First News Story...anddddd ACTION!

Sure, words tell the perfect story, and some people have the ability to use long flowing sentences, beautiful details, really Shakespeare it up, ya know? Well, ever seen somebody tell a story without words? Express emotions using only their body? Yeah...pretty cool, huh? 

I'm SO excited to be interviewing Casey Oates this week for my Baylor Personality Profile Story. She is a Senior here at Baylor University, and has a vast experience in dance. She is one of the officers in the Baylor Dance Company and even performed in After Dark this year. I know she plans on majoring in education, and I'm looking forward to finding out what her obstacles have been, and what she plans on pursuing in the future. 

I'm so happy, because personally, I think I nabbed one of the best people at Baylor to interview. Not only is she majorly talented, but she has one of those graceful and energetic personalities that light up a room instantly. 

I also know that she happens to be going through a personal hardship right now, facing one of life's most challenging adversities. Her mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and has been under going treatments the past couple of months. Having personally been affected by a similar situation (an unfortunate situation others in society can relate to as well) I know that when a parent is sick, it takes a HUGE toll on your own life. 

I'm thrilled to have my lunch date with Casey this week, and uncover all the details, challenges, and successes she has accomplished thus far, making her the incredible, woman she is today. 

Restaurants in Waco

Recently, I have been to several restaurants in Waco, Tx. 

Today I met up with my cousin and had lunch. (On a side note, it was fantastic to see said cousin, because otherwise the only time I see her is at Christmas. Although living in Waco puts me closer to many of my relatives I rarely get to see, it consequently puts me much further away from my hometown and my immediate family; bittersweet!!) Anyway...we ate at Cheddar's (located on Franklin Street). I loveeee the atmosphere of the restaurant. It labels itself as a "casual cafe" and definitely promotes a very laid back, and happy atmosphere. The lighting is dim and the restaurant sports a very fashionable fish tank separating the bar from the eating areas. The salads and soups are tasty, and all in all I had a wonderful afternoon with my cousin: good food, good company, good Friday!

Last week, I went with my friends to the IHOP right across from the Baylor campus. Although I really enjoy breakfast food, I did not enjoy walking into the building and directly seeing the kitchen out in the open, with everybody's food orders waiting to be served. I prefer to NOT see the cooks, or the food splayed out as soon as I walk into a restaurant. A little more discretion in the construction of the building would have been appreciated. (After all, this is IHOP....not a southern diner) Other than that minor setback, the food was delicious, my personal favorite being a simple egg sandwich on sourdough bread with a side of golden hashbrowns...yummy!

Ourblook.com-The Future of Journalism

In class, we had a wonderful Skype interview with Sandra Ordonez. She explained that this was somewhat of a "baby" website, seeing as how it is only approximately 2 years old, essentially started when "blogging" became popular. The intentions and purposes of ourblook.com are to allow users to see what models could/and are used in the journalism world. 

Living in such a fast pace world can be difficult sometimes, with new media appearing everywhere we look. However, ourblook.com provides students and aspiring journalists with opportunities to get a hands on experience with newer technologies and social networking devices. It not only helps build the web skills that are quite pertinent in the journalism and media world, but also gives students a chance to read real life blogs and advice from successful journalists who once were in the exact same place.

When asked to define hyper-local, Sandra went into an in depth definition about what exactly this term means involving the community. She explained that we have drifted away from what newspapers "use to be" and are trying to revert back to the old ways of classic news, which revolves around community stories, with some tid-bits of big world news. 

In simple terms, hyper-local acts as a mirror to the community.  

Overall, it was an interesting interview, and humorously convenient that we interviewed over Skype (a relatively new virtual chat system) considering that the topics discussed consisted of practice using new media. I think that technology is the future of journalism, and although newspapers aren't out of style yet, we will come to find that more and more news will be broadcast via world wide web.

And more changes in Media

The 2010 Ap Stylebook made the two word "web site" into the one word "website" due to popularity and often use of the latter spelling. It is also now acceptable for social networking and media sites, such as Facebook, to be cited and used as a source when referred to in a news story. At the rate this nation's technology is expanding, there will have to be new versions of the Ap Stylebook printed annually. I mean, come on people! We've already lived through 4 generations of iphones in a mere few years! Not that I'm complaining. :)

New Media Terms...ohhh twenty-ten.

We have long surpassed the age of stone tablet writings (sorry Fred Flintsone) and have escaped the decade of written letters, and just when we thought email and facebook was the way to go...a little birdie had to pop up and disagree.
Twitter is the new sensation that is sweeping the nation. This mass social networking cite even has managed to get successful, famous, important people..."tweeting". And let me just say, it is one thing to hear Oprah talk about the latest news via twitter, but when Barak Obama utters the word "tweet" I can't help but giggle a little. You can choose to "follow" all the famous celebs on twitter, and in return people can follow and stalk, oops, I mean, keep up with your whereabouts and ideas.
And what the heck is a 'Twitter Party'?
"A twitter party is a fast and fun virtual party, using the twitter platform. Usually held in the evening, twitter parties typically last 1-2 hours and are a wonderful way for people to connect and discuss a topic of choice. Most twitter parties have an expert panelist and party host to keep the party on topic. How does a twitter party work? Twitter users tweet with a specified Hashtag (#) for the party. The party host will announce the hashtag prior to the event. If you look at the twitter party calendar, parties are listed by the hashtag (#)."


anyone up for a good ol' fashion tea party? :)