Senior film, video, and interactive media major Samuel Snow-Cronin is the Production Manager for 98.1 WQAQ, and ready for the next phase of his life.
“I’ve taken some of the best things at Quinnipiac that relate best to me. Quinnipiac was a good stepping stone for my independence.”
Farid Ilupeju, a freshman health sciences major got involved with the radio station on campus.
“I was just bored in my room and decided I’ve got to go do something. Now, I really enjoy it.”
Arthur Bailin, a freshman broadcast journalism major, had his passion for photography heightened by his school choice as well as the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network.
“It’s interesting. Photography is almost therapeutic really, to be alone with the camera. I’m always running around, and it’s fun. I’m glad QBSN has that opportunity to really develop my skills in that regard.”
Taylor Gartner, a sophomore legal studies major has no regrets in her school choice.
“[Quinnipiac] was actually one of the first schools I visited, and I took a tour here and fell in love with the school. Nothing else compares. People always ask me if I like it and I think it’s one of the best colleges out there.”
Matt Francia, a junior social services major is the Culture and Diversity chair for SPB.
“I believe that my position has gotten people who wouldn’t necessarily be engulfed into a culture-related event will come and learn something from it.”
Connor Rice, a junior economics major and Business Manager for 98.1 WQAQ.
“Any person can find their role in WQAQ. I think it allows me to be who I am.”
The following factionalized obituary was written for a journalism assignment.
Part-time Quinnipiac professor Jamie Deloma was found dead alongside the Lookout Tower at Sleeping Giant State Park Monday afternoon.
Hamden Police report that a hiker found the body in the early afternoon and tried to revive him, but it was too late.
Alongside the body, the hiker found a phone connected to Instagram, with a draft of a post reportedly saying, “The view from the Lookout Tower is amazing #window.”
Jamie Deloma passed away on his hike at Sleeping Giant State Park. Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac University.
Police are still awaiting an autopsy, but on top of the tower, they discovered footprints that suspect he slipped and fell on the ice. They do not believe that this was an act of foul play.
Deloma earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Print Journalism in 2006 from Quinnipiac University, and within months Deloma began working for the university specifically in social media and public relations. Many students on campus reflected on the impact he had.
“The work he’s done behind Quinnipiac’s social media accounts has been punctual, artistic, and easily captures the story of Quinnipiac throughout the semesters. He’s done a wonderful job with setting the foundations with professional journalism, reporting, and social media usage,” said Stephanie Griffin, who graduated from Quinnipiac in December.
Deloma became an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac 2010, and students instantly saw his passion for media, and encouraged others to share it.
“He expressed to my class his love for news, which encouraged me to start becoming more media literate,” said Griffin.
When Deloma was not on campus, students and faculty said that he was an avid pizza lover, and could be found at Famous Pizza or playing with his dog Charles, who he raised since he was a puppy. At 29, Deloma is survived by his mother, father, and younger brother, none of who were available for comment.
Social media platforms such as Twitter make sports journalism more interactive.
Social media has exploded in popularity over the years, but it has caused big issues in the journalism world.
False information in the media has always been around, but with the ability to tweet or share to Facebook in a matter of seconds, many journalists have rushed to be the first to get their information out there.
“I generally hear about news on Twitter before anywhere else,” said sophomore Meghan Prevost via Twitter.
The issue it raises is are they focusing more on getting information out first than the real issues at hand?
Throughout my time in college, I was always told that nobody remembers who got the information out first. However, everyone remembers the news organization that got it wrong. It’s not as much about fact checking and getting it right anymore, and it’s diminishing the trust that people have for the media.
“Social media often screws up the accuracy of reporting. Most news outlets are more interested in being “the first on scene” or whatever than ensuring their info is right. So, they post whatever little findings they have on their social media pages to keep the people going and make it seem like there’s a real scoop. Take the Sandy Hook shooting, for instance. The media was so anxious to put a name and face to who did it that they actually gave the wrong Lanza brother,” says Catherine Cappucci via Facebook.
The Sandy Hook incident ties into Quinnipiac, as the wrong Lanza brother happened to be an alum, sending the Mt. Carmel campus into a frenzy. The rush to get information out first causes credibility to be lost, and unless journalists get back to back-checking all of the information, users will only find it tougher to put their trust in them.
So, what can a social media site like Twitter be used for? Personally, I think sports, specifically NASCAR have utilized social media perfectly since 2012. In February 2012 during the Daytona 500, when part of the car broke, causing calamity on the track, a new era for the sport was born.
There was a two hour delay in the race trying to put the fire out and repair the track, and during that time, racer Brad Keselowski happened to have his phone on him, and tweeted a photo from the seat of his car. Overnight, Keselowski gained over 100,000 followers on Twitter, and set the stage for NASCAR to get more involved in social media. It made the sport more interactive and entertaining to watch.
Ultimately, news organizations still have some work to do in order to get new information out correctly. For now, sports like NASCAR have taken the driver’s seat in ushering in a new era of journalism.
A week later, Klout still fails to process any new information.
Does Klout really deserve the slogan “The Standard for Influence?”
Last week, JRN 305 students were required to link our social media pages to see their influence. In journalism especially, posts on social media are important because personal opinions on a topic in the world could be reflected as the news organization’s views as well.
The average Klout user gets a score of 40 on a scale of 100. While that’s not necessarily a failing grade, it shows that many people do not branch out and have an influence on the outside world.
Klout requires a user to connect the vast majority of their social media accounts to see all of the demographics of a post, from likes, shares, retweets, etc., to where and who the people are that view their posts.
For this assignment in particular, I found myself having to connect my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and my overly confusing Google+ account (Yes, I have a Google+ account, but maybe you’ll hear about that in another rant).
After connecting all of the accounts, I was given a score of 49, but with very little substance. Compared to other profiles, where they had top posts and got insight on their influence, I did not receive any demographic information or see a single one of my posts. I thought initially that it would be best to wait a few days and perhaps I would start seeing some of my posts and insight.
Unfortunately, a week has passed, and I have yet to see any new information on the site, despite me still being connected. I have found the site to be very buggy, which raised the question of whether or not the site is reliable.
Sophomore Nelianna Ferraro said in her blog that linking all accounts raises an issue. “If, however, Klout was to get hacked, the results would be disastrous. The hackers would have access to every account from Twitter to LinkedIn. It seems like Klout users are just supposed to trust the website to not be vulnerable to attacks,” says Ferraro.
With a lack of graphs or advise on how to adjust my own posts, it feels much less personalized than I ever could have imagined. It looks like a work in progress, but for now I’m not quite sure how I feel about Klout.
Photo Credit from Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac is making strides towards environmental sustainability, but are students taking notice?
“It’s always been something on the minds at Quinnipiac… If you put the cost into it initially you’ll see the impact in the long run,” says Karla Natale, assistant vice president of Public Affairs. She also serves on the Sustainability Committee.
Natale acknowledges that in the U.S., citizens tend to be very wasteful.
“We’re very much a throwaway society,” says Natale.
Quinnipiac has introduced the Single Stream recycling bins across the campus, and freshman Connor Gilroy says he likes the convenience they bring.
“I always recycle but when they get into too many categories with paper and plastic, you’re like, ‘Screw that,'” says Gilroy. “But, if you don’t have to separate things, then it’s less of a pain.”
However, some students do not see the effects of the recycling program.
“They’re doing terribly,” says senior Cassie Klatskin. “I live in townhouses and there’s no place different to put our stuff from single stream. I don’t even think they’re recycling anything from there.”
However, other Quinnipiac students say that the Single Stream Recycling is not nearly enough.
“I think that the fact that you can take a two hour shower at the same temperature, that’s a severe waste of energy,” says sophomore Jonathan Hammer. “No matter what resource we do use, we’re using a lot of it.”
That does not stop them from coming up with creative ways to turn the university into a more sustainable environment.
“Why don’t they turn the lights off and the TV’s off in the cafeteria at midnight? No one’s in there,” says Klatskin.
While it is still a work in progress, they are getting recognition for work done thus far. According to a quinnipiac.edu article, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the school was a Green Power Leader. The Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to purchase green energy to help reduce their carbon footprint.
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