Brea Jones

It has been a busy week, and I apologize to all of the people I promised I’d blog about last week.

I had a nice time at the California Newspaper Publishers Association convention Thursday in San Francisco. If you missed it, but are curious about my thoughts on the internship grant program, here is my speech:

“I would first like to extend my thanks to the Foundation for supporting me with an internship grant two years ago and for inviting me to share my experience with you today.

Student interns thrive in the digital age — they grew up in it, and many graduate to work in newsrooms that struggle to master the very technologies my generation is addicted to.

I fell in love with the news as a reporting intern for the Chico Enterprise-Record, an internship that was supported my Junior year at Chico State by the CNPA Foundation grant. That daily newsroom experience helped pave the way for my job at The Record.

As a Web content producer, I use my experience as a media junkie to help The Record develop its Web presence.

If you question the value of this program in shaping the future of media and information, just text me. MySpace message me. IM me. Poke me on Facebook. E-mail me. Google my name and find my Web site.

I know many of you are seeing these technologies invade your newsrooms, and they start with media consumers like me.

I consider myself lucky to be employed by a California newspaper, but I am far from a token success story of this program.

I count grant recipients among my friends and colleagues, most of whom now work for California newspapers, and many of whom wouldn’t have been able to afford to spend their summers on intern wages without the Foundation’s internship grant; without the generosity of people such as you.

But internship grants do more than support individuals. The newsrooms that house interns for a summer get reporters, copy editors and photographers supported financially by the Foundation. And when those students graduate, they bring more than professional clips to the newsrooms they work in.

They bring the future. “

After meeting many publishers and CNPA staff, I headed to the Mission district to meet with some alternative media people and to hear Josh Wolf speak about his time in prison. An interesting juxtaposition of events for sure. Wolf is running for mayor, so if you’re looking to support a progressive candidate, you can donate $$ and view a video about his candidacy on JoshWolf.net.

I spent the following days training Kirk, the new Web producer at The Record. Then I made the trek up to Chico to attend a surprise shindig for a good friend who is leaving journalism and moving to the Bay Area to work for a publishing house.

Another one bites the dust …

So it’s been a whirlwind. And an extra special thanks to the CNPA ladies who said I remind them of Cameron Diaz.

Personally, I don’t see it. But I know how to take a compliment, so thanks!

UPDATE: I removed the photo of Cameron Diaz on July 30 because so many hits came from Google image searches for the actor.

A friend and former classmate is joining me at The Record in the coming week or two. Kirk Barron will be another copy editor/producer for Recordnet.com just as soon as his paperwork is processed and drug test clears, and it is a big relief for me. Another producer means more time to work on projects and more time to complete the site maintenance that I’ve been pushing to the bottom of my to-do lists.

I know many of you know what it’s like to work on a three-person team that is short that third person, which is what Recordnet has been faced with for the past couple of months. I am so happy to say it is almost over.

Now if only I could get some sleep — Kirk will be in Stockton this evening.

I never took a class from Susan Brockus, but I never stop learning from her, either. When the CNPA speaking engagement came up, I asked her advice because she has held essentially every role in this industry from kid playing in the newsroom to publisher.

We got into talking about corporate media and my career, and she asked these series of questions, which I’ve gone on to share with a SPJ Generation J blogger and several friends:

“So, what is journalism to you? A career? A job ladder? A mission? A calling? Who do you do it for?? Yourself? The community? The company? Maybe clarifying this will help you figure out where you want to go.” (Reprinted with permission)

Here is the gist of my reply:

I don’t know yet know what journalism will be for me.

I entered the field in college because I loved being a reporter for the blend of altruistic and ego-driven reasons many people do it. I worked 40 hours a week with essentially no pay because I thought every quote, headline and photo was a life or death decision. When I saw people reading the paper, it was fulfilling, and breaking news was exhilarating. But that’s not what I do anymore. I’m not even a first-generation newspaper person. I’m a media producer.

I think I do it because I want to learn — a selfish goal — and because I think I can make a difference with how my generation gets news — a bit less selfish. I think about how I get information, how I can help more people get accurate information and how to package that information in a useful way. I think the Web is a forum for community. When I process user-submitted photos or send out a breaking news text message, I realize my job has an important purpose that is far beyond a rung in a ladder.

I know most people who read this are fellow journalists — so what is journalism for you?

I was trolling around the journalism geek blogosphere, and on CNPA’s multimedia forum, I found a link to this video demonstration/explanation of Photosynth. I am speechless, and those of you who know me personally know that means a lot. Click. Enjoy. Amaze yourself.

It almost makes me wish I used a Windows machine so I could give it a test drive myself. Almost.

Today I was asked to speak at the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association convention in San Francisco. Two years ago I was a recipient of an internship grant from the CNPA Foundation, and so they want me to give testimony to the grant program and how it helped my career.

I’m really excited, but I’m not too sure what to say yet. Ideas?