A semester in review

This semester, I took a class called Entrepreneurial Journalism. I can confidently spell that word now.

I must say that the semester looked a lot different than I imagined. I was challenged to derive a business out of thin air using my passion and my knowledge. Then I was challeneged to actually formulate what it was; to come up with business plans, spread sheets, presentations to investors.

What I orginally imagined was a pretty easy semester with practical tips to save myself in a changing journalistic world. In a way, that was true. But it was much more than that. I learned what it takes to be a businessman. To devote time, money, energy, and hope to a company that may never give a return. 

I give a big thank you to my retiring professor, Mr. Sandy Marsters, for asking me to do projects I didn't want to do at first. In the end, I think it was a good investment. 

Reviewing other business plans

While we were in class, we had the delightful opportunity to review our friends' business plans for editing. Upon seeing other business plans, I realized that I really liked some simpler, cleaner layouts as opposed to my more decorated one.

One girl made her own logo. Another girl chose a typewriter font. I made my own graphics. In the end, I really liked the simple layouts that were easy on the eyes. Mine was simple, but maybe it could use a more clean-shave.

Then there's the philosophical question: Do I change mine because I like theirs? Or in a pile of business plans, does mine stand out because it isn't as clean shaven as some others? If I conform to be like other business plans, does my business lose some of its originality and flare?

I probably won't change it much after all.

On putting together a business plan

Yesterday, I went through a put together a business plan for my News in Comics company. 

I can honestly say that when I signed up for Entrepreneurial Journalism, I did not expect to come up with a business (or have any good ideas). I did not expect to put together a business plan, think about money, and interview entrepreneurs. 

But what I've come out of it so far with is a deeper understanding and appreciation for what goes into making a business run.

Before this class, I probably never would have thought myself capable of making a company. 

Now that I'm in the middle of making one, it's hard to believe I thought that way for several reasons. 

• Being a businessman is difficult work, but it's also rewarding. 
• I can ask for help. I can hire people. I can start from scratch and spend next to nothing to get things going. 
• I love being creative, and running a business is a golden outlet for it. 

I liked making my business plan for a couple of reasons. To me, it was fun using a Mac template for my presentation. It was fun editing beautiful photos I'd taken and then adding text to them. It was not fun trying to figure out the footer situation, and it didn't print anyway. But what do I have to show for it? A beautiful presentation that actually looks like I put thought and effort into my work. Because I did. 

Post presentation review

Man, I just love when things go exactly as I know they won't.

Today, I finally presented my project idea to the class. I studdered and mumbled in my nervous shell, and my technological wit wasn't savvy enough to put my latest version onto my flash drive. Yes, friends, I have learned a lot today: I'm even less of a public figure than I am a business person!

In all honesty, I think my presentation was a good representation of my ideal company, but I do wish there were more guidelines. For instance, when we started our projects, we were supposed to present them either as if they just started out of thin air, or as if we had run them for a while. Naturally, my I presented as if it's been running because that's what we saw from Shark Tank. And then people got confused. 

In the end, though, I think I've developed a large appreciation for people in business and the backbones of functioning institutions. Who knew it took so much? 

My competitors (2)

In my last blog, I explored my competition in the world of comics journalism. There are a couple organizations that have established themselves or are close to doing so. There seem to be some freelancers, too. 

But there is one problem with their journalism: presence. 

My news, if everything would go according to plan (which it won't), would have a big social media presence. I would try to spread it once I got my feet on the ground. That way I could open the door for people to see and consume comics journalism. It could even help my competitors a little bit. I'm not interested in business politics, so helping my competitors a little bit wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to me.

Also, the other comics journalism website I explored was great. Free access to stories and good looking comics. The problem, however, as I saw it was that it wasn't interactive. It's just a comic page and then you hit next and it moves to the next comic page. 

I'd want mine to look more like Marvel's online comics. 

Where you click next, and the page zooms to the next text box and appropriate picture. If users don't like that way, though, they could opt out for the page-by-page option. I would want mine to be as interactive and enjoyable as possible. I don't want it to be a comic book with news instead of fantasy. I want it to be an experience. 

My competitors (1)

Every business, including my own, even in its hypothetical state, has competitors. There's this guy, referenced in my last post, who has a blog about comics reporting. 

Then there's Joe Sacco, who is pretty much the pioneer in this medium. He has a wikipedia page. He could be someone to partner with if this ever comes to fruition, or he could be someone to fear.

Umm, then there's these people who have my idea almost down pat. These guys have stories for free on the internet in comic form. And they claim to be #1 (don't know how true that is). Their layout is good, their content looks news-worthy. 

Then -- and I'm not sure -- but it looks like there is a schooling of sorts dedicated to this kind of journalism. Either way, it has a domain name with a .com, and therefore, this movement is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

My competition is good. But there still isn't a huge awareness of this journalism yet. I might still have a chance… 

Market Research: An attempt to answer

For my last post, I attempted to identify a certain demographic by asking specific questions in order to sell my product better. Now, it's time to try to answer some of those questions.

How many comic journalists are there?

Well, so far I know of one. Joe Sacco. He's technically the pioneer in the medium. But there are other people who are starting to catch on as well. At this website, a man describes what he would like to see for the future of comics journalism. And how he doesn't like the term "comic journalism" in order to describe the comics news industry. About specific numbers, though, I'm not sure what my competition looks like. 

How many people buy comics?

According to the same website above, comic books sales may have hit a slump after 1993, but recently hit a high. My only sources for actual comic sales are not completely trustworthy, but Wikipedia says Marvel made $125 million in 2007. Then Disney bought it. If Disney wants a company like Marvel, who is to say that a large corporation like Disney would not want journalism in comic form at a later date? 

How many people consume news on a yearly basis?

According to a People-Press article, news consumption is going down for television, radio and print. But hey look at that! Just as we talked about in class, online and mobile news is going up. That could be good news for my company, which could sell printed comics journalism as more of a novelty and an extra revenue than a main source. 

What ages consume news? Is it all ages?

According to this article about Twitter, young adults find a good source of their news on the social site. I think, then, it is safe to assume that older generations, like my sweet grandmother, still have not taken to the social media, or even online, forms of news. This is not true for all, certainly, but the older generation folks I've talked to have deemed the internet confusing except for occasionally checking an email.  So if I want to target my business only at young people, I can use social media, like Twitter and Facebook, as a means to spread awareness about my product. 

How much time do people dedicate to news?

While I couldn't find the numbers to this question specifically, I did find one one business article that talks about how we are always online. If we're always online, an online news source would have some luck. However grabbing and holding attention would be the trick with that method. That's why I would want to print some of my news, as well, so that people know what it means and what it stands for both on and off a screen. 

Market Research: Starting with questions

For my News in Comics company, I will have to cater to the people who will actually buy my product. There will be a number of people in the world who will never be interested in my type of news production. There will be some people who are. My job is to find those people and cater to them. It may be a product that I'm developing, but it's theirs. It belongs to the news-consumers as long as they have a need for it. To market to my costumers, I've developed some starting questions that I will attempt to answer in my next post.

1. How many comic journalists are there?
2. How many people buy comics?
3. How many people consume news on a yearly basis?
4. How many people watch television news?
5. How many people buy newspapers? How many people read the funnies in the news paper?
6. What's the most popular comic book company?
7. What ages consume news? Is it all ages?
8. How much money do people spend on news?
9. How much time do people dedicate to news?
10. When people consume news, what do they look for?

Journalism: Is this it?

As a frustrated, busy, out-of-time, write-to-deadline journalism student, I must wonder, is it really me? Is it for me? And better yet, am I for it?

To report takes courage of a kind I didn't know I possessed. It requires making appointments with strangers. It requires not always getting faces to put with the words you might receive over email. It means fumbling words, awkward laughter, sweaty palms, and time constraints. It means weird hours, anxiety, a job never done, and a job sometimes done well. Other times, not so much. 

It requires you put your life aside so you can ask others' about theirs. And if you can't listen, you can't be a reporter. If you can't write, you can't report. If you can't read, you can't ask good questions. 

Journalism means stepping out of a comfort zone I loved all too much. It means embracing the awkwardness, being forced to get out of your element, and put yourself in a world you've never known before. And do it all over the next week. The next day. The next email. The next text. 

Sometimes I wonder if this is really what I want. Is this really who I want to be? Do I really want to be reporting all the time? I'm very introverted. I get nervous around new people. And while I'm not so sure that I want to do this for the rest of my life, while I may or may not consider changing my major or taking other classes, while I may or may not ever come to a conclusion about this journalism dilemma, I do know one thing: Journalism is a good thing to experience. I have confidence emailing anyone I need to email. I've been forced to step outside of my bubble, and I haven't tried to go back. So I don't know what I want to do. I don't know how I want to grab a paycheck. At least journalism gave me one of the best character building experiences of my entire life. 

John Lepage and the reporter

John Christie wrote about John LePage. And for what seems to be a fairly small online publication of news, he did a great job. The photography is excellent. The writing is great. I also love that it is broken up stylistically into chapters. 

Because of Christie's work and his senior reporter status, I have a few easy questions for him:

• Mr. Christie, what gave you the idea to do a long profile of LePage? 
• Why did you break it up into chapters? 
• Were you ever frustrated, working with a bunch of opinionated people? 
• Do you live in Maine? 
• Was it difficult to keep your own opinion out of it? 
• Also, why does it seem like you and Naomi write all the stories on the site? 
• Is it hard to keep it going? 
• Are you always busy?
• Why did you become a reporter?
• Why are you still a reporter?

Fulfilling the mission

The mission of the Pine Tree Watchdog:

Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.

Then the question is, does it fulfill the mission?

The stories on the website include stories about Wind Power and the way residents feel about it; Pharmacist drug abuse; and even Lepage-Cain financial disclosure.

As far as I can see, Watchdog does its job. Every story I scroll through is about Maine's citizens and their government or issues within the state. There are stories about local people that are doing crimes throughout the state, but there are also stories where the citizens get an active chance to voice their opinions. Does it fulfill its mission? I think so. The stories seem to be well-thought out and in-depth. Though I don't know where the first part to the pharmaceutical story went. I would like to read Part 1.    

About Us - my company's statements

My professor recommended that we each practice with mission statements and visions for our companies. This blog is practice for that.

At the Pine Tree Watchdog, the About Us page has some helpful information. It all starts with Vision.

Vision: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will fulfill the responsibility of a free press in the American democracy by looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers.

News in Comics, Vision: The Morning Glory Company will fulfill the responsibility of connecting the American society with a form of comic-book journalism by reporting local, national, and international stories with dialogue, captions, and illustrated, painted, or photographed images to tell the news in a new way.

Mission: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting will keep citizens informed about their government and their public servants through high-quality, independent investigative reporting that is published by media outlets across the state.

News in Comics, Mission: The Morning Glory Company will keep citizens informed about their societies and big happenings around the world through high-quality, collaborative reporting between artists, reporters, and editors that is published online and is printed at different news outlets throughout the United States. 

News in Comics - My reviews about everyone's reviews

My PowerPoint pitch, which we all know by now, is News in Comics.

People had really helpful feedback for me.

The font was too small. It seemed kind of busy. There was no clear definition of how I would make money. Slide 9 was kinda wacky. Slide 6 wouldn't show up for someone. 

All very valid points. I did my best to fix them and be more transparent.

I also liked the feedback on individual slides. I think that made it easier to go back and quickly edit, though I ended up spending more time on each slide, anyway. You know when you finish a project, and you get that sensation of relief because you're all done? And then you realize you want to add something else, so you go back and you tinker. The next thing you know, another hour is gone, and you just can't believe how much better your project is and how much time you spent on it all at once!?

That's pretty much how every project goes for me. Even this blog post. What I'm typing right now is actually an insert that was not part of the original. Shh...

If you would so enjoy seeing me silly presentation, here it is! 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uunga0nytjynqqh/Hall_NewsinComics.pptx

PowerPoint Pitch reviews part 4

See the News:

Pros:

• I like the black and white theme. It reminds me of dark rooms and old photographs. Very appropriate for the topic.
• How many pictures were you thinking of having for each story?
• Good concept.

Cons: 

• I almost think you jumped in a little too early into the problems. I would've enjoyed a larger scope before you put me into that position. I also would've liked to know more about the product. Print/online/mobile…Will you ever sell the original photographs for extra revenue?
• How does it save news gatherers time? I definitely see how it saves everyone else time. 
• What are you asking me to invest, and how much of a return do I get on it?

Good job overall! 

PowerPoint Pitch Reviews part 3

Well Now: 

Pros:

• I love the way it is defined clearly at the beginning of slide 1.
• I also love the clarity of audience. 
• Slide 4 is really powerful because it defines the problem clearly and offers a solution.
• I like the constant color theme. Very clear.

Cons:

• On slide 5, it says it's going to be on a website. Maybe just more clearly define that you want it to  be an online collection until you can get it in print. State intentions clearly when it comes to presentation of the product to its consumers.

Nothing else, nice presentation. Very professional!

Unblocked Writers:

Pros:

• Nice title and general theme. I like the sunscreen. 
• I love the included audio caption. How did you do that?
• I like that you compare the website to Aderall, though I'm not sure it's necessary to get the point across. 
• I like the way your audio is much more elaborate than your slides. 
• I love slide 10. Powerful words.

Cons:

• Slides could be a little more detailed. Maybe use some graphics or statistics?
• Maybe make word font a little bigger.
• You could make the word slides a little bit more word-detailed, as well. I love how the audio is more complex, but I think you could vamp it just a bit. You want to attract people. You're building a website. So show me what you can do!

Storytelling Ads

Storytelling ads.

Some think it could be the end of journalism. I think newspapers and online mags are concerned that they're not transparent enough about what they are. All the ones I've seen lately have said ADVERTISING on the top of the ad. I think it was a few years ago when I was reading a magazine and I got confused about one of the ads being a story, but since that incident, I can't think of any recent issues I've had with it.

Personally, I don't think I have a problem with a native content or paid content ad. I do ask two things though.

       1) I want it to be clear that it is an ad. I want it to be dictated on the top of the ad that it is an ad, not    
           on the bottom. And I want the ad to be truthful. IF the product really does do a service for  
           people, fine. Explain that. Be a good advertiser.
     
        2) But if you want your ad to look like a news story, you better be darn clear with my readers if
            your product has a problem. 'Cause I ain't playin' those games.
     

When Terry Williams came to visit

Terry Williams came to visit our class last Monday. 

He was pretty cool. 

I found his presentation to be captivating and easy to follow. Here's why:

1. Mr. Terrance Williams conducted himself well. He came in as a businessman and left as a businessman. He was down-to-earth, and yet, he was very much about his papers and his journalistic career. 
2. He started his presentation with a question: Why are filthy rich men buying newspapers? Until he'd posed the question, I hadn't thought much about it. Well of course rich men are going to buy something that seems outdated. Of course they're going to try to put the "hip" in hipster. It's almost what old men are known for. You drive out to Las Vegas, it ain't a whole bunch of young folk rolling around in Lamborghini's. Not only did Williams pose the question, he also answered it. Partially for vanity. And also, it's got a big audience. 
3. Williams also answered audience. How is it growing? Because of tablets, not print. And not only that, but there are new revenue categories in the business as well: print, brand businesses, digital, social media, native content and advertising, events, leveraging a new business culture. Alas! There is hope! 
4. He talked about PayWalls. Which is kind of a big deal for how newspapers make money these days. 
5. To make extra revenue, newspapers can sponsor local speakers, debates, film festivals, crime sites, and live stream news reports. 

Mr. Williams made me think about news-business generalities. I took away all the different ways a newspaper can succeed in these changing times. I took away hope. 

In anticipation of the great Terry Williams

This guy right here is coming to visit our class today! Accordingly, Terry Williams is "President and Chief Operating Officer of the Keene Publishing Corp. and a great and generous friend of the UNH Journalism Program."

Williams was an environmental conservation major when he was in school. He somehow got into journalism, he's been around the world, and he's owned several publishing companies. So I guess my question for Mr. Williams is … why? What propelled him to study about the environment and then go into journalism?

Last night, I met a man named Tyler who had a double major in undergrad in economics and in journalism. Obviously it can happen. I just wonder how you go from Australia, to L.A., to Oregon and end up in New Hampshire. Nothing against New Hampshire -- it is my home -- I just wonder about how all the pieces fit together. And then again, maybe they don't. 

I'm just sort of wondering what he's going to come to talk to our class about. I hope it's not just about the business side of his life. I really want to know about his experiences. Then he can talk about his business and stuff. I know it's an entrepreneurial class, but it's a journalism class first and foremost. 

Comics journalism

The other day, a fellow classmate sent me a brief article about Comics journalism. I didn't expect that I would really be the first one to think of the idea, and already there's a wikipedia page for the style. However, it seems like the biggest forms of it exist only in England and Italy right now. So there's a still chance that we could bring it to the U.S. and also make it popular soon!

But really, I don't care who comes up with the idea, I would just love to collaborate with someone who shares my vision in order to provide this to the world. I would LOVE to read comics journalism. I don't really like the title genre, though -- that's something we'll have to work on. 

Joe Sacco is apparently a pioneer of the form, according to the wikipedia page. I think it would be cool to talk to him. I'd also like to see his work, and see what he's done with the medium. Has he taken risks? Has he played it safe to establish a genre first? Did he work with anyone? Did people think it was stupid at first? Does he want to work with me!? 

Can I also comment on another post I made? John Herman tweeted that he just directed some sort of zombie-literature-movie. I don't know. He really is a character, though. It's funny. 

My reviews of powerpoint pitches for the class project 2

Exploring New Hampshire, Discovering Asia: 

I really liked this presentation. It was really clearly presented, I didn't think it needed a lot of visual help, and I liked how Allie was very honest about what she was presenting (i.e. one-woman operation, don't want paid subscriptions, etc). I don't think there's anything I would change about this presentation the way it is. I'm sure there's a lot I didn't get because the audio is missing, as well. My last point that I will make is that I really like the title page. You get what it's called, the creator, and who the creator is/ why she should be listened to. I also think this is a good idea in general because there really isn't any resource that exists like it.

The Gamer's Gazette, Play the News:
I've been a fan of this idea from the beginning. I like the idea of playing a video game to get news. I do wonder if the game will be set up so that the characters have to stop and talk to people to get the narrative aspect of the news or if it will be like you can play a game and stop to talk to people or play on a timeline, for example, to get the effects of the BP oil spill. But as Joel said in class, it can be different for each game. I like that with this project, as well as with Allie's, they talk about how much it will cost, the competition (or lack thereof), etc. Overall, I think it's a good idea, and while it could be risky, it could be a good way to involve more people in the news.

My reviews of powerpoint pitches for the class project

The Source:

I love The Source's idea. I love the way the way the presenter started out with a history of social media, including exact years, sites I've never heard of or used, and what they are today. Personally, I think that the idea of having a one-stop-shop for multimedia, entertainment, and news is a great idea. I think it would be an easy place for users to find whatever they are looking for. In fact, that's how I've set up my Facebook. It's news, entertainment, and multimedia, but not to the extent I would like. I wonder if The Source's creator would have it be a social site, as well, so that friends could share things?

There isn't much I would change about this presentation, but if I were a potential investor, there are a few things that would turn me away:

1) For one thing, the second slide with the history has a misspelling. Not the end of the world, and I'm sure my PowerPoint isn't flawless either, but it's important to make it look brilliant. You've got a great idea - now prove it!

2) I think for a site proposing multimedia and news and entertainment, the presentation probably could have more pictures, videos, collages to show exactly what the intent of the presentation was. The presenter used 3 pictures throughout 15 slides. I'm a visual person. Show me what you mean. 

3) I think that the company mission should have been spelled out clearly from Slide 1. I love that the presenter had history in the presentation, but that stuff should come after the so called "nutgraf" of the presentation. I want to know what your company does and what you want for it before you tell me why I need it. As an investor, I need to understand before I can think about investing, right?

4) Lastly, and probably most importantly, the presentation hit on a hot topic: porn. Now, I know that we're all familiar with the porn industry. However, I think it's unprofessional to reference that in a presentation to investors. Many people know about porn, but few know what porn implies, which is human trafficking, men and women on drugs without the ability to make full consent to what they're doing, and people doing it to make ends meet without any actual desire to do that. To call it "successful" in a presentation is inappropriate. The porn industry is visual and physical prostitution. It plays upon the hunger of individuals for lust. It does not actually offer any good product as it exploits the human body and allows for awful, illegal things to happen. Porn is illegal. You'd be better off talking about downloading music from the Internet for free than talking about porn, unless you allow porn in your website. Further, the people who watch porn often have problems themselves, which could be anything from an addiction to porn and masturbation, or problems in their marriages and other relationships. You never know what your team of investors could be dealing with behind a computer screen, so when it comes to raunchy stuff, keep it out.

Focused Fencing:

The presentation about Focused Fencing was clear and direct. I know what it is offering me -- both online and print. I know how often it will come out, what any potential money could be used for, and the presentation somehow sounds confident. I love how the presentation even talks about competition. I think most of the pictures used were good for the visual effect. The only thing I wish there was a little bit more of was fencing history since you mentioned it was one of the first Olympic Sports, but it's not necessary to the presentation. I also liked how the presentation was very direct about being local instead of trying to play it off as something huge and famous.

Lessons in failure

I think it's safe to say that we all fail sometimes. Sometimes we fail pretty hard. That's fine. It's life. It's a learning experience.

But when it comes to a project that depends on success -- there are no second chances, there is no turning back -- how do we deal with failure?

After class last week, I had a revelation. I thought:

 yeah, I can do this. I can actually start up this company. I can patent it; I have local connections to start with. I'll start branding. I know how to use social media. This could work. 

Ideas were forming in my head before I could stop myself. I thought about all the ways I could advertise. I thought about reaching out to different kinds of people who would support my idea and help me make it a reality. I thought about connections and networks I had that could benefit and be part of my project. 

Then I stepped out of the classroom. The further I walked away from the threshold, the further I felt my ideas sink. What if it doesn't work? What if it flops? What if I just can't do it?

Then I realized that it really doesn't matter. If I hit rock bottom, it can be an inspiration to start anew. And if I fail, if everything I could do flops on the ground like a dead fish, so what? It's not the end of the world. It doesn't mean I can never succeed again. It just means it wasn't the right time for one idea. 

I wrote another post about Karen Larson, owner of The Candy Bar in downtown Durham. She had a greeting card business before. Her business didn't flop, but her ideas were ahead of their time. Now, her same style of greeting card that she used to sell as a new product is sold all over the place. Larson didn't consider it a failure; she just had to stop. And now she has a new business that is everything she wanted it to be. 

PowerPoint as a tool

Last night, I was working on the last part of my powerpoint presentation to pitch to my imaginary team of investors.

I was asked to use PowerPoint or iMovie. I chose to use PowerPoint because I know how to use it better, and I think in terms of usage, it can look more professional.

I am no expert in PowerPoint. I used a basic template that I thought resonated well with my project. I looked for pictures online that I thought would go well with my presentation. Overall, I think PP was a very useful tool for me to be able to organize my thoughts and put them down in a logical manner.

PP also has a bunch of useful tools that iMovie uses as well. While I am more familiar with iMovie, I found the transitions section to be very professional and useful while finishing up my slides. I even loved the easy accessibility for recording audio. I've never dabbled much in PP, so everything is kind of new to me. However, I do know that PP has gotten exceedingly user-friendly if you know what you're looking for. 

I also found it relatively easy to use graphs and tables, though my presentation did not need so many. I wish I had used PP more when I was younger. Professors use it in almost every lecture. It is kind of amazing to me how aggravated I can get when I look at a PP presentation because someone has not used it to its full potential, there are lots of words, the pictures are unnecessary, etc. Yet, strangely, when it comes to how I make my own PP presentation, I can't remember what works and what doesn't. 

Here's hoping it all works out! 

News in Comics - a pitch to investors.

I have an idea for a company. In some of my other posts, I've gone into some detail about it. Now, however, I have a pitch to make.

In my entrepreneurial journalism class, we were asked to make a slideshow presentation with audio to pitch to a team of investors. Our inspiration was the show "Shark Tank."

Until I learn how to embed my presentation, you can view it through Google Docs. 

If we didn't ask the hard questions

I was thinking about it the other day during a profile interview. One man came into my journalism class and talked about his cocaine addiction, his drug-addicted family, his hopes and dreams, his writing, his body-building.

We sat around the room and asked him questions. We were allowed to ask Jay anything. He was open. He distanced himself enough to recover from his past, and for an hour--maybe less--he answered hard questions.

What were you addicted to?
When did you recover?
How did you recover?
Is it hard being a bartender around alcohol all night?
When did you know you couldn't do drugs anymore?
How long did you know your friend before he fell off a balcony and got brain damage?

Then I wondered to myself: What would news look like if we dared not ask the hard questions?

How old are you?
What do you do for a living?
...

It would be boring. It would be more like an interview where you skim the surface of a person's soul and see if they have usable skills for your story.

Just skim the surface.

 The news would be boring. No one would be able to write biographies of Steve Jobs. No one would be able to write real obituaries. The news would have started as a good idea and slowly faded into nothingness. The same sort of things happen with bias, too. When people share only one side and don't ask about the other side, there's corruption. People stop turning on the evening news and opening the paper because it's just stale opinion.

If we didn't ask the hard questions, we wouldn't have news.

The social media conundrum

This time last year, I did not have a Facebook. I had email. That was it. Oh, and I had a phone with disabled internet because my dad was against smartphones.

A year later, if you kindly fast-forward through my life, I am now on a multitude of social media websites.

1.  Wordpress - another blog. 
2. Audioboo - an audio recording sharing network.
3. Soundcloud - another audio recording sharing network.
4. Youtube - a video sharing network.
5. Don't forget Twitter! 
6. I actually have a Facebook now.
7. I have a gmail, a comcast, and a school email.
8. Not to mention two separate bloggers and a pinterest, just for fun. 
9. I have an iPhone.

You know what I've realized about social media? Only some people understand its centrality to the rest of the world. Only some people care if they are put on it. Only some people hesitate before allowing me to post their name, faces, and information to the world wide web.

That's huge! Why don't people care anymore?

And that's the social media conundrum: a numbness to all things interwebs.

I'm not saying social media is a bad thing. I've just learned, since becoming a journalism student, how serious the internet can be. Maybe people try not to care about the seriousness of the internet because it equals impending doom or something. I don't know.

As a journalist, though, I am intrigued by the turn of events. People used to try to avoid giving their credit card numbers over the phone. Today, they plug them in to the same web browser page that is connected to Twitter, Blogger, and Boston Globe. Interesting.

This post: 'Tis a silly rant!

This blog shall be a silly blog, because right now I rather just feel like spewing my emotions onto this page.

If it is not well known already, I really would like to implement graphic news plan. Where to start, when to start, who to start with -- I know none of these answers.

But the reason I have such a strong desire to deliver and consumer graphic news is because it would be fun. I don't know if I would ever be known as its creator or if anyone would really care. Rather, the purpose is because it would be enjoyable. It would be a more enjoyable way of consuming the news than the regular morning broadcasts, the ink stained papers, the twitter feed.

I just want something different.

Which also sounds silly because news is always different, isn't it? It's always shape-shifting and becoming unrecognizable for a time.

I hope one day, graphic news exists, even if I am not the creator. I hope it becomes well-done, widely-used, and informative. I hope it's fair. I hope it can convey journalism in a good form. I hope it sheds light on truth and extracts details from scenes and stories that journalists don't have the time to convey and photographers don't have the will to capture.

5 things I wish I knew before...

Before I realized what I wanted to do with my life--write--I looked at news as a necessary but boring component of everyday life. I figured that when I was older, I might actually appreciate it. Until that day, though, it was just a way to bond with mom in the morning before the bus came.

When I finally realized I wanted to write, I was a senior in high school. I finally could admit to myself that science was not my foretold forte despite my family's predictions. 

I had some friends in journalism, and they seemed to really like it. Though I cared about English classes for the first time, I could never see myself rushing to deadlines, interviewing strangers, or being in a noisy newsroom. I still can't, really, and yet I'm immersed in its reality. 

There are five things I wish I knew before becoming a journalism student in college, regardless of my somewhat true ideas of what it entailed beforehand.

1) I wish I knew that journalism would only take over your life if you let it. There are plenty of journalists who do it for the love and hobby of it. There are others who want thousands of people to know their journalistic ways. Finding a middle ground is possible.

2) Talking to strangers isn't as scary as it sounds. With emails, phones, and internet, interviewing people can be fun and easy. And people love talking about themselves and their projects.

3) Journalism classes and books really will prepare you. 

4) Reading is the only way to be good at writing. That's what I learned when I read Stephen King's book on writing. That guy reads 80 novels a year. Some are on audio so that when he travels, he can listen. And almost all his books have been on the New York Time's Bestseller list. So yeah. I should probably start reading 80 novels a year. 

5) It's as hard as it looks. It's scary. It takes a great deal of time management and patience, even as a staff writer for a university paper. It's a challenge, but it has given me some of the best skills, intra- and interpersonal, that I could ask for.

*This blog idea was stolen from Corinne. 

When business and journalism merge

Last class, we had a visitor. A visitor who bought a magazine and then proceeded to teach about business. 

Now, needless to say, I am a journalist, which means I am mathematically challenged (this is not true for all journalists, but let's be honest). 

Mr. Burke came into our class and talked about accounts receivables, checks, balances, moneymoneymoney. 

I enjoyed Mr. Burke's presence. I enjoy learning things I do not understand so that I can better understand them. 

However much I wanted to learn about what Mr. Burke was teaching, it would not stick. We did not formally practice his principles of business. He talked to us, quizzed us on terms, and now all I know is how little I understand of the working world. 

If anything, Mr. Burke's presentation enlightens me of the fact that I never want to run a business. How could any one person know and do all of those things? Could I have an accountant do it? Sure. But I need to be able to check over things to make sure there are no problems, and how can I do that if I don't understand what I'm supposed to be doing?

I think next time I try to learn about business and finance, I should either be tutored from a finance major or buy a Dummies book. Otherwise, I am lost in a sea of numbers and numbness without even a hope of drowning. 

The concept of Goodwill

Goodwill, the business, is very different than the Goodwill in business.

It is not:

But rather a theory:

"Goodwill reflects a firm’s ability to retain customers based on prior performance. Essentially, if a business does a good job providing a product or service, its customers are likely to be repeat customers."

Again, I face a bit of a moral dilemma. Why is it called goodwill? I understand why the clothing Goodwill is called that. It meets a need. But goodwill within a business because it provides a dependable service...?

I guess I just don't understand. I have this mentality that businesses are more so for their own profit than for your gain. Most businesses are trying to survive, right? And not only to survive, but to really thrive in their respective economies and times. 

But to call it goodwill when customers keep coming back doesn't seem right to me. Does anyone else feel that way? 

If not, that's okay. I am not offended. If I could call it something else, I might call it just "quality services" from the business. Or returning customers. Goodwill makes it sound like they are doing something so great for the community at large, when in reality a lot of business try to change their stores around a lot, always have new products so that you feel like you absolutely have to keep coming back to get what you need. It almost creates a dependency in a spending culture. 

I don't know. I think I would just prefer it if businesses would provide high quality items at a good price, and keep those items around long enough so that customers do not feel they have to indulge in the consumerist society we have created. 

Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable

Is there even a point to accounts receivable and payable?

I don't think I understand the point. I think it's more a moral dilemma than anything, really, though.

Think about it. For accounts receivable, a customer promises to pay for the services provided. So what -- loans? Mortgages? Tabs at the bar?

And then accounts payable is when the business promises to pay the customer.

So then I wonder, why? Why do we have this system. It seems like its beyond the barter system, doesn't it? Maybe that's just my sleepy brain talking. But really, you promise to pay for something?

Is this part of the I-want-it-right-now generation? All of this business talk has just gotten me wondering why our system is so complicated. I get it -- it's hard work to run a business. It takes money to make money.

But what happened when it wasn't like this? Did systems fall? Or was is just not creating enough money? Or did things change when we went from local bartering to international trade?

I obviously don't understand the system, and I admire that it is so complex. Who thought of all this? One night, someone was laying in their bed and couldn't fall asleep. They tossed and they turned, they tossed and they turned! To overcome their sleep depravity, they came up with complex algorithms that would one day be the spine of every business in the world! After the algorithm, they had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and went to bed.

Does it just get you wondering, who invented this stuff!?

At least I can say that I have a refreshed appreciation for all of those souls who understand this practice.

Is life like a business?

Today we have a guest who will be visiting our class to speak about what it was like for him to purchase a magazine. My professor, Sandy, has given us a bunch of overview business sheets to look at it in order to prepare.

While I don't understand most of the business-jargon, I will say this: Life begins to look like a business once you've read over some of the principles Sandy sent us.

Life probably looks like a business because our lives are surrounded by business.

Even the way I conduct some of my finances (ahem, or try to...) looks like a business.

"A balance sheet reports what a business owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities) and what remains for the owners (equity) as of a certain date. This equation must always be in balance. Always keep in mind the teeter totter  illustration shown above." 

When I try to organize my bills and my finances, I set up a spreadsheet and hope everything balances out in the end. Is it the same? Of course not. A business must be exact, precise, and functioning. My finances spreadsheets can be a little bit more slack since they will never be published or used for anything. 

Oh, and if you say something like this to me: 

Equity = Assets - Liabilities

This is my face:

But a business person will understand what those words actually mean. So even though life is surrounded by business, I am so thrilled that there are smarter people out there than me who can translate those principles into the working world.

When John Herman came to visit

John Herman came to visit our class.

John Herman added something to my life, I think. Because at first, John Herman has a mature face that somehow looks young. He has brown hair without any gray flecks in it yet. And at first, when we were introducing ourselves around the classroom, I predicted that this famous John Herman guy would be bored with what we were saying. I predicted that he wouldn't really care what we were doing, whether we were listening.

To be honest, I predicted he would come to our class and lecture at us about how to be better journalists.

But then he didn't. Instead, he talked about his own life. His eyes were alive with his adventures. He turned his instruction into a story, and went through examples of how he got followers over the Internet, lost them, and then regained an audience. He explained that he's made a name for himself not because he's advertised his products. Instead, he's advertised himself apart from any product.

He's John Herman. He's an actor, writer, teacher, almost went to space, husband, father, and yet he's John Herman. Just John Herman.

Now that you know more about what I remember when I met John Herman, you can also know that I really liked listening to him. He had good stories to tell, and amidst his stories, he looked for feedback.

And he said that the college students in the room had the blankest expressions, and he just had no idea what we were thinking. The whole class laughed.

In a very sincere way, John Herman taught me a lot about himself and myself. By showing me all the things he was doing, had done, and even some of the things he wanted to do, I learned about the things I'm not willing to do and some of the things that I could maybe do but scare me.

Could I really put myself out there the same way that John Herman has? I don't know. But now I know there is a way.

Yahoo has survived with its technology

This video is from the Yahoo YouTube Channel. I find it relevant to this post because Yahoo gives hackers the chance to talk about what they're learning and possibly offer something to the company. Innovative? I think so.

Chapter 9 in Newsonomics starts with a very interesting fact: Yahoo is still going strong. Okay, I dumbed it down a little. A lot. There are huge statistics in there which I don't want to misspeak about, so I won't bother to guess, but basically, Yahoo is still strong. I consider this a pretty big feat considering we're in the digital age and Yahoo is not what everyone is talking about anymore. Sure, it seems like everyone has a yahoo email account, but compared with gmail, is it much more?

Then the Newsonomics chapter goes on to say that Yahoo survives because of its technology, not its ad-base. If my head didn't hurt before, it does now. And then, the author dares to say that 90 percent of the work in a company (again, I could be misquoting and this is not my intention -- fact check if you must!) should be carried by the technology and then the other 10 percent by the people. I dumbed down his idea a lot again, but the mere fact is that this author is sayingtechnology is what helps a company survive today. Is that not a little mind blowing? After being in several journalism classes, I was ready to believe it was advertising.

As much as I'm surprised, I'm also kind of not. Because Yahoo is trying to be innovative and one-step ahead, or at least in stride, with everyone else.

Does my project satisfy a news-need?

After feeling out my project, conducting light interviews about it, and talking to class members, my professor conducted a brief Q&A for members of the class to fill out. My professor's questions are listed as the Q's and my general thoughts are the A's. 

Question: I have read your idea and I would like to understand a little more about it. What need does this idea fill? Is this a need that you have yourself? Who would share this need?

Answer: This idea fills the need for reaching a broader audience and getting the news out to more people. As we've experienced in the digital age, journalism accompanied with photos, videos, and hyperlinks has huge success in the online community as well as in print (though hyperlinks make no sense in that context...nor do videos, for that matter). But people like to be engaged. Comic strips have always been the way to engage the biggest audience of any newspaper or magazine, at least I always thought. Of course this fills my own need, as well, because I desire to see the news in a way that interests me. I love comic books and I never have the chance to read them. I also love the news, but I hate reading it. I remember I used to read Newsweek magazine. My favorite part of that magazine were the two political cartoons wedged in the middle pages. Did I understand what I was reading? No, not always, not even half the time when I was younger. But I got more information, more understanding of how little I understood, out of those political cartoons than I ever did in the rest of its pages. 

Q: At this point you should have some idea of who the average user of your product will be. What is the profile of that person?

A: I imagine the majority of my readers would be high-school aged students all the way to the middle aged. But as you can see in my interview with my grandmother, even she would be engaged with my graphic stories. 

Q: Who wants this product that you intend to develop?

A: The people who want this product are the people who are interested in experiencing the worldly news in a new way. They are the people who use multiple senses to get immersed in stories and really retain its messages. More generally, the people who want this product are the people who want to be entertained, engaged, and immersed while they're going through the daily news.

Q: What problem or need are you satisfying for your customers? (Remember, the customers aren't necessarily the people who will be using your product. For example, television audiences aren't customers unless they pay for the product, as in HBO. The customers are advertisers.)

A: I'm satisfying the need for something new and for something engaging for anyone who subscribes to me. For advertisers, I'm presenting a new form of news that has the potential to grab a lot of interest. I imagine that a lot of readers would be engaged with the page, at first anyways, and if people are looking at the page, it's an opportunity for ads to be seen by a lot of people. 

Q: Who wants this product?

A: I think there's a general hunger for seeing the news differently (hence why Stephen Colbert and some other news-comedics are so popular). So I would say a lot of people who want a new experience, though I can't be sure right now.

Q: We all have to live. Where is the money in this product?

A: The money would come from both advertisers and subscribers. Hopefully.

Q: You are a journalist. Where is the journalism in this product?

A: The journalism is in the details of the graphics. A journalist has to pay attention to the surrounding details to make the graphics work, and then fact check with whoever is drawing the graphics. The journalism is also in the captions, descriptions, and dialogue within the graphic news, detailing carefully what information must be written and what information must be drawn.

Q: We've read that passion is key to success of a new venture. Money alone will not sustain it. So where is the passion in your product?

A: I'm just as hungry for this product as my interviewees seemed to be. Not only that, but I love comics. If I can make my news look like a comic book (except not quite), I'm going to go ape.