Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Day 1,095
So where do we go from here?Simply put, we don't know. (As if you couldn't tell that from our retrospectives.)
We've wrestled with what to do with the blog as we approached our deadline. It's our baby, so we'd love to see it continue, but we're different people now than we were when we first started this journey and we'd have to account for that. For sure, Ten95 as you know it will be taking a hiatus - likely brief, but potentially permanent - while we decide where we want to go with this. And when, or if, we decide to restart Ten95, it will likely be in a very different form than you've come to know it.
Know this: the "Ten95 Experience" has been a great one and that's thanks to you. From day one we got great, insightful and encouraging comments regarding our work and our lives. We had a community to vent our feelings to, and people who looked to our experiences as affirmation that they weren't alone in their struggles. We met young journalists who came to us for advice (which was humbling) and readers - seasoned veterans and rookies - who congratulated us on a project with such a unique perspective.
This experience has been one that we can safely say, made our first three years as journalists good ones and shaped our identities in the industry.
And for that, we thank you.
Sincerely,
The Ten95 Crew
The Ten95 Crew
P.S. -- For those of you who may need a Ten95 fix and will be in the Tampa area for the NABJ convention, 1/2 of the crew will be on a panel entitled "Reinvent Yourself, Not the Wheel"on August 4. And the rest of the crew will likely be hanging out in the audience, if you'd like to say hello.
Labels: convention, for journalism's sake, fun, growing pains, heart, inspiration, journalism, love, milestones, musings, NABJ, the industry, unity
continue...Monday, May 18, 2009
Who are You?
I write stuff about people all day, every day. I can distill legal arguments, even lives into a sentence or two. Why can't I do the same when it comes to writing about myself?So, I got a fellowship to go to the annual journalism fete in Tampa this year. As a part of the requirements, they want us to write a short biography -- anything from a sentence or two to a short paragraph -- about who we are and what we do.
I was hoping I'd sent them a bio last year that I could update and recycle. No such luck. I went trolling the Internet for old bios that I could recycle. They were all woefully out of date, or inappropriate to the point where it would take a lot of rewriting to make it applicable for the fellowship.
This sucks. And I feel sucky for not being able to just bang this out. Maybe if I imagine I'm not writing about myself:
T-Dot is a justice reporter for a major metropolitan daily in New England, specializing in courts and technology. She covers two suburban courthouses and the Town of Smithfield and has been with the paper for 4 years. She is a 2005 graduate of Hampton University {begin optional trim} where she studied print journalism and served as editor in chief of her school newspaper, The Hampton Script, for two years {end optional trim}.
Eh. Not bad. I'll figure something out I suppose.
Labels: convention, NABJ
continue...Thursday, August 07, 2008
Summer Survivial
One-third of the Ten95 crew participated in a panel during Unity called "Paying it Forward: How to Maximize Your Internship," as a part of the all-star crew that included recruiting phenom Joe Grimm, radio guru Doug Mitchell and reporting superstars Chloe Hilliard and Marlon Walker. Veronica moderated and I was a panelist.The room was packed. The kids were eager. The advice was super sound. Below are a few pics from event and our Top 20 lists of things to do -- and not to do -- while on a summer internship. The tips were written from a print perspective, but are applicable across mediums.
- DO learn who is who on the staff.
- DO understand that each staff is a living organism that you should easy your way into SLOWLY. Assertiveness is great but sometimes misplaced enthusiasm can rub some the wrong way.
- DON'T blog (Facebook or MySpace) about your internship. Your employer is watching and reading.
- DON'T feel a sense of entitlement while you're in a newsroom. Just because there are front page stories (or great packages) without writers, don't think that one is going to be yours.
- DO watch your editor to determine his or her work pattern and the best time of day (or week) to seek guidance and feedback.
- DO arrive 30 minutes early every day to get the best assignments. The early bird gets the worm. There are stories that your editor is probably waiting to assign as people come in for the day so make sure you're in the mix!
- DO cultivate a few relationships with people who understand your thought process well enough to be excellent references in the future and collect their business cards.
- DO offer to help out in any little way with a big story.
- DON'T jeopardize your credibility by having a romantic relationship during your internship --- especially not one with a permanent staffer.
- DON'T ever be hard to reach. Questions and opportunites can arise at any time.
- DON'T take criticism of your work personally. Work with your supervisors to make it better.
- DON'T say "I don't want to," and don't hesitate to say, "I'm not sure how, but I want to learn."
- DO make sure that you understand your assignment and ask detailed questions before you head out to report. You can write the best story in the world, but if its not what your editor requested, it won't earn you any points.
- DO make or beat your deadline.
- DO chat up other reporters. If you see a story someone did and you liked it or are interested in the process, ask them out for coffee or stop by their desk.
- DON'T forget to check every name, age, address and fact in your story, in addition to running spell check. No one likes messy copy.
- DON'T turn your nose up at any assignment. Small stories lead to bigger opportunities.
- DO ask for feedback. Midway through your internship, schedule a sit down with your editor/supervisor to discuss your performance to-date. What areas need work? In what areas are you excelling? What does your editor want to see going forward? Take the feedback to heart and work on the areas that need improvement.
- DO set tangible goals. Make a list that will serve as the roadmap to your internship. What skills do you want to learn? What particular stories or topics would you like to cover?
- DO come up with your own story ideas and pitch them to your editor.
(Photo captions from top to bottom: Talia answering a question on the panel; Chloe and Marlon dropping knowledge on the interns; Veronica keeping us all in line.)
Labels: internships, Job survival, NABJ, office politics, tips and tricks, unity
continue...Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
By 7:45 a.m. today, I was up, dressed and having breakfast with Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times.Yeah, I was doing it up. But not really.
See, the breakfast was sponsored by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. In honor of the milestone, they invited alumni of their programs to this breakfast and conversation about the future of the industry with Sulzberger.
I ain't an alumni. But my boss is.
When I told her I was going to UNITY, she mentioned that she'd been invited to this breakfast and wouldn't be able to go. It sounded interesting so I asked.
"Do you think you could see if I could go in your place," I asked her. "Since I'll be there. I don't like mornings, but at conventions, I try to go to as many sessions and events as possible to take advantage of my time there. Just let me know if it is a possibility."
It was.
And the sausage, blueberry pastry and pineapple were mm mmm good.
That's one of the cardinal rules of internships, jobs, shoot, just life. Ask and ye shall receive. If there is an opportunity for you to even play a small part on a large project, or you see a reporter grumbling about a story you'd love to have, ask to help out. The absolute worst thing that can happen if you ask is that a person says no. At best, you'll have a great byline, or tagline on an important story and you'll build relationships with coworkers and gain reporting/interviewing/writing techniques by osmosis. So identify what you want, who might be able to give it to you, and see if they're willing to do so. You might be surprised at their answer.
To be honest, I almost didn't make it there this morning. Last night, we were out singing karaoke at a local club in the Sheraton lobby. I didn't make it to bed until 2:30 in the morning. So when that clock went off at 6:20 a.m., I pressed snooze.
And again at 6:45. And 7:00. In my head, I said no one would care if I missed this breakfast. And I'd get to sleep. But I'd asked and I really did want to go to the event. Plus, I was hungry.
So I dragged myself out of bed, threw together an outfit and hoofed it to the Sheraton. I found the room and hopped into the buffet line, figuring that by the time I got through it, everyone would have sat down and I'd be able to find a seat. I ended up standing behind Wil LaVeist, a former columnist at the Daily Press (the local paper in my college town) and we chatted it up about Hampton, his move away and back to the tidewater area (he now works for the Virginian-Pilot) and how I'm finding Providence. There was a vacant seat at his table, so we continued the chat over eggs and OJ.
The conversation, led by founder Dorothy Butler Gilliam (formerly of the Washington Post), centered on the changing industry and what our product and the journalists of tomorrow should look like. Among the highlights:
- In your newsroom, there should not be a newspaper division and a Web division, Sulzberger said. With the emphasis on the Internet as it is today, there should be one person coordinating the news and web postings for each section. Not one person coordinating the news and another posting it to the web. (Interesting because my paper is definitely set up with two distinct divisions)
- People have been predicting the death of newspapers for the last 10 years. But at the Times, Sulzberger said, the circulation has nearly doubled in recent years. While print readers have remained stagnant, the number of online readers has increased steadily.
- The average person spends 35 minutes a day with the paper; the average online reader spends 35 minutes a month on a newspaper Web site, he said. To survive, we have to find out how to make sites "stickier" so people will spend more time there.
- As we learn more about shooting video, writing stories and collecting audio, always remember the product. The tools are nice, but just remember you are using them to create quality work -- they shouldn't take away from that main goal.
- The Times is doing a great job with hiring minorities in its Web division, but those minorities are overwhelmingly Asian. They need a larger pool of qualified applicants from ALL backgrounds (hint: if you're trying to get in at the NYT, get your multimedia on).
I learned something else today, too. Sulzberger is pretty funny. He's a likeable guy -- at least from afar. Seems like it would be pretty cool to sit down to a cup of coffee with him.
Well, I at least got close to it today, just because I asked.
Labels: internships, Job survival, musings, NABJ, unity
continue...Monday, August 13, 2007
We came. We saw. We conquered. (We missed Chris.)
Re-charged about journalism? Ehhh...maybe. Happy to see each other? You bet!
Labels: convention, musings, NABJ
continue...Why Lie?
We had a good ol' time in Vegas.
We met new friends, reconnected with old ones, and danced to a lot of music in the process.
Oh, and we got our networking on too.
While the annual convention is a place to focus on your craft, ponder about your career path and compile advice from veterans, it's also a vacation of sorts for some of us. (Namely me.) With a network of journo friends across the country, it's loads of fun finally seeing them all in one place -- even if it is in the neon tackiness that is Las Vegas. (Sorry, Marcus.)
This time, it felt like it went by almost too fast. Maybe because we East Coasters tapped out at about 10 p.m. nightly, our bodies never really adjusting to the three-hour time change. Or because the heat kept us from trolling about the city as we did in Indianapolis. Or because as our careers grow, so do our personal networks, so we had to make sure to schedule in brunches, lunches and dinners with colleagues, mentors and friends.
Whatever it was, at least we had the opportunity to reconnect and recharge. Just when many of us are becoming tired of being the token in the newsroom, NABJ comes around and reminds us that we most certainly have support in the struggle.
And that, ultimately, is what convention is all about.
Labels: convention, NABJ, Sin City
continue...We haven't forgotten you!
So yeah.Sorry we've been MIA for much of the weekend, folks. Trying to find an Internet connection and time to post in Vegas is harder than a little bit.
But don't fret, we're coming with some fire - including a point, counterpoint between myself and Veronica about our fellow journalists reaction to Barack Obama's speech.
In the meantime, if you missed the convention, swing by the NABJ Online Student Project and catch up on what you missed. Our very own Aaron was wrecking shop left and right. Check him out.
Labels: NABJ, Sin City, student press
continue...Saturday, August 11, 2007
Overheard in Vegas...
Tom Joyner, the flyjock himself, was trying to hype up the journos at the UNITY Kickoff party the last day of the convention. We'd done the soul train line. We'd been serenaded by Oleta Adams. We'd gotten raffles. What we really wanted was to dance.Tom had other things in mind.
"When I say spell, you say check," he yelled into the mic.
"Spell!"
(Silence.)
Sigh. Do better, Tom.
Labels: musings, NABJ, Sin City
continue...Thursday, August 09, 2007
Rock the Vote?
A quick rant for you. I apologize in advance.This year, I'm serving on NABJ's Elections Committee. Today, we hosted a candidate forum where members could talk to the candidates and ask them questions. It was held immediately after the Senator Clinton speech today, which a majority of the membership attended.
The committee prepared for everything. We had index cards ready to go. The committee was ready.
Tell me why no more than 40 people showed up? Or rather, stuck around. The ballroom was almost full for Clinton. For us, the entire membership could fit into three rows.
Are you serious?
I know the candidates are accessible and have been campaigning all week long, but this was the chance for members to get real answers to their questions and compare candidates side by side. For those who attended, I believe the forum was valuable. For those who missed it, you missed some insightful questions and answers. Your bad.
As an committee member, it honestly disappointed and seriously angered me that people just didn't care.
Don't complain when our budget deficit doesn't increase. If you aren't engaged, you have no right to complain.
As my fellow Ten95'er said: "I hope this isn't an indication of the national election (voter turnout)."
Me too, honey. Me too.
Labels: Clinton, dismay, NABJ, Sin City
continue...Monday, August 06, 2007
NABJ Vegas: We've (*scratch that) I've arrived...
Let me first say...The next time I fly anywhere, I'm going to show up to the airport in boxers, a wife-beater and dirty socks. That way I'll save the TSA some time. I'll just get dressed at the gate. Enough said...
So I made it to the 2007 Nationaly Association of Black Jourrnalists Convention and Job Fair. I'm here. (*exhales) It's hot. But I like it. However, I hope my first three hours here was not an indication of what the rest of my week here will be like. Let me explain...
I arrived to the airport yesterday at about 1:45 P.m. From the airport I boarded a shuttle with another Student Projects participant, which slowly pulled to about five hotels before it finally stopped at Bally's Hotel and Casino. I got off the shuttle and walked to the rear where our bags were stowed. And I would have been all ready to check in and get settled, except my suitcase with all my clothing was not in the storage area.
...hmm...
To make a long story short...the driver had not been paying attention to what bags were being unloaded as he dropped passengers off. Luckily, he remembered that an unusually large number of bags being unloaded at the Paris Hotel and Casino. He nervously sped back to Paris, where my bag was sitting just outside of a door at the back of the hotel.
It was intact. But I nearly had a fit. And I would not have enjoyed purchasing all new clothes for my week-long stay in Vegas.
Bottom line, for those of you who arriving in the next couple of days...take a taxi from the airport. I hear it's about $15.
The students projects gets in full swing today...see ya when you get here on Wednesday. You are coming, right?
Labels: convention, NABJ
continue...Saturday, August 04, 2007
Stay tuned...
Heck, why don't you just bookmark us...
Labels: musings, NABJ, Sin City
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