TKleiner @ WJMC

I’ve been so tired that I’ve fallen behind in keeping up with my blog! I still want to write about my experiences from everyday though… here are my thoughts on Tuesday!

Tuesday:

     I thought that the panel at the National Press Club was very informative, yet still entertaining…but what was up with that man on his phone the whole time? I hope there was some major breaking news and that he wasn’t just playing Bejewled! I wouldn’t look to him for “proper business ettiquete!”

      I really enjoyed the opening remarks from the President of the National Press Club. It is always encourage to dee women in such prestigious roles. I plan on reading “Women on the Balcony,” the book she reccommended about how women’s rights and eqaulities have changed.

     Aside from the rude, cell-phone obsessed man, I really appreciated everyone on the panel at the NPC. The two biggest pieces of advice that I got from the panel were to become an expert on something and have your own “niche” in journalism, and INTERN INTERN INTERN! I’m not sure what type of journalism I want to go into, but I know that I love books and reading, maybe I could become a journalist the reports on the newest books, I could reveiw them, and the processes it took to write them. I never saw myself as a political journalist, but through my experience in the National Forensics League debating about many federal issues, and my experiences this week, I think that political journalism could be a good match for me. I think that their advice to “INTERN INTERN INTERN!” is very valuable, I have tried to get myself out there, writing for The Carroll County Times, and hosting a show on CETV 21, as much as possible.

      The group session after The Smithsonian Museums was really great! I love my “faculty member,” Amy, the kids she teaches are very lucky to have her! I learned about how I can become “accessible” to readers. It is important, in some way, to make your report relate back to “the people.” The most important thing in journalism is to answer the question, “so what?” If your issue or story doesn’t, in some way, relate back to people THROW IT OUT! In the group session, besides accessibility, we also talked about gaining a following. The path,  my interpretation of it atleast, that journalist should follow is to establish a routine, build a following, then stretch the limits. I think that that particular piece of advice will put me above the rest!

       After the group session, and dinner, we got to choose a speaker at the concurrent sessions. I choose Wendy Grossman, and I’m so glad I did! She talked to us about the differences between magazine reporting and newspaper reporting. I learned that magazine articles have to strive to find a differnt angle of a story because by the time a story is printed in a magazine it is usually “old news.” She also talked to us about the ins and outs of freelance journalism, something I’m very interested in. I also really loved hearing about all the celebrities she has met… I admit it, I am a celebrity gossip junkie!

      Tuesday was such a great day, and today was even better! Hopefully I can get fully caught up with my blogging when we have time to prepare for the “gala” tomorrow!

Can’t wait to sleep in until 7:30 tomorrow!