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

FINDING OUR WAY THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND

Sunday, March 22 2009

The Underground tube system never fails!

Any destination is easily accessible, making the possibilities practically endless. Today, Mike Anderson, Ya-an Chan and myself trekked around Hyde Park all morning looking for sources for some stories. It was a beautiful Sunday morning in London. The sun shining with a nice breeze and people were out in bunches, but with little commotion in Speaker’s Corner. To say the least the park is huge and it’s easy to get a little lost.

It took me the better part of an hour to cruise one quarter of the park on my skateboard looking for a story while Mike and Ya-an scouted for people willing to talk about the nationalized health care system. They were more successful than I but it’s hard to say the morning was wasted because I was having so much fun.

I came across two inline skaters doing their thing in what, at first glance, looked like freestyle dancing. One cat, Samer Alhabash, 32, was a dreaded hair, semi hard-body with his shirt off who seemed like the rowdy type. He set up about 12 three-inch plastic cones and speedily criss-crossed in between them with backward spins, one-footed turns and ballerina-like pliers.

I took some pics and chatted with them long enough to find out that they were “freestyle slalom in-line skaters.” Apparently, according to Mr. tough guy, it’s been the craze the last five years or so but has yet to catch on in the states, aside from a small New York fetish. Sure enough, about a hundred yards away, there were another four or five sets of cones with another fifteen or so skaters. Samer (I love the name for some reason) took the cake, though.

After I met back up with Ya-an and Mike we made the journey to Big Ben, the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, to take a group photo with the rest of the students on the trip. We also checked out a couple of hospitals for Ya-an’s story and a park to try and find some homeless folks for mine.

On a side note, Mike and I talked to a receptionist at one of the hospitals about health care. We asked about services for the homeless and she told us that everyone gets the same treatment regardless of their situation. She seemed surprised to hear that the homeless in the United States usually only get treatment when they are super ill. Mike and I pondered that for a little while we waited for Ya-an to do her thing. It is kind of crazy if you think about it. What a world, huh?

London is fantastic. I could easily live here.

John Ellis
Print Journalist

PREPARATION IS THE BEST PREPARATION

Wednesday, March 25

Lesson learned today: The best thing in the world is working while having fun, but you need to prepare a lot for it as well as have a tremendous amount of luck.

Before the trip, I spent hours sending tons of e-mails to people I’d never met, researching for story ideas and not sleeping until 5 a.m. for many days.

It all paid off, as I was able to enjoy parts of Paris on the way to my first interview in the city, though the weather was ridiculously cold and windy.

Walking on Quai du Louvre along the Seine River from Musée du Louvre and seeing Conciergerie-Palais de Justice and Notre Dame on the other side of the river were experiences that I couldn’t leave Paris without. After my interview, I also got to experience Paris’ jam-packed metro at Châtelet Les Halles during traffic hours.

I could see what a bunch of busy people the Parisians are. My Parisian friend said that a lot of times people just rush past when someone approaches them. I considered myself lucky because my interviewee was very helpful and I have a friend in Paris who helped me during my interviews. However, this whole experience --- from not sleeping until 5 a.m., making contacts, to enjoying the scenes in Paris --- it's made me realized the importance of preparation.

It’s true that there are lots of unexpected things in journalism, but the more you prepare, the more likely things will work out for you.

Ya-an Chan
Copy Editor
Magazine Journalism
My Blog.

IF YOU DON'T ASK ...

“Je suis… uh… journaliste… student…?”

I was embarrassing myself royally, but the man and woman behind the counter of the artisan bakery seemed to recognize what I was attempting to say. Joe Proudman and Katrina Kane pulled out their digital SLR cameras as I asked, “Photo?”

We had stopped at this bakery near the St. Augustin Cathedral hunting for a photo opportunity. Its window displayed artisan bread molded into shapes like elephants, bicycles and the Eiffel Tower. If we could just capture them making the bread, shaping the bread, baking it and selling it, we’d have a lovely but simple little photo essay.

The woman was friendly enough but the man was more suspicious after I butchered his native tongue. She dashed downstairs after I asked the question while the man held his hand as if to say “Wait one minute.”

So we did.

Suddenly, a torrent of shouting, clanging and what I assume was French cursing bellowed from downstairs. Joe, Kristina and I looked at each other as another man, presumably a baker, yelled up a storm from beneath the shop floor. Then the man who was still behind the counter suddenly left through another door.

No one else was left on the shop floor but three very bewildered American student journalists.

“What happened?”
“I have no idea.”
“Should we leave?”

My first thought was to repay this awkwardness in kind by taking all of their bread and running like mad. But my taste for practical jokes gave way to my desire to be ethical, and so we stayed for a few extra minutes just in case anyone else would come back and, you know, tend to their storefront.

One girl did, but we wanted to talk to the original couple to see if all was well with them. They didn’t return. And so we awkwardly backed out of the store and on our way to hunt down another story.

“Was it something you said?” Joe asked me as we walked.
“I have no idea!”
“Well I’m going to blame you anyway,” he said half-jokingly, I think.

Will we ever know what the hell happened?
Probably not.

Am I proud of my complete lack of French skills?
No.

Am I glad we asked anyway?
Yes.

Because if you don’t ask, you never know. And if we talk to 100 people who all reject us, we simply move on to person number 101, and keep moving, moving, moving until we get the story.

Suzanne Yada
Managing Editor
Magazine Journalism
www.suzanneyada.com

WILD GOOSE CHASE IN LEICESTER SQUARE

I know there’s constant rejection in journalism whether it is in employment or story ideas, etc. But, today was filled with more rejection than I anticipated and made me realize how much harder the task at hand will be.

Being the worst and most directionally-challenged person at home in the United States, I knew finding my way in a foreign country was going to be damn near impossible. That wasn’t a surprise. But, when we are on a time limit to get our things done, not knowing where to go made me reach a higher level of frustration than normal.

Carlos A. Moreno, the photographer, two reporters Heather Nacht and Heather Driscoll and I could not figure out which tube to take to get from Westminster to South Kensington and from there to Leicester Square. After about half an hour, we figured it out and were on our way.

Right away, Carlos and I knew we had to get to business and find the restaurants for our story based on how restaurants are being affected by the economy.

The first restaurant we decided to use for our story declined any interview. Okay, that was one. Onto the next. The next one was another bust and by the third bust, I grew nervous. What restaurant would allow us to do both interviews and photos?

The fourth restaurant, a pub-grub kind of place, was a success at last. But, after some interviews and pictures, they seemed ready to get us out of there. I stepped out and waited for Carlos. Just a short while later he came out and let me know that they had asked him to leave. I wondered why it was such a big deal that he take some pictures but apparently it is a big deal in London because that was the primary hesitation for a lot of restaurant employees and managers.

It was either we were rejected for both interviews and photos at some places or just photos.

We received more rejection than approvals but we managed to score a handful of interviews and Carlos was able to get some photos. We also did some “man on the street”-type interviews asking people about their take on food and the economy but many declined to speak and/or have their photo taken.

After about four hours of walking and countless instances of being turned away, we were exhausted. But, I was happy that we came away with something.

Now I have also learned that doing this entire running around in high-heeled boots is probably not the wisest idea. So, tomorrow for round two of the chase in Leicester Square, I’ll definitely be wearing my sneakers.

Samantha Rivera
Magazine Journalism

FIVE-FOLD REJECTION

Today was my day to complete my story. I left the hotel early to talk to an agency and get some information about the real estate market.

The receptionist let me know that the sales manager was not available at that office but that she could try another office for me. And with that, she got on the phone with the sales manager of the Pimlico office. Henry, the office manager, asked to speak with me. After a brief conversation he agreed to talk about the market and how it has been affected by the economy. He jotted down my number and told me he would call me back with a time I could come in to his office to have our conversation.

I didn’t waste any time.

My best friend Joe Proudman, a photography major, and I made our way down into the Underground and figured out how to get to the Westminster neighborhood where Henry’s office is located. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and about 50 minutes to find the place.

After about an hour and a half to two hours, we finally reached the real estate agency but still hadn’t received the phone call from Henry to set up an interview time. Oh well, looks like I’ll just have to come right on in!

Henry was polite. He shook my hand, apologized for not calling me back, and we engaged in a conversation of what the market is like today. He gave me a lot of good information and I thought for sure I had made a connection with him. I told him about my old days in real estate.

After about 15 minutes of discussing mortgages, rates and money down, I ever-so-sweetly asked if he would be kind enough to say all of this information on camera.

Right before my eyes Henry changed on me.

“Absolutely not. No. I won’t do it. No. Not even for 5 minutes. No. I’ve got too much to do and my boss isn’t here. No,” was something like what he said. I asked him again a couple of times in different ways and the answer was the same.

No.

Shucks. Why was that so hard? I thought for sure I was done! I walked into another real estate agency next door and asked to talk to the manager of the office. Only an agent was available. We briefly chit-chatted about the market. I also asked him if he would be on camera and he politely said, “No. I just can’t. No.”

And just like that, agency after agency declined to be on camera to talk about the market. Really guys? It’s just an assignment!

I called our media director Harvey Rañola and asked him what to do. And guess what? He had the same problem! I don’t understand why the English have such an issue about being on camera. Off camera, they are polite and eager to give lots of information. The minute you mention video camera they quickly turn cold and are no longer interested in continuing the conversation.
Luckily, I found someone kind enough to give me an interview. I ran into her around 1 p.m. and she told me to come back later around 5.

I showed up around 4:45 p.m. (didn’t want to be a second too late) and she agreed to do a short interview with me, on camera! Yes! After making sure that this interview was not going to be broadcasted and she wasn’t going to appear on YouTube anywhere, she spilled all her knowledge about the current market.

I got lucky. But what I still don’t understand is why the English are so “camera shy.” They are extremely helpful and informative, until you drop the “C” word, and then they turn off like a switch.
Who knows? But luckily I got my interview. This was definitely a learning experience that I will take with me. I am not good at rejection. And the first rejection from Henry hit me hard. But I sucked it up and got rejected another 5 times before I finally got my interview!

Alex Ruiz-Huidobro
Broadcast Journalism

HEART OF LONDON

Visiting Brixton Lane today was a moving experience. Brixton is where many Black, Caribbean and Muslim immigrants reside. Though getting to Brixton is the fairly long Tube ride, it was worth the experience.

As soon as I stepped out of the Tube I felt the different atmosphere Brixton brought to London. Jamaican music could be heard blocks away, African hair supply shops were on every other corner and prices were less expensive. I felt like I was in a different city. The Jamaican residents embraced me with open arms and were more than willing to give interviews for my immigration story. Only a few became shy and stood away from the camera. The hospitality of the residents made me feel like I have known them for years. I was invited to parties and talking in pubs all within an hour.

The immigrants I interviewed both said that Brixton will not be their permanent home and that they wish to go back to Jamaica one day. This made me realize that even though there was a strong presence of Jamaican culture in Brixton, it could never be the real Jamaica. I feel that I visited the heart of London where there is true genuine people who are just trying to make a living.

I suggest, when visiting London, before seeing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace or Tower Bridge, visit Brixton.

Brielle Washington
Broadcast Journalism
My Blog.

HITTING THE STREETS AGAIN

Bicyclists zoom past cars on Bridge Street, near the Eye of London during rush hour in Central London. Photo Credit: Carlos A. Moreno / GMI

Today was a good day.

There were some bumps in the road here and there but Samantha Rivera, the writer doing the food beat, did a great job gathering facts and making my job easier as a photographer. With her guidance and help I was able to look for images that reflected her story accurately and in an interesting way. Hopefully the end product from both our London and Paris stories will be successful.

As I write this, I wonder how I am to get everything edited and polished before 12 midnight. I would like to get some sleep since tonight can possibly be the only night that I could potentially have some sleep.

Our baggage call is at 7:45 a.m. I don't know if I can handle not getting sleep for a third night in a row.

However, knowing that I still need to work on other projects and help a couple of writers with their work, does make it highly unlikely that I will get sleep. Nonetheless, I will be a trooper on this - I've always had the help of others to make me look good - it just so happens that it is my turn to let our hard-working editors have that chance too.

It is only fair.

Hitting the streets of London today was less stressful than yesterday. Sources were willing to talk and be photographed. There were of course still some cultural issues, especially in Chinatown, but it seemed less intense.

I don't know why.

Maybe it was because I felt more optimistic and inspired to work hard after seeing the big picture of Samantha's story.

Our last day in London brings both relief and sadness...

'Oh London if only I had known you better.'

Unfortunately, work took over my day, but it paid off with great photos and exciting stories to tell people back at home.

Even a few laughs between some newly formed friendships, made it easier to work here in London.

I just hope Paris is as beautiful and exciting as everyone tells me it is. Especially their food, since I will be taking photos of delicious desserts and food for my second story with Samantha.

On to France and on to fancier things!

London was good but Paris is the place to be for me. Let's see if hitting the streets again will be different or similar to my experience here in London.

I can't wait to see the streets of Paris.

Carlos A. Moreno
Photographer
Photojournalism
My Web site.

EXPERIENCE: THE BEST TEACHER

Tourists can take posed photos, flock to famous buildings and dine at restaurants that offer food they can’t pronounce.

All fine and well, but there’s no better way to dig deep into another culture than what we, as students, are doing right now.

I was thinking this as I saw my classmates whip out their weapons of choice — digital SLRs, camcorders, notepads — on the bus drive from the airport to our London hotel.

The tour guide announced some fact or another. “That’s a story idea,” someone said. Then the guide mentioned some other unrelated yet interesting information. “That’s another great story,” someone else said, shutters clicking and B-roll rolling.

The buildings themselves housed story ideas galore, and the city was so shimmering with promise it could have been mistaken for a flash of a camera.

I scribble these story ideas and names of places down in my notes. “We gotta make these new assignments,” I tell myself as a mental note. “We gotta hit the streets. We only have two full days in this city, and I have a lot to do as managing editor.”

Oh man. That title.

Let’s just put first things first: This trip is an Olympic-sized pool and I have the swimming capacity of a rock. I’ve had editor positions before, but I can safely say I have never handled a task so complicated and demanding as the one that awaited me in London and Paris.

But with the right velocity and support behind it, even rocks can soar.

We have been meeting weekly all the way up until this point, and I have gotten to know nearly every student by name, major and story assignment. I didn’t know it on the bus ride to the hotel, with lenses a-blazing and excitement rising, but some of my classmates would become my best teachers in just a few short days.

More later,

Suzanne Yada
Magazine Journalism
www.suzanneyada.com

A DREAM COMES TRUE

A scene from London's Big Ben. Photo Credit: Carlos A. Moreno / GMI

It is said that opportunities like these don't always come true every day in our lives. So when they happen you should take a chance and go for them - and that is what I have done...

...yet again.

After long hours of what seemed endless work before my departure to London, I felt that maybe this trip was not going to be worth it and was not going to secure me some much needed rest.

So far, the last stands true, as for the first, I could not have been any more wrong.

I found my departure to London to be a sweet breeze of fresh air and one where work and play were possible, if you managed your time effectively. It is the first time I have traveled to Europe or for that matter across the Atlantic Ocean. It is still surreal to me that I am here in jolly old England. The feelings and emotions of this trip have not yet sunk completely.

I've seen so many places. London is now my temporary home and can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow as I venture out to London for a second time for a story that will satisfy my needs as a young journalist and as a curious traveler.

My experiences so far have been a mix of accomplishment and doubt on my part. This has definitely made me think about my expectations and readiness in the field. It seems amazing that even after spending so much time in the journalism world that the strange and unusual scare me, yet still entice me as a photojournalist.

Today was one of those days.

Having the chance to speak to the people of London was challenging. It seemed like they were at times uninterested and just dismissive about taking me serious - maybe because I'm not English, I don't know.

I felt like a true foreigner, distant and fascinated with my surroundings. I will admit that it hasn't been easy for me to handle the culture differences here in London. Usually I never have problems talking and explaining to people what my objectives are in the United States. This was expected of course. I will just have to get over these complications and get to it because there is no take two here.

Even after all this time, I still care and still believe in the power of journalism, even when the task at hand seems difficult or unnerving. It might seem like gloom and doom for the print journalism industry but I still see the press playing a very important role in all world communities - London included. This is the time to show people what we are made of.

To be able to cover so dynamic a topic as the global recession for both London and Paris is not only amazing, but astonishing to see how much we all must pitch-in to make this Global Media Initiative project a success for us and for the people back home in San Jose, Calif.

If anything, I can say that this trip so far has given me the right to say that 'I was there' and that I was a journalist, even when times seemed hard for not just journalists everywhere but for all of us economically.

London has called my name and made an impossible dream a reality.

Carlos A. Moreno

Photographer

Photojournalism

WELCOME TO LONDON

Hello readers,

We are the Global Media Initiative based at San Jose State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Three years ago our organization was formed out of a desire to expose budding journalists to the opportunities and challenges of field reporting.

The first year, 50 SJSU students traveled to New York City for spring break and met with media outlets in the newspaper, magazine, photojournalism, advertising and PR industries. Several students made contacts at the various news organizations and from those contacts received internships and jobs.

The second year was an experiment in international multimedia production. Dubbed the "Multimedia Boot Camp," Mexico City was the destination and 15 students produced stories for the web and print. Audio, video and photography were required elements in each story. This was the beginning of our all-platform journalism obsession.

Planning London and Paris 2009 began last September. At one point, 50 students wanted to go on the trip. As departure drew closer, the total number of students was whittled down to 20 dedicated individuals. We have one week, two countries and endless opportunities.

Unlike the Mexico City trip, we have an overall lens through which all our stories will focus. The global economic crisis is effecting everything around us, so from immigration to the environment and from fashion to financial aid, we are covering it.

Megan Hamilton

Art Director

Magazine Journalism / Graphic Design
My LinkedIn. My Blog. My Portfolio.

PICKING UP THE OLD AND DISCOVERING THE NEW

Today was meaningful in terms of picking up the old and discovering the new. I started the day a little nervous because I haven’t done much reporting at the field since I became copy editor for Spartan Daily. There was a sense of unfamiliarity, however, I went away and started talking to people, getting some nice quotes and encountering some trouble.

On this trip, where the time frame is less than three full days, you can plan as much as you want ahead of time but you can’t expect everything to go your way. There’s always something happening. And that’s the world of journalism, where the unexpected can bring you either a new angle for your current story or something you’ve never thought of.

As Mike, John and I were walking around London for the whole day, we came across some parks thinking we could find homeless people for John’s story. However, it seems to me that parks may not be the home for many homeless people in London. I saw a few of them sleeping on the sidewalks, but not one in the parks.

Hyde Park on Baywater Road (which was beautiful, by the way) was like a heaven for people who enjoy outdoor activities or just want to have a good time with family and friends. Soho Square was much smaller than Hyde Park, but people sat with their friends in small groups across the lawns, spending their afternoons with coffee, talking and laughter. For both places there was positive vibe about the city, but homeless people were nowhere to be seen.

The strong contrast reminds me of St. James Park in downtown San Jose, where it’s nothing like a social venue to me. Perhaps we can’t expect to see homeless people sleeping on the benches at every park just because that’s what we see a lot in San Jose.

One more full day in London, and more has yet to unfold.

Ya-an Chan
Magazine Journalism
My Blog.