About Journalism and Mass Communications

As a senior majoring in journalism and mass communications, I have learned a lot over the past few years I have spent in this major. First and foremost, I have found that this is no easy major. It is very demanding of your time because the classes, especially JMC410, function more like a real journalism job.

Preparation is another facet of JMC classes, especially the 410 class. If students don't come to class regularly, they will miss out on important assignments that will help improve their writing skills. Along with this, most in-class assignments involve creating story ideas, outlines and editing for feature stories. This is an integral part of the course, and it plays a huge part in assisting the development of feature stories.

Practice, practice, practice. In the 410 class, this is exactly what students will be getting themselves into. I am grateful for all of the writing assignments, whether ungraded or graded, because although they can be time consuming and overwhelming at times, the end result is the progress made in my writing abilities. If the class had been set up in any other way, I can honestly say that I may not have improved and definitely would be less ready for a job in journalism.

One drawback of being a student in the JMC major, and an athlete at the same time, was the fact that I was unable to get an internship or some sort of job experience while attending UNC. However, just through being in classes like JMC410, I have become more knowledgeable on how newspapers are run, what it is like to be working inside a newsroom, because after all, our class functions similarly, and how to write a good story and gain readers' attention. I can now say that I feel prepared to go out into the workforce and confident that my writing will get me further than I had expected, all because I have taken many helpful classes in the JMC major. In saying this, I encourage students, whether unsure about their major(s) or not, to take at least one JMC class here at UNC. The professors are adamant about giving their students the best education possible and the classes themselves are engaging and will improve writing skills, no matter where a student stands in regards to writing abilities.

My advice for students just entering into this major is simple; go to class, pay attention, turn in assignments on time and don't hesitate to ask questions. My suggestions on becoming a better journalist are to always take good notes, use all of your senses, ask follow-up questions, and don't forget to review and edit your work - mistakes are sometimes tricky to find, even after checking over it twice.

Until next time, keep on writing.

A Weekday for Whateley

For my second feature, a day-in-the-life story, I followed around UNC women's tennis player Jenny Whateley for an entire day, taking notes on what classes she attended, along with weightlifting and practice. It was a fun assignment because it didn't feel like one. I was just "along for the ride," documenting what took place during her hectic day.

I believe I used good details, helping to move the story along, creating vivid pictures for readers' minds. The details used mostly involved time and place of events, and characteristics of Whateley. Something that I could have done better was improving my punctuation and grammar. I think I rushed writing this story, causing me to overlook errors in my writing.

After writing this feature, I have learned note-taking should not be taken for granted when recording information for stories. Paying close attention to a subject is key. Having a notebook and pen in your hand at all times isn't enough; it's watching the subject and seeing their interactions with the environment around them that will help develop the story.

Meet Jenny Whateley

This post concerns a profile story on a member of the University of Northern Colorado women's tennis team and shares with you her story of coming to the U.S.A. to play college tennis. The story focuses on freshman Jenny Whateley from England and the challenges she faces in a new environment.

I enjoyed writing this story because it brought multiculturalism to light and showed how it was at work on the women's tennis team through Whateley. I learned that she underwent adjustments to become more familiar with her team and school, but did not face them alone because of the help of her teammates and friends, making it easier for her to become acclimatized.

Working on this story was very rewarding because it was enjoyable seeing the outcome of the hours I spent on reporting and writing it. The easiest part was interviewing my sources. Everyone was very helpful and gave valuable information. Finding time to report made it hard, but made me appreciate and use the time wisely when sources were available and when I began observing Whateley.

I believe I gave good details in this story, but wasn't too wordy, which helped make it easy to read. Giving better explanations and getting more quotes from sources is something I can work on that will only enhance the profile.