Doin' It Daily

End of semester rant

2007-04-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

People apparently hate this paper. Yes, this very piece of newsprint that you hold in your hands is seemingly something loathsome and revolting to almost all who behold it. Just look at the online comments on several stories.
I understand that people will always complain about the media, and we here at the paper do expect that, but sometimes I'm left scratching my head with confusion.
Student body, we need to have a few words here. I need to explain what a newspaper does. We're not racist because we ran the mugshots of seven black students. We aren't wasting your time when prominent students get arrested, and I don't care if you don't like our editorials about Duke lacrosse players.
Newspapers exist to give you the news. A paper is not here to cuddle you and tell you that everything is all right after you get drunk and take potshots at passing cars with a high-caliber pistol after failing some class.
The paper is here to tell your classmates what you did and how you did it, because that's news. Sorry, but the operative part of the word "newspaper" is "news." Who would'a thunk it?
Also, we run on a very strict timetable. The life of a journalist trying to juggle work and school involves a lot of rushing, tearing your hair out, cursing and worrying that someone won't call you back, and your story won't be as good as it could have possibly been. If we include mugshots with one story and not another, it's because the police didn't send us the shots for the second article.
Now, with that out of the way, I wag my finger at you people (My God. I just said "you people." I must be racist). Before you go accusing us of being horrible people who put out a bigoted travesty of a paper that only Don Imus would approve of, think about what you're doing.
You're complaining because an event happened somewhere, but rather than complaining that the event happened, you're telling the people relating the event to you to shut the hell up.
That's like calling CNN and saying "How dare you tell me what happened at Virginia Tech! Before you told me, I thought the world was all smiling bunny rabbits painting eggs with Santa Claus! Go to hell CNN!"
Journalists have a hard life. There's always somebody telling you that you're a pot-smoking liberal trying to pollute the minds of all good, hard-working Americans with your crazy agenda. The truth is, we're so busy that we don't have time to have an agenda.
Oh, and this is the last paper of the semester, so you don't have a chance to respond to this column, and I refuse to check the comments online. Bitches.

-- Zach Toman
Asst. Viewpoints editor

Ce n'est pas un adieu, C'est juste un au revoir

2007-04-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

I’ve been sitting in my office here contemplating what to write for a while. I’ve listened to my feel-good music -- both Bob Dylan and Kings of Leon -- and even some extreme-feel-good music -- Spice Girls. But, alas, it’s still the end. This is still the last night I’ll sit in this big office and watch the staff run around between homework, emotions and getting a paper out on time.
I’ve worked here at The Daily Gamecock for two years now, but this has been a long time coming. When I was three I used to dance around for my mother’s camera with a newspaper, singing and “reading.” At 7, I made my own newspapers about animal rights, complete with jumps (“see page A13”), advertisements I drew for princesses and comics of my big brothers getting in trouble. My pen name was “Ashley Olsen.” By middle school I was making newsletters for all my friends with gossip columns, movie reviews and other silly girl things. By seventh grade I was working tirelessly on the yearbook. This continued in eighth grade.
Freshman year of high school I couldn’t wait to work for the newspaper. By senior year I was the editor, and it was one of the best experiences of my life -- until now.
The Daily Gamecock has been one of the most rewarding, entertaining and educational experiences in my life. I don’t think anything else could be like this. It’s not just for my resume. I’ve learned twice as much, if not more, by working up here for two years than I could have in my classes down at the J-school for four.
Leaving this place isn’t easy. It tears me apart every night when I leave here. I go home and stare out my ceiling reliving headlines. I beat myself up over mistakes, I get upset when staffers are upset and now I have to say goodbye.
It was unexpected, heart breaking and an emotional roller coaster, but two weeks later I’m slowly getting there.
These people are my second family, and I love them all. We’ve had our disagreements, low points and fights, but we still come back Sunday through Thursday to make this newspaper. I wish there was some way to actually say what I feel, but Willy Wonka said it right: “For some moments in life there are no words.”
For a writer and a destined journalist, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

So to the spring staff of 2007: Thank you all for letting me be your editor. Thank you for all the support, fun and love. Good luck to you all in whatever you choose to do in the upcoming years. You have all made an indelible mark on my life, and I owe you all so much for that.

To past staffs: I don’t know how you all did this.

To Alexis Arnone: you’re my sister, my best friend and the best roommate. You helped me through so much. Good luck in Charleston and in all you do, even though you don’t need it.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

Take this job and love it

2007-04-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Let me begin with the highest truth: I hate our editor in chief, Liz White.

However, we have never fought, argued, spat, quibbled, or even spread nasty rumors about each other. I hate Liz for inviting me a year ago to The Daily Gamecock. It was such a nonchalant gesture, first in person and then later via e-mail. I came to the interest meeting full of strangers and decided to stick around for grammar’s sake.
A year later, the office feels like -- all together now, staff -- “a home away from home.” This is because we know how everyone works around here and what to expect. It feels so liberating to cooperate with a bunch of other college students in an open-ended environment. At other jobs there’s been a disconnect between myself and my managers, because their authority and duties kept them in a different place. But here, I share professors with some staffers and trade homework advice with others. We’re all at the same stage of life, and that makes it easier to trudge ahead with putting out a paper.

Or should I say, “made” it.

While I’ll be Viewpoints editor during the summer, the staff will be much smaller. We’ll only meet once a week, which means this semester is essentially my last “real” one at The Daily Gamecock. It also means I should give thanks now, and not just to the editors: my co-workers include Evie, Barry, Lauren, Callie, Jason, AJ, Amanda, the Kellys and Zach (where copy editing is concerned). Every office should be so lucky to be stuffed with people who welcome non-sequiturs and off-kilter humor at the drop of a hat. We vacuum here at The Daily Gamecock: no brooms up our asses!

Back to the main idea: my hatred of Liz White. While my junior year easily beats the two before it because of my time here at the paper, senior year looks to top it with new opportunities. And exploring these opportunities means leaving the office before being forced to attend graduation – though I’ll continue to write columns for sure, and maybe even a few that aren’t tongue-in-cheek satires.

So I’m not really leaving yet, but it feels like goodbye. But I’d also like to greet the crop of fresh faces that will come to the newspaper in the fall and warn them: you’re gonna get attached to this place. Give this office a couple of open minutes of courtesy and you’ll get back a dozen friendships.

And if you’re not careful, you just might learn to love -- I mean HATE -- the people around here.

Thomas Maluck
Copy editor, columnist, perennial foot-dragger

I am fortune's full

2007-04-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

I tried to quit. I really did.
But everytime I stormed off ranting about people who’d never heard of a deadline or late production nights, I got reeled back in.
“You sold your soul,” they’d tell me. Apparently two and a half years at The Daily Gamecock is equivalent to betting on a fiddling competition. And losing.
I complain a lot, but usually it’s all a joke. Tensions got high in the newsroom once in awhile, but most arguments could be solved with an ice cream run or television break.
This semester, I finally had to go through with quitting. I have another year of classes left, but after two and half years as a designer and eventually design director, I’m ready to find out what college is like when you don’t work past midnight 3 nights a week. Not that I’m getting out of it completely—I’ve promised to watch over design next semester, and I may be taking on another huge part of Student Media next year.
But I digress.
Even though I won’t be graduating until May ’08, people can’t seem to resist telling me how I’m getting ready to enter the “real world.” That magical place that was after high school first, and now is after college. In the real world, they say, I’ll have to get a job. I’ll pay bills and live on my own.
Amazing. Y’know, amazingly familiar…
Ok, so maybe financial aid and parents help out with some bills, but I pay a lot on my own. And the job thing? Between three jobs I work more than full-time every week. That calculation is without a full class schedule. And all my friends get to listen to me complain about all this.
I realized recently though, that I complain about my jobs in the same way I complain about the Gamecock. I work three jobs for the money and experience, but I stay at all three of these jobs because I love them. Papers and midterms suck, but without school I wouldn’t have any of the jobs I love and I wouldn’t have half the people I love. I might have all the free time in the world, but I wouldn’t even have a social life worth scraping together.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is: thanks for the experience. And I might actually miss this place, if I can ever escape.
Oh and on the whole real world thing all I can say is bring it on.
I could really use the relaxation.

-- Megan Sinclair
Design Director

A photog's final words

2007-04-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is it – one of the last blogs of the year, and my last blog as a Daily Gamecock Photographer/ Photo Editor. As this may come to a bit shock to those of you who know me to blab on and on about how much I enjoyed the DG or for those who don’t you could pretty much care less right? Anyway from the guy who was asked in High School during his senior year what will you do in college and would eagerly respond work for The Gamecock, to the guy who has been a vet and seen both sides the stringer to the Asst Editor.
I have seen may things in my year here and made some great friends, met some celebrities in an elevator (sorry I didn’t recognize you, Steve) and maybe a few future presidents - this year has been amazing. From a freshman's point of view I have had the best first year in history to do what I have done to meet who I have meet, not many - hell, a handful - of people have experienced or will ever experience in their lifetimes. You know it's hard for me to put into words what I want to say; I have many mixed emotions: glad to end on a high note and sadness now that my dream is coming to a close, and it's time to wake up. I know as I depart the photo department is in good hands with special people like Jessica Smith and Ashton Vasquez. It's amazing what all we have done this semester; our photos where awesome and they came a long way. I am sure we are the best in South Carolina.
YES I SAID IT COME ON CLEMSON, WINTHROP AND CHARLESTON.
I look at all the papers and it amazes me how much I have done, and to see the progression is astonishing. Few people I would like to thank, former staff members, Mike Conway, Steven Van Haren, Nick Esares, and current members, Liz White, Nick Needem, Justin Fenner, Kelly Bobrow, and I know I am leaving people out. With out these people I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did and experience what I have. OH and of course our dear readers who look at my photos first then read. Sorry for the mistakes, but we tired we got our point across in most photos. Well I must go collect my things now, say my good byes, and get into my last arguments. I must depart but I am reminded of Cartman from South Park, “Screw you guys, I am going home.”

FINALLY. Take care you guys and wish you all the very best.

--Brandon Davis
Lame Duck Asst. Photo Editor

The long and winding road

2007-04-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have worked a lot of different jobs over the years.

I’ve been a payroll courier, convenience store clerk, radio station board operator, call screener and talk radio show producer. I’ve worked as a swing-shift DJ for a top-40 radio station, produced syndicated radio broadcasts for a major university’s sports teams, delivered pizza, and worked very briefly as a Wal-Mart cashier (had to quit that one in a hurry). I’ve also worked as a freelance writer for a tabloid newspaper in Sweden, which is how I got interested in this whole journalism thing.

I’ve worked for a nonprofit organization founded by Bette Midler that cleans up and maintains neglected parks and gardens all over New York City (amazing experience). I’ve spent time as a crew member on a replica of an 1800s Dutch ship -- we sailed around New York Harbor and the Hudson River and taught elementary school kids about the environment (steering that ship under the George Washington Bridge and alongside the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was one of the coolest experiences of my life).

I also worked at a youth hostel in Spanish Harlem that catered mostly to German backpackers (I’ll never forget when one of the guests stuck his head out of a sixth story window and shouted, “I Luff Heep-Hoop Muzeek!” at the top of his lungs).

None of these experiences, however, have benefited me more than working here at The Daily Gamecock. This job has created opportunities for me that never would have happened otherwise, and my future job prospects are world’s better because of it.

Now, I’m finally about to graduate -- a goal that’s been a long time coming for a married, non-traditional student like myself. It took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but I have no regrets about taking the long and winding road.

It’s been a blast working here, and I’ll miss it.

On to the next adventure …

-- Aaron Kidd
Copy desk chief

Viewpoints, out... seriously.

2007-04-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, this is weird. This is my final blog entry as Viewpoints editor of The Daily Gamecock. Which means I’ll be graduating soon. Yeah … a little scary. It’s been quite a ride with this newspaper for me. I started out as a lowly features writer and was catapulted into the position of The Mix editor by the end of the summer.
Good idea in their part? Probably not. I’ve had my fair share of tears and drama stemming from this paper, but I’ll still miss it.
I’ll miss the people who put this beast together every night. I barely got to know some of them this semester, but they’ve impacted me like they wouldn’t imagine. Others I’ve known since my first days at this paper (Riley and Bembry, I’m looking at you over there in your little sports corner), and I pretty much consider them family. That’s the one thing I’ve realized about this paper … everyone here holds me together like they do this paper. They’re my rocks, and it’s going to be hard to not come up to the newsroom three days a week. (I will get used to it, don’t worry. But, the beginning will be tough.)
I will no longer be writing weekly columns that only my mother reads and then sends e-mails about how wonderful a writer I am. Oh sigh, no more constant reassurance. I will no longer be allowed to get angry at my columnists for misinforming the public and tabbing with the spacebar. (OK, so I didn’t get THAT mad … I love you guys.) Most importantly, I won’t be a member of The Daily Gamecock. This is shocking and saddening. I will be moving on with my life — that can’t be right! So … here’s a hint to surviving TDG for the future: don’t plagiarize or J-Fen will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Viewpoints, Out. (seriously.)

-- Alexis Arnone
Viewpoints editor

Woohoo!

2007-04-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

The semester is winding down, and while I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the education I receive here …
ONE WEEK TO GO!!!! Wooohoooo!
I am so ready for the summer and the chance to relax and not have to worry about class work. I was fortunate enough to get a newsroom internship at a paper near my hometown in New Jersey. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to learn a lot from that experience and be able to bring it back in whatever capacity when I return to The Daily Gamecock.
The staff is going to be very different next year, with many of the people who have been here the longest finally graduating and many others going on to other things. However, I have the greatest confidence that the staff will do a great job and continue to make our university look good.
I hope that we continue to piss people off with the things we write, because honestly sometimes the best stories we print are the ones that get people mad. It feels like we’re doing out best work when someone is pissed at us, which happens pretty frequently so I guess we do all right. But it’s only good when people aren’t mad, because we screwed something up. I was thinking about my most embarrassing moment of my college career last night and I realized it was when I mad a dumb mistake in a story my freshman year. But I guess it was sort of a good thing, because I learned to double-check even the most minute things.
Things that happened last semester seem like years ago, and I hope that my college career slows down enough for me to enjoy it.

-- Gina Vasselli
Asst. Metro Editor

Bring on the change

2007-04-19T16:42:00.001-07:00

You’d think I’d be able to cope with change by now.
Having grown up in a military family, we moved around every few years, and I constantly had to deal with changing friends, changing homes, changing schools, changing neighborhoods …You’d think at the age of 21 I would be taunting change, provoking it to do its worst as I am about to embark on my last year of college.
Change, however, couldn’t be more evil at the present time.
Next semester, I will be out of my comfort zone. I won’t be working at the paper, I’ll be living in a new place with new people; I’ll have a new job, and I’ll actually have a car (well, that part is a good thing).
I’m worried, to say the very least, that I won’t be able to cope with all these new challenges. It sort of feels like I will be starting college all over again.
The fear of finding an actual career is always looming, and I hope I figure out what I do want to do by the time that day comes around.
Or I could just suck it up, roll with the punches and find the silver lining.
Either or, bring on the change.

-- Caroline DeSanctis
Managing editor

To the people of the newsroom: carry on

2007-04-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

As the semester is coming to a close, it seems to be a time to reflect and start to realize that it’s definitely, definitely time for some good ol’ relaxation. I’m excited to get home to Virginia and spend time with my family, relax with my friends, make some money and take time for myself to start to think about what I want next semester to look like for myself, too.
This has been a great semester for the paper. We’ve had minimal mistakes, great opportunities to report on big stories (this may not always be a good thing), and we’ve had good chemistry in the newsroom with the majority of the staffers. I feel like I’ve learned a lot more and become a great deal more comfortable doing the job that I do as assistant mix editor; however, I think I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things in many aspects of my life.
The newspaper seems to be ready for yet another set of changes coming upon us next semester, and I think we’re all ready for it. We’re ready for changes, as we always are because that is exciting, that is fun, and that is what helps us grow as journalists. But what I really appreciate is that we are sticking to the same tactfulness that truly makes good journalists. With the Virginia Tech “massacre” upon us, as the news stations like to call it, a lot of untactful journalism has been going on in the public media. In our school setting, I really feel that everyone on our staff deserves a pat on the back for actually having feelings for the families involved and friends affected, like myself. Nick Needham, the Metro section editor, really felt for me when my friends were affected by this tragedy as he wrote his story on the horrible murders that took place. He asked me if I was okay with what he wrote, what I felt about it and if there was anything he could change that would make it more tasteful. That was some tasteful journalism right there. When there are people in a community hurting from something, in my opinion, to be tasteful is to think of their reactions to the topic you’re writing about and their feelings overall.
Great job to everyone on staff, thanks to everyone who writes in and lets us know when we suck and when we do a good job, and I’m proud to be apart of a staff that gets along and takes into consideration what the general public will think of their writing, for the most part (when necessary). Great year y’all, have an awesome summer!

-- Andrea Lucas
Asst. Mix Editor

Students should support local teams

2007-04-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

After one year in Columbia, I have come to two conclusions: 1. Carolina students love Gamecocks football and sometimes baseball. 2. Other than those two, Carolina students don't seem to love anything else when it comes to sports.
One thing I heard a lot of people say before I moved down here last year from Richmond, Va. was how awesome of a town this is and their attitude toward sports. If it isn't Carolina football or a big game for the baseball squad, those hardcore Gamecocks fans I've heard so much about seem to stay in the hen house.
Columbia has two minor league teams playing right down the street from the dorms, however most students either don't know or don't really care. The Columbia Inferno is a professional hockey team playing at the double-A level in the ECHL. They have been in Columbia since 2001 and have played all of their home games inside the Carolina Coliseum. Even though they play in the building that houses the School of Journalism and the Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management School, the Inferno's average attendance has hovered near the bottom each year.
Just a stones throw away from the Coliseum is where the Columbia Stingers play inside the Colonial Center. The Stingers are in their inaugural season in the National Indoor Football League and are only charging $5 for student tickets, yet USC students are hard to come by at games.
Columbia already lost the Capital City Bombers to the city of Greenville following the 2004 season. The Bombers wanted to stay in Columbia and were trying to get a new stadium built to share with USC, but the school balked at the idea so the team left. The city went from having a single-A team to the Columbia Blowfish, a summer collegiate baseball team. If they leave, I guess the city could always get a little league t-ball team to play their season at Capitol City Stadium.
The point is, we all need to support the local teams or they will leave and won't be replaced. Carolina fans can't put all of their eggs in Steve Spurrier's basket, because sooner or later, the Ol' Ball Coach is going to be gone and Columbia fans won't have any team worth cheering for.

-- Cory Burkarth
Staff writer, Sports

Putting It In Perspective

2007-04-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

As finals, summer jobs, friendships, relationships and that
impending feeling of doom called graduation threaten to unravel my frail
sense of sanity, the question I am constantly asking myself is not ‘how will
I pull through?’ but ‘why am I doing all this?’
On a purely practical level, college degrees lead to better jobs, which
lead to more money, which lead to more things, which lead to…I don’t really
know what more things lead to, but I get the feeling it isn’t happiness.
Before I wax philosophical, let me just say how grateful I am to know where
my next meal is coming from, that I have a loving family and that I am free
to choose my life’s path. It’s just that I find it so easy to lose sight of
these things and get caught up in the day-to-day. It’s easy to swallow the
pill of the things that I should be doing. I should be in school, dating,
being well-rounded, giving back to the community, saying my prayers, and so
on, ad infinitum. But what makes life worth living is being able to take a
step back and ask, ‘If I died today, would I be proud of the life I lived?’
And I would, but I know that I would have taken less time to worry and more
time to smile. Please excuse the nauseating sentimentalism, but in a time in
my life when the big picture often seems blurry, sometimes it’s just the
right medicine.
The only piece of advice I feel even moderately qualified to dispense to
those feeling the pre-graduation crush is: don’t stop asking the tough
questions. Sometimes they hurt. Sometimes they don’t have answers. But
sometimes just asking is good enough.

-- Ryan James
Assistant News Editor

Neo-McCarthyism: Totally Tenacious Commentary From A Tall Guy

2007-04-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Balance & Memory

Steve Spurrier’s recent comments regarding the Confederate flag and its place on the State House grounds have brought an issue wrought with controversy and one undeniably South Carolinian in nature off of the backburner. And though there has been no shortage of discussion among civilians, journalists, politicians and public figures, the fact remains that the stances of many who are speaking out, including our football coach, are alarmingly polarizing.
Leave it up. Take it down.
There’s no middle ground.
And herein lies the heart of a problem that could be solved with relative ease by considering two things that cannot be separated when tackling such an emotionally charged issue — memory and balance.
The first thing to realize is the Confederate flag will remain on the State House grounds. But it will not fly. It will remain a part of the memorial — framed, in glass …. something.
But to continue to fly it atop the memorial is, at its core, anti-American.
This way promotes balance and preserves the memory of many sides of our Civil War, not the least of which are those that are pain-laden and ancestral.
And let’s be honest. Only one flag represents this country and everyone in it in the truest sense, and it has 50 stars and 13 stripes.

Traveling Travesties

What the funk is going on with basketball these days? How many steps can one guy take before shooting or passing the ball?
I don’t know about the ladies, because I’ll admit that I don’t watch women’s basketball, but the two-step rule has been given the boot by referees in men’s college hoops and the NBA. I saw the point guard from Memphis walk about eight times during the tournament, none of which were called. They might as well abandon that whole dribbling thing as well.

SEAson Change

I gotta say — after watching Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and taking a look around at some of the stories about wacky weather all over this country, I’m a little worried. Since when do people living in parts of the Midwest and Northeast get a foot of snow dumped on them in the middle of April? I used to live in Chicago and Cleveland, and I remember playing baseball, not talking about building a dome to ensure that it can, in fact, be played.
We’ve all got to jump on the green, hydro-solar-biodiesel-ethanol-powered bandwagon, stick it to the oil tycoons and make sure our kids’ kids aren’t afraid of sunlight when they’re growing up. It’d probably help get us out of the Middle East, too.

Tunes

You like good music right? Buy these albums when they drop this spring and summer.
1. Arctic Monkeys, “Favourite Worst Nightmare” — Perhaps finally old enough to have a beer stateside, these young Brits return with a reportedly heavier dose of primo art-punk that chronicles nights out on the town in the over-looked, industrial haven that is Sheffield.
2. The White Stripes, “Icky Thump” — Jack and Meg White are primed to punch everybody else in the industry in the mouth with a return to the guitar-driven fusion of blues and punk that made them huge in the first place.
3. Interpol, (No album name yet) — Shit these guys are cool. They dress to kill and conjure the kind of dark, disturbing, racing and romantic reverb-drenched rock that talks of best-friend butcher serial killers and taking cruises with goddesses. Yes.

-- Chas McCarthy
Class of 2006, TDG production adviser Fall 2006

Good to the last drop...

2007-04-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

ONE WORD STARBUCKS…..Besides the camera and a good telephoto lens, it’s a photographers best friend.

-- Brandon Davis
Assistant Photo Editor

Pulling a "B.C"

2007-04-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

Johnny Hart, creator of the comic “B.C.,” among others, died of a stroke last Saturday. I always liked the physical gags and wordplays in most “B.C.” strips, but one feature always stuck in my side on Sundays.
While Hart could very well have been a wonderful man, he often used the Sunday comics page as an opportunity to have ants and clams quote Bible scripture to each other and make unveiled sermons to the reader. I don’t mind church humor, but Hart straight-up crossed the line of taste directly into preaching. An otherwise fine comic staple was spoiled nearly weekly because of the author’s biases.
As a copy editor, part of my job is to comb through stories for grammatical mistakes, but also for matters of opinion when an article is supposed to be grounded in fact. Conversely, the Viewpoints section is prone to historical statements that don’t come with citations, and it’s my job to check editorials for matters of possibly faulty fact that could use citations. Flattening out opinions in stories almost feels like roboticizing the news, but it’s necessary to get readers the straight scoop, hindered (I mean, supported!) only by writing style. However, reporters are free to record what campus kids have to say about matters – so I encourage you to track down any Daily Gamecock reporters and give them a piece of your mind. Or e-mail whichever section you think could use a heads-up on breaking news or important issues and they’ll get right on it.
I’m not worried that we have a once-a-week inappropriate story, but feedback from readers is a strong line of defense against pulling a “B.C.”

-- Thomas Maluck
Copy editor

Still obsessed with my old job

2007-04-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

I've never really been a huge fan of quick transitions. Prior to working as assistant viewpoints editor, I spent long nights at The Daily Gamecock as a copy editor, going word nerd crazy on stories. But now, working my new position, I can't shake this overwhelming compulsion to copy edit every story before I pass it on to the copy editors, and it's driving me mad. I can feel my hand creeping for the AP style guide, and I have to slap it away with my other hand, saying "No, that's not what I do anymore."
I have to be efficient for the sake of everyone else, and you just can't be efficient when you're trying to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb. With the mindset switch that accompanies taking on a new position, invariable come the mistakes. For instance, I ran someone's name when it should not have been run, and then there was the design fiasco that was the giant filler that ran last week.
I hereby apologize for all of my mistakes, and I'm trying. I really am. But, should you ever feel the urge to jump all over me about a mistake, you try stifling a somewhat creepy obsession with words.

-- Zach Toman
Assistant Viewpoints editor

Don't hold your breath

2007-04-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

The year is winding down and all of a sudden meetings are sparsely attended. It’s a real pain when you still have a full week of stories needed but only three people show up to your meetings. It’s understandable of course. Finals are on the horizon and people are realizing they need to hunker down and get some work done. But the beast needs to be fed, so this is the time of year many editors here at TDG dread because, although we have finals and class work to make up, we find ourselves picking up more and more stories to fill our sections. Everyone wants to end the year with a bang, but it’s hard to do when you’re simply scraping the barrel for stories.
This is also an anxious time of year because we start thinking about the upcoming school year and where we need and want to be. Classes get more and more demanding as the years go on, but you also find yourself more attached to TDG and wanting to stay with the paper and the people you meet and become friends with there. Of course, all this depends on who becomes the next editor in chief. They get the ultimate power over who does what. We have very capable candidates applying this year, with very different managing styles and ideas for the paper. So what people wind up doing in the upcoming years will depend heavily on who becomes our editor for the 2007-2008 school year.
We simply have to wait and see.

-- Gina Vasselli
Asst. Metro editor/ Italian Indentured Servant

Our Response

2007-04-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

As of Wednesday, The Daily Gamecock became much talked about news around campus. I've heard people whispering about it in all of my classes, in hallways and on our Web site. It seems we opened a can of worms, to be cliché. Maybe I'm just paranoid that the kids in my classes would realize who I am and attack me like they have our reporter. It wasn't until I got into the office today that it really hit me what was going on around here.
As I scanned through the 100 or so total comments on all of the controversial stories, I got angrier. I don't mind when people make comments about the newspaper. That doesn't bother me too much, even though to make this I work until I'm sick. No, it's when people start talking crap about my writers that I get mad. That's uncalled for, juvenile and completely out of place. Our writers are assigned stories by section editors. They do their reporting and then send them in through e-mail. After that the stories are fact checked and edited by the section editors, copy editors, copy desk chief and myself. Never should these writers be accosted like our writers have been this week.
What's next? Are people going to start egging cars and dorm rooms when they don't like a news story? Maybe there's something in the water, but whoever thought that saying someone was a fat cow as an insult to their writing should have kept their ignorant thoughts to themselves.
It's a time like this that we felt it was necessary to stand up not only for our paper but for our writers, and let readers know this sort of comments are not welcome topics on our forum.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

Why being the assistant sports editor is bad ass

2007-04-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

So, you might be wondering what makes an assistant sports editor. OK, you probably aren't thinking about that, but you should be.
As assistant sports editor, I take over the sports section two nights a week. During those two nights, I am on top of the newspaper and make sure everyone is focused. Not too many people enjoy my company because I harass the hell out of them, but that's what it takes. A good assistant sports editor needs to be focused, poweful and imaginative. My sports writers respect me, yet know I ask a lot out of them. They get their stories done on time under my watch.
On a given day, I'll stroll into the newsroom after supper, around 5:30. From that point, I edit the hell out of the stories, place them on the server and the rest is magic. Then the night gets pretty quiet until headlines around 9 or 10. From there, my brain works its hardest trying to cram a 500 word article into a one line header. Hard, I know, but someone has to do it. After all that, we call it a night.
I've been a writer for the Gamecock for four years now, but stepped up my involvement a lot my senior year. This is my first semester as Assistant Sports Editor and it's pretty bad-ass. We're always looking for someone to cover sports so if you like doing stuff like football and baseball, shout us a holler.

-- Brian Saal,
Assistant Sports Editor

Spring fever is here

2007-04-03T18:44:00.001-07:00

Ah, spring. There’s nothing more beautiful than our campus in springtime -- except maybe Paris. Paris is pretty this time of year.
But there’s definitely something about the season of rebirth that transforms The Daily Gamecock’s staff. Work builds up, the Strom reopens its pool and everyone goes to lie out, and no one shows up at the meetings. Seriously, where were you guys on Monday night? We need to fill out the budget for next week, and I’m kind of pissed that you weren’t there.
But I digress -- this time of year is absolutely gorgeous, but so is the work ethic we all have during the rest of the year. Spring fever may have affected the rest of you, but we’re still going strong. Or at least we’re supposed to be. Now is hardly the time to be slack, in classes or in anything else. So hunker down and wait for the season -- and the school year -- to be over. The great outdoors and a case of the lazies may have infiltrated the rest of the school, but the work we here at the paper have to do isn’t over yet.

-- Justin Fenner
The Mix editor

We're that kinda people

2007-04-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

It has been another stressful week up here at TDG. On Monday we lost one of our design directors, so expect to see some changes. After working here for over a year and with only a month left before he graduates, our designer decided he needed to relieve some stress and get his work done. That meant cutting out TDG. And for me, that meant reorganize our staff. We moved our assistant viewpoints editor to design and a copy editor to viewpoints. Now I think I can breathe again, but this next month will be a bumpy ride. I could tell it was a tough decision that he didn’t enjoy making.
It’s at the point in the semester where the schoolwork load is piling on for so many of our writers and editors that it seems like people don’t have time for this paper. Yet, here I sit, day in and day out willing to sacrifice my sleep and sanity to do the best I can. I’m sure everyone has noticed the ads in the paper for my position. Staffers keep asking me why I don’t plan on coming back. But that’s not the case. Every semester the editor has to re-apply for the position. Now, I’m stressing even more because I don’t know what I would do with my time if I didn’t have TDG. I already dread my Spring 2008 semester because my nights won’t be filled with this craziness anymore. So I just want to say, to all of our readers, that it might seem that at times we don’t really enjoy our jobs, just know that leaving this place can be the toughest thing we have to do. A graduate and TDG alum comments to me every time he sees the paper: “Man, I wish I was still there.” It’s just that kind of place and we’re just that kind of people. We love what we do and we couldn’t imagine doing anything else with our time. Or at least, if we have to, life would be a lot less enjoyable.
So whether or not I’m editor after this semester, just know what I love every minute of this chaos, no matter what I might say.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

Uncertain future

2007-04-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

The SPJ chapter here at USC just got back from Gainesville for the regional conference. It was a nice respite from the daily grind of actually putting out a newspaper every day. So often the accompanying stress of gluing everything together precludes you from seeing the benefits of what you’re actually doing. It was nice to be able to take a step back and see why this is all worth it.
We got to hear from reporters and editors from the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the St. Petersburg Times and The Gainesville Sun, among others. It seems like the future of print journalism, at least in newspapers, is facing a rocky future. Although this was not the primary theme of the conference, this is one of the messages I came away with.
We are faced with so many important but not so easily answerable questions. How do we deal with the transition to online everything, especially with older readers resistant to change, advertising dollars draining out and so many other factors? How do we deal with readers wanting “infotainment” and not hard news? Is it our job to give them what they need to know or is it our job to give them what they want to know, even if that is the latest update on a woman who did next to nothing besides marry a famous rich man? Do we go by what gets the most hits on a Web site? Or do we tell them about the less sensational meat and potatoes stuff?
I would really like to know how everything turns out. I have full faith in the future of journalism, I am just having to adjust my perception of what that looks like. Hopefully in 15 to 20 years, I will be able to look back and see the successful transition to a bright and thriving present of journalism.

--Chelsea Hadaway
News editor

Will the REAL Rusty Shackleford PLEASE Stand up?

2007-03-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

On these late nights I like to take a gander at previous online issues for one specific person… Rusty Shackleford. You, my friend, have made many a lonely night of copying over and transforming text, pictures, and PDF’s to get the paper online EVERY night that much more enjoyable.
From your first comment that made me feel special inside when I got grief from five people for having a picture the size of three pages, you said you “liked them big ole’ pictures.” Ahh the humor and insanity that come from working at night till 12-2 in the morning is made SOO much more enjoyable with your crazy comments that amuse me at random intervals during the semester. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I could have made it through this semester without you. So I raise my glass to you Mr. Shackleford and hope to hear from you soon.

Johnathon T. Hall
Online Editor

End of an era

2007-03-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

As the last month of the semester approaches, it’s hard for me to believe how quickly it has been going by. As it gets closer to the end of the year and graduation, people start asking me what my future plans are, but to me it still feels like I just started my job as photo editor yesterday.
Even though it feels like it has going by so quickly, when I look back on all the work my photographers and I have done this year, it seems like we’ve been doing this forever. It started out tough -- we didn’t have many photographers and it was sometimes difficult to get all the events covered.
Now the photography department is running smoothly. The photographers on staff have been stepping up and taking on assignments whenever they can, making our job as editors a lot more manageable. I can see all the improvements in everyone on the staff’s work including my own, and I am proud to be part of it.

-- Kelly Bobrow
Photo Editor

Kelly, on behalf of the Photo Department, I and the staff wish you well in all your endeavours. Also, you better not forget us when you hit the big time and we are still struggling in school with classes and never-ending photo assignments. I also want to thank everyone for their hard work this semester and hope that they will come back enjoy the next school year at the wonderful Daily Gamecock. Until next time guys and gals...

-- Brandon Davis
Asst. Photo Editor

Flipping the pages

2007-03-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe I’ve only got a little more than a month left here at The Daily Gamecock.
I’ve been associated with the paper in one way or another since I came to USC in 2004. I started out as a Viewpoints columnist, wrote for Sports, contributed to The Mix and served as managing editor during the paper’s first semester as a daily. Now, I’m in the middle of my second stint as copy desk chief.
But I didn’t plan to come back to the paper this semester. I was so burned out from my hellacious fall schedule (40 hours each week at the Carolina Reporter, 20 hours interning on the copy desk at The State, and 15-20 hours as managing editor here at The Daily Gamecock). I still don’t know how I survived working for three newspapers. After it was over, all I wanted was a quiet, laidback semester before graduating in the May.
Someone asked me if I wanted to apply to be editor in chief in the spring. No way, I said. I just want to sleep. Would I consider coming back as managing editor or copy desk chief? Nope. I don’t think so.
But then – after the semester was over – I started to miss it. I had too much free time and didn’t know what to do with myself. I was used to an overdose of journalism, and I couldn’t wait to get back to third floor of the Russell House to get my fix.
I just enjoy working at this paper. It’s fun to see the other staff members – everyone from copy editors to section editors – getting better and improving their craft. I love being a part of that process.
I’m really proud to work here, and I’m sure I’ll shed a few tears when it’s finally time to say goodbye.
But not yet -- we’ve still got a few more papers to put out, and I plan to enjoy each and every one of them.

-- Copy Desk
Aaron Kidd

I need a vacation.

2007-03-26T17:10:00.001-07:00

Well, it’s that point in the semester where I’ve decided I need a vacay. Bad. A columnist not turning columns in has to be a No. 1 on my top ten list of “Things I Hate About Being the Viewpoints Editor.” Other things make the list, but they’re not as appropriate to put on the blog. Har har, since when has The Daily Gamecock had issues with appropriateness? Just kidding guys, just kidding.
I’m tired of lame letters to the editor that complain about the liberalness of our paper. Um, excuse me? Perhaps because we have a slightly more open-minded vision than the rest of the student body … but we’re not all liberals up here. Trust me. Besides, have you READ Viewpoints? Sometimes, it almost pains me to think of the letters to the editor I’ll receive after one of my conservative columnists goes off on ANOTHER Iraq/political rant.
Only, speaking as a slightly liberal person, I adore those very same columnists. The reason? They’re making people think with their comments. They’re USING their voices to try to CHANGE something. Unlike the people writing grammatically incorrect letters to the editor that don’t really have opinions other than “This person sucks. Their opinion is wrong.” Argh.
Other than that … got to love being an editor! Can’t you just tell?

Viewpoints, out.

-- Viewpoints
Alexis Arnone, Viewpoints editor

“If I had to choose between her or the sun, I’d be one nocturnal son of a gun.”

Why, God, Why?

2007-03-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Our newsroom has been infected with pollen. Allergies. Headaches. Sniffles. Runny noses.
It leaves us asking, “Please, God, why do we need plants to make oxygen?” We come into work, and it seems like people have some kind of virus that is making them go crazy, as if they are going to die sometime soon. And now it’s starting to affect our work. People run out of rooms with tears in their eyes, runny noses and awful noises emitting from their mouths. But that doesn’t stop news.
We’re in the process of planning (very carefully) our April Fools Issue. (That’s right look out for it). Although, we’re having a lot of fun trying to make fun of ourselves as best we can, we’re trying not to cross too many lines. We’ve discovered that like our allergies, our readers are very sensitive. Letters flow in from people that misunderstood something we printed. It seems ironic that in a field based on communicating, so many miscommunications take place.
All that we ask, is that before you jump to a conclusion about us, compare us to spring allergies. Consider that we are necessary to this university and that sometimes we might irritate you, but maybe we didn’t mean to.

Liz White
editor in chief
with help from Johnathon Hall, the online guy

The threes of late night

2007-03-22T20:50:00.001-07:00

There are certain strange things that happen to people when they stay up into the wee hours of the morning every day. First of all, you get tired during the daytime hours when you’re supposed to be awake. This can interfere with classes and can be embarrassing. I won’t discuss how I know this. Secondly, you drink a lot of caffeine. My personal favorites: triple shot espressos from Starbucks, a HOT perfect man from Cool Beans! and Red Bull (sugar free). Thirdly, and most importantly, you start to go kind of crazy, notice simple and strange things and laugh at anything -- even jokes that aren’t jokes. Or funny.
During the day, you have an 80 percent chance of catching a staffer sleeping on one of our two sofas and possibly Riley sleeping on the floor. Amanda, the girl at Starbucks, knows me and probably other staffers by name. We go down in groups to get our caffeine dosage around 11 p.m. So, while we have all three signs that we stay up too late in the newsroom, it’s the third that sometimes affects us in very strange ways.
I feel the need to share the most recent “crazy” things with you because they aren’t quite important or interesting enough to make a story, but I really want to tell more people than the guys at SGTV.
So strange thing No. 1: there’s a stone -- a very hot stone -- on the Russell House Patio while walking between the RH and the library. One cold night, a couple of staffers left the paper late to find some freezing kids lying across the walkway. When asked what they were doing, they replied that they were cold and wanted to get warm on the hot rock. Night after night now, on rainy, freezing and warm nights me and my late-night staffers will stop to check the rock. It’s always hot. On rainy days, its dry while the rest of the stones are wet.
Strange thing No.2: If you clap your hand over the center stone in the circle by the RH patio, it will sound sort of like an eagle. I was shown this by John Cooper, SGTV’s station manager, another late night a couple of months later. I’m not sure how someone discovered that clapping your hands over that stones makes a funny sound, why anyone would care or how it happens at all, but like I said, strange things happen late at night.
Even stranger, we can make a paper on nights like these. Sometimes we giggle uncontrollably over headlines that sound kind of dirty and sometimes we guzzle cups of coffee for enough energy to laugh. But that’s the nature of our wonderful jobs. Late nights with no sleep, coffee and very strange experiences.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

A hard, 12-hour stretch

2007-03-21T17:33:00.001-07:00

When USC baseball stars Lonnie Chisenhall and Nick Fuller became guests of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, I wasn’t really surprised.
It was just a matter of time before the baseball team had a run in with the law. Ray Tanner, Steve Spurrier and Dave Odom all seem to have eyes for upstanding players. But in less than six months all three have seen some of their prized recruits in legal hot water.
What truly was devastating, even to the most experienced journalist, was Tanner’s reaction to his players shortcomings.
Normally a calm, composed customer, Tanner found himself holding back tears, speechless and even in need of a moment to gather his thoughts as he addressed the media on Tuesday.
I’ve been working for newspapers since I was 15. I’ve tried to maintain a professional attitude about every situation relating to my job.
But as Ray Tanner cried for the lost causes that were Chisenhall and Fuller, I just wanted to hug the guy.
Tanner didn’t deserve this. He has been nothing but an ambassador for the university and has been a beacon of success in an athletics department that has known very little.
When I came back from spring break, I was a refreshed journalist ready to jump back into school and work. Though I didn’t see this kind of thing coming from these guys, it really can take the wind out of your sails to see something like this happen.
Coach, keep your head up. Get back to winning that national title USC fans are dreaming about. And know no matter how professional I act, if you ever need that hug, I’m here.

--Alex Riley
Sports Editor and official softy of The Daily Gamecock

Fashion extravaganza

2007-03-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

Stefano Gabbana – the taller, darker, more handsome half of the mega-superstar fashion duo Dolce & Gabbana – said once that fashion is “all a game, with new rules every season.” That’s why when I give fashion advice I normally advocate the purchase of more classic staples instead of trendy new pieces that will go out of fashion within four month’s time.
But that’s not the case this Wednesday with The Daily Gamecock’s first ever fashion extravaganza: “The Ides of March.” We worked hard to tell the story of the life and death of Julius Caesar with gorgeous girls and pretty dresses, while at the same time creating a feasible fashion preview for the Carolina Cup. The concept is a little high fashion (and more than a little complicated), but we figured that since this is the first time we’ve ever done something like this, we should probably go big or go home.
This special section is the result of weeks of preparation, last minute bare knuckle polishing, several thousands of dollars worth of advertising sold, and the efforts of six beautiful women who nearly froze during the shoot (because of weather not nerves). But we made it happen.
All of that work shouldn’t go to waste, so please don’t throw away the tab as soon as you pick up the paper in the morning. At least look at the cover. The cover is amazing.
So I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks, to all the people who made this dream of mine a reality, and to all the people who take the time to look at all the pretty pictures.

-- Justin Fenner
The Mix editor and Dr. Style

The former chief speaks

2007-03-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Another week and another set of papers, all with varying degrees of taste, style, importance and relevance. If ever a paper could divide opinions, it is The Daily Gamecock – all because it does the whole media thing.
A small number of students are reporting on what’s going on, and everyone thinks they are the top story, or alternately not the top story. You take your pick.
But that’s why the job is vital and the newspaper ticks along – normal students work hard every day to report on sports, the city, politics or student organizations. Events are covered and are stories told with passion, exhaustion and effort.
Working at the paper is awesome, even if everyone once in a while complains about it.
Being an alum of The Daily Gamecock, I miss the nights in the newsroom following whatever game is on, trying to figure out the point of columns or arguing about fashion (not really). Students here are hardworking and smart, good friends and comrades in a never-ending fight against the oxford comma. From an hour editing to two hours getting coffee to survive the later evening, each group of workers complaining about everyone else and finally getting the paper sent, the sense of accomplishment is immense.
You never realize how much you relied upon that comradeship and effort until it is no longer relevant.
People complain about The Daily Gamecock, yet it is read by tens of thousands of people around the world. It is just part of the fabric of the university, and USC would be unthinkable without it. Students, faculty and parents would have little to complain about if they didn’t know the things that the hardworking kids at the paper find out about.
Long live The Daily Gamecock, and may it attract the same amount of divided opinion forevermore.

-- Aaron Brazier
Former editor in chief (Summer 2006) and viewpoints editor

What a relief

2007-03-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

Whew. Big Sigh. Breathe in. Breathe Out.
It is finally spring break and time to relax -- a full week without newspapers. Whew. After working pretty much every night this week, writing four editorials -- as opposed to the usual three -- and studying for my many exams and quizzes, I can join in the celebrations with everyone else.
As much as we love making newspapers for everyone, we can’t wait to get out of here. Along with putting up with classes where professors seem to pile on ALL the work into one week, we’re also up here until 1 a.m. every night.
Take last night for example: I left here around 1:30 a.m. and went home to cram for my Economics exam. (I’m blonde and anything with numbers goes right over my head, so this was not fun for me). About 4 a.m. my weariness set it. I took a “nap” until 7 a.m. and got up to study some more. I’ve been running around all day, between classes and a student leader lunch where I represented The Daily Gamecock, then back to class. I’ve had one hour all day to do nothing. That’s when I checked my e-mail, phone messages and got ready for tonight’s paper.
Whew. Just thinking about it makes me tired. So now we’re a good two hours into production with only a few more left, and I can’t wait for spring break to start.
Then next Sunday, when most people are returning to campus or getting over the St. Paddy’s hangover, we’ll be back for more hectic, busy, stressful nights at The Daily Gamecock. No matter what happens in Key West, you will see a new issue on the stands on March 19.
Until then, keep safe, we don’t want to print any terrible news about any of our students next week.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

Picture This

2007-03-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

Between covering basketball games, political candidates, campus events, concerts and a fashion shoot, it has been a busy couple of weeks for us photographers. People around campus probably wouldn’t recognize us if we were seen without our cameras by our sides.
We just photographed the paper’s first fashion shoot this weekend for The Mix, and it was really exciting to see the whole thing come together. It involved a lot of hard work and everyone involved was tired by the time it was over, but it was worth it once we looked back and got to see the positive results at the end of the day.
Sometimes it gets stressful when it seems like every section needs an event covered at the same time, but we’ve been having a lot of fun. Our new photographers have been working really hard, especially these past few weeks, and we couldn’t do it without them. They put up with getting calls at the last minute and going to events that don’t run in the paper.
I’m proud of everyone’s work and I think our pictures have seen a lot of improvement lately. I can’t wait for the rest of the semester!

--Kelly Bobrow
Photo Editor

Ready to break

2007-03-07T18:55:00.001-08:00

Hello out there to all you avid viewers of The Daily Gamecock blog! This is Viewpoints for your reading pleasure today. Let's see ... things have finally begun rolling smoothly! Just kidding, they've actually been pretty smooth all year. I'm impressed. I haven't heard too many complaints from staffers, but then again, I'm only up there three days a week.
Viewpoints has been good to me, except for the occasional staffer who doesn't quite know what an argument is, or how to approach it. BUT, we've all been there. I'm there almost every Monday afternoon when I'm trying to write my column off the cuff before 5 p.m. (Deadlines are for wusses.) SHAMELESS PLUG: write for Viewpoints. Now.
I can say that for all the "blood, sweat and tears" that we've been putting into this newspaper...I'm ready for some spring break! Of course, I'll be working the entire time and fake baking my way through, but three less nights at the Russell House and zero days/nights down in the Coliseum (a.k.a. the J-school, the dungeon, Satan's hangout, etc.) for a little time in the cancer box is fine with me!
As a senior, it gives me high hopes that my beautimous section will be taken care of next semester. Also as a senior, I can say this, vehemently: 65 DAYS UNTIL I HAVE MY DEGREE, SUCKAS!
What? It's been five years in the making.
Tune in again in two weeks for another dose of your Daily Gamecock Viewpoints section. (Man, for the Op-Ed page you'd think this would have been a little more opinionated.)

-- Viewpoints, out.

(Alexis Arnone, Viewpoints Editor. "Where's my baby y'all?")

Not so blind ambition

2007-03-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

Right, like I’m going to tell you “what it’s like” working for The Daily Gamecock.
The beauty of this newspaper is that while everybody contributes to it, I wouldn’t say anybody works FOR it -- we work TOWARD it.
There are certain style rules that are to be followed when writing headlines, but at no point does somebody see a thought in progress and stifle it because of some corporate master. There’s plenty of room to breathe at The Daily Gamecock (pre-deadline), and headlines are ideally the crowns of the copy editors’ efforts. Oh sure, with enough attention to detail anybody can tighten a story’s grammar and shepherd all of the spellings inside the AP Corral. But topping all that off with a five-word (give or take) statement that’s both informative and witty brings a certain sense of achievement …
… that has yet to be delivered. I’ll get back to you when that perfect headline gets nailed.
The Viewpoints section allows any opinion on its page, so long as it’s long enough and qualifies as an opinion. Several of the copy editors here edited enough stories in the first semester to feel compelled to write material later on, myself included. Combined with copy editing, some staffers can follow a story from conception to editing to trimming it on the page. Then a year goes by and the copy editor winds up on the editorial staff, backed up by a new crop of fresh faces.
The process is much like a relay race, with the staff passing its rolled-up newspaper of a baton at different intervals, with different runners tripping or sprinting at various intervals. What we share in common is a desire to make a solid newspaper worth reading that transcends whatever differences in method between us. The record time in this performance race isn’t set in stone until every person on campus is curious for the next issue.
And should we ever reach that perfect performance, we’ll charge a dime per copy and become millionaires overnight.

-- Copy desk
Thomas Maluck
Copy editor/columnist/critic

New Kids on the Block

2007-03-04T18:56:00.001-08:00

The Metro is the newest section of The Daily Gamecock.
As the “newbies,” we’re still trying to figure out where we fit in the paper.
You’d think it would be easy to find news in South Carolina’s capital, but it’s not. Much of what happens in the city doesn’t affect students at all, except that it’s happening in the city they happen to live in, so they don’t care about it, and we try not to run stuff students don’t care about.
So it’s hard to come up with stories. I’m sure it’ll get easier as we get more established and figure out what we want to run, but right now it’s a pain.
Here’s a question we get a lot: “How do you find content to print every day?” In response, some staff members might say: “We don’t” and that we more or less don’t have real content most of the time. But I don’t think that’s true. We try not to make it true, anyway.
How we get content most of the time is through people -- people telling us stuff they want to see. We rely so much on people giving us tips and calling us and telling us what’s going on. That’s why it’s hard to start a new section, because people don’t call you when you’re the new kids on the block, and they have no idea what you’re about.
So this is more or less the semester where we’ll decide what we want to do and how we want to do it. This is both really exciting and really nerve-wracking because the precedent we set will be there for future Metro sections.
I just hope we get it right.

-- Metro
Gina Vasselli
Asst. Metro Editor

Outsider's POV

2007-03-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings to all of you out there in blog-land. This is the official “unofficial Daily Gamecock staffer.” I am writing to inform the public from an outside perspective of how awesome The Daily Gamecock really is. First, I’d like you all to know that just because my roommate may be the editor, I don’t have any bias. I choose, on a fairly regular basis, to head up to the Gamecock newsroom at odd hours of the night, sometimes laden with cookies or cupcakes, to visit the wonderful editors, designers and writers.
The staff is awesome, and has always included me as their “extra” or “groupie.” They are always up there, writing articles, placing pictures and even catching the latest episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” or “24.” They come in each afternoon and stay late in the night. I usually hear my roomie coming in between 12 and 2 a.m. The dedication of these staffers is amazing. They give up their afternoons and evenings every Sunday through Thursday. That means no 25-cent wing night at D’s, afternoon shopping trip or even an after-class nap to get a boost for a late night studying.
However, the staffers are always having a great time each time I visit. They are chatting while getting their work done. They have no problem making me feel welcome, except when I forget that they have work to get done! So if you want to visit, I don’t suggest heading up their right before the 12 a.m. deadline, when the editors and copy editors are getting the last articles completed and sections sent in. That’s when their ugly sides may start to show. But overall, I want everyone to know that I enjoy heading up to the newsroom. I love being able to see how the paper is created, and I never knew how much work really goes into those sheets of paper I read every day before class. So the next time you pick up your issue of The Daily Gamecock, I recommend taking the time to see who wrote your article, or appreciate the photos taken, because they all come from the hard work of students just like you, who work every night after a full day of classes. Lastly, I want to say that all the staffers rock my socks! Great job, and I know what a hard job you have! Thanks!

-- Official Groupie
Kelly Enright

For promotional use only

2007-03-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

So here's the thing -- I know my section depends on the hours and hours many Ad/PR firms log trying to produce promotional materials for their bands and television shows and whatnot, but we really do tire of getting those things up here.
Companies -- and campus organizations -- treat my section like it's free advertising, like all they have to do is send me a CD or a poorly-written press release to get some free coverage of their events.
But I don't work like that -- no newspaper does.
We here at The Mix, decide what to cover based on what we think students would like to hear about most.
Which is exactly why we've added the official positions of Movie Reviewer (the unsinkable Tyler Mobley) and Food Reviewer (the unstoppable Rebecca Wilson).
It's a decision that we make many times each week for the benefit of Joe Student, and we're willing to take the criticism for making what some may view as the wrong decisions.
What we're not willing to take are direct criticisms of the stories and reviews we work so hard to produce -- I challenge any civilian to get on the phone with their favorite band or actor and not freak out to the point of not being able to speak, then write a flawless article about that conversation.
And, again, we don't like the promo materials.
The staff is tired of the bad CDs we often get, and instead of getting passes to see movies before they come out, we're sent what are called digital press kits.
They're DVDs that include all of the trailers and a few press photos, nothing the average person with an Internet connection and some time couldn't find online in about five minutes.
Granted, we need these things to do our jobs, but they don't get us any more excited about doing our jobs than we already were.
We aren't asking for our palms to be greased, but we would like to have something spark our interests every once in a while.

-- The Mix
Justin Fenner
Mix editor

Crazy times in Cola-town

2007-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

In my last blog, I basically told everyone that you could never possibly understand just how life works as a student-journalist or journalist-student.

But in the spirit of letting everyone know how life is going, I’d like to offer you a look at what was my Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007. Whirlwind? Maybe. Stressful? Sure. But a heck of a time? Damn skippy.

Start the day off with the sound of my good friend Dangerboy Dunn of Rock 93.5 waking me up on the old alarm clock at the lovely hour of 6:30 a.m. Shower, glass of Mountain Dew and out the door for Doug Fisher’s copy editing course. Nothing like the sweet topic of brevity to wake you up in the morning.

A sausage biscuit at 9 a.m. is just enough to tide you over until lunch as you fight through headlines in the copy-editing lab later that morning. But a nice lunch at D’s Wings (complete with something and Coke) makes the afternoons a whole lot easier to tolerate.

Now normally I’d go sit through my English class on Wednesday, but I had a lot of work to get done today. So, I trudge back to the car (after making the decision to stay out of class less than 50-yards from the BA building) and head home. Gotta get that resume ready for tomorrow’s job fair.

So, after adding some stuff to the old list of credentials, I pack things up and head to the Colonial Center for the excitement of college basketball. Only this time, there is an exciting game going on.

USC against Vandy is nothing short of a nail biter, one that leaves Carolina fans on the bitter end of things once again. The Commodores manage to sneak out a 99-90 win in OT.

But that’s not the sad part.

The sad part is having to watch Tre’ Kelley walk off the floor one last time. This kid did everything for USC and should be SEC Player of the Year. Yet his last moment on his home floor (minus any NIT bid) is a losing game.

After listening to coach Dave Odom make his final push for Kelley’s award status, it’s up to the newsroom where I write this blog, wait on my writers game recap and prepare for the J-School Career Fair tomorrow at 9 a.m. Follow that up with Ray Tanner’s press conference, two classes and having to get ready to travel to Clemson for baseball this weekend, and you have a hell of a 36-hour run.

-- Alex Riley
One tired Sports Editor

From one extreme to another

2007-02-26T19:23:00.001-08:00

My transition from full-time writer to part-time editor has been fairly smooth, and I am quickly finding my role in the newsroom. I thought it would be nice to offer some newcomer insight.
First, I have to shamelessly advertise to any print majors or anyone else that has thought about working for The Daily Gamecock. This is the best damn job you'll ever have in college. I looked at some of the posts before mine and read all the criticism and sob stories about the stress involved. I'll be the first to admit that writing a 500-plus word story about a Residence Hall Association meeting where ABSOLUTELY NOTHING happened in less than an hour is not always fun, especially when your editor is harassing you when you are 30 seconds past your deadline. I love you Jackie!
But with that taken into consideration, who else can say that they get paid to hang out with their friends in an informal setting, mulling over the intricacies of style and grammar, with a month of paid vacation? OK, I made up the last part, but if you're on the fence, don't hesitate. If you have a busy schedule, we can still work with you. And if nothing else, do it for the experience. If you're a print major who hasn't worked for some kind of publication prior to graduation, good luck competing for jobs.
Now, on to some deeper issues that I've been contemplating for a while: I've heard numerous complaints about the practicality of The Daily Gamecock and a recent date -- who will remain anonymous -- called The Gamecock a "waste of paper." Needless to say, we won't be tying the knot any time soon.
I feel like it's so easy to criticize one of your only sources of campus news when it suits you, while overlooking all the things that make The Gamecock crucial on campus. When student elections were coming up, where did most people turn to find the candidate's platforms? When the results of the election were contested, how did people find out? When a Nobel Prize-winning professor gives a lecture, where can you find a detailed account the next day? We may not always run stories that are specifically relevant or interesting to everyone on campus, but we have a diverse readership. It's important that a newspaper not cater to any one person.
The diversity of the readership is also why we have sections. By categorizing our material, students can flip to whatever section they like best. Not all college papers are like this. UNC Chapel Hill's newspaper, for example, has no sections. Now, I'm not hating on the school that rejected me, but that's just confusing -- and stupid.
So next time you pick up the paper, realize that it is the product of people -- people who make mistakes and people with a diverse range of experiences and views. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of campus life. Take it for what it’s worth, but don't take it for granted.

--Ryan James
Assistant News Editor

Life Support

2007-02-25T20:39:00.001-08:00

I think it's crazy that February has already come and gone.
We were all so worried at the beginning: classes, deadlines, homework assignments -- the works. Now, it's almost half over.
We have all gotten into the groove and things are getting easier.
The crazier thing, however, is that I wish it wasn't going by so fast.
I walked into my new newspaper role this semester hoping that I would get used to everything quickly and run a smooth ship when I could.
There have been plenty of bumps along the way, both personal and professional, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
I think it was those rough spots -- the places where I wasn't at my best or had obstacles to overcome -- where I truly feel like I learned the most. It's the things that you would rather not go through that you need to endure; when you come out on the other side, you're glad you survived and glad you fought through it.
I am glad to have such a wonderful group of friends that are here to support me in and outside of the newsroom.
Thanks for being there, guys. I only hope that I can be there for all of you in the same way.

-- Caroline DeSanctis
Managing Editor

Here's how it goes

2007-02-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

It’s Friday morning, to be technical, at 1:15 a.m., officially past deadline by an hour and fifteen minutes. We’re waiting on News. We’re cranky and in need of refreshments. Most kids are out at the bars. Josh is playing a ukulele, and Greg is watching YouTube videos of skateboarders. Mike is pacing around the room ready to hit the town or go to sleep --whatever sounds better in another hour. Kelly just finished trimming News and we’re sending it now. Since the production staff decided to rebel and not write today’s wonderful blog, we’ve decided to give an account of the typical production night which runs from Sunday through Thursday.

5 p.m. -- Section editors come in to check their mailboxes for stories, scan the art folder for photos and chat about random happenings or Britney Spears. In the office, Liz checks her e-mails and phone messages. Sometimes the guys from SGTV come in to mingle. The newsroom is abuzz.
5:30 p.m. -- Editorial board meets to discuss what to write about. “What’s our opinion on something?” we ask ourselves. Alexis comes in with a story from CNN.com about a Chewbacca that attacked someone at an amusement park and then said, “Nobody tells this Wookie what to do.” With nothing to say we debate energy drinks instead. Most of the time we tell our own experiences before we get frustrated and decide we’ve had enough --the editor can get 224 words out of that.
6 p.m. -- Copy editors begin to trickle in. They scan the whiteboard to see what section they want to read. The newsroom gets louder. Page designers wander in, too. They check the board to see how many stories each section has before getting assignments from the design directors.
6:30 p.m. -- Editors go to dinner. Grab food from the GMP, or some place, and return to the conference room to watch whatever random show is on TV.
7 p.m. -- Stories make their way from copy desk to Slot where the copy desk chief reads them and forwards them through to the editor’s folder.
8 p.m. -- The television begins to distract the newsroom buzz. Stories are slowly making their way into the Onpage folder.
10 p.m. -- Pages start to get finished and copy editors take their places to write headlines. Editors look over shoulders anxiously. Usually deadlines are given. “You’ve got 20 minutes.” That can be a lot of pressure.
11 p.m. -- Trimming. The copy desk chief and editor scan the pages for mistakes, correcting headlines, cutlines and jumps. The online guys come in to put finished pages online.
12 a.m. -- Deadline. Sometimes it comes and goes while others are packing up, getting ready to go.

And the rest of the night is downhill from there. You get the picture. It’s quite a process. Maybe we’ll continue this next Thursday night after another missed deadline and another late night. But until then, this is The Daily Gamecock Thursday late night staff. OUT.
It’s 1:50 a.m.

Don't hate, appreciate!

2007-02-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

'Tis time for photo to shine again in the blog. However, we have been shining more brightly over the past two weeks than ever before.
Our department has received numerous compliments on how our photos have changed in a week's time. From the production team to the people who read our paper everyday, I have been stopped and told how they love our photos and to tell you the truth, I am pretty damn happy and proud of my boss, my photographers and of course myself.
These guys have put up with a lot -- from not knowing where stuff is to being told their photos aren't going to cut it anymore. They have embraced with open arms the new shooting styles we are presenting to you the reader.
Now our pictures really do say a thousand words - no, wait, a million words -- that's how much we have improved. Again, we covered so many things in two weeks, from future presidents to soon taking pictures here of models for a huge thing in The Mix.
I hope you guys are enjoying our pictures, so let us know how we are doing, and help take us to the magical candy mountain so we can frolic with Charlie and the Leopluradon. Shun all you non-believers that think the photo department can not take some award-winning shots.

-- Brandon Davis
--Asst Photo Editor

Let us eat cake

2007-02-20T17:04:00.001-08:00

I’d like to give a shout-out to my fellow Daily Gamecocker Josh Rabon, who now has the reputation of losing multiple eating contests to a girl -- me.
I’ll be the first to say that I’m no copy-editing expert, and that the job can be very stressful.
We have been known to joke around with each other and find any means necessary to entertain ourselves to alleviate the pressure.
Downtime in the production room consists of YouTube, Facebook and the occasional over-achiever studying in the corner.
Being one of the few staff members who gets the privilege of working into the wee hours of the morning, I realize firsthand that it takes more than caffeine to get my blood pumping and eyes in focus.
I am a strong proponent of the sugar coma, especially when induced by miniature, frosted cakes.
And this is where the eating contests come in.
It all began with me and Josh hovering over the refreshment table at a party one weekend. Watching me select a cupcake, he naively challenged me to an eating duel. With one swift flick of the wrist, the competition was over and our tradition was off to the races.
Cake, egg rolls, pumpkin bread -- what have you -- Josh tries to raise the stakes by bringing different mediums to the table. This, of course, never affects the outcome.
I normally don’t consider myself to be a highly competitive person -- but then again, who doesn’t like to win?
Surrounded by our coworkers, late night competitions always spark interest. Although there have been many close calls and disputes, the true champion still reigns.
No matter how many times I complain about going to work, how I wish my afternoon nap could last just a little bit longer and how I dread getting reprimanded for an error on the front page -- I know that at the end of the day, I can always take a cupcake and eat my way to newsroom glory.

--Copy desk
Kelly LaCorte
Assistant copy desk chief

Horseplay

2007-02-19T17:26:00.001-08:00

I am part of a minority here at The Daily Gamecock. Yes, that's right -- your typical, middle-class white girl is part of a minority.
I am one of the few people on staff who has yet to be horse's assed.
Horse's assed -- the dreaded disease that attacks the innocent Facebook accounts of copy editors and writers alike.
We have a nice, fun tradition up here in the newsroom, one that keeps all kinds of staffers on their toes and brings the rest of us all sorts of amusement.
If you leave your Facebook unattended and logged in on your computer, it could fall victim to the horse's ass.
I don't know who started this tradition, but it cracks me up. It's always fun to see someone's look of horror when they return after dinner to a giggling newsroom, only to realize they have left their Facebook up for all to see. And then, the stream of expletives that comes when they refresh their page and find their default picture changed to the nice, round derriere of a horse.
OK, so it's kind of childish, especially when people start screwing with their profile information and make posts to other people with the horse's ass as their picture. But it's still hilarious.
Even worse, if you are caught with your Facebook open more than three times, you get an upgrade -- a very awkward, disgusting photo of a pig's penis. A few of our staffers have reached this one several times.
It's just another one of those random things that makes all this worthwhile -- the long hours, the stressful deadlines and the articles and columns that come in 200 words too short. It's something that keeps us from bitching each other out -- most of the time.
It's a lot of fun ... especially if you've never been a victim.
So if you ever find yourself up here at The Daily Gamecock newsroom and you check your Facebook, look out.
Always remember, and never forget.

-- Viewpoints
Rita Koch
Assistant Viewpoints Editor

Maybe we're crazy

2007-02-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

Apparently this blog has become the place where we scare away potential future members of the staff by writing about how stressful our jobs are.
Let me reassure you, we are the crazy ones that decided we wanted to take on these positions of power on the staff. There are some sane people who realized they could be a part of this and not sacrifice every other part of their lives.
So don't be scared; you can write for any of the sections and not become a newspaper zombie.
We are the crazy ones.
Take me for example; I wanted to be up here. I knew the horror stories of being here until 3 a.m. and getting yelled at via e-mail (yes, you can do that) for some mistake we should have caught. But I didn't care. I still wanted to be here. I wanted to be here when the quotes were put on the quote board and when everyone gets a little too much caffeine in their systems and starts bouncing off the walls. I hated hearing something on Monday (either good or bad) that happened on Friday that I didn't know about.
Now I am here two nights a week, and you know what? It's the most fun I've ever had at a job.
Yeah, people get cranky and have bad days, and there are times where this is the last place I want to be. But I come up here anyway because for some reason it's what I do, and I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not here. And I know the rest of the staff feels the same way, because they are up here all the time, too.
Maybe it's because I am generally an optimist, but I always look forward to coming to the third floor of Russell House and the miniscule chance that someone will write and tell us we did something right.
So if anyone who reads this is put off by the fact that all we do is complain about how stressed we are, please don't be scared.
You can write for the paper and not become a crazy person.

-- Metro
Gina Vasselli
Asst. Metro Editor

Where did all this trash come from?

2007-02-15T18:09:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks everyone has written about how stressful this job is. Sure, sometimes I find myself making pro and con lists in my office with the door shut while playing Bob Dylan or Kings of Leon over and over again in hopes that these problems will melt away. They don’t, but that doesn’t matter.
Our wall of shame, the bulletin board where we post our many mistakes, was filling up quickly, and at last, the staff mutinied to have the humiliation taken down. We’ve replaced it with silly photos of ourselves. But that doesn’t matter either.
We now have a staff list with over 80 people on it. That includes everyone from the writers to the photographers to the editors. That is quite a long list considering a year ago, it wouldn’t have exceeded 50.
But the most notable thing to change this semester has nothing to do with editorial boards that last an hour and nothing gets done, or sulking, snappy staff members that need sleep more than news. The biggest difference is the overflowing trashcans in both the newsroom and the production room, not to mention the tiny one in the conference room.
Pandini’s pizza boxes, styrofoam containers from the GMP’s various foodstops, Chik-fil-A sandwich wrappers and those blue and green starred 20 oz. cups have invaded our work space.
We look like a bunch of pigs up here, and not just because we’re sabotage-loving slackers who change co-workers’ profile pictures to pigs. Sometimes, the garbage doesn’t get emptied and its smell wafts into my office and suffocates me. Not even Dylan can ward that off. These are the days I’m thankful I have a door I can shut and lock. On days when I come home to a less than pleasing odor, Johnathon, the No. 1 online guy, and I have to bag up the trash and put it out in the lobby. It’s pretty gross, and I feel bad for anyone that has to pick that up. But we’re starving news kids, apparently.
I’ve sat here for hours, munching on my fries from the grill, making a slideshow for online and trying to pinpoint the culprit of our mystery newsroom garbage can debacle. Hmm.
Zach Toman is the first copy editor to arrive, and helps Johnathon and I carry out the trash. Then copy editor Jason Spiro strides in nonchalantly. Then Mary Pina, a writer for the Mix, bounces around the corner. Justin Fenner, The Mix editor, comes around the corner and takes his seat in the back. Design Director Megan Sinclair and I are in the office discussing Shakespeare. Design Director No. 2 Mike Conway comes in with a video camera shooting a project about love for his class. He chose us. Nick Needham, the Metro editor, walks around the corner in a suit; Gina Vasselli, his assistant, hops in, too. Every now and then, Alex Riley, the Sports editor, makes an appearance.
Then I realize why our trash is overflowing everyday. Our entire staff box has been in this room today for at least one meal. They’ve had gyros, pizzas, burgers, fries, salads and bagels, not to mention the numerous Starbucks coffees and frappacinos. But it’s only 3 p.m. and production hours start at 6 p.m. We’ll be here well into the wee hours of the night, and more food wrappers will find their way into our already full trashcan.
No wonder by midnight people have started putting boxes in piles on the floor. We do so much more than make news up here. Most of the time, we’re comparing our “assets,” recounting embarrassing moments from the weekend, discussing Shakespeare and, of course, eating. We don’t go “home.” This is our home. I have a comfortable bed on my sofa, if I shut the blinds and wear my sunglasses. We’ve got a great living room in the conference room where the TV keeps us updated on “American Idol.” There’s a bathroom down the hall, although I really hope no one ever tries to shower in there. And this newsroom, and sometimes the production room -- but only after 8 p.m. -- is our home. Coming up here for a break from that bustling world below is the only solace that we need. I couldn’t think of a better place to enjoy my Chik-fil-A than sandwiched between the Mix and News desks.
And from the looks of our trash problem, the rest of the staff agrees.

-- Liz White
Editor in chief

This is getting really, really old

2007-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

Blogging -- the final frontier. These are the …
Oh, who am I kidding.
This whole blog thing is getting stupid. How many times can I tell people that I get no sleep, have no love life, struggle to stay afloat and wish that things were totally different?
Apparently, we can do this. Twenty-five times since January.
So what am I going to write about today?
Who knows and who cares. This is a job. You read that right, a job. Not a club, not a hobby. It’s a job. My job is to cover sports and sports-related stories. I enjoy it; hell, I love it, I live for it.
Anything else is just unnecessary and a waste of my time. Period.
Sorry to all the people who actually read this thing or those who thought this was a good way to look into the lives of people doing a daily newspaper. I’ve got a newsflash for you -- it’s not.
It’s like being on a football team. No matter how many times someone tells you all the laps they ran or weights they lifted it means nothing until you do it yourself.
I used to have another life in which I was a bouncer at a club. Hard to believe, right? I loved it. It was high stress, long hours and draining, but, while you question why a bouncer acts the way he does when he tosses you from a bar, you’ll never believe what they go through night in and night out.
So blogging to tell you about how much stress or fun working at The Daily Gamecock is seems to be a waste of my time. Cause until you leave the Russell House at 2 a.m. and are ready to never see a newspaper again, you couldn’t possibly understand.

-- Sports
Alex Riley
Sports editor

Low fat, high stress

2007-02-13T18:36:00.001-08:00

When I came home from work a few nights ago, my suitemates were being a little loud. The walls in my dorm are pretty thin, and when I hear them making noise, I can usually just go next door and ask them to be quiet and there’s no problem.
But after a few weeks in my position here as entertainment editor, I was a little crazy, a little angry, and more than a little high-strung. I heard one of the boys make some loud, obscene noise, and I just snapped. I jumped out of bed, banged on their door, and a few well-used expletives and one dramatic door slam later, I was out in the hallway, seething my way back to my room.
But one of them stopped me and, in his way, told me that my behavior was unnecessary and rude. And he was right to do so.
I was fed up with having to ask them time and time again to quiet down, but I approached the situation the wrong way. And I think that might have something to do with my job here.
As much as I love my job, there are a few drawbacks to it. The hours are long, people complain about their workload, and I barely have time to myself anymore. Still, in my twisted and sadistic pursuit of journalistic excellence, I come back every day to make sure my section of the paper is on track. This means that I forgo eating in favor of editing a poorly written story, field phone calls and e-mails from frenetic public relations managers who want their bands, events or untalented children in the paper, and listen to thousands of civilians – non-journalists – who wouldn’t know the first thing about doing my job commenting every day about how they’d do things differently if they were working at the paper.
Meanwhile, I’m losing weight, every part of my body is tired, and I have no time for my friends.
But I believe in this newspaper – I believe that we few here at The Daily Gamecock do more for the student body every day than any other institution (with the exception of maybe Carolina Dining). And I love the people I work with.
So, I hope my suitemates can forgive my rudeness. I hope my roommate can forgive me for coming back to our room and waking him up in the wee hours of the morning. And I hope my friends can forgive me for not having any time for them. But most of all, I hope that I learn how to cope with my responsibilities and not take my frustrations out on those around me.

-- The Mix
Justin Fenner
The Mix Editor

Damsel in distress

2007-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

The summer stresses me out.
I remember when the summers meant going on vacation to Florida and California, laying out, road trips to Texas, going to concerts, typical free-time stuff. But then those summers ended, and I became obsessed with getting a good internship related to my major (journalism) to beef up my resume.
Last year, I got really lucky and was told I got into a national internship program the week before I left to study abroad in Spain. The entire time all the other study abroad students were worrying about coordinating an internship from across the ocean, I was e-mailing my contact about how much I would be getting paid.
This year, I'm not so lucky. It is now mid-February and I have absolutely no idea what I will be doing this summer. Although I would die to live in New York City or Chicago (depleting all my 13 years of savings), that rational little chunk of my brain is telling me I won't be.
And so I scour the Internet looking for summer internship programs for magazines or newspapers. And I nurture that little bead of hope where I envision myself walking around New York City, iced latte in hand navigating the busy sidewalks. But I am also ready to live somewhere else, somewhere new, and work on a newspaper. Bottom line, as long as I can get an internship related to journalism, I will be happy. I just wish, for the sake of my sanity, I had my plans nailed down for the summer right now.

-- News
Chelsea Hadaway
News Editor

Thank the pencil gods

2007-02-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

For those unfamiliar with the dark cloud that supposedly hangs over the J-school’s copy-editing course, it is rumored to be the most difficult of journalism classes, discouraging many a New York Times-hopeful from pursuing a career any further.
Well, I’ve got news for all those skittish worriers: I LOVE that class.
I was given my share of warnings upon my entry into Doug Fisher’s classroom; I was told of embarrassing moments in front of the entire class, death by bad lab grades and half of the students dropping before the end of the first week.
In spite of all that, however, I proudly bring my multitude of books to class every Monday and Wednesday at 8 a.m. and soak in everything I can.
Just call me the Copy Editing Sponge.
While I am very aware that I do not know everything there is to know about proper style, grammar marks or headline writing, for me, it’s one of those things that I enjoy learning about because I know that if I do well in this class I may be eligible for a scholarship.
Oh yeah – and it might help me to be a better journalist.
I just want to say thanks, Doug.
Thanks for putting up with me and three other staff members in the same class, for answering all of my redundant questions and not treating me like the novice I am in comparison.

-- Caroline DeSanctis
Managing Editor

Scrabble Wars

2007-02-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

I've never felt so sadistic or so good. With each deft movement of my hands, they would wince. I slowed up a little bit, to prolong their agony. It was like watching a window break in slow motion. You know you've done it - stringing out someone else's pain, watching their spirits crumble... or not. It's a somewhat regular occurrence up here. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Like most things, it started innocently enough. Some good-natured ribbing, the occasional barb tossed at editorial board. A past editor-in-chief took it to a whole new level when he invoked the "the guys I used to play with were really good" trash-talk. It had to stop. Dissing me is one thing, but when you say your boys can beat mine, you have crossed the line in the dust covering the newsroom floor.

The wild-west duel music never played. We drew anyways. If it weren't for toilets, he may have pulled it out. 73 points and the win. Take that, Van Haren. I remember watching him slowly lay down "refiles" to win weeks later. Payback really sucks.

We have enjoyed many scrabble bouts in the newsroom, and I hope we see a good many more. I'm no journalist, and the only thing I've learned for sure is the learning curve is steep up here. We've made errors. And we definitely frustrate each other. Scrabble sadism is one thing, but I'd bet we've collectively had enough violent visions of each other to make Saw 4 - bonus footage and all.

Yet we stick it out. Our biggest strength isn't our content. Or our design. Or our copy editors. After the visions of head-bashing dance out of our heads, we stick it out. There will always be tension - this is life, after all. We do our best to keep it in perspective. The newspaper is important. We know. We've heard it a lot. But compared to what?

I'll be gone soon. I won't remember misspelling a headline. But I still plan to play "vexation" against my former cohorts as regularly as possible. We have some of the best journalists in the school up here, but it's important we don't hold each other up to superhuman standards. This doesn't mean it's no big deal to make mistakes, but we can't be angry or judgmental. It's the only way we can improve - or just get by. So far this semester, for better and for worse, we have held each other up when it mattered. We've stuck it out.

It's only fair, to us and to each other. We don't know everything. The AP stylebook is thick. Probably two inches, maybe more. Even the best writers are afraid of "quixotic." It's worth 100 points, easy.

-- Joshua Rabon
Asst. Online Editor

A Snow White and the Seven Dwarves mentality

2007-02-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing, but we are heading full steam into ending our first month of production for this semester. It has been rough but fun -- as always. We have added some people to our staff since then and, of course, taken many different photos and changed our shooting styles. I have seen a lot of potential in our staff this year. I think we will turn around our department and, who knows, maybe win some awards. Well, we still have about four, maybe five months left so we have a lot to look forward to.
Some big series projects are in the works, and we are still looking for members to join our lovely, now well-experienced, photography staff.
I must put in my two cents: this semester as an editor has been amazing; I have nearly doubled my number of friends in less than a month. Now that is amazing.
Well, I can’t write as much as when I was a virgin assistant photo editor; now I am older, wiser and a bit more tired. I picture in my mind the shoots for the day in my sleep -- now that’s living The Daily Gamecock. My hair is grayer and I have a few more wrinkles, yet I still come to this job singing, “hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go.”
Well I must depart. Till next time, fair readers.

- Brandon Davis
Asst. Photo Editor

For those about to slot, we salute you

2007-02-06T17:37:00.001-08:00

“One of the great things about being a copy editor is freedom from vulgar desire for public recognition.” – Testy Copy Editor’s Web site

I’m not the type of person who requires a lot of attention. In fact, I usually go out of my way to avoid it. That, combined with a meticulous nature, is the reason I abandoned dreams of becoming a reporter in favor of an editing career.
Copy editors don’t enjoy total anonymity, though. We get plenty of attention. Unfortunately, it’s usually negative. When a mistake makes it into print -- not an uncommon occurrence at a college newspaper -- it’s probably our fault.
Many of the copy editors here at The Daily Gamecock don’t have a lot of experience. Only a couple of them have taken a copy-editing course. Most aren’t even journalism students, yet they all take their positions seriously and show up to work every night with a desire to learn that amazes me. And they keep coming back, despite all of the criticism they receive.
I’ve been in their shoes. I know how frustrating it is to work really hard on a headline, only to have some higher-up come along and change it. I know what it’s like to miss something small, such as a spelling error, because the story had much bigger issues that needed to be handled first.
And I understand what it feels like to leave the paper at 3 a.m. thinking you did a really great job, only to find an enormous flub on the front page the next morning.
But I also know what a rush it is to nail a perfect headline on the first try and be congratulated by everyone in the newsroom for a job well done. I understand how satisfying it is to catch little errors that make a really big difference.
I feel proud knowing that reporters have left here with clips that have helped them get jobs at major newspapers across the country thanks in part to my editing.
Copy-editing is a tough job. It’s not something you can learn overnight. There are hundreds of little rules and regulations you have to know. I want to thank my staff for taking up such a difficult -- and sometimes thankless -- task.
Keep up the good work. We’re getting better and better.

-- Copy Desk
Aaron Kidd
Copy Desk Chief

It’s so hard to say goodbye

2007-02-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

This will be my second – and last – blog of the semester.
I resigned as News editor two weeks ago today and through the last few days I’ve struggled with my feelings about this decision.
Like the other students who work here, I wear many hats outside of this paper, including a sparkly blue one.
I am a resident adviser for Honors students, a full-time student (albeit barely) and a girlfriend. I stay beyond busy.
After a year of juggling my life, I have decided to put the balls down and move on. It saddens me that I had to leave my position, but hey, housing is expensive on campus.
There will be many things I will miss about The Daily Gamecock. Our crazy parties, live bands at WUSC that make editing almost unbearable, writing crazy headlines and screaming obscenities down the hall when stories were late, short or missing.
I would not give up these memories for the world. I met my best friends here and experienced things I never could have dreamed of. I even got subpoenaed.
I am confident in the abilities of my replacement, Chelsea Hadaway. She will do amazing things and I leave the section in her capable hands.
I might not be News editor but I’m far from gone from these offices. I will still cover elections and hopefully will become a page designer. That is, if Mike Conway lets me near InDesign for more than 5 seconds.
Besides, what else am I going to do with all this free time?

-- Jackie Alexander
Former News editor

Loving every minute of it

2007-02-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

My life is insane.
I’m taking the typical 15 hours but all on the same days. When I’m not in class, I’m working as a barista at Starbucks in the Russell House.
And almost every single night, I end up here in the newsroom.
Someone asked me the other day, as we tried to plan Kornegay’s podcast project around the rest of our lives, if The Daily Gamecock took over my life when I started here.
Absolutely.
But, it’s only because I let it. Even last year, as just a columnist, I was up here a lot. Now, as the assistant Viewpoints editor, I’m up here running the section two, occasionally three times a week. I’ve also started designing on Tuesday nights.
But for some reason, I can’t get enough of this place. I always look forward to coming here, and I usually come in early to get stuff done.
Maybe it’s the people. Maybe it’s scaring the wits out of one of our design directors every night or our quick runs to Marble Slab before we sit and make fun of “American Idol.”
Whatever it is, I love it. I love all the people I work with, and I love the jobs that I do. I’m getting a lot of great experience in a much better environment than most students get the opportunity to.
So yeah, I may be running around like a mad woman trying to get everything done and spending more time in lines for coffee than I spend sleeping, but it’s worth it -- every single minute of it.

-- Viewpoints
Rita Koch
Assistant Viewpoints editor

Bend it like ... Bernstein?

2007-02-04T17:58:00.002-08:00

On a positive note, I'm glad that everyone here on the paper is so versatile and flexible.
It doesn't matter if you write for Metro, you can still write a movie review for The Mix. You could be writing the editorial one night and writing a Viewpoints column the next. It's all about mixing it up and taking turns.
Everyone up here is learning every day; it can only help us to interchange our writing roles and try new things.
We've been trying a lot of new things this semester. This blog, for one, is a step in the right, more-relevant direction. Instead of just sitting here, denying the decline in kids our age reading the paper, we have kept up with the times and attempted to keep our readership interested.
It's exciting, and it can only get better from here.
As the weeks start to fly by, it's starting to get comfortable. We're starting to get to know our routines and starting to re-ignite our bonds, in the newsroom and out.
We've added new members to the team at our interest meetings and that just makes me widen my smile because I know that the best is yet to come.

-- Caroline DeSanctis
Managing Editor

Have I lost my sanity at last?

2007-02-04T17:58:00.001-08:00

Remember when I told you to keep track of how long my sanity would last?
Well, it ran out earlier this week. Thanks largely in part to catching strep throat and missing class for three days. My life will consist of reading from textbooks for the rest of the week to catch up in coursework.
It’s only February, and I already wish the year was over so I could go somewhere exotic for the summer. Well, far from Columbia anyway. I feel that because of such a small staff and lack of interest from kids on campus, the news sections should merge to save the strength of our journalism.
Unless this is done soon, I fear the paper will suffer not just from bad design, but bad journalism as well.
With coursework getting heavy and the start of my internship, I can’t keep going at the rate I’ve been going. My health over the past week has shown me that I can only do so much.
Working for a college paper is interesting. I get to see the things my professors warn against in class. It makes me wonder if I was the only one who was listening that day.
Change defines our lives, a refusal to change in today’s world, especially for newspapers, can prove fatal. We’ll see how this one continues to adapt.

-- Metro
Nick Needham
Metro Editor

Has the Earth’s gravitational pull shifted to my shoulders?

2007-02-01T19:45:00.001-08:00

I only started working here a little more than a year ago. I started in Fall 2005 as a copy editor, terrified and unsure. And now I’m sitting in this big office, looking through the glass window at the busy staff working and not working to get the paper out. I have a big window that fills the office with sunlight on beautiful days. I can see all the way down past the Bull Street parking garage to Williams-Brice Stadium. When I look out the window at the Russell House patio below, crowds of prospective students are shown across campus. They have campus maps, brochures, Starbucks coffee mugs and The Daily Gamecock.
That’s when I realize what I do matters. I was sitting in class and the kids around me flip through the paper. My teacher is reading it while we work in groups.
Monday we got a phone call from a lady with the CLASSIC ballet, not the CITY ballet. Who knew Columbia had two ballet groups? My inbox is full daily with people who want to say something about an article we ran. It might not be wonderful to hear that you made a mistake, but at least we know people are reading.
As I look out my set of windows, one looking out at the staff and another at the people below me, I realize how HUGE this is. The weight of it hits me like I’m Atlas with the weight of the world on my shoulders.
Tomorrow I will be a part of a roundtable to discuss football ticket distribution and then I have a meeting with someone from student government. It feels bigger now -- the weight of it.
We almost got sued this week. Somehow, I sidestepped that one. We messed up headlines, and I got endless e-mails from student government officials.
On a rainy day, I passed a paper smudged into the puddles, lost to the rain. A friend asked if that made me sad. No, not really. Someone had to have picked up the paper and moved it to its liquid fate. Someone went through the effort to drop it there, and some how that makes what I’m doing up here so disconnected from those people out the window feel even heavier.
Yeah. This is a giant responsibility.
And so much fun.

-- Editor
Liz White

Oh, the hectic life that is The Daily Gamecock (and a million other things too)

2007-01-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

While you were sitting at home naked on a beanbag and eating Cheetos yesterday afternoon, I was hard at work.
Well, OK so “hard” isn’t the correct word. I was eating Smokey Bones barbecue and listening to Ray Tanner talk about how absolutely awesome his team is going to be.
But that’s my job and the reason I love it. Anytime the USC media department gets to pick up the tab on lunch, I’m there. Anytime the Colonial Center is serving food and I have a courtside seat, count me in.
Therefore, in the spirit of boasting about my job (and I got a new one yesterday as a beat writer for GamecockAnthem.com) I present to you Alex Riley’s Top 10 Reasons Why Working in the Newspaper Business (specifically sports) is Freakin’ Sweet:

10. Free paper for paper airplane wars
9. Running into Steve Spurrier and Ray Tanner at women’s basketball games
8. Courtside seats (except when players land in your lap)
7. Trying to decipher what Evka is saying
6. Getting to rip jokes constantly about USC with the people who run the place
5. The sweet smell of Bryce Sheldon’s hair gel
4. Daniel Stetson constantly giving me a breeze from waiving the Lithuania flag
3. Free food (minus the loaf a la meat)
2. Dave Odom’s 20-minute post-game speech on defensive letdowns
1. And of course: Rippin’ hot interns

-- Alex Riley
Sport Editor

First two weeks = Success!

2007-01-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great two weeks of papermaking! I really feel confident about this semester and about the new people on our staff we have obtained after just one interest meeting! We have another one Thursday (7 p.m. Russell House Room 322/326), and I am pumped about that one, too. It should bring more people and help us with our Technology section on Thursdays, which are always lacking in content.
Great job goes out to many, but two stand out in my minds: Tyler Mobley, our new movie columnist, and Melissa Force, who wrote a story about how to protect yourself. I really think the “newbies” are great additions to our neat little group of Mix writers. Welcome to The Daily Gamecock family. Keep sending in those stories to us on time and thanks for all that you do!
I want to shout out praise to Justin Fenner, who is doing such a great job in his new position as editor of our Mix section. He is perfect for this job. He deserves it, and he throws himself into everything he does and everything he writes. He really had to learn everything about the ins and outs of the paper in a short amount of time, and I think he did a great job in containing and absorbing all of that information smoothly. Thanks for your dedication, it makes my job as your assistant so much easier to see so much dedication in your work. And I love seeing your cute smiling face everyday, sweet stuff!
Lastly I want to say great job to Caroline and Liz for being our great new managing editor and editor-in-chief. Y'all are doing such a good job. Everything has been running smoother. We're all more organized with our budget meetings and our new planning routes. I think that you guys are great role models for upcoming staff members to see how a paper really should be run. Great job everyone, especially those in new positions this semester. I'm no expert on the paper because I've only been here for one semester myself, but I can tell that this semester is going to be a fabulous one.

-- The Mix
Andrea Lucas
Asst. Mix Editor

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

2007-01-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

To avoid sounding pretentious, I'm not going to write about my section being the best or the backbone of the paper. The reason, of course, is because it's not called a "newspaper" just for laughs.
More importantly, I've come to the conclusion that the offices of The Daily Gamecock are haunted.
The news is all-important and vital, but being scared out of my wits is slightly more significant in my opinion. And that's not hard with all the weird kids walking around the Student Media offices, me included.
Every time I come up to the newsroom alone, I hear it -- the Phantom Staffer.
While sitting at my desk last year, precociously typing my little heart out, I heard a sound that reminded me of typing from the dark dungeon that is the Sports desk. I'm not that observant, so I went to check if our sports editor, Alex Riley, was working.
There was no one there.
About 15 minutes later, I heard the same typing noises. Being the intrepid journalist that I am, and the slightly stupid freshman I was, I decided to look one more time.
Again, no one was there.
And such has been the case since then. Every day during non-production hours, I hear the sounds of the Phantom Staffer, working diligently on the next day's issue.
It's gotten to the point that I've convinced our Metro editor, Nick Needham, that there is someone back there working and made him check more than once to make sure.
Call me crazy or over-caffeinated, but someone's there ... and they're waiting to get to the next big breaking story.
But not if I beat 'em to it.

-- Jackie Alexander
News Editor
(Not a crazy psycho)

Holding out for a comment

2007-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

It has been exactly two weeks since we started production here in the newsroom, but it feels like a lifetime. I wanted to start this blog not because "it's the thing to do," but because I want The Daily Gamecock readers to be a part of this process as much as we are.
Every morning when people pick up the paper, they are only getting one small part of that newspaper. So much goes into its creation that sometimes it feels like giving birth. The kids up here on the third floor of the Russell House get a unique experience every night. We get to make the news.
It's not exactly "fun" staying here until 2:30 a.m. because the online guys messed up uploads, and we still have to get up the next day to make it to class on time. It's not fun to come into the office and find phone calls and e-mails complaining about every little mistake in the paper.
It may not be fun, but we love what we do, and I wouldn't think of complaining.
Last Wednesday we had our first interest meeting for this semester. As editor in chief, I felt little butterflies in my stomach. I now have the responsibility of generating interest in this wonderful organization. Disappointingly enough, only about 10 people showed up.
How do we get people to understand that what we do is integral in this university setting? How do I explain to people how amazing, life changing and, yes, fun it is to be apart of The Daily Gamecock?

Of being apart of this staff, some of our "Gamecockers" (as we call ourselves) said:
"You will learn to log out of Facebook or suffer the humiliating consequences."
"Job side effects: expanded (obscenity) vocabulary, higher knowledge of world events and random bouts of insomnia."
"I have Andy Sorensen's cell phone number."
"Working for The Daily Gamecock will give you a whole new understanding of group insanity: 2 a.m. sitting in the office on a Thursday night and not being able to think of anywhere else you'd rather be."

And that is exactly what it's like up here. Five days a week, our newsroom and production room are abuzz with laughter, emotion and YouTube.
Last week, I had my first really tough experience as editor. I had to look at two staffers -- and close friends -- and tell them they messed up. It's a tough life to know that you have to look people you care about in the eye and say, "Hey, you can do better." But it's the truth. We can do better than factual errors in our editorials or misspellings. We can do better than AP style mistakes that only the sharpest J-schoolers will catch. It's not unusual to find a crying staff member; it's an emotional job sometimes. But despite their threats to quit, they come back for more. Because, like I said, they know they can do better. We want to prove to our readers that we CAN do better.
We don't do this for our pictures on the front page -- although that has happened on accident a couple of times. We would never complain about phone calls, e-mails or letters to the editor because when it comes to our jobs, that's all the recognition we need.
We just keep holding out for comments.

-- Editor in Chief
Liz White

Oh here we go again

2007-01-25T21:00:00.001-08:00

The photographers lied. I just wanted to get that straight.
But this doesn’t mean the designers are going to come in and try to convince people we are the legs this newspaper stands on.
Everyone already knows that.
I suppose the first thing we need here is an introduction. This blog comes from the design desk, or the unconscious reason you pick up the paper in the mornings. We decide where headlines go, how large photos run and just how good the writer’s stories are going to look. We also spend our time passing judgment on designs of other newspapers, magazines, Web sites, advertisements and anything else we can judge.
Newspaper nights are full of stress, but there is nothing like being back with the people who really understand what you’re passionate about.
Although the night begins with the separate entities of the paper separated in their own cubicles and workspaces, it ends with everybody trickling into the production room to watch designers finalize their work, help copy editors write headlines and of course watch hours on end of “Accepted” and YouTube while we lovingly mock each other.
No single section is the backbone of this paper. We all put our hearts into the work we do, and nobody would make it through the night without the family of staff around to joke and stress with them.
All I know is I would never make it through the night waiting for the confirmation call from our printers at The State (which comes, based roughly on when we send, between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.) without the company of my favorite editors and staffers.
And of course, the hours of video provided by the internet … I never realized before how thankful I was for dumb people with video cameras and too much free time.

-- Production
Megan Sinclair
Co-Design Director

Photographers do it better.

2007-01-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

What to write, what to write.
As you can tell, the photographers aren’t good at writing (well some of us), but, then again, it’s why we are photographers.
To be blunt, and not to stomp the other sections, we are the backbone of the paper.
Think about it. When you look at our newspaper in the stands, one of the very first things you look at are photos on the front page.
While being the backbone of the paper, we are also the most dependent on all the sections of the paper; the stories determine what photos we take. One day we can be rubbing elbows with the state’s elite government officials or standing on the sideline of one of the largest college football stadiums.
Our photographers have met many famous people and attended many sold out concerts just because it’s a story for the paper. The photos of The Daily Gamecock are one of the reasons why this paper is so great.
We are some of the most fun, easygoing people you will meet and we are always willing to help a fellow photographer.
To get off subject, let me tell you a quick story. The Daily Gamecock is one of the few campus organizations that a freshman (like myself) can have a staff position - the assistant photo editor of the tenth largest newspaper in South Carolina.
The Daily Gamecock is a great foundation to have when applying for jobs in the future. You get great experience with Photoshop, meeting deadlines, working in formal and informal environments as well as having a wide variety of photos in your portfolio, from sports to the picture of the day.
Many of our former and current staff members work or are working for the Associated Press, The State Newspaper and many other local and national newspapers.
So come join the photography staff at the Daily Gamecock and see what we’re all about.

--Brandon Davis
Asst. Photo Editor

Last line of defense

2007-01-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Working as a copy editor can be a thankless job sometimes.
For the most part, we’re an invisible, anonymous part of the newspaper staff. Yet, the job we do is one of the most important. There’s a lot of responsibility resting on our shoulders. We’re the last line of defense for keeping the paper from being sued. We also work hard to keep the stories grammatically correct and error-free. Unfortunately, mistakes do happen. We’re only human, after all. If we miss something and it’s glaring at us from the front page, we won’t hear the end of it. Not for a while, anyway.
Even though not many people know who we are, we love our jobs. It’s a great feeling to put the paper to bed at night and wake up the next morning to see our work stacked up in racks all over campus.
So, if you find a spelling mistake from time to time, please forgive us. Chances are we already know about it.

-- Copy Desk
Lauren Smith
First-year copy editor

First week of production? CHECK! First week of no sleep? CHECK! The first week of pulling my hair out? CHECK!

2007-01-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

We've been filling the quoteboard -- a Daily Gamecock tradition that lines our newsroom walls with silly things we say -- up with everything from "sparm" (don't ask) to pulling bazookas out of our pants. And it's only been a week! Thankfully, I've been blessed with a very great group of people to work with. They'll be here through the Red Bulls and the naps. We had our first official (and successful) social event of the semester and have already planned more. There's nothing but love up here in The Daily Gamecock newsroom. That is, until the first few weeks are over and we all go back to driving each other up the walls. The administration doesn't know what's coming!
So until our next blog, this is Viewpoints -- out!

Quote of the moment:
"If I was your bread, would you be my butter?" -"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (If you haven't seen this movie, do it.)

-- Alexis Arnone
Viewpoints Editor

Sleep deprived on the city beat

2007-01-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

After a week of holding down the new Metro section, I'm running on empty. Thank goodness we're having a writers' interest meeting. If I don't recruit some reporters, I'll cry.
The hardest part of my job so far has been trying not to let anyone down. I know a lot is riding on the new section and setting precedent is constantly on my mind.
So far, even though I'm going on nothing but pure adrenaline, it's been a wild ride. One day I was questioning John McCain on his support for the president's new Iraq strategy, the next I was watching elephants march down Lincoln Street.
On the first night of production, I arrived home at 3:30 in the morning with an 8 a.m. class looming over my head. Talk about doubting what I was getting myself into.
I think what keeps me going is the love I have for everyone on staff and the positive feedback I've been getting from everyone who's been reading the section. Bottom line -- I know I'm making a difference.
This week I get to push it to the limit again by covering S.C. politics, improvements in Five Points and homelessness.
Stay tuned to see if I keep my sanity for another week!

-- Metro
Nick Needham

One week down, 14 or so to go

2007-01-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

With our first week of production for the semester behind us, lots of things come to mind: double doses of Tylenol, 3:30 a.m. calls from the printer at The State, mistakes on the front page (why, Caroline, why?) and editorial-writing writer’s block. And, while all those first-week experiences may be seen as somewhat negative, they helped me to develop my ultimate lesson: stay motivated.
The whole process of putting out a newspaper every weekday can sometimes be a daunting task. I figured this out on the first night -- which also happened to be the night we were producing the very large Welcome Back issue.
Hours later when the paper was completed and we started heading home in the wee hours of the morning, I started to feel like I was in way over my head and maybe I couldn’t handle being managing editor. Well, thank Woodward and Bernstein that every day I worked this week got better and better.
Although it was wrought with mistakes and a few ups and downs, I am walking away from this week with a better sense of my responsibilities and a much-needed boost of confidence. For every spelling error and headline mistake I made, I learned a million lessons more.
Bottom line: it’s only going to get better from here on out. I’ll try my damnedest to do the best I can and that’s all I can do.
-- Managing Editor
Caroline DeSanctis

I got your blog right here ...

2007-01-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

It’s cheesy, it’s corny, it’s totally overrated and overused. But Aerosmith’s lyrics just say it best: “I’m back in the saddle again.”
After a month-and-a-half-long hiatus, production of what some call a daily fish wrapper resumed again with new leadership, a new section and a slightly new attitude. Whether or not that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but it’s on like Donkey-Kong (another overused phrase I just can’t get enough of).
When you’re sitting in a restaurant in Memphis eating the most ridiculous ribs ever produced and high-fiving other Gamecock fans, you seem to forget about “work.” Those are the fun moments when all the struggles of seemingly-nothing pay and ungodly hours are worth it.
Then you leave the third floor of the Russell House at 1 a.m. and wake up before the sun only to find you’re sitting in front of a man with a giant pencil through his hat (See Doug Fisher’s 8 a.m. Copy Editing Course). Those are the moments when a nice nap and sip of grandpa’s cough syrup would be really, really nice.
The best part about being back in the office is the fact you get to walk around campus all day and see students and faculty reading your work. It’s a huge shot of ego juice to come into class and see a handful of people with the Sports section sitting open on their desk, reading about the latest happenings (no matter how bad they were).
It’s also nice to hang out with seem interesting people. No matter how different you are politically, socially and economically, you still have to put out something that everyone can read just like you and that’s what gets you through the night - that and Teapot delivery service.
Who knows how good this paper is going to be this semester. The wheels could fall off tomorrow for all we know. But one thing is certain - if the saddle goes flying off the horse, it’s taking me with it.

-- Sports
Alex Riley

A Rookie Writes

2007-01-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

Few people will ever know the joys and pains of working for a newspaper. Those looking from the outside in generally expect perfection to fall from thin air, but here on the inside, we know that producing any paper takes a multitude of dedicated and talented people who love doing their best to serve their public.
Here at the Mix, we don't have that many people. While all of our staff is talented and very dedicated to The Daily Gamecock, there aren't enough people who work for me to carry off the task of sending out a stellar Entertainment section. And on top of all of that, I'm a rookie editor. I took over The Mix with stars in my eyes, thinking that it was going to be an easy management type position. But, to my chagrin, that is not the case. My job would be difficult with a staff of 50, and I know sometimes the seven or eight people who write for me now can find me a tad overbearing. I call them all constantly to remind them of deadlines, frantically begging them to take pictures or make their content longer, better or easier to read. Sometimes I feel like I'm only making it worse, but I know that soon, when I hire more writers, it'll all get much easier.
So, I am starting to believe again. Right now all of the sections have really small staffs -- Metro has a whopping two people! -- and we're still turning out amazing papers. Everything here is new and fresh, so it's going to be a major adjustment for everyone here at The Daily Gamecock. I know that all of my colleagues here on the third floor are working as a team better than ever -- we all understand the major constraints on our people, time and resources, and instead of fighting and bickering with each other, we're doing everything we can to make each other's jobs just a little easier. And, hopefully, everything we can to continue to make The Daily Gamecock the best part of the student body's daily routine.

-- The Mix
Justin Fenner

Welcome to Doin' It Daily

2007-01-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

In today's digital world, we're bombarded with constant information. The Internet has forever changed the way we receive our news. Our cell phones and iPods give us what we want when we want it.
At The Daily Gamecock, we take all this information and break it down to what you need to know. People often wonder why we choose to do certain stories and not others.
Doin' It Daily is our attempt to help our readers see into the daily workings of the paper. From writing editorials to page design, we hope to give students a window on the newsroom.
Our editors and designers will post daily entries on anything newspaper related.
This is a chance for our readers to participate in the effort of making the paper and provide us with feedback. As an open forum, Doin' It Daily will improve communication from story idea to publication.
Hopefully, going daily was just the beginning.