Hard Times in the News Business
So my posts are usually about the media because even though I’ve already chosen to go into Teach for America next year instead of immediately starting a career in journalism I still hope to one day become a journalist hence my keen interest in media developments.
I think every American should be concerned with the state of the news media.
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Ma.) is obviously concerned with the demise of local newspaper, which is why he’s proposed that struggling papers be allowed to register as non-profits to enable them to stay afloat. This tax-emept status might save hundreds of newspapers. While most of us are closely watching the big media companies such as the Tribune Company, many hometown, local newspapers are struggling just as much if not more.
According to the article on the International Herald Tribune, “Gannett Co., which publishes 85 daily newspapers, announced Monday that it was asking most of its 41,500 employees to give up a week’s pay for the second time this year.”
In the middle of an economic crisis, when everybody is strapped for cash the employees of this struggling company are being asked to forfeit their pay just so the company can stay afloat. The state of the economy right now is not that shocking to me because it’s part of the cycle of economies, but I never anticipated such a swift demise of the media organizations where I’ve dreamt of working.
Even the Chicago Sun-Times is on the list of media organizations that will soon fold or have to go only digital. It’s incredible how the world of newspaper journalism seems to be collapsing all around me and no one knows what to do about it.
October 8, 2008
Live on WGN
So I headed down to the Water Tower campus after my internship on Tuesday even though we were technically still on Fall Break. The Marketing Department sponsored an interesting panel on the Marketing of the President, which compared the presidential campaign to marketing campaigns in very interesting ways.
During the panel, Professor Benton, the chair of the Marketing Department, asked if there were any independents in the audience. As a journalist, I’m not registered for any party. I try to make my decisions based on candidates so I raised my hand…and I was the only one in the audience to do so.
Professor Benton, who is a Democrat, graduate student Michael Irvine, who is a Republican, and I were chosen to go live from Loyola University Chicago for post-debate coverage on WGN!
So below is the link of our minute and a half of fame. I don’t think any of us did or said anything too bad. I think I talked too much, but what’s new?
http://www.wgntv.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3001511
September 25, 2008
When I started blogging, it was a little strange for me because I’d always thought of bloggers as self-obsessed whiners (not that anyone on this site has such a blog) who have way too much free time…unlike the average college student.
So I promised myself that I’d never use this space to moannnnn about my life because every since I’ve been blogging for Life at Loyola things have been pretty great.
If you’ve followed this blog you know, but if not, quick recap, I was a Ricci Scholar. I conducted intercultural research on journalism in Rome and Beijing during my entire junior year. Besides living in Italy and China, I had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and Southeast Asia.
So right now as a senior journalism major, this year is all about getting on track to be as successful as I can be in the struggling journalism industry when I graduate in May.
Throughout my time at Loyola, I’ve received loads of advice from professors, journalists and recent graduates about what you’ve got to do as an undergrad to be successful after graduation, which I can pretty much sum up in 5 points.
1. Get involved with the school newspaper.
2. Have a variety of internships.
3. Get involved with student organizations.
4. Freelance.
5. Take challenging journalism classes.
None of the above advice mentions trying to have a life as a normal college student while doing all of these things.
While I’ve committed myself to doing 1-5, I’ve been struggling to juggle all these commitments like bowling balls weighing down all my free time. It’s only one month into my senior year and I’m holding my breath waiting for them all to collide and come crashing down. I feel like I should be enjoying this last vestige of college life before the real world hits, but it might as well already be here.
A lot of students, especially seniors, are already feeling the pinch not just of the economy, but the pinch and pull of our time in all different directions all with the hope of leading a balanced, successful life.
Instead of offering advice of my own or whining about the lack of sleep and level of stress, I want to pose the question: what’s got to give?
Where is the balance if you must do 1-5 to be successful yet to do them all at once is a near-impossibility?
The pace of this year probably won’t let up and its flying by. (The only way I knew it was almost Oct. is because the next issue of the Phoenix comes out on Oct. 1).
Anyway, I know I’m not the only one dealing with this. Best of luck with the juggling for the rest of you. If I am given or think of any worthwhile advice I’ll be sure to blog about it.
September 16, 2008
Society of Professional Journalists Convention and National Journalism Conference
After a crazy first week of school, which I tried to blog about while multitasking and failed miserably, I flew to Atlanta on Wednesday, September 3rd to be an intern at the Society of Professional Journalists Convention and National Journalism Conference.
Way back when I was a freshman, I joined the Loyola University Chicago student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Now I’m a senior and vice president of the chapter so it was only fitting to kick off my senior year by attending the Society of Professional Journalist Convention and National Journalism Conference in Atlanta as a reporting intern.
This year, I’m trying to get as much exposure and experience as possible to hopefully jumpstart my career once I graduate in May. At the Convention, I was a reporter for the Working Press, the convention’s daily newspaper.
I was entirely immersed in the world of journalism for four days. Not only was I surrounded by a brilliant staff of editors at the Working Press, but I had the opportunity to network with journalists from all of the country working in every medium and discipline. Professional development seminars were held on every journalism-related topic imaginable from ethics, writing tips and Freedom of Information requests to international correspondence, digital media and the changes in today’s media environment.
As an intern, I wrote nine articles, which were all published in one of the three newspapers we put it. It was kind of like being a real journalist with the non-stop deadlines, rewrites and lots of coffee.
One of the Working Press editors, Saeed Ahmed, works at CNN so he took all the interns on a late night tour of the office. We were actually on the floor of the newsroom as the anchors were doing live broadcasts. All the interns sat at Rick Sanchez’s desks and dreamed about the day when we’ll be real reporters.
The convention wrapped up Sunday and I returned to Chicago with a stack of business cards, dreams of CNN and high hopes for my future in journalism.
Allllll my stories are available at spj.org. Just search Laura Burns in the upper right hand corner or go to http://www.spj.org/c-recap08.asp, which is the convention recap page
August 20, 2008
Back to School
So those picture posts were a sot of closure. About a year ago, I left Chicago and Loyola to see the rest of the world. If you’d have told me then that I was going to see and experience so many incredible things and how much it would change my perspective and my life I would have nodded in agreement without understanding. Now that I understand how much traveling has changed me it hasn’t been easy to come back to Loyola and settle back into life as normal. I feel really restless even though I never stop moving. I would give my worldly advice on this predicament and how I overcame it but I don’t have any and I didn’t. Like everything else it’s a work in progress and I don’t really think you can go back and I don’t know the person who left Chicago for Rome last year. I don’t want to go back though. Now it’s about moving forward so here’s what I have to look forward to in the upcoming semester, which starts on MONDAY.
Unbelievable that I’m a senior.
The people I met when I was a freshmen and a sophomore who were seniors had it together. They were so grown up. I thought by now I’d feel that way too. However, I still feel like all the bright eyed faces on campus today with their Loyola IDs around their necks and their new extra long sheets being hauled up the stairs by an army of Loyola move in volunteers.
So once class starts on Monday I will be working at the Loyola Phoenix (www.loyolaphoenix.com). The Phoenix is like a fire that consumes my soul, my life, and a lot of my free time here at Loyola. The Phoenix is the independent, ENTIRELY student run official student newspaper of Loyola University Chicago. I, along with my lovely news section of Nicole Charky and Lee Ann Maton, will be recruiting writers, putting together a writers’ workshop, coming up with story ideas, starting investigative work, and laying out goals for the section before the first issue comes out September 10. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (and probably other days) I’m down in the dungeon, the windowless student office basement of CFSU. I love the Phoenix and the staff. I’m so excited to be back after a year of being away and having to read everything online.
“We offer this space as an objective coliseum where the truth can be voiced, changes can be instigated and the administration can be held accountable for the decisions it makes.”
Sort of a mission statement from the Staff Editorial, 9/12/2007
I’ll also be an intern at the Chicago Reporter, which I am very excited about it. Its a bimonthly investigative magazine so I’ll be helping on investigations from the beginning to the end. My main interests in journalism are international reporting and investigative reporting so this is perfect for me. The paper also has a sort of social justice mission that just makes it even cooler.
“The Chicago Reporter’s investigations engage leaders and concerned citizens in critical issues – all with a unique focus on race and poverty. The Reporter’s work helps move ideas to action, arming communities, advocates and decision makers with information and providing opportunities for dialogue.”
from the About Us section at http://www.chicagoreporter.com
I’m also going to be really involved in the Society of Professional Journalists. I’m the vice president of Loyola’s student chapter along with my partner in crime and president Will Barrett. We hope to have a great year recruiting new members, organizing speakers and panels, and doing another great project. Hopefully, we’ll walk away with the Mark of Excellence student chapter award for our region for the third year running. We’ll find out at the conference in early September.
I’ll also be hosting at Uncommon Ground on Devon because the Phoenix doesn’t pay enough to make ends meet at the end of month.
Classwise, I’ll be taking the journalism practicum, Writing for the Web, an international studies history class, and continuing on with my Chinese.
It sort of seems like a lot…and it sort of is but that’s the way I like it. Wish me luck!
