Finally, an update

It’s been forever, I am aware. But my excuse is somewhat legitimate. I am now living and working in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I took a job as a designer at The National, an English-language newspaper based out of the capital city of UAE, in March (I’m just remembering I wrote about the job in a previous post, sorry for the repeat). I would have updated sooner but it took time to get settled here and it wasn’t until just last week that internet in our apartment was finally functioning correctly. And in fact it’s still not perfect because I need to get a proxy so I can use Flickr and work on my actual site (hosted by wordpress.org), among other things that the UAE seems to find harmful.

Anyway, the job has been great so far and I’m only looking forward to more exciting projects coming up in the near future. For now I’m going to keep this short and just give a couple examples of the work I’ve been doing. So far I’ve worked on nearly every desk — except Sport, which is funny since I had posted that is where I would start originally, but another designer was hired not long after me to fill that position. Instead I’ve done some graphics, business, arts, news, magazine and more. I often fill in when designers are on holiday or not there or help out with bigger projects. There are so many advantages to knowing how pretty much every section runs and I love that I’ve gotten to know so many people in the newsroom.

First is an Oasis, which is a doubletruck in every Arts & Life section of the week. Arts & Life runs Sunday-Thursday. The graphic on the bottom is done by Jun, one of our graphics artists and I actually folded the plane! Ha. Mostly to make sure someone could actually follow the directions.

This is from Motoring, which is a once-a-week section that runs on Saturdays (which is basically the equivalent of a Sunday paper in the states). You’ll notice that covers are normally reserved for one story like a magazine. News and business are not that way, though.

And the last one I’ll post is from The Review, also a once-a-week section that runs on Fridays. It’s normally a more in-depth section with longer-form pieces on big topics and books, with a smattering of small, quirky items.

Anyway, I hope to get back to usual postings. There are some things that have been talked about lately with newspapers in the states that I would definitely like to post about, but that’s to come. And hopefully at some point, www.marindevine.com will actually be a site I can send you to.

Debate club

Some interesting discussions or debates, if you will, have sprung up in the past few weeks on two blogs that mostly cover visual journalism. This of course is old news to some, but I just thought I would mention them because I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading the back and forth conversations — and I say back and forth because these topics have all taken place in the comments section. 

First is the SND Update blog for the 30th annual competition that recently took place in Syracuse. The discussion that interested me came on this posting about the “final” tally of big winners (I explain the “final” thing in my previous post). Admittedly, the comments section isn’t all about the topic that interests me. It gets off on a different topic — you know, it’s the stuff about how designers have ruined newspapers.

Anyway, the debate that is surprising to me is how some people found the nearly live coverage of the judging inappropriate. The coverage consisted of tweets, blog posts, videos, image galleries, etc. Personally, I thought it was great and enjoyed “seeing” it as it happened. I am new to the professional newspaper design world, but how it seems to me is that until the last couple years, and really mostly this year, the competition has been shrouded in secrecy. Not much, if anything, was released until after all the judging was over and winners had been appropriately recorded. I can understand how nostalgia can build up for a tradition such as this, but that’s what I see it as, nostalgia. Honestly this discussion reminds me of the biggest issue our industry faces — journalists who are still holding onto the thought that one day print media is just going to revive itself. Maybe that comparison is a bit extreme, but WHY NOT embrace new ways to keep your readers (SND contestants in this case) updated, just like news organizations are (mostly) trying to do.

And looking at other industry competitions, such as Pictures of the Year International, which is going on right now, not having live updates seems like a silly and antiquated idea. In fact, this year for the first time POYi is offering a live feed from the judging. (If you are in Columbia, Mo., you can actually sit in on the judging, which I have done before.) The feed is not perfect, but it’s pretty amazing to have the chance if you’re not physically present. And yes, I’m sure there’s an argument to be had about how POYi can’t be compared to SND judging. But I don’t think it’s strong enough to not still use the comparison.

The second discussion of interest took place on Charles Apple’s blog after he posted what looks like visual plagiarism. Judge for yourself here. And then scroll down to read the comments. Basically some are saying that with the state of the industry right now we have bigger fish to fry than a possible case of copying a visual idea. Some people brought up how soon some pages will be produced for many different markets (i.e. all Tribune Company papers sharing the same templated pages). I find that argument irrelevant though when that is not what happened in this case. I tend to lean more toward the side of plagiarism is plagiarism and there is never an excuse for it. But I do wish we had the story from whoever designed the page in Lincoln and I do think it’s an issue that should be dealt with internally. Obviously we all understand the crisis this industry and this country are smack in the middle of, but does that mean we just stop caring about ethics? Isn’t credibility what most readers say they can’t find in our product anymore? 

But then again, how many readers would really care (or know) if a design was lifted off another newspaper?

*sigh* The dilemmas of life. Not really, but interesting topics nonetheless. Plus, I’m interested to know what all of you think…

A happy ending to unemployment

I finally think I can say it … I’m employed again! 

I will be working as a designer at The National in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The position I’ve been hired for is a sort-of chameleon — someone who fills in on all the desks where needed. I did a lot of bouncing around in my first two jobs and loved it. The only thing that will be brand new for me is sports, though I’ve actually wanted to design sports for a while and just never had the chance. I mean, the sports desk always seems to be having the most fun, right? Or maybe I have that confused with crazed deadline pressure … either way, I’m pumped. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with The National, it is an English-language newspaper that started in April 2008. In its short existence, The National has already made a big impression with design. In the final* tally of the SND 30 competition, it was one of the top 10 winners by numbers of awards. (*World’s Best entries still have yet to be judged, and side note: the unofficial final tally has really created a stir amongst SND members – check out the comments on that tally link.) The SND 30 blog also has this slideshow by Mark Friesen of some of The National’s entries to this year’s competition. You can also view an e-edition of the newspaper at their Web site (full transparency: you have to register to view everything, but you can see all of the section covers without registering). 

I am incredibly excited about this opportunity as far as my career goes, but of course I’m also thrilled about the chance to explore and live in a totally new place. I’m not sure on my departure date yet, as I have a lot to get in order and paperwork piling up. But hooray for adventure!

Time to be a cheerful charlie

I admit it, I was avoiding posting something new here for a while because of two things: One, I didn’t know what I wanted to say next and was starting to feel a little down about the situation. And two, I’ve altogether been avoiding the content I normally write about on here. I’ve been keeping up with news through Google Reader and Twitter, but I don’t visit Newseum every day like I used to and I haven’t even been searching around for multimedia, like I said I was going to do.

Anyway, I’m done feeling bitter toward the industry and now wondering how much more this boat can sink (and that was posted last June) before it’s history. This could easily turn into a diatribe and that’s not what I want, so for now, I’ll push that aside.

What I really wanted to post was this fantastic uplifting project a friend had posted to Twitter. A classmate from Missouri, the lovely and uber talented Krysten Chambrot, provided a link to something called Free Encouragement hosted by Booooooom and Design for Mankind. Over the month of December anyone could send a short message of encouragement to anyone that was then posted on the site (be sure to click through for more submissions at the bottom – there are 11 parts in all). You can’t help but smile reading through some of these.

Then the torch was passed onto Design for Mankind, where the project was offered as a chance to do something creative with any of the phrases posted to Booooooom. Unfortunately the deadline to make a postcard and send it in is fast approaching – Feb. 1. But I decided to throw something together just as a way to play in Photoshop and because I love the whole idea behind this project. I’m excited to see the entries.

I won’t actually be submitting mine though as I realized the photo my boyfriend Adam took was from his iPhone and thus not high enough resolution. Oh, and it’s not the right dimensions – can you tell I didn’t really read the rules? But it was still fun to put together.

Only the good get laid off young

The start of the new year hasn’t been so great for us 20-somethings in the newspaper business. After hearing about another classmate from Missouri who was laid off today in Casper, Wyo., a few friends and a former professor tweeted about our frustrations with this practice. Although it’s not true of every newspaper employee in the 20-30 age group, most of us are passionate, hard workers. And getting laid off or not even being able to find work after applying to every known possibility, doesn’t really reward that drive.

And now, some of the most talented people I know are looking outside of journalism. Has anyone thought about the future?

As newspapers try to adapt to how to work with the internet and with more and more readers that don’t turn to the print product, why get rid of the employees that often fall into that category themselves? They are usually the most eager and have the most insight into what works for this changing world. I’m not saying we have all the answers, but we are open to change and embrace learning new techniques.

Although some have dismissed the idea of getting rid of a daily print product to only weekends or another variation, this is not a crazy idea. In fact, it seems quite sound to me, especially after listening to this NPR interview with John Yemma, the editor of the Christian Science Monitor, and reading this SND article about the Detroit papers changing their model.

And maybe that isn’t the answer, but at least it is moving toward thinking Web-first, which is something that all newspapers know has been an inevitable future.

I don’t like seeing anyone lose their job, and not that other options like the one Gannett seems to be taking is the answer, but it sure is getting hard for us “young people” who really want to work in newspapers and make a difference to not feel bitter and leave it all behind.