Yesterday, we had an awesome opening speech by Brian Lamb, the CEO of C-SPAN. I got a lovely candid shot of him after his speech was over.
He asked us a bunch of interesting questions and when he was finished, I realized that we’d actually run the discussion (I know, right?), and since I spent part of the address being faint of heart and not raising my hand (and I’m a much better thinker when I’m writing than I ever am when I’m talking), I’m going to answer the questions here:
Why are you here (at WJMC)?
My being here at WJMC has come about as most events in life do, partially by fate and partially by choice. Being on the journalism staff at school has opened my eyes to the world around me and to myself, so when I received an invitation for WJMC, I knew that I needed to go and see where this certain aspect of my life is going. I honestly don’t know much about the field of journalism, and I wanted to hear about it from people who do and from my peers. I find that both forms of advice are valuable. I’m also considering this is as something to further study or even possibly do as a career. I do have a few issues with the field, ethics-wise and career-wise, so I’m hoping that I’ll get some clarity from this conference. More than anything, I’m hoping to be pushed a little out of my comfort zone. I find that’s always good for a person, because that’s the only way she can grow. 🙂
What’s your definition of journalism?
I never actually stopped to think about this before. I see journalism as spreading one’s best vision of the truth to others to provide a greater physical, mental, emotional, and (possibly) spiritual understanding of the world around them.
What’s your favorite news source? (And, since this follow-up is inevitable, why?)
I end up watching a variety of news sources, but I think CNN is my favorite…not that it doesn’t have its flaws. FOX is usually on in my house, because that’s what my mom likes to watch, but lately, they’ve just seemed really mean. Not that I’m hard to please or anything. I get lots of my news off Twitter–I have a bunch of feeds into there. It just depends on what I happen to read/listen to/see that day.
What are your goals here at WJMC?
Hmm…goals. Setting goals is scary for me because I tend to be really hard on myself if I don’t reach them. But let’s see…by the end of this week, I hope to have learned more about journalism, taken some leadership opportunities, made this blog into a lovely wordsy bonanza, and (hopefully) have a podcast for you guys to keep and blackmail me with in the future.
Not that I’m endorsing blackmail or anything. ^^
What do you think about Facebook as journalism?
Facebook is awesome. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a teenager with way too much to say to my friends. I mean, Facebook can be that if you want it to be, but it has the potential to be so much more. I love the fact that adults are taking advantage of that.
A particular incident that comes to mind is the night of the presidential elections. While Obama and McCain were showing down all over the country, all of my friends were talking politics online. I believe I had a conversation with two people I barely knew…and it went late into the night. It’s good that people–especially my generation–are caring about politics, because we’re going to grow up someday and have to take responsibility for the country we live in. It’s a good start.
Where do you think journalism is going?
That’s such a hard question to answer. To the internet, most definitely. I’m not so sure about the fate of newspapers…I think that they’re going to be around for a while longer, but I can see journalism becoming a completely online thing. I think it’s going to take a long time for that to happen, though, because there’s a comfort factor to opening the newspaper over your breakfast. And we humans…we tend to like material comforts.
Who controls the media?
One of the most beautiful and scary things about free speech…we do. The internet has opened up so many more opportunities to express what we think. Does that raise issues? Like you wouldn’t believe. The potential for evil comes with the potential for good, but using the media in a positive way is such a powerful force.
