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.
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