The consensus on presenting the news in graphics

The goal of the week was to ask three people what they thought of my project idea.

Interview 1:
I presented the idea first and foremost to Steve. Steve is an electrical engineer major at my school. He loves reading textbooks and informational brochures, he loves to look at maps, and anything with pictures and diagrams.

This is the sort of diagram that Steve looks at on a daily basis. Courtesy photo.

The news in graphics

My idea for my semester project is to present news stories in the same format as a graphic novel.

Basically, I want to present certain news stories in the format of a comic book, where the story is told through captions, dialogue, and well-drawn pictures with details. The stories will vary in length. The iconic, recurring figure will be a made-up reporter who goes into the scenes and has dialogue with the people involved. As Eli suggested in class, I could have one news story a week that can be drawn in this graphic format, and at the end of a year, I could publish an anthology of all the graphic news stories.

Chapter 11 in "Newsenomics"

Reading Newsonomics is both refreshing and sad. The beginning of chapter 11 discusses ways that journalism teachers are trying to prepare students for the outside world.

A possible project about endangered species

When I started my entrepreneurial journalism class, I was told I would have to do a project at some point in the semester.

As of right now, I still don't know my parameters or what I want to do.

This is kind of what my brain looks like.

So anyway, I was contemplating all the things that I really have a passion for. I love wolves. There are many reasons why I love wolves so much, but how to turn that passion into a project is the question I am after!

I think I could maybe do research and compile a list of endangered species and then track one for a year at a time (obviously this is hypothetical). Then I would move onto another endangered species and write about them for a year, gathering information about how they hunt, what they eat. The goal would not be to stalk these animals, but to collect data that's already been gathered and compile it into easy-to-read articles that are both informative and important.

I know it would be somewhat successful because there is at least one human that adores one type of every animal out there, right?

Maybe it's a romantic thought. I don't know. 

But I think it would be a cool project. Or just talk to wolf-specialists and find out what has been going on in the different wolf-populations across the world. I know there is a place in Massachusetts called Wolf Hollow. I went there once. They fed the wolves cheese. It was cute. 

Or maybe I could research different zoos and find out what they do to try to help endangered animals. Or I could compile a list of extinct species that no one really talks about anymore and gather the true information about why they went extinct. Doesn't anyone still care about the sad mammoth?

The disconnect and the out-of-date

If there's one thing I've noticed about journalism lately, it is the general disconnect there can be between institutions.

What do I mean by that?

Well, here's an example. I was doing a story about the revamped transit system on the UNH campus. When I clicked on the UNH Mobile application on my smartphone, there is a news section. Available under the news module are three news sources.

Under the 'news' module on the UNH Mobile app.

Entrepreneur Spotlight: Karen Larson

Karen Larson is the owner of The Candy Bar in downtown Durham, N.H. She hasn't had the business too long, but already she has a strong customer base. The store is filled with old and new music tracks, like songs from the Earth, Wind, and Fire CD as well as Backstreet Boys. Bright colors decorate the walls. The small space holds high-end chocolates, organic items, gluten free options, and cheaper candies for children, as well as old-time favorites. In the middle of our interview, Karen was dipping bacon into chocolate and making candy-apples. Customers kept coming in, and she gave each one her undivided attention.

The Candy Bar's logo.

Michele's Culinary Creations

My best friend's mom has started several personal businesses. She was reluctant to interview because none of her businesses have lasted very long (she's a stay at home mom with four children). I've seen her in action, though, and the woman knows what it takes to get a business going.

I emailed her, called her twice, and emailed her again. After a busy weekend, she was able to email me back (the phone was dead).

So, rather than try to sum up her story, I will transcribe her email below because her explanation is impeccable.