tiger times june2007 - auburn universitytuesday, june 22, wsfa openeditsarmsto25young journalists...

H.S. students attend 8th annual journalism workshop

Departmentof Communicationand JournalismAuburn University

High School Journalism Workshop NewspaperJUNE 2010

Tiger Times

This edition of Tiger Timescontains the work of outstand-ing high school journalists whoparticipated in the eighth annu-al Auburn University SummerJournalism Workshop.The workshop, held June 20

to 25, was funded by theAlabama Press AssociationFoundation and the AU Collegeof Liberal Arts with additionalscholarship support from theMobile Press-Register.

The workshop co-directorsare Professor Nan Fairley andDr. Jennifer Wood Adams.The workshop newspaper

reflects the diversity of activi-ties and opinions that made theJune 2010 Summer JournalismWorkshop a valuable learningexperience for the participants.“I’m sure the lessons this

special group of students takehome will have a positiveimpact at their respective high

schools,” said Fairley, whofounded the workshop in 2003.“The students got a crashcourse in journalism basics.”The high school students

were treated like professionaljournalists.Not only did they participate

in a wide-range of journalismseminars, they had to write sto-ries about their experiences forthe workshop newspaper — ona tight deadline.

During the concludingawards ceremony on Friday,June 25, six of the top partici-pants in the workshop received$1,000 scholarship offers fund-ed by the Mobile Press-Register.“It was amazing to see the

participants’ confidence asjournalists grow as the week

The 2010 Auburn University High School Journalism Workshop participants. Twenty-five students from Alabama, Florida,Georgia and Mississippi participated in the workshop, which was from June 20 to 25.

See WORKSHOP, page 2

BY COURTNEY ADDISONExcel High School

“What was I thinking?”Those were the first words that went

through my head as I took a quick glance atmy schedule for therest of my week.Between the rigorouswriting task and theearly mornings I hadno idea how I wouldget everything accom-plished on time.Before my arrival to

Auburn University, Iwas feeling severalcompletely differentemotions all at thesame time.In the previous days before my arrival, a

couple of my friends started teasing me

about going to “nerd” camp. Therefore, Ibegan to feel a little skeptical about thewhole workshop. I was just ready to getthrough the awkwardness of the first dayand meeting 25 complete strangers. Andsharing one bathroom with four other girlsis not exactly something I consider to beexciting.To my surprise, the 2010 Auburn

University Journalism Workshop was agreat opportunity. I feel I have made lifelong friends who I would pack in my suit-case and take home with me if there wereany way possible.Having no background in newspaper

writing, I was appalled when I was accept-ed into the workshop due to fierce compe-tition. Dr. Jennifer Adams, Nan Fairly,

Katie Brown, Ken Porter, and MaxNewfield were immensely helpful this pastweek.During my week at Auburn, I feel like I

have learned more about journalism than Icould just by sitting in an ordinary class-room.I have learned that while being a journalist,

one must be able to think on his or her ownfeet and be ready to cover any story whetherit is a title the reporter is interested in.I also feel I have gained the knowledge

so when I return home I will be able to starta newspaper and share some the things Ihave learned about the field of communica-tion.One of my most memorable moments

this past week was the first day at campwhen Dr. Adams expressed the importanceof following your dreams. She emphasizedto go for your goals in life no matter howbig or how small.

The AU Summer Journalism Workshopis hosted by the Department of Commun-ication and Journalism.The Alabama Press Association

Foundation and the AU College of LiberalArts provide financial support. TheMobile Press-Register has supported theWorkshop since its inception with scholar-ship award funds.Featured speakers were David White of

The Birmingham News; John Stevenson

of The Randolph Leader in Roanoke, Ala.;Jennifer Foster, a freelance writer; JacqueKochak, editor of The Auburn Villager;College of Liberal Arts Diversity OfficerChichi Lovett; College of EducationCommunication Editor Troy Johnson;Plainsman editor Laura Maxwell; BetsyRobertson of Auburn Magazine; Dr.Cheryl Seals, a computer science and soft-ware engineering professor; and JakeWilliamson, an AU admissions adviser.

Department of Communication andJournalism faculty members who servedas guest speakers include the following:• Jessie King, public relations• Kevin Smith, graphic design• Dr. John Carvalho, sports journalism• Ric Smith, broadcast journalism• Dr. David Sutton, communicationAU students Katie Brown and Max

Newfield and University of Alabama stu-dent Ken Porter served as counselors.

PAGE 2 JUNE 2010TIGER TIMES

progressed,” Adams said.“Many of them left with a deeper understanding of the

craft and an interest in pursuing journalism or communica-tion at the collegiate level. That’s what this workshop is allabout.”For more information on future workshops, contact Adams

at the AU Department of Communication and Journalism,217 Tichenor Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849, (334)844-2751 or e-mail at: [email protected] forms for the 2010 workshop and additional

information will be posted on the department’s Web site at:http://media.cla.auburn.-edu/cmjn/

WORKSHOPContinued from Page 1

A Special Thanks To ...

‘Nerd camp’ surpasses participant’s expectations

ADDISON

COMMENTARY

JUNE 2010 TIGER TIMES

JARROD MILTON

Druid Hills High School

Asummer camp usuallybores me. But, theAuburn Summer

Journalism Camp changed allof mya s s u m p -tions andb e l i e f sa b o u tcamp.I got

here onS u n d a y ,hoping forthe best,but think-ing I would probably be disap-pointed since I’ve only been toone fun camp.So I decided to keep hope

alive and make the best of thesituations I would face. But,after meeting my roommateand my suitemates, I felt likethis camp may be a great time.I turned out to be 100 percent

completely right.Everyone here was extreme-

ly kind and cool. I was blownaway by how nice everybodywas. I really liked how this wasthe least amount of drama I’dever seen in my life.It just seemed like there was

a higher level of maturity tothem. I believe everyone socivil because they were all sen-iors. I was really happy thecamp wasn’t what I expected itto be.Other than the people, the

information I learned atAuburn changed my entire per-spective as a writer.This camp has taught me

many things about writing Imay have never learnedmyself.That is unless I went to col-

lege and majored in journalism.I learned about all the majoraspects of journalism such astelling a story with your work,writing a good feature storyand the association between

two completely different top-ics, like sports writing andnews writing.This camp helped me have a

critique of myself as a writerand showed me that, while Istill have a long way to gowhen it comes to learning thiscraft, I am doing a better jobwriting at my age.I hope I can experience

another camp like this one thatis as fun and informative as thisone.

DILLON FLOYD

Pleasant Valley High School

The 2010 AuburnUniversity JournalismWorkshop was an amaz-

ing experience that I will neverforget.There are two very influen-

tial womenthat headthis campevery year,ProfessorN a nF a i r l e yand Dr.J e n n i f e rAdams.Sunday

night wasa meet and greet, meeting ourroommates to meeting othercampers and the camp staff, ithas been interesting.The first night we were

immediately thrown into thejournalistic world by interview-ing one of our fellow campers.The first full day was filled

with very compelling seminarsspoken by professors and jour-nalist from all over the state.We met The Auburn

Plainsman staff, which I hope Iwill be apart of one day.We went to Moe’s with Dr.

Carvalho. I would like to havehim as a teacher.

We jumped on a bus fromAuburn to Montgomery onTuesday to go to the SouthernPoverty Law Center, TheMontgomery Advertiser, andthe TV station WSFA.We met some involved peo-

ple in the Montgomery Areasuch as the weatherman andthe president of the SouthernPoverty Law Center.We finished the night with

an awesome meal from FiveGuys, burgers and fries.Wednesday was a sports

related journalism day for thecampers.The day was started with the

public relations practitioner,Jessie King and a lesson fromProfessor Fairley.

During a catered lunch, RicSmith, the voice of JordanHare Stadium, spoke to thegroup about the joys of sportsjournalism.After lunch, we participated

in a mock interview withPhillip Lutzenkirchen andMorgan Toles. The camp willbe concluded on Friday with aluncheon honoring thecampers with their families inattendance.The workshop was way

more than I expected. Ithought it might be boring andrepetitive, but I am glad to sayI was wrong. I will take whatI learn to help me in the futureas a journalist in college and inthe real world.

Workshop surprises students — in a good way

Photos by Ken PorterAuburn journalism workshop participants sit in the newAuburn Arena film room.

MILTON

FLOYD

COMMENTARY

JUNE 2010TIGER TIMES

PAIGE MCANDREWS

The Lakeside School

“I’ve always had this sense of pride inworking for a newspaper,” said Publisher ofthe Montgomery Advertiser, Sam Martin.Martin spoke to participants of the

Auburn University Journalism Workshopon Tuesday June 22.The publisher of the

acclaimed newspaperand other staff mem-bers discussed theirrole in the field ofjournalism.The students saw

the business side of anewspaper in both theadvertising and man-agement areasthrough Martin.Martin explained to students how as a

previous advertising executive, he helpedthe papers do what they needed to withoutfinancial worry.He also stated his responsibility as pub-

lisher is to head up each department andcontribute anything he can to each.The luncheon seminar was opened by the

Executive Editor Wanda Lloyd. Lloydstressed the importance of accuracy in theirreporting.“Deadlines are money,” Lloyd remarked

to the hopeful journalists to stress theimportance of meeting deadlines as well.Lloyd next introduced column writer Jim

Earnhardt. Earnhardt opened by saying col-umn writing was “the marketplace ofideas.”He explained that column writing was the

area to express your opinions and encourageyour readers to do the same. He alsowarned students that column writers can put“the newspapers credibility on the lineevery day.”He covered by saying that sabotage can

be avoided if you just research your topic.The final reporter to speak to students

was Auburn journalism intern MattOkarmus.Okarmus told students about his life as an

upcoming journalist. He also explained thebenefits of being an intern.“I don’t feel like an intern, I feel like a

reporter…I learned a lot in the classes butnothing beats being here.”The students were also introduced to staff

in design, photography and multimedia.

Associate News Editor Sean Gourleyrevealed to students the world of design inthe print publication.He explained how design of the paper

began at 2 p.m. and does not end until aftermidnight daily.Participants also learned about photogra-

phy from photo editor Julie Bennett whodescribed her job as “I’m pretty much ajournalist, but with a camera.”The multimedia editor Terry Manning

spoke to students too about the technologyside of producing a newspaper.“Technology really allows you to take

whatever it is you do and spread it acrossthe world,” explained Manning.He told students that his job responsibili-

ties are to find out which technological out-lets are being used most by the newspapersaudience.

BRIANIA AGEE

Linden High School

Having a good balance of a print versionas well as an internet version, theMontgomery Advertiser has most areas ofthe journalism world well covered.The Montgomery Advertiser is a daily

newspaper in Montgomery, Ala., covering

sports, news, business, and more.The Montgomery Advertiser has over 50

staff members including executive editor,interns, sports writer, photographer, assis-tant news editor, and multimedia editor.The main importance of the newspaper is

accuracy and meeting the deadline.Accuracy plays an important part becausethe facts and spelling have to be correct.The backbone of the newspaper staff,

Wanda Lloyd, the executive editor, graduat-ed from Spellman College in Atlanta, Ga.Lloyd encourages the journalism students

at the Montgomery Advertiser.“The more experi-

ence you get the betterwriter you willbecome,” she said.Stacy Long, a staff

member at theM o n t g o m e r yAdvertiser, graduatedfrom the University ofAlabama with a doublemajor in journalismand history and minor

in political science.Long has covered a little of everything

while on staff.According to Long, “foundation of a

sports writer is to be a good writer.”Matt Okarmus, an intern from Auburn

University, said he feels as if he is an offi-cial reporter.He started writing in high school. During

his college days, he was an AuburnPlainsman. Okarmus’s internship is reallyhelping him pursue his dream.He is very interested in critiquing and

interviewing.Okarmus loves receivingassignments because he likes being active.Okarmus plans on working with a maga-zine.Sam Martin is a graduate from Central

State University in Ohio. Martin is the pub-lisher of the Montgomery Advertiser.Martin has worked there for only fourweeks but he loves the environment andpeople.Martin is from Boston, Mass. Martin was

an advertising executive for 30 years beforetaking the job as a publisher. Martin wantedto try something new and now he loves it.The students said they enjoyed the speak-

ers talking even though it was only about 5out of the 50 staff members.Everyone enjoyed the speaker’s time to

take out of their busy schedule to talk tothem about a field of their interest.

Students learn about accuracy, credibility at Advertiser

MCANDREWS

Photo by Nan FairleyWanda Lloyd, executive editor of TheMontgomery Advertiser, spoke to thejournalism workshop participantsabout accuracy in reporting. AGEE


ELLY AYRES

Manatee High School

I've always felt growing up newspapersand news journals belonged in the handsof my parents. Onecan flip to any break-fast scene from a1950s television sit-com, and the childwill undoubtedly bemunching away at abowl of cereal, whilethe father surveys apaper propped upagainst a glass ofmilk.The truth is, the

newspaper has never really been an indis-pensable source of news for teenagers inAmerica, and it is ultimately for the rea-son that newspapers just don't relate tothem.As a teenager, I can confirm that most

kids simply do not pay attention to those

things which they feel do not concernthem.How many teenagers are known for

strengthening relationship bonds withtheir parents during the high schoolyears?Not too many, as kids are notorious for

venturing as far away from their parentalauthorities as possible. Establishing somedistance from their parents appears to bethe answer teens everywhere havereached, after realizing the lack of relat-able similarities between themselves andtheir parents.A similar pattern may be observed

regarding teenagers and their localpapers.The papers may not embarrass them

like their parents do, but they certainly donot connect with adolescents either.So, why would teenagers be tempted to

read them?

One may claim that teens aren't inter-ested in the world around them, or haveno interest in reading a paper, but thissimply isn't true. Plenty of newspapers arenot just read by teens, but composed bythem.Through the dedicated work of high

school journalists, students are able tocontribute to their own newspapers. Thethemes of these stories always relate backto the life of the teenager reading it,which is something local newspapers donot usually include.I believe teens want to read about the

same things as adults: things which willaffect their lives and their future.Teenagers wouldn't mind reading aboutthe economy if newspapers didn't concen-trate so strongly on the decreased worthof stocks and increased taxes.Papers mention these issues but their

target audience is not divided equallybetween teenagers and adults.When local papers print stories that

concern teens, and not just the adults,teenagers will listen.

Papers can do better job of attracting teen readersCOMMENTARY

AYERS

KATY BILLINGS

Sheffield High School

As a young aspiring journal-ist coming to the AuburnUniversity Journalism Work-shop was a dream come true.I was overwhelmed by the

whole experience. The beauti-ful campus, the people, it wasall great. My look through therose tinted glass ended almostas quickly as it begun.The campus still remained

beautiful and unchanged, butbeing seen through the eyes ofa sweating annoyed teenagegirl changed the whole outlookquite dramatically.The seminars were great;

talking to a column writer wasa liberating experience for me.I love the thought of being ableto express my opinions freely.Improving my school’s

newspaper was also somethingI was thrilled to be learning

about. The whole workshopwas certainly not what Iexpected. In some ways it wasbetter, in some ways it was not.Thinking that the great semi-

nars were a sign of futurethings to come was a verynaïve assumption on my part.Sharing this experience with

the twenty-five other peoplewas anything but a walk in thepark.Going into this workshop I

thought that since we were allhere for the same reason andstill had basically the samegeneral desire to be a journal-ist, we would all relate to eachother. I was very mistaken.I never really considered the

sports broadcasting side ofjournalism, or the PublicRelations aspect. There are somany branches of journalism to

learn aboutat the con-ference. Idef in i te lyf o u n dwhere I fitin afterc o m i n ghere.So many

personali-ties werefound here. Not being acceptedis something that every teenag-er fears. I would assume thatsince we all share that fear, wewould go out of our way tomake someone feel wanted.Not the case whatsoever whenit comes to most teenagers.By the third day you could

tell that many other partici-pants rose tinted glasses startedto be discarded.It doesn’t take much for cer-

tain things to rub people thewrong way, especially when itcomes to us teens.

Having a low tolerance forthe human race in general tendsto be my forte. After I pushedaway a lot of the negatives Ifound a few good gems. Thosewould be the people who hon-estly put effort into getting toknow someone, which is whythe effort was returned on mypart.Basically, my experience

with this workshop can becompared to the often-usedroller coaster reference. It hadits ups and downs. The way Isee it is I will definitely leave adifferent person.I got to see the reaction as

well as participate in the expe-rience of being thrown togetherwith complete strangers.People will never cease to sur-prise or disappoint me.I appreciate a lot much more

after being here. I’ve found myplace in this vast journalismworld and that is somethingthat I will never forget.

Journalism workshop a roller coaster, full of ups and downsCOMMENTARY

BILLINGS


COURTNEY ADDISON

Excel High School

WSFA, an NBC affiliatednews station based out ofMontgomery, covers every-

thing fromh i g hs c h o o l ss p o r t s ,s e v e r eweather, thelatest politi-cal scan-dals, andv a r i o u sn a t i o n a lb r e a k i n gnews, such

as the Gulf Coast oil spill. OnTuesday, June 22, WSFAopened its arms to 25 youngjournalists from the 2010Auburn University JournalismWorkshop who are eager tolearn about television produc-tion and the media.

Scott Duff, news director ofWSFA, took time out of hisday to give the 25 students atour of the station. Duff gavedescriptions of what he does asa news director and also of var-ious jobs around the station. Asnews director, he helps withimportant decision making andis in charge of about 60 staffmembers.

While visiting, studentswere able to watch a recordingof an editorial that would beplayed later for the eveningnews.Students were also given the

opportunity to meet with mete-orologist Rich Thomas.Thomas gave one student,Lauren Martin, the privilege touse the “green screen” to seehow she would perform as ameteorologist.Duff, an Ohio State graduate,

referred to his staff as a team;they win together and losetogether. He even commented

that his team is only as strongas its weakest link. Therefore,staff members tend to push oneanother because each want thebest for WSFA.Duff said the best thing a

journalism student could dowhile studying the professionis intern all through college,not just he final semester ofyour senior year. “Internshipsare key,” said Duff.

Advice from WSFA: internships are vital

ADDISONPhoto by Katie Brown

Paul Robinson and Ariana McCaskey pose for a picture onthe news set of WSFA in Montgomery, Ala.

Auburn football player doesn’t want BCS to changeJOSH BRUNNER

Spain Park High School

The Bowl ChampionshipSeries, known to most sportsfans as the BCS, is one of themost controversial issues in allof sports.The BCS is a system of four

bowl games, which alsoincludes a NationalChampionship game.However, in the recent years,people have been questionedthe credibility of the system.Most people wish to see a

playoff system installed intothe college football world. Notonly would it bring in morerevenue, but it would alsoallow teams in non-BCS con-ferences to play for a NationalTitle.This issue has just recently

come into the lime-light, as

teams suchas BoiseS t a t e ,Coloradoa n dNebraskam a k emoves tos t r o n g e rc o n f e r -ences inhope to bein a better position to competefor a Championship.In a recent press conference,

Philip Lutzenkirchen, a TightEnd at Auburn University,gave his opinion on the BCS.Lutzenkirchen said he pre-

ferred to see a 16 to 18 teamplayoff because he felt it gave

more teams a chance to com-pete for a title.Lutzenkirchen also

exclaimed the only reason theBCS was in place and wouldprobably not fall to a playoff

system was because of the rev-enue brought in by the majorsponsors of the bowl games.Lutzenkirchen was also con-

cerned about teams moving todifferent conferences. Morespecifically, however, he wasconcerned about the SEC.Lutzenkirchen said he feels

if the SEC decided to gain orlose any teams, it would causeteams in the conference to“lose rivalries.”The press conference was

held Wednesday for an AuburnJournalism Workshop in theAuburn Athletic Complex.There were 30 people in

attendance of the press confer-ence, including the two speak-ers,Lutzenkirchen and Morgan

Toles, an upcoming sopho-more in the women’s basket-ball program.

BRUNNERLutzenkirchen signs auto-graphs for fans at a pressconference.

COMMENTARY


Students participate in mock press conferenceMATTHEW PRITCHETT

Strong Rock Christian School

Philip Lutzenkirchen andMorgan Toles, in many ways,have paralleled one another intheir college careers as stu-dents and athletes.The largest difference is in

the fact that they play differentsports.These two Georgia natives

are rising sophomores atAuburn University, but theybegan their athletic careers inhigh school.Lutzenkirchen, a tight end

on the football team, andToles, a point guard on thewomen’s basketball team,described their academicexperiences in high school as

f a i r l yeasy.T h a t

said, theyboth notedthat theyhad todrasticallyc h a n g etheir timema n a g e -ment ands t u d y

habits in order to keep up withtheir academics while main-taining a spot on their respec-tive sports teams.Now at Auburn,

Lutzenkirchen is a broadcast-ing major specializing inradio, film, and television.Toles majors in communica-

tion, hoping to be involved insome type of sports commen-tation saying, “I like speakingabout sports.”As far as sports at Auburn,

Lutzenkirchen remarked thatwhile your senior year in highschool is a bit of a breeze ath-letically, he found that theopposite was true in yourfreshman year at college.Both students observed that,

due to the number of press

conferences and interviewsinvolved, their public speak-ing skills had greatlyimproved throughout their ath-letic careers.Off the field, Toles

described herself as “a charac-ter,” noting the fact that herteammates refer to her as“squirrel.” Lutzenkirchendescribed similar characteris-tics in himself, saying, “I’m abit of a goofball.”On participating in sports

after college, Lutzenkirchenand Toles both said that theywould continue their athleticcareers, given the opportunity,but feel that their plans forprofessions are solid.Either way, there is much to

be seen from these two in thefuture.

HUNTER HAYNES

Beulah High School

The Auburn UniversitySummer JournalismWorkshop students had theopportunity to be involved in amock press conference withtwo well-known athletes thatparticipate in sports here atAuburn University.Philip Lutzenkirchen, who

plays football, and MorganToles, who is on the women’sbasketball team, were graciousenough to come and answerquestions the students had pre-viously prepared.Lutzenkirchen, a tight end

on the Auburn Universityfootball team, was personablewith all of the students andwas more than glad to answerany questions that the studentshad no matter how outrageousthe questions became.Lutzenkirchen revealed the

ritual that he performs beforeeach game after his friend wasdiagnosed with lymphoma anddied one night peacefully inhis sleep.He writes his friends name

on the tape on his wrists andon his cleats in his honor.He also exposed the dream s

to pursue of having a career onthe radio.He is a broadcast journalism

major to hopefully one daylive out his dream.In addition, he told the stu-

dents that he has approximate-ly twenty days of freedomfrom football and schoolworkthroughout the year.Toles, a point guard on the

Auburn University women’sbasketball team, had the stu-

dents interested in her lifeexperiences and her futuregoals.She explained the difficulty

of managing basketball withher schoolwork, and how timemanagement is an importantasset that you must obtain tosucceed in college.Noles revealed a secret

about her coaches that fewpeople may know.The coaches are brutal and

harsh attimes try-ing to bet-ter theteam.T h e

c o a c h e swill some-times say,“Listen towhat wesay nothow wesay it.”Noles also enlightened the

students with an explanationof how becoming an athletebuilds character and disci-pline.This was a productive and

insightful press conferencethat the students can take backhome and share with theirschools and communities.

PRITCHETT

HAYNES

Football player Philip Lutzenkirchen and basketball player Morgan Toles answer questionsat a mock press conference with students participating in Auburn’s Journalism Workshop.


JESSICA JOHNSON

Centennial High School

Although she didn’t alwaysknow she was going to be col-umn writer when she was grow-ing up, there is one thing thatJ e n n i f e rFoster had:her opin-ion.So after

she gradu-ated fromAuburn in1999 witha politicaland publicre l a t ionsb a c k -g r o u n d ,Foster became a reporter for thelocal news paper. On her 30thbirthday she became a colum-nist for The Opelika-Auburnnewspaper.Column writing consists of

not only strong opinions andbeliefs.The main reason of incorpo-

rating them in a newspaper is tospur action in people so theywill be influenced to bringabout change in their society.In order to not cross the line

of offensiveness, it is importantthat the reporter recognizes hisor her bias when presenting it tothe public’s eye.Foster also suggested another

healthy way to exercise opinionand good practice for columnwriting.Hopefuls should start an

online blog, a less formal venueof expressing opinions wherephotos, videos, and links can beshared with followers.It’s apparent that everyone

has a different view on who andwhat this world revolvesaround. One may think colum-nists like Foster would have alot to butt heads about with aperson who had opinions differ-ent than their own, but surpris-ingly that wasn’t the case.

“So how do you make yourelbows look different fromeveryone elses?” she asked ourgroup of journalists in training.“Stick them out! Make them

look different,” she said.Foster also values the opin-

ions of others. Not only doesshe believe that sharing opin-ions is necessary in order stayrelevant, but it also gives hersomething to bash in her blogs.But the most important

advice she gave us was not onlyto benefit from our everydaylives, but to especially benefit asthe aspiring journalists oftomorrow.“Read what you want to

write,” Foster said.She believes there is nothing

worse than a reporter writing anarticle on a topic with no foun-dation or backbone.“You need to be a jack of all

traits,” Foster said.Being a versatile journalist is

key to keeping an open mindwhen writing articles.The most important piece of

advice Foster gave us is to goafter popular topics.“If people are talking about it,

you should write about it,” shesaid.A journalist must not fear

their own opinion but ratherembrace it and give it to thepublic.

CHELISIA DUKES

Linden High School

Ric Smith, a radio-televisionfilm instructor, came to talk tothe partici-pants of theA u b u r nUniversityJournalismWorkshopa b o u tcareers inradio andtelevision.S m i t h

earned hisundergrad-uate at theUniversity of South Carolinaand his Master ofCommunication and Educationat Auburn University. Smith’s

profession is teaching areas ofbroadcasting, media relations,and communication.Smith is also the announcer

for Auburn University Footballand this upcoming season willbe his fifth year. He has alsoannounced for the SEC for threeto four years.Smith got involved with

media when he went to AuburnUniversity. Smith’s first jobwas being a voice for a morn-ing show.Also, Smith did play-by-play

for two seasons and worked as apublic announcer for AuburnBaseball.Smith encouraged the partici-

pants of the Auburn UniversityJournalism Workshop to get asmuch experience they can.He also gave the participants

two pieces of advice towardbecoming a broadcaster: stayconnected with people and beconnected in mass media.He told the participants that

“broadcasting is like swim-ming.”In 1996, Smith’s passion for

the sports got him a job with theOlympics. One day the officeasked Smith, “Have he everdone announcing for radio?” Hereplied “No.”Everyone thought he had the

voice for a career in radio or tel-evision but Smith did not thinkso.A radio company liked his

voice and he end up doing on airradio. Smith’s dream was not tobe an announcer but to studypolitics.Smith wants the participants

to take advantage of smallopportunities such as intern-ships.He thinks it is a good pro-

gram to help you get ready forthe job.Smith told the participants

who wanted to be a broadcasterto always assume the micro-phone is on and record what youare going to do and listen forerrors before you go live on air.

Auburn graduates speak to interested journalists

Jennifer Foster, columnist and Auburn University graduate,spoke with students at the Auburn University JournalismWorkshop on Monday.

JOHNSON

DUKES

Auburn graduate, Ric Smith,speaks to students on theimportance of experience.


DYLAN GIBSONSt. Paul’s Episcopal School

The Texas Board ofEducation voted in favor of apiece of legislation that wouldalter all history textbooks in thestate inM a r c h2010. Thelegislationwill eraseand replacemany siz-able por-tions ofT e x a ns c h o o l -childrens’h i s t o r ybooks.This is on the basis that, as

prominent Texan RepublicanParty member Don McLeroystates, “academia is skewed toofar to the left.”

Because it is perceived ashaving too much of a liberalbias, students will be taught lessin their textbooks about theNew Deal programs of FranklinRoosevelt and more aboutRonald Reagan’s policies.Increased emphasis will be puton Christianity’s importance inAmerican government as wellas the beliefs of ThomasJefferson.Many high school students

consider politics irrelevant totheir lives and educations.The situation at hand in Texas

serves for me as proof that noth-ing could be farther from thetruth.History is something I view

as dangerous when alteredmerely for convenience.

George Orwell’s novel“1984” revolves around thedanger of playing with andpoliticizing history.Labeling every article of

recorded history as “red” or“blue” based on how it fits intotoday’s political climate is notonly a gross generalization, buta frightening one.It has been done before; the

Soviet Union un-skewed historyfollowing the death of JosephStalin to cover up atrocitiescommitted during his reign. TheAxis Powers all used similartechniques to promote extremenationalism and engenderhatred for perceived enemies ofstate during World War II.The United States has even

been cited of tampering withhistory on occasion; manyNative-American advocacygroups still allege that theUnited States’ treatment of

Native Americans during west-ward expansion has been down-played.It is dubitable that the Texas

Board of Education is attempt-ing anything as diabolical as thefabrications of history commit-ted by Nazi Germany or theSoviet Union. Though I mayview some of the changes asquestionable, it is still not nec-essarily evil incarnate to listcountry-western music as amajor cultural movement of thetwentieth century.Nevertheless, this should not

be an excuse to dismiss the situ-ation and fall back into apathy.We will be voting in a fewyears.If politicians elect to change

the very content of history,which our government and wayof life are based in, without anyprotest, then what else will welet slide as voting-age adults?

Education: Governments change history books

Facebook is more than entertainment for teensANGELA HERNANDEZ

Munford High School

What is the number one web site mostteens go to when they turn the computeron? Well, that is not hard to think about.One word: Facebook.Facebook is perhaps the most influential

web site to highschool students.These days it

seems like everyonehas a Facebookaccount. I remembercreating my profilebecause even myolder brother and sister have one.Facebook is an outstanding way to keep

in touch with people you do not see everyday.Since my brother and sister live in

Bogota, Colombia, “Facebooking” is ourway of sharing pictures and keeping upwith each other’s lives.If it was not for Facebook, I would not

have been able to keep in touch with many

of the people I have met who live in otherstates or countries.Even though it is risky to put your infor-

mation on the Internet, I believe if it usedin a safe matter, thepositives definitelyoutweigh the nega-tives.Facebook was not

the first web site torevolutionize theway teens interact

with each other, but it is certainly the website preferred by most.Now with the click of a button, you can

have access to pictures, comments, videosand all kinds of applications.Facebook allows you to learn the per-

sonality, looks, points of view and experi-ences your friends and family have beenthrough just by looking at their profile.Now it seems like no matter what coun-

try you live in, most people have one thingin common, Facebook.Comscore.com confirmed Facebook

ranks as the top social networking site inthe majority of European countries.Websites like Bebo, MySpace and live-journal.com are commonly used.Facebook allows a member to join dif-

ferent groups. Agroup was created forthe participants theAuburn JournalismWorkshop.Groups like these

allow us to feel asense of belongingwith the people wemight never see againface-to-face.You can be

involved in groups that interest you andconnect with people who share thoseinterests.Facebook is much more than a social

networking website. It is a gateway toreconnect with those people you love.

GIBSON

COMMENTARY

COMMENTARY

HERNANDEZ

“It is a gateway to connectwith those people you love.”

— Angela Hernandez,


JACOB LONGBeulah High School

It only takes one voice tocatch the attention of an audi-ence.On June 24 Professor Judy

Sheppard did exactly that.Sheppard spoke to the

Auburn University journalismsummer camp about GarrySmith, a writer for SportsIllustrated and how his writhing

compelled her.S h e p p a r d

explained manythings about beinga great journalist.Sheppard’s mainfocus was whenwriting a column ora feature story youneed to zoom in onthat person.Sheppard dis-

cussed many different things

such as the invertedpyramid. The invertedpyramid is a writingtactic journalist use.The most important

thing always goes first.The second mostimportant things go inthe middle. The partsof the story that can becut off goes last .Her advice helped so

much with how you should set

up a feature story. One of thingsshe asked the students was theiropinion on a story where a goodkid with a basketball career infront of him raped a girl. Doeshe need to be given a secondchance or not and the most ofthem said no.After listening the students,

Sheppard replied that whyshould he not have a secondchance it is what America isabout, giving second chances.

ARIANA MCCASKEYLinden High School

As a large college, AuburnUniversity is full of current andexciting news people want toknow about.The Plainsman’s staff and

a d v i s o r shave madethis possi-ble. Theyw o r kextremelyhard to putout a week-ly publica-tion for stu-dents andthe outside

community.The Plainsman started in

1984 and has been runningstrong until this day. The originof the name the “Plainsman”comes from Auburn beingknown as the most beautifulschool on the plains. Thereforeeveryone who attends AuburnUniversity is a Plainsman orwoman.The Plainsman’s staff con-

sists of the editor LauraMaxwell, news editor MaxNewfield, campus editorDereck Lacey and sports editorNick Van Der Linden. Thisstaff is headed by Plainsman’sfaculty adviser Dr. JohnCarvalho.For 26 years the Plainsman’s

staff has put in numerous hoursto produce an award winningpaper. This newspaper wasnamed the best newspaper inthe Southeast by the Society ofProfessional Journalism and thepacemaker by AmericanCollegiate Press. ThePlainsman has covers storiessuch as pedestrian safety, bombdetection dogs, Taylor Swift,city council meetings and acapital murder case.

To become a part of thePlainsman’s staff you can vol-unteer as a freshman or take aninternship.The Plainsman’s staff has

spent many hours workingtogether, which has causedthem to form a very close bond.“I really enjoy working at the

Plainsman because it lets mepractice everything I learn inclass. Working there has defi-nitely made me a better all-around journalist. Plus, I havesuch a great coworkers that wecan always come up with greatideas or they can catch mistakesI make,” said Max Newfield.

DYLAN GIBSONSt. Paul’s Episcopal School

Participants in the AuburnUniversity High SchoolJournalism Workshop weregiven the opportunity to experi-ence the rigors of the collegejournalism environment onJune 21.

The staff of The AuburnPlainsman, the University’sweekly college newspaper, metwith students to answer ques-tions and talk about the work-ings of the publication.Students were introduced to

Dr. John Carvalho, adviser ofthe Auburn Plainsman, as wellas editor Laura Maxwell, sportseditor Nick Van Der Linden,and news editor Max Newfield.They talked to participants

about the structure of the paper,some of the major stories thatthe paper has covered and theatmosphere in the news roomduring the pagination process.The format of The Auburn

Plainsmanw a se m p h a -sized dur-ing the ses-sion.Students

learned thenewspaperconsists offour sec-t i o n s :news, campus, intrigue andsports.Each of these sections has

three members to make deci-sions concerning the format andcontent of the respective sec-tions.Students also learned about

the influence The AuburnPlainsman has in the surround-

ing community.Coverage of a campus visit

by 2008 republican presidentialcandidate Rudy Giulianireceived special attention. ThePlainsman also covered eventssuch as Taylor Swift’s unantic-ipated visit to the campus inApril 2010 and ran a seriesabout pedestrian safety inAuburn that influencedAuburn’s new laws concerningcrosswalk safety at intersec-tions.The Plainsman was recog-

nized for excellence in theseand other endeavors, recentlybeing named “best in theSoutheast” by the SoutheasternJournalism Conference.In regards to the process and

hardships faced in creating eachissue, the staff members eachhad different recollections andideas.“The most difficult part of

being a journalist is knowingthat you’re at an event youweren’t technically invited to,”Newfield said.Other members of The

Plainsman’s staff echoed thissentiment with remarks aboutthe difficulty in collectinginformation on some storiesand the need for aggressivejournalism.The Plainsman staff as well

as the workshop participantsended the session by travelingto Moe’s Southwestern Grill.

Students join Plainsman staff for info, quesadillas

LONG

Feature teacher gives advice about writing styles

GIBSON

MCCASKEY


PAUL ROBINSON

Southaven High School

On rainy days for communi-ties across the nation TheSouthern Poverty Law Center ismaking the days even brighterfor all races.Lecia Brooks, director of The

Southern Poverty Law Center,and staff have three main goalsto practice: fighting hate, track-ing hate, and teaching toler-ance.One of the staff members

took a journey from differentoccupations to where he isworking now.The man referred to is

activist and journalist MarkPotok.Potok covered a story in 1995

about Terry Nichols bombing afederal building in Oklahomacity. Ever since that story hewanted journalism to serve ap u r p o s e .Potok told25 studentsin the AUS u mm e rJournalismWorkshopthat hejoined TheSou the rnP o v e r t yL a wCenter to use journalism toattack and destroy hate groups.The stories Potok wrote

would have an effect on youngreaders so they will not beinfluenced by the hate groups.One leader, William Pierce, ter-rified the public. Pierce mademost of his wealth through themusic sales and different eventswith Nazi power. The sale ofwhite power music turned intosix thousand dollar business.The strong words play a greateffect on listeners to pay moreattention to Pierce and lookmore into his hate group.The group grew up to 1400

until 2002 when Pierce unex-

pectedly died. Pierce, before hedied, had secret meetings withNazi followers, two monthsafter he died Potok was able toget a video of Pierce givingcredit to just the Nazi party anddisrespecting other hate groups.Now Potok used journalism todestroy the party by writingabout how Pierce was disre-spectful.Now other hate groups real-

ized what a snake pierce hap-pen to be. Mark Potok has cov-ered many more stories, such asEric Gliebe.The strategy in taking down

Gliebe’s hate group was to usetheir own product against themby taking a stripper that wasassociated with Gliebe and say-ing he was bringing her tomeetings. The hate group wasoutraged by Pierce’s actionsand soon his power came to anend.

MASON MORRIS

Thompson High School

The eighth annual AuburnUniversity Summer JournalismWorkshop participants took a

trip Tuesday to Montgomery tovisit The Southern Poverty LawCenter (SPLC), which is amedia group with the sole pur-pose of putting an end to hategroups across America.Though

the SPLCis a groupset out tod e s t r o yh a t eg r o u p s ,they do notuse slanderto do so.Membersof theworkshop discovered this in aseminar with two writers fromSPLC.First to take the stage was

Mark Potok, key spokesmanand director of publicationsand information for the SPLC.Potok has covered the Waco,Texas killings, the Knights ofFreedom, the National Allianceand many other hate groupsover the years. Through shut-ting down hate groups, theSPLC became “the New YorkTimes of the hate groupworld,” Potok said. He began

his speech with clear examplesof stories he has covered withthe SPLC that disbanded vari-ous hate groups over the years.One such example of a take-

down led by Potok was theKnights of Freedom case. TheKnights of Freedom was awhite supremacy group led bya 19-year-old college sopho-more who went by the name ofDavis Wolfgang Hawk. Hawkwas born in Boston, Mass.,with the birth name AndyGreenbaum, the son of Jewishparents.Greenbaum changed his

name to Davis Hawk when hemoved away from Boston forcollege. The SPLC found outhe had changed his name andquickly brought this to theattention of the Knights. Oncediscovered, uproar began with-in the Knights and Greenbaumwas labeled as the “KosherNazi.”Greenbaum was eventually

excommunicated from theKnights. Seven years later,Andy Greenbaum had a lawsuitfiled against him by AOL forselling false male enhancementpills online.

Students enthralled by tales of present-day Nazis

Katie Brown/Workshop AssistantMark Potok shares his Nazi conspiracy story with workshop students.

MORRIS

ROBINSON


LAUREN MARTINBeulah High School

What is the price of individ-uality?For teenagers today “fitting

in” comes at a high price.Following social practices,dress and trends, can be deadly.Suicide is the third leadingcause of death amongteenagers according to teende-pression.com. I believe thequest for normalcy pushesmany teenagers over the edge.According to diction-

ary.com, peer pressure isdefined asthe pres-sure fromone's peersto behavein a man-ner similaror accept-able tot h e m .From per-s o n a le x p e r i -ence, many elders I have comein close contact with all sayteens today have it much hard-er than they did when theywere teenagers.Teenagers are devils. I say

this because I am one and Ihave experienced this first-hand. A few causes of depres-sion are unstable family back-grounds, genetic mental disor-ders and stress or trauma. Butdoes peer pressure have a handin it? You bet it does. It maycome when a student doesn’tfeel sufficient enough, or whena “clique” rejects a peer without any reason.As destructive as peer pres-

sure is, some people try to flipit into a positive practice. If oneis being pushed by others toachieve success it seems bene-ficial. But when does a littlepush go too far? There exists afine line between a littleencouragement and too muchcriticism. A person’s outlookon life and their mental state

will determine how well onewill handle the criticism.So I have arrived at this con-

clusion, popularized by ForestGump, “stupid is as stupiddoes.” We as individuals pickour actions. Some teenagersmay need guidance but toomuch criticism is a killer.A word of advice to parents,

back off if your child does notask your opinion. If they didn’task they probably do not wantto hear what you have to say.That goes for anyone, parentsor children. To break it down,it is a “don’t ask, don’t tell”policy. And for teenagers justbe happy with what you havebeen given do not strive to bethe best just strive to do yourbest. And if you are ever feel-ing down, just rememberchances are someone out theremore than likely has it worsethan you.

MEGAN MILLERAuburn High School

With each passing decade,the styles, positions, abilities,rights, shapes and sizes of theAmerican population as awhole have evolved accordingto the period’s trends.The turn of the century was

no exception. As traditionalAm e r i c a nsociety hasshifted toadapt toAmerica as amelting pot,so have theviews ofbody imageand self-con-fidence.American

obesity is a focal point intoday’s society. Officials haveremoved vending machinesfrom schools, fast food restau-rants are focusing on a moreappealing menu for health

gurus and calorie counters, andstates are even passing lawsrestricting fried food as a partof a school’s lunch menu. I’m abig fan of all of these adjust-ments, but what I’m not a fanof is people accepting obesitywith no regards to their conse-quences.A vast majority of women

struggle with body image.Magazines tell us how weshould wear our makeup, whatclothes we should wear andthey have even started tellingus how to eat and exercise. Atthe same time, they are alsotelling us we are beautiful nomatter what, and we shouldaccept ourselves the way weare. Although I believe this tobe true, self-confidence andbody acceptance is not anexcuse to live an unhealthylifestyle.Television shows are doing

obesity justice by showcasingmultiple shows such as “OneBig Happy Family”, “Ruby”and “Too Fat for Fifteen”.Although these shows touch onweight loss, they still basicallysay being overweight is accept-able as long as you’re happy.The bitter reality is obesity is

unhealthy because it can lead toproblems like diabetes, breath-ing difficulties during, heartdisease, and even certain typesof cancer.I firmly believe everyone is

beautiful in some way, bothinside and out, but confidenceachieved when healthy choicesare made.

CAMERON SCHENCKEROak Mountain High School

Have you ever felt as thoughyou’re a star glistening in thatbig, dark puddle called thenight sky? While each star cer-tainly is unique and special,they somehow get lost in a seafilled with billions of glowing

dots.Unfortunately, more and

more teens are in situationssimilar to these lost stars. Thesedays, teens conform to whatsociety deems “normal.” Whatexactly is normal? Every per-son has something exciting andspecial to offer but a lot of peo-ple just completely waste it. Somany teens would rather getlost in the crowd than stand outand be an individual. This is notonly evident in how they dress,but in how they act.Some teens feel as if there is

a microscope hovering overthem, watching their everymove. I commend the individu-als who stray away from the“norm” and make their owndecisions on how they act anddress. Nobody likes to belabeled “weird.” However, tome, the so-called “freaks” arethe people I would prefer to befriends with.One can learn so much from

someone they have absolutelynothing inc o mm o nwith. Id o n ’ tk n o wa b o u teveryoneelse, butfor me, ittruly isexciting tomeet newpeople and learn exactly whothey are . The sad thing is, it isbecoming increasingly difficultto stumble upon anyone who istruly their own person. Sure,everyone is different, but thatdoes not necessarily make themstand out from everyone else.People who stand out the

most are the ones who aren’t“normal,” whatsoever. I’m notsaying people should be off-the-wall-crazy. I’m only sayingmore people should considerbeing themselves and formingtheir own opinions on certainissues. Variety is the spice oflife! Be a pepper shaker!

COMMENTARY

Students comment on self image, peer pressure

SCHENCKER

MARTIN

MILLER


MEGAN MILLERAuburn High School

In a recent seminar, DavidSutton, a professor of commu-nications at AuburnUniversity, spoke about thefield of communication, buthis teaching technique can besummed up by his class,“Death, Dying, andCommunication”.Sutton moved to Auburn in

1986 with his wife. WhenAuburn became his home,Sutton took a job working as apublic relations writer for theCollege of Business.Members of the university

staff have the option to take afree class at Auburn, and

S u t t o nc h o s ecommuni-c a t i o n s ,which iswhere hefound hisp a s s i o n ,l e a d i n ghim to gethis Ph.D.in thefield.After he received his Ph.D.

and looked over the courseselections at Auburn, Suttondecided to start a new classcalled, “Death, Dying, andCommunication.”On the first day of class, he

opened with the statement, “I

have no idea what I’m doing orif this is going to work.”He said the prospect of being

the first to take part in this newcourse excited his students.Sutton said his most interest-ing experience as a professorthus far was being privilegedenough to start a new course atAuburn.Sutton’s class is structured

around Blackboard, an onlineprogram, where he relies heav-ily on the calendar function tokeep his students plugged intotheir assignments andinformed of their due dates.Students are required to read

one main book plus three otherbooks over the course of asemester, and they also take

part in “Dr. Sutton’s BookClub,” which is held onFridays.Sutton prefers to read and

discuss, keeping lectures to aminimum.Sutton advises upcoming

college students to enjoy theirnew-found freedom, but to stillmake sure to study and dohomework, using time man-agement and even a day plan-ner.He also recommends that

students treat college like an 8-5 job. He said if you’re not inclass, you should be in thelibrary reading or studying.“You’ll be a different person

when you leave here, in someway,” Sutton said.

KATLYN GOSSETTWinter Springs High School

Teenagers planning to attendcollege after they graduateoverwhelm an admissionadviser with their countlessquestions.On June 24, 25 high school

students from the AuburnUniversity Summer JournalismWorkshop received this oppor-tunity.Jake Williamson, Auburn

University admission adviser,took a break from advising toanswer questions.One question the students

collectively wanted to know

was thecost oftuition forin-state aswell aso u t - o f -state.“In-state

is around$13,500 ayear ando u t - o f -state is about $27,000,” saidWilliamson.To ease the hyperventilating

students, Williamson noted thenumerous scholarship opportu-nities to help bring down thecost.

“The best place to look forscholarships that Auburn offersis on the Auburn Web site.”said Williamson.Auburn’s acceptance process

entails filling out the onlineapplication, which consists ofthree parts: test scores,extracurricular activities, andshort answer questions.When asked about the ratio

of importance for the threeparts Williamson“We take the extracurricular

activities into consideration butthe most important out of thethree is the test scores,”Williamson. “The test scoresinclude ACT, SAT, and the

applicants G.P.A.”According to Williamson, in

2009 the middle 50 percentscore for the ACT was 21-29.For the SAT it was 1000-1300and G.P.A. was 32-38.“The middle 50 percent

changes each year. These num-bers aren’t a minimum of thescore to get into Auburneither,” said WilliamsonOnce a prospective student

has completed the applicationthey wait till Nov. 15 andreceive either an acceptance,deference, or they are denied.If the student was deferred in

November they have to waituntil December for results.

Adviser gives students inside scoop on AU admissions

Prof. discusses death, dying, communication

MILLER

GOSSETT

Interested in Auburn Journalism?“If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”

We like this slogan from the City News Bureau of Chicago. It illustrates strong commitment to the traditional tenets ofjournalistic excellence. Great journalism begins with a tireless search for the truth. While our program holds fast to themost enduring principles of journalism, we remain on the cutting edge of technology and maintain state-of-the-art labs

for writing, editing, design, photography, and online research. Our skills-based approach has the explicit mission ofproducing the state’s most talented and well-rounded journalists. To find out more about applying to Auburn University

please visit: http://www.auburn.edu/main/prospectivestudents.html

10PAGE 14 JUNE 2010TIGER TIMES

Former journalist calls profession a ‘calling’MADELINE BURKHARDT

Athens High School

Journalism is to “see thenews through your lens”states Troy Johnson, a jour-nalist for 16 years and a com-munications editor.The life

of a jour-nalist canbe rathertough ands t ress fu l .Getting thenews toprint bythe dead-line is nos i m p l etask.Johnson has most of his

experience in sports journal-ism, which he says is not allfun and games.As a sports journalist, he

covered the games, but he alsocovered everything dealingwith the players, which sadlymay include arrests anddeaths.Championships, however,

are a brighter side to sportsjournalism.

“Sports journalism canopen many avenues,” saidJohnson.He would know about the

many opportunities that arisebecause of this field becausehe was reporting at theMasters Golf Tournamentwhen Tiger Woods achievedhis first win.He also interviewed

NASCAR driver Jeff Gordonand was lucky enough to snaga ride around the track in aracecar.Johnson said he believes

that a journalism degree canbe applied to almost any job.The teenage generation is

especially a step ahead in thejournalism field because oftheir knowledge of technolo-gy. Journalism has nowbecome a multimedia job.

Instead of being only con-fined to newspapers, journal-ism now uses other types ofmedia to reach the masses.These new types of mediainclude television, blogs, andamong others.A good journalist needs to

be open to criticism and verydriven, Johnson claims.They need to also be aware

that becoming a reporter is avery time consuming job,which should not be a prob-lem if that person truly loveswhat he or she is doing.

JOSH BRUNNER

Spain Park High School

Troy Johnson said it bestwhen he called a career injournalism a “calling.”Johnson spoke with Auburn

Journalism Workshop stu-dents Wednesday aboutcareers in fields ofJournalism.During his presentation he

told the students about hispersonal experiences in thefield as well as many helpful

tips they could use in pursuingtheir own careers.Johnson currently serves as

the Communication Editor forAuburn University’s Depart-ment of Education.

This followed a 16 yearcareer in sports journalism, inw h i c hJ o h n s o nspent 11y e a r sw o r k i n gfor theColumbusL e d g e r -Enquirer.Johnson

was alsofo r tuna t eenough tocover four Olympics, theSuper Bowl and the NCAAFinal Four.During the presentation,

Johnson discussed many ofhis own experiences to teachthe students about the field.Although most of his expe-

riences were good stories, healso told the students aboutthe time constraints the fieldcan have on one’s life.

For instance, Johnson toldthe group Coach TerryBowden, the head footballcoach at Auburn University,was fired on his birthday.Johnson was immediately

called upon to cover the story.As a result, he had to drop hisplans for his birthday to report.He later went on to say

“You might wake up one dayand look at your teenage kidand say ‘Where did all thattime go?’”Johnson also shared some

of the sad moments journalistsexperience.He shared a story in which

he was sent to a Georgia col-lege to observe and interviewthe family of a basketballplayer who had a heart attackon the court.Johnson also focused on

some of the core values ofjournalism.Johnson told the students

about the importance of dead-lines, technology and theinterviewing process.“Get to know the janitors,

as well as the top person in thecorporation,” Johnson said.

BURKHARDT

BRUNNER

Former sports journalist Troy Johnson speaks about “Life as a Journalist.”


Professor discusses adversity, diversityBRIONNAWILLIAMS

Anniston High School

In today’s society you have toknow and accept many changes.The world is changing by theminute and it is not always whatyou know. It is who you know.Professor Chichi Lovett, art

professor and officer of theCollege ofL i b e r a lArts diver-sity pro-gram wasdiscussingthis issue.Part of

her job isto treateveryonefairly andmake surethey are comfortable. She hascreated programs and startedvarious things in her three year

reign. It is very critical howpeople look at things different-ly. Everything that people seein the society is not going to bethe same for someone else.Everywhere you go, you are

not going to be comfortable,and some will judge you by the

color of your skin, your eyes,hair texture, or other elementthat makes you different fromthe next. It is rare people takethe time and get to know theperson on the inside.In a human’s life span they

are going to witness and experi-

ence diversity. It is not some-thing that you can hide or makeexcuses for.It is just something people

have to adjust to. Everyone isnot raised the same and handlesituations differently. Societyjudges you, and many peoplemiss a lot of opportunities.No individual is superior to

the next one. A title does notdefine a person. A persondefines the title.Often people take advantage

of what we have. The moresociety adjusts to adversity, thebetter the world will be.Lovett stressed to the Auburn

Summer Journalism studentsthat everyone comes with bag-gage. She sees the world in adifferent perspective. If every-one was the same, we wouldnever have to worry aboutadversity; however we are notthat fortunate.

WILLIAMS

JESSICA BLOOM

Winston County High School

The Auburn Magazine hascaptivated Auburn alumni sinceits introduction in 1994, but theoriginal magazine did not beginin the pristine condition it nowembodies.T o

achieve itsc u r r e n tlook, theA u b u r nMagaz inew e n tthrough areconstruc-tion periodf r o mO c t o b e r2008 toFebruary 2009 with Pentagram,a design firm in Austin, Texas.Betsy Robertson, editor of

Auburn Magazine, stated thatmagazine architecture is like ahouse.

The foundation is the audi-ence, the supporting walls arethe content, the doors and win-dows are intrigue points, and theroof is the overall design tem-plate.The Auburn Magazine

bestowed the responsibility ofits reconstruction project to DJStout, a graphic designer withPentagram.Stout has three National

Magazine Awards, and he wasnamed one of the “100 MostImportant People inPhotography” by the AmericanPhoto magazine.Stout incorporated consisten-

cy into the magazine by design-ing a style format, and theAuburn Magazine launched thestyle format in the February2009 issue.Now over a year since the

February 2009 launch, the mag-azine is fully utilized. The newmagazine is more organized,more aesthetic, and, most impor-tantly, more Auburn oriented

than its older counterpart.“We keep our alumni con-

nected to the university,” saidRobertson at a June 21 seminarwith Auburn University HighSchool Journalism Workshopparticipants.With elements such as flash-

back and student life articles, themagazine creates a sense of nos-talgia while also informing itsreaders of the current activities

at Auburn University.The Auburn University

Alumni Association has morethan 45,000 members, and themagazine appeals to all rangesof alumni.The Auburn Magazine even

has a reader that graduated in1929. William “Doc” Holley is103 years old, and is reported tobe the oldest living AuburnUniversity graduate.

BLOOM

AU Alumni magazine editor talks publication redesign

Chichi Lovett discusses why diversity is important and whypeople should not try to be the same as one another.

Auburn Magazine Editor Betsy Robertson discusses theredesign of the Auburn University alumni publication.


Professor Nan Fairley & Dr. Jennifer Wood Adams, Co-DirectorsDepartment of Communication and Journalism217 Tichenor HallAuburn UniversityAuburn, AL 36849-5211

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PaidAuburn, ALPermit No. 9

Tiger Times

Workshop bonds group through common interestMASON MORRIS

Thompson High School

An experience to learn, a chance tomake newfriends, an

opportunity to talkwith professionals intheir field of interest.These are the expe-

riences that we, par-ticipants of the eighthannual AuburnUniversity SummerJournalism Workshopgot to partake in.I did not know what

to expect upon arriving at Glenn Hall onthat hot Sunday afternoon, but as soon as Iwalked in, I knew it was going to be a goodweek.All the typical scenarios came up when

I first met my roommates, Josh, Jarrodand Dillon: awkward silences, cornyjokes and attempts at introducing our-

selves to each other.We clicked though, as we took a walk

past Jordan-Hare Stadium and PlainsmanPark, the ultimate bonding arenas for maleAuburn fans.The girls were a little more difficult to

get to know, however. At first, they stuckwith each other and us guys stuck together,but after hanging out in the common roomof Glenn Hall when we returned from thatfirst full day of seminars, things smoothedout.We all share a common interest here,

journalism, and I think that has helped withthe bonding process. That shared interestthough, has—as the cliché goes—“broughtus together.”We’re an odd group by today’s stan-

dards, with people from multiple socialgroups. But that has not hindered anyonefrom becoming friends.Attending all the seminars and lectures

together, I now know some great people,and it will be hard leaving them after onlyone short week together.I feel much stronger in my skills as a

writer after attending this workshop, and Iwould highly advise it to anyone who isconsidering majoring in journalism. Evenif someone were on the edge about major-ing in journalism, this workshop would bea great tool in making your decision oneway or another.

MORRIS

COMMENTARY “I feel much stronger in myskills as a writer after

attending this workshop, andI would highly advise it toanyone who is consideringmajoring in journalism.”

— Mason Morris,Workshop participant

tiger times june2007 - auburn universitytuesday, june 22, wsfa openeditsarmsto25young journalists...

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