From the Podium

As I excitedly told my colleagues Tuesday about my experiences working at CSPA this year, I was shocked to learn that my friend and newsroom neighbor Peter Hecht is a proud CSPA graduate – Class of 1974!

We had a good time talking about his experiences and memories and how they compare to mine. When Peter was a CSPAer, our beloved founders Ralph and Millie Alexander still attended the workshop. He remembers (sorry to date you guys!) Larry Welborn, Jay Berman and Steve Harvey – long before James was around, of course!

I thought you guys might get a kick out of hearing how things were different back then. For example, instead of Capture the Flag, they played “Sack It,” which Peter explained is like a hybrid of baseball and cricket. One of the breaking news-related assignments involved the swearing in of President Gerald Ford after President Nixon’s post-Watergate resignation. And instead of covering a trial for the Running Matter class, they covered a sports game.

But some things never change: Peter reports that two of his classmates got kicked out of the workshop early for rendezvousing! I’m not sure it was called “Rule #6″ then, but even in the 70s it was not cool to hook up at CSPA. So let that be a lesson for you, students!

Far more importantly, though, CSPA’s impact then was as strong as it is now. Peter told me that last December, he was sent to cover the CIF Division II state championship football game in which one of our local high school teams was playing. Peter is not a sports reporter at The Bee, but he told me that he found himself using skills he learned in the Running Matter class more than 30 years earlier.

Pretty cool, huh?

Peter is a general assignment reporter at The Bee, but mostly writes about California’s medical marijuana debate these days. Check out his blog, called “Weed Wars,” here.

–Kim Minugh

During a weekly newsroom meeting yesterday, I received a round of applause from my colleagues for going about eight hours without food or a bathroom break.

OK, so I really was really getting an award for my part covering a 56-hour standoff between the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and a mentally ill man holding his cousin’s 16-month-old child hostage (though I did get a public shoutout for, yes, going eight hours without sustenance or relief).

But it got me thinking again about how unpredictable, challenging and completely amazing my job is and the sacrifices I sometimes make for it. And it reminded me that I want to share some of what that actually looks like with you, students.

So that very long and trying day, I woke up to a phone call from my editor asking me to get out to the scene of a standoff as soon as possible. I was shocked: The standoff had begun the previous afternoon, and those situations rarely drag on because law enforcement rarely allow them to. When I left work the night before, I assumed it would all be taken care of by the time I reported back for the next day.

But in this case, the presence of the toddler – and the fact that the suspect had two handguns in his possession – was posing a unique challenge for the Sheriff’s Department. So I got out to the scene about 9 a.m. and stayed – until almost 6 p.m.

The only food I had from the time I woke up until about 6:30 p.m. was a single donut. I got my hands on some water, but not nearly enough. I was unbelievably sunburned, despite my late-afternoon attempt to prevent it with sunscreen borrowed from our generous photographer (Future reporters, take note – always carry sunblock in your car!). And I hadn’t gone to the bathroom once.

Why? Because I couldn’t leave the scene. This was an unbelievable story – with great potential for disaster. Some curse on reporters always dictates that the second you step away is the second the phone rings, the big thing happens. And on this story, I couldn’t risk it. So I sucked it up.

For some of those hours, I even joined fellow journalists in camping out directly in the line of fire from the suspect’s window – the same window he allegedly had been shooting out of overnight at the police. I phoned in about seven updates for the web, and broke news before my competitors who were at the very scene I was. I helped ensure that our coverage was the best out there – and I’m confident it was.

It was a really tough assignment, physically and mentally. But it was fun! Who else has stories like that about their work day?

And just to prove the point: Yesterday, my first day back from two weeks of vacation, I had a front-page story fall in my lap at 4 p.m. – two hours before I normally would go home – about state fair police shooting and killing an agitated, pregnant cow who had gotten loose from her pen and led police and veterinarians on an hour-and-a-half-long chase throughout the fairgrounds.

In journalism, you never know what you’re going to be doing that day. And I love that! I hope that some of you might feel that way, too.

–Kim Minugh

My grandfather passed away last night. It was not really unexpected, but it was nonetheless very sad news during what has otherwise been a very happy and rewarding time here at CSPA.

I stayed awake for a long time last night thinking of a way to write about him here that would be more than the dreaded “journal entry” that we’ve all asked you to try to avoid in your blogs. I tried to think of a way to tie it to journalism, which got me thinking about what my grandfather did for a living. And it made me think about how that differs so greatly from what I do for a living, and how those pathways came to be.

My grandfather was born in 1921, in an era when children’s educational opportunities were limited greatly by their own family’s needs. Pepere, as I call him (part of my family is French-Canadian), didn’t get much beyond eighth grade before he was expected to begin work in Maine’s various textile mills to help support his family. He did that arduous, unhealthy work for many years before beginning work for what is now Downeast Energy. He got up in the very early morning hours to drive an oil truck on narrow, poorly paved and ice-covered Maine roads to deliver oil to homes.

I know Pepere loved his company, and probably took some solace in the fact that he was helping other families keep their children warm. I doubt, though, that it is the career path he would’ve chosen for myself had circumstances been different. By the time he was my age – 29 – he had four hungry mouths to feed, on top of my grandmother and himself.  He worked hard to make ends meet, and did not have the luxury of choice. But he did it to make sure his children had choice, and my mom, the eldest of the four children, became the first in both sides of the family to graduate from college. And while women had little career choice in those days – nursing or teaching – it was better than working in the mills, as she had in earlier years.

I got that choice, too. My parents pushed me to get a good education, take advantage of all opportunities available to me and pursue my passions. I never had to support my family and at this point in my life, have only my husband, Dan, and myself to support. I have been able to pursue my journalistic dreams – dreams that took advantage of my skills and allow me to give back to the world around me. I don’t make a ton of money but I am much richer in the heart and mind for the work I do. I am thankful that I’ve had that opportunity – and that choice.

After my mom told me the news last night, I wondered whether it was right for me to stay another day at CSPA. I felt guilty, having fun and basking in the energy and enthusiasm of all of you (students and faculty) after this very sad news. I mentioned this to my mom when I called her this morning, and she dismissed them immediately.

“Your grandfather would want you to stay,” she told me. “He’d want you to inspire the next generation.”

So here I am – unfortunately, for just one more day – trying to inspire you, students. And I hope this reflection of mine does inspire you to take advantage of your opportunities here at CSPA and elsewhere and to go out and pursue your dreams, journalistic or not.

– Kim Minugh

Instructor Stan Kelton schools students on the courts

The past few days, you’ve been learning a lot about public records, what’s at the courthouse and media law. But sometimes its hard to know just how much of a treasure trove the courthouse is until you start digging through its records.

Even if you never cover courts full-time, you will most likely come across court documents (think City Hall lawsuits, criminal investigations, backgrounding politicians, etc.)

I, personally, love court records. Seriously. It’s just unbelievable what’s in them sometimes. Ages, names, family members, employment history, criminal records, financial assets, addresses, transcripts, search warrants affidavits, the list goes on. Even if you can’t get a lot of people to talk to you about a story, there may be court documents available that help you fill in the gaps (or you might find a great nugget buried in the heap that makes your story).

Let me give you a couple of quick examples of how court documents can work for you:

•Last year, a Tracy Sunday School teacher was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl. My paper wanted to find out as much as possible about who this woman was and what went wrong in her life that she would end up the prime suspect in one of the nation’s most high-profile crimes that year.

Not many people wanted to talk on the record with me about her, so I used court documents to help weave together pieces of her life into a story. Bankruptcy records, custody filings, restraining orders, criminal records and lawsuits all helped put together the puzzle. Here’s the story if you’d like to read it.

•Back when I was covering a town called Lodi, I got a tip that a police officer had been fired but that a third-party arbitrator had ordered her reinstatement – and that the city had been forced to pay her more than $58,000 in back pay. The only problem was no one would tell me why she was fired because of personnel privacy laws for police. I wrote an initial story that had little information.

A few weeks later, I happened to be doing a routine check at the courthouse for Lodi-related lawsuits. And I came across a gift: That fired officer’s lawyer had made a routine court filing that he probably thought no one would notice. And it spelled out all the reasons the cop had been fired, including that she may have made an illegitimate arrest in a person’s backyard. Check out that story here.

-Daniel Thigpen

Kim has a great addition to last night’s discussion that is worth your time. I’d like to add just a couple more general thoughts.

During our evening discussions, I’ve been most impressed with the students’ willingness to debate thoughtfully and sensitively – and most importantly, eagerly – about the grey areas of journalism. One instance comes to mind in particular, from Monday night, in which several students talked about the potential for doing lasting harm to the subject of a possible story about a criminal investigation. Your respect for the subjects you may be writing about – and for each other when you debate these topics – shows a lot of maturity on your part.

I hope you’re learning a lot – about journalism and each other – from these discussions. But if you take only one thing from them, I hope you have gained a better understanding of the types of arguments we have in newsrooms every day, and that even at one newspaper, you’ll frequently find a number of people who disagree about the decisions that make it into each day’s editions. Often those decisions are not clear right/wrong calls.

Please take this understanding with you back to your high school newspapers, and encourage your colleagues to engage in similar debates. Being forced to argue your thoughts with people who disagree with you opens your mind to new perspectives and makes you re-evaluate your own. Not to mention, that process makes the end product that much stronger.

-Daniel Thigpen

Last night, CSPA participants young and old enjoyed another important and provocative discussion about journalism ethics. This time, instructor Chris Carlson provided some great food for thought about digitally correcting photos and ethics in photojournalism.

Again, I was really impressed by the thoughtful comments offered by students, as well as the amount of participation – even more than when Dan and I led the discussions the two nights prior (Hey guys, what are you trying to tell us?! Just kidding . Thanks again, students, for joining in the discussion and adding additional value to the CSPA workshop.

During the exchange about running photos of bodies after the Haiti earthquake and photos of war casualties, several students said they would run the photos because readers/viewers/the public need to see such images. We, as the media, should not be watering down the news to make it more palatable to the public when the news itself is horrible and tragic and needy of the public’s attention, those students argued.

First, I’d like to say for the record that I largely agree with that point of view. However, in day-to-day, real-world journalism, sometimes that becomes more complicated. So what we didn’t get to talk about much last night, and that I’d like to throw out for some discussion (or at least thought) here, is the idea that journalists are constantly trying to find an acceptable middle point. How do we make an impact on readers and force them to confront the ugly realities of the world without going too far? And how far is too far?

Sometimes, there is no “happy medium” and you must go “all out,” as difficult as it might be. But other times there is discussion to be had, and it’s one I have often with my editors and colleagues, particularly on the crime beat. Take, for example, the horrific, heart-breaking details I sometimes know about a specific crime or a specific victim’s injuries. At what point do I open the readers’ eyes and make the crime real to them, and at what point do I make them lose their lunch? You could argue that much of the crime I write about should make you lose your lunch. But remember, a reader who has lost his/her lunch is probably no longer a reader, because they’ve put down the newspaper and are no longer an audience for the information you are trying so hard to get across.

I don’t want to be too graphic here, but a good example would be crimes against children. The thought alone of any adult hurting a child is stomach-churning enough to most readers. But trust me, the details I hear are sometimes unimaginable. So, where do I stop? How graphic can I be? At what point is it better to just use general terms (like “sexual assault”) rather than sending a reader away with sickness, anger, a desire never to pick up a newspaper again, or any combination of those sentiments?

There is no easy answer, other than this: Discussion. When I discuss such things with editors, sometimes I’m successful in arguing my point of view, sometimes I’m not. But I can always walk away feeling good that I chose to talk about it with other thoughtful, intelligent journalists rather than shouldering the burden all myself (and possibly making the wrong decision).

Food for thought, my CSPA friends. Looking forward to tonight’s discussion!

–Kim Minugh

Mel hams it up in an Oscar-worthy victim performance

Student reporters try to get information from Kim, an obnoxious tourist

…I don’t know what will!

Even though all I did during instructor Art Aguilar’s “On the Spot” news writing class was act, it sure got me fired up about breaking news. Students, I hope you felt the same excitement!

I also hope, though, that it gave you a realistic sense of the challenges reporters face when covering breaking news in a competitive and emotional environment. Hysterical victims, people who don’t want their name in the paper, source “burnout” (when they get sick of talking to reporters over and over), argumentative or uncooperative officials… They certainly make the job harder. But it’s still the greatest job in the world.

A few suggestions Dan and I have after participating in this exercise with you guys:

Even in a chaotic situation, it’s always important to identify yourself to a source – even if all you say is you’re a reporter or that you’re with such-and-such newspaper. Do not just start firing questions at somebody and expect them to answer without knowing who they’re talking to or why they should talk to you.

Help your sources out – as much as is realistic or possible. Often times, sources (and here I’m talking mostly about average people, not official types) are looking for help or for information as news is breaking. You do not have an obligation, per se, to help them, but it’s nice to do what you can: Point them in the direction of help. Give them a phone number. Tell them what you know.  If you were in their shoes, you’d want the same treatment. And at the same time, the more helpful you are, the more likely they’re going to help you out.

Be compassionate. Yes, you’re full of adrenaline and on deadline and facing some real pressures, but remember, that pales in comparison to some of the tragedy our sources are experiencing when we are trying to get information from them. I only saw a few students show this to Mel as she played the hysterical mom of the missing boy. A simple “I’m sorry for your loss” or a hand on the shoulder or a “I’ll find out what I can” goes a long way. Again, you’d want the same treatment if you were on their end.

That out of the way, here are a couple funny moments we observed:

As two students ran from interviews with two evacuees, a hysterical Mel (sorry, I didn’t get the spelling of “Pheefee” or whatever!) started chasing after them, crying “Have you seen my son? Can you help me?!” The reporters kept running.

Playing the role of two evacuees, Dan and I were talking about joining crowds of other evacuees at the Cal Poly campus. Adam, unconvinced, noted, “You guys seem to be the only ones here.” Brendan, without skipping a beat, pointed to an empty bench next to Dan and said, “Don’t you see that guy right there?”

And a shout-out to Carlee for one of the best comebacks to a common obstacle thrown out by a source: When she began asking questions and Dan interrupted with, “Is this going in the paper?” Carlee became more sympathetic to her sources by saying, “I’m just trying to get information.” Good answer!

We’d love to hear what you guys thought of the exercise and the experience.

-Kim Minugh and Dan Thigpen

It’s clear this year’s batch of CSPA students are working hard. As such, they also deserve to play hard here and there.

Some play harder than others, I learned this morning.

Before most had risen today, four students – Adam Roback, Olivia Hill, Melody Dasakalos and Ally Van Deuren – and counselor Matt Hanlon went for an early morning run up to Cal Poly’s big P on the hill.

I’m a regular runner, so I decided to tag along. Somehow I did not process beforehand that running straight up a steep hill first thing in the morning might be difficult. It was not long before Matt and two other students had far surpassed me.

By the time I got to the top and made sure my heart had not exploded (it had not), I snapped this picture of the view.

the view from the big P

Running downhill was much nicer. When we got back to Lassen, everyone decided to continue their workout.

post-run CSPA-ers in much better shape than me

I did not.

-Daniel Thigpen

It may seem like a waste of time when all you are trying to do is churn out content.

But adding tags and categories — even just one or two — can have huge benefits to your blog in the long run.

First, let’s take a look at what exactly tags and categories are in WordPress.

From the good people at WordPress:

Categories allowed for a broad grouping of post topics, but when you wanted to describe a post in more specific terms, more categories were required. That led to very long category lists inside the blog and very long lists in Categories Widgets.

Tags are similar, but instead of a list of words to choose from, you write them in a list (separated by commas) in the Tags Module of your post editing screen. They are generally used to describe your post in more detail.

For example, a post titled “Last Night At Burger King” might be filed under the “Dinner” category, but could have tags such as, “burger, chicken fries, chocolate shake, dr. pepper.”

All that sounds fine, but again, why bother? The biggest reason: SEO. In a sea of blogs, you are trying to stand out, right? By consistently adding tags and categories to posts, and using the same ones over and over, you are doing your part to help your content get found. It serves as that trail you are leaving to lead readers to you.

So, identify the keywords you are using in your blogs. Add them to your frequently used tags and/or your categories list. Check them off every time you post. Drive traffic. It can be that simple!

For more on the subject, check out What Are WordPress Tags and Why Use Them? .

– From today’s CSPA Workshop Digital Digest

Dan grading papers Monday night.

We’re working hard too!

While the students are off shooting photos today and visiting the local television station, we’re holed up with some of their first writing assignments. We’re enjoying seeing how much they already know about news writing and are working to offer the best feedback possible to help them learn during their time here at CSPA.

Here’s a quick photo of instructor Daniel Thigpen sneaking in some grading as we waited for the students to arrive for Monday night’s discussion.

– Kim Minugh