Scott Bush

The final day of our trip arrived, bringing with it a nasty sore throat. “It’s just the thin, dry air,” I was told Saturday evening by a few folks. Well, I’m here to tell you it wasn’t. Saturday night was terrible and sleepless, and Sunday was difficult, both to be excited for the students (see below) and to have the energy to pack up and travel home.

Write-off awards

Enough of the negative and on to the positive! We attended the student write-off award ceremony Sunday morning. After the usual housekeeping notes (including plugs for the upcoming conventions in Philadelphia and Anaheim), it was time for the awards!

Having been there myself, I know the stress of waiting for the category in which you competed come up and the nail-biting anticipation as each name in the honorable mention category is called. It’s a relief to receive an HM, as much for the award as for not suffering through the sparsely-populated Excellent and Superior categories. To the Hawkeye’s credit, everyone on staff cheers just as loudly for their peers who receive HMs as they do the others. What’s cooler is how the Hawkeye, the Apple Leaf, the Jag Wire, the Academy Times, and every other Washington state newspaper and yearbook are cheered so loudly by each group. Washington state is well represented in ballrooms across the country at these conventions.

I was so excited that a number of our students received awards, including both an Excellent and a Superior! I had met with both of these winners prior to the competition (having judged and competed in many categories myself) and could tell they would do well. Congratulations to both of them, and to the three HM winners from the Hawkeye. All told, there were 1,479 write-off contestants, resulting in 577 awards: 101 Superiors (17%), 196 Excellents (34%), and 280 HMs (49%). A full list of write-off winners are available at the JEA web site.

One more note: commentary writing, which I judged, resulted in far more awards than I remembered. We gave three Superiors and six Excellents, along with 15 HMs.

Getting home

After a round of hugs and photos, we found some lunch (Jamba Juice helped my throat a bit) before boarding the bus to the airport. Our flight was (as always these days) over-full, so chaperon Mark Isakson opted for a free round-trip ticket in exchange for taking the next flight home. Lucky him, because our flight was delayed twice on the tarmac: not fun when you’re sick and the temperature in the plan was probably 80 degrees. But we made it hope safely, bringing to a close the 2007 Spring journalism convention. See you in Philadelphia in November!

Day three… tired today, but there was an early session I wanted to see: “Dueling InDesign Divas,” which was only half as annoying as the name made it out to be. There were a few good techniques presented, though they were more applicable to yearbook or magazine design than newspaper. Later, I sat through what was supposed to be a digital workflow session that turned out to be some guy talking about how he backs up his digital camera’s CF cards onto CD before he edits them. Not too exciting, but as I was with a student who chose to sit up front, I couldn’t leave. Oh well. At least I’d had some free hospitality (i.e., coffee, fruit, and a muffin) from the advisor hospitality room so I didn’t have to pay Starbucks today.

Podcast station
Vince and one of his students set up a podcast station in a high-traffic area of the hotel to record students’ and advisors’ stories about first amendment issues in their schools for the JEA ThinkFirst podcast series. It was cool and really got some attention, though they didn’t get as many interviews as they’d hoped they would.

Lunch with Mark
My friend Mark Wong and his girlfriend Julie took me to lunch today. We ate at Maggelino’s, a very nice Italian place. I’m not sure what I enjoyed most: the excellent food, cacthing up with Mark and meeting Julie, or just being in a place without high school students everywhere I looked. Probably it was all three that made it so enjoyable.

The envelope please…
The first of the two awards ceremonies was held Saturday, where Pacemaker Award and Best-of-Show winners are announced. (The Pacemaker award is the scholastic journalism equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize: a “very big deal,” as the presenter reminded the audience.)
The Hawkeye usually places in the top ten at national conventions. That’s not a conceit, it’s the truth. Vince’s program produces excellent results and that effort is often rewarded at these award ceremonies. However, the competition in the category “Newspapers publishing 17 or more pages” must have been rigorous because the Hawkeye did not place. Or, as I told the students afterward, “they probably placed 11th, but they have to draw the line somewhere.” There were some long faces, but Vince reminded them that they don’t write, edit, design, and sell to win awards; they do it to be the voice of the students and the community. And that, he said, they do exceedingly well.
Besides, they took comfort in the knowledge that they received the First Amendment Press Freedom Award at Thursday evening’s keynote.

Seeing Denver… finally
Following the ceremony, we finally had the opportunity see a bit of the city. Most of us (a few remained in the hotel to swim) visited the nearby state capitol, the US Mint, and a nice cathedral. Considering it had been snowing the day before, the sunny weather and warm temperatures seemed out of place but we weren’t complaining.
Later, we split up for dinner. Some went to Maggelino’s while others—myself included—ate at the Lucky Strike Bowling alley, which is way hip. Good food that was resonably priced, pool tables, big screen TVs showing all manner of sports, and of course a few lanes. A quick tour of the shops in the Denver Pavillion mall rounded out the night.

We’re packing up tonight in anticipation of a quick check-out in the morning before the final awards ceremony. It’s there that the students receive recognition for their efforts in Friday’s write-offs. Then we’ll be headed home. Denver’s been great, but I’ll be glad to be home to my regular routine, the thick, thick air of sea level, and of course my lovely wife!

Our second day in Denver was about as packed as a day can be: it began with 8am sessions and ended with a 12:30 room check. Here’s a breakdown:

Sessions
As per usual, there were a number of students who needed some gentle prodding to actually attend the sessions. I, being a powerful chaperon, can chose to go to sessions when I want (and sometimes I don’t; I’d rather veg for an hour in the hotel room). But I did manage to make it to Vince DeMiero’s “Podcasts and More.” It is an entry-level, novice introduction to the concept of podcasting and why journalists should care. I had to split a bit early to meet with two Hawkeye students who were competing in write-offs for the first time and wanted some pointers.

Judging
I expected, as at most previous conventions, that I would judge newspaper (or newsmagazine) layout. When I approached the judging coordinator about doing so again, she said “Nope: we need commentary or review writing judges; take your pick.” Not wanting to miss out on the free meal that night, I chose commentary writing.
Here’s how the write-off process works: students in news writing, editorial cartooning, editorial writing, broadcast news writing, and commentary categories show up in a big ballroom for a (somewhat) mock press conference. After a thirty-minute presentation and brief question-and-answer session, the students write. Later that night, local media professionals and the JEA/NSPA folks read, comment on, and partition entries into groups: no award, honorable mention, excellent, and the coveted superior.
Commentary writing, in a nutshell, is this: chose a side of the argument and express that opinion with strong voice. Sadly, none but a small handful of the 82 entries (the largest category) understood this. Suffice it to say, I—and my six fellow judges—had an arduous time slogging through the entries. But we did manage to have some fun, so it wasn’t all bad. And, most importantly, we gave positive constructive criticism to about 76 students who really needed it ;-)

Crashing
Ususally after the judging, I’ll attend the JEA/NSPA silent auction and reception with Vince. But, as it was so late when we finished (11pm) that I’d missed just about everything on the block and I couldn’t eat another sugary thing. So I just returned to the hotel, checked that all the students were in their rooms at curfew (some needed a bit of tracking down) and crashed for the night.

Despite the very busy day, I did manage to capture this image of a giant blue bear attacking the convention center (it was Friday the 13th after all):

We’re here and we’re a mile high! (No, that’s a not a drug reference.) I’m in Denver with the staff of the MTHS Hawkeye attending the JEA/NSPA student journalism convention. As always, it’s an amazing experience. This is my twentieth-something convention, both as a student and as a chaperon. For the record, this group comprises 14 students, one advisor, and three chaperons.

Thursday began with a slow ride on a school bus to SeaTac airport. When I say slow, I mean about 40 miles an hour on the freeway in first gear. Lois, our driver, confessed that she was new. She apparently had the training where she learned to switch gears. But, I digress.

We’re at the beautiful downtown Denver Hyatt, which is brand new and one of the nicest hotels we’ve stayed in. It also the official convention hotel, a first for the Hawkeye. So there’s no long walks or bus rides during which the students can be accosted by homeless people. That’s good, but really reduces how much work I have to do.

The keynote address last evening was given by Jim Sheeler and was without a doubt the most moving keynote I’ve ever attended. Mr. Sheeler’s a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist whose “beat” is obituaries. He tells the stories of the people’s lives in a honest, moving way unlike anything I’ve heard. While reading from his work he got so emotional he had to stop. That, he told the crowd of 2,000 silent, rapt students, is what allows him to interview grieving families: he really cares. The silence was broken only by soft sobs and sniffs from students who were so affected by these moving, true stories of fallen soldiers in Iraq and everyday people in Colorado.

A quick stop at Taco Bell (see below) and a brief meeting in our room rounded out the night. I’ll try and post about Friday later. It’s going to be a busy night for me and advisor Vince DeMiero. We’re judging student write-off competitions, which usually runs late into the evening. Also looking forward to Saturday morning when I’ll be having lunch with my good friend Mark Wong and his girlfriend. I’ve not seen Mark since Crystal and visited Loveland, CO in May 2005.

Craziest Sign - To all my Catholic friends, check this photo out (disregard the fact that Lent is over; this Taco Bell didn’t have any sauce packets left so removing outdated signs can’t be high on the list):

iTunes is downloading, as I write, the latest album from VNV Nation. This is an event on the order of importance of a new album by Sting, another artist who I follow closely. If you’re not familiar with VNV Nation—and you’re most likely not—you should immediately buy a copy of Matter + Form or Empires, two of the best albums I’ve heard in a very long time. If you’re on iTunes and just want a taste, the song that really exemplifies VNV Nation is Arena off Matter + Form. How Ronan Harris, the two-person band’s frontman, can craft a song so meaningful and excellently listenable I just don’t understand… but I don’t have to. It just is.

Judgement is the duo’s first release in two years, and the first release since I’ve known about them, so I’m quite excited to listen to it. I’ve been waiting four months now for it to come out. If you like Arena let me know and I’ll be glad to create a playlist for you of their best tracks… just be aware that it’ll be a long playlist.

Speaking of playlists, here’s the tracklist from Judgement:

1. Prelude
2. The Farthest Star
3. Testament
4. Descent
5. Momentum
6. Nemesis
7. Secluded Spaces
8. Illusion
9. Carry You
10. As It Fades

UPDATE: I’ve listened the album twice through now and my initial response is hot and cold. Absolutely beautiful tracks: Prelude (all synth, non-vocal mood-setting track), The Farthest Star (an uptempo anthem reminiscent of Arena), Secluded Spaces (another slow piece that inspires by its vastness; its vocals begin halfway through, but are so mellow as to be almost unintelligible), and Illusion (a soulful, lyricly mature track with just enough edge to remind you it’s VNV Nation). Less-than-wonderful tracks: there’s only one song I doubt I’ll listen to often: Testament (a nearly spoken-word song about devils and angels). Some of the others, such as Nemesis and Momentum, seem upon first listening less melodic than the rest and therefor not really my style. Repeated listenings may change my mind, however.

One of the coolest things about the band is their name: Victory Not Vengence. Succinct and it speaks volumes.

Last Thursday I participated in a usability study for a local, well-known software developer. I’d tell you, but they asked me not to in an NDA. While I don’t mind talking a bit about something to my wife, posting about it on my blog is a much more egregious violation. So forgive my allusions to these companies and products.

The test was well-done, I felt. While studying technical communication in college, I often participated in usability tests and even designed one so I feel somewhat knowledgeable about the process. I’d been screened on the phone so I knew the test would revolve around the Macintosh and media. Needless to say I was pumped.

What I found interesting about the physical setup was the division of the test between two “rooms” in my “house,” an office and a living room. I was directed to go between the rooms as I would normally while completing the tasks. The tasks themselves were nothing amazing; in fact, they were rather easy. But if they help this big software company provide better media products for folks, I’m all for it.