Thursday

IU / journalism / photo / Thursday — Comments Off on A non-meditation on time
13
Sep 18

A non-meditation on time

And now, four weeks in, everything is in full swing with the fall semester. Of course classes have developed their own rhythm by now. In my class today we talked about newspapers, radio, television and online ratings are measured. Media data, and the analysis of all of the many analytics, are important, whether you’re talking circulation, Nielsen numbers, page views, unique views or whatever. The only thing I couldn’t really mention was Netflix, because their data remains a mystery to everyone.

We were in the television studio this evening. The sports crew is finding their rhythm as well, and they’ll be a well-oiled machine in three or four more weeks.

They did two shows tonight, a highlight show and a talk program, and I stepped out of the control room and studio just in time to walk down the hall and see some of the late evening’s daylight streaming into the old building:

And at 8 p.m. they were done, and I got to go home. I exited out of the main door of Franklin Hall, a portal that has let people pass for 110 years. And I walked through the Sample Gates, which IU folks see as much as a welcome to the world as a welcome to the campus. That’s been the icon since 1987.

By contrast, these flowers have been in these planters for a few days:

It’s that time of year, I guess, where moments and memories and heartbeats and history all flow together. They can all mesh together, overwriting, coinciding and complimenting one another. By the time you realize it, there’s another one upon you.

cycling / Instagram / IU / journalism / photo / Thursday / video — Comments Off on How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
6
Sep 18

How can they see with sequins in their eyes?

I woke up before the sun this morning, before my alarm went off, even. And sometime after that I got my act together and walked out the door with my bicycle and had a little quiet ride. Some of the roads were mine alone, as the day stirred into action.


I could go for more rides like this. It is only the up and at ’em part where I struggle.

Class today was a continuation of sportswriting. We had a guest, a local writer of considerable talent and ability. The only problem is that in addition to his talent and experience, he also has some sort of stomach bug. So I was on my own.


Fortunately I had just enough time to dash off some slides and we discussed lead writing for an hour.

Then I caught up on email and went into the studio for the evening. There was television to produce.


They shot two different shows tonight. One, a highlight show, will be out tomorrow. The other is a talk show, and they are really getting those segments down to something tight and special. That show will be out sometime over the weekend. This was week two for the sports crew, and they’re off to a great start. Next week the news folks start their shows for the semester.

I made it home just in time for dinner.

history / IU / journalism / music / Thursday / video — Comments Off on Now here’s something of a different time
3
May 18

Now here’s something of a different time

I had lunch with this guy today. It was, as you might imagine, very cool.

Dean Martin died when I was a freshman in college. And I wasn’t yet hip to who or what could bring about a lasting cool. I suppose he was always the guy that played drunk, or did the occasional telethon. He was one of the old guys that ran around with Sinatra and was old. I’m sure I knew he had done movies, but I didn’t know much about the Rat Pack and I certainly didn’t know much of his music. It was too far removed for me to be anything but too far removed myself, I suppose. (“Little Ole Wine Drinker Me” was a Charlie Walker song that Martin covered. It stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks. It peaked at fifth on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart and was also a hit in Australia that year.)

I really discovered him after college. His music. His cool. His sound. Dean Martin had the best sound of the Rat Pack.

And, man, he was funny. Just look who is on the stage with him here:

There’s a great Christmas-themed Pillsbury Flour spot and a too-artsy for 1975 America Revlon promo in the middle of the video, too.

And even when he was playing a song for laughs he could sing and sing:

I love that song.

One of our hallways at work has a lot of historic photos from the program. This lady is a part of one of the pictures:

She’s a copy editor in the 1940s at the IDS. But she’s given up her seat in the slot for Ernie Pyle, who has returned to Indiana to visit family and friends. And when he was home he was never far from campus, so here he’s back and reading the paper. The front page story that he’s reading is about the Romanian armistice, so she is looking over his shoulder as he reads a late-August, early-September paper from 1944.

I wonder what she was thinking about, sitting there, posing with the great Ernie Pyle in her seat. He’s a legend now, and he was well-venerated then. I wonder where those lamps got off too.

I looked her up. She might have become a school teacher. The woman I found online passed away just a few years ago. But I’m not 100 percent convinced I have the right person.

Tonight I’m hanging out with Allie, The Black Cat:

No better way to wind down an evening.

IU / journalism / photo / podcast / television / Thursday / video — Comments Off on There’s so much to hear and see
26
Apr 18

There’s so much to hear and see

I did an important podcast today. You should listen to this one, please:

If you haven’t listened to it yet, I talked with a reporter who has been covering the Rohingya refugee crisis and the genocide that precipitated it. This is a good conversation. You should listen.

Also, the religion in media conference wrapped up today, but not until we enjoyed two more sessions. This quote was somewhat thematic of part of the day:

If you weren’t there you missed out, but we streamed them, so you can still catch up. If you’re interested in visual storytelling the first panel is for you. The second is about gaming and while that’s not my thing I must say the presenters were quite compelling. You can watch both panels right here:

Then, another night in the studio with these guys:

I think I hit my 40 hours for the week before noon today, but the shows must go on. And these were the last sports shows of the semester. The sports folks are graduating their sports director. He’ll be working in the production unit for some professional franchise before long. He did a nice job here, and we’re expecting more big things from him, and from the rest of these guys too.

And tomorrow, an entirely new conference begins here. That kind of week.

IU / photo / podcast / Thursday — Comments Off on Here, listen to this
19
Apr 18

Here, listen to this

One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most about doing this little show is getting students involved. Sure, I talk to great reporters and I have on talented professors, but giving students a chance to step out of their normal routine and maybe try a little something else is what this is really all about.

And here’s one now. Daniela Molina is an aspiring investigative reporter in the Media School at Indiana. She’s new to podcasts, and she’s developing her reporting and writing skills now and I had the chance to sit down and talk with her today:

Saw this on my way out of the building this evening:

And tonight, over the sink:

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