Final Entry

As the semester winds down, we all get anxious to just finish off the year and start something fresh. Christmas is approaching and we all wander aimlessly around the newsroom wondering what to buy our significant others, parents, and so on. We think about making plans for the New Year and what new resolution we can come up with. School seems to be the furthest thing from our minds.

Sweat and Convergence have all come to an end and it seems as though we are all looking forward to putting magazine behind us and getting ready to enter the world of newspaper and weekly deadlines. I know for myself I will be looking forward into entering the realm of broadcast as I make the transition to the other side, bidding adieu to my print buddies.

Then I think about final grades coming in and choosing my elective for next semester. This semester I obviously opted to take independent media, not truly knowing nor understanding what the class was about. I later found out that we never needed to attend class we just needed to post a weekly blog. A piece of cake I thought!

Definitely not. Not having a teacher to remind you weekly that something was due, seemed to be a daunting challenge for myself. I would always remember that I needed to write something on Tuesday afternoon and I would rush home from work to make sure that I got to a computer on time.

I found it most difficult to come up with something interesting to say or something worthwhile reading. I can only hope that some of my experiences could help others grasp the idea of what it is like to work full time go to school full time and work on a magazine and or internship.

Unfortunately this semester I was not able to do an internship, so I opted to work full time and go to school and worry about it next semester. That next semester snuck up on me all too quickly. Now I find myself looking at different media outlets, drafting my resume package together and sending off my resume.

One way this class really helped me was that I got to read my fellow classmates entries and read up on some of their experiences at their internships and how they handled going to school, sometimes working and doing an internship. I found out what worked and what didn't and best of all they are all people I can put a face to.

My idea of blogging hasn't changed. I still regard it as a way to express yourself freely. I regard it more so as an online diary. Something people can read and understand more of what kind of person I am and read about my thoughts on certain issues.

Maybe the fact that I don't see blogging as a form of journalism and I used it as an online diary did not attract readers to look at it. Does it bother me? Not at all, I will use this blogging experience as a way to reflect on this past semester.

Throughout my blog entries I never attached any pictures, and only attached a few links. None of the entries had relevant pictures to go along with it, and this one is no different. But because our final entry requires some sort of picture to go along with it. I am attaching pictures of recent vacations I have been on. One to New York City, where I visited Ground Zero and one to Cuba. I attach the picture at Ground Zero because since the events of September 11th, I think that the media took a turn for the worse, scaring the public into thinking that under every stone lay a terrorist. I attach the pictures of Cuba, because as much as I love Fidel Castro, I do not agree that he does not allow for free press in his country. Something I think my fellow classmates would love to open a debate on.

To everyone else who decides to take a gander at my entries, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and HAPPY READING!

Rosanna

The Joy of Chirstmas Shopping and Growing Up

I will start off this entry by talking about something that is not journalism related whatsoever. It's more so just food for thought.

This year I decided to get a part time job at my favourite store, Aritzia. I wanted this job for a number of reasons but have realized in the last month since I have been employed there, that I can no longer succumb to working retail, part time jobs, even if it means getting a great discount. I realized that I was ready after graduation this year to get into the "real world" and into the workforce. The fact that I work at the Yorkdale location could add to my realization.

Yorkdale during the year is crazy. Parking is almost impossible to achieve. Christmas is just utter mayhem. This newly renovated mall, turns into a free for all. It gets intense. You see the stress on parent's faces to get their daughter the newest TNA bag. They often say, "Oh my god, my daughter is going to tweak if she doesn't get that bag." Hundreds and I literally mean hundreds of bags get shipped to the store in order to avoid any daughter from "tweaking."

I ask myself whatever happened to the true meaning of Christmas?

The other part of my blog entry also deals with growing up. At almost 24 years old I am just getting my first wisdom tooth on the lower left side of my mouth. It's excruciating pain I cannot handle and if it doesn't stop throbbing, than I am going to tweak!

The College of Sports Media

The College of Sports Media will launch their first classes sometime in February 2008. The new concept college offers a certificate in sports broadcasting...summed up in a few words...my dream college. The college offers a two year program specializing in specifically broadcasting for sports, writing for sports, doing radio for sports and commentating. Unfortunately the price to go to this college is quite hefty, $17 000.

Because it is a new college they are not yet recognized by OSAP. This situation leaves me with a dilemma. How do I come up with $17 000 to pursue my dream? Ever since I discovered that journalism was the career for me, I have imagined and frivolously dreamt about the day that I could become a sports broadcaster. To sit on Raptors TV would be my first choice. I would love to one day sit next to Chuck and banter about our favourite basketball team.

But again, unless I rob a bank sometime soon or win the lottery, where will I come up with that kind of money? I know this much, I am not giving up on my dream.

check out my dream college:

www.collegeofsportsmedia.com

It all comes to a Sweaty End

This year's Sweat Magazine in my opinion is like no other. On Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to see our magazine printed in rough but in colour. It looked absolutely amazing.

The brilliant art director, Simon Yau, with the help of Val Maloney, single handily created a masterpiece. He taught himself and others in the class In Design and mastered the program quickly. His eye for detail really shows in the magazine.

Every page has a selected colour scheme, shape and layout that is unique but yet matched perfectly to the previous page. The photos are carefully selected to best describe the story that accompanies it. Overall I am very proud to say that I contributed to this magazine.

I am very excited for the magazine to officially go to print this week and even more ecstatic to see the magazine in its entirety. Even though things got a little mixed up this semester and I was supposed to be in the broadcast section, I have no regrets about sucking it up this semester and working on the magazine with some fabulous journalists who have shown to be what dedication means. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, the executive team showed just that. It made me want to work harder and produce an even better article to show them and the teachers that I was capable. I was even prouder when Carey French himself, told me that my article was well written.

Does is make me consider about thinking about staying in print...I don't think so! I think that print gave me some valuable training.

Crunch Time

It's crunch time for Sweat Magazine and the executive team is literally sweating. They are staying late, picking up the slack of the rest of the team and I just want to say thank you.

They are our fellow students and we must remember as reporters that although they are on the exec team, they have lives as well. Like most, they have internships to go to, part-time jobs and blogs to answer to.

The first time I heard a complaint from them was last Thursday, when only half the class showed up. It's crunch time for Sweat and tons of stuff still has to be done. With only half the class showing up, the work gets piled onto the exec team.

On behalf of the people who didn't show, even though I was not one of them I want to extend my most sincere apology and commend you for all the hard work you are putting in to make this magazine happen.

Needless to say, I am very excited for this magazine to be published and obviously will be relieved. Bring on Convergence!

In the name of an Interview

On my last post I mentioned that I was having difficulties getting an interview with the program coordinators from the LOVE program. With my perseverance they finally agreed to a telephone interview on one condition: I had to e-mail them a set of questions I would be asking them.

Now any working journalist knows that this is a major no no. You never allow the interviewee to take control of the interview. Was this a mistake? Maybe.

I don't think it was a mistake because I made the two ladies feel at ease with me. I asked them some follow-up questions as the interview progressed. They willingly gave me all the information I needed and offered me to do some workshops with them. Overall it was a positive experience.

So I ask my peers, did I really make a mistake in e-mailing them a set of questions?

My Toronto Star Rewrite

My article for this year's Convergence Magazine is on a wonderful youth program called Leave out Violence (LOVE). The program started about ten years ago and takes youth from varying Toronto neighbourhoods and does different programs with them. The newest program is photojournalism. With cameras donated by Henry's and with the help of Humber's own Anne Zbitnew, the youth are given the opportunity to use these digital cameras to take pictures of whatever they want.

Some of the pictures vary from youth to youth. Violence, aggression and abuse is depicted in most. I came across this program through my boyfriend who is a youth worker and I decided to write an article about this program. The focus of my article will be how LOVE uses different forms of media as an outlet for expression and therapy.

As passionate as I am about writing this article I ran into some early troubles with getting interviews. I contacted the program director and coordinator of the program but they were very reluctant to speaking with me, with anyone from the media. They both mentioned an article that was written about them in the Toronto Star. They willingly sent me the link and I read the article. Out of respect for these two women I will not comment on what they said but they were not happy with the outcome of the article.

Respectfully, I explained to them that my intentions were good and that I would want to rectify the stereotypes of these youth in The Star's article. I told them that I thought it was important to demonstrate the youth's work in a positive way and that I hoped they would give me that opportunity.

I'm lucky because they are giving me the chance.

I am attaching the link so you all can get a taste of what I have to rectify.

http://www.thestar.com/article/257086