Deciding upon an article can take quite a bit of thought. It has to be something interesting and something that doesn’t offend anyone. This is what makes Journalism so different from other classes; we choose our projects.
The most frustrating part of it is perhaps the idea that comes to mind towards the end of the week. Most of the work time has been wasted with searching around the internet for an idea, and sometimes we get sidetracked with class stories or a interesting website. Other times the idea has been there from the get-go, but it may take a while to think of what exactly to write.
If we can’t get into the internet or our servers, this poses an entirely different problem. If we can’t get into our formats or folders, we can’t type up our articles. The entire school newspaper page is created by importing different articles from student folders within the Journalism Folder. Sometimes the cause of our problems in this area are easily solved. The most common reasons are either that the server hasn’t been connected properly or that the iBook isn’t receiving a signal from the computer cart.
If for some reason we aren’t working on an article, there are many things to keep the class occupied. Most students either do internet searches or play music. Since we are no longer in the Media Center, we can play music a little louder. This fact has been taken advantage of, and a few have even downloaded music from a CD to certain computers in case they forget to bring their CDs one day.
We usually get our articles in on time, however it can be really hard to get them started. Writing comes easier to some people than others, and even for those who have a natural talent, weekly article ideas can be rare. In any case, we have fun with the class. In the end, that’s all that really matters.
