Free Sailor Kisses

This week in NYC was fleet week. There were lots of military running around, mostly laughing/happy to be here more than anywhere else, I presume. This pic of a sailor I took last night at Time's Square reinforces my assumption. 

I'm glad my uniform is collecting dust in the closet, so to speak. Sure, I miss those days, but those were different times. I retired in 2000, during the Desert Storm era. At that point, we lost very few to war. I left the military with a solid career and fond memories. Today's military aren't so happy-go-lucky; but they are certainly brave and more trained.
My thoughts go out to active service members on this Memorial Day. 

Former World Trade Center site in 2010

These gravestones at St. Paul's Chapel were once covered

 in dust and soot from the falling towers.

Construction to rebuild the World Trade Center

area can be seen in the background.

These are FYPD/FD patches collected 

and displayed inside the St. Paul's Chapel.

WTC construction and a WTC glass monument as seen from the Hudson River. 

I took this photo May 24, during a Circle Line cruise to the Statue of Liberty. 

These are photos I took yesterday at the former site of the World Trade Center towers, and St. Paul's Chapel, which is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use. It's right across the street from where the towers fell. 

Update (09/11/2014) : I was in New York for 10 days as part of a 3-credit Kent State University media class. I was earning my MA in Journalism Education. I graduated in 2012.

Having a good TIME!

(Lori King photos from top: 1. Exterior of TIME and LIFE. 2. TIME editorial  board meeting. 3. Archived famous iconic images and camera of LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.  4. Working closet of InStyle Magazine.)

If you like news, there's TIME. If you love sports, there's Sports Illustrated. Fashion? Read InStyle.  

These were the three TIME-LIFE Inc. magazines we toured   May 27, and they were good examples of the diversity of  journalism. 

  I really appreciate the effort put forth by professors Ann and Carl to offer a little something for everyone this week. They tried hard to try please a dozen students who not only range in age, but interests. The common denominator is our  mutual love for journalism and storytelling.

  The students here for the KSU media seminar are a mixed bag of majors. We are reporters, photographers and videographers. We are undergrads and grads. Some are treating cameras as extensions of themselves, and others hardly use one. Many of the students have yet to begin their first job, while a few of us are ready to share our extensive experience in the classroom, teaching our possible replacements.

  The highlight of this day was witnessing TIME’s editorial meeting, lead by executive editor Nancy Gibbs, the most published front cover reporter in the history of this 87-year-old national news magazine. In that one conference room were all of the TIME photo, web and news directors, and I couldn’t help but feel like a star-struck tourist.

  The big news of the day for all three magazines, as well as the AP and New York Times, is the conversion of their content to the iPAD. All of our guest speakers agreed that the iPAD is a game changer, and web designers were busy working on the apps so readers could play the game.

Gibbs described the age of electronic mobility this way: “TIME will have the same bloodline, but different metabolism.”

I've heard nothing but positive comments about the iPAD, despite the tremendous added workload on the staff. So, I think I know what I want for Christmas.

Now, please excuse me while I read my old-fashioned hard copy of TIME.

(In future blogs I will include more comments from various editors on the topics of electronic media, the power of advertising, the slow death of newspapers, etc.)

Photos from New York

The following photos are a mixture of New York scenes (suggested by Jolee) and media tour snapshots (required by Prof. Ann). They are taken with a Canon G11, a digital camera I highly suggest to any photog looking for a light-weight vacation option.

The American Museum of Natural History

Statue of Liberty

View of NY taken from the Empire State Building

Empire State Building as seen from 

a subway stairwell

TIME magazine editor's morning meeting we were 

privileged to witness.

A portion of Time Inc.'s archive

collection, including the May 4th Kent State photo spread (forefront)

shot by KSU alumn  John Filo, now director of CBS photo operations

(we visited Filo in his NYC studio today)

KSU journalism professor Ann Schierhorn rides the NYC subway.

Working in New York

The overall message from freelance film editor Genetta Adams was loud and clear: don't come to New York looking for work if you don't have journalism experience. She also admitted the cost of living is high, the job rate is low and the field is in a state of chaos.
On the other hand, Ohio native and KSU grad Shannon Lanier came to New York jobless, but after a chance meeting with a TV executive now works as a reporter and a producer for two separate New York media companies.
These mixed messages from two of our guest speakers today simply prove that no path leads to the same place. I think the young journalism students in our group understand that getting their first job will not be easy, but with a little luck and a lot of determination it can be done.
All 6 of our guest speakers at the KSU New York Studio were candid about the job possibilities here. I honestly don't think Adams' intention was to discourage the students, but rather encourage them to be engaged, actively participate in their community, post on other people's blogs and be imaginative. In other words, get noticed.
Other powerful suggestions included don't sit on ideas; build and keep personal ethical boundaries; make contacts and know your outlets; keep your ears to the ground and don't limit yourself; figure out how to brand yourself; and accept that you might not get to where you're going through ordinary channels.
I think one of the best pieces of advice was given by Lanier. He said no matter what industry you choose, get your writing skills down. Learn how to write! So, photographers and videographers, sharpen that writing pencil because you're going to need it.
At the end of the day, it was clear all of the New York-based entertainment speakers didn't arrive here the same way, but they all agreed on one thing: they wanted to be here.

9th Wonder of the World: The AP

(Lori King photos from top:  AP photo desk, the KSU group touring AP, and a cool photo of a woman holding a dress in the subway)

Today we toured the 9^th Wonder of the Journalism World.

On the 14^th floor at 450^th W. 33^rd St. in Manhattan is the Associated Press, the largest continuous newsroom in the world.

I was particularly excited to walk through the center of the newsroom because it’s this very organization that gave me my big break in the news business. After graduating from Kent State in 1991, I moved to Toledo and was the sole AP stringer for northwest Ohio for 4 years.

Back then I developed B&W film in my apartment bathroom and then transmitted photos using the AP Leafax 35, the first portable negative scanner and transmitter. I had to drive to Detroit if I wanted to transmit color images. What separated us from the average photographer was not only skill in shooting B&W film but more importantly the knowledge of how to use the Leafax. It was in the AP office, so I had to be specially trained by the AP correspondent.

Now, photographers use digital DSLRs that shoot both still and video. Within seconds our images travel around the world and readers look at them on their iPhones, iPads and Kindles.

Has the news changed? Sally Buzbee, deputy managing editor for AP’s Nerve Center, reassured us today that AP news values are still strong and in demand. She said consumers will always want news, but interactivity and visual storytelling will be more important in the future.

Actually, I think strong visual storytelling is important right now.

I can’t say this enough - education (particularly in ethics), experience and trust is what separates news organizations from the social media like bloggers, tweeters and photographers who just bought their new Canon D70 at Best Buy last week. 

No Photos Allowed...in the NYT

    Odd that a newspaper that supports 1st Amendment Rights and Sunshine Laws and gets their feet into the door of countless places around the world wouldn't let us take photos inside the building. So the only visible proof we were at the Times today is this exterior shot of our instructor and tour guide Carl walking into one of New York City's newest skyscrapers.
    As a photojournalist, I wanted to document the experience of standing in the same spot as NYT photogs Todd Heisler and Tyler Hicks. Of course, meeting them would have been awesome, but that would have been extremely lucky, considering how much they travel. There are about 26 full-time photographers and 40 photo editors. The Times heavily depends on freelancers, as well. 
    I was certainly thankful that KSU alumn and NYT VP and editor Nancy Lee invited us in and showed us the newsroom, which was a sunken treasurer of desks right in the middle of four newsroom floors. I leaned against the Plexiglas rail and peered down, thinking how cool it would be to work in such a quite, clean, open space. 
    Nancy had apologized because the space was simply a newsroom, nothing special. I beg to differ. It's the NEW YORK TIMES, for goodness sakes. Of course it's special!
    Another bonus - I held an iPAD today. It demonstrates the lightening speed of changing technology in the news delivery business. We all know the news has gone mobile. It's now simply a matter of choosing your device. Droid or iPhone? iPAD or Kindle? I prefer a good old-fashioned newspaper, myself - like the New York Times.
    Rob Samuels, NYT's director of mobile product development, did say a team of experts were working on pay per device models that would limit free web content. Consider that last year there were 3/4 of a billion web views. That's a lot of lost revenue. I'm curious to see who else climbs on board, considering the Times is an international leader in news.
    Today was a great introduction to the media scene in The Big Apple. There are 12 students, 2 instructors and one big giant city to explore. Tomorrow - the Associated Press.

Education is not cheap

I practically winced when I voted for the TPS levy yesterday.
For the past 13 years, my mortgage payment has steadily increased due to taxes, but the value of my home decreased because of the economy. That levy would have really taken a bit out of my already dwindling paycheck.
But how could I not vote for it? Like my friend Rose once said while playing the game of LIFE, "I got kids!"
Quinn has been accepted to the Toledo School for the Arts, so no TPS worries there.
But Jolee wants to change from her charter school to Glendale Feilbach. We're seriously considering it because of the bus service. Our kids have never ridden a school bus, and this would give Jolee a great opportunity to ride the bus with other neighborhood kids. That's a huge concern - our kids don't know the other kids in the neighborhood because they don't share a bus or a classroom. But because of the failed levy, bus service might not be available for kids living within a 2-mile radius. We live 1.2 miles away from the TP school.
Like it or not, the local school system needs to be supported by everyone in the community because Toledo kids are the future, and I can't imagine a future where Toledo kids don't have sports, arts, gym and bus service.