That last one is a complete lie. In that case I'd be thrilled, if unsurprised.
Anyway, so it wasn't a total shock or anything when I was sitting on my bed last night not doing homework and instead getting misty-eyed over Andre Agassi talking about hating tennis. I knew what he was talking about. I got it, and I love when you can feel that empathy with someone you've had on a famous-person, redemption pedestal for so long. They're real. Just thought I'd share that.
Anyway, I was procrastinating late into the night last night with the Agassi article because I'd been running like a mad person all day yesterday. I worked and attended class. Boring. Then, I attended a small question and answer session with Arianna Huffington. Not boring. While Ms. Huffington is a dynamic, interesting, and powerful speaker, I was almost more interested by the supposed top-tier journalism students asking her questions. This is a program rooted in asking the uncomfortable questions, blah, blah, independence, blah, etc. But every question posed to her, except mine, was weirdly prefaced with a long story about how amazing it was of her to come, thanks so much, I'm a huge fan, I read everyday, I aspire to be you, and more nauseating crap.
I sat in my seat, and I was actually getting mad about it. You're supposed to be journalism students, where is your critical eye? How do you expect to get anything worthwhile if you douse your question in syrup? Also, she is most definitely getting paid TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars to be here, so yes, thanks for the time, but seriously? It was almost as if the desperation for future employment knocked out all the legitimacy and value of the questioning.
If you're wondering, I mentioned the prominence of celebrity commentary and punditry on the site and asked about her perspective on objectivity as a journalistic value in light of that. I followed up with a question about whether she'd regretted publishing any of the opinion pieces. She didn't really answer my second question, and instead talked about the editing process. I probably sound like a self-righteous whiner right now. I am one.
Of course, it was also election night! That meant Newswatch. I helped produce the Data Center, where the anchors would throw it to another reporter, Nick, to announce all incoming results and vote count. That meant I spent the few hours in a tiny room with Nick and a camera with my laptop perched on my knees and the Tompkins County Board of Elections at my fingertips. I love the internet. But we had to throw together information on about 30 elections, cohesively, in just minutes over the hour broadcast. It was hectic and crazy, but it worked out.
Then today, I had radio, class, and my politics advisor meeting. My politics advisor is awesome. We talked for quite a bit of time about how I was varying my classes, and what I wanted to focus on. She also had a lot of advice about studying abroad. Also, she hooked me up with some great places to look for internships. Who knew advisors could actually be useful? I am also SO EXCITED for my classes next semester. I am only taking one hardcore journalism class, with the other four centered around politics. Technically, my "Government and Media" class fulfills a journalism requirement, but it's all about law and government practice. So basically, next semester should be full of win.
And now I'm actually going to do my work, so I can pass and therefore take classes next semester.
