It's the final week of the semester, which means this will be my last blog post for #loweclass. Ever. There's a certain sense of accomplishment that comes as a result of finishing such a demanding class, but there's also a tiny bit of remorse. #Loweclass is that time of the day where my classmates and I come together to have a discussion. It's one of the few classes where we feel comfortable enough in front of each other to speak our minds. On Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. we are treated as adults. We are held at the highest of expectations and for some reason it feels good. 

As Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune said at the 2013 Marquette Alumni Award Ceremony on Saturday, "to be a great writer you have to be a great thinker." I believe Professor Lowe assigned us a beat assignment for the semester because he wanted us to take the time to think. Whether it be about news, culture, coverage, pictures or video, Professor Lowe wanted us to be creative and question what we value most in our chosen profession. For me, it's honesty. I value a media outlet that provides me with an accurate account of the latest happenings in the United States and around the world, and it's my belief the BBC does that the best. 

Looking back at my first media critique of the BBC, many of my opinions have stayed the same but there are a few that have changed. For the most part, I still value the BBC's not-too-busy website. I don't like being overwhelmed by content because it poses as a distraction from what I am searching for. I like that the breaking news stories of the day are taken from across the globe, and I especially value the simplicity of its articles. Straight and to the point, exactly what I need. 

Upon more exploration of the website, I was surprised to find out just how much the BBC offers. Podcasts, live broadcastings, radio shows, documentaries, features, news stories, pictures, blogs; You name it, the BBC has it. I'll admit it took me a while to navigate all of these resources, but as I became more familiar with the website it was easier to find what I was looking for. As a reader, the BBC grew on me and I now find myself logging on to the BBC's website every day just because I want to. It's rather shocking considering I was such a Yahoo advocate before. 

As much as I would love to continue to critique the BBC, the end of the semester signals the perfect time to put my opinions to the side. I've studied the website up and down hundreds of times, but now I think I'll take a back seat and enjoy the read, as I would say it. Instead of looking at things through a microscopic lens, I'll evaluate the content based on my feelings. I'm excited to see how different it will be. 

If all goes according to plan, hopefully in two years time I'll be back in London critiquing the BBC as an exchange student, or maybe even as an employee! I've turned into a life-long fan of the BBC as a result of this blog, and there's no turning back now. I'm determined to get to the top, and for me that means working for a media outlet that delivers above average content to a world-wide audience. 

Here's to chasing the dream.
Cheers! 

April has been a rough month. On the 2nd my friend's 20-year-old brother passed away from a long fight with cancer. That next Saturday, I got word from back home that another friend's Dad had lost his life in a fire Given that my father passed away five years ago, that one hit me hard. To top it off, the following Wednesday one of my idols, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Great Britain, died from a stroke. Since I've always been told bad things come in threes, I figured that was it for bad news – at least for a little while. 

But on Monday, April 15, 2013 more bad news erupted while I was sitting in #loweclass. Around 2:45 p.m., two explosions went off near the finish line of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. Three people were pronounced dead and at least 140 people were injured. It was a dark, scary day for Boston and the entire country, and the fear did not subside until the following Friday when the second suspect were found and arrested after a week-long manhunt. 

The media went on a frenzy with everything having to do with the bombings. So much so, that they barely covered the April 17 West Texas fertilizer plant explosion, which sources are saying has left 60 to 70 people dead. Each day's coverage of the Boston bombings seemed to reveal new information on the victims, the explosives used, the rumored suspects and the manhunt to capture them. In order to keep up with the latest breaking news, I tuned into CNN and the BBC. Based on my prior critique of the news sources, I figured they would be the most reliable and provide the best coverage. 

I was thoroughly impressed by the coverage the BBC provided of the Boston bombings. I preferred the content on their website compared to CNN's because their video footage was, how can I say this? Juicier.  When I went searching for the picture of "severed limbs," I found it on the BBC, raw and uncensored. When I wanted live coverage of President Barack Obama's address to the nation, it was broadcasted live on the home page. Everything I needed the BBC had. As I've said before, it is most impressive to me that a foreign news outlet delivers such wide coverage of an American crisis. I realize the BBC has representatives in the U.S., but it shows just how much they care about reporting the news of the world. 

Whenever I was infront of the computer, I was on the lookout for the latest happenings. I was inthralled, like the rest of America was, with finding the suspects. But since I was at Miller Park Stadium when the suspect was found in a Watertown man's boat, I wasn't able to hop onto my Macbook to watch everything go down. I loved that I could get the latest news from BBC's twitter account. By refreshing my news feed, I understood what was going on in that poor man's backyard even though I couldn't see it. It was almost more exciting because I had to wait for a new tweet to pop up with the latest 140 characters of information. 

Today, the BBC continues to provide coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings but not to the extent it was last week. Since the news is no longer breaking, I've seen a rise in the amount of features and profiles posted the last two days. BBC Magazine has written numerous editorials centered on terrorism, religion, and America's child death epidemic. As all of us sit here and wonder why such bad things have happened in our country, it is nice to see a news source criticize us and our culture in order to give us some answers. 

I believe I learned at a very young age that life is precious. All of us know it, but we fail to recognize its every day beauty until we see such tragic events, such as the Boston bombings, the Colorado movie theater shooting, the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting or the West Texas fertilizer plant explosion. When such events are so heavily reported, they hit close to home. They hurt. The whole country got rocked by the two explosions at the marathon on Monday. 

I know the media received a lot of negative criticism of its narrowly focused coverage, however I felt it was necessary. It was almost a coping mechanism. The television watchers, radio listeners, web surfers, and tweeters mourned the loss of the victims, hunted the suspects, and rallied together for Boston. The media connected everyone, and when it comes down to it, that's what we need most during these unimaginable circumstances. We need a network of support, and I think the BBC provided that. 

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of having Mira Lowe, CNN's Senior Editor for Features, guest lecture for two of my journalism classes. It was a treat to hear advice from an established journalist who has had success in the magazine, newspaper, and digital industries. In my feature writing class with Dr. Pamela Hill Nettleton, Lowe discussed the importance of branding ourselves professionally to attain a job as a freelance writer. In #loweclass, the conversation centered on her role as editor for CNN Digital and her advice for telling stories through the use of old media and new media. 

To prepare for Lowe's visit, last Sunday I was assigned to review the five channels Lowe is responsible for at CNN and then compare them to my beat, the BBC. Lowe began her discussion by addressing our critiques collectively. She agreed with many of the arguments we made and assured us she was taking our thoughts into consideration. Lowe introduced her channels as "verticals" because they run vertically across the home page, which Lowe says is the "door to the house" – a reference I had never heard before, but liked. She also introduced the terms "t'c and c's," which stands for top stories and center stories. It was fun to learn journalism lingo I had never heard before. I'm hoping it will help me sound more professional as I start to interview for jobs in the fall. 

After briefly touching on the five verticals, the conversation switched to blogging. Lowe emphasized that for a big company, like CNN, blogging is absolutely essential. CNN has three working blogs: a Belief blog, a This Just In blog and a Marquee blog. It also live blogs big events or events that are not featured on the site regularly. Lowe said the difference between writing a blog and writing a story is that blogs should be "enjoyable" and provide "insight, energy and voice." I much prefer blogging to writing news stories, so I was happy to hear that it still serves an important purpose. 

Next, we discussed the need for journalists to be able to tell stories on a variety of platforms. In #loweclass we have been working to expand our skill sets by telling stories through video, but I don't think I will ever be able to tell a story like CNN did with "The Gift of Charles." The eight minute video incorporated every aspect of journalism in one microsite, or what Lowe calls, "specialized templet." For my upcoming #loweclass project I am thinking about creating a microsite like the one used for "The Gift of Charles." I think it would provide my readers easy, in-depth access into the life of my subject. 

To better our writing, Lowe encouraged us to explore the iReport page on CNN's website because she said we would have a good chance of getting our work published, that is, if it is well written. The iReport page is a citizen journalism platform that is open to anybody. I am glad she pointed this page out to us because it is a perfect avenue for students to explore if they are looking for clips and cannot be a part of a writing organization on campus. 

I feel so lucky to have had Mira come to talk to us about journalism and give us advice as we enter the industry. With all she has accomplished in her career, she is a huge role model for me as a journalist, and as a woman. I am looking forward to hearing her speak again if she returns to Marquette next year. 

This week in #loweclass, my classmates and I will be introduced to Professor Herbert Lowe's wife, Mira Lowe. Mrs. Lowe is the senior features editor for CNN Digital, and we are all looking forward to her lecture on Wednesday. To prepare for her visit, our assignment this weekend was to evaluate the five CNN.com "channels" Mrs. Lowe is responsible for – entertainment, tech, living, health and travel. To do so, I compared each page to a similar page provided by my beat, the BBC. 

Upon first review of each channel on CNN.com, I was not surprised by what I found. Entertainment was focused heavily on celebrity gossip, tech included business and technology updates, health was centered on diet, exercise and recent health studies, and the travel page included a number of service pieces about traveling. The content was just as expected, which I like because I could easily access what I was looking for through the home page. The only page I wasn't a fan of was the living page. I found it unnecessary because a lot of the articles I came across were articles I had seen on other pages. I didn't understand its purpose. 

When comparing each channel to the BBC, I noticed a number of differences in news culture. Many people assume that since we speak the same language as the English, that life across the pond isn't much different than it is here, on the western frontier. But trust me when I say, it is. And I found that noticeable when evaluating these five channels on bbc.com. 

Since one of my biggest passions is exploring new cities, I thought I would start my comparison on the travel page of each website. While each of the five channels appear on the home page of CNN.com, the only channel to earn its own tab on the BBC's home page was travel. Each page included service pieces and list stories, which is good for travelers who are looking for quick answers before "taking a holiday," as the Brits would say. I found similar content on each site: CNN posted "10 budget friendly all-inclusive resorts," while the BBC posted "Five European castles to stay in." Each travel page also offered the latest news on ticket pricing, airport delays and airline news.  

A few differences I did notice was that the BBC included travel tweets and a travel blog, but CNN did not. I liked that they incorporated multimedia platforms. I also noticed the BBC travel page was formatted like a blog, although it is not called a blog. The BBC travel page was also much bigger than CNN's. At the bottom of the page there was an arrow button that leads the reader to more travel stories. If I had to choose, I would visit the BBC travel page because it provides more stories and a wider range of travel pictures. 

Next, I evaluated the tech channel. At first, I had a difficult time locating the tech channel on the BBC website, but I was quickly directed to the page by using the a-z directory, A whole lot more. On both websites, this page reminded me of the business section in a print newspaper. Since I have little interest in the business sector, I didn't find this channel interesting. One major difference I noticed was that CNN had multiple articles about Google, Apple and the new Facebook phone, but the BBC did not. It was clear to me that those companies are not as big in England as they are in the United States. I found the BBC's tech page to be a little bit behind in times, especially since I found out the actual page is called, "Future." The future section was packed with editorial about what is to come in 20 years, not what is happening now or in the near future.  

The entertainment page was the most obvious sign of a difference in culture between Americans and Brits. The CNN entertainment page was covered with celebrity gossip, photos, and breaking pregnancy rumors. In my opinion, it was another TMZ or OMG! While I can admit to reading US Weekly or People magazine, the last thing I want from my trusted news source is the latest celebrity buzz. I prefered the BBC's entertainment page because it offered news of broadway shows, operas, art galleries, and must-see films. The only sign of celebrity gossip was an article about Angelina Jolie's contribution to the young, Malala Yousafazi's charity for education. America's fascination with pop culture was prevalent through this comparison. 

I particularly enjoyed reviewing the health channels of each website because on top of traveling, my passion also lies in health and fitness. Again, I found these pages to be similar in content and layout. Both the BBC health page and CNN's health page boasted huge pictures to go along with their articles. This was something I found unique to the health pages, and I will be interested to explore this on other health-relate websites. I wonder what purpose these large pictures serve?

As expected, I could not come across a living page for the BBC. The closest thing I found was BBC Magazine because if offers a number of lifestyle articles in addition to longer features. Earlier in this post, I mentioned I did not see the relevance in a page dedicated to living because I ran into a lot of the same article I came across earlier through tech, entertainment and health. CNN's living page reminded me of Pinterest – without the pinning. It was a combination of everything: love and relationships, parenting, beauty and fashion, home decor, and there was even a section titled "cute and cuddly." Seriously? On CNN? That one really threw me off. Even though I love reading about many of those topics, I would rather go to Pinterest or HGTV.com. 

Overall, there were many similarities between the CNN and BBC websites but there were also a number of differences. If I was looking to find information on travel and entertainment, I would visit bbc.com. But if I was interested in health, tech and living, I would know to resource CNN's website. My decision would also fall on where I am in the world, because different cultures value news differently. It's something to keep in mind as a journalist if covering international news.