Introduction Journal Post

Hello. My name is Devin Whatley. I am a fourth-year journalism major at San Diego State University. My future career goals are to become a sports reporter/writer for a news company. Currently, I work three jobs along with being a full-time college student. I work for The Daily Aztec as the Arts & Culture Editor. Also, I am a News Assistant for KPBS and a Story Producer for NBC 7 San Diego.

The purpose of this journal is to discuss the material and ideas in JMS 550. It also allows me to reflect on the progress of my final project and how the entire process of it comes together. The first goal for me in this class is to be able to develop a more versatile skill set as a journalist. Being that photography, audio and video editing and story writing are going to be utilized throughout this course, I am looking forward to being able to grow my repertoire. I feel like the more versatile you are as a journalist, the more appealing you are for employers when looking for new jobs.

My second goal in JMS 550 is to get better at creating videos. With my NBC 7 job, I have to edit video for my entire eight-hour shift, but I’ve always wanted to create my own content and write, shoot and edit my own videos. The Daily Aztec has given me the chance to do that, but this class will also provide me with outside experience with it too.

Lastly, my third goal in this course is to improve my ability to create powerful, meaning and large-scale stories that I can add to my resume. When I read the syllabus and realized that I would be writing and editing a final project as part of my capstone class, I felt pretty excited. I believe this project can allow me to expand my creative ideas and thought process as a journalist. I want to make this project tell a meaningful story.