Tuesday, August 27, 2013

I'm alive...how could I NOT be?

After finishing my first full week of work, I've decided I like it. My coworkers are awesome. My apartment is awesome. I've made tons of friends already--human and K9 alike. 
My mom has stayed a few more days than originally planned (personally, I'm not surprised.) We took a walk down the Rio Grande footpath right across from my apartment today since it's my first day off. I will be taking that path more often to see my new furry friends. One of these friends I made today is part wolf part husky named Pistol.  This morning, Pistol's mom informed us that he chased a bear up a tree. Apparently he does this a lot, and the walkers and bikers of town know that if Pistol is on the walking path, they are safe. 
I am loving Aspen and everyone that I have met. I can't wait to continue on this amazing journey. 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Is it really over?

As I finished my final test of my college career, I thought of a lot of things. I don't have to buy anymore textbooks. No more late-night study sessions. No more falling asleep in lectures. Wow. Guys: I'm DONE.
As a soon-to-be Husker Alum, I have some words of wisdom:
-jschool kiddos:

  • work at the DN. It's experience. And the little extra cash in your pocket is nice...even if it just goes to some Raising Cane's during your shift.
  • Sue Burzynski Bullard is amazing. I can't even begin to tell you how much she has helped me along my path to becoming a copy editor at the Aspen Times. Thanks, Sue, for your words of encouragement and your games during class (yes...GAMES.) I will probably never be able to thank you enough.
  • Michael Goff is a god. I'm pretty sure he can fix anything when it comes to advising.
  • Take a class with Matt Waite.
-all undergrads:
  • Take advantage of teachers' office hours. I wish I would have done this more. If you're confused/lost/about-to-rip-out-your-hair, go see them. It's what they're there for.
  • Gatorade can cure headaches. Learned that this year...weird tip from Pinterest.
  • ...of course, if you pull an all-nighter, Gatorade may not fully help. SLEEP.

I am planning to continue blogging in the future, so look forward to posts about my new adventure as a college graduate, full-time copy editor and brand-new Coloradoan!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Errors

I absolutely love the fact that more than half of the accounts I follow on Twitter are editing or journalism-related. Hence why I am able to come across so many amazing pieces, like this one:


This piece reminds me of another post I reblogged awhile ago. The point is, not everyone is perfect, editors included. There are always going to be errors; that's just human. 

Friday, August 9, 2013

To be a good copy editor

I really loved this piece by Craig Silverman. Human error is the exact reason that stories go through multiple sets of eyes before publication.
The best part about how I found this piece was the retweet it came from:

Please read Craig Silverman's piece here.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Proud part 2

Ok so I kind of missed the best part. 

Like I said, he sounded like a kid coming home from camp, adding and accepting friends on Facebook the whole ride back to Lincoln. He never once complained about all the tough things he had to do. 

He admitted it was hard, but didn't complain. He even said in the letter I got that he felt like he found himself. 

He's always been a great leader, but he proved it at field training. The trainers saw it. I saw it the second he stepped through security. Something was just different about him. He was meant to do this. He is a true and natural leader and I am more than honored to be his sister. 

One proud sister

So in case we are not friends on Facebook, yesterday was pretty awesome for me.
An hour or so after I got done with class I got in my car and drove to Omaha. I was picking up my little brother from field training (basic training for Air Force ROTC cadets.) 
When I got to Eppley I felt kinda bad because I noticed some families had flags and signs. Then I saw a group make their way to where I was waiting. They had "Welcome home" signs and such, so I assumed they were picking someone up as well. There was a college-age girl with them that for some reason looked familiar. This is normally not like me, but as soon as I thought I knew who she was, I got up from my chair, walked over to her and said, "Are you Patrick's girlfriend?" Patrick is another cadet from UNL ROTC (Recruit Officer Training Program) who went to field training with my brother. 
"Yes," she replied, somewhat hesitant because the only reason I recognized her was from Patrick's Facebook pictures. Yup. Never met this girl. I was then introduced to Patrick's family and I kind of just joined them, which was really fun. 
I was watching the airplanes with Patrick's dad and little cousin. "Patrick's on there!" the little cousin shouted, pointing to the big plane. 
After lots of hugs and LOTS of pictures, my brother and I got his luggage and headed to my car. 
The whole time, of course, he talked my ear off with stories of field training. I was just so happy to have him home. He sounded like a kid coming home from summer camp and missing all his friends--not a tired boy who just got back from military training.
I was told (among more stories) that he was a "DG", or distinguished graduate. Which is also pretty dang cool. So I cheered again! AND he was commander of his flight for the parade they do on the last day (which is why his voice was so hoarse.) THEN. He pulled something out of his carry-on bag. It turned out to be a little, circular medal/trophy thingy. 
Yes. My little brother. Got. Top. Gun. Yes, you heard me correctly. TOP GUN. Which apparently is not just a movie. "It was just of my flight (20-ish cadets,)" he said. So?! TOP GUN!!!!
I suddenly felt truly humbled. Yes, I landed a pretty sweet job. Yes I graduate in almost a week. BUT MY BROTHER IS TOP GUN. 
And a welcome-home-from-military-training just wouldn't be complete without a big steak and a root beer float. 

Monday, August 5, 2013

My Twitter is overflowing

So in case you hadn't heard, the Washington Post was bought by the owner of Amazon today.
More info and details later. My best part about this, however, is that my Twitter feed currently consists of official newspaper tweets and then my journalist friends making jokes about it. Here is my favorite so far:

True to form, fellow Husker Andy Boyle has some pretty good ones as well. 
Now the details. 
A staff and wire report from the Chicago Tribune released a story at 4:10 p.m. today that the Washington Post and its assets were sold to Amazon.com founder, Jeff Bezos for $250 million.
The Tribune also lists the URL for the story from the Post itself.


Apparently Mr. Boyle was not mentioned enough. So everyone, RIGHT NOW, go read every funny thing that Andy has ever tweeted: https://twitter.com/andymboyle. I'm timing you.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Words of wisdom from a professional copy editor

The ACES national conference in St. Louis this past April was one of the most enlightening experiences I have ever had. Not only did I get to spend a few days in St. Louis with some good friends, I also made some friends there. And these new friends were just as obsessed with editing as I am!
UNL ACES members photobombed by journalist celeb Craig Silverman

One day I was working the UNL grad school booth. My editing professor was checking in on me and a man came over to talk to her. I just sat and smiled since they were obviously catching up. But then I saw his name tag. "You're Steve Buttry!" I blurted, like I had just realized Brad Pitt was standing in front of me. Mr. Buttry was one of the people my class followed after we started our Twitter accounts for Intro to Editing. After some laughs I properly introduced myself and got to have a nice little chat with Mr. Buttry. I called my mom that night and almost screamed into the phone, "Mom!!!! I met STEVE BUTTRY!!!" ..."Um. Who?"
Regardless of my mother's cluelessness to the celebrity world of journalism, I got to meet several other famous journalists that week.
I've kept in touch with many of the people I met in St. Louis, mostly via Twitter and LinkedIn. One friend I made was Brian Cleveland, an editor at the Washington Post. I recently got to speak with Brian again about his editing career, experiences and knowledge on editing.
After 12 years of editing experience, not counting college, Cleveland is currently a "multiplatform editor" (editor for print and online) at the Washington Post.
"(As an editor) you get to be an advocate for the reader, which is an important role...(if) something is unclear to you, odds are good it will be unclear to some of the readers as well," Cleveland said.
He also enjoys writing headlines and even photo captions. "Any time you can write something that will make people smile or laugh, you've done a good deed."
In a world where no job after college, especially in your field of study, is a real possibility, Cleveland has some suggestions for hopeful young journalists; the first being an easy one for the technology-savvy generation, is to learn as many skills as you can and as quickly as you can.
"If I had a choice between two potential hires, one of whom knew more but couldn't really learn new skills and someone who knew a little less but was adept at picking up new things, I would hire the second person every single time."
Cleveland, like many other professional journalists, suggests that college students also gain experience. "(Internships) are important for the experience and the connections you'll make...journalism is a small world, and your network can make a huge difference."
I also asked Cleveland if he had any fun stories from the newsroom that he could share. And his response was even better than I'd hoped for and is also getting me even more excited to join a professional copy desk.
"I can't really think of any specific funny stories, to be honest. I've certainly had a lot of fun over the years, but it's usually related to in-the-moment jokes, commentary about some story or mistake you've found or some other gallows humor that only journalists appreciate and most people would be appalled by."
Thanks for your words of wisdom, Brian. And for getting me even more pumped for my new job! These next 15 days are going to go so slow!!