Friday, April 11: What A Day!

Travel journals and photography by FNN Collegiate and Tech Prep reporters Katherine Hunter, Rhonea Long, Katrina Smith, Noel Spencer, Stephanie Spencer and Jonay Veney.

We had to be downstairs by 8:15. We ate breakfast at a diner in the Hilton hotel. The service and breakfast was very nice. Around 10:00 we went to another part of the hotel to go to the convention. I encountered colleges with many journalism programs. I met a woman whose grandson was the first recipient of a prestigious award at a college. (I forgot the name.) We also received sunglasses, pins and other trinkets that represent the many colleges that were there. There was also organizations that did schools’ yearbooks. I noticed that we don’t really have a specialized yearbook. Just plain plastic and basic pictures. So then we left to go to the convention center right beside the Hilton hotel. When we arrived we learned that the convention was not being held there! But we did get to see some sights while we were walking. So then we had the chance to go to the mall. The mall was beautiful! It was very vast and the structure was unique. The whole mall was made out of stone. It did take some time—ok, a lot of time—to get to the mall. (A picture below shows a picture while we were walking.) But what’s even prettier is the mall at night! I went with Mrs. Johnson another day. There will be another picture of the mall at night.

- Katherine Hunter

On the first day in San Diego I forgot to turn my alarm off and woke up at 5:00 a.m. I was tired, but once I ate breakfast and went to a morning journalism conference workshop, I began to feel energized. I got a lot of free stuff such as reporter notepads, ink pens and a nice bag to carry the items in. After I attended the “Managing the Digital Workflow” workshop I tried to attend a second workshop at the San Diego Convention Center. I was upset to learn that I missed the workshop which was held at the Hilton Bayfront hotel. I returned to the hotel for an afternoon critique session with Mr. Eric Thomas, a journalism advisor for a high school in Kansas City. Mr. Thomas critiqued our stories on myfnn.com. Mr. Thomas provided a helpful tip that you should chunk a story with pictures and video so that readers stay interested and hopefully read the whole story. After the critique I went shopping at a mall with my fellow student reporters. We shopped for 3 hours but only bought a few things. One student was complaining that her feet were hurting but I didn’t mind it. When we got back to the hotel she took her shoes off and she had a blister on her foot (toe). This made me take notice. FNN Advisor and chaperone, Mrs.Terry Johnson brought a first aid kit to our room to treat the injury. The student dance was held in the evening which I and my fellow students went to but I wasn’t enjoying myself so I left. When I got upstairs I went straight to sleep.

- Rhonea Long

The first day in San Diego started out good. We went to the first part of the conference. After that we went over to the convention center for the next part. Once we got there, we found out it was in the hotel and not there. Once back to the hotel we all met with a man to help us with our writing skills. We talked about how to make students want to read your writing. He said that chunking helps. Chunking your story is when you put pictures throughout your story as you explain them.

-Katrina Smith

Today on April 11, 2014 we had breakfast in the hotel. It was very good! There was a buffet and I had an omelette, fruit, bacon, sausage and pancakes. I ate at the table with Jonay and Noel and we were just conversing about the long airplane ride we had and talking about how nice the view was from where we were sitting. Later on we went to get our i.d.'s for the convention. We walked around to the different stations and we went to two different workshops which were very interesting. After the workshops we went to the pool and had fun. The view was very nice and the weather was perfect. Everyone around us seemed very happy and they were enjoying themselves. Jonay, Noel and I took pictures of the nice view we had. After the pool we freshened up and had dinner, which was really good. Later that night we went to the dance at the hotel and met a lot of nice teens.

- Stephanie Spencer

It’s 8:29 pm and the night has just started. But before we talk about what’s happening at 8:29 pm; let’s discuss the rest of the day. It’s 6 am and my alarm is going off. I shower, do my hair and make-up. By 7:00 am we are down stairs having breakfast. The strong flavors of onions, green peppers, mushrooms and sharp cheddar cheese burst forth in the magnificent vegetable omelet that I devoured for breakfast! By 9:00 am attend our first workshop. It’s 12:00 Noon and we have completed our workshops for the day. At 1:30 pm we receive a very profitable critique with an on-line editor, Mr. Eric Thomas, who works at an all-girls catholic school in Kansas City. Mr. Thomas gave us pointers on how to capture and maintain the attention of our readers. Mr. Thomas was one the advisor’s and key-note speakers at the Young Journalism Conference. Around 3 pm, we went to the pool. At 6pm we had dinner; I had nachos. It’s now 8:29 pm and the night’s just started; we’re going to the student dance.

- Noel Spencer

Today is April 11 2014. This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then we went up to the conventions and workshops. I got a lot of information on writing and editing. I was also able to make videos using a green screen. I got a lot of pens, bags, and buttons. We had a brief meeting with a teacher from Kansas. He gave us a lot of new ideas and showed us different styles of writing. After that we went to the pool and to dinner.

- Jonay Veney