December 5, 2007

A fool's portfoolio.

Journalism is not my field of study. I knew that going in to EL227, and I will come out of the class saying the same. I am a creative writer, and would much rather use the English language to tell the tales of fictional characters than report on current topics in the world. That being said, I thought that EL227 was a little bit tough. With so many rules to follow, so many expectations to live up to, Newswriting was a struggle. But I never really let the bumps in the road get to me. I feel that I evolved throughout the class to become a better factual writer, and by the time I sat down to write my 2nd article, it came with ease. I am glad I took Newswriting, because it is just another credential to me. The more styles that I can write, the better.

This 3rd and final blogging portfolio is definitely a change of pace from the past few that I have done. These blog entries show elements of me blogging with confidence, originality, and deep thought. You might be able to tell that I was a bit more studious in the last half of the course, simply because I pushed myself. It didn't come easy - oh no - but it eventually came. And this portfolio is proof of that.

SO HERE WE GO!

Coverage: These are all the blog entries that I wrote in this final part of the course. I am proud of all of them:
- Can't...stop...reading!
- The effects of error
- The news nowadays
- The publics skewed opinion
- Creative writing in journalism?!
- News stories + Run-on sentences = good?
- The trump card
- Reporting with humility

Depth: These are the blog entries that I feel were most interesting and deep:
- The publics skewed opinion
- The news nowadays
- The effects of error

Interaction: Here is some proof that I was active on others' blogs, and attributed to their thoughts and discussions:
- Jackie Johns' response to Hull's Metal to Bone
- Mitch's response to Best Practices
- Jeremy's response to the first few chapters of Best Practices

Discussion: This portion of my portfolio proves that some of the blogs I wrote were interesting enough to start a discussion with my peers:
- The news nowadays
- Creative writing in journalism?!
- The publics skewed opinion

Timeliness: This is an area where I struggled in in the past. Not so much for this portfolio. I was on top of things and most of my blogs were written about 16-12 hours before class. That's pretty good for me. ::pats self on back::
- News stories + Run-on sentences = good?
- The effects of error
- The news nowadays

Xenoblogging: This is a section where I show that I helped others with their blogging. Writing this section makes me feel proud of what I have done for others with their blogs. :)
The Comment Primo:
- Maddie Gillespie - O'Ethics my Ethics!
- Bethany Merryman - Pretzels what?
The Comment Grande:
- Chelsea Oliver - Eight Deadly Sins?

The Wildcard: This is the time to get buckwild. I want you to see this blog more than anything else in my life. SO GO. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
- The news nowadays

This entry is very down to earth. It relates to a lot of the media seen on TV and the Internet. I think many people can agree with this blog entry, but some may be afraid to say it. You may call this a rant, but I call it the truth. Enjoy.

This sandwich tastes like church.

"Report and write with humility."

This section of Chapter 11 was pretty powerful, as Maddie said. It says that truth is unattainable, which is a coincidence for me. Today, in Dr. Klapak's final Faith Religion and Society class, we asked him what he thinks the meaning of life, the universe, and everything is. His answer? "The pursuit of truth."

ABNW Chapter 11 reinforces this, and so did Maddie's entry. If we strive for the truth, then we are doing our best. The truth will not be unveiled for a long time. Maybe not ever. But if we try our best to attain it, and especially in our news writing, we should have some success with it. Truth might not be available all the time, but you'll feel much better trying to tell what you DO know, rather than making it up.