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Wednesday

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27
Feb 13

A field trip day

Still sick. The good news is that I’m now convinced this is only sinuses or something of that nature. Anything more serious would have surely developed by now. My throat actually feels a bit better. But while there is improvement there, I now have a persistent cough. And I’m achy. And also, the joyous non-breathing that comes with sinuses.

So a few days of that, then.

Pulled out the red pen today, and then I used it on things:

That pen is simply resting on a copy of today’s Samford Crimson which is now going online despite two separate site issues this week. Because when you’re coughing and can’t breathe, you want plugin glitches and database issues to deal with, too. But those are resolved, everything is back up and working now, and so I spent this afternoon pouring over the print version, hence the pen.

That image was treated in an iPhone app called Big Lens which I got for free. It does a decent job of what you’d ask of it, which is to give the illusion of depth of field with a free app.

I love my phone, but every time I make one of these app-tweaked pictures I just want to go grab my real camera and apologize to it.

Took a field trip with a class to Intermark Group today. The students learned a bit more about public relations, advertising, how social media ties in, account executives, the creative design, media buying and so on. This is a great tour and I’m proud every spring when they invite us back. The folks at Intermark have always been very welcoming and friendly and share a lot of information.

We also got a tour of the ever-impressive Vazda Studios. Want to work in video production, audio engineering or CGI? That’s a tour to take. The students always enjoy their day at Intermark, and this year was, happily, no exception.

The city looked like this when I left the firm:

That’s the City Federal building rising in the center. Not a bad view on the north side.

One thing I wanted to share on Monday: the president at Samford, Dr. Andy Westmoreland, sends out an email to everyone on campus each Monday highlighting the success, impact and value of a Samford student, alum, program or faculty member. It is usually the best Monday morning email I receive. This week’s was especially nice.

Just in case you missed this news a few days ago, here’s the inspirational account of the impact of one of our graduates from the McWhorter School of Pharmacy:

What started as a concern for an abducted child turned into a social media phenomenon that has drawn national media attention and will send the rescued child and his family to Disney World. And, it was the simple idea of a Samford University alumna that set it all in motion.

Carrie Kreps of Vestavia Hills, Ala., a 2002 McWhorter School of Pharmacy graduate, said she was “deeply affected” by the Jan. 29 abduction of a 5-year-old named Ethan from his school bus in Midland City, Ala. Ethan ended up being held hostage for 7 days before his dramatic rescue. While following news reports of the situation, Kreps suggested to her Facebook community that when Ethan was released, she wanted to send him to Disney World to help create happy memories that might replace the terror-filled memories of his abduction. After Ethan was rescued and a friend of Kreps got approval from Ethan’s family, she began an online fundraiser called “Send Ethan to Disney World”. In one day, the goal of $7,000 was met, and as of Feb. 9, more than $10,600 had been pledged by nearly 300 donors. Gifts ranged from $5 to $500 and averaged about $20 per donor. Kreps is working with a Dothan, Ala., travel agency to arrange for the trip. Any remaining funds will be added to a trust fund that has been established for Ethan.

Kreps’ efforts drew national media attention from NBC’s”Today Show,” CNN, ESPN and other media outlets.

Dr. Westmoreland has a traditional conclusion for these emails, “The world is better because of Carrie Kreps.”

Now back to grading things.

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20
Feb 13

Took a field trip today

More trip planning, thing doing, list checking, check making.

As in the writing of checkmarks next to things on the list. If you’re looking for money, this is not your site. So sorry about that, too.

Received a visit from a former editor of the Crimson today. Nice to see Drew drop by, giving me grief about the state of the Auburn-Florida sporting rivalry and inspiring me about his plans. He’s a sharp guy ready to go out and conquer his corner of the world. (If you need a sports writer, this is the right blog. You should look up Drew.)

We do have the good fortune to enjoy a fine caliber of students in our program, to be sure. They keep us young.

My class today visited the Alabama Media Group, as I might have mentioned elsewhere. It was a chance to seeold friends in a new place, the first time I’ve visited with my former coworkers at al.com since they made the AMG shift last fall. This was the first time I’ve seen them anywhere besides the Martin Biscuit Building in Lakeview.

They are on the north side now, in the Birmingham News building — which is now for sale.

If you’re on the market for a lot of open floorspace in that is less than 10 years old, I know of a deal for you!

Anyway, lovely and talented folks. I always enjoy visiting them. I didn’t get to see everyone today, but I’ll be back for lunch tomorrow. Of course we heard from AMG’s director of community news, Bob Sims:

At one point a student asked him a question and Bob used, almost word-for-word, the same answer I’d offered to this class on Monday about where they should be focusing right now. I love it when a plan comes together.

Anyway the sun was coming in through that light, over the church across the street and stretching out across this open work area and the AMG folks talked about their numbers and marketing and coverage and where they are planning to go in the future. Students asked good questions. It all came off famously. I was happy to see old friends and to see them looking well.

I did get to visit with Brian and Justin — guys I’ve known for almost a decade now — and some of my newer online friends today. We sat in a corner, the three of us, for a time and we made random references to pranks we once pulled one another and talked almost exclusively about how old we are. So it begins.

Things to read: Jeremy Gray, a local crime writer whom I admire, is doing a little bit of historist work. Journalism-history, that’s not a bad way to spend a slow night on the beat. This story reaches all the way back to the 1920s, involves ax murders, assaults on immigrants and interracial couples, truth serums, three death sentences, reprieves, new trials and several enduring mysteries, all nearly vanished from the modern collective memory. The story is a great read, which defies a brief and cogent excerpt, but do give it a look. I’ll just leave you with this from The trials of ‘The Axemen of Birmingham’: Drug-induced confessions lead to winding courtroom drama:

Descendants of some victims still live in the Birmingham area and at least one, Butch Baldone, a downtown tailor for 53 years, said black people were unfairly targeted in the investigation.

Baldone’s grandparents, Charles and Mary Baldone and their daughter, Virginia, then 14, were assaulted in their 10th Avenue North shop on July 13, 1921. All three survived, but refused to identify their attackers.

While the five black people injected with scopolamine reportedly confessed to the crime, Baldone said he believes the attack and “at least 90 percent” of the others were the work of an Italian mafia that was trying to plant roots in Birmingham.

“Black people got along with Italians because they were the only ones who would give them credit. The white man didn’t want their business,” Baldone said.

[…]

“The Baldones found the people who really did it and, to put it simply, they don’t exist anymore,” Butch Baldone said. “That was the closest the mafia ever came to Birmingham.”

Just so pat and perfect.

From Reuters, “Keep your so-called workers,” U.S. boss tells France:

The CEO of a U.S. tire company has delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France’s work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

Titan International’s Maurice “Morry” Taylor, who goes by “The Grizz” for his bear-like no-nonsense style, told France’s left-wing industry minister in a letter published by Paris media that he had no interest in buying a doomed plant.

“The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three,” Taylor wrote on February 8 in the letter in English addressed to the minister, Arnaud Montebourg.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S- … what’s that?

“Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour wage and ship all the tires France needs,” he said. “You can keep the so-called workers.”

Oh, right, the American way.

Finally, some people in higher education have been writing about social media, lately, if you’re interested.

Tomorrow: Road trip.

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13
Feb 13

Your average, wonderful Wednesday

Resumes and group work today. Group work and resumes. And also the newspaper. A normal Wednesday in many respects. Remarkable for its normal attributes, normal because those attributes are remarkable.

Also, there were Rice Krispie treats in the cafeteria. Fine day, then.

Apropos of yesterday’s Cosby Show videos — clearly there is a 1980s renaissance going on in our home just now — I stumbled on this on Facebook today, Bill Cosby schools us about those crazy sweaters:

“We’re talking about the knit woolen things that look like the sheep were different colors or fell in some paint, right?” Cosby says over the phone. “Isn’t that what you’re talking about?”

Exactly. Besides referring to the sweaters sported by Cosby’s character, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, to invoke the phrase “Cosby sweater” is to call something garish, tacky, and outdated—in an affectionate way. And in the cyclical world of fashion design, such passé looks have recently inspired a swath of contemporary looks featuring bold, geometric patterns and incorporating a mishmash of colors and textures.

Cosby himself doesn’t even remember when he first heard the term “Cosby sweater,” and is hard-pressed to explain why the style is such a phenomenon among young people today.

“I have no idea, and I’m not going make up anything,” says Cosby, “but I think youthful people have a long time to live, so they can waste some time on something like that.”

Here’s a different sort of word cloud. We’ve all grown used to the ones made from the transcript of speeches. USA Today asked readers to submit one word to describe the state of the union.

Here is the result.

A Poynter list: 5 reasons mobile will disrupt journalism like the Internet did a decade ago. Here are a few of the bullets, click over for the rest:

1. A responsive design isn’t a mobile strategy

2. Mobile will not only surpass the desktop, but begin to erode it

3. The desktop decline will pressure news revenues

I’d argue that the separate points are all correct, but that the comparison of the mobile evolution to the Internet evolution is not as neat and tidy as you might imagine.

Here’s another one of those stories that lets you think that “kids these days” are pretty good after all. Fine storytelling, too:

Quite a bit of Tom Rinaldi influence there. Here’s an old Rinaldi piece which hits on similar themes:

Slow piano, reflective pace and tender story; just add tears.

Just add images. PR Daily created a helpful social media photo sizing cheat sheet. Use it in good health.

Leave the Rice Krispie treats to me.

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6
Feb 13

The critical use of the word ‘Just’

We discussed critiquing news stories in class today. How to do it, what to critique, what not to get overly zealous about. How to treat this as a constructive exercise and not as a personal reproach, and so on. The idea is that the more you watch things critically — because I make you critique them — the more you’ll see things that work and things that don’t work.

A critical eye is very important in the craft.

So we talked about television packages. I showed this story’s video package, which was still timely early in the week. It was a nice example of localizing the story when it came to the Midland standoff.

The reporter found a local police officer who has gone through the FBI negotiation training and interviewed him about what might have been taking place. It was a helpful story to a degree. There are some vagaries, which is both based on the nature of this officer not knowing every detail about what is happening hours outside of his jurisdiction and a need to speak generally for tactical reasons too. But it is nice localized story. It has some production issues and some very strange B-roll shots. It gave us something to look at.

And then I showed them this:

That is never going to get old, even as fewer and fewer students are familiar with the YouTube sensation.

And then we got started in our efforts to set up WordPress blogs. They are a sharp group of students, and I’m sure they’ll be running the Internet by the end of the semester.

I have done thy bidding, Internet, and given you many more people to add content!

Lovely, busy day otherwise. It was national signing day, and the Crimson’s sports editor was posting stuff continually to their Twitter account. That earned him follows from two of the television stations in town. Nice little reward for his work.

My open letter to new signees got repackaged.

On the way home I stopped at Buy Buy Baby to get something off a friend’s registry. This place is full of things you didn’t know you needed if you’re raising children. Glancing at the products it is amazing any of us made it out of toddler years without these things in our homes.

The store is bright and smells of baby powder. Just add water, I suppose.

That’s an improvement, though, really. The last time I was in this store it was still a Circuit City. As I noted on Twitter, it was dank and dim and smelled of desperation then. I remember trying to test a camera of some device and the guy there was not able to put a battery into the thing.

I looked around at the deep sockets of the eyes of the few people actually in the store, realized that everyone there was touching, but no one was buying. I knew it was over.

Within a year they were all gone.

If only that one floor guy had bothered to look for a battery, things might have gone differently.

But probably not.

Anyway, in a much more pleasant environment with a thoroughly enjoyable young lady helping, I managed to find the appropriate burp cloths. They were very, very decorative. I’m sure yours were just a flat white, once upon a time.

Three recent items on the other blog:

Localizing the big stories

Have you tried SoundCloud?

USPS to drop Saturday deliveries

I have a lot of things stored away to write over there. Get used to the links, I guess.

Saw this sign, the oracle of our time:

I know the owner. His son and daughter are friends. The sign has become a big fun quasi-event lately. It isn’t true until Krystal’s says it is, and all that.

When I took that picture it was halftime in the Alabama-Auburn basketball game. Alabama was leading Auburn 23-13. Halftime. In a basketball game, full of varsity, scholarship players. Presumably for both teams. (So you see why the word “Just” is important on that sign.)

In the second half Auburn went on a 36-14 run — that was all of the scoring. The final was 49-37, Auburn. Weird game. But Auburn held Alabama to its lowest point total in the 146 game series history, so there’s that.

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30
Jan 13

Emergence — seemingly coordinated movement

Big storms, bad weather overnight and this morning. Campus delayed opening for a few hours. The most destructive elements of the storm were elsewhere, thankfully, not nearly as severe or widespread as it could have been.

There was a leak in my office.

My desk faces a wall. On the other side of that wall is a part of the campus radio station studio. Behind the wall to my desk’s right is part of the newspaper’s newsroom. The wall to my left opens to the exterior of the University Center. There’s a large, long window that looks out onto a green hill, a parking lot and a tree line in front of the next building up the hill.

From the top of that window there was a long, slow dripdripdrip. Under loud booms of thunder I called the facilities department to see about this leak. Our building is about 60 years old, so there are leaks from time to time. Offices across the hall had a good scare in the last year or so. The radio station had a leak, too, but managed to avoid damage. An office on the floor directly below the newspaper had a leak a few weeks ago. The folks that did the repair work surmised it must have gotten there from the newspaper, but we showed no damage. There are a few ceiling tiles in the hallway that have seen better days.

But now the gutter outside my window is threatening neatly stacked piles of paper filled with lecture notes and classroom exercises.

I met a man today who started his career at Samford years ago as a member of the campus safety department. He told me a story about working a late shift in the guard shack at the entrance in his first few weeks on the job.

A car pulled up, he asked to see some identification. The driver couldn’t produce any. He’d left his wallet and license at home.

The man, citing state law, said “I should make you park your car and call you a cab since you have no license with you.”

The driver said he’d turn around, head home and fetch his ID.

The next day the new guard was talking to his boss, who’d just had a conversation with his boss. They talked about the man he’d encountered last night. Older gentleman. Tall. Well dressed. Turns out the car was driven by Dr. Thomas Corts, the president of the university. The new employee didn’t recognize him.

The president said the man at the guard shack had behaved appropriately. And he should never do that to the president again.

We all had a nice laugh. Corts stepped down as the university president in 2006 and died four years ago. People still tell great stories about him. They all have some lesson in them, which is probably one of those marks of a good man. This one was pretty clear: You never know when you’ll meet someone important to you.

We talked about those kinds of first impressions in class a bit today. We talked career expos, first impressions and so on. It was resume day for the intro class. The Career Development Center led a great discussion on the Dos and Don’ts.

Rule Number One: Don’t use your mother as a reference.

Things to read: 4 TED Talks every journalist should watch.

For 40 years, this Russian family was cut off from all human contact, unaware of World War II:

Led by Pismenskaya, the scientists backed hurriedly out of the hut and retreated to a spot a few yards away, where they took out some provisions and began to eat. After about half an hour, the door of the cabin creaked open, and the old man and his two daughters emerged—no longer hysterical and, though still obviously frightened, “frankly curious.” Warily, the three strange figures approached and sat down with their visitors, rejecting everything that they were offered—jam, tea, bread—with a muttered, “We are not allowed that!” When Pismenskaya asked, “Have you ever eaten bread?” the old man answered: “I have. But they have not. They have never seen it.”

Birds dancing in the sky, beautiful and hypnotic:

I remember discussing this phenomenon in a leadership class once, discussing birds flying in formation. Emergence:

A school of fish or a flock of birds is not controlled by any leader. Instead, it emerges naturally as each individual follows a few simple rules, such as go in the same direction as the other guy, don’t get too close, and flee any predators.

Surely someone made some sort of Aristotelian reference. Of course Aristotle also thought it was transmutation … But Aristotle had a lot to say about rain.