week 7.1

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

i love the law. i love writing, i love reading, i love journalism, but i really love the law. the constitution actually gets me excited. if the LSATs go better than the SATs did for me (i know, i know, "they're different") i will definitely attend law school after I complete my undergraduate at UNH.

so, i'm prettttty pumped for tomorrow. Greg Sullivan works in a field of law that I have no desire to work in, but it's combining two near-and-dear things (media, and the law) that i enjoy.

i would love to go into business or corporate law. i LOVE contracts (how lame is that?). but kind of like journalism, they follow a  layout, there are rules and the formula is specific. (journalism is obviously a lot more creative than outlining a lawsuit). 

i'm hoping to have the first amendment memorized, but i know i won't be able to recite it. the amendments are so cool - i am curios to see how he will relate the constitution / bill of rights / amendments to current day journalism. i bet the privacy amendment (4th) will be discussed, and probably strict scrutiny too. regardless, it will certainly be interesting.

week 6.3

i'm wondering where news is going to go next. it has spread from newspapers to glossy magazines back to newspapers to email blasts to websites to facebook statues to twitter tweets to snapshots on instagrams to ...? well, where ever it goes next, i love it. i absolutely love that journalists are embracing technology. they are not only journalists now, but also social media experts. i still feel like i don't know how to use twitter correctly, and 45-year-old's have like, 45k followers (not that age has anything to do with it...)

social media fascinates me and i figure that, since i am a journalism major and plan on going into that field, i should work on my market skills. because journalism isn't just about writing anymore (sad, in some ways - but that's a tangent), it's also about  selling your work and making it accessible. 

but where next? i almost wonder that since news is joining the social media race and becoming "sell-able", if its going to start competing against companies. like, product placement. obviously that wouldn't work in movies, but it could happen in anything streamed live. are we going to become that shut out from worldly happenings? i can sort of see it happening. yikes, i hope not. 

week 6.2

I'm still mulling over the problems I had written in my last post.
But to elaborate - are online magazines and newspapers actually successful?
I know that blogs are taking over the world, and everyone is focusing on their online presence - but really, is it working?
I noticed a funny thing: I have the New York Times set as my home page on my computer (it's supposed to make me work on my news consumption, but really it's just to make me look smarter). I click through it when something interesting catches my eye. However, if I am in a situation and the terrorist attacks in Libya come up, and I have no idea what the flip anyone is talking about, I just google it. I click the first link that pops up and read about it. I'll go to the second webpage down if I don't understand what the first one said, otherwise I call it a day. Unless I find it riveting, I probably won't look into it more.
It's obvious that college students don't read the news frequently. But what about "normal" grown ups? My parents do, but I think they are in a minority ?
But my parents don't just read whatever newspaper they happen upon - it's always the New York Times. They are devout readers of it. But, never have I heard either of my parents reference reading the New York Times online.
I wonder how newspaper and magazines are coping with the apparent disconnect between their "followers" and those who stumble upon their site for specific information. Is the disconnect as big of a deal as I think it is? It's almost like each company (newspaper or magazine) has to target two separate markets now.

week 6.1

This is painfully relevant to our class. Was Newsweek is a bit obsolete anyways? I can only picture if in the checkout line at the market or in the waiting room at the doctors - but even then I don't think I would pick it up to read it (People Magazine trumps everything - everything - in those situations).
But on the other hand, it was such an iconic magazine. I can visualize it perfectly and it was clearly popular at one point because of its broad national circulation. 
Which brings me to my point: how much time do magazines and newspapers spend on their "icon"?
As I am someone who is vain, conceited, narcissistic and obsessed with how things "look", I hope a lot. But I'm worried that it gets brushed off. I do social media for a local company, and on my fledgling meeting with the owner, I asked him to describe what he wanted his company to come off as. He listed a lot of things, but I picked up on five: quick, inexpensive, student-friendly, local-buisness oriented, fresh (food/ingredients), and fun. When it comes time to post on the facebook or twitter account, I keep those words in mind. Because those 5 words are the core of the company, in some ways - it's the goal. I pushed the owner to offer deals to the local high school. I also suggested that he embrace "greek week" and anyone in greek lettering (sweatshirt, t shirt, etc) would get 20% off. Actions speak louder than words, definitely.
But how does a magazine or newspaper do this?
The don't get the opportunity to interact personally with their readers on a daily basis like a small take-out restaurant.
This seems like an enormous challenge but I am curious how magazines/newspapers take into consideration their target audience (ASIDE from deciding which articles to publish, etc.).
And now, Newsweek will be strictly online.
I wonder how much traffic they will really receive?


http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/18/news/companies/newsweek-print-edition/index.html

in-class meeting coverage (incomplete)

Higher taxes and ruined Saturday mornings were of main concern when the Portsmouth School Board, during a meeting on Monday night, proposed to implement a new session on Saturday mornings to eliminate the need for in-house suspensions during the school day.

The policy, if instituted, would require students with disciplinary problems during the week to return to school for a special Saturday morning session. Tim Steele, a member of Portsmouth School Board, proposed the idea on Monday night at the meeting. 

The session would run from 8 a.m. until noon several weekends during the year and would be only for students on “the Saturday list” said Peggy Bacon, a parent present at the meeting. Bacon said that she is not going to force her son to go, “I just don’t think it’s going to make any difference.” 

Steele maintains that the new disciplinary measure is in an effort to reduce the number of in-house suspensions. In-house suspensions are given out automatically to students caught smoking inside or outside of Portsmouth High School. 

Smoking is not the only discipline problem at the school, but it is the worst. 

“The parents are going to pay for it - in higher taxes as well as in ruined Saturdays.”

The proposal was discussed for about 30 minutes before the board voted 5-3. One member abstained to table the issue until the next meeting on March 7. Steele was asked to return with figures on in-school detentions so far this year. 

week 5.3

So not only do I stink at making a habit of reading the news, I obviously don't deserve it for my lack of appreciation. In Malaysia, I just learned, the government owns and control all of the major newspapers. The only exception to this is when the government would grant permission - usually only to small publications. This changed today though, when according to the New York Times, the court "ruled that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to publish and is a fundamental liberty." According to the executive officer of the Center for Independent Journalism in Kuala Lumpur, described the decision as "very significant" because few permits for print newspapers have been given out recently. The Internet is relatively free and unregulated in Malaysia, and now the new court ruling will certainly aid the furthering of free-speech in the country. However, the government has one month to file a appeal against the decision if it so decides. This really struck me: "many Malaysians, particularly those in rural areas, still rely on print." What an interesting thought - if I had to read the newspaper to get information, and couldn't just scroll through my Twitter feed to cherry pick what I thought was interesting. I hope that this case changes the regulation of the newspaper industry in Malaysia and I hope this also motivates me to take advantage of what the first amendment gets me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/world/asia/malaysian-court-rules-that-publishing-a-newspaper-is-a-basic-right.html?_r=0

week 5.2

So in my bold attempt to read the paper or view the news or listen to NPR and become a well (or, better) informed member of society, I figured I'd start with something that I found really, really interesting. I secretly wish I was a geek - technology fascinates me. Especially Apple. MacBook Air, iPad, iPhone - I can't get enough. So as I vacillate between keeping my perfectly fine iPhone 4, or paying $200 to get the newer, fancier iPhone 5, reading a review by the Times fit right in.
The verdict? I'm upgrading. They totally convinced me that I desperately need the extra two rows of icons on the home screen, the 0.3 inch thinner and lighter body, and double-the-speed processing, to name a few.
And as I write this, I'm realizing that maybe that's how it should be - maybe I need to view the newspaper as integrated into my life, as opposed to a stop-everything-and-read kind of thing. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/technology/personaltech/apples-iphone-5-scores-well-with-a-quibble-review.html?_r=1&ref=technology

week 5.1: it's not you, it's me...

My relationship with news is much like a crush. I really like the idea of him, I think about him a lot, I want to know more about him - but I'm terribly shy, under informed and feel that what he does and thinks about is far too mature for me. I don't really know him well enough to commit my feelings, and I'm a bit nervous about changing that because I don't want to be disappointed. 

The New York Times: my parents have been receiving and reading it since before I was born. They have the various sections that they each like (Thursday and Sunday are the two they argue the most over sharing). The business and technology sections are my fathers choices; my mother smittenly reads the style, art and the ‘New York’ sections. I asked my parents once, when I was significantly younger, why they read the Times, and every day? Why not Fosters? and every day? Anything important that happens would be posted on Twitter way before the Times arrives the next morning. My father scorns at Fosters for being “too local” - and really seems to believe that the Times is the creme de la creme. Whether or not that opinion is true or fair, I realized it’s not just the information they’re after. And I love that. For my dad, it’s walking down the driveway at 7:30 on a brisk, hazy Sunday morning to get the paper. It’s clipping out the highlights from fashion week in Milan and reading Mark Bitman’s caustic opinions that my mom devotes an hour or two after dinner to. They've moved way beyond a crush - it's not awkward or scary anymore. It's expected and down to a routine, they're in a long-term relationship and rely on each other.

That is what I want from my crush: I want him to be perfectly enlightened in an un-intimidating way. I want him to be supportive and open to what I believe, but also push me to think outside the box and my comfort zone. I want to fall totally head over heels in love with this idealistic and wonderful “thing” - but I honestly do not know how to even tell him I exist.

I’ve tried. I do like National Public Radio, but I can really only listen to it when I’m driving, and I rarely do that while in school. Every spare moment of my time feels devoted: class, homework, practicing 20- 30 minutes of yoga per day, running 3-miles a day, riding my horse when I have an extra hour, nannying/tutoring French 6 hours a week, and sleeping on top of that. Granted, having a busy schedule is not an excuse, if I wanted to change I would find a way. I make time to exercise every day because of the release it gives me from the stressors of school - reading the newspaper should be like that. I’ve heard that a habit takes 10 days to form, mine starts tomorrow. 30 minutes: just me and pages and pages of Times New Roman.

Technology hasn’t made seeking news out any easier. This is unfortunate because that means that it really is me that is the issue, not the medium I’ve been receiving it. Podcasts, iPhone, iPad, Safari, I think I’ve tried them all. It’s becoming more and more apparent that I really just need to make the effort to just do it. Print newspapers are dwindling, sadly. I don’t think it’s all bad though - it means that the industry is growing. Expanding and advancing and embracing the changes of the world we live in - it’s a beautiful thing, really. I’m very excited for it.