An Insight into Debate Week

Every tedious night that headed into the wee hours of the morning were worth it. We all seemed to be connected; we were all one. Everyone understood we had to have a connection to get it done and get it done right. There were no different sections. No one took one more work than any other. We all worked together and were a team. 

Friday night for the Student Media Center was a very special evening. For the past week, we had been working up to this one moment. The stress in the room was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. Everyone was on edge and yet, at the same time, we were all laughing about seeing different celebrity journalist acting ridiculous from being way too stressed out. Everyone had a story to tell from that eventful day. 

We sat in our budget meeting preparing to jump full force into creating a paper which will mark a piece of history. This was going to be the last paper telling the story of Ole Miss' first presidential debate; we knew it had to be worth wild. Already we had put out several absolutely breath taking additions after hearing the news about McCain possibly not coming and the possibility of there being no debate on Wednesday then Thursday still being left in the dark. The paper we did on Friday had to out shine both of them. It had to be the cream of the crop and with the dedication put in from everyone in the SMC it was. 

Joanne Lipman - Portfolio Magazine

Until I heard Joanne Lipman speak about Portfolio Magazine, I never realized how interesting a business magazine could be or how much real news it actually covered. It's amazing how it takes big issues and looks at the business aspect of them. She mentioned a couple of issues they covered were how Brittany could help the economy and the Mormon cult story. 

I found it amazing how she got her start in the journalism world. She said that she read a really great feature story in the magazine that almost seemed to be like a John Grisham novel and it caught her interest; from there she ended up pursuing it. I think it is absolutely wonderful to find something you love then go after it. You could really tell she had a great passion for her work. I only hope that one day I can go into something I love doing just as she did. 

Another thing that she mentioned that I agreed with as well was about why she wanted Portfolio Magazine to be a monthly addition. She said that having a monthly issue would let you be able to set an agenda with out having to constantly compete to keep up with all of the daily and weekly magazines. They get so wrapped up in competing to break the news first that a lot of times they miss important issues. They also don't ever have a chance to do investigative reporting. 

Responce to an article from MSNBC

An article put out by MSNBC called Drawing Even talks about a recent poll put out by NEWSWEEK showing that McCain has now "pulled even with Barack Obama." According to the article, McCain is now tied with Obama among registered voters nationwide, 46 percent to 46 percent.
The article then goes on to talk about how the "all-Sarah Palin-all-the-time media coverage" along with the McCain jump in the polls has the Democrat party on edge. I feel that they have a good reason to be on edge because right now the McCain campaign is on fire. They are receiving the much needed and, in my opinion, deserved coverage that was lacking earlier in the year.
What's more troubling for the Obama campaign is the "dramatic hardening of McCain's support suggested in the poll." His support has risen from 39 percent to 71 percent, which is very dramatic. The article then goes on to say that only 29 percent of people say that Sarah Palin makes them more likely to vote for McCain. Well, I would have to say that I agree with these 29 percent of people. Palin is something new and fresh which intrigues people. Plus, it was a daring move for McCain to pick Palin as his VP. I feel this has also help to put him in the spotlight more.
All in all, I feel that the Democrats need to step up their plate because McCain will not be backing down now that he is getting more attention. If they want to stay ahead in the polls they need to make sure that Obama is played up in a good way; therefore, he will be able to get the media coverage that is crucial at this point in time in the campaign.

Editor's Credo

The main job of a journalist, to me, is to inform the public of the truth, whatever it may be. Journalist connect the American public with the rest of the world. Therefore, an journalist must respect the needs of the public and so should an editor. In knowing that a journalist's quest is to find the truth, an editor must be able to be flexible, understanding, and respectful to the journalist and the public. Editors are the final say so which gives them power; with power come responsibility. Editors need to be understanding because they will not always see eye to eye with the direction a journalist may have taken a story, but they need to be able to understand the reason why the journalist took that direction. Over all the editor needs to remember that he or she holds the power.

Response to Bill Rose

Change is something we see through out the years; it’s apart of life. Every generation has gone through a change that most of the time has been defined by the younger generation. The media needs to remember this when they set out to pull in the people of America. You cannot attract people who you refuse to understand or relate to.

American newspapers are slow to change. Bill Rose claimed that American newspapers are slow to change because there is always a tug-a-war going on between the business side and the paper side of journalism. I don’t believe this is true. I feel that many newspapers are afraid of changing something that has been the same for many years. If you were to go and pull a newspaper from 20 years ago and compare it to one today you wouldn’t find very many differences. Even Rose said that U.S. newspapers tend to cling to what they’ve always done.

Rose stated that in order for change newsrooms have to take control. They have to be able to break down the walls. He said change was like a civil war in journalism. I understand where he is coming from, but I do not completely agree with him. I do not feel a newsroom as a whole can make the changes needed. Instead, I feel that it has to be individuals who do the changing. It has to be people who are willing to step up and not be afraid to take the fall if they mess up. They cannot be afraid of change, being the leader or thinking outside of the box.

Rose must remember that the older generation is already hooked on reading newspapers. It is the younger generation who needs to be pulled into the mix. Who better to do that than people from our own generation? To be able to pull us in, he must first be able to understand us; therefore, he should go straight to the source by bringing in people from our generation to help lead the newspaper into a new era.

Lab One

What does the reader want to know the most out of the article?

How can we make it more precise?

How can the lead tell the reader what the story is going to be about?

When looking into the Oxford school district, there is an apparent need for volunteers who can help students that struggle in school.

Even though 20 mentors were recruited for Oxford High School and 25 for Oxford Middle School there is still a growing need for more volunteers in all the schools. For example, Oxford High School still needs 25 and Oxford Middle School even needs 100. The greatest need for tutors is in the lower grades, school officials said. They hope that the tutoring relationship might lead into mentoring.

There are many children who face each new school year with little optimism because they struggle in the classroom. Volunteers can make a difference in the lives of these children. 

Each school, whether it be the elementary, middle or high school, has a need for tutors and mentors. There is especially a need for volunteers at the high school because of the greater risk of students dropping out. 

Anyone interested may apply at the district office.

The Christenberry Artwork

Christenberry’s KKK artwork caused much controversy on the Ole Miss campus this week. Many facility, teachers and students felt that because of Mississippi’s past and the disturbing nature of the artwork. If we took down every piece of art that someone had a problem with then there would hardly be any artwork left. Personally, I feel that it is a very unique opportunity to have his artwork on our campus. Everything that is featured in his artwork is apart of our history and I don’t think we should be terrified to see it. I also feel that it helps the younger generation understand a small portion of what the older generation had to go through.
Even though I personally feel the artwork should remain on campus, I still understand why the artwork is so disliked by many. Vice Chancellor of Multicultural Affairs Donald Cole even said in an interview with the DM, “I think that if we had it to do over again, we would have it a year earlier or a year later. I just hope that people will not come away with the wrong impression like I did at first.” I feel that the university is very scared about what the exhibit will do to their image so close to the debate. Because of the debate, everyone’s eye will be on us. Since we’re a town in the South, people might try to assume we’re still very racist even though a large majority of us are not.
Even though the artwork was very amazing to me, it still had a very chilling factor to it. My first reaction when I walked in the room was something similar to, “Oh my goodness, all of the pictures are staring at me.” Also, the fact that the exhibit was behind curtains and had security watching over it really made it that much more creepy. I felt like I had walked back into the past when entering the room.