“No better time to be a journalist than today.” Those were the words of Lewis Dvorkin, chief product officer for Forbes Magazine during a presentation at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at Ole Miss last Thursday.
Dvorkin inspired the students and many of us journalists with his passion for 21st Century journalism during the Digital Media Conference I was happy to attend at the invitation of Dr. Will Norton, Dean of the Meek School of Journalism.
“How could you not be excited about all the opportunities in the world today,” Dvorkin told me following his presentation.
Joel McNeece
I couldn’t agree more. Whether in print, online, via Instagram, Vine, and/or Twitter, I’m doing things today for the Calhoun County Journal my mentor Dr. Art Kaul at Southern Miss could never have envisioned.
I’ve always said the best part of my job is the feature stories I get to write on a weekly basis. This week’s feature came easy as I’ve known and admired the artistic abilities of Amanda Gulledge, Calhoun County’s Teacher of the Year, since first calling Calhoun County home. Her mother Tink was one of my wife Lisa’s good friends in school.
But just 10 years ago, there was no Instagram. Now, every where I go, I’m routinely honored by requests from kids to put their picture on The Journal’s Instagram account.
It’s become routine when I’m making a picture for me to snap a second with my phone. I snapped one at the Calhoun County Softball Tournament recently when one of the excited players exclaimed, “We’re going to be on The Journal’s Twitter!” I’m still adjusting to that.
I was a late comer to Vine, a 6-second video service you will see frequently if you follow The Journal (@CalhCoJournal) on Twitter, but have come to appreciate it. I was amazed at the attention a recent Vine of Vardaman Ram Kemp Edmondson giving teammate J.C. Hare a fake “body bump” received.
Just for clarification, a “body bump” is when two people leap into the air bumping into each other. In sports, it has replaced the high five for reasons I don’t understand, but then I grew up wearing bell bottom pants, so who am I to criticize the latest fads.
The Journal’s Twitter account is approaching 3,000 followers and draws a whole new demographic of readers and followers to the services we offer at the CCJ.
The Journal’s website – calhouncountyjournal.com – allows me to do do a lot of things that we simply don’t have room for in the newspaper and continues to grow in audience on a weekly basis.
The weekly print edition continues and will always be the most cherished aspect of The Journal, not just for us that put in so much time every week reporting, photographing and sharing Calhoun County’s stories, but to our thousands of readers who love holding the paper in their hand, going back to it multiple times a week, sharing it with friends and family, clipping out recipes, weddings, pictures of kids, and the advertisement they want to follow up on.
Dvorkin was right, there’s never been a more exciting time as a journalist and lover of newspapers.
Email Joel McNeece at joelmcneece@gmail.com & follow him on Twitter @joelmcneece