This morning we had a short discussion about the definition of the word 'practice,' and by the afternoon it was clear why. We practiced a lot today. If our class can't upload content by now, they never will.

As we kicked off publication project, our class learned about CMS (content management systems), such as this fine website we've all been diligently posting to these past six weeks. The framework is already in place, and all we need to do is type in our content to the correct fields, and voila. It's efficient, it's consistent and it's simple.

Looking at this website, the section you're reading right now is called the core. To your right is the menu, 'who's online', and 'who's new' modules, or widgets. At the very top is the header, and at the bottom is the footer. There are other modules off to the left, such as the most recent blog posts. These are all sectioned off into blocks. What you see is the front end of the site - conversely, the administration side that you don't see is the back end.

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Today was the first class of Publication project with Rob. Within the first hour of the class we discussed internship possibilities, what we were doing next year, and what idea we have stemmed up for our project.
It was helpful to have the talk that some were dreading. Then we got into web design again- how to upload things onto the web was the main theme.

There are many factors to a website. It consists of a header and a footer and a core which is the centre of the page. Deciding what kind of website that you want to have has proven difficult time and time again for the E-Journalism class.

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A website is kind of like the human body. It has a head(er) at the top, a foot(er) at the bottom, we have a front end and a back end, and our center is the core… though we don’t usually call our arms navigation bars.
Unfortunately constructing a website is a little more complicated.
Before you even start building your site you need to decide what type of website you want to have.
Today we looked at and discussed what is known as open source, or freeware websites.
These websites are possible through a collaboration of efforts. This means multiple people act as administrators for the web site and can alter or change it as they wish. Drupal is an example of this type of web site.

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Learning about the internet can be a little mind boggling. When you sit down in your comfortable chair in your living room or office and you start typing keywords into Google or Yahoo and then click through multiple sites- you never stop to think where it all comes from or where it is stored. You never wonder what the difference between this page and that page are or what type of software they used to create different banners or this or that- Not until your making them too.
Since we began online training I have been consciously aware of these types of things well searching the web. “I wonder if I could make this?” “How did they do that?” “ I’ve never seen this before.” “I wonder what that stands for in the address.”

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Reality sinks in… today marked the first day of the downhill slope to the end of this program. Being introduced to the publication project took quite some time. After being handed multiple sheets covering the next five weeks in this program, it is easy to see that they are going to be a very busy five weeks.

Getting into the publications project was fun to start. Throwing ideas around helps gain a handle on what is coming up. Knowing the direction to take for the publications project brings peace to mind.

Practicing and honing journalistic skills provides methodology, much like a doctor. Journalism practices are based off of principles, standards, normality, and ideology.

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Broadcast journalism is something that can be quite terrifying for a group of print reporters. We are all so used to being away from the camera, or at least behind it, that it can cause some to become extremely uncomfortable- but what other choice do we have?
Print, unfortunately is on its way out, and newer forms of media such as multimedia pieces are what the industry is looking for. Therefore, the six print reporters in E-Journalism are going to all have to suck it up and do what we got to do in order to get us a job/ career at the end of school..
Today class was again, pretty fun, like yesterday. We incorporated the voice techniques for audio into the lesson that was brought forth today-broadcasting.

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Switching places from behind the scenes into the limelight of the camera. It was strange at first to be peering straight into a viewfinder, instead of someone else.
As journalists, it is easier to be speaking face-to-face with a person, or an audience. Standing in front of the camera brings a face-to-camera-to-face feel.
Upgrading attention from solely the sound of voice in the news clip, the class stepped up a notch. Paying special interest in the eye expression and movement of mouth and head, there was also importance in make-up, clothing, and gestures.
Switching up the role from being in the background where nobody pays attention to bylines to being in front of something which could be publicly broadcasted with your face on it, was overwhelming to start. The worst part of all was memorizing what needed to be said. Integrating voice and actions into the script wasn’t hard.

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Tension was high in the classroom today as it became clear why our little group initially chose print journalism instead of broadcast: To stay out of the camera's way.

Yesterday's lessons were all about using your voice, and today was about presenting that voice on camera. After the hours we spent watching CBC anchors enunciate and make hand gestures, this author did his best to emulate them. The two years of callcentre employment may have also lent itself to how to carry my voice.

So what's next? Good question.

The rest of the week will be rounded out by moving from this blog and making a more personal one for our stories for the final four weeks. It's crunch-time for deciding a topic to research. Geographically there are a few areas to cover. Home is in Chatham, while my internship is in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. It's been a while since working on a journalistic endeavor (the writing for the magazine was either already done or was delegated) so it's more difficult than expected to nail down a focus.

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As if speaking, as a broadcast journalist isn’t hard enough, being on camera with six pairs of eyes watching you is much worse.

Today was a pretty eye opening experience. Having to memorize just a few lines is difficult to do, but when you have to incorporate a friendly expression when one is forced to stand in front of a camera against his or her own will…it is a really complex thing to do.

When a rookie print journalist has to remember lines, projecting their voice, inflecting on certain words and withhold a friendly demeanor it is hard to concentrate on more then one thing at once. Frustration and anger set in and slowly swells every time you are asked to repeat it again.

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Talk about Multitasking to the max.
Doing a newscast in front of a camera is not as easy at it seems.
For some people it takes a lot to become comfortable in front of a camera, and for others its second nature.
In Either situation, a lot of work and effort goes into the standup besides talking into a camera.
Today we got a little taste of what its like as we filmed a closing standup for a news package.
The piece we had to present was only a few seconds long, but when you factor in that you also have to be thinking about your voice (projection, enunciation, and inflection) your movements (are they natural, are you moving too much), your facial expressions (are you capturing the audience and being expressive) and now you have to count yourself down, it becomes more complicated than you think.

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Putting your skills to test is quite an interesting thing. It means you have to take all of those fundamentals you have been practicing over the last few days and make them work together. Remembering everything about lighting, background, angels, proposition, audio, volume, articulation, is all a must. Now, however, you must also be on camera yourself. This means you have to consider facial expression, accessories, hair, makeup, posture, eye contact AND you must remember what your script says you must be saying. AS WELL as everything previously mentioned. There are a lot of things going on and it is easy to get distracted and forget multiple of these fundamentals. If even one aspect is forgotten, lighting, for example, or facial expression, the shot will probably be unusable and must be re-shot.

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Getting into the natural flow of things, beginning to criticize the vocalized word was rocky to start.

Pacing and speed are important to pay attention to. Compared to every day speech, the way which a news broadcaster speaks is much slower; so slow people from eight years old to eighty years old can catch what it being articulated.

Articulation and enunciation are key, but it is worthy to remember not to go overboard. There is a difference in the way a “rAdiO rePorTer” speaks and a broadCAST reporter speaks. When radio reporters speak into the microphone, they make sure they articulate on the sharp T’s and S’s. Broadcasters focus on this, but not nearly as sharp, while putting emphasis on syllables more clearly.

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Take a deep breath... pretend you are talking to your hard of hearing grandma... and prepare to feel like an idiot.
These were the key tips we were to remember when recording clips for our website. The lesson was more difficult than expected. Speaking in an audible, clear voice and staying aware of your expression speed and intonation meant we all had to slow down and actually think about what was coming out of our mouths.
It sounds so simple, and even listening to a TV broadcast, the reporter makes it sound so natural.
How far from the truth that could be.
Most of us (especially girls) speak at a fairly quick pace normally, and when nervous or excited even faster. Because speaking fast is so natural to us, it takes more than a little bit of effort to slow yourself down and enunciate each word properly.

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Yesterday was sick day and didn't make it to the first class of Broadcast, with the new instructor Andy. And today it was evident that this week is going to be a lot of fun for the class. After being quickly informed of what was missed the previous day, jumping into the lesson and participating was quite easy.
Today the lesson was focusing on a broadcasters voice.
The class watched a few CBC news clips with Andy. The first viewing was for pleasure/content. The second viewing was about technique- chronological order, camera angles and audio. Then the third viewing, which was not really a 'viewing' peruse as Andy took the television monitor and turned it. So all we had left was the audio.

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Pacing. Articulation. Projection. Expressiveness. Inflection…. Who thought it would be so difficult?
Have you ever watched the news and noticed the way the broadcasters talk? It is as if they are conversationally speaking directly to you. Who would have thought millions of people across the country are also listening to the same person, and thinking too that this broadcaster is speaking directly to them. This is because they have actually spent time perfecting this skill to make people feel that exact way.
News broadcasting is to be done in a way that is still professional but much more personal then if you were to write it for print. You can crack jokes and use one-liners; in fact they are encouraged! You are able to use expression to add character to the piece. Andy Sparling, a broadcast journalist, says pretend you are talking to your 80 year old grandma as well as little children. Speak softly, but still pronunciation and PROJECT. Speak from your tummy. Articulate your words, it is “twenTy” not “tweny”, pronounce it “ LoyalisT” not “Loyalis”. Sometimes when people speak letters are mumbled together and we don’t articulate our words correctly, and often we don’t even notice we are doing it. In broadcast, you must train your voice to pay attention to all of these small details.

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Today we learned how to speak like a broadcast journalist. Learning to speak like one is much more difficult then one would think…plus it is pretty nerve racking when a audience is listening to you. Hearing back all of your faults is a bit hard to take, but realizing that this will make me a “better” journalist is worth it…? Although broadcast journalism is not my forte.

There are a few things to remember when speaking like a broadcast journalist. According to Andy we have to speak very slow and loud so that an 85 year-old woman could hear it. Things to remember are pacing and speed, articulation and enunciation, projection and volume, expressiveness and inflection. Your speaking voice should be warm and inviting and it should sound like you are having a special one on one conversation with an everyday person. Speaking from your diaphragm is also important or else your voice will sound too timid.

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Journalism can be delivered in numerous different ways. Some start blogs and write community journalism that way, some publish in newspapers, some websites, others magazines. Some prefer to get their news off the radio and some prefer the television. All of these different forms of journalism fall in the same family and do the same job: they tell a story. And although there are numerous differences between the mediums as far as technique and style, there morals are the same. Accuracy, relevancy, proximity, they are all still equally important. Technically, broadcast and print are similar in the sense they both have a beginning, middle and end. In print, the lead, the body and the conclusion. In broadcast, past, present, future.

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Since the second week of e-journalism, a few of us have been trying to come to terms with what seem to be conflicting schools of journalistic thought. In print journalism, accuracy and truth is paramount. In broadcast journalism, these are obviously still important, but the amount of footage that needs to be captured, such as cover shots and interviews, is often staged. Our brains have been wired for quite some time to recoil at such blasphemy. How can it be news and the truth if we're asking our subjects to repeat the same actions or words 3 times so that we have footage that looks good?

Today we started on the road to compromise. Yes, that shot of a doctor entering his office, sitting down and rifling through papers is a setup, but those are all actions that would occur in that setting at some point during the day. It's his office, his chair, his papers. Besides, it'd be absurd to sit around with a camera waiting for him to ACTUALLY do those actions.

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The first day of broadcast came as a surprise to none. After bending and warping some of the ways journalism is portrayed, Andy was able to get on with the most valuable lesson learned: organizing information.

When an assignment is given, the first and foremost thing a journalist should start doing with video camera in hand, is start thinking of possible sources and shots that would make the story interesting.

Sitting around a campfire during story time allows the author to add tonnes of colour to a story through speech. Video takes the gift of speech and transforms it into and audio and visual mixture, appealing to more senses than the average story.

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Former print journalists, now online journalism students had a glimpse at something familiar today.
After spending five weeks in editing suites, creating websites in Dreamweaver, and making bouncing balls with Flash, the class gets an opportunity to return to their roots through “multimedia storytelling”.
Through discussion, we spent the day analyzing various styles used by CBC reporters when creating a news “package”.
After watching the news “packages”, we learned that a good news video could be broken down into “Past” “Present” and “Future” as well as script writing, visuals, and audio. Each reporter had a different style of presenting these categories but for the most part, when broken down they all contained the same basic elements.

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