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[heathermarieblazek]

Final thesis paper

I am thankful that this class made us write a chapter each week. This reduced overall frustration and allowed me to have direct, and immediate feedback regarding my paper. The purpose of the final paper was to explain my rationale and methodology for the Progressives of South Carolina project. Furthermore, I had to self-examine whether or not the project was successful. I declare that the project was average yet ranks as one of the highest viewed articles to date on my website. It is my hope that it will be referenced for future campaigns and curious voters who may be “on the fence” about who to vote for. I also learned how to write a master’s thesis paper including an abstract. These are new areas for me and will influence future documents I write especially if I decide to write future academically targeted articles. I’d like to thank Dr. D for her videos and feedback throughout this process. As I look back on this past year of my life, I acknowledge that I have changed. I have some personal fears regarding the future, but I know I can tackle them. It is my hope that I represent Full Sail as a whole positively and that my future works influence change positively. Congrats to all graduates. May we lead forth and encourage others to start their journey.

[heathermarieblazek]

Capstone Roundup

Man, what an adventure this one has been. In truth, I found myself struggling with this last project. Not with understanding the assignment, but with fighting myself. I had expected to come into this project and have it "be a breeze" but that's easier said than done. I realized in my undergrad, a great final project says a lot about your work. I had a great final piece then, but not enough to launch me. I simply refused to allow this to happen again. I was expected to show my ability to combine multimedia to tell a compelling story. This almost didn't happen. Self-esteem plays a big part here.

Initially I focused too much on meeting the content verses building the content around my piece. The article was about PEOPLE. Their needs, their wants, their dreams, not pictures or video of them. After my first trial run, I regrouped and focused on my interview subjects. It fell into place then. I worried that I lacked enough "flashy" multimedia, but I wanted this to be taken seriously. I shot for quality, not amount of items.

I am thankful my professor managed all of my panicked emails, but I am sure I wasn't the only one. I wanted this to be "right" a great launch into my next phases post-graduation. I found the communication helpful because I did have a lot of questions.

Overall, this course helped me realize there's the "heart" of your work. It's the stories of people. I had a great time interviewing people. Even learned a number of things about them I wouldn't have before. I know there is always going to be deadlines, but the story should always reflect who it is about. I wish corporate media as a whole would take the time to do this more. We might have more compassion in the world.

[heathermarieblazek]

Public Relations

My goal for this class was pretty straight-forward: expose myself to the idea of what proper PR is. What I found is that PR is pretty similiar to managing social media. I have done a lot of thinking about my personal brand, and I know that it's time to start being very specific in my portfolio of work. Since my education has covered 3 different areas, I want to break it down in specific categories with examples. My current portfolio is a random "mess" of different examples, which is fine but not very specific for future clients and prospective employers. Brand specific journalism was an eye-opener for me. I found that I really struggled with the Coca-Cola project as my initial instinct was to do a DIY based article, which I think would have been more informative, however I found very little details to "back up" my claims in the article without exposure directly from the "imaginary client." It's is clear that to represent brand, one must have enough access to the internal culture to promote it. I would highly recommend this fact alone for clients. My previous exposure to brand journalism was in the form of advertisers paying bloggers to promote brands with articles. Nice idea, but I must ask myself how much about the brand did the writer know? Probably nothing, with no, to minimal exposure to the company itself.

[heathermarieblazek]

Social Media

I must confess that I have not reviewed my Mastery slides in a while. Life does get "away from you." I had committed to the following at the start of my program: 1. Master leveraging myself as a brand. 2. Keep readers engaged. 3. Encourage better participation of readers. Mind you, I made these resolutions before understanding the class. This is not a negative, just a reminder to myself that I did not fully understand what was coming. This is life though, and journalism to an extent. Plan for the unexpected. 1. I feel that the program has forced me to branch out. I have added contacts on Facebook I have yet to meet (in some cases) due to my oversharing of news, alerts and other random events in Columbia. Some of these contacts lead into interviews as I found this month. I believe trust is occurring, more so than when I started out. I did interview a former political candidate so I feel really confident. 2. I post so much news some of my personal friends do not respond. I expect that. But I am attempting to ask "crowd-sourced" questions now. Attempting to get them to open up and explain to me what they want or need to see news wise. Not exactly a success here, but I am trying. 3. I remember when I made this resolution. I had friends who were against journalists, and my interest in getting a degree in journalism. They, for the most part ignored anything I said/posted unless it was against their belief system/political realm. Then it was all out war. All the way down to me being a "female" and "no man wants a woman thinking that way" to "your professors are liars." I have had to learn to moderate comments but step away at some point. Sometimes I still fall into this "trap" and find myself defending myself. I simply must accept I cannot win against internet "trolls" and focus on doing good work. What I found of the course was surprising. I had not expected to use social media as a research tool. However, it has been an excellent "go-to" on getting a "pulse" on a situation, especially with my beat being politics/activism in Columbia, SC. I understand now that starting out, I must advertise myself. I simply cannot rely on people to do it for me. I must understand the platforms out there, and use them as tools, for specifc audiences. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2015/04/09/10-tips-to-dealing-with-trolls/#20e5c92354f4 https://towcenter.org/research/guide-to-crowdsourcing/

[heathermarieblazek]

Multimedia Reporting

The objective of this class, was to finally combine multimedia elements of our choice, to craft original news worthy content. I enjoyed the freedom to finally choose what elements I wanted to use. I made an Infographic, and focused on video interviews as much as I could. I understand a lot of the feedback regarding my videos from my prior class now. I have attempted this time around, to really attempt to engage my interview subject more. When they begin to "wander off" the topic, I guide them back. I also now implement a brief "warm-up session" if I can tell the interview subject feels nervous. The hardest interview I've done to date came out of this class: a 12-year old girl. This interview took over 2 hours to record. She was nervous and sometimes had a hard time expressing herself clearly. She wanted it to be perfect through and kept insisting we reshoot her answers. (Her persistance was amazing to me.) I am having a hard time finding "knowledge experts" in some of the articles I have completed this month. I took some point deductions over this, but I would rather take deductions than fake sources. Faking sources is bad journalism, and that's not the type of journalist I wish to be. I will not rely on bad information and spread it as fact. This is something I believe the majority of the American public struggles with: disinformation. I am also struggling with our class check-ins as our classes keep getting smaller. I feel as if there are not enough people to speak with, or differing feedback to help me with my growth. I accept that this is the reality of a master's program however. Overall I enjoyed the freedom to choose in this class. I started to feel as if I had "control" over how I wanted to present information, not just a series of preset "you must haves." I'd say this class made me feel a bit more of an actual journalist, then just someone studying the topic.

[heathermarieblazek]

Digital News Production

I wasn't sure what to expect with Digital News Production. I wondered if it was similar to Broadcast Journalism, or would give me an introduction to the style broadcast uses. I was happy to see that the course lectures gave a me background on video production for journalism, as most news now is delivered via this medium. I was expected to focus on constructing news pieces using my video camera, and I will confess I still haven't mastered using it. I was trained in my undergrad to use Canon and Nikons. Sony is useful, but I struggle with relying on the autofocus. I'm used to having more control, over the device but did not explore this at this time as I wanted to simply learn to piece the stories together as instructed. I figure as my program moves forward it will be suitable and expected of me to start exploring my camera and its options more. I also am having a hard time getting my mic to work. It appears to be a battery issue but even with a replaced battery it did not work. I am looking into alternatives as I know audio will become an issue going forward. It's also nice to be back to working in Premiere as I enjoyed this in my undergrad program. I feel that overall, I have the writing pretty much down. I feel comfortable now avoid "I" or "we" in articles, and citing resources. Adding video takes effort I have found, and I think this course walked me through the process "gently." This course has prepared me to have my gear ready, to shoot "b-roll" to represent the story to give it depth or a feeling/background. I assume I will start to feel more comfortable with the gear and combining it with my writing so that going forward I can start creating high quality videos for my readers.

[heathermarieblazek]

Multimedia Journalism Recap

This class was challenging for me in the aspect of balancing deadlines along with work and available “news worthy” stories along with the emotional upheaval some articles caused me. The class was also during the holiday season I found a lot of unanswered calls, or late responses to interview inquiries. What I learned personally of this class, was that I can meet extreme deadlines. I had to have an extension for 2 projects, making 4 assignments due in one week. To say I’m not exhausted would be an understatement, but it finally addresses that one interview question employers always ask: “how are you with deadlines?” I can meet them. I walk away knowing one of the best projects I’ve done to date occurred with this class, the telling of a rape survivor’s story. It was the most emotional project I’ve done in a while, for personal reasons. I will confess it sent me into a small turmoil of emotions. But I think some articles must be written by people who have an understanding first hand of the topic. It wasn’t about me, but my interview subject later emailed me to thank me for my kindness during the interview, and how compassionate I was in presenting her story. I also bought a notebook calendar for next year. I swear I’m not tackling deadlines like this for a while, unless I have to.

[heathermarieblazek]

Research & Investigative Skills

My personal 3 goals for this course were: 1. Being comfortable with working with infographics and translating data into easy to understand pieces. 2. Write interesting articles with interviews. 3. Secure an "expert" interview. Initially I found infographics frustrating, but after awhile I started to enjoy going through data. I relied on free online tools for my first graphics, however going forward I am committing myself to use of Illustrator or Adobe only programs. The expert interview was hard to secure, especially with the holiday season approaching, and my work shift being shifted around. I had to rely on email and follow-up calls. I was successful however, but I did not achieve my goal of personally meeting with them in person and interviewing. Scheduling is a MUST. Going forward I will need to keep a planner and look at all weeks ahead of time. I would have been able to schedule my expert interview with more ease had I started it early. To be fair to myself though, I did not have my article idea until a week ago. But scheduling a week ago could have improved. I am currently researching bullet journals or notebooks (custom made DIY) for journalism purposes.

[heathermarieblazek]

Legal Aspects of Media Wrap-up

What was your favorite assignment in this course? Please explain.

Week 3, and the event writing assigment. This one was a surprise for me, as I showed up to cover soccer, and instead ran into two wonderful ladies, who were in the process of adopting a 2-year old. After chatting with them, I had the knowledge that soccer wasn't the real story here, it was the on-going (will be) 3-year adoption process of a lesbian couple. Although I still agree soccer can be important too, I found that this story was like a layer, in a cake. The soccer game was just icing, the outside. It's the people who show up, which make the event special and unique. I learned a lot about the adoption process, and obstacles that gay and lesbian couples face legally.

Of the course topics covered this month, which one(s) do you think will be most helpful to you as a communications professional?

The Public Relations related topics I feel are the most helpful, as companies, and people with a personal brand must understand how to positively interact with the public. What may seem as a good intention may actual cause harm, or break a law resulting in lawsuits.

How will the knowledge you acquired this month prepare you to handle potential legal issues in the communications industry?

Research - always look into claims by advertisers, always fact check even if the information is provided to me by a public figure, or a world-renowned journalist. Taking "someone's word for it" simply isn't enough.

[heathermarieblazek]

Writing for Interactive Media

I was reminded this class, of feedback a photography professor at USC once gave me: "Heather, make a cohesive series, where all photos although not related are related in a sense that they tell the same story". I have a habit of too many ideas at once. My professor's feedback this class was that my chosen topic was too broad, and I realized this when I sat down to draft the first revision of the story. I had effectively written 2 stories in one. So although I may not have worked on multiple ideas this class, I committed myself to working the same initial idea, and narrowing it down as much as I could. I did not want to scrap the idea for it's broadness. I wanted to show that if a future employer came to me with an idea, that I could narrow it down. I know that outside of academic circles, that simply switching a topic may not be an option. This has been an excellent reminder for me, and I am glad that this feedback once again revisited me. I had not considered that writing, like art can be a "series" where all pieces interconnect and relate. I also learned not to take myself too seriously in my About You project. Based on the examples I found online, I found that I was more interested in pages that showed a personal side: photos of when CEOs were children, or self-directed humor. I found coldness in pages that stayed too formal. Now I understand that humor on all About You pages is not always possible especially depending on the line of business the company is involved in. But I feel that if it is available, just like a sales person, why would you hide your personality from a client? Does a client not also buy into your personality when purchasing your services? I get that some people do not want humor. In the case of my personally run blogs though, I feel some level of personality should be shown to my specific audience. A challenging class for me personally, but I am glad that I stayed focused to my ideas, and kept trying.

[heathermarieblazek]

NMC Wrap Up

Original Mastery Timeline Goals: • Combine elements of my last 2 degrees with current program. • Start learning tools relevant to the local market. • Understand limitations of multimedia journalism.

I am happy to see that the audio and visual aspects of my Media Arts degree are extremely useful and provide me with a solid background in creating content. Where I must focus is less on the “art” of making pieces, and streamline pieces into engaging content for targeted audiences (not just making art).

Where I found that I have lacked, is the graphics design aspect of my first degree in Visual Communications. I have used the web publishing aspect of this degree previously but have stayed away from the deeper design elements. To meet my first and second goal, I started diving back into design and started taking an InDesign course on Lydia.com. I also have launched an Etsy where I am selling some of these designs in hopes that it will give me more practice as a designer and help build my portfolio in this area. I have started with business card designs, and plan to make more designs but due to time constraints am not taking custom designs at this time (focused on premade content for now). I also uploaded these items to Behance, and am encouraged by the appreciation I have received from designers so far.

I am still concerned on how to battle the role of “fake news” in journalism, however I am realizing that this may be side effect of our technological culture for the time being. I know that providing good sources is one way of battling this, however I feel as if readers will ultimately choose to believe what suits them best. Perhaps there is a connection between psychology and what readers want to read, or accept as truth in journalism.

[heathermarieblazek]

I used to argue that being in journalism, or a part of it, that you didn't have to take a political stance. And perhaps, in some ways this can be true. But what of the self... the true inner nature of one's belief system, especially when faced with something tragic.

I still believe you can report without bias, and without presenting the information as a reflection of your inner beliefs. But I can also argue that sometimes you should allow a little of your beliefs and thoughts to seep into your story.

My inspirational post is that of my friend Tiffany, who spoke at Columbia Stands With Charlottesville on Monday. The audio is bad, I had no external mic, and the PA system squelched at us. Her message though is one of importance.

I realized this day, that even though I am not giving speeches, that in my own way, using the talents I have studied I am contributing, even on a small scale to do good. And I think that's what the core of activism is: doing what you can in your own way.

Thank you Tiffany for giving me the largest shout out on Facebook I have received to date. She tagged me with the mayor of Columbia, and a few State Representatives, who also spoke that day. She also attached my video to that "shout out". I did not boast about this on my feeds, but here on my Mastery journal, I shall share: it's one of the milestone moments I've had overall since my journey started 4 years ago.

Please enjoy her video, and blessings to all during this time.

[heathermarieblazek]

Week 1 New Media and Communications

I am very excited for this class, as it appears I will be launching a blog. Now blogs are nothing new to me, and have been a side hobby of mine off an on for years. In fact, I still have a DIY blog here on Tumblr (and a newly launched version of it on Wordpress) that although I go inactive for periods of time, it still gains followers and "reblogs".

But sometimes I ask myself, is DIY my true passion. Now I love curation of projects, and I love to recycle and help the environment, all things my articles attempt to cover. After my first worksheet assignment, I remembered a conversation I had with a friend who is grandmother who said: "Heather, I don't want to buy a big camera, I just want to make my cell phone photos better." She wanted to use her existing technology to capture the growing moments of her grandchild.

Now at the time I dismissed this idea, but it covers two areas of my life. One, my background in the wireless industry, and secondly my knowledge and training in photography through education.

I have developed my idea for my blog project, and I feel excited.

This article, inspired me, on finding your passion and I hope it does for you too. Perhaps one reason that I keep walking away from my DIY blog is that I love to write, I love blogging. Perhaps I'm just not Martha Stewart. But I love photos. And I see potential in what I can share with people. Check out this article on finding your passion: http://www.oprah.com/supersoulsunday/the-secret-to-finding-your-passion-hint-its-not-what-you-think_1

[heathermarieblazek]

Finishing Mastery

I am proud to share that this is not only the end of my first class, but the first class of being a grad student. As I have spent most of this month reflecting, I realize where I have been, and where I want to go. This class has assisted me in developing a "game plan" and if I ever feel lost, I shall return here to remind myself. As my car broke down today (in the parking lot of work of all places) I had a warranty on my battery (this same situation happened 2 years ago) which saved me close to $200. I am reminded that I am blessed. What seems bad today may actually be a good thing in the future. As I close this class, I would like to share this video to inspire you as it does for me. Sometimes I won't take a photo. When Walter Mitty (new) came out, for the first time in my life, a personal belief I had, about technology verses experiencing was shown in a fictional manner that emotionally hit me in such a way, I was reduced to tears. May it help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ

[heathermarieblazek]

[heathermarieblazek]

[heathermarieblazek]

Mastery Timeline Checklist

July: Establish social networks. (Done - Greene and building a niche.) Social Media Foundations. https://www.lynda.com/Marketing-tutorials/Marketing-Foundations-Social-Media/567790-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

August: Focus on applying for internships/jobs in related field. (Greene - apprenticeship) Video Journalism. https://www.lynda.com/Premiere-Pro-tutorials/Video-Journalism-Storytelling-Techniques/120605-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

September: Freelance reporting, even if with self publishing mediums including blogging. Use social networks to advertise. Blogging Platforms Overview. https://www.lynda.com/Audio-Music-tutorials/Blogging-platforms-overview/573605/602324-4.html?org=fullsail.edu

October: Plan for very small short film for Indie Grits. (Greene and building leverage in an existing area). Media Subpoenas: Impact, Perception, and Legal Protection in the Changing World of American Journalism. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?nobk=y&vid=12&sid=837e01ee-bf06-4074-be8c-aedf537d5aa8@sessionmgr4006

September: Shoot documentary/film for film festival and continue blogging with social media for exposure. Academic Research Foundations: Quantitate. https://www.lynda.com/Education-Elearning-tutorials/Academic-Research-Foundations-Quantitative/553499-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

November: Submit short film to Indie Grits. Submit an article to a major news website/blog. Ethics of Photojournalism. https://www.lynda.com/Photography-Documentaries-tutorials/Ethics-photojournalism/47952/53335-4.html?org=fullsail.edu

December: Have personal “ezine” more established and known. (CraftNerdGirl, currently on wordpress.com without a domain due to financials).Video Journalism. https://www.lynda.com/Premiere-Pro-tutorials/Video-Journalism-Storytelling-Techniques/120605-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

January: Start doing video journalism for self hosted “ezine” and submit to YouTube and Facebook for further exposure. February: Start developing news topics I am interested in and interview people for articles.Talking Eyes Media: Multimedia Social Activism. https://www.lynda.com/Photography-tutorials/Talking-Eyes-Media-Multimedia-Social-Activism/532191-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

March: (Dad’s birthday month). Do a good deed to honor his request every year. “I just want peace, love and happiness as my gift”. Research a political cause and do an article on it.Participate Wisely in Social Media. https://www.lynda.com/Productivity-tutorials/Participate-wisely-social-media/440668/489457-4.html?org=fullsail.edu

April: Start focusing on generating content with revenue.Public Relations Foundations. https://www.lynda.com/Marketing-Public-Relations-tutorials/Public-Relations-Fundamentals/186110-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

May: All articles submissions contain multimedia and written formats. (A combined structure).Online Marketing Foundations: Digital Media Research. https://www.lynda.com/Facebook-tutorials/Digital-Marketing-Research/441601-2.html?org=fullsail.edu

June: Graduation and complete launch as a new media journalist.Creating a First Website in Dreamweaver CC 2017. https://www.lynda.com/Dreamweaver-tutorials/Creating-First-Website-Dreamweaver-CC-2017/558001-2.html?org=fullsail.edu