Modernizing the web

Younger audiences want news...and they want it now. I have my everyday sites that I go to but there are some sites out there that are getting my attention in different ways.

Websites are constantly changing to appeal to a larger audience. Older adults are content with reading the newspaper because that's how they grew up. With the newer generations, growing up in the technology era, websites have to become more modern if they want to keep their audiences.

One of the best websites that has caught my interest would be MSN. Other than being a good website to look up almost anything, it's very interactive and has a lot of multimedia. One website that hasn't been catching my eye as much, would be a news media that is closest to me: The Daily Beacon, our own school newspaper. This could possibly be the worst website I have ever been to. It has so much potential to be good yet, the few times I have visited the website I have been disappointed.

However, on the flip side of our school mediums, there is the Tennessee Journalist website. So far, I have been very pleased with the newly started website. They provide great multimedia and a chance for students to get involved as well.

Websites constantly have to change to stay afloat for the up and coming generations. If they aren't up to the most current form of media, you can almost bet that their audience members aren't going to come back for more.

Web 2.0

Being connected is more important than ever these days. We have so many forms of communication that it's hard to not be connected to people. The web and technology has come so far over the past several years. Not only can we stay connected by our desktop computers or landline phones but we now have laptops and cell phones that keep us up to date.

Other than staying connected through our cell phones a lot, the web has come light years recently. Just think how it would be if we didn't have our cell phones or our computers. Many of us rely daily on both. Other than that, look at all the advancements that have been made on the web. How many times a day to you use Facebook or Google or the Weather Channel website? We are constantly relying on the web to get us through our day.

Web 2.0 is simply a newer version of pretty much everything on the web. Take Wikipedia for example. Although it's not the most accurate website, we've all heard of it. But did you know that the older version of Wiki is the Britannica online. Not many people would know that. But as much as we use the internet these days, things become more and more common to us.

Today, the internet is known as the fourth mass medium. Other than television, magazine and newspapers, the internet is what we turn to also to keep up with media related stories and info. I would almost bet my life that most college students use the web for their news source more than they use the TV or a newspaper. Not only is it more convenient, but we're always on it doing something, so why not just keep up with the news that way. It's fast and it's reliable.

I have no doubt in my mind that in the next decade, the web will continue to change just as it has in the past. I think that we will move farther away from the traditional forms of media and begin to use the web even more often. It's growing and changing faster than ever now. It's all we can do to keep up with it.

Mason family arrested for multiple murders

Four members of the Manson family cult were arrested today for the brutal slayings of seven victims. Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel were convicted and taken in to custody for the Tate-LaBianca murders that occured three months ago. Manson, the cult leader, reportedly ordered members Atkins, Van Houten and Krenwinkel to carry out the vicious murders that took place on August 9. Abigil Folger, heiress to the Folger coffee company, her boyfriend Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steve Parent and Sharon Tate, the wife of film director Roman Polanski were the victims of the first slayings. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were the last two victims that took place later that same day. Tate was eight months pregnant.

Multimedia:
- Any kind of video that may have caught the family members entering either property
- A timeline of how the events occured (in what order each person was killed)
- Pictures and biographies of each family member arrested
- Pictures and biographies of the victims
- Photos of the property where the slayings took place
- Photos of the weapons used (if possible)
- Any photos of the crime scene that would be reasonable enough to use
- Photos of Spahn Ranch (where the cult members lived)

People I would speak to:
- Family members and friends of the victims
- Neighbors that reporedly heard sounds the night of the murders
- Any people that might know Charles Manson from previous encounters
- Police that were present at the murder scene or those dealing with the crime report
- Other Manson family members (if possible)

Facebook to do list

As we all know, Facebook has become one of the most visited sites on the internet today. Between keeping up with people from high school and posting pictures from last weekend, Facebook is a huge craze with high school and college students. Just like Google became a term to use, e.g. "google it", notable things that happen between your friends can be deemed "facebook worthy".

However, as much as we all love it, there are several things that could be changed to make our visit to Facebook, which is probably ten times a day, move smoother. Lately, people have been adding applications to Facebook. Such as the Top Friends app, Sex and the City app, Flixster app and Sports Fan app, among hundreds of other apps to choose from.

I bet you've added at least one of these and have noticed some problems with the app. I know that under some of the ones I have, they are very slow and you can't always play the games that they promise. So I think that would be my first change to Facebook. Just make the apps Facebook friendly so they move as smoothly as the rest of the website does other than slow you down.

On the down side of that however is when people have too many applications. When you see on the news feed that it is someone's birthday and all you want to do is write on their wall when you finally get to their homepage and it takes you five minutes to scroll down to their wall. That's the negative about the apps.

We all know that we're stalkers on Facebook. We don't admit it, but we are. We want to see what people are like if we don't know much about them. The worst thing about these new apps is having to read through one hundred lines of quotes just to see what their favorite artist is.

The only other thing that I would change about Facebook is the layout. I have been waiting forever for Facebook to let you personalize your profile. I definitely think they should add things such as wallpaper, music and video. That's exactly where Facebook falls short of MySpace. I love Facebook so much more than MySpace. But I really wish that Facebook had the same kind of creative stuff that MySpace does.

JEM students at their best

The Big Orange meets the Big Apple

For the first week in October, the School of Journalism and Electronic Media took their annual trip to New York City. The trip allows journalism students, who are over 21, to go on the trip and get a taste of life in the big city.

I was lucky enough to go this year and see what all New York has to offer. For five days we got to visit many of different media conglomerates including CNN, ABC, Fox News, Playboy, The CW, HBO, NY Sports and many other places. We also got to choose from one of two Broadway plays to see; either Avenue Q or A Chorus Line. I chose to see Avenue Q, which I definitely recommend. The way they turn puppets in to perverted characters is definitely worth seeing.

With each place we went to, we got an insight to how they kept up with the news and what all goes in to making a story; whether the deadline is one day, one week or one month. One of my favorite places we visited was the New York Post. It made me realize how much fun you can have while working hard at the same time. It was my first visit to a real newsroom and it was at first overwhelming with all the madness that goes on. But it was everything I pictured it would be: The hustle and bustle of the news room, small cubicles with past articles in them and papers stacked to the ceiling.

The trip to NY made me want to be a journalist even more. The fast-paced life of the city was such a dramatic change from here but it was so exciting to be in the midst of it every day. The best thing about the NY trip was that it got me interested in areas that I would of never imagined. If you go in knowing that you wanted to do print, you might come out wanting to do production. That's what this trip really had to offer: the best insights possible to all the fields of journalism.

I would recommend this trip for any journalism student, especially those who want to move to a bigger city and work because that city could either make or break you. I always knew that I wanted to move to NY after I graduated but after I went and visited and got a taste of what it's really like, I knew that NY was the perfect fit for me.

Class exceeds expectations

When I first signed up to take this class, I was thinking that it wouldn't be too exciting and that I would just get an elective out of the way. However, as time went on I grew to love online writing. Not only do I find it much more enjoyable than news writing classes, but I just feel like it's more laid back and not as uptight.

Although online writing shares a lot of the same characteristics as news writing, the feelings I get in the two different classes are not at all the same. My news class stresses me out and I get frustrated all the time. But in this class, I don't mind any of the stuff we do, my shoulders don't tense up when I roll my seat up to the computer and I don't feel like someone is watching over my every move. Not to say that online writing isn't as serious, but it's just this feeling I get that I don't experience with news classes.

The possibilities for online producing are neverending. From the NY Times, to the Knox News Sentinel or Cosmopolitan to Scoop, choosing a path in online writing can take a you so many ways.

Having Peggy work with our class gave us an even better insight as to what online writing is really about. It was informative to hear about her job and what she does on a daily basis in a larger city. The only downside I have is that she didn't get to help as much as I was thinking she would. But other than that, it was nice having her as a teaching assistant.

With our generation, we are much more comfortable with using the web instead of newspapers. However, I never thought that online writing would be a good fit for me. Now, I think it's a better fit than almost any kind of print writing. As you can tell, I have really loved online writing. With the growing youth, we are going to get more and more comfortable with using the web and writing online will only become more frequent. This class is a great way to get a feel of how online writing and producing could fit a person's job goals or maybe even change the way they feel about the web.

Knox News Sentinel

A couple of weeks ago, I visited New York City for the annual media tour hosted by the journalism department. So when I found out that we had to go visit the Knoxville News Sentinel building, I didn't think it would come close to comparing to the newsrooms I saw in NYC. I had also had my fair share of newsrooms for the rest of the year, so I wasn't looking foward to yet another tour. I mean how many different cubicle types are there?

Surprisingly, the KNS offices were much nicer and bigger than alot of the ones I saw in NY. It seemed to be much more in order than ones I saw just a few weeks ago. I don't know if that has anything to do with the different locations, but KNS was very straightened up.

The few people that we met from the KNS were very nice and helpful. They taught us a lot about how KNS manages their website and how they are trying to get more and more people to visit their website as a reliable news source. A lot of their online stories feature print, photos and video.

Although the News Sentinel has a good website, when you read the website from the New York Times, you libel to get more information from the source. When I compared the story on the California wildfires on both websites, the NY Times had a much more in depth story with more related material as opposed to the Knox News website which just gave a short story and several links.

When you compare the same story to the CNN website, you notice how it's more recently updated thant the Knox News website Although it may not measure up to some bigger names in media, the Sentinel does a great job keeping us informed, on print and online, with events happening in our area and around the nation

You know you love New York

Ah yes, upon us now is the dawn of the second season of I Love New York 2, VH1's hit dating show. After the success of last season, Tiffany Pollard, better known as "New York", is taking another shot at love for herself. When New York got left unexpectedly by her chosen man last season, she decided to let VH1 capture her life on tape yet again.

Like every classic dating show on television, this season is expected to give us all the surprises, drama and sexual frustration we hope for on reality TV. Although some would think that this show is a joke, New York claims to be on a search for real love since her debut on Flavor of Love.

New York's outspoken personality and love for thugs should make for another great season of TV. Between a little person, her thugs, a few rich boys and the return of Chance, a favorite of last season, we should be left with some of the most dramatic TV ever.

Only two shows in, the new season is already living up to its expectations. Fights have already ensued, Sister Patterson, New York's mom, has continually disagreed with New York's choices and New York has already kicked someone out of her house, all while keeping around some of the most interesting men ever.

With many episodes left, you have to wonder whether or not New York will find true love this time around. The only way to find out is to tune in every Monday at 9 p.m. on VH1 to see which men truly have love for New York.

It's a conversation, stupid

Have you ever wanted to post your own thoughts on a top news website and make yourself the composer of a story? Well now it's right at your fingertips. Websites are now making it possible for the audience to become the contributors. But is user-contributed content accurate and steady enough for mainstream media?

I think that user-contributed content is a very good idea, as long as it's kept at a minimum. After all, the users are the ones who keep the news afloat. If it weren't for the people that visit news websites and give feedback on stories, would we have anything to report?

Contributing our thoughts through news is a way of communicating with other people. By sharing through the web, people who want to read your response are capable of doing so. Not only would you care about the things you write about, but so will the people reading your point of view. People will be more liking to search for things that mean the most to them, and if it's people who are most like them, then they want to read what you have to say.

In the future, I think people will be able to get there ideas out there more than ever. The web is constantly changing and updating to make it easier for us to communicate. But I do think websites should control who gets to publish things there because lets face it, there are some ignorant people out there.

For people who don't think that online news is conversational, I think they just need to think more about it. It contains information that is of interest to a lot of people, it includes different insights, thoughts, ideas and personal experiences; all the things you do face to face. It may not be direct, but it's a conversation, stupid.

What's News got to do with it?

When it comes to news, I think people are like snowflakes: no two people keep up with the same news sources every day. To each individual, news is what you choose to make it.

For some, that may be watching CNN every evening or watching E! News all day. Everyone is different. For me, it varies from day to day. I try to get as much in as a can without putting my brain on overload. As much as I hate to admit it, I keep up with celebrity news just as much as the next person but I also mix in your everyday news about what's going in the world. To be honest, I think sports take up the majority of my news intake each day. Which to me, seems ok, as long as I'm able to tell you what's going on in Iraq too.

When you're young, you don't realize how important it is to keep up with the news. The most important thing in high school is worrying about who your going to vote for Prom King and Queen. But as we get older, we have to realize the safety net we once had is gone and keeping up with the news is the way to stay afloat.

Life and Times of Maddie Kind

When you're 18 years-old just getting ready to head off to college, do you know what you want to do for the rest of your life?

I thought I did. I knew for years that I wanted to be a plastic surgeon and to excel in medicine. My dad is a doctor, so I automatically got insights to health care. But once I got in to my second year of school, I knew that no matter how much money I was going to make, no matter how successful I could be as a doctor, I wouldn't be happy.

So that's when I decided to look within myself and figure out what I was made of.

It turns out, I am an aspiring journalist. Now, all my focus is centered on making it as a writer in New York City. For years, I haven't been able to think of anything I want more than this. So, I have begun my trek to the top. With only a year left in school, I couldn't be more excited to open a new chapter in my life.

As hard as it is to make it in New York, I have the drive and determination to prove to myself and others that I was made to be a journalist. And if I don't make it the first go around, there's always graduate school at NYU. So after I graduate from the wonderful The University of Tennessee, it's off to the Big Apple to see if this small town girl can make it in her uptown world.