Course Reflection

Writing for New Media picked up for me where Digital Publishing left off. I learned to love the programs and technical aspects of these courses more than the actual Journalism aspect, which was justified part of the way through this course. I initially started to sense a change in my feelings towards Journalism by the end of Digital Publishing, but Writing for New Media solidified those thoughts.

What I enjoyed most about this course was working with Dreamweaver, Soundslides and the other programs involved in putting together our package. I never thought I could work on computers until I started taking new media courses, but now I wish i had taken them earlier. If I had the opportunity to take Digital Publishing a year ago, followed by Writing for New Media, I would probably considered taking more computer classes to try to improve my developed skills.

Unfortunately, although I understand that the reporting is the most important aspect of this class, I did not feel as fulfilled as I thought I would now that my assignments are completed. This could be due to time constraints on my assignments due to pressures from the workloads of other classes. If I could do college again, I would never take Writing for New Media and Mass Communications Research the semester I graduated again.

As for suggestions, I like the idea that Professor Lieb choose the topics for the class. In my Mass Comm Research class, our topics were chosen for us and it made research much simpler. Much of my initial stress of the course was caused by trying to select a topic. I feel this will allow students more time to research the topic if they know it by the first or second week of class.

Overall, this was a positive experience, but I wish just wish I had taken it prior to graduation. I also would love to take a non-credit course like this outside of college. This would actually give me the chance to focus on this information, instead of juggling meetings, part-time job, 5 classes and life. I honestly consider it a miracle I got everything done, but it is a nice feeling.

Steve from The Health Concern

As stated earlier, I went to the organic food store The Health Concern to complete my multimedia project. I met with Steve Wollett, one of the store's managers, to talk about what makes them stick out against the other health food stores in the area. I was completely impressed by Wollet's knowledge of local small businesses and his enthusiasm for organic foods.

After my interview, he gave me a tour around the store. Unlike Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, The Health Concern has an "herbal pharmacy." While there is not a pharmacist on staff, customers can request over 300 herbs for their own use. Wollett said that customers often choose to create their own remedies by selecting herbs they feel will cure their ailments; sometimes people buy empty capsules and make pills, while other people mix the herbs into teas. The herbs are all placed in jars, almost resembling a colonial apothecary shop. 

In addition to the herbs, the store has a "make your own peanut butter machine" and containers full of honey. The center of the store contains a selection of nuts, seeds and beans that customers can measure out at their own leisure. The entire atmosphere of the store is customer-friendly. Unlike chain stores, The Health Concern gives customers the freedom to choose exactly how much of each product they want. 

After the official interview, Wollett gave me a tour around the store. While near the organic milks and juices, he told me how soy milk is quite unsuitable for humans. He went on to explain that there is so much estrogen in soy milk, that when given to children, it causes early sexual development and problems with reproduction in adulthood. As we walked past the organic cleaners, Wollett explained how citrus products are great cleansers as an alternative to bleach. During my visit, I probably learned more about organic foods than I had during the rest of my life. I appreciated the out pour of knowledge I received during my visit. 

The only problem I encountered during my visit was that the extra batteries I packed turned out to be an set that had already die. For some reason, I foolishly did not throw out the dead ones last week, but set then aside to the news ones. This clearly posed a problem when I went to take pictures of the store after the interview. Fortunately, I was able to go back later in the day, but Wollett had already left. 

Overall, I felt that the really charm of the multimedia project was the ambiance of the store. The entire atmosphere is different from larger chains: the staff wanted to speak with you and was knowledgeable, and customers were encouraged to wonder the store until they found what they wanted. Overall, a great location to focus a story on. 

Stoneleigh Lanes

I interviewed Dave Staub, one of the managers at Stoneleigh Lanes earlier this week. Stoneleigh Lanes is a duckpin bowling center that has been in operation for 62 years and is still considerably busy today. I wanted to focus on the center's Friday night Rock and Bowl, which allows customers to bowl unlimited games for two hours, sing karaoke and enjoy concessions. This is a new feature for Stoneleigh, but it has proven to be popular already.

During the interview, Staub and I discussed past Friday night traditions at the center, including Pizza Bowl. Previously, Stoneliegh Lanes sponsored an all-you-can-eat pizza night and unlimited bowling. The evening events changed when lights and fog machines were installed to create a more youth-friendly enviornment.

Staub also mentioned Stoneleigh's dedication to the Towson community, which distinguishes the company from larger bowling alleys in the area. He said that news stations, such as WBAL, often come to complete news segments because the bowling alley has been in the area for so long. Apparently, socialite Paris Hilton bowled at the center when she was filming her reality show several years ago. She took the family involved in her show to Stoneleigh for a "family night" out.
Finally, Staub said that Stoneleigh Lanes is always looking for ways to engage the community. The center often contributes to fundraisers for local schools and summers camps, sometimes even offering free parties for the children. Previous to funding cuts in Baltimore City, the schools would bus summer camp students to the center for discounted bowling.

While I have visited the bowling alley various times throughout my life, I had no idea how busy Stoneleigh stays. I tend to visit with my friends during off-hours so I rarely get to see it completely full. After talking to Max Wetherington, a Towson local who attends Penn State, I learned about Rock and Bowl, which is apparently crowded most Friday nights. I felt that I learned a great deal of valuable information from my interviews.

Setting Up Interviews for Multimedia Project

I did not have the opportunity to complete my slideshow this week, but I did manage to talk to with a family friend at Health Concerns to help set up an interview. I am going to take pictures later in the week to show all of the unique aspects of the store, including the swarm of customers and police that came in around lunch time. I think it would be interesting to show how busy it gets even though it is such a tiny facility.

I also have permission to talk to Steve, the owner, and I think he would be perfect to use for the voice over for the slide show. I get the sense that he will have quite a few anecdotes, as the store has been open for about 30 years.

I like this idea for a visual because it shows that even though Trader Joe is just around the corner, the store is still thriving. This will give an idea of a small store overcoming a corporate chain, which I feel is mildly inspiring to readers.

I wish I had more to write, but the project will be coming together more later this week.

Reaction to Flipbook/Slideshow

The first flipbook I watched was "The Cardstacker" by Tom Fox of the Dallas Morning News. The images of the man stacking the cards appeared as a time lapse, where viewers could watch him create his card structures throughout the work day. Visually, I thought this was an appealing idea, although the stacking went on much longer than I thought. I understand why it was so long; the idea was to show all of "the cardmaker's" creations and then watch him tear them down, but I still felt it was too long. I also thought that the narration was interesting and succeeded in explaining the point of view of a man stacking cards. My favorite part was when he mentioned that his father would have to create boundaries where he could build or else he would build all over the living room. My only really complaint of the piece, besides its length, was that I had no idea where he was building his structures until the last few seconds. I got the impression he was in a museum and was confused when he tore everything down at the end. I feel a short title slide at the beginning of the slide could have cleared up all confusion.

I also read Brian Storm's article, "Why Photojournalists Should Gather Audio," which I felt that he included several important points. The most important comment involved how gathering audio helps fill in emotion where the pictures cannot say what the subject is thinking. "The cardmaker" flipbook that I just watched is an example of a piece that was enhanced by audio. Without the subject's narration, it would be interesting to start watching, but less compelling to keep watching without the verbal anecdotes. I also thought Storm brought up a worthwhile point when he said that audio can help give photos detailed captions. To be honest, this is not something I had considered prior to reading the article, but I believe he is right. This ties in with the above comment about the importance of explaining the emotion of a photo, which the caption can help do if no audio is present. As Storm says, this additional of audio can "unlock a new world of possibilties" to enhance the understanding of the visual elements of a story.