Senior Year Semester 1 Final Blog

Over the course of this Fall Semester, I have learned to adjust to different environments with the new junior class coming in. While the first semester was a little up and down, I have learned to be open with working with different people and adapting to the different situations that occur. It is nice to work with people you like to work with, but in order to get to know new people is going out of your comfort zone and learning about your co-workers and/or clients.

So far this year I think my strengths have increased, however, I don't think a large amount of weaknesses have become strengths yet. My top overall strengths this year are smooth camera work, social media managing, video editing, and asking questions as a reporter.

Smooth camera work is at the top because I have increased the amount of games I get to film and each time in has gotten more of the action without being shaky or out of frame. I have improved by finding how far zoomed out or in I need to be to make sure I don't miss anything. Also being alert on what is going on in the game is very important so that your camera work does not distract or throw off the viewer. Social Media managing also is been one of my top strengths. As a sports reporter it is crucial that you provide information throughout the game of injuries and score updates. I feel like I have been very descriptive on our Twitter page this year by giving updates frequently. Now what I need to improve there is always having correct information before posting. That happened a few times. Video editing has always been strength but I have included transitions and music in a lot of my work, and it looks more professional, also keeping stats and finding good highlights have been easy for me as I am aware of when it happened and how to sequence it. Finally asking good questions is becoming a strength too. When we had media day, I was expected to run camera, however, things changed and was put into a reporter role. With no preparedness in advance, I somehow managed to come up with more questions on the fly then anyone else.

My weaknesses this year have to include little technical skills in editing, and writing and grammar. My technical skills have not been perfect, but I don't expect them to as everyone makes mistakes. Although, it is those little mistakes when editing a video that could be pointed out and critiqued. For example, communicating with others about different ways I could approach an angle as well as the quality of clips that I include in the package. Also, writing articles on posts of game recaps is what I struggle with too. Including many paragraphs about the game is very hard, especially when you don't know much about the team, game, or not enough research.

What I will do to improve my weaknesses is probably communicating more with others in the class and get different opinions on ways I could make my video package better. Also, getting correct information to use also will help make the quality more intriguing and not confusing. Finally, what I need to improve my writing skills is research more on the teams, as well as, look professional writers at ESPN, FOX, or CBS and be very descriptive on what I am talking about. Overall I am excited to finish off my high school career next semester and pursue Journalism in college.

Weekly Blog 12/8

This article about the youngest two Ball brothers and how they signed an agent and now are headed overseas to play basketball.

What the reporter,  Jeff Goodman, implied to his article that was well done was he added all the information from the previous week, and lead with the topic of the headline to have the story flow more smoothly. What he also did well was not put in the same quotes from Lavar Ball like a lot of other sites have done.

What Jeff Goodman could have done better is include or at least mention the LiAngelo situation as he forgot to include why they are playing overseas in the first place. Overall, it was a well-written article.

The information that I could include into my work is to get many sources as possible to get other views on situations like this. It also helps choose a different variety and makes it more options to pick from. Also I can also conclude that sources will be accurate in order to provide accurate information.





http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21701171/lavar-ball-sons-liangelo-lamelo-sign-agent-harrison-gaines

Weekly Blog 12/1

This article is about the University of Kansas Basketball Team and how they are asking for possible additions to the practice squad involving a Tight End from the KU football team because of an incident with Freshman forward Billy Preston.

Sophomore James Sosinski, who transferred from UMass in 2015 after signing with them, then transferred to Stone Mountain CC to play basketball last year, played this fall for the Jayhawk Football team as he has ended up at 3 schools in 3 consecutive years.

What the article did well was add the information about Sosinski and the past colleges he has attended and that he has played both football. Also, adding in information that was commented from coach Bill Self, it provided interesting possibilities of an addition to the team, but it is not official.

What the reporter needs to improve on is maybe adding information on where he originally committed to and for what sport because it talks about he was in many different sports.

What I will add in my work is to be more specific on details that must be addressed.







http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21612417/kansas-coach-bill-self-turns-football-player-help-shorthanded-squad-billy-preston-sidelined

Weekly Blog 11/17

This is an article about the feud between the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys  Owner, Jerry Jones. The heated debate between the suspension of Ezekiel Elliot has drawn the relationship into jeopardy.

What the reporter did well was tell a story from the very beginning to end and it provides multiple paragraphs of the different angles from Goodell, Jones, and other executives involved. They also explained how Jones was furious that Goodell suspended Elliot for no real reason, as there was no proof for his suspension.

What the reporter needs to work on is not end the post on a cliff-hanger, as it was cut off from potentially expanding the story. A conclusion sentence would have been very important to know when he article is finished, opposed to interrupting the passage.

How I will implement this in my work is to do more research and get actual facts to put in the articles or writing that I do, because many people in the media make the mistake of not communicating with sources to get the correct information.






http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/21441056/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-bitter-battle-saw-coming-led-dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones

Weekly Blog 11/10

This article is about the conflict between free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about an invitation to have a meeting regarding the hearing, but the NFL kept changing their thoughts on a meeting.

What the reporter did well was give the inside scoop of what happened between the confusion between both sides. Kaepernick requested a mediator to help in this decision but the NFL rejected his proposal. They journalist did a nice job of providing evidence and telling a story instead of throwing it around all over the place. Also adding in at the last two paragraphs about the history of what happened provided clarity to the reader.

What the reporter could have done better was rename the headline to what they actual topic is. While it did involve a mediator that wasn't the main subject of the article. It was about how the mediator affected the possibility of a meeting.

Overall this week technically I haven't done a whole lot other than lower thirds, and completing them for other classmates. I am also on highlights from fall sports and been going through to improve my editing skills and writing skills by writing these blogs every week.







http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21330563/nfl-invited-colin-kaepernick-meet-one-one-roger-goodell-league-spokesman-says

Weekly Blog 11/3

This article is about how the pizza company of Papa John's is very upset with the NFL, and how they handled the anthem protests. CEO John Schnatter said that the company was receiving less advertisements, and that the NFL is not showing good leadership. Now other major companies are getting rubbed the wrong way with their partnership with the NFL.

What the reporter did well was list all of the companies that were having issues with advertising or partnership questions. Giving specific companies like PepsiCo, Microsoft, Nationwide, PG, etc. Also, giving specific detail by including statements from other high executives from companies like Dannon and Hyundai.

What the reporter could improve on is provide more information about how the stock went down. There was only one little sentence explaining that the stock only went down by 8.5%. Providing more specific detail about the numbers standpoint of reasons why the sales were going down would have been a nice addition.

What I could do is I liked at the very end the reporter used statements and quotes from 5 of the other sponsors, to show who was all involved in the situation with the NFL and their thoughts on the issue. This would be beneficial on getting other sources to help support a story that I work on so that it makes the story more interesting and intriguing.

This week I feel like I have showed the example of what a feature story is supposed to kind of be like except for the length and not using 2 interviews.










http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21250448/nfl-sponsor-papa-john-not-happy-anthem-protests

Weekly Blog 10/27

This article is about the Lonzo Ball and the LA Lakers, and how many NBA players are drawing a target on his back. Lately NBA point guards have been all over Ball like Patrick Beverly and John Wall.

What the reporter did well was that they included a large amount of information from the coach Luke Walton. They also included in-game details of opportunity of what happened with an average performance by Lonzo Ball. For example, giving details on how he would make the next 3-pointer since he missed the first one.

What the reporter needs to work on is use soundbytes from sources that actually fit into the story. They added some from Lonzo's dad, Lavar, that were not necessary and was a distraction to the main topic of the matchup between Ball and Wall.

Overall, I think I need to add a lot more in-depth content when writing about a story or incident that occurred. Even though recaps are much harder, its very important to include as much detail of possible, while also providing the correct information.



http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21158474/lonzo-ball-los-angeles-lakers-emerges-win-matchup-wizards-john-wall

Weekly Blog 10/13

This article is on the U.S Men's National Soccer Team and how they were eliminated from contention for the World Cup by Trinidad and Tobago.

What the journalist did well was give a summary of the awful loss by USA and explain now what the role will be for them. I also liked how they inserted a tweet from a foreign person and their reaction to USA losing.

What I didn't like was that the article did not go into detail, and was only a couple of paragraphs long. The journalist could have done a better job of showing tweets from citizens on their thoughts of the game, as well as, provide more opinion on the game itself.

What I would use in my work is using different sources to relay information and get people's reaction of events that happened to strengthen the angle of my story.


https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/usa-eliminated-from-2018-world-cup-in-following-shocking-loss-to-trinidad-and-tobago/

Weekly Blog 9/29

This article is about the Louisville University Men's Basketball coaching staff and their FBI investigation that may affect changes in the staff of head coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich.

What the reporter did well was explain how many allegations from Pitino and Louisville led up to potentially firing him with being very descriptive and typing more than 3-5 paragraphs. The body was descriptive into telling who was involved like Adidas who intentionally gave money to recruits in order to sign the shoe deal and school that sponsors the brand.

The reporter didn't do well was it took me a while to figure out who was speaking in the video, it didn't give the same information as it was in the article. It also kept consistently going back and forth between Pitino and the assistant coaches from other schools and it got off topic to what the headline said.

How I would use this in my own work is being able to dig deep, and find something in the past that is a pattern that I can mention. Also being very detailed in what s going on will help a reader understand on more to what is going on.









http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20834710/louisville-head-coach-rick-pitino-athletic-director-tom-jurich-put-leave

Weekly Blog 9/15

Last night the Kansas City Royals took on the hottest team in baseball, the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. The Royals were looking to end the Indians streak of 21 consecutive games.

In this article the reporter did well of including quotes from players to implement the frustration of the season that the Royals are having. They also did well at including specific events in the correct order of what they happened leading up to the walk-off.

What the reporter could have done better was add more of a positive attitude towards the situation with Herrera and that he's just been struggling. Also, maybe if they included quotes from Jake Junis the starter from last night that could have added a different perspective.

How I'm going to add this into my packages is being able to be more specific on a play that happens and give the who, what, where, when of each play.


http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article173446581.html

Weekly Blog 9/8

Chiefs vs Patriots

September 8th 2017

On Thursday the Kansas City Chiefs took on the New England Patriots to open up the NFL Season. This article describes how the Chiefs' defensive plays on 4th down prevailed their win. What the reporter did well was sequence the order of plays that happened including who was involved, where on the field the play happened and the result. They also had quotes from players and coaches that flowed between the topics covered.

However the reporter did not do well at getting the head coaches on their thoughts of the game. They could have used a quote from them.

One thing that I will use in my articles is be descriptive on who, what, where, why, how is involved and happening and getting quotes and soundbytes from interviews.





http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article172476791.html

Convergence Journalism End of The Year Reflection

Convergence Journalism End of The Year Reflection

Ryan Atchison

Hours 6-7

This year in Convergence Journalism I have learned many different things. I have increased my knowledge in all the areas including: technology, collaboration, communication, project management, and leadership. Overall, I have gotten better as an editor and a journalist and I hope to improve my work for clients and for ONW Now.

I am going to take away many things from this year and apply it to next year to make myself better. In the technology aspect, using Final Cut Pro has gotten me used to the software, and now I feel more comfortable with long hours of working. From 10 hours of color correcting to making multiple videos, it shows how much hard work pays off. Using J and L editing for me makes the videos flow better, and it gives a different tone to the story. Also, locking the white balance helps the lighting stay consistent so there is not much editing with the color board. The production side was by far my favorite as being floor director was a good experience to learn how to communicate with others to produce a show. However, I want to learn many other things like tricaster and the sound and lights because I want to try different things and learn everything I can.

The collaboration side was a struggle for me in some cases this year. Only a few people wanted to work with me, and working with different people changed the way I had to go along with the process. For example, with the Feed His Lambs endorsement project, I had to change my thinking on a story because it was a different kind of video, and not just a normal news package. Working with different people can be hard because time schedules are different and can be frustrating, but it helps get things done faster, and there’s more ways to come up with creative ideas with more people. Next year I feel like I need to work with many people, and have trust in them to get stuff done so I don’t get overly stressed out.

In the communication side, I learned how to talk with others, and be able to put myself out there in order to get a certain project done. It is important that we communicate with each other so that there are no surprises the last minute. This year the whole class was asking people to cover a sporting event or news package on the day of, and many people rejected because they either had plans or didn’t want to do it. I think that was a challenge for me because trying to turn around a project in less than a day is very hard when you’re not given a lot of time.

Project Management is probably the most important factor out of all. Being able to outline and figure out how to do a project is the one thing that I took away from this year. Planning out how a story should be is the most important thing because otherwise, the project is not going to very good. Something I had a challenge with this year is making sure I get enough footage to edit and create a story. It is hard to determine whether or not you have a lot of great footage, but next year I need to make sure I get a lot of quality shots faster so then I don’t have to spend more time outside.

Finally the leadership side was one of the most important things for me as this was the one I will take away the most. The leadership I learned in this class reflects on how you can manage people and produce good work. Leadership is leading by example to your peers and showing how it should be done. If one person slacks off, then the rest will follow that example, and I think that’s where the problem lies. Some of the challenges that I faced was that I need to work on setting the example, but also being passionate and having fun.

Some of my strengths are that I meet deadlines on time almost always, and that I strive to get better each and every time. I have edited and filmed very exceptional packages and I have come a long way since the beginning of the year. Some of my weaknesses are willing to work with other people that I know won’t help me and my voice in my voiceovers. I have to figure out how to be more expressive in my voice and change the style.

Next year what I am going to with what I have learned is to be able to expand on my knowledge, and improve to get better because next year I am going to be the example for the juniors. Next year I hope to change my roles as I want to do different things throughout the year. Hopefully Jared doesn’t change my desktop every day either because that is annoying when they mess with my things.

In conclusion, I hope that everyone will be passionate in what they are doing because some people are holding us back from being the best that this program can be. My biggest wish for next year is that we stick with one way of how to run things. With changing things every week, it leaves confusion to what the expectations are in the class and it leaves many people frustrated. Overall, I am excited to get ready for the next year.