This is an interview of Haley McNeal, Atlanta journalist.

1. When did you figure our you wanted to be a journalist? The earliest I can remember loving to write was around fifth grade when I created a journal and raincoat full of gadgets just like Harriet the Spy so I could write down everything I saw. I truly realized that I wanted to be a journalist in middle and high school through the yearbook program. Each year that I continued taking the class the more my adoration to reporting stories, laying out page designs and utilizing powerful photos grew. That's not to say I knew exactly what kind of journalist I wanted to be, but I knew what direction I wanted to go.

My take: I had a very similar experience. It was in 5th grade that I started to realize I LOVED photography and then through yearbook and this internship it's grown and I just know journalism is right for me.

2. What is your degree in and where is it from? I have a bachelors degree in journalism with a concentration in magazines from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

My take: UGA is a great school! That's where I intend to go- I want a media broadcasting/photojournalism degree.

3. Why do you love journalism? There are many reasons. Personally, I love that I can express myself through the written word in ways I cannot through spoken words. I love advocating for others by telling their amazing stories through different modes of communication. I love that I live in a country where I have the freedom of speech where I can tell the stories that need to be told.

My take: I love all these things. I love That through my photos and my written words I can stand up for my beliefs or a cause and advocate change. I'm a champion of free speech and love that I live somewhere I can exercise that right.

4. I know you've focused in the writing side of journalism, but could you describe the significance of/what you think of regarding the importance of photojournalism?Photojournalism is just as important as written journalism, it simply depends on the impact you are trying to make on your consumer. There are emotions you can portray and stories you can tell easier, and more dramatically, with photos than with words. Just as with written journalism, photojournalism is an art that takes a certain skill, and when photos are snapped at just the right time the result can be world-shaking.

My take: Yes. Yes. Yes. Photos can change the world. They have changed the world. And they will continue to do so. 

5. What's the coolest thing you've done for your career so far? Following my internship at with a lifestyle magazine I was able to interview a restaurant radio talk show host and write a profile article on her. I actually met her at a coffee shop in Atlanta and interviewed her on behalf of the magazine. Armed with the notes I scribbled during our talk and the recorded audio I captured, I wrote a feature article that was published online and in print. This was the first completely original feature article I had published and it was monumental for me.

My take: I kinda had a similar experience through my internship. The first time I got to publish my own work, even though it was a tiny little story, I was so so proud. And the BEST day was when my photos were published and it said "Photo: Hannah McQueen" beneath it. I know it wasn't a huge deal at all. But it was the first time my photos had been published on a news website and I was ecstatic. 

6. At the end of your career, where do you see yourself? I'm not really sure. I want to be a successful career woman that is happy with where my career leads along my journalism journey. I also hope to raise a family at some point, and still be able to write. For me, finding a happy balance between work and home life is what is most important.

My take: I want a balance too. I see myself, at the end of my career, hopefully following the steps of Steve McCurry. I want to have traveled the world and taken iconic photographs that'll be around long after me, you know?

7. What would be your dream assignment? To be in a stable position, able to write about topics that are important to me is my dream assignment. I believe that if you truly care about something you pour your heart and soul into it, making the story one that people have to read, watch, listen to, or see. As far as a specific job...I would like to see what it's like working at CNN/Turner Broadcasting.


My take: I love That. I think everyone has a dream job specific to themself. Mine would be to become a National Geographic photographer that gets to travel the world and experience things most people never get to. 

8. Do you think journalism can truly change the world? Absolutely. The communications industry as a whole has the potential to influence people profoundly, both in good and bad ways. This includes newspapers, magazines, television, and even blogging and social media (which is growing each day). My hope is that those who exercise their rights to free speech do so in a positive way. It's our job to work towards doing just that; reporting the truth and standing by every word we write or every photo we take. 

My take: YES. It's a simple as that. Photos and written word have, can, and will change the world. 

9. Journalists are often targeted, especially photojournalists. Why do you think people still continue to pursue journalism? 

I've heard it said before that you can't help who you love, and I think it's the same with what you love. No matter what career you choose, there is always going to be someone that you just can't make happy, someone who disagrees with you, and someone who wants to criticize your point of view. That's life. This career  lets you practice your freedom of expression in a professional way, and your works may butt heads with the passionate beliefs of others...just be ready. You can't help if you love it.


My take: ah! Yes. I couldn't have phrased it better. So many journalists lose their lives every single year. Like the American journalists who were beheaded by ISIS or the Charlie Hebdo killings more recently. It's tragic and unfair but someone has to do. Someone has to care about telling the truth and has to be brave enough to do it. I couldn't quit even if I wanted to.

10. What is the best thing about your job in journalism? At this point, the best thing about my job is that I get to experience every aspect of the magazine management business. From selling ads, planning each issue, finding writers, managing the budget, editing the entire book, attending trade shows, writing, and so much more, I get to do it all. It's building on to my education and arming me with experience I need for my future career steps.

My take: That's a big reason I love this field too. It's definitely not boring or routine. At my Internship, I get to try a little bit of EVERYTHING. There are so so many awesome opportunities in journalism and that's so exciting! 

1/5 Week Assignment

I need and want to know several things for my final product. I want to know what kind of impact photojournalism has made in individual lives and to what extent it did. I want to know if photojournalism can bring about actual change and fix major world problems. I want to know, in fact, need to know, if the path I have chosen for my life (photojournalism), is meaningful, is change-inspiring, and is important. I want to know that using photojournalism as a tool to change the world for the better is possible.
My current essential question is still the same that it was earlier: How can I utilize photojournalism and all its elements to such an effective degree that I express common social, political, and economic problems of our generation and promote awareness of said various world issues?
I plan to use other elements beside my website. I want to display some of my work, and mainly, some of the work of my greatest inspiration and possibly best photojournalist of all time- Steve McCurry (National Geographic- Afghan Girl). I also want to use a powerpoint presentation and oral anecdotes regarding my own experiences.
I will interview regular people. Because my whole research centers on the idea, the hope, that photojournalism effects REGULAR people, completely removed from the field of journalism. I want to see that photojournalism has effected normal people, maybe without them even knowing it.

11/17 EQ

My essential question:
How can I utilize photojournalism and all its elements to such an effective degree that I express common social, political, and economic problems of our generation and promote awareness of said various world issues?

• I selected this as my essential question because it is exactly why I am pursuing photojournalism and it is what I want to accomplish with my work. I want to take pictures that matter, pictures that change things. I want to create awareness and ignite passions with pictures that inspire others to go out and change the world.
• It excites me to begin to find answers to this question, and I do emphasize "begin," because I truly believe I will be discovering answers to this question for the rest of my career. I am excited because this answer provides me with the starting block for what I want to do for the rest of my life and what I want to accomplish with my life. 
• I definitely do think and know this question reflects a desire I have to find out more about my career of choice. I want to know HOW I can accomplish what I want to: taking pictures that matter. I want to know how I can use what I have learned about photography and journalism to accomplish that goal. I want to know the answer because it is a question about my life goal. 

11/10 Blog Post

In the past month at Jacobs Media, I have learned far more than I ever thought I would learn there the whole year. My mentor has let me experience a little bit of everything. I signed up for photography, and I am getting to do some of that (for instance, on Halloween I covered an event and the photos got published on Access North Ga), but I spend most of my time writing... and I love it! I do things like reading a press release and then write a story for Access North Ga from the press release. Then with the same release, I write an HR (headliner) or an RV (a lengthier wording complete with a voice recording) for WDUN Radio. It took me a while to understand what those were... in basic terms, they are the scripts for the news casts! I also update the Associated Press Wire, along with the GNN stories and I add those to the site. My work is always edited by my mentor and then the main editor, who always help me get better everyday. I also do things like edit news cast sound bites, along with pulling the Accuweather forecast for the day and helping record the daily stock news. I am always doing something hands-on, I am never just observing. I absolutely love my coworkers and my mentor and I love what I am doing. Though I must admit, sometimes news stories can REALLY get depressing.

The class that has most helped me prepare for my internship with Jacobs Media has been Yearbook. I began yearbook in eighth grade and have continued ever since. I am now enrolled in Journalism 3, or Yearbook 3. I am the 2014-2015 Sports Editor of the Onyx Yearbook. This class taught me how to interview, a VITAL skill to surviving the real world of journalism. It also taught me how to respond to criticism, how to write articles, how to improve my photography, and how to get along with people even if we have very different opinions. It taught me to understand the hierarchy regarding editors and staff. It taught me to care about what I am doing and to make people want to read it, while still maintaining objectivity and being truthful.

11/9 Blog Post

The following is a blog post reflecting on this article:

http://growingleaders.com/blog/first-soft-skill-develop-students/


Current youth, those graduating from college and entering the workplace, can face many problems in the work place. One of the biggest now is a product of the role technology plays in this generation. Many of the current members of the post-college youth are lacking a skill set that allows them to act professionally in the workplace, as many interactions through social media and technology have prevented them from reaching that skill. Another problem arises from the value many young people place in tattoos and hair dyes and piercings. This leads to problems in the workplace when employers ask for those items to be removed in order to create a more professional appearance.

Social intelligence is simply the ability to understand, interact in, and maintain complex social relationships. It is the ability to be a leader and understand how to absolve possible social conflicts. It was defined by Edward Thorndike as being: "The ability to understand and manage men, women, boys, and girls, to act wisely in human relations." Daniel Goleman said that social intelligence includes: empathy, attunement, social cognition, concern, self-presentation, and influence.

Social intelligence is important because it sets leaders apart. It makes it clear that one is able and has the work ethic needed to make something happen. It the driving force behind making a good impression and without it, one could never move up.

This article spoke to me personally in the idea that tattoos/hair length/piercings are not central to one's ideas. For instance, though I may want a nose ring, it is not central to who I am and therefore not necessary to survival.

10/26 Write-Up

My Profile:  My name is Hannah and I am currently a junior in high school. I turn 17 in a month and I've known that I was interested in photography since I was 11, maybe even before that. I have an identical twin named Kelsey who wants to teach literature. I absolutely love lit and history courses. I am the sports editor of the 2014-2015 Onyx Yearbook and am currently enrolled in journalism 3 at my school. I can't explain why, I just know the I love photography. More accurately, I love photojournalism. While weddings and senior pictures are admirable endeavors, they're not where I want my career to head. I love telling important, news-worthy, eye-opening stories with my pictures and I do enjoy written journalism as well.

My Mentorship: I am currently an intern Jacobs Media, which runs WDUN radio and Access North Ga., among other things. I work in the newsroom under the 1:30-4:30 newscaster/writer for ANGA Allyson. She has taught me more than I ever imagined I would learn this year in just 3 days at the office. I listen to her casts, edit them, learn how to get news, journalism ethics, AP style, and even simple things like answering the phone and taking down tips. On Thursday, upon walking into the office, I was handed a press release I was told to write 1 story for ANGA and 2 HTS (headliners with tape (tape:editing an interview and pulling a quote that is less than 13 seconds long) headliners with tape are written very specifically and are read on WDUN.) I was so nervous to be let on my own after only 2 days, but I was so proud of the work I did when I finished. She encouraged me to write a 3rd HT, one with a new angle, and after I did, she praised the work I did, making me sure I was on the right path and that I loved my Mentorship. Everybody I work with is so nice to me and they always push me to do more. I could not be happier here, learning about photojournalism, written journalism, and who knew-talk radio.

My Future: Next year I intend to stay with WDUN, if they'll have me, whether I am doing it through HMP or not. After that I intend to attend the University of Georgia to earn a degree in journalism/photography. From there, it's a lot less clear. I don't know exactly what I will do, I just know if it is in photojournalism, I'll be happy. I do know my end goal is to be a National Geographic Photographer or writer or a photographer at the White House. I can't wait to continue working with Jacobs Media.

Week of 10/14 Assignment

Going into my mentorship I thought it would be exactly what I was originally signed up for: photography. It is not... at all. Sure, I definitely do photography... whenever there is a need for pictures for the facebook or for the news website, I take them. But my mentorship is so much more than just taking and editing pictures. I am learning how to edit sound clips of news casts, how to write scripts for the teleprompter, how to use the program they use, appropriate journalism knowledge, how to write for the website, what sources are good and what are not, and so much more. I am learning far more than I ever thought I would and I LOVE that I get to work with journalism as a whole on all fronts, not just photography. My perception has changed about my mentorship greatly. It is SO much harder than I ever thought, yet SO much more rewarding and exciting. I love working with this company. It is suprising to me about how fast-paced this mentorship is. I knew they covered day-to-day news so it would by no means be slow, but just the sheer speed of it all is amazing.

I feel like I can improve my performance simply by taking in all that they teach me and using it. They said it would greatly benefit to learn a specific writing style, and I intend to do so. I also intend to learn how to use a camera in more detail and learn how to improve my interview skills.