January 20, 2011

For my last blog post for Winterim 2011, I would like to thank Mr. Frank Donze for the time and effort he spent coordinating my remarkable experience at the Times Picayune. I am so grateful that he provided me with this opportunity and introduced me to so many reporters and photographers at the newspaper. I am especially appreciative of Mr. Kenny Harrison's time with me, and I want to thank him for placing my graphic design in the newspaper. I was overjoyed to also receive several copies of the newspaper and a posterboard with the layout of the page to frame. I am also so grateful for Mrs. Roark's assistance and support. Additionally, I am thankful for the volunteer opportunities at New Orleans Outreach Center, facilitated by Ms. Paige Breaux. Without Harpeth Hall's guidance, I would not have been able to intern at the Times Picayune. My stay in New Orleans would not have been as fun or enjoyable if not for the hospitality of my aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Jim Creely. Their thoughtfulness and generosity are both greatly appreciated. I learned so much at the Times Picayune and New Orleans Outreach Center, I look forward to Winterim 2012!

January 19, 2011

Returning to Nashville after such a memorable experience in New Orleans will be a difficult adjustment. Not only did I enjoy spending time with my family, Dorothy and Jim Creely, but I learned a great deal during my time at the Times Picayune and the New Orleans Outreach Center. My experience these past few weeks far surpassed my expectations. I explored almost every aspect of the newspaper possible; I observed filming sports videos, learned about covering music in the city of New Orleans, attended a city council meeting, interacted with the mayor, Mitch Landrieu, discovered how the newspaper has changed over the century, and so much more. I was exposed to raw journalism at its finest, and I appreciated the reporters' honesty. They were eager to share their opinions and advice with me. I benefited from meeting an incredible and talented group of people who were willing to offer guidance for my future as a woman both at school and in the workplace. The tangible lessons I learned about working in the journalism industry, specifically at a newspaper, are too numerous to list, but there were also additional skills that I acquired from my time in New Orleans. In addition to learning about blogging, photography, and writing, I was given the opportunity to build self-confidence through interacting with others. It is often challenging to meet new people and make conversation fluidly, but through my work at the Times Picayune, I feel empowered and confident in my abilities to communicate. New Orleans has always been a special place for my family, and I have always been intrigued by the fantastic and nationally-acclaimed newspaper published there. My fascination with New Orleans only increased after spending time at the Times Picayune. I learned more about the city's history, culture, and issues that have plagued the people in the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I was inspired by the Times Picayune reporters' desire to truly help the people of New Orleans and expose local news. Their commitment to journalism and the city itself was admirable, and I hope that at some point in my life, I, too, can enjoy a career with such vigor as they do. Without Mr. Donze's willingness to coordinate my internship, this opportunity would not have been possible. I am very grateful for his generosity to mentor me and coordinate my schedule at the newspaper.

Spending time at New Orleans Outreach Center was also a beneficial experience. I admire the non-profit organization's mission to rehabilitate the public school system in New Orleans and offer enrichment opportunities to impoverished children. Although I am disappointed I was not able to work with the children, I am pleased that I visited a few charter schools. I was impressed by the progress that has been made, and I am very thankful for Ms. Paige Breaux's willingness to assist me with volunteering at the center.

January 18, 2011

I was privileged to learn a great deal about the history of the Times Picayune during my winterim experience. In addition to Mr. Finney's stories about his personal experience at the Times Picayune in the mid 1900s, I was given the opportunity to visit the printing press at the Times Picayune. In the room above the printing press, I viewed an exhibit that displayed older editions of the newspaper and explained how the paper was printed. Instead of using long reels of paper as displayed below in gigantic, complicated machinery, a metal mold was made for the paper to be printed upon. Every day, a new mold was created with the articles imprinted upon it. The mold had raised lettering so that the ink could print upon the paper. Then, the paper was distributed by paper boys to the subscribers. The Times Picayune was created in 1837, and the newspaper was named after the Spanish coin, a "picayune." The destruction and devastation of Hurricane Katrina did not, in fact, tear the newspaper apart. Rather, after publishing online for 3 days to update readers, the paper rebounded and began printing again. After Hurricane Katrina, the consistency of the Times Picayune helped readers recover from the storm. Along with the Saints and the general culture of the city, the accurate news coverage allowed the city to regain strength. It is intriguing to learn about the history of the Times Picayune and appreciate how technology has developed to increase the success, productivity, and accuracy of the newspaper. I envy Mr. Peter Finney for his ability to watch the newspaper evolve over the years.

Above are pictures of the printing press at the Times Picayune.

January 17, 2011

Today I worked at the New Orleans Outreach Center's Administrative office with Ms. Paige Breaux, Director of Finance and Operations. Once again, I filed receipts and financial documents. I stored supplies, made copies of documents, filed forms for current teachers, and organized the log of work hours submitted by employees. Working with Ms. Paige today taught me a great deal about the importance of organization in the workplace, and I have realized that the ability to follow directions, file information, and work as a clerk's assistant are important skills. For lunch today, we went to Parkway Bakery & Tavern, one of New Orleans's most famous Po-Boy restaurants. Parkway is known for being one of the oldest and most entertaining po-boy hot spots in the city. I greatly enjoyed my time today with Ms. Paige and working at New Orleans Outreach.

January 14, 2011

Today I attended a COM-STAT meeting with Brendan McCarthy, Times Picayune crime reporter. The meeting was held at UNO (University of New Orleans) and consisted of police officials discussing recent crime in their respective districts. The New Orleans Police Chief, former Nashville Police Chief, Ronal Serpas, was present at the meeting. Officers from the eight districts in New Orleans reported on the robberies, thefts, homicides, violent crimes, sexual assaults, and narcotics abuse issues. New Orleans is notorious for its criminal activity, as it ranks as one of the top cities in the country for its crime rates. Mr. McCarthy explained that as a crime reporter, his schedule varies from day to day as he juggles writing articles, attending meetings, interviewing people for stories, and gathering information. He is required to be constantly on the "look-out" for more article ideas and breaking crime stories. Mr. McCarthy and I discussed the corruption of the NOPD, the New Orleans Police Department. In fact, some officers have been tried on a federal level as a result of recent scandals. Unfortunately, most of the public, especially in impoverished neighborhoods with high crime rates, mistrust the police. In fact, Mr. McCarthy pointed out, the feeling of "safety" is merely a perception. Statistics, crime rates, and numbers can be altered by the police to help the public feel "safer" and assure the community that the police are improving the city's conditions. Crime continues to be an ongoing concern for the city, and according to several sources, it has only worsened since Hurricane Katrina.
I learned a great deal through covering the meeting this morning and interviewing a family in the Treme neighborhood. For confidentiality purposes, I am unable to fully "blog" my experience about speaking with the family, due to the nature of the subjects discussed.

Below are pictures of the COM-STAT meeting.

Afterwards, I met Mr. Peter Finney, Mr. Frank Donze's father-in-law. Mr. Finney has worked at the Times Picayune for sixty-seven years. Beginning at the paper after graduating from Jesuit High School, in 1945, Mr. Finney covered American Legion Baseball and from there attended Loyola University. He has covered the Saints throughout the years and was overjoyed by their success at the Superbowl last year. The Saints began in 1967 and have played 655 games - winning only 277 of them. Nevertheless, Mr. Finney has been one of New Orleans's most trusted and acclaimed sports writers. Not only is he a fan of the Saints, but he is a supporter of the city and the spirit of the Times Picayune-Saints relationship as a whole. Mr. Finney has watched the journalism industry evolve since the 1940s. He is still wary of technology and refuses to check his emails. His technology usage is limited to typing stories, and when speaking with him, he laughed about the new generation's obsession with Twitter, facebook, email, and texting. Mr. Finney recounted an amazing anecdote from his early days at the Times Picayune. When covering Saints games at Tulane Stadium, photographers would attach their completed film rolls to the legs of pigeons. The pigeons would return tho the Times Picayune building, where reporters were waiting to remove the film from the legs of the pigeons and then develop it. Needless to say, the art of journalism has changed dramatically. At 83 years old, Mr. Finney still writes for the Times Picayune.

In an article written by Jeff Duncan in August 2010, Mr. Finney is spoken of as an extraordinary figure: "No one has chronicled New Orleans's rich, proud sports scene longer, better, or more passionately than him. He has witnessed more sporting events, profiled more athletes and enlightened more readers in this great city than anyone who ever lived." In fact, Mr. Finney received an incredible honor - the Dick McCann Memorial Award, in recognition of his extraordinary coverage of professional football. In addition to covering both the LSU national championship in 1958 for football and the Saints Superbowl title in 2010, Mr. Finney has interviewed hundreds of athletes and professionals from Muhammad Ali to Ted Williams.

Today I was given several issues of the Saturday Gardening section of the newspaper. I am pleased to say that my tree illustration is both in a skybox on the front and inside the paper. A special thanks to Mr. Kenny Harrison for allowing me to create a design for the newspaper!

Artwork Online!

Click here to see my design for the Times Picayune online:
http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2011/01/for_arbor_day_plant_some_trees.html

January 13, 2011

Today I had a fabulous experience at both the Times Picayune and New Orleans Outreach Center. I began the day by meeting Kenny Harrison, Times Picayune Graphic Design artist. To visit Mr. Harrison's website, click here: http://www.plaidpup.com/. It contains biographical information, examples of several illustrations he has created for the newspaper and his books, and other pieces of art he has completed. Mr. Harrison hopes to pursue writing and illustrating children's books, and he allowed me to illustrate a garden column for the paper entitled "Green Thumb." The column celebrates trees through "Arbor Day," and it examines how trees are important to both nature and human life. Mr. Harrison instructed me to create an image that celebrates trees and portrays our appreciation for their role in nature. My drawing will appear in the Saturday, January 15th edition of the Times Picayune. Below is the "rough draft" or preliminary stages of the page with my illustration.

After review, we decided that the branches of my tree needed to be extended, so we made the following revisions. The drawing below was altered on Photoshop and edited so that it will appear in the newspaper. I learned a great deal from Mr. Harrison and enjoyed working with him. I will be given the rough copies of the garden section tomorrow so that I can review the layout and design of the page.

Today I also worked at New Orleans Outreach Center for a couple of hours filing, labeling, and storing materials. Although filing receipts and financial records can be a tedious task, it was beneficial to learn from the system of organization that the non-profit uses to store important documents.
Below are images of the administrative offices for the non-profit organization.