Executive director of the University of Maine System was in class today to talk to us about public relations. Mr. Diamond had a lot of good advice for us as well as some good stories and insight into the public relations department.

John Diamond has been affiliated with the UMaine system for 35 years. He originally started out in journalism and eventually moved to Public Relations. He said it is a good idea to have some form of media backround before moving into a career in public relations. Diamond previously worked for the Lewiston Sun and MPBN.

I really thought it was interesting seeing the pull Diamond has on campus. He also showed us how much pull we have too. Diamond’s office lobbied for more money a couple years ago to prevent a very steep tuition hike, as well as worked with students to give them what they want. The three things Diamond’s office is in charge of is to establish good public relations with the public, opinion leaders and policy majors.

As far as the being involved with the media, Diamond stressed to always be truthful and accurate. A couple years ago the Umaine Hockey team got in trouble with some violations. The University of Maine Public Relations office was truthful and din’t try and hide anything which resulted in Umaine coming out looking as good as possible.

When I asked what the favorite part Diamond’s job was he said it was working in higher education  and being able to help out students. He really regrets not being able to work directly with students anymore, but he still teaches a CMJ 400 class.

Overall I enjoyed the guest speaker, and it really helps to have people that are working in the real world offer valuable advice that will benefit us in our careers.

This week we had Tony Consiglio and Cindy Michaels in our classroom to discuss broadcast journalism. I found these two as the most beneficial to my career decision. They talked about how print journalism was dying, which I was aware of, but also radio is in decline. I really took an interest to broadcast journalism after taking this class and listening to Cindy and Tony talk about a day in their life in the studio.

I really enjoyed Tony and Cindy a lot because of their honesty. They didn’t beat around the bush on any question and they answered it as truthfully as possible. One of the disheartning things they mentioned was that the starting pay for journalists and broadcast journalists wasn’t very high. This is too bad because journalism is such a competitive field and you have to be on top of your game and work really hard to get where you are, and the result of that is little pay.

These guest speakers were especially beneficial because after they were done talking I went up to Tony and introduced myself and inquired about internships at channel 7 news. I have been e-mailing Tony and the internship is looking very feasible. I also discussed it over with Claire Sullivan, who is in charge of internships for my major.

Tony then forwarded my e-mail to someone who was responsible for handling internships in the studio. She asked me what I was interested about learning inside the studio, whether it be filming, editing, writing or maybe even being on camera. I told her that I was interested in all the above and that I wanted to do anything and everything that will give me experience to hopefully a future career.

Nate Stormer, a specialist in rhetoric visited our classroom Monday and lectured us and answered questions about text in print. It wn.as very interesting to see some of the topics Nate discussed.

One of the most interesting conversations the classroom had with Nate was about my article on the low lobster prices. The question was what word would one use in place of lobstermen. I couldn’t use the term lobsterperson or even lobsterpeople (thanks to Dr. Hughes for bringing up a B-52s reference) because those terms just sounded bad. There was no politically correct way to state lobsterman. The best solution I received was to initially refer to them as lobstermen and then for the rest of the article I could refer to them as trappers.

Nate also discussed how we use metaphors in our writings. He emphasized the use of analogies in our writings to better connect with the reader. He said to try and appeal to a universal audience, and try to think how they think before constructing our writings. One example Nate gave us on the universal audience was the difference between debt and deficit spending. Most people wouldn’t know the difference between the two so it then becomes the writers job to realize that and then write accordingly.

Another topic about my paper was the connotations between referring to the economy of either slumping or sluggish. Sluggish portrays some form of movement, while slumping refers to something on a downward slope. It was very interesting analyzing how one word can almost show the writers opinion. I said that when I hear the word slumping, I feel like it means whatever is in a slump will come out of it eventually and that it would be inevitable to come out of the slump. 

Overall, the visit from Nate Stormer was very helpful for me, especially when he talked about certain parts of my article and how they caqn affect the reader.

3. Halloween Happenings at Umaine

2. Election Wrap up with interviews from students

1. John McCain Visit

I have chosen to cover Arts/Culture/Humanities/Medicine for my beat. This way I can tie in some topics I write about with my minor (Film and Video). It will be easier to write about something I am interested in, as well as being able to write about up to date topics.

On Friday Paul Groswiler was in class to discuss print journalism. Instead of a lecture the class was designed to be a question and answer session with Groswiler. The following is what I learned and the opinions from Groswiler.

Print journalism is writing in tangible form. Many believe that print journalism has been doomed for many years and yet it is still going. Print journalism is showing that no matter the technology there is still room for print journalism.

Groswiler started as a graduate student of print journalism. He chose print journalism over broadcasting because he did not want to be on camera. He worked on a newspaper in Missouri where he wrote for the police beat and the obituaries. Later he moved to Maine to work for the Bangor Daily News as a copy editor.  Groswiler hopes to be viewed as a muck raker ultimately.

The term muck raker was originally used in the 1900’s as an insult for inevestigative journalists. Journalists took the term as a compliment and continued to reform government and society through their writings.

The purpose of a journalist is to not get involved in the story. Journalists need to be separate from their story. There is some personal influence journalists will have when they write, but mostly journalists do not interfere while trying to report the news to their readers.

Groswiler’s advice to prospective journalists is to keep clips of all the articles you have written, and a good GPA helps as well as internships. You need to be able to be a generalist and proxy through the reader. For example if you were told to get a story on gas prices you are the person who decides where to take the story. The story will only be as good as the information you gather. Note talking is another important aspect, you must be able to write down the important information as well as write it fast.  The ability to write a good lead is crucial, it is the most important part of the story.

Most people never get the opportunity to put their money where there mouth is, but Bill Burt, who is now the Executive Sports Editor of the Eagle-Tribune, got that chance when he went from busboy to journalist. Bill Burt works as the Executive Sports Editor of the Eagle-Tribune, which is a newspaper company on the North Shore of Massachusetts.

When asked how Bill got his job, he said it happened mainly by chance. Bill was working at a restaurant in North Andover where he argued sports a couple times a week with the sports editor of a local newspaper. After Bill graduated college the sports editor asked Bill “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is” and it’s been seventeen years since that Bill has been working for the Eagle Tribune.

Mr. Burt has a lot of unconventional but useful advice for prospective journalists, “The only schooling/training I deem necessary in this business is knowledge 
of the language, ability to communicate, and ability to see a story that would interest people”.

When asked about the touchy subject of the market decreasing more and more for print journalists Bill replied “The industry, sadly, is in the decline right now. The Internet has hurt us a bit because younger people, who haven’t been reading papers much over the last two decades, are reading us even less”. On the contrary, when asked Mr. Burt how technology has helped his field, “The Internet and computers have made this business so much easier and faster. I don’t think I’d be in this business if not for Internet or computers , our business could never go back to the old way”.

Bill is very adamant when driving home the point that a good journalist doesn’t need college, a good journalist needs “the intangibles” and to have the right personality for the job. “The ability to identify a good story is the most important aspect of what a “good” journalist does and they communicating it on paper, the best journalists are usually the smartest people, and by that I mean they have not only intelligence but good street sense. As I noted before, the best writers get information other writers don’t”.

The advice Burt gives to all up and coming journalists are these three things, 

1. Don’t get into it for the money. You could make a nice living, but you’re friends, some who you think aren’t half as smart as you are, will probably driving better cars and live in bigger houses. But you will be happier with your job, trust me.

2. Be ready to work your butt off, especially the first six or seven years while you are single. Be ready to put in 50, 60 and even 70 hours. That’s what it takes, really. This is not a 9-to-5 job by any means. Be ready to give up weekends, too. Sports happen on weekends and night.

3. Be patient. This might be the most important trait you have.

One of the most rewarding experiences of Bill’s job is the creative aspect of it. Bill enjoys that everyday is different and that he works with people that love what they do, ‘ Honestly, everyday I look up at the clock wish it would slow down. Time flies because I’m having fun”. The competition fuels Burt to put out better articles faster, ”I like to win. And I am always trying to beat the bigger papers with look, content and stories”.

Burt’s daily basis starts at nine in the morning when he helps distribute the paper, next he prepares ideas for articles for the staff meeting at noon. After lunch Burt calls other sports writers and tries to get more stories for the next issue. Bill Burt ends the day by writing for his column, which comes out every Sunday in the Eagle-Tribune. In order for his day to go smoothly Burt needs everyone to work in a timely manner, “We have a lot of stories that need to be done in a timely fashion for deadlines. And if you’re slow, we are in trouble”.

Asking the right questions during interviews is key for a good article to be written in the office. The right questions have to be asked, you can’t leave the interview leaving questions unanswered “You must be prepared and think quick, especially when dealing with professional athletes who usually don’t give you much time”.

When asked about what are the most rewarding things about his job Burt replied, “I’ve been to both Super Bowl wins for the Patriots. I’ve seen the Celtics win a championship. And I’ve been to about 50 local events that were as exciting as anything I’ve ever been to”. Above all the most rewarding thing for Bill Burt is his influence, “I love this job because I know I have an affect on others”.

One of the extra-curricular activities I am most involved with on campus is the ultimate frisbee team. Most people cannot grasp the though of an actual collegiate ultimate team. Many believe that to frisbee players, the game is actually second to sterotypical things like smoking weed, tie-dye and wearing birkenstocks. I try and break these sterotypes on a daily basis but to no avail. I consider myself as an athletic person and ultimate is one physically and mentally one of the toughest sports I have ever played. During the game you are always running, there are no breaks in between plays. It is almost comparable to soccer where if you stop running you are not playing good. Yet, I still get when I am heading to practice, “Have fun at practice… try not to get and tie-dye on your crocs”. Eventually I hope that ultimate gets the respect it deserves. Ultimate is one of the fastest growing sports throughout high-schools and college campuses in America. There was a study that looked at why very good academic Universities also have great Ultimate teams. It is said to be a sport for the smart. When on the field you are forced to make a critical decision about every seven seconds. The top half of the Ultimate power rankings have 361 Rhodes scholars, whereas the bottom half of the power rankings have 62. In the end I hope that Ultimate Frisbee gains more popularity as well as more respect.

The article I found was based on the use of slander in advertising for a political campaign. Tom Pierello is upset that his opponent Virgil good has an ad campaign that is running libelous information. The Pierello campaign is asking the television stations to pull the ad. This article corresponds with our topic because many decisions from people at the broadcast companies have to be made. The broadcast company has to decide whether or not to pull the ad as well as whether or not to refund the money that was paid to place the ad. The television coordinator says that he is legally prohibited to run the ad and will take the ad off the air. Libel and Slander are topics in which broadcast journalists must know through and through in order to be proficient in their profession.

The most important news story of the week was the talk of a 700 Billion dollar bailout that the United States government would take on. There are many strong opinions on both sides of the argument from politicians. One of the reasons this new bailout is in theheadlines is because of the presidential election. This bailout is a problem and it is a problem now. Both McCain and Obama have their opinions on it and are creating plans to help the economy with it. The McCain and Obama campaigns do not want to take too strong a stand in these times for fear of losing votes. Some believe that the bailout will have the same affect that the bailout  did after the great depression when the government bought up many homes and then the real estate went up and the government made a profit. Others believe this bailout will weaken the economy even more and cause more taxes for many financially exhausted citizens. This bailout will affect the economy and the citizens who pay the taxes for a long time to come whether the bailout it happens or it not.