Reaction to Business Plan...

So we all wrote our business plans this week.  Personally, I had a blast writing mine!  Even though I may not ever follow through with this idea, it was really fun to write in a way that would make people believe I will.  I was having so much fun I hope I didn't go overboard but I loved writing confident (borderline outlandish bragging) statements regarding my idea.  I did have one question: would a business plan be something to complement a powerpoint presentation, something I would present on or something that the investors get separately, to read at their leisure?  Just trying to further wrap my brain around this new world of business!

Globe Opinion Piece...

It's coincidental that I read this article because we were actually just talking about this case in my other journalism class last week.  Someone in my class is doing his final project on coverage on the Tsnarnaev case- I might suggest he look at this for some opinion.  I thought the article took an interesting look at the case because I know I've pretty much only heard about the successful capture, but this article rose some questions as to how the police department is growing in case something unexpectedly awful were to happen again.  One of the things I love about online news is the comments section.  Although I enjoyed reading this article, I really loved looking at the comments below- I thought some were really good, some were trying to pick a fight.  I think it kind of embodies the world in which we live.  Not everyone may be a journalist but everyone can have a say on what's written with comments and twitter.  Some people get very invested (to the point of being downright mean) in some stories, and the new age of journalism is enabling them to do so.

Real Life Example...

I'm an avid skier so I naturally get ski magazine sent to me which I rapidly devour- taking in all the gear, technique and reviews.  This month, there was an article about a Littleton NH man.  I was automatically drawn to this article because Ski Magazine is primarily for Western skiers (it's based in Colorado) but in this issue I saw "New Hampshire" and immediately needed to read it.  "What could one of my fellow New Hampshireites be doing to warrant an article in this magazine?" I wondered.  As it turns out, this guy, is an entrepreneur- he's trying to re-open a small ski hill in Littleton NH.  Although it's not journalism based, he's still finding a need and filling it the way he thinks will work.  The hill will be to-pull only, a real "locals" hill.  I just though it was cool to read about what we've been practicing and see how it's being done in the area.

John Christie Follow Up...

I loved John's visit! I thought he had a really good model for his journalism and actually had some goals on where he wants to go in the future.  I also liked his "how we got started" story because it was basically John saw a need and he thought of a way to fix it- very entrepreneurial of him!  I twas also interesting for me to hear about how his organization functions as a non-profit.  Throughout the semester we've talked a lot about different way to make money on our journalism, whether it's through advertisements, investors or events.  However, we haven't really talked in depth about running a non-profit so it was really interesting and helpful for me to hear John's story so I could understand what that whole area is like.  As it turns out, it can actually be profitable!  Overall, I though John's visit was great.  he was engaging and informative and just seemed like a nice guy.

Thoughts on Business Plans...

So, I've just completed the "competition" and "market research" aspects of my business plan and, as it turns out, it's a hell or a lot more complex than I originally thought it would be.  I really shouldn't be surprised, I feel like all semester we've been learning about how starting a business is never as straight forward or simple as we think.  I was especially confused about the market research, even after reading the Forbes article (which was really helpful by the way).  After doing some of my own research, I called my Dad because he has to do this stuff all the time for his job.  Now, I'm not sure he gave me the right information but he told me to look at the problem I want to fix, show how it's a problem and then explain how I can solve that problem using statistics and such.  I did A LOT of research today on internet use in the past twenty years, especially looking at where people get their news from.  Not surprisingly, people are increasingly getting their news from online sources and they are increasingly using their cell phones to access the news.  I thought it was hard to get information on the market because the internet is so broad and expansive it's kind of hard for me to quantify who uses it and for what in my brain.  I fell like it would be easier for me to think "oh, how many people use..." or "how many people have..." than "how many people go online for news".  I don't know, for me, I'm a "seeing" person, I like to see examples because it helps me picture what I'm dealing with.  However, I can't picture the massive amounts of people using the internet.  Maybe it's just me but it's harder for me to visualize millions of users logging on to google than it is to imagine the hundreds of people with boats, for example.  As my idea is primarily internet based... I should probably figure this out!

Market Research

Market Research

Problem: People don’t think critically about the news which is a consequence of getting news from, primarily, one source.  In 2010, only 3% percent of American said they enjoyed following the news “a lot”, let’s get this number up! (poytner.org)

Fix: Choice News! This site is an interactive way for users to critically analyze the news themselves without having a newscaster or broadcaster tell them what is happening.  Users experience events vicariously through the adventure stories.

Media and Public Opinion Post:

• ·         10.8% Americans get news from newspapers
• ·         Approx. 30% each for network and cable television
• ·         15% don’t use the internet (approx. 85% use internet)
• ·         Majority of network television users like NBC (22.7%)
• ·         Majority of cable users like Fox (66.1%)
• ·         Majority internet users get their news from different sources than from The Washington Post, NYT, MSNBC, Fox, CNN, CBS, NBC or ABC (29%)

Pew Research Center:

• ·         USA 2012- 244MMs
• ·         63% of adults use cell phones to go online.  Compare this to 2010, when only 38% of adults used their cell phones to access the internet
• ·         34% of these users say they mostly go online using their cell phone
• ·         This means 21% of cell owners do most of their online browsing using mobile phone
• ·         98% of population between ages of 18-29
• ·         92% between the ages of 30-49
• ·         96% of population use internet with college+ education

Fox News Channel:

• ·         In 1995, 14% of Americans said they went online, by 2000 half were online and by 2007 75% were online.

In conclusion, Americans have been increasing their internet use for the past twenty years or so.  Many Americans are now accessing news online or online via cell phones.  As Choice News will be an online site we have a huge advantage here to use these rising numbers to our advantage and get internet users more invested in their news.  There is a market for Choice News because the majority of Americans no longer find joy in reading or experiencing the news anymore.  With our interactive, analytical and enjoyable format, our goal is to get Americans invested in the news once more!  

Choice News: competition

I didn't find that much competition in this area of media.  A lot of what news organizations seem t be doing with this format is making it a one time, special or turning it into a game.  I did not find any news organizations which operate on a "choose your own adventure" format all the time.  However, because I am a new, up and coming organization, I may have to compete with the readership of other, historic, news groups.  For example, the Boston Globe had a choose your own mayor a while back.  The player chose where to go and what to do in Boston then "met" a candidate wherever they ended up. Even though this was a one time deal for the Globe, if I were to run a story like this at the same time they did, I would definitely have to compete for similar audiences.  However, as this seems to be a "One and done" idea for the Globe, I am not too worried about the competition.
Here's what they did:     http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2013_boston_mayoral_race/choose_your_adventure/

Most of what I found seemed to be games or videos or even just bulleted lists of ideas or things to do, like this one from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/veer-gidwaney/affordable-care-act_b_4220906.html

British Airways recently launched a choose your own adventure video series, which I explored, loved and may want to experiment with.  In this interactive advertisement, the “player” goes through the experience of choosing a city to go to then exploring the city through a series of decisions.  I had a blast vicariously exploring Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Berlin.  Because this is not a news site with the purpose of informing the public, I would not be competing with them.  However, like I said, it is a really cool idea and I think it would be fun to experiment with their concept.
Here's what they did:  http://skift.com/2013/11/13/british-airways-launches-choose-your-own-adventure-youtube-series/

 

Review of "The Book on Paul LePage"

This story was insanely detailed and reported.  I, as the reader, really got a sense for the governor's personality and policies.  Each chapter covered a different aspect of LePage's policies and how he and his opponents view those policies.  I felt like it portrayed many different aspects of LePage and his life and I got to see how different people thought of him.  At no point did I know exactly what Christie's opinion of LePage was, which absolutely goes along with their vision statement of "looking beneath the surface of Maine government and writing clearly and without fear or favor about what it discovers".  I was kind of wondering how Christie got the word out about Pine Tree Watchdog.  Obviously it is not always easy getting in touch with politicians, so how did he get the word out about his publication so these politicians knew who he was writing for and visions regarding journalism etc.

Questions for John...

• How did you come up with the idea for Pine Tree Watchdog?  Was there a certain moment where you went, "ah-ha, this is what we need"?
• How did you go about creating and reporting once the idea was formed? Was it a one man show for a while or did you have people hop on board immediately?
• What challenges did you face when starting this site?
• If you could go back and change one thing about your process in starting this company, what would it be and why?
• What is your business model and why did you choose that?
• Do you have any suggestions for us, as aspiring journalists and entrepreneurs?
• How did you come up with the different sections? Why did you choose them?
• How did you find your staff writers?
• How did you make money when you first started and how are you continuing to make money now?

Mission and Vision Statements

Mission: At Choice News we aim to provide the audience with a unique, fun, interactive and insightful news experience.  It is our hope that our audience will not only skim the headlines but become invested in the story telling and critically think about what decisions have been made throughout the years.

Vision: Choice News will provide accurate, clearly written pieces without favor for one side or the other.  Our reporting will be critical, insightful and timely while also conveying a sense of adventure and fun that comes with a choose your own adventure story format.

Pine Tree Watchdog

I think this concept is really interesting.  I have always been interested in investigative reporting so to see it done on such a local scale is awesome.  I think if i lived in Maine I would frequently visit this site for updates and news.  The next thing I noticed was the variety of news on this site.  They cover everything from the environment to elections.  Some of the most recent stories have to do with Governor Paul LePage and how people perceive their governor.  One thing I was wondering was how they decided what to cover.  Obviously the people creating this site saw a need for coverage about veterans and climate change but I was just wondering how they narrowed it down.  Also, something else that I noticed: I really liked the "donate" button.  On articles there is a little counter that tracks how much money has been raised for the non-profit, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.  If you share the story, they donate a dollar.  I thought this was a really cool concept for raising money for non-profits because all you have to do is share the story and feel like a superhero!

Response to Terry Williams

I really enjoyed Terry's visit.  I thought it was interesting, informative and Terry was a pretty good guy to talk to anyway.  Something that really stuck with me was what Terry was saying about what he looks for in new hires.  He said he looks for people who can use social media, take video, take photos and break news.  Basically, it looks like I'm going to have to figure out technology sooner or later!  I also liked what he was saying about The Conway Daily Sun and how they choose to release less papers than they could to keep demand up.  I just thought this was such a smart idea and I would love to harness this idea some how and make it relate to my project idea somehow.  Hmmmm, something to think about!

Forbes Article

OK, first thing I noticed when I went to the site to read this article was that there was a page you had to pass before actually reading the article.  The page was essentially all advertisements but it made me think about ways this site makes money.  That was comment number 1, now on to the actual content of the article.  The article essentially just reiterated what Meg and Terry were saying for the past two weeks: as journalists we need to understand a whole lot more than we used to in order to succeed.  Something I really liked about this article was how it laid out a bunch of different kinds of advertisement for the reader to understand.  It made the whole idea of advertisements a lot easier to understand the different ways to advertise.  We have talked about some of these types of advertisement in class (e.g. native advertising) but it was nice to have a detailed description for all the different options offered to entrepreneurs.

Comments on Pitches

In last weeks' blogs I commented on "The Source" and "Focused Fencing".  So, here are my comments on the rest!

The Gamer's Gazette: I think this is a really neat idea.  A lot of people love video games and I think this could be a way to promote involvement with the news as well.  I was wondering how much money you though you needed to get started as well as if you had thought of using events to make money?  You could sponsor scavenger hunts or 5K runs or something like that to go along with the whole adventure/video game theme.

Exploring New Hampshire, Discovering Asia: I think you definitely found a niche subject area that works really well for you.  I also think it is interesting that you don't want a paid subscription.  I love it, I think you can pull in a lot of consumers that way.  One question I had was: what will your advertising look like and how exactly will you make money from it?

Well Now: I think your target audience will really enjoy something like this.  I know I like to read up on articles to help me be my best self and make myself healthier so I think that this could be something a lot of people can relate to.  I was wondering if you could partner yourself with local health food stores or something like that to promote your business as well as the local businesses in your area.  It could be a good way to get the word out right when you're starting!

News in Comics:  This is a really fun idea!  I was wondering though, is the 100K specifically to get you started or will you make money some other way?  Once your company is started and you have spent the 100K how do you plan to make money?  Just something I was wondering!  Overall, great, creative idea!

Unblocked Writers: Really innovative idea, I would for sure use this!  You mentioned interactive advertising in your pitch.  What would that look like?  Would it be online or, like, handing things out to people? I just wasn't sure!

See the News:  Great idea, I love the idea of a mobile app, it's very technologically savvy of you.  How much would it cost for users?  I'm just thinking people might not want to pay for a subscription and for the mobile app if it's too much.  Overall though, I love the idea.  Did you see the recent article about the man who documented his wife's struggle with cancer? It was so powerful and I think your idea will hit home with a lot of people!

The New Stand: Cute and clever idea!  I think it's a great way to harness the age of technology while also promoting the "traditional" news outlets.  I also think your business model could work really well but do you have an idea of how much it will cost to run your company just so you could predict how much you would need to make off advertisements? It's a bit of an in depth question but I was just wondering!

Some Comments on Pitches

After perusing our magnificent pitches I decided to focus in on a few pitches on which to comment.  The first I looked at was "Focused Fencing".  First off, I think this is a pretty cool niche idea, I didn't realize that there was even competition in the world of fencing journalism but I think it's great that this pitch recognizes the competition.  One thing I was wonder was if this magazine would cover high school level fencing?  Another thing I was wondering: I get a lot of ski magazines as an avid skier and a lot of them a full of techniques and gear.  Would focused Fencing just focus on the tournaments and players or would it go into technique for beginners and experienced fencers and go into detail on new gear in the sport? Just something I was wondering and something you may want to consider!

I also looked at the pitch for The Source.  I loved this idea! As an avid pinterest user I can definitely see how this idea would work for news.  Just a saved click and you can access all your news easily.  I really liked how this pitch used ideas that are similar to almost everyone (e.g. Facebook, Reddit, Pulse, etc.) to show how we can learn from these sites and use them to enhance journalism as we know it.  I also liked how this pitch showed the flaws in these sites and explained how The Source would solve those problems.  I think by laying out explanations of the sources first then going into a critique about those sources really strengthened the pitch, good job!

Questions for Terry

I was reading through the bio for Terry Williams and decided to dedicate a whole entire blog post to questions I my want to ask him tomorrow.  I love listening to guest speakers (it makes what we're learning seem like real life) and I always have a lot of questions floating around my head as they speak.  And yet, when they ask the inevitable, "Does anyone have any questions?" my brain freezes up and goes, "uuuummmmmmm....".  So, I decided to write down some early questions I have for our guest speaker tomorrow so I can beat this brain block and appear to be a semi-coherent, interested and intelligent college student!

• How have you seen journalism change during your career?
• How have you seen people adapt to these changes? 
• What are some creative ways you've seen people take advantage of the changes in journalism?
• Do you have any advice for journalists entering this new world?
• What was the Keene Sentinel's business plan before you arrived?
• How have you changed the Sentinel?
• Have you noticed any changes (whether good or bad) in the Sentinel since you arrived?

What's in a grant?

In chapter 6, there was a lot if information on grants and loans, which kind of goes along with my previous blog post on chapter 3.  Last week with Meg, we briefly discussed the pros and cons of using grant money or loans to finance your project. We talked about how, with grant money, you may never get the money or you may have to be subject to the whims of the person or group who gave you the grant.  This chapter reiterated what we talked about last week but went even further.  This book says that grants are good because it's free money, yay! Two of my favorite things: money and free stuff!!!  However, grants are very competitive and take a long time (months, or sometimes, years) to win.  Last week in class we also talked about loans.  In chapter 6, Briggs says that loans are primarily aimed at helping small businesses get started, however, loans come with interest and you have to make payments each month.  Although chapter 3 in this book talks about all the potential journalists have to make money, this chapter makes it seem a lot harder than you may think.  There just seem to be a lot of variables to consider besides how to spend the money you've earned.

Let's Make Money!!!

For this post I want to focus on chapter 3 in Entrepreneurial Journalism because it reminded me a lot of what Meg was saying last week in class.  Last week, we focused on different ways to make money with our idea.  We talked about advertising, sponsors/investors and non-profits.  I thought it would be fitting to talk about this chapter as its main focus is how to make money in journalism. This chapter says, "mixing business in a principled way is not as difficult as some would believe".  There are LOTS of different ways to make money off of your journalism, which is encouraging to new/up and coming journalists.  You could get money through grants, advertisers, events or you could go the non-profit route.  This is pretty much exactly what we talked about with Meg last week so it was interesting for me to see how our discussion in class mirrored this chapter.

Powerpoint Pitch

WSJ Article

My grandfather is a really big newspaper lover.  He reads the Wall Street Journal cover to cover every day.  He also really enjoys finding a great piece of writing and giving it to me to read or just to talk about- the man knows a good story so I'm always excited when he hands me a paper with an article cut out or circled in pen. Today I went home to help put the top on my dad's jeep and my grandmother stopped by on her way home to MA. she brought with her an article my grampy had oh-so thoughtfully cut up for me.  It was by Mark Peters, who we skyped with last year (I think).  he had written an article about how this little theater which puts on a huge show every year is suffering and won't be able to continue the tradition.  Apparently this is an issue for a lot of small theater because they just can't keep up, or don't want to keep up, with the rising technology. This kind of reminded me a little bit about the problems and potential, facing journalists right now. We're pushing forward into the digital age but there are some (I'm included) who just love the tradition of print.  Like the theater lovers, we are the romantics who love the idea of Sunday papers with coffee, theater to see plays and musicals and books made out of real paper! However, I do recognize the fact that technology is as present in life as the next iphone prototype.  So here's what I think all us romantics need to do: we should embrace the traditions of the past while also integrating some form of technology into them for enhancement. This way, maybe, the traditions will love will not only remain but succeed in this technological age.

Reaction to Meg Heckman's article

This article really made me realize that there are so many different options for new businesses and entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to journalism.  Some people push for ad sales, others use 'clicks' to generate a profit.  Still more debate over free sites, like wordpress or blogster to create journalistic businesses, blogs or websites.  In my intro. to 21st century journalism class we were talking about kickstarter programs, open and closed websites and ways to get people to pay for journalism, so Meg's article really resonated with what I've been learning this semester.  I'm not really sure what I think the "best" way to start a new business is but I think it boosts my spirits a little and makes me a little bit more optimistic to think that there are multiple avenues for me to take.  Sometimes it kind of seems impossible to make a new business or create a new way to make money in journalism but this article actually showed that it is possible to do, yay!  

Switching it up!

Last Monday, I realized that, although I liked my idea and thought it was something I could definitely accomplish, I just didn't feel the passion every entrepreneur and every chapter we've read has talked about.  I'm extremely passionate about skiing, writing and travelling but my idea just felt a little... stale to me. I wanted to something new and fun to add to the world of journalism.  I then thought of what I like to do on the internet.  Although I enjoy reading blogs, I prefer sites that are more interactive. That's when I thought of the idea of a choose your own adventure news site. Audience members could read through a news story, like you would read in a magazine or newspaper. However, at certain critical points, the players could make a choice- choose what really happened or pick two other choices to see what would have happened if they were in charge. this way people are learning and also having fun seeing if they could handle being in charge. I threw the idea by my mom and dad but I haven't been able to ask a whole lot of people what they think so my idea is still in its infancy but I'm feeling more passion for this idea and I think it could really go places!

Making as Powerpoint... it's an art

I just made my powerpoint pitch (still need to figure out how to add a voice-over... that's my next step) but I realized that writing a pitch is not as easy as it seems. I wanted mine to be simple yet informative, fun and entertaining but also professional, it's not an easy balance.  I also wanted to make sure my font was big enough to ready and also not too crazy.  I'm usually the person who uses fun colors and insane fonts for fun so, for this project, I really had to restrain myself from using my favorite harry potter font!  I also wanted to make every slide informative but not too wordy so people won't get bored and stop reading or listening because they've zoned out.  I tried to accomplish this by using bulleted facts but, we'll see. I, personally, hate powerpoints with no pictures ( I think they're boring) so I tried to add fun and relevant pictures but some felt forced to me.  In short, making this powerpoin pitch was not as easy as I thought and I actually spent more time on the design than on coming up with the information!

The Art of Pitching

This chapter was also full of useful information but something that I really noticed was that pitching an idea seems a lot like writing an informative news story. In this chapter, the author talked about how a pitch should be short and brief but answer all the necessary questions and, most importantly, answer the question, "so what?" This reminded me a lot of writing journalistic pieces because when I'm writing a story I always ask myself "so what?" before adding some information, elaborating on a fact, giving background information or writing a lead. If people don't care, if there's no reason for them to continue reading then they'll stop and put down the piece. Same thing with a sales pitch, if you don't capture the audiences attention and tell them why what you're doing is important then they'll stop listening and go back to playing angry birds on their cell phones. this chapter made me think that, as journalists, we are in a lucky position to be giving pitches because we are already accustomed to short, pithy, informative sentences and statements that answer the "so what?" question.

The Art of Getting Started

This chapter had a lot of short sections which were very helpful and easy to read (whef, bit of a break from last week!). Something that I really liked was the idea of a mantra. I tend to get distracted easily, my dad describes me and my mom as getting distracted by random "shiny things" suddenly. I like the idea of a mantra because, if I'm trying to remember a business model, those shiny things will steal my attention. However, if I have a small and short saying to remind me what I'm doing then I can stay focused. I also though the distinction between a mantra and a tag line is important. At first I kind of thought a mantra and a tag line were the same thing but the nike example in the chapter made sense for me; a mantra is for the entrepreneur and employees, a tag line is for customers. I think having a mantra for a new business (or even just for life) is important because if something is repeated so many times and is so ingrained in your brain then it will be harder to forget and will stay there, reminding you of your purpose and goals.

Exploring CyberJournalist.net

As the title of this blog post may suggest, I explored the suggested website, cyberjournalist.net for this week. I noticed it was very similar to tumblr, with different quotes, pictures and articles posted in chronological order for the viewer to read. I liked the format because it was really easy for me to skim and scroll them abruptly stop when something caught my eye. I think it's also cool because journalists post writing tips for viewers and other writers. For example, somebody posted a link to "Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word". there are a variety of stories ranging from "US Military Scientists Solve the Fundamental Problem of viral Marketing" to "How Facebook Mastered Mobile Adds". It's basically an online forum where journalists and writers post what they're writing, what they're thinking and what inspires them. I thought it was an easy to follow and fun format but also informative.

The Importance of Networking

Looking through sites and articles this week, trying to find something to blog about, I stumbled across site posted on the blog, "10 Things Entrepreneurs Don't Learn in College". Number 5 on the list is titled "Networking". I thought this was important because it's kind of what John Herman's lecture was all about; using the resources (including people) available to you to better yourself and market yourself. As a journalism major I have found networking to be extremely important. I am involved in something like 7 different organizations on campus (wow, that kind of stresses me out just thinking about it!) but with all those people, there is always someone who knows something or someone for me to talk to. Even if it's just a starting point, asking acquaintances or people in orgs with me has never lead me wrong. Last year writing a story about Adderall use on campus for Sue Hertz's class, I asked friends, random people, neighbors and friends of friends if they knew anyone who had ever used adderall to help them on a test or get them through finals. I finally found someone and he turned out to be a great source for my story, he even introduced me to his roommate and I interviewed him too! I guess what I'm saying is I really get the concept of networking and see how it's so important. My only problem is I'm not very goo at networking via social media, I prefer face to face (or at lease email to email or phone to phone) contact. Using twitter and Facebook for networking can be very powerful, I think, I just have yet to harness that potential ad of yet... I'm working on it though!

Accounting...summed up

So, I just finished all the reading for this week and finished typing up my notes but I'm still not 100% sure I understood everything.  it's easy enough to read something, take some notes and think "ah, yes, this makes perfect sense". But I think if I had to give a detailed account of everything we read, I might be a little bit lost. Although, generally, the reading made sense to me (balance the scale) I feel like there are a lot of rules and laws that are dependent on a lot of other factors that may or may not be reliable. At this point in time, accounting seems to me to be an exact science based on a lot of variables. I am interested to see what our guest speaker has to say about all this nonsense tomorrow because, although I see how accounting relates to entrepreneurs and business owners, I wonder if the concepts have to be changed with journalism because it's so hard to sell a product when people are clamoring for a free news and media.  

A Reiteration

Today in my 21st century journalism class I had big time deja-vu to our class on Monday. We had a guest skype speaker today, Megan Specia who is a 2009 UH journalism gad and who now works for a new company in the journalism world- Storyful. Storyful verifies that different videos, pictures and tweets are legitimate and verifiable so they can be used on air or in stories. I think this is a really cool way to combine the digital/social media side of journalism to the basics of finding the facts and making sure they are true. Something Megan said towards the end of our little chit chat was that, as college journalism students, one of the most important and helpful things we can be doing for ourselves and our career at this moment is to be using our social media site (twitter, facebook, instagram, etc.) to really make a name for ourselves. Megan suggested joining online journalism group or chats, blogging, tweeting and following prominent news sources on social media to just begin to get our names out there and start to get in touch with possible future employers. This was a major flashback to what John was saying on Monday bout using our twitters (and other things) to promote ourselves and make a name for ourselves in the big bad world of digital journalism. I figured it was important but, hearing the same thing from two guest speakers in one week really just reiterated the idea.

First taste of accounting...

So far I've read three chapters of the accounting reading and I'm deciding to take a blogging break because my brain feels like it's slowly melting.  Although the reading is not difficult, it's very dense and full of lots of definitions and important information so I really have to be actively reading to get the gist of the chapter.  From what I've read I've gotten the sense that running and starting a business is not as simple as it seems and it takes a lot of organization and knowledge to make sure everything is in order.  At the same time, most of this accounting nonsense seems to just be making sure everything is balanced and the "teeter totter" (as the reading calls it) remains balanced and stable.  Easier said than done, I'm sure, but this makes it sound simple and gives a person with little to no background in economics and accounting (me) a simple way to imagine and wrap my head around the concepts described in the reading.  Hopefully it remains this simple for me to understand but I have a feeling things are going to get complicated fast!

Reactions to John Herman

I had such a fun time listening to John yesterday!  He frequently commented on our lackluster appearances but I was mostly just trying to comprehend his awesomeness and ingenuity.  His visit really inspired me to try new things with social media and really push the boundaries of what they are used for.  Since yesterday, for example, I've begun tweeting more and I made an instagram account, just for kicks.  Something he said really hit home with me (which is what prompted my sudden interest in social media).  He said something along the lines of "if you're not using social media to further your career, you're not using it right".  This really got me thinking about ways to use social media, not only for myself and my friends but using it to promote myself.  Another thing that John's visit made me realize was, it's OK to shamelessly promote myself online- in fact, it's a good thing!  Overall, I really enjoyed John's visit.  He was funny, had amazing stories, made me think I can succeed with any idea I have and also got me thinking of ways to further my ideas and myself right now.

Opinions from Outsiders...

Taylor Hodgdon, Male, 21, Geology Major UNH:

"I think that's a fantastic idea.  I think it's an interesting take off of the news on television... it's a news perspective that most people don't see it from... and I think it does a good job at getting the attention of people who don't always watch the news but like skiing as well so it gets a big group of people."

Will McKernan, Male, 21, Junior UNH:

"I think you still face a little bit of the problems with facing the niche market just because you're still looking at the skiing of it... you're relating current events to skiing... you might have a little bit more success as a ski reporter, because there are a lot of people who just casually ski, in my opinion... don't just write about skiing... I think that it could be interesting too, as a lot of skiing mountains are multi- functional... that might have other implications on that so then you can get into like the wedding market."

Cory Snyder, Male, 21, Senior UNH:

"The ski industry as a whole is an interesting place... I don't know very many people who are writers int he ski industry, I know skiers who happen to write...  people help them] ski by writing... it all depends on where your writing is being published cause it's sort of... like it doesn't fit in the NYT or... it fits in the union leader or a local paper... it would probably be an interesting column in a local paper."

Questions and Answers (?)

Q: At this point you should have some idea of who the average user of your product will be. What is the profile of that person?
A:  My ideal user would be a person who is passionate about skiing also wants to learn about what's going on in the world and how those events affect the ski world.  I suppose my ideal user would be a person like me- someone who wants to get his or her news in a creative way through a lens which they are familiar with, comfortable with and interested in (in this case, skiing).
Q: Who wants this product that you intend to develop?
A:  As a ski instuctor, I think that ski resorts and mountains would be interested in this product because it provides an interesting look on their mountain or resort that is not necessarily a "cookie cutter" review.  It gives visitors to the town or resort a different look at a mountain or at the sport of skiing in general.  It will allow visitors to not only get a glimpse of the skiing offered at the mountain but also how the surrounding area and mountian itself are being affected by current issues. 
Q: What problem or need are you satisfying for your customers? (Remember, the customers aren't necessarily the people who will be using your product. For example, television audiences aren't customers unless they pay for the product, as in HBO. The customers are advertisers.)
A:  As a skier I have always noticed that most ski news is just gear, conditions and mountains with awesome scenery.  As a skier I love this about ski news because it informs me about many of the things I want to know as a skier.  However, I sometimes find and articles that are ski related but are about wider reaching subjects, like climate change or the economy.  This got me thinking that there is a need for this kind of news- ski relted current events.  
Q: Who wants this product?
A:  Skiers, ski resorts and mountains, newsies, people who enjoy laughing and being entertained by my witty voice and bad puns. :)
Q: We all have to live. Where is the money in this product?
A:  This is actually the one answer to which I don't have a solid answer (even though it's probably the most important question).  I suppose there could be money it it from asdvertisers who want to pay for space to display their products, etc.  I haven't really thought of a creative way to make money off this idea though... I'd love help/suggestions!
Q: You are a journalist. Where is the journalism in this product?
A:  The journalism here is looking at current events and news stories and writing them creatively through the eyes of a skier and, especially, looking at them in regards to how they affect the ski curlture of a town or resort. 
Q: We've read that passion is key to success of a new venture. Money alone will not sustain it. So where is the passion in your product?
A:  I may not know about the money in this venture but I sure have the passion!  Skiing, travelling and writing are (and have always been) my three biggest passions in the world.  One of my Grandmother's favorite things to look at is a ski "newspaper" I made all by myself when I was ten.  I basically just drew the columns and wrote about skiing in my town of Jackson, so this is an idea I've had since I was younger.  I would love to take my childhood idea and turn it into something bigger and more wide reaching, something that a broader audience could enjoy and learn from.

Branding etc.

The reading this week talked a lot about branding, especially in regards to blogs.  Chapter 10 in Newsonomics says, "It is no longer enough just to create good or great work... It's all about getting your brand, your story, and yourself out there and having others multiply your impact."  I found this to be a really important and critical point.  With so many blogs out there, it is really important to make yours stand out by having a "brand", or something that sets you apart from everybody else and makes you unique.  I have set up a couple blogs in the past, just to talk about my study abroad experiences etc. and this is something I struggled with.  Do I want to be the quirky/geeky writer? Do I want to be the knowledgeable traveler? Or do I want to be the writer just bumbling through life with a few helpful hints along the way? I still don't really know.  Then, once you decide on an image, how do you go about marketing yourself and your image to the right people so you succeed in you ventures?  This is something I'd really like to explore a little bit more throughout the rest of the semester.  I recently started a blog about my experience applying for a semester in France and I plan to continue this blog all though my semester abroad in the Spring.  I think knowing how to brand myself will help me and my blog succeed in the coming year.

Skiing the slopes on news mountain

For my project, I would like to create a blog (or other online news source to examine worldwide events through the skiing culture.  This will look at social, economic, environmental and more conflicts through the worldwide ski culture.

Chatting with Jan Curley: Marshfield Hills Pottery

Me: What exactly do you do with Marshfield Hills Pottery?

Jan: Marshfield Hills Pottery has 2 components:

It is my personal art studio where I create art. I make pottery that I sell at art fairs. I create sculptures that I exhibit.  It is also a classroom where I teach kids, teens, and adult pottery classes year round.

Me: What inspired you to start your pottery business?

Jan: I was the kid in high school who hung out in the art room. I went to school for Art Education and minored in Ceramics. I have been a public school art teacher for over 18 years. Creating art has been my passion for as long as I can remember, and teaching enriches my life more than I can explain. 

When we moved into this antique house 7 years ago, I knew I wanted to convert the old horse barn into my studio. I was renting studio space in another town and making a lot of pottery. I saved every dime from every craft fair to finish the barn. I paid for the lumber, the electricity, the plumbing, everything with money made from selling my art. I've been open for a little over one year now and it feels like a huge accomplishment having realized the dream through my own hard work.

Me: What has been the the hardest part of this process for you?

Jan: The hardest part is that I can't give MHP my full attention and it isn't reaching it's full potential. Because I have a full-time job outside of my home, and I have 2 children, I don't devote enough time to the business. I have turned down opportunities to make money because I don't have the time.

Me: What has been the most rewarding part?

Jan: The most rewarding part is the positive responses I get from students who take my classes. It's great when you receive affirmation that you're good at what you do.

It's also pretty great to not have to rent studio space and drive 20 minutes each way to get there. I literally walk out of my kitchen and I'm in my own space.

Me: If you could do anything differently, what would you do and why?

Jan: If I could do something different it would be to have a person who runs the business aspect of MHP for me. Admittedly, I'm not good at it. I don't market myself well, or advertise effectively and I am terrible at answering e-mails in a timely fashion. It all goes back to not having enough hours in the day. I wish I could afford to hire an employee to fill up my classes, market, advertise, and make my sales. That way I could just make art and teach classes and not have to worry about those tasks.

Me: How did you get started?

Jan:  I think I answered this in question two. To expand a little...I couldn't have pulled any of this off without my husband's support. He worked so hard in that barn to make MHP a reality. He spent a lot of nights and weekends over a few years time working on the construction of the studio. He purchased my website and the sign that hangs out front. He schlepps all my stuff to and from fairs. He's been unreal.

Me: Where do you imagine MHP going in the future?

Jan: I will keep doing what I'm doing for now; teaching classes and doing fairs and adding to my income. It is and will continue to be a second job and a supplementary income for years to come. Jim and I can't work out how I could possibly make enough at MHP to quit my full-time job. Nor do I know if I would want to leave teaching high school. I love the career that I've chosen, and like your mom : ) I think I am very good at my job. When my boys are grown and out of the house, I will be able to devote more time to the business. But I'm not wishing those years away because they're already growing up too fast. When I retire from teaching  (in about 17 years) I plan to devote all of my time to MHP. That's the plan anyway.

Re-Vamping the News...

Chapter 11 in "Newsonomics" went along quite nicely with my former blog post. I really found this chapter helpful because it discussed what happens after the classes finish and we leave the lovely UNH campus. Like how Bezos is now running The Washington Post, this chapter discussed the business side to news and how running a media organization is very similar to running a business. Despite all the new aspects emerging onto the "journalistic" scene, the foundation remains stable. Although journalists nowadays must be "tweeners" with multiple skills (including multi-tasking) the basic foundations of journalism remains. Being able to report, interview, edit and write are still the most important skills a journalist can possess. However, in today's more digitized age journalism is "also about getting handy with a camcorder and digital audio." It was actually really fitting because we have been talking about this a lot in my 21st century journalism class: how to react to the changes slowly happening in the world of journalism while also sticking to those important journalistic basics. We've actually been thinking about the question- is this influx of technology a blessing or a curse? I don't have a definite answer because on one hand I think having the capability to get information more easily is a great thing for journalists but on the other hand, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Because there is soooooo much information floating around out there, we need to be more skeptical of where the information comes from. That's where the good ol' fashioned basics of journalism come back in!

In the business of news...

The Nieman article brought up some really interesting concepts I want to talk about real quick. As a journalist, when I see a person, with no experience in reporting the news, step in to take over a newspaper or a news organization, I honestly think, "what gives you the right?" It's slightly ridiculous because, as we see in the Nieman article, businessmen have really great ideas for the news industry. One quote from Bezos that really got me thinking is, "Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient... If you replace 'customer' with 'reader', that approach, that point of view, can be successful at The Post, too." Well said, Bezos, well said.  I think that newspapers can very well succeed by using this "business" model.  By inventing new ways to get the news out to people and innovative ways to get people reading (then waiting, nothing's instantaneous even in this world of twitter and facebook") maybe the whole form of journalism will be made better and, eventually, saved!

Possible Project???

When I went abroad over the Summer I had a blog just to keep my family up to date on all my goings on in England.  I'm also planning a study abroad trip next semester so having a blog this summer got me thinking about blogging and future journalistic ventures in general.  I have this idea for a blog (not just for next semester but something I'd like to pursue in the future) which combines three of my favorite things: writing, travelling and skiing.  I'm a huge skier and lover of travel so I thought it would be fun for me to create a way to combine all my favorites into one niche area.  I have found that skiers (in general) like to travel and try new places, explore new trails and rip up a new mountain. So I think it would be fun to have a place where people can read about all the different places to ski in the world from the perspective of a travelling (financially challenged) girl-on-the-go.  It's just an idea right now, I'm not sure if I'll run with it or if it will take me anywhere but I think it could be a fun way to get me started!

7SSC

Dan and Christine were recent UNH alums when they founded the 7 Stages Shakespeare Company in the Summer of 2012.  Both active thespians in college, the two bonded over their love of everything Shakespeare and decided to create a company committed to "bringing the Bard to the seacoast".  Since then, Dan and Christine participate and direct performances of well and little known Shakespeare plays alike.  This spring, the group will be putting on a performance of a 1950's rendition of The Taming of the Shrew with the help of another local theater troupe, The Players' Ring.  In addition to these "pay for ticket" shows, the group also brings free shows to the seacoast area for theater lovers to appreciate.  One popular achievement is the group's "Shakes-BEER-ience".  These free shows (donations accepted, of course) are typically held in The Press Room in downtown Portsmouth and, the actors believe, are performed in a way the Bard himself would have been proud of, "over pints with food and friends".  Today, the group hosts auditions as far away as New York and fills The Press Room each month with thirty theater goers, hungry for more Shakespeare.  

2 New Ideas!

1. Kind if like Tumblr for news sources.  That way you can just scroll through what other people have been reading/posting and see if anything catches your eye.  Then you can re-post that article so you can save ti for later.  A lot of times I'll say "oh, I read about that in an article... but I can't remember where..." so with this Tumbr-news idea, you can save articles, videos, tweets, etc. about what you're reading and what you're interested in.

2. Meet and greet a newsroom.  I think one of the main image issues journalism has is that they are behind the scenes. Journalists (not TV anchors) are just a name in a paper to many people, the story is what matters not the person who wrote it.  But I think it would be fun to have an "open house" day for newspapers or news organizations where the public can go in, meet the writers and editors and see what goes into producing the daily news. I think this would eliminate some of the mystery of journalism and make it more accessible to residents.

Let's talk about Syria (in 140 characters or less)

The tension in Syria is something I've been really interested in the past few weeks.  I've been reading US news sources (like the Globe) as well as international news sources (like BBC or The Guardian) to try and get different perspectives on what's really going on in the Middle East right now.  Something I was encouraged to do for my 21st Century Journalism class was go on Twitter ans see how an important/popular story was being covered.  I looked up the #syria as well as handles with "syria" in their titles.  I found people in Syria tweeting pictures and videos, organizations attempting to free Syria, US handles discussing what should and would happen and lots more.  I find it interesting that people are having similar conversations on Twitter as news articles from varying sources are reporting.  Twitter does have one thing that is both a blessing and a curse for people interested in getting news: it comes from individuals with distinct opinions and agendas who are encouraged to blast their opinion all over my feed.  I really like this because I get to see so many different views and read about what people in Syria were saying about the US's potential military action.  Twitter also gives me the news I'm looking for fast.  I can easily scroll through my feed and see what journalists, residents, celebrities and friends are saying about Syria all while waiting for my friend to turn up for lunch.

Lemonade... more sour than sweet

When I was a kid, my cousins and I would make lemonade and try to sell it to people on the beach.  My Grandmother lives on the beach so we thought we had some prime real estate.  Sure, those other kids could stand on corners and shout at cars passing them but we could walk in the sand, dipping out toes into the water and annoy innocent sun bathers, no competition.  I think my family probably suggested we try to make some money by selling lemonade to get us off their backs for an afternoon and keep us busy so we didn't resort to tackling each other or wreaking havoc in my Grandmother's pristine house.  We used lemonade mix (my Grandmother's), water, a jug (also my Grandmother's), ice and plastic cups (Grammy's).  We charged 50 cents per cup but most beach don't have money with them, let alone a fully stocked wallet, so we frequently just gave it away fro free... not my best business move, in hindsight.  We had fun, made enough money for an ice cream each and gave the adults an afternoon of peace.  However, "real life" lemonade stands are not nearly this simple.  To really start up a small lemonade stand you need to take into account prices of individual items (something I NEVER did as a kid), permitting rules, advertising and how much to charge to make a profit.  There's a lot more to it than just whipping up some lemonade in a kitchen and pestering people for money.  Starting up a business, even something as simple as a lemonade stand, is definitely not as straight forward as one would think and, at first, doesn't have nearly as sweet a payoff as an ice cream cone or cup of lemonade.

10 Ideas to SAVE Journalism!!!

1. I've always found contrasting perspectives on the same views event from different sources.  My idea is to have a place where people can take a topic they're interested in and then see all the different coverage on it so they are not getting a on sided, biased take on an event.

2. There are some newspapers that print every day and other that print once a week or once a month.  My idea is to have daily news sources (ie Boston Globe) publish a weekly paper or journal summing up all the news that happened that week, a summary of the week.  The articles would be more in depth, more magazine-y so people could use the daily to get a brief overview then read the weekly or monthly to get a broader picture of the subject.

3. A comprehensive, local news source that takes "real" reporting and combines it with local tweets, videos, sound clips and Facebook updates on the event.  This way local people are being incorporated into the news articles.

4. A site where all the news is portrayed in song.  Like "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel.

5. A social media, news source, verifier.  A team that verifies tweets, Facebook messages, instagram photos, etc. pertaining to a particular news event.  This way people can see what (or who) is a reliable source.

6. An interactive world cloud of the day's news.  Put in the time frame the the viewer is looking for information on and see which words or topics were BIG in that time period.  The words would link to different articles on that word/subject.

7. A website that "rates" articles and news sources on how well researched/objective they are.  Kind of like rotten tomatoes for news sources.

8. A cultural, international news site that takes news events and links it to cultural blogs and sites pertaining to that area.  For example, say someone was reading an article about Syria.  At the bottom of the page there would be links to blogs, articles and other sources on Syrian music, food, festivals, history, etc. This way people get a deeper understanding of the culture of a place and might relate more to that news article.

9. A website or news source that makes connections between current events and works of literature (fiction).

10. News or kids.  Weekly or daily news in an interactive, kid-friendly fashion.  Making current events more accesible to a younger population (ie relating current event to Disney).

do journalism school really need to be teaching hospitals?

In this article, Justin Ellis talks about how journalism is being taught in some schools and how he thinks it should be taught.  Ellis describes the "teaching hospital" route of teaching journalism as a model, offering students real world experience for their (hopefully) future careers as journalists.  However, this model could be detrimental to those studying journalism, argues Ellis.  He says that the "teaching hospital" method reinforces practices that do not help the industry and do not respond to the current change in journalism.

That's where entrepreneurial journalism comes in!

Some argue that more innovative and new techniques should be used to give students a head start on dealing with the changing industry.  Personally, I think both schools of thought are pretty important.  On one hand, the "teaching hospital" style is more classic (from what the article was saying) and give students a basic, background understanding on how journalism works.  I think everyone studying journalism should know at least the basics of writing, reporting, interviewing and writing to a deadline.  However, I see how teaching journalism the way it was taught 25 years ago could be detrimental to the future of the field.  Journalism is changing.  I think everybody, even people who are NOT journalism majors can see that.  Therefore, I think it's important for people (especially journalism student) to be aware of these changes and how to adapt to them so we can market ourselves more effectively when we are thrown out into the real world of jobs and work... ugh!      

News Today and How We Got Here...

Yesterday in my 21st Century Journalism class we were actually talking about this so I figured it made sense if I did a blog post about it!  In class yesterday we watched several clips on youtube.  One was Walter Cronkite's first broadcast where he interviewed John F. Kennedy.  The second clip we watched was a clip from CNN where they were talking about the current tension in Syria and different courses of action to take.  The Cronkite clip was very slow paced compared to the flashing, whirring, buzzing, constantly changing CNN one.  In Cronkite's video, a pre-recorded clip of Cronkite interviewing JFK at his home in the Cape was shown (in its entirety).  It was slow paced, relaxed and the viewer saw the whole interview, which allowed them to really get a sense for the presidential candidate and made him seem more human, especially when he was joking around with Cronkite lounging in adirondacks on the grass.  Contrarily, the CNN clip was full of information overload!  There were changing pictures, quick quotes from officials and sources, dramatic noises and even a tag line at the bottom of the screen recounting what was going on and even predicting the next day's weather.  SO, how did we go from Cronkite's slow and deliberate interview to the flashy and dramatic CNN video?  I'm not 100% sure but I have some ideas... I think, in this age of twitter, facebook, online news, reddit and more, people expect instant news.  They want their news to be quick and to the point so they can get back to the lives ASAP.  Sitting down and watching the news (or reading the news) has become an archaic practice, acceptable only if you are working in the field or retired and have nothing else to do.  In the 21st century where people are constantly moving, news has to be dramatic enough to grab the viewer's attention, quick enough to give them what they need and busy enough to inform the viewer of multiple stories simultaneously.  Personally, I think a lot can be said for the slower paced interview of Cronkite and the romantic idea of reading the paper over a cup of coffee in the morning.  

Internet News: how it's organized (and other stuff)

So today I was browsing the internet looking for interesting things to read and the first thing I noticed was the way the sites are organized.  I was scanning BBC news The Daily Mail and Boston.com for worthy stories and I found that nearly every one was accompanied by a video.  I watched a couple of them, just for additional information, and a lot of the quotes from the article came directly from the accompanying video.  For this reason, a lot of the information was repeated but I did appreciate having a second option of getting the story.  Also, the video added some nice visuals to go with the story that just really hit home with the reader.  For example, I was reading a story about the possible chemical attacks in Syria last week and possible military action from the UK and the video showed some pretty graphic images of victims of the attack.  It was a really powerful way for the reader to get a direct visual of what happened in Damascus last week.  Another way the news is organized online is through topics.  The main page of the site has lots of headlines and breaking news stories with links to more information on those stories as background or just accompanying articles.  Then there are topic for the reader to choose what type of story they want to read.  Like a print edition, online news sources still post what they consider to be the most important stories on the front then bury the "less important" stories elsewhere.