Photo of Alysha Nemeschy taken April 2013.

MY STORIES:

• Two local organizations help black business owners in Utah
• Using genetics to debunk racism
• University of Utah offers organizations for African Americans

MY BLOG:

As a student journalist writing for Voices of Utah, I have had the opportunity to learn more about myself and my community in one short semester than I have throughout my entire college career.

Reporting on the African American beat in Utah brought me to the realization that minorities are very underreported in the media and it us up to the next generation of journalists to bring this underreporting to an end.

Learning that Utah is made up of a 1 percent African American community got me thinking about the other minorities in the state that account for only a small population and in turn often go unnoticed.

As a feminist I have spent many years striving toward bringing equality toward genders – yet this still leaves me as a journalist, focusing on a very small minority group.

Writing on the African American beat has showed me that people throughout the world are being underreported. It is not just women or African Americans who do not get covered, but it is an entire population being suppressed in the media due to the lack of coverage that we receive.

Social-justice issues are scattered throughout the world, and as a journalist it is important to shed light on these issues and bring social awareness to audiences.

After reporting for Voices of Utah, I would like to continue to focus on bringing political and social awareness about civil issues to audiences as I continue on my journey as a writer.

ABOUT ME:

I graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations in May 2013. In August 2013, I will be completing two additional Bachelor of Science degrees: Political Science, and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Journalism.

In spring 2013 I was a student journalist for Voices of Utah. Additionally I completed an internship as an opinion columnist for The Daily Utah Chronicle.

My love for interacting with people landed me a job with Delta Airlines when I was 18. Working for this company led me on my global journey to understanding the world through travel.

My passion for education and traveling has brought me on an exciting journey with a broad sense of knowledge in many different areas. I believe that global education and understanding is one of the most vital necessities to bringing peace to this world.

Upon completing school I would like to continue writing as a freelance journalist while traveling the world and spreading awareness about human rights.

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MY STORIES:

• The Salt Lake City LGBT community wants equal rights
• When it comes to the University of Utah, pride has no borders
• Berlin Schlegel takes the good with the bad

MY BLOG:

When I first began reporting on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender beat, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I hadn’t actually taken the time to get to know anyone who is lesbian or gay. Reporting on the topic helped me have an open mind towards the beat. Coming from a Catholic family with strong religious beliefs I always thought that the LGBT community would never affect me or be a part of my life.

At first I thought to myself, how am I going to do this?

Will I be able to report on the topic without adding my own opinion?

How will this benefit my career as a journalist?

As I began brainstorming my first article I wasn’t sure where I was going with it. I found sources and I wrote down some questions. As I conducted my interviews I realized that reporting on the LGBT community was better than I imagined. It opened my views towards people who are lesbian or gay and it helped me realize that they are just regular people who want to have equal rights.

I began my interview with a lesbian couple from Logan. As I interviewed them, I realized that they were just like any other couple I had met. They had life goals, a home, regular jobs, they were full time students — the only thing that was different was that they don’t have the opportunity to have equal rights, like any straight person in Utah does.

This made me want to learn more about the LGBT community, it made me want to participate in events and offer my help in any way that I could. Living with a person who is gay also helped open my views towards the beat. I loved that I had someone to directly go to to ask questions when I didn’t understand what someone said or what the issues were with receiving equal rights.

The fact that we had to report on only one beat was nice. I loved that I was able to do a follow-up story on one of the sources I had interviewed. I liked getting to know the new people, getting to know their environment and understanding their sexual orientation.

This beat helped improve my professional development as a journalist because it taught me not to judge people by their cover. It taught me that no matter what your sexual orientation may be, everyone should be treated equally and as a journalist it helped me understand the life of the source I was reporting about. I learned to report without choosing a side. I learned to look at both sides of the story.

I am very grateful for the opportunity I had. Being able to report for the LGBT community helped build me as a better person. I met multiple people who are some of the most interesting humans that I have met. To be honest, I would like to continue getting involved in the LGBT community. Reporting for them helped me realize that they do deserve equal rights and that something needs to be done.

ABOUT ME:

I attended Utah State University Eastern in Price, Utah, during 2010-2012, where I studied communications and took general courses. My original intent was to study cosmetology and after a year I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted, it was what my parents wanted. I enrolled in a media writing class where I was introduced to The Eagle newspaper and that is when I fell in love with journalism. I wrote many different articles, such as profiles, news, sports and on some occasions opinions.

I continued writing for The Eagle newspaper during those two years. My sophomore year I was chosen to be the features editor on the staff, where I became proficient in InDesign and Photoshop.

I transferred to the University of Utah in August 2012, where I continue working on my associate’s degree and began my communications major. My current writing is published on Voices of Utah.

My goals for the future are to continue my education until I receive my masters’ degree and pursue a career in broadcasting. I plan on leaning toward news broadcasting, although I am interested in sports broadcasting as well.

My dream job is to be a news anchor on the Hispanic channel, Univision. Growing up I always watched the women on the news and imagined myself in their position.

Journalism allows me to express myself in ways that I haven’t been able to before. I love being able to interview new people, learn about their lives, showcase them through photography and inform my audience about the subject.

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MY STORIES:

• The University of Utah plans to update transgender housing policy
• Salt Lake City group of drag queens is changing the scene 
• Salt Lake City band RaeRe combines soul with folk music

MY BLOG:

Covering the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender beat this semester has opened my eyes to a variety of things. Through my outside story about housing, I stumbled across a unique focus of contrasting the University of Utah’s transgender housing policies with the rest of the Pac-12 schools listed in Campus Pride’s Top 25 LGBT-friendly universities. Once I finished this story, I realized how beneficial it is to be aware of all the different focuses a story can have.

This epiphany helped me choose an interesting angle for my Pride Week story on a unique group of drag queens in Salt Lake City. I initially intended to profile someone participating in the U’s Pride Week drag show, but as I got to know my source, my story blossomed into a larger picture. Not only was Tanner Crawford, also known as Klaus von Austerlitz, breaking the stereotype of a drag queen, but he was also part of a larger group of queens who shared the same non-traditional vision. The Bad Kids, as they call themselves, are breaking the stereotype that drag queens are all about glamorous makeup and high heels. I found that not only in my Pride Week story were stereotypes being broken, but most people in the gay community don’t fit into the preconceived notions people from outside of their community have imposed on them.

This supported my moral belief that the gay community is not a separate entity of our society. Instead, individuals are simply trying to live their lives day to day just as straight people try to do. The in-class interviews with Brandie Balken and Kai Medina-Martínez also reiterated the importance of acceptance because there is no difference between the gay and straight community but a minuscule detail of sexual expression and orientation.

Despite my strong beliefs, I found it relatively easy to remain objective when writing my stories. I used only the information my research and interviews gave me and was careful not to editorialize anything. This benefitted me as a journalist because I’ve practiced removing myself from the issues and only telling the story with the facts at hand. I am also familiar with how to steer clear of words or phrases that may infuse my opinions, and that will help me cover stories that may be about issues I don’t agree with. Journalism is about remaining unbiased, and I feel I have a good amount of experience to consistently uphold that value.

ABOUT ME:

I am a sophomore planning on graduating in 2014 with a bachelor of arts degree in mass communication.

I have been working at the Daily Utah Chronicle as a photographer since August 2011, specifically shooting sports photos. I have written stories for the Chronicle as well, ranging from a feature about Battle of the Bands to a profile of the Women’s Resource Center. My dream is to be a photojournalist where I can specialize in sports and band photography, and write some feature stories every now and again.

I love spending time in the mountains hiking and photographing nature and wildlife. Snowboarding, reading comic books and playing softball and guitar are some of my hobbies.

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MY STORIES: 

• Utah Pride Festival unites community
• Safe-zones create inclusive environment, safe space to be in
• LGBT youth become homeless for many reasons

MY BLOG:

My time in this class has been interesting. We were assigned the LGBT beat for our stories this semester, which I thought was an amazing gift from the gods of reporting.

That was the unofficial beat at the Daily Utah Chronicle, the student newspaper I write for. Each chance I got to report on and share stories from the LGBTQ+ community, I did little backflips in my mind.

However, after a short talk with my editor at the Chrony, I was told that I should refrain from covering LGBTQ+ stories, because I would insert small editorializing thoughts and implications into my stories.

In short, I was more than thrilled to be required to cover the LGBTQ+ community. But looking back on things, it could have been a double-edged sword. I never got to experience something I wasn’t familiar with and I was never forced to do research before starting a story. I already had several connections, so I never got practice in contacting sources for my stories.

The issues the LGBTQ+ community faces are often described as the new “big war,” and are compared with racial and sexual equality struggles over the history of our country. Through the years, media have been more and more involved with covering aspects of this community as they fight for equal rights and to have their voices heard.

That is the job of the media, especially to us reporters. We are, first and foremost, storytellers. It is our duty to share our experiences with the world from an objective standpoint. In a way, our responsibilities as journalists are very similar to a camera’s duty of taking a picture. We capture an event in its entirety and without any editorial input.

I have my own political beliefs and also my own ethical and moral compass. This beat intertwined very closely with those, as I was often talking to and working with people who shared my beliefs in certain aspects of the world and how it should work.

It was difficult to remain objective; I won’t lie about that fact. From a very early age, I was involved with and an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. The issues the LGBTQ+ community faces are very dear to me, and it’s hard to keep yourself unbiased when you’re involved with something you feel a great passion for.

A funny story about working this particular beat is from a conversation I had with my editor at the Chrony. She told me she noticed that I had a problem with objectivity when it came to the LGBTQ+ community. That was hard for me to hear, and I was even put on an unofficial probation (mostly at my request) from writing about this community. As I said earlier, this proved to be a double-edged sword when it came time to cover the LGBTQ+ community for this class. I dealt with my personal thoughts and feelings by having a lot of different people read my story and tell me if it sounded 100 percent objective, without any implications or subliminal messages.

I learned a lot about my career goals and myself this semester. Through an event unrelated to this class, I discovered that my dream of being a sports reporter wasn’t as golden as I thought it to be. I’d much rather be a reporter on a beat for crime or ethical/moral issues, to share stories of people who need their stories shared.

ABOUT ME:

When I first came to the University of Utah, I declared myself as a computer science student working toward a degree that emphasized on entertainment arts and engineering (video game design and computer animation).

It wasn’t until I got a job writing for the hockey club here (the Skatin’ Utes) that I decided journalism might be a better career path to follow. Once I got into that field, I totally fell in love. I loved being in the middle of something that was happening and being able to share with people my experience. I loved being a storyteller.

I don’t plan on graduating in the immediate future, as I’m only in my second year here. My ideal job is to be a reporter for the Boston Bruins hockey club in Boston, Massachusetts. If I work there, I would be more on the PR side, working closely with the team and coaches and putting out stories for the fans of the team.

If I don’t end up in that particular sports field, I would prefer to be doing beat writing for a local paper here, on any beat I can get. I’m on the lookout for internships and guest writing jobs.

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MY STORIES :

• LGBT organizations continually work toward equality in Utah
• The importance of allies in the LGBT community
• pinkdot events come to Utah, by way of Singapore

MY BLOG:

I was covering a segment of the Salt Lake City population that I knew little about. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is flourishing, more now than ever, within the confines of a religiously oppressive and overly conservative state. In order to discover the factors that contributed to this surprising actuality, I decided to immerse myself in the culture by attending events and talking to organization leaders within the LGBT community.

I started by telling friends what I was assigned to cover, and I’ve got some lesbian and gay friends. They gave me plenty of ideas for topics to cover, but most importantly, they directed me to a coffee shop downtown that is a safe haven for LGBT people to gather and interact. After looking into it, I found out that it was called Café Marmalade and its building also housed the Utah Pride Center.

With the task of coming up with my own story ideas, and being new to journalism altogether, I knew this would be the place to start my adventure.

I was nervous.

I navigated my way through unfamiliar territory, on the west side of downtown, to find Café Marmalade. With horrible experiences in downtown parking in the past, I pulled into an unmarked spot in the parking lot next to the building uncertainly. I got out of my car with almost no plan at all, and made my way toward the building, full of apprehension.

Little did I know, I was about to experience journalism in its truest form for the first time ever and I would love it. The butterflies in my stomach would disappear and I would suddenly know that I was meant for this.

When I walked into the LGBT coffee shop as a straight person, I could almost feel a hush fall over the room. Friendly baristas and a professional and courteous staff at the Utah Pride Center led me to the person I needed to talk to.

Valerie Larabee, the director of the Utah Pride Center, graciously sat down with me for my first ever one-on-one, in-person interview over coffee.

This was the first step on a path that exposed another side of the community that I never would have known without this beat. I connected with neighbors, friends and colleagues along the way. I wanted a better understanding of a segment of the community, and they wanted to be better understood.

The discovery of a mutually beneficial relationship between reporter and interviewee deepened my passion for journalism this semester.  I realized the importance and power of reporting the news and I will continue to wield it.

ABOUT ME:

I have always loved sports, and I have always been told that I have a talent for writing. Those things have led me to where I am today, pursuing journalism at the University of Utah. I’m focusing on sports because that’s my passion, but I’m writing about anything and everything that comes my way. In my brief career, I’ve already gained a wealth of worldly knowledge and become a more rounded individual. My passion for journalism continues to grow as I dive deeper and deeper into reporting. Working full time, studying full time and writing full time for the Daily Utah Chronicle combined to create a chaotic life lately, but I love the experience. If only I could still find time to ski.

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MY STORIES:

MY BLOG:

ABOUT ME:

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MY STORIES:

• Raising awareness helps reduce the number of homeless LGBT youth
• University of Utah LGBT Resource Center breaks “out of the closet,” allowing for improvement, greater student outreach
• The future of homeless LGBT youth in Salt Lake City

MY BLOG: 

I decided on my final story for this class almost immediately. I found I was most interested in homeless LGBT youth, and I discovered it with our first in-class interview with Brandie Balken, the executive director of Equality Utah. The reason it intrigued me so much, is because I am a journalism major and I didn’t even know anything about it. I thought to myself, “how could this be happening to so many youth?”

This is why I decided to write about it, and thought it was such an important topic that needs to be covered. These kids are being kicked out for being gay, and ultimately I thought it was extremely wrong. I ended up writing two stories about it for this class, and my final enterprise story was about what needs to be done for this problem to get better.

This also became a topic I wrote about in my opinion column at the Daily Utah Chronicle. This led me to write several columns, not just about homeless LGBT youth, but about equal rights in general and some of the things that really bother me. I find these articles are always more fun to write when they are both something I am passionate about and something controversial. And in Utah, LGBT topics are very much up for debate.

It was very difficult for me to remain objective, because I love this topic so much and have very strong beliefs on equal rights for all. The first day of class when I heard this was to be our beat we would cover, I let out a big, “yesssss” (in my head). While I am sure several people were probably not very thrilled about the topic we were going to cover, I was ecstatic. So, this made it hard while covering the topic. I had to rewrite several times, because I kept trying to slip my opinion in there. This was also extra difficult, because I have been writing opinion for over a year now.

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot and I have been inspired to volunteer at the homeless youth center, which I hope to do when I get a break from my busy schedule. I also discovered many of the health issues that LGBT and specifically transgender individuals face, and this is another topic that has sparked my interest. I hope to keep writing about these important issues if for no other reason than to inform the public about what is really going on.

ABOUT ME: 

I am a senior at the University of Utah working toward a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a minor in integrative human biology. I write opinion columns for the Daily Utah Chronicle mostly for fun, because I like talking politics and expressing ideas about other topics I am interested in.

I have a passion for writing and for health sciences. I have covered science and medical news for the Daily Utah Chronicle in the past and for the Leonardo Museum blog. I also have a passion for human-interest topics, which I have reported on at the Tooele Transcript Bulletin and for various journalism classes.

I plan to apply for graduate school in the summer of 2013 at a few different universities, specifically UC Berkeley. I hope to start a master’s degree in public health in the fall of 2014, and I aspire to a career in international health writing and administration.

I have a 3-year-old son, with whom I enjoy spending all of my days off. I am a killer barista at a local coffee shop, where I make extra money to pay for my yoga and snowboarding passes. I enjoy photography and other means of expressing myself through chalk art and drawing tattoos.

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MY STORIES: 

• Equality for Utahns based on awareness

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MY STORIES:

• 2013: LGBTQ equality in Utah? It has a fighting chance
• Annual Gay-La and Silent Auction raise funds for the U’s LGBT Resource Center
• You don’t have to die alone from AIDS in Utah

MY BLOG:

Learning how to become a journalist is difficult. Learning the art of journalism is nearly impossible.

I have chosen to take the road of the unfamiliar and the impossible in the hope of becoming a good broadcast journalist with the goal of one day becoming an artist in this field.

My intention is not to become a media star or a person who is concerned with their self-interests.

My interest in journalism is simple: I want to help my community learn its voice and stand up against the interests that disenfranchise our community’s most vulnerable populations.

Moreover, I want to help provide a medium, with a variant social demographic that will voice my community’s struggles and its successes.

In order for me to achieve this career path I must learn how to communicate perfectly. I also must learn to have zero fear when it comes to participating within my community.

When I first started this class, intermediate journalism, I intellectually understood that it would be difficult and that I would most likely become a better writer when the class finished.

What I didn’t understand until the semester ended was that this class was designed to change my life in a positive way.

I also learned that my professor wasn’t interested in designing a class that was mundane and a place to find an easy “A.” Rather, this class broke down all my weaknesses, showed them to me and challenged me to correct my fears and discomforts.

For the first time in my students career I really had to have a discussion with myself and decide if having a career in journalism was a goal that I wanted to achieve.

With the tools that this class has provided me I am more confident than ever that this world could potentially have a place for me as a journalist.

I have a long road to travel in order to reach my goals, but I am forever grateful for the opportunity that the U has provided for me.

I am also humble and thankful to the U for its constant encouragement that I receive on a day-to-day basis.

ABOUT ME:

I am a 32-year-old man who returned to the University of Utah not just to finish my degree(s) but to learn how to communicate.

I currently work with The PAC-12 Network and K-UTE Radio (University of Utah’s student radio station).

My interest for now is learning the technical aspects of television and radio broadcasting.

In January 2013, I will start an internship with ABC 4 News in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I hope to one day work and participate in a first-class radio show.

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MY STORIES:

• LGBT community pushes legislation for equal rights in Salt Lake City
• Lack of marriage equality for LGBT hinders immigrants’ ability to come to America
• Gay male athletes are still seeking acceptance from coaches, teammates and fans

MY BLOG:

When I first learned that we would be covering the LGBT beat for this class, I expected it to be relatively easy for me. I have quite a few family members and close friends who are gay or identify with the LGBT community in some way, so I thought I was more familiar with the issues than the average Joe Schmoe.

I was terribly mistaken.

Yes, I had known of people who deal with things in their daily lives that most don’t have to deal with. Yes, I had heard stories of being beaten up or otherwise discriminated against.

But I didn’t really get the depth of it. For instance, I had always sympathized with those who wanted the legalization of same-sex marriage and I felt that Utah should allow some sort of domestic partnership. What didn’t occur to me were the underlying issues such as the ability to adopt children together (with both partners having full parental rights), and the implications on hospital-related care and health benefits.

Writing for an LGBT-related beat helped me take a real interest in what is really going on. Though I pretended to be aware of it before this class, I can definitely say that now I know, and have talked to people who have experienced these issues firsthand. Whereas I previously viewed the LGBT community as a sort of invisible minority, my work this semester has forced me to recognize how sizeable the population really is.

I can also say that the experience has forced me to become a more well-rounded journalist. I was under the impression that all types of journalism are nearly the same, and I thought that my previous experience in sports writing would give me a leg up.

Once again I was proven wrong. The type of writing needed for formulating a story on the real-world experiences of the LGBT community differs greatly from what I might do in a game recap or a sports feature, especially in terms of being sensitive to words or phrases that can be viewed as offensive. When it comes to crafting a story, I think this experience has increased my overall conscientiousness related to story construction and phraseology.

ABOUT ME:

I’m a single, 24-year-old male who loves sports. Unique, aren’t I?

I’ve always had a gift for writing which I thought only came in handy when I had to “B.S.” a school paper at the last minute.

It took me a few years of schooling at the University of Utah before I realized that I wanted to be a journalist. I had dabbled in things like economics and psychology and found them interesting, but I just couldn’t see myself working in those fields long-term.

So I eventually decided to take advantage of my writing ability and be a journalist, specifically, a sports journalist. I started writing for the Daily Utah Chronicle this past summer and though the work was more time consuming than I anticipated, I absolutely loved it.

My editor assigned me to a beat right away, and I was off to cover the women’s soccer team. I was writing about four stories a week, writing anything from game recaps to profiles, some longer some shorter. I quickly discovered that sports writing comes naturally to me, and I rarely have to fiddle with the construction or the flow of my stories.

I am now set to graduate in spring 2013 with a degree in mass communication, and feel content now that I have settled on a career path that I will enjoy.

After graduation I may move to Michigan, where my family lives, if I can find a job with a newspaper out there. I like seeing new places though, and would be happy going wherever the job hunt takes me.

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