Amy's WJMC Blog

We’ve been here for 3 days and the blogs are working again. There have been a lot of memorable speakers and presentations so far, including Chuck Todd, Dean Flagel, Kevin McCarthy, Wes Pippert and many panel members. All of them have had interesting and informative things to say. We have gone on tours to the Capitol, the Smithsonian museums, and the newseum, which so far has been my favorite and the most interesting.

Several of the exhibits at the Newseum were really interesting, especially the Pulitzer Prize winning photos, which I looked at for the longest. They were all so expressive and moving that you could really sympathize with the people in the photos, and felt like you were really a part of each picture. Being interested in photojounalism, these photos inspire me to take pictures that can capture moments the way those photographers did, becasue when they took the pictures they were helping to make a difference and change things for the better. Especially sad was the one photogrpaher who, after winning the Pulitzer prize for a photo of a child and a vulture, killed himself; he was only in his early 30’s.

One of the most entertaining speakers we’ve seen was the radio entertainment critic, Kevin McCarthy. He is so young, but so successful already. He’s interviewing dozens of celebrities that i would love to meet or write about, and he’s only 25. The way he spoke was so informal that it felt like we were just talking to a friend. Chuck Todd was also really helpful, and he made a  lot of good points.

All in all it’s been a good few days, and I feel like I’ve learned alot and met some interesting people.

Hey! I’m not sure how to start this so I guess I’ll just say a little about myself. I’m from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a small town not far from Philly. I’ve been interested in journalism for a while now, and started writing for the school paper my freshman year. I’ve been an editor every year since and next year will be the assistant editor in chief, so I guess we’ll see how that goes. I love listening to music and spend a good amount of time finding new bands and music to listen to. A dream job for me would be working at Rolling Stone or another music magazine as a reporter or photographer, as I’m also interested in photojournalism. This dream, however, is only possible is magazines and newswpapers are still in existence in the next few years.

This brings me to the speaker that we heard from today: Brain Lamb, of C-Span. He was very informative and talked a lot about the future of journalism and newspapers in general. With the economy in the state it is and technology making advancements almost everyday, it’s not surprising that many papers are folding and closing down, but I think it’s something that people should be more aware and sad about. For so long society relied on newspapers to tell them what was going on in the world, but now they can get that sent right to their phones. I guess this is also a good thing, since it allows more widespread access to news and media. What Brian Lamb said about the decline of newspapers and increase in use of mobile media really stuck with me, but also sparked curiosity in me. Wouldn’t you think that with all of this access to news and the things going on not only around the world but in America as well, would inspire people to take action against the atrocities occuring everyday? I think that it should, and I hope to change the world in whatever small ways I can, one article at a time. Hopefully the WJMC will set me on my way.

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