I won't be gone too long.

So as we all know the semester has come to an end. The fun I had in all my fall classes is over and hopefully the final exams won't kill my grades too much. The blog that I started in my journalism 222 class will not stop because I'm not being graded on it. It will only be postponed for awhile. I will still have times when I may not want to talk about my feelings and want to write them done. Writing on my blog gives me a calming sensation and I feel like I can write anything without being judged.

I'm so thankful for getting the chance to experience so many fun projects in my online journalism class. I never expected for it to be this fun and to be able to gain so much information about journalism. This class pushed me and made me realize that I have talents that I thought I didn't have. As I have said before, with the negative feedback that I have gotten about my writing, I didn't get that in this class. Writing was a major part of it, but I felt like I was writing freely and could have fun instead of writing about boring topics.

As I end my last blog for awhile, I would like to thank my teachers Staci and Peggy for giving me a new and fun twist on journalism. I probably won't have this much fun in another class, so I'm glad that I cherished it. Good luck in the future to both of you and I will miss you both as teachers. Thank you so much for the advice that was given to me. This class brought out my creative side and made me feel good about myself. So once again, Thank You.

Kassiah

How to capture my attention?

With the styles of the Internet changing everyday, one must always remember to satisfy everyone. Most of the time with the older audience all of their needs are met, because many of them may not know as much about web interaction or they may not care. The way that most sites are able to continue to capture young viewers is by keeping themselves one step ahead of technology. One way to accomplish this is by having the most up to date tools and by being the first to use a new interactive tool.

I am usually captured by a website if it offers videos and interactive tools to click on that gives me a different understanding of what they are trying to get across. As along as I'm able to watch a video or find something funny, then I'm satisfied. If i was trying to capture young audiences attention I would always use videos, blogs posts, and plenty of links that will take them to cool sites.

To change how news is being reported I would want more viewer inputs. Instead of just using a story that is found by a journalist, I would like for the viewers to show and tell me the types of news they would like to know about. As long as I'm able to keep them satisfied by using plenty of technology and their opinions, then I think I would be successful in keeping their attentions.

If I put a story online I would use alot of pictures to showcase a story and plenty of bright colors to keep their attention. I wouldn't use a lot of long drawn out stories, but instead use videos and pictures with little text to explain my story. I think that young audiences get distracted from having to read long stories, so by using pictures this would help explain my story to them.

If there were no limitations then I would use every type of technology there was out at the time. I would keep myself informed with the lasted technologies and use them all to my advantage. Using lots of technology would bring plenty of viewers young and old to my stories.

Are you connected?

Being connected to me is being able to surf the Internet and find all the hot sites and being able to stay on top of the best things the Internet has to offer. The Internet is a place where everyone can go explore and find things that are liked and others that are not liked. I like the Internet alot. I can sell my clothes, find new ideas, and if I want find a date for Saturday night. (Don't take this personal Daionte, it's just for class.) But anyways the Internet is just a fun area to search anything that can be dreamt up. The Internet can also be evil if users are not careful to watch who they are talking to or giving information away to.

Web 2.0 came about when Tom O'Reilly and Medialive International began to brainstorm. Tom and Medialive both noticed that the web mattered again and new things were always coming about on the Internet. The 2.0 is basically stating that the web has new features that will continually popularize the Internet.

Web 1.0 is the old version of the Internet that is not as active as web 2.0. Web 1.0 lacks many of the new changes that the 2.0 brought along. Most people consider web 1.0 to be the old way people used the Internet and web 2.0 is the new better version.

I'm not familiar with web 1.0 or 2.0. I just know that I just go with the flow of the new changes of the Internet. The Internet will always change, so before we know it we will be at web 1000.0.

Martin Luther King's Assassination

Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed Monday evening, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was pronounced dead before he arrived to the hospital. The bullet went through his cheek, traveled down his spine, before lodging his shoulder. The impact of the bullet killed him instantly. His assassin has not been found, but if anyone has any information please contact your local police.

Multimedia

• Show a slide show of all of King's greatest moments
• Video of King being shot
• Time line of King's life and his contributions
• Live video interviews of the people who accompanied him during the shooting
• A message board, so that others can write their feelings about the shooting

Other information provided by me

• Interviews of his family and their reactions
• Interviews of anyone who was with King or at the scene of the crime
• Information from the police
• Information on any of the accused killers

Magazine Story

I would choose to pitch a multimedia story to ebonyjet magazine about eating healthy over the holidays. As we all know African-Americans are more at risk for developing high-blood pressure and diabetes. This story will definitely help the website out by providing healthy eating tips and by giving the website a mini face lift, because it lacks multimedia attention.

Title: Keeping it Real Over the Holidays

• Putting up recipes of healthy Holiday meals that still taste good
• Still Pictures of the different recipes
• Video blogs of celebrities talking about the importance of eating healthy, even during the holidays
• A diagram explaining the causes of high-blood pressure and diabetes
• A poll asking how many people will give at least one of the recipes a try
• Message Board that others can use for support, telling others what they liked about the recipes, and a way that other healthy cooks can exchange recipes

Made Better.....

I use facebook and myspace almost everyday. The one thing they could change would be nothing to me. I like both of them alot and I find it hard to think of a way they could change. I like facebook more than myspace, just becuase I feel more safe on facebook and can find friends from my high school and UT. I guess one thing myspace can fix(but probably isn't possible) is a way to get rid of those perverts that get on myspace and stalk you with messages. This really scares me. I have friends who have gotten off of myspace just for that reason. So overally that's the only problem I have with myspace.

As far as linked in and twitter, I don't use either one of these sites. I have only used twitter once when it was for an in class assignment and this site was really a waste of my time. I don't need a site where people tell me what they are eating and when they are using the bathroom. That's just creepy, LOL. I also noticed on twitter that many of the users use celebrities names with that celebs picture. You have to be really bored with your life to become involved with this. I really don't know what else to say about these sites, but I wont be joining anytime soon.

I like that the internet is finally offering a fun way to stay in touch with friends and find new ones if we are careful. Without facebook and myspace, I think my life would be really boring. Now that I have both of these sites, I don't know what I would do without them. So all I can say is facebook and myspace continue to do what you do.

Do you feel like you're being watched

My meeting with Peggy

My meeting with Peggy was outstanding!!! I was very glad to actually have someone ask me my opinion about the class and ask me if anything could be done differently. Since I have started journalism, I have always had teachers that made me feel bad about my writing to the point of where I wanted to give up. Not with Peggy, she actually told me some of the great things that I do in this class and made me feel my journey is worthwhile. I may not be much of a talker, but with the 10-15 minutes I spent on the phone with Peggy it changed how I feel about my writing.

I believe that Peggy does have a great impact on the class. She gives us pointers on what she does in her journalism experiences and she gives great power point presentations. I think it is great to have two teachers that are both able to give us all great advice on journalism. I also think it is really cool to have a teacher that has to be reached online. I like the new technologies.

I have learned this semester that journalism is not always about hard core news stories. I know that most stories are, but I like that journalist now have the choices of blogging, online journalism, or print. I also learned that I like to blog. It lets me relax and write in a free form way. I like that the online journalism class lets you see all sides of journalism and not just from a print perspective. It makes the class fun to write on events that we actually enjoy. I'm glad to have this experience and I will always cherish it.

From what I have seen on the syllabus I think that everything we have gone over and will go over is everything that I am interested in. If there was any assignment I would like to do again it would be the review. I had fun writing the review. That might be something I could do for a living one day.

On the first day of class, I was very nervous about online journalism, because I thought we would be making websites and putting news stories on them every class. I'm glad that my vision wasn't what the class was about. I have enjoyed my time with this class and I will be sad when it is over. I will remember all the things that I liked about the class and use them for my advantage.

Senioritis anyone?

Well my Senior year is finally here, well it's been here, but I guess I'm just now announcing it. This year has been crazy already. If it's not for a million projects in my classes, it's drama caused by people around me. When will this be over? I almost can't take anymore. The only problem is I won't be graduating until the summer or fall. The sooner the better is all I can say. I need a break and I need to get far away from the people who cause problems in my life. It's becoming really ridiculous. I just don't understand why certain people want to cause so many problems. Anyways back to the school situation. Just to get myself closer to graduation next semester I plan to take 21 hours!! Can you believe it 21 hours!! You're probably wondering what I'm thinking? I Want To Get Out Of Knoxville. I want to move on with my life and experience a more adult part of my life( details later). Well since I have been going on and on about things that are happening in my life, I am going to sign off and try to relax. Thanks for listening to me.

Still looking for love?

Leaving without the man of her dreams in her first reality show, Tiffany Pollard better known as New York is still on the prowl looking for her man. In her new Celebreality show that can be found on VH1, New York has 20 new contestants looking to steal her heart. These men range from the ages of 21-36 and were either chosen by her mother, the online fans, or the best men from the casting calls. Each week, New York dismisses 2 men until she is gets to the finale. These men perform tasks to try to win New York's heart. Obviously they have no other hope of getting with a woman if they are looking to get with New York.

I believe this reality television show is nothing but a joke and a hoax. These men are probably only on this show to receive popularity and could care less about being with New York. Just like 12 Pack and his friend/lover Heat from I Love New York Season 1. They both used their advances of being on the first season of I Love New York to form their own "Party Boys" club tour. The party boys have their own myspace pages that list the different stops they will be making on their tour. This is a perfect example of how reality television shows can produce celebrities out of anyone that would like to make a fool of themselves.

With the drama that the show has already brought, I'm sure that's the only reason why the show is being watched. More people would rather see New York fail and have to find love again than to see her fall in love with someone(like that's going to happen). The mastermind behind all the drama is no other than Tailor Made the egotistic male of the group. This man has so much ego that just looking at him makes him explode with more ego. Tailor Made has already been called a snitch and a backstabber. What a great way to start the season off.

The person that makes the show whole is New York's mother better known as the evil Sister Patterson. Without this crazy mother this would just be another crazy show with little or no direction. Sister Patterson tries to keep her daughter New York in good hands,but she is more judgmental than a good listener. She is another person that is just there to be showcased. Without her daughters faulty ways, she has no authority or need to be on the show. Sister Patterson is there to help New York make a good decision on finding a man, but she is probably trying to find a new man herself.

The main problem with the show is the question of, is it real or fake? Most including me would consider it a very fake show that is only there to support the acting careers of New York and her "so called" mother. Some of the arguments or violence that occurs on the show is obviously fake. Reality television isn't considered real anymore it's just a show that tells how stupid some people really are. Everyone knows that these men are putting up a front and are using this television show to try to up start their careers.

Sorry New York, it looks like you may be out of love again this season. Good luck to you and I hope the best actor, I mean contestant wins your heart.

Please comment on how you feel about New York and her men.

Trip to the News Sentinel

My trip to the Knoxville News Sentinel started off a little rocky as me and Kelly J. entered the building extra late. As we past the News Sentinel building on the interstate we could see how beautiful the building looked, but we knew we were going the wrong way. Finally we pull up to the building and we were at least 20 minutes late. The building from the outside looked outstanding. It was built to perfection and a made a big statement on how they feel about news.

The people in the newsroom seemed very nice and hard at work. The areas where they worked all had their own special touch to them that showcased who worked at that station. The news room was phenomenal. They had state of the art everything. I don't think anything in the entire News Sentinel was out dated. The had plenty of meeting areas and tools that could be used to produce the best news.

Sadly to say I was late and didn't get anyone's name except for Jack Lail. I remember how Jack was telling us about how it was to write for the paper back in the early 80's. He said they used type writers and had big sheets of paper that would connect everything together for the story. From the way he was explaining the early days of journalism, I'm glad things have advanced.

The online producers said that the things that we are learning in our journalism class today will be outdated by the time we graduate. This shows that technology is ever changing and has to get more advanced every year. It seems that more information is going to have to be learned in different job areas to keep up with the changing times.

The online producers also talked about the different features that the Knoxville News Sentinel has to offer. Not only do they have a website, but text messaging, and blogs are used to get news to all types of people. The News Sentinel is trying to get their news out to everyone by using the technologies that most people are using to get news. Everyone may not want to look a newspaper, so the News Sentinel has made it possible to get news to everyone, anywhere.

I believe that the Knoxville News Sentinel takes the news more serious than any other news paper that I have heard of. I could tell by the people that worked there and the way the building looked that the news being reported was serious business. The multimedia manager even said that other news papers across the country didn't stack up to the News Sentinel.

User Content: Good or Bad?

After watching the video about the decision making for the online editor, I finally realized how much the news is becoming based on materials that are received from the viewers that have opinions or just happen to be at the right place at the right time. This new realization makes me understand how much news content is always changing and how everyone is always eager to find the best angle of a story no matter who it comes from.

I think that user content is very useful to news, but it often scares me as I think of the stories that may be lost to journalist, because of the people that are actually at the scene of a story. On the other hand, without personal stories or videos, most of us would never be able to get a feel of what exactly happened at that point in time. For example with the shootings at Virginia Tech, there was no way a reporter could have gotten a video of the guy in action in that classroom. In order to offer the people what they want sometimes measures have to be taken so that a story can feel more real. User content is a new way that viewers can feel more apart of the news stories that develop.

I have never contributed to user contents, but I would like to be of any help with shaping a news story if I'm ever in a situations where more news is needed. It would be great to have my day of fame knowing that I was apart of adding to a news story.

News to me is a conversation. Anytime I actually watch the news, I feel like the reports are there to answer all my questions, tell me a story, and keep me informed on any information that may come later. That's exactly what a conversation is, it's someone telling you as much information as you want to hear and the ability to answer questions in the end. I may not be able to actually hold a conversation with a reporter, but they will probably answer all the questions that may come up.

I think main stream media will probably change the way they produce news by adding some contents of local people who have videos or photos that may be useful for different stories. This way news will continue to have conversations with their viewers at home. I believe this content is for the better of news. It makes news seem more personal when someone has video footage from a crime scene or an event. It's a different angle that is not always seen in news.

Because I can...

This blog is not for a class assignment, but i decided to write it so I can blow off some steam. So last weekend my dad and uncle had a Jesus in the Park youth workshop in Pigeon Forge, TN. He asked me, my sister and some of our close friends to go up Friday night to be ready to help Saturday. Everything was going fine and we were all having a great time. Yeah there were some minor difficulties, but no biggy. The youth workshop ends and we all venture off to have some fun in the night light of Gatlinburg. Little did I know that this was where all the problems were going to start.

My uncle being a man that has connections in Gatlinburg was able to give us passes to get on some rides. The first ride called "motion master" goes smoothly until we get off the ride. As I approach the lady to ask her if we can enter the second ride she surprises me by saying no, because someone in our group decided to throw a coke can over the rail defacing the property of this site. Not knowing what had really happened I pleaded with the lady explaining that no one in the group would do anything like that.

To my surprise, I found out later that one of the members of the group was found to have thrown the can. This really hurt me, because I made a fool of myself by pleading with the lady and now she has a confirmation in the back of her head that "black people" don't know how to act. So I just want to thank her for the problems that were caused in Gatlinburg. Thanks for a "great weekend." This may sound like a petty situation that I'm just blowing up, but it's so much more. Oh and about the whole goodie two shoe thing.... Yep that's me!!!

Daily News

It's not that I don't care for the news its just not apart of my daily life. I don't wake up every morning, drink my coffee, and read the newspaper. I barely make it to class on time, so i don't put news into my morning routine. This is going to sound really sad, but the only time I actually read the news or watch it is when I have to for a class. An example of this is when I attended UTC and my media writing teacher would give us news quizzes every week, so I forced myself to read the news in between classes. (Staci please don't get any ideas from this, LOL)


My media habits from high school are probably actually the same, except for being able to listen to the news on the radio as I drove to school. Now,I sometimes find myself watching fox news when something spectacular has happened. It's not like I actually go looking for this channel, I just will happen to be channel surfing and find some breaking news. The other small portion comes from the radio when my dad listens to it in the car. I may fuss with him about changing the channel, but I'm forced to hear the news when I'm with him.

I think one of the reasons that I don't follow the news (besides laziness) is that as a child my grandparents continually bored me with the news when they would babysit me after school. I hated that they would keep the t.v. stuck on channel 10 everyday. Being a kid I wanted to watch cartoons, but cable didn't exist at the grandparent's house.

I understand that news should be apart of everyones life, I just wish that news wasn't always so sad and violent. I know that this part of news needs to be broadcasted, but there can be more of the other elements involved too. I guess I can't expect for there to be any changes soon, so I should just go with the flow of news that already exist. As I continue to get older I hope that my old habits of not watching the news will change. One day I hope to realize how important the news really is in my life.

My Biography

Being a student at the University of Tennessee has opened many doors and offered me more experience than I could have ever expected. I am a senior in Journalism and electronic media, looking forward to the future and the many hands on experiences I have and will have.

While attending UT, I have learned how to write ledes, use correct formats, and how to work at a radio station. Before learning all this information I would had never thought of becoming a journalist. I attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and began majoring in computer science. Noticing that I had a special talent for writing I changed my major to communications and began my journey.

My preparation for becoming a journalist started when I was in the 9th grade even though I would never come to realize it until I began my college career. My parents and teachers noticed that I excelled in writing and encouraged me to give writing a chance. I give all my successful credit to my parents for pushing me and for giving me encouragement.

I will be graduating in December 2008 and plan to attend graduate school in Atlanta, GA. My career goals are to become a magazine writer for a company in Atlanta or work for a radio station and have my own talk show. I like to communicate with people on what’s real, that’s why I decided to either write the truth or speak it to my fans.
To learn more about me take a look at my about me profile.