The Point Meeting 11.29.10

On the morning of Monday, November 29th, I, along with a few other students from Foundations of Journalism, attended an editor’s meeting for The Point. Melissa Gutierrez, the Editor-in-Chief, ran the meeting. Because they were hoping to go to print that day, the meeting revolved around making sure everything was ready in order to do so. It was interesting to see what the last stages of putting an issue of a magazine look like. I have considered pursuing a position with a magazine, so this time of observing was very informative for me.

Because it was a Monday-morning meeting, people tricked in as the minutes ticked past 9:30. Some of the editors of different areas had not slept the night before; they had been up putting on some of the final touches. Part of me had always thought that because magazines generally print one issue per month, they did not always experience the same time-crunches that newspaper do. I quickly saw how wrong I was.

A proof of the issue was displayed for all to see. Melissa first went through the pages one by one for everyone to view. Comments were made on possible changes to be made in regards to headers and placements of pictures. Those in charge of the layout made note of these changes. Once the group discussion had died down, the pages of the proof were separated, and everyone took one of the pages. For two minutes, each person read through the page they had and looked for errors and then passed it to the right.

Claire Callaway and I shared a page at a time to edit. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few errors in the issue at that point. There are so many different elements going into the magazine that it is not uncommon for errors to be overlooked. Having been the editor for my high school’s yearbook, I understand how easily that can happen. As the pages were passed, it was interesting to see how different people picked up on different errors. By the end of the meeting, nearly all of the pages had circled around. The issue would be ready to go to print for sure by the next day, and they would have it back in one week.

I really enjoyed my time learning about The Point, and I am interested in getting involved with it. I like how magazines allow for more creativity in certain areas. The Point used a nice mixture of photography and graphic design in order to visually enhance stories. I realized that because of how often magazines print new issues, they have to be more selective about the stories that they choose. They must be sure the stories are fairly universal in order to keep the audience’s attention. Also, magazines have the opportunity to spotlight a picture by letting it fill an entire page. However, I think that there should be variety in the pictures used for each story. I would love to eventually see my own photos printed in a magazine.

Because they were getting ready to go to print, no new work was being done. I was unable to attend the practicum because it was the same time at my Old Testament class, but they planned on discussing how they wanted to proceed with distribution.

Chimes Online Meeting 10.27.10

On Wednesday, October 27th, The Chimes online editors—Elizabeth Sallie and Pattie Diaz—were kind enough to create a special meeting for students from Foundations of Journalism, myself included. They talked about news in print versus the online edition and the process of putting articles online, as well as allowing us to ask questions and see how they work. I am more drawn to working in the online media world than in print, so this opportunity opened me up to a lot of information.

Elizabeth first talked with us about online versus print media. We discussed additional benefits to working online. Online allows reads to instantly comment on articles, as well as cross-reference information using other sites. Additional links can be included to allow the reader more information, which will lead to more trust from the reader. The ability to break stories online and include additional visual media—such as slideshows—are two advantages The Chimes put to use this week with the car accident that occurred on Tuesday night.

I learned a lot about how stories must be adapted for the online audience. I realized that I observe the qualities of an online story frequently but have never given much thought as to why they are formatted as such. Online stories must be simple and straightforward, because it is easy for a user to lose interest and click to a new page. Information must be delivered in short paragraphs so that the reader does not become visually bogged down. Also, headlines need to be clear rather than clever, because the reader must never feel like they were deceived or you will lose that person’s trust.

Elizabeth shared some possible changes that may take place in The Chimes over time. For the online version, she hopes that more attraction will be grained through social networking sites. Right now, the top two sites that people access The Chime through are google and facebook. Elizabeth expressed that she also hopes that The Chimes will gain more respect and be at the front of people’s minds when they think of news. Also, people may gain a web-first mentality when it comes to accessing the Chimes for such news. She noted that campus newspapers are unique, though, because they have a built-in audience. Therefore, the print edition is less likely to become obsolete than other types of papers.

Given that Elizabeth and Pattie are the only two online editors, they said that they generally expect to put in four to five hours of work the night before the print edition of the paper comes out. In a week, they usually put in fifteen to twenty hours. Each story they are given must be broken down into smaller paragraphs and coded for online. For sports articles, they link the names of the players that are mentioned to their online sports profiles.

Learning about The Chimes online furthered my desire to work with online media. I have always loved technology, and I think that there are far more possibilities to explore with it. I had been considering changing my math emphasis from computer science to applied mathematics, but now I may not do that. After talking to Elizabeth—who is adding a minor in computer science—I realized that there would be a lot of value in having that background. Applied math would give me experience in probability and statistics, however, which could also be beneficial in journalism. Thus, I have a lot of possibilities to consider. All in all, I found learning about the online version of The Chimes to be beneficial, and it certainly expanded my understanding of the work required for an online media source to run well.

09.24.10 NYT Discussion

In our discussion, we talked about the story from Afghanistan in which parents were dressing their daughters up as girls. On a national level, we discussed Obama’s economic advisor leaving, the Republicans trying to repeal national healthcare, and the latest on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” issue. A few medical articles came up—a restriction on a diabetes medicine, a wave of addition to prescription drugs, and the possibility that mammograms are not as necessary as believed. We also talked about the salmonella outbreak in Iowa, the woman on death row who was executed, people in New York buying iPhones and selling them illegally in China, Texas textbooks with a pro-Islamic bias, and the creator of Facebook donating $100 million to Newark schools.

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, plans to donate $100 million to Newark schools to improve them. The article “A $100 Million Gift to Newark’s School” briefly mentioned it, but then went on to talk about the poor condition of New Jersey. Along with this gift from Zuckerberg, the governor will give some control of the state-run school system to the mayor. The plan will be announced on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.”

“Obama’s Chief for Economics Is Set to Leave” is a significant article for this week. It made the front page, and the content is important to our country. Our economy fell apart and is still struggling to put the pieces back together. Lawrence Summers has been Obama’s advisor for almost two years and is now leaving in the middle of trouble.

The article, “Where Boys are Prized, Girls Live the Part” was a visually large story this week. It started with a picture and preview on the front page and then had a complete two page spread. All the photos used were well composed and catching. Some were from the past, which added depth to the visuals. Also, it is a human interest story, and it appeals to the emotions of Americans.

“New Treatments are Challenging Mammogram’s Needs, Study Says” was written from an interesting angle. It quoted a doctor saying that she does not think mammograms are needed as often, and she would not want to even know if she had cancer. This idea is coming from a professional and is contrary to what most people believe. Thus it challenges people to consider new things.

Attendance: Olivia, Michael, Adria, Kristi, and we called Morris since he is in Texas.

09.20.10 Thoughts on Jesus' Return

The LA Times article, "Religious group found safe after 22-hour search near Palmdale," referenced that these "Christians" discussed that Jesus was likely to return any time now. As a Christian, how does the knowledge of Jesus' return affect our everyday lives? Is it a bad thing to be expectant of the second-coming of Christ? My answer to that question would be, no, it is not a bad thing in the least bit. Not even the Son knows when He will return, thus we ought to be prepared at all times. Expecting Jesus' return requires us to live intentionally. With this thought in our minds, we should work to impact His kingdom each and every day. Even as Christians, it can become far too easy to drift through days without putting forth the effort to impact the world for Jesus Christ. His return is something that should both challenge us and excite us. We should be challenged to have an impact in the lives of others, and we should be excited that the day of the Lord's return will be the most significant day, this side of Jesus' resurrection.


Our thoughts on Jesus' return say a lot about the type of lives that we are living. John Piper challenged people to think about this when he wrote, "Do you love Jesus so much that His coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is He a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience, but isn't someone you would want interrupting your life?"

09.10.10 NYT Discussion

In our discussion we talked about Obama’s opposition to the Bush tax cuts and that he does not plan to extend them. We reviewed the article regarding China’s clean energy. The pastor planning to burn copies of the Koran was central in our discussion. We also talked about political redistricting and the fact that Democrats may lose seats because of it. The California state judge ruling on “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the Chicago mayor not running for another term were brought up. Additionally, we touched on the Russian car bombing believed to be a suicide attack, the Defense Department buying 10,000 copies of war memorial that potentially contains secrets, and the recent discussion on the BP oil spill last spring.

“Statehouse Gains Could Give G.O.P. Edge on Redistricting”

The Republican Party could gain eight seats in state legislature this fall. Redistricting is supposed to show population shifts shown in the census, but this article says that parties try to help themselves gain seats. Irregularly shaped districts may be formed in a way that favors Republicans. It also helps that Republican popularity has been increasing in the polls.

The biggest story this week has come in a series of articles regarding the pastor in Florida planning to burn the Koran. The articles have focused on the potential negative consequences and the outpouring of opposition. One of the articles displayed a shocking picture of Afghans burning an American flag and an image of the pastor. This image seems to strike an emotional chord with people.

The story, “On Clean Energy, China Skirts Rules” was a commanding one. The story began on the front page and continued for a page and a half farther into the section. The article included two large photos, both of which encourage readers to look at what they are about. There are two smaller pictures, both with people in them, adding a human element to the visuals. Additionally, there are multiple graphs to enhance the information.

“Obama Opposing Any Compromise on Bush Tax Cuts” merited a spot on the front page, although there were not any visuals. The subtitle of the article is “Adding Populist Twist,” which instantly drew my own attention. Most of the article focused on party beliefs, which I thought were unnecessarily extensive, however. It was an interesting way to approach the article, even though I think it would have been more significant to focus on the effects of the Obama’s decision.

Attendance:

Kristi

Adria

Olivia

Michael, left early to go camping with DBC

Morris, arrived late

09.03.10 NYT Discussion

Our discussion began with the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. Two-thirds of New Yorkers, even those supporting the project, want it to be relocated. A poll that found fewer young people consider themselves Democrats, and we talked about the significance of it. We talked about the oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that caught fire. Additionally, we discussed the economic recovery, noting that the unemployment rate has reached 9.6%. The two men arrested in Amsterdam with suspicious items in their luggage surfaced in discussion. Finally, we talked about the Israeli and Palestinian peace talks, as well as Obama’s address from the Oval Office.

We concluded the top three stories for the week to be Obama’s address, the peace talks, and the finding that fewer young people consider themselves to be Democrats.

“Obama Declares an End to Combat Mission in Iraq” was significant, largely due to the content—Obama’s second address from the Oval Office. The online article displays a catching picture of Obama at his desk. Having been a very controversial war, the article highlighted Obama’s appreciation for those in the armed forces, along with his plans for the future.

“Leaders Call for Peace as Mideast Talks Begin” had a series of quotes from Obama about the significance of these peace talks. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has lasted for 60 years, and Presidents Clinton and Bush both worked, unsuccessfully, to help end the conflict. Although written rather objectively, the article played on the sensitivity of the situation to add more draw.

“Few Young Voters See Themselves as Democrats” used many statistics to reinforce the current political trends in young people. The article supplied multiply student interviews, allowing sample explanations for this surprising change.

Those in attendance included:

Michael, Adria, Kristi, Morris, and myself (Olivia).