One of the final things Mark Briggs addresses in his book “Journalism Next” is how to manage news as a conversation.  With so much  media in a digital format, reporting is no longer a one way street.  Online formats allow for conversations to take place between the author and readers.  Knowing how to manage that feedback can be vital to a reporters success.

Briggs states that it is important for authors to respond to as many response as possible, especially those of criticism.  Hiding from your audience is not the answer.  The more transparent a writer is, the more trust their readers will develop.  For our class projects, we did not receive much feedback from the public, but had we gotten some, we would have responded to all inquiries wether positive or negative.  This goes along with the role of community aggregator.

Another key aspect of online journalism Briggs brings up is to make news participatory.  Don’t post just text on a blog and call it a day.  Readers will be more inclined to follow a reader if the content is more engaging.  Posting pictures, videos, contests and event listings is a great way to keep your audience engaged in your writings.  For our group, we posted photos, videos and maps that allow readers to get a sense of where the story occurs in relation to their own location.

Finally, Briggs reminds us to monitor your site for offensive postings.  Unfortunately, some feedback form readers may be said in an offensive manner, and it is important that you don’t allow that on your site.  Monitor the responses continuously and be sure to remove any such content.

Being able to engage with your readers is one of the best aspects of online journalism.  The idea of reporting news as an ongoing conversation is a great way to tell the story.  Getting to know your readers will help you become a better writer and reporter.

In ch. 9 of “Journalism Next” Mark Briggs discusses the importance of organization in a digital sense.  With so  much technology available now, it is essential that journalists take advantage of it to help with organization and story telling.  Digitalization was a major part of our class project.

One of the first points Briggs brings up is to use productivity tools to be more efficient.  It is not necessary for journalist to hand write every interview they do now.  Not only is using a digital tool such as a recorder more efficient, it allows for greater accuracy, leaving no room for a a misquote.  We took advantage of such tools during our projects by recording interviews and uploading them, rather than trying to transcribe it.

Another great tip Briggs brings up is to find as few solutions as possible to do as many things as possible.  Once again, efficiency is key.  Keeping information for a story in an easy to read program such as excel can help your organize your information to write a  more accurate story, but can also serve as a great visual aide for your readers.  Some of the charts we found online helped our group write our Fairfax Renaissance stories more accurately, but also explained the information in an easy way to the readers.

Finally, Briggs reminds his readers to keep sources, contacts, and other information in a digital format.  This allows for the information to be much for flexible.  The days of address books and rolodexes are no more.  Technology gives us the opportunity to carry all our contacts in our pocket.  For my group, we took advantage of this especially though the use of email.  That was often the best way to story contact information for sources as well as between group members.

Technology is a great tool in the journalism world, and everyone should take advantage of it.  Between reporting more accurate information and helping stories get to the public in a  more timely manner, the advantages of technology are endless.

In ch. 5 of “Journalism Next” Mark Briggs discusses the role that mobile journalism has taken on in the reporting world.  With advances in technology, and especially the smartphone, reporting and receiving information happens and a much higher rate of speed now.  Anyone with a smartphone in their pocket can become a reporter and any second.

One of the first things Briggs brings up is that the deadline is always the same: right now. No matter what the story is or what is taking place, the sooner that coverage begins, they better that story will be.  The ability to cover something from the moment it happens will help tell a more complete story and give the public a better idea of what is taking place.

Briggs also stresses the importance of choosing the right story to be covered using a mobile device.  Can the story be covered in small chunks?  Using a mobile device will not allow for the reporter to type large pieces of text.  It is important to be able to accurately describe the situation using a string of continuous small updates.  Will the story be ok if told with a sense of urgency?  These small updates will give off the appeal of a sense of urgency.  Not all stories will be best suited to be told with and urgent tone.  Obviously any emergency event would be ok, but you would not want to do a feature story in an urgent tone.

While mobile journalism certainly has its place in the reporting world, it was not always the best choice for us to use in our class projects.  Most of our stories were well thought out and planned.  We scheduled interviews and photo shoots.  These types of stories would not benefit for being told with a sense of urgency.

In ch. 2, Briggs discusses the important and evolving role of blogging in the journalism community.  While blogging originally started as a way for users to share their opinions with readers and other bloggers, most major news outlets now use blogs to cover newsworthy stories.  Professional journalists are now terming themselves “bloggers.”

One of the first points Briggs makes is that good blogs are an on going conversation.  They are intended to generate feedback with the readers.  Once an author posts material on their blog, they should monitor feedback and respond as much as possible, much like a normal conversation.  This is similar to the work of the community aggregator for our class projects.  They’re job is to engage the community and generate this type of conversation.

Briggs also reminds readers that blogs are not magic.  Merely posting content on a blogging site will not attract readers.  Blogs take dedication.  Not only is it important to put quality content on your blog, but just as stated before, interaction with readers is key.  Generating your own publicity for your blog is the only way you will attract readers.  Much like our class group blogs, it is up to us to get our information to the public.

Finally, Briggs tells readers to be the authority and write with personality.  Study what you are writing and be able to speak with confidence.  For our projects, we had to do a lot of researching and interviewing to gets accurate and interesting information.  It took a lot of effort to get material that would allow us to write with personality.  Being able to be an authority figure for information and write in a personable tone will make your blog more appealing to the readers.

It is clear that blogs have found their place in the journalism world.  Not only a great source of accurate information, they are also a great way for beginning journalists to cover anything they would like.

photo by Zachary Westlake

As the flurry of openings continues at Mosaic District in Merrifield, Matchbox is set to be the first full-scale restaurant to join the area, opening in the same building as the Angelika Film Center.

“We’re hoping to open in the next week or two,” says Drew Kim, one of three owners of Matchbox. The Merrifield restaurant will be the sixth Matchbox location, and the first one in Virginia.

Although designed to look like the other Matchbox restaurants, the Merrifield location has its own unique parts, made with materials from the demolition when constructing the 14^th Street location. “We took a little bit of everything from the other restaurants,” said Kim, referring to some of the inspiration behind the Merrifield design.

The restaurant will come to have its own unique menu and will change with the seasons, but to start chef Jacob Hunter will open using the 14^th Street location’s spring and summer menu.

With this as the first location in Virginia, Matchbox had to tailor the drink menu to comply with Virginia ABC laws. “We have to get creative,” Kim said.  “We have a mixologist fromTed’s Bulletin working with us. The drink menu will be a little different, ” noting that Virginia ABC laws do not allow the restaurant to make its bourbon infusion drinks sold at the DC locations. Along with 12 beers, the bar will also include red and white wines on tap and high end bourbons and tequila.

Separate from the main dining floor and bar area, Matchbox features a private dining area.  Calling it the “barrel room,” the private space will be used for hosting events and parties as well as overflow dining room.

“It’s kind of our hidden gem,” Kim says.

With room for 60, the barrel room has tall arching ceilings, meant to mimic the inside of a barrel.  The private room also features a fully functioning fireplace.

Along with the Matchbox opening in Merrifield, Kim and his partners are also opening another Ted’s Bulletin inReston in June.  Kim says they have no other leases as of now, but does admit to “sniffing around a bit.”

It may come as a shock to many people that 50 million Americans—one in six people—do not know where their next meal is coming from.

The issue of food insecurity is at the center of the film “A Place at the Table.”  “I don’t expect anyone to do anything until we tell them it’s an issue,” says Lori Silverbush, one of the directors, along with Kristi Jacobson.

The documentary, released 1 March in theaters, iTunes and On Demand, highlights the disconnect between food production and hunger in America.  There is plenty of food to go around, yet millions of Americans still rely on charitable organizations to get a meal.

The film follows three Americans who struggle with obtaining a proper meal.  All three live in food deserts, areas that are not supplied with fresh fruits or vegetables and rely heavily on processed foods.

“Top Chef” co-host, Tom Colicchio, and Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges both appear in the documentary and are advocates for reform in government food programs.  Bridges formed the End Hunger Network in 1983 to combat youth hunger, and Colicchio used his personal life to bring a awareness to the issue.

“I grew up in Elizabeth, NJ. Seventy percent of the kids there qualified for free or reduced lunch, and there were thousands of kids in school,” says Colicchio.

While the film certainly has a political undertone, Jacobson and Silverbush showcase the importance of charitable organizations and the impact they have on Americans struggling with food insecurity.  They urge audience members to not only contact their representatives in Congress, but also get involved in their own community.

Issues with hunger do not escape our own area. The Capital Area Food Bank delivers 33 million pounds of food annually, half of which is fresh produce.

Bridges sums it up with one of the most powerful lines of the film: “This is about patriotism. Do you feel OK that one in four kids in this country are going hungry?”

Despite the efforts of George Mason University, many students around the Fairfax campus are still unaware of the university’s expansion into South Korea.  Starting in March of 2014, Mason will open up programs of study as part of the Songdo Global University Campus.  The dream to have an international presence became a reality in 2009 when Mason received a $1 million grant from South Korea.

In an effort to inform students and staff about the Korean program, the University displayed an exhibit in Gallery 123 in the Johnson Center the week of Feb. 4-8^th.  On display were various artifacts on loan from The Korean Embassy.

The displays included historical paintings and statues, as well as examples of traditional Korean clothing.  One of the more noticeable pieces hanging was a full-size traditional Korean Hanbok, a traditional Korean dress.

The exhibit in Gallery 123 also proved to be very informative to the curious student.  There was a program staff member on site at all times available to answer questions for visitors.  There were also numerous handouts that visitors could take.  The exhibit distributed simple one-page brochures, as well as entire packages detailing the full Mason program.

Photo courtesy of GMU Global Affairs

The highlight of the week came on Feb. 5 when Dr. Min Park, a GMU associate professor and executive director of Korea campus operations, spoke at the exhibit.  Park gave an overview of the Songdo Global University Campus, including the specific programs George Mason would offer.  The University will offer degree programs in management and economics, with 40 spots in each program available their first year.

Park also fielded questions from the audience.  GMU will be joined by the University of Utah, Ghent University, as well as the State University of New York.

When asked about the low number of enrollment for the first year, Park said “the University plans to double the number of students in each program through the first four years.  There is a growth plan in place.”

Dr. Park also fielded questions about tuition, which is estimated to be at $20,000 a year, as well as the program to incorporate U.S. students.  It is not clear when students on the campuses in the U.S. may have the opportunity to study in Korea since the program is under development.

While the exhibit only ran for five days, it is clear that it served its purpose.  In regards to the turn out, Park said “People came to learn about what the campus can offer them, and I think we were able to do that”

It is no secret that parking on George Mason campus has always been an issue.  Try finding a spot between noon and 4 pm and you are often out of luck.  While the University continues to expand, the limited availablitiy of parking seems to remain.  There seems to be no desire to expand general parking lots.  Instead, the University is focused on building parking garages that charge a premium amount to park.  To park in the recently constructed Rappahannack River parking deck for more than 5 hourse, students must pay $14, a rate that many cannot afford 3 times a week.

With the number of students enrolled at GMU on the rise, there seems to be no solution to the parking issue.  Many students may look to alternative ways to get to campus.  Some students also choose not to pay for parking and find other ways.  Regardless of your position, everyone can admite that parking on campus is an issue that requires some attention.

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