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Entertainment Journalism: Class 3: Commentary
The St. Edward’s entertainment journalism class is still working on the microscopic level: Twitter, Facebook, blog commentary. (We gave up on Gowalla.) Next week, the 15 students launch their entertainment blogs in earnest.
By now, they have created digital personae for themselves. Some are serious about reporting. Others deal in strong opinions. A distinct minorty are stuck on sudsy student exchanges (Party, dude!):.
The ones who write well, even on the microscopic level about topics in Austin, entertainment and popular culture are gaining readers far and wide. Others have not broken out of the circle of their close friends and family.
Then each student came to class on Monday with cases for and against certain commentaries from their colleagues. I’m happy to say that, of the 50 or so comments, very few descended to sarcastic snarkiness; or, conversely, unctuous flattery.
The best of them pointed out missed chances at reporting in my posts. And they were right on target. In fact, I duly plan to add the missing elements.
Here are some good examples across the board:
Re: H2Orange reception at UT: “I think this is good coverage of how the product has come to life from a marketing perspective, but I think it seems a little biased in the favor of Bill Powers and the people profiting off of H20 Orange. Personally, I am against this product being made and would like to see the potential environmental issues raised from selling mass amounts of UT bottled water. There is a lot of controversy going on from H20 Orange and this post only addresses one side of it.”— Gillian Shewaga
Re: Justin Pistorius: Rock Star RV salesman: “Does Pistorius sell any green RVs? I know a lot of musicians these days are willing to spend a bit more for an eco-friendly type of transportation and make up the money in fuel efficiency.” — Holly Aker
“Tweeting as part of a class grade is actually harder than one would expect! I find myself (at times) meticulously editing, or re-thinking wording so it can be under 140 characters, and on top of it, I am stretching myself creatively. I’ll just be honest, I wasn’t exactly excited to join Twitter … but I’m seeing that it is good for me to think about situations differently — to find some creative way to describe something, so that others would be interested to read my tweets. I’ll admit — not all my tweets are relevant to others, but I think they are getting better, and I’m learning to see things in a new light.” — Ingrid Husby”
Re: Sixth Street x 8: “As someone who is not legally allowed to consume beverages of an alcoholic nature I never understood the appeal of the famous “6th St.” Whenever I talk to visitors from out of the city they can only talk about the great hangout that is 6th street. During SXSW this year I became quite familiar with the downtown area and I finally saw 6th st. in all it’s wonder. I like that you conveniently label everything so meticulously so that I can have a better since of what the layout is like. You are completely right in thinking that all of the famous street should be represented. Rest assured when I am legally able to partake in festivities including alcohol I will venture down to Austin’s famous street. — Orlando Sanchez
Re: Justin Pistorius: Rock Star RV salesman: ‘I was glad to read a piece about a “normal” person and not one that focuses on someone who is powerful and influential. I felt like it was a bit too nice about Pistorious and not critical enough. He may be the nicest guy in the world but surely he is not a saint, it felt like you were afraid to write anything negative of him because he was more than likely a very likable person. I learned that Georgetown has an RV mall which is surprising because I never knew there was one there and I’m from that area. Overall a well crafted and interesting article about a subject which I knew next to nothing about. I look forward to saving up for an RV now!” — Orlando Sanchez
Re: Ballet Fete: “This event sounds like it was a blast. However, I’m left wondering why was it so exclusive and how did they choose who was invited? Also, what about the dancing? I would have loved to hear some more details about the dancers and his company.” — Meg Seeger
Re: Sixth Street x 8: “Being newly 21, I tend to only find myself around lower east 6th, also known as “dirty 6th”, and if that nick name alludes to anything it should be that it’s not the classiest bar scene around town. This post offered so many useful suggestions for how to really enjoy the Austin night life, minus the inevitable bar fights and crying girls that “dirty 6th” has so effortlessly provided me with these past few months.”— Bianca Segura
Re: AGLIFF Opening Night Party: “I agree that abbreviations and acronyms can shut down people outside of an organization. In my office, we constantly abbreviate student organizations. Whenever I talk about what we do, I feel as if I am translating a foreign language.” — Ginger Grossman
Re: Class 1: Entertainment Journalism: “After this first class, I spent a long time thinking about the assignment we worked on that day. It appeared to be such a simple task, yet it was one of the most complex assignments I have done. I am so used to jumping into something without even taking the time to analyze what I am actually going. I think a lot of times we are taught to write about things holistically and use fancy language which in turn forces us to miss the small pieces. By breaking down each component, it made it easier to understand the video as a whole. This same method holds true for a lot of other things in life. Whether it be listening to song lyrics or analyzing a piece of art, it is always good to start with the basics before we try to make sense of something as a whole.” — Alex Bruno
Re: Class 1: Entertainment Journalism: “This first exercise was not only humorous to me because it showed how A.D.D. my mind can be, but it also shed insight on how I tend to automatically over-analyze things or situations. I typically try to interpret and make final conclusions as fast as I possibly can. This assignment made me stop and disassemble a complex idea into its most basic forms- which was surprisingly harder than I would ever believe so. I think it was extremely effective in understanding the process of brainstorming and the inner workings of a finalized, creative product.” — Gillian Shewaga
“The Texas 4,000 Tribute wasn’t the only place the cyclists from UT were being celebrated. The Thursday before the gala several of these cyclists were testing their local celebrity status at various bars on 6th street by using their “i-just-biked-from-Austin-to-Alaska” pick up line to score a few phone numbers and drinks. Although with a pick up line that screams, “I donate to charity AND have the ability to bike over 4,000 miles” it is safe to assume this feat wasn’t too difficult for the cyclists.” — Bianca Segura
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