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White balance is a little trickster

March 19, 2009 by Chris Dunn

I love color. I really do. To attempt to explain why color is such a dynamic force in visual sensory input and photography is absolutely pointless, so I won’t try.

But I hate white balance. Especially when your photo has multiple light sources whose color temperatures are vastly different. For example, this photo taken in December, of my soon-to-be sister-in-law Emily, who’s listening to my older brother’s instructions on how to give him a haircut:

See how BRIGHT BLUE that area over Emily’s shoulder is? That’s my brothers’ room. (This photo was taken in the upstairs bathroom.) And that’s how different the color temperatures are between the light in my brothers’ room and the bathroom. Absolutely hideous.

For this assignment in Advanced Techniques in Photojournalism, we were to take photos in two kinds of light: fluorescent and tungsten. For each environment, we were to:

  1. take a few JPG shots, with the camera set on daylight white balance and without using a flash;
  2. keep the daylight white balance BUT use a flash;
  3. change the camera’s white balance setting and add a gel to the flash (correspond the color of the gel and the white balance setting to the kind of light in that environment); AND
  4. switch the format to RAW and repeat steps 2 and 3.

This week has been absolutely crazy for me, so of course I shot everything kind of at the last minute.

For my tungsten take (which I did tonight — er, yesterday, since it’s now 1:30 a.m. on Thursday), I photographed Comedy Wars at Memorial Union. Comedy Wars is kind of a “gimme” for photojournalism students here at MU: it’s a regular weekly event, it has honest emotion (laughter, shock, etc.) and it’s just fun. I hated to have to use it, since it’s such a staple/crutch and has been shot for every single photojournalism course in the history of this school, but hey — I got my take. And Comedy Wars wasn’t my first choice, either. As several of my friends can attest, I attempted two other shoots, both of which were canceled.

Fortunately, we have to turn in only one select image, and fortunately, my photos from my fluorescent light take turned out much better than my tungsten photos.

For my fluorescent take, I went to the Columbia School Board candidate forum on March 16. It was jam-packed; there was actually an overflow room wherein attendees could watch the forum of eight candidates (one candidate didn’t show up) via a livecast on the TV set.

Brief aside: LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt is one of my favorite photographers. He’s best known for his iconic sailor-kissing-the-girl-in-the-parade photo, but this is my favorite photo of his:

This photo was taken in 1963 in Paris, at a puppet show. I’d grown up poring over those coffeetable books of famous LIFE (and other) photos, so I’ve always been familiar with the photos whose impact earned them a place in visual storytelling history. But it wasn’t until fairly recently that I saw the above photo. As I’d just switched majors from print/digital reporting to photojournalism at the time, I instantly recognized and appreciated Eisenstaedt’s capturing the true image from that puppet show: not the puppets themselves, but the children whose imagination and attention were so caught up in the show.

Which is why, at the school board candidate forum, I opted to turn the camera onto the audience after I snapped a few shots of the candidates themselves. My images aren’t nearly as compelling or exciting as Eisenstaedt’s, but hey — these images of the audience tell a greater visual story than the candidates do.

Here is the original copy of my select image:

And here is the toned copy:

Eight-year-old Isaac Bledsoe tries to pay attention during the Columbia School Board candidate forum at the District Administration Building on March 16. Bledsoe - with his mother Ann and his 10-year-old sister Cayley - attended to support his father Marc Bledsoe, who is one of nine candidates running for a spot on the school board.

Eight-year-old Isaac Bledsoe tries to pay attention during the Columbia School Board candidate forum at the District Administration Building on March 16. Bledsoe - with his mother Ann and his 10-year-old sister Cayley - attended to support his father Marc Bledsoe, who is one of nine candidates running for a spot on the school board.

And here’s another shot from the same forum, of the overflow room I mentioned earlier:

Judy Brivitt (foreground) watches a livecast of the Columbia School Board candidate forum in another room of the District Administration Building on March 16. The room in which the forum was held was standing room only, forcing other attendees to watch the livecast nextdoor.

Judy Brivitt (foreground) watches a livecast of the Columbia School Board candidate forum in another room of the District Administration Building on March 16. The room in which the forum was held was standing room only, forcing other attendees to watch the livecast nextdoor.

A gelled flash was used to make both images (as well as many others). The color temperature in both the forum room and the overflow room wasn’t as awful as it could have been, but nevertheless was not quite ideal. I think my photos from this take turned out relatively well. My Comedy Wars photos, on the other hand — well, let’s say that shooting in tungsten is something I should probably practice on.

Posted in Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism | Leave a Comment »

This summer in Washington, D.C.

March 14, 2009 by Chris Dunn

I am going to Washington, D.C., this summer. Yesterday afternoon, Dee Swann — the multimedia deputy managing editor at washingtonpost.com — offered me the photo/multimedia internship for which I applied. After a quick chat with my mother, I accepted the internship.

wapo.com

I am going to Washington, D.C.!

Wow wow wow.

This year, I applied for internships in either photography or reporting at probably three or more dozen newspapers. As I noted in an earlier post, I’ve received three times as many notifications of cancelled internship programs as I have actual, outright rejections. This is a sad market for journalism students seeking internships, and let’s not even talk about jobs post-graduation.

So, I am absolutely thrilled and honored to have been offered this internship. I know it’s going to be a challenge and a lot of hard work, but I am so ready for it.

That said, it’s been about 18 hours since Dee called me, and I am still in a state of shock. In shock that I’ll be going East — and not West — this summer for the first time in four years. In shock that everything actually worked out and I actually landed an internship this summer. In shock that it’s at washingtonpost.com, of all places!

My starting date is May 26. That gives me a little under a week after my last final exam to pack and laze around before I start interning. I still need to figure out housing and the end date and a lot of other things. And I still need to work out a food allowance/etc. with my parents. But all those things will come along in time.

In the meantime, I am just so pizumped that I’m going to be interning in a profesional newsroom in Washington, D.C., this summer. And yes, I used “pizumped” — that’s how pizumped I am!

Posted in Internships/Careers, Introspection, Journalism, Photojournalism, Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com | 5 Comments »

The joys of working with strobes

March 12, 2009 by Chris Dunn

Photographers. We like to shoot and flash people.

With our cameras.

Sorry, I just had to throw that one out there!

Anyway. Our latest assignment for Advanced Techniques in Photojournalism was to use a single flash to overpower the existing light in our photo. We were to do this in two different takes:

  1. Bounce flash — This could be either on or off the camera.
  2. Direct flash — This had to be off-camera, meaning a shoe cord would be necessary.

I’ve done some flash work before, so I wasn’t as uncomfortable with this assignment as I was in the studio for our classmate portraits. Although I’d never used guide numbers and formulas to calculate how I should power up my strobe, I’ve done work with both manual and TTL flashes before. When I worked at Philmont Scout Ranch in 2006, the photo department was still using film (Pentax 6×7’s — what glorious old beasts!), which we developed and then printed ourselves. So of course any strobe work we did was completely manual, and I’m still very proud of a few exposures I made wherein you can determine that a strobe was used only by a few small shadows.

Most recently, I photo’ed senior portraits of my friend Chelsea’s brother Zak. In preparation for this shoot, I photo’ed Chelsea herself and was really pleased with how the below image came out, what with the sunlight acting as a hairlight and the flash acting as the main light source:

But for this class assignment, we couldn’t set anything up. So for my first take — in which I used the strobe as a direct flash — I went to open mic at Mojo’s on Monday. Here’s my select shot from that take:

Sam DAgostino and his daughter Anna perform together during open mic at Mojos on Monday. DAgostino - who used to manage Mojos and The Blue Fugue - and his family often play music in a group they call Pop Fiction.

Sam D'Agostino and his daughter Anna perform together during open mic at Mojo's on Monday. D'Agostino - who used to manage Mojo's and The Blue Fugue - and his family often play music in a group they call "Pop Fiction."

I had a really hard time with the direct flash take. All my images of the first few performers at the open mic section were coming out terribly, as if they were taken with a dinky point-and-shoot camera and not a DSLR and off-camera flash… that is, everything was overblown and just awful. Awful, awful, awful.

Plus, I was using my flash on manual mode, not TTL. Before I even began the class, my good friend Esten told me always to shoot on manual. I said I would only if I wasn’t under pressure, at least not until I became more comfortable with strobe work.

Well, I changed my mind. When former Maneater photo editor Ryan Gladstone and I shot the Missouri-Kansas mens basketball game in Lawrence, Kan., in January 2007, he asked me what mode I was using to shoot. I said I was shooting on aperture-priority, at which he shook his head and advised me to always shoot on manual. I said I would start trying that after the game. And I did. And I grew to like having complete control over my exposures, and now I can’t shoot any other way.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Jeff City/The Missourian, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics | 1 Comment »

Rule No. 1: Wear comfortable shoes

March 12, 2009 by Chris Dunn

The Missouri House Budget Committee convened at 8 a.m. Wednesday to review amendment proposals and vote on the House’s version of the state budget for fiscal year 2010. After breaking for 10 a.m. session in the House chamber and lunch, the committee reconvened and didn’t adjourn until 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

That’s 14ish hours of committee hearing.

I was there for 11 of them.

Right now (3 a.m. on Thursday), the only story I’ve got written and published is a pretty basic rundown of the 13 House bills that comprise the House’s version of the budget and that were passed. But I am currently in the process of collecting/compiling data to write up at least one — if not two or three — more story about the proposed budget that was just passed. Hopefully I’ll have those done before I head back to Jeff City around 9 a.m.

But just for fun, here are the bare-bones facts of my personal experience in covering the House Budget Committee hearing yesterday:

  • When I arrived (12:30 p.m.), the hearing room was standing room only. So I stood. In heels. And the day before (Tuesday), I’d twisted my ankle that I’d sprained a year ago. So that was a little painful.
  • I stood — in heels, with a bum ankle — for about eight hours. That’s how long it took before people started leaving and there were seats available.
  • All I’d eaten before arriving at the hearing was some soup and a cookie. When there was a 15-minute break around 7 p.m., I had a bag of baked Lay’s potato chips. Until I got home about an hour ago, that was all I had to eat all day.
  • When Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, found out I hadn’t been there for the morning part of the hearing, he told me I was disappointing my parents by not doing my job. When I told him I’d been in class all morning, he then said I was definitely doing my job. Hmm.

As for the title of this entry? I forget who it was, but when the new radio reporters arrived at the bureau this semester, I told one of them that Rule No. 1 in the statehouse is to wear comfortable shoes. A woman who was standing nearby said, “Very true” and nodded emphatically (I didn’t know who she was — and still don’t).

Comfortable shoes are a must if you’re going to be chasing legislators around the statehouse or standing in a crowded committee hearing room for eight hours at a time.

Unfortunately, I broke Rule No. 1 today.

I wore my black strappy heels — because they are the only dress/business shoes I can wear with my leg splint, which I needed because of my bum ankle. Put another way: because of my bum ankle, I had to wear uncomfortable shoes while standing for eight hours straight.

Of course, that’s just the way things always seem to work!

And now to hammer out this story/these stories before I get ready to return to Jeff City. I have about five hours to do this. Let’s go!

 

Update (10:35 a.m.):

My fuller story has been posted! Click HERE to read it.

And now I am back in the bureau, after getting two hours of sleep, and have no idea what’s in store for me today. Oh boy.

Posted in Economics, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism | Leave a Comment »

Confession: I’m an amateur dork about the economy

March 9, 2009 by Chris Dunn

Long story short, I am kind of obsessed with the economy.

More than a few of my friends, classmates and coworkers can testify to this.

In fact, when my Facebook status a few days ago was “Chris congratulates the Dow for its 3.3 percent growth today!,” one of my coworkers in the Jeff City bureau commented with, “haha, when I heard this on the radio earlier today, I thought of you :)”

I wasn’t always like this.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Economics, Introspection, Journalism, Mizzou, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Official recommendations for implementing federal stimulus funds in and for Missouri

March 5, 2009 by Chris Dunn

The Missouri Economic Stimulus Coordination Council released a report containing its “recommendations on how to best implement the ARRA [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009] in and for Missouri and its Citizens.”

The report is dated Feb. 27, but as far as I know, it was released today. At least, my editor Phill Brooks had Emily Younker come into the Senate chamber — where I was this evening — and deliver the 17-page report. Which you can see for yourself if you click HERE.

Here’s a general breakdown, as far as I understand it.

One of Gov. Jay Nixon’s first acts as governor was to sign three executive orders. The second executive order created the Missouri Economic Stimulus Coordination Council — which, according to the press release, was established to make recommendations on:

  • Coordinating job creation activities with the Missouri Congressional delegation and the current and incoming federal administrations
  • Identifying the best practices for the State of Missouri to utilize to ensure that the State of Missouri is included at the maximum possible level in appropriations from a federal stimulus package
  • Identifying any other practices that the State of Missouri should adopt to maximize its relationship with the federal government

Nixon specified that the recommendations report be delivered to him by Feb. 27 (hence the date on its first page) and that the council be dissolved on March 1.

The council has made 10 points and recommendations:

  1. Time is of the essence — Stimulus funds will be available at different points in fiscal year 2009 (or, what remains of it), fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2011. The council recommends that the state “suspend or waive certain rules in order to meet the threshold requirements to maximize the receipt of dollars” and that the funds “be spent as expeditiously as possible” (pg. 2). The council also recognizes that “this is a multi-year process, not an overnight miracle” (pg. 2).
  2. A cooperative effort is needed — The council diplomatically asks that stimulus funds appropriations not become hampered by party politics or divisions between the legislative chambers and the governor’s office.
  3. Missouri should have one application for competitive dollars — To maximize the state’s odds of receiving competitive grant awards, the council recommends that Missouri “have one submission for each Competitive Grant” (pg. 3). The council also urges the state to “establish a temporary Washington, D.C., presence focused on Missouri’s interests and issues under the ARRA and work closely with the Missouri Congressional Delegation” (pg. 3)
  4. A specific state agency must be assigned to each appropriation resource — There’s a typo (underlined) in this part of the 17-page document: “the Council recommends that each specific section of the ARRA be assigned a an Agency as the lead, responsible point of contact” (pg. 3). But anyway.
  5. A statewide focus is required — The council notes that certain parts of the ARRA focus on rural areas (especially regarding broadband access, public safety, safety net funding, business development and health care). That in mind, the council declares that “the ARRA itself and the mandates of bipartisnaship dictate that both rural, suburban and urban areas receive attention” (pg. 4). [NOTE: There are many comma splices and misuses of the word “both” in this document. Especially in this section.]
  6. Twinning increases the impact — Programs under the ARRA can be coupled (“twinned”) with other ARRA dollars. I’m not exactly sure what this means, but the council says, “ARRA dollars from one program can be invested or expended with other dollars authorized by this Act” (pg. 4) and recommends that Nixon’s Transform Missouri Initiative “work with all state agencies, the Legislature and all concerned governmental parties to identify and maximize twinning opportunities presented by the ARRA” (pg. 4)
  7. Recommendations by individual council members are submitted — Several council members wrote separate recommendations about certain portions of the ARRA. These recommendations have been submitted separately and are on public record somewhere. I’m not sure where. I wish the report told us.
  8. Sustainable jobs and programs should be created — The council outlines four areas where ARRA funds be spent “in a sustainable fashion” (pg. 4). These areas include 1) retaining workers in “hard hit sectors,” 2) enticing businesses to expand or grow in Missouri by creating incentives, 3) fund “long-term multi-year construction projects” and 4) “twinning investment and human capital for a long-term sustainable result” (pg. 4).
  9. An opportunity exists for long-term planning — MEDICAID.
  10. Accountability and transparency are required — Yeah. Okay. So I want to know: what about those individual council members’ recommendations, which were filed separately and are apparently “on public record”? Where are those?

The council concludes the report by emphasizing that the report “was a bipartisan, focused, short-term effort.”

The remaining 12 pages expound upon specific statements and examples in the report’s first five pages. Again, you can find the entire 17-page document HERE.

I’m not sure why the report was made available only today, since the council no longer exists as of three days ago. (For the record: I began writing this post at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. When I’m done, it’ll probably be Thursday — and, therefore, “as of four days ago.”)

For the record: I’ve said this before, but I’m really not trying to turn this into a political analysis or political news blog. Really. This is all about transparency and public access to public information, and it just so happens that I’m the budget reporter… so it just so happens that whatever information I receive will be budget-/stimulus-related information… so it just so happens that, in the interest of transparency and access, I will post that budget-/stimulus-related information if it is public record.

Really. This blog is all about journalism and photography. I promise.

On that note, here are related, earlier posts and documents about the budget and stimulus:

Posted in Economics, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Politics | Leave a Comment »

The Jeff City blues

March 2, 2009 by Chris Dunn

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The whirl of activity and buzz with which the Missouri legislative session kicked off almost two months ago has diminished to a feeble heartbeat of a tremor.

Okay, so that was slightly dramatic. But that’s how I’ve been feeling lately. I cut my winter break in half to come back early to Missouri and cover the start of legislative session (as well as Gov. Jay Nixon’s inauguration), and the pace in the statehouse was absolutely frenetic. My being the only reporter in the bureau for the first two weeks only compounded the pressure and stress, especially since I first had to cover the preliminary stories (what legislators anticipate from this session, the inauguration, etc.) and then the state budget as that beat began to flourish. I began to expect getting thrown into the day’s biggest story/ies and churning out 30-inch articles daily.

Now, things in the statehouse have calmed down significantly. I’ve gone about two weeks without a breaking news story. Nixon’s already given his budget overview (via his State of the State address), the federal stimulus package has been signed into law and the House Budget and Senate Appropriations Committees are at work. The initial frenzy of activity has definitely died down a bit, and I am just aching for something to give me a break from working on the four features Phill has assigned me.

Not that I don’t enjoy working on feature pieces. These are definitely interesting topics, and I’m excited about them. But two of them need to be cleared by the governor’s office (so I can get access to certain people/names/information). One is a very long-term piece on which I am working with a radio reporter and would involve traveling around the state. The last is a profile piece I can work on whenever I can’t make progress on the others.

According to House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley’s chief of staff, things should start to pick up after the legislators’ spring break. I sure hope so. The Jeff City blues are kickin’ in, and while I’m by no means less excited to be here in the bureau, I’d like some spicy legislative happenings to break up the pace.

Posted in Introspection, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism, Politics | Leave a Comment »

For posterity: full copy of Obama’s FY2010 budget overview

March 1, 2009 by Chris Dunn

Just for posterity, here’s President Barack Obama’s 146-page budget overview for fiscal year 2010. Courtesy of The New York Times.

Posted in Journalism, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Hello from Pictures of the Year International!

March 1, 2009 by Chris Dunn

I am blogging live as a volunteer at Pictures of the Year International, an international contest to which photographers send submissions in dozens of categories. Currently, the three judges are going through the final cut of the multimedia feature story category. At any point, you can click here to watch/listen the judging live.

I’ve also sat through the judging of science/natural history and science/natural history picture story. It seems that every year, I miss the judging of the sports categories — every year, for POYi and CPOY — because it’s always the first overall category to be judged.

POYi and CPOY always renew an interesting discussion among my photojournalism friends: the extent of post-shooting editing. I’m not going to single any photographers or images out, but the winning entries are more often than not the most heavily edited. Photoshop-induced vignetting, heavy levels clipping, massive amounts of over/undersaturation… those seem to be the overarching trends.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Journalism, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism | Leave a Comment »

Fake paint, real brushes and underexposure

March 1, 2009 by Chris Dunn

The hours between 8:30 and 11 a.m. constituted the single most productive Sunday morning I’ve had since last summer at Philmont. Laura and I were partnered up for the class Metal & Glass assignment, wherein

You are paired up so that one can grip for or assist the other and visa versa [sic]. One of you is to photograph glass or translucent objects and the other will photography [sic] metal objects. When you are not the shooter, you are to be the assistant, which means the second set of eyes and hands on the shoot. (Syllabus)

I shot glass; Laura shot metal. Check her blog later to see her shots of the coins we donated and the piggy bank we destroyed!

For my shot, I bought six vases at Michael’s and used paintbrushes and dipping pens that I already own. (I knew I didn’t bring them from Texas for nothing!) We put in a few drops of food coloring into the vases without brushes or pens, at the last minute so that you can still see the coloring mix into the water.

I ended up with a two-light setup. Even though I checked all the settings between the light meter and my camera and am pretty sure I metered correctly, all my shots were underexposed when I imported them to my computer. Lesson learned: I should have bracketed. Oh well.

Here’s my select image, untouched by Photoshop except to eliminate some spots on the sensor and to sharpen the image overall:

Pretty underexposed, yes? I will definitely be bracketing next time.

For kicks and giggles, I toned my select image and the runner-up to look the way they should have:

The toned select.

The toned select.

The toned runner-up.

The toned runner-up.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism | 1 Comment »

The death of newspapers as the death knell of journalism

February 27, 2009 by Chris Dunn

We all know that The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last edition and closes today, two months before its 150th anniversary as the oldest newspaper in Colorado.

After I sent him the RMN‘s article announcing the paper’s closure, my friend Darren asked what I would do if The New York Times ever “goes under.” I responded, with some facetiousness, “I WILL DIE.”

Seriously, though. I’ve already harped a little about where journalism is headed, but it’s becoming a more critical issue every week. One of my college friends secured a design internship at a good newspaper for this summer but learned yesterday that her internship has been cancelled due to budgetary constraints. I’m still receiving far more notifications of cancelled internship programs than actual, outright rejections. And now The Rocky Mountain News is folding — not for want of readers but for want of general revenue.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the cover package of The New Republic‘s latest issue (March 4 — see its watchdog-themed cover here) is a treatment of “the end of the press.” Below are the related articles:

Just reading the cover story’s first page (on the actual article Web page) upset me. The facts presented in the following paragraph made me actually physically shake. (Italicized, underlined emphasis is mine.)

Despite all the development of other media, the fact is that newspapers in recent years have continued to field the majority of reporters and to produce most of the original news stories in cities across the country. Drawing on studies conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, Tom Rosenstiel, the project’s director, says that as of 2006 a typical metropolitan paper ran seventy stories a day, counting the national, local, and business sections (adding in the sports and style sections would bring the total closer to a hundred), whereas a half-hour of television news included only ten to twelve. And while local TV news typically emphasizes crime, fires, and traffic tie-ups, newspapers provide most of the original coverage of public affairs. Studies of newspaper and broadcast journalism have repeatedly shown that broadcast news follows the agenda set by newspapers, often repeating the same items, albeit with less depth.

Then, on the second page:

As imperfect as they have been, newspapers have been the leading institutions sustaining the values of professional journalism. A financially compromised press is more likely to be ethically compromised.

And while the new digital environment is more open to “citizen journalism” and the free expression of opinions, it is also more open to bias, and to journalism for hire. Online there are few clear markers to distinguish blogs and other sites that are being financed to promote a viewpoint from news sites operated independently on the basis of professional rules of reporting. So the danger is not just more corruption of government and business–it is also more corruption of journalism itself.

I am inclined to agree.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Internships/Careers, Journalism | 2 Comments »

Notes on Jindal’s response to Obama’s address

February 24, 2009 by Chris Dunn

  • BRIEF, POST-ADDRESS ANALYSIS

According to Politico, Jindal was set to face a tough audience:

Note to Bobby Jindal: They’re going to hate you.

When you deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s address Tuesday night, the critics will fault your style and delivery. Your rhetoric will be panned as empty and partisan. Some in your party inevitably will question whether you were up to the job.

His style and delivery were unlike any I’ve recently heard coming from a major politician. As @gerik noted on Twitter, Jindal sounded like he was reading a bedtime story to the American audience. It was truly an interesting choice in tone and delivery. Perhaps Jindal was going for the comforting tone of voice — but dare I say it almost sounded patronizing?

I really don’t like to deliver my own opinion on political matters in a public forum — especially since this is supposed to be a journalism/photography blog — but I don’t think Jindal’s speech was extremely partisan. He wasn’t as outspoken as I’d kinda thought he’d be, based on his record and reputation as one of the most vocal opponents to at least certain parts of the stimulus package.

All in all, it seemed to be a very carefully thought-out, measured speech written with restraint. And, according to the Washington Post, Jindal himself wrote it.

  • 9:38 p.m. CST —

“Americans can do anything.” — Jindal

Following the train of “God bless (insert name),” Jindal concludes his speech in 12 minutes.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Economics, Journalism, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Notes on Obama’s Congressional address

February 24, 2009 by Chris Dunn

  • BRIEF, POST-ADDRESS ANALYSIS

According to CNN, Obama spoke for 52 minutes.

That’s nearly half an hour of trying to assure Americans and whomever else was watching that the federal stimulus package will jumpstart the economy, create jobs and start down the path of solving long-term problems in energy, education and health care. The rest of the speech addressed his promises of cutting the federal deficit by half and issuing tax breaks, as well as foreign policy issues.

And, of course, it ended on a note of bipartisanship.

Why wasn’t this the State of the Union address?

There were so many promises made, but so few details revealed — at least, about the questions I have. I hoped to hear more about stimulating the financial system and what the states specifically can do to promote growth in energy, education and health care, but to promise to find a cure for cancer and reform health care this year and deliver tax cuts to 95 percent of working Americans? Those were not the details I expected or wanted to hear.

Obama’s full, prepared remarks can be found HERE, courtesy of BreakingNewsOn.

Next up: live-blogging of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s response on behalf of the Republican Party.

  • 9:09 p.m. CST —

Obama ends his first Congressional address on a note of bipartisanship:

“I know that we haven’t agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.

“And if we do – if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, “something worthy to be remembered.” Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”

Continue Reading »

Posted in Economics, Journalism, Politics | 1 Comment »

Details of the federal stimulus’ impact on Missouri state budget

February 20, 2009 by Chris Dunn

This morning, Budget Director Linda Luebbering and the governor’s senior financial adviser Paul Wilson held a state budget overview with a few members of the State Capitol press corps.

I don’t intend for this blog to become a political news blog like The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Political Fix or The Kansas City Star’s Prime Buzz. That’s just silly — this blog doesn’t get nearly the readership that either of those does, and this is supposed to be a journalism/photography blog.

But in the interest of transparency, I do want to lay out a few details about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its impact on Missouri’s state budget.

  • FOR FULL DETAILS: I scanned and PDF’ed the 13-page briefing the Budget Office provided to reporters today. I have no qualms with sharing this document on-line because the meeting was completely on the record. Click HERE for the 13-page briefing on the federal stimulus package and how it affects Missourians. (I apologize for the random notes and scribblings on several pages.)

In summary, the federal stimulus package will provide Missouri with at least $4 billion. Several more millions — if not billions — of dollars can be acquired through certain provisions of the stimulus package. I’ve outlined the package very loosely, below. Again, FULL DETAILS can be found in the 13-page document I scanned.

Funds from the stimulus package are channeled through three categories, plus two other components (which I’ve also listed as categories) that can benefit Missourians.

  • CATEGORY I: Budget Stabilization Funds

Made up of less than 10 percent of the entire stimulus package, this pot of money is one of the most controversial because of the many stipulations placed on the use of its funds. Basically, this fund is designed to help state governments avoid cutting from their education and Medicaid budgets.

A total of $2.171 billion has been allocated to Missouri for state stabilization purposes. $921 million is designated for education funding, with 81.1 percent ($753 million) specifically for direct education support and the remaining 18.2 percent ($168 million) for other expenditures such as renovations and public safety.

$1.25 billion has been designated for Medicaid reimbursements, but Missouri cannot use any of the funds if the state alters its Medicaid eligibility rules. No funds appropriated for FMAP (Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage) can be put into a reserve or rainy day fund.

  • CATEGORY II: Existing Federal Program Funds

Using pre-existing formulas and rules, the funds in this category will go almost directly from the federal government to existing federal programs. Examples include transportation (some of which is handled by local/municipal authorities), worker (re)training, law enforcement funding, food stamps, etc.

Federally, this category draws about 25 percent of the $787 billion in the stimulus package. For Missouri specifically, about $1.829 billion is allocated to this category. See the 13-page document (pgs. 3-5) for more details about which programs are listed and how much is appropriated to each.

  • CATEGORY III: Competitive Grants

This is where Missouri — and other states, for that matter — can really draw in the big bucks. The previous two categories are where the overall $4 billion number comes from. But this category, which occupies about 1/3 of the stimulus funds, allows states to compete for extensive grants in order to boost their economies.

These hundreds of billions of dollars available for whichever states are most competitive are the basis of Gov. Jay Nixon’s “Transform Missouri Initiative,” which he announced on Wednesday during a press conference.

  • CATEGORY IV: Tax Relief

A good chunk of the stimulus package is “committed to individual and business tax breaks” (pg. 8 of the 13-page overview document). This is to provide incentive for job creation, etc.

  • CATEGORY V: Enhanced Economic Recovery Financing Tools

This category addresses mostly larger businesses, by enhancing financial tools such as bonds and tax exemptions.

For further reading: Here’s my article from Thursday’s Columbia Missourian. It’s a general explanation of the above (with fewer details, because those details were not available until today) and includes some commentary from Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin; Rep. Allen Icet, R-Wildwood; and Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau.

Posted in Economics, Jeff City/The Missourian, Politics | Leave a Comment »

I am not destined to do studio photography

February 19, 2009 by Chris Dunn

For our second assignment in Advanced Techniques in Photojournalism, we shot portraits of a classmate in the studio. This was my first time configuring lights with a subject in a studio environment, and I must admit that I didn’t really enjoy it.

By no means was that my partner Calin‘s fault. Calin was a great partner — very patient and, even though he’d also never done studio work before, more knowledgeable about how to set up the lights according to the desired light ratio.

But before I delve more into why I didn’t enjoy the studio as much as I’d anticipated, here are the final three selects, of the 103 that I shot over two days.

Calin Ilea playfully swipes his hand across his face to the tune of imaginary music. Ilea, a graduate student from Romania, enjoys playing soccer in his free time. [Friday, Feb. 13]

Calin Ilea playfully swipes his hand across his face to the tune of imaginary music. Ilea, a graduate student from Romania, enjoys playing soccer in his free time. Friday, Feb. 13.

Ilea also enjoys the combination of pickles and mayonnaise, at least according to his friend and TA Catalin Abagiu. [Friday, Feb. 13]

Ilea also enjoys the combination of pickles and mayonnaise, at least according to his friend and TA Catalin Abagiu. Friday, Feb. 13.

Ilea sprawls out on the floor after nearly five hours in the studio on the second day of shooting. Ilea had already had a rough day before starting work in the studio at 9 p.m. [Tuesday, Feb. 17 -- but, technically, Wednesday, Feb. 18]]

Ilea sprawls out on the floor after nearly five hours in the studio on the second day of shooting. Ilea had already had a rough day before starting work in the studio at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 -- but, technically, Wednesday, Feb. 18.

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Posted in Introspection, Mizzou, Photography, Photojournalism | Leave a Comment »

LINKS: Actual language and breakdown of federal stimulus package

February 17, 2009 by Chris Dunn

President Barack Obama is to sign the federal economic stimulus bill into law at 2:30 p.m. CST in Denver, Colo. In my research of the bill (also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), I’ve found a few valuable links definitely worth sharing.

For some of these (mostly the bill’s actual language), I’m a few days late. For others (mostly the later links via the National Conference of State Legislators), the information has just been posted online. Regardless of the timeliness of this influx of information, it’s valuable stuff and I hope it’s helpful.

First — the bill’s actual language is available on-line. If you care to sift or skim through more than 1,000 pages of legislative and economic lingo, here’s your heyday. I just hope these links, courtesy of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, will be permanent.

  • Official press release from office of Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) — contains the usual strong statements found in press releases
  • Summary overview of the stimulus bill — provides a quick and dirty breakdown of appropriations to various sectors/departments
  • Detailed summary of the stimulus bill — contains more language on various appropriations highlighted in the summary overview (previous link)
  • Accountability provisions — establishes all presets and oversight regulations of the bill
  • Bill Text: Division A — is the full, actual bill language of the accountability provisions and the purposes/principles
  • Bill Text: Division B — is the full, actual bill language on the tax provisions/incentives for businesses and programs and the tax relief for individuals and families
  • Joint Statement: Division A — is the full, actual language regarding the conference between the House and Senate on Division A of the bill text
  • Joint Statement: Division B — is the full, actual language regarding the conference between the House and Senate on Division B of the bill text

Also, here are some more federal government PDFs I found via the National Conference of State Legislators’ Web site. These are mostly summaries to show direct impact.

  • Full summary of provisions — reduces the bill lingo into common-sense terms, via the Senate Finance, House Ways and Means Committees; has information breakdown of the following topics:
    • tax relief for individuals/families
    • tax incentives for businesses
    • manufacturing recovery provisions
    • economic recovery tools
    • infrastructure financing tools
    • reinvestment in renewable energy
    • assistance for families and unemployed workers
    • health insurance assistance
    • state fiscal relief and medicaid
    • health information technology
    • trade provisions
    • debt limit
  • Detailed summary of energy and commerce provisions — reduces the bill lingo into common-sense terms, via the U.S. House; has information breakdown of the following topics:
    • provisions on Medicaid and the unemployed
    • health information technology
    • provisions on broadband infrastructure
    • provisions on energy
  • Congressional Budget Office’s estimate on the bill’s budgetary impact — includes the official letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as five pages of charts/tables detailing the estimated costs of the bill

Finally, here are some more links via NCSL. These are more information breakdowns intended to help state legislators and the general public read more into the bill’s language and impact.

So. Those are all the resources I found from the federal government and a very trustworthy NGO (i.e., NCSL) regarding the U.S.’s biggest stimulus package since World War II. Happy reading!

Posted in Economics, Journalism, Politics | 1 Comment »

PHOTOS: Just some film, y’all

February 16, 2009 by Chris Dunn

Late last week, I had two rolls of film developed. One was a roll of Fuji 400 that I’d taken over winter break. The other was a roll of Fuji Superia 200 that Jeff and I shot last weekend when we went on a 10-mile walk with Esten on the MKT trail (beginning at Flat Branch Park). Now that the rolls are finally developed, scanned and edited, I am proud to present the following to the world.

[Note: All photos were shot on my OM-1. It’s old.]

  • This photo was shot out of a moving car on I-40 at the beginning of winter break. In all technical respects, this photo is horrible and disgusting. It’s out of focus, terribly grainy and overall blech-y. But I still love it. All the bad technical aspects kind of add up to make it almost dreamlike. [Fuji 400, 35mm]

  • The interior of one of the Anheuser-Busch brewing facilities. This and the stablehouse were the most architecturally fascinating in the general complex. [Fuji 400, 35mm]

  • Chelsea’s little sister Abbi, in their living room and ready for the family portrait. This negative is horribly scratchy and the exposure is grainy as all out, but somehow I still like this shot. [Fuji 400, 50mm]

  • This is at the beginning of our 10-mile walk last weekend. Here I am, with ridiculous sunglasses on my face and a ridiculous apple in my mouth and a ridiculous knapsack on my shoulders. [Fuji Superia 200, 35mm, photo by Jeff Lautenberger]

  • Some long stalks of grass in a field we found after going off the MKT trail, via a smaller side trail. The field belongs to the MU Conservation Department, or something like that. [Fuji Superia 200, 135mm]

  • The MKT trail as we began to head back. This was probably somewhere between the 3.75- and 3.5-mile marks. Love the way the sun hits the trees. Love the dynamic range. Love the light at magic hour. [Fuji Superia 200, 35mm]

  • Both Jeff and Esten questioned why I took this photo when I took this photo. I think I liked the way the trail forked off. And the way there was a lone, bare tree in the middle of it all. [Fuji Superia 200, 35mm]

  • Here’s Esten with his Leica. Lucky. [Fuji Superia 200, 135mm]

And that concludes this first official photo blog post. Hopefully this will be a regular thing — that is, shooting photos for fun. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t often allow for photo adventures, but this is something I’d like to do at least once a month. We shall see!

Posted in Analog, Photography | 3 Comments »

Lotsa links: where journalism is headed

February 14, 2009 by Chris Dunn


Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! On a loving note, here are a couple of V-Day links I’ve scored up via Twitter:

As a visual journalist, I’m especially a fan of this one from the second link:

Things that I’ve been doing over the past few days (some of which are still works in progress):

  • Working on my application for the Washington Program. I’ll be turning it in on Monday.
  • Not checking Twitter for almost three days. This is due mostly to an economics exam (Money, Banking and Financial Institutions), about which I do not feel good about. The worst part is, this class is not required for my degree: I’m taking it purely out of my own interest in the current economic recession and want to learn background on it.
  • Consolidating all my reading schedules for four classes into one document.
  • Scanning film taken last weekend. I’ll be posting the best photos here, later this weekend.

On the side, I’ve been reading a lot about the journalism industry. I think the Time cover story by Walter Isaacson has fueled a lot of discussion, some of which I’ve been reading via links on Twitter. The variety of responses is stark. One of the most poignant and personal is this: NYU’s paper published a piece by its former editor-in-chief, who begins the feature with “I want someone to tell me I will be unemployed if I stay in journalism.” It’s a good but frightening read.

Other articles/pieces I’ve read regarding our industry, somewhat in response to the Time cover story and definitely in response to the economic crisis facing the media:

I’ve at least skimmed all of these, and still have more reading to do — that is, a dozen or so articles about the federal economic stimulus package. Now that it’s passed and on its way to Obama’s desk, I’m hoping that next week in Jefferson City will be far busier and more productive than the past two weeks have been. I feel like everyone from the legislators to the budget officers have been waiting for some closure on the stimulus package before pressing forward with their own agendas.

And on that note, I’m going to continue with my “to do” list for the weekend and hopefully have some scanned film posted by tomorrow afternoon! Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Posted in Internships/Careers, Jeff City/The Missourian, Journalism | 2 Comments »

Texas vs. nationally distributed newspapers – what are the key issues?

February 10, 2009 by Chris Dunn

I began following Rick Dunham on Twitter yesterday, just in time to follow his tweets about Pres. Barack Obama’s first prime-time press conference.

(Is that an obnoxious number of hyperlinks for a first sentence? Probably. Oh well.)

Dunham is the D.C. bureau chief for The Houston Chronicle, which is my hometown newspaper and a former staple of my daily life. He and several other Chronicle reporters operate the paper’s “Texas on the Potomac” blog, which is where I today read several posts that made me newly and keenly aware of several ideological/political differences between Texan reporters/readers and national publications — that is, in light of Obama’s press conference last night.

First, some context:

  • According to The New York Times, “the White House decided in advance which reporters would be selected” to ask questions of Obama.
  • Prior to the conference, Dunham asked readers to submit questions for him to ask Obama. He and the other bureau reporters chose 15 questions that they thought should be asked — none of which, according to Dunham, were even touched upon by any of the 13 reporters whom the White House selected.

Now, for the meat of this post.

I read the Chronicle blog’s analysis (“Press corps asks about big issues but ignores little people”) of Obama’s methodology and the flow of the press conference. What caught my attention was the “ignores little people” part of the headline. (Being from Texas, I never considered Texans to be “little people” — either physically or ideologically.) So I read it — and was surprised by how surprised I was by how different priorities are for Texan reporters/readers as opposed to nationally published reporters.

An article by Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post has a different approach. I’m comparing and contrasting two points brought up by the Chronicle and the Post, below. Emphasis (underlined) is mine.

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Posted in Journalism, Politics | 1 Comment »

A semester in Washington, D.C.? Yes, please!

February 9, 2009 by Chris Dunn

Today, Wes Pippert held an information session about the Washington Program, which he has directed since the 1980s. The semester-long program essentially places graduate or undergraduate students in professional newsrooms, firms, agencies and other such journalism/communication workplaces, where the students work alongside professionals in completing their chosen/designated professional project.

Pippert emphasized the “professional project” aspect of the program and, wihin the first five minutes of the session, was vocal about distinguishing that from an “internship.” He highlighted a few participants whose newsrooms/what-have-you placed them in prominent stories. For example, one student who backed out of the program at the last minute was slated to be a Washington correspondent for a Spokane, Wash., newspaper. What the student didn’t know was, his editor had already signed him up to cover Obama’s inauguration and gotten credentials and everything set up.

I’m not sure yet what would qualify as a professional project. Therefore, I don’t know what I would want to do — although, it’d probably be something that would incorporate both reporting and photojournalism. I also don’t know for which semester I’d apply: fall or spring? Either semester I choose, I’d a) have to find a subleaser and b) push back my graduation by one semester.

But I’m definitely interested. The potential benefits are numerous:

  • I’d be working in a professional environment.
  • I’d be working in Washington, D.C.
  • I’d be learning, networking and building my portfolio all at the same time.
  • I’d get to exert a large degree of control/direction over what I’d be doing (which would not necessarily happen in a traditional internship program).
  • I’d be working in Washington, D.C.
  • I’d be earning college credit while I’m at it.
  • I’d get a discount on a membership to the National Press Club.
  • I’d get to expand my journalistic and political horizons from the local and state level to the federal level.
  • Did I mention I’d be working in Washington, D.C.?

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Posted in Internships/Careers, Introspection, Journalism, Mizzou, Politics | 2 Comments »

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