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

The Networking Weekend

Its not what you know, it's who you know. I think every industry albeit journalism, finance or bar tending, who you know can get you a very long way.

I went to a friend's house warming party, who also happens to be a Humber College journalism graduate, and got to know some very interesting people. Like most recent graduates do, they talk about themselves and what they are doing and offer their words of wisdom to those in their final year. Nine out of ten graduates said, network your "ass" off and do anything to get experience. The one out of ten said change to public relations, their is no money in journalism.

I listened to the nine out of ten and ignored that one and began talking to everyone at the party. Unfortunately this semester I am finding myself out of an internship and with too much time on my hands. Not anymore. Through my "networking" abilities I met the editor at Vaughan Weekly, the editor of Exclaim!, the photo editor at 24 hours and a sound editor at Edge 102.1 FM. All which are looking for people to do free work for them, hence I can fill my internship hours and get loads of experience from all these places. All it took was offering them a beer and listening to them rant about their accumulated debt and about how they are going to change the world.

Now for the one out of ten I entertained their idea about switching to public relations. After all there is apparently more money to be made and it's apparently easier to get a job. Then I think, when did a good journalist ever take the easy way out? Never.

The Naked Photo Shoot

Every year there is a group shot on the second or third page of Sweat and Convergence Magazines. In my opinion it will be the "sexiest" picture that Sweat magazine has ever seen.

We decided as a group, to take our group shot in the men's shower in the athletic centre at Humber. Men and women stripped down to their skivvies, wrapped themselves in a blue or white towel and stood underneath the showers to have our picture taken by photography teacher Anne Zbitnew.

We all giggled like elementary school kids to see everyone in their towels, but when the camera began snapping, our professional, journalistic demeanour was in full effect.

The managing editor and I took our responsibilities to the magazine to the next level. We literally "took one for the team" when we both agreed to do a naked shower photo shoot for an article on shower etiquette.

The managing editor and I turned our backs to the camera, dropped our towels and let the steaming water of the shower make our mascara runny and our straightened hair wet. For nearly an hour we followed direction from Anne Zbitnew on how to pose and look natural while taking a shower. I felt like I was on America's Next Top Model. All inhibitions on what my body looked like naked went down the drain and I pretended like I was an real model.

After the photo shoot I dressed and thought about how models do their jobs. Sometimes they have to hold ridiculous poses for several minutes at a time, contorting their bodies. Their photographs are published for the public to see and they are scrutinized for a pound gained or an imperfection in their skin. I gained a new respect for them after my half hour of fame.

Writing For Sweat Magazine

Like I stated in my previous blog, I am writing this interesting article on a gay rugby club called the Muddy York. Previous to being assigned to write this article, I knew nothing about the sport. Now I have grown to love the game that describes itself as a bunch of hooligans chasing a ball.

After watching a few rugby games I have learned that this is one of the only sports that have the mentality of what happens on the field, stays on the field. And it is very true. For eighty minutes these "hooligans" go out and practically beat each other up, call each other names, taunt them with dances when they score, but after the eighty minutes they all shake hands and go out for beers.

I was a sports reporter last year for the et cetera, reporting on men's basketball and men's soccer and never did I see this type of comraderie nor did I see the arrogance that at times come out athletes. The rugby players unlike most athletes I have come across were true gentlemen.

The welcomes a woman reporter and were more than willing to answer nay of my questions. They apologized beforehand that the songs they might sing may be offensive to women.

Unlike any other sport I have seen, rugby held a true sense of brotherhood. They dove in front of opposing teams to protect their family of players, they hugged and they even stripped on their bus ride home.

It was nice and refreshing to see that sportsman like conduct still does exist.

Journalists are the new Lawyers

This is just a little piece on how I think that journalists have become the new lawyer, not literally of course.

I don't know if anyone else agrees but often times when people think of lawyers they sort of roll their eyes and give a disgusted look as if they were the worst people in the world. I remember growing up and wanting to be a lawyer, but always hearing from family members that there was enough lawyers in this world.

So I turned to journalism. Now I find that I am getting the same response that lawyers face. The rolling of the eyes and a disgusted look.

My own boyfriend says that he strongly dislikes journalists because like lawyers they never tell the truth. They have ways of twisting your words and make you sound like an idiot when you give an interview. I cringed when he said that and got very angry and upset.

I argued that a good journalist presents information. If the person they are interviewing acts like an idiot then they will be presented like an idiot. As for quoting people, quotes give life to any story, it is upto the reader to interpret them.

I furthered my argument by saying that journalists are truth seekers. They spend their careers devoted to showcasing corrupt politicians, athletes, celebrities or anyone with money and power. They fight using words.

A reporter has one of the most dangerous jobs. Going into war zones, unstable countries, going to a crime scene. They often put their lives at risk to provide the public with information.

A reporter's job is often always on the line as well. One missed deadline, one misinterpreted article and their careers are over. They become virtually black listed from all media.

So I argue, he just doesn't appreciate nor understand what GOOD journalism is or what a GOOD journalist does and provides.

I am pleased to say that he is slowly learning to accept my profession as I dig up articles that show what quality journalism is. I will work on his acceptance for lawyers later.

First Interview For Sweat Magazine

I was assigned a very interesting article to write for Sweat Magazine on an all gay rugby team in Toronto called the Muddy York. The Muddy York was established four years ago and has an active roster of about twenty players.

Yesterday was my first interview with the team. I showed up to their practice completely unexpectedly and nonetheless I was welcomed with open arms. The members of the team were friendly and very willing to share their thoughts about being an all gay rugby team.

I learned that the team plays in two unions. IGRAB which is in the International Gay Rugby Association Board and for the Toronto Rugby Union which has only straight teams.

My ignorance made me think that these players would be teased and would face hard ships playing an all contact sport against straight men. I was shocked to learn otherwise.

The players all said that there has never been an incident of discrimination between the teams since they were formed and that the straight teams play against them like they would play against any other team. "We come out here for the sport and so do they," said the coach for the Muddy York.

I was even more surprised to learn that the assistant coach is a lesbian. In the gay community lesbians and gay men are often segregated, but when it came to sports they all unite.

The men were friendly that they invited me to have a few drinks with them after their next practice on Thursday so that we can talk in a more social setting. I gladly accepted their invitation.

I learned a lot from my brief interview with a few of the players. To men and to women sport is sport, its all a battle, whether you are gay or straight its a battle.

Response to Greg Hughes' Tech War in the 21st Century

I found Hughes' article very interesting because he touched on the ideas of old school journalism and new school journalism with the rise of internet blogging.

Personally I am from the old school and don't think that blogging is a form of journalism nor do I consider it citizen journalism.

As Hughes states in his article a journalist is an impartial observer. To me a blogger is not. Blogging is a form of expressing feelings, thoughts and emotions. In journalism or in reporting, the reporter is supposed to present the public with information that is unbiased.

I understand and acknowledge that not all blogging are biased opinions, some are reports but I still don't call that journalism.

Someone who is a blogger is someone that maintains a web journal that is accessible to the public. A journal entry is not an article.

I agree that articles and reports do need to travel faster and technology is the only way for that to happen. The public wants and needs access to information quickly.

Technology is definitely chaning the world of journalism. Journalists now need to stay on top of the quickly chaning world because of the internet access.

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