Home from Philly filled with knowledge

The Outlook Family (I'm sitting) pictured left to right Janelle, Katie, TJ, Lacie and our adviser Lori front and center.

TJ found a good angle to shoot and be shot.

 I love Philly, I have been there a few times and it is a beautiful and historic place to visit.  This time I went there for a different reason the College Media Convention of 2014. So the Owens Outlook news team packed up our advisor’s RV and took to the road for a fun filled road trip with the 93rd Annual ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Philly as our destination.

We learned a lot about each other, a bond formed and the people that made this trip developed a friendship that will stand the test of time. We laughed together, we cried together and most importantly we learned together. The things we learned will not only improve us in the areas we work, but they will improve our newspaper as a whole.

I am the sports editor so my main focus was to learn as much about the sports editing position as I could. I not only learned about my position and how I can improve myself but I learned there are a lot of areas relating to sports that I didn’t really think about, especially at a smaller community college. I never really thought about the post-game interviews, they were always just something we saw on TV after a big 10 match up that I thought why would Owens need something like that. Joe Jullano from the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to us about nailing post-game interviews, how to get where you need to be, who you want to talk to and how to make sure you get to talk to them.

Lori's shooting us under the Liberty Bell, I shot back.

When our women’s soccer team won the Regional XII game confirming they were going to the National Tournament, what I wouldn’t have given to have been there to get that quote.  Thank god I went to the seminars on interviews, I asked the right questions to get the quotes I wanted for my article, so even though I may have missed the match I still got the quotes needed to make people understand the emotion behind this big win.

Jullano spoke a lot about how to work questions, make them specific so you aren’t asking more questions than you need to. We were told always to model off of the 5 w’s and the h, that way we can fill in the story along the way and keep the interview relevant. Always work for the reader, they are the ones that will have to keep up with your story so keep organized and have a good flow with interviews and stories.

The one seminar that captivated me was actually held by a collegue of Jullano, his name is John Quinn and he is the sports editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Quinn spoke to us about how to market yourself to sports editors, but in the end he taught us so much more than just that. I was captivated by this man’s words, he knew all the ins and outs of sports editing on top of what to expect when you walk into an interview. He taught us about resumes and what we as sports editors can do to make our stand out from the norm. He explained his own personal stories about some of the interviews he experienced when he was just getting into the world of journalism. One of the important things he said was make sure you have a head shot on your resume and pictures because if you want to get into sports photography a good digital resume is where you can show off those skills. 

Look he's pointing to the clock.

Finally there was Mickey Osterreicher the NPPA lawyer, this man left a mark with me more than all the sports speakers’ seminars that I attended. Osterreicher’s seminar was shoot first and ask questions later which to me is one of the most important things in a photojournalist’s career, knowing your rights. As a sports editor I am usually told where I can stand, who and what I can shoot and when, if I can use a flash or if I can’t use a flash. This was something that is relevant for all photojournalists because the way police handle situations isn’t always fair or legal. Osterreicher spoke about the first amendment and why it is so important for us as photojournalists. He told us that as the press we will always be in a situation where they want us back away from the scene, so stay on public streets and sidewalks. Credentials may be your best friend, but they will not always keep you out of jail so make sure you capture some audio especially if your rights are being violated. This means that if your are approached in a situation that you are within your rights to be shooting start rolling video because that audio will be your biggest defense in court. When it is your word against the word of a police officer chances are it will be you who loses. Remember “because I said so,” is not an acceptable reason for the police, police are not a law unto themselves. The most important thing I learned from Osterreicher is, under the first amendment there are no circumstances under which the contents of a camera or recording device should be deleted or destroyed meaning do not just hand over your camera or recorder because what you captured can be your defense.

The first amendment was something we got to see live when a peaceful protest was held outside of the convention center. The carpenters union along with the teamsters union marched around a intersection, some in costumes, to make known they were not happy with the decision made by the convention center to lock them out of their jobs. There were contract issues behind this and we were there to experience that first hand.

The guard stands watch at Independence Hall.

The seminars came to an end and we got to enjoy a day of exploring Philly for all the typical tourist places like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, we also got to see some amazing architecture downtown. That night we got to get out and do some late night shooting. The trip came to an end with the same news team, now a family, packing back up the RV and heading back home together. We shared tips we learned, stories about ourselves and just a lot of laughs. The memories made on this trip will last a life time and the information we learned on the trip will help us all in our futures whether it be photography, journalism or photojournalism. The city of Philadelphia will always hold a special place in my heart, history lives there and memories were made there.

I captured a few streaks of light with a long exposure during our night shooting trip.

Great memories were made at the Hard Rock Cafe.

A Revolutionary War monument stands in one of the parks in Philadephia.

These race cars were in the foyer of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This is the newspaper I got from the tour of this newsroom.

This plaza was covered in oversized game pieces; chess, bingo, dominoes, checkers and monopoly pieces. 

My at the right place at the right time,"Lacie we have to go upstairs now!!" shot.

The old Reading Terminal Head house and Train Shed.

The architecture was worth looking at, these buildings are gorgeous.

There were flags everywhere in Philadelphia, it is a patriotic city I love it.