KTCU "The Choice"

Welcome to a journal of a student-journalist.

Starting today, I will be posting weekly about my thoughts on campus media. The topics of my posts might be about what goes on at our newsroom, the Skiff, or student publications around the country. Student-journalists tend to find themselves in tricky situations. There is the tension among students and administrators, only to be intensified the conflicting duties of those who seek information and those who protect it. There are also questions of how journalism programs and in turn student media can prepare prospective journalists for an industry that is revolutionizing right as we speak. And for those who are very close to graduating, journalism is a scary industry to want to be a part of. Will we be hired? If yes, will we be able to afford to eat?

Through this blog, we will explore how student-journalists are coping, adjusting and blooming under these dodgy circumstances.

I'm the managing editor of the Skiff and have been involved with some sort of student media since high school. Journalism has been my passion for years, and as I get ready to graduate in May, this blog will be an opportunity for me to reflect, relearn lessions and prepare to (hopefully) jump into the professional field.

An e-mail I received today from our adviser served as a perfect inspiration for my first post. The Skiff has been easing into this concept of "convergence." Last semester, we partnered with NewsNow for several live streaming opportunities, including Election Day coverage. This semester, more specifically this coming week, we will be partnering with KTCU "The Choice." Our student-run radion station, which is the only campus station in the area that broadcasts to the whole Metroplex, according to admissions, will be broadcasting news that our reporters gather at 4 p.m. daily. This is something I have been pushing for several semesters and I'm excited that we're finally doing this. This will give us a lot more exposure -- just a wider group of listeners throughout the Metroplex, not to mention the additional skills we would be introducing to the students involved.

Although I never feel like we're making significant progress toward being able to truly take advantage of the converged newsroom our journalism students will have next year, this definitely is a step forward.