Introduction

Hi, my name is Brianna Shelly and this is my second to last semester at Hillsborough Community College where I am studying mass communications. Prior to HCC, I attended Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, FL. I chose mass communications because I enjoy writing and researching new things. I have lived in Florida my whole life but have moved quite a bit in the area. A big goal of mine is to travel more, but instead of staying in Florida, I would like to go outside of the country, more specifically to Europe. I really enjoy being outside and staying active as well as trying new things. One thing I really like about living in Tampa is all the sporting events that are offered such as the lightning hockey games. I anticipate blogging about ethical standpoints or maybe something sports related. I think it would be interesting to also talk about music or travel as well since those are also topics I am passionate about.

Blog 10

For this assignment, the Newsy story I wanted to highlight was “Michigan Teen Charged in Oxford High School Shooting”. I chose this article in particular because it is relevant, being just two days ago that this event has happened. Gun control is also a huge topic of debate in the United States reaching the supreme court. One thing to note about this case itself, and is highlighted in many article titles is the suspected shooter of this incident was merely 15 years old. According to the article, “[Ethan Crumbley] was charged Wednesday with murder, terrorism, and other crimes for a shooting that killed four fellow students”. Prosecutors were able to find alarming pictures of Ethan Crumbley posing with a gun on social media, days prior to the shooting. The parents of the shooter and the school administration had discussions about his suspicious behavior hours before the shooting itself. The victims ranged from the ages of 14-17. https://www.newsy.com/stories/teen-charged-in-michigan-school-shooting/

Blog 9

In class, I was able to explore Newsy and what it has to offer. It looks like it mainly highlights news, investigations, documentaries, and shows. It looks like it it is pretty similar to a lot of bigger news websites, but I think it shy’s away from its original message towards viewers. Originally Newsy was known to be fun, showing news that the anchors pushed, and just very authentic. I believe this authenticity was lost when it was turned over to different companies and can just be another website without the special touch they were trying to add. Instead of fun news anchors that may be fresh into reporting, it is replaced with older individuals that can be seen as more professional. I think some of the stories are interesting such as the video highlighting Salem, Massachusetts called “Haunted America”, something you probably will not see on CNN or Fox. One part of the blog I enjoyed was it provides a written transcript of what is going on in the videos. I also looked at a big article called “Prescription Denied” which is about accessing the abortion pill, a very controversial topic. This 15 minute video highlights the history of it, talks to officials, goes through how it is accessed and how it works. I really enjoyed the layout it used and it was very informational.

Blog 8

For this blog, I visited 3 hyperlocal news sites including: The Laker/Lutz News, Pasco News, and USF News. The reason I chose these specifically is because I live close to all of these areas, so it is relevant to me, as well as if I wanted to transfer to USF, I could easily find out information about it. When visiting The Laker/Lutz News, it seemed to have the least amount of information because it is such a small area. Most of the articles seemed to talk about Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes, or basically anywhere specific to Pasco County. It had categories on news, sports, education, wildlife, and health. I could see how it would be hard to make money off of a site like this because none of the information, to me at least, is eye catching or something I really care about. When visiting the Pasco News site, it seemed to have big headlines and more eye-catching graphics and title, this could be because it is a bigger area to cover. The main categories were traffic, and weather but you can also look at news “around the bay” if you wanted. It also featured a lot of crime updates on the website. Overall, I can see why it might be hard for these sites to get traction as I rather just look at the local news website such as Bay News 9 or WFLA because all my information is in one spot and credible.

Blog 7

For my photojournalism piece, I decided that I was going to highlight some places to visit in Tampa or the surrounding area (such as downtown, clearwater, St. Pete, Ybor..etc.). The reason I have decided on this is because Tampa is such a beautiful city where you can do many things and what better way to show it than through pictures. This is relevant to HCC students because we are the ones living here! I hope it can give some inspiration on places to go and things to do. Another reason I have chosen this is because I love to try new things and be outdoors. I also have pictures from other areas of Florida such as Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Ft Myers, Cape Coral, etc.. that I think would be fun to show since they are just a drive away. I would love to show concerts as well but unfortunately most of the ones I have gone to in the past is just videos. Here are some examples:

Blog 4

For my interview, I faced multiple challenges to even conduct it. At first I was going to interview my grandma but was informed it cannot be a family member. I then chose to interview a professor I’ve had, but found out he retired so there was no way to contact him. I originally selected my grandma because she inspires me and the interview would be easy to conduct because I have lots of contact with her. I found it difficult to turn the interview so that it could not be bias whatsoever, since I already know so much about her and she is family. I also found it difficult to quickly reconfigure my interview considering I had changed it to someone else. I prepared by writing out questions in advance, I feel as if there was only so much preparation to do because of the situation. Overall, I think despite the challenges it was a good way to know what to expect in the future of trying to conduct interviews.

Interview

When thinking about who to interview, it is so easy to think of big celebrities and influencers even if we have no clue who they actually are. This got me thinking of the people around me and who might influence me on an everyday basis. So if I had the chance to interview anyone, not to be sappy, but I would interview my grandma. The reason why I would interview her is because quite frankly, I dont know how she does it. Everyday she gets up with a positive attitude, still works full time, takes full care of my great-grandparents, does so much more and I’m not sure how she still stays sane. She is there for everyone in my family, including myself, always helping with advice and has always been a big role model for me. I would ask her how do you remain so positive and what keeps you going? She is also the most active grandma I have ever met and someone who has the same interests as me. We travel across parts of Florida for cool trips, we’ve gone indoor skydiving together, concerts, you name it. I would ask her what her favorite trip has been and where she would like to go in the future. Lastly, I would ask her about her upbringing. She grew up in a small town in New York where my great-grandfathers family moved from Italy. I would ask her what it was like and what her grandparents (all from other countries) were like since I never got the chance to meet them. I think it would be cool to know how her upbringing may have been different because of mostly Italian, German, and Polish influence.