Synopsis
Over the course of this semester, I have learned many new skills involving the digital world. I learned how to work with Adobe Portfolio, Google Sheets, Google Earth, and Canva. Through my story, I learned the importance of reporting on the news you want to investigate and learn about. Also, to be the representation you don’t see, which goes hand in hand with finding your community and leaning on them.
Developing the Story
In terms of journalistic guidelines, I followed the format of researching my idea first. I researched what other news had been written or reported on it. It took a few tries to get the angle I wanted on the feature, but after my interviews, I was able to choose the best viewpoint. I followed the ethical guidelines to cite my sources and always asked permission to record audio during interviews. Additionally, ask the interviewee to spell out their name to attribute correctly.
I did struggle in deciding what information to put on my infographic. I wanted to pick the best information that could support my concept. I am new to using Canva and a few other of the sites we used. Also, just choosing the right angle did take me some time to figure out, but eventually it worked. Also, working around other students' schedules and my own was a challenge.
A good number of opportunities came out of working on this story. I was able to step into the shoes of some of the people I interviewed. I had the opportunity to join a Daily Aztec meeting as well as help the multimedia editor shoot some content. I also attended the A.S. students' Executive debate at the student union, which I normally wouldn’t care to go to. I got the opportunity to create some representation for my community, which was nice to do.
Digital Media Experience
This experience definitely helped me better understand digital journalism. I had never made my own portfolio, and so being able to place my content and personalize it grew my skill set. Additionally, learning the terms of digital journalism and understanding how to better understand the digital world will create more opportunities for me. There were so many terms I didn’t understand and dos and don'ts, so I feel I am better prepared to succeed in the new digital universe.
Using data in the past has felt daunting and overwhelming. However, once I researched and created my own charts and graphs, it felt more enjoyable. Using Google Sheets was easy to learn. Once we practiced more in class, I felt more comfortable using it and using it to my advantage. It was helpful to research examples of good, credible databases. Therefore, when I had to make my own, I knew how to do it clearly and concisely.
At first, I used all the basic tools and was unsatisfied with my product. I was concentrated and getting the story done and all the other elements ready. Once I felt settled and satisfied with my other content, I was able to get into a creative flow. I enjoyed being able to input my own background and fonts. There were a few moments when I was struggling with the formatting of my website, but overall it was cool to see it all come together in the end.
One enjoyable moment was being able to interview my friends. I had known that their roles played a key part behind the scenes of journalism and the Daily Aztec. In more depth, I was able to learn more about what it all meant to them on a personal level. Also, hearing about their successes gave me hope. Two of them were offered real jobs already after graduating, so that was super exciting. Furthermore, hearing similar answers and stories was enjoyable. Only because they all talked about how inviting and supportive the community they built was, and how they all got involved for different reasons, but stayed because of each other.