Kevin's blog
10/15/2023
​
1. Why And So What?
Real Change began to publish because they wanted a way to voice and cover issues that were impacting the local community. Another reason was to offer a low-barrier work and immediate work opportunity for anyone who needs it. Some changes that Real Change has experienced over the years are that in 2013, the paper prices increased from one dollar to two dollars as well as Real Change becoming a weekly paper instead of producing every other week. As of the beginning of 2019, vendors are able to take payment by Venmo. People work at this newspaper because they want to have a platform to voice change and promote policies to make Seattle a better place for everyone. People would want to work at a newspaper such as Real Change rather than other types of media outlets because of its vendor program and also as a way to independently write about what they want to advocate for. If Real Change did not exist then many job opportunities would be lost and the community would not be able to be informed about occurring social issues. Real Change exists to offer immediate employment for poor and homeless adults and be a voice for low-income people.
​
2. Group Work
One thing I would like to see in our group is to have efficient communication outside of the classroom. This could be communicating with each other through a group chat or by our school email. Along with this, I would like our group members to communicate as soon as possible when they are not able to finish their work so that the other group members can have time to assist. A time when group work went really well was during our class meeting on October 11. As a group, we were able to contribute equally as well as efficiently complete the assignment.
10/22/2023
​
1. The board of directors at Real Change consists of President Felicia Salcedo, Vice President Matthew Hayashi, and Treasurer Breanne Schuster as well as five other members. Felicia Salcedo was raised in the Pacific Northwest and has been a longtime patron of Real Change News. Salcedo is the Founding Director of the King County Partners Group and We Are In, which focuses on solutions to homelessness and racial equability. She has previously worked for Public Health-Seattle & King County, which supports overdose prevention and solutions to substance use. Matthew Hayashi is the current principal organizational development and leadership consultant for Headwater People. Their work consists of offering consulting services to local organizations to produce a more equitable future. Breanne Schuster grew up in Wisconsin and moved to Seattle in 2012. She is currently an attorney at the Juvenile Law Center.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Real Change News; https://www.realchangenews.org/
​
2. Questions for Real Change
​
The board of directors consists of vendors and program directors. What is typically discussed at a meeting and how do new plans and projects arise? There are strategic plan outlines on the Real Change website. These plans span across three years and list goals and objectives. How does Real Change work to achieve these goals and what happens if these goals are not accomplished by the deadline?
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Real Change News; https://www.realchangenews.org/
10/29/2023
​
The Newsroom
​
1. A newsroom is a television or newspaper station where news is collected and prepared for broadcasting or publishing. It is a place where reporters, editors, and producers come together and work on publishing a newspaper or broadcast television. A newsroom could look like an office or a small dedicated area. A newsroom would be pretty loud as people are on the phone and yelling at each other. A newsroom is like a well-oiled machine where news is collected and published by the staff working on it.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Simon Newman, Reuters Institute, 2019, https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/if-your-newsroom-not-diverse-you-will-get-news-wrongLinks to an external site.
​
​
Journalism As A Service
​
2. One way that journalists define journalism is that they often refer to it as a service. According to Barbie Zelizer, journalism as a service is referred to when it is used in the public interest and conjunction with the needs of the citizens. Journalism is used to both service the profession and the community. This definition of journalism connects with the news organization Real Change. Real Change’s mission is to provide opportunity and a voice to low-income individuals while taking action for economic and social change. Journalism as a service connects with Real Change because, as a news organization, they are using journalism as a way to help the community.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Camilla Walter, Real Change News, 2021, https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2021/02/17/it-s-vendor-week-2021Links to an external site.
​
​
​
11/05/2023
​
Journalism in Democracy
​
The role of journalism in democracy is to inform citizens about legislation and the government. The media is an intermediary between the government and the people, which helps people stay informed and involved in politics and society. Journalism helps citizens make informed decisions about policies that impact their lives and society. Another essential role of journalism is to keep people in power responsible for their actions and interests. This includes uncovering corruption and challenging misinformation from politicians.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Golden Cosmos, The New Yorker, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-future-of-democracy/how-can-the-press-best-serve-democracyLinks to an external site.
​
​
​
Civic Engagement
​
Civic engagement involves people addressing issues regarding the public or the community. This can entail volunteering in the community, voting, or using social media to take a stance on specific issues. A strategy that one could use is to create a blog and use it as a space to promote nonprofit organizations in the community. The blog could outline the organizations and have links to access and support these organizations. Since internet use is more widespread, an online blog would help promote civic engagement with the community, and it allows others to be involved and engaged as well.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Brittany Keegan, PA TIMES, 2023, https://patimes.org/promoting-civic-engagement-through-public-policy-polling/Links to an external site.
​
​
11/19/2023
​
The News
​
In “Hundreds of activists delay U.S military ship allegedly bound for Israel” by Guy Oron, the news article is constructed in a news narrative structure based on chapter 10 of News Reporting and Writing. The news articles focus on the protestors blocking a cargo ship transporting weapons to Israel. The news article starts off with a traditional news lead and then tells the story in chronological order. The news article relies on press releases as well as the organizers of the protest as their sources of information. Chapter 3 of the Missouri Group’s News Reporting and Writing discusses the importance of having multiple sources. In this article, the author interviews Alon Lapid, one of the organizers of the “Block the Boat” protest, regarding the logistics and purpose of the protest. The article also uses a press release from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center covering loading the vessel at the Port of Tacoma.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Guy Oron, Real Change News, 2023, https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2023/11/16/hundreds-activists-delay-us-military-ship-allegedly-bound-israel
​
​
​
Internships
​
In Dawn McKay’s article, “ 5 Reasons You Should Do an Internship,” McKay highlights that an internship allows one to build connections with people in the field. It also allows one to experience the field before committing to it as a career. Real Change offers a variety of volunteer and internship opportunities. The ideal internship with this news organization would be advocacy work and leadership opportunities for the vendor program at Real Change. Another ideal aspect of the internship would be to work in the newsroom and experience how news stories are written.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Cat Huber, Real Change News, 2023, https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2023/04/26/give-even-bigger-real-change-givebig
​
11/26/2023
​
Journalism Ethics
​
1. Never fabricate or plagiarize
2. Never pay for a story and never accept a bribe
3. Always correct an error openly
4. Always protect their sources from the authorities
5. Always respect privileged information
6. Always hold accuracy sacrosanct
7. Never alter a still or moving image beyond the requirements of normal image enhancement
8. Always reveal a conflict of interest to a manager
9. Always strive for balance and freedom from bias
10. Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story
The top two most important choices of the list of “10 Absolutes” are never fabricating or plagiarize and to never pay for a story and never accept a bribe. Never fabricate or plagiarize is number one because it is inauthentic and a copy of someone else’s work. Plagiarism and fabrication of a journalistic piece can ruin the reputation and trust between the journalist and the audience. The second most important choice is to never pay for a story and never accept a bribe. This choice connects with the first choice in that it shows the journalist's inauthenticity and lack of integrity. The role of a journalist is to gather information and honestly present the news. The bottom two choices are to always strive for balance and freedom from bias and to always guard against putting their opinion in a news story. These two options are at the bottom because sometimes, balance is impossible when writing a piece. There is also going to be some bias in any news story.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Wendy Collinson, ethical journalism network, 2016, https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/ethics-in-the-news-introduction
​
​
Pitching a News Story
​
These are three tips for pitching news stories to Real Change. The first tip is pitching ideas related to Real Change’s message and audience. Real Change’s stories focus on promoting change in the local community and using their stories as advocacy for minority communities. The second tip is to research current social issues in Seattle and see if a news story can be written about it. The third tip is to include in the pitch how the story is going to be executed as well as the significance of the story.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Jacob Lund/iStock, University of California, 2020, https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/how-successfully-pitch-your-ideas
​
​
​
​
​
​
12/03/2023
​
Revision Tips
​
Revision is an essential process for writers before they publish their work. One of the biggest tips is to reread and double-check your writing for mistakes and grammatical errors. When posting any writing, you must allow plenty of time to catch any errors. Another tip is to check if your blog has consistent formatting and design. Ensure the writing and formatting are consistent throughout the blog to make it more streamlined. These are some of the tips I have used in this class.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Maica/Getty Images, ThoughtCo, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/an-essay-revision-checklist-1690528
​
​
The end
​
Dear readers,
This will be my last post and the end of a beautiful journey. Working on this blog, we have learned many key aspects of journalism’s culture, ethics, history, and practice, as well as examined journalism from Real Change. It was a great time working on this blog along with my fellow group members. The next chapter brings much more learning and exploration. I will carry what I have learned from this class and use it to make great strides towards the future.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Image Credit: Renee Hanlon, Parade, 2023, https://parade.com/living/goodbye-quotes
