Category: Journalism 4450

I walked into my first general assignment shift at the Missourian at about 8 a.m., and after spilling coffee on myself (note to self: double- and triple-check lids when I'm putting them on travel mugs early in the morning) approximately two minutes later, I knew it was going to be one of those days. And it was. But despite the chaos and stress and pounding headache, it was rewarding because of one woman: Carolyn "Lynn" McGill Whitworth. Already planning to write a follow-up story to an issue discussed in Gov. Nixon's State of the State address, I received a second  assignment shortly after walking in the door (post-coffee spill): my first life story. The Missourian doesn't publish obituaries; instead, reporters write life stories to celebrate the lives of those who have passed…

I'll admit, I'm a Twitter addict. My Twitter feed is one of the first things I check each morning and one of the last things I check every night. I get much of my news from the dozens of news sources I follow. I keep up with friends — both near and far — by reading their random thoughts and looking at the Instagram pictures they post. I tweet often about news, experiences and random life observations. Last night, however, was the first time I had ever live-tweeted anything. Another education reporter, Caroline, and I were asked to live-tweet education proposals discussed in Gov. Jay Nixon's State of the State address and Missouri House Representative Tim Jones' GOP response. We met our editor and assistant city editor in the newsroom…

As another education reporter, Caroline, and I prepared to cover our first Faculty Council meeting for the Columbia Missourian, our editor said one thing: "This story has to be completely accurate." I've always been a stickler for accuracy. Maybe it's because I was misquoted every time I was featured in my high school's newspaper. Maybe it's because people would complain about being misquoted in my high school's yearbook. Maybe it's because some responses to announcing I'm a journalism major sound something like, "Ha, journalists don't get anything right anymore." But because of these experiences and my adherence to the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, accuracy has always been a top priority. We'd been told previous Faculty Council writers have had their share of corrections, particularly concerning the controversial…

Those editors at orientation weren't kidding when they said you'd "jump in." I had three hour-and-a-half classes yesterday, so I just stopped in the newsroom for budget and a short chat with my editor, meaning today was my first real day in the newsroom. It was, in a word, chaotic. I forgot exactly how hectic reporting could be. I was asked to check up on a few higher education things and do some research for tomorrow's Faculty Council meeting before I was assigned my task of the day: to collaborate with three of my fellow education beat members on a follow-up to a story published yesterday concerning possible sites of a new elementary school in southwest Columbia. I spent the late morning and early afternoon looking at maps, looking up…

To be honest, I still find it surreal that tomorrow will be my first day as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian. As a journalism student at MU, I've spent the past year and a half preparing for this day. I can't count how many times my professors have said, "When you're at the Missourian ..." or have referred to assignment requirements as equivalent to "Missourian standards." Even before I moved into Schurz Hall my freshman year, my peers began excitedly discussing the coveted Missouri Method and all that occurred because of it. The day has come, and I feel prepared. Besides taking the prerequisite classes, I've spent much time in two newsrooms during the past year and a half. I could write for days about the lessons I've learned…