Day 2: First Impressions

Today’s morning was quite tough. Not only did we have to wake up unusually early, we did not have the comforts of our possessions. Our suitcases were to come at night and we had to go through the day with the things we bought at Walmart. Today was a day for preconvention workshops and the one that I signed up for was called “Stories for Change Today.” My workshop was the only one that was not at the Marriott Wardman Park or within walking distance so I had to be ready by eight to catch a cab to the Newseum. I got ready and had breakfast in the room with Seo Young and Linda and was ready to go on an adventure by myself. I borrowed Ildar’s button down shirt because I couldn’t go to the museum looking bad or unpresentable. Before the trip, I tired to convince Smalley to let me take a bike or a bus to the Newseum, but he was against it because it’s a foreign city and because there is an ax murderer on the loose.

Thank goodness for Smalley who made me take a cab. The Newsuem is far away from the hotel and the weather wasn’t too great. It was raining and chilly but the rain pumped up the fall colors in the city. One thing that I noticed about Washington DC is that it looks unreal. Every single building, coffee shop, and street lamp is perfect. The age of a building is not reflected in its physical state and it looks as if you’re driving through a movie set. The cab driver was amusing. When he found out that I was Russian, he gave me a speech on how Russia and Ethiopia (his home country) are best friends and how Putin does amazing things for the world. Another thing that I learned was that cash is unpopular in the US and that no one has change for $50. The cab driver took me to Starbucks so that I could get some coffee and change. He dropped me off and I was ready to start my day.

I was waiting at the front door with a whole bunch of other students that came to the convention, but those people had their own tour. I met three people from California: Melaine, Shaina, and Clayton. They were too, signed up for the pre convention workshop and we went around to the group entrance, where we were met and escorted by a guide to the learning center. There were about 20 other people with me and we were ready to learn

The first thing we learned about was the best practices in video broadcasting. Frank Bond, who is a journalist and voice of the Newseum presented this topic and told us about a short film he did about Ronald Regan’s speech during the Cold War, which addressed the tear down of the Berlin Wall. He taught us about the questions we should ask and explained how he went from an interviewing the writer of the speech to the final product. What I liked most about it is that the story contained a lot of emotion and appealed to he experiences. The writer of the speech told Frank Bond about how the people of West Germany were unhappy because their relatives lived one kilometer away and they have not seen each other in twenty years.

After that, we went to see two exhibitions at the Newseum: “One Nation With News For All” and “Make Some Noise.”  The former was about the different minorities in America and their struggles to establish identities in the United States. All minorities in America set up a social organization, a church, and a local newspaper and were able to adapt to the environment around them. The Irish, for example, were considered criminals and the Chinese were not allowed into the country after Pearl Harbor. What united them is the fact that they had the Freedom of Press (First Amendment) and could write about their struggles in their newspapers. The latter exhibition, was a civil rights exhibit that presented the struggles of the blacks in the 1960’s with segregation. I learned about the “Children’s Crusade” and “Sit Down affair” and I felt that the exhibit presented the emotions of the people very well. The government suppressed segregation coverage and it was thought provoking to see what kind of struggles the white people and journalists had at the time.

The activity we did right before lunch was called “Truth is Stoytelling.” The speaker there taught us that a newsworthy article has to consist of the following aspects: impact, proximity, timeliness, fame, human interest, and novelty. My favorite part of this was when we got to design our own cover page of a newspaper. We were given a newspaper name and data about its audience and purpose and we had to decide what stories would go on the cover of the front page. Stories on the top right hand side are almost always the lead, and the placement of a story above or below the fold also shows how important it is to that day.

Later that day we got a chance to walk around the Newseum and explore it on our own. First, I decided to go see the part of the Berlin Wall that was on display at the entrance. I feel like World War II and everything that had to do with it is fascinating and a large part of history. I also made it up to the sixth floor of the museum, which offered stunning views of the city and its main attractions. The Pulitzer Prize Photography exhibit was the last thing I got to see and it blew my mind. The photographs there displayed a variety of emotions, ranging from joy to tragedy, fear to hatred. I loved many of the pieces that showed war areas and events, just because it is something I have never been exposed to before. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words,” finally began making sense to me.

 

It was about two in the afternoon and we were almost done with our workshop. The final assignment that we had to do consisted of creating an action plan of journalism for a prevalent current issue. Each group had their own ideas, but ours was a little bit lost. We could not find a topic to create an action plan for just because our cultures and lives are so different. Freedom of press, gender roles, minimum wages, and censorship are all topics that we discussed and I was very happy to have such a great, intelligent discussion. When we came back together as a large group, we discussed topics such as dress code, student - grade associations, and religion in schools. Discussing these topics with people who have a lot of knowledge about them, reinforced my desire to become a journalism and report of events and issues that actually matter.

Instead of taking a cab back to the hotel, I stuck with a couple of people I met at my workshop and we took the metro together. The system of the metro here in DC is very different from that of the Russian one. Buying the tickets and paying a separate fare at each station I was passing was awkward. The way the trains work was weird and I had no idea what the station announcer was saying because he had a thick accent. It was a cool cultural experience, as was eating Chipotle. Chipotle is a Mexican fast food restaurant and they have really good steak, really really good steak.

When I got back to the hotel, I got to see people I know. It’s so weird to not see people from my school knowing that I am on an excursion with them. I saw Smalley and got my We The Media sweatshirt. I was worn out and from all the new knowledge and my brain was thumping, but I had one more activity to go to – the Bob Woodward presentation.

Before the keynote I got an extraordinary surprise. I got to see m best friend Harsha. Her team was there to register for the convention and so I ran down to see her. The squeals and laughs and cries that came out of the two of us were like those of ten little children, but I guess that’s what you get for not being able to see a loved one for such a long time. We chatted and gossiped and I felt good, I even forgot I was dead tired for a while. Bob Woodward was to start speaking at seven in the evening so we were all in the main hall at six fifteen to get good seats. I was so so so so tired that I took a power nap on the floor. Seo Young was dozing off on Linda and Kabul and Adele drifted into sleep. I slept for about 20 minutes and when I woke up I found out that the presentation was moved to 7:30. Harsha and I decided to go to McDonalds and I got my first taste of a McFlurry. ALSO, the thing that I loved most is the concept of free refills. Instead of pouring you the drink you want, the cashier gives you a cup and sends you over to the soda machines. There you can refill your drink as many times as you want for free, which in my opinion is pretty awesome.

Bob Woodward’s presentation would have been a billion times better if we were all alert. He sounds like an amazing journalist and he did great things in his career but I could not comprehend half of the stuff he was saying because I was so tired. I took many notes and a movie was created about him, so I will make sure to look over that later and get a feel for the man.

Just like all the previous days. The second I came back to my room I crashed. I am pretty boring at night.