catching up

hey everyone,

I am sitting in my room on this blizarrdy Friday (i guess that winter is finally here) with my second cup of green tea (tea desires' green tropic is divine- the sales girl was right- you HAVE to get it) and one of my favorite old Bollywood songs playing in the background. Right now Shammi Kapoor is lip synching to a cheeky song about a fair skinned woman. It's so weird for a child of the 80's to identify with the music of the 50's.

I should be finishing off my school assignments. My reflection piece for Shauna's class beckons me. Paul's photography assignment pleads completion. Brad's layout homework has yet to be tackled and don't even get me started on Patrick's webportfolio (actually I really should get started on it).

Instead I am here still swallowing in some humility.Don't get me wrong- it's not that humility is a bitter pill- however it is a rather large one.

I always prided myself on my humility. Perhaps that is my biggest downfall .

I have learnt a lot about myself this semester:

• I have a terrible time learning new software. The rules for each program are too minute and complicated for me. I get flabbergasted when I see people (OK, mainly men) sit down with a new piece of software and totally understand it within a few hours. Usually within a few hours, I turn into a shrivelling child, sobbing at my technical inadequacies.


• I suck at grammar.OK, I always knew that, but it always sucks to be reminded of it. Especially when I have piece of paper floating around my bedroom somewhere telling me that I am educated. With a degree in English at that. But in my defense let me remind you that studying English literature is completely different from being able to properly compose a sentence.


• I still have not accomplished all the things that I wanted to do in this class-much less in life.


• I need to start living my life.

I could go on but I think it's time to focus on the positives.

I also learned:

• I am stronger than I thought I was. This semester has been one of the most mentally gruelling experiences of my life. I have been out school for 5 years before this course and even when I was at UofC I had never experienced any this intense. I am proud of the fact that anytime something went wrong or blew up in my face- which happened almost immediately- I did not break down. I did not cry and I did not give up. I will now share something on here that I did not reveal to many people until now. My mother had underwent an intensive surgery during the first week of class and spent over two weeks in the hospital and another month in bed recovering. The household responsibilities (yet again) fell to me. This is on top of working a mentally taxing and thankless job(although all jobs are thankless- working as a call centre agent is particularly stressful, especially when its a demotion that you take just to keep your pay rate while you are at school).

Please don't think that I am complaining. I am an adult, I do not run away my responsibilities. I had taken over the household duties in the past and am prepared do it again should my parents ever need me to. I am just sharing how intense this semester has been- because of the strain that I was under earlier this year, I fell behind my peers and I am only now beginning to catch up to them. But that's OK.. as the old cliche goes..it's not how you begin the race...its how you end it that matters.

• I learned what I really want to do with my certificate. I was not sure what I wanted to do when I enrolled in this program. I knew that I wanted to share stories that were often ignored and that I wanted to do whatever I can to promote human rights. I also knew that the skills that I would learn here would help me out. I'll be completely honest, I didn't come here to learn the technical skills, (which are helpful) I came here to learn how to get people to open up and share their stories. And above all, I came here to learn how to tell these stories. Now after to talking to my peers and instructors, I realise that what I really want to do is make documentary films. I know that the narrative techniques that I will learn here will help me in doing this.


• I learned to listen- really listen to the opinions and advice of my teachers, peers and editors. For the most part, these people know what they are doing and they have the best interests for my stories in mind. Any advice, even unsolicited advice is well intended and even if I do not agree with them, I should try to see where they are coming from. I mean,isn't that the first lesson of a journalist? To show all sides of an issue, even if you do not agree with everything that is being said.


• I learned that I love photography. As frustrating as it can often be to get the perfect shot, when I do get that shot-it's totally worth all the muttering and swearing. I can't wait to get my flash and start experimenting even more!

Above all, I have learnt that procrastination sometimes pays off... but now I think that it really is time for me to get back to my homework...but there is that old Bollywood movie I think I'd rather see...

(on a side note, i tried to upload a clip with subtitles but i can't find one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywn5ecbh3DM&feature=PlayList&p=BA1B3E16EB496B74&index=14

Done!

It is such a relief to have finished up my stories for this class, and to have finished our group project, "to stunning effect" (sorry about that). I can't lie, this past week has been a tiny little bit stressful for me, as I worried about getting everything done in time. I had to have very quick turn-around on my reiki story - attending the class on Sunday, and have the story written by Monday morning. As always, things seem to get done, but I have always assumed that things get done only if I'm operating in a state of blind panic.

The magazine itself is just wonderful. Apparently blind panic works because the results are something that I think we are all really happy with. I would like to continue to produce Flash magazine into the next term, to showcase the work we're doing in this class. Potentially a winter edition and a spring edition?

I ended this class with such a high, excited to start the next term and am trying to come up with a great idea to focus my attention on.

A job well done

Our finished magazine is simply amazing! I think it really captures our creativity and our young, urban demographic allowed us to express a span of interests. Definitely going to do more of these! Such a good experience, despite the time pressure. GO TEAM GO!

Bring it.

The semester is finally over! The magazine was a semi-success (I am really hard on myself...but more on that later) and all my stories are completed!
I feel this semester has been a whirlwind. I feel I've grown so much as person with the completion of this semester. Only three weeks ago, I was sitting at home freaking out about stories and reflection pieces, a magazine, photos for Paul, and video voicer assignment, etc. etc. etc. I thought I was never going to make it to the end of the semester, and I was beginning to think how easy it could be to drop out of the program. Especially with all the assignments that were due, and three more stories that needed to be written for Shauna's class (she continued to nail it into me that, if I didn't finish my stories, I would fail the program!), I started stressing to the point that I wasn't able to function anymore. It feels so good to know that I succeeded without giving up hope, and that all my stories were completed in the fashion that I wanted.
The past few weeks have been the most stressful for me as a student, and I've been a student for over five years, so it's crazy how I felt this semester to be the hardest over all.

When I finished my last two stories, I began celebrating: I wasn't celebrating because I was done (this was part of it though) but because I was creating two stories that meant a lot more to me than just completion: my story on perfumes as a stress reliever meant that I was now able to write about a topic that interested me, one that did not necessarily conform to the typical rules of the journal, but let me use my creativity to full advantage. My last story on BestBuy was my biggest accomplishment: after experiencing so much stress with my other stories, spending much time concentrating on what I was going to say, how I was going to say it, what needed to be said, who I was writing for ETC. my BestBuy article was done in two days flat. After finding the topic, I set out to get everything done in one standing. In one Sunday, I was on the phone with the communications manager for BestBuy Canada; next, I was at the University searching for an old marketing professor; lastly, I was inside BestBuy looking for comments from customers. It was done. Though that night was tremendous, the day after I had completed an entire article ready for print... and it only took me two days! I felt like a real Journalist. Scratch that: like a superstar.

Moving forward, I could not be any more happy about the final product for COMM1707: Flash Magazine: Premiere Edition. So much hard work, effort and time (at the cost of sleep!) went into producing that magazine, and I could not be any more proud of myself for accomplishing such a feat (!). As I have previously said though, I still believe there were some faults that could have been corrected before it was published online. Had I more time to finish the magazine, I would have put more effort into creating more visually-appealing layouts, and I would have spent the majority of my time searching for faults in the text. There were definitely some pages that looked a lot better constructed than others, and if I had it my way, I would have tailored the magazine to my own style, incorporating not only the stories we worked so hard on during the semester, but also some of the photos that highlighted our creativity throughout the semester, and maybe some more fashion-related things (as I believe this is what I am interested in).

Enough about this though. I can be hard on myself. Too hard, sometimes. My perfection gets to the best of me, and this is a weakness (strength!) that can get the best of me sometimes. I need to learn how to take control of my surroundings, without penalizing my creativity or my hard work...

With this being said, I feel this semester was just a taste of what to expect for next semester. I cannot wait for next semester and a better, more thorough magazine issue. Same name, different format. Bring it on, Cert. program!

Georges is ready.

FLASH MAGAZINE - Premiere Edition

Publish at Calaméo or browse others.

Prototypes equal Good

We decided to learn by example, and take some inspiration from magazines already on the market today. Here is one prototype that we used for the Editors Letter in Flash.

four hours

I am having some serious self doubts. Way more than my usual, "how am I gonna get this story done"or "my sources are not getting back to me" type of doubts.  Today's layout disaster seriously has me doubting myself in this program. how did I get in?the other guys in here are geniuses- they seem to breeze past the tasks that i am struggling with.

so do i really belong here?  

I thought that I was strong in some areas and weaker in others. I thought Layout was one of my strengths, but apparently I am not strong enough. or maybe i should just stop letting intellectual sadists toy with my mind.

I find that my writing is also weakening- perhaps I am getting too tired. 

But isn't there supposed to be that second wind  where inspiration, talent and drive collide to create the perfect masterpiece? where is it?

I guess this is supposed to be the time where I pep myself up by reminding myself of all those famously brilliant people who failed and still prevailed over their failures. but after spending 4 hours working (and reworking) one simple layout and  4.5 hours stuck in traffic, i am really not in the mood for pep. I'm in the mood for a nap- a 4  hour one.

Frustration

When I went to Shauna to get this story vetted, I told her I was frustrated with this article. I felt like it was missing something. I had spent so much time, taking interviews, changing my focus, discarding interviews, getting different input, I felt like my head was spinning. My eventual concept was clean, and linear, but I felt like it lacked heart.

I am happy with the writing in this piece. But writing has never been the hard part for me. Again and again, I lack focus. I always come up with a story that takes on way more than I could deal with in 1000 words, then proceeds to only touch on some issues, as opposed to taking the time to really get in depth with one particular story. After speaking with Ron about this, I realized that this is what I felt was missing in the piece – any amount of depth. I seem to always be a “surface” writer. I should be writing stories about shopping, and puppies, and things that don’t really need deeper meaning, because that seems to be beyond my grasp. A ladies magazine, perhaps? I could write about the top five dishes to feed your man during the holidays, or something.

Okay, enough sarcasm. I love writing, and I have to accept that there are some challenges that I am facing. I believe Ron said something to the affect that if you aren’t struggling, you aren’t really learning anything. So, I can face the fact that I have a lot of work ahead of me as I continue to improve. It’s okay that I have to improve. I mean, you never stop improving unless you’re dead, right?

star suckers and media intergrity

Hello all,

 I was listening to a podcast of Q by Jian Ghomeshi  for November 18 2009 and he had on documentary film maker Chris Atkins whose recent film Starsuckers was about the news hoax and raised some interesting questions about how the 10 minute news cycle and the overall news quality.

Atkins and his posse bring into question the ethical practice of sensational media by planting fake stories to the media. The majority of these fictitious stories were published in tabloid and regular media outlets. Atkins points out one of the major flaws in the 10 minute news cycle and their desire to break the story first many media outlets do not even bother checking their sources. As a result,people are becoming wary about what they read in the media.

This reminded me of the discussion that we had in Ron's class a few days ago about the H1N1 shot and why people are not trusting the mainstream media. How can we as journalists  undo the damage caused by sensationalism?  How will people determine what is and what isn't a trustworthy source of news? As the influence of media becomes increasingly diluted through the internet and citizen journalism continues to rise the lines between what is truth become increasingly blurred.

What can we do do to make a difference? Will anything that we do make a difference? Even Jian didn't have the answer.

How can one spell Frustrated four times?

Besides Carolina's success in writing a proper article, I seem to be having some hardships with writing proper articles. My previous posts pointed towards a sensibility of "simple is always better" except when it involves me.

I wrote an article for Shauna's class on Air Canada and their third quarter results (as I am in the Business beat, and assumed this is what the business beat wanted of me);I included three proper sources with all the same opinions about the airline: because of Air Canada's new 7 per cent commission paid to Canadian travel agents for selling Tango based fares, and their new policies on capacity management (meaning, selling off more tango based fares as opposed to other fuller fares), the company was seeing a "profit" except more and more passengers were flying on tango fares, which in theory should lead to a decrease in Air Profit. The only reason they showed a "positive increase" was because of the rising currency exchange rate, and the lowering cost of fuel... this, my dear readers, meant that Air Canada had not seen any kind of profit, besides the profit they did not see coming.

But after all this research and the hardwork, the late nights and the many cups of coffee, my article was not good enough and needed to be "revised" (as per Shauna). This, even though I enjoy criticism (in small quantities), was not something I wanted to hear.

After receiving a beat that I had no intention of writing, I was not too thrilled: throughout the class, I have been trying my best to come up with interesting topics, and trying my best to write proper pieces even without the proper instruction of how to write proper articles. When Shauna gave me criticism for the first time, it was quite a major blow to my ego. I know that I am a good writer, even though I devote too much time and effort to a story... and I understand that I spend way too long on a story to have it be perfect and without faults and that I should change my habits. But old habits die hard.

Relating to my Air Canada story, I remember for the first time since I started this semester that I did not want to put too much "effort" into it, even though I was stressed beyond belief that it wouldn't fair too well with Shauna.

After coming up with a focus I believed would be good enough for her, and writing the entire story under an influence of "don't-put-too-much-hard-work-in-it", Shauna hated it. I was insulted, angered, saddened, on the brink of a major melt-down and fully wanting to drop out. I could not understand why I was having so many troubles in writing my pieces, even though everyone else seemed to be spitting out story after story for the Journal and spending as little time as possible on each one. I was (and still am!) frustrated that I have to put so much care and effort, and have to devote so much of my precious time into each of my stories just to have it make the grade while everyone else seems to be working out just fine.

I don't really know what else to say here, but I ended up rewriting my entire Air Canada story with the help of a little Vodka and some Chambord, and I think the piece is actually alot better than what I had originally written. I still have yet to discover what I can learn from this experience, but I'm sure when I am writing my last two articles, I will look back at my traumatic experience and remember that, though I should develop stories quickly, that I should never deny myself my own perfection... if that makes any sense.

On to story four...

no longer slitting my wrists...

okay, so I got comment back from Ron and they were not as bad as I had dreaded. I think I am starting to see why my article on immigration is so off... I was writing it more like an essay then an article and actually the little cafeteria exercise I think was really good for me because it kind of reminded me that I am an observant person I just was getting caught up in thinking that including details was self indulgent when it is perhaps more the point than anything else. I need to keep it simple and I REALLY need to come into a situation with a focus so I don't let myself get overwhelmed with the info... Sometimes i just need to keep it simple and write. Stop over thinking things. Wow looks like I have come out the other side doesn't it. No more dark brooding, self-pitying bullshit. So my goal is to have either the brain injury story or the immigrant story good to go by wednesday.... (Have you noticed yet I like giving myself deadlines and ironically enough these are the ones that stress me out the most! Funny.)

later

carolina

Nottingham!

I wrote my article on some highlights of Nottingham (on the flight on the way back to Canada!) My trip was AMAZING! Anyway, e-mailed it to Ron who will hopefully edit it and send it back. I have written about 3/4 of my body image article as well, so just need to go over that and make sure it flows well :)
One more to go! Bring it on, baby!

Okay... so here it is....

so i don't even remember the last time i did a blog i think it was when I was sick and struggling with the piece about immigrants. Well I sent Ron another version and though I think it is closer to what I should be writing it still needs a lot of work -- I think I am just too attached to my interview subjects... oh well... I also sent in the article about the grocery stores, I feel like it is week to... So basically I am having an existential crisis. Should I be writing? I seem to like radio a lot better. There you actually let people speak for themselves instead of try to boil down their experience into a tight paragraph and a quote. I guess radio is the same thing but at least there they speak for themselves. Okay enough feeling sorry for myself. Wait one last thing: I hate blogging I feel self indulgent and ridiculous doing this... Maybe next semester I will opt for the essay... Okay so I am in dark head space. It happens. I guess I need stand on the grandma stool in my kitchen and scream at the ceiling for a minute or two. Then listen to 'All is Love' from the where 'the wild things' are soundtrack. On my way now.... Oh and between work, class, paul and brads assignment I don't seem myself sitting down to write the brain injury piece till at least friday. Great. Bring on the heavy sense of doom universe...

Do not Panic...

Ok, so I feel as though I am putting waaaayyy too much pressure on myself to get these stories done. But how can I not put pressure on myself. My second story is still in progress and my third fourth,fifth stories are also being worked on. Not to mention the stories that I am working on for this class. Have my time management skills been so bad? Or should I look into giving up on stories if I cannot get all my sources in time. This is a new area for me ... I am so used to going through every single detail and fleshing out as much as possible ( I blame my accounting experience for this). I think I should just get out there and "pound the pavement" and just get it done. Ok, so here it goes- I am putting this out there in the blog world so that I can get it started. I intend to get my coffee place review compiled and ready to go by wednesday. I should have my second and third stories for Shauna's class also done by wednesday.
the clock is ticking

Puzzles Everywhere

From my previous entry, I described the annoyances and the educational experiences I have felt throughout the program. One aspect I forgot to mention is my detestation for attaining the proper interview!

One of the stories that I am currently working on has to do with Air Canada and it's financial situation during the economic recession...however, interviewing employees of travel agencies (one of the three sources I wish to use for supporting background information) is getting to be harder than I initially expected.

One of my previous goals that I set for myself was to focus less time on stories and more time focusing on getting my stories done (as per Ron). However effortless it was to research and come up with a perfect topic, the search for my needed sources was where my problems arose. Conducting my two first interviews was easy. The complications began when I needed information from a travel agent. I went to Flight Centre just to talk to an employee of the store, and before I could even ask for a name, I was given a number to simply call the employers' head office. I needed a good quote from a regular employee who dealt with flight bookings everday, and the grown man recommended I search elsewhere within the company. After two consequetive days with no luck, I lost hope and gave into contacting the media relations agent for Flight Centre.

I was so (I do not know the right word use here, but I'll try...) disgusted that I was unable to get an interview from a travel agent, and thought that this roadblock would cost me my entire story. Alas, I did end up getting a hold of a travel agent, and now I can continue my story with all the puzzle pieces.

Speaking of puzzle pieces, I feel that Journalism itself is one giant puzzle, which needs all the pieces together to make a meaningful picture and even when just one piece is missing, the puzzle cannot be completed. Alas, my puzzle will be complete.

...now, if only my other puzzle could be completed...

The Rewards are Worthwhile

I guess I can safely say I can put my Berlin Wall story behind me. This story really took over my life for awhile – tons of leg work, and tons of time trying to find someone to publish this!

This story started simply out of personal interest. I had been reading the history of post-war Berlin over the summer, and realized it would be the 20^th anniversary of the wall coming down this year. So, good idea to write a story on this, right? As I quickly found out, a story “about the Berlin Wall” wasn’t exactly focused enough for a story, so I had to find my focus. And to find my focus, I first had to find my sources. At this point, it didn’t look likely that the story was going to come together.

But I was persistent. I called the Calgary German Association, who directed me to the German store Eidelweiss. There, the manager promised me she would see if any of her employees lived in Berlin during that period. I assumed this was a dead end.

I also contacted the dean of the history program at University of Calgary, seeing if there was any faculty he could direct me towards. I was hoping at best to get the academic historical perspective of what the Berlin Wall falling down. He gave me two names, although I quickly found out that they both were actually in Berlin for the semester. The two professors had different attitudes though: one was a definite “no, please don’t ever speak to me again.” And the other was more than happy to talk to me.

The logistics to speak with my German professor in Berlin was tricky, as she was globetrotting all over the world, and I had a deadline I was working with. Somehow, though, it all came together and I got a rather emotional account of a young woman’s view on the fall of the Berlin Wall, and how it affected her career from that moment. That interview was gold.

My work into finding the German community in Calgary actually panned out as well. Eidelweiss got back to me with a name, an employee of theirs who had recently moved to Calgary from East Germany, and had grown up in a communist police state. I went over to her house, where I spoke with both her and her companion, also from East Germany. Language issues aside, I had a wonderful time speaking to them about their experiences, and I found them to be the loveliest couple. I even got their pictures with some memories of their first time at the Berlin Wall. It worked out quite nicely.

My last interview I didn’t have to look too far to get. Carolina’s dad grew up in Czechoslovakia, and escaped the communist regime in 1968. Wow – fascinating guy. We spoke about his time growing up in Czechoslovakia, and visiting Berlin later in life.

So, I had all my interviews, and I had to put this together in a way that made sense, and hopefully would catch the reader’s eye as well. I think my first effort was good, not great, and it’s wonderful to go through the process of vetting, to see what other people see that you totally looked over. The story began to take shape, and I felt ready to put this forth for publishing in the Calgary Journal.

But they did not want it! It was too timely for the print edition, and the web editor felt that the issue wasn’t one that Calgarians would actually care about. I believe her actual words were: I don’t see why Calgarians should care now, 20 years later. I had a difference of opinion, to say the least, but I was someone attached to my story at this point.

Ron suggested I try publishing it elsewhere, Fast Forward or the Herald. I thought – how silly, but I’m not actually losing anything by trying. I emailed an editor at the Herald, who directed me to the right section for this story. And then I waited. The longer I didn’t hear back, the more I was sure they weren’t going to publish this. I even went so far as to give the editor an ultimatum. He got back to me after his time was up, and totally called my bluff. He told me he was still interested, and I committed to the Herald.

Late Friday night, I see I have an email from him, asking me to make some changes to the story, add some quotes. He had written earlier in the day, and I didn’t receive it until later in the night, but there was no mention of deadlines or when the story might be published. I was just kind of excited that things looked promising, and got up really early the next day and made the asked-for changes. Then, I looked at the paper, and saw my story staring up at me (from a teaser on the front page of the Herald!): Calgarians share their memories, page A16. I was a little shocked, as I had not expected that to happen. I was a little chagrined that I had missed my deadline for the changes my editor wanted, but mostly I was pretty ecstatic that I had been published.

This story was a lot of work, but at the end of the day it was worth it to see my byline, to know that people who have never met me are reading my work. I learnt a lot on this assignment. I think perhaps the most important thing is that it doesn’t necessarily matter how good of a writer you are (although it helps, for sure), it’s about finding the right story that people are going to care about. I was personally interested in the fall of the Berlin Wall, and as it turned out, so was the rest of the world. I was able to pick up on a timely story, and make it work for what I was doing. So I should just keep on doing that, I guess.

Next time, though, I want to be paid!

coming along.... i guess...

Okay so I finally sat down to write the intro -- decided to go with a personal anecdote and after showing in to Ron and getting comments back I realized it just didn't work.  Then I was sick and feeling sorry for myself for a week so didn't touch it for a while...  But I rewrote the intro and am working on the body as we speak...  I think the idea I took on was really broad and I guess I was surprised that after my 3 interviews there seemed like less of a link between the 3 immigrant experiences than I thought there would be so strategy today:  write out what I think is important and striking about each interview and worry about the link later.  So that is what i am doing... Claudia Katz is nearly done and next will be richard.  Goal is to have rough copy by monday though I am 99% sure that once finished i will have to rewrite completely as a get a clearer direction --possible thoughts:

narrowing the article to share that one experience each remembers as very telling about the transition so for claudia seeing her first african american man, for richard realizing canada wasn't the same as his image from the movies and not sure about ali yet... oh well... back to the computer.  

And there and there

I have finally finished writing two stories for the journal, and I cannot be any more thrilled!

The road to completion, however, was quite an educational experience.

When I was given my beat -- Business -- I knew I was going to be writing about topics I had zero interest in... I was quite frightened when I received my beat, thinking that I wouldn't be able to focus on stories in the business area. Though I am still somewhat hesitant (but excited) for my future stories, the completion of my stories are pumping me up to write more stories!

I learnt a lot from the two articles I've written:
Number one, that I shouldn't be focused so much on my interviews! I know it sounds horrible to say, considering half the objective of a journalist is to interview the public for insight, but I feel that for my articles, I spent too much time talking to people about superfluous things that never made it into my article. Basically, I'm saying that, though the interview is an important aspect of any story, it should be concise, precise and short; otherwise, there is too much information to sift though, and too much information to preoccupy your mind with. For example, my interview with Neil Richardson for my story on the Seventh Avenue Restoration Project was quite informational, but lasted two hours!! These two hours were spent talking about things that could be found in the company's website, and I felt my questions could have been chopped by half.

Number two, I realized that word-length is really important. My second story for print totaled up close to 2,000 words, when the limit was set at 1,000. I felt so afraid that I would not write enough that I ended up writing way too much! For any future story, I'll know to be concise as much as possible and to not repeat myself.

Number three, I found that shortening my article really put perspective on my writing. By shortening it to 1,000 words from 2,000, I taught myself how to discern between what is needed and what can be taken out. This I found most important for any future stories I will be writing. Sometimes it can be hard to take out information, but if the information is superfluous, it needs to be deleted.

Number four, that research is really important but shouldn't be put on a pedestal. It is good to get some background information on a topic you're writing on, but spending too much time on research could lead to an incomplete story.

And last but not least, I realized that perfection is not needed for everything I do. I am such a perfectionist, but I found with writing my two first stories, my perfectionist nature came out too strong. Everything I wrote needed revising right after I had written it, and I was never satisfied. I am glad that I was given the opportunity to realize this point, and now I know I can change it... next time, I will be less perfectionist, and more rationalist. Does that make any sense?

Hopefully I can take these things I've learnt and apply it to my next stories...here goes nothing!

Way to Go

I can't wait to see our magazine start to come together online - and I want to say a big THANK YOU GEORGES! Because your ideas and creative ability have been awesome (plus I don't know about you guys, but my online design skillzzz are not that strong :P )

New beginning.

So I wrote an intro yesterday and got comments back from Ron.  He totally picked up on the fact that I was kind of without focus and not sure where the article was going.  Which is very true.  So in class while we were talking about different ways to start articles I came up with something more direct but I think more suited to my article and I think I am going to work the angle of people coming at different junctures of their lives.  I am not quite done it but will get to it by sunday for sure... I am currently transcribing my interview from this morning for my brain injury story.  I interviewed 2 people who work at SABIS and it went well.  Lisa, in particular, was very well spoken so I believe I got great quotes from her about how brain injury affects the whole family... now if only a caregiver would agree to an interview...  They are working on it and Garett from BIRC is too but still nothing...   I also have to remember to call Christine the survivor who spoke to me to thank her.  What a lovely woman... I must say brain injury is kind of depressing.  Maybe for my next story I will pick something more upbeat. 

It's all up in the air...

So I am flying to England for a week this Sunday, and while I'm there I think I'll write an article selling the city of Nottingham, where I'll be staying. I've spoken to Ron, who suggested doing an article similar to those found in airplane magazines. 'Don't go to London: Consider Nottingham Instead!' or something along those lines...
I also have quite a few friends in bands there, so could narrow my topic and write about Nottingham's music scene, or a typical night out on on the town...

On another note, I have an interview planned with the head eating disorders counselor and psychologist for MRU this Friday, which will give me a third source for my student body image article...hey presto time to get writing!!

arrghhh! it's still alive?

Hey Guys

Its been a while since my last post and I do apologise for that. I will try to post more often. I am so glad to see that many of peers have already started their second and third stories. I am still waiting to bury my first. Don't get me wrong- I have put this story to rest numerous times but there is a force (shall I call him Gil Grissom?) who just keeps on resurrecting it. Gil keeps demanding that I redo the post-mortem of my story- pointing out little details and facts that I don't feel apply to the original story. I don't think that even the great David Caruso can save me with one of his brilliant lines.

When I first finished my story, I was feeling proud, relieved and anxious- like a parent sending their child to her first day of school. Is she going to do well? How will the other stories react to her? What if she (gasp) doesn't get read?

But now after finding out that Gil wants me to look at irrelevant " evidence" my wanton pride kicks in,"What do you mean,it's not good enough- You're not good enough!" I sputtered , vented and fumed.

So,after calming myself down by boiling numerous cups of tea; I spent some extra time on my story, exploring the suggested avenues, and making the necessary changes without comprising the original body.

However Gil still does not think that it is good enough.

I haven't given up on my story but I am wondering if Gil just being really thorough or just being ridiculous. Some of the details he wants me to look at don't even align with the original story. I am sure that even on CSI, there would be a point where they would smack Gil up the head and unplug the microscope- right?

I don't think that I am making sense right now- it could be the four hours of sleep that I am running on but I think that I am using like two different metaphors to describe the same thing. I hope that I didn't confuse you guys too much.

Is it really immature and silly for me to just wish this story would just be buried ? At this point the only thing that is lying six feet under is my ego.

Started.

So I now have all three interviews with immigrants.  Though i am tempted to interview one more since I have already made contact but we'll see...

The truth is I probably have enough I have just been dragging my feet on starting.  So today i sat down to do it.  I tried a couple of drafts of an intro and they all seemed really cheesy and over the top.  I really wanted to set up the idea the immigrant experience is difficult and something we kind of take for granted and really feel little sympathy for but it was coming off all wrong. So I decided to write what made me personally appreciate immigrants -- the experience of moving to prague and just being really miserable for a period of time.  so I wrote that and i believe it is a much stronger start but I am not sure if we are allowed to put ourselves in the story.  I know its a no-no for newsreporting class but does it fly for this class?  it is a better beginning than i had before so i hope i can keep it.  its not perfect but...

and as for the body now... I just find starting really hard.  now i have to start richards story.  and richard's story is strong as is Claudia's but i might ditch the third in favor of something else.. I am not super feeling it and richard and claudia have the commonality of having left their home countries for political reasons and it makes the third story kind of not fit.. but i dont know if i am not just over thinking it.  i have 3 inerviews i should just go for it right?...

enough thinking.... 

A Decisive Decision on Topics

Tonight, while I was hyping myself up for Paris, I thought of my potential 3 topic ideas for Ron's class!

I'm hoping they are legitamate topics to discuss though, as I feel I am quite picky when it comes to topics. I think I am governed by my indecisiveness... I even think I have a certain set of mental processes that follows an order: first I come up with a topic I think I might enjoy. I get excited about the topic, and my mind wanders. I then do a little bit of research on the said topic, and I hype myself up to the point where I start asking myself too many questions regarding my chosen topic. After five minutes of google-ing said topic, I begin to grow anxious, and with determination, I drop said topic to start back at step 1.

Except! the three chosen topics I came up with are great topics that I think I will keep! If you are at all interested in wanting to know my topics, you will have to discuss them with me...

Ha - I enjoy being mysterious.

Hitting wall after wall, and not the good kind

This week has been crazy hard, I feel a little bit shattered. You know when you are just so off your game, you have no idea what you are actually about anymore? That is me right now.

Both stories I'm working on for Ron's class have hit their respective snafus. The story I want to do on the Berlin Wall - and I am super keen to do this - seems to be hitting problem after problem. Largely in that no one will get back to me. I still have some feelers out, and haven't given up entirely (Carolina, I still want to speak with your dad), but it certainly takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the prospect of writing this piece.

The positive side: I found a Calgary local who has a doctorate in German history, who is on sabbatical in Germany right now. She is my story! She couldn't be more perfect.

The negative side: She is in Germany.

The other story, I'm running into not just passive not-calling-me-back-ness, but outright hostility. I want to interview the woman who teaches reiki at Mount Royal, and the program chair has refused to give me her contact information for privacy reasons. Ron thinks this is bullshit, but when I questioned her on it, she got pretty darn testy. Has anyone else encountered this?

I also found out that you can't just go to a class, and write about your experience there. It goes against the freedom to teach. In order for me to learn Reiki, then write a story about it, I need to get permissions from people who seem all too keen on denying me. Harrumph - it's just been a day. Maybe someone will call me back tomorrow, or the most perfect source will fall from the sky ...

Late but better than never.

Hi my name is Carolina Novotny and I have to admit that I have never blogged before. And this image captures how I feel today about new technology. About Final Cut and about filing stories. Which explains why I am the last to join this forum. But here goes.... 

Though the technology stuff has been stressing me out a bit... I am enjoying the interview aspect.  For this class I am working on two stories:

1) exploring an immigrant's sense of home -- the idea being that their sense of home must be different from a native canadians -- I have been where they consider home their country of origin or canada and why or why not as well as what aspects they miss form home.   I have also been asking what they remember from their transition...  

My first interview (about 2 weeks ago now) was with an argentinian woman,Claudia, who imigrated when she was ten.  She was very frank about having a negative experience transitioning and feeling rootless everywhere.  She considers Calgary home only because this is the place she has made the most connections with other people in.'

My second interview was with Richard a polish imigrant who came to canada in the 70s when he was in his late 20s.  He seemed somewhat disillusioned by his experience.   He wouldn't do it again and he felt he had given up too much of his life for his daughters' futures. 

I was at this point that a touched base with Ron and he suggested that to write a powerful piece I would need to have my interview subject open up and give me annecdotes about how canada compares with the old country...  I think I didnt really get that with Claudia (who is unfortunately now in new york for two months)  but I think I got good descriptions form Richard of what he misses which was the comeradery in the work place.

Today I interviewed my friend Alison's grandmother who immigrated from england when she was widowed at the age of 62.  I now have Ron's tips with me but I must admit it was harder to get her to describe anecdote like stories of home than I expected.  It was interesting to hear her story since it was very different from my other test subjects since she came over much later in life.  

Now I am going to transcribe my interview with her which I taped and I hope to have a rough draft of my article done by wednesday.

Saying it 'out loud' to motivate me....

2) I am also working on a story about how the family is affected when a member of the family suffers from a brain injury.

I interviewed Christine about this and she gave me honest really touching answers.  I am now waiting to hear back from BIRC about interviewing an occupational therapist (it was supposed to happen last week but I got bumped) and tomorrow if I dont hear from them I will contact SABIS as backup.  I also still need to find a family member to interview... will speak to sabis about that one...

So thats is that...

I also have two on the brain ideas:

-organic foods... what guarantee we have that organics are actually that and what is with the new government issue sticker...

-or doing one week of everything envirofriendly... namely NOT driving my car for one week and seeing how I am affected.  not sure about this one -- I would also compost, recycle... I dont know what else to round it out....

ideas...

okay so that is where i am at...

Halloween Stalk

Currently, I am fighting off a terrible cold which has moved from my throat to my nose and ears... I think my eyeball will start tearing up soon...

Regardless of this little tidbit of information, yesterday I went to Walmart to go speak with some Halloween shoppers! For some strange reason, I was completely at ease with approaching people, and I think it might have been because of Sally's assignment at the beginning of the semester which saw us getting out of our comfort zone. It was funny because the more I was meandering around the Halloween section, the more I started feeling comfortable talking to people I didn't know. The first couple of times was a failure, however, as the first people I talked to had no purpose being in the Halloween section: they told me they were just wandering around to see what wares Walmart would be selling this year....

...ButI did finally get some good quotes from one man buying candy, and another man searching for a Halloween costume, who conviently commented on his Halloween spending habits. It was a success!

I still couldn't help but feel like a stalker, though.

Roll On With The Show

In the process of working on my said story idea (see post below), I came up with a better topic to focus on for the Calgary Journal. It is definitely a more time-sensitive piece, which is more of my reason for choosing it: I wish to focus on how the recession is affecting Halloween sales in 2009. I have already set out for a few sources, which have all been quite helpful to me as of right now.

Yesterday, I scurried my way over to a store called Chuckles in the Southwest. It's a store that not only sells Halloween supplies, but also Halloween costumes and all sorts of accessories, namely specializing in gruesome versions of dead babies and severed hands. I spoke to the Manager of the store to get some insight on how the recession has affected her business during the Halloween season. You will have to wait to hear the conclusion...

Close in proximity to Chuckles was Value Village, so after treking my way through wind and sleat, I spoke with the manager of the fine establishment who also had some insightful things to say regarding the recession and the affect it has had on his sales.... more of this later.

All in all, I am still awaiting an email response from Walmart Canada regarding their 2009 Halloween trends and an email from the owner of Twigs on Stephen Avenue, who I was unable to meet personally as he is rarely on sight and constantly busy.

My next story for Ron's class will perhaps be a travel piece on Paris, France, as I plan on spending a weekend in Paris sometime this month. I will most likely take alot of photos during my short stint there, and hopefully get some sources to speak about Paris's Hotspots... and I'm not just talking about the Louvre.

I think I would be what they call "on-a-roll"? Ha! Not quite...

Don't Talk About It

Alright, do I have a posting for you!

I guess I will begin my posting with my morning in Brentwood; then I'll complete it by discussing my interview with Leah Hallman of Campus Pro-Life. Yay!

Last night was a tricky night for me, as I had just decided on what story I should work on for my COMM3707 class, and I wasn't sure whether it was to be a good topic or not. Alas, after much contemplation and roaming around the house looking for ideas, I decided to focus on the new proposed Transit Oriented Development in Brentwood. It is a topic that many journalists in Calgary have already discussed, so I was hesitant at first, but I found my angle: how the new development project is going to affect the small businesses in the area. This is perfect, considering my beat is Business!!! :)

After a few hours of research on the topic (even though Ron has said that research accomplishes nothing, haha), I began to formulate my questions. I was having trouble formulating, as I did not really know what I wanted to know except for "how will this new project affect your small business?", but from that question I began to formulate following questions, and before I knew it, it was 1am in the morning (should that be written 1 in the morning, or 1am-in the morning??) and I had a full page of questions!

Flashfoward to when I was up before first light this morning, and I was on my way to Brentwood to ask my newly formed questions to the beautiful business owners in the area. I first decided to go to the Liquor Depot where I was told to contact a man at headquarters. That was a bust. No worry, I told myself, I will just go over to A Buck or Two and ask my questions there... alas, no luck, again: I was asked to contact the owner of the store another day to initiate a sit-down interview at a better time (it was Christmas inventory today), so I will follow this lead at another date. My next stop was the Fish&Chips resturant owned by a Chinese man who a) didn't speak english, and b) didn't want to speak. Case closed... Next stop, Ginger Beef Peking House whose owner was not around. From there, Pro-Grace Dentistry who made clear that she would not speak to any media regarding the development project. Another case closed. I didn't loose hope though. I walked over to Pizza Hut where I began a lovely conversation with a source who knew more about the development project than she lead me to believe. After a lengthy conversation, I took her name, and NOW HAVE A SOURCE! Moreover, Jameson's is willing to speak with me about the development, so I have ANOTHER SOURCE!!

I think that my determination to find a source was what kept me going. I could have easily walked away from Brentwood expecting everyone to tell me nothing, but my persistence lead to future interviews, and one named source! It feels so good to actually know that I am on the right track.

Directly after my Brentwood excursion, I had to go meet with Leah Hallman for Campus Pro-Life. On my way over to the University campus, I could start feeling nervous; I had my questions all prepared, but I was worried about the conversation: would my questions be good? Will her answers be short or long? Will I know how to pad our conversation so it doesn't seem cold and script-like? Before I could even start worrying about these questions though, I found myself speaking with Leah in a quiet room... this was it! It was at that moment that I just seemed to relax and tell myself that whatever happened, just happened. If I made a stupid comment, then so be it! If I made moments awkward, then I would learn from them!

In all, I felt my interview was quite good! I was even able to fill the pauses with other questions that I never intended to ask, and it went fine. I felt so good afterwards that, again, I accomplished something, and that I was on the right track....

...Now I just have to sift through the 1hour and 15minute recording to find a quote I enjoyed...

A Deciding Change

So after changing my decision to interview my aunt for Sally's class (because I will not be able to use her for the voice over aspect, seeing as she is family), I have been trying to contact the lady who founded a beauty parlor just for women suffering with cancer (it's near to MRU, by Bass Bros). No luck so far! I've tried e-mailing and phoning, but like we were saying, you don't want to come across as too persistent/desperate/annoying. I may try another avenue too, and choose the eating disorder counselor on campus, who has set up a 'positive body image' initiative because she feels that students are a target group for eating disorders and low self-esteem. I could then use this for my body image article for this class too =]

She will probably have great insight into why so many students have eating disorders etc in universities, and would be a great starting point (maybe she could direct me to a student sufferer too hmmm!)

Method Reporting?

I finally had an idea for Ron's class, one that would really interest me. I'd like to do a piece on Reiki healing, what that is all about. I find the hardest part for me in regards to reporting, is finding the angle. I'm great at coming up with story ideas, and I can find people to talk to about it, but then the question is: what next? I'm not sure exactly what my angle should be. Do you gather information before talking to people, or do you talk to people, then discover what angle you want to take afterwards? Or is this like a chicken or egg thing?

The other thing is, how far can you go while researching a story? Mount Royal offers one-day classes in Reiki, something that I would totally do. Could I sign up for a class, and make this part of my story? Or would that affect my perspective too much? Or does it even matter - can't I make up my perspective as I'm going? I feel like I have too many questions, not enough answers right now.

Cold Call

I did my first cold-call tonight! I was excited, but because I didn't know the outcome, kinda hesitant... as I've already found out, I do NOT like rejection...

It went great... my interviewee's voice mail was great to talk to.

I will have to try again in a few hours. Persistence is the key!

Tight Rope

I feel somewhat lost with regards to my story ideas for Ron's class. It's not that I feel my ideas aren't worthy of our magazine, but that I won't be able to write a cohesive story with adequate sources in it (!).

When we were given the Story and Project Development Handout today, I felt scared... scared because I did not want to see another handout telling me what I should be doing right, when all this time, it seems as if I've been doing something wrong. I don't mean to say that I'm completely lost and unable to find hope, but I can't help but feel stressed about finding a focus for all my story ideas. It seems when I find something I'm interested in talking about, my topics are too broad, too simple, too unfocused... and this irritates me.

However, now that I was honest about that, I am actually quite relieved to have the guideline, as it has the potential to make my life much easier. I really like how it is broken down into different categories and different processes that can insure me a successful project.

Alright, so this was going to be that part where I introduced some of the stories I'm interested in working with, but this part will have to wait... I haven't quite figured out what stories I want to work with.... not just yet.

Just Shut Up and Write

Hey guys,
This is my first blog post. Ever. I feel a little intimidated- and excited, if that’s possible.

So, I have been told, at the very last minute, that my story idea for the Calgary Journal is good and they would like to have it ready NOW. As in ASAP. As in it should have been done yesterday. So, since I have yet to discover the secret to time travel, I have to write this story- my first journalism piece- now.
T
o say that I panicked would be a severe understatement. I could feel my body temperature rise and my muscles contract. My brain started screaming at me, “There is no why this can get done in time!!! This is horrible!!!” and every whiner’s favourite, “Why me?”

It was the last question that got me to “snap out of it”- why Not me? After all, I signed up for this certificate program, KNOWING that it was going to intense. I have to start from somewhere- so why not here? So, mustering what little courage I have, I picked up the phone and started making some phone calls. And guess what? The media relations people at both SAIT and MRU have been really receptive and I have arranged an interview with SAIT’s VP of Academics for tomorrow at 1. (I am still waiting to hear back from MRU).

And while I was typing out this post- I just heard back from my friend A.L .who has arranged for me to interview a former classmate of hers who is perfect for my piece. I owe her BIG! Hopefully a cup of coffee and slice of cake will do.
Am I going to succeed in my first attempt in writing a journalism piece... depends on what we define as success. For me, it will be enough to just to get the piece done in time to show to S.- who, by the way, would like to see it tomorrow. I must admit, as nervous and intimidated as I feel, I am enjoying the tingle of adrenaline that I am getting.

Was I an adrenaline junkie in hiding all this time?

I have no clue. I also have no clue whether I will be able to make my deadlines or not- I have yet to create my interview questions and submit my story budget.
But for what it’s worth, at least I am trying.

So I guess it’s time for me to (finally) stop my whining and just shut up and write.

Helen Fisher Heels

Are high heels oppressing or empowering?

Aired Sept. 23: TODAY’s Sara Haines hits the streets to find out how women feel about high heels. Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher and Lea Goldman from Marie Claire magazine weigh in on the issue.

I found this video really interesting... I especially liked the part when they talk to Helen Fisher, a Biological Anthropologist and expert in Human Evolution Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Neato!

Reck-Order

Today I felt like a real journalist! Scoping out new scenes, meeting new people, digging deep into stories...

Actually, this is false. I did none of that today... I DID, however, just try out my new Audio Recorder in class! Let me just say it was a highlight! I got to test it out like a real journalist, interviewing my fellow teammates, pushing buttons I didn't understand, and gauging for external interferences such as wind and small chatter! Oh boy, it was fun!

Behind this facade, however, I am quite nervous to use my audio recorder. It has been a long time since I have handled one: for one previous assignment, completed ages ago, my recorder would continuously stop recording, even during my interview. It was incredibly unpleasant , especially when I had to insist my interview subject reitterate what had already been spoken.

Alas, this year will be different! This year, with my trusty recorder in hand, I will complete many pleasing interviews and I will not screw up!

...It also didn't help that my previous audio recorder was a cellphone...