2010 in Review: Accent Newspaper
This is just one post in my wrap up of the year 2010. If you would like to read the rest, click here to the main post.
I was really surprised when I asked some of the editors back in October 2009 who was going to take over the Life & Arts Editor position when the then-editor was leaving. They suggested me. I never thought I had editorial qualities in me but I ended up having more than most so I got hired as the Campus Editor starting in January 2010. I'll spare the long story about how I ended up with that position instead but that position ended up working for me in the end.
I had to learn pretty quickly how to plan and deal with reporters for each issue. And what I learned from that experience is that no matter how much coffee you drink or how much sleep you sacrifice, something is inevitably going to go wrong. A flakey writer forgetting deadline, a difficult writer submitting an article a day before deadline that require a long editing session, a photo that doesn't relate to the story, or a space that needs to be fill in the layout due to bad planning on my end. The possibilities are endless.
This year brought on more stress than anything I have ever done in my life, but I can honestly say I enjoyed it. The fact that I came back every week to put myself back in that situation tells me this is what I want to do. Whenever our adviser Matt would tell us the issue is done at the end of the night and to go home, I left with a worn smile on my face, ready to climb into bed, only to sleep in until 11 a.m. the next morning, and head to Rio Grande Campus to start planning for the next issue. Seeing the final product in newsstands and in people's hands around campus is what made it worth it.
While having an editor's position makes me miss being just a freelancer sometimes, I do enjoy the perks of being an editor. You get first dibs on the cool stories. No more news briefs or rehash of press releases for me! Sometimes the perks were forced on me, but I did get to cover some assignments that were outside my usual comfort level. And you know what, it was awesome.
In 2009, I got a SXSW wristband for Accent Newspaper and in 2010, I was rewarded with an actual badge (which got me on the cover of the newspaper). Sweet. Granted I didn't do as much as I would have liked, but if I get another badge this year, I'm taking full advantage.
Then for the first issue as Life & Arts Editor in the Fall 2010, I applied to cover Fantastic Fest for another writer, but I was rewarded the badge instead. Yay? Not at first. I didnt want to cover the festival, but I had no choice.
It was a fustrating learning experience because I didn't like the way the tickets were handled. How it works is that you have to show up when the Alamo Drafthouse opens the day of the movie to grab your tickets. The place usually opens at 10 a.m., but the seats are first come, first serve. So people were waiting in line as early as 7 or 8 in the morning every day. That's dedication. Unfortunately, I didn't have that dedication because of work and school so I missed out on a lot of movies because I didn't camp out at the Drafthouse.
But I did interview some cool people involved at the festival. The one interview that made me extremely nervous but was actually one of the highlights of my life (which also includes Ryan Reynolds making eye contact with me) was interviewing the cast and director of Hatchet 2. I saw the first Hatchet during one of my horror movie marathons and loved it. It's a hilarious throwback to those '80s slasher films so getting to interview the director was a treat. Kane Hodder plays the killer and also sat in the interview, and even though he is like 10 feet tall and could crush my skull with his weak hand, he was really nice.
Meeting Danielle Harris, though, was a dream come true. It's no secret that I love horror films and the Halloween series is my all-time favorite in horror films. So meeting Jamie Lloyd and Annie in the Rob Zombie remake was crazy. That only happened because of my job.
Of course, I got the fangirl comment out of the way before we started the interview and I think that helped set the mood of the interview. It was basically 20 minutes with the four of us geeking out on horror films and what it was like making Hatchet 2.
By the way, that movie is awesome. Definitely watch it if you're a big horror movie buff or you just like blood and guts thrown everywhere. There's plenty of it.
The same badge situation happened with the Austin Film Festival. I honestly didn't want to do the assignment because it was too time consuming, but I made do with what I could. I ended up seeing great films from independent filmmakers that ooze with potential and sat down with some of them for interviews.
One of my favorite parts of the film festival was sitting in some panels with big names in film like Robert Rodriguez. I learned a lot on story telling which is all very helpful in my career. Because that's what journalists do, we tell stories.
After covering these two film festivals, I realized that those were the break I needed from music and I learned that film publicists stick to their schedules. I got a call from one publicist 10 minutes before our scheduled interview to make sure I could still meet at the designated time we had set. That's impressive. That never happens in the music world. I'm happy if the band shows up.
When Fun Fun Fun Fest came around, I was starting to feel exhausted from covering a festival every weekend and I got sick more often than usual because my body was so worn out. So when I got the email during the Saturday of the festival that I was approved to cover the upcoming Comic Con, I was a little annoyed. I started ranting in the photo pit about how all I wanted to do was relax. I didn't want to cover another assignment.
But one of my reporter friends brought it to both our attention that we are at a great music festival for free, hanging out in the media area with the bands and fellow journalists, and taking photos in the photo pit, and yet we're bitching about how we have to cover Comic Con for free the next weekend with some great celebrities in attendance because we're tired. World first problems.
So I laughed and realized that should be grateful that this is my job, even though it meant I was giving up my social life and sleep and developing a major coffee addiction.
So all in all, I love working for a newspaper. Even though it's a student-run newspaper, it still feels like a professional newspaper (we do win awards after all) and gives me great practice for whenever I enter the "real world." I can't stress enough how important it is, especially if you're a journalism major, to get involved in your school paper.
I took a copy editing class in the Spring 2010 semester and I made an A because everything I needed to know to pass my tests was learned in the newsroom, not a textbook. Journalism isn't taught in the classroom. It's taught through actual experience.
Memorable stories I've did with Accent (in no order):
This story gave me a crash course in public relations politics. Yuck.
ACC got a mascot this year. I was on the skeptic side asking why on earth does this school need a mascot? We're already having a hard time being taking seriously as a community college. "Go to a real school." You don't know how many times I've heard that out of people's mouth. Joking or not, it's offensive.
But the mascot happened and I was one the lucky journalists to cover the last of the revealing process. I filmed the event when the actual mascot made his first appearance. After editing the video, I'm so sick of looking at anything in purple.
3. Aeropress
I got an email trying to convince me to review this simple coffee maker that is supposed to be great for students. I didn't have to hear more. They had me at "coffee." The company shipped a machine and I got to review it. Another perk of the job.
4. Comic Con
I covered the first Comic Con in Austin. I have to say, it was kind of depressing. ...at first. I got there early on Friday and the moment I walked in, all the celebrities were just sitting there looking bored behind their booth staring at their cell phones. Yikes.
But everyone was approachable and once you mentioned you were press, they let you take photos of them for free (they were charging for photos otherwise). I ended up meeting a lot of celebrities like Ernie Hudson! and that guy who plays Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Actually when the actor Nicholas Brendon introduced himself as Nicky, I got really confused because I was honestly expecting him to introduce himself as Xander.
And when I mean I met these celebrities, I mean I geeked out on them.
6. College Sound
As Life & Arts Editor, I wanted to feature musicians and bands that were also students at ACC. With the 44,000+ students enrolled, you would think it would be easy, right? Nope. That's disappointing. It's free press, people. I know what I'm doing as a journalist (or I like to think). If you're an ACC student and play music, contact me.
Anyway, I did fulfill in finding someone to interview for each issue. I'm relieved that I didn't cover the same type of band. Each College Sound article featured someone in different genres, and two of them aren't musicians but they so involved in the music somehow that it was hard to deny them.
The Steps
Ross DuBois
Avy Gonzalez
Rally Rally
Zoe Cordes Selbin
Pro-Gres
8. SPEAK
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