March 2006 Archives

I learned something new today. Custom news is so awesomely bad ass.

With all the time I don't have, I don't need any added garbage getting in my way. I want to read what interests me, I want a variety and I want it delivered to my e-mail doorstep promptly at 7 a.m.

Well, my prayers have been answered. Now, everybody can customize the content they read just by going to CRAYON, Findory Even the mainstream sites, like MyNetscape.com, let you customize, which technically makes them the anti-mainstream.

But this customized news is just a preview of the daily news. Everyday the New York Times sends me a preview of its headlines. I don't look at them every day, but if a headline catches my eye I follow. Usually I look at CNN to find out the latest and most important news around the world at that exact moment; I do this about 10 times a day. But that is a shortcoming of many custom news outlets. For example, Findory.com only sends you headlines it thinks you would be interested in. My interests are basically the same most days, but if something newsworthy is happening in entertainment or science, I take notice. When I get bombarded with content, usually I ignore it, because it becomes too tedious to sift through.

If I have my own custom newspaper or homepage, what news will I be missing? None, if you pick the right custom content generator.

I have been reeled in by the idea of custom content. As of today I am a subscriber to CRAYON. My newspaper is really a link to all the local news I want from Lawrence, Kansas City and Topeka plus bigger headlines from the New York Times. But this doesn't stear me away from looking at other sites. That's why I add all of my favorite sites to my custom newspaper. Therefore, I never have to leave my custom site to find my news.

If mass media still exists down the yellow brick road, I will still sift through the news that interests me the most, but I will also rely on my custom content to provide additional stories on topics that I don't normally read up on. Point and click. That's all I have to do with "The Jackson Journal" to get all the news sites I want, plus the additional sites I frequent the most.

I've said it before and I'll say it again … mainstream news isn't going anywhere. There will always be newspapers and television stations with headlines. But custom content makes sifting through the rubble a little bit easier.

If you don't have a cell phone, you can't reach your friends. If you have no instant messaging service, how will you be entertained when you're trying to do homework? Without Facebook, you can't see your friend's latest pictures. All of these things are keeping us connected with each other. However, that's all they are doing.

These new technologies give us easy access to people and our favorite things. Cell phones can give us scores to games of our favorite teams. Yet, this does not make us change our favorite teams. New media don't change what people read and watch. My favorite show on television right now is 24. Awhile back, they started doing promotions on a certain type of telephone that you could use to watch mobile episodes (mobisodes) of 24. During Christmas break, I got Season 4 on DVD and the mobisodes were included on one of the discs. I still haven't watched them. This extra perq doesn't mean that I will give up on the show and watch some other way.

The KUJH Website has just recently aded the ability to podcast its news stories, but what has changed about the news that we already cover? Nothing. It's the same news. The only thing that has changed is how you obtain it.

The rise of new connections just gives us new ways of keeping in touch with people. It doesn't change our preferences for what or how we watch.

We wanted to make sure everything was up and running smoothly before we patted ourselves on the back... but folks, we're doing it! KUJH-TV News is providing video podcasts of the nightly news. Now, we just need to get the word out.

You can subscribe to the KUJH-TV podcast through iTunes and/or Google.

Thanks to the wizardry of Katie (sorry folks, she has already been promised to The Spokesman Review after she graduates in May), we have a fully-functioning feed and a slick little branding image to boot. The best part is, it's not rocket science. Creating the podcasts is no harder than exporting video from Final Cut. In fact, Final Cut has a pre-configured setting for podcasts. Voila! It's an extra 30 seconds to export both the .MOV file for the web and the .M4V file for the podcasts.

Today, one of the reporters asked if it was hard to "get" a video podcast. No, it's not hard at all. Click on our subscription link for iTunes and/or Google and the feed will automatically download the latest stories. Most people probably don't have a clue what to do with a podcast. This is where the diffusion of innovation theory kicks in. It will take time for people to become comfortable with video podcasts.

The same reporter also wondered why he should download the video podcasts. Katie had a quick and thoughtful explanation. "It's time-shifting. You can watch whenever you want, regardless of when the show is broadcast. It's not the novelty of having it on the iPod that makes podcasting successful, it's the fact that you can tune in whenever you want."

I'm not convinced that video podcasts are "all the rage." Not today, anyway. But tomorrow they might be, and now that we've learned how to do it with the nightly newscast, it will be easier to experiment with other content. Look at TiVo, for example. It took awhile to catch on, but now all the kids are doing it. Who wants to rush home to watch Lost when you can TiVo it or buy it from iTunes and watch it whenever you want.

What is news? What is a friend? I don't have a clue to either question.

Maybe a question that is easier to answer is: Why do people read the news and have friends? The obvious answer: To connect.

And that means facebook kicks every news program's, every magazine's and every newspaper's ass. Nobody in their teens or 20s gives a rat's ass about what happened to Slobodan Milosevic. Offended by that statement? Then you're OLD! You're freaking old!!!!

Younger people want to connect with topics that have proximity. How are they going to connect with something happening on the other side of the world? They aren't. That's why they go to facebook and MySpace.When the media and communication experts once thought the Internet disconnected people from the world, facebook is doing just the opposite. It's making people addicted!

It's also making big money. Why else would Rupert Murdock, the William Randolph Hearst of today, spend $583 million for it? Because it gets results and will continue to get results.

Nearly 65 percent of facebook users log in at least once a day. I log in at least three times a day. That WILL change when I get out of college and the heck out of Kansas. I will still want to be connected with all my college buddies. Am I going to call all 286 of them everyday to see what is new? Hell no! Going on some stupid web site will be much easier.

News to me is what is happening around me. It is what's going on in my life. And my friends are in my life, not Milosevic. I'm not going to read about something 10,000 miles away. I'm going to connect to the things that are closest to me: my friends. And that's just a mouse click away.

I always wonder how nice it would be to go a day without running to my cell phone for every call or pretend I don't have an email address or a facebook profile that I'm a slave to. The funny thing is I'm not the only one that dreams of a day without being tied to a phone or computer.

A perfect example of how reliant our society is with staying connected became blatant in my Ethics class earlier this week. When asked who didn't have a phone with them at that moment, not a single hand from a class of fifty was raised. Unbelievable! While cell phones allow us to keep in touch with friends, the phone itself has evolved from a communication tool to a necessity to a trendy accessory.

But while our availability to the media has grown, has our content evolved with the times? On every college campus, Facebook has become an addiction for most college students. Techcrunch stated in an article that 85 percent of college students use Facebook. The real question around facebook is why is it so addictive. In my opinion, our society is too busy to read a lengthy email or spend five minutes on a phone, so instead we turn to facebook, text messaging or instant messaging in order to get a quick point across. The idea of an email has become an informal means of communicating with someone. While emails have become a "stuffy" way to communicate with someone, text messaging and facebooke allow users to leave quick hits or thoughts on a friends profile. The messages are generally lighter in nature and are quick and easy to respond to. I think our society has become overwhelmed with the connectivity and prefer single thoughts rather than a lengthy conversations.

The business world is a perfect example of our addiction to the net. Rather than walking to a co-workers office and talking face-to-face, we use email to communicate, cutting down on small talk and keeping us tied to our computer.

Rather than spending the time looking for information, we skim online newspapers, skip through hundreds of television stations and look for quick messages from friends and family. An example of the media catching on to the short attention span of the readers occurs daily when news organizations enable members to customize the web page. The Minneapolis Star Tribune allows members to select the news based on personal interests.

In the coming years, news organizations will be forced to mold to the interest of their viewers. With all the different means of staying connected and accessing news and entertainment, it will be imperative for online organizations to keep the news fresh, sharp and short to grab the attention in a frantic world.

WAR BREAKS OUT IN EUROPE ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN KENNEDY SLAIN ON DALLAS STREET MAN WALKS ON MOON

Photo: Mark Zillman
Still a cool headline.

If I had customized news, I might not have seen these historic headlines that graced papers across the country.

Today, thanks to Google News, along with My Yahoo! and myCNN.com, users can pick and choose what headlines they want to see. Now, I am all for power to the people, but this self censorship is as stupid as it is dangerous. The average user must at least see some exposure to news other than what is customized for them.

That's not to say users don't want customized news. But it is a lot easier and healthier for conservatives to head over to WorldNetDaily and for liberals to check out Mother Jones.

But you need a broader perspective to the world. Sure, the cable news channels and major papers all filter what you and I are going to see. But the New York Times' headlines and the Fox News Channel crawl of the bottom of the screen still give valuable news information to both Republicans and Democrats.

If in the 1930s you had My Yahoo! and didn't subscribe to any European news, you would never know that another global war was about to be unleashed. If your myCNN.com account did not accept any news about Democrats, you may have missed the JFK assassination headline. And if your Google News didn't pick up any NASA headlines, well, you probably would still wonder if we landed on the moon.

The point is: We never know when the next big news story, and thus headline, is going hit. And sometimes you have to check out a newspaper front page to see what in the world is going on.

So read a front page. The Eagle has landed.

Denise Spidle, a 2005 graduate of the KU School of Journalism hits the studio in Naples, Fla.

Denise Spidle, a 2005 J-School graduate, will anchor the new 15-minute internet/TV news program "Studio 55" for The Daily News. Her fall 2005 in-depth story, Cheerleading becoming a risky business, where she teamed up with online producer Eric Sorrentino, won a Region 7 Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. According to a recent article in Poynter's E-Media Tidbits, Making Local Coverage Count in Naples, Fla. , the first "Studio 55" newscast will run April 3.

We are so proud of Denise. It is always exciting to see our students get out there, kick ass and take names. We look forward to following her career.

Out for a night on the town, I share this pic of my friends and I on my Facebook photo album.

Once upon a time, long ago, people read the morning newspaper, watched the five o'clock news and mailed hand-written letters to one another to keep up with family news and world happenings.

More recently, the average person can call someone on their house phone after work, write an email during lunch, or look someone up on their personal webpage through Yahoo.

Today? In thirty seconds or less, I can call my mom using our cell phones at her work during the ten minutes between classes and then text message my boyfriend at our apartment telling him to bring a forgotten textbook to campus for me. During my lunch break, I jump on a lab computer and Facebook my Photography I partner a message about a project we are working on.

These new social networks have caused my generation to become more intensely aware of the news surrounding our own intimate groups. I may not know the latest on nuclear weapons development in Iran but I'm definitely up-to-date with which of my friends went out last weekend-to what bars and with who (based on their newly uploaded photo albums of course.) I love Facebook.

In an instant I can relay information or get information with the use of my cell or computer to family and friends from Lawrence, New York and L.A. In short, with the use of this technology, my generation may rather use it's time to check up on friends and family, rather than to see what's new with CNN or Fox.

I hate the Facebook. It's true that I have an account. It's also true that I check my Facebook profile at least once a day. But why? It's beyond me. To me, it's like this second-rate social networking ploy. It's only available to students. Doesn't anyone have friends who don't go to college? It all just seems so… constricting?

I have a Myspace account. I use it for blogging, communication or even research.

It keeps me in touch with good friends (outside of the realm of college), allows me to contemplate my day and find information on music or other such topics of interest. It has a purpose.

Facebook seems like just another reason for young people to be more interested in themselves than they should be. People can use the excuse that it's there to keep in touch, which is fine, but no way am I buying into the idea that e-mail is too time-consuming. Where do you have to be, anyway? It's like a party on my PC and everyone's invited.

That's not to say that the idea behind computer-social networks is bad. As Barry Wellman puts it, "The Internet increases people's social capital, increasing contact with friends and relatives who live nearby and far away. New tools must be developed to help people navigate and find knowledge in complex, fragmented, networked societies."

I think Wellman is right. Networked societies do need a continuing technological advance and they are important in linking groups. However, let's not get carried away with instant messaging, facebooking and text messaging. Just because technology advances, doesn't mean it's better. There are simpler things. People are just missing it.

I remember when I was a freshman in high school and it was time to get my first cell phone. I don't think I really needed it but as I look back it set in motion a whole new way of communication for me.

I am never without my cell phone and if I happen to forget it at home it's almost like I lost my right arm. Sad? Probably. But that's my generation. We have been given the ability to communicate with family and friends wherever we are. We can even text message each other if verbal communication is too much or not possible.

But my cell phone isn't the only important technology in my life. I can spend hours on my computer each day but it's not all spent doing homework. Besides reading up on the latest celebrity gossip or sporting news, I can be found on the wonderful, yet addicting, invention we know as Facebook. Facebook gives me the chance to keep in touch with my friends from high school at colleges around the country and check out the latest photos from my friend's crazy nights of college fun.

It's funny because I can navigate through web site after web site while my dad can barely even check his email. There is nothing wrong with that; it's just we are accustomed to a whole new way of socializing. Not only can we talk on the phone but we can communicate on the computer and through text messages. To some it by sound strange but with Facebook and text messages I can write a short message and get a similar short reply without having to deal with those stupid questions we have to ask when we call someone on the phone. Hi, how are you? What are doing? What have you been up to?

Our generation is a society with a short attention span and these new forms of connection make short communication so easy. We are obsessed with having the ability to communicate whenever we want and these new media give us that chance. Our parents may not understand it and say its not necessary, but why not use something that connects us in so many ways? We love to chat and share news and even talk about the occasional exciting college event with friends near and far and if we do it through a text or a post on a Facebook wall, then so be it.

I was skeptical of social networks until October 11, 2005, the day I joined Facebook. I know it took me a year to jump on the social network bandwagon, but why do I need that silly Facebook to keep me in touch with friends? Well, because without it, keeping in touch seems too time consuming.

Social networking. No one knows why it is so addicting, but religiously we check our Facebook accounts for messages, updated friend profiles and pictures. It's now apart of my daily routine: check my email, Facebook, CNN and ehub. I wake up and go to bed to this addiction. On the surface social networks like Facebook, Orkut and MySpace are easy ways to connect to your friends, especially the one's you don't see very often. One can instantaneously check out what people are up to by reading their profiles and looking at their pictures.

But social networks are making us unsocial. We don't talk anymore. Instead of calling up our friends from high school to see how they've been, we just look at blurps of their lives on Facebook. Social networks are ideal for acquaintances, but we are using them to maintain relationships with friends and even family. We are more concerned about social networks than social, economic or political events.

But what is better? Heads: When social networking didn't exist? Or tails: social networking as it is now — or even more advanced? Maybe there is some middle ground. Call it torso: A social network that doesn't interfere with face-to-face communication. Personally, I don't want to go back to the times when it took the North six months to know they won the Civil War, but it is disheartening to know that we will no longer have the time to write a letter (and I don't mean an electronic letter) or talk to a friend for hours on the phone.

Now, text messaging has opened up a whole new realm of social networking.

Situation: A group of girls and I are at the Plaza in Kansas City for dinner at P.F. Changs, but like always there is a two-hour wait.

Solution: While I was still on the phone with my friend, she texted her phone for the numbers of other restaurants.

Result: Without ending our conversation we were able to obtain the numbers of four other restaurants, therefore finding a restaurant with the shortest wait. We call this multi-tasking.

Text messaging is a social network in itself. Instantaneously, one can text several people and talk on the phone at the same time. Talk about addicting. (Warning, if you are a teacher I would cover your eyes.) This is great for college students who are sitting in class and without verbal communication want to immediately converse with friends. Texting is immensly addicting and allows us to be even more unsocial. Once you start you just can't stop. Its popularity stems from my generation's need for speed.

I don't know where social networking is going, but I do know where it came from. It's both a blessing and a curse, but it's just another piece of the gen-X puzzle. Communication has forever changed, mostly for the better, but I will miss that gooshy feeling I get when I receive a letter in the mail.

It all started back in seventh grade with Gurl pages. I guess you would call it the gateway webpage. It had message boards, advice columns, profiles, and online journals. Everyday I signed on, which back in that era was quite a commitment, and wrote in my public diary about my boring life and the boys I had crushes on. Did anyone read it? Probably not, but the idea that someone might have thought my life intriguing and worth their time was good enough for me.

I let go of my ‘gurl' diary several years ago, but facebook and myspace have made the transition easy. Let's face it; we're a vain culture. Isn't that the central attraction with these sites? We love talking about ourselves, seeing ourselves, and observing what others think about ourselves. I'm guilty! I check out the ‘book to see who has written on my wall (I can usually count on Jillian) or see who has posted new photos.

But, the concept has really taken off because our generation is different. We've grown up with the internet. Communicating by email isn't impersonal to us. It's convenient. It's a way of saying, "Look I know you're busy, read this when you get a minute.'" Same goes for Myspace's blogs and text messaging. They are convenient ways of getting information. Maybe social networking sites are changing what people read, but my thought i: Reading something is better than not reading anything at all.

7:50 a.m. Sunday, March 12

I woke up, literally, in a whirlwind. I looked outside my third floor window to limbs and branches flying through the air. The sky looked like an orange and red, tie-dyed t-shirt I might have made at Girl Scout camp as a little girl. Nonetheless, it was a sight unlike any other Sunday I had seen before. My nine roommates and I, plus a few additional weekend houseguests, looked outside in complete amazement; amazement that the forceful act of nature had virtually not even touched our house or our cars parked outside. A tornado had hit little, old Lawrence hard.

Photo by Kylie Battaglia

Our neighbors' house as shown above, as well as the rest of Lawrence for that matter, was another story. Everything around me was a true disaster. Later in the day, I drove around with my friends surveying the damage and the frightening state Lawrence had found itself in. I thought to myself how lucky I had been and how grateful I was that everyone had survived the catastrophe. I now think back upon my initial thoughts at the wee hour of 8 a.m. What did I do????

First thing I did before running downstairs in complete fear, but of course, was grab my cell phone and phone charger. I think back now, and would have grabbed much more, but instantly I grabbed by phone and proceeded to dial my mom. I had to talk to her. If something really bad had happened, what would I have done without my phone to keep me in contact? If I couldn't have contacted her and the other people I called and text messaged there after, I don't know what I would have done. Needless to say, I rely for dear life on my phone; secondarily on my computer. They are part of me. Each connects me to what's most important to me: my family and friends.

When something goes wrong, as nature will vouch for on Sunday, I need the ability to connect. Whether it is huge, life or death situations, or small, everyday details and occasions, my cell phone and computer make it happen. They are immediate, convenient and readily available. They get me through life's everyday catastrophes, both big and little.

What connects you? What can do you rely on when it really matters?

Last semester, I attended the KU Etiquette Dinner to learn the proper way to eat during a business lunch or dinner. I can tell you it was painstaking to learn every little intricate area where I had to put my fork. We, the diners, were instructed that the proper way to thank a client or boss for lunch was to write a thank you note. An email was unacceptable.

But in today's 30 second sound byte world, I don't have time to write an email. I decided to write an email to myself and time it. After I typed in the address, subject, the pleasantries (hello, how are you, see ya later, sincerely Mark J. Zillman) I spent a good two minutes doing it.

That is unacceptable. Two minutes is a lifetime. That is a full TV timeout during a KU basketball game. I normally go to the bathroom, fix some nachos, chug a "soda" and have time to catch one of those ridiculously bad IBM server commercials before the game comes back on.

If only there were a way I could write one or two witty sentences about absolutely nothing but do it rapidly. Alas, there is www.facebook.com.

Facebook is the ever growing college (and now high school) online social networking spectacle. It includes more than 2,200 colleges and is the seventh most popular web site, just behind Google.

Facebook allows me to write a message on my friend's "wall," or message board, with ease. Of course, I have to search for my friends, ask them to be my friend, wait for a confirmation period, and then fill out additional information on how we are friends. After my friends confirm we are indeed friends by checking their email, then they can reply back that we are friends. My friends then can check their email to see if I have posted something on their "walls," log on to www.facebook.com and send a reply to my wall. Then I check my email and see if somebody has written on my wall.

Wow, that sure was a lot easier than writing an email!

I don't remember a world without television or what it's like to hear words or see color on television for the first time, but my grandmother does. I barely remember when computers became smaller than a room or when we became dependent on the internet, but my parents do, because they look back at the "good-ol'-days" when they used type writers to write their term papers and complain about how confusing these darn computers are. These "good-ol'-day" memories get lumped into the "walking to school up hill in the snow" stories bearing one common theme: change.

Eventually everything we know now will be a faded memory. We will laugh about the predictions we made for the future, because we won't be able to fathom how far off we were or how far we've come. If we could predict the future then those visions would become the present and we would be very wealthy people. In journalism, the future is tomorrow and we have no idea what will become of this profession.

Like journalism, editors and writers aren't going anywhere. I say that with my fingers crossed behind my back.

Radio, print, television and the internet are here to stay, but things are going to change. There will be fewer employees at radio and television stations, but marketers, writers and editors will still have jobs, because they can work from the invisible internet newsroom. There will always be news to report and people to oversee the process. Marketers will have their hands full convincing people that this news site is better than the next, because my generation won't waste our time on useless information.

Farhad Manjoo's article "All the news stuff that's fit to print" proves that my generation isn't picking up traditional newspapers, but instead watching the satiric "The Daily Show" or checking out newspapers and magazines that target young people and their interests. But what are we interested in? We can name all the actors on Friends and their characters' names, but we probably can't name two Supreme Court justices even though the two most recent additions have been in the news for months. We are more concerned with Hollywood then the economy or politics. This makes me wonder if the "news" really is dumbed-down for my generation.

A recent study by American Institutes for Research points toward this assumption. It concludes that "more than 75 percent of students at 2-year colleges and more than 50 percent of students at 4-year colleges do not score at the proficient level of literacy. This means that they lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks, such as comparing credit card offers with different interest rates or summarizing the arguments of newspaper editorials."

So the future of journalism is even more distorted. Are these illiterate graduates supplying me with news in the future? Gosh, I hope not. But what about my children's children? If these trends continue will newspapers vanish into the woodwork or will wireless be a thing of the past? Doubtful, but, journalism is going down the path of uncertainty and taking us along for the ride.

Last semester, I was working as a reporter for KUJH-TV as part of my semester in TV Reporting I. I remember dreading going out to cover stories and its not because I didn't want to cover stories. It was because I had to lug the huge camera, the bag, and the tripod through campus and to my car. By the time I got there I was sweating and tired. Maybe I am being a little selfish but just imagine how much easier it would be to have a camera that could fit in my purse.

For reporters, it would be so much more convenient to carry a small camera around or always have it with you in the event of breaking news. Maybe then, they wouldn't have been "scooped" on stories like the London Bombings.

As technology advances and "normal" people are now journalists with their cell phone cameras and digital cameras, reporters and their companies need to keep up with the times. And what a better place to start than in a college environment! Giving us the newest technology will enable us to best learn to cover the news and adapt to changes in the best way possible. Maybe then we would have been able to get on scene photos of the shooting at the Granada and have something no one else in Lawrence had.

When cell phones with cameras first came out, everyone was fascinated with the blurry, unidentifiable images. As technology has progressed, so has the picture quality. While it's fun to take a picture every once in a while, is it really that necessary to have a cellular provider that enables you to create a blog?

My main problem with moblogs is it's a gimmick for cellular providers to dupe thousands of people into throwing more of their money away to their cell phones. There are too many naive people out there that think this will make them "cool" by using their camera phone to blog. One of the largest providers, Textamerica, gives customers the capabilities of using their pictures for online purposes.

While this seems harmless and is meant for those of all ages, many people use it as a way to advertise themselves and show how pitiful their lives are. So while there are pictures of "little Timmy" visiting the zoo, there are pictures of people pimpin' themselves out to anyone interested.

O.K., enough of the negativity. While I undeniably dislike moblogs, there have been instances when camera phones come in handy. The world was able to see first hand the devastation of the London bombings thanks to camera phones.

While there are times where camera phones can be convenient, more often than not we hear more more stories involvling a camera phone in the locker room. Moblogs are just another way for people fritter away their money.

There's nothing like buying a new vinyl album.

First I go to the record store (preferably Lawrence's own LoveGarden) to peruse the what-seems-infinite number of records. Then I select one and buy it. When I get home, I look over the cover art, remove the album and put it on a turntable, gently place the needle at the beginning of the record, and listen to the album the whole way through. Forget mp3 players. It's all about the process.

Just as record shopping and listening to an album is about the process which has so vehemently been displaced, so is visual journalism. These days with new technologies popping up... well, like pop-ups... the process is lost. Camera phones, moblogs, etc. all have taken the place of traditional visual journalism, mainly traditional photography.

Although I am not a photographer, I am interested in photography. I like the idea of piecing things together to create a one, whole unit. That said, I think that new technologies within journalism (especially visuals) have taken some of the mystique out of the whole thing.

Sure camera phones and other such digital devices make for a quick and more convenient means of visual communication, but isn't there something missing? Doesn't anyone care about processing their own photos? I feel that although the technology is new, fast and "improved;" there is something sacred and more authentic about the process of getting informaton. That goes for more than just photos.

I won't lie, I've taken a few photos with my cell phone over the past two or three years. When I discovered my name was on the cable box information for Jayhawk Sports Talk I pulled that puppy out faster than you can say, "Welcome to the Friday night edition of Jayhawk Sports Talk." To be completely honest though, I've only shown the picture to two people. I figured my dad and brother would appreciate seeing my name on the television since they don't live in the broadcast area.

My dad's new BlackBerry. They've been out for three months, and will probably be obsolete in another three months.

Other than funny drunk moments, unusual circumstances or major catastrophes, I don't really see a growing need for camera phones. They're nice to play with, but not a necessity. Professional photography continues to be leaps and bounds ahead of cheap technology. Amateur video and photographic journalists can be good at shooting pictures, but there is a definite talent and art that makes professional work look professional.

That's not to say technology can't grow and adapt to help make an amateur's work look more appealing. Technology literally changes on a daily basis, and it takes entire websites dedicated to finding those new technologies to keep the public up-to-date. Electronics companies know how to hype up their products, even if the new products don't necessarily contain new technologies. Take this year's Oscars as an example, winning celebreties got to take home all the latest gadgets from the techno world.

As for those of us living in the non-celebrity world, there are some toys that could be very useful in the newsroom. The biggest problem I've personally encountered is a lack of high quality telephone recording equipment. Every phone interview I've participated in has resulted in chipmunk voices. An automatic, digital phone recorder on one phone would allow for all interviews on that phone to be recorded and saved. Meaning it could stay with that single phone and would only be used to record phone interviews.

Even with a plethora of new technology available, I think it's best to use the technology already available to the best of its capability. Mastery of equipment will always be more beneficial than an overload of options. That being said, when the technology does indeed become obsolete there will be plenty of ways to use the old equipment.

Imagine Wescoe Hall is burning. Perhaps there is a chemical spill on Massachusetts Street. For a reporter, this could be story of the year.

But there is a problem. It is going to take some time to lug around a camera and prepare a television crew. In the world of television news, time is money. Any wasted seconds could be the difference between an award winning story and getting scooped by the competition.

The future of journalism is not "thinking big." Instead, it is "getting small." And no, I am not talking about downsizing. That is for another blog.

The William Allen White School of Journalism should take a hint from students. Even as earlier as 2000, the item college students wanted the most was a digital camera. According to photo journalist Nick Didlick, "digital photography has finally reached a stage where it is a deadline and production tool, rather than an expensive toy for computer-literate photographers."

Unfortunately, the KU School of Journalism offers a meager two digital cameras that students can check out. That's right, two.

But perhaps a digital camera is not small enough. Cell phone cameras are outselling digital cameras by a 4 to 1 margin. Cell phone cameras are also improving in quality. Cell phone cameras have made an impact in the world of journalism. The first video from the London terrorist bombings came not from expensive, bulky over the should cameras but instead from cell phones.

And radio should also receive an upgrade in portability. KJHK broadcasts newscasts daily from the Multimedia Newsroom. Imagine if the field reporters for KJHK had digital recorders to gather sound from that fire, flood or spill. The reporter could simply plug & play and edit directly on a laptop before ever setting foot in the newsroom. The edited sound byte would be ready to go when the reporter returned. Of course, if the reporter had wireless internet, the sound byte could be delivered instantly to the newsroom and posted on the KJHK or KUJH-TV web site.

I doubt the University will have the funds to hand out cell phone cameras, digital recorders and laptops to every journalism student. But the School of Journalism must "get small." And whatever new toys the School invests in, I hope it will buy more than two.

I want to work online with graphics now more than ever. I had no idea I was such a tech nerd. All I ever talk about is technology and Macs. God help us all. I can't stop. It's a new addiction, and it's expensive. However, at least I get a fix for my addiction almost daily because most of this technology is available in the newsroom. However, there are some things that we could add to the newsroom that would be mac-il-icious (I told you, I am a nerd).

Photo: Abbie Stutzer
"My wonderful photography at the Jack Johnson concert last August."

I definitely think the newsroom should invest in cell phone technology that would allow us to take videos and photos. This technology would allow us to report more information and put it on the Internet quickly. We could do a video interview anytime anywhere and without bulky equipment. Another bit of technology that I found while researching new and nifty video and camera phones was the Digitizer3 or the "Digitizer cubed." The Digitizer3 is a "camera phone document scanning mobile service. Digitizer3 is the first camera phone document scanning service for camera phones that enables users to scan and send a copy of any paper document instantly to a fax machine or to an email account." If we used a device like the Digitizer3, we could scan information we get and send it to our newsroom immediately. Steve Outing writes this and other ideas in his post "Application Turns Photo Phone Into Reporting Tool".

Another technology the newsroom should use is moblogging. Moblogging, also known as smart mobs allow people to send photos or video to blogs and other electronic devices. Moblogging is becoming more popular because cell phones with digital cameras and video capabilities are more accessible to everyone. An article by Howard Rheingold called "Smart Mobs Revisited" discusses how moblogs are used by regular people who report information however they want, which can mean their information is biased. However, Rheingold suggests that journalists should use moblogs to report news honestly and with journalistic integrity. I agree.

Now among other products such as an iSight, a Powerbook, Final Cut Express, all of the recording and taping equipment I need for editing tapes and sound, and Photoshop, I want a new cell phone so I can take videos and photos and send them to my blog. AHHHH! I need a real job.

Many of my past professors may not appreciate this, but the most important moment of my college career didn't come from any book or classroom activity. While I have learned many tricks of the trade during my five years at the University of Kansas, I will always look back to the biggest failure of my life as the most influential moment in my life.

I planned on making oodles of money, owning a couple of homes and maybe a Range Rover or two, but this dream was shattered when I was denied admission to the William Allen White School of Journalism. I had spent two years sleep walking through the classroom, having a little too much fun, and with nothing to show. This wake up call helped make me realize I was doing nothing with my life and was wasting my family's money; and yes, my dad let me know!

With my luxurious lifestyle in doubt, I decided I would get my act together, give the books a chance and show the selection committee that I belong in the journalism school. Needless to say, I improved the grades and some how sneaked into the school. New student orientation wouldn't recommend this academic path, but for me it was exactly what I needed because in the process I found out how much I enjoyed working in the newsroom and wanted to be a journalist. While a sports anchor may not be the most lucrative way to make a living, for the first time I found something that I truly wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Classroom time has been critical in order for training me for the "real world", but I will always look back to my biggest failure as the turning point in my college career. And maybe, just maybe, I may be able to own a used Range Rover one day!

My $30,000 journalism education is teaching me that I can't report worth anything, and that I am quite a lousy writer. I have learned that I'm decent at copyediting, and that I love helping people get the computers to work. However, the most important thing that my journalism education will provide me with is a college degree so that I can get a real job.

I can't think of anything that I should be learning from my $30,000 journalism education that I am not. Maybe it would be nice if I were to learn how to figure out what I want to do after college. But I've still got a year to figure it out – or I can just go to grad school to buy some time.

In 20 years, journalism schools will be pretty much the same as they are now. There will be a research and writing class, a reporting class and an editing class. Students will learn how to put together a video package, how to use computers and how to work with the programs of the time, such as Microsoft Office 2020, Final Cut 16 and whatever the blogging program of the year is. Most importantly, in 20 years, AP style will hopefully have changed to let me make lists with a comma before the word "and," because it drives me crazy to have to omit them. It just looks wrong not to have a comma there!

Just recently I saw a commercial (And this was a REAL commercial. I swear). This was a commercial about teaching and students in the classroom. The walls were a bright green and the floor was a canary yellow. There was a standard desk set up for the teacher and a blackboard behind the desk. The desks for the students were arranged in nicely made rows; about 6 rows horizontally and about 8 rows stretching to the back of the classroom. All the desks looked brand new; there wasn't gum under them and there wasn't little notes on the surface telling the occupant that "Jamie wuz here in ‘99". Everything looked perfect; except for one thing…there was no human presence in the classroom.

The seats were empty. There was nothing written on the blackboard describing the next homework assignment and not even a teacher doing paperwork. The human presence was replaced with computer. Each computer had a person on the screen. The students were all looking forward at a computer screen sitting on the desk in the front of the class. A man was on the screen walking back and forward teaching the class.

This could very well be the future of all classrooms, not just journalism classes. This online class is proof for my point right now. We are being trained to learn how to become online bloggers. If Rick and Staci really wanted to, we could just be given our assignments through email. We already have to post our essays online and we get a printout of our work back for a grade. We could easily get our grades from our professors by them just leaving comments on our individual blogs.

$30,000? Is this what we are paying for our journalism education? I say it is well worth it. I get to the newsroom and I am now in charge of handling very fragile equipment. I get to edit video, shoot video; I am given a website to maintain and a website to create. I am trained for the digital age. I'm like a soldier in the Journalism Digital Army.

The future of editors rest in the computers as well. Right now I am a Web Producer for the Kansan. After I post the stories on the website, web editors come in to create titles and teases for the stories. The headline of the story on the website becomes the headline in the paper.

The future of writers can be done online. Once again, all you have to do is take a gander at 1up.com. The Electronic Gaming Monthly crew gets blogs to write. It's part of their job to write on the website. This is a magazine that writes to an audience who is spending more and more of their time online. For example, one of the most popular video games out right now is World of WarCraft, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (Or MMORPG for the gaming community). This game is based entirely online. If the gamers feel like taking a break, they can simply minimize the window, go online and check out the latest game reviews.

Perhaps two positions will always need to have more human interaction; reporters and marketers. This end of the business is going to need people coming up to sources and getting in their face. The marketers are going to be the ones in a board meeting with their graphs and pointers showing how companies can increase profit margins.

Will there be journalism classes in 20 years? Yes, there will be. However just don't be surprised if the outlook has changed. Maybe your professors won't have to hand out a syllabus. Maybe he won't make attendance mandatory. Perhaps all you'll need to do is check you email periodically for the next assignment. Maybe that commercial isn't far from the truth. Maybe we'll all be getting our education from a teacher on the computer screen after all….it's going to be horrible if your computer crashes mid lesson.

My college experience has been like a trip to Venus. Everything I have experienced here is so different than any hint of intellect or learning prior.

I think back to my senior year of high school when I was applying to different universities. The things that were on my mind were the types of classes I would get to take, the people I would meet, the opportunities that would be made available to me. Never was I contemplating the prices, the debts, my future income and whether or not it was worth it. College was never about that, to me.

It's true that I was growing up in a house with two siblings and a single-parent. It's also true that my mom's income was not one of immensity. But, we got by, and not without the things we needed or even wanted.

It's always been important in my family to at least give college a shot. And even though we didn't have the kind of money that could pay for a four-year university, we knew there were funds available.

I have read articles and reports portraying the importance of a college degree. However, the main point behind these is that the post-college income is excessively better than the no-college income. So many articles are titled, "Is it Worth it?" And my response to those is an undeniable "YES!"

Even now as a senior in college I am not concerned with money, nor have I ever been. I love college. I love learning about things that I could be doing after college. I love reading and writing and debating and thinking critically about everything. And I try not to take this opportunity for granted.

As far as the journalism world goes, I think a college degree is important, although probably not necessary. But definitely worth the time and money put in. The money is no issue. It is borrowed, and it will be paid back. But the lessons I have learned as far as good writing, reporting, interviewing and editing go outweigh the costs and debts by a long-shot. Not everyone gets the chance to experience what it is like to work in a newsroom before actually working in a newsroom. It's very valuable.

That's not to say that it won't be tough paying back the many student loans and that it isn't stressful to think about. But, I wouldn't trade the college experience and lessons along with those weighty debts for anything. Post-college income stature or not.

Four years of tuition: $30,000.
Going out to eat everyday due to not knowing how to cook: $16,000
Taking advantage of the college four-day weekend and pre-gaming harder than most people party: $8,000.
Already knowing what others are trying to predict: Priceless.

There are some things money can buy. For everything in the media business, there's KU's William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Professors have constantly preached innovation during my four-and-a-half semesters in the J-School. Everything that I learned in grade school was tossed out the door the first week of my college career. 2 + 2 = 5. What?? I thought it equaled four?

Nope.

I learned that innovation leads to Synergy, and synergy leads to improved results. So essentially innovation is an introduction of something new that has a significant value and gives a long-tem sustainable competitive advantage. Innovation is so critical to the success of companies, there's even The Media Innovation Awards.

KU grads and current students aren't experiencing innovation — they are shaping it with the most influential people in the business! Denise Spidle, my former TV-News I partner, is now working for Rob Curley, the guy who had success in Lawrence before heading to Florida to launch a revolutionary display of convergence with The Naple Daily News, which is owned by The E.W. Scripps. Co. They're in sunny Florida, making sure the future of the media is just as bright.

And they are working for just the right guy.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it," Ken Lowe, President and CEO of Scripps, said. He should know. He was just inducted to the Broadcasting & Cable 15th Annual Hall of Fame.

KU students have been trained to follow in his footsteps with innovative thinking, which is too great to be tagged with a price. Multiplying the cost of four years of school, food and booze over and over again couldn't match the value of innovative thinking.

Not too long ago, my Dad said, "Mark, you are too young to be bitter." My reply was, "That is true. But Dad, I am going to be a journalist."

Ever since I started taking classes in the William Allen White School of Journalism, two things have stuck out in my mind: I have a terrible memory, and universities should only offer majors that lead to high paying jobs.

Is this view cynical? Sure it is. And it would be hard to find a university that offers only business, engineering, medical, and law degrees. But the average starting salary for a journalism major is disturbing. Very disturbing. In fact, in 2005 broadcasting did not even make the top 14 money making majors. Marketing did sneak in at 13.

I know money isn't everything. And I know money cannot buy happiness. But I also know those phrases come from people who usually don't have a lot of money to begin with.

Based on 2003 numbers, the average bachelor's degree is worth $36,000 a year. That won't get a mansion and a beach house, but it is a comfortable living. It is also much better than the $14,900 a high school diploma alone will generate.

But that $14,900 looks pretty good considering some reporting jobs offer almost two grand less than that. That's right, a college graduate could make as low as $13,000 a year.

And my true love and passion, radio, is not paying well either. A radio sports reporter can look forward to a paltry $20,000 as well. Where was that information in J101 class?

Granted, my education at the University of Kansas has been worthwhile. I am better writer, can manage my time better, and am a more knowledgeable person because of the five years here at KU. My adventures with, KJHK, KUJH-TV, and the University Daily Kansan have also enhanced my abilities as a journalist.

But I want it all. The KU School of Journalism prides itself on convergence. That is all fine and dandy, but even as a "News and Information" emphasis, I want the knowledge to sell and create advertisements, write effective press releases, and most importantly, earn a living. A mere exposure to everything in freshman and sophomore courses is not enough.

With a limited number of elective hours available, "News and Information" students are not able to fully learn other skills that companies are actually willing to pay money for (i.e. anything that is not broadcasting). I guess television and radio stations just want us "Newsies" to eat Ramen Noodles for the rest of our lives.

I want it all, but this may be a pipe dream and a little bit unfair to journalism itself. Doctors specialize so they don't have to be experts in every field of medicine, and lawyers also have a specific area of the law. But then again, they also have beach houses.