Waving "see ya"

By now, most of you seniors have gotten every lesson you're going to get out of me. And I hope you've learned something. Even if it's that Watson hates it when you miss deadline then I know you've been listening to me.

I wanted to share with you one last resource because it's not like me to waste ANY time that I have left with you. :-)

http://liveapartmentfire.com/2008/09/23/addition-by-subtraction/

This is an amazing website/blog. It is authored by someone who used to work in television and there are some very good points. Points that I hope you've heard in one form or another from me. I hope that those of you who go into journalism in one form or fashion bookmark this page and refer to it often. You never stop learning, you know.

Always try to make yourself better, whether it's journalism or plumbing or fashion design. If you stop learning and improving, you stagnate. Have you ever smelled stagnant water? Yuck!

And you know that I'll always be there for you if you need me, but please call first! I've always lived my life with a huge IN Box. Type A. I can't relax, but I'm learning how, slowly, but the odds that you'll catch me on a day when I have nothing to do but catch up with you is rare.

This is a really hard time of the year for me. I get incredibly sad because I have to wave "see ya" to a lot of students that I've grown incredibly fond of. I always hope that I get to see you again and keep in touch, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Sometimes I get visits for a few years and then those visits slowly taper off and I become a mere blip on the radar of your life.

That's okay, I guess. The whole idea of what I do for a living is to get you outta here. But being the sensitive, sentimental type, I forge these relationships with everyone of you in a very unique special way that I will always hold in my heart and it is bittersweet to see you go. I promise that I won't forget how we had fun in Eagle TV. I may forget our specific conversations, but I won't forget our relationship.

Let me know in your comments what you learned from me this year and what you would've liked to have learned more of but didn't. Tell me if I gave you what you needed as a BVP student or even as a person. What did I give you that was valuable. Promise that you will keep learning, over the summer and over the years and for those of you who are coming back next year, what do you need me to teach you next year?

So, do me proud, keep in touch and remember that to all of you, it's not goodbye....I'll just wave "see ya".

Book Covers....

I'm sure most of you have seen this link by now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Most of you probably don't think much of it, but it holds a lot of meaning for us here in Eagle TV.  Let me explain.

First of all, and most obviously, you should never judge a book by its cover!  Susan Boyle had everyone in the audience, the judges panel and everyone sitting at home poised to hear another disastrous rendition of "insert popular song here".  We were all incredibly surprised.  Why were we surprised?  What made us think she couldn't sing?  Her appearance, right? As if appearance has anything to do with the ability to sing.  We all pre-judged her.  Shame on us. 

In all the "life lessons" we've gone over in class, I'm sure this was one of them, but I do distinctly remember a certain lecture about interviewing.  In it, I said, "don't let your opinion of your interviewees looks, mannerisms, speaking, thoughts, feelings, or demeanor cloud your objectivity about them."  This is good advice for a reporter and good advice for us all.  

The Susan Boyle singing example holds another lesson for us here at Eagle TV:  that of letting your talents shine.  Let us all see how creative, talented and special you are.  Don't hide it. 

Susan Boyle was asked by Simon why she hadn't pursued a career in singing and she said that no one had given her a chance.  The truth is....she never seeked out opportunity.  You can't just wait around for someone to discover how good you are at something.  You have to take chances and put yourself "out there".  Let us see how good you are at.....editing....shooting.....producing ....writing....story-telling BY SHOWING US.  Don't wait for us to discover you because it may never happen.  Don't hide it.  Get up on "on stage" and show off a little!

What are you good at in video production that you haven't really shown anyone?  What do you think you'd be good at, given the chance to try?  Why haven't you pursued this?  How can you improve?  What do you want to be really good at in video production?  What do you want to be really good at in life?  What are you doing to make sure people see and hear you?  Are you taking steps to put yourself in a position of showing off your excellence?  What are you afraid of?  

All it takes is a brief walk up on stage.

Alive or Dead...lines!

I love a good laugh.  My mom always had a very infectious laugh and my brother inherited it, although I'm told when I really get going, you can't help but laugh when I get tickled too.  My dad always likes to laugh too.  

I like working with teenagers.  They can be very funny and I gotta tell you...some of the hardest and loudest laughs I've had, I've shared with my students.  

It's always a good idea to find humor in every day things, especially things you stress about. For instance, the recent hijacking of a ship by Somali pirates is disturbing.  What makes me giggle about this story is that we are talking about "pirates"!  I think of the bandanna-wearing, eye-patched, sword-bearing, knicker-wearing mean guys on the high seas in Disney movies, NOT modern day criminals...which is what they are.  When the Nightly News anchor says "pirates" in his broadcast with a straight face, I can't help but giggle.  

There is a guy who is writing a book about procrastination, William Pannepacker from Hope College....but he's a year overdue getting the book to the publisher!  That's funny!  I heard about this the other day and it's true.  Life is funny.

Deadlines are the banana peels on the sidewalk of my students.  Deadlines cause more slips than a lingerie factory and more trips than an overworked AirTran flight attendant for my well-intended video production kids.  Not sure why. But I don't find it funny.  Procrastination is a symptom of this disease for which I know of no cure.  

I'm told that procrastination happens because you are anxious or nervous about completing something.  Some studies say that some personality traits predispose certain individuals to do things...manana.  We talked today in class about looming deadlines.  We have a LOT to do and NOT a lot of time to do it in the next few weeks.  This causes me GREAT anxiety, but not because it's something I have to complete...it's because it's something my STUDENTS have to complete.  I have to relinquish control to my great, loving, grateful-to-Mrs. Watson-dedicated, talented students.  Did you hear all those compliments?  What are you afraid of?  I believe in you; not for what you can do to ease my anxiety but what you can do for yourself and how you can put your stamp on this program!  You're great!!!!  I really believe that.

No, I'm not trying to butter you guys up, but I'm trying to encourage you to do your best work, as I've said before.  That work that I've seen before.  You can't drop the ball now.  Hit the ground running this last six weeks.  Show me what you're made of! Surprise me by doing really fine work and turning it in early!  Make me incredibly proud!  Learn some new tricks and incorporate them into your final few projects!  Ask questions!  Answer questions of other students! Don't waste one minute!  Stay in the game!  Don't let these last couple of deadlines bite you on the booty!  An injury there is not pretty!  One of my former students at Mount Zion had to have 13 stitches there...because he missed his deadline....  jk...he fell off an anchor chair, but it still wasn't pretty.

Here's my deal....dig deep in your tired, homework-depleted, worn-out-from-11-or-12-years-of-high-school self and find your second wind for the last part of the race.  You do that, and I'll try not to be too stressed.  Deal?  Let's laugh and have fun these last few weeks because we have nothing to stress about because you're going to turn your stuff in by or before deadline.

Blog back to me about how excited you are about your last projects...your documentary and your senior video segment and your "how did I do this package" presentation.  I want to hear motivation and excitement.  You can do it.  Tell me how you're going to do this.  How will you keep yourself motivated and on-track.   You've been given much by Eagle TV...give back, in a big way!  Go out with a bang!  What can we expect from you?

Proposing Story Ideas

In my endless quest to get you guys to write well (not "good") I have you write story proposals.  These little gems force you to think about your story ideas from all angles and sell me the idea that you're proposing.  Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not relying on you to convince my supervisors that I need a raise.

Based on what I grade of your story ideas, none of you have the persuasiveness, the objectivity or the thoroughness to do this well, even though I've taught this skill many times in the classroom.  We've looked at examples and I've given you a story idea to write up in front of me and then we all discuss it, as a class.  Let me see if I can teach you how to do this, one more time.

1.  Use full sentences.  Let's start with the basics.  If I walked up to you in the hall one day and looked into your eyes and said, "A federal law making it illegal" would you know what in the world I was talking about?  This is not a full sentence.   Try this instead, "A federal law making it illegal to sell toys with lead in them and includes all terrain vehicles went into effect a week ago."

2.  If you have a strong opinion about the story and can't be objective, save the story for someone else.  As a reporter, you are to keep your opinion out of the story.  Tell me if you think this is un-biased and neutral:  "If you don't have your financial aid forms in by the deadline then they charge a 50-dollar fee.  If you had the money, you wouldn't be applying for financial aid. What about those students who work extremely hard in school and they can't go to college because of the expense?"  I felt like I was on the cusp of an emotional rant that was very personal for this student.  No where in the list of people to interview in this proposal was anyone in a financial aid office.  Biased?  What do you think?

3.  There are two sides to every story.  See above.

4.  Don't base your story idea on a passing thought you had.  Unless you can back it up with facts.  Here's one:  "I was listening to the radio and noticed that since Obama became president that urban radio stations are more politically inclined."  This comment reminds me of the phenomenon that when you buy a Honda, you suddenly notice all Hondas on the road.  This student needed to check on radio station formats and do research to see if formats had actually changed, before the story idea was turned it.  It is possible that her theory is true, but I'm not going to say go ahead to a story proposal that is not based in facts.  You have to convince me that there is merit to what you are saying.

5.  Your story must be pertinent to as many people as possible.   "I want to do a story on a family who had a tree fall on their house and it ruined their night."  Why not do a story on how my sink clogged up and we had to call a plumber, or how our gutters overflowed and rain poured in close to the foundation of my house?  Those things certainly ruined my night!  But it's not a story.  No one was injured or changed permanently.  This didn't have a lasting impact, neighbors weren't affected and after a week or two, there's no story anymore, or any available b-roll.  It's not newsworthy.  I've had a tree fall on my house before and although it was a real pain in the butt for a few days, I didn't see any live trucks parked in my driveway!

6.  Be specific.  There are two examples for this one that I can show.  First one, "this is a video about youth interested in different areas of work."  ???????  What???? I have no idea what you're talking about.  Let's keep reading:  "Some of these kids have already begun to pursue them regardless of their age."  Figured it out yet?  Me neither.  After reading the entire proposal, I think this is about young people finding their careers and beginning working in these fields long before they graduate from high school. Find a way to succinctly say what you're talking about in a way that we all understand.  

Here's another one:  "Every city has its own hidden treasures.  In this story, we would reveal some of our city's own hidden gems that are right under our fingertips."  Are we talking about Geraldo Rivera-go-in-a-cave-to-discover-a-treasure-chest-type of hidden gems or are we talking about places to visit, or things to do, or stores, or attractions that many people don't know about or what?  Give me some examples of what you're talking about.  

Here is a story idea that a couple of people suggested, but neither proposal hit the mark as far as a well-researched, thorough story.  Let me show you how I would do it: 

Bus Radio.  

About one year after the debut of bus radio in Cobb County, it has proven to be beneficial in keeping order on the buses as the kids are more likely to sit quietly and listen, than to start something on the bus. According to the Cobb County Annual Report, (www.cobb.k12.ga.us/annualreport08/operations1.htm) bus drivers have reported significant improvement in discipline and behavior since starting Bus Radio.   Bus radio advocates say that all programming is age-appropriate and socially responsible.  The company says they encourage their sponsors to deliver positive messages and they actively seek partnerships with sports and activity-related companies as well as those that provide healthy food and drink alternatives.

www.busradio.net/press_room.php?pr=20080905_fox_rowdy_students.html.

Alternately, however, concerns about wasted money on GPS systems which bus radio systems come equipped with have some parents and board members concerned in this era of budget cuts and cutbacks.  www.mdjonline.com/content/index/showcontentitem/area/1/section/21/item/124303.html.

I would interview bus drivers. students of all ages, parents, school board member and maybe a phoner from the Bus Radio headquarters.  I would also interview Jay Dillon our PR rep. for the county.  Because the story includes speculation about cost of the built in GPS and our district is in the throes of cutting back, I might also see if I could get an interview with our Superintendent.   I would shoot video on a bus where bus radio was being played.  I might open the story by showing that students were listening (or not listening depending on the case) to Bus Radio and interview students as they are riding the bus to see if they even hear it.  Then, maybe go into the psychology of why music has a calming effect or distracting effect and then close the story by showing a bus leaving the school.  The story would be different depending on the age group that I was doing the story on.  I think that the most impact bus radio would have would be on middle schoolers, because they don't drive yet and rely on the bus and because social status and peer pressure seem to have the biggest impact on their actions.  

See.  It's really not that hard to convince me of your story idea.  You have to be persuasive and un-biased.  You have to write correctly and with good grammar.  You have to show both sides and show me that you've done a little bit of legwork.  You have to back up your story with relevant facts and trusted sources.  This is your homework in BVP.  You have to put a little bit into it.

Now, go find a good story idea and SELL IT TO ME!  But first, respond to this blog by telling me why you are not doing your best on story proposals.  What questions do you have?  What can you do to make yourself do better with this?

We Got Third Place!

Sorry a couple of days have gone by since you’ve heard from us. I was banned from blogging.

Jackie Medley and I are great partners on these trips and apparently, she believes that my sleep at this point in our trip was much more important than posting a blog and pictures. I guess she’s right. Managing 18 students wandering around a hotel is not an easy task. I feel like a border collie….herding cats…in a thunderstorm…at night. You get the picture. At least they all have been focused on the task at hand. I make it sound much worse than it was. Overall, our kids have been very good.

At least, as I sit on this plane flying back to Atlanta, I am convinced that coming back home with the same kids you left with is certainly right up there on my list of field trip successes.

The kids have been excited to show us their finished videos and, barring the technical problems that the conference coordinators had, I’ve been able to see about half of the projects. We can’t wait to show them to you.

One student, Elon Sanders, made friends with another school and at that point, we had a hard time keeping him with us. I found him yesterday morning eating breakfast in the restaurant with them. We had a talk. Making friends, good – wandering off, bad.

We’re exhausted. Friday’s contest day was a whirlwind of activity, just like Thursday. Kids all over the hotel and surrounding areas, cameras and mics in hand with looks of determination on their faces dotted the landscape. Some kids were really excited about how they did with their competition, some not so sure. The best news to come out of the contest days is that we got third place in the Music Soundtrack competition! Congratulations goes to Laura Garcia and Hannah Davis!

Saturday’s closing ceremonies was fast-paced and began with a video compilation of all the schools who sent in video set to high energy music. We saw ourselves. We also were supposed to hear from keynote speaker Bob Woodruff from CBS news, but he got sent oversees on assignment and his wife spoke on his behalf. A journalist herself, she was an amazing speaker. Student emcees presented the awards and we saw snippets of the winning pieces, the format much like the Academy awards, minus the acceptance speeches.

With the awards ceremony over, we decided to check out Universal Studios for the second half of the day. We got a half-day pass to both Universal and its sister park and rode rollercoasters, saw shows, ate sweets and bought souvenirs. Frankly, I’m not sure how they had the energy to do any of this, but we ended up staying past 9pm to watch the parade and the Mardi Gras celebration. We all got beads thrown from the floats as they rode by.

We were the best dressed, most mature group of students at this conference I believe. Jasmine Walton agreed with me when I said it to them out loud. “We ARE a good looking group!” she said with enthusiasm. They have been fun to travel with.

We look forward to seeing you guys Monday morning.