Tag Archives: journalism

Nicole Cardwell

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My Story:

Is the air we are breathing, causing disabilities?

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REFLECTION:

We were asked to write about something that interested us or that we could make newsworthy. I was in Houston for 18 months and came back to Utah in the middle of the winter. This is when I realized how bad our air was. There was a drastic change and I couldn’t believe I had lived here my whole life and never thought that it could really affect my life and health. I started to look more into this and since then I’ve had a desire to help others be aware of what’s happening and what can be done.

I started with the big guys that record air quality and contacted the manager, who was happy to help me. I wanted a perspective from a student that was studying climate change at the University of Utah and I decided to look through the colleges to find what would best fit. I contacted a department and they directed me to the geography department that helped me find Rebecca Steve. She was very helpful and open to meeting with me and sharing information about her future project.

I had my goal of where I wanted the story to go and worded my questions and follow up questions around that. After having all of the information, I made an outline and organized things by putting it down and filling in the gaps. It was harder with the more scientific definitions and phrases but I made sure I understood it, and put it simply.

The writing process flowed and I had other people go over it before our peer reviews and that helped me. I made sure they understood that it was supposed to be a news story and that helped them critique my paper and make it feel and sound descriptive. It helped to have the peer review because he was able to help me through every section and gave good suggestions. It helped to see his paper and his style. It definitely helped to have all of the writing exercises before and getting used to writing outside what I’ve always known.

I think I could add more of the personalities and back stories for the people I interviewed on my blog. That says a lot about why they are there and what has made them passionate about what they do and why. I think I could add why I decided to research this information and my theory and experience as well.

AUTHOR BIO:

Nicole is a student at the University of Utah in the Communication major. She is a 1st degree Bachelor student and will graduate in the spring of 2019. She is passionate about making goals and working hard and had many plans for the future. 

Nicole plans to go into marketing for Science, Health, Environmental risk and wants to work with public health. She hopes to help with non profit organizations and programs to help with Utah’s environment. 

On her 18-month mission in Houston, Nicole taught English as a second language in schools, libraries and churches. She is fluent in Spanish and her parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. Since then, service has been a priority for Nicole and she enjoys helping those in need. 

 

Zane Law

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Originally from Newport Beach, CA, I decided to leave home and pursue a college degree. I am a third year student at the University of Utah, majoring in Strategic Communications. I currently maintain a GPA above 3.5 and plan to graduate in the Spring of 2019, heading into the field of marketing/advertising. This field has always held my interest because analyzing and appealing to the minds of consumers has felt like a game to me. I have enjoyed finding different ways to sell clothes online, pawn off my crappy lemonade as a kid, and make/sell stickers, so pursuing this on a more professional scale seemed like the right fit. Work should be something I enjoy, and I plan on doing just that!

While I do not mean to write for a career, I am still proud of the content I have produced thus far. Besides the Greek life piece, my portfolio contains a marketing campaign pitch that was accepted and used by All Seasons Resort Lodging, an article that analyses the top-grossing Korean film and its relationship to Japanese-South Korean tensions, and a story about college athletes’ battle for compensation.

In my free time I enjoy all things sports. I do not know whether I am proud of or disappointed in the fact that I have only missed the viewing of one NFL game this 2017 season. I was the running back at University High School in Irvine, CA, so football is a passion of mine. I also ran two years of track and was named MVP both years. I was extremely disappointed when I discovered that the U does not have a collegiate team. These two high school teams have shown me what teamwork and perseverance are, so using those in the workplace is something I look forward to.

Fraternities are a valuable resource for many college men

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Zane Law- Reflection Blog

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The development of my story came about in a wave of ideas. I was, at first, stuck with only statistics. The data was a large amount that was both for and against the Greek system on college campuses. The statistics outlined things such as graduation rates, GPA within the system and outside of the system, numbers on rape, alcoholism, and more. I had put all of the information into my first draft, but was told to hold back on the information that I did not enjoy reporting. I had previously thought this to be bias and was trying to remove all side-taking from my writing, but was made aware that as long as I was not blatantly trying to promote Greek life, I was fine to report upon the positives. Telling of the benefits and stories of Greek life and its members was acceptable if the information was all factual and written clearly. It was still difficult to report on the information without being biased, as I was a Greek member for two years, but I believe the way I positioned my interview quotes and statistical information was fair.

I then had to plan my attack on the interview process. My sources were among the University of Utah’s most involved Greek members, being able to show what the system is truly capable of. The IFC President, the YAF President, and a fraternity social chair were all very different positions, but all positions that they said would help them in the future. Whether it be on resumes or using the connections they made during their terms, they said their time spent was extremely valuable to them. That seemed like enough to warrant an interview. The YAF President stood out to me most, as he had just accomplished a feat that made Salt Lake City headlines. He was able to invite, with the help of alumni, Ben Shapiro to the U’s campus. This was a true testament to what fraternities and alumni support can accomplish.

During this process I truly learned to plan ahead before stepping into an interview. After my meetings with a few of the folks I was left wanting to ask o many more questions. If I had better prepared, then I could have gotten some additional information for my article. I also learned that having friends and family review your work is a priceless tool. They were able to make suggestions that I would not have thought to include. Never be afraid to ask others to read your things, kids!

Fraternities are a valuable resource for many college men

Zane Law- Bio

Zane Law- Enterprise Story

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Fraternities are a valuable resource for many college men
Story by ZANE LAW

SALT LAKE CITY— College campuses across North America are hosts to hundreds of men’s fraternities. These fraternities are seen by many as misogynistic and cruel, while others view them as places to build character, a resume, and a social network. With over 6,000 chapter houses and millions of Greek members across North America, the benefits outweigh the negative image for the many joining the Greek system.

For generations, fraternities have been linked to the cultivation and development of successful men. Forty three of the United States’ 50 largest companies are run by fraternity men, with 85 percent of all Fortune 500 companies having a fraternity member CEO. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Greek men also account for all but two United States presidents born since the formation of the first fraternity in 1825, 76 percent of all U.S. Congressmen and U.S. Senators, and all of the Apollo 11 astronauts.

University of Utah’s Interfraternity Council President, James Morrell, explained why he thinks this is far from coincidence. Morrell says Greek life has helped him in three core areas: networking, leadership, and academics. The people he has met through his fraternity, “have served as an invaluable resource in my life, helping me further my career options and improve my academics,” he says. A current member of Beta Theta Pi at the U, Morell says several alumni remain actively involved. Through alumni he has received several job opportunities and plenty of guidance.

Dillon Clark, recruitment chair of Phi Delta Theta and president of the Young Americans for Freedom organization at the U, also praised his relationships with alumni. While Clark has received internship opportunities from active alumni, he credited one event in particular to the help of his older “Phis”. “I would not have been able to bring Ben Shapiro to the U without the help of alumni,” he says. The Ben Shapiro event that Clark hosted in Salt Lake City received significant media attention and hundreds of attendees. With donations from alumni that believed in his efforts, Clark was able to pool together the tens of thousands of dollars needed for the event.

Both Clark’s and Morrell’s achievements are significant in terms of resume-building, but are only a few of the things that they believe their organizations can help people achieve. Both are happy that they have support from their fellow Greeks and feel as though these people and opportunities give them an edge.

Fraternities help to hone interpersonal skills, time management, and team-building techniques, but are expensive and are not financially accessible to many. According to USA Today, the average cost per semester in a fraternity is $605, not including additional costs such as fines for absences, tardies, and other penalties. A national survey taken in 2014 by the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics indicated that fraternity members are more likely to graduate on time, however, potentially saving thousands of dollars on tuition. Staff members at the U’s Fraternity and Sorority Life office even reported that that in 2016, 80 percent of all Greek life students had gone on to graduate, whereas 57 percent of non-Greek students had been able to do the same. Graduating at a faster rate translates to less tuition money spent, therefore negating much, if not all, of the per semester costs.

The North-American Interfraternity Conference also reports slightly higher Greek GPA’s than their non-Greek counterparts. Many fraternities and sororities require a minimum GPA to join and remain an active member, with chapters on the U’s campus requiring anywhere from 2.5 to 3.0. Fraternities even gather alumni donations to fund tutoring and “Chegg” accounts. Chegg is an online resource to help students with homework, rent textbooks, offers tutoring, and helps to identify scholarship and internship opportunities.

While such resources and encouragement are important, others benefit purely from having an organization that keeps them in check. “Our scholarship chairman is really on us about getting our big assignments in on time, constantly reminding us in meeting,” says Elliot Ansari, a third-year member of the Greek system. He and his fraternity brothers feel obligated to perform academically because one of their fraternity’s founding principles is “Sound Learning.”

Although personal development and social network expansion compose a large part of the good arising from Greek organizations, Greek members also participate in community service and philanthropic events. In the academic year of 2013-2014 alone, the North-American Interfraternity Conference reported four million hours of community service contributed by fraternity men. Making blankets for the homeless, writing letters to military personnel, and sorting goods at the local food bank are some of the events that the U’s fraternities and sororities do together, knocking out good deeds and creating fun memories with each other.

In terms of philanthropy, most fraternities “have two events per year and the money raised goes to a charity organization of our choice,” says Elliot Ansari. The University of Utah’s Sigma Chi chapter frequently makes the news, with the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s website praising them for raising $66,806.65 during the 2015/2016 school year.

 

To see the author’s thought process whilst writing this piece click here

For more about the author click here

 

Girls club soccer and the advantages learnt in and throughout the game

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By TIFFANY HUYETTE

SALT LAKE CITY-  There are those people in life that are special, something about them is intriguing and admirable, and you can tell that whatever their craft, they pour their heart and soul into it. One of these people is Bruce Cuppett, originally from Pipestone, Minnesota, Cuppett is a retired military veteran, soccer coach, and an important person in the development of Utah Youth Soccer Association.

“My dad worked for American Oil Company so about every two years we would move,” says Cuppett.  “I went to three elementaries, two junior highs, and three high schools.” It wasn’t always easy. “I was a trouble maker when I was in school,” Cuppett says, adding that he “walking the thin line, on the good side and the bad side,” always trying to balance the fun. Occasionally, he’d “get slapped, and then get back in line,” he says.

Cuppett finished high school in Detroit in 1964, where he began junior college and building muscle cars. He then enlisted in the army in 1966, and was on active duty until 1972. Cuppett finished college, with a degree in business management, and rejoined the military until 1999 where he retired after thirty years.

“I never played soccer when I was growing up, when I went into the service is when I learned to play soccer,” Cuppett says. After moving to Utah in 1991, Cuppett’s son Andrew tried every sport but fell in love with soccer and started playing for the American Youth Soccer Organization. Andrew had a great first year coach said Cuppett, but his second-year coach was a “flake.” Concerned, the team parents nominated Cuppett as the new coach because he was the parent who knew the most about soccer. He was unlicensed for a short time, but he soon began moving through his first licensure on his way to becoming a better coach and to understanding the youth game.

So how is it he began coaching girls? Cuppett got a call from Sparta founder Ben Vandenhazel asking him to come and coach a girls’ team. “I don’t know anything about girls” Cuppett said, but he decided to take on the challenge. Years later, Cuppett is still coaching girls soccer, “It’s a much different game, to me it’s a game that I appreciate more than the boys game. I think the girls game is about working, about possessing the ball, looking for a seem in the defense and attacking the goal. Where boys typically are win the ball, and go to the goal all the time.” He described it as a prettier game, but harder to coach. “What I tell the older girls when I work with them was ‘you wanna get into college using your brains, because if you get hurt and you’re on academic scholarship your scholarship its still there’. It doesn’t matter if you’re on crutches or whatever, if you get there going the other way, and something happens you’re usually going to lose your scholarship.”

It can be hard to persevere in the sport. “Because you’re going to lose at some point,” says Anthony Frost, Marketer at UYSA. “You’re going to have the hard days at some point, you’re going to have hard times and ya gotta keep going.”

The key is that “ya gotta love it and ya gotta work it,” says Cuppett. “I believe athletes, when they train properly become very good in society because they are good at hitting bench marks along the way, which helps develop their skills to have in life.” An athlete needs to dedicate their own time to the game, he says.

Cuppett tries to teach his players to problem-solve and to be resilient. “If you’re in the real world and ya got a great job, and ya get a new boss, and the new boss is an absolute idiot, are ya gonna throw everything away? Or are ya gonna try figure out how to work with this person and how to continue. Because you’re on a good path right now and you don’t want to go back out and start all over again.”

Friend and Administrative Director of Coaching at UYSA, Holly Gundred, commented “as a team learning how to deal with heartbreak, you learn to take that and what do you do? You apply it and move on.”

Sports, much like life, is like a roller coaster, says Cuppett. “I think sports teaches you that every day it’s a win lose situation. How well you did in practice? How well you did in a match, ya know? how well did ya feel going into it?” If he can teach his players to be introspective, that’s when Cuppett will feel like he’s done his job.

 

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If your interested in reading the reflections on my story click here .

 

Three Salt Lake City fashion creatives discuss the impact of social media marketing

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Story and photos by BRITT BROOKS

A swipe, a like, a comment, a follow.

To get a look at marketing in the 21st century, go no further than your smartphone. Today you can look at any online platform and find a person, product, or brand that sparks your interest. But the businesses that perhaps utilize social media the most are those in the fashion industry.

Whether it’s celebrity-sponsored posts, live streams of runway shows, or notifications for product drops, fashion can be an immersive experience now more than ever. The elite fashion gods such as Gucci, Versace, Chanel and Balenciaga all have millions of followers on social media. But what about the startups?

Three up-and-comers in Salt Lake City’s fashion industry gave insight to their experiences with social media. The impact can be positive or negative depending on how active users are with the content presented to them.

Sydni Zaugg sat in a window seat at Salt Lake Coffee Break, her platinum blond bob stood out against head to toe black clothing and silver jewelry. Zaugg, 19, is a college student who attended the International Fashion Academy (IFA) in Paris in 2017. The program spanned three weeks and allowed her to attend Paris’ spring Fashion Week in early March.

Zaugg said she wouldn’t have even known about the opportunity had it not been for Instagram. After following IFA professor and trend specialist Agus Catteno on Instagram, Zaugg realized her wish to be educated about fashion in France was a possibility.

Zaugg direct messaged (DM’d) Catteno and asked questions about her job at IFA and  the opportunities for classes. Without her connection to Catteno, Zaugg wouldn’t have had a welcoming person to show her the ropes, and probably wouldn’t have gone to Paris for classes in the first place.

Parisian fashion influenced Zaugg’s personal style. And it serves as her template for advising others as she pursues a career as a stylist and photographer in Utah.

Social media give Zaugg a platform to share her availability for styling sessions and examples of her work such as dark, moody and romantic photoshoots with friends and models. But as with everything, it isn’t perfect. Zaugg mentioned the downside of pursuing likes and comments: a loss of creativity.

Avant garde clothing still graces the runways, but Zaugg has noticed brands moving toward more streamlined, minimalistic styles. This can be attributed to regular trend cycles. But Zaugg sees it as a reflection of the heavy use of social media marketing. Current fashion can be more about who you are, not what you wear. Big entertainment names like Kardashian and Hadid can be more influential than the brands themselves.

The integrity of the fashion industry can quickly fall victim to the whims of celebrities and influencers. Copycats are bad for any creative-based industry. To combat this ever-present sameness, Zaugg has a perfect mantra: “Clothes should give you confidence to express yourself how you want to, not how everyone else dresses.”

Someone curating new and wearable pieces for women is Madison Martellaro. A 21-year-old senior at the University of Utah, Martellaro has already started a company. In April 2017, she began working on her online clothing store, Fleur Fashion Boutique. She can be seen wearing multiple pieces from her boutique’s line including jeans, bomber jackets and everyday T shirts.

Martellaro came into the fashion industry alone, with virtually no connections. After months of research and hard work, she was able to start her business and advertise through social media to grow a following before the boutique launched on Nov. 9. She credits her online following of nearly 1,000 people to creating brand awareness before items were even available for purchase.

To get a good idea of what her customers actually want, Martellaro used polling features on social media. Polls and comments influenced the way the boutique website looks and functions. For example, followers wanted to know the models’ sizes and dimensions as well as see the clothing from multiple angles. These are two details about Fleur Fashion Boutique that came directly from future customers’ wish lists.

During her first photoshoot, Martellaro held a livestream. The feature on Instagram enabled her to connect even more with her future consumers. “I want to show people really what goes behind a business,” she said. In a world where new competition crops up every day, a behind-the-scenes connection with followers is priceless.

Martellaro takes a lot of pride in curating pieces that women of all sizes can wear and personalize. One of her biggest goals is to sell clothes that can be worn day to night, and look glamorous no matter the occasion.

Packaging is an important part of her brand’s final presentation and delivery. For a cohesive image, all clothing and accessories come wrapped in tissue paper with the greeting “Hello Beautiful” in bold font on the outside. Fleur Fashion Boutique encourages its recipients to take selfies with their deliveries, creating a wider community of people that talk about the products.

“That was the biggest thing for me,” Martellaro said, “making sure women felt empowered and special.”

Keeping a cohesive and unique image is one of the top priorities for Davis Hong. A polished and composed 24-year-old, Hong graduated from Salt Lake Community College with a design degree. Sitting in a wrap-around black coat of his own design, Hong said he likes to wear his own creations.

Recently rebranded under its new name, BYSHAO has been in the works for over two years, and is set to launch in 2018. Hong has made huge strides toward creating his ideal company and style.

Sustainable, ethically sourced materials are of utmost importance for BYSHAO. Only natural fiber fabrics like cotton and linen blends are used in the designs. To avoid creating more waste on our planet, Hong prefers working plant-to-piece with certified organic materials, and avoids polyester. Natural textiles and humane working conditions are the core of his passion for sustainable clothing, and it’s something he’s sticking to.

The pieces of BYSHAO are best described in Hong’s own words as minimalistic, gender-neutral and timeless. Specializing in overcoats and tops, BYSHAO is both modern and classic with structured silhouettes and neutral colors.

Participating at the 2017 Art Meets Fashion show in Salt Lake City, Hong’s brand was one of the five main shows. Events like this help secure a following that he hopes will subscribe to BYSHAO’s e-newsletter. Emails are more of a personal connection with consumers, directly informing them about lookbooks and future sale dates. A great way to foster a connection that leads to loyal customers is to start on platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

As Hong’s demographic isn’t necessarily in Salt Lake City, he finds it important to get to know his followers through social media. He mentioned his use of geo tags, event announcements, stories and live videos to view people from the other side of the planet. “You can basically be right there and see the people there as well,” Hong said.

Networking locally and internationally has furthered Hong’s knowledge and increased the presence of his brand. Social media form connections that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. He’s found photographers, models and hair and makeup professionals to work on photo shoots and runway shows.

The internet is a fantastic way for startup businesses to get their name into the hands of others. “Social media is very much an open portfolio,” Hong said. The ability to view others’ work passively before making real-life connections is something new to the world. This can acutely affect professional creatives, as a lot of their work can be judged from a 5-inch screen.

Without social media tools, Hong would have had a much harder time making local and international connections in the fashion industry. It’s unlikely that Martellaro would be the owner of a business she built from scratch at such a young age. And Zaugg never would have known about the opportunity to study fashion in Paris, or launch her career as a stylist.

Connecting with customers, mentors and possible collaborators — no matter where they are in the world — is perhaps one of the greatest online inventions of all.

Zaugg at Salt Lake Coffee Break.
Zaugg’s boots with snakeskin details.
Zaugg at Salt Lake Coffee Break.
Zaugg’s jewelry details.
Martellaro wearing a top and jacket from her boutique’s line.
Martellaro’s watch and details.
Martellaro in a shirt, jacket and jeans from her boutique’s line.
Hong in a jacket of his own design at Sugar House Coffee.
Hong at Sugar House Coffee.
Hong in a jacket of his own design with details.

Salt Lake Tribune editor discusses changes in journalism and politics with students

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By: Meisha Christensen

SALT LAKE CITY – The extreme political division is hazardous for the country, said Salt Lake City Tribune writer of nearly 38 years, Paul Rolly as he addressed University of Utah students on Wednesday.

Rolly has seen it all when it comes to news, from the river flowing down State Street to the first artificial heart transplant in Utah; he has been there to cover nearly every story genre.  For years Rolly found pride in writing the traditional hard fact news story.  Over 13 years ago Rolly’s career changed directions when he became an opinion columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune.

Rolly said, “I was trained to create stories that had fairness and balance through objective writing…. I have learned that sometimes when striving for that balance the truth is lost.”

Writing opinion pieces has helped Rolly in his passion for covering political affairs.  Having graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Rolly has always been drawn toward covering the on goings of the government.

“I look at things objectively and then listen instead of striving only for balance, I make up my own mind of what is right and what angle I want to take,” said Rolly.

U of U English student Brandon Richards agreed with Rolly that an opinion column is an ideal medium for political conversation.

“So often news is just hard facts.  It is easy to lose the story and the meat that is behind it all…. The opinion column lets you do the investigative reporting with a creative spin and it is easier to find the details behind the facts,” said Richards.

Political matters are usually categorized as heated topics and Rolly noted that by having an opinion column he can more freely express his opinion without feeling obligated to create a balanced argument.  However he did note that he tries to remain open minded to other ideas and thoughts.

Politics are a passionate topic for many but according to Rolly, the political scene has changed from when he first began covering news and not necessarily in a good way.  Rolly said that Democrats and Republicans don’t just have heated debates any more, now they do not even tolerate one another’s views.

There was a time when Rolly was covering a session of the legislature in 1985 and the mentality on Capitol Hill was one of open-mindedness.    Rolly recalled hearing the words, “they need us,” in reference to a day when Republicans could not agree to pass a tax increase and the Democratic leaders were needed to assist with the vote.

Rolly noted that this kind of give and take method would never happen in today’s political world.  When writing his columns he has a strict policy to attack procedures and positions never directly a person individually or personally.  He said this bloodbath attitude can be left to the politicians, for often that seems like all they do.

Sara Seistrand, a political science major at the U and a campus political forum instructor, said she spent a semester in Washington DC and the mindset Rolly described is the same in politics across the board.

“This is a real national problem it is a constant competition and neither side is cooperating and because of it they cannot get anything done,” said Seistrand “an opinion column is the perfect realm to address this issue because he [Rolly] has the opportunity to find the truth and look into the real factors.”

Rolly’s opinion columns are available in the Salt Lake Tribune every Sunday.

The Rise of The Audience

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By: Callie Mendenhall

 “Journalists are increasingly becoming the audience and the audience is increasingly becoming the journalist,” said Matthew LaPlante on Thursday, October 26. KUER’s own Radio West was recorded in the Hinkley Institute of Politics and the topic of the show was how journalism is shifting and how it’s affecting the audience. Doug Fabrizio hosted the show alond side the panel of four others: Matthew Ingram, a senior writer at GigaOM.com; Holly Mullen, a writer and former reporter; Matthew LaPlante, a journalism instructor at Utah Sate; and Holly Richardson, a member of the Utah House of Representatives and an active blogger.

The way citizens receive information is changing. Journalism used to be an article about every event, but now even Jeff Jarvis, an American journalist, is saying, “Today an article is no longer needed for every event.” What that means is now piece of information or journalism might be a tweet or a Facebook status instead of a well-written and edited news article. News is now on a 24-hour cycle and it can no longer be an industry where news and stories are only updates every morning when the paper comes out. If a person wants information about anything they are able to get on the Internet and find it out. Ingram said, “We are turning the Internet into a small town where everyone knows everything.”

Because everyone knows everything, journalists have had to change the way that they interact with their audience by making news a process and not a product.

“The relationship between journalist and the audience was fundamentally disconnected”, said Ingram with the concurrence of Mullen and Richardson. Before the wave of social media, a story was written and then unless a journalist got a letter from a citizen it was done. Now when a journalist writes a story, they get an immense amount of feedback within minutes from their readers. This change has made the journalists more accountable for their information put out. Kate VanWagoner, a senior communication major at the University of Utah said she believes that, “Journalism has reached a new level of efficiency.”

Social media is still a work in progress and therefore is still having many hiccups and discussions along the way. With Facebook and Twitter anyone can be a journalist, but discussed in the show is, is it necessary to be a card-carrying journalist anymore?  Richarson who had no college training to be a journalist said she feels a person doesn’t have to have the training of a college degree because a person can simply teach themselves. Mullen, on the other side, said she believes that having a degree and learning techniques in college in order to write is extremely important and society will never lose the appreciation for it. Traditional journalists or card-carrying journalists will always have a place in journalism, but now so do citizen journalists.

Citizen journalists report information to citizens every day because the traditional journalist can even submit a story on the same event and that is how journalism is changing.  Citizen journalists are everywhere and continue to grow everyday.

When the panel of guests were asked how to be a citizen journalist the answer was to be interesting, relevant, factual and above all seek the truth and report it.

Emily Dunn, a junior communication major at the University of Utah said, I would consider myself a citizen journalist, but I’m still taking the appropriate steps in order to get an education to learn everything that I possibly can.”

Journalism is an ever-changing industry and LaPlante put it best that we are democratizing the system of journalism by having the audience become the journalist and the journalists become the audience.

Student Journalists Learn the Difference Between Morality and Ethics

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Story by Marquis Newman

On Monday, Oct. 3 Jim Fisher, a professor at the University of Utah, gave a lecture to a group of students on the difference between ethics and morality in the context of journalism.

Fisher, a professor in the Department of Communication, is a former journalist and editor for Sunday Magazine, an insert for a Colombia, Mo. newspaper.

Monday’s lecture was to teach students and get them to think critically about the difference between morals and ethics.

“I thought Jim did a great job. He was very credible because he was editor for his own paper, and he opened my eyes to the difference between ethics and morals,” said Alex Goff, a student who attended the lecture.

According to Fisher, “Ethics is a process of making a decision.” Fisher presented different types of stories, scenarios and situations where the students had to make decisions that real journalists would have to make.

After the students made their decisions on each scenario, Fisher emphasized that no matter what the decision was, the student made an ethical decision because he “took the time to think about it.”

Fisher concluded the lecture by saying “The last thing to consider in an ethical argument is more-than likely loyalty.” He asked, what are journalists loyal to? Is it the paycheck, the ideal value of reporting facts and the truth, the community or anything else?
When asked about the lecture, freshman Rachel Maughan praised the “many good details” used and thought the stories made the lecture interesting.

Meet the Latest and Greatest in Journalism… The Audience

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Story By: Kade Sybrowsky

Audience is key in journalism. Without and audience there wouldn’t be any journalism. The advent of new social media such as Twitter and Facebook has change the perception on what exactly journalism is and whether or not the people writing on social media are in fact journalists.
“The audience is increasingly becoming the journalists,” said Matthew Laplante, a journalism instructor at Utah State University.
Laplante and others joined Doug Fabrizio for a Radio West discussion at the University of Utah recently. Joining Laplante was Mathew Ingram, senior writer for Gigaom.com; Holly Richardson, an avid blogger and member of the Utah House of Representatives; and Holly Mullen, a former columnist and editor.
“The media is all of us now… we have a 24 hour news cycle,” Richardson Said. She also said “I am a new age journalist.
What is this “new age journalist” and why is this even a discussion? The answer is social media. Social media has made it possible for people to break news, give opinions and write comments in a way that journalism hasn’t seen before.
Online comments are now and outlet for both positive and negative feedback. It is a way for the audience to directly give their unfiltered thoughts to the writer whether he or she wants it or not.
“Getting more feedback changes the way I think about what I do…it becomes part of your job,” said Ingram.
News can have some negative affects, such as the invasion of privacy.
“We are exploring what privacy means,” commented Ingram.
Richardson claimed that privacy is a choice and that “I have made the choice to put myself out there.”
Not everyone has to make the choice but libel laws will be affected. “The affect is so much grander… you can’t sue the whole…libel laws are in the process of evolving,” said Laplante.

Laplante suggested that with the social media world growing, and thus the journalist population growing, that there needs to be education put into place.
“We don’t write five paragraph essays (we) write in journalistic style,” he said.
Education may not be as important to Richardson as it is to Laplante. Richardson was a registered nurse and midwife. She began writing her blog because she was interested in politics. She didn’t major in journalism and had no other writing training other than research papers in college-a true example of someone not needing journalism training.
So why is education so important to Laplante?
“There is not a whole lot of journalism training in the basic education system,” he said. “That needs to shift so that everyone has a basic idea (of) journalistic standards.” He believes that with this education the margin for error on issues like privacy and libel will be less prevalent.
Even with more education, social media isn’t going anywhere. What makes social media journalism and the people who utilize journalists is still undefined.
“It’s not fully developed yet it’s in its infancy, we’re stumbling around and trying to figure out how to make this work…I think it’s good,” said Matthew Laplante.

Students Attend Forum on Political Reporting

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Story by Katie Andrus

Students Attend Forum on Political Reporting
With the creation of blogs, opinion pieces and online newspapers, Americans have constant access to the news.
On Friday Susan Tolchin, John Daley, and Matt Canham led a political forum titled “Political Reporting and the Fourth Estate: Who Watches Government?” at the Hinkley caucus Room.
An important topic covered by the panel was the use of social media by citizens to comment and report on political news and how this is affecting the world of journalism
When asked by a student about citizen involvement in journalism by using blogs and other social media Tolchin stated, that the changing of media can be dangerous as  “no one is checking facts” because as she puts it “anyone with a camera is a photojournalist.”
Contrary to Tolchin’s view Jon Daley thinks that citizen participation can be a good thing. He said, “ How quickly we can make connections (with the readers) is really fabulous.” He said he believes that technology only adds to the stories, and can provide the American citizens with live action news.
To conclude the discussion Canham stated that because of the growing involvement of citizens in news reporting that ‘‘readers need to be more media savvy … (and) it is always important to read the other side.”
“I never realized just how much new outlets of media are effecting journalism,” said Max Lennardt, a student who attended the discussion.
Katie Christensen, a student who really liked the forum added, “ They did a really good job of giving insight about how it is important as a journalist to report the right information to the readers.

Evaluating Ethics

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Story by Lyndsay Frehner

 
Morals help to guide lives and ethical decisions.   In a recent lecture for the Introduction to Newswriting class, Jim Fisher, a professor in the Department of Communication, informed students on ethics and journalism.
“Ethics is a process of making decisions,” said Fisher.  When people get together to make decisions, the process is a continual circle of deciding which morals and ethics will get the best results.  Once that choice is made, the next step is to evaluate where to go with that decision.
Ethics help to govern the decisions that are made.  Student Kylee Mecham said, “I like the way he could show both sides of the story.  He makes you evaluate the whole situation by going full circle.”
As a part of the lecture, Fisher illustrated an anecdote about ethical journalism.  Journalism is full of interesting choices for reporting the news.  Fisher also stated, “If you aren’t accountable, then you aren’t doing journalism.”
To report the news, one must seek out the relevant information and account for it.  There will be a decision to post a fact or not depending upon the importance of the fact.  Pertaining to releasing the relevant facts, Fisher told students, “Everyone is willing to let things go until there is a victim involved.”
As the lecture drew to a close, student Megan Hulet said, “I liked the way he wasn’t afraid to lay out the way it is.”  Every situation that needs resolution depends on the ethics and morals that govern behavior; especially in journalism. (251)

Trust in the Media is at an all time low

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By: Callie Mendenhall

Americans are relying less on the media for their news because many feel that the information reported to them is either inaccurate or biased and one sided.

According to a survey of 1,501 people done by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International, media accuracy is at an all time low in the eyes of Americans.  Whether the media are trying to be biased or not, the viewers are getting their voices heard. In the recent survey polltakers say that in 2011, 77 percent of Americans feel that the media is one sided compared to only 53 percent in 1985.

The survey shows that there is a difference in the views of Americans according to their political views, but in any political party it still shows the same trend that people are becoming more and more intolerant of the media. Between Independents, Republicans and Democrats, 30 percent of them believe that stories are often inaccurate.

According to Rene Woody, a mass communication major at the University of Utah, “the news is definitely biased even if they don’t mean to be.”
Media may be hitting a low when it comes to accuracy, but there is still hope to bounce back. Madison Allred, a business finance major at the University of Utah, said, “I don’t notice it [the media] being biased and I think it’s pretty accurate.”

According to another University of Utah student, Lucas Falk, the media is “in general mostly accurate.”

There are two sides to every story and the consensus of America is that they would like to hear both and accurately.

In the Age of Twitter, Audience is Becoming Journalist

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Story by Justin Bailey

As a crowd of college students began to fill the caucus room at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, RadioWest host Doug Fabrizio stood at the front of the room and quietly prepared for the broadcast, sipping bottled water, going over his notes, and adjusting his microphone to the ideal distance from his mouth. As the producer audibly counted down from ten the chatter in the room slowly died down and turned to complete silence just moments before the countdown reached one. “This is RadioWest, I’m Doug Fabrizio…”
The topic of discussion for the day was “the future of journalism,” with a prominent theme being the instantaneous and pervasive nature of “new age journalism” or the use of modern technological tools such as facebook and twitter, as well as personal blogs and how those tools affect the way in which news stories and opinions are reported and disseminated.
Four panelists joined Fabrizio in the discussion: Mathew Ingram, Senior Writer at GigaOM.com; Holly Mullen, a writer and former reporter; Matthew LaPlante, a journalism instructor at Utah State University; and Holly Richardson, a member of the Utah House of Representatives and active blogger.
LaPlante had the first word, making the point that, with the Internet becoming so widely accessible, almost anyone has the ability to play the role of reporter.
“Journalists are increasingly becoming the audience and the audience is increasingly becoming journalists,” LaPlante Stated.
Rep. Richardson elaborated on the issue of roles changing by bringing up the fact that she currently acts as both journalist and legislator, a combination that she says, “never used to be.” Richardson uses her blog “Holly on the Hill” to not only report the news, but also to state her personal opinion, placing the responsibility on her readers to decide how to utilize the information.
The idea of journalistic roles shifting and changing was a recurring concept in the discussion. With the advancements in technology that provide everyone with a voice, more and more responsibility falls to the readers to filter through the ideas and information they are provided and decide what is important and what is not. “The media is all of us now” said LaPlante, “so all of a sudden, you have more opinions…more details…more facts, and more pressure.”
With the instantaneous nature of new media tools like twitter, journalists have been forced to change the way they report the news, as LaPlante stated, journalists must “Get to the information, get it quickly.” No longer can reporters sit on a story for any amount of time before breaking it, because seconds after a newsworthy event takes place someone else has already tweeted the story, dozens of others have re-tweeted it and it’s no longer relevant. “You have a 24 hour news cycle,” stated Richardson “you have (stories) that are always evolving.” Stories are no longer finite products; they have become self-sustaining narratives that don’t necessarily have a beginning or an end.
“In this age when anyone can tweet…and anyone can publish a blog or post on a facebook page,” stated Matthew Ingram, “journalists need to filter (the information) and make sense of it and then tell people… why it’s important.”

Evolution of Journalism in the Digital Age

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Story by Meish Roundy

“You don’t need a license to align yourself to a media source anymore,” Holly Richardson, Utah state legislator and blogger said Thursday, Oct. 27 at a broadcast for KUER’s “Radio West.” “We can convince people to leave things out (of the news) no longer.”

Mathew Ingram, writer for GigaOm.com, talked about a time when there was no public feedback unless someone wrote a letter to the editor.

“Twitter and Face book feedback have become a part of the job now,” Ingram said.

“Things are changing,” Mathew LaPlante, former journalist and high school teacher, said at the event. “The audience is become journalists and journalists are becoming the audience. The internet has turned the world into a small town.”

Despite these changes in journalism, a panel of experts including Holly Mullen, former reporter for The Deseret News, denied the collapse of the profession but rather a transformation.

The panel discussed that the Internet, specifically Twitter and Facebook, has made everyone a type of journalist. Richardson recalled how Osama Bin Laden’s capture was tweeted a half-hour before the media’s breaking news.

“But there is still a need for traditional journalism,” LaPlante said, “People are thirsting for a referee!”

Ingram agreed that with the amount of information available online Americans have become trained skeptics and will still search for articles from trusted journalist.

The panel also talked about how the news has improved. “News stories have evolved,” Ingram said, “Before they had a beginning middle and end. Now . . . a story shifts and feeds itself based on opinion or what someone else posts or saw.” LaPlante continuing with this idea said, “The media is all of us now.”

KUER’s Doug Fabrizio asked, “Does it matter if someone is good at writing (to be a journalist)? Answering Ingram said, “Education is good. But you don’t have to be trained to commit random acts of journalism.” Richardson agreed, “In order to twitter you don’t need and education.” Mullen on the other hand told Twitter users “You are all journalists” in that “the point of the media is to be human,” but warned that, “We cant outsource our brains to a cloud.” She said her university training was a necessity in that it helped her, “learn hot to write quickly and use active words.” LaPlante agreed stressing that with the amount of current opportunities people have now to blog, tweet and Facebook that, “there is not a lot of journalism training in our education and there should be more.”

The panel touched on the issues of online libel and payment.

Kourtney Mather, a public relations major at the University of Utah who was at the broadcast, said the meeting was, “Interesting. I have never taken Twitter seriously as a social tool of journalism.” Jim Kroe, also a University of Utah student, said he was. “Happy to know journalism is evolving and that the news will be more about the people and what they want to hear.”

The New Watchdog of Journalsim

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Story by Kylee Mecham

The state of journalism is changing as of late.  More people are now turning to search engines, Facebook and even Twitter to gather information and news.  Therefore, many are concerned about who is watching over the media.
Matt Canham, Susan Tolchin and John Daley came together at the University of Utah on Oct. 28 to discuss how journalism has changed and who is watching over it.  Today, reporters are under a lot of pressure to get the stories of the moment out as soon as possible.  However, there is no specific group checking the media and all of the news going out to the public.
Daley, a reporter for Deseret News and KSL, pointed out that “the audience is now the fact checker.”  The media consumer has a responsibility to tell the reporter and news outlets of any errors.  According to Daley, they need all the help they can get.
Tolchin, author of “The Angry American – How Voter Rage is Changing to Nation,” discussed that the media are the best watchdog over government by keeping politicians honest.  Therefore it is the citizens who need to watch over the media and make sure that the reporters stay honest.
However with all of this citizen involvement, citizen journalism has become more popular over the past few years.  Many more people are blogging about the news and putting it out there for others to read.  Therefore it is even more important for the public to be aware of where the news is coming from and any errors that might appear.
Canham, a reporter at the Salt Lake Tribune, said, “It is important to think of the mind-set of the reporter, when searching for information.”  With all of the information that is out there, one should keep in mind what the reporter’s views on the subject are.
Several audience members took interest in what the panel had to say about the changes in journalism and citizen participation.  Megan Hulet, a junior at the university, said, “It was really interesting to hear their views on the subject, and it made me realize how self-reporting really is increasing.”
Sarah Vaughn, a sophomore at the university, said, “I want to do journalism and it’s interesting how much reporting is struggling with Facebook and Twitter.”

Who Watches Government and Media?

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Story by Max Lennardt

According to a trio of media panelists, the media is the watchdog of the Government. But in today’s economic times the decline of newspapers and layoff of news reporters makes it tough for the media to be the government watchdog. Susan Tolchin, professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University; John Daley, reporter for Deseret News/KSL; and Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune Washington correspondent gave the message to students on who watches the government and the media.  “It is a relationship with tension in some times. We are the watch dog of the politics by asking tough questions, we confront them,” said Canham.
John Daley added: “There is a constant rise in government money, but there are less reporters than 10 years ago. But is more money always better, is it always legal, or is there maybe corruption involved? It will be hard to find out because there a fewer watchdogs than ever before.“
Tolchin said, she is really excited how it will turn out and she personally hopes for a better government. Also she stated, “that it is an interesting time to be in business.“
But who watches the media? How can the people trust what the media tells the readers about the government?
“Nobody checks facts, reporters make mistakes everyday. There are no check factors. It worries me. Blogs and Wikipedia have so many mistakes,” said Tolchin.
Because of the Internet it is easier to upload or post things. Everybody is a journalist today. People own cameras or have camera phones. According to the panelists, a journalist must be more careful than ever before.
“As a reporter you are a figure today. It is important that you check what you write because readers point out when you do something stupid, and they have ways to do that. It is so easy for people to find out your email address, “said Canham.
Because of the technology, more engagement of people is good and bad. But all three agree that there is no direct or official fact checker of the media. The only ones who can point things or mistakes out are the people.
“It is your responsibility. Once something is posted it is gospel and will be repeated by others. If it is not right, we need the help to point it out”, said Canham.
The audience judged the feedback on this topic positive.  Katie Andrus, a communication student at the University of Utah liked how they highlighted the role of journalism: “It was interesting to hear who the media is the watchdog over the government and how important is that the readers check facts on the stories.“
“They did a really good job of giving insight about how it is important as a journalist to report the right information to the readers”, said Kylee Mecham, a mass communication student.
More information about the event can be found at the Hinckley Institute of Politics webpage: http://www.hinckley.utah.edu.

Journalistic Change In The New Day

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Story by Lyndsay Frehner

There are many outlets that let people share their views and thoughts about subjects.  According to Matthew LaPlante, “The audience is becoming the journalist.” The world is evolving into a media synched society and that is how most people are reporting the news.
Matthew Ingram, Holly Mullen, Matthew LePlante and Holly Richardson came together for a radio broadcast on Oct. 27, 2011, at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, to discuss their views on the future of journalism.
Members of society are being bombarded with information from news sources.  In order to decipher the meaningless and sometimes redundant information, citizens must report the facts back in their own opinions.  This is fast becoming a popular trend because many people are becoming their own, self employed, reporters.  Others actually turn to them for the latest facts and even gossip on even the most controversial subjects.
For many, blogging is an activity that let opinions and viewpoints be stated without any fear of judgment.   Blogging is a form of journalism for the “new age social journalist,” said Richardson.  Richardson is a blogger who talks about the conservative view of politics.  She said, “Opinions make it more interesting.”
In many instances, the people are getting the first whiff of a new story and will “tweet, post or text: the information to real journalists.
These stories don’t just appear out of nowhere though.  There will always be a beginning, middle and end.  Ingram said, “News stories evolve; not just start and end.”  There will always be events that incite crowds to be receptive and open to interaction.  When the crowds appear, journalists or new reporters know that they will have something to report on.  This is proof that stories evolve.  They don’t just appear out of thin air.
Journalists have been deemed to report only the facts.  The only problem is that journalists are becoming more accustomed to the worldly standards of not verifying the information they report.  News reporters of this day aren’t taught or educated in the proper ways of writing.  “Education is good,” said Ingram.  Unfortunately there aren’t many schools or institutions that offer proper training in the ways of journalistic writing.
Richardson said, “Traditional journalism doesn’t require training, but practice.”  There is only one sure way to accomplish the goals of writing properly; write everyday.
Meg Sanders, a blogger columnist for the Standard Examiner, said, “Writing everyday is very important.”
Keeping up the skills of writing proficiently is extremely important if one is to help the journalistic society.  Probably the most important thing to learn is how to report the sources correctly and accurately attribute everything.  Mullen inspired journalists to do such because of “libel and privacy” issues.  People will recognize the words they say and if they are attributed to a different person.
People have changed the ways of how news is reported.  It used to be just the journalists who were the reporters.  Now, anyone can be a journalist.  “The audience is becoming the journalist,” said LaPlante.

Economic expert speaks to University of Utah students

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Story by Chris Washington

The economic recession is something that many Americans felt very close to home. However, very few really understand what caused it and what can fix it. Floyd Norris is one of those people.

Norris is the chief financial correspondent for the New York Times. He has a wealth of knowledge regarding economics as a whole and particularly the current state of the economy. The economic situation is more to him than just a bunch of graphs and numbers; it is something that has affected millions of Americans directly.

“I love this country”, said Norris, “I’m proud to pay taxes and wouldn’t mind paying more if it helped us get out of this crisis.”

Economists tend to try to let things work themselves out regarding the economy. However, Norris believes that it is time to start taking action in order to fix what is happening in our economy. According to Norris, despite many people believing that the recession ended in 2010, it is actually still going on.

“People saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but were wrong.” explained Norris.

In Norris’ opinion it is both the American people’s and the banks’ fault for the economic crisis. He believes that a lot of the suffering that is affecting American lives, was brought on by people buying houses that they cannot afford. Many people borrow these great sums of money that they can’t pay back. The banks are partially responsible for this because they enable these people to make these decisions even though it wasn’t always expected to work out.

Many people believe that the crisis could have been avoided. Steven Blomquist, a University of Utah student, agreed.

“Regarding our economy, you can’t expect to go up forever and keep prospering more and more, eventually you will peak and then you begin to spiral downward, which is the phase we are in right now,” he said.

Norris said that people could see the recession coming in 2006 and 2007. When Americans can borrow a lot of money and credit is easy to come by, the country grows a lot like it did in the 1920s. However, much like The Great Depression, there is a price to pay after such a large amount of growth. Norris thinks that if economists would have paid more attention during America’s most recent episode of economic growth, that this could have been predicted and possibly prevented.

Norris understands the power of money and the importance of a good economy. When speaking about a past treasury secretary, Norris stated that in all actuality three presidents served under him. Although that is an exaggeration it is an example of just how important and how powerful the people who control and understand American money can be.

“Money makes the world go ‘round, if you don’t have it you really stand no chance.” said Rachel Thomas, a student and cheerleader for the University of Utah.

Although the economic situation American’s are in is something that cannot be mapped out perfectly, people like Floyd Norris exemplify the importance of a good base of knowledge and how being aware can empower Americans.