How do I feel about the direction Journalism is taking?

How do I feel about the direction Journalism is taking? I feel like it is an inconvenience for journalism college students when they graduate in that the industry is growing smaller. The economy has not helped the Journalism Industry and the path it has taken and continues to take. I think that the federal government should step in and help. I do not think they should be the soul attribute that is sustaining the direction journalism is taking but I personally think they should help. I know its a very controversial topic but i believe it should happen. I think that it is a smart idea that the funding would not be for specific stories but for more broad stuff like news-gathering and long term researching. Funds that matched donations will insure that the money is going to good efforts that involved community support and also individual fundraising efforts. Giving money to organizations that have community support with ensure that the country and politics would most likely support the grants and funds towards the journalism organizations. This would also keep politics out of the decision making for such organizations. The more community support the less disputes from politicians and unhappy communities.

I do not like the fact that newspapers are cutting down and staff is growing smaller. I think that this will change as the economy improves. I do believe thought that with a little extra cash that the newspapers and journalism organizations will last through this difficult time. The United States needs news and needs to know what is going on in there country as well as the world around them.

My Passion

My passion in life is to strive to meet the many goals and dreams I have for myself. I also have a passion to be content and happy in whatever circumstances God puts me in. I have wonderful people in my life that help me day to day to accomplish the many things i want to do with my life. My amazing boyfriend and my grandparents are the best and support me in the decisions I make as well as encourage me to keep chasing my dreams. I have been cheering for about ten years and I have always wanted to be on a college team as well as continue on as a NFL cheerleader one day. I know it will be hard but I believe with hard work I will one day be there. I love the cheer team at California Baptist and working hard with my team is a great passion of mine as well.It is a sport that requires a lot of endurance, strength and mental strength. My body is always in danger! I love accomplishing new skills and becoming a better cheerleader day by day after every practice. When my mom used to talk to me about becoming a mom one day all I would talk about was becoming a successful woman and obtaining a successful career. A family with kids was never a passion of mine. I am going to school for a reason and I want to strive to become a broadcaster in the journalism industry. It is a very competitive industry and it will take a lot of determination and strength to make it to where I want to be. For as long as I can remember every time I watched the news with my parents, I would tell them that I wanted to be one of those pretty girls on the television. It is something that has been a goal of mine for a very long time. Marriage is one thing that I look forward to in my future. I want to be with the one person I cannot live without for the rest of my life. Another passion of mine is to travel with my husband and visit many beautiful countries and places while I am still young. Everyone has a passion, everyone has dreams and everyone has goals for themselves. I look forward to those that achieve the goals they make, live the dreams they have and strive to keep there passions alive. It takes a lot of effort to make dreams reality but with determination and a will to succeed anyone can. 

My Second Semester in Newspaper

This semester I learned many new things as well as improving in my writing skills. I got to also meet new people especially the girls in my mentoring group. I felt like I was more prepared and academically trained this semester in writing articles. I had a difficult time getting a couple articles done on time because of time issues but in the end I got them in. The article I enjoyed writing the most was my article on the beaches in California. I enjoyed this because I love the beach and I wanted to share with students that they too can go and share in the same experience. With summer coming up I thought it was a great article to put in the newspaper. My plans for writing in the future are to be in the upper level class of newspaper next semester and hopefully improve even more. I enjoyed working with Maryann Pearson once again and she also was very helpful with many assignments I had from my other classes. I want to use my experience and knowledge from this class to one day apply it to my future career in Journalism, Public Relations or Marketing. I had an amazing time writing all of my article and I hope to have an even greater more exciting experience next semester in Newspaper Production. 

Octo-Mom

The world is giving this “Octo-Mom” so much attention. As a young mom, Nadya Suleman, gave birth to eight children after already having six. In my opinion I think that there has to be something more to the situation. How can it happen twice to the same person? In my opinion I think that the Beverly Hills doctor and the sperm donor are hiding something. Suleman seems to like the attention and keeps doing more to get the attention of the media. I believe that the media is giving her too much attention. She should be left alone so she can continue her life as a normal person. In an article from LA times, the article mentions that she has had plastic surgery to look like Angelina Jolie. This is farfetched and if it is true, maybe a mental examination is a good idea, like her parents were suggesting. In my opinion the number of children she has in ridiculous. There is no way that she will have enough time, money and energy to take care of all of them and give every one of them the attention that they need. I personally do not want children. I do not know what I would do if I found out I was having six or even eight. If the doctor is keeping the information of who the donor is a secret, I think he could possibly be hiding so crucial information to the media as well as well as the world. If I was to take a Christian perspective on this issue I would say that the media is putting unwanted attention on the family. I would also mention that Suleman needs to take into consideration whether she will be able to take care of her fourteen children without developing favoritism and with giving them everything they need. People these days will do anything for attention and even if it is not positive attention they will love it and enjoy it while it lasts. I think what the media should be doing is focus on how her community can help her overcome the criticism and help her care for her children. There are so many people who would be willing to help care for them and even for her, during the tough times of raising fourteen children.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-octuplets28-2009feb28,0,3442521.story

My Cheer Coach!!!

A person who has made a real difference in my life would have to be my cheer coach. She is some one that I look up to and admire. She is a hard worker and is dedicated to her cheerleading squad here at California Baptist University. Coming in as a new coach at the beginning of the 2008 school year, I can imagine she had to idea of what to expect. The cheer team was not willing to accept a new coach and made her life hell the first couple weeks of practice. She was strong and let everyone know that she knew what she was doing at that she cared about us as a team. Wendy Rice wants to see her team of girls grow spiritually as well as athletically. She pushes us at practice to do our absolute best and she helps us get better and better. I can remember a time when I was going through a bad time this year. I made some wrong decisions and sometimes I went to her to let her know what was going on in my life. It was amazing to talk to somebody who could just listen and understand what I was going through. Even though she might not know it she is a great example to me and some one who I look up to. She also has a family of her own on top of the cheer squad. I bet she has to be really strong to be away from her children to dedicate her time to her cheer squad. From the first day of practice till now, this years cheerleading squad is one hundred times better and dedicated. If it wasn't for Wendy Rice's time, dedication and effort, we would not be as good as we are now. She made us more than just a cheer squad, she made us a team that works hard to reach the goals set in front of us. She has reached me personally in many other ways as well. In being an incoming freshman this year, I was expecting to be on an amazing college cheer squad. I was looking forward to the college cheerleading experience. She made it more than I could have ever expected. She made practice a place where I could let go of problems and just have fun and be in a great environment that helped me grow spiritually as well as athletically. 

What Newspaper Class Taught Me:)

I have learned so much in my newspaper class this semester. This class makes me want the career of a broadcast journalist way more than I did before I took it. Writing for the newspaper made me see how hard I need to work to reach the goal of achieving the career path I have chosen for myself. I am excited to take the podcasting class that is being offered next semester. The things that I learned in journalism will help me not only now but in the future as well. Professor Maryann Pearson spoke on many issues that I know I will use eventually in my journalism career. When she addressed broadcasting I was very interested in how it is so much different than writing for a newspaper. I was also interested in the powerpoint on social media and how it stated that communication is a big part of the Media today. 

I have grown as a writer and a journalist this semester in various ways. In the past I just wrote what was on my mind and I let it just flow. I was never taught how to write in a specific, professional way. I think the thing that made me grow the most was how to write a great lead. When I read articles the lead is the part of the article that decides whether I am going to read further. As a writer I want readers to read my whole story and be interested and intrigued the whole time, starting with the lead. This newspaper class was a great experience and I hope to learn more about writing and about journalism next semester. 

I Need Africa More than Africa Needs Me

I need Africa more than Africa needs me. This saying is very inspirational and says a lot about how many people learn from those who are in need.  Personally I think I would learn more from experiencing what is going on and what is happening in Africa than helping them myself.  Many organizations go to foreign countries to help those who are in need by financing wells, bringing food, bringing doctors over seas to heal the sick and many other things. There are also those who feel like they can learn from those who need help. When I went to Ethiopia in 2004 on a missions trip, I learned so much from them and it helped me in my relationship with God. I needed them at that moment more than they needed me. I saw how they worshipped God, I saw how they gave him everything and I saw how they chanced persecution for His name. When I saw all these things I realized that my relationship with God needed to grow and I needed to dedicate my everything to my God. I saw how people in the United State are not nearly as happy as those in Ethiopia. The children were always happy even though they had nothing. The smiles and gestures they made to me while I was there broke my heart because I was not as thankful or as happy as they were and I had way more to be thankful for. I learned that if we have Jesus everything else does not matter. I learned so much from the people in Africa and the things I saw and experienced will live with me for the rest of my life. I needed Africa way more than they needed me. They were content with the savior even though they had nothing else. I learned that my true joy and happiness comes from Jesus. With my goal of going to Ethiopia to help them in mind I realized that the reason Jesus sent me there was so they could help me.