Fulfilling Week

This week, I gave myself the goal to keep the live recap in my 5 p.m. show.  In the past, my reporter either forgot to write it or the show got heavy enough to drop it, so I've never had the live recap in my 5 p.m. show.  I was determined to keep it!  I went into my show 27 seconds light, and dropped only four items.  I was so excited when I finished the show with the live recap that I was shaking when I walked out of the control room!




Tuesday's 10 p.m. show was the first election coverage I'd ever produced.  I was nervous at the beginning of my shift because I wasn't sure how our station planned on covering it (special reporters or graphics, etc).  As the day went on, I worked with my executive producer and we figured out how we were going to get the election coverage into the show.  What you don't see when you watch the show is all the manpower that was in the newsroom.  We had a team of people calling cities in the surrounding areas for the outcome or progress of their elections and the news director and another girl putting the graphics together. So much effort went into making our election coverage great.

A new addition was added to my family today.  Meet Cowboy Boots (he'll go by Cowboy).  He's an 8 week old yellow Labrador Retriever.  I haven't even met this puppy yet, but thanks to technology I feel like I'm getting to know him.  My dad and brother have been sending me pictures and videos all afternoon - but it still doesn't fill my desire to hold and pet this puppy!  Maybe a spontaneous roadtrip is in place?

8 Goes Green, Trendsmap and O&CO

On the journalism side of life

 This week, my classmate Nan Wu and I worked on a blogpost for KOMU's 8 Goes Green project.   It aims to be "a guide for greening up."  With Spring arriving, our post was about keeping lawn products, like fertilizers and pesticides, out of our local watershed.  We also provided an alternative to chemicals - composting - and how to learn to make it.

One cool site to watch this week has been Trendsmap.  It provides a real-time look at the most used words and hashtags on Twitter around the world.  If you spend some time on the website, you can watch the words and hashtags grow/shrink and move around on the map.  Clicking on the links allows you see the tweets that mention the word or hashtag you clicked on.  I watched the word "anderson" - as in Mizzou's old men's head basketball coach and Arkansas's new head coach - move from being over the mid-Missouri area to being above Fayetteville, Ark., thanks to his decision to switch teams.

I also think it's interesting to look at where on the world map there's blank spots.  The three most prominent spots - besides Antarctica - are Eastern Africa, most of the Asian continent including Russia, China and Mongolia, and Northwestern Australia.  I believe it says something about how that area has adapted to technology, which says something about the economy.  But, I don't believe China fits into that assumption.  We know they use technology profusely and that the Chinese government tends to restrict access to certain internet sites.  The last reports I've seen show that China has blocked Twitter, which is reflected on the Trendsmap.

On the personal side of life

Last weekend, my family and I visited New York City.  We took a food tour of Greenwich Village with Foods of New York.  We visited a variety of places including a pizza joint, cheese shop, bakery, and Cuban restaurant.  My favorite spot was OLIVIERS & CO., better known as O&CO.  Their main product is olive oil made with hand-picked olives grown by family farmers mostly in the Mediterranean.  The olives are cold-pressed to keep their rich flavor, not hot-pressed like industrial growers.  We tasted basil olive oil on a toasted baguette slice with sea salt and I knew I had to have some for my own kitchen!

It had a rich olive flavor with the light, crispness of basil.  My bottle arrived Thursday and my Friday afternoon snack was exactly what we had in NYC.  I can't wait to try it on pasta and see how else I can work it into my cooking!

Ridin' Solo and a Break from the Norm

On the journalism side of life:
This week, I produced my shows totally on my own!  The way we learn producing at the Missouri School of Journalism is by taking the Advanced Producing class.  A person who has already taken that class is our TA.  Over the course of 6-7 weeks, the TA goes from producing most of the show to giving the student producer all the responsibility for the show.  Last week, my TA only stepped in at the end when I didn't have no-live scripts written for my live-shot and I was busy with other things.  This week, my TA didn't show up for any of my shows and I'm proud to say the shows went off without a hitch!  Yesterday, I produced the 5 p.m. show and another student did the 6 p.m.  We chose this as the song of the day: "Ridin' Solo".


On the personal side of life:



Last week my mom had a big birthday and she didn't want a party.  Well, we didn't listen.  Dad and I planned a surprise party back in Dallas.  I flew in from Mizzou, my uncle came from Chicago, and my little brother Casey (well, he's not so little) drove up from Texas A&M.  We gathered at Fearing's Restaurant  downtown with some close family friends,  my brother Kevin and my aunt and uncle and yelled a loud 'SURPRISE' when she walked in.  And we all won the big bet: she started crying as soon as she realized what was going on!  It was the perfect surprise and for how sneaky she is, Mom didn't know a thing about it!

I love to cook and bake, but with my schedule, I don't get to do it that often.  But last weekend, when I returned home from my Texas trip, I made time to try a new recipe.  I'd never tried to make fortune cookies before but I found a recipe from Martha Stewart on a link the Cooking Channel tweeted that looked doable.

This is what they looked like in the oven.  The recipe says they're meant to be large fortune cookies, and they spread out even further and thinner in the oven.  You can only bake a few at a time, because when you pull them out of the oven, you have to shape them quickly before they harden!

When they're done, the edges might look burnt, but they're not.  The cookie has a sweet almond flavor that's not overpowering with a satisfying crunch.  They looked nice (while they lasted) and would be great for a party!

Cooking and baking, especially baking, is a stress-reliever for me, but bad for my waist-line.  So I've decided to work out (which my friends know is a big deal for me) a couple times a week, and reward myself with time to bake.  So far this semester it's worked... we'll see if I keep it up.

Generational Differences

Last fall, I got a text message from my dad asking, "What do you consider the end of the day?"

"11:59:59,"I typed back.

"Ha! That's what the speaker said you'd say!"

Nancy Barry was speaking to my dad's company, explaining to them differences between their generation and mine and how they should be prepared to deal with new hires out of college. My dad's company was using me as a guinea pig to see if she was right - apparently I proved her point, which was that my generation considers the end of the day to literally be the end of the day due to the current digital world. My dad was so impressed with her that he bought a signed copy of her book for me: When Reality Hits: What Employers Want Recent College Graduates to Know. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting in my stocking at Christmas - I'm not one for reading self-help books in my spare time, I prefer historical fiction or chick literature (proven by the list of books on my Kindle) - but I feel like I'm getting something from reading her book.


One of her main points is that someone right out of college looking for a job needs more than a good resume. She insists that "soft skills" will help set you apart from everyone else being considered. Out of a list of eight soft skills, I feel these two are ones I'm learning at KOMU while producing:

#6: "Demonstrated ability to work independently and be a team player."
As a producer, I assemble a newscast on my own but also take input from my executive producer. I work with reporters for stories for the rundown, graphic artists for over the shoulder images (OTSs) and maps, and directors to get the show on-air. Those are just a few of the people who act as a team to put together a newscast. In class, we were discussing that making everyone feel like a team is one of the most important parts of the newscast. It motivates the members to do their best so the newscast ends up being the best it can be.

#7: "Ability to work in a high-volume, face-paced environment; to multitask; and to meet deadlines."
I think anyone who works in a newsroom would agree that it's a face-paced environment. There are days when not a lot of news is going on. Other days, there's so many stories, you have to cut things out of the rundown to be anywhere near on-time before going into the show. Multitasking is part of a producer's job: you write stories for the newscast while juggling reporters and their questions and putting the details into the rundown (anchor reads, cameras, OTSs, etc.). And a producer has a daily deadline - the time the show airs! "The show must go on" and you have to be ready for it.

I'm about one-third of the way through the book. It's interesting reading about HR and managers perspectives on hiring 20-somethings and seeing the generational differences between growing up in the digital age and growing up in the age of a single computer that takes up an entire room (according to my dad).

Writing Truth v. Fiction

When you're in elementary school, you learn to write a book report: read and spit the facts back out.

When you're in middle school, you write research papers: find the facts and organize them.

High school brings essays where you learn the facts, organize and analyze them.

Those essays just get longer and more in-depth when you get to college....

Unless you become a broadcast journalism major. When that's your emphasis of study, you learn to rely on video to show the scene while using your words to add additional information to the pictures. It's stressed to "write to the video." You only tell the truth and don't exaggerate. This is how I've been writing for the last two years.

To finish my English minor, I needed one more English class. I wanted something different from the typical read-and-analyze-the-deeper-meaning English class. I decided to take Introduction to Creative Writing. The only creative writing I've done is to pretend to be my boyfriend's dog and blog from her perspective about the puppies she had in November (link). It's much more difficult to switch between truth-telling and concise broadcast writing and fiction writing than I imagined. But I couldn't quite put my finger on why it was difficult until I ran into this quote in my Creative Writing textbook:

In fiction writing, the author gives details to show how people feel. I've learned that to get the point across you have to let the reader interpret for themselves, so you show them what's happening instead of telling them. It's the details that make the story good. In broadcast writing, the details are shown in the video so the reporter or producer only has to tell what happened. The audience isn't supposed to use their imagination. Since I've figured this out, it's been easier to switch between the two forms, but still a challenge. I'm enjoying the fiction writing so I'm looking forward to seeing what else I learn this semester. Maybe by then I'll be better able to define a difference between writing for fiction and writing for television.



This is another quote from my Creative Writing book. I believe it applies to both fiction and broadcast writing. The choice of words can be the difference in bringing a story to life or leaving it on the page.

#KOMUcampout aka a Producing Marathon

#snowlycow I can't believe I survived "Winter Storm 2011" as it came to be called at KOMU. We had a massive winter storm this week: Monday brought ice, Tuesday dropped 17.5 inches of snow, and Wednesday and Thursday blew winds and negative temperatures. During this time, I had 4 shifts at KOMU (3 producing shifts, 1 web shift). People with shifts during that time decided it was better to sleep at the station than try to drive in white-out conditions, and so came to be the Twitter hashtag #komucampout.

I arrived to KOMU around 10:30 p.m. Monday night to produce Tuesday's morning show. During this shift, I wasn't just a producer. Here's the list of the jobs I completed (I probably looked like a chicken running around with my head cut off.):

1. Producer of the rundown and writing stories.
2. Phone Answer-er for people with questions about the storm.
3. Phone Caller to St. Louis and Kansas City for how they prepared for the storm and what it looked like there.
4. Google Map operator to get our live reporter to an apartment fire.
5. Social Media Guru getting the news of the fire on Twitter.
6. Skype Coordinator with our five Skype reporter teams in five locations around mid-Missouri.
7. Website poster putting up important information before the storm hit at 6 a.m.

When we were .26 seconds from being off-air (after a 2.5 hour long show), we got a text message from the news director to keep going for two more hours! We took a 15 minute breather to gather more information and give everyone a quick break. Our five Skype reporter teams went inside to warm up, our two live reporters and their truck operators got in the truck to warm up, and the anchors took a bathroom and snack break.

When we went back on air, we did a regular block with news stories but ditched that format at the next commercial break. We decided that viewers were staying tuned to our channel to hear about the storm and how different parts of Missouri were being hit. They might care about what was happening in Egypt right then, but they were mostly concerned with the storm. For the next two hours, we pitched between the weathermen, the live reporters, the Skype teams, and the anchors who shared information we were getting from viewers on Facebook and Twitter. It was a marathon producing session and we flew most of that time by the seat of our pants, but at the end, everyone who was working on that show felt that we had come through for the viewers and given them what they wanted.

Finally, at 9 a.m. the show was over. I checked in with the Skype reporter teams and crashed on an air mattress in the conference room for three hours.


When I awoke, I received the news that my dog, Bo (1999-2011), had died that morning. It was the roughest news I could have gotten during this stressful time at the station. He'll forever be remembered as the dog who loved to be pet for hours, who would slip and slide on the wood floor while chasing a tennis ball much to the dismay of Mom, and who was a diver for rocks in the Allegheny River.

I had to keep working so that I wouldn't break down crying (although it was occasionally inevitable). I was supposed to produce the 10 p.m. news on Tuesday. On a daily basis, we have two live reporters to manage. But, this time, we had two live reporters and our five Skype teams. The teams had iPhones or computers with Skype (a video-conferencing program) on them. I started a Skype video chat with the team (either one or two people) that was going on-air next and the director would broadcast the computer screen. The Skype teams would report the road conditions of the town they were in (Fulton, Jefferson City, Lake Ozark, Boonville, or Moberly) and what kind of precipitation they were getting. By adding these five teams, it was way too much for one producer to handle. So my TA produced the 10 p.m. while I managed the Skype reporter teams for the two newscasts from 5-6:30 p.m. and the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. I was coordinating who was going when, testing out the wireless signal at the new locations they went to for every show, and getting them set up to go on-air. I ended up charging my iPhone between every show. By the end of the day, I had 'produced' almost eight hours of Skype calls. After the 10 p.m. show, I had to pass on my Skype Coordinator responsibilities to the two student producers of Wednesday's morning show. I strangely felt like I was giving up on "my teams" because I had been working with them all day. But I needed to sleep and slept like a rock for eight hours in the conference room.

Wednesday, I produced the 5 p.m. show. My TA, Maggie, was on the Fulton Skype team so she was more tired than I was because she had to be awake for hits during the morning show! I had the most independence producing this show that I've had so far. Maggie let me produce until 4 p.m. when she stepped in to help me tie up the loose ends I was missing. I boothed the show for the first time, which was exhilarating. I backtimed the show and discussed which stories to drop with Maggie and she either agreed with me or pointed me in a new direction. The show ended on time and with no major issues! It was a great way to end #komucampout.

I had to get out of the station after all that craziness. I slept in my own bed Wednesday night and returned to the station Thursday morning for my web shift. I created and added to four different web slideshows of pictures our viewers sent in. I added to Blizzard Kids, and created Blizzard Animals, Snow Drifts, and Neighbors Helping Neighbors. I posted these slideshows on our website and on our Facebook page. During the storm and our coverage of it, we got 170,000 hits on our Facebook page and more than 1,000 new friends. These new friends will allow us to increase our viewer base because they will have our stories show up on their news feed.

Bo and I playing fetch with the tennis ball during the February 2010 snow in Texas.

It was hard to make the Blizzard Animals slideshows because a lot of the photos were people playing with their dogs in the snow. All I could keep thinking about was how last winter it snowed at home in Texas, and Bo loved to chase the snowballs. He also was color blind, which we only figured out when he couldn't find his tennis ball in the snow!

Video of Bo trying to find the tennis ball in the snow.

While it was a difficult time to be at the station when all I wanted was to be home with my family, it was an intense growing period. I learned how many roles I could fulfill and still stay calm (although highly caffeinated). I learned that I am almost ready to take over the job of producing a show on my own (which I will be doing in the next few weeks). I also learned how well a bunch of people can come together to get the best information possible to viewers - it was amazing to see the teamwork. Overall, I'm glad I got to attend #komucampout as it was a unique experience I'll never be able to replicate.

New Semester, New Role

As the semester begins next week, I'm looking forward to my new role in the newsroom: producer. Last semester, I was a reporter for the first nine weeks. I spent the end of the semester "sidekicking" a producer to begin learning that role. By the end of the semester, the producer had me putting the show together and they helped fine tune it. This was a stress-free way to be introduced to all the details that are involved in running a newscast.

This blog fell a bit to the wayside toward the end of last semester because I started a new blog. My boyfriend's dog had puppies and I started a blog that's written from her perspective. The goal with the blog was to ultimately help sell the puppies, but also to let puppy-lovers see puppies at a very young age (my first puppy post was within hours of their birth). I'm glad to say that the blog is living up to both those goals. The new families have told me they've loved seeing videos of the pups as they've gotten older and friends who can't own a puppy now have loved keeping up with the pups' adventures. The puppies will be going to their new families on Jan. 19th and I'm not sure if I'll keep the blog updated with pictures and videos from the families or just post a farewell message. I'll definitely be posting until all the puppies have new homes but, after that, I guess we'll just see how it goes!

This semester, I will be producing three shows during the week: Tuesday's morning show, Tuesday's 10pm newscast, and Wednesday's 5pm newscast. I'm excited to learn how each show is different and expand my producing knowledge. I hope to post here what I learn during the week so I can track how my skills are evolving.

Feature Story: Missouri's Trucking Industry

Missouri has a large trucking industry and part of that has to do with its geographical location to major shipping and manufacturing sites. According to some, the trucking industry can be see as a leading indicator of the direction the economy is heading. There are some new trucking regulations hitting the industry tomorrow (Nov. 30th) so I did an in-depth story for KOMU looking into how the new rules (called the Comprehensive Safety Analysis or CSA) will affect Missouri's industry.

My television story is above and my webstory can be found here. It ran on Thanksgiving Day, a little less than a week before the new rules go into effect. I enjoyed getting to do this story because I spent some time with the material and found the best way to present it to the public. I also had time to establish a firm basis of knowledge and really come to understand what I was writing about (and I started with almost no knowledge of the trucking industry!). I learned that while I don't enjoy day-turn stories, I did like this long-form reporting and producing.

One Last Reporting Shift

I got cleared officially to switch to producing! More details about my last reporting shift coming later...

Boonville's Kemper Village Homes

I learned this week how public officials avoid reporters. I called Boonville's mayor and city administrator every hour, for six hours and every time they were "busy" or "out of the office." I even tried the mayor's home phone! I sat at City Hall for 30 minutes waiting for the city administrator to return from lunch to confirm information (I wrote my story while I waited) and he managed to still slip around me. I ended up finding a councilman's address in the phone book, calling him (no answer), and going to his house - that's how I got my comment! The city administrator ended up calling me back when I back at KOMU, so I got my information confirmed before it went on-air.

Reporting this story was bittersweet yet exciting at the same time. Bittersweet because it was my last reporting shift and exciting because it was my last reporting shift! Next week, I start learning to produce!

Bridge Repair Affecting Local Business Owner

This week I learned the true definition of being a persistent journalist. I was working on this story about bridges being replaced and was trying to find a way to humanize it. B&B Auto Body Inc. was located about one mile from the bridge so I headed over there after I talked with the engineer and construction crew working on the bridge. The owner, Paul Beeler, was not at the office but left his phone number. He answered when I called and said he'd be back in about 45 minutes. I maximized my time to go shoot a stand-up and headed back to the shop. He called saying he'd be later than he thought. I was bummed I couldn't interview him because his view would be the strongest about how the bridge closing is going to affect the people around it. I went to New Franklin, the nearest town, but everyone I talked to said they did not use the bridge. I called Paul back and told him I could meet him wherever he was and I only needed 10 minutes of his time. He agreed and said he'd be back at the shop in a half hour. I got there 15 minutes early and he was there so we did the interview. He had never been on camera before but he was a natural! He wasn't nervous, spoke in short, concise sentences that were easily used as soundbites and even provided me with a few nat pops. I couldn't have been happier that I was persistent with getting an interview with him.

Drug Bust

First Breaking News and Live Shot Experience

I was on my way to talk to people in Columbia's parks about how they celebrate Labor Day. I got a call from the station and was told to go to the scene of a shooting in Columbia. I had to quickly recall everything I'd learned about shooting breaking news. I got as many shots of the scene and police as possible. Then I started talking to the neighbors that were hanging around. Many of them refused to even let me ask them what they saw happen. The ones who would say something couldn't be convinced to go on camera. I waited about 2.5 hours for the Columbia Police Department's Crime Scene/Forensics Team to show up and then left. The body of the man who was killed was still in the apartment. The station said we would not use that video so I did not need to stay to get it.

There was a press conference at 3:30 p.m. and another reporter went to get the details on the shooting while I put together my live shot. I have never gone on during the newscast live so I was so nervous! When I got back to the scene of the crime, all the neighbors were still camped outside, but had brought out their lawn chairs. They watched as I did my live shot and were still hanging out as I was leaving after my live shot.

I had to tie back my hair because it was so windy it kept blowing into my face! It was exciting to do the live shot but so nerve-wracking! I knew I knew the information so I went with it and did my best!

**UPDATE: I was excited to learn today (9/10/10) that part of my live shot from this story was used in a KOMU-8 promotion that aired during the TODAY show!! The promotion used clips from the latest, important stories to entice viewers to watch our nightly newscasts.

Library To Go Program

Daniel Boone Regional Library launched their "Library To Go" pilot program near Hallsville on Monday, August 30th (link). Patrons in Northern Boone County can reserve library books and materials online or over the phone. The items will be placed in a system of lockers at Ed's Quik Stop. The locker opens with the patron's library card. The library is looking to expand to Holts Summit but needs a location.

My b-roll would have been better if more patrons with reserved library books had been present at the ribbon cutting ceremony. It would have given me more opportunities to take video of the lockers being used.

I learned the value of a light during this reporting shift. The gas station where I shot most of my video is a dark location. The light helped brighten up the general b-roll shots. But when the light was used in a close-up shot, it turned the shot a light blue-ish color. It is an LED light so it has a blue tinge already. When it hit the semi-reflective surface of a DVD case, the case glowed a little blue. The light made Kathy Casey's shot seem a little blue, too. If I had known this when I was shooting, I would have only turned on one ring of lights instead of the two rows.

This reporting shift was out of the ordinary too because a girl was shadowing me. I showed her the ropes of how to go about a reporting shift and gave her some tips that I learned the hard way. She seemed to absorb everything I was telling her and was generally excited about reporting. I am excited to see what she does during her shifts. There are so many short cuts and details that I now automatically do. Having to slow down and explain every little detail really made me realize how much I learned in Broadcast 2 this summer.

Effects of Egg Recall on Local Producers

On Monday, August 23rd, Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with statuses and tweets about "first day of class" or "last first day of class ever!!" I was different: I was tweeting about how the egg recall is effecting local egg producers. It was my first reporting shift of the semester (link) and I got to hang out with chickens!

Dave Todd and his daughter raise chickens and sell their eggs at the Columbia Farmer's Market. Dave sells eggs during the week and his daughter goes to the Saturday market. Todd Farm also produces flowers and vegetables for the farmer's market too. When I gave Dave a call about coming out to interview him and see his farm, he was excited to share his story. His wife, Caroline, was also helpful because she works for the Columbia Farmer's Market. I felt like I had hit the jackpot: two sources in one location! Dave and Caroline told me how all egg producers sold out on Saturday. The egg producers had sold twice as many eggs as normal - 500 dozen! When I asked to go in the hen house to get video of where the chickens lay their eggs, I was denied. Dave explained that the camera, tripod or I could contaminate the hen house and cause his chickens to get sick. While I was disappointed to not get that video, I was also reassured in his abilities as an egg producer who cared for his animals.

I then met with Jo Manhart, Director of the Missouri Egg Council. When I identified myself and asked for an interview, she replied, "Oh good! I was started to feel neglected on this egg recall business because no one has asked for an interview with me and usually I'm one of the first person called! And you're lucky too - I'm going out of town for two weeks soon so you could have missed me! When can you come today? I'm free all day!" Between my phone call and my interview time, she went home to get her "Egg Lady Shirt" and hard boil some eggs to show me. She could not have been more enthusiastic about eggs and making sure I had the correct information.

With both the Todds and Manhart, I found how much easier it is to do a story when neither source needs convincing and have a relatively free schedule! I know that this is not a regular occurrence but I was happy to have it happen on my first day back in the swing of things.

TODAY Show Morning News Cut-ins

Cut-ins Monday, June 28, 2010

I anchored this morning's news cut-ins during the TODAY Show. I took my professor's critique from my last cut-ins and tried to improve my anchoring. It was a different experience this morning because the recorder stopped working after we had recorded all of the cut-ins. We had to do every cut-in live. Surprisingly, I seem to stumble over words less when I know I'm live on-air. The video above has my clips in it!

AP Green Reopens as Mid America Brick

Mid America Brick Breaks Ground

I spent my third reporting shift in Mexico, MO (6/25/10). The AP Green plant, which made bricks from 1910-2002, reopened as Mid America Brick. This was my first experience reporting a press conference. I had to pick and choose which speakers to record because I didn't have enough memory card space to record the 1.5 hour long program. And I certainly didn't want to have to wade through it all when I got back to the station.

I started talking to a nice, older woman. Her late husband worked for the factory for 42 years. She provided a central character and personalized how important this factory was to the community. The interview was amazing because all I did was asked her, "Can you explain to me your husband's experience at the factory?" She talked for 10 minutes, answering every question I was planning on asking and she didn't ramble. I was amazed.

I seem to lean toward stories that are an hour away from the station. Once again, planning the story on the recorder in my iPhone helped me write faster when I got back to the station. Above is the package I shot, wrote and edited (link to web story).

Glasgow Flood Stories

Sewage Lagoons

Glasgow Sewage Lagoons

Last Friday (6/18/10), I completed my first reporting shift at KOMU 8 News. I went to Glasgow, MO (about 1 hour from Columbia, MO) to report on the Missouri River flooding. I called the police chief who told me the town wasn't threatened because it's on a hill. He mentioned that the lagoon was underwater. I asked why that was important, because I was thinking of a lagoon in the sense of the ocean. He told me it is a sewage lagoon and it was leaking raw sewage into Hurricane Creek, which flows back to the Missouri River. I immediately knew this would be the focus of my story. The superintendent of the Public Works Department spent a majority of the afternoon showing a convergence reporter (who was taking still photos) and me around the three lagoons that make up the sewage lagoons of Glasgow. The video above is the package I shot, wrote, and edited for the 6 p.m. newscast. I also wrote and edited 2 VO/SOT/VOs and a web story (link).



Farm Crops

Glasgow Crops Flooded

The flood waters were expected to recede by this past Tuesday (6/22/10), my second reporting shift. Instead, the water had actually gone up. I did a follow-up story about how the crops were underwater (a detail I remembered from my trip to Glasgow on Friday). A friend of mine who grew up on a farm gave me some background information on farming and crops. This helped me ask more informed questions. He told me it would be hard to find a farmer who would be willing to get out of their tractor for an interview right now because it's a busy season on the farm. This turned out to be vital information because I asked the superintendent if he knew a farmer who wasn't working because his crops were underwater. He knew one and thankfully, the farmer agreed to show me his farm! I contacted seven organizations related to farming and none would agree to an interview. I had run out of time and returned to the station to use the farmer and National Weather Service as my sources. I shot, wrote and edited a VO/SOT/VO for the 10 p.m. newscast, a package for the KOMU 8 News Today show (above), and a web story (link).

Scientific American and First Experiences

Journalism Reflection

This is the cover of the June 2010 edition of Scientific American magazine.

I am always attracted to categorical journalism. It doesn't matter if it's Food Network, the History Channel, People Magazine or Runner's World. I love seeing how the producers of these products continually find new ways to discuss the same general idea by exploring different avenues within the field. I decided to expand my horizons and read Scientific American (link).

"From the Editor" (pg 4 or link)


The first major part of the magazine I read was the "From the Editor" letter titled "Think Forward." It surprisingly answered a question I had: "Why can the editors of this magazine be trusted as an authority in science?" As the letter explains, they "go to conferences and meetings, pore over other publications, and routinely confer with our researcher sources and authors." While Mariette DiChristina, the editor, does not explain if the writers have scientific backgrounds, she makes it apparent that they immerse themselves in the topic and consult more than one expert. She goes on to explain how the editors decide what information to publish: they look for what readers need to know now and what might be coming up in the future. Readers of Scientific American feel they can trust the information they get from the magazine because the editor is transparent.

Australopithicus sediba is the latest discovery of ancient remains.

"Fossils of Our Family" (pg 12-14 or link)

Evolution has always been a topic that has interested me. I thought this article about a discovery of a new human species in Malapa Cave, Johannesburg, South Africa did a wonderful job showing the importance of presenting a balanced story. The article first explained what was found in the discovery (partial skeletons of an adult female and juvenile male) and why the discovering scientists think the remains belong in the ancestral line of current humans. After their side of the discovery is given, three different positions are given. In total, four sides are presented and the sources are from four different institutions: University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Stony Brook University, the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, and New York University. The end of the article lets the reader know other remains were found and they are currently being excavated. This informs the reader that more information will be available on this discovery in the near future. While this story follows the basic format of a story, I believe it’s necessary. If the writer had launched right into all the different sides without first explaining what was found and how it is impactful to the scientific community, readers would have been lost.



"Expert Education" (pg 17-18 or link)

This article discusses how geologists and their students are using an eye-tracking device to study the difference in how geologists approach a dig compared to students. They want to use the results to better teach the students perceptual skills. The writer, Charles Q. Choi, mentions that the device could be used in other professions, but doesn’t include journalism. Imagine how this device could change the way journalism students learn the power of observation and photography. Students would be able to see how experienced journalists pick up on environmental and body language clues that help make their story better. They’d also be able to see how good photographers chose the shots they video.

"12 Events That Will Change Everything" (pg 36-48 or link)

The headlining article of this issue covers 12 scientific events and discoveries that have the chance of happening by 2050. Each topic is ranked along a rainbow bar from very unlikely to almost certain. Here they are:

1. Cloning of a human: Likely
2. Extra dimensions: 50-50 Chance
3. Extraterrestrial intelligence: Unlikely
4. Nuclear exchange: Unlikely
5. Creation of Life: Almost certain
6. Room-temperature superconductors: 50-50
7. Machine self-awareness: Likely
8. Polar meltdown: Likely
9. Pacific earthquake: Almost Certain
10. Fusion energy: Very unlikely
11. Asteroid collision: Unlikely
12. Deadly pandemic: 50-50

Each section, written by a different person, gives an overview of the topic and then, most importantly, explains how this event or discovery will affect the world. In my opinion, the section that gives the best real world example is the nuclear exchange article. After explaining how the Hiroshima bomb affected the area, Philip Yam, the writer, moves on to the present-day example of Pakistan and India. Scientists have determined that if the two countries used all their nuclear bombs on each other, about 100 bombs, there will be devastating effects on the Earth. The consequences listed give the reader a vivid image of how the Earth would change. While it’s one of the shorter sections, I thought it was most effective.



"Alzheimer's: Forestalling the Darkness" (pg 51-57 or link)

This article first caught my eye from the cover, which says, “Alzheimer’s Advances: New Keys to Thwarting Dementia.” My family pays close attention to advances in preventing Alzheimer’s because my grandfather died with the disease last year. This article explains how scientists are about to start a research project that will look for a prescription drug to prevent the disease. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s can’t be made until symptoms show up. Recent research has shown that the causes of Alzheimer’s are active five to 20 years before the symptoms present themselves. Also, several biomarkers and genetic genes have been singled out to measure Alzheimer’s. The researchers are choosing people with the genetic genes for Alzheimer’s and tracking their biomarkers in an effort to better map when the causes of Alzheimer’s start. With this information, the scientists will know when to start administering the test pharmaceutical drugs. These trials will take time, but hopefully scientists will have some new answers and drugs by the time my parents might suffer from Alzheimer’s. The writers of this article used graphics to better tell their story. One set of graphics shows how the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s will increase over the next 40 years and how age increases the risk of Alzheimer’s for males and females. Another set of graphics explains how brain imaging and spinal fluid tests will help track the progression of Alzheimer’s over the years until physical symptoms are present. A third sidebar gives a list of drugs that are currently being tested and how they try to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. All of this information proves promising and gives me hope that one day this disease won’t affect my loved ones anymore.

Overall, the magazine does a good job of making sure a person with no significant scientific background, such as myself, can understand the article while still giving enough information to satisfy a scientist. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see a half-page advertisement for the University of Missouri's graduate program for life sciences.

Personal News Gathering

The logo of the NBC affiliate where I'll be working.

This week marked my first official work at KOMU8 (NBC) in Columbia, MO. After all the hard work and hoops to jump through, it feels great to get to this place in my coursework! And I know it’s not easy from here on out, but there’s a certain element of reward to the hard work when you see your work on air.

"Tuesdays @ 2"

VO Patrol involves shooting video, writing a 40 second story, editing the video, and writing an online story. I completed my first VO Patrol on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. I went to Jefferson City and followed a “Tuesday’s @ 2” program about Mark Twain and riverboats. The greatest difficulty I had with this story was that the Missouri State Museum was dark. Even with a light, the video turned out dark. My producer and I managed to color correct it so the video was still useable. I enjoyed getting to write and edit my own story and see it broadcast.

"Nitro Joe"

I finished my second VO Patrol today. I went to the Daniel Boone Regional Library and watched kids be amazed by science experiments. “Nitro Joe” was great at involving the kids and keeping them interested. I think I had as much fun watching the kids and taking video of the program as the kids did watching Nitro Joe’s experiments. He showed the kids physical and chemical reactions. The experiments that went over best were the ones that involved dry ice. Shooting this story really challenged my ability to shoot sequences. Nitro Joe was a roamer: he moved all around and it was hard to catch him doing any repetitive action. I made it work while at the same time wishing I could participate too! (link)




Cut-ins Tuesday, June 17, 2010

I also anchored my first news cut-ins during the Today Show this morning. It was my first time to be on-air at all, let alone live! I had to learn to do broadcast makeup to do this and it was so thick, I wanted to take it off as soon as possible. I guess it’s something I’ll get used to as I wear it more often. I read the scripts multiple times beforehand, marked my breathing points, and hoped for the best. It went over well with no major mishaps. Overall, I enjoyed the experience but as with everything, practice makes perfect. I’ll be signing up for another cut-in shift soon!

I have my first reporting shift tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to testing the skills I’ve learned so far because I have to get all the interviews and B-roll done, write and edit the package, write and edit the VO/SOT, and write an online story all in one day. For our classwork, we have had to complete this work but we’ve had several days to do it. I’m nervous but ready for the challenge tomorrow. Now, if only I had a story idea…