Newsroom Blog Post
March 24 (Short Story — 1)
In my Newsroom Contract I committed to writing two short stories and one long enterprise piece
For my first Short story, I did a Q&A with a fellow UMD student. Using mutual friends in Duluth I contact someone I Had met a few times. This student being Ethan Johnson. Ethan is a Music major with a Business Minor. He has been in Duluth since the Pandemic started.
Due to me attempting to follow safe social distancing guidelines, I first contacted him Via Snapchat. After that initial connection we were able to communicate further in a Zoom call.
The Q&A style interview occurred over the course of 10–15 Minutes. I was also able to get photos for my story through him. Which he sent via E-Mail. Throughout the writing and putting together of this story I needed to use a variety of resources at my disposal to communicate with my interviewee.
It was a short story I put together over the course of two days. I feel by conducting the interview with a mutual friend allowed me to get a response faster than it would with another random student. Ethan to his credit was a very willing participant.
I was also able to relate to a lot of his responses and hopefully the Interview has the same effect on students who read the piece. Being a student during the COVID-19 pandemic can make it seem like we are alone, but we are all going through the same struggles that have disrupted our lives. Which is the purpose of the piece.
April 8 (Short Story — 2)
In my Newsroom Contract I expressed interest in doing a photo essay.
I wanted to attempt a photo essay because I thought it would add something different to my portfolio. I also am an avid hiker. One of the reasons I decided to attend school at UMD was because of how Duluth is the beginning of the North shore. Home to a 145-mile stretch, which has seven state parks. There is just so much beauty to see here.
Whenever the weather permits it I try to go to one of these state parks on the weekends. Doing so helps me unwind as a student and gives me something to look forward to during the week. On a sunny day in April I went to the first of these state parks. Jay Cooke State park is Ten miles southwest of Duluth.
Throughout Jay Cooke State Park, visitors like me will enjoy the water-eroded gorge, steep valleys, and massive rock formations that make this park uniquely beautiful. One of the most popular attractions in Jay Cooke State Park is the Swing Bridge. Which swings over the waters of the St. Louis River below. Its a perfect place to take photos.
I took a ton of photos during this visit while hiking for about two hours. I loved the photos I took on this visit and wrote a story that has a spring has arrived feel.
April 27 (Final Story — 3)
My last story for newsroom was a long story on mental health among UMD/college students. American students were experiencing widespread mental-health distress long before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. But, the pandemic seems to have increase this problem.
I myself in my newsroom contract shared how I was also struggling with the grind of the pandemic and being a student.
I was struggling with the strain of living away from home, trying to maintain a social life while practicing safe social distancing, and worrying about completing classwork on time. At the time I wrote my contract, I was also working 35–40 hours a week in an effort to prevent taking out a loan for the spring semester.
I know that I was not alone in dealing with the added distress brought on by COVID-19.
This story was very difficult for me to put together. I had a lot of good statistics and information, but I struggled to find good quotes and interviewees. I think the story is really good in the sense it breaks down how big of an issue COVID-19 has played on students mental health, I then break down long and short term solutions for student, and end with an overview of how this information can help students in the future.
The piece feels more of an informational piece rather than a narrative story. But, I think thats ok. As i’ve mentioned a lot of students are dealing with this issue and i’m hoping the information I shared can give readers hope that there is resources right now and in the future that can help.
April 27 — (One Final Thought on Semester)
One of my favorite things about this semester which I couldn’t have predicted before was how between Local Journalism and Newsroom, I was almost always working on multiple stories at a time.
On top of all of things that have disrupted this semester for students, I was working on 2–3 stories at a time.
I feel a lot of this experience will help as I transition to writing in A real world job setting. Where I will often be writing multiple stories at a time. Having and gaining this experience and being able to look back on I feel is invaluable.
