New Feature: Sports Journalism and Use of Twitter.

Sports Journalism and the Use of Twitter Debate

BY: CHRIS HOGAN

            When Twitter launched in the summer of 2006, many people were still reading newspapers and blogs or watching ESPN for the latest sports news. Forward five years later, most sports journalists have turned to Twitter in order to break sports news faster than any other way of communication. This has seen a major growth in the use of people using twitter to follow their favorite sports writers and their tweets to gain news quicker.

            Most breaking sports news is now reported by the journalist’s tweets they can share with the fans. The best part of that is that the followers can re-tweet what that journalist said and spread it so that other people can view it as well. Sports fans can also send a reply to their favorite writers and can ask them a question about a certain player or rumor or comment on their work rather than the old fashion way of emailing them or calling them. Moreover, it entails the capability of most smart phones that now carry twitter apps for easy download that makes it a lot easier to get the tweets about sports news when you are on the run or not near a computer. The Blackberry has the twitter apps entitled UberSocial or Twitter for Blackberry that allows you to get texts sent to your phone when you one of your favorite sports writers tweets something. Twitter is also great for sports fans because it allows them to get articles written by that journalist faster since they can post a link to it in a tweet.

            It goes to show that Twitter will help out the sports world in the near future because it is free to use and it offers a great form of communication with the writers you want to connect with. Sports journalism is grateful to be able to benefit from a great social media site like this.

Quick update on UB sports action Wed-Fri

On Wednesday: The UB Women's basketball team will host Molloy College at Harvey Hubbell Gym at 6 p.m.. The Purple Knights are the number three seed and the Lions are the number six seed. UB took two of three meetings this season against Molloy. The winner of this game will go on to play the number two seeded Dowling College on saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm also in Hubbell Gym.

On Friday: There has been a change of schedule as the women's lacrosse match at Post University has been moved to Knights Field on the UB campus. The game will be played at 1 p.m. and Post will be serving as the home team. Last Friday, UB played the Eagles in a scrimmage and lost 11-7.


More to come later.

Scribe Article:UB Professor Launches Music Blog

UB Professor launches blog for music lovers

BY CHRIS HOGAN

            Most students know that full time professors have hectic schedules and don’t have much time for other interests. For Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, the Director of the Music program at the University of Bridgeport started a music blog this past summer was an interest in which he never truly thought would be possible.

            Dr. Johnson launched his blog entitled Sonic Labyrinth: Blog for the Eternally Cool in Classical Music last June 12. The idea of creating a blog didn’t come to be until the inspiration of one his colleagues Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Stephen Healey. In mid April, Dr. Healey decided to make his own blog on World Religions and the density of the blog truly inspired Johnson to create one.  

            “This (creating a blog) is another way of doing what professors have traditionally always tried to do which is  teach,” Dr. Johnson said. “I was very attracted by the idea the of developing a digital footprint, which is leaving a mark of stuff that can be seen, searched or develop a small following in the field that I am most interested in.”

            Sonic Labyrinth, which is also a video game for SEGA Genesis, is a classical music blog that Johnson writes in everyday. His posts deal with reviews and critiques on chamber, piano and orchestra music. For the past five years, he has done a lot of appearances on classical music in the class of fiction. Imbedding video is an important concept in every post because it allows the viewer to picture what exactly is being shown in a better perspective.

            “Almost every week I am reviewing three different concerts which are six hours of real time classical music to learn,” Dr. Johnson said. “Some things I choose to write about are related to my own kind of private world of preparations of things.”

            UB has over 80 countries that are represented from around the world, but his blog has been viewed by 52 different countries. According to Google Analytics, The United States is the top spectators, although places like Columbia, Finland and Portugal have also seen daily hits from readers. Each viewer reads an average of at least two pages of Sonic Labyrinth per visit.

            Dr. Johnson is known for his energetic way of teaching and his thoughtful insights in music at UB. Writing music reviews for the newspapers including The Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, and Stamford Advocate are another part time job for him when he isn’t teaching. He is the founder of the First Year Seminar (FYS) program which was created in 2003. Johnson feels very positive about his blog since networking and the internet are big concepts in the media world today and strongly suggests people who are interested in writing should create a blog in order to become noticed by possible employers down the line.

            “I like the combination of story and analysis that he (Dr. Johnson) has on the blog,” Senior Lecturer of the English Department Eric Lehman said. “It’s an education in itself to read his blog every day.”

Website for Dr. Johnson's Blog: soniclabyrinth.blogspot.com

New Feature: Small Town Feel with Big City Dreams

Small town feel with big city dreams

BY: CHRIS HOGAN

            Growing up in a small town of 1,664 in Raymond, MS, University of Bridgeport student Colton Young always had a deep interest in writing. His journey has led him close to where he hopes someday to see himself being, a fashion journalist in the Big Apple.

            Now in his first semester at UB, Young, a transfer from Tougaloo College, has gone through some eye-opening events uncommon to his experiences in MS, where he spent the first 20 years of his life.

            “Coming from Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. and now seeing that state of Connecticut has been a true experience for me,” Young said. “People here have more money and their way of living is a lot different than what I am used too.”

            The son of a retired truck driver for over 30 years and a former catalog model, Young, a journalism major has ambitions to become a fashion journalist for either Vogue, People or Instyle magazines. Fashion didn’t really become an interest until his peers suggested it.

            “In the tenth grade, some of my classmates approached me and asked if I would ever consider being a model,” Young said. “I looked into it and it struck me that I have an interest in fashion journalism.”

            Some of his other interests include listening to hip hop and R& B. His favorite artists consist of Lady Gaga, Brandy, Ne-Yo and especially Rihanna. He is fond of big fan of her style, tattoos and creativity. Soul food is his favorite food, particularly fried chicken.

            One of his biggest accomplishments while attending Raymond High School and Tougaloo College was being named to the academic honors program known as the BETA club. Young also ran track and cross country for his high school, which he said made him into a better person.

            “When I was younger, I wasn’t in great shape and running helped me feel accomplished in life,” Young said. “Now I feel like I can achieve anything in my life.”

            On the job front, Young worked for Charlotte Russe, a clothing store in his hometown, as a sales associate. While at Tougaloo, he was a staff writer and assistant editor for his college’s newspaper, The Harambee. While there, Young covered many events on campus and contributed to the school’s online website and blog as well.

            Young feels like his personality helps him connect with people.

            “I believe I have a Type A or B personality, meaning I like to be creative but logical at the same time.” Young said.

            After he graduates from college in the spring of 2013, Young hopes to attend CUNY- Fashion Graduate School of Journalism in Manhattan. He expects to maintain a 4.0 grade average for every semester he attends at UB while being in the honors program and wants to become a staff writer on The UB Scribe newspaper. Five years from now, he sees himself living in NYC and writing for some of his favorite fashion magazines.

            “If I am able to get a job in a big city like New York, it will be a big accomplishment for me.” Young summed up.

Scribe article: Will UB extend school?

Will UB be extending school due to recent weather?

BY: CHRIS HOGAN

Managing News Editor

            Since the spring 2011 semester started, there has been a lot of confusion and stress among the University’s students and faculty. On three different occasions, UB has either delayed or closed the due to the inclement weather and has affected classes and activities around campus.

            So the question remands: What is UB going to with the days that were affected by the snow? Associate Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Hans van der Giessen stated the following via email regarding the university’s resolution about the matter.

            “No decision has been made, but it is on the University Senate’s agenda next week,” van der Giessen stated. 

            There is a process that goes into the decision making about whether to cancel or delay the start of the school day due to any circumstances there may be. George Estrada, the Vice President of Facilities is the person that takes a lot of responsibility in the process in deciding whether to postpone or rescind the school day. He mentions that protection of the community is the first factor that goes into the conclusion they make.

            “The challenges that we faced on a campus are primarily pedestrian safety,” Estrada said. “When we delay or cancel school it is all based on us being comfortable that students can come on campus or come out of their residential buildings and walk safely to go where they need to for classes.”

 Estrada mentions around 4:00- 5:00 AM that morning he first communicates with the security office to find out the safety of the nearby roads and parking lots. Then the security office talk with all of the building monitors who reports on the conditions to get in and out of the building. Afterwards, he talks with the buildings and grounds department by 5 AM and determines with them how long it will take for the campus to do fully safe for everyone. Once an assumption is made, Estrada then reports his findings to Provost van der Giessen, who makes the final verdict based on a safety perspective and the academic impact.

“We really base everything on how long it will take our maintenance department to have the campus safe for people to arrive,” Estrada said. “We prefer just to try to do a delay because when we do a cancelation, it is a major disruption to many classes.”

Commuters are also impacted by the delays including Senior Erin Lynch, who commutes from the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, feels that there is an inconvenience with the lack of preparation in safety and communication.

“The commute on average is about 10 minutes from my house and the struggle with this weather is the lack of the city sanding and blowing the roads,” Lynch said. “I wish the school took the commuters into a better consideration when delaying class.”

Estrada acknowledges that nothing new was learned from the process but knows that everyone should be praised for a strong commitment during these tough times.

           “What we really learned is not anything new from it but what we have is just a new appreciation for being prepared by having contractors and university staff closely coordinated and prepared for to react,” Estrada said. “I would like to thank the students for their patience because we try to convey the information as early and concise as we can.” 

UB Campus Worker feature: Corey Baker

The experience that changed it all

BY: Chris Hogan

            Growing up in the small seaport town of Mystic, Connecticut, known for its quintessential New England charm and the world’s largest maritime museum, Corey Baker didn’t expect to be working in the restaurant and food industry as his life’s pursuit. Now in his second year as the Marina dining hall room supervisor at the University of Bridgeport, he is doing something he loves to do and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“[The best part of my job is] My interaction with the students without a doubt,” Baker said. “To be in my position, You have to love kids first of all, and I have a good rapport with most of the students that come here.”

Baker’s responsibilities include, first and foremost, taking care of the students and making sure they get fed. He also assists in food selection every week, planning themed meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and maintaining overall cleanliness of the facility.

His journey for where he is today is an interesting path in a nutshell. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI in 1985, Baker moved to New Haven and over the next five years, either managed or owned three restaurants specifically, me managed Brussel’s and Gentry’s before eventually owning Snoozie’s Italian restaurant.

“During that time period, it was some of best money I had ever made in my lifetime,” Baker said. “The area was very lively and business was good every night.”

 From 2002, through January 2009, he worked for a private sector as a district manager of Brew Bakers, a company out of Middletown. He saw reasonable for 10 stores in the area.  It was the perfect situation for him as he was making close to $ 95,000 per year, driving a company car and working the ideal 9-5 hours with weekends off. But that all changed in early Jan. 2009 when the company decided to eliminate two of the four district managers due to the recession, and Baker was the first to go. That didn’t stop him from being persistent in finding a new job.

 “I left Brew Bakers, knowing I had two degrees in culinary and business management,” Baker said, “Being the cocky person I am, I knew I could find a job easily. But nine months later, I was still looking; I called some of my connections at Sodexo in Bridgeport and Fairfield. The UB Sodexo director said come in and we will start you tomorrow.”    

Baker says that when he looks back at his experience today, he says he would not want to change anything. His short and future goal while working as dining room supervisor is to see more students come in next year and see the place grow.

Sodexo head chef Leo Nunez, who has known Baker for the past 19 years, feel Baker is in the right place at the right time.

“He gives good examples to the co-workers and shows them how he works and that makes him a good leader in the kitchen,” Nunez said. “He cares a lot about his job, sometimes too much, and I like to tell him to relax and you have a life too.”

My feature on the emergence of Twitter

The ever growing use of Twitter

By: Chris Hogan

            Ten years ago, people relied on things like email, AOL Instant Messenger and writing letters in order to communicate with people. Fast forward ten years later, social media has become a main stream ticket for everyone in today’s ever changing world.

            One of these social media trends that has an impact on the world is Twitter, which launched in the summer of 2006. The interactive site allows users to sign up for a free account, “tweet” what is going on in their lives and follow friends or celebrities.

            The use of Twitter has expanded dramatically because it now allows us to get breaking news quicker than before from companies like CNN, ABC and the New York Times. These publications tweet important information to us. Users can “retweet” for followers to see, creating a viral effect.

            Smart phones like the Blackberry, IPhone and Android now feature twitter apps for the phones so that customers can use twitter on the run. Most popular journalists use it as well to break news. College students rely on the twitter apps to contact other students about assignments, their locations and or just about anything. It provides another alternative to texting.

             Twitter is invaluable for searches. For example, people who are unemployed can type in key words in the search box to and what kind of job interests them and what potential employers offer As a result, more and job postings are being put up. People are also using twitter to search for different kind of news that appeals to them.

            UB student Josh Ryan, who is a regular user of twitter daily, feels it has a lot to offer and wonders about the future ability of it.

“Twitter in my opinion right now is easily the best way to get news as quickly as possible, whether that’s good, remains to be seen,” Ryan said.

            The downside of Twitter is that only top line information goes out. As a result, people are beginning to avoid longer news formats, which may hurt the news services financially.  Another negative aspect to twitter is that information put on the site maybe false because of its quick broadcast.

 Twitter is poised to grow as a social media site serving people wanting to receive information faster. How it evolves will be something to watch.