Bailey's Blog

Interview with Alex Newman by bsgallo

This audio is my interview with Alex Newman a fellow student in my online journalism class. I have not edited the audio at all. This is the first time that I have recorded an interview. The interview experience was pleasant but at first it was a little awkward. It was awkward because I am used to commenting after each comment in a conversation but with recording is was important that I let Alex talk as much as possible. I really liked using the recorder because as a journalist you can go back and refresh yourself on the story.

I was also interviewed for this project and things were slightly different on the interviewee side of things. It felt weird being recorded because I was worried about how I sounded on the recorder. It was hard not to fidget or make hand motions while talking. Five minutes seems like a short amount of time but I was apparently not given the gift to gab. It was hard to talk about myself for five minutes.

This experience was very helpful for me. I learned a lot about doing interviews and it gave me insight on how the interviewee feels while their conversation is being recorded. I learned that it is important to test the sound quality before recording and that you need to be in a quiet room. I am feeling much more comfortable with the recorder as well. I also learned that it is important to brief the person of the questions you will ask so they speak with fluidity.

I really enjoyed doing this interview. I learned more about my classmate and also learned techniques while interviewing. I do not think there is anything that I would have changed. The interview was short and to the point and I am going to enjoy trying to edit it.

I recorded myself counting to ten in order and out-of-order and then edited the second track. I used Audacity to edit my out-of-order counting to put them in the correct order. It is very basic and it was my first time editing audio.

The Original
Counting Original by bsgallo

The Edited
Counting Edited by bsgallo

The purpose of recorded myself and then editing it was to first get familiar with the program and to learn how to edit simple sound. In journalism it is important to being able to record interviews and then edit them if needed. Before this assignment I barely knew how to use a recorder so to be editing audio is sort of exciting. It seems sort of funny that editing would be exciting but it is a good skill to have.

My experience with editing overall was a pleasant one. The media edits almost all audio that we listen to. I always wondered how they used editing. I can also see that when you are editing it is important not to change the meaning of the story. Since is it so easy to edit then it is also easy to deceive the listener into thinking someone said something that they did not. I have actually experienced this in a news story that my dad was featured in. They took parts of his audio and rearranged it so it gave the story different meaning. My dad was angry with the whole experience so as journalist we need to be careful when editing.

It was really cool to learn to edit audio and I am excited to use it more. It is a skill that I will need in the future. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I am glad I learned how.

I am excited to share my ambient noise, this is my first attempt at using a recorder so it is very basic. These are just noises from around my house, outside at a parking lot and at my office. Very basic but it was fun to use the recorder.

Fan by bsgallo

This first track is a fan. I recorder this sound from my bedroom. My husband needs a fan to fall asleep at night so i quickly recorder it before we went to sleep. This could be included in a story about the unnecessary uses of electricity since the fan has to be plugged in.

Laundry Dryer by bsgallo

The second track is a laundry dryer. I got this sound from my house when my friend came to do her laundry. This could be used in a story about how many loads of laundry are done by college students during the semester.

Car Alarm by bsgallo

This sound is a car alarm. I was getting out of my car at the parking lot and noticed someone’s car alarm was going off so I recorded it. This sound could be used in a story about the University’s parking dilemma.

Microwave by bsgallo

This track is from a microwave. I got this sound from my house when I was heating up leftovers to eat. This tract could be used for a story about a college students diet. It is sad but true that most of our meals come from the microwave.

Typing by bsgallo

This track is typing. I got this track when I was at my office and my assistant was typing up her schedule for next week. This sound could be used in a story that talks about how much homework students have to di each week.

Dog Drinking by bsgallo

The last track that I have is of a dog drinking. I recorded this noise from my Pomeranian who was drinking out of her water dish. This sound could be used in a story about people having pets.

The New York Times audio story was really intriguing. The story was called One in 8 Million. I listened to the audio entitled The Ladies’ Man. This audio was about John Keegan and his job as a dating coach. He charges $2,000 for 10 sessions. He is the modern-day “Hitch”. The movie Hitch with Will Smith that came out several years ago reminds of Mr. Keegan’s real life. I really liked the audio story because it was about something unique and I did not remove to attention from the story until it was finished. There is something powerful about audio and pictures together. The journalist did very good when it came to ambient noise. There was background sounds whenever Mr. Keegan was talking and it gave a real life setting experience. There was not anything that I didn’t like about the story. I thought it was very well done. The story was very interesting and I would listen to it again.

The second audio story that I listened to was from the NPR website. The title was How Can You Tell When a CEO is Lying? 

The content was very interesting. It talked about key ways to tell when a CEO is lying and what to look for when you think you might being lied to. Some key things to look for were when CEO says “we” a lot and not “I”. When you say “I” you are taking responsiblity for your actions. The story also said that when CEO’s use extravagant words to describe how well the business is going like, fantastic, excellent, or tremendous when they are lying. I really liked how the inclusion of the author, the narrator, and examples from others. It was not just a single person talking but multiple. It gave the story credibility. The journalist did a great job collecting outside sources to prove the point that CEO lie. The only thing I didn’t like about the story was there were no pictures it was all audio. By having pictures it would have kept me more engaged in the audio. I had a hard time just listening.

The story that I listened to last was another story from the New York Times. I got it from the segment called One in 8 million. It was entitled The Walking Miracle and was a story about Freda Degannes. She was told that she had a 99% chance of dying because if blood clots found in her stomach. She said yes to the surgery and actually survived! My experience while listening to the story was sadness and astonishment when I realized she had overcome such great odds. I really liked how they showed a picture of her stomach that showed many scars and it gave me a better understanding of how serious the situation was. The journalist did a great job editing and collecting the quotes and the story had great flow. The one thing I didn’t like was the length of the story. At the end I found myself wanting more story because I was so intrigued. The journalist did a great job overall and there is nothing else that I would change.

The web reporting projects were a fun and unique way to get to know different professors. The first story that I read was about Lee Hodgson.  He is a theatre professor and a professional costume designer. I thought Hodgson’s advice about being open to all experiences was very powerful and I really enjoyed reading this story. I learned that theatre professors do not just lecture but do hands on work like designing costumes. Dyann did a great job with this story and I thought the pictures were absolutely fantastic! The black and white images were my favorite and the pictures made me want to read the story. The story was an easy read and she did a great job on the quotations. There were no errors that I saw in this story.

The story about Dannele Peck was information packed. I learned numerous things about her and her research. Brucellosis is a big concern in Wyoming and I enjoyed learning a little more about it from this story. I learned that it cost $6,000 to slaughter one elk with brucellosis. That seems like quite a bit of money for one elk. Faryn did an excellent job with the story and after I read it I felt like I actually knew Dannele Peck. The only advice that I would have is to possibly get a better head shot of Dr. Peck. I really liked the other pictures and enjoyed reading the story.

The last story that I read was about Stephen Bieber. This story was intriguing to read because I had Dr. Bieber as a professor my sophomore year. I learned that he is currently working on two projects in Russia. It was also unique that Tracie included thoughts from his students. She did a good job including quotes and there was good flow to the story. The pictures were nice but not very eye-catching. The lighting was not great in a few of the pictures but I am not sure what could have been done to help that situation. Tracie’s story put Dr. Bieber in a very positive light and I felt her story was very well done.

The web reporting assignment was a lot of fun for me as well. I interviewed professor Susan Dewey. I learned about all aspects of her life but I also sharpened my skills when doing interviews. The first thing a learned is that Wyoming is a very large research school. Almost all professors lecture but spend a lot of time researching as well. It was great to hear that Dewey loved Wyoming and hoped to come here most of her life. It was great to see her passion for her research and I believe the University will  benefit greatly from having her here.