Media Participation Project

For my media participation project, I volunteered at the CNS studio at UMD. Along with other JOUR200 students, I observed the CNS-TV show Maryland Newline. I observed two shows on October 8th and October 22nd. This was my first time being in a TV studio and observing a show from a staff standpoint. It was a brand new and great experience and I was inspired by my visit.

When I first walked into the studio, I was surprised at how organized and professional the student staff are. When the show started, I can feel the nervousness just by watching the broadcasters speaking in front of the cameras. I was impressed by the broadcasters, as they speak in a very professional yet interesting manner. Even though the broadcaster made a few mistakes during the show, she still managed to overcome her nervousness and continued to broadcast like nothing happened.

Even though we did not help to produce the show, I learned a lot just by observing what everyone was doing and how they work together to produce a show. I think this was a wonderful experience for beginners who are interested in TV production. Observing a TV show from such a close view encouraged my interest in TV production, and further, my interest to pursue journalism as a career. Through my time here at UMD, I hope to become a professional broadcaster through hard work and hands-on experiences.

 

Media Particpiation Project

For my media participation project, I wrote an article for Unwind Magazine here on campus. This was such a new and exciting experience for me. Although I have written many articles for my high school newspaper, writing an article for Unwind seemed like an even bigger deal. Before I could begin writing for the online magazine, I had to go to a story assignment meeting. I attended the assignment meeting on October 6th, 2014 and while in the meeting I realized how organized the magazine staff was. The possible fall issue stories were split into different categories including, news, arts and entertainment and style. The editors introduced themselves to us and explained the criteria for each story that was placed in their section. Stories were assigned by the editors. Whoever was the first person to raise their hand for a particular story was the individual who got to write the story. 

I was given the opportunity to write a beat about a Fall Study Music playlist and it was in the category of arts and entertainment.  This story did not require anything but my personal opinion on perfect songs to listen to while studying for midterms. This made writing the story fun and easy to do. It took me roughly half an hour to write the story because I had already had a list of songs in my head. I really enjoyed writing for this magazine because it was a popular magazine here on campus but the staff were very welcoming and supportive. I developed a good relationship with my editor and she ended up

This experience taught me a lot about myself and my interest in becoming a journalist. I learned that i truly do enjoy writing stories and the print journalism is something I can see myself majoring in. I also learned that meeting deadlines are one of the most important things when being a journalist. Writing for Unwind made me want to return to another story assignment meeting at some point this year. This experience was so eye opening in the sense of allowing me to decided on how to spend my time wisely here at UMD. 

Media Participation Project-Connor Bell

                          Media Participation Project

            When I heard about the media participation project, I immediately knew what I wanted to do from the start. Because I have wanted to be a sports journalist my entire life, I decided I wanted to do something related to that specific topic, luckily I inquired about WMUC Sports Radio. WMUC is a sports radio station located on south campus; they specialize in on campus sporting events, providing a pregame report, in game radio broadcast, and post game analysis of every Maryland sport home game. They also run a broadcasting booth so students can actually have their own radio shows talking about sports and bringing in surprise guests. I was inquiring to be a post game journalist for the football team when I first heard about WMUC through Beteck on ELMS. After going to WUMC’s first informational meeting back in September, I talked to Marissa Morris, the head coordinator of sports writers for WMUC. She told me that because I was a manager for the football team already, I could cover post game football stories. However, instead of writing recaps for games, or about different statistics for different players, I chose to be with the reporters themselves and go to the press conferences held for Head Coach Randy Edsall.

            My first press conference came during the week of the Maryland vs. Iowa game, a time where morale was low on the team after they suffered a terrible loss to Ohio State the week before. The scheduling of the press conferences would actually work out great with my own personal schedule; the conference would be at 12:30 every Tuesday, and practice would end at 10:30 AM. The conferences are held in the 5^th floor of the Tyser Tower Suite in Byrd Stadium. There I was greeted with the smell of free Sbarro Pizza, accompanied by huge stacks of stat sheets for anyone looking to read some interesting facts between Maryland and their opponent for the week. Coach Edsall usually starts the conference a coupe minutes before 12:30 and he sits in front of a microphone and, as you would expect, takes questions from the press. However, before media are allowed to answer questions, Coach Edsall starts with an opening statement regarding the opponent for the week, and then the floodgates open and questions pour out all over the room.

            To be honest, I never have asked coach Edsall a question yet out of the 4 conferences I have been to, all I have done is take notes on what he says to different questions. I am actually scared to ask him a question just because I work for him every day and I think that would just make things awkward between us. To be honest, it was just really awesome to be part of something as cool as a press conference for my favorite team and school. I had always seen those conferences on TV and listened to them on the radio, but now I was finally able to be there in person to watch Coach Edsall answer all the questions that were put before him. There is one thing, however, that I’ve always noticed from the press conferences I have gone to, Coach Edsall never goes to into depth when delivering responses to questions. He keeps the media almost completely locked out of what goes on inside Gossett Football Team House and limits his answers to as few words as possible. This often does not give me much to write about, but I make due nonetheless thanks to the provided stat sheets for the teams that week.

            After I had gathered all the information I had needed to write an article for the week, I began my article that same Tuesday night as the press conference. My boss, Marissa Morriss wanted the article in as early as possible from the date of the press conference, so I would usually get it done by Wednesday night. My piece consisted of mainly what was said at the press conference and was no more than 300 words. But what is cool about WMUC, is that they post your article not only on their website, but also post it to Twitter and Facebook using your Twitter handle and Facebook name so everyone can see your work on social media we all use. This is just another example of how being involved in the media can help us gain better ideas on things we care about, and allows us to bring a more educated opinion for discussion when regarding certain topics like sports.

Briana Provost Media Participation Project

Unwind Magazine Media Participation Project

 

          When I first learned about the media participation project, I was really excited to have a reason to write and get involved with some magazines and newspapers that would allow me to do that. When I saw Beteck’s email about Unwind Magazine, I went online and looked at some of the types of articles that their writers were writing and I thought it would be a great opportunity for not only the media participation project, but also build up my writing portfolio.

          When I first got to the Unwind story meeting, I was surprised to see a list of stories all along the black board. Once the meeting got started, each staff writer for their own individual section read the list of stories that their section had to offer, and then asked for any pitches for that section. I expected them to prioritize seniors, juniors, and generally more experienced writers when it came to picking stories. However that wasn’t the case, the people who raised their hands first once a story was called off got the best story.

          For the story that I chose in the style section, beauty adventures, there was no given topic; each person who was chosen had to pitch their own idea for their piece. The beauty adventures articles consist of first-hand accounts of some type of beauty experiment. In the past some people had dyed their hair, or tested out a new product and reported the results. So when I was chosen, I immediately thought of an old golf coach against an opposing high school who always wore one or two different earrings to see if people were paying attention to her. Thinking that it would a great story, I pitched the idea to the editor, and she thought it would be a great story as well. However, she recommended that I start with smaller earrings and work my way up to larger less subtle earrings throughout the week.

          I did what she had recommended, and tried to see if people would notice my “new look”. I was surprised, however, to find that not one person said anything to me. So then my article took a different direction. I talked about two different possibilities, one being that people don’t pay attention to each other as they used to, and the other being that maybe people are becoming more acceptable of different styles, and if someone did notice, they kept their opinions to themselves. To say the least, it felt really good to send my first college article into the style editor of a college magazine. Due to limited space in the magazine, my article did not appear in the print copy of Unwind, but it can be accessed on the online site.

          Coincidently, I ran into the editor of Unwind, Amanda Eisenberg, and she said she really enjoyed my article. Then she invited me, as well as a few other freshman and sophomores, to come to the staff writers meeting. Because I went to the meeting, I got to claim what story I wanted to write about this month before the story meeting. I also got a sneak peak at what it would be like to be a staff writer, which is something that I am now considering applying for next year. I’m not even sure I would be interested in a staff writer position if it weren’t for the media participation project, and the long-term opportunities it has presented. This project gave me the push I needed to get involved in a campus magazine.

Media Participation

For my Media Participation Project, I worked for the Prince George County Sentinel under editor Holden Wilen.  I did research on a topic that I thought was important, particularly in local politics.  Then I pitched a story and wrote an article about how the vote of the youth counts.  I discussed recent win of Larry Hogan as Maryland’s governor and talked about how the voter turnout was much lower than in previous years.  I also got the opportunity to speak with a group of youth in Prince George county to hear their reactions and thoughts about the importance of voting and how much education they had about the topic.

I decided to work for the Prince George Sentinel because I wanted to write about something that genuinely means something to me.  I’ve been able to experience working with children in Prince George County every Saturday morning.  After the Maryland governor election, we had an in depth discussion with these students about voting and why voting is important.  The high schoolers I discussed this with did not have the knowledge of how to vote.  Since some were 18, this was very sad, because they had missed their opportunity.  Although I was planning to write my article on something completely different, I decided instead to write about how disappointing it is that children don’t see the importance of voting. I felt like writing about this topic could influence young people and also raise awareness for parents and other adults so they can educate young people.

This sparks my journalistic aspiration because it made me realize that I want to continue my journalistic career by writing about things that will make a difference to the youth.  I feel as though there is a way to convey news and politics to the youth so that they can understand it better than the current adult-based news offerings.  This project helped me clarify that my change in major was a good choice for me, because I am most passionate about children and how I can help them.

Media Participation Project

For my media participation project I wrote a blog post for the Naviance website, a product owned by Hobsons, the company that I interned with for the past two summers. Hobsons is an education solution company that sells products aimed to better academic performance, and help with career planning.  I worked under the marketing department and one of my objectives was to write a blog series on the topic of education to be posted on the company blog.

For my post I wrote about the pressure of Advance Placement courses and the benefits and drawbacks that the class brings. I used a magazine from my hometown where it told the stories of high school students and opinions from professionals including facts about academic stress and how the pressure of taken AP courses in the DC-Metro are significantly higher.  This fact alone made me want to discuss it further in my post, as the school district and students the students they interviewed were very familiar to me, as many were former peers. I felt like my story mirrored those in the article and I wanted to be able to share my opinion on the subject.

To set up the opportunity I contacted my manager at Hobsons, who was excited to hear from me, and gave me the go ahead to write the post. Like I had as an intern, I had no solid deadline, but I still worked diligently to get it done. I turned it in about a week or two later to be reviewed and I am waiting for any final adjustments before it gets put on the calendar to be posted on the blog.

Writing an education blog series is interesting because many times academic opinion pieces are not from students themselves. My view is unique because I actually experienced taking AP classes, and I am apart of the success stories.  While I have other interests, I love writing about education as I believe a students opinion can be vital not only for the leaders in education but for other students too, because they can learn from prior experience or get advice.

http://www.naviance.com/blog/author/brooke-giles#.VG4ARpPF_Xw

Stephanie Neri's Media Participation Project

As soon as we were assigned the media participation project, I knew that I wanted to get involved with the type of medium that interests me the most- magazines. Ever since I was younger I have always taken an interest in magazines, specifically fashion magazines. When I discovered that Unwind Magazine, the University's entertainment news magazine, specialized in writing about entertainment, health, style, sports, enterprise and campus life, I knew it was the perfect fit.

First, I needed to contact the editors of Unwind. Since I was unable to attend the general meetings due to my late night class schedule, I emailed Amanda Eisenberg, one of the co-editors in chief, to set up a meeting. We met in Knight Hall on a Thursday afternoon to discuss how I can contribute to this magazine. She was very easy-going and left it completely up to me as to what I wanted to write about. With an interest in fashion and the recent death of a legendary fashion designer, I decided to write a tribute article about Oscar de la Renta. Amanda loved the idea and gave me a strict deadline with a word count of 600 words. I was informed to email her my final article by no later than the next day, Friday October 24th at midnight. 

I immediately felt pressured after the meeting. In the past, I had written several articles for my high school newspaper but I never had a precise time limit like this. I started to get to work as soon as I could. On the walk back to my apartment, I began interviewing students of different age groups to see what they had to say about the huge loss the fashion industry underwent. Before writing the article, I researched everything I needed to know about Oscar de la Renta. When it came time to finally write the article, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be because I was actually interested in the life this so called "fashion genius" lived. I discovered that it's actually easier to write about something you enjoy. I was able to incorporate the student interviews I previously conducted and pulled my article together relatively quick. I attached some pictures along with the final article and sent it to Amanda just in time. 

Before completing this project, I knew that I wanted to write for a magazine in the future and after writing for Unwind Magazine, it just reaffirmed my desire to work in the fashion magazine industry. Although it is a very fast-paced, overwhelming and time consuming career choice, there was no better feeling than seeing my name with my article in the magazine once it was published. I hope to write for Unwind Magazine again sometime in the near future. 

https://unwindumd.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/remembering-oscar-de-la-renta/ 

Media Participation Project- Josh Coggins

Joshua Coggins

Media Participation Project

For my media participation project I decided that I wanted to shadow a current journalist, specifically a sports journalist.  As I thought of potential journalist that I could shadow, I came across the idea to shadow the sports writer for my home town newspaper. I am from Hanover, PA, which is a small town, and the reason I chose a journalist from a small town paper is because there is more of a community feel to a smaller newspaper. I also chose it because it gave me an opportunity to set up connections in my hometown for over the summer. The newspaper in my hometown is called The Evening Sun. I shadowed the sports writer, Mike Rubin for a morning.          

            Mike Rubin has worked for The Evening Sun for over 3 years now. His emphasis is on sport, specifically high school sports. Before working for the Sun, he worked as an elementary school physical education teacher. Around the time of Hurricane Katrina, he decided he wanted to help people. So in August he quit being a teacher after 3yeaars of teaching. He hated having to be a teacher, so with the help of his wife they founded a non-profit charitable organization giving food to those in need. He serves about 150 people I believe. He then decided that he wanted to do something that he loved which was writing stories about sports. He then got hired at The Evening Sun. He got hired to cover local high school sports for the paper.

            There were some things that did surprise me about The Evening Sun. It is a 3 day paper. They print papers on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. They do however have daily papers online. Every day’s news and articles are uploaded to their website. It also surprised me that their sports editor is at the York Daily Record, the Evening Sun’s sister paper. The company that owns both papers is called Digital First and they own about 70 newspapers. It also surprised me that the Evening Sun provided each writer/reporter with a brand new iPhone.

            Mike started off by telling me a brief history about the Evening Sun. He then told me about his past work experiences. He then went over all of the things he does day to day. He showed me all of the new technology that he has at his disposal. That technology includes twitter, tout (allows you to share videos), and how they use Go Pros. They use the Go Pros for various angles for a shot. He showed me videos of a Go Pro laying on the ground capturing the motion of golfers at the golf tournament. He also had this really cool video of a girl from a local high school doing the barrel role on a horse. It was cool learning all the different ways that he as a writer can get a story other than just interviewing people.

            The most rewarding parts of the job are the thanks that he gets for articles he writes about the high school athletes. He gets a lot of flexibility about what he can cover. No two days are the same for him, whether he is in the office or out at practices. Fridays he works 4pm-12am covering the football games. There is no limitation with what they can do. The only limitation is their mind and what they can think about. He once put Go Pros on the long snapper, holder, and kicker of a football team and watched how they perform a field goal. He likes that the 3 day paper has given journalist more opportunities to do features. His current features include one about two deaf wrestlers on Bermudian Springs Wrestling team and one on a state qualifying runner, who found out she had a heart condition that leads to athletes dying because of heart attacks, being able to run her senior race.

            The most difficult thing about being a journalist is that because of media and mostly everything being online he is never off of the clock. Since he is a sports reporter he has a lot of high school sports he has to report on. He can’t be an expert in one sport, he has to know something about all sports. The money is a big thing. Journalist don’t go into the field for the money, they do it because they love reporting breaking news.

            Being that my interest is in Sports Journalism, specifically Sports Broadcasting, I asked him what the difficulties are about interviewing people. Coaches are hard to deal with sometimes because of their time schedules, and they don’t always check their emails. Athletes are pretty accessible because of social media but sometimes their quotes aren’t the best. When he interview them he need to make them feel comfortable so that he can get the best quotes from them. I also asked him if it was hard to break into the journalism field. He said that because there are so many forms of journalism, it is good to be able to cross over to different types of journalism. He also finds it important that a journalist has experience in many different platforms such as social media. If you have multiple skill sets it is easier to get hired.         

            This shadowing opportunity reaffirmed for me that I do indeed want to be a sports journalist. After learning of some of the rewarding benefits as well as the downfalls for being a journalist, I still would like to become a journalist. I would do it for my love of sports. Mike said that the trend in journalism is out of the office, and doing work in the public where news may happen. I wouldn’t like a job where I am doing the same thing every day nor do I want to be a pencil pusher. The fact that journalism is heading in this direction is exciting. My opportunity of shadowing Mike from the Evening Sun reaffirmed my interest in becoming a sports journalist. 

Joe Malandruccolo IV Media Participation

Deciding what to do for this project was quite easy because I knew that whatever college I attended, I would get involved in the campus radio station. WMUC Sports Radio has been one of my favorite things about Maryland because it was easy to get started and it’s a gateway to many other opportunities in the field.

Specifically, I co-host a weekly radio show with Jordan Burt on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00. Throughout the show, Jordan and I discuss hot topics in professional and collegiate sports. Topics include significant games, standings, controversies, and the upcoming week of sports.

In order to get started, all Jordan and I had to do was email the sports director Dennis Ting that we were interested. We included the day and time that we wanted to have and if it was open, the slot was ours. Believe it or not, the most challenging part of the entire process was creating a name for our show. We agreed on Charm City vs. The Big Apple to represent our different upbringings and create a head-to-head theme for the show. Although, as we’ve come to learn, Jordan and I tend to agree more than we disagree.

The first few shows were a struggle. After knowing each other for such little time, we hadn’t created much of a personal relationship, let alone a co-host relationship. Eventually we began to gel quite well together and after our tenth show or so, Jordan and I have formed a fluent and entertaining one-hour program. This challenge helped me learn that this source of media requires that you be personable and be able to talk to others very well.

Jordan and I open the show with an intro song and quick headlines. We break up the show by moving from sport to sport with a quick break about halfway through the hour. It feels like we’re a legitimate ESPN talk show radio. We’re trying desperately to get more people to listen and have even discussed creating business cards to get the word out. We already have a Twitter account and Facebook page. I remember speaking to a woman at the career fair and she told me that getting our names out there was very important.  

I used to feel nervous in front of the microphone but that has understandably diminished over time. While I was content with the show for a few weeks, I now find myself looking for more. Jordan and I have discussed extending our show for an hour so we can cover a wider variety of topics and also go more in depth to some major topics.

Getting exposed to the equipment is something that will undoubtedly benefit me in the future. Working the soundboards and making sure your voice is at a good pitch and tone are things that come with the job. Most of the time, Jordan’s microphone works perfectly but mine needs a lot of tweaking. So being able to work on the fly and think fast is a crucial skill that I’ll be learning throughout my involvement in WMUC Sports.

One of my favorite things about WMUC Sports is that it puts us first in line for sports broadcasting opportunities. Any WMUC Sports member can apply to broadcast a Maryland sports team throughout the season. Alex Flum broadcasted several women’s soccer games and I knew that I wanted to get involved. Dennis Ting sent out an email requesting applications to broadcast a few winter sports. I applied for hockey because it’s an exciting game and I feel that if someone like myself, who has no experience other than the radio show, can call a hockey game then the sky is the limit. I was actually just notified on Tuesday night that I had received one of the open positions. I wish the season didn’t end in a month or so but beggars can’t be choosers.

My main goal is to receive some valuable experience as a broadcaster. I’m in a serious resume-building stage right now and something like this is a great way to get started. After just a few short months, I’m more certain than ever that this is what I want to study and continue to improve on. I know my voice is fit for this kind of work and I just need to get as involved as I can. 

Media Partcipation Project- Joseph Foley

For my media participation project, I worked as a news reporter for the Maryland Women's Volleyball team. This opportunity came through WMUC Sports, which is the student-run sports station that does broadcasting, radio talk shows, and event reporting. Although I also have a talk show on WMUC radio this semester, I wanted to get involved with news reporting for my project, because I am interested in that as a possible career path.

I got involved by attending the initial interest meeting in September, where WMUC executives went over how to apply for a news reporting position. I had to supply a resume, multiple writing samples, as well as a list of what sports I would be most intrigued in covering. I sent all of my files in an email to the news director, Marissa Morris, and was selected to be apart of the Volleyball news crew. Shortly after, Marissa supplied a schedule of what games I would be reporting on, due to the fact there were six of us on the crew.

My first game experience came on Friday October 17th, when the Terrapins took on Michigan State at the Xfinity Center. I arrived about an hour early to the arena, where I first picked up my media credential next to the entrance gate. I then made my way down to the media section, where various other reporters were already sitting and chatting amongst themselves. During the pre game warmups, I took notes on my laptop of the starting lineups, the team's records, and past history between the two schools. I also opened up twitter, because I was required to live tweet the game from the WMUC Sports account.

Quickly, the game was underway, as I simultaneously watched every play while also taking notes. If there was a key play or shift in momentum, such as a team going on a run, I would rapidly tweet the update. I also took down team stats at the end of each set, which were shown on the big screen. The game moved at a fast pace, with Michigan State sweeping Maryland in three straight sets. After the game, I had the opportunity to go into the media room, where players and coaches were available for interviewing. Although it wasn't a great showing from the team, they were accessible and open to questions, as I jotted down some quotes for my article.

I had forty-eight hours to submit my article, so that night I sat down to figure out what angle I wanted to write from. Maryland was in the midst of a losing streak at the time, so I decided to focus on their struggle to adapt to the Big Ten Conference. I also had access to a stat sheet which was given to me in the media room, so I incorporated some significant stats into my article. I submitted my article to the editor, and it was posted online at WMUC Sports' website the next morning. It felt satisfying to see my article up so quickly, and also a bit weird to see my name on it. Throughout the Volleyball season, I covered two more games, however both were away matches. I didn't travel with the team, but instead was required to write a short recap of the game.

My experience with WMUC was exciting and welcoming, and I love that I was able to get involved right away as a freshman. For the winter sports season, I am now covering Women's Basketball games for WMUC, and look to progress as a writer and reporter. The media participation project not only gave me my first experience within sports media, but gave me the opportunity to continue to work with WMUC Sports.

Kristen Seto's Media Participation Project

Kristen Seto's Media Participation Project

For my media participation project, I initially wanted to write for the Diamondback, but then I came across Stories Beneath the Shell, an online publication for the University of Maryland. This online publication is designed to shed light on the accomplishments of UMD students that people would normally never know about if it weren’t for Stories Beneath the Shell.  When I found this publication I immediately jumped at the opportunity to write for it because although the big headline news and stories that everyone should know about are important, the small events are often important as well. 

I wrote a story about a student named Anne who had recently escaped an abusive relationship and how she was coping with the aftermath of the relationship. Meeting with this student and hearing her story inspired me to write a piece that would hopefully impact anyone who reads it. Upon writing this story, my editor thought it would be beneficial if I spoke with the staff members at the Office of Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence in order to get their opinions on this student’s journey to recovery. I decided it would be an interesting idea to speak with the staff member that is currently helping Anne and get her opinion on how Anne is doing. The only problem was, the staff member asked to keep her name out of the story for confidentiality reasons even though the quotes I intended to use did not mention anything about how she has helped Anne personally. 

This didn’t sit well with my editors, which is quite understandable since the story would be much more credible if the staff member’s name was mentioned. When I contacted the staff member again, she asked that her quotes be withdrawn completely from the story and that I would have to find someone else’s quotes to use. This put me in an entirely different situation with the deadline for the story approaching quickly while I still had no quotes to use for this story. I contacted every other staff member by email and asked them to read the story and contact me with any comments they might have. I was lucky to find one staff member, Josh Bronson, who responded almost immediately and gave me a much better insight on what exactly the Office of Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence does which was important to add to the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed writing for this publication; the editors understood that this story had to be handled with great sensitivity and were extremely patient with it; especially when the editor learned about my setback with the first staff member. What I learned from this experience is that there will be times where it won’t be easy to find exactly what you’re looking for in terms of a story, or quotes to use in the story. I believe that this experience, although not exactly easy, was worth doing and learning about because it gave me an idea of what it would be like to be a print journalist. 

As a naturally indecisive person, I’m still not entirely sure if journalism is the right path for me to choose, but I believe that I would still be taking a step in the right direction if I continue to work towards being accepted into the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. 

Kirstyn Flood's Media Participation Project

The Diamondback

I had a strong idea of what publication I wanted to explore for the Media Participation Project, the moment that I heard about the assignment. After working on my high school’s newspaper and, eventually, becoming an editor, I had grown accustomed to delving into a topic and conducting interviews for an article. I was eager to get back into the newsroom, which is why I chose to volunteer for the Diamondback.

            The Diamondback is a student newspaper that is the main source of local, national and campus news within the University of Maryland. The paper is printed Monday through Thursday; a digital version is published every Friday. On the homepage of the Diamondback Online, are four categories: news, sports, opinion, and diversions, which highlight top news stories. The stories in the Diamondback cover a wide range of topics, from the midterm election to Taylor Swift’s depiction of crazy-in-love girlfriends in her music video, “Blank Space.”

            General assignment meetings for the Diamondback are held every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. in the South Campus Dining Hall. These meetings are run by General Assignment Editor, Jenny Hottle, and are open to Journalism and non-Journalism majors alike. I attended three meetings before taking an article, just because I wanted to get a feel for the types of articles that are pitched and the best way to manage article-writing with schoolwork.

            I was assigned to write an article about the David C. Driskell Center’s Robert Blackburn exhibition and symposium. This was exciting for me because I was eager to get out, conduct interviews and cover the event. I was told to have at least three sources for my article—first, Dorit Yaron, the Driskell Center’s deputy director, who then put me in contact with two graduate students and Prof. Curlee Holton, the executive director of the Driskell Center. Within two days, I had gathered all of the information I needed, and was ready to begin writing.

            Writing the article for the Diamondback was unlike any article that I had written in the past, because it was short and concise. I had a hard deadline to meet: Sunday, October 26^th, at 12:00 p.m. After emailing Jenny Hottle my article, a wave of relief washed over me. I was very proud to have written my first article for the Diamondback. It was published online two days later, here: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/article_1cf50548-5e52-11e4-81c7-0017a43b2370.html

            I enjoyed my experience with the Diamondback and plan on writing for the paper in the future.