“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” Although this quote by Bill Shankly, a Scottish soccer player, is in reference to soccer, it still captures what people think of American football. It breeds competition whether you are a player or a fan. For NFL fans Sunday is the best day of the week. For college football fans it is Saturday. Nothing is more exciting than a down to the last second game when your team pulls out the win and it is just as devastating when the field goal kicker misses an easy shot to lose the game.
I myself prefer to watch NFL game (Go Chargers!). And because I have my rugby games on Saturdays I miss many college games. As I am not a Pennsylvania native I like seeing Penn State lose and seeing how devastated their fans are. But what teams I support and don’t support is a different topic.
What I really dislike about football is the Bowl College Series at the collegiate level. It does not make sense. Most other sports use a logical playoff system like NCAA basketball and the NFL. In the BCS the two teams that play in the championship game are based upon rankings at the end of the season. Tournament style playoffs are much more exciting. Rankings or records are utilized to determine the initial matchups and then the winners move on.
With the BCS there is not as much excitement. There are more upsets with tournament style playoffs like in NCAA basketball for example. It is extremely exciting when an unranked team upsets a higher ranked team. This style of playoffs also allows more teams to reach the playoffs. In NCAA basketball 65 teams reach playoffs so every conference gets a bid. A play-in game brings the field to an even 64 teams. Every year there is always at least one upset. There are overtime games and games that come down to the buzzer. There are incredible shots, like ones made from half court.
The NFL also has tournament style playoffs. There are two divisions with four conferences in each: the NFC North, South, East and West, and the AFC North, South, East and West. With this as well there is more than one playoff game. Playoffs are much more exciting when there is more than one game to be played.
There is more competition with tournament style playoffs. It’s so exciting to win a game and know you’re moving on to the next round and it all culminates in the final championship game. I should know. The Shippensburg women’s rugby team is the 2008 and 2009 Division II Women’s National Champions. We work hard in the fall season when we play in our league games. In November we play our first round of playoffs. By winning in November we move on to the next round in the spring. It takes several more rounds to reach the national championship game. It is so exciting and exhilarating to reach the championship game. And when you win, it makes all those hard practices and tough games and endless sprints worth it.
With the BCS, a team works hard to try to make it to the bowl championship game. There are no other playoff games to try and make it to that final game. NCAA teams shouldn’t have an easy way out by only playing one game and then being declared national champions. The NCAA needs to move to a tournament style of play. Simple as that.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Grad School or Bust
As a senior in college I've struggled with the fact that I will be graduating in May and must begin to make big kid decisions. Do I join the workforce? Do I go to graduate school? Should I put grad school off for a year?
After much debate, I have decided that I want to go to grad school and being in the Fall 2010 semester. One decision down...many more to go. Next step: what school do I want to go to? My top two choices are Georgetown and American in Washington DC. I have my eye on these schools for several reasons. One is the curriculum. I was immediately drawn to Georgetown's Master's in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. There are many courses to choose from and many sound very interesting, like the crisis communications course. This would definitely be a useful class.
American has a good reputation as well. My internship advisor from this summer completed his master's degree at American. By talking with him and hearing his opinion of the university I became interested. It is always helpful to hear from someone who has firsthand experience and give both positives and negatives for me to consider.
The DC area also hold another draw for me. Over the summer I met with the Vice President of Corporate Communications and Creative Services of Altegrity, Michael John. He is a very accomplished man, having spent many years in the Navy, some of which were spent in public affairs. He was also a speech writer and has worked with John McCain. He spoke with me about the communications field, grad school, etc. He basically offered me a paid internship if I end up coming to the DC area for grad school. I am extremely interested in this internship because I would have an opportunity to learn more about the communications field. I feel that Michael John would be a fantastic person to learn from. This would also help me get my foot in the door and hopefully lead to a job opportunity at some point (fingers crossed!).
But back to grad school. In October I am taking the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Hopefully that goes well and my scores are fairly good. It is going to be a stressful semester because of studying and taking the GRE as well as trying to come up with a list of schools I want to apply too. And of course the application process will not be easy.
I am trying to remain optimistic about everything and hope that I will get into at least one of my top two schools. Ideally, I would like to know what I am doing before graduation so I can breathe a little sigh of relief.
After much debate, I have decided that I want to go to grad school and being in the Fall 2010 semester. One decision down...many more to go. Next step: what school do I want to go to? My top two choices are Georgetown and American in Washington DC. I have my eye on these schools for several reasons. One is the curriculum. I was immediately drawn to Georgetown's Master's in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. There are many courses to choose from and many sound very interesting, like the crisis communications course. This would definitely be a useful class.
American has a good reputation as well. My internship advisor from this summer completed his master's degree at American. By talking with him and hearing his opinion of the university I became interested. It is always helpful to hear from someone who has firsthand experience and give both positives and negatives for me to consider.
The DC area also hold another draw for me. Over the summer I met with the Vice President of Corporate Communications and Creative Services of Altegrity, Michael John. He is a very accomplished man, having spent many years in the Navy, some of which were spent in public affairs. He was also a speech writer and has worked with John McCain. He spoke with me about the communications field, grad school, etc. He basically offered me a paid internship if I end up coming to the DC area for grad school. I am extremely interested in this internship because I would have an opportunity to learn more about the communications field. I feel that Michael John would be a fantastic person to learn from. This would also help me get my foot in the door and hopefully lead to a job opportunity at some point (fingers crossed!).
But back to grad school. In October I am taking the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Hopefully that goes well and my scores are fairly good. It is going to be a stressful semester because of studying and taking the GRE as well as trying to come up with a list of schools I want to apply too. And of course the application process will not be easy.
I am trying to remain optimistic about everything and hope that I will get into at least one of my top two schools. Ideally, I would like to know what I am doing before graduation so I can breathe a little sigh of relief.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Yesterday's and Today's Journalist
“At its core, the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.”
In 1828, in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, journalism was defined as “the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media.” I think that this statement is, for the most part, true. Journalism encompasses finding and disseminating information. For news stories, interviews are conducted, information is researched. The story is then printed in a newspaper or broadcast over the radio, etc. What we consider media has changed though. In the past media was print journalism. Eventually radio, then television was incorporated. Now, the internet is the fastest and easiest way to obtain news.
What has changed, however, are the number of outlets to distribute news to as well as the speed at which journalism runs at. The internet is probably the biggest factor in these changes. Newspapers are not only in print form but also online. Radio and television are online. Blogs and social media also contribute to more news outlets. The internet also affects how fast news is distributed. Everyone must constantly be monitoring what is being said on the web. Journalism is a 24/7 business. It never rests.
Journalism has become more active as well. As consumers we still want factual and accurate news. We still place trust in various news outlets. We do not want to be misguided or misled. We still hold the media accountable for any misinformation they disseminate. Now, though, the speed at which this is done is sometimes almost immediate. A member of the public may write a blog in response to a piece of incorrect news. Others may link to this blog and so on. The medium that originally reported the news item must then act quickly and correct and respond to it in order to maintain a positive image in the eyes of the public.
I do agree with the statement that “the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.” Where I find some unclear lines is with the word “journalist.” I always thought of a journalist as a professional employed by a newspaper, radio or television station. Today, a journalist can really be anyone. People who are not communications professionals can write anything they want and put it on the web. Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a journalist is “someone who keeps a journal.” So basically anyone could be considered a journalist at some point. When all media was prohibited from entering Iran around election time the world was not completely in the dark about what was going on. People used their phones to capture the events.
The scale of what we report the news on has also changed. News is no longer just local. News is reported on at the national and international levels. Journalists are sent all over the world to get the story. News at every level has to be monitored.
Overall, the core of a journalist has not changed. Their job is still to find the news and share it. The magnitude of how that is done has changed and the rate at which it is done has changed as well.
In 1828, in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, journalism was defined as “the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media.” I think that this statement is, for the most part, true. Journalism encompasses finding and disseminating information. For news stories, interviews are conducted, information is researched. The story is then printed in a newspaper or broadcast over the radio, etc. What we consider media has changed though. In the past media was print journalism. Eventually radio, then television was incorporated. Now, the internet is the fastest and easiest way to obtain news.
What has changed, however, are the number of outlets to distribute news to as well as the speed at which journalism runs at. The internet is probably the biggest factor in these changes. Newspapers are not only in print form but also online. Radio and television are online. Blogs and social media also contribute to more news outlets. The internet also affects how fast news is distributed. Everyone must constantly be monitoring what is being said on the web. Journalism is a 24/7 business. It never rests.
Journalism has become more active as well. As consumers we still want factual and accurate news. We still place trust in various news outlets. We do not want to be misguided or misled. We still hold the media accountable for any misinformation they disseminate. Now, though, the speed at which this is done is sometimes almost immediate. A member of the public may write a blog in response to a piece of incorrect news. Others may link to this blog and so on. The medium that originally reported the news item must then act quickly and correct and respond to it in order to maintain a positive image in the eyes of the public.
I do agree with the statement that “the job of the [working] journalist [today] is unchanged.” Where I find some unclear lines is with the word “journalist.” I always thought of a journalist as a professional employed by a newspaper, radio or television station. Today, a journalist can really be anyone. People who are not communications professionals can write anything they want and put it on the web. Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a journalist is “someone who keeps a journal.” So basically anyone could be considered a journalist at some point. When all media was prohibited from entering Iran around election time the world was not completely in the dark about what was going on. People used their phones to capture the events.
The scale of what we report the news on has also changed. News is no longer just local. News is reported on at the national and international levels. Journalists are sent all over the world to get the story. News at every level has to be monitored.
Overall, the core of a journalist has not changed. Their job is still to find the news and share it. The magnitude of how that is done has changed and the rate at which it is done has changed as well.
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