- Tornado warning lifted; severe storm warnings remain in effect
- Reno army captain told to shut down blog in Iraq
- Army policy change shrunk blog offerings
- Hazy skies continue through weekend
- Western art auction to fetch millions
- Teen prepares for medical career
Look for a couple of McCain stories later. Protesters and crowd reaction (color, basically). Met the guy who's running against Harry Reid for his Congressional seat (Reid's the Senate majority leader, if you didn't know). Chatted with Calvert about potential story ideas (music they play during events - lots of Garth Brooks) and how one of our friends has turned to the Dark Side (public relations).
While other people's internships are wrapping up, mine is going until Aug. 22. Haven't started the countdown yet - and besides, I'll probably stay on as a part-time staffer anyway. Knock on wood though - I don't want to jinx it.
The Sagebrush actually starts back up during my last week here. So I'm calling it "the longest week of my life." Last time that happened was in October, when half the staff went to Washington D.C. during Homecoming Week, and I was still in Reno, covering a student death and writing a really long story on binge drinking.
I'll let you know which one is worse.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Writing IV.
Friday night's pageant wasn't absolutely awful. The interview portion onstage was a joke though.
Anyway, here's more stories from the last couple weeks.
- Reno-area water, power usage soars in heat
- Smoke pollution could get worse
- Crowds flock to river, raising safety concerns
- Last summer roundup under way for Nevada mustangs
- Reno program gives teen drivers a safe edge
- Miss Nevada crowned
- Activists oppose BLM proposal to kill mustangs
Anyway, here's more stories from the last couple weeks.
- Reno-area water, power usage soars in heat
- Smoke pollution could get worse
- Crowds flock to river, raising safety concerns
- Last summer roundup under way for Nevada mustangs
- Reno program gives teen drivers a safe edge
- Miss Nevada crowned
- Activists oppose BLM proposal to kill mustangs
Friday, July 18, 2008
Covering the Miss Nevada pageant tonight.
Can it change my perception of what beauty pageants are, a la Gracie in Miss Congeniality?
Probably not, but here's to hoping.
I'm counting on the kind of blow-up that happened in Miss Congeniality to keep it interesting. Or someone to eat it, much like Miss USA in last week's Miss Universe pageant.
Did you know there's a difference between Miss America and Miss USA? Completely different organizations. Someone should do an expose on what the difference actually is.
Let's see how it goes.
Probably not, but here's to hoping.
I'm counting on the kind of blow-up that happened in Miss Congeniality to keep it interesting. Or someone to eat it, much like Miss USA in last week's Miss Universe pageant.
Did you know there's a difference between Miss America and Miss USA? Completely different organizations. Someone should do an expose on what the difference actually is.
Let's see how it goes.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sunday.
I was going to blog about my very long Sunday on here.
But I ended up doing it for the Sagebrush internship blog, so you can read it there.
The rest of Sunday goes as follows: shower, barbecue, 21st birthday party for someone else, Tronix, Shooters, bed.
The end.
But I ended up doing it for the Sagebrush internship blog, so you can read it there.
The rest of Sunday goes as follows: shower, barbecue, 21st birthday party for someone else, Tronix, Shooters, bed.
The end.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Journalism adrenaline rushes and being a storyteller.
I have work in about five and a half hours, so I should be asleep right now. I'll be heading out to Middle of Nowhere, Nev. for a story.
And I'm actually kind of excited about it.
A lot of people would wonder why this matters. Why I would agree to work on a Sunday, why I would care about being in the middle of the desert, why I would bother.
It's part of what I like to call the "journalism adrenaline rush."
Well, no, that's not really true. I actually just made that up just now. But here's what it is anyway - you know you have something good on your hands. Maybe it doesn't matter in the big picture of things, but you recognize that this can be good. It's the part where you feel that rush of going out there, of getting the story, of meeting people you would never have met otherwise, of seeing things you'd never have seen otherwise. It's not that you get a clip out of it, or that you get a front page story, because it's more important than that. You're doing what you should do best - you're telling a story.
It's one of the best feelings in the world.
I read a blog post the other day about how this guy, this journalist, doesn't consider himself a storyteller. He's an "information provider." I suppose that falls in line with the information center thought process (for those of you who don't know, some newsrooms aren't newsrooms anymore, they're information centers). But I think that's such a narrow viewpoint. I mean, I understand that as a journalist, my first priority, my biggest responsibility, is to get the facts out there as soon as possible. That's a big part of what journalism is.
But that's not just what journalism is.
Journalism is about the world around us. It's about the people in it. And I don't think facts are enough to show that.
A lot of what journalism is, of what it does, lies in the fact that we're not just information providers, that we just give you billions of facts. Journalism, the best of it anyway, makes a difference in this world, and I don't think facts are enough to do it. For many people, the stories we tell are what convey why those facts matter. Sometimes, an inverted pyramid style is necessary, but I don't think that kind of story - one of just the facts - is ever enough to show the full picture.
Anyway, there's a quote that I like from designer Tim Harrower that sums up what my brain is trying to eloquently say, but is missing:
And with that, I'm getting to bed.
And I'm actually kind of excited about it.
A lot of people would wonder why this matters. Why I would agree to work on a Sunday, why I would care about being in the middle of the desert, why I would bother.
It's part of what I like to call the "journalism adrenaline rush."
Well, no, that's not really true. I actually just made that up just now. But here's what it is anyway - you know you have something good on your hands. Maybe it doesn't matter in the big picture of things, but you recognize that this can be good. It's the part where you feel that rush of going out there, of getting the story, of meeting people you would never have met otherwise, of seeing things you'd never have seen otherwise. It's not that you get a clip out of it, or that you get a front page story, because it's more important than that. You're doing what you should do best - you're telling a story.
It's one of the best feelings in the world.
I read a blog post the other day about how this guy, this journalist, doesn't consider himself a storyteller. He's an "information provider." I suppose that falls in line with the information center thought process (for those of you who don't know, some newsrooms aren't newsrooms anymore, they're information centers). But I think that's such a narrow viewpoint. I mean, I understand that as a journalist, my first priority, my biggest responsibility, is to get the facts out there as soon as possible. That's a big part of what journalism is.
But that's not just what journalism is.
Journalism is about the world around us. It's about the people in it. And I don't think facts are enough to show that.
A lot of what journalism is, of what it does, lies in the fact that we're not just information providers, that we just give you billions of facts. Journalism, the best of it anyway, makes a difference in this world, and I don't think facts are enough to do it. For many people, the stories we tell are what convey why those facts matter. Sometimes, an inverted pyramid style is necessary, but I don't think that kind of story - one of just the facts - is ever enough to show the full picture.
Anyway, there's a quote that I like from designer Tim Harrower that sums up what my brain is trying to eloquently say, but is missing:
"Very few news stories will ever change the world.
Still, sometimes a single story - a single sentence - can have an effect you never imagined. Put the right facts in the right order and you can make someone laugh. Cry. Reconsider. Understand.
That's how you make a difference in this crazy world: one reader at a time."
And with that, I'm getting to bed.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The new appearance of this blog...
is actually the old layout of my blog from last summer.
I realize how much I prefer it to the last few layouts I've tried out.
So it stays.
Also, the URL for this blog has changed. It's now blog.jessicaestepa.com, which, if you are reading this, you've probably already figured out.
Anyway, that's all. My brain is full of Web-ness. Must go to bed, have work in eight hours.
I realize how much I prefer it to the last few layouts I've tried out.
So it stays.
Also, the URL for this blog has changed. It's now blog.jessicaestepa.com, which, if you are reading this, you've probably already figured out.
Anyway, that's all. My brain is full of Web-ness. Must go to bed, have work in eight hours.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A poem.
The following poem by ee cummings is the one I plan on writing a choral arrangement for, when I have some free time and for my own personal enjoyment.
I'm odd like that.
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of a sky in a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
-- i carry your heart with me
I'm odd like that.
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of a sky in a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
-- i carry your heart with me
Someday...
I'll be really good at blogging regularly.
Really.
But until then, I have this to say: it never fails to surprise me when my lede in a story stays in its original form when it goes to print.
That, and everyone and their mother seems to be on vacation this month in the newsroom. Not that I can blame anyone - it is July, after all. If this were three or four years ago, I'd be getting ready to go on vacation with my parents.
Too bad I'm a workaholic.
Also, there will be further musing about writing in a soon-to-come post. Really. As soon as I have a moment to do that.
Really.
But until then, I have this to say: it never fails to surprise me when my lede in a story stays in its original form when it goes to print.
That, and everyone and their mother seems to be on vacation this month in the newsroom. Not that I can blame anyone - it is July, after all. If this were three or four years ago, I'd be getting ready to go on vacation with my parents.
Too bad I'm a workaholic.
Also, there will be further musing about writing in a soon-to-come post. Really. As soon as I have a moment to do that.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Relationships.
Bear with me for a moment, I've been chatting with people around me about life in general.
Someone I work with met his wife when he was 20 and she was 19. Eventually, they got married.
And sometime soon, he's taking time off to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.
After going through situation after situation and little heart bruises (no heartbreaks, mind you), his story just sounds so...simple.
I guess it is simple. You meet someone, you fall for them and they fall for you, you get married and next thing you know, you've been together for 10 years. And if you're lucky and hardworking enough to not fall into the statistic, 10 turns into 25, and 25 turns into 50, and you've been together all your lives.
I can't imagine meeting the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life (or at least, the next 10 years) with anytime soon. But I guess that goes to show that it can happen to anyone, at any time, whether you like it or planned for it or not.
Someone I work with met his wife when he was 20 and she was 19. Eventually, they got married.
And sometime soon, he's taking time off to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.
After going through situation after situation and little heart bruises (no heartbreaks, mind you), his story just sounds so...simple.
I guess it is simple. You meet someone, you fall for them and they fall for you, you get married and next thing you know, you've been together for 10 years. And if you're lucky and hardworking enough to not fall into the statistic, 10 turns into 25, and 25 turns into 50, and you've been together all your lives.
I can't imagine meeting the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life (or at least, the next 10 years) with anytime soon. But I guess that goes to show that it can happen to anyone, at any time, whether you like it or planned for it or not.
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