Volume 3, Winter Quarter, Issue 3

Internships News Commentary

Scripps Student Spotlight

Internship Listings

All Campus Radio News

Magazine major and IIJ ambassador takes this weeks Spotlight.

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Check out our weekly list of media opportunities around the country.
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ACRN members talk internships, friends and finding your niche.

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Generation Y Logs On, Tunes Out

Kaylyn Hlavaty n Reporter

he 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 studycont. on Page 3

OU students pose with their Mark of Excellence awards during the 2011 regional SPJ convention. Mark of Excellence winners are announced at the annual banquet.

Opportunity for Excellence

Students invited to submit media work
he Ohio University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has been given the opportunity to submit entries to the Mark of Excellence awards free of charge. Each student who is an SPJ member can submit two entries of their work and they will be reimbursed by the JSchool for the entry fee. The Mark of Excellence awards are given annually by SPJs national chapter to honor the best in student journalism. The awards offer categories for print, radio, television and online collegiate media. Entries are first judged at the regional level. Next, first place regional winners advance to the national competition and are recognized at the SPJ spring conferences. Mark of Excellence submissions are

Kayla Hanley n Reporter

due tomorrow evening, January 25, by midnight. This is the first year that the JSchool is paying these fees. OU SPJ President Taylor Mirfendereski brought this to attention. Every year we never have a turnout of entries like we should with how nationally known our program is, said Mirfendereski. SPJ always has winners every year and we understand that money is an issue for college students. So by being allowed to have two entries paid for, students are given a tangible benefit. Professor Robert Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, agreed on the terms Mirfendereski spoke of. It helps us, as a school, to have a nacont. on Page 2

A New Brand of Journalism

SPJ Workshop teaches student journalists importance of online branding
The age of journalism has gone digital at least according to Ohio University student Sarah Grothjan, who indicates that students must find a way to brand themselves online, or they take the risk

ScrippsTips
Media Error, Accuracy and The Craft of Verification Hosted by OUSPJ Tuesday 5 p.m. Scripps 114 after

Rachel Sayers n Reporter

Grothjan demonstrates the basics of coding.

of going unnoticed. Grothjan, a junior Carr Van Anda major and Society of Professional Journalists publicity chair, led an SPJ workshop Monday highlighting the importance of creating an online personal presence. Everyone should at least buy their own domain, Grothjan advises. Even if they dont use it right now, theyll want access to it in the future, if only for SEO [Search Engine Optimization] purposes. Her audience, a mixture of JSchool students from different sequences, listened intently as Grothjan guided them through the steps of creating a web page, designing the format and eventually getting it published. The first step, according to Grothjan, is to learn how to write basic HTML code. She suggested using a program such as Adobe Dreamweaver while learning the basics of code writing. The lines of code from Grothjans demo web page presented a challenge to the audience. HTML basics can seem daunting to a beginning web designer. Grothjan started from the beginning and began explaining things in a fundamental manner. I realized that I thought I knew a lot more than I actually did, said Heather Farr, a senior majoring in public reladollars for SPJ members and 18 for non-members. However, the JSchool will only reimburse a student if he or she is an SPJ member. First place regional winners advance to the national competition and are recognized at SPJ spring conferences. For the JSchool, regional winners are invited to the spring banquet and given a free ticket. Once their entries are judged nationally, the JSchool will give those national winners a $100 check. Our organization is the most known

tions. But watching [Grothjan] explain the basics, I know I have a long way to go. The workshop, which lasted approximately an hour, went on to show participants a few of the most rudimentary elements of web design. These included inserting text, displaying photos and adding tabs to the webpage. Throughout her speech, Grothjan stressed the importance of organization while creating a design. You must label everything correctly, she said. Its very easy to get lost if you dont add [titles] to everything. At the conclusion of her presentation, Grothjan stated the importance of learning everything you can about web design, pointing to the growing onlinebased industry as confirmation. The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism is well aware of these trends. They currently offer two courses on web design: VICO 361 and VICO 462. The classes teach students the ins and outs of creating and designing webpages, as well as how to manage them once they are up and running. Not a lot of students know these sorts of skills, Farr said. It makes me feel as if I have an edge on the competition. Ill definitely be trying to learn more. v organization throughout the journalism world. By applying for this award you are not just a member of SPJ but a worldwide known journalist for however far your entries go, Mirfendereski said. Your potential employer will know that you were given this award and did the best that you could and they will appreciate that. Last year, 59 individuals and teams won nationally out of the 4,000 entries received. If you win you stand out more, Mirfendereski said. v

cont. from Page 1 tional visibility goal, Stewart said. Being able to subsidize the entry process is a way of increasing submissions as well as a way of telling students, You should join SPJ. The first step in applying for the Mark of Excellence awards is to become a member of SPJ. A student can do so online at spj.org and pay dues to the national chapter as well as OUs $10 chapter dues. The Mark of Excellence submission takes place at the same website. Students can also submit a mail-in entry. The cost is nine

INC. Volume 3 Winter Quarter, Issue 3

cont. from Page 1 -ing journalism and political science. America is involved with many countries because of trade, foreign allies or war, but people focusing on their own agenda tune out foreign news. According to a 2004 Columbia University Survey called Americans Are Tuning Out the World, American newspapers print less foreign news now than in the 1980s. Foreign issues are focused on war and terrorism, but the number of news stories about these issues is not rising. world are important to the lives, families and job prospects of Americans. The sheer amount of information in our lives is going up and up, so people are so overwhelmed that they self-select and will engage in some sort of social network and ignore other, said Marc Scarcelli, OU professor of international relations. Social networking and media can be used to exchange information in an efficient and timely manner. Social media is ideal for breaking news events and uploading the story in a matter of minutes. Sites like Twitter Social media and foreign news College students are more in tune allow people to share ideas or opinwith social media networks such as ions about topics in their community Twitter and Facebook. However, this or school. Blogs are also useful because they does not mean that their news consumption is more frequent. Interna- directly connect the audience to the tional affairs are interconnected with source. A columnist can post a stoour daily lives even if many students ry or commentary on a blog and the do not think this news pertains to reader can ask questions or provide their own opinthem. ion. I think Our generation is so used But social our generation to getting things instantly, media can also doesnt pay atteneverything is available in one have a detrition to the news click, and I think that makes us mental effect because its borless interested in taking time to on how people ing. News proread and digest a traditional receive news grams dont make news story when we can get or find it. With watching the news the gist in a 140-character the amount of appealing to the Tweet instead. blogs, webaudience, said sites, comMaggie Camp KARAH FINAN, junior mentary and bell, an OU junior online forums, studying commuanyone can put nications. There are many resources where out news and there are some people people can receive news. Media out- who think that information is accurate lets such as NBC, The New York and not biased. However, media will always be Times and CNN all have websites and apps for smartphones. The question is exchanged in a public forum. It is why students dont take the time to up to the audience to decide what to read a headline or watch a clip from a read and believe as accurate, recent news story. There is a cost for knowl- information. Despite the resources of edge, like the time and energy to ab- social media sites and the availability of news, Americans still remain censorb it and use it. The Millennial generation has tered around issues directly affecting spent much of its educational career them. There is still plenty of a spoiled during a time of war. Some say that students have become desensitized to and disconnected, apathetic, uninterested important issues such as war, poverty trend in our society, but there is also that or environmental concerns. One way counter movement of there is a lot more to get involved in domestic and glob- going on in our world than I want to unal news is understanding how things derstand, said Scarcelli.v that happen on the other side of the

Q&A Spotlight
Name: Morgan Sigrist Year: Sophomore Major: Magazine Journalism Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio What organizations/publications are you involved with? Students for Global Media and Diversity and I blog for the culture section of The Post. I am also an International Institute of Journalism ambassador. Favorite thing about Scripps? IIJ because I get the opportunity to meet people in my field. What is your dream job? International Correspondant for National Geographic or CNN. If you could report in any country what would it be? South Africa, so that I can study and report on human trafficking. Favorite news outlet and why? CNN or National Geographic because their reporting is the least biased to me and I feel like they are very well respected for the work that they do. What advice would you give to an aspiring journalist? Find what facet of journalism you like to do, and then find a club that tailors to your sequence. Get involved!

INC. Volume 3 Winter Quarter, Issue 3

Connecting Music to Media

Jimmy Roller n Reporter
ACRN is Ohio Universitys All Campus Radio Network, but they are much more than just Internet radio. ACRN does everything from previewing local shows to reviewing albums. 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. In their feature writing, 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. For those looking to get involved in music journalism, ACRN offers much more than practical experience. I could not learn how to be a music journalist in the classroom, said Blogs Editor Cassie Whitt. This is why ACRN tries to connect students with internship opportunities, Cook said. ACRN has kept a close relationship with OU alumni like Jillian Mapes, an editorial assistant at Billboard. Melissa Burant, the ACRN copy chief, was able to get two internships based on the work she has done with ACRN. Most of all, Cook, Whitt and Burant all said they valued the personal and professional atmosphere of the organization. In addition to their daily radio programs, ACRN hosts free events for the local and university public. At 10 p.m. on January 26, the Smiling Skull Saloon will convert into ACRNs Rock N Roll Bingo night. Just before Valentines day, ACRN members will auction themselves off at the Date Auction on February 10. ACRN also invited bands like the She Bears, The Kyle Sowashes, and Scubadog. All the proceeds from this event go toward ACRNs marquee event Lobster Fest, a free music festival that is open to all and held every spring. v

Internship Listings
All Sequences:
Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) Journalism Internship Program Various Locations http://www.theihs.org/ihs-journalism-internship-program

Broadcast
National Public Radio (NPR) Washington, D.C. http://www.npr.org/about/careers/internships.html

Multimedia
Huffington Post Small Business Intern at AOL/Huffington Post New York, New York caitlin.geraghty@teamaol.com

Public Relations

Hanna Lee Communications New York, New York http://www.npr.org/about/careers/internships.html

Calling all web editors!

Inc. wants to help you be a leader in the online journalism industry. Join the Inc. web team to fine tune your online skills and work with a group of committed JSchoolers just like you. Contact Graylyn and Emma at ou.spj.inc@gmail.com for more information!

INC Staff

Co-editors Emma Morehart Graylyn Roose

Copy Chief Amanda Lavelle Copy Assistant Kayla Hanley

PR Chief Heather Wilson Design Adam Liebendorfer