By the way...

I'm gonna be MIA for a few days. I'm headed to the Blue Ridge Mountains for some R&R. I'll be back on Sunday with pretty pictures and hopefully enough energy to keep me going until Thanksgiving break.

So, Happy Halloween!

Countdown!!!

Election Day is upon us! Only 4 days, 13 hours, 43 minutes, and 30 seconds to go.

In preparation for this tumultuous event, we've got:
Candidate finger puppets
Candidate Cabbage Patch dolls
Political pumpkin stencils
Palin as president...

I love the Internet.

I ♥ Bluffton

And while we're on the topic of financial difficulties, I was troubled to see that Bluffton Today will no longer be free starting December 1 of this year. I know Morris (Communications) wanted to keep it running as a free circulation and a model for the new age of newspapers, but unfortunately, this is just not the ideal economy to experiment with right now. Good luck, guys.

Yes, I'm sure

I think I worry people a lot when I tell them what I want to do with my life.

The usual responses:
"Are you sure?"
"Newspapers are dying, Kelly Ann. What do you think you're doing?"
"Do you have a backup plan?"
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket..."
"There won't be a newspaper in 10 years. Where will you be?"

My response:
Chill.

The economy is on its way to hitting rock bottom. People save an average 0 percent of their incomes. (Seriously. In 1998, Americans saved -0.2 percent. Really, America?) The housing market has flopped. Unemployment is up. And you're really worried about newspapers? I think we've got bigger fish to fry.

Let me reassure the weak of heart. Newspapers are in a transition period. Up until a few years ago, newspapers were making a 23 to 25 percent profit margin. Things were good. We built big news buildings, gave away lots of vacations and put out niche publications like there was no tomorrow.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is here. Instead of our usual inflated margins, we're making about a 15 percent profit. Keep in mind that an average business enjoys about a 3 to 5 percent profit margin. So we're still rakin' in the dough; it's just not as much as we're used to. It all boils down to making adjustments. Right now, we're going to whine and scratch our heads because Mommy's not giving us the lollipop we want. Once we figure out why she's not giving it to us and what we can learn from it and then learn to live with it, we can come out of this with renewed passion for the industry and ideas to take the "newspaper" to new heights.

Give newspapers five, maybe 10 years. We'll come out of it. People will always need information. Journalists will always provide that information.

Thrill-ride of 2008

I get to cover election night!

I just found out yesterday. I am so EXCITED. I covered the primaries two years ago for the newspaper I was working for and it was amazing. The thrill that comes from being the first to watch the numbers come in. Being able to watch the reactions of the candidates as their fates are determined by us (citizens) right before their eyes. Watching them interact with each other and their families after the results are determined. I love being a provider of information. It's so fulfilling.

And I get to do it again! November 4th is going to be crazy.

Anxious to be 100% journalist

I'm aghast that I haven't posted in a week. I feel like the antithesis of a journalist, who's supposed to be a provider of information. I haven't been providing any information. Of course, I'm technically only a journalist about 25 percent of my time. The other 75 is split among classes, two choirs, National Issues Forums, being the coordinator of the Catholic Student Association, and working in a lab for the computer science department. When I put it on (virtual) paper, it's kind of overwhelming.

But enough of my excuses. Let's get down to business.

First of all, this lady is amazing.

Secondly, I got a little taste of reality last week. The newspaper company that I worked for this summer and that I basically pledged my allegiance to is having major financial issues. It's no question that they'll pull out of it. They can definitely weather this economic storm; they just made a few mistakes that are hurting them now. No, I'm confident in the company. The question is, when will they pull through? Will they be able to financially support me when I enter the job market in May? Let's just say I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.

So I've gotten some resume advice and as soon as I have a free minute, I'll sit down and document all of the amazing opportunities I've been given in this field. I'm not going to exhaust any of my contacts. I'm going to send out resumes and emails and phone calls until the cows come home. I don't care where I end up - Alaska, New Jersey, Arkansas, Florida, Texas (actually, the cows may actually come home there). I'm not picky at this point. I just want to find a place to plant my journalism roots - all of my roots, not 25 percent of them - and get a firm start on the management track that I've chosen for myself.

Passion

Since my internship this summer, I've been talking about how passion is key. The profession you're passionate about is the one you want. The people who are passionate are the ones you want. The life that's passionate is the one you want.

DigiDave has the right idea.

A monolithic mess

Sorry I still haven't posted the news forum stuff. It's gonna be sort of a big project, so I need to do it right. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have some of the results up.

First of all, my heart goes out to the KTRK-Houston pilot and photographer who were killed in a helicopter crash this afternoon. Keep their families in your thoughts.

And now to the main feature!



The other day while talking with my editor, we hit on a problem currently faced by newspapers within the company and apparently nationwide. What do we do with these giant news buildings now that we're having to cut back extensively on pretty much everything?

While walking around our own "monolith" (my editor's word, although I wish I could claim it), I couldn't help but notice that around 50 percent of the building is not in use. Yeah, it used to be. There were photography studios, a helicopter pad, meeting rooms, desks, and computers, all with signs of wear and tear. But now the halls are empty. It was a little creepy and apocalyptic, actually.

When I heard how much it costs to operate a building the size of ours each month, I almost had a heart attack. Newspapers can't afford to be paying for these monoliths when they've got bigger problems. So what can we do to monetize these buildings that aren't being used? I've heard of a few options.

1. Rent out part of the space. One of our papers in St. Augustine was throwing this idea around. If you can consolidate your newsroom, advertising and circulation to one floor (not really much of a problem if you look at all the cutbacks happening these days), then that leaves an entire floor in a beautiful, grandiose, brand spanking new building up for grabs. People would kill for that - small businesses, law firms, governmental bodies. As long as you establish a solid line between the newspaper operation and whatever business shares the space with you (so as to eliminate any room for accusations of bias), all that's left is to reap the benefits. And if your building isn't rental-ready, it might be worth it to install a few walls and some extra outside stairwells if it means saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in utilities.

2. Just flat out sell it. That's what The Columbian is thinking about doing. If you've built a gigantic freaking Parthenon, people are bound to place some value in it, especially since most news buildings also come with great locations that usually facilitate a quick dash over to the chamber of commerce or some other downtown political unit. Maybe right now isn't the perfect time to try to sell, but as soon as the economy starts turning around, businesses are going to be more willing to invest in a beautiful, convenient and spacious building.

Thanks to Wordle, my favorite word is pretty predictable

My mom made a Wordle of my October 6th post. I think it's pretty cool, actually. (She's pretty cool, too.)



I attended one of the National Issues Forums tonight. The topic: News media and society: how to restore the public trust? More on that tomorrow when I'm not exhausted.

The funnies are people, too

Today I was exposed to another element of journalism that honestly I hadn't given much thought to previously.

I walked into my editor's office early this morning expecting to sit in on a campaign endorsement interview, which would have been interesting but not incredibly stimulating at 8:45 a.m. Instead, my editor says, "You wanna come in and talk comics?" Um, of course?!

And so the process of pitching comics, games and applications was revealed to me. I had never really thought about where Blondie and Sudoku and Word Jumble come from. They just appear on the page, and they're fun, so it was really interesting to see how the process works. The salesman pitched various comics, columnists and puzzles, listened to what my editor had to say about them - whether he was interested or whether something wasn't an option, and was very convincing and organized. My editor really only had eyes for online games, but all of the products that were unveiled to us were top-notch and fun. It'd probably be easy to sucker me into some of that stuff...

Hey! I got OBAMA! What's my prize?

I am obsessed with debate bingo! It's always been like pulling teeth to get me to watch the debates, but President Bingo is genius. What better way to make a whole bunch of boring speeches, usually ones that you need to watch, fun and interesting? I had oodles of fun with the VP debates- Palin Bingo was hilarious. Now, I can't wait to get home tonight and nestle into my couch with my McCain card.

Absolute genius.

Aztecs - beneficial to journalists?

My editor is fascinated with the fact that I'm in an Aztec class.

I really am. I'm taking "History of the Aztecs and Maya" as an elective because I'm enthralled by ancient civilizations. Egypt, Italy, Greece, Mesoamerica - if it's BC or early AD, I'm happy. However, I never considered that my silly history electives would actually give me a leg-up in my career.

In a conversation with my editor, the VP of editorial for the company, and the Norwegian journalist I met, the topic of my class came up. As I promptly tried to change the subject, the Norwegian journalist wouldn't have it. He said that all journalism majors should have to take an Aztec class.

Of course, he didn't just want all journalists to know about the Aztecs (although, they were cool enough that it could potentially be a requirement). He wanted journalists to emerge from college with a well-rounded view of the world. A journalist should have his or her finger on the pulse of all aspects of society, whether it's a collapse on Wall Street or an epidemic in Nicaragua. One of the greatest things about America is its diversity, and to be a journalist in America means to be diverse. We have so many different cultures and histories represented in this country that in order to best serve citizens, we have to know where they come from - not literally every person, but figuratively. We have to be aware of existence outside of our own little bubbles.

So here's your homework. Go learn about the Aztecs or the Muses. Find something that you're interested in and stretch your knowledge beyond the Civil War.

Localization, parte dos

I went camping at Unicoi State Park last night, and it was amazing. The weather was beautiful - cool and crisp. We slept in "squirrels' nests" (a.k.a. tree houses!) and hiked a few trails in the morning. It was a much welcomed haven of relaxation and self-introspection.

The adventure was made extra special by the company I kept. We spent the trip talking about literature, inner thoughts, society - a refreshing retreat from some of the petty things that I get caught up in around campus.

One of the things we discussed over coffee in a nearby mountain town was the future of language throughout the world. We were split 50-50 - two of the belief that due to the spreading of globalization, the whole world will one day speak basically the same language. And two of us believed that language would do just the opposite - it would become very localized so that individual areas would speak with their own individual vocabularies.

While I first embraced the idea of localization as a positive impact on newspapers, I've come to realize that localization will have a similar impact worldwide and in many aspects of society. We were all star-struck by globalization at first. Being able to conduct business and relationships on an international level is a very thrilling concept and can add excitement to an otherwise monotonous life.

However, now it's losing its appeal. It's become too costly and inefficient to maintain a high volume of global businesses and relationships. It's like the expansion that's been happening for decades is slowing to a stop, and pretty soon we'll start receding back into our local centers - back into our small towns and our daily newspapers and our farmers' markets.

Though people crave innovation, you can't underestimate the power of community.

Hyperlocal, an international movement

Another revamp! This thing's starting to look pretty damn sharp if I do say so myself.

Also, I was talking to a Norwegian journalist yesterday (how often do you get to say that?!) about changes in the industry here in America versus across the pond. He mentioned a newspaper in a small town in Finland (I think) that has launched an online site devoted specifically to local history.

He said it's a branch of the newspaper's web site, and the paper is slowly going back in time and cataloging the town's history. It's apparently a huge hit. People have the option to comment on whether they were at a certain event or what significant things happened to them during a specific time period. They're encouraged to share their family lineage - if grandma helped stock the food bank during a crisis or if great-grandpa served in war. It helps bring pride to the town, and it's probably a big boost in ad sales for the paper, too....

I found this interesting because it sounds to me like there's an international focus on the localization of information. All over the world, newspapers aren't zeroed in on the big picture anymore. Of course, "big picture" news needs to be and will still be covered, especially through sources like the AP, the NYT, CNN and a handful of others. But ultimately, local news is where it's at - even in Finland!

The importance of print

Usually when I walk to class in the mornings, I'm totally oblivious to everything. At 8:30 a.m., it's enough for me to put one foot in front of the other, let alone take in my surroundings. However, this morning I happened to notice some bright pink newsprint flapping in the breeze on the sidewalk in front of me.

Alas! It was my newspaper's Think Pink experiment. Every Wednesday, we're printing a special section on pink newsprint in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's quite a contrast to the regular newsprint - I mean, this paper is PINK. Really pink.

It wasn't until I passed the newspaper (planning on picking it up and recycling it, of course), that I realized the paper was open to the middle section, and lo and behold, there were the profiles of the women I interviewed. Their smiling faces and amazing stories were face-up for everyone to pass by and to ponder. And beneath each profile? My name in bold. It's not every day your name's displayed on the sidewalk for everyone to see.

So I left the newspaper there. Hopefully, someone will eventually recycle it. Hopefully, somebody will pick it up and read about the heroic lives these women have led. Hopefully, a girl who will face breast cancer in the future will catch a glimpse of them and later be able to draw on their experiences. Hopefully, someone who knows and loves someone who's battling breast cancer - a mother, a daughter, an aunt - will see it and know that there's hope.

Hopefully, this is why print journalism will never die.