News Quiz

The start of the semester means the start of weekly news quizzes I give to my journalism students. I tell them on the first day that I give these quizzes, not to torture them as some may think, but to prepare them to enter the world of media. Yes, they should know what's going on in the world as future media professionals, however, there is a much more practical reason.

Often times when they are applying for jobs, potential employers will give them a news quiz. I've had colleagues who have moved to the middle of nowhere and took a news quiz about local government, politics, the educational system, etc. as part of the application process. Also, when I toured CNN in Atlanta last year with my students, they told us that people applying for internships and entry-level positions must take and perform well on a news quiz. AND, they keep giving those quizzes in order for folks to move up the promotion ladder at CNN.

Here's the first quiz I gave today.  I think it's fairly easy, and most quizzes will probably be a bit harder than this one throughout the semester.  What would your score be? No cheating! :)

1. What’s the status of the rescue efforts in Haiti?
2. Who is UT’s new football coach?
3. The U.S. celebrated the birthday of who yesterday?
4. What’s the latest on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on NBC?
5. According to an article on tnjn.com, is there a feral cat problem in Knoxville?
6. What's the capital of Tennessee?
7. Name one thing you want to learn this semester in this class. Be as specific as possible since this helps me plan your assignments and activities.

Happy Birthday TNJN!

Wow, two birthday posts in one week! I guess Columbus Day is a popular time for celebrations.

The Tennessee Journalist, the School of Journalism and Electronic Media's official news site, celebrated its third birthday earlier this week. The site is a great way for University of Tennessee students to gain experience as writers, reporters and photographers. They upload articles about a variety of campus and Knoxville events and topics and also take photos and provide audio and video clips.

Journalism is changing and so is the way we teach journalism. We encourage our students to learn a variety of skills so they will be prepared to enter the job market. Convergence is a concept we stress since many media organizations are hiring what they call multi-media journalists.

Dr. Jim Stovall, the faculty adviser to TNJN, has some great resources at jprof.com about many topics related to journalism and journalism education.

As part of the site, TNJN Radio has weekly shows and newscasts that students produce. Using talkshoe.com, the shows are archived so anyone can listen live but also listen to previous shows if they miss any. A list of weekly shows is updated on Mondays, and one of the student producers, Mark McNabb, had a live show during the birthday celebration and interviewed editor Ben Moser, Dr. Stovall and me.

Get your flu shot!

Flu vaccines should be available in your area now, and I got mine yesterday at a clinic at Kroger. Most pharmacies now have walk-in clinics where you can get them as well, but sometimes you have to wait since people are also there to see a medical professional if they are sick. You might recall my experience last year at the "Minute Clinic."

However, waiting for a shot hopefully won't be your excuse not to get one. I've gotten a flu shot every year since I was a freshmen in college in 1995, and I've never had the flu. Yes, I've succumbed to colds and sinus infections but not the flu.

These vaccines arrived earlier this year since the H1N1 vaccine should be available in October. According to the University of Tennessee's Web page, the vaccine will be given in two doses over several weeks and will be free to the UT community.

I know some people don't like getting shots, but this one is over before you know it and barely hurts. I do miss getting a character-themed bandage though. :)