Thoughts about Joe Burke's guest lecture

Joe Burke’s guest lecture last week was an important one. As a senior, I’ve taken most of the journalism classes offered here at UNH and I have never learned about the financial/business plan side of the operation. I know that what he introduced us to were just the basics, but I found myself lost still. I never realized how important it is for journalism students to be introduced these concepts before graduating. Though I may never start my own business, at least now I have an appreciation for the work that goes on behind the scenes. The lecture and examples helped to clarify the readings done beforehand, but towards the end of class, all the terms and Excel charts started to blend together. The major lesson I learned is that business is its own animal and it takes a trained specialist to properly get the job done. I have a definite appreciation for the thought, balance, and knowledge that goes into making financial decisions for any entrepreneurial endeavor. It’s a lot of pressure. If the numbers are off somehow and the company is left with less money than they originally thought, the end result is inevitable. The magazine, or company, cannot go on. It's as simple as that. One question that I had was what exactly Joe Burke’s daily jobs consist of. Is he solely in charge of Points East’s finances, or is he a journalist as well? Either way, his hands seem full and I remain thoroughly impressed. 

Enticing print and online subscriptions

People should be able to personalize their news. When the newspaper gets dropped off to your house, you may have a tradition of taking out the sports section and the world news section. The rest goes in the trash and feels like a waste of money. What if each section had a price on it and you could make your own newspaper. I wonder if this would make more people want to buy an actual print subscription. The same concept can be taken to digital platforms that deliver news. As of now, when you log onto say, The New York Times, there are a list of categories in a column on the left side of the page where people can click to read whatever they want. Maybe people would be more inclined to buy digital subscriptions if they knew that when they logged on, they wouldn’t be bombarded with news that they don’t see as useful or interesting. Their home page would be already filled with a variety of news stories that they want to know about. This is an idea I had about how to entice people to subscribe to news publications more often. This personalization option is something that would only be available to those with a subscription.

Journalists usually don't do math...

The business behind journalism is complicated to say the least. Even reading about it can be frustrating. The more I read the lists of definitions, the harder it becomes to make distinctions between terms like accelerated depreciation and accumulated depreciation. Each definition contains words that I find myself having to look up separately. It makes me realize that maybe a business class should be required of journalism majors. Even if students didn’t want to necessarily set out on their own business feats, it would provide insight into writing about business. I am hoping that the guest lecture from Joe Burke sheds some light on the confusion that I just read. There are just so many parts that go into the financial side of a magazine that I never considered before. Even the “Understanding Accounting” site, which attempts to simplify things, leaves me lost. The list of categories to be covered on the left side of the screen is overwhelming and extensive. I now understand why a magazine needs people who worry about business and people who worry about writing. Everyone has their place and for the operation to run smoothly, the two must coexist.

John Herman guest lecture

Last week’s guest lecturer, John Herman, was a perfect example of how the digital world has become an essential tool in making a career for anyone. You can never predict what will come of putting your work on display for everyone on the World Wide Web to see.  Though I don’t question for a second that John is extremely hard working, I can’t help but think that there was a good amount of luck involved. Journalism was moving online and he may have been one of the first students to truly take advantage of it. The release date of Google Plus and being in a community where people seemed more than willing to volunteer in his projects for free makes me wonder about how well things just seemed to work out for him. I know there were parts that he left out of his speech to us, but I wonder about any failures and complications that came along the way. As he spoke, the question of whether or not other up-and-comers got as lucky as he did popped into my mind. John Herman is an excellent and undoubtedly fascinating resource that I feel fortunate to have met. His business model can certainly never be duplicated, but his presentation was a reminder that anything is possible when one has a clear self-vision, the willingness to work hard, and the know-how in utilizing resources.

An idea to brighten journalism

The news isn’t always positive. Actually, it seems like the majority of the time it’s shocking or sad. It came to me while watching the news the other day that there should be some platform that delivers solely happy news and positive happenings on a local and worldwide scale. Unfortunately, there’s no way for news to be positive all the time, but there should be more of a focus on when it is. A website or blog would be a good way to reach news gatherers around the world. The site could be organized into different sections like: people, places, or upcoming events. Citizens who are doing something positive would be given feature pieces describing their goals. A reporter could get to know them and write about what they're up to. The publicity could also benefit whatever cause they may be involved in. If they need support, such a site could act as an advertisement or sorts for them. This is just an attempt to make the news a little more uplifting.