My Twitter account is up and running, and RSS feeds have successfully been added to my blog for convenient viewing! Suprisingly, I had made my Twitter account on November 26th with the intent of simply exploring the site and seeing what Twitter was all about. I hadn’t even anticipated this assignment…sheer brilliance, I guess.

I’d also like to pose a question. I’ve been a little confused about the way in which to use the word “Twitter” in a sentence. Does one “twitter” or “tweet”? When I post a status update, is that a “twitter” or a “tweet”? Am I a “twitterer” or a “tweeter”? Comments on this subject are WELCOME!!

My Twitter can be accessed here: www.twitter.com/JeniMae

Public Relations Expert Shares the Jewel in the Crown

“My simple philosophy is always tell the truth and hope you get caught,” said John Diamond to a University of Maine writing class.  Diamond is the Executive Director of External Affairs for the University of Maine system. He visited the class as a guest speaker to talk about this job in the field of mass communication and give students advice about the real world of journalism and public relations.

Experience with Maine

Diamond graduated from UMaine with a B.A. in journalism and a master’s degree in speech communication. He became part of the journalism faculty and taught full-time for three years. Overall he has been involved in some way with UMaine for 35 years.

Diamond spent eight years in the Maine legislature and also worked for the Lewiston Sun Journal and Maine Public Broadcasting. He now works at the University of Maine system office in Bangor.

The University of Maine System

“There is a fairly small staff at the system office,” said Diamond. He explained that despite its size, it is the backbone of the universities that manages payroll, human resources, and Information Technologies for the University of Maine system.

Diamond said that the purpose of his job is to “position the system with the public (students, taxpayers, and families), the policy-makers (legislators, senators, and the governor), and the opinion-leaders (the media).” Diamond clarified that the purpose of what he does differs from the function, which is “maintaining electronic services,” he said.

Life in the Real World

Moving on to talk about the essential skills needed in the field of public relations, Diamond spoke about the importance of having experience in media writing. “You have to maintain a standard of accountability,” he said. Diamond recalled having to ask many tough questions throughout his career, but said that “people will respect you if you are proactive.”

Networking is also a major part of Diamond’s job. “You never know when you’ll need someone’s help, or when they’ll need yours,” he said.

Concluding with the rewards of a job in public relations, Diamond said that he likes “being in a position to make a difference” but misses having daily contact with students.

Broadcast Professionals Spread Their Knowledge
By Jeni Bishop
Word Count: 389

(Photo Credit: www.wvii.com)

On November 10, broadcast professionals Cindy Michaels and Tony Consiglio visited the University of Maine to share valuable insight into the fast-paced world of public communication.

(Photo Credit: www.wvii.com)

Michaels and Consiglio work for WVII-TV, the ABC-affiliated television station in Bangor, Maine. Both are anchors and producers for the station, and Michaels reports stories in the area as well.

Careers

Having started her career in as a radio personality, Michaels said she “always wanted to be an announcer of some kind.” She worked in various radio stations for nine years until in 2006, WVII-TV offered her a job. At the station, “I’m involved in every aspect. Writing, editing, reporting and more,” Michaels said.

Consiglio typically spends his day in the newsroom. As a producer, his job is to organize stories within the show. “By the end, ideally everything comes together,” he said.

Consiglio has worked for stations in Boston, Mass. and Hartford, Conn., which he said are “a far cry from a station in Bangor, Maine.” According to Consiglio, everything is “faster paced in a bigger market, which makes for a higher stress level…but each type of station is fun in its own respect.”

Advice

Emphasizing the important of getting experience early, Michaels and Consiglio both believe that a college campus is a great place to start. “It’s easy to be active even as a freshman. You’ll be miles ahead of everyone if you get experience early,” said Consiglio.

(Photo Credit: www.wvii.com)

Michaels agreed, saying “people appreciate an eagerness and a willingness to put yourself out there. Promote yourself and do something that will grab attention.” She explained, “There’s no harm in going for it, I don’t believe in starting from the bottom rung.”

Thoughts on the Future

“With every medium you’re going through, you’re always going to need to see a face. Someone to write it and someone to tell it,” said Michaels. She believes that despite the increasing unpopularity of radio, the need for human contact will keep television alive. “But maybe we’ll have robots reporting the news some day,” Michaels exclaimed.

Consiglio spoke about the convergence from television to the internet, saying that “people don’t want to wait until 6 o’clock to get the news.” Offering one last piece of advice: “If you can work in more than one medium, you are that much more valuable to a future employer,” he said.

(Photo Credit: www.umaine.edu)

Guest Speaker Visits Communication Class
By Jeni Bishop
Word Count: 332

On Monday, November 3, University of Maine professor Nathan Stormer visited a communications class as a guest speaker.

Although Stormer studies and specializes in rhetoric, he spoke to the class about several aspects of writing for the mass media.

“Print journalism has gone through phases,” Stormer said, pointing out that amidst the current phase of new media and writing for the web, readers now process content differently. Explaining the tendencies of web readers, Stormer said that most people read fragments of news stories on the Internet. One story becomes “part of an overall text they’ve constructed for themselves,” he said.

Stormer spoke in-depth about objectivity and what it really means in terms of modern-day news writing. “Objectivity is trying to consciously contain your own wants and write based on those things that are most important,” he said. “Journalists have the creative license to shape a story to what the reader cares about without manipulating them,” Stormer mentioned.

Stormer described to the class how to write for a “universal audience” by imagining what a “reasonable, well-informed, rational person will understand from your writing.” Stormer explained that it is most always possible to use non-jargon based language in a feature or news story.

“We think of metaphors as specialized terms,” Stormer said. “All words are metaphoric, referring to something else,” he explained, warning the class to use less technical language to avoid misunderstanding. “You can’t control what readers do,” said Stormer, “but you can make it harder for them to misread your writing.”

Stormer discussed the fundamental aspects of news writing, saying that journalists must create scenes for the reader by providing variety to engage the reader’s senses. “People expect a visual cue,” he said, explaining that reporter must “make analogies to help people understand the phenomena.”

“There’s always an internal unfolding context,” Stormer concluded. Clarifying, he said that each sentence is context for the next, and that journalists must paint a picture to inform and engage the reader, avoiding misunderstanding and maintaining objectivity.

UMaine to Host American College Dance Festival
By Jeni Bishop

Photo Credit: www.umaine.edu

The annual American College Dance Festival (ACDF) will be held at the University of Maine on February 25-28, 2009. During the three-day conference, dancers from many different schools will attend workshops, dance classes, and performances, often taught and judged by professional dancers and choreographers.

Last year, UMaine dance minors traveled with dance instructor Dr. Ann Ross to the University of Connecticut for ACDF. “The teachers and choreographers from other schools mentioned to Ann Ross that they would love to have ACDF here again,” says Nicole Lagasse, fourth-year psychology major and ACDF coordinator. “Apparently the year that ACDF was held here, everyone had a blast!”

Typically around 12 dance minors from UMaine attend the conference each year.”This year is huge for us because we are going to need all the help we can get from our fellow dancers to be helpful and informational at all times,” says Lagasse, hoping for a smooth and well-planned conference.

Despite current construction on the Maine Center for the Arts, ACDF will use Hauck Auditorium, Minsky Recital Hall, the dance studios in the Class of 1944 Hall, and the multipurpose rooms in the Student Recreation and Fitness Center for classes and performances.

UMaine student choreographers Molly Schenck, Chelsea Rondeau, and Megan Kennedy will be submitting dance pieces in adjudicated performances throughout the conference. Rondeau and Kennedy are also ACDF coordinators, but were unavailable for comment.

A great deal of fundraising is needed to help the dancers afford ACDF each year. Registration is $50, plus additional money for food, t-shirts and general spending money. “Most dancers bring around $100 to the conference,” says Lagasse.

Through promotion of ACDF at dance performances and around campus, “we as students do most of the fundraising, but we also get funding from Residents on Campus (ROC), but it’s definitely not an easy process,” explains Lagasse.

Describing her experiences at ACDF in past years, Lagasse says, “I’ve learned about different choreographers, different choreography, and about different schools that attend.” Although UMaine is hosting New England region schools, colleges and universities from more distant states will also participate this year, enabling dancers to receive an even broader knowledge of dance and choreography.

“ACDF is an awesome experience for anyone who loves dance,” says Lagasse. “It brings all dance schools from the Northeast together to show off their talents and to also learn from other teachers and choreographers that you don’t see on a regular basis. I’m glad that I’ve been a part of ACDF and that this year I’m one of the students who is running it,” she comments.

Decreasing Prices Catch Lobster Industry in Deep Water
By Jeni Bishop

(Photo Credit: www.schredd.com)

A recent decline in demand from tightly budgeted tourists and restaurants has forced the selling price of lobster to plummet. Currently ranging from $2-5 per pound, the price of lobster has sufficiently decreased this season.

Cap Morrill’s Seafood, a family-owned, wholesale retailer in Brewer, Maine, is feeling the effects of the declining prices. Phil Morrill, President of Cap Morrill’s Inc., says even though prices are dropping, demand has not inversely risen. “Demand should go up, but the overall economy is so bad right now,” Morrill says. “Lobster is a luxury product, and people aren’t really celebrating right now.”

As a wholesale retailer, there is a distribution chain through which Cap Morrill’s Seafood obtains lobster. Morrill explains, “The boats are currently getting $2.50 for small lobsters and $5.50 for selects. Most fishermen sell their lobsters to the wharf, which supplies them with bait and gas.” The wharf needs to make a profit of $1, so by the time things change hands, Cap Morrill’s Seafood is selling lobster for $4.85 per pound, $1.50 less than this time last year.

Cap Morrill’s Seafood costs roughly $1,000 to run each day. With current prices of lobster so low, businesses such as this must rely on states close in proximity for the majority of sales. “Grocery stores in northern New England are having sales and selling more lobster but sales overall are way down, especially in states farther away,” Morrill says.

As for the future of lobster prices and a rest for lobstermen, Morrill says jokingly, “my crystal ball is broken.” He doesn’t know if or when prices or workloads will return to normal, but hopes it won’t be long. “Our public hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. but we stay here and receive lobsters between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. in the winter,” Morrill explains.

The price of lobster at other local vendors isn’t much different than at Cap Morrill’s Seafood. At McLaughlin Seafood in Bangor, Maine, small 1¼-pound lobsters are $4.89, while two- to four-pound lobsters are sold for $8.99; and at Young’s Shellfish in Belfast, Maine, the going rate is $4.99 per pound.

My beat for the news story (due today) is Business/Commerce/Education, although it is more so under commerce than the others. I will be writing about the rapid decrease in price of lobster here in Maine. I honestly am not at all interested in this subject but Dr. Hughes suggested I cover this story, so I will be conducting an interview in a few short hours with (hopefully) two lobster vendors and the Executive Director of the Lobster Institute at UMaine.

UMaine Professor Speaks to Journalism Students
By Jeni Bishop

On October 17, University of Maine professor Paul Grosswiler spoke to a Writing for the Mass Media class about various aspects of print journalism. Students asked Grosswiler questions about his career, his theories on print journalism and his advice for their futures in journalism.

Career

Grosswiler started his journalism career with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Missouri. “It was a practical decision,” he said, “I was interested in writing because I never wanted to be in front of a camera.” After graduate school, Grosswiler worked for a Missouri newspaper writing the police beat, and then became a copy editor for the Bangor Daily News in Bangor, Maine. After working as an assistant features editor, he found his current job: a communications professor at the University of Maine.

Grosswiler occasionally writes op-eds, but his secret dream is to be a muckraker, a reporter who investigates and exposes societal conditions. “The media needs to do more investigative reporting,” he said. Referencing Elijah Lovejoy, a radical reporter from the 1830s, Grosswiler discussed the dangers of voicing opinions: “When you tell people the truth they don’t want to hear, it can kill you. Independent journalists like Elijah Lovejoy are the best; he shows me how much courage it takes to speak out against the grain.”

Reporters must be cautious, as “everything is open to misinterpretation,” Grosswiler warned. “The news media value objectivity,” he said, as it is the basis for reporting reliable news.

Theories

Although the basis of print journalism is primarily newspapers and magazines, Grosswiler believes that concerning journalism on the web, “good writing still counts.” He explained, “The death of print journalism has been forecast for a long time. The medium will change how people read and write, but it will stay the same because it is the written word.”

Since the development of the Internet, writing styles and audiences have changed; however, Grosswiler said that in order to maintain journalistic content throughout new technologies, journalists must “take the values of print journalism and transfer them to the web.”

Advice

Grosswiler’s greatest advice for aspiring journalists was to prove journalistic ability. A journalist “needs to be able to research, identify sources, come up with ideas, and gather information,” he said. “A story is only going to be as good as the information you gather and the notes you take.” Grosswiler also discussed the most important aspects of story-writing, such as the inverted pyramid, direct quotes, accurate information, and attributing sources.

Grosswiler discussed the importance of writing directly, clearly and objectively, and meeting deadlines. He explained that the first paragraph must catch the readers’ attention, give information and keep their interest. “Anybody could be a journalist if they had enough time,” said Grosswiler. “Timeliness is crucial to news reporting.”

“News is a social construct that journalists and society decide upon,” concluded Grosswiler. “News is a form of surveillance; however, journalists must be assertive, not annoying.”

Writing for a newspaper requires a much different style than any other media source. Using the inverted pyramid, the writer must give information objectively and concisely, while still conveying meaning in the story. Compared to magazine writing, for example, which can take more of an artistic or opinionated approach, newspaper writing is solely the news: information and events that have taken place, distributed in a timely fashion. Writing for broadcast is also much different than writing for a newspaper. A news anchor needs to be able to read with fluidity and ease, so sentences are much shorter and more concise.

Concerning the origin and usage of the word news:

According to AskOxford.com,

“The original sense of news was ‘new things’; this is long obsolete. Since the 15th century it has been used to mean ‘tidings, the report of recent events, new occurrences as a subject or report or talk.’”

According to WordOrigins.com,

“The sense of news meaning accounts of events or tidings dates to at least 1417. from Henry Ellis’s Original Letters Illustrative of English History:  The gracious prosperitie…of your renowned person…[is] soe gracious and joyous newes…to the principall comforte and especiall consolation of us and all your faythfull subjectes. The idea that news is an acronym for north, east, west, and south, the directions from which tidings come, is utterly false.”

Without the news, we would be very uneducated as citizens of the United States and of the world. Without knowledge of current and recent events, we would not be able to make educated daily decisions, individually or as a society.

Click here for the full (with comments) new and improved article.