking restaurant with a twist. Instead of Mexican food, it was a blend of Asian cuisine. I got the pork/chicken meatballs with jasmine rice, pickled vegetables, Chinese broccoli and herb salad topped in spicy red curry. The results? Pure deliciousness. Words can't describe the explosion of flavors that my mouth and taste buds experienced. The bowl left me very full and very content. Next time I'm in Dupont Circle, I'm going to try another combination. Then another and another!

Overall I'd say day two was pretty successful. Not as much walking or sight seeing per say but like day one, I left full and satisfied. Below are some additional pictures I snapped in the Newseum and around Dupont Circle:

Day three will be centered around Dupont Circle and Georgetown, and I know I'll be stuffing my face silly when I visit these two places. Can't wait! Stay tuned, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter as I tweet about my adventures.

Exploring D.C Part 2: An Adventurous Day

2011-12-19T20:35:00.001-05:00

Today marked day one of my D.C tour and boy was it packed full of things to do! I woke up around 7 a.m. to knock out a couple bowls of cereal for early energy, then went on to prepare myself for the day's trip. Things I packed:

Laptop (for use during my lunch break)
House/Car keys
Phone
Wallet
$20 in one's (for toll, bus fares and metro pass)
Chargers
Snacks and water for energy

After showering and watching some morning news I packed my bag up and hit the road. After driving about 15 minutes I parked at the Herndon/Monroe parking lot and caught the 10 a.m. bus to West Falls Church Metro. In the days preparing for this trip, I was slightly nervous about transportation, but in the end it turned out to be a breeze. I caught the orange line from West Falls Church and proceeded to head into the city, stepping off at Metro Central and beginning my adventure. Of course, I had to check in with Foursquare!

If there's one thing I learned early, paying to get into the city was more expensive than I thought. Total cost there and back? $22! That's $10 for toll roads, $3 for bus fares, $9 for a day pass. It may not sound like much, but considering that I'll be heading back there a few more times, the costs of transportation will add up over time.

However, I definitely made it worth my money. I checked out the National Press Club, which had some nice pictures of prominent members and famous people who used their facilities for press conferences/meetings. Only downside was that they only gave tours by appointment and the second floor was for press members only. Where's my press pass when I need one?

My next stop was the Holocaust Memorial, a place I'd been waiting to go see since I first learned about the Holocaust. After stepping inside and following the path through the museum, it hit me why my parents didn't want to take me when I was younger. I would've never fully understood, and probably wouldn't have been able to handle, the atrocities the Nazi's inflicted on the Jews and other ethnic groups in Europe. There were some very powerful images, videos and testimonies all throughout the museum. I'm glad I finally got to go, even though there were parts that were hard to look at.

After the Holocaust Museum I walked all the way down Independence Avenue until it intersected with Pennsylvania Ave SE (not as short of a walk as I thought. Worked my thighs!). Once there, I checked out a recommended burger joint called Good Stuff Eatery. The atmosphere was spirited, and I could tell it was a popular place with all the people who were eating on both levels of the restaurant. I opted to go for the Sunnyside burger, which consisted of hamburger + cheese + bacon + sunnyside up egg.

The burger was excellent, and worth the ~$7 ($10 in total with drink). They also had three different types of mayo: A spicy one that reminded me of the hot sauce they put on sushi, an old-bay one that was a little salty and another flavor that I can't remember, but was also delicious. I heard their shakes are also pretty renowned, so I'll have to stop by again to try one out.

After stuffing myself silly I hefted myself all the way over to the Newseum, skipping the Botanic Gardens to give me more time to tour around the huge museum. Let me just say it was everything that it has been hyped to be. The Newseum has 6 levels, with each level providing different kinds of contents for viewers. As I started to look around I ran into a tour group that had just commenced so I decided to tag along.

The tour itself was pretty fast paced, and didn't really dive into all of the areas of the Newseum but the guide did a good job in giving a general overview of each floor as we spiraled down from the 6th to the first floor. After the tour was over I went back to the 6th floor and went at my own pace, taking in the recent headlines of the day before moving down to the 5th floor where I learned about the President's photographer.

The 4th floor offered the five amendment gallery, the five freedoms walkway and a 911 gallery which was pretty powerful, especially with the video that included interviews with reporters and photogs who were on the scene of that tragic day. I ended up making it halfway through the 3rd floor, which included the Mater Control, Internet, TV and Radio through the ages and a small gallery for digital/new media.

Interestingly enough the Virginia Tech massacre was the story that was used to highlight the emerging importance of MoJo's (mobile journalists) and media convergence. A video that talked about these topics spotlighted the Roanoke Time's effort in covering the tragedy as it unfolded.

I'm excited to head back into the city tomorrow to finish up the Newseum, check out the Botanic Gardens and hopefully peek into the Washington Post building. To end this post here are some more pictures I took throughout the day. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more as I take on the city tomorrow.

Exploring D.C Part 1: Preparation

2011-12-17T22:45:00.000-05:00

In my last post I made a short list of things that I wanted to do over winter break. One of those things was to wander around Washington D.C. I was a little nervous about getting into the city and finding things to do while I was there, so I asked around on Twitter and Facebook for some recommendations:

The Newseum was probably the most popular response I received, and I'm excited to check that place out after hearing so much about it. After some more research here's the final map that I created on Google:

View D.C Adventure in a larger map

General Key:
Blue Line = Day 1 (Monday)
2 Museums
National Press Club
Botanic Gardens
Newseum Part 1
Good Stuff Eatery

Green Line = Day 2(Tuesday)
White House
Washington Post
Newseum Part 2

Red Line = Day 3(Thursday)
Lunch at Dupont Circle
Georgetown University
Georgetown Cupcakes

My "tour" of the city will be stretched over a three day period. According to weather.com, the best days to visit next week will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday so those will be the days I'll be heading up to the city.

The list includes a lot of places to eat too, which I'm very excited about. I knew D.C offered a lot of restaurants, and using Yelp.com I selected a couple of places that were deemed delicious and not too expensive.

The more I planned, the more excited I got. I've lived in Ashburn for a decade and have probably been to D.C maybe 3 times. I haven't fully explored all the places it has to offer, so gearing up and taking time this winter vacation to wander around the city is something I've been waiting to do for a while.

I know it's going to be a blast, especially since I'll feel like a major tourist, but I'm pumped and hope to take as many pictures as I can. Follow me on Twitter for updates on my exploration and observations!

And of course, if you're around the area, let me know! Stay tuned.

To Do List: Winter Break

2011-12-14T17:39:00.001-05:00

It's shocking to think that this is my last winter break as a student. Once I go back to Virginia Tech come mid-January, gone will be those month-long winter vacations. Gone will be lazing around the house, eating everything my parents bought for my brother and sister. Gone will be this unique vacation that I've taken for granted all my life.

So, to make the most out of this final break, I've come up with a list of to-do's while I'm back at home. Check it out:

#1. Explore D.C
Now I'm not very acquainted with the city, nor have I really explored all that it has to offer. However, seeing how D.C is in a top 10 TV market, I feel like I should take a trip and look around all the different news outlets that are embedded in the city. Oh, and I've always wanted to visit the Newsuem and take tours of all the big network's newsrooms like FOX, NBC, ABC and more!

#2 Attend an Online News Association (ONA) Meetup
I've known about ONA for quite some time now. Though I'm not technically a member, I am apart of the ONADC meetup group where members from different organizations meet up and discuss various topics in today's world. Attending one, or more, of these meetups would be awesome because I could meet a whole bunch of professionals, learn more about the media industry and network!

Oh hey. Here's my business card, contact me any time.

#3 Network!
I believe that these next couple of weeks will be critical in putting my name out in the media industry. I know that it's very important, if not pivotal, to market myself, meet face to face with professionals and ultimately campaign for a job while I'm at home. After all, I will be stepping out of my collegiate bubble come May, and by the time I receive my diploma I hope to have a job lined up right in front of me.

My goal: Aim high. Even though today's job market is not too outstanding, if I can make a case for myself and show (or prove) why I'm worthy of being hired right now, then in the following months I think my job search will be less stressful and more exciting due to the connections and impressions I've made over winter break.

I know that working in the broadcast industry requires a lot of field experience before one can really climb up the ladder, but if I don't take a shot at the top before I graduate, I'll be left with a "What if?"

And sometimes, it's all about who you know.

#4 Blog, blog, blog
I've neglected my blog, once a again. This semester has been pretty packed with activities and school work, but since I don't have too much to think about (oh wait, I will need a job!), it'd probably be best if I started dishing out posts from now till the start of spring semester. Also, if I start exploring the city, it'd give me something to talk (or tweet) about instead of just rambling about random topics.

So there you go! Short, simple and sweet. It may take some planning, motivation and some good luck to check off all of these items, but I'm determined to do it all. Also, if anyone has further suggestions, feel free to drop a comment and I'll make note of it!

Stay tuned.