PAGE ONE: THE UNDERBELLY OF JOURNALISM

Tomas Hernandez

The New York Times, if anything, is a figurehead of journalism. If the Times is still printing papers then there still might be a chance for the newspaper industry. The film, Page One, was a portrayal of this. I found the film to be very refreshing. One cannot help but be intimidated by the field of journalism. In the film they even referred to the publication as a “fortress.” Page One gave the viewer an inside look on how the newspaper industry was handling a change in technology.

The film starts out with the Times talking to Wikileaks about their leakage of government footage and information. This event symbolized the transition from agencies giving the publication information, to individuals getting self-served information: blogging, tweeting, forums. They also self-reflect on the Judith Miller issue. This is when Judith Miller, writer for the NY Times, perpetuated the idea that there were WMD’s in Iraq. They then found out there were none. With the Wikileaks and the Miller case, published news is not as valuable of a source as it used to be. The film fluctuates; they take a look on the weakness of the newspaper industry, but also they gloat of the Times’ successes. For instance, “Taiwanese president needs the times to know if the world exists.” This, and other quotes such as “it’s the New York Times…” became a bit irritating. There was a small handful of journalists being interviewed; a notable name was David Carr. David Carr is an reporter for the NY Times as well as an ex crack addict. I liked to think of him as a dinosaur journalist. In the beginning of the film he hated the idea of new technology. He seemed arrogant about the fact he wrote for the Times, his quotes also seemed contrived. There was a point in which he was giving VICE a hard time about working with CBS. That’s when the line was crossed. However, as the film went on, Carr adjusts to new media, and the film overall gets closure. Carr is a symbol in this way.

Search Engine Optimization

Paul Robinson, president and chief operating officer for Apogee Results spoke to a class of Mass Comm students in Hine 204. Thursday afternoon. It was the last speaking event of Mass Comm Week.

The agenda included approaching online marketing , what is SEO, why does it matter, SEO myths and local search results, but the thing stressed most by Robinson with regard to developing relationships with customers online was trust.

"The ratings and reviews world is starting to get a black eye," said Robinson."When you are doing business online trust is very important, seeing one hundred reviews that give 5 stars looks a little weird. "

Black hat optimization employs shady methods of optimization that can get your site banned from Google search results.

"There are also grey hat areas of optimization," said Robinson

Mass Comm Week Wordle

This is a Wordle Word Cloud depicting the highlights of the tweets made with the #mcweek hashtag during the week. Lots of great comments about our wonderful speakers!

It's Still News

By Tracie Walker

San Antonio Express-News writer Roy Bragg spoke about technology and the changing world of journalism on Thursday, Oct. 20. Bragg emphasized that even with the abundance of social media to keep the public informed, journalists are still needed because they're trained to find the information that people want to know and to write about it with integrity.

Bragg urged aspiring journalists to be aggressive with their work and to strive to report the truth.

"I won't write something until I'm ready to bet on my life that it's true," said Bragg.

He said that the newspaper editors can be blamed for the decline of the truth being told because of staff-size reductions and the urgency to produce material. He noted that a reporter being allowed several weeks to write an in-depth story is rare because of editors' fast-paced attitudes of "wham bam thank you ma'am" to get a story published.

Bragg told students that the problem with newspapers today is not the internet or the audience's attention span, but rather that newspapers haven't changed their style of reporting in the past 150 years. He said that yesterday's news needs to be on a website with tomorrow's news in the newspaper.

He kept his audience laughing with entertaining stories of reporting about tax-free weekend at the San Marcos outlet malls and about the "condom rapist," during which he wrote down what he overheard jurors saying through the walls.

Although some students, like Adrian Hanner, mass communications junior, said that Bragg didn't seem organized and left in frustration, others enjoyed listening to Bragg share his experience as a reporter.

"It was a fun speech and interesting," said Zahra Farah, journalism junior. "He's funny and talking at a level that college students can relate to."

"I loved that he's not apologetic about being aggressive," said Laura Garcia, journalism junior. "His real world examples of reporting were fun to listen to."

Securing a great internship

Jarod Phillips, who interned this summer for the International Center for Journalists, shares his thoughts on what it takes to get a good internship.

Video: Q&A with Brian Stelter

Film Screening - Page One: Inside The New York Times
Q&A with Brian Stelter, Writer/Reporter, New York Times

Sonic branding helps further brand image

By: Melanie Yoes

Stephen Arnold, CEO of Stephen Arnold Music, the company responsible for much of the background music heard on TV today, spoke to Texas State students Thursday about the important role sonic branding plays in helping the listener identify a product or TV show.

Freelancing - Not for the faint of heart

By: Thanya Gonzalez

It was a message of hope, persistence and discipline for those wanting to learn the skills necessary to becoming their own boss.

Lance Lawhon, Leslie Hancock and Susan Lahey, experienced freelance writers, spoke to Texas State students at Mass Comm Week on Thursday.

"You are your own product," said Hancock, a freelance communications professional. "You have to outline the benefits you can provide to potential clients."

Lawhon, president of New Covenant Consulting cautioned that working for oneself and from home takes a lot of hard work.

"You have to have discipline. No one is going to come wake you up to do it (work)," said Lawhon. "You need to know that you really want to do this. Learn to manage yourself and your time and keep track of all of your expenses."

Lahey, a principal for Fishpond Content urged students to find what they are really passionate about, find out how to do it and make it happen.

Among the list of things that will help those wanting to become their own boss, networking is key. Hancock described Austin as "one of the most connected towns" where networking is possible on a daily basis. Hancock called on aspiring journalists to build their contact list and their portfolio.

Being comfortable with the web is an integral part of society, according to Lawhon. Blogging, web content and social media are among the many categories journalists are responsible for.

"Anyone who has experience is social media is of value," said Hancock. "Clients don't know what to do with social media, so they're relying on you. Being a freelancer is all about agility."

Video: Telling Stories with Data

Telling Stories with Data Matt Waite (professor at University of Nebraska, formerly of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact); Matt Stiles (data journalist, NPR, formerly of Texas Tribune); Denise Malan (investigative/data editor, Corpus Christi Caller-Times); Ryan Murphy (data reporter, Texas Tribune)

Telling Stories with Data

Freelancing - not for the faint of heart

By: Thanya Gonzalez

It was a message of hope, persistence and discipline for those wanting to learn the skills necessary to becoming their own boss.

Three panelists, Lance Lawhon, Leslie Hancock and Susan Lahey, all experienced freelance writers, spoke to Texas State students as part of Mass Comm Week.

"You are your own product," said Hancock, a freelance communications professional. "You have to outline the benefits you can provide to potential clients."

Lawhon, president of New Covenant Consulting, cautioned that working for oneself and from home takes a lot of hard work.

"You have to have discipline. No one is going to come wake you up to do it (work)," said Lawhon. "You need to know that you really want to do this. Learn to manage yourself and your time and keep track of all of your expenses."

Lahey, a principal for Fishpond Content, urged students to find what they are really passionate about, find out how to do it and then make it happen.

Networking is key. Described by Hancock as "one of the most connected towns," Austin is a place where you can network everyday. Hancock called on aspiring journalists to build their contact list and their portfolio.

Being comfortable with the web is an integral part of society, according to Lawhon. Blogging, web content and social media are among the many categories journalists are responsible for.

"Anyone who has experience is social media is of value," said Hancock. "Clients don't know what to do with social media so they're relying on you. Being a freelancer is all about agility."

Roy Bragg - It's Still News

By: Thanya Gonzalez

There is no such thing as yesterday's news, only today's news, is the message Roy Bragg brought to students as part of Mass Comm Week.

Bragg, a writer for the San Antonio Express-News, spoke about how media saturation has changed the world.

"You can get information in a small town at the same time everyone else does because of the ability to connect," said Bragg.

While Bragg credits technology for becoming more resourceful and efficient, there are still a few things he prefers to do the old-fashioned way.

Aguilar discusses House Bill 2194

By Robert Beckhusen

I recently talked to border and immigration reporter Julian Aguilar about House Bill 2194, which ensures voter registrars meet the same requirements as registered voters.

Aguilar wrote:

[Rep. Jim] Murphy's bill lays out new training requirements for deputy registrars, which may include a test at the end of their training. The intent is to make certain that a deputy registrar "can perform all the duties required and to increase efficiency in county clerks' offices by reducing some of the time and paperwork involved in processing voter registration applications," according to the bill analysis. But the Brennan Center says the laws, taken together, will reduce the registration rate, partly because state governments do not make an aggressive effort to register voters. They “instead rely on individual voters to ensure that they are registered,” the study says.

[...]

“The laws are another step in making it harder to register and harder to vote overall in the state of Texas,” says Lee Rowland, who serves as counsel to the Brennan Center’s Voting Rights and Elections Division. “And it’s coming at a time when registration rates are lower than they have been in the past.”

Rowland argues the new citizenship requirement will disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics, who are more likely than whites to register through registration drives. In 2004, about 13 percent of new black and Hispanic voters were registered through drives, versus about 8 percent of non-Hispanic whites, according to U.S. Census data cited in the report. In 2008, 5.4 percent of new white voters were registered through private drives compared with 11 percent of new black voters and 9.6 percent of new Hispanic voters.

Read the rest at The Texas Tribune.

Aguilar spoke to an audience of Texas State students and Laredo area high school students on Oct. 20, 2011 during Mass Comm Week. He was joined by San Antonio Express-News reporter Jason Buch to discuss reporting on the border, immigration issues and drug-related violence in Mexico.

Zeale and Nakia panel on Storify

Multimedia is the new fad in journalism

By Briana Amaro


With the right knowledge, tools and drive to create something that’s different and new, multimedia can become a journalist’s best friend.

Karla Leal, a reporter for the Spanish broadcasting channel Telemundo, spoke to students about the importance of multimedia in stories at this year’s Mass Comm Week at Texas State University-San Marcos.

“Multimedia is now,” Leal said. “It’s not the future.”

During her presentation, Leal defined a multimedia report as something that “combines different elements that complement each other to improve the content of a story, making it more interesting, powerful and complete.”

Multimedia reporting, said Leal, allows for more creative storytelling and provides the audience with more information on the topic. Video, text, photos, audio and graphics are all examples of multimedia.

Leal also explained the Mass Media Formula, an instructional guide on the basis for radio, television and print stories.

Editing and publishing are even more important when a reporter uses multimedia. PhotoPeach, JayCut, YouTube and Blogger are just some of the tools Leal mentioned in her presentation.

Texas State student and advertising major Austin Stewart said, “It’s interesting to see how many websites use multimedia—how ideas play out and different news stations use multimedia.”

Leal has been with the Austin-based Telemundo since 2009, four years after beginning with the network in California. She has currently entered into a fellowship with the International Center for Journalists.

“I feel like I’m a link between the people that I interview,” Leal said.

Bob Metcalfe Speaks at Tx State Mass Comm Week

An Evening with Bob Metcalfe

An Evening with Bob Metcalfe; Sponsored by the Graduate Student Association
Bob Metcalfe, Internet pioneer and inventor of the Ethernet communications standard, UT Professor

Using data to inform the readers

by Sarah Vasquez



Denise Malan, investigative/data editor for Corpus Christi Caller-Times newspaper, shared ways to inform the public with facts and figures.


There are several ways journalists can use data. Several examples Malan shared included the salary of public officials, analysis of street projects, and budgets. With the collected data, journalists can show the readers the facts instead of telling them.


“In these days, the people just don’t want to read something and take your word for it. They actually want to see it. They want to discover things for themselves. They actually want to get into the database and discover something that you haven’t seen,” said Malan.


The readers and journalists can make their own analysis and conclusions with the information given. She said that this can be used to test what the public officials are telling the public.


An important reason to use data is to help public data become even more public. One way journalists receive this information is through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Through this act, most documents produced by government agencies, including emails, are open to the public. Of course, there are exceptions that can not be given such as social security numbers and credit card information.


Malan gave tips on what a journalist should keep in mind when submitting a FOIA request. When possible, request the records in an electronic format, but also make sure to request record layout and code sheet to know what the columns and codes in the document mean.


The hardest part of working with data is cleaning is up. Malan stressed that a journalist should always save a copy of the data as it was received and never erase the data in a working copy. But after all the cleaning up is done, this is what Malan referred to as the fun part: the analysis of the data.


Her suggestions to students on data journalism is to take advantage of the resources Texas State University provides such as a basic programming class. Malan is currently taking classes at a community college to learn programming.


“If I could go back and talk to my college self, I would say use some of your electives on these things,” said Malan.

Comm grads needed as Austin high-tech job market continues to expand

By: Melanie Yoes

Austin has been known as a high-tech haven for the past two decades, and the scores of online startups and web-based companies still flocking to the “Silicon Hills” should provide plenty of job opportunities for tech-savvy communication graduates.

A high quality of life, low cost of living, tax incentives and a young, educated population base attract businesses from around the world to the Silicon Hills, a nickname Austin acquired after it experienced a technology boom in the early 1990s similar to that of Silicone Valley in northern California.

While the market for mobile apps and online services continues to grow, more and more jobs are becoming available to communication graduates in and around Austin, particularly in the field of social media management.

As part of Mass Comm week at Texas State, Andrew Waldrup, culture evangelist at Gowalla, Whitney Francis, community manager at Google Places, and Jennifer Stafford, social media manager at HomeAway.com, spoke to students Wednesday about the importance of networking and communication within the realm of social media and the high-tech world.

“It’s not really so much about what technical skills you have, but about who you know in this business,” said Stafford, who handles social media for HomeAway.com, a vacation rental web site. “If you can pick up at least the basics it will be really helpful for you, but you don’t have to go to school for, say, web development to get a job in one of these fields. Basic HTML is about as techy as I get.”

Waldrup, a Texas State alumni recently hired by Gowalla, said keeping up with the latest social media platforms and practices is important for those considering a career in a high-tech or social media field.

“You need to have a presence on all the social media sites, as well, so employers can see that you know what you’re doing,” he said.

Francis, who manages the social media for Google Places, recommends that students research the company they are interested in before applying, start a blog about a hobby or interest and print business cards with their contact information to hand out at monthly high-tech meet ups at bars and restaurants around Austin.

“I ran a blog called Free Eats Austin and did social media consulting for restaurants and bars a few years ago. Someone in the Google HR department found my profile on LinkedIn, brought me in for an interview, and that’s how I got my current job,” she said.

Waldrup also suggests that students create a business Facebook or Twitter account to get experience running the back end of those social media outlets.

“It’s very different, running your personal social space versus running one that’s representing a company,” she said.

Many of the new high-tech startups are looking to hire young, creative types and early adopters rather than job-seekers with a standard business mindset.

“The more personality you have the more interested we are in getting to know you, rather than the cookie-cutter person with a PR degree,” said Francis. “Your resume is key when you’re looking for a job in this field. The type of resume you would send to a regular business is pretty boring to a tech company, because culture is really important to us. Since it’s such a tight knit setting and you end up working closely with people, often for long hours, it’s important to express your personality in that piece of paper.”

Communication Careers at Tech Companies in Austin

Communication Careers at Tech Companies in Austin
Andrew Waldrup, Culture Evangelist, Gowalla; Whitney Francis, Community Manager, Google; Rodney Gibbs, CEO, Ricochet Labs (makers of QRANK); Jennifer Stafford (HomeAway)

Nakia Interview - Music and Social Media

Nakia Interview - Music and Social Media; featuring TXST student and rapper Zeale Nakia Reynoso, Musician and finalist on NBC's The Voice; Zeale (Valin Zamarron)

Diversity, Experience and Skills-Obtaining a Job in the Media

By Jeana' Jacobsen

When you look up Texas mass communication colleges on Google, Texas State University is listed in the top five. With an award-winning campus based radio station and collegiate newspaper, this should come as no surprise.

Texas State alumni participated in a panel during Mass Comm week Wednesday, October 19, discussing how the knowledge and experience gained at Texas State has helped them get to where they are today.

The panel of four consisted of San Antonio-Express food and wine writer, Jennifer McInnis; assistant editor for the Texas Association of Realtors, Jaime Kilpatrick; The CW Austin Star, Mandy Dugan; and vice president of Business Development with Texas Sports Radio Network, Will McGinnis.

A common message that all four panel members stressed upon the student audience was the importance of getting involved at Texas State, taking internships, networking and learning as many skills as possible.

The panel suggested that students need to shake as many hands as possible during mass comm week because its a great opportunity to meet dozens of media professionals in one place at one time.

"You really have to put yourself out there," McInnis said. "You have to sell yourself. I wouldn't take no for an answer."

Panelists all expressed how much they took away from Texas State and applied it into their career. Joining mass communication organizations, getting involved with KTSU or the University Star or experiencing multiple internships are what lay down the bricks of the road to success.

Dugan and McGinnis both were involved at KTSW during their time at Texas State and said how much fun it was and how much they learned through the experience.

"That's what helped me seal this job," Dugan said. "...from everything I learned here."

Although its highly recommended to gain a variety of skills and internships, McGinnis emphasized that graduates need to still have a focus for what they want to do for a career.

"You want to find a job doing something you like," McGinnis said. "Or else you're not going to be good at it."

Mass Comm week is such a great opportunity for students and graduates to learn about opportunities that are out there and how the world of mass communications is constantly expanding and becoming more diverse, therefor demanding more from those hoping to work in the industry.

ZEALE and Social Media

By Jeana' Jacobsen

Texas State Mass Comm Week welcomed Austin based artist Nakia and local rapper ZEALE to participate in an open discussion regarding musicians and how social media has played a part in their musical careers. ZEALE had much to say about how social media has helped expand his audience and allows him to reach multiple people all at once.

Sammis & Ochoa

Tanya Sammis and Mario Ochoa from Sammis & Ochoa: A Public Relations Agency sit down to discuss a few of the elements that go into make someone a successful entrepreneur in the PR world.

(My apologies about the blurriness of the content)

The Elements of Entrepreneurship

By: Lyanna Fuentes

Local entrepreneurs, Tonya Sammis and Mario Ochoa, spoke to students Wednesday, October 19, about successfully starting a new business using any and every resource now available with the expansion of technology.

The duo began Sammis and Ochoa, a full-service public relations firm based out of San Antonio, on January 19, 2010 after working together at another firm.

Sammis, Chief Executive Officer of Sammis and Ochoa, stressed the importance of strategic planning when beginning any business venture. The duo also shared their own checklist, which was used to help keep them organized and on track.

“The worst thing you can do in business is skip steps,” said Ochoa, Chief Strategic Officer of Sammis and Ochoa.

The team shared many tips for anyone interested in starting a business of any kind, including the idea and practice of “bootstrapping,” or beginning a business with limited financial resources.

They also recommended several resources including Legal Zoom, MyFax, and Free Conference Call. Ochoa said these tools can help entrepreneurs save money on lawyer fees and expensive phone services.

Local small business development centers like San Antonio Small Business Development Center and other groups specializing in consulting and aid were recommended as valuable resources for any entrepreneurs.

While Ochoa emphasized the difficulty of entrepreneurship, he was sure to support and encourage all students interested to follow their dream of owning and operating a business.

The duo began their small public relations firm with $125 in their newly opened bank account.

“We started with next to nothing,” said Sammis.

By the end of 2010, Sammis and Ochoa had reached $68,000 in sales.

Both Ochoa and Sammis stated that one of the key components in this type of venture is having faith in what you are doing and in that you will accomplish the goals set for your company.

“The greatest capital you can put into a business is personal capital,” said Ochoa. “Having faith is the greatest piece of the puzzle.”

Careers in online media: Newspapers in the virtual world

By Aleyda Londono

Recent Texas State graduates Maira Garcia and Tina Phan spoke about their unconventional jobs at the Austin American-Statesman.

Garcia is the paper’s social media editor and Phan is the multimedia producer. Their session covered the emerging importance of social media and multimedia in covering breaking news.

The first major event they covered was the recent Central Texas fires. Garcia was busy constantly updated the paper’s Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr profiles, while Phan shot video and took photos of the fire as well as the people affected by the disaster.

Both were responsible for producing content to be published the same day. They described how reporters and photographers took on various roles during especially hectic days. In addition to their normal roles, reporters had to take pictures and photographers shot video.

Garcia also talked about how the public contributed the conversation by posting to Facebook and Twitter, adding to the amount of information available to the public. She also cautioned about the need to responsibly verify the information before publishing.

Garcia and Phan were very involved in campus media as students, and both credit that experience to their current success. They highlighted the coming changes in online media and advised students to learn as many different platforms as possible to make themselves more desirable to prospective employers.

In the video below Phan discussed what students should do to prepare for the recurring changes in online media.

Laura Prather - Reporter's Priviledge and Anti-SLAPP in Texas

Laura Prather, Partner at Sedgwick Detert Moran and Arnold LLP

Interview with Hugh Forrest, Director of SXSW Interactive

Interview with Hugh Forrest, Director of SXSW Interactive

Why Go To Grad School?

Print Is Not Dead

By Shaina Alizadeh

John Garrett, founder and publisher of Community Impact Newspaper, told students that employers are looking for “LIARs.”

Garrett was one of the featured speakers during Mass Communication Week at Texas State. He talked to students about media entrepreneurship and how to succeed in the journalism industry.

Garrett said that hard work always pays off and the LIAR acronym is important for any prospective employee to follow.

The acronym stands for an individual who is like-able, intelligent, achievement oriented, as well as responsible.

“Cream rises to the top,” Garrett said. “Everyone sitting next to you, if they want to be successful, will try to beat you and be better than you.”

Garrett said he believes print is not dead and that there is a future for print journalism despite the controversy that surrounds the industry. He said the newspaper has survived longer than individuals who discredited its success.

“Steve Jobs was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal in 2006,” Garrett said. “(Jobs) said in five years newspapers would be dead. I just find it ironic that here we are five years later and who’s dead – Steve Jobs, he’s dead and newspapers are still alive.”

The audience gave a gasp and didn’t know how to react, but then laughter slowly came from the crowd and the tension was broken.

“I know talking about dead people is not fun,” Garrett said. “But let’s just get real here.”

Garrett then went on to talk about how faith, passion, quality, as well as innovation and integrity will bring any individual success in their choice of career.

“It’s not about being a perfect business or perfect person,” Garrett said. “It’s about understanding what we value.”

Angelee Brown, mass communication senior, said she really enjoyed certain points Garrett made in his speech.

“I never heard of the LIAR acronym and I thought that was pretty cool,” Brown said.

Dalida Umuhire, mass communication and advertising senior, said she was interested in what Garrett had to say. She said she really enjoyed the conversations that surrounded topics about starting a media-based company.

“Media is always involved in public relations and advertising,” Umuhire said. “Who knows, I might do media instead of public relations.”

The Future of Smartphones - Science Fiction? or Reality?

By Chris Eudaily
"Everything you know about social media is about to be turned on it's head."

Tim Hayden, chief marketing Oofficer for 44 Doors, a mobile marketing company based in Austin, said that America is about to take another jump in the realm of smartphone capabilities. And that scenes like the one in Minority Report when Tom Cruise's character walks into the GAP and the store immediately knows who he is and what he last bought, are not as far from reality as we might think.

Hayden said that one of the newest developments in smartphone technology to hit the U.S. - which is already widely used all over the world - is near field communication, which allows devices to communicate with each other.



Hayden said that Starbucks locations are close to rolling out this technology, which would allow you to simply swipe your phone to purchase your coffee instead of having to pull out your wallet.

Near field communication also has application in other arenas like location-based check-in apps, which show you deals and other information as you check-in to various locations. Near field communication would allow for your phone to passively check-in instead of you having to pull out your phone, and as Hayden says: "be that guy."

Another smartphone technology, which has been already easily integrated into our worlds with the use of programs like Google Maps, is augmented reality.

Augmented reality works through the lens of your phone and is a way of layering data to build on what exists in the real world.

Hayden said to look at Google Maps for example: You are able to look at a street view of wherever you want to go and see graphics attached to restaurants and other shops which give you reviews and other relevant information.

Hayden also added an example of an interactive movie poster: You could walk up to a poster for a movie and hold up your phone. As the phone recognizes what you are looking at and interacts with the poster, the connection triggers a movie trailer which seems to be playing right out of the poster.

With the leaps and bounds in mobile technology, it is possible that almost everything around us will be turned into an interactive interface. Take billboards for example.

Hayden said that as the recession continued, people questioned the advertising value in billboards, but now interactive marketing is giving them a facelift.

Don't be surprised if the billboards on IH-35 start to look like Time Square in New York City.

Freedom of Information is for Everyone

By Chris Eudaily
Jennifer Peebles, Deputy Editor at Texas Watchdog said everyone needs to understand that the government works for them, and that citizens are active shareholders in the government.

"We all get to go to the shareholders meeting every year," said Peebles, who then added that as shareholders, we have the right to say: "I don't like the way the CEO is doing his job and I want his ass fired!"




Peebles emphasized that the real power in freedom of information laws is not just for journalists, but for citizens as well.

She said that as a parent, you can easily use the freedom of information laws to find out what is happening in your child's school, and the the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas puts on regular seminars, should citizens want to find out how the laws work.



Peebles said that with the massive cuts in staff at newspapers across the country, giving existing reporters less time for digging and investigating, "there are fewer eye balls on the government," which makes it increasingly important to fact check quotes and other relevant information.

Fact-checking does come at a price, and the law also provides for the reasonable application of these costs - in Texas it's ten cents a page.

"The more you ask for- not only does it take more time - the more they get to charge you," said Peebles about the volume/cost relationship. But she added that you must also be wary of high estimates.

Peebles told of a time when she was working at a newspaper in Nashville, Tenn., and her newspaper requested the records from the Nashville Power Company. The power company sent them a $98,000 bill - to which she advised for reporters to always ask how an agency arrived at an estimate.

It turned out that the power company was trying to charge the paper postage for mailing out notification letters to the power company's customers informing them that their records were being released. Agencies are only allowed to charge for actual costs.

Peebles said that the newspaper filed a lawsuit, which they won, and the total ended up coming down to "I think $2,000."

High costs are not the only thing for reporters to worry about, Peebles said that sometimes you will end up with "a room full" of records relevant to your request, so you will have to also be prepared to alter your strategy to find out if you want to go through everything.

She said that sometimes looking through months of the mayor's emails may not be practical, so to start with one month and see if there is anything there, and if everything is "boring," then to just move on to something else.

Freedom of information laws give citizens access to virtually everything, unless there is an exemption for that particular piece of information. Peebles said that the federal freedom of information laws tend to have much broader exemptions, but that a lot of information is still open.

As the occupy protests sweep the globe and people demand more transparency from their governments and financial institutions, an informed citizenry is vital to the health of a democracy.

And an informed citizenry stems from the freedom of information.

Gilley shows what goes in to planning an event

By Brittany Martinez

Event planners doesn't just plan a wedding, they do so much more.

Kevin Gilley, who is currently working for the College of Fine Arts and Communications planning department, feels that event planners are more than just wedding planners.

"It's so much broader than that," Gilley said. "That's kind of what I wanted to get across- it's very broad. There's a lot to it, you could be in the tourist industry, or you could be a wedding planner. There's a lot of different opportunities out there."

The speech was held in Centennial Hall's theater room, and was packed with students from all departments.

Texas State senior Yola Sakr said she learned a lot about some ideas for planning her own events since she has five acres of land that goes unused.

"I could maybe lease out my land for the purpose of people using it to have their own events," Sakr said. "The main thing I learned from this speech was of all the great ideas I could do from this topic."

Gilley gave his presention over what goes on, what's needed, and how to plan an event. It is a tough job that can sometimes require over 100 hours a week, he said.

Gilley talked about some of the events he planned, and how they turned out. One event was the Jones and McCoy wedding at McCoy ranch, which had the audience in awe at the pictures Gilley showed on the screen.

He received many laughs from the audience during most of his personal stories involving planning an event, especially weddings, but did provide a warning:

"Choose wisely if you go into wedding planning," Gilley said as the audience laughed.

Foreign exchange student Youna Cho said she never knew there was a way to have a career out of planning events, such as weddings or birthdays.

"I'm from Korea so I don't know American events," Cho said. "I learned, though, what it takes and how much it costs and how it is brought forth."

Gilley informed students of the importance of personal affiliations, organizing staffs and having volunteers. Also, he said to always have a checklist because you don't want to lose track of what you're doing and to keep up with event deadlines.

"Make your checklist your bible," Gilley said.

For students interested in being involved with planning events, Gilley said he highly recommends SEPA.

"It (event planning) is really one of the fastest growing professions in the nation," Gilley said.

SXSW Interactive Continues to Grow and Provide Connections to the Community

By: Alyson Svec

Hugh Forrest, director of South by Southwest Interactive, discussed the history and background as well as planning for the events at SXSW.

Born in Austin, Forrest attended college in Ohio, then returned to his hometown after working with newspapers in the mid-eighties.

A few years later, a few guys he knew from SXSW called him to put a database on their computer and this started his career with this program. He was so good, they asked him to work with multimedia.

"I was at the right place, at the right time," said Forrest.

Starting as a big music event in 1987, it continued to grow. In 1995, three sections were included: Music, Film and Multimedia.

SXSW Interactive started as the smallest portion of the event, which would not have survived without the music, but is currently the largest, central aspect.

"We have had significant growth over the past five years," said Forrest. "The best results happen by a small organic growth."

Forrest said this is possible because they are lucky enough to tackle a very creative community. In Austin, there are passionate people, and those who told their friends, or posted information on Facebook or Twitter.

Forrest believes the people, weather, and the vibe are important in Austin.

"There is magic here," said Forrest.

SXSW occurs every year in March. There are five days of panels and presentations, 20,000 industry leaders and digital creators who come to speak and build connections between all universals.

"It is one of my favorite times of the year," said Prof. Cindy Royal.

Interactive has evolved to using 13 different campuses, which will include hundreds of sessions in 2012.

"As much time as we spend there, the real heart is the connections we make, and finding someone who has similar interests," said Forrest.

During the summer, people vote using the Panel Picker to choose who they want to speak at the event. The progress of this has grown to 3,200 proposals from the United States and the rest of the world.

"It is a tool of communication for our audience," said Forrest.

Forrest also offered advice for the job search: Be able to read and write and keep up with news. Forrest has hired a few Texas State graduates who have worked as volunteers at SXSW.

Although scaling the event is a huge challenge, SXSW Interactive tries to produce quality events and have an audience come to learn, inspire and make connections.

The Growing Hispanic Media

By J. P. Walker

J. R. Gonzales and Evelina Solis, radio talk show hosts of 501 News Latino and motivational speakers, came to speak at Mass Comm Week on Tuesday, Oct. 18. They discussed changes that the Latino market has endured in the past several years. In the past ten years the Hispanic market has grown 43 percent and 1 out of 6 people in the United States is now Hispanic. Now more than ever "there is a real need for people of color, people who speak Spanish," said Gonzales.

Gonzales is a self-made businessman who has met with the President a total of 4 times and has visited the White House. Gonzales graduated from Texas State, which at the time was called Southwest Texas State University.

Gonzales and Solis work with young people and young professionals in order to prepare the next generation of communicators. Their primary message for young people is to stick to your guns, have a dream, and pursue it.

Not surprisingly, Gonzales and Solis have great chemistry and work off each other very well. Joking and picking fun at each other, they were able to get a few quick laughs out of the audience. The audience was primarily made up of Hispanic students and there was even a group of high school students in attendance.

If you want to reach them or ask a question they are on Facebook and you can also reach then on their website www.501newslatino.com. Solis also has her own website, www.evelinasolis.com.