Submitted by Brian St. Denis on Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 21:33

E-Journalism

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This morning we had a short discussion about the definition of the word 'practice,' and by the afternoon it was clear why. We practiced a lot today. If our class can't upload content by now, they never will.

As we kicked off publication project, our class learned about CMS (content management systems), such as this fine website we've all been diligently posting to these past six weeks. The framework is already in place, and all we need to do is type in our content to the correct fields, and voila. It's efficient, it's consistent and it's simple.

Looking at this website, the section you're reading right now is called the core. To your right is the menu, 'who's online', and 'who's new' modules, or widgets. At the very top is the header, and at the bottom is the footer. There are other modules off to the left, such as the most recent blog posts. These are all sectioned off into blocks. What you see is the front end of the site - conversely, the administration side that you don't see is the back end.

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Submitted by Monique Glenn on Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 19:01

E-Journalism

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Today was the first class of Publication project with Rob. Within the first hour of the class we discussed internship possibilities, what we were doing next year, and what idea we have stemmed up for our project.
It was helpful to have the talk that some were dreading. Then we got into web design again- how to upload things onto the web was the main theme.

There are many factors to a website. It consists of a header and a footer and a core which is the centre of the page. Deciding what kind of website that you want to have has proven difficult time and time again for the E-Journalism class.

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Submitted by Keri Sculland on Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 14:21

E-Journalism

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Reality sinks in… today marked the first day of the downhill slope to the end of this program. Being introduced to the publication project took quite some time. After being handed multiple sheets covering the next five weeks in this program, it is easy to see that they are going to be a very busy five weeks.

Getting into the publications project was fun to start. Throwing ideas around helps gain a handle on what is coming up. Knowing the direction to take for the publications project brings peace to mind.

Practicing and honing journalistic skills provides methodology, much like a doctor. Journalism practices are based off of principles, standards, normality, and ideology.

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Submitted by Monique Glenn on Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 07:22

E-Journalism

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Broadcast journalism is something that can be quite terrifying for a group of print reporters. We are all so used to being away from the camera, or at least behind it, that it can cause some to become extremely uncomfortable- but what other choice do we have?
Print, unfortunately is on its way out, and newer forms of media such as multimedia pieces are what the industry is looking for. Therefore, the six print reporters in E-Journalism are going to all have to suck it up and do what we got to do in order to get us a job/ career at the end of school..
Today class was again, pretty fun, like yesterday. We incorporated the voice techniques for audio into the lesson that was brought forth today-broadcasting.

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Submitted by Keri Sculland on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - 23:08

E-Journalism

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Switching places from behind the scenes into the limelight of the camera. It was strange at first to be peering straight into a viewfinder, instead of someone else.
As journalists, it is easier to be speaking face-to-face with a person, or an audience. Standing in front of the camera brings a face-to-camera-to-face feel.
Upgrading attention from solely the sound of voice in the news clip, the class stepped up a notch. Paying special interest in the eye expression and movement of mouth and head, there was also importance in make-up, clothing, and gestures.
Switching up the role from being in the background where nobody pays attention to bylines to being in front of something which could be publicly broadcasted with your face on it, was overwhelming to start. The worst part of all was memorizing what needed to be said. Integrating voice and actions into the script wasn’t hard.

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Submitted by Brian St. Denis on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - 19:04

E-Journalism

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Tension was high in the classroom today as it became clear why our little group initially chose print journalism instead of broadcast: To stay out of the camera's way.

Yesterday's lessons were all about using your voice, and today was about presenting that voice on camera. After the hours we spent watching CBC anchors enunciate and make hand gestures, this author did his best to emulate them. The two years of callcentre employment may have also lent itself to how to carry my voice.

So what's next? Good question.

The rest of the week will be rounded out by moving from this blog and making a more personal one for our stories for the final four weeks. It's crunch-time for deciding a topic to research. Geographically there are a few areas to cover. Home is in Chatham, while my internship is in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. It's been a while since working on a journalistic endeavor (the writing for the magazine was either already done or was delegated) so it's more difficult than expected to nail down a focus.

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Submitted by Kelly McKinnon on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - 12:03

E-Journalism

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Talk about Multitasking to the max.
Doing a newscast in front of a camera is not as easy at it seems.
For some people it takes a lot to become comfortable in front of a camera, and for others its second nature.
In Either situation, a lot of work and effort goes into the standup besides talking into a camera.
Today we got a little taste of what its like as we filmed a closing standup for a news package.
The piece we had to present was only a few seconds long, but when you factor in that you also have to be thinking about your voice (projection, enunciation, and inflection) your movements (are they natural, are you moving too much), your facial expressions (are you capturing the audience and being expressive) and now you have to count yourself down, it becomes more complicated than you think.

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Submitted by Keri Sculland on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - 23:12

E-Journalism

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Getting into the natural flow of things, beginning to criticize the vocalized word was rocky to start.

Pacing and speed are important to pay attention to. Compared to every day speech, the way which a news broadcaster speaks is much slower; so slow people from eight years old to eighty years old can catch what it being articulated.

Articulation and enunciation are key, but it is worthy to remember not to go overboard. There is a difference in the way a “rAdiO rePorTer” speaks and a broadCAST reporter speaks. When radio reporters speak into the microphone, they make sure they articulate on the sharp T’s and S’s. Broadcasters focus on this, but not nearly as sharp, while putting emphasis on syllables more clearly.

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Submitted by Kelly McKinnon on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - 14:26

E-Journalism

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Take a deep breath... pretend you are talking to your hard of hearing grandma... and prepare to feel like an idiot.
These were the key tips we were to remember when recording clips for our website. The lesson was more difficult than expected. Speaking in an audible, clear voice and staying aware of your expression speed and intonation meant we all had to slow down and actually think about what was coming out of our mouths.
It sounds so simple, and even listening to a TV broadcast, the reporter makes it sound so natural.
How far from the truth that could be.
Most of us (especially girls) speak at a fairly quick pace normally, and when nervous or excited even faster. Because speaking fast is so natural to us, it takes more than a little bit of effort to slow yourself down and enunciate each word properly.

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Submitted by Monique Glenn on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - 14:22

E-Journalism

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Yesterday was sick day and didn't make it to the first class of Broadcast, with the new instructor Andy. And today it was evident that this week is going to be a lot of fun for the class. After being quickly informed of what was missed the previous day, jumping into the lesson and participating was quite easy.
Today the lesson was focusing on a broadcasters voice.
The class watched a few CBC news clips with Andy. The first viewing was for pleasure/content. The second viewing was about technique- chronological order, camera angles and audio. Then the third viewing, which was not really a 'viewing' peruse as Andy took the television monitor and turned it. So all we had left was the audio.

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