2011 Newspaper Portfolio Sara Casler
Cover Letter
SARA CASLER____ 1510 Woodland Street____ Orlando, FL 32806____ saracasler@yahoo.com____ (407) 271-2744____ May 27, 2011____ Renee Burke Newspaper/Yearbook Advisor Boone High School 2000 South Mills Avenue Orlando, FL 32806 Dear Mrs. Burke, Hilights newspaper demands staffers that are dedicated, hardworking, motivated individuals with new and creative ideas and perspectives of the world around them. This being the case, please accept the following resume in correlation with the position of staffer on Hilights newspaper, where I will continue to apply my skills and abilities to continue the tradition of excellence in journalism and student reporting. As a current writer and photographer for Hilights, I have developed skills in writing and editing stories, time management, teamwork and page design. With a solid backing of story writing and design, I am capable of seeing the publication from different angles and offer valid, substantial opinions as to how the publication should be adjusted if at all. As a strong team player, I am able to assist others with any issues they might be having and will remain dedicated to the paper, despite possible hardships. I bring many quality skills to the table. I am a creative, out of the box thinker and am capable of applying my creativity to the design or writing in front of me. I am a fairly fast learner, and if something does not come easily, I use available resources in order to find a solution quickly and effectively. These qualities qualify me as a candidate to continue my time as a staffer on Hilights. While my resume is complete and an effective reflection of who I am as a reporter, I believe an in person interview would better demonstrate what I am capable of and what I offer to Hilights. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience. Thank you for taking your time to consider me as a possible candidate. I look forward to meeting with you in the near future. Respectfully,
Sara Casler Enclosed: Resume
RESUME
SARA CASLER____ 1510 Woodland Street____ Orlando, FL 32806____ saracasler@yahoo.com____ (407) 271-2744____ OBJECTIVE To gain skills and abilities vital to proper news writing and journalism and to continue my education as a newspaper staffer. EDUCATION Completed three years at Boone High School Graduation Date: June 2012 GPA: 3.3 Top 20% of class EXPERIENCE Newspaper Staff Member, Boone High School
•Aug 2010-present. Newspaper staff member. Gained experience in photography, design, editing and different forms of article writing.
ACTIVITIES/ AWARDS
•Boone High School NJROTC Lieutenant Commander Aug 2009-present Unarmed drill team commander, member of the Academic, Push-up, Sit-up, running and exhibition drill teams. Recipient of the Stephen Decatur award and the Embry Riddle Outstanding Cadet Award
•2011 Quill and Scroll International Writing and Photo Contest Winner Award and scholarship based on overall writing and quality of the review.
•Florida Scholastic Press Association All Florida Newspaper Reviews Recognition of outstanding achievement in journalism and review writing. REFERENCES
Available upon request
PERSONAL Essay
Journalism has revolutionized the way I view the world around me. There is a story behind every corner, and a photograph behind every door. The world is dying for information, and it is an honor to say that I had a hand in delivering it to the eager reader. My roots in journalism trace back to the seventh grade, when I was in a small private Christian school, The Christ School. There were more kids in my ninth grade English class then there were in my eighth graduating class. I was on the yearbook staff with about 10 or 12 other seventh and eighth graders, and I fell in love instantly. Being a small school yearbook, the emphasis was on photography, and that is really where I first got experience with a camera. My father furthered the experience by taking me with him on some of his photography excursions and jobs. He taught me the basics, such as the rule of thirds, good lighting, and what constitutes a good photograph. From there, I couldn’t stop, and it has been part of my life ever since. I have been through quite a bit this past year. For starters, there has been the ongoing battle with procrastination. It’s the one thing that everyone has, but few let out of the closet for more than a breath of air. The problem was I had a hard time getting it back in and shutting the door. Procrastination is a smooth talking little devil, I must say. On top of that, I have gone through some personal and emotional changes that have knocked me off course. I have been working to improve that, but it has been a terrible challenge. I plan to continue improving and hopefully reaching a more solid place in my life soon.
Self-analytical Essay
When all else fails, use auto mode. When I volunteered to take pictures for prom this year, I honestly had no clue what I was up against. But upon arrival at the dance, it dawned on me, “there is no way I can control the lighting for these photos in this room.” With the room so dimly lit, a good photograph was not going to be easy to get. I have learned through situations like this that if there are too many things going on at once and they cannot all be controlled, switch to auto mode and pray, because sometimes the camera does know best. Do the dang interview! Sometimes, it was just easier to sit back and wait until the last minute to go out and try and get an interview. For some reason, I was under the impression that Murphy’s Law does not apply to reporters. Wrong! If anything, it hits a newspaper kid twice as hard because kids that need to be interviewed get sick, skip school, go to the bathroom right when you get to their class or have simply vanished in thin air. It’s always best to do the interviews as soon as possible, so that if Murphy does stop by for a visit, you are ready for him.
Reflection #1
The piece that I am most proud of is my review of Apple TV titled “Device redesigns interactive television.� It is my best work because it is in depth, covers all the angles of the flaws and benefits of the device and it is well written and interesting. It wasn’t that challenging to write, but it did take some extensive research and digging, because only so much information was available at the time. I remember my first draft lacking in information and not being very interesting. It was a challenge to make an entire article about an Apple device interesting. Writing it was as simple matter to sitting down and compiling all of my research. I went back in later and tried to add voice and make it more interesting with details and fast facts. One of the things that I learned when writing this was that it is not a simple matter to organize this kind of piece. What is a flaw to one is a benefit to another, so sorting between the two was tricky. My favorite part about the final draft was the division I put in between sections of the flaws and the benefits and what not. It is a sharp, clear transition between what this device has to offer and why the device is not worth the money one pays for it.
FIrst Draft
Final Draft
Reflection #2
In a word: crew. That was a disaster of a story. From a lack of photos to a lack of stats to a just overall lacking, the story that I had sent in for a final was the furthest thing from a sports story that I would be proud of. I was intent on focusing on the team aspect of crew rather than the success of the team, and it cost me dearly as far as the overall quality of the sports story. I waited until the last minute to go get the necessary interviews and I never received enough stats from the coach because I didn’t follow up enough. Two emails is not following up in my book. The only reason the page turned out nicely is because Mrs. Burke and Johnny redid the page completely. I will never let that happen again; it was embarrassing.
First Draft
Final Draft
Reflection #3
This photo is my favorite for many reasons. First of all, I am very proud of the lighting of the image, because it was a challenge taking photographs in the dimly lit ballroom to begin with and the lighting on the subject is perfect. Taylor is practically glowing. Also, I like how the subject is actively and obviously enjoying herself. It gives the photograph life. Lastly, the subject fills the frame and demands your focus, and there are no distracting details or quirks in the background. PROM 5-1 Casler20110430_0142
Reflection #4
I feel like I am a competent writer and a capable staff member. This proved to be beneficial to the staff because I remained on or close to deadline for most deadlines and I stayed focused during class and workdays. One of the biggest issues faced during workdays was staying on task. I made it a goal of mine to finish all of my work first and foremost and not stick around afterwards and act as a distraction for other staff members (like *cough cough* some people). I would often take work home with me and try and be productive after what I consider “working hours,� also known as the school day.
Reflection #5
I have minimal experience with Indesign and Photoshop, and that turned out to be a challenge for me in general, because I normally ended up on sports. The sports editor was not the best designer in the world either. Don’t get me wrong, he was a great editor, but he was not very apt at designing pages. I ended up making corrections or asking David or another senior for help redesigning the page. Now, if someone handed me a page and it was messed up, I feel like I could fix it myself and have it up to par in a matter of minutes. I feel like it was a work in progress, and I will get better as time goes on, but for now I can consider myself a fairly competent designer.
Reflection #6
Goal 1: Stop procrastinating. I procrastinated on that one. I was thoroughly convinced that I would get to it tomorrow, which is paradoxal, because technically speaking tomorrow will never come. So yes, I will get to it tomorrow. I will also not be such a smart mouth on any day that does not end in “day.” It’s too bad the only day that that is just so happens to be tomorrow. It’s a darn shame. Goal 2: Become a better photographer I feel this was successfully accomplished through the course of the year, simply because I had more opportunities to go out with a camera. I have probably taken nearly 1000 pictures between now and the time I wrote my semester exam goals. This simply has increased my ability to handle the camera. Goal 3: Improve grammar in stories This I know I have succeeded in. I took a look back through all of the stories that I have written over the year and the edits that Catherine has done. As time went on, the edits became less, and the corrections turned into suggestions, ideas and constructive criticism.
Reflection #7
N14. Entertainment reviews “Device redesigns interactive television” page 23, November This is my favorite article. It is well written, detailed and has already been recognized by other organizations as a good article. I would like to see how it fairs in a competition of this sort of caliber. N28. Single feature photograph “Taylor Bouno at Prom” page 14, Senior section, May This picture is one of my favorites because I love the emotion on Taylors face. It is well lit and balanced, and the angle is interesting and fun. The background is the only flaw because it is plain, but I think that just enhances the subject and increases the focus on said subject. N.63 Sports Page Design “Crew” page 21, Main section, May This page came out really quite well. The page is fluid and well done, and is overall an impactful layout. Although I am not proud of the story (see above), the page is really very nice.
Page Design
Page Design
OCtober Deadline
November Deadline
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Febuary Deadline
MaRCh Deadline
May Deadline