Connecting Music to Media

ACRN is Ohio University’s All Campus Radio Network, but they are much more than just Internet radio. ACRN does everything from previewing local shows to reviewing albums.

ACRN focuses primarily on college rock. Their website, ACRN.com, is home not only to their online radio stream, but also their editorials. In the past ACRN has been able to gain access to many big name bands, such as Blink 182, Manchester Orchestra and Heartless Bastards. As far as feature their writing is concerned, ACRN tends to focus on the local music scene.

“We are in Athens so we need to focus on what is going on in Athens,” said Hannah Cook, managing editor of ACRN.

However, ACRN members strive to be more than just a music organization on campus.

“ACRN is about finding your voice,” said Cook. “We give students more chances to write creatively. That is why we focus on feature stories.”

“Generation Y” Logs On, Tunes Out

The latest DIY tips, celebrity gossip and newest apps are available literally at the fingertips of smart phone users. This is a generation where social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become the source of news for current events both domestic and international. In technology-infused environments from the classroom to the workplace where accessing information is easier than ever, many Americans still are tuning out important information in the media.

Americans now pay less attention to international affairs and consume less foreign news. Domestic news continues to dominate new American media. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 59 percent of Americans say they regularly watch the local news in their area. This has decreased significantly from the more than three-quarters of American who regularly watched local news in the early 1990s, but is largely unchanged from 2000.

“Our generation is so used to getting things instantly, everything is available in one click, and I think that makes us less interested in taking time to read and digest a traditional news story when we can get the gist in a 140-character tweet instead,” said Karah Finan, an OU junior studying journalism and political science.

Scripps Student Spotlight

OU broadcast student Ryan Boyd talks about his JSchool experience

It’s been written that everyone has a story. In each Inc issue, a reporter will interview and profile a J-school student, asking him or her about extracurricular involvement, past experience, and future plans.

Name: Ryan Boyd

Year: Sophomore

Sequence: News and Info Gathering (Broadcast Journalism)

Q: What programs or organizations are you involved in here at Ohio University?

A: I am an anchor for “Ohio Sports Zone” with AVW Productions. Another AVW production show I’m on is “life and adams.” I am the color commentator and writer for Ohio Hockey. Something I have that doesn’t necessarily count for Athens but for my career is I write for an NHL website called ice insiders.

Q: In your opinion, how does being involved benefit not only you as a student, but for you future career as well.

A: “Being involved is important because it gives you opportunities that classes can’t give you. I know classes are important but there are so many general requirements and classes like that, that truthfully don’t do a lot for your major. So I have the opportunity to work with other people who are interested in the same things and I get to learn first-hand how to be on TV, be on the radio those types of things; not only does it better my experience here for classes I’m going to be taking in the future but it also benefits me for the future because it’s what I plan on to be doing for the rest of my life.”

SPJ Students Learn to Utilize Journalism Apps

SPJ VP shows students how to use apps while working in the field

The Society of Professional Journalists started off their winter quarter meetings with a look into the ever-growing list of applications for smart phones and tablets that can be applied to journalism.

With technology constantly evolving and improving, it is becoming more important for journalists to see the benefits of using apps that can help them in the field.  The smart phone is starting to become the eyes and ears for those working on a breaking story.

While being stuck behind a desk is not the ideal situation for journalists trying to cover a story, smartphones like the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry have apps that now make a journalist’s daily work much easier.

App Expert and Vice President of SPJ, Emma Morehart, led this meeting by explaining some of her favorite and most useful apps. 

The Face of the JSchool

Scripps ambassadors ‘give back’ to their school

E.W. Scripps 2010-2011 ambassadors pose outside Scripps Hall last fall.

Have you ever wondered what to study or how to prepare yourself in college? Some say that asking college professors or family members can give you the right tools, but sometimes speaking to an E.W. Scripps School of Journalism student ambassador will do the trick. The ambassadors give a student’s perspective of what college life is like and are more than willing to offer advice.

This year, there are 22 JSchool ambassadors. Their majors range from magazine journalism to broadcast and news media, and some even chose a Carr Van Anda degree. No matter your journalism interest, there is an ambassador for you.

Column: Networking with a Washington, D.C. Flavor

Inc. co-editor Emma Morehart deserts “networking,” makes friends instead

Networking. Say it aloud. Taste it, really savor it. I’ll wait.

I know, you’re probably as sick of that word as I was. I used to think it tasted kind of bitter like the pink nail polish I stubbornly bit off my nails during my self-proclaimed tomboy childhood.

Networking. We journalists love it because it pads our resumes and, let’s be honest, we’re generally good at it. But we also hate networking because it feels fake and overrated. Our clips should speak for themselves, right? We’re the watchdogs. We’re the good guys! No brown-nosers need apply.

While waiting to cross the busy street in Georgetown, Morehart poses for a photo taken by her best friend and Inc. co-editor, Graylyn Roose.

Networking, networking, networking – let’s just get comfortable with it now – networking. All of the professors, alumni and guest speakers who told you to network were right (like how my mom was right about the gross nail biting habit).

A few weeks ago, I returned from an internship in Washington, D.C. I worked for the Office of Public Affairs, the communications arm of the Administrative office of the U.S. Courts. Months before, with law school in my future, I sought out internships that combined journalism and law. I had a chat with Tom Hodson, a Scripps alum and professor, who insisted I contact Richard Carelli, the Senior Public Affairs Specialist who later became my boss. After working for the Associated Press, getting his law degree, and taking a job with the courts, Carelli became one of E.W Scripps School of Journalism’s Distinguished Alumni.

For three months, I lived in D.C. with Kevin Zieber, a Scripps journalism grad, and Ryan Ford, another Scripps college alum. By the end of the internship, I had made more new Bobcat friends in D.C., many of them former Scripps kids, than I would have if I had stayed on campus for fall quarter. And I emphasize the word “friends.”

Column: Scripps Students Face the World Head On

Senior year is a busy time for every Scripps student. After almost four years of newswriting classes, unpaid internships, and lectures from our parents about the real world, it’s time for us to try it out for ourselves. The long holiday break is over and final tuition payments are coming due. It finally feels like the beginning of the end of college. It’s enough to make us want to sign up for another year … or three.

Last quarter I was lucky enough to get a taste of the real world a little bit early. Like many Scripps students, I took a quarter off for an internship. The change to intern with NBC’s Today Show in New York City was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was gone all fall quarter, getting accustomed to both the brand new task of living in America’s biggest city and working for a national morning news program.

For college students in general, the thought of working in the so-called “real world” is intimidating. It feels like a big change. Even though we work hard in our classes and strive to learn more in our extracurriculars, nobody really knows what to expect. The 6 a.m.’s seem daunting, a stark contrast to the 11 a.m. or noon starting times we’ve been able to schedule as upperclassmen.

But if the experience I had last quarter is any indication, there’s good news for Scripps students: we’re far more ready than we think we are. Working with shining stars in the field (like former OU student) Matt Lauer and Ann Curry, it was hard not to feel a little intimidated at first. I had experience internships beforehand, but never on a national scale.

I was smart to brace myself; they kept our schedules packed. No busy work for us. The other interns and I accompanied reporters and producers on local shoots, answered wacky calls from viewers at the front desk, and logged hours of tape. We came early and stayed late, learning firsthand about the time demands required in the news business. We were all lucky enough to spend at least two early mornings a week in the control room, running errands and watching the senior producers coordinate a four-hour show. I can’t say I got much sleep during my time in Manhattan, but I’m not sorry about it. It was the best way to learn.

Intern veterans pass on advice

Kayla Hanley, Reporter

Ohio University’s Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) is back at it again with their many meetings to better prepare Scripps students in their journey through journalism.

Last Tuesday, SPJ held an internship panel consisting of five current Ohio University Scripps School students. The panelists were Catherine Caldwell, Wesley Lowery, Sarah Grothjan, Nadine Ajaka, and Graylyn Roose.

The panel provided an opportunity for the students to hear the trials and tribulations of interning within the journalism field.

Panelists Catherine Caldwell, Wesley Lowery and Sarah Grothjan share their experiences.

Catherine Caldwell recently interned at Marie Claire Magazine in New York City this past summer and the way she said she heard about the job was by googling “internships in New York City.”

“I never thought I’d be interested in beauty,” Caldwell said,” “but what I found interesting was how a magazine process works.”

Caldwell said she preformed a variety of tasks, whether it was walking around Manhattan in her heels to different stores, or writing pieces for the magazine. She was focused on the Public Relations aspect of the magazine, but broadened her views by helping out in every department.

“I didn’t get to do as much writing as I had hoped, but I did gain a lot more contacts through each department I took part in,”said Caldwell.

Wesley Lowery had a similar experience in his internship this past summer in New York City while working at The Wall Street Journal.

“I started writing for real estate and then ended up in politics,” Lowery said. “You honestly have to take what you can get.”

Lowery  said he was lucky that he got to do more hands on experience in NYC, along with his previous internships, which have included the Columbus Dispatch and Detroit News.

Lowery said, “I really had to be open-minded about the different topics I was writing for that I had not one clue how or what to write about. If you don’t know how to do something, ask for help and an explanation.”

Sarah Grothjan recently finished an internship this past summer in Las Angeles for an online entertainment news source called Celebuzz.

Grothjan spoke of very strong organizational skills she had to obtain for her internship by keeping her resume and cover letters up to date.

“With my previous internships I made sure my resume and cover letter complied with the other. I even had similar letterheads for each one,” Grotjhan said.

All three panelists agreed that a strong cover letter is what you need for any internship.

Journalism   students want to have the experience of an internship to better shape their future after college, but once students are in the process of the job there are a few ups and downs along the way.

“If you’re finding yourself sitting around, go to other departments and ask if there is anything you can do to help,” Caldwell said. This is a high profile way to gain contacts with other employers so you can make them aware of what you can do.

They key thing the panelists said interns shouldn’t do is to sit down and log onto Facebook.

“It really is the worst option you could do,” Grothjan said “Employers will see you do it, but not say anything because in their mind then they are thinking ‘oh they’re only here for a month’.”

The panelists’ helpful advice allowed attendees to leave with some sense of direction and key insight concerning their employment futures.

Journalism internships serve key role in the job search

Story // Nick Robbe, Contributing Writer

With internships being one of the cornerstones of the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, students are required to have an advisor-approved internship to graduate. Graduate student Molly Yanity describes her experiences from internships and talks about the characteristics of an internship and what students can expect.

What is one aspect of an internship that you looked for when selecting where to apply?
I wanted to get published. Getting by-lines was [the] biggest goal of internships. I did a lot of unpaid internships. I did some that were no hours in the newsroom, but they are going to throw a couple assignments to you here and there. I had two paid internships in college.

One was the summer after my freshman year, and I actually worked for the [San Diego] Padres, but I wasn’t getting bylines. I was interviewing broadcasters. I just wanted to be around things there, and I did get paid for that.

After my senior year, I had a paid internship with the San Diego Union-Tribune. [It] wasn’t in sports, but I got stuff published all the time. In between that, I had a lot of unpaid internships, and that’s hard, but I wouldn’t change any of it because I got to do some PR, straight-up reporting, was in newsrooms— [I] kind of got the full mix. With the way things are right now, I would suggest to students that they go somewhere, paid or unpaid, and where they can not only get bylines but go through the online journalism process.

A student has the internship. Now what can they expect?
It really depends. At the Union-Tribune I had one editor who just did not like my style at all. He told me I wasn’t going to make it. I was upset for a little bit.

There was another editor, who said, “This is the guy who is going to edit your stuff. You are going to have to work to what he wants….adapt.” And that’s one of the qualities you have to have.

I would be prepared to do nothing but work; that’s why you are there. To make the most out of it, you’re going to need to do what they tell you, and I would suggest going above and beyond. I think where students need to go above and beyond is in the online realm. Pitch to an editor something unique that only you as the college intern can do.

Paid or unpaid, does it matter when it comes to the experience?
It is always better to be paid, but I’ve taken internships that were unpaid and got way more bylines out of it. The one out in San Diego was really frustrating for me, but it also helped me get my first job.

You can only do what you can do. If you have to have a job and make money, then your internship is going to be put on the back burner because you have to make the money. You have to find a balance.

Is it typical to be offered a job where you had an internship?
I think if you do a good job, it is. I think if Vince Nairn, the sports editor of The Post, didn’t have to go back to school, he would be working where he interned. I think it’s a great thing, you already know the people, the audience knows you, that’s a great thing. I wouldn’t say its typical, because it seems like right now newspapers hiring is atypical. I think it’s (interning) is a great stepping stone for sure.