McShea Report

Professor McShea’s “In the Age of the IPhone,” was my first journalism class I had ever taken and it made me change my entire outlook on journalism as a whole. First entering this class I did not realize how forward journalism was moving, and how much technology was taking over this realm of news casting. This class made me much more open about social media because prior to it I barely used Twitter and now I find myself checking my account daily and following more people to stay updated. The start-ups before class were somewhat nerve-racking because as a sophomore I feel as if I forgot how public speaking felt! However, it allowed me to overcome that fear and I felt proud of myself at the end of my start-up. 

The weekly blog posts I would as a teacher continue doing because it kept me up-to-date with the world around me. As I entered college, I noticed that I began to fall behind with the news, whether it was local or world. However, this class had me looking at various news websites and actually sit down see search and see what was going on with the world around me. I find myself wanting to stay informed more and this is an aspect of this class that I will take away with me. My favorite part of this class was attending the boys’ basketball sports banquet. It was on the scene and I felt like a real reporter, it had my adrenaline going! I felt as if I missed a photo or tweet I was going to be behind, but I loved every part of it. Another part of this class I favored was bringing our guest speaker, Craig Kanalley, he was very informative and made me realize if you want to get somewhere in the journalism word you’re going to have to work for what you want and that is exactly what I plan to do! I would suggest bringing another public speaker because I truly enjoyed Mr. Kanalley!

My least favorite part of this class were the readings, I believe there could be more interesting ones selected and even more topics to discuss in class. As for writing assignments, I enjoyed being challenged to go out and cover a scene.  This challenged made me step out of my comfort level and be the one to ask the questions and force myself to receive the answers that I needed as a “reporter.” This class has prepared me I believe for my internship this summer because I have a lot more confidence in myself as an interviewer, writer and blogger. Thank you for an awesome semester!!!