Late night rambling – I can’t sleep.
Hours ago, I participated in my first #journchat on Twitter, where journalists, PR folks and bloggers all start hashtagging like crazy to talk about everything from the public’s view of journalism to how PR people can change journalists’ views of them. I never had a chance to do it when it started a few months ago, because it was on Monday nights, the same night the Sagebrush would go to print.
So after reading this post on 10,000 Words, I decided to make a word cloud for the Reynolds School of Journalism.
Here’s the result:
Gives some insight on what they emphasize. Always room for improvement, I s’pose.
I used course descriptions for the undergrad classes at RSJ to create the above on wordle.net, if you want to make your own.
Love this holiday. Hopefully, several pictures from last night’s cookie-making adventure will eventually be uploaded.
Until then….
Once I’m over being mad at everything, I plan on being productive.
Really.
1) More internship applications. As per last blog post, you can see my success rate is nonexistent. Thus, I will need to apply to more internships to up my chances of actually working this summer vs. being a bum and avoiding my parents’ house by staying in Reno.
2) Switch blog over to WordPress.
3) Work out the whole “covering state legislature” thing with j-school and Sagebrush.
– Washington Post
– Orlando Sentinel
– St. Petersburg Times
– Buffalo News
– Star Tribune (where I was only known as “Internship candidate)
– San Jose Mercury News (which titled its e-mail “FW: Intern Rejection Notice”)
– Boston Globe
– Denver Post
– Gazette (Colorado Springs)
List will be updated as more letters arrive.
Well, I guess it’s official now.
I feel so weird. Not good, not bad…just weird.
So there’s this contest I’ve decided to enter since it’s something I think about constantly: the “I Am the Future of Journalism” contest, being put on by Publish2.
The way it works is that you submit an entry where you can write text, create a video and a slideshow to convince people out there that you are the future of journalism. Then others get to decide if you made your point by voting for you.
It’s kind of interesting, because the person who wins gets a job with the company. That’s one way of doing it, right?
I doubt I’ll win or even make it the final 10 entries. After all, I’m one of hundreds of journalists, and all of these journalists have similar ideas.
But I figure I’ve got nothing to lose.
– Finish ethics paper and response. Due ASAP.
– Write two English papers (or one big one) on Emily Dickinson. Maybe one big’s the way to go. Less research. Due Monday.
– Write interpretive piece on budget cuts. Due Friday.
– Study for Econ midterm on Monday.
– Figure out when I am driving home.
– Clean car.
– Clean room.
– Pay bills.
It’s funny how quickly the word spreads.
During the last few days, people stopped me on the stairs, professors approached me before class and one person even got down on his knees at the state legislature and begged me not to leave.
And what would compel people to do this? Because I decided that I need a break from the Sagebrush.
Who knew people cared about what I did with my time?
The title of this blog, “Journalistic Rants and Raves,” has never actually lived up to its name.
But after recent decisions have changed the trajectory of my path (at least for a while), I will, as of this coming Monday, have more free time on my hands. In other words, I decided to take a temporary leave from the Sagebrush. And in even simpler terms, I quit.
This decision will be fully explained in a later blog post…I’m going to be good and stick to the title: blogging about journalism.
With the Sagebrush out of the picture for a while, I’m going to have a lot more time to figure out why I’m going into this business, and I plan on sharing those thoughts with the world – or rather, the two or so people who read this blog.
