In Thursday's #loweclass, Sharif Durhams spoke in class. Durhams is the social media editor and a breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Like our previous guest Don Walker, Durhams was well informed in the nuances of new media and how it can increase page views and boost readership for the JS.

While Durhams doesn't write for sports for the JS, he was knowledgeable of what specific writers like and don't like to do. He praised former Green Bay Packers writer Tyler Dunne and Milwaukee Brewers reporter Tom Haudricourt for their work on social media and blogs. He even called Haudricourt the sports desk's "best blogger," something he couldn't see a few years ago.

Durhams also discussed some of the databases and interactive maps the JS has to offer. One of the better parts of this segment was the Packers bar map. The JS took the time to find all of the bars that are dedicated to the Packers and where fans can find a bar to watch the game across the country.

One part of his talk I found interesting was his promotion of Facebook. While Durhams acknowledged Twitter is the premiere social media site for breaking news, he noted that Facebook has four times more users than Twitter and readers who want to read feature and enterprise stories should check out Facebook instead of Twtitter.

Overall, Durhams was insightful and in tune with how important it is to manage how breaking news and features should mesh to produce a quality product in both print and online.
 
 
On Wednesday, #loweclass attended a lecture featuring Milwaukee Brewers Assistant General Manager Gord Ash, Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond and Brewers PR Manager John Steinmiller. The lecture was moderated by OnMilwaukee's Jeff Sherman.

One of the first things mentioned by Ash was to "Do what you love, but realize you probably won't be able to do it right away. I thought this was a good barometer of how difficult it is to break through right away in sports. I've always wanted to work in sports and have known how difficult it is to be in the position but you want, so it's good to know not to expect the world when I graduate.

Having these three men in the same room talking about what it takes to make it in sports was a very valuable experience for me. Getting a foot in the door is another important part of getting a job in sports. There are a limited amount of sports reporting internships available, at least for the past few years, but working on the PR side is something I've considered. I like the ability to give my own thoughts in reporting, but being a part of the sports world is important to me nonetheless.

Having a backup plan was another important bit of information the panelists suggested and one I think is crucial to looking for a successful start to your writing career. That's why I took internships with publications that weren't for sports, even though it wasn't my first choice. Having the experience of jobs and resume-builders outside the sports world as well as being the sports editor for the Tribune should benefit me in the long run.Twi
 
Last Thursday, Don Walker spoke in #loweclass and did a fantastic job. Don didn't reveal his age to us, but he seems like he's 30 with the way he presented information and spoke about social media. It is good to see he has embraced the changes in his craft and that should only help him down the road.

As for the weekend, the big story was the beginning of the MLB Playoffs. To be honest, I don't have nearly as much invested in the playoffs this year as I did last year when the Brewers won the division and beat Arizona in the first round before bowing out to St. Louis in the NLCS.

I'm sure I will watch more of the action during the week when the NFL isn't on, but I don't have any interest in any of the teams still playing, except to see the Cardinals lose. I thought Yahoo! Sports did a pretty good job discussing the playoffs and really took interest into some of the blog posts in particular.

Tim Brown wrote about the Oakland A's chances, which are dwindling and its season could be over today against Detroit. The A's weren't expected to make the playoffs, much less win the rugged AL West. The A's are a great story and Brown does a nice job diagramming their season. I'd compare Brown to ESPN's Jayson Stark in regards to using statistics to back up his statements. Well done.
 
Being from the area, I've had the privilege to read a lot of Don Walker's work at the Journal Sentinel throughout the years and have always admired his work. I know that he writes more about politics and urban affairs and I have been at political speakers where he has moderated, but his insightful work with sports cannot go unnoticed.

He broke the news of the BMO Harris' acquisition of the naming rights for the Bradley Center. He also tweets about sports, which makes him OK with me.

As for the content of his Business of Sports blog, I can honestly say I've read just about all of his posts because it provides information most people don't see. A lot of sports writing is content people know or can access easily. I believe his post was the first place I saw the infamous Aaron Rodgers "Discount Double Check" ads and he keeps up with new ads that come out like Greg Jennings' Old Spice and Jordy Nelson's Department of Tourism ad (not sure that one will get the fanfare of A-Rod, but I digress).

Mr. Walker's ability to balance political and urban affair coverage with sports is one that I haven't seen much when I look at other newspapers around the country. He speaks during out class tomorrow and I will be interested to see what he thinks the JS and other newspapers have in store for the future.
 
The Online News Association has been the premiere provider of recognition for digital journalism since 2000. Its awards recognize excellence in digital journalism over a variety of platforms from breaking news to online commentary, which I assume means blogs.

As shown in the screenshot I captured above, I really enjoyed the "Painkiller Misuse Numbs NFL Pain," an Outside the Lines article by John Barr, which was a three-part series on the short and long-term effects of NFL players using pain killers. I found it sad, but not surprising that those who used painkillers (52 percent of the 644 players surveyed), 71 percent of them misused pain pills at some point.

Being from a small town, I decided to take a look at the category for smaller publication and found a great spread by pressconnects.com, a Binghamton, N.Y. publication, which won an award for breaking news on a small site, with its coverage of "Massacre on Front Street." I didn't know much about the massacre and knew nothing about the Press & Sun Bulletin, but just looking at the spread the newspaper/online publication produced, it looked to be an extremely tragic day in Binghamton and one worth winning plenty of awards.

I remember where I was during the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings and the Associated Press' coverage forced me to reminisce about that fatal day. At the time, it was the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history. The interactive map gave plenty of details and made me feel like I was in Blacksburg, Va., that day.

Finally, Sept. 11, 2001 will forever live in infamy in the U.S. Everybody who was alive and competent that day will remember where he or she was when they first heard the news of the terrorist attacks in New York and later in Washington, D.C. and rural Pennsylvania. As one would expect, many of the award winners and finalists in 2002 were dedicated to Sept. 11 coverage. I found the New York Times' coverage to be extremely compelling and thorough, as you would expect from the Times. It was certainly a powerful moment for me when I finished reading all of the coverage the writers, photographers, editors and everyone else involved produced that day.

Overall, I found the ONA to be a useful tool for gauging the impact of influential investigative journalism over the past 12 years. It provided links to enterprising pieces that will be forever remembered for a variety of reasons.

    Author

    I am a senior journalism major and political science minor in the Diederich College of Communications at Marquette University in Milwaukee. I work as the sports editor for the Marquette Tribune and interned with the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa the past summer.

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