Because I love stories, no matter what.

So I started my J4804 Convergence reporting class this summer, got really excited until I realize this is a get-story-ideas-or-get-a-life summer time. I walked to my friend’s house near campus and decided to stay over, and that’s when I met this guy from San Francisco.

Performance of Lucas Silveria of THE CLIK’S Get Positive Feedback From MU Transgender Students

MU LGBTQ Resource Center coordinator Struby K. Struble prepares for Wednesday’s Transgender Awareness 2011 event.

Canadian singer Lucas Silveria performed at the Stotler Lounge in MU Memorial Union Tuesday night, Nov. 9. MU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Resource Center coordinator Struby K. Struble said she heard really positive feedback from audience last night.

Mobile Doesn’t Necessarily Relate People Closer.

“How do we as journalists address to people during those ‘downtime’?” This is a question asked us students during one of my J2150 lecture. Downtime, as in the situation when people are waiting for someone in cafe, or bus in street, means moment in our lives that could pass so slow if we just standing/sitting there doing nothing.

However, we’ve got mobiles to help us feel less guilty about wasting our lives. According to a recent study, 96% of Americans have cell phones, and among whom 58% texted in past month, 28% sent/got a photo and 20% used the Web. And there’s statistics more related to journalism: 47% get local news or information on their cell phone or tablet. (Note: Weather forecast is included.)

Street Photographer: Alan Berner

       

A transient sitting on a free couch in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, who said he would find a way to move it since it was free; members of the Sun City, Arizona POMS. The average age of its cheer squad is more than 70; a businessman sprinting to the terminal from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport parking garage.

Photos from Alan Berner’s “Gone West” exhibit spotted subjects aforementioned. The introduction board reads ”I’m basically a street photographer, looking for juxtapositions about our presence on the land and in the cities west of the 100th Meridian.”

This is exactly what I think as the philosophy of photography, of a photographer.

Convergence Journalism — Novel but not Intimidating.

From the beginning of my freshman year, I’ve been searching for my career direction in journalism. Do I wanna study print, broadcast, or magazine? Can I do well in writing, especially in a second language, photography, or design? Should I just follow my mind, and let the answer come out as everything proceeds. 

I remember the first class in my convergence FIG, professor Mike McKean introduced the concept of “Convergence Journalism.” How the trend of media is directing towards this field, and how “converging news” into simple, expedient, and convenient platforms reachable to everyone at everywhere. 

Convergence. It’s drawing the future of journalism, as well as my understanding of this industry.

People want information quickly.

Mark Russell, editor from the Orlando Sentinel, as well as 2011 Missouri Honor Medal recipient, gave a speech at MU journalism school on “How social media draw the content of story.”

He talked about Twitter chats from the newsroom, Facebook’s partnership with Washington Post, and Washington Journal and the live chat in the courtroom during the Casey Anthony’s trial. These examples all points to one topic: getting this news from social media.

People want information quickly. So journalists allow people to get news in the fastest way possible with the help of social media. During the Casey Anthony’s trial, Orlando Sentinel sent one reporter in the courtroom reporting the lastes situation on live, and two photographers who were able to take pictures that go directly to live blogs without going through editors.

The overwhelming talking on social media.

This Monday’s J2150 lecture was given by a Missouri Honor Medal recipient Margaret Wolf Freivogel, the founding editor of the St. Louis Beacon. She talked about “the journalism of engagement,” citing the business model of the St. Louis Beacon, a non-profit online-only news publication. According to Freivogel’s introduction, St. Louis Beacon has successfully engaged its community with many innovations.

Its usage of project page, interactive graphic and videos; its financial resource gained by small donor outreach “I back the Beacon” and other donations; its business model that is based on the quality of engagement instead of the volume of traffic… These factors have contributed to the news publication’s success in involving citizens while not relying much on the citizen journalism. The goal is to find out “the impact we have on people’s life”.

Yes, the impact on people’s life. Journalists are increasingly emphasizing the importance of having certain impacts on people’s routine life and finding them out. And social media is a very convenient tool to assist their goal. Every news/media organization I see is pushing their brand’s influence on Facebook, Twitter, etc. This phenomenon has added an subconscious behavior on me: I will search for Facebook “like” button every time I go to a news, or any website, and I’ll feel really odd if I don’t see it!