That’s the end. Blogging was
certainly a different way to complete school assignments, and I’m glad I was
able to learn basic blogging techniques like how to insert hyperlinks.
The blog-length story was also something
new, and I think that’s what I really learned from the City Council experience.
The first time my class went, I frantically wrote down everything I could
capture and was left with both too much of everything and not enough of
anything specific at the end of the night. The last city council I was able to
pick up on a story I wanted to write, stress less and pick up more details
about that story.
The most difficult thing about this class
was getting sources on deadline. People I contacted often didn’t get back to me
until I called them multiple times the day before the story was due. I think if
I could suggest any strategies to future students of this class, I would say
contact your sources early but don’t be surprised if you have to do some last
minute pestering. Don’t be afraid to run up to the front of council
chambers after City Council meetings and ask people questions. They’re pretty friendly
and it will save you the trouble of trying to arrange phone calls later.
This class was hard work and it required
me to do some real reporting, but that’s not a bad thing considering this is
what I want to do with my life. I was also excited to see my name in print inthe Greeley Tribune because of this class. And so was my mom.