Final Jour61 Broadcast

The Learning Experience of Broadcast Journalism
By Justin Riray

Can San Jose State broadcast students survive their major without owning their own recording and editing equipment?

SJSU’s broadcast journalism majors learn, early on, that all serious video editing is done through Final Cut Pro. The program only works on Macs.

Students also need to use quality camcorders and good audio recording equipment. After paying for rent, tuition, a parking permit, and books, most students have no finances to spare. They will rely on renting hardware from the school.

Poor equipment availability for these students can turn a fair and enjoyable broadcast project into a nightmare.

Broadcast student Jean Walker feels that, “… there would have been enough time if the proper resources had been available.”

PC owners are usually unwilling or financially incapable of buying a Mac. They are left no other choice but to fully complete their Final Cut projects on campus.

The best place for journalism majors to edit their videos used to be open for as long as students needed it.

Broadcast professor John Shrader explained why the room is only open if a faculty member is moderating it.

The availability of the room is now limited because “… some thievery occurred and that really impacted the amount of time that was available in [the news video editing room].” said Shrader.

Besides the Update News room in Dwight Bentel Hall, which closes around 3 p.m., the university only has four other computers with FCP capability throughout the entire campus: a couple of editing stations at Clark Hall.

The lack of Macs with FCP is only one challenge for the school’s PC owners.

Equipment that students can borrow from the university are usually all out.

Walker recalls, “I went to the checkout room at least once a week during the last half of the semester trying to get a voice recorder for a photojournalism project or a camcorder for Jour 132B, and I was told every time that there was nothing available, they didn't know when things were coming back, and they didn't even bother to keep a waiting list because they didn't know when things were coming back!”

In the JMC, students do not get fined for holding borrowed items for long periods of time.

SJSU broadcast major Jacob Amaya explained, “The [Instructional Resource Center] only rents cameras and [microphones] out for a day, and I usually need it for longer than that.”

If getting possession of proper equipment isn’t enough trouble, time poses a whole different set of problems.

According to Walker, “Getting everybody's schedules to match up …” was an added challenge.

As a working student, it would be hard to coordinate schedules with possible interview subjects and getting enough time to spend editing on school desktops.

Many students’ days are full due to the combination of class and work. Sometimes the only time they have is very early in the morning or really late at night. Most interview subjects are only available during business hours.

Time constraints are worsened when there are group projects, and even more during the final month of school “… during everybody's busiest time of the semester. My other four classes also had major projects due at the same time,” Walker added.

Perhaps the one upside to this experience is getting a feel for the reality of being in the broadcast field. It teaches students that they must be very determined and well-prepared for any job they are given.

Shrader said, “If you’ve done all your preparation and you’ve worked hard to prepare yourself for the moment when the pressure gets crazy, then the whole world kind of slows down a little bit and you can work under pressure. The key is don’t think about the big picture, just think about the little picture you’re working on.”

Amaya concluded, “It’s pretty rough, but this is the only way we’re ever going to learn.”




Sidebar:

I had a lot of trouble with my final broadcast project.

I didn’t have my own camera nor do I have a Mac. My friend Anne lent me her camera, but needed it back in three days. So, I had to shoot, cut, upload, and edit my video files in that short
period of time, all while I still had class, work, and other projects.

My teammate and I shot SJSU’s 2009 Pilipino Culture Night. The show lasted four and half hours, so we were there for about six.

I called in to work that Wednesday so I could edit my files. Sadly, I didn’t have enough room on my flash drive. I had to drive all the way to Best Buy and spend $120 on a portable hard drive.

When I got back to school, the editing room was locked up for the remainder of the night. I took my gear over to Clark Hall only to find that both the editing stations were occupied and there was a two person wait. Students can use the stations for up to two hours.

I figured I would call it a day, so I went home to do other projects and study for my Mcom100w final.

The next day I had work right after class, so I went in early and found out that the fire wire I borrowed wasn’t working so I couldn’t upload any video files to FCP.

After asking around for about half an hour, I managed to have someone lend me theirs. Finally, I began to upload my interview and b-roll footage.

The next day, I spent four hours at Clark Hall writing my track and script for the news report. Before actually putting it together, I had to record my voice over track.

I completely forgot about the defective fire wire until I unsuccessfully tried to upload the audio.

I drove about 25 minutes to Anne’s house because she had Final Cut Express, a lesser version of FCP.

She uploaded my audio track onto my hard drive through her Mac. I tried to edit my piece on it, but since my project was saved as a FCP file, her FPE couldn’t open it.

Well, at least I was set, all I had to do was to put everything together the next night.

At Clark Hall again … the students who worked the facility joked that I should just live there. I didn’t laugh. It seemed like a great idea.

When I attempted to combine my original FCP project with the audio FCE that Anne uploaded for me, it wouldn’t work. I figured, since FCP is the higher version, then I should surely be able to load FPE files with it.

I checked the forums. I was wrong. The files were completely incompatible. So, not only do I have to have a Mac and Final Cut, but the two versions didn’t even correlate. This became more and more of a disaster.

Anne had to drive the tape down to me so I could re-upload it.

It only took me an hours and a half to actually piece the footage together for my news package, less than a quarter of the time I took filming and organizing my files.

I came to Clark hall at 8 a.m. the next day to add the finishing touches. Lastly, I was required to add in the Update News lower-thirds. Clark Hall computers didn’t have it.

Pressed for time due to having work at 11 a.m., I ran to Dwight Bentel Hall to get into the update news editing room to grab hold of the Update lower-third.

It was locked. I ran through the whole building looking for someone to open it. Finally, Lilly Buchwitz had a key. I borrowed it and ran back to the room only to find out that her key opens up the first room, but not the second room that had the Macs.

Right before I began to cry, I looked around the primary room and saw that there was a lone Mac sitting in the corner. Sure enough, it had FCP and the lower-third effect I needed.

Fifteen minutes later, I was finished and pleased with my project.

I realized that, if I were as rich and tech-savvy as I were hard-working than I would be an elite broadcast student.

Unfortunately, not being able to afford my own hardware and software exponentially increased the time and effort I should have spent on this project.

Though I am very relieved I am through and created a great newscast, I am very infuriated on how difficult it is to be restrained by lack of finances in the school of broadcast journalism.




Broadcast Woes
[1:02]

CAN SAN JOSE STATE BROADCAST STUDENTS SURVIVE THEIR MAJOR WITHOUT OWNING THEIR OWN RECORDING AND EDITING EQUIPMENT?

SINCE ALL EDITING MUST BE DONE THROUGH FINAL CUT PRO, WHICH IS ONLY FOR MACS, PC USERS ARE POSED WITH A DILEMMA.

BROADCAST STUDENT JEAN WALKER FELT THAT TEACHERS ALLOW STUDENTS ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE VIDEO PROJECTS, BUT THE PROPER RESOURCES AREN’T EASILY AVAILABLE.

THERE ARE ONLY TWO PLACES ON CAMPUS THAT OFFER MACS WITH FINAL CUT PRO FOR STUDENTS.

THE MAIN ROOM IS THE UPDATE NEWS ROOM WHICH HAS RECENTLY HAD VALUABLE ITEMS GONE MISSING.

NOW INSTEAD OF THE ROOM BEING OPEN UNTIL STUDENTS NEEDED IT, IT NOW CLOSES WHEN THE FACULTY LEAVES.

CLARK HALL HAS FOUR EDITING COMPUTER STATIONS THAT ARE NORMALLY OCCUPIED.

THE NUMBER OF RENTABLE CAMERAS AND OTHER RECORDING GEAR ARE ALSO VERY LIMITED.

SJSU BROADCAST PROFESSOR JOHN SHRADER MADE LIGHT OF THE SITUATION.

BY HAVING TO FINISH A BROADCAST PROJECT UNDER PRESSURE, STUDENTS MUST LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH TIME CONSTRAINTS AND OTHER OBSTACLES.

STUDENT JACOB AMAYA AGREED, IT’S PRETTY ROUGH, BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE’RE EVERY GOING TO LEARN.

FROM SAN JOSE, JUSTIN RIRAY, UPDATE NEWS.

[1:02]

Final Feature

*under construction

Online News Writing Exercise 1: Mercury News

Online News Writing Exercise 1

I am surveying the Mercury’s website.

a) Do the news items reflect immediacy?
They do for the most part. The stories on the homepage are up to date. There is one about a wildfire going on in Santa Barbara and of course a couple pieces on the upcoming Star Trek movie. Sadly, the latter may actually be a top news story at the moment.

b) Does the site try to help readers save time?
The sections are all immediately available at the top of the page as well as many direct links to top stories throughout the rest of the page. This would be very convenient for readers to find what they want to read about even with a limited amount of time.

c) Is it quick and easy to get information?
Yes, I explained it in the previous answer.

d) Does it provide both visual and verbal information?
I believe it is slightly lacking with the visuals, but the ratio between text and illustration on the website is about the same as the actual newspaper, except they shrink the photos for the web.

e) Do the stories contain lists and bullets to make them easier to scan?
Yes. Under the lead story and the other two or three main stories there are sub-sections for the links to the top stories of every news section in the paper. The coolest part about the homepage is the box on the right side that has the top five most viewed stories in the past 12 hours. I think it is a great way for people who aren’t looking for a particular subject to find news that matters.

f) Are the stories broken into "chunks"?
Yes. I checked three stories and none of them have more than a two sentence paragraph. They is a paragraph break after each chunk, and not a single paragraph ran over four lines.

g) Do stories provide hyperlinks to additional information?
Yup. There are occasional in-text links to other sites or past articles, but most of the related links appear in the sidebar or at the end of the article.

h) Are there opportunities for readers to "talk back"?
They have a contact section, but I did not find an obviously available link to reader response.

i) Does the site use multimedia to enhance understanding and add appeal?
Honestly, the site is quite primitive compared to other websites. But I have heard many Mercury News guest speakers and I believe that they are very conservative toward using the internet as their main communication vehicle, so I am not surprised.

Topical Blog Post #3: 100w Fish out of Water

Purple Shirted Soulful Singers and Smiling Strangers
by Justin Riray

Being a tall skinny Asian guy in the middle of a building full of black people, I felt slightly awkward.

I attended the Sunday service of a black Baptist church, Emmanuel Baptist Church in north San Jose this weekend.

My homework assignment for one of my classes was called “Fish out of Water,“ in which I would have to put myself in a situation where I would feel uncomfortable. To get the most out of the experience, I decided to sit in the front-middle section of the church.

The church had the usual service layout. They sang songs, prayed, collected money, and had a speaker deliver a message about how to incorporate God into our everyday lives.

Though, the flavor of the entire mass was full of warmth and soul.
I wasn’t nervous at all, until I parked my car and saw that I was most likely the only non-black person there. Though, there were a couple Latino people in attendance.

I could feel everyone staring at me. It wasn’t in a bad way, but in a curious way, like, “Is that kid lost?”

It’s funny that, the night before as I was planning my outfit for church, I thought to myself, “Hmm, I think I’ll wear purple. That is a good color for a Sunday mass at a Baptist church.”

I thought myself a bit prejudiced, but to my surprise the entire choir was wearing purple.

The choir and band combination was brilliant. I haven’t heard such uplifting music in a long time.

There were kids younger than me who sang like angels with more soul than I thought God could fit in one building.

One boy, who looked no older than 19, led the choir in an amazing piece of music. When his solo came on, he could hit notes Beyonce would sing, and did it with ease and spirit.

Despite being a different race, at least we shared somewhat of the same beliefs and morals.

They must have been happy to see me come to their church. Most churches love seeing newcomers attend their services and gatherings.

At one point in the middle of the ceremony, a reverend asked all the visitors to stand up as the church welcomed them. Before I stood up, most of the people were already looking at me.

It felt great as I looked around and saw tons of smiling faces. They were real smiles, not the forced kind.

They even had a portion of the service where everyone got to get up and greet one another. A bunch of very nice people gave me a great handshake, a welcoming smile, and thanked me for coming to their church.

Although it looked like I was completely out of place, by the end of church, I felt very much a part of them.

As I walked out, passed peopled talking and hugging, I thought to myself, “How could there be such an exciting church and why was I raised in a boring church? No fair.”

My “Fish out of Water” assignment turned out to be nothing of that sort. I guess God is full of surprises, people just need to be open to them.

Topical Blog Post #2 - Dai Sugano, Photojournalist

Dai Sugano: Passionate about Pictures
By Justin Riray

When a person has a hobby that they are passionate about, they will end up doing it until four or five in the morning.

“Editing until 4 a.m., you’re in that mode--like writing a love letter to your girlfriend. You might wake up in the morning and think, ‘Oh s**t! I wrote that!?’ It’s crazy like that.” -Dai Sugano

For the San Jose State Vis-Com day, Dai Sugano, a photo journalist with the San Jose Mercury News spoke to students about how he turned his passion into a career.

In DBH 133 at 10 a.m. on April 23rd, Sugano spoke about his journey as a photographer and gave students the privilege of watching his photo and video slideshows as he provided behind-the-scenes commentary.

He began as a street photographer, someone who uses a still shot camera to capture people, places, and things in their usual element. He made mundane scenes into beautiful pictures. Of these photos were a dog with his tongue out, a person walking out into the light from a dark alley, and a woman in a red dress, walking on the sidewalk. His ability to make aesthetics out of buildings and streets is amazing.

He explained that the reason many people yield from trying their passion as a professional job is because they are used to just being on their own and having no one to criticize them.

Sugano made the entire room nod in realization and laugh at the same time when he said, “We feel… we don’t want to suck.”

Sugano added, “You are doing it because you like to do it. It is the key to success.”

Focus Story Structure

Football Injury leaves a 16-year-old Wheelchair-bound

His team is lined-up and ready for their opponents to move. His focus is narrowed as he watches the ball is thrown to the enemy receiver. Like a bullet, he makes a b-line straight toward the ball carrier. He can feel the rush of the tackle he is about to make. It’s going to be a perfect hit!

Pete Stenhoff, 16, a junior at Chula Vista High School in Redmond, Calif., is stuck in a wheelchair. As he rammed his head into the ball carrier’s chest, he cracked vertebrae in his spine. He could not graduate with his class because of the injury.

There are 20,000 injuries in high school football each year -- 12 percent of them permanently disabling the victims. Thirteen youths died last year. Thirty-five percent of the injuries are to the neck or head. Most critics blame the helmet.



Note:
My focus is on youth football injuries. I used Stenhoff's anecdote as the hook for my lead.

The second paragraph of the exercise stated, “Pete Stenhoff, 16, a junior at Chula Vista High School in Redmond, Calif., was hurt in a game during his senior year.”

How is he a junior, but was hurt in his senior year. Just pointing out that the would be impossible, unless he was demoted a grade. Weird.

Find that Feature Lead: Spring 2009 Access mag.

These leads were taken from SJSU’s spring 2009, Access magazine.


1 . “The End is Near” by Jasmine Duarte

In the 21st century, people live their lives day by day, not really thinking about what they want to do in the next year or even next week. But what if you knew the world was ending in four years? What if a thousand years ago, an ancient civilization predicted that the end of the world was coming? That day, “doomsday,” may be coming closer and soon it will be December 21, 2012, or as the Maya know it: The end of the world.

This is a direct address, startling statement lead. The writer is using second-person to speak to the reader directly. The statements made, about how the end of the world might not be so far in time, are quite startling.


2. “Eighth story sunset” by Justin Perry

Silence, or close to it. Gentle sounds counterpoint the subtle drone of air conditioning and the insect-like buzz of fluorescent light fixture that needs replacing. Gently rustling pages, a dropped pen, chair legs dragged across carpet, a muted cough, a gliding zipper, all punctuated by the soft chime of the elevator arriving at its destination. The monotonous hum of the downtown streets below is muffled by the eight-story distance and the great curtain of double-paned glass

This is clearly a scene-setter lead. The entire paragraph is a detailed description of the environment from the use of sound and sight.