Passion for Poynter

Poynter is amazing. I'm still firmly committed to that statement. It's an intense full immersion into the journalistic process. They expect us to engage and work hard. Not to say it isn't fun, it's a ton of fun. But hard work.

We start each day at either 9 am or 8:30 am. We will then spend the next many hours in sessions.

It's a funny thing. In school I fall asleep at the slightest provocation. It must be hard wired into me. A teacher talks, I sleep.

Not here. These are teachers like I've never seen before. Every single presenter I've had the pleasure of listening to has been completely and utterly passionate and engaged in their subject of choice. I honestly couldn't fall asleep, even if I wanted to. They are just too darn energetic. I love it.

This has made me think a bit about the process of learning and teaching. See, I always figured that when I really figured out what I wanted to be doing and was able to focus just on that, then I would stay interested and committed to that craft. However, now I'm not so sure. I think the key is having teachers that are just plain excellent. Even the presentations that aren't that inherently interesting to me, still captivate me. So, it's either the teacher or the realization that I'm paying a shit-ton of money to attend this two-week deal (wow, sounds like college).

Nah, I think it's the teachers...

And in addition to all the great things I'm learning here, we're also outfitted with some awesome equipment. It's a pretty unique experience, the ability to be able to focus on a journalism medium we're unfamiliar while using top-notch equipment, surrounded by top-notch journalists.

My fellow fellows (ha) are so insightful and skilled at what they do. I feel like I learn things just hanging out with them.

The projects are going well. I'm focusing mine on what the psychic community thinks/sees about the oil spill. I went into an interesting little shop today. The two woman I talked to were very nice. They both told me that the psychic community has been talking about the spill nonstop. So, although I have a ton of work left to do, at least I have a clear goal in mind. Hopefully it pans out.

St. Petersburg itself is a beutiful town. I've gotten into the habit of running a bit after the final sessions. It's a nice way to clear my head and see parts of the town I would not otherwise encounter. It's really quite beautiful. It's surrounded by water on three sides. The downtown area has nice restaurants and open air cafes. There seems to be a pretty strong night life as well as water based recreation (boats etc). Actually, today I ran out onto the Pier, which is... yeah you guessed it... a giant pier. There are shops and all sorts of things out there. I didn't explore too much, mostly because I was all sweaty and nasty. I think I'll head back there tomorrow.

So, more later. I'll try to pass on some of the excellent information I'm learning here. It's worth repeating.


This is our newsroom, yes it's the nicest room I've ever been in...


... and this is my own personal computer (for two-weeks), I love it dearly.

Back from Phoenix

Hey all, I'm back from Phoenix. It was a fun trip. The Sentinel won Best of Show at the ACP Convention, which is awesome. Pretty happy about that. Anyways, jumping right back into my life and work. Really excited for the coming production week, I think it's going to be a good one!
Again great time in Phoenix. I can't express my gratitude enough to Nils Rosdahl, my adviser, for helping me get there and teaching me everything I know.

Here are some photos from the hike we took on the very last day we were there. Really a great hike.

Starting off

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve been semi-busy. The Sentinel only had a two-week break between Issue 6 and Issue 7. It’s going to be a small issue, but good. So, that has been taking up my time pretty well.

However, probably the newest thing that’s going for me is I’m getting into the yoga-teaching world. About three weeks ago I committed to attending my mother’s teaching training. It’s a three week, 102 hour course. Once I finish that I will be certified with Yoga Alliance. But, before I do that I have to have 20 hours of teaching experience. I have exactly zero. So I’ve taken on some private lessons (twice a week) and I’m going to start teaching an hour long beginning level yoga class. I’ve mapped it out so that I’ll be all done and ready to go by mid May!

Plus, I love teaching (I’ve taught two privates so far). It’s hard, for sure, but I just really enjoy it. I love Yoga already and to be able to teach other people (and hopefully get them loving yoga also) is just so much fun. I’ve got a lot to learn. Right now I just feel lucky that people will let me practice teach on them… I guess that is why they aren’t paying anything.

Also, in two weeks I’m going to be heading to Phoenix, Arizona with my adviser Nils Rosdahl for the Associate Collegiate Press (ACP) convention. I’m really looking forward to it, as these conventions are not only informative but also quite fun.

So, things are going well. But and I’m not even done yet. My travel plans (with Leo) are beginning to take form. As of right now (keep in mind things change) it looks like we might take a train from Holland to Moscow, Russia and then to Beijing, China and finally then to India… It’s a long trip but actually cheaper then flying. So, we will see how that works out.

Well, this post has just been a mix of things… nothing really that interesting, but I like to keep pumping ‘em out. Quality over quantity… right?

Here is a photo of a guy I interviewed. His name is Garth Profitt. He is a neat guy. 67 years old and is studying to get his personal trainer certificate. Really cool.



Here is the hoped for route!


And here is my flier advertising my free class.

The NIC Sentinel (Issue 2)

This is the second issue of the Sentinel. It looks good. Photos printed well etc. It was a short one (only 16 pages) but overall I'm happy with it.

The next one, which comes out on Oct. 26, is going to be much longer (24 pages, and possibly a tab section). So we really don't have that much turn around time. I'm excited though.

I love my job right now. It feels so good to be part of a paper. I love seeing it go from rough (or no) ideas to a reality that you can hold in your hand. Really a unique and wonderful experience.

Anyways, comments are always welcome.

Again, these are just the pages I designed.


The front page...

... just an inside opinion page, nothing special, although the art work is good...

.. again inside page...

... the volleyball page. As you can see they are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation...

... this is quite possibly my favorite page ever. It all worked out, and despite my fears it printed great.

A few things

Well I don't really have any one coherent theme for this post. So here are just some random topics (well not just random, how about just unrelated to one another).

Weather

The weather is changing. I love summer and each year I look toward the changing of the seasons with a something bordering on dread. I don't want to be cold, locked up inside etc.

And then the weather changes... and well it's great. Today was the first 'real' fall day in Couer d'Alene and I loved it. I biked a lot (to get to various places) and it was wonderful to be outside in the cold and just feel the crispness of the air.

I think my deep rooted dislike of colder weather goes back to my high school days. I liked high school, actually I think it would be fair to say I loved it (well parts of it). However, it prevented me from doing quite a lot of things. Instead of being out side I was forced to be inside, sitting at a desk. So, I never really got to enjoy the nuances of the colder seasons.

Now that I'm emancipated things are changing. Yes, technically I'm in school, but college is a different beast (well at least for me). I have more free time. I can actually go outside and enjoy the cold weather. So, I'm all ready for the Northwest Winter. It's going to be a good one.

Biking

The last week or so has been an excellent bike week. Unlike today the weather has been warm (actually hot) and the sun has been shining. I've been putting in a lot of miles, going on 40 mile rides every other day or so.

There is something about road biking that is so amazing for me. It's so peaceful, so quite. I'm able to go places and see the natural beauty of this area in way that I never would be able to, if it weren't for my bike.

Plus it is such a clean way of moving. I don't mean environmentally clean (although it is), I mean just clean feeling. It's just you, the bike and the road. If you have a bike that is efficient and tuned up... oh boy, what a great feeling.

The Sentinel

And finally, and definitely not least, the Sentinel. It's production week, so starting yesterday I've been working fairly non-stop. It's a shorter issue, so not as much to do. However, there is still plenty of things going on. I think I said it in my last post but putting out a paper is a pretty amazing process. It's just this huge outburst of energy. When you finish you feel drained, but so good.

And I really love it. Honestly, all the work and frustration aside I love working on the paper.

Well, that is it. I think I'll post a few photos I took last weekend for some college events. I'll throw up the PDF's of the Sentinel when it's all done Sunday at noon. And until then, adios.

Hundredth Post

Well, I'm home from my Chicago adventures. It's good to be back. I've been incredibly busy with my new job as the managing editor of NIC's newspaper, The Sentinel. Basically the impetus for creating this post is that I just want to be able to join the hundred post club. I don't know if there is such a thing, but if there is, you can count me in. Because this is my hundredth post!

When I first started blogging. I kind of felt like it had no purpose. Sometimes I still feel like that (like right now, for instance). But generally speaking I feel like blogging is a great way to express what you are seeing and thinking. Everyone has a different perspective, on everything. So, being able to easily publish that on the web is wonderful. Gone are the days of newspapers having hegemonic control over our media consumption.

It also helps to know that you have readers. When I first started blogging I installed a program called Google Analytics. It lets me know when people are looking at my blog, where they are looking at it from (just a general region, no specific addresses), how long they are looking at it and a slew of other things that I don't really understand. It keeps me motivated, so thanks to everyone who has followed this blog.

Speaking of blogging (because that is of what we are speaking) you all should check out my good friend Heidi Groover's blog. She is spending the semester/year in Ghana. She is an amazing writer and is obviously seeing some amazing stuff. So check it out here.

Anyways, I'm going to sign off now. Again, thank you all, your readership means a lot to me. I will post again soon, hopefully it will deal with biking our journalism. We will see!

The future (is a bike trip)

Well hey, first blog in a while. I've been working all summer at a summer camp called Camp Reed (click here). It's a YMCA camp and is an awesome place... but the internet connection is limited and I've been fairly busy... so between the two no blogs.

Anyways as you can see I'm changing the focus of the blog a bit. Basically it has no specific focus, however, common themes will no doubt be journalism, biking and traveling. So keep and eye out for those. Today the NIC Sentinel started (click here). It's a student run newspaper and I'm the managing editor for the year. It's a big job, but I'm excited. So, I'm sure that will be something I will blog about on occasion.

But, for my first substantial blog in a while I'm choosing to write about something near and dear to my heart: biking. Me and some friends from camp are going to bike from Plummer, Idaho to Harrison, Idaho. I'm not quite sure about the route we are going to take, however, I'm sure that it is going to be a great time.

We will camp out near Harrison and then bike back in the morning (I have a noon class I have to be at... hmm). Anyways, I'm really excited for the trip. We leave tomorrow morning at 10 am. So, I should be in bed, but instead I'm blogging about how excited I am. Smart.

So, I will take pictures and throw them onto the blogosphere as soon as possible. I will also show you the route that we end up taking using MapMyRide, a very, very cool website (click here).

So, that is all. I will start to blog more consistently once again.