Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Editor hands over the keys

Michael Farr
The Washington Times

WASHINGTON,D.C.--In a monumental display of trust, David Eldridge, managing editor of The Washington Times Web site, gave the keys of his car to an intern who joined the paper early this month.

"Don't complain about the mess in there," he told the intern, Michael Farr, a student at Biola University who is currently studying in D.C.

Eldridge gave the keys to Farr so that he could drive another intern, who doesn't have a license, to an event in downtown D.C. The drive proved difficult for Farr, who has only walked the D.C. streets before, never driven them.

"Getting there was a lot easier than coming back, he said. "I passed Union Station like two times. Finally I just found the route that our shuttle usually takes to The Times."

Though it took him two hours, entering into nearly every quadrant of the District, Farr arrived safely at The Washington Times building, delivering the keys to his editor, who then sent Farr immediately to another event.

"The life of a journalist, you know...Got to love it," Farr said.

Farr's article on special types of skydivers in Virgina, called "wingsuit pilots," will be appearing in Friday's Metro section of The Washington Times.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Another Article

Whoo! Got an article in print on Sunday. Volunteered for a Saturday shift, and it worked out real nice. I got to hang out with firefighters!

Check it out.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080217/METRO/168009577/1004/METRO

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

LIVE Blogging for The Washington Times

I got the chance to live blog today for The Times. I was covering Roger Clemens' hearing in front of Congressional Committee.

It actually kind of funny how the day went.

The event ended up being so crowded, and there was no wireless signal in the building, that I just watched the event from a live CSPAN feed online, at home--just blogged from there. From what my intern partner tells me, everyone on our desk really was impressed by what I was sending in. It was a long, long event--about five hours.

This link is the first of like 5-6 posts they ended up putting up. Just find the other ones by looking at the right bar.

http://video1.washingtontimes.com/fishwrap/2008/02/oath_hormones_pt_1_1.html

Friday, February 08, 2008

CPAC 2008

Yesterday I got the assignment of my lifetime: go to CPAC and send back some stuff.

In case you're unfamiliar, CPAC stands for the Conservative Political Action Conference. It's the biggest gathering of conservatives in the nation. Speakers this year included George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul--along with many other congressmen.

I had press creds, so I could basically go anywhere I wanted.

It was so cool to be with all the other press people--writing stuff up, getting quotes and snapping shots. I saw some pretty well known journalists. And you know what, I held my own. I could do it.

I was able to be right in front of the stage with all the press photographers when John McCain was speaking. I was able to get first responses from attendees when Romney, at the conference, surprisingly announced he was dropping out of the presidential race.

I'm not sure if any of the quotes or pics I sent back to The Times will be used, but regardless, it was an amazing experience. One I know I am incredibly lucky to have had.

One thing you can pray for me, though. I'm so hard on myself, and extremely impatient. I'm so ambitious to impress people that it has become difficult to just go with the flow. I want to write an article. I want to get my name in print. Not just blog posts and updates. And every time my editor calls the other intern over instead of me, I start mentally bashing myself. I actually had a dream last night that my editor was completely ignoring me.

I know, I'm crazy.

Just pray I find rest and take it all in, that I would not implode on myself and that when the time does come to perform, I would have focus and deliver something that'll be impressive. Also, that I would be humble.



--mjf.





I was right up there.

It was a pretty good speech.
He definitely is going to be the nominee. McCain fans owned the conference. Maybe he'll still pick Huckabee for VP.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

One Day. One Byline.

So I completed my first day at The Washington Times. Starting on Super Tuesday was a trial-by-fire to say the least, but the fact that I got through unscathed makes me more confident than ever. Best part is, I got to write something!

My editor assigned the other intern and I an article about how youth are using the internet to get involved in politics. We were crunched for time, definitely. But we pulled it off.

Not to brag, but I did most of the work on the article. The other intern was preoccupied for a long time with another task before he came to work with me. When he did come in, he just contributed with some additional information, which was helpful, but I did 98 percent of the writing.

I'm definitely drained. But it was worth it at the end of the day to hear my editor say we did a good job. Sweet.

So totally, check it out.
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/fishwrap/2008/02/how_big_will_the_impact_1.html


--mjf

Sunday, February 03, 2008

WJCers

This post is not so much about things I am experiencing, but rather the people I am experiencing them with.

We are a rather mis-matched group over here at WJC.

Granted, we all have grown quite close over the past three weeks, but that has almost exposed our differences even more.

Geographically, we're all over the place. We have two people from the South, three Californians, a girl from Florida, a Minnesotan and a guy from Illinois. One of the constant things to laugh about is how everyone talks. Most everyone has commented on how fast I talk. The Minnesotan has that distinguishable "o" sound. You know, like a Canadian. Our Southern girl has got the twang (though of course she doesn't notice it) and the mid-west, Illinois guy talks very slow and methodical.

But beyond that, and our various different slang words, our personalities are way different. I really don't think any of us would be friends if we all went to the same school. We got some partyers, some academics, our token liberal (who I ironically get along with the best, haha) and some just, well, strange people.

While I appreciate the diversity of the group, I feel like other members may be a little less tolerant than me. Lately there has been a little bit too much talking behind peoples' back and making fun of them. Granted, its usually in "good humor," but "good humor," when it becomes a pattern can really start causing strife and divisions within groups.

Ultimately, though, I think this is just part of the experience. I'm in a new environment, I might as well meet new kinds of people. And this has also given me the chance to kind of play the peacemaker in the group--defending people and not letting gossip go too far. But it hasn't been easy. One of our members got themselves in a bit of trouble yesterday, and I'm kind of waiting how it will play out with the group.

Ughh. I just want to study journalism.

By the way, I start my internship with The Washington Times on Tuesday.

Peace.

--mjf