May 5, 2017

Zenith

CONTACT

 

 

  • What is your project? Why is this particular project a passion for you? Discuss the final media form as well as the content you envision.

I hope to follow a career in journalism, which is why I wanted to use the Zenith Project as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the industry. I used to say that I wanted to be a writer, until I realized that wasn’t an extremely viable career option. It wasn’t until I started looking into other forms of writing that I realized that journalism too can serve as a form of storytelling. Although I’ve been looking into journalism for a few years now, this mere curiosity was cemented through the documentary unit last year, with my profile of Hope’s Corner.

Whenever I’ve mentioned to an adult that I’m planning on majoring in journalism, they mention the fact that journalism is dying, the industry no longer flourishes as it once did. This is worrisome to hear because I want my future to be somewhat safe, but the more I look into it, the more I blatantly disagree with that statement. Journalism is not dying, it’s changing. And in this time and age it’s more important than ever. This is what I based my research paper off of and through that, central questions arose.

The final media form I hope to envision through the Zenith project is the creation of my own magazine, taking into account primary inspirations like The Atlantic and The New Yorker. This would serve as a sort of ode to past print journalism. Because the entire point of my research paper is about how journalists must adapt to the online era, another idea I’m willing to explore is creating a website that mirrors present day journalism.

 

  • How is this project a new challenge (a risk) for you?  If you are in a group, define each of your roles and explain how each role will be a new challenge/risk for you. Also, how will you hold one another accountable for your roles? 

This Zenith Project will serve as a new challenge because it will be a culmination of past skills I’ve harvested at Freestyle thus far. Along with creating the magazine layout on InDesign, I’d also be writing several articles to feature in the final product. In the hopes of mirroring the industry, I’d be working on multiple stories within a short time frame with a set deadline. Interviews will need to be scheduled, in addition to planning collaborations with other Freestyle students. Magazines and newspapers are the result of several people working together to create a final piece, which is why I’d like to work with other students to serve as guest writers, photographers, and illustrators/ cartoonists. Because a part of my research paper is dedicated to how journalism is funded, largely in part to advertisements, I also think it would be an interesting to create my own adverts for student-run services, merchandise, and projects (ex: Lara and Cooper are creating clothing lines so I could feature fashion photography advertising their collections).