Summer Student Advancement

Summer is just a couple of weeks away for Darton students. A lot of students take the summer off to relax and take a break from school work. However, other students use that time off from school to get a job or enhance their resumes.

Experience for the Future

Nickey Pope, a journalism student at Darton State College, is planning on working a normal job and a small career-based assignment. “I planned on just working at little knick-knack places like Ross and Home Depot and stuff like that. I applied for them; but I’m working with Mr. Perkins for the filming of graduation, so hopefully that adds a little bit of experience and I can put that on my resume.”

Nickey is also planning ahead for next year. Since she graduates next year, she wants to secure an internship. “I planned on getting an internship at Fox 31 this semester, but unfortunately they don’t do paid internships anymore. They only do college credit-based internships, so you actually have to be enrolled in college in order to have an internship there, so since I figured I found that information out, I’m just gonna do it the semester before I leave.”

Building Up Those Resumes

The main reason students get career-based jobs or internships is to make their resumes stronger. That is very important in the career world. Employers want you to have experience points and a variety of skills on your resume, so they can see the qualifications you have for a particular job. Tim Holley, the manager at Staffing People in Albany, Georgia, explains why.

“Well that’s part of the job market out there is that they’re not specific on their resumes on which positions they’re looking for; they’re just basically general. Okay, so if they’re very, very specific in having more than one resume targeting different areas than with their experience, they’ll be noticed more.”

And since the job industry is very competitive, being noticed is extremely important.

Nickey Pope understands this, which is why she is focusing more on experience from a job rather than money from a job.

“I would like both, the experience and the money, but if it’s just for the experience, money will come later, so just like while I’m in college I’m trying to get as much experience as I can get now, so I can put it on my resume so I can make it stronger when I do get in the job industry.”

Balancing School and Portfolio Distribution

Talika Postell, another journalism student at Darton State College, is putting forth a double effort this summer. She is taking on summer classes as well as putting herself out there for employers.

“Well my plans for this summer, I will be attending Darton State College for my fourth semester, so I’ll be in school finishing up and graduating this summer so I will be attending school and looking forward to branching out, getting my portfolio out to different sources, radio and television companies.”

Getting your portfolio and resume out early is a great idea. It helps your chances of getting a great career-based job right after you graduate.

A lot of students take it upon themselves to learn and work hard during the summer to get a head start on their future. If you need help figuring out how to put together a resume or if you need help finding a job, contact the Career Development Center at 229-317-6865 or visit the Center in Room 103 M of the Student Center. You can also visit the Center’s page on the Darton website to make an appointment with an advisor or search for available jobs on campus and internships.

JOUR 1111 Experience

I have thoroughly enjoyed being in the JOUR 1111 class at my college. Before I entered this semester, I really didn’t know all that much about journalism. I only knew how to take still photographs and write captions and reading passages for my high school yearbook. I helped write a few articles for the Cordele Dispatch in my town when I was a sophomore. But overall, that was it. Entering this semester, I learned so much. It was such a huge wealth of information to take in.

Despite that, I enjoyed learning about it. My instructor, Mr. Perkins, taught the class in such a modern, current way. I learned how to write like a journalist and found out I had a natural talent for it. I even learned how to use professional video equipment in another class taught by him. It’s only been about three and a half months since I started this program, but I’ve already written a lot of news stories and made a couple of video news packs.

A lot of people would be overwhelmed if they were exposed to so much new information in such a short time. I just have a natural tendency to like learning and absorb new information. I had a fun time absorbing this information because it was interesting and particularly relevant to my future. It has really enhanced my college experience. I enjoy going to school so much more because of it.

I learned that writing for a news story or for a television production is not like writing an essay. I always thought it was, but it’s really not. Instead of finding information on my own from websites and books and properly citing it in an essay, I became accustomed to using people as sources and allowing them to tell the story. I merely provide background information and lead-ins to nudge the story along. I love doing that. I love telling a story and informing everyone around me of what’s going on. When I write news stories, my ideas flow faster onto the page for me. It’s so much fun.

I also learned the aspects of being a professional journalist. I now know the requirements, the conventions, and the expectations. I think my favorite part is putting together and viewing the final product. I now know how to use Final Cut Pro to edit together my video footage into a professional looking broadcast news story. Even when I don’t do a story broadcast style, I like seeing my final copy of the script in front of me. It gives me a newfound sense of accomplishment.

All in all, this class has taught me a wealth of information about journalism. I am even more excited for a future career in journalism and writing. I have always liked to write, but I have never liked it as much as I do now. Thank you for reading!

Behind The Scenes Of “Defining Your Future”

The idea for this story started with an email. The email detailed a variety of offices that could help students achieve success at Darton State College. The one that caught my eye was the Career Development Center. I wanted to write a feature story on it that focused on students who successfully took advantage of the Center’s services. Over time, though, the idea for the story changed and evolved.

Instead of focusing merely on student success, my teacher Mr. Perkins suggested focusing on students who have used the Center overall. That way, I could put together a compilation of students who had unique experiences with the Center. The first person I turned to was Gloria Ridgeway, the director of the Center. Her contact information was in the email, so I emailed her and set an interview up.

The ten minute recorded interview was casual and relaxed. I didn’t know that she had only been director for two months until halfway through the interview. She knew so much and provided a wealth of knowledge. I used her insight to get general information about the Center for the background of my story. I also turned to her for help finding students I could interview. She suggested a resume workshop the next day, but I could not attend. Since Spring Break was the next week, I knew that contacting students would be difficult. So I turned to crowd sourcing.

I sent an email out during Spring Break to a few Facebook friends and the members of my journalism class for help. They knew no one who could help me. I was in a bind. Then I thought of a different angle to give the story: using a student who knew their pathway through life as a role model. I thought of one of my best friends, Ashley Simpson, immediately, and texted her. Just as I thought, she had her future and education planned out completely. It was perfect. I began the story with her personal story and the rest flowed from there. I made the story into an informational piece about the Career Development Center that students who were not like Ashley could read and take advantage of.

Because Gloria Ridgeway focused a lot on the Career Fair during our interview, I decided to make that a big point in my story. I even decided to incorporate a picture of the official flyer, which contains all the information students need to know. I thought that the Career Fair could be a great opportunity for students who were undecided and needed help. I also wanted to highlight it as a major service the Center offered.

The story flowed well once I knew how to write it. Ridegway’s interview was long, as you can see by the quotes. I did a lot of cutting, but a lot of the quotes had important information that I wanted her to relay to my readers. I also had to make Ashley’s texts into full sentences, which wasn’t a problem with brackets.

All in all, I liked writing this story. In fact, I like writing news stories much better than I like writing essays. They come easier to me and I like informing my readers. Thanks for reading!

I

Defining Your Future

Some students are in doubt about their future and need some guidance. The Career Development Center at Darton is here to help.

A Student Who is Ready to Go
Ashley Simpson is a student with a plan. Her future is already completely mapped out, even though she is only in her fourth semester at Darton. She plans to pursue a career with Sherwin Williams, the company for which she currently works. “My assistant [manager] will be leaving in a year or so. I’ll be done with [my] Associate [degree] and will take that position. [I will] finish my Bachelor [degree] while being assistant manager and then take on managing my own store.” Ms. Simpson is currently working on both an Associate and a Bachelor degree. Both are in Business Administration with a major in Management. She even plans on going for a Master’s degree after she graduates next spring.

Where to Start If You Aren’t Ready to Go
Unfortunately, not all students are like Ashley. Luckily, the Career Development Center is available on campus to help students figure out what they want to do for a career. “If you’re not really sure what you want to major in, you may not be sure what you have a natural interest in, we give the Meyers Briggs and the Stroms Inventory Assessments so that we can begin to match your interests with a possible major and even a possible career,” says Gloria Ridgeway, the new director of the Center.

Even if students already have a career in mind, the Center can give them information on their choice. “We can provide information to help you to understand what educational qualifications you will need, what the job will be like on a day-to-day basis, what are your opportunities for advancement, we can give you information about the salary, where there are job openings in Georgia or some of the other states, so that you have a more realistic perspective of what you can expect on the job,” says Ridgeway.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. The Center also offers such services as:
• Help with resumes
• Help with interviewing skills
• Help with folios
• Career advisement

The Center’s Way of Distributing Information
Many of these resources are offered through workshops. Workshops on interviewing skills, dressing professionally, and preparing resumes will be available to help assist students before the Center’s annual Career And Transfer Fair next month.

One of the many flyers promoting April’s Career And Transfer Fair.

“The Career Fair will be on April 22, in C266, from 10-2. And this is an annual fair for us, and we typically invite employers and representatives from other colleges and universities to come in, and they’re able to interview students on the spot, so if a student is prepared to graduate, let’s say in May, or finish everything they need by the end of July, and they know there [will] be jobs soon, we have employers here who can assist them by letting them know what opportunities are available, what qualifications are needed, where the jobs might be, that kind of thing,” says Ridgeway.

About thirteen colleges, including Georgia Southwestern and Valdosta state, will also be on hand to help students figure out their degree options based on their careers.

The Center Could be a Pathway to Your Career
Students may wonder about their chances of getting a job through the Center. Recently, employers have been interested in Darton.

“And we had one local employer called a couple weeks ago who said, before we start posting our job positions, we’d like to come over to Darton and recruit some Darton students. So they came over last week, and interviewed students. From what I understand, they had eight positions in the warehouse, they had eight positions in their call center, and before they left they made the comment that they had gotten everything they needed.”

The Center is able to connect interested employers to students and quickly secure jobs.

The Career Development Center is a place for everyone, even students like Ashley. Though she already has a resume, the Center can look over it and give her feedback. For other students, the Center can offer career guidance and job opportunities.

For more information about future workshops and the Career Fair, contact Gloria Ridgeway at gloria.ridgeway@darton.edu. For more information on the Career Development Center, visit the the Center’s home page on the Darton website. This is Kaitlyn Franzen for DSTV News.

The Issue of “He Said, She Said” Journalism

Earlier, I posted my views on objectivity. This article, When Quoting Both Sides and Leaving it There is the Riskier Call, really embodies my viewpoint. It argues that if there is evidence to make a judgment about something, you shouldn’t just leave it for the audience to figure it out. You should point out that judgment.

Essentially, it is like you’re leaving something important out of a story. It’s like a missing puzzle piece. As a journalist, you must tell a complete story so that the audience can have all of the information they need to make a sound judgment. If there is a viewpoint that needs to be brought to light, share it. It could be important to the public. It could be something that they really need to know. You are a big source of information for them. You can’t let them down by not giving them all the context they need. This leads them to not trust you. In the end, this hurts your credibility and readership.

The whole process of “he said, she said” is too common, anyway. As a journalist, you’re supposed to give your stories something that the readers haven’t read anywhere else. If you’re just reporting both sides like everybody else, there’s nothing unique about your story. Nobody will pay particular attention to what you have to say because of that.

I’m not saying that you should spew hate on the side that you think is wrong. Again, you have to be respectful. You have to logically prove your argument, while still giving the other side a chance to say its piece. In the end, the audience will always decide what they want to believe. If you add context and perspective to your story, however, the audience has more facts to lean on. They have more to base their decision on. They have all of the truth in front of them, instead of just what each argument said about each other. The audience needs as much information as possible to help them decide. That’s where you come in. That is your job as a journalist.

What is Objectivity?

Objectivity is now a topic of debate rather than a standard in journalism. Back in the day, journalists were expected to be objective all the time. But what is objectivity? I would define objectivity in terms of balance and fairness. The main sides of the argument are presented and the audience is left to decide which side is right. Each side is given equal representation without bias. The writer is expected to write without bias toward any particular side. In these current times, objectivity has turned into a big question. Should writers simply give the information? Or should they add their own perspective to give the audience something more to consider?

I am a bit on the fence about this issue. I believe that all sides should be represented fairly. More specifically, the main sides should be represented, since there could be a large variety of sides. This is a simple principle that is used in essay writing. It makes your writing stronger if you recognize the opposing side that you don’t believe in. That point brings me to my next point. I think journalists should be allowed to give the audience their perspective on the issue.

I say this because I know all journalists have a side they believe in. There is always a bias on every issue. It’s better to be open with your audience than struggle to oppress your true beliefs. It allows you to prove your side of the argument and allow the audience to have further thought on the issue. However, you must make sure that you do not step all over the other side. You have to be fair and make logical, obvious points. You have to let the audience decide for themselves what they want to believe.

For example, if there is proof that a public official is acting corruptly, the public deserves to know. It is your job as a journalist to keep the public informed of what is going on in their government. It would be wrong to just present both sides and let the audience decide which side is right. It is your job to add context to the story and provide the proof.

Essentially, a journalist’s job is to break down important information for their audience and provide them with a logical way to think about it. Providing your bias keeps you honest in the face of your audience and adds further context. At the same time, I believe journalists must be fair and balanced. They must politely acknowledge each side and not harshly put down the side they don’t believe in. Journalists are to be respectable and investigative at the same time.

The Complications of Comment Sections

I have read a lot of comment boards on a lot of different websites in my day. A big thing I have seen on all of them is negativity. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen comment boards full of positive discourse and friendly conversation. It just stands out to me when i see obscene, hateful comments directed at other people. The fact that those comments aren’t moderated or deleted bothers me.

This particular blog article, Why Comments Suck (And Some Ideas on Unsucking Them), goes over the problem of comments and how they can be corrected. The end of the post gives some very straightforward advice: if you can’t control your comments, don’t have them at all. That is exactly right, in my opinion. You can’t just create a comment board and leave it unattended. That’s how trolls, negativity, and hate take over. Before you know it, your website has lost its credibility and you don’t know where to start to fix it.

Comment sections take a lot of time to maintain in order to be successful. A lot of websites simply cannot afford to invest that time because of budget cuts and a smaller staff. It’s important that they be moderated, though. Perhaps the writer who wrote the story should keep track of the comments attached to the story and close them when a certain time period has passed. After all, the writer did do all the research over the story and knows what he or she is talking about. Essentially, he or she is in control of the information that can help facilitate and push along discussions in a civil manner. The writer can even choose not to allow comments if he or she thinks that the story will facilitate a debate that is not so friendly.

You have to be a big part of your comments section. You can’t just sit idly by and watch people go back and forth without any direction. You need to start the discussion off right and add more discussion material at different intervals. You need to reply to your commenters so that they feel connected to both you and the story. Learning to talk to them properly is also important. Have respect for what they have to say and take their opinion into account. They may have an interesting piece of information or a new source for you to use. They’ll also think more highly of you if you think highly of them, as well.

Comment boards are tricky, but the proper balance can be found if you, the creator, is involved and controls the conversation. Make sure you remove hateful comments and keep the discussion from going in a negative direction. With those things in mind, you should be good to go. Thanks for reading!

New Journalism

The Internet has changed the scope of how journalism is defined. We can no longer give a traditional definition of a journalist: someone who works for a news organization and has professional training in journalism. In fact, it is hard to even begin to describe who a journalist is. There are so many opinion, entertainment, and blog pieces out there. And a good portion of those are written by ordinary people who have no background in journalism or training whatsoever.

I personally believe journalism is anything that is fact-driven or gives the public something they want to hear. Someone sits down and writes posts, expecting people to read them. Obviously he or she does so for the public’s good. He or she thinks it is something the public wants to hear. Hence, it has to be journalism.

This brings us to the greater issue of press freedom, as discussed in A New Call to Protect Acts of Journalism.  

The Constitution mentions freedom of the press, but it does not define who the press is. There are so many regular people who witness breaking news events in person and are able to report it better than the professional journalist who was not even there. To be honest, I would rather hear reporting from a witness rather than from someone who was not there and has to use sources. It makes stories more personal and can cause the audience to pay more attention, because the reporting was done by a regular citizen just like them. That is why it is so hard to define the press and draft shield laws to protect what they say.

Professional journalists should automatically get press status, no questions asked. With witnesses, though, situations vary. For example, if the witnesses were already in the area and just happened to witness a breaking news event, they should be entitled to press freedom. They are reporting their testimony because they feel it is beneficial for the public to know what is going on. However, if people are just snooping around trying to uncover secrets and trespass, they should not be allowed press freedom. I feel like you should not have to break the law to break news to the public. It just does not seem right to me. We will see if lawmakers take that into consideration as they start delving further into the definition of the press. Thanks for reading!

The Importance of Verifying Your Tweets

We all make mistakes on Twitter: a typo here, a misspelled name there. When you’re a journalist, even a small mistake can undermine your credibility. Since the public thinks of you as the voice of what’s going on in the world, you have to be accurate, but fast. Being fast and accurate don’t always go hand-in-hand, however.

I do believe being accurate is more important than being the fastest one to break news, though. This article, Verifying Tweets When News Breaks, proves that. One mistake can have the public thinking that something tragic has happened when it actually has not. That’s why it’s important to always verify the sources you use.

The best way to do this is to make sure your sources are official. Accounts that have very few tweets and a small following are most likely not official. Look for accounts with the blue check mark next to them.They are more likely to give you accurate information. Never just rely on one source, either. You need to hear it from at least two different, unrelated sources before you decide to publish it for all to see.

You can also link to eyewitnesses or city officials for updates on an ongoing story. That’s a much better idea than telling your readers what happened straight out. If you link to another source, you’re letting your audience know that that’s what the source says about the matter.

Verifying tweets is obviously more difficult to do when it comes to breaking news. You have to remember that your credibility is on the line with everything you post. Once you post something online, it’s there forever. It may not hurt to spend a few extra minutes checking around to see if an event really happened. Sometimes lives and loved ones are involved. When Gabby Gifford was shot in the head a few years back, several news outlets pronounced her dead before a medical professional verified otherwise. Her husband saw the news and thought she was dead, when she really wasn’t. The tricky thing is balancing your audience’s feelings with your responsibility of breaking news fast. This article is really something every journalist should read and take into practice, so check it out.