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