Teresa Buckley is the executive city editor for the Times Union.  James Odato writes a blog about politics for the Times Union.   He also joined the Capitol Bureau in 2008.  Recently they came in to journalism class to talk about journalism and what is important when looking for a job.

It was unfortunate that I attended every journalism class all year but missed out on such a great oppurtunity because I was home throwing up.  Once I found out I missed such a beneficial meeting I decided to look up what is important in your resume if you want to get hired in the journalism world. 

James Odato of the Times Union came to class last Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the Times Union.

The first thing that I learned that I had no idea was how important it was to have a cover letter.  Employers have to go through a great deal of applications sometimes and having a nice cover letter is a great way to have your application stick out from everyone elses.

It is vital that your resume has absolutely no mistakes especially because you are applying for a journalism job.  When it comes to the interview make sure you are familiar with the newspaper you are applying for.  Nothing would look worse than not being aware of the type of newspaper it is.

One other thing interviewers want to know about is if you are familiar with the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Pracitce.  It would be helpful to know the code by heart.

I also learned how it is extremely important to have experience to put on your resume when you are applying.  It doesn’t matter if it is an internship or working for the school newspaper.  Employers want to see examples of the work you are writing.

I wish I went to the class because I feel like it would be extremely beneficial.  I do feel like after reading through some articles online I have a better feel for what employers are looking for.  I hope someday I will be able to say I got the job.

A Local Rivalry

If you haven’t made any plans for the weekend  then the Times Union Center is the place to be tomorrow night.  Tomorrow the areas hottest crosstown rivalry is renewed when UALBANY and Siena meet on the hardwood. 

The Danes are entering the game with a respectable start to the season sitting at 5-2 but the Danes haven’t had the most difficult schedule in the world.  Two of the teams victories are coming from a first year division 1 basketball program in Bryant College.

The Siena Saints are entering this game with a 3-3 record.  While they have played a fairly difficult schedule you have to feel the start to the Siena has been a disappointment for Siena.  They were flat out embarassed in the Old Spice tournament by Tennessee and ended up finishing in dead last.  They are coming off a win over Loyola which might help them enter the game on a high note.

Saturday night plans to be a big night for the city of Albany no matter what team you are rooting for.  Ever since the rivalry was renewed in 2001 this game has been a big draw.  The Saints have won 6 of 7 since they renewed the rivalry and look to be favored tomorrow night.

My prediction on the game is that Siena bounces back after a miserable start to the season with a victory.  Even though I think UALBANY is a more athletic team I think Siena has more talent.  Siena playing the game at the Times Union Center is also a huge advantage.  I see UALBANY keeping it close for a while and Siena pulling away in the second half.  No matter what tomorrow night should be a fun night for Capital Region basketball fans.

0-16?

The look of dejected fans wondering if the Lions will win a game all year. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Over Thankgiving I had the punishment of watching the Detroit Lions play football. I knew they were a bad team going into this game but with the exception of a few highlights I hadn’t sat down and watched them play a full game. Once I watched them I wondered how a team could be so bad.

The Titans had almost 300 yards rushing alone. The team got blown out by 30 plus. I couldn’t belive how bad they actually were. Once the game was over that got me thinking about whether or not this team would win a game all year.

Once I took a look at the remainder of the Lions schedule I thought to myself there is a pretty good chance this team goes winless. Every year we talk about the chances of a team going winless and I always think there is no way. This year I think there is a very good chance the Lions go down in the record books.

Home/Away	Opponent
Home	Minnesota
Away	Indianapolis
Home	New Orleans
Away	Green Bay

Above is the remaining games in the Lions schedule.  The Lions are 0-12 going into there final 4 games of the season.  If you look closely you will see that every team the lions play is fighting for there playoff lives. This means no team they play the rest of the year will be taking them lightly.

Tampa Bay went 0-14 in 1976 in their first year as a team. No team has gone winless since then. No team has ever gone 0-16 in NFL history. I think the Lions will be in the record books at the end of this year.

Building a Career in Magazines and Books

Since I haven’t really checked my email over Thansgiving Break this assigment is late.  I figured I better write it now instead of blowing it off completely. 

Nicole LeBlanc wrote the book Random Nights. Photo Courtesy of Google Images.

Recently in my book for digital journalism class I read about what it is like to have a career in the magazine and book business.  I must say I learned a great deal of information that I did not know.

Nicole LeBlanc, author of the book “RandomFamily” talked about freelancing say that it is a major “gamble”.  She went on to say it isn’t just writing a good story but it is convincing other people that the story is worth there time.

I also learned that it is much more difficult to have a career in freelance writing then it was in the past.  Long narratives are published less and less in magazines now.  Because of this it is very important that the writer spend a great deal of time pitching the story as well as write it.

Joesph Gonrad is a writer that said you should never take a break from a piece.  He said “abandoning projects can become a bad habit.”  I thought that was interesting because sometimes I do just that.

Susan Orlean is a very successful writer that was in the book I read for class. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Ways to eliminate that habit are to give yourself a sample due date or spend more time thinking about the book like during your lunch break or dinner. 

The chapter went on talking about how difficult being a freelance writer can be because of all of these situations but one thing that Susan Orlean,  a writer of many books, said stayed with me.

“Spending time with the orchid poachers made me realize that I do have one real passion: for my work and the idea that it matters.”

When I finished the chapter that quote stayed with me because enjoying what you do and feeling like it is worth while is the most important thing.  Being a writer might be a tough job with the low pay and competitiveness but I enjoy it.  I love writing about sports and I plan on doing that no matter how hard it might be.

Lane is the New Name At Tennessee

After 17 seasons in Knoxville the University of Tennessee will no longer be referring to Phillip Fulmer as the head coach.  Yesterday Lane Kiffin was introduced as the Tennessee Volunteers new head football coach.

The hiring was announced just 2 days after Hall of Fame coach Phillip Fulmer was carried off the field to the sounds of Rocky Top in honor of his 17 seasons with the Vols.  It will be no easy task for Kiffin to turn the Vols around.  The Vols finished a disappointing 5-7 this year with a loss to Wyoming of all teams.

The former Raider coach is headed to Knoxville. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Kiffin is going to be making a little over 2 million a year for leading the Big Orange.  It is actually more than he was making as the Oakland Raiders head coach before he was fired earlier this year.  Before coaching the Raiders Kiffin worked with the quarterbacks at USC.

Kiffin will be joined by his father Monte Kiffin who currently is an assistant coach on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff.  Ed Orgeron, the former Ole Miss head coach is also rumored to be on the staff which will help recruiting in Knoxville.

When you are in the SEC conference and are competing against coaches like Urban Meyer and Nick Saban recruiting can get tough.  Tennessee is hoping Kiffin can tackle that obstacle as well as coach the Vols to success on the field.

It will certainly look different every Saturday when Fulmer isn’t on the field with the Vols.  Hopefully over time Kiffin can make a name for himself and yesterday was the start.

Championship Week in College Football

This weekend in College Football is Championship week. It is the last week in college football before the bowls. For 3 major BCS conferences their conference championship will be decided this Saturday. For the MAC conference a champion will be crowned Friday night.

Friday night at 7 the Buffalo Bills will be in its first ever MAC championship and will be taking on Ball State. Ball State is a heavy favorite in the game. Ball State has a perfect season going so far at 12-0 and they are looking to improve on that record.

Saturday starts the conference championships for the BCS schools. The ACC conference championship should be a great battled this weekend. The Boston College Eagles who are 17 in the country at 9-3 will be taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies at 8-4 and number 25 in the country. The game should be an epic battle between two former Big East programs that have a history with one another.

Nick Saban has his Alabama team one win away from the National Championship. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The game of the weekend if you ask me is the SEC Championship. This game will be played at 4pm on Saturday between Alabama and Florida. Alabama comes into the game undefeated at 12-0 and number 1 in the country. Florida is 11-1 and is number 4 in the country. There is a great chance that the winner of this game earns a spot in the national championship.

The Big 12 Championship will be at 8pm between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Missouri Tigers. The Sooners are 11-1 and number 2 in the country. The Missouri Tigers are 9-3 and number 20 in the country. The Sooners can earn a spot in the national championship with a victory.

A BCS bowl game is given to the winner of each of these BCS games. A very respectable bowl is given to the MAC champion. This Saturday will be a great way to close out the college football regular season. The season has been exciting so far and hopefully this weekend won’t disappoint us. Expect a great weekend of college football.

Siena Goes 0-3

If you look through this blog you will see a post I made a few weeks ago telling people in the Capital Region to watch a few Siena basketball games before they crown them.   I said lets see how they do in their preseason tourney before we talk about at large bids and tournament wins again.

Siena played its final game of the Old Spice Classic this morning at 10:30 against Oklahoma State.  The Saints ended up losing the game and coming in dead last in the tournament.  The Saints finished the tourney with an 0-3 record.

It isn’t just the record that made the tournament a disappointment.  It was the way they lost that was really hard to swallow.  The Saints got absolutely embarassed by Tennesseee in the opening game.  They blew a big lead to a weak Wichita State team.  They watched a smaller Oklahoma State team beat them on the glass today.

The consequence of such a bad showing is Siena’s chances of getting an at large bid are all but gone.  The Saints will now have to focus on winning the MAAC title and putting this experience past them.

The good news for the Saints is they have a few days off to enjoy the Magic Kingdom and Baltimore before they have a date with oyola of Maryland.  The matchup will be Siena’s first league game of the year.  Hopefully they will have better luck then they did in Florida.

Burress is a mess.

Plaxico Burress has had a rough season with the New York Giants this year.  He has had a number of off field incidents with the Giants over his career but the latest one is just not acceptable.

Today sources have said that the star wide reciever had told the Giants that he had accidentally shot himself.  The good thing is the injury is not life threatening.  Burress shot himself in the leg while he was at a nightclub friday night.

I wonder what the phone call was like when Burress told the Giants he accidentally shot himself. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

It is good news for the Giants that the reciever is ok but at the same time you can’t be happy at all.  First of all what is he doing out at a nightclub 2 nights before the game.  The second thing and most important what is he doing with a loaded gun at a club?  If you are a member of the New York Giants organization you are not happy at all.

The thing that is extremely selfish on Burress part is he has been a distraction to the team all year.  This was after he just got a contract extension so you have to wonder if that has anything to do with why he is not on his best behavior.

If I am a member of the New York Giants front office I suspend him once he is able to play again.  Burress has already been suspended once this year and the Giants did fine without him.  It is time teams showed these athletes that nobody is bigger than the team.

Last Game for Fulmer

Fulmer couldn't help but shed a few tears after announcing he wouldn't be back for his 18th season as Tennessee coach. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Tommorow the Tennessee Volunteers face the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium.  For the crowd of over 100,000 it might seem like any other home game but Coach Phillip Fulmer won’t feel that way at all.

Saturday will be the last game for Coach Fulmer as the Tennessee Volunteers football coach.  The coach that led Tennessee to a national championship in 1998 was forced to step down a few weeks ago.  Fulmer was not meeting up to the standards that ironically he set at the University of Tennessee. 

The Volunteers are just 4-7 this year and will miss a bowl game once again.  For an SEC power the Vols have been underachieving for a while now.  They have not made it to a BCS game since they won the title in 1998.

As bad as the Vounteers have been playing it is a shame to see Coach Fulmer leave.  He has been part of that university for over 30 years and 17 of those as head coach.  He will always be a part of Tennessee Football. 

Fulmer had been on the hot seat in Knoxville for years.  He leaves as one of the winningest coachest in SEC history.  Fulmer will have a career record of 151-52.  Win or lose saturday Fulmer will be remembered in Knoxville as well as college football forever.

Thankgiving?

I know there are a number of holidays we celebrate here in America.  I actually enjoy holidays.  Just think, holidays are a reason to get a break from work or school.  I feel like sometimes we actually forget about what were celebrating though and get too caught up in the moment.

Look at the Thanksgiving holiday.  I think it is great that we have a holiday where we are supposed to be thankful for what we do have.  I love how watching the Lions or the Cowboys playing on Thanksgiving are a tradition.  I love how we actually have an excuse to eat as much food as we want and then still be able to go back for the leftovers the next day.  Thanksgiving really is awesome.

The thing how did we come up with this holiday in the first place.  I know that were supposed to believe we should all be thankful and nice to eachother like the Pilgrims were nice to the Native Americans.  I know were supposed to believe the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans over to have a nice meal and be friends forever.  The thing why are we supposed to think that?

If you ask me as much as I like Thanksgiving the entire holiday is rediculous.  What really happened years ago was the Pilgrims came over and basically gave the Indians a final meal.  They were nice to the Indians at the time but that didn’t last long.  The Pilgrims gave the Native Americans diseases that they brought over from their homeland.  The Native Americans that didn’t get sick were eventually pushed off the land.

Now that everyone knows the real story you can think about it when you are celebrating Thanksgiving from here on out.  Think about how nice the Pilgrims were to give them a last meal before they took their home from them.  I guess knowing people from another country aren’t coming over to steal our homes from us is a reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving.