We're all mojos

Why can't I do this everyday ??!

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In the past year or so, online readership of the Reporter has more than doubled, and it's interesting to note a few things: not much has changed on the website (though it was put on the College Publisher network Sept. 2006) in terms of technology -- still no videos, podcasts, etc.; the Reporter has been online since the early part of the decade; and advertising remains sparse. 

I think more people are accepting online newspapers and feel more confident getting their news from the web rather than a hard copy. You can tell by the numbers: the site frequently gets more than 1,000 page impressions per day, while last academic year it went over that mark only occasionally. We haven't hit 2,000 impressions yet, but I suspect that'll happen by May. I doubt the primary reason has to do with quality and the news that's happening; rather I think it has more to do with an overall acceptance of news in other mediums, and the comfort level readers have achieved. Pero qué sé shyo, maybe in fact all the little fill ads in the print edition for "www.msureporter.com" or "paper-cut free news" are effective ... ¿ ?

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Kevin Sites' journey to war-torn countries is inspiring. Being a journalist in any developing country is risky; to be an American journalist in a developing country is even scarier; and to travel to countries affected by war is terrifying. Instead of trying to capture an overall picture of what's happening in each respective country, Sites goes personal and in-depth, interviewing the people affected and getting to know them. Sites was on the cutting edge more than two years ago; blogging and video casting while traveling (see below). I remember three years ago MSU alumnus Aaron Doering came to MSU to talk about his amazing journey: he went to the Arctic Circle on dogsled and blogged and uploaded videos, using a solar-powered satellite to upload videos. He integrated the trip with classrooms across the country. While this was more of a cutting-edge learning tool, it speaks enormously of how powerful the technology is and how conducive it is to citizen journalism. The other day I was going to do an interview, wearing a pair of khakis, and I thought of all the equipment I was carrying: voice recorder, pocket Canon Elph digi-cam, broadband cell phone, and of course a pen and notepad. I'm not rich by any means, and all of those items are under $300, but essentially I had the equivalent of a printing press in my pockets. That's not including a laptop; I could've gone out, interviewed my subjects, written the story, typed it (tediously) on the cell, uploaded it to a blog, uploaded both the audio clips and photos via their USB ports (there's got to be some cable or adapter out there that lets you do that). How powerful !!! And having a laptop would've exponentially made it easier and even more advanced. I'd have access to dozens to potentially millions (or billions !) of viewers / readers / listeners, through all the mediums: Facebook, the Reporter website, Flickr, MySpace, my blog ... and that's just to name a few. I could become a member of Oh My News, or even write stuff on CraigsList (they've got a news section). Johannes Gutenberg is spinning in his grave. 

I've embedded a video of Kevin Sites' introductory video to his year-long project. Though you can find them all on Yahoo, skip straight over to YouTube. His videos on Yahoo are irritating to watch, since they put mandatory commercials at the beginning. YouTube doesn't have all his videos, but at least they're commercial free. 

Anyway, watching a few of Sites' videos, I am reminded more that I hate the fact my life is so easy. Despite a stressful, intense job, and mounting debt, and the fact that five dozen eggs now cost $10 when they cost $5 a month ago, and the fact that a gallon of gas is about $3, I have an easy, happy life. I have little reason or right to complain — about anything — because somebody out there has it worse off than I do, and they're surviving just fine. Mexico was a humbling experience. I think every college student should be required to study abroad. And I'm not saying that in a self-righteous, pretentious manner, but in sincerity. It should be a requirement, despite the major, especially for mass comm students. Some universities already do it. Even better in the third world. I don't know if I'd have the motivation, but I'd like to work in a field picking fruits for a year in Mexico, earning $2 a day.  Honestly, though, I have talked to very, very few students who regret studying abroad, while many who never did regret not doing it. What do you think -- should it be required ?