Finals and Christmas :)

I survived finals and I am loving Christmas Break! :)  This semester was quite tough on me, but it no longer matters because it is now OVER!!!! I took all of my finals and I didn't die while taking any of them. :)  I haven't seen my grades yet, but I am not going to worry about them just yet.  I just found out that I got a 96% on my Public Relations campaign project that took up most of my life!  I got to be a part of Christmas Around the World again this year and I got to be in a Scottish number that was so much fun to be a part of.

This Christmas Break will be fabulous and long! I get 3 weeks until I have to go back to school.  The first week we were in Spanish Fork where I was working and hanging with the fam and Scott.  We got to take a trip to Ikea and a store that sells Finnish chocolate...Scott almost died and went to heaven.  He also took me to a super nice dinner, a Christmas dinner, and one of my favorite desserts-->a frosty.  I got him a fun new watch, because his good looking watch from his mission broke.
I am now chilling in St. George, loving life.  It isn't crazy warm, but it isn't snowing so I don't mind.  I gave Dave the most random shirt that I could find, Cody a cool black shirt, Mark a plaid hat and sunglasses.  Dave, my mom and I got my dad an iPod shuffle and all of the kids got my mom a cute Christmas radio from my work.  I have loved being with my family and completely relaxed. :)

Update on my Life!

My Letter of Acceptance

It has been so long since I last posted, but life has been insane for me for the past couple of months.  I am in my first semester of my junior year at BYU, which is super exciting, but it also means harder, more intense classes.  I also applied for the Communications program with an emphasis in Journalism and I got in! So, I get to start that adventure next semester.

A couple weeks ago I ran a 5k, for my friend's father who has brain cancer, with my friends Emilee and Lisa, which I actually did pretty well in.  It was super fun and I plan on doing another 5k sometime in the future.

Taylor my roommate is engaged to Tyler Perkins and I am so excited for them!  She is getting married on January 26th, so most of Taylor and I's conversations have something to do with her upcoming wedding, which has been super fun.
I am also dating a guy named Scott May.  He is great and wonderful and I have so much fun with him. :) Here is a run down on how we met and all of our fun adventures:

Isn't he cute?

We have worked together for two years, but I just found out who he was this past summer.  At the beginning of the summer he finally introduced himself to me and we had fun talking and laughing all summer, but we were definitely just friends.  By the end of the summer I thought Scott was fun and attractive, but I never even thought that we would actually go on a date, let alone start dating.  I stopped working at Sprinkler World to be able to do a workshop for the International Folk Dance Team at BYU as well as starting school.

Flowers he got me for our
3 week anniversary :) 

After about a month and a half of school I decided that I wanted to go back to work, so that I could have a little bit of extra money.  The first day back Scott and I talked a lot and I could tell that he was at least interested in me.  The weekend of General Conference after the priesthood session Scott called me and asked me on a date for that next Tuesday.  He took me to Zupas and it was delicious.  That Thursday he took me to a bon fire with some of his friends, which I loved. :)

Cornbellies :)

For Halloween we went to his family party, Cornbellies, and our apartment Halloween party.

We were people from the 20s for his family party

Back to Back Weddings!

The past two weekends two of my best friends got married.  Both of their receptions were an absolute blast and i am so excited for the adventure that they get to start with their new husbands! Here are a couple of pictures from both.

Candace before the reception admiring her cake

Bridesmaids (From right to left: Kristen Blunk, Me, Alex Singerman, Corinne Smith, Ariana Lilly, Candace was still getting back from Puerta Rico)

Our actual personalities

The Media's Portrayal of Journalism

This past weekend I watched Man on Ledge, which was a pretty good movie with an interesting twist on a “good guy robbery”.  The part of this movie that I thought was fascinating was the portrayal of broadcast journalism and journalists.  Throughout the entire movie a very annoying lady with fake blonde hair, an irritating persistence to uncover anything “newsworthy”, and a thirst for the limelight. 

Throughout the movie she was found trying to get a better angle on the man on the ledge without trying to figure out the real story. The director didn’t show her as someone that was trying to learn all of the facts, but as a journalist that was trying to get a good story at any cost.

She was very annoying, especially to me, a girl that wants to become a broadcast journalist.  After watching this movie I wanted to show my family and friends what broadcast journalists actually do for their career.  And prove that journalism is about getting the story right, not about getting the spot light.

Beauty

The portrayal of beauty in the world, specifically within the media, is something that I've been pondering quite a bit lately.  My thoughts came to a head (no pun intended) while I was watching Snow White and the Huntsman with my parents last Friday night.  (Yes, I crash my parent's date nights occasionally...) Needless to say, I won't recommend you watch the movie, but I did realize something about the depiction of beauty in the world today.

The media portrays beauty as something that is always used negatively, or for personal gain, like the wicked queen in Snow White.  In many of the mainstream films of today, the “bad guy” is beautiful, and has to be punished because of his or her crimes.  However, because this antagonist is being punished, a young audience often unconsciously perceives this as a punishment for beauty.  By portraying beauty in this light it persuades young people, especially girls, to believe that it is wrong to think of themselves as beautiful, because, as the movies show us, most beautiful people are evil.  This thought process is completely dysfunctional.
In Esther 2:7 & 9, in the King James Bible, it shows a very different side of beauty: "...the maid was fair and beautiful...” describes Esther. “And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her, her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women."  After becoming the new queen because of her beauty, Esther had to make a very hard decision to ask the king to spare her people.  She did, and the Jews were spared.  Esther was given her beauty to help a kingdom.
I do understand that it is difficult for girls to understand that beauty can be a tool that can be used for good, because many of these girls are going through awkward years in their physical development.  However, they need to be taught that being beautiful is a blessing, not a curse.
 All youth need to learn that everyone is beautiful and that beauty can shine through in different ways. Unfortunately, the problem with the way the media is portraying beauty right now is that many girls learn to think that any form of beauty is bad.
Or even worse, that recognizing their beauty is conceited, when in reality, it is recognizing one of God's gifts.  We learn more about recognizing God’s gifts in D&C 88:33: “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift?  Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.”
The Lord tells us directly in this scripture that we need to receive, or recognize, our gifts from Him, and one of the gifts He can give is beauty.  We need to receive this gift and give thanks to him for it.  If we don’t receive it then we can’t rejoice in it or use it to better the lives of those around us, and if that is the case then we might as well not have been given that gift.
We are all blessed with different gifts from our loving Heavenly Father.  One of those blessings can be beauty.  Beauty needs to be recognized as the gift that it really is, by those with that blessing and those around them, because once people are comfortable with their own beauty they can use it to bless everyone around them.

Moss Beach

Golden Gate Bridge

So...summer has begun!  Finals were long and hard, but I survived with pretty good grades and a brain that is ready for a break.

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Taylor and I at the top of one of points in California

 (Mt. Diablo)

Oakland Temple

The day after we took our last final we, meaning Taylor Telford, Ali Simpson, Lane Russell, and Chelsea Hunter, left for San Francisco.  We had a great trip with a lot of adventures. :) My favorite part was probably Alcatraz.  It was so interesting to see how the prisoners lived, to see how the prisoners tried to escape and the grounds around the prison itself were absolutely beautiful!

Now all I really do is work at Sprinkler World and watch awesome movies that I wasn't able to watch during the school year.  I am ready for a relaxing summer with my amazing family! :)  (Aren't we just so cute?)

The King James Bible 400 years and still going strong!

I had the privilege to visit the King James Bible exhibit at the BYU library this past week and it was extremely interesting.  It showed the history of how it came to be and what certain people like Wycliffe and Tyndale had to sacrifice so that we could have an English language bible.  The most interesting part of the exhibit for me was when they showed different pieces of literature that have been highly influenced by the King James Bible.  Some examples that they had there were Moby Dick, Grapes of Wrath and even the Gettysburg Address.  But because I am a Shakespeare geek I also have to throw in that Shakespeare has several biblical references in every play he ever wrote and the King James Bible is the one that he most likely used to study and learn all of the stories he references in his famous works.

Problems in Journalism

Journalism has quite a few problems, but the main one that I have noticed is the way that it has pulled away from relative news and gone to more of an infotainment that people think that they want.  Another name for it is 'market-driven news' which takes what people like, or are supposed to like, and put it into the newspaper or onto the news broadcast.  Instead of giving people what they need to know, because of consultants that don't understand news and relevance the way that journalists do, newspapers and news broadcasts are giving people what a market study, taken weeks or months before, says that they want.  Because of this new way of doing news people aren't getting the news even when they think they are.
The solution to this problem is taking back the newsrooms and the conference rooms of journalism by maybe not firing the consultants, but putting them in their places.  Sitting them down and telling them that people need to know what is happening around them, they don't need to know about the five different types of cats and the best ones for their homes, even if that is what they want to know about.  If journalists and editors do this, then maybe news in all of its forms can become what the people need instead of only what they want.

Journalism in Democracy

The role of journalism in democracy is one that most people seem to give to journalism without giving it a second thought.  Journalism takes the information about our government and relays it to the people, with the information necessary for the general public to understand what is going on.  I think especially because this year is an election year, a role of journalism is to let the public know who is running and what their stands on certain issues are.  Because we are a part of a democracy the public needs to know who is running and how those candidates hope to run our country, so that when the public votes they can do so with as much information as they can.  Journalism has a very important role in democracy, because of the information that is given to the public through journalism.

Journalism and Personal Beliefs

Journalism is tricky profession, because as journalists we are not supposed to advocate anything from a grocery store to a religion.  So, the issue becomes how to handle having opinions and a life outside of journalism, while writing about things that journalists come in contact with everyday.  My approach to having personal religious beliefs and being a journalist is to stay objective and not allow my beliefs to cloud my vision of others and their beliefs.  Instead of going into a situation or interview with an opinion already set, I need to go in with an open mind, ready to learn new things.  If I go into situations with that mind set, I will be able to stay objective and independent, without forcing my opinions and beliefs onto my audience.

Valentine's Day + other stuff

My Valentine's Day was so much fun! I only had to go to one of my classes.  I then got to hang out with Chad for about two hours then I lovingly ditched him, after giving him his Valentine, and went to the Lady A concert with Taylor and Emilee.  The concert was absolutely amazing.  I loved both Thompson Square and Darius Rucker, the opening bands, and I almost died when Lady A came out... they were amazing.

Notice his right foot :)

Because I had ditched him for Valentine's I wasn't planning on anything big for Valentine's day.  When I came home from the concert I found a balloon man on my bed with a sign around his neck that said "On our first Valentine's Day, You left me for Lady A.  Yes it was tough, but I was made of "stiffer" stuff.  And while all night I was blue, I stayed up waiting for you (sort of :) )."  Then to add to my delight I found a note with the man that said to check the fridge, where I found a key lime pie!  The combination of Chad Horch, my awesome roommates and Lady Antebellum made Valentine's Day 2012 one flipping amazing day. :)

This past weekend was President's weekend and it was full of things to do from a 50's sock hop where Chad got to show off his swing dance skills to hiking up Provo Canyon and drinking hot chocolate around a fire.  It has been a blast, but now it is time for school with midterms and a final (Geology, yay almost done!) all looming on the horizon I have quite a bit of studying and homework assignments to do.  But I am loving life and everyone that I get to share my life with! :)

Journalism Ethics

There are many aspects of ethics in journalism.  The five most important beliefs about ethics in journalism that I have are as follows.  First, getting as many facts as possible.  As a journalist I want to be able to say that I tried my very hardest to get all of the facts, so that I can give my readers or viewers the best and most accurate picture of a situation possible.  Second, treating people as people.  Even though it sometimes becomes hard to remember that the people that are being written about or talked about on television are human beings, that doesn’t mean that they are not.  Those people have feelings, reputations, and lives just like everyone else does and I need to remember that.  Third, not being influenced by outside forces.  When a story is being told by me the only reason that story will be told is for the people that will watch or read it.  I do not want money, a job, or anything else to influence the way I portray a story.  Fourth, when I make a mistake I will admit it.  Because I am human I will make mistakes, but when I do I will admit that I did and try to fix the situation in any way that I can.  Fifth, I will never fabricate news.  News should never be fiction, so I will only give straight facts and when I cannot find out something about the story I will admit it and make it clear that the information given is not all of the information that there is.

My life has been busy, but very awesome. :)  Over Christmas break I had my gallbladder removed the day after my last final.  Even though it was no fun at all and like Cody said, "We have to do everything for her like she's a baby."  Now that I can move and do everything I could before I am so thankful for the surgery.  My stomach (gallbladder) doesn't hurt anymore and the only time I do have pain is when I eat too much, but who can complain about that? :)

For a week of our Christmas break my family went to St. George where I read a bunch of books in the sun and got to hang out with my fabulous family.  Christmas was a good one and by that time I wasn't on very many pain meds, so I was aware for all of it.  Both Dave and Cody got long boards and that was a hit with all the boys as well as one of the basketball hoops that go on the back of a door.  I got an adorable new outfit along with a bunch of other stuff, like new books and perfume. :)  Because I couldn't do much both in St. George and at home I got to watch almost every College Football Bowl week game, I was in heaven!

For New Years Eve, Ashley, Candace, Ariana and I went to a party and had so much fun dancing, laughing, eating and catching each other up on our lives. 
Too soon school started again, but I was very ready for all of my friends being back.  My new classes are going to be hard, but almost all of them will be worth it.  I am taking a film class, Principles of Journalism class, Geology class, Shakespeare class, Doctrine and Covenants Class and on a Folk Dance team.

But before we got too far into our classes we, meaning the boys from 25, Emilee, Mal, Taylor, Chad, and me, took a trip to St. George over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and it was a much needed get away from the wonderful, but sometimes suffocating Provo bubble.  We went caving, played tennis, watched movies, went swimming and laughed a lot, it was fabulous!
Now, I am back in the daily grind of life with small respites of rock climbing with Chad and making desserts late at night with Taylor. :)

Modern American Journalism and Truth.

Truth is an interesting thing especially when it comes to journalism.  One of the main things that journalists try to do is get the facts, but the problem with that is that the journalist isn't there when the event they are reporting about happened.  Now, this journalist has to try to get the truth from the people that were at the event, but all of these people have different versions of the truth, with all of their own biases and perspectives on what happened.
Another issue with getting the truth out there is that any journalist, however hard they try is going to be biased toward one thing or another.  While only the providing the facts, little phrases or even just words can show how the journalist feels about the situation or the person that they are writing about.  The unbiased truth is hard to come by in modern American journalism, not only because of the journalists themselves, but because of the people and environment in which they live.

Anonymous Sources in American Journalism

This is a very interesting subject that I hadn't ever given much thought until I started learning more about journalism and the correct way to write articles for journalism.  Most of the things I wrote about of course were students that I stopped on campus or people that I interviewed in my apartment complex, so they didn't need confidentiality, but these people were allowing me to connect their words to their names and had faith that I would do so in a fair way.
After doing these interviews and realizing the trust people have to have in the journalists they talk to, anonymous sources make a little bit more sense.  Some people don't want to be known for the things that they know or say about certain subjects.  But as a journalist or an editor it is hard to publish something that the readers will not credit as well, because there isn't a name attached to the information.  This problem puts many journalists in a tough position, because they want to let the people know everything, but many editors don't allow journalists to quote anonymous sources in articles for the reason stated before, along with others.
I feel that anonymous sources should be used, but only extremely sparingly, because without the use of anonymous sources at least sometimes the citizens of the USA may not have ever known about the Watergate scandal.

What is Journalism?

Journalism has recently begun to be scrutinized more and more as the digital age has made it possible for “anyone to be a journalist”.  It has always been a way for the public to get information, but because of this new information age it is much harder sometimes to distinguish the journalists from the general public.  Many people have blogs that can be read by anyone with a computer.  If the information on those blogs is correct or not is another matter entirely, but the fact that there are people that are putting news of any sort out there is considered journalism.  In this new age journalists, that used to be gatekeepers that restricted what information gets to the public, are becoming a new kind of gatekeeper by not restricting the information, but making sense of it.  Journalism in the tradition sense is becoming the way people double check facts and try to understand the information they learned throughout the day from other sources.  It is changing, but journalism isn’t going anywhere any time soon, because of the trust that the public and journalists share.

Daily Universe Going Digital

When I first read about the Daily Universe going to a digital-first format I was distraught, because I love to hold a newspaper in my hand when I read it, but I had to admit that I usually use my computer to check up on news, making me realize that the staff that voted for this new format understand the changing times.  In the article in the Daily Herald it talked about the opportunity that switching to a mostly digital newspaper will be for the students in the journalism curriculum, because the world is going to a digital newspaper along with almost everything else.  Now, when students work for the Universe (which is what it will be called when it goes to the digital-first format) they will have a much more similar experience to what they would be doing at almost any other newspaper in the country.  This alone makes the switch worth it, because one main reason for the Daily Universe is to help journalism students get real life experience.  The other issue that the Daily Universe was having, that the article in the Daily Herald illustrated, was that they had been operating at a loss since 2009.  The main reason for the change to a digital-first format is for the students I am sure, but the financial side of things couldn’t be ignored either.  So, when looked at from that perspective switching the Daily Universe to a online newspaper with a once a week paper edition will be better for everyone involved, even though it is still going to be a hard change.

Who are Journalists?

Journalists are an interesting breed.  They are a group of people that love to read and write, with a curiosity that is never satisfied.  These people are also doing what they love, because the starting salary for most journalists that graduated from college in 2006 was $30,000 (Willis, pg 1).  That isn’t the salary that these journalists end with, but because of that starting salary, we can assume that journalists certainly are not in their profession for the money.  Another thing that sets journalists apart from most people is the fact that they like being on the inside and the opportunity they have to rub shoulders with the newsmakers of the world.  These people will start at a low salary, so that they can know the information first and be able to share that information with anyone that is watching or reading the end result of the Journalist's work.  Journalists are a certain type of person that not everyone falls into because they have to have all of the qualities I have mentioned above, as well as have these qualities to the extent that they sacrifice late nights and early mornings to work on a project that won’t pay them as much as they most likely put into it.

The Mind of a Journalist -Jim Willis

Principles of Journalism

This semester in my Principles of Journalism class I have been asked to write blog posts pertaining to the class.  So, interspersed with my life blog posts there are also going to be posts about the Journalism world.  There is your warning! :)