Samford « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Samford

A lovely, cold Monday

Had the opportunity to work from home today. Lots of emails. Lots of texts.

It was also cold. The high was 48. Naturally I chose this afternoon to work from home, because that meant I could get in an afternoon ride. And that meant riding at 48 degrees.

So I put on my stretchy clothes and a layer with sleeves. I put on my fingerless gloves and pedaled very hard, right from the outset. Maybe, I thought, this would warm me up. At the light closest to home, where I haven’t even started riding yet, I’m already cold. That’s a good sign. I don’t really know how to ride in that weather. The chill, the wind you create, the sweat staying with you … These are rare problems for us, fortunately, but I should figure it out.

What I did figure out, my hands were only cold when I stopped. My torso was only cold when I was moving. So I got in a quick 15 mile ride around the perimeter of town. Then I came home, wrapped myself in a towel and made a hot tea.

And then made quite a few phone calls, working on recruiting the next class of students into our department. I like talking to the students, some of them ask great questions. I also like talking to peoples’ answering machines, too. Sixty seconds, done!

Leaf update: Still going strong.

I took that picture last week of the last leaf on my indoor tree. I’ll keep you posted on how long it sticks around.

Things to read … Drones Offer Journalists a Wider View:

The best way to film the destruction wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, the Philippines, said Lewis Whyld, a British photographer, was from the air.

But Mr. Whyld did not want to beg for a ride on a military helicopter, taking the space of much-needed aid. So he launched a drone into the skies above the city. In addition to shots that showed the scale of the damage, broadcast by CNN recently, his drone discovered two bodies that were later recovered by the authorities, he said in an interview.

“The newspaper was for still images,” said Mr. Whyld, who builds his own drones, “but the Internet is for this.”

Yep.

4 examples of innovative online newsgathering:

You may be accustomed to using RSS feeds, Twitter, Google Alerts and other tools for newsgathering. Here are four reporting techniques you may not have thought of.

[…]

These four examples were flagged up in a presentation Journalism.co.uk gave to journalists at Swedish Public Radio.

Photographer Wins $1.2 Million Lawsuit Over Images Taken From Twitter:

With an endless amount of photos floating around on Twitter, it’s easy to find images of almost anything. But this large social-media bank of seemingly free-to-share photos can also lead to issues regarding ownership and copyright infringement.

A New York jury delivered a landmark decision on Friday when it sided with freelance photographer Daniel Morel after he sued Getty Images and Agence France-Presse for using photos that he posted on Twitter without his permission. Morel won $1.2 million for the unauthorized use of his images.

So be careful out there.

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute wants to digitize, preserve its Oral History Collection, and it wants your help:

If the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is one of Birmingham’s greatest assets, the institute’s Oral History Collection is one of its greatest assets. It is comprised of 500 video interviews, many lasting an hour or more, with the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement. The subjects of the interviews include many of the names you know, like hours with the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and dozens and dozens of names you may not know, but who played a role in the struggle nonetheless.

[…]

BCRI hopes to preserve that material, and to that end they’ve launched a fundraiser on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo seeking financial support for the digitization and archiving of all the material in the library.

That’s a worthy project.

Here’s my favorite, which you’ve seen here and on Twitter and Facebook among other places: Help Molly Walk Again. She’s more than three-quarters of the way to her fundraising goal. Great story, a young Auburn woman who had a bad car crash and a traumatic brain injury. She rehabbed enough, learning to walk and talk and feed herself again, to return to school and finish her degree. A remarkable young woman. Now she’s trying to continue her rehab. Her fund raiser continues through the next several few days. If you have the means, please consider helping her out and passing along the link.

Auburn / football / journalism / links / Samford / things to read / Thursday — Comments Off
21
Nov 13

I did not write about meetings

Coca-Cola is getting set to dump press releases. They’ve found something better. Brand journalism, of which I approve, as it can be a powerful tool when used correctly. As this Ragan piece demonstrates, there is a paradigm shift coming:

Perhaps you caught the story in Mashable, The Daily Mail, Adweek, or The Huffington Post.

Coca-Cola’s Singapore team designed a novel double can that
splits into two, so customers can share the fizzy beverage with a friend.

Fantastic PR. But one major reason it got so much play was “because we covered it,” says Ashley Brown, who leads digital communications and social media for The Coca-Cola Company.

The rest of the piece is worth reading, do check it out if you are interested in journalism, public relations or marketing.

Here’s something of an example at Auburn:

Nosa Eguae just graduated with his first degree and his pursuing a second while finishing up his playing days terrorizing quarterbacks. The guy is 22, telling you the children are our future. Here you see him away from the field, the roaring crowd and the mixed life of a student/celebrity, like he is pretty much everywhere in town.

Auburn’s athletic department is putting considerable resources toward telling stories like this, humanizing the young man behind the face mask:

I shot that of him at an equestrian meet last year.

Every team has at least a handful or more of hardworking, successful on-and-off-the field people like Eguae. We should see more of the great stories our institutions are producing in the young men and women that attend there. This is one of the great victories a university can demonstrate to the world, after all.

(Samford does a good job of this, too. They have an incredibly strong social media presence and interaction with all of the university’s various stakeholders. Freshmen are published on the university’s home page. The athletes are widely accessible. There’s even a reality show being shot on campus by the students in our department. There are plans in place to expand on those efforts, too.)

Here is the other side of the “branded” coin. One must find the right balance of telling stories to your multiple audiences and working alongside the traditional (and nontraditional) media. No one has arrived at a formula for this, but you have to develop a deft touch. Otherwise, you might hear about it, as you’ll see in the first of these two quick links:

Photojournalists want better access to the White House

Obama’s Image Machine: Monopolistic Propaganda Funded by You

Cyborg Journalists: How Google Glass Can Change Journalism

And, finally, this: When an artist allowed her 4-year-old daughter to finish her drawings, something awesome happened. Great art there.

And that’s enough for one night. I’m tuckered.

iPhone / journalism / links / photo / Samford / things to read / Tuesday / Twitter — Comments Off
19
Nov 13

I walked into the end of this one, didn’t I?

Partly cloudy, cloudy, mostly cloudy, scattered clouds. All of that was in the weather analysis today. Also, a high of 59. The low tonight is predicted around 36. More of these were on the ground:

So autumn is over. Fall is here. I propose that we have two seasons. The autumn doesn’t last long, but our coldest season won’t typically show up until the end of December. We have to have something in between, right? So instead of just four seasons, I propose we have five.

This is funny because some would say we really only have three seasons. Or, maybe, even just two.

It is five. You read it here, on the Internet. It is true.

This is one of those things I’ve been hanging on to for several days. I may as well share it here. My colleague David Simpson takes it away:

Because I couldn’t get a projector to work at the National College Media Convention in New Orleans, I read aloud a passage in a “Free Your Writing Voice” session that I’ve sometimes just flashed on a screen. I had not prepared for a dramatic reading, so I was surprised at how powerful it sounded coming out of my mouth.

The audience seemed to like it, though it’s a long passage. So I encourage you to read it aloud.

[…]

I especially loved reading that long sentence. And the two-word emphatic ending.

Click on over to read the passage yourself. I suspect, if you like the art of writing, you’ll appreciate what you find there.

The funniest thing I did today:

Students just offered me a glowstick. Said "As a child of the Cold War I know not to touch glowing things." Radiation humor!

— kenny smith (@kennysmith) November 19, 2013

Yeah, it was one of those kind of days. My office is cold. The newsroom is colder. It might be warmer outside. The students are working on their paper and I’m grading things and working on projects and not touching glow sticks.

Things to read …

Tip pays off for Richmond student journalists:

The Collegian reporters started digging into the past of a law school student when they got a tip that he was a sex offender. Turns out he had served time in prison for aggravated sexual battery.

He had also been ordered to withdraw from the University of Virginia, according to the story Conklin and Arnett published earlier this month. At Richmond, he was the recipient of one of the law school’s most prestigious scholarships and a member of its Honor Council.

Interesting story — here is their reporting — that is continuing. The comments, as always, are insightful.

This is tough all the way around. She wrote the president, he used her tale as an anecdote. And then Washington’s health system found an error. Her rates increased. Then they found another error. Another hike. And now, Woman cited by President as Obamacare success story frustrated by sign up process:

The result was a higher quote, which Sanford said was for $390 per month for a “silver” plan with a higher deductible. Still too expensive.

A cheaper “bronze” plan, Sanford said, came in at $324 per month, but also with a high deductible – also not in her budget.

Then another letter from the state exchange with even worse news.

“Your household has been determined eligible for a Federal Tax Credit of $0.00 to help cover the cost of your monthly health insurance premium payments,” the latest letter said.

[…]

“This is it. I’m not getting insurance,” Sanford told CNN. “That’s where it stands right now unless they fix it.”

[…]

She is sorry Obama mentioned her during the October 21 speech.

“I feel awful about it. I support (the Affordable Care Act),” Sanford said.

But the messy rollout in the other Washington, the nation’s capital, was not far from her mind.

“What the hell? Why is it the same story as the federal government?” Sanford says in disgust with the Washington state exchange. “They didn’t have it ready.”

“They screwed up,” she added.

Comments on that story have been turned off, which is curious, but unsurprising.

The longest (and, in places, wrongest) infographic of your day. Commenters were helpfully pointing out errors here. That’s become its own industry at this point, hasn’t it, correcting the work of others in the comments below …

I await yours in 3 … 2 …

journalism / links / photo / Samford / things to read / Thursday — Comments Off
7
Nov 13

Over the river, through the woods

You’re always so cynical about the maple trees. They’re full and verdant and prolific. Their shoots can only barely be controlled. The leaves, on the ground, are a big hassle. And you’re always cutting back the branches. Oh they give great shade. So good even the grass won’t grow in spots underneath that lush, cool canopy.

For all of that, you just know they’ll be the first ones to give the great heave, the shrug of the shoulders and the big sneezing sigh that means hours of rake time.

And yet, for now, they’re still hanging on:

But those are at home. This is one of our views on campus, looking from Samford’s Centennial Walk up to Shades Mountain:

I get to work at a beautiful place.

After the links you’ll find some nice pictures. So scroll on down if you aren’t interested in today’s collection of extra words.

Things to read …

Remember when the government encouraged you to go to transfat? Never mind.

Heart-clogging trans fats were once a staple of the American diet, plentiful in baked goods, microwave popcorn and fried foods. Now, mindful of the health risks, the Food and Drug Administration is getting rid of what’s left of them for good.

Condemning artificial trans fats as a threat to public health, the FDA announced Thursday it will require the food industry to phase them out.

When in doubt, never forget that someone in Washington knows more about what is good for you than you do.

Right?

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” the president told Chuck Todd of NBC News during an interview at the White House.

I liked the part where he said the whole thing burned him — err, the American people. The guy just can’t help himself.

I really, really, hope this gets soundly refuted:

Reporters with the Society of American Business Editors and Writers received “training” on how to cover Obamacare’s rollout from a policy expert who works with President Obama’s former health information technology adviser.

Otherwise what you’re saying is that, essentially, government is telling you how to report on the government. Debacle or not, that would be embarrassing and should be more than a small problem for journalism. So I hope it gets convincingly refuted.

Quick links:

Grants topping $800,000 aimed at creating jobs, improving economy in Alabama’s Black Belt

NPR’S Brian Boyer on building and managing news apps teams

Study: 96% of UK journalists use social media every day

Internet Kills the Video Store

Made it to my grandmother’s, just in time for a few twilight pictures:

More stuff tomorrow. And by stuff I mean the big family present I’ve been alluding to for days. Come read all about it!

history / journalism / links / photo / Samford / things to read / video / Wednesday — Comments Off
6
Nov 13

The red ink is on my hands

A few more leaves to mark our fall, which seems to be happening in more pronounced stages than usual this year. The oaks are, how you say, reticent:

Not that I mind. We’ve all shifted clocks and grumbled about that to ill effects. We’re all in various stages of layered clothing — depending on where you live or the thinness of your blood, as some people say — and now the betrayal of the trees. I’m always glad the oaks stick around. Mostly because we have several pin oaks.

Whomever plants pin oaks has never raked the leaves from a pin oak.

Critique meeting of the Crimson today. Story count is up. Layout is good. Quality is sturdy. Art is coming along. Now I need new challenges for them. You can see some of the students’ work here, if you like.

Also did some grading. I entered grades into a spreadsheet. Doing some other things with spreadsheets. I know some people that like spreadsheets. Well, how well can we really know someone who likes spreadsheets?

I prepared files. I printed documents.

Also, last night, I finished the files for the large present that we are delivering this weekend. I got the thing down to 26 pages. It includes maybe 16 sources and three appendices.

Never let the geek in your family prepare documents as gifts.

So that got printed out. It looks nice and clear on the good machine, the machine so important we named a room after it — the copy room. It has color maps end everything.

The document, I mean. Though the copier also probably has maps in its manual. It also faxes. And makes a mean espresso, from what I hear.

Anyway, this was the next thing that happened: I briefly explained the purpose of this file to one of the nice people in my office. She thought it was great. Then she gave me two different types of protective things to keep the file in. Everyone likes this gift. Everyone has thought the idea was nice. Four different people have chipped in. And none of them know the recipient.

But, to know the recipient, you’d want to help even more. That kind of guy.

All will be explained this weekend. I write vaguely about it because it is fun and mysterious, but also just in case he decides to explore the Internet beforehand.

Things to read …

Corpsman! Mother! Jesus! A Marine remembers Iwo Jima for the last time. Chuck Dean, you’ll see, is one of the stronger writers at al.com, but how can it be for the last time?

Jarvis struggled as we spoke. He often had a hard time catching his breath. He told me his doctors were treating him for pancreatic cancer.

“It’s not good,” Jarvis said.

As we talked Jarvis said that years ago he had not wanted to talk a lot about the battle. But later in life, Jarvis changed his mind.

“I came to see that it was important, very important that people understand what happened over there to us, to my Marines. It was important because people need to understand the horrors of war so that they think long and hard before getting into one. And they need to understand that those who fought in the war were just boys, really. That’s all I was. The day after Pearl Harbor every boy at Minor High School went down to enlist, including me. Some of them didn’t make it back. People need to remember them and what they did and why they did it.”

Jarvis paused after a while and looked at me with a thin smile.

“You know Chuck, you might be the last person I tell my story to.”

I told him I hoped not. I told him I was honored to hear it and would be honored to tell it.

He smiled again. “Well, I think you might be the last person I tell it to, and I want to ask you a favor. When you tell it, please tell it good.”

These next two stories? These are not the thing those young men fought for:

Man charged with using stun gun on wife after football bet in Mayville:

Before the game, avowed Packers fan Nicole Grant allegedly bet her husband, devoted Bears backer John Grant, that she would allow him to use a stun gun on her for three seconds if Green Bay lost, according to a criminal complaint.

Grant, 42, found himself in Dodge County Circuit Court the next day after allegedly making good on the bet. He was charged with possession of an electric weapon during an initial appearance. If convicted, Grant could face up to six years in prison.

And this one, Hijacker returns to the United States:

Instead of becoming the next Che Guevara, Potts found himself a foreigner who spoke little Spanish in crowded and often violent prisons. But he refused Cuban offers to return home.

“If you are not able to suffer for the cause you are just a play revolutionary,” he said.

[…]

But the one-time hijacker will return to an uncertain future. Potts was unable to negotiate a plea deal and, while he hopes any sentence he faces in the United States would be reduced by the time he has served, there are no guarantees.

That story is just full of quotes that are the opposite of genius.

Quick links:

I know people that work here: Job fair held for more than 1,100 workers who will lose jobs when International Paper closes

Third cyclist killed near Springhill Avenue in two weeks

ProPublica has found the one “sob story” worth your while: Loyal Obama Supporters, Canceled by Obamacare

When the data mountain comes to you

Independent Campus Journalists Vital

And, finally, I’ve been hanging on to this for a while. May as well use it here. #Story50 tips for the factual storyteller from Adam Westbrook