Building a better journalist: The summer reading list

I’m a staunch believer in the idea that consuming great work improves the ability to create your own. Just as some of your favorite musicians were inspired by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, it’s up to you to seek work that inspires you in whatever you choose to do. Hell, last year I spent plenty of time hounding reporters and editors at The Torch with copies of The Register-Guard and The Oregonian, urging them to read something that would interest them (and I wasn’t above hurling different sections at people in order to get their attention, either.)

That said, countless books and articles have been recommended to me over the years that I just haven’t had time to dive into. That changes this summer. In fact, I’ve already started the first book in my journalism-centric summer reading list. I’m only two chapters in and There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz already has me spellbound.

I’ve chosen an assortment of books and articles that range from hard features to investigative news in order to get as much out of my list as possible. My hope is to gain a stronger understanding of what makes a good story and what it takes to report on any given matter in an interesting way. Here’s the list, in no particular order:

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust: A few words on the ‘death’ of The Oregon Daily Emerald

The Oregon Daily Emerald is no more.

Take that claim at face value, and it’s technically true. Starting next year, the University of Oregon’s 92-year-old independent student newspaper will cease to publish Monday through Friday. But the outlet itself isn’t dead, not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if anything, it turns into the “24/7 digital news ticker,” as one of my journalism professors put it yesterday.

The newly established Emerald Media Group is entering the realm of digital news in order to maintain the Daily Emerald’s relevance as a journalistic institution. At least that’s what I garnered from the announcement.

As I’m sure the higher-ups in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union anticipated, there were plenty of cries of “WTF?,” “Srsly?,” and other such incredulity from every corner of the web when that video went live. I wasn’t so surprised. Because, as Publisher Ryan Frank explains, the move wasn’t made as a reaction to the doom and gloom facing newspapers across the country or troubles at the paper itself. It’s an attempt to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the distribution of news.

From geodesic domes to the Windy Apple: The Drew Hunt story (sort of)

There aren’t many things I can remember from seventh grade. The big stuff comes in alright, but there are few little moments I can recall at a whim. After all, it’s been 12 years. Can you remember exactly what you were doing on March 25, 2000? Neither can I.

Now, I might not be entirely sure of when we had to create identity books in Mrs. Carnahan’s seventh period Core class at Duniway Middle School, but little bits and pieces of it come back from time to time. And if there’s one element of that assignment that comes in clear as day whenever it’s summoned, it’s the bit about my own personal heroes. Even then I can only remember two of the three that ended up in my final draft. One of them was Spider-Man, the fictional character after whom I’ve modeled most of my adult life. Why do you think I spend so much of my time snapping photos in a leotard?

My other hero was Drew Hunt.