A HISTORY LESSON

Thursday, 26 2009

I had another long day working with Kim Nguyen on a broadcast story and I filmed some pretty good content. The story turned out to be more than interesting and relevant to the economy, but I was expecting to do more hard-impact stories that spoke of the ugliness of the economic situation in Europe. Regardless, I enjoy, more than ever, working as a journalist.

The restaurant we covered, Foyer Vietnam, filled up with students and other local Parisians within twenty minutes of opening their doors. I felt an overwhelming warmth and coziness while we were filming and doing interviews, but it could have been the great French wine that the owner insisted I try. Either way I felt welcomed and honored to be there. Everyone was very hospitable and I think the story will turn out great.

It was also interesting to see the students and teachers interacting together in a social environment. When I asked if it was common I was told that the professors in Paris look after their students like family and often go out to eat together. It’s not uncommon to find them drinking together at night as well.

For those of you who haven’t read up on international conflict and history, there is a strong connection between France and Vietnam. Long before the U.S. made it’s presence known in the beautiful Southeast Asian Country, Vietnam was under French rule. The Vietnam War, as it’s known in the U.S., took place after the Vietnamese fought a long and bloody war of independence. When they finally gained their freedom from France, fueled by socialist ideas, the U.S. stepped in and tried to impose capitalistic ideas. The clash became a tragic war lasting over a decade and remains a dark cloud in the history of U.S. foreign policy, at least from my perspective.

Overall it was a productive day and I learned a lot about what it takes to get a strong broadcast story. Comparatively speaking, it seemed like it took longer that a traditional print story and it will probably have less information when it’s put together because of the time restraints. If I can, or if I think it will help the story, I’ll add some photos and written content.

John Ellis
Print Journalism

PEOPLE STALKING

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Today I spent most of the day going around London trying to interview college students for my story. I never realized before today, but journalism involves the skill of people stalking. It might sound weird and a little creepy, but I found it completely necessary.

Places I found myself stalking people today were: Gap, Brompton Road (where Harrods is located), and Boarders.

Brompton Road was filled with loads for young people. However, they all had shopping on their minds and it seemed like nothing could get in their way. An important tip I learned while trying to find college students in Gap is people can look younger than they are. That seems obvious and the older lady with the a-line bob was surprised that I didn’t know this tip when I asked her if she was a college student. I tried asking if there were any college students working at Gap but she told me even if any of her employees were college students she wouldn’t let me interview.

Next up was the street across from Harrods. My roommate and I looked up and down for people that looked like college students. I kept asking Brielle Washington, my roommate, if any person looked like a college student, I didn’t want another Gap incident. I finally found a group of girls that looked like they were in their early 20s. I ended up interviewing one of the girls who attends college at Newcastle which is located in Newcastle, UK.

Last up was Boarders near China Town and on the way back to our hotel, the St. Giles, through the Soho district. This is where I tried to not think about how ridiculous what I was doing was. I saw a couple girls that looked college age on the second floor. I went to approach them but they moved too quickly and went down stairs to the first floor. I followed them down the stairs, around the corner, and down an aisle all while trying to seem like that’s were I was going regardless. I finally introduced my self and started to interview one of the girls. Even though she had graduated in 2007, what she had to say was very interesting.

All in all I think people stalking is an important skill to have. The con is being creepy and odd. However, the reward of getting an interview out weights the con, because in the end we are all a little creepy and odd anyways.

Shiva Zahirfar

Magazine Journalism