There will never be an end to journalism. People are driven by curiosity and in America we are notorious for wanting information easily. Just as we need food to satisfy hunger, we need news to satisfy curiosity. Different forms of reporting may change over time; newspapers have dwindled since the dawn of television and radio and now even those suffer as popularity for the internet continues to grow. Yet even with these changes, receiving, gathering, and transferring news will never end. A pessimist may talk of the extinction of journalism, but an optimist will not talk, they will do. When newspapers started to be less fashionable, the optimistic journalist took his career to the next level and put his information online. As long as there is at least one way for the people of this world to get their news there will always be journalism. Things will continue to change with the times, but the basis of journalism will not.

The University campus is a village, a small city within itself. The social, political, and physical traits of our campus makes us into a secluded society in the world. We have as many topics to cover as any local city, and we are bigger then some. Our population on the University campus consists of every type of person there can be. To not cover the news on this campus would be a crime. Just as the people of Woodbury, Minnesota or Rochester, Minnesota have a right to know what goes on in their community, the students and staff at the University of Wisconsin River Falls do as well. There are clubs, organizations, and classes that all revolve around their own agendas. These can all have their own feature stories, local stories, columns and even weather stories that differ from those of our neighboring campuses. Campus media is the most important kind of media because it teaches students how to appreciate news in the outside world. It also teaches the student journalists what to focus on, what is important, and what is not. I personally felt like a useful reporter within a community that needed the information I could collect and offer them.

I think this story turned out pretty good. I think it was very kind of someone to donate a horse to our equine department and felt strongly that it made a news worthy story. My favorite part of this story were the pictures, Skeets Peppy made a fabulous model as I’m sure he was well accustomed to getting the flash of a camera in his face. His attitude and personality made working with him and watching others work with him very enjoyable. It was a bit difficult trying to correlate schedules with the barn to meet with Skeets Peppy, but once my source had time it was a very easy, pleasant experience. I only wish I could have taken him out for a spin. If I could change any part of this story I would have made it longer. His personal story was very interesting and would have made a better film than Seabiscuit. I love horses, so being assigned this story was very rewarding. Skeets peppy was a perfect main character for my article.

Parking can be hard to find on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus. When winter comes around, this can be a huge inconvenience. Are campus officials doing anything about this lack of parking problem?

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The Division of Technologies department on the University of Wisconsin River Falls Campus needs new workers every year. They hire new students, and shuffle out the old. First it’s to training, then on to the team. Next thing you know, there is a whole crew of helpful, reliable, and friendly staff to help out the students and staff on campus with their computer needs.

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The University of Wisconsin-River Falls supported the nationally recognized Cyber Safety month in October. They provided tips on keeping computers safe and spread the news about harmful viruses. They put one foot forward to keep problems from getting one foot in the door.

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The students on the University of of Wisconsin-River Falls campus have more available to them then they may know. Facilities Management allows students access to cars on campus to keep their “drive” for enjoyment out on the roads.

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The future of journalism is never a question, only the future of how it is received by the public. Throughout time we have had radios, newspapers, television, and now the internet. Although newspapers have been fated to someday end, people will continue to get their news however they see fit, with or without them.

I can only hope my role in journalism will be one of adventure, education, and excitement. I love this profession because of the opportunities it can provide and the knowledge you can gain from it. No other occupation will allow someone to ask enough questions to fill a text book or give an excuse to fly a plane, sail a boat, or cure a patient for the sake of creating a story.

I am hoping my future in journalism will be successful because I believe the future of the profession is bright. People will never lose their curiosity enough to end the purpose of journalism. I can only hope that I will someday be involved in helping satisfy the hunger for their curiosity by providing them with the knowledge the public deserves and needs.

In my opinion, it is important to the life of journalism and to the students of our University to have a media that will cover the campus community. The students have a right to know what’s going on in their society just as people in the public have a right to know what may be going on in their communities, cities, and countries.

By providing media coverage of our University campus, students will be better informed of important events on college grounds. They will know important information that may pertain to accidents on campus, weather updates that may cause class cancellations, or be educated on food products, activities, or events that may be available to them.

A campus is a very secluded place; our own little world away from reality where our lives can take shape in a sheltered atmosphere. This separation gives us an opportunity to create an existence unique to ourselves. By reporting on our campus community, student journalists not only learn a love for the profession but can practice it with a level of freedom without major consequences, allowing them to grow. By covering our campus community, the students will also be living under the watchful and protective eyes of journalism.

My beat during this semester of practicum was to cover the University of Wisconsin River Falls technology department. With the increase in crime being committed on campus I thought it worthwhile to cover a story about how many computers had been stolen in the past four months. I had no idea that this would involve talking to 12 sources, getting accused of stealing myself, or that I would lose half of my information the day before my deadline.

The idea came to me when a good friend complained of having her laptop stolen. I did some research and found out that over 30 computers or laptops had been stolen from numerous places on our campus. I interviewed four different Division of Technology staff members, five students, and headed to the police station to request an interview. Before I knew it, a police officer had taken my H2 recorder and asked me to step into another room for questioning. They had misunderstood me and thought I was confessing to theft.

Eventually I got my recorder back and the officers understood their mistake. Unfortunately I had lost every interview on it and then had to re-interview four new people. My epic story turned out to be an epic fail; but luckily, I did not miss deadline.