For story assignment 4, the Newsy video I selected “Tornadoes and COVID-19: First Responders Manage Multiple Disasters.” This video talks about how COVID-19 is effecting how first responders treat natural disasters. With the tornado season approaching, as well as the hurricane season quickly after, this demonstrates how spread thin first responders can be. The correspondent in the video spoke with the American Red Cross and they spoke about how they are going to handle sheltering and distributing aid during the pandemic. Newsy also reached out to FEMA who said that they are also rethinking their shelter process, but also reassured the public by describing how they can allocate resources to handle both the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending natural disasters during summer.
Blog 9
My “Newsy” experience was very interesting. Newsy is set up to distribute news in one-minute formats. There are some people that approached it like they were covering a local news story while others talk more like it was a VICE news story. There were a lot of videos, most of them fittingly about COVID-19, some more tabloid-esc pieces, and others were more legitimate news. For example, there was one about Prince Charles recovering from the coronavirus, which isn’t as relevant here as it would be in England, because to Americans he is just another celebrity, and its the same as if Woody Allen got coronavirus. The only videos I saw were coronavirus based. I saw one on Russia sending aid during the pandemic and how they expect reciprocation. I saw another on how the New York Police Department has been affected by the outbreak in the community they protect and serve which was very interesting as it gave a lot of insight into what mayors and first responders can expect as this spreads into their town. Finally, I watched a video about Dr. Anthony Fauci, who rose to prominence due to his role as the leading coronavirus expert in the Trump administration, and how he is receiving extra security due to threats to his safety. The only downside to the one-minute video format is in the last story, I don’t think I got enough information as the journalist alluded to two probable causes, people who are angry with him because of his message of social distancing, and people who are in love with him because of that same reason but didn’t answer all my questions about the story.
Blog 7
For the upcoming photojournalism assignment I will document Florida History. I have already finished the assignment and I love how it turned out. In my high school journalism class also had an assignment like this and many people did a slice of life and just put up selfies, I chose to encapsulate Florida’s History, specifically all the ethnic cultures that make up the Tampa Bay area. I went to Tarpon Springs to cover the bay’s Greek past, to Plant City to take pictures of an old slave house, Ybor and Downtown for a house along the underground railroad, Philip Shore (because of it’s tribute to the Italian community in Ybor), Cuban Cigar factories (one by Philip Shore, and another which is now The Church of Scientology). I also included other types of minorities in the area by documenting images of the LGBTQ+ community in Ybor, and one of the oldest Jewish Synagogues in Tampa. I am very excited to share this assignment with you all and many more images that i did not list here. Stay tuned here.
Blog 6
For this blog assignment I will have to create a blog entry that summarizes a story you may be interested in for your “Service Journalism” project.
The subjects that have peaked my interest are the personality profiles and the historical pieces. I’m a good people person so talking to someone with the personality profile would be fun and easy.
For the historical piece, there will have to be extensive research, interviews and a long process, all of which I am prepared for. I think that there will be beauty in the construction of said article in that it would be my first time following the format that’ll be needed for a good product.
No matter which path I take, I am confident with my abilities and my love for writing will propel me through this assignment. I am very excited to share with you these upcoming works and I think you all will enjoy them.
How I Prepared for My Interview
By: Cole Maines
For my interview with AD Summerfield I first wrote the questions and did a little bit research so I had a little bit of background and can hold the conversation. I then established contact with an email and included an interview request. The key for the interview request is to give a day option with your preferred time frame (like “Friday morning,” or “Tuesday afternoon”) and they can give you an exact time to make it to. If they can’t do that day or time frame then they usually respond with a day and an exact time and you can see if you can make it there. But that is just a tip.
I decided to interview AD Summerfield because I felt like she was the most qualified person to give her insight into my article. It also gave my article a certain level of authority with a professionals’ expertise. One of the challenges that came up during my interview was I forgot my notebook with the questions in it, so I just had to go off the top of my head (🤦♂️). I started the first couple questions with “Soooooo… Uhhhhhmmmm…,” but then as I got more comfortable and I started building questions off of the conversation, it was much better. I made sure to send a follow up email with a thank you and a couple questions that I forgot and it was a great conversation and interview all in all.
Article Coming….
I’m excited to share with you all an upcoming piece that I hope gets put into the newspaper at my Junior college. This article is going to be an overview about JUCO athletics, more specifically recruiting, and how JUCO’s function in this type of way. In this article, I plan to segment the article into 3 parts.
Part 1:
A Q&A with the Athletic director.
Questions: There will be questions like; how JUCO’s function in recruiting, winning titles, feeding into 4 years, resource allocation, scholarship numbers, building dynasties.
Who will be interviewed: The Athletic Director
Part 2:
Men’s Athletics; Baseball and Basketball.
Questions: Recruiting base, resource allocation, how to gain notoriety and success. How do “red shirts and grey shirts” fit into JUCO athletics? Do you feel like you have to compete with 4 years for recruits or are JUCO’s strictly for development physically and educationally. Out of Country talent, how does it work, what does it give the athlete. How similar is the experience to what is depicted in Last Chance U.
Who will be interviewed: Coaches, a couple of players
Part 3:
Women’s Athletics; Tennis, Softball, Volley Ball, Basketball.
Questions: Recruiting base, resource allocation, how to gain notoriety and success. How do “red shirts and grey shirts” fit into Juco athletics? Do you feel like you have to compete with 4 years for recruits or are JUCO’s strictly for development physically and educationally. Out of Country talent, how does it work, what does it give the athlete. How does recruiting men and women differ, resources? Easier to build a dynasty? How similar is the experience to what is depicted in Last Chance U.
Who will be interviewed: Coaches, a couple of players
I plan to also, maybe, podcast this. I may have to rope in a friend to discuss this with.
About Me
Moved to About section.
No Trade Mock Draft: Round 1
Every year, in and out, franchises, like my beloved Buccaneers, look for a savior. The first installment for each team trying to find their messiah will commence this Thursday. After disagreeing, with Mel Kiper Jr. And Todd McShay for their insights during the off season, I decided to make my own mock draft. Nothing is a lock, but my mock will be best.
Rules of the Mock: 1 round, NO TRADES, hype and necessity will be factored in, and lastly one paragraph per pick, except for the first overall pick.
Read more in Specifically Football
Kaepernick Needs Some One to Come Through
By: Cole Maines, EIC/Founder
As training camp turns into preseason, then preseason into the regular season, things are starting to smell like blackballing.
Colin Kaepernick was a starting quarter back but now has no job. Last season we saw him take a stand by not standing. Kaepernick was the man who forged into uncharted protest territory by kneeling/sitting for the national anthem (others followed suit by either kneeling, or they used other demonstration methods during the star-spangled banner).
Read more in Specifically Football
A Match Made In Heaven Mayweather Meets McGregor
By John Awad, Head Boxing Analyst, First Time Contributor
The fight of the century is how this fight is being touted. The fight between boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and MMA’s champion Conor McGregor is more of a basket case than a fight. McGregor has got something else common that he really is not prepared for.
Read more in “Specifically Non-Specific Sports”
Specifically Sports 