Month: July 2008

Gratitude. Gratitude. 21 cards later, I’m surely forgetting at least a dozen more people that I need to thank.  I really could not have done Poynter on my own–that’s kind of the whole point, right?

I took my indy.com editor out for lunch yesterday. She’s one of the main reasons I was so excited to come back. I’m such a millenial sometimes, I fit the description to the T. My editor send me a one-liner email telling me they’re excited for my return. I’m not sure why such a small thing made a big difference. But it did, it does.

I’m pretty lucky I had a job to come back to. Swinging 6 weeks out of work is not easy. I work for a pretty cool place that invested in my personal and professional growth.

I’m back now. Breaking into everything that’s changed over only a month and a half. New reporter, new marketing director, new general manager. I feel like everyone at indy.com was at Poynter with me. There’s more communication, better story telling, smarter visuals and different thinking all around. I have good thoughts about what’s going on here.

It’s tough times in parts of the J world. You have to find the people that will hear you, then speak up.

So far, it’s working.

Dear Ron, Dear Mario, Dear Roy: Hey, thanks for Poynter.

Mario Garcia and Roy P. Clark  sit with the fellows in The Great Hall wrapping up the end of a great summer. Ron Reason (left), helped begin the fellows program is taking a photo Mario Garcia (center) and Roy P. Clark (right), Poynter’s founding fathers.

This was such a wonderful day. Ron spent a few days coaching with us leading up to a wonderful closing session with Mario. We then all gathered out on the floor and had a warm cozy campfire chat with Mario and Roy. We talked about the past, the future and really what we can be doing next. Mario’s advice: if you are just too scared to be making the move or next career leap, it’s the perfect time. If you wait for the right moment, it has already passed.

I hope this advice will stay with me. Thanks Ron. Thanks Mario. Thanks Roy!

Jahi Chikwendiu over in Washinton at The Post did a fanastic session on photo journalism and storytelling. There’s something about people like him. We had a wonderful opportunity to talk about traveling and journalism. And how, as a designer, do you do it if you’re fresh out of college. Not quite ready to be speaking at sessions or redesigning papers. I’d say, the answer is being both a reporter and a designer.

Chatting with Jahi reminded me how much I love running around the world with my little backpack. A few days indebted to the showers and the fantastic discomfort that comes with being lost in a new place. Still planning that 2k10 trip to Brazil.

I would love to do creative exercises in the newsroom.

Sara gave us an assortment of letter noodles. During a grids and type session we tinkered and spelled out little words. We then took those words and used them as a title for a magazine cover that we then designed. Worked different photographers and designers than usual. Allisence is a sharp one.

Link: similie.mit.edu

Matt Waite came in from the St. Pete Times and spent some great one on one time with me talking data driven stories. So many opportunities, so many numbers. It reminds me of that Wired story in the End of Science issue that says sometimes you really have to start taking numbers and variables away to get a better picture. Gotta love looking for trends.