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Samford

This feels like it is full of adjectives

You want to have a scintillating class? You give a very detailed view of the art of resume building. Oh the kids always love that class. I get to tell them how long I’ve been writing those things, and give tips and tricks and ideas. I tell war stories and share the advice of others. I show off great resumes and let them make fun at mine. We talk about what not to put on this important piece of paper. Oh, it is riveting.

Did that today. And if that reads sarcastic it shouldn’t, I actually enjoy the day we talk about resumes. I get to think fondly back upon all the people that have helped me write and edit them over the years. Those were big favors. I’m glad to be able to do it for others as part of a class.

Also scheduled a lot of field trips today. Scheduled some guest speakers. Signed a lot of paperwork. Met a new section editor. Wrote a lot. Read a great deal. Had too much lunch, two good class sessions and got rained on a fair amount. Or drizzled on, at least.

A cold drizzle is the worst liquid precipitation when it comes to morale. It could just rain, which is something you can be in for a moment and then laugh about. It could sprinkle, and those drops you can avoid. The heavens could open and a monsoon descend into the small pond you didn’t realize you were standing in — at least we have the good sense to stay inside when that happens. But drizzle? A drizzle you feel like you can just walk through without consequence. Then you get back inside and see the impact on your slacks and think at least I’m not wearing cashmere.

Drizzle is the fog form with a fear of commitment, the undercooked and runny part of a day’s weather. Who needs drizzle?

Links: On my journalism blog at Samford the past few days I’ve written about the end run around journalists, the history of yellow journalism, found a reminder about the importance of audio and linked to Frank LoMonte’s terrific reaction to Ward v. Polite.

At TWER Jeremy asked me to rewrite my most famous open letter on National Signing Day. I am no fan of recruitment or signing day in general, but I believe in the promise of what it should be, which is the spirit from which that letter originates. It is the easiest thing to do. I’ve written it three years in a row now and I’m not smart enough to know how to improve upon it. So I polish it and move a few things around. I try to remove unnecessary words, but this time four or five extras made their way into it. It manages to stir the alumni set, though, so that’s good. Maybe it’ll drift into the intended hands one day, too. It does good traffic, he says.

Maybe some of them have surfed back this way. Did you? Thanks for visiting!

Samford / journalism / links / memories / movies — No Comments
30
Jan 12

Back to it

The first day of the semester. Samford has a Jan-term, an accelerated short term in between the holidays and the spring term. My department didn’t have classes, so I got to work on things like recruitment, a new lesson plan, reading and so on. Today, though, is our first day back.

And so, of course, today was the day my printer decided to miscount the number of things I asked it to print. It also decided to jam about 90 percent of the way through.

“So it is going to be a Monday, eh, HP?”

My printer had nothing to see. Its gears were full of mutilated pulp.

Dig the paper out, successfully pulling out only microfibers at a time. I have some special chemical blend of paper that shears at the subatomic level. You can pull on this stuff for hours and not get it out from the reticent printer’s teeth.

With every passing year this becomes more entertaining to me. My youngest step-sibling is working her way through undergrad, but she’ll be done soon. When that happens I won’t be able to try to convince the new students that I understand their plight. “We’re practically the same generation,” is the implication, despite my silvering hair.

This has turned itself into a running cinematic joke in my classes based on a conversation I had with students a couple of years ago. For whatever reason the gag hinges on Spaceballs as the denouement of movie humor. I don’t have a real theory that we crossed some boundary in 1987; Spaceballs was simply the high water mark of post-modern film parodies, he said, hoping it made him sound sophisticated.

Anyway, almost everyone in the class said they’ve seen the movie.

“One day” I told them, “I will start a semester by saying if you haven’t seen the film don’t come back until you do. I will give bonus points for the first person that catches a Spaceballs reference.”

They all sat up.

“That will not be this class,” I said.

They slid back down into their seats.

Two posts on my school blog today. One links to a great list of necessities for every mobile journalist. The other asks the question “Can a good journalist be a good capitalist?” More and more we should be thinking of questions like that.

Flush and full, busy first day back. By tomorrow, perhaps Wednesday, everything will be moving at a normal speed again.

Except the printer.

Samford / Wednesday / cycling / journalism — No Comments
25
Jan 12

Where I almost define systematization

“We have more audience than ever,” she said. “If the industry actually was dying, I wouldn’t have signed on for this.”

Encouraging news from Caroline Little, the president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America Foundation in a story about the merger of the NAA and the American Press Institute. The audience has moved to different places is is just moving to different places. We have to move with them, alongside them or, when possible, before them.

The new outfit will “create a dynamic new organization focused on meeting newspapers’ crucial multimedia training and development needs,” according to the press release. The attitude behind Little’s quote is the most encouraging part.

Cycled 26 miles at 15 mph yesterday. It was inspired pedaling, really. Got aggressive through the gears, raced the computer, ignored the lack of oxygen in my lungs and pressed on.

The CatEye computer I received for Christmas has been a great present so far, giving me empirical data to consider. There is a lot of time in a ride to ponder lots of things, including the numbers that pop up on the tiny LED screen. And because of that, and a naturally competitive nature, the CatEye might have been a bad gift. There’s nothing to do but try to top those numbers, after all. So that will be tomorrow.

Today was a syllabus day. Class starts back Monday and there is plenty to design and rework, even for a class I’ve taught before. I enjoy this particular class because it brings in a lot of outside experts to interact with students. That involves some orchestration, of course, and that’s also been a big part of today and, probably, the rest of the week.

Logisitics: the art of moving puzzle pieces into any number of permutations that demonstrates “I don’t have all of the pieces.”

Samford / Thursday / journalism — No Comments
8
Dec 11

The last class of the semester

I ended my last class of the fall not dissimilar from the way I began it. I think most of my classes will start and end with words to this effect from now on:

Challenge every word. Walk out of here today with that in your mind. Challenge every word. The bulk of our mistakes can be corrected by vigorous copy editing. This isn’t the sexiest thing in the world, I know, but it is so, so important to the work you do.

It is hard to edit your own work, but it is vital that you do so. Walk away from your story. Read it again after you’ve worked on something else, or eaten dinner or done something fun. Have someone you trust read it. Trade copy editing favors with a classmate. Challenge every word.

The simple truth is that there’s not a person in this room or alive that can’t benefit from a good dose of proofreading. It is tough, often it is particularly for young writers, to admit it, but we all must. Every writer is made better by good editing. Put aside your ego. Realize that the first words you wrote likely aren’t your best words. The AP style mistakes, the grammar, typos, misspelling, you think these are small things, but those small things add up so quickly. Ours is a craft that we display in public, so you must challenge every word.

‘Is that the best word? Is the subject-verb agreement correct? Is this in an active voice? Am I showing rather than telling? Can I tell this in a better way?’ These questions and more are what you should be asking yourself.

Don’t stop writing, even over the break. Writer’s write. If you stop practicing this craft your skills can atrophy. And remember, it shouldn’t be in there, and you aren’t done with the piece, until you challenge every word.

It is my goal to give that speech enough to make eyes roll. But, one day, someone will be sitting at their desk thinking ‘challenge every word …’ and that will make the eye rolls worth it.

Samford / Tuesday / adventures / journalism / video — No Comments
6
Dec 11

Leaving … what prints?

The Yankee came to campus today. I’d planned to give an extra credit quiz in my writing and editing class and she asked if she could do it. I’ve been telling my students how strict a teacher she was and today introduced them to Dr. Smith.

She picked out a bunch of spelling words from their list. The first three were easy, “See, I’m not so bad” and then she started giving them much more challenging words.

At the end of it all they decided they liked her quizzes more than mine.

That’s only because they know who’s grading them.

Speaking of the JMC department, check out the new promotional video:

I didn’t have anything to do with making that — the office of communication created that — so I can safely brag about it. Looks slick.

We visited Surin West for Thai tonight, which we haven’t been able to do in quite some time. It was a cold night and a big helping of chicken noodle bowl would have been wonderful, but that is only a lunch item. They will not make it in the evening for some reason. I’m guessing it has something to do with how they have to age the sprouts.

So I found a new dish: the pad woon sen. Sometimes you just have to grin, cringe and go with what the helpful waiter suggests. He did not disappoint tonight.

Tonight, the students are working on their last paper of the semester. I am grading. Always, always grading. Started this morning grading press releases. I’ll end the day grading broadcast scripts.

At least the stacks of papers are growing more manageable.

Just for fun, ABC 33/40′s Brenda Ladun, who is all kinds of awesome, struggled through this little story the other night:

Live television is tough, no buts about it.