I am in the process of moving this blog onto private servers and off WordPress.com. That way I will be able to do fun things like use WordPress plugins. Yes, that qualifies as a “fun” thing in my life. I mention this because you probably noticed the site design and format has changed and some things are out of place. It will take me a couple weeks to get that sorted out, but they will return to normal shortly.
Any news organization that is actually asking its audience survey questions like, “What content should we publish?” is downright pathetic. I hate to admit that’s exactly the sort of thing the previous J-School Buzz editors did before I removed them last week.
When we started J-School Buzz almost one year ago, I never asked anyone what they wanted JSB to be or look like or publish. I never commissioned one survey on the topic, for a couple reasons.
The first is that because I was a target member of J-School Buzz’s audience, I knew what I wanted in an independent news blog about the Missouri School of Journalism.
Shortly after we started J-School Buzz last semester, then-Social Media Editor Jenn Paull and I gave an interview to The Maneater‘s Allison Prang about the young site. That interview resulted in this Maneater article. Prang sent us an email shortly after our interview, with the entire conversation (sans her questions) transcribed, in order to verify our quotes.
I came across this email recently, buried deep in my inbox, and I thought it was interesting enough to share. As usual, I am publishing this in the name of transparency, so that you know a little more about our original intentions and thoughts when we started J-School Buzz.
This email has been lightly edited to correct names and remove sensitive personal information that does not really need to be online. I also bolded the parts that I thought were particularly relevant or noteworthy.
Just a warning, this post is about as inside baseball as you can possibly get about JSB. Here goes.
Well, it’s come to this. After lots of griping on Twitter, a blog post on this very site laying out my complaints and email exchanges with the current editors of J-School Buzz, I am convinced the blog needs new editors to return JSB to what it was last semester. I have emailed the current JSB editors to let them know they will not be editing the site after this semester ends on Dec. 16.
The obvious question is, how did it reach this point? Here’s the full story.
In the name of transparency, I thought I should post the email the original editors wrote to the Convergence Faculty to pitch J-School Buzz as a capstone project.
Here goes!
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know I am not happy with the direction J-School Buzz has gone in this semester since the original editors and I turned over the keys to a new editorial board.
My 140-character gripes on Twitter got the attention of the current JSB editors and they responded to me in an email, but I thought it was worth taking the time to flesh out the problems I see with JSB now as an alum and observer. I still want to see the site succeed in a way that best serves current J-Schoolers and the editors. That’s why I started the site, after all.
Here are the main problems I see with JSB now, and I will dissect each:
Let’s begin!
If you love microbrews as much as I do and live in Indianapolis, I think you will find this list very helpful. I have compiled a pretty thorough list of microbreweries in Indianapolis, along with hours, approximate prices and relevant links.
Enjoy!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31R06Oo9a8Q?rel=0&w=480&h=390]
I made a video tour of my classroom at Harshman Middle School. If you like what you see, please vote for us in the Avery Back to School Competition to support our efforts with free school supplies.
With new J-School Buzz editors announced and added to the masthead, it’s about time I officially sign off as JSB’s Editor-in-Chief. This has been the most important learning experience in my time at the Missouri School of Journalism, and I’m thrilled we get to pass on the website to a new generation of editors.
Before I head off for the sunset though, I want to impart some hard-earned wisdom to our new editors. Please add any thoughts you have on what the new JSB editors should know in the comments section.
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Every year, the folks at The Maneater like to hand out a bunch of self-indulgent awards to people and organizations on Mizzou’s campus as part of “Mizzou in Review.” What’s that? You haven’t heard of these awards either? That’s because you and I are normal Mizzou journalism students who don’t pick up The Maneater because we can find more useful information on the side of a Coke can.
In a desperate attempt to claw its way back to relevance, The Maneater named J-School Buzz “biggest handjob” in the Mizzou in Review. The award goes to a group that is “self-serving, misplaced and lacking valuable purpose.”
Yeah…I know, the maturity and journalistic professionalism are overwhelming. I’m so glad I could be lectured on journalism by a bunch of freshmen. Anyways, I thought it was high time DavidTeeghman.com handed out its own handjobs (or whatever) by naming The Maneater Most Irrelevant. Congrats, guys, you really do everything possible to earn it!