Journalism is magical... Or not.

So, I am admittedly still new to writing journalistic writing and somehow I used to view it as something like this:

For the longest time, I thought of journalism as something magical and super easy, but guess what? It's not. I can't have a pad of paper that writes notes for me or moving pictures on the cover of my paper.  I guess blogging is a little bit like the Daily Prophet (gifs are super cool, right?).  However, this is sadly not Hogwarts and I'm not Rita Skeeter (I guess that's a good thing...).

In reality, it's a little more like this:

I've noticed that deadlines are far more strict and call for quite a bit more effort than what I'm used to writing (fiction, poetry, and research papers), but I am thoroughly enjoying it.  I love the challenge.  I think that once I write a story and see my hard work on paper, I'll feel much better.  I am really excited about the topic I'm writing about right now (Allied Whale at COA and their winter efforts) and have come up with two awesome possible topics for other stories in the coming weeks.  And, as I write, I just received an email confirming an interview for my article that I'd been a little nervous not getting... So, yay! (I almost put another gif in, but perhaps that would be too much? I'm thinking yes.)

So, basically, I'm loving this class and this new writing style, despite the workload.  It's a stretch as a writer and it's super fun.

Interviewing a Friend: Bad Idea?

This weekend I was given the opportunity to see an old friend who I haven't seen in quite some time.  I got to interview her about a performing arts trip to China that we were both on in 2010.  I was a little skeptical about interviewing a friend (and especially about something that I had been involved in, as well).  However, with all that aside, I discovered a different side of the trip.  She saw different things and had a completely different experience than me.

It is challenging interviewing a friend, though.  It's difficult to put that friendship aside and learn about her experiences on the trip to China.  It's difficult to not to start a longer conversations about things that aren't relevant to the interview.  We got past this and were able to have a normal interview as if I didn't know anything about the trip or the program we went with.  I'm glad I was able to interview her; it was fascinating and good practice for when I interview someone I don't know.  I think that will be somewhat easier to interview someone I don't know.  There won't be any interruptions and I think I would be more confident in what I'm doing that way.

Of course, by interviewing someone about something you've experience as well could seem pretty biased, right?  Or maybe the interview never happened?  Well, my friends, I am here to assure you that the interview really did happen and most of the information in the article came directly from her.  I certainly learned the lesson to not interview someone about something you've done, as it's difficult to separate your own views and thoughts from hers.

Here, have a picture of two awkward high school freshmen after a performance in China:

(Anna and me, circa 2010)

I believe in equality.

I tend to follow a lot of blogs that are empowering for women and focus on equality.  My two favorite blogs of the moment are Feministing and Project Unbreakable.

Feministing is a blog that posts news entries regarding feminism.  Most of the posts are written by professional journalists, but there is a section where anyone can submit posts.  The posts can be about anything from cultural and political issues to humor, music, and great quotations from celebrities like this awesome one from Beyonce:

“We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.” (link)

Feministing is very empowering and is a fantastic way to stay updated on news involving women's rights.

Project Unbreakable is a more serious blog. 

"The mission of Project Unbreakable is to increase awareness of the issues surrounding sexual assault and encourage the act of healing through art. Since the project's conception in October 2011 by then nineteen year old Grace Brown, it has featured over two thousand images of sexual assault survivors holding posters with quotes from their attackers." (link)  

The photos are so beautiful and show that though these men and women have been through such a terrible experience, they have survived.  It is so sad that these people endured this.