Big Media, School Spirit & Anderson Cooper #kpuanderson

Networking is Easy

Kristen Edgell, a marketing assistant at National Geographic, spoke to an audience of American University students & semi-employed freelancers last week about how to get started in D.C. area media.  

She moved up from North Carolina last summer after college, with a few bucks and the desire to work in TV. 

TIVA's Getting Started in Your Media Career featured panelists Laura
Mateus, campus recruiter at Discovery Communications, Jason Villemez,
production assistant at PBS Newshour, and Kristen Edgell of NatGeo. 

She temped for a couple of months and landed an assignment at NatGeo. 

Once in the door, she took on additional tasks and made herself invaluable to the team by learning everything she possibly could. It wasn't long before she was asked to stay on full-time. 




My favorite part of Kristen's story, though, was how she went on 40-50 informational interviews by the time she finished school. (And I thought I was a genius for doing three or four.)

There are two big things I've learned so far about networking: you have to show up (duh), and if you like people and are genuinely curious about why they do what they do and how they got there, then all you really have to do is listen. This makes networking not only easy but kinda fun. Then again, I've always liked talking to strangers. 

But there are plenty of people who don't, so I asked Kristen for insight on their behalf. She started with a quote from Networking for People Who Hate Networking: 

“Introverts, the overwhelmed, and the under-connected fail at traditional networking by following advice that was never intended for them in the first place.”

 
A few other pointers: 

• Focus on a few. Are there people you can find out about beforehand? Spend your time doing your homework. You will not only feel more prepared, you will get more out of it.

• Pace yourself. Extroverts collect, not connect. If you speak with one or two people and feel yourself getting stressed, it's okay to step away and play on your phone for a few minutes as you recharge. It will help your attitude and also allow you time to perhaps jot down the important points of what you just discussed so you can do a thorough follow up later.

• Follow-up. When you give them your business card, write something memorable about you that you discussed, or would like to discuss. Then be sure to keep those contacts alive and intact. Send them a thank you note, referencing what you wrote on your business card. This will help people remember the quality of your initial conversation—and open the door to continuing the conversation. Gathering info with your keen observation skills and superior listening ability is what adds the quality to your connections.

Hail to Another Chief

France got a new president today, but even between my hyperconsumption of news & avid Francophile-ness, I only mildly paid attention to the French election. 


Most Americans I've spoken to are completely unconcerned and unaware. I've noticed that political disinterest starts at home, and the further away a place or culture the less passion it generates. 


Yet I aspire to be a woman & (working) journalist who's seasoned in politics, locally and otherwise. At this point though I feel like the newbie in Primary Colors waiting to get burned.  

Matthew Fraser

Still, the idea that international politics would benefit all Americans is in my head. So I reached out to a Facebook friend, Professor Matthew Fraser, a former journalist who teaches in the global communications department at the American University of Paris. (Not to be confused with my future alma mater AU in DC). Edited for brevity & the American attention span. 

Tampa Do-Gooder: Please explain the significance of foreign politics to Americans (who may or may not pay attention to politics in their own country)? 

Matthew Fraser: Following the Second World War, the United States was unquestionably the main global power, facing a rival only in the Soviet Union. Since the 1940s, the world has been an “American” one. The pervasive influence of American culture — from Mickey Mouse to McDonald’s — is a sign of American dominance. Americans are the Romans of the modern world.

Oscar on the banks of the Seine, from Fraser's blog This Much I Know

TDG: To me it seems that it's not so much that Americans don't care, but that they are overwhelmed or intimidated by learning about (including traveling to) other countries. I'd like your input on that thought, as a professor who's lived in multiple countries.

MF: One of the drawbacks to being “Romans” is that Americans are primarily focused on their own concerns and interests, their global dominance has paradoxically engendered an indifference to the world beyond America — at least to the nuances of other countries and cultures. America tends to regard the world in terms of its interests. This causes resentment in other countries, and often leads to the regrettable stereotype that Americans are ignorant and uncultured about the world. 

It’s the curse of all dominant nations. The French even today are relatively indifferent to the world beyond France. The French, like Americans, are notorious for their poor foreign linguistic skills. This doubtless can be explained by the fact that France, like the United States, was once a great empire and dominant culture.  

TDG: Does the media (both American and foreign press) have a role in educating Americans on global politics?

MF: The American media are largely regarded as being oriented towards “American” stories, and when they turn their attention to the international sphere they tend to see things through an “American” prism. This can irritate people in other countries. CNN was for a long  time accused of this Americanization of global news. That has changed to some degree. 

Americans are also consumers of American movies, TV shows, newspapers and magazines. The percentage of foreign news and cultural products consumed by Americans is tiny, especially compared with other countries. Again, this is comes with global dominance. It’s very different for American expats living in other countries, of course, but Americans in the  United States don’t generally have a large appetite for foreign sources of information and distraction, with the possible exception of elites in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. 

TDG: What do people living in France think of their new president? Is it a comparable pendulum swing like Barack Obama after 2 terms of George Bush?

MF: The French are romantic about leftist political victories because they evoke France’s historical rupture with the French Revolution in 1789. Since then there have been two Frances: conservative Catholic France, and revolutionary Jacobine France. It’s much more acceptable in France to claim allegiance to the the Jacobine tradition because of the historic importance of the French Revolution and the Jacobine system of republican government France has had for most of the past two centuries. 

French Catholic France was discredited during the Second World War after the Vichy episode and Nazi collaboration. This explains why far-right parties like the Front National are considered to be a threat in France, while far-left parties, even Communist, are considered to be a legitimate part of the French political system. [Outgoing French president] Nicolas Sarkozy’s party is between the two, largely Gaullist but also representing the “bourgeoisie” in France, in other words a coalition of conservative nationalists and economic elites. In America, Sarkozy would be a Republican.  

In that sense, one cannot compare [new president] Hollande with Obama. In France, Obama would not be a particularly “left” politician. He would be at the center, even a little to the right of center. Francois Hollande enjoyed the support of the Communists and far-left movement. Those kinds of political parties would not even have a voice in American politics. 

France and America, historically, are great friends and allies because they were the two great nations born of the Enlightenment philosophy of the 18th century based on universal values about individual rights and democratic institutions. They are also two great nations born of violent revolutions. At the same time,  this linkage has also made France and America great rivals, because both nations have aspired to grandeur. France was a powerful nation for centuries, and French the language of international diplomacy, until the 19th century. Since then, the British and Americans have dominated the world. This has not always sat well with the French, hence the familiar resentment in France towards all things “Anglo-Saxons”. These sentiments have deep historical roots. France and America are “freres ennemis” -- brother enemies. It’s an amicable rivalry, but a rivalry nonetheless.  

Community News

I met Bill Sharpe in 2006-ish through the local blogging community. In the years that followed, the more I was out & about looking for stuff to write about (or just living the good life), the more I saw Bill. 


He published the South Tampa Community News & last year launched the Tampa Epoch in response to the ban on panhandling. 


The Epoch benefits our homeless & near-homeless neighbors. It received considerable coverage from the local mainstream and alternative press and blogs.  


"I'm doing the right thing," Sharpe said on Rob Lorei's Radioactivity call-in show late last year.


Bill passed away earlier this month. Again all forms of media in Tampa Bay covered his work, life and death. The local circles on social networking sites continue to rattle with condolences. Both online and off, this is a community at its finest. It's unbearably sad, however, that we're one citizen less.


Celebrate Bill Sharpe Tuesday, April 17th at 5 p.m. at the Hyde Park United Methodist Church, and after 6 p.m. at MacDintons. 

WMNF's Future of Journalism Series

Fake journos O.K. too. With Rob Riggle in Largo, FL 2007 

Although I love talking to anyone about anything, my favorite people to interview are other journalists.

I want to know what they know, how they got started, what they're covering, what they'd rather be covering and when the book's coming out.

Maybe it's because I've always been a freelancer. I miss creative pow wows and staff meetings, opportunities to be a mentor & be mentored.

I'm still hungry for the knowledge and experience that will make my work better. So I live vicariously by asking the questioners lots of questions.

And as a media activist at heart, I'm also particularly fond of spreading my love of (good) media and journalism to those outside of the industry. I think everyone in any field should know how media works and how it can both bring benefits and do harm. 
  

Which brings me to my latest project: a Future of Journalism series on 88.5 WMNF. I started by making a list of all my journalism & media heroes, and then asked them for interviews.

©2007 NPR, by Stephen Voss

On Monday the first of these interviews aired. The premiere episode featured NPR's David Folkenflik, who talked about being editor of Page One, a book of essays on the New York Times and journalism, which he says picked up where the documentary of the same name left off. 

There's also an extended interview in which David talks about his early career in newspapers, making the switch to radio, and how after seven years at NPR he's still referred to as the "print guy".

It was exciting to hear how excited he is by the current state of journalism. While the news business has been gloomy since I entered it and suffered immensely this recession, Americans are consuming more news than ever.

  

Next week's interview is with Peter Osnos, who has my nomination for godfather of modern American journalism. He began his career as the lone assistant to independent journalist I.F. Stone (whom he calls one of the first bloggers), spent many years overseas with the Washington Post, gave my generation one of our finest journalists, founded PublicAffairs Books, and much more. 

Happy listening.

Why (Good) Media Makes Me a Better Person

Be honest: have you ever met or seen a person with some kind of disability and just stared? Or done the opposite - looked away so as not to be rude?

Five or so years ago while I was a shy (so not good for radio) co-host on the Saturday Asylum on WMNF, I briefly met a musician who brought up these insecure feelings in me.

Luckily I happened to have been recording the musician, Susie Ulrey, and her reunited 90's indie band Pogoh, with a video camera at the time of this occurrence.

That made it easy to look her right in the face without having to look her in the eyes. I admit I often hide behind media when real life is hard to handle.

Fast forward to this year, a few months ago, when Susie was playing a solo show at New World Brewery. No one could really tell me much about her story. 

I knew that she's around my age (thanks Facebook!) and that when I first met her she used a walker. Now she uses a scooter to get around.  

The place was not crowded and I hid behind a digital camera. I left that evening without even saying hello.

And felt crappy because of that. Although what would I have said? Hi, we met a long time ago and I want to know what it's like to be you?

Actually there is a career path that's a bit hard to come by these days but if you're lucky enough to snag it, you get paid to ask strangers these very questions.

So I pitched the story to the St. Petersburg Times, which I've been writing for every few months or so for the past year and a half, and my editor accepted (and polished) my idea. 

I spent a few hours with Susie and a microphone, from a coffee shop to her physical therapist's office to her home, asking the lamest questions. She was happy to have someone asking and was very open to all of it.

She used to hate the stares, now she hates the ladies who use handicapped stalls as their own personal dressing rooms. She had special business cards made up for the jerks who park in handicap-accessible parking spaces that thank them for making her day that much more difficult.

But the best story I found wasn't just hers, it was the story of her and her husband. A love story. You know, the good stuff.

The story is online today and, of course, in the paper. Go buy one. There's lots of other stories in there too, about this lively Tampa Bay community that you might be missing out on. It'll be the most valuable $.50 you've spent all week.

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

I was in my senior year of college in Dover, Delaware studying & learning how to produce media when September 11th happened. 


After three days glued to the tube, a friend had to pry me away. There was no new news. I was traumatized again and again watching the scenes replay. 


And that began my news blackout. I couldn't watch or read or consume anymore, didn't know who I could trust. Certainly not the New York Times. 


I was dismayed with media in general by graduation. After two commercial radio internships where I learned that most DJ's in America no longer produce or program but push buttons for minimum wage,  I was at a loss as to what to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a communicator, but there was no place for me in the media. 


So I made videos. In 2003-2004, I discovered the 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle where I volunteered in exchange for equipment rentals and classes. 

I found Warren Etheredge, who took it upon himself to make movie audiences smarter because, as he claims on his website, "Smarter audiences make a better world!"


I started learning, living, paying attention. I went out to public events, like a Howard Dean speech, and then read about it the next day in the paper. Sometimes what I saw didn't match what the reporter saw. Who was more right? 


Then I watched Control Room. Ever since I've been convinced that if you have something worth communicating, say it in a video. 


You can do it independent of corporate media, and it's the best way to get Americans to pay attention. A great video is almost as a good as experiencing life first hand. 


So by now I've mostly forgiven the New York Times. (Judith Miller, not so much.) It's a company, an institution, which I tend to think can lead to inherent wrong doing. But the individuals behind it are damn fine. And right now that institution facilitates them being at their best.  


Page One: Inside the New York Times is playing at Tampa Theatre through Thursday.  

Blame the Rapist Not the Victim

Funny (not ha ha) how within a week of my stories on sexual assault, which focused in part on how the media (mis)handles such horrors, the New York Times fell on its face by reporting on the gang rape of an 11-year old from the perspective of the (18!) rapists as the real victims.  


Florida's freshman Rep. Kathleen Passidomo followed suit by citing a quote from the article, that the victim could have prevented the multiple sexual assaults from 18 males aged preteen to 27 if only she hadn't been dressed like "a woman in her 20s."


Let's examine that statement. Do women in their 20's deserve to be raped? Just the slutty ones? 


What about nudists? Are they asking for it? And if that's true, someone please explain to me why Muslim women, especially in nations that require them to wear the head-to-toe burqa, are sexually assaulted as much if not more than women in the U.S.? 


Thank goodness the public editor had the heart AND sense to call the NYT's mistake because no one else at the paper stood up. When our media "gatekeepers" are uneducated and insensitive about an issue, how can we expect the public to be any better?


Let's demand a smarter media. And a smarter U.S. 

Ronny Elliott for WMNF

All Media is Local

There's an FCC workshop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 3:00-7:30 p.m. at the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida. Here's why this concerns you:

If you've heard the old joke about having hundreds of TV channels but nothing's ever on and you've witnessed it for yourself, or complained about how thin the newspaper has become, or are sick of the same ten songs being played over and over again on the radio, then you should care that the media landscape can still get worse.

Media businesses, like all businesses, have to sell their product. That makes sense. But why sell something that sucks? Wouldn't that lead people elsewhere for information and entertainment? The media, like any other business that grows "too big to fail," has gotten too big to produce anything worthwhile. It's the Walmartization of our entire country. Now the media wants to get even bigger.

In 1975, a law was put in effect that prohibited TV stations from buying newspapers in the same city. Tampa is one of just a few cities where a company, Media General, already owned both a TV station (WFLA) and a newspaper (The Tampa Tribune) pre-1975. So Media General was allowed to keep their company as it was, but no other company was allowed to do the same from then on.

Currently the FCC is in the process of deciding if they should deregulate (overturn) this "cross-ownership" law. And since Tampa is one of those few cities in the country that already has cross-ownership in action, the FCC is looking to us for our input. Do we like our Tribune-WFLA combo? Their shared reporters, shared stories? Are they giving us all the information we need or have they gotten a little soft and spread too thin?

Let your voice be heard on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 3:00-7:30 p.m. at the FCC workshop at USF's Marshall Student Center. You'll get two minutes to say whether or not you want cross-ownership to happen, and what you think of the media in your town.

The FCC commissioners won't be in attendance, but staffers from their Media Bureau will be present as well as folks from our local media. And the workshop will be streamed live on http://reboot.fcc.gov/live. Questions from the Internet audience can be submitted throughout the course of the workshop via email to 2010quadrennial@fcc.gov and via Twitter using the hash tag #MoWksp.