Unicorn Mafia

The Recap: Sunday

5 hour flight. Woke up before 6 but I was still somehow “late” when I arrived. People at airports are rude. My “comfy shoes” have caused my feet to bleed in 3 places. I miss my boots. They are incredibly comfortable and look like this: http://www.dmusastore.com/p-2390-vonda.aspx but with scuffed toes.

Enough whining! Good things happened, too! Everyone is perfectly amiable and merry, students and faculty and guests alike.

Mr. Brian Lamb, co-founder of C-SPAN, recited poetry to us. He also made a number of excellent points regarding the state of journalism today. He’s one of the few adults (and by “adults” I generally mean “baby boomers”) who is willing to accept the fact that TECHNOLOGY IS LITERALLY CHANGING EVERYTHING. Not only has he accepted that, he at least seems, very convincingly, unafraid of it. Yes, traditional newspapers are dying. Yes, the interwebz have caused journalism to enter into a state of anarchy. This could also be read, however, as tons of new forms of media are being created as we speak, and journalism has been placed into the hands of the people again. To quote Pearl Jam, “It’s evolution, baby!”. And despite what conservative radical Christians will tell you, evolution does exist, and it’s not a bad thing. It’s just a matter of adjusting the way things are done. It was the same when television and radio came about, non? Things changed. We survived.

The televised version of news has made some adjustments as well. As the internet stirs up everything, news networks rely more on coverage that entertains their viewers than informs them. The advancements: comedy shows like The Daily ShowThe Colbert Report both entertain AND inform, in what appears to be a bi-partisan and mutually fair manner. The barbarianism: traditional networks feel that they must cater to their audience’s political views and tilt (cough understatement cough) the information in the news to the desired angle. The values of “truthiness” that Steven T. Colbert holds so dear know no welcome on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc. (Note that, taking the previous fact related to bias into account, I no longer watch televised news and therefore don’t really know if those are good examples or not. Except Fox. They pioneered it.) and

The Reboot: Monday (aka yesterday)

My heeeaaaaddddd huuuurrrrrttttt allllll daaaaaayyyyyyyyy cause I woke up earrrrrrrllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…..BUT there was every kind of coffee you could imagine at breakfast in giant cups, so I will survive! (Mwahahaha, song in your head >:D)

Someone…spoke…today…he taught at a college in Missouri and, like Mr. Lamb, had a lot of good things to say. I was baffled by his opening statements about the large number of women in the audience however. He commented on the scarcity of women in the journalism industry way back when compared to higher numbers today, which, while a great example of the progress of feminism (def.: “the concept that a woman is human.”), didn’t seem very…relevant. Perhaps I’m simply taking it for granted. He also made reference to his lack of comprehension (and, it seemed, lack of desire to comprehend) of recent technology such as Twitter, Facebook, and “Youtubes”. See previously mentioned paragraph for a contrast of this speaker (Brian Lamb).

The following panel of speakers was a hodgepodge (ahh, great word <3) of PR people, journalists, and journalists-turned-professors, as well as other professionals in the industry. They made various comments on the changing industry format, their own experiences in journalism and media, and advice for students looking to pursue a career in the field. Very interesting stuff from people who know what they’re talking about.

Lots of fun things happened today, my insomnia is coming along nicely, I will post more tomorrow regarding specifics. For now, I must finish my last Rice Krispie treat and perhaps attempt slumber. Much love to all!

>>Madison<<