As a final portfolio, I had even less to work with than before, and amend my previous portfolio in saying that was the shortest thus. However, I still learned a lot this year in total and these final posts reflect my developed skill in writing for the news. The previous four portfolios (1, 2, 3, 4) show this growth over time, this one being the final.
Depth – I used what I have learned from news writing to analyze the staff’s reaction to journalists, who were invited to the Smith College protest, after something at the even changed and they only wanted the good reported. I went into how much I understood journalistic integrity. No matter what, favoring one side when it comes to reporting won’t end in an effective story. Always get both sides, and I explain why in my post.
Riskiness – My article inspirations for my final investigative article about NaNoWriMo didn’t really start out so clear on what I was going to do with my idea, but once I read a travel article about England I ended up having an epiphany. I took it as my final inspiration, which is very different than what I initially intended to do at all.
Intertextuality – My final article inspiration involved some research, and I eventually found a travel article that involves balancing time and doing things, which I relate to my article’s eventual format.
For my post involving the Smith protests, I did involve the links that Dr. Jerz provided, but beyond that I found the official website of the photojournalist focused on in the video that sparked the initial stories surrounding the incidents at the university.
Discussion – My discussion focus isn’t very typical for these portfolios, but this progress update is the first time I have talked about interviews, specifically with Dr. McClain and how well that went. I got way more than expected from her, and even when one of my interviews didn’t work out I could use all the quotes I got from her.
Timeliness – Both my second and my third article progress reports showed that I time-managed my final article to the best of my ability, and made an effort to structure it around the time-sensitive nature of the article anyways, which would be most relevant for one month.
Coverage – I genuinely find the story about Smith interesting, and am glad that there is a video documenting the event. It’s a good lesson for everybody about good journalism, which is why I took the time to cover it as I felt necessary for this class.
Over this course I’ve learned more than I thought I initially would, far beyond just writing rapid-fire articles. I’ve learned about ethics, practicality, and importance. Even through this portfolio seems to be cut a bit short, the work in it is a cumulation from a person who feels she has learned from the class.
Source: Portfolio 5