Classes started today. The first day of Senior Year.
Things went just fine today. Surprisingly, the shuttles weren't the clogged mess they generally are on the first few days of the semester. Classes seem like they'll be alright. I'm excited for my visual classes (Magazine Design and Information Graphics).
Today I had the lab portion of my Design class. I'm hoping that they whole class isn't as basic as today was. We did a really simple layout in InDesign; all things I've learned before. I'm banking on the lecture portion being a little more helpful.
I kind of miss writing for the paper, although I'm sure that once I get started with Info Graphics I'll be plenty busy.
The strangest part of today was walking through campus and realizing that it is possibly my last year of school. That, and most of the students were younger than me.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The importance of presenting both sides
I have been waiting to post here because I wanted my first post to be something meaningful, insightful. Definitely not a rant. But, as my time at my school's daily newspaper comes to an end, there are a few things that still sit on my chest.
Over the summer, I have worked as an education reporter. One might think that in the summer there wouldn't be much to write about in the education world - at least that is what I thought when I heard my beat assignment for the first time. However, the summer has turned out to be full of "education drama". There has been a lot to cover, including budget cuts, superintendent criticism, failing standardized test scores, and finally, the resignation (or retirement, as it is being called) of the schools superintendent.
Surprisingly, there has been a lot of breaking news type situations over the summer. When it comes to getting the news first, our goal has been to beat our across town competitor to the punch. I've slowly realized that it is maybe more than just getting the scoop. Our rival reporter is catty sometimes in the posts she makes on her blog. She is "competing" against undergraduate, student reporters and doesn't always come through first - or better. And she gets the facts wrong.
The paper she writes for enables a section for readers to respond to articles and blog posts. Today, I was tempted to leave a comment pointing out the holes in her story concerning our district's interim superintendent. Yes, the man seems to be a really great administrator and person. Yes, the community seems to be happy to see him return. Yes, he graciously took far less in salary than was offered to him. These are all facts that I believe she included in her story.
However, I believe she left out crucial information that shows that, while the man is clearly a good person, his reasons for working part-time are not truly altruistic. The man is coming out of retirement to help the district for the coming school year. In order for him to continue to recieve his pension and retirement benefits, it is mandated by the state that he work no more than part-time (550 hours over the 10 months he is contracted for).
I really feel this is information that should have been included in our competitor's article. For our article, we included this bit of information. What do you think? Is it pertinent to include that side of the decision to work part-time, or is it alright to leave it out?
Over the summer, I have worked as an education reporter. One might think that in the summer there wouldn't be much to write about in the education world - at least that is what I thought when I heard my beat assignment for the first time. However, the summer has turned out to be full of "education drama". There has been a lot to cover, including budget cuts, superintendent criticism, failing standardized test scores, and finally, the resignation (or retirement, as it is being called) of the schools superintendent.
Surprisingly, there has been a lot of breaking news type situations over the summer. When it comes to getting the news first, our goal has been to beat our across town competitor to the punch. I've slowly realized that it is maybe more than just getting the scoop. Our rival reporter is catty sometimes in the posts she makes on her blog. She is "competing" against undergraduate, student reporters and doesn't always come through first - or better. And she gets the facts wrong.
The paper she writes for enables a section for readers to respond to articles and blog posts. Today, I was tempted to leave a comment pointing out the holes in her story concerning our district's interim superintendent. Yes, the man seems to be a really great administrator and person. Yes, the community seems to be happy to see him return. Yes, he graciously took far less in salary than was offered to him. These are all facts that I believe she included in her story.
However, I believe she left out crucial information that shows that, while the man is clearly a good person, his reasons for working part-time are not truly altruistic. The man is coming out of retirement to help the district for the coming school year. In order for him to continue to recieve his pension and retirement benefits, it is mandated by the state that he work no more than part-time (550 hours over the 10 months he is contracted for).
I really feel this is information that should have been included in our competitor's article. For our article, we included this bit of information. What do you think? Is it pertinent to include that side of the decision to work part-time, or is it alright to leave it out?
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