J-School Lessons from Semester Two

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It’s been a bumpy ride into the world of multimedia journalism. A self-identified writer who loves the depth of long-form writing, I decided to fill my greatest skill gap by taking all of the hands-on techie courses this semester that I could: Online and New Media, TV, Radio.

MJ TV class. Photo courtesy of Asher Greenberg's iPhone.

I have made my share of mistakes along the way – some so bad that I’ll probably never make the same mistake again (see #1). Here are a few tips that I picked up this semester:

1) Don’t forget to wear your headphones. Every single person in my program wears over-the-ear headphones. No, we’re not trying to look cool, as my brother accuses. We need to check sound quality.

Early in the semester I hit the streets in a team of three to do streeters. The question? “Do you think it’s necessary to disclose your HIV status if you partake in a low-risk sexual activity?” As the primary question-asker, I helped our interviewees out with a couple very specific examples of activities in that category.

We got some great responses. Fantastic, even. Toronto’s Church Street is a good place to ask about the criminalization of HIV. And we had beautiful photos from the perfectly overcast day. But when we got back to the studio and uploaded our files, there was no sound. My stomach sank as I ran through a mental checklist. The microphone was on! We had checked our equipment! We had even double-checked the fussy Zoom recorder button that you have to press twice to start recording! So what happened?

The first problem? I was wearing my headphones around my neck, but not on my ears. Yep, felt pretty silly.

We troubleshooted it down to two possibilities, but the interviews were still lost. The moral of the story is wear your headphones so you know when you’re not recording. Better yet, test out your equipment before hitting the field. It might feel silly to have big honking ear muffs on your head in the middle of summer, but you have to deal with it. It’s now a part of your body.

Me enjoying free wifi and free coffee, along with some great sound quality.

2) Hold back on your empathetic “um-hmms”. Someone is telling you a great story. Riveting, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat details. A clear articulate voice. You lean forward, say “right”, “mm-hmm”, nod encouragingly.

Then you upload your genius interview and the sound bite is full of you making sounds of affirmation. Don’t ruin a great clip. It feels unnatural and goes against our instincts for active listening. Too bad. Stick with the nod, and learn to shut up.

3) Sounds of pleasure help you find your natural pitch. We developed our radio performance skills under the wise instruction of Suanne Kelman. We learned breathing tips, how to write clean broadcast copy, and even created two radio newscasts (listen to them here and here).

A crucial part of the course was learning how to find your radio voice. You have two options: sliding from a high note down to a place where your voice resonates with the most power. Or the second option, where I was called upon to stand up in front of the class.

The pitch of your voice when you are in a moment of great pleasure, she told us, is your natural pitch. It was my job to lead a count of three for the class as we all made … sounds. Practice is optional.

4) Lighting matters. Taking the time to set up lighting and use a reflector to bounce light onto your interviewee can take a picture or video from okay to professional. Don’t be afraid to interrupt an interview to adjust the lighting. There is no point in continuing to film something that you can’t use.

5) Do a run-down of your important questions again. When your interview is done, bust out your important questions one more time. Say something along the lines of, “I need a few minutes to go over my notes and I might (re-)ask you a few very specific questions.” If you are recording audio, re-asking a question can sometimes elicit a more concise answer that will make for a better clip.

6) Play with the software. You know those kids who played with Photoshop for kicks back in the day? Well I was not one of them. But it’s not too late to recuperate those years. Go nuts in a most decidedly non-journalistic fashion. Mess around with the programs you have to use: photoshop a blemish off your next facebook profile picture, crop your friends into silly pictures, record your brother and splice his quotes so he’s saying something stupid.

7) How to dress for TV. “Hey – that’s a great broadcast shirt!” has become a popular morning greeting in our class. Wear candy colours, powder your face (the guys too), wear that hair down and slightly over your ears, and don’t wiggle.

MJ anchors after our first TV newscast

Educational pathways: Voices from Toronto

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Juggling a full time job isn’t easy when you’re in high school. In Toronto there is an achievement gap between students from different ethnic backgrounds, and those from low-income families and single parent households are at a greater risk of dropping out. Education determines employment opportunities in an increasingly knowledge-based economy, but it’s hard to compete when you have to work, care for siblings – or have a baby.

I spoke to three women in Toronto.

Check out the full story here.

Watch and listen to their stories below:

Why Ecuador?

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The UN General Assembly voted 137-12 (with 17 abstentions) in support of an Arab League-backed resolution to boot out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. So why was Ecuador one of the 12 countries that said no?

Photo: Associated Press via CBC

According to this Canadian Press article UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said:

“We see neighbourhoods shelled indiscriminately, hospitals used as torture centres, children as young as 10 years old chained and abused,” he said. “We see almost a certain crime against humanity.”

This morning a friend asked me on Facebook why the heck Ecuador said no.

The other countries voted against the resolution include Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua – all part of the left-leaning Latin American block, and also all members of ALBA – the Boliviarian Alliance for the Americas, (ALBA its acronym in Spanish).

ALBA is all about pushing for social, political, and economic integration in Latin America and the Carribbean. And they voted as a block at the UN general assembly.

Here’s part of the answer my friend wanted this morning: check out ALBA’s communique on the controversial resolution where they explain their support for “the policy of reforms and national dialogue led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”

Thanks to Tyler Moorhead for getting the discussion going on Facebook.

Choosing work over school

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Last week I met a young woman who shared her story of moving to Toronto from Mexico, adjusting to the school system, and ultimately deciding to drop out to enter the work force. Family financial pressures and the challenges of adjusting to a new country at 16 factored into her decision.

Check out Andrea’s story:

 

Poles and posters in the Annex

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Say goodbye to posters on poles like the one below. New plastic sleeves on hydro poles in the Annex and other parts of the city are changing our use of public space. I took a walk on Bloor Street between Spadina and Bathurst to check out the Annex BIA-funded sleeves created by Street Graffiti Solutions.

One of the few remaining poster-covered posts in the Annex

Playwright Laurel Brady was putting up posters for her play Early Retirement. She put the new sleeves to the test:

Laurel Brady and friend attempt to put a poster up in the Annex

Laurel Brady's poster doesn't stick

They put up a poster on a wall instead.

Poster for Early Retirement by Laurel Brady in the Annex

Brady’s postering attempt raises important questions about public space and if people should be allowed to put up posters for community events anywhere they want. Business owners might be happy that the street is cleaned up, but others like Brady have lost space to post community events.

Other spaces on the street are being used for those that can reach:

An alternative to postering on hydro poles in the Annex

Astral Media offers an alternative to postering on poles with its community bulletin board:

Astral Media's community bulletin board

A few metres down the sidewalk, Astral Media has a larger ad board:

Astral Media's ad board is much larger than the community bulletin board a few metres down the street

My pictures of the day:

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Interpreter’s bad practice

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An interpreter violated professional standards of confidentiality when he agreed to be a private detective for Mohammad Shafia, says the Montreal Gazette.

Moosa Hadi was first hired as a Dari interpreter for the defense lawyers representing Mohammad and Hamed Shafia and Tooba Yahya, who are on trial for the murder of sisters Sahar, Geeti and Zainab, and Mohammad Shafia’s first wife Rona Amir. Mohammad Shafia then hired Hadi to investigate the case for a sum of $4500.

This role transformation shocked me. Interpreters are trained to respect confidentiality. We are required to disclose any relationship with clients that could compromise our role. We also have to keep our distance which means avoiding friendly chit-chat – the hardest thing for me because it feels like you’re going against human nature.

It’s drilled into us so intensely that you wouldn’t dare ride a bus with a client after an appointment. And in a waiting room, you play with your phone, step out to “make a phone call”, read, or sit far across the room – anything to avoid a conversation. You are not entitled to speak to the client without the service provider present – the client might perceive you as a friend or ally, and leak information.

I’m not talking purely criminal evidence. Just say you’re at a doctor’s appointment and the client tells you about their late-night drinking and smoking binges, a previous surgery, a pain they have been having. They might not mention it in the appointment, which could affect treatment.

Hadi had signed a confidentiality agreement with the lawyers, who were not aware of his secondary role. What an excellent example of an interpreter’s bad practice.