This is the last post of my blog before I give the presentation to the Independent Study Board.
The post before hand truly reflects all of my feelings towards this year and so far my skills have excelled. I made my first Indesign page in the September print edition of the Courant and it was very successful. The team has been working to motivate participating from the school which has been working out well.
My last column and article were in the September 3rd edition of the New Canaan News. Here are some edits that I noticed on the article:
Headline Title changed to "Dog Days: A fun-filled summer day for dogs in New Canaan"
A new paragraph was started after " ... competition with her 'baby,' Rosie." with "Although"
Spelling of dockson to dachshund
I had 5 photos in the paper as well.
1). A girl in the family resemblance competition
2). Man kissing dog
3). Husband and wife with the little puppy
4). Girl who had her face painted
5). Puppy in a pool
All of them were clear and colorful.
I don't believe that I mentioned this before at any point, but I received a complaint from a New Canaan Resident about my lifeguarding column. You see, my Dad has a slag term for a jerk which is 'Buttafuco' which some woman thought was a slag term for Italians. She expected me to write an apology to the whole Italian community of New Canaan. My EIC told her that it is my column and that I can write whatever I want and also that she was not offended by the comment for she is an Italian as well, and because I explained what the word meant that I really meant no harm. She also said that I am an intern and that I am 17 and didn't mean for it to be offensive. The woman insisted on me writing an apology - but it's freedom of speech.
Ashley forwarded me the email. She wrote:
It's official - you're a journalist! You received your first complaint!
I just thought it meant the person was arrogant. I described it in the column as someone "who is from the Jersey Shore"
Later when I actually talked to my Dad and Step Mom about it I found out this:
The word describes Joey Buttafuco - the guy who's mistress was Amy Fisher, yeah Amy shot Joey's wife. He would take her on his cigarette boat and speed around Long Island. That has nothing to do with Italian heritage.
At the moment, I am debating whether or not to write a letter to the editor telling her how silly she is for writing that note to my EIC when really it had nothing to do with her anyway.
Overall, I've talked to a lot of people about my column this summer - a ton of people liked it. When I was lifeguarding, one of our favorite attendee's father asked me if I was Sara and then proceeded to tell me that he liked my column about lifeguarding. I was so embarrassed, but it was really cool. He told me that a lot of people read it. Many of my friend's parents have also told me that they liked the column as well.
I was invited back next year to intern and if I can't do that full time I was invited to be a freelance writer. Also, I might do a column for them during the school year once I figure out my schedule. Honestly, I miss it a lot and loved working for them. As a whole, it was a great experience and made me realize how much I really do love writing and meeting new people. Also, I don't mind office life - in the long run I'll be okay!
It is the end of a summer -- Summer in the City, Summer in New Canaan.
Time to work on being a leader.
Thank you for following, this is my last report.
Out of the news room - this is Sara McCloskey officially signing off.
(Totally tally of hours including 6 hours for Dog Days, 3 hours for poster and working on presentation, 1 hours for writing this post: 72 hours interning for my independent study. )
