The Blog of Derrick James Freese


Paper #3 Final
November 15, 2011, 6:48 pm
Filed under: Journalism

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Dave Madsen Story
October 18, 2011, 5:42 am
Filed under: Journalism

Life has a funny way of leading you through life with unexpected happenings. In December of 2008 Dave Madsen lost his job of twenty-nine years at KTIV when his higher-ups decided his position was no longer essential. For Madsen and his family it meant a hard time ahead. After having his job loss published in the newspaper and by knowing many people in Sioux City, it was only a matter of time until he got a phone call about a job.

One of Madsen’s good friends just happened to be the President of Morningside College. Reading his story in the paper, he gave Madsen a call and wanted to meet and talk sometime. With a degree in Journalism and working on his Masters Degree, along with over thirty years of experience in media and broadcasting, Madsen immediately got a job as the Head of the Mass Communications department at Morningside. During the six months between getting the job and actually being able to start, Madsen worked in public relations.

Madsen has taken a long path to get where he is today. He grew up in Omaha and attended Omaha North High School. After that he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he majored in Journalism and Chemistry. Needing money he worked as a weekend reporter/photographer at KETV in Omaha, followed by an internship in Kearney, Nebraska. He first got to Sioux City and started working at KMEG where he wrote commercials. After a few years he moved to KTIV as a Studio Manager. After working there for a period of time, Madsen applied for and got the Production Manager job, where he stayed for the remainder of his time at KTIV.

In the article published about Madsen being let go he was discribed at the “heart and soul” of the studio. Madsen said he had “no bad blood with the local people at KTIV.” Madsen doesn’t plan on ever going back to work in TV because he has made a good transition and enjoys teaching at Morningside. He believes moving to Morningside was an opportunity, and said, ” I can see myself spending time here now, I can retire here.”

Today Madsen enjoys being the Head of the Mass Communications Department, as well as teaching his Media Management Passport classes. He hopes to expand upon the radio station KMSC Fusion 93 as well as the television station MCTV. He would like a 5 o’ clock news cast with weekly reports. The problem is getting students together to form this news cast and getting them on the air.

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News Comment 7
October 13, 2011, 8:10 pm
Filed under: Journalism

I read an old, but relevant article about how starting in 2012 the Bank of America charging $5 a month to use a debit card. The charge will only be applied if the card is used to make a purchase and one can still use an ATM without being charged. Premium account holders won’t be affected by this charge. Banks have been “flirting” with the idea of adding a charge to using debit cards, but the Bank of America is the first major institution to announce the change. The change comes because there is a cap being placed on fees a bank can charge retailers when people use their cards at their stores.

I chose this article because it affects a large amount of peoples lives. I also chose the article because it interested me that a bank would start charging to use your own money to pay for something. I could see this with a credit card where you have to pay that money back anyway, but it seems harsh to make someone pay for debit card use. The article also has a nice structure to it and flows well with good transitions between paragraphs. There were also quotes and statistics in the article to make it more objective.

Link to article: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/29/pf/bank_of_america_debit_fee/



News Critique #6
October 6, 2011, 3:18 pm
Filed under: Journalism

The flooding along the Missouri River has been terrible, and traveling to or from Omaha has been quite the annoyance. The Interstate was closed from Council Bluffs up to the I 680 interchange to Loveland due to this flooding. Now what used to take about an hour and a half now takes over two hours. Without access to I 29 one must take alternate back roads to travel to Missouri Valley, IA or take I 80 up to I 680, then get on I 29.

The Interstate was reopened last Friday. In a story on the KWQC News website officials say the debris has been cleared, the roads washed, and the ground tested to hold traveling vehicles.

I feel this is news to be because I have to take I 29 to get to Sioux City from my home in Treynor. Having to take back roads was a terrible inconvenience, but I guess I got to see some pleasant scenery.

I-29 North from Council Bluffs to Reopen



The Quest for a Nickel
September 29, 2011, 8:23 pm
Filed under: Journalism

There are many people who have the need for some change. No, I’m not talking about change in our country, I am talking about coin change. The annoying flat circular things you get when you break a bill. The things that nearly no college student carries around when walking on campus. While on my adventure I didn’t want to just stop someone and ask them to trade me money, so I went somewhere that I could bother people and they wouldn’t care.

After walking around campus for a bit I decided to go to MacCollin and see if I could find one in the classrooms. When I walked in I was greeted by John Kolbo who asked what I was doing there. I explained that I had to find a nickel from someone I did not know. He told me to go ahead and ask the class if anyone had a nickel. I walked in the classroom and I could instantly feel the many eyes burning on me. I asked, “Does anyone in here happen to have a nickel I could trade?” After a moment of awkward silence one boy with a red shirt and dirty blonde hair responded, “I have a nickel.” I walked over and sat down by him and learned his name was Dan Ostendorf. I explained to him that I had to search for someone with a nickel and trade it with them for my assignment and then write about it. He was very understanding of the situation as I thanked him for the nickel and went on my way.



News Critique #5
September 29, 2011, 6:52 am
Filed under: Journalism

For my third critique I read an article posted on Kotaku about how the big game developing company Bethesda suing the small Indie game developer Markus “Notch” Persson. Bethesda makes the popular game series The Elder Scrolls as Notch made the popular game Minecraft. Recently Notch’s company, Mojang,  has been designing a game called Scrolls. However since Bethesda has a copyright on The Elder Scrolls, they think Scrolls is too close in name to The Elder Scrolls and want Mojang to change the name of their game. Bethesda has now decided to take the case to court.

I chose this article because it suits the conflict aspect of news. The most interesting thing that I found about this article was that Notch’s idea to solve the conflict over the name was to play a game of Quake, and the winner decided the fate of the game. Unfortunately Bethesda did not find this solution as epic and awesome many others did.

Link to the article



Mr. Gingrich Goes to Morningside
September 22, 2011, 8:09 pm
Filed under: Journalism

Presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich stopped at Morningside College on Tuesday to talk about his campaign. He met with a room filled with over 100 people mixed with college students and older citizens of the community. This stop on Gingrich’s campaign brought many camera crews and the Morningside radio station KMSC-FM 92.9 that broadcast the event in it’s entirety.

In his stance to replace food stamps with paychecks Gingrich says, “America doesn’t work when Americans aren’t working.” For immigration, Gingrich wants to strengthen border control and make it harder to get in the country illegal than legally. He has a strong stance against abortion.

Gingrich is the the only candidate that has helped balance a budget on a national level. He helped supply side regulations and add new jobs with President Reagen in 1980.

Afterwards, I asked fellow student Chad Morehead what he thought about Gingrich. Morehead, stated that Gingrich has had experience and has a set of plans to follow and that he also wants to implement his plans and not fight over policies.

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Eugene C. Eppley and MacCollin Memorial
September 13, 2011, 6:23 pm
Filed under: Journalism

In Sioux City, Iowa there is a college that was founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Morningside College is a private, four-year, liberal arts college. Morningside has 21 buildings on a 68-acre campus, all with distinct looks. Two of my favorite buildings are the Eugene C. Eppley building and the MacCollin Memorial Classroom building.

The Eugene C. Eppley building was constructed in 1966, and thought to be one of the best music and art facilities in the Midwest. The massive auditorium can seat 1,400 with a beautiful Sanford Memorial Organ that reaches to the as high as the ceiling. W.L. Beutler and Son designed the architectural structure and the elegant and colorful mosaic designs above the entrances. I have spent a bit of time in the Eppley lobby for some classes.

Sitting in the Eppley lobby with its large windows and many entrances that let sunlight reflect off the white tiles I saw its life wasn’t much different than the MacCollin hallways. There are far fewer people who venture the large balcony over looking the foyer. This balcony houses the print supplies as well as a nice place to take a nap with sofas circling a table. In the foyer there are many art pieces set up that are bursting with colorful designs. Hanging from the ceiling in the foyer are many lights that burn bright like stars when lit at night. I would soon come to learn that during the event nights the building was a bustling metropolis.

The Eppley building is home to many events that draw in enormous crowds. One of the most popular is the Christmas at Morningside, showcasing the amazing talents of the Morningside band and Choir. There are hundreds of sharped-dressed men accompanied by women who show up in beautiful flowing dress and jewelry that sparkles like the stars.

The Eugene C. Eppley building has become almost like a second home to me, as well as countless other students trying to finish a project for the next day. Working like slaves to the grade, we all strive forward and pull a masterpiece together. Many people find a place in the Eppley lobby to crash for a while so they can wake up in few hours and keep on working until the sun rises and it’s time to start the next day in the MacCollin building for classes.

The first time I entered the building complex was on the MacCollin classroom side. I came up for an interview for a grant with the head of the Graphic Design program. As I walked into the building I remember seeing on the second floor windows the shades were moved to form an arc in the very square window frames. I noticed the building wasn’t too busy at this time since it was late in the afternoon. Later as I would sit down for my class and draw what the halls looked like, I noticed that the halls of MacCollin were ghost towns with few people wondering the halls unless it was between classes.



Meet My Classmate!
September 13, 2011, 7:43 am
Filed under: Journalism

In my Junior year of attending Morningside College I took a Journalism class. In this class I sit next to a girl, and her name is Samantha Hoffman. When I first started talking to Samantha she was quite at first. I learned some small things such as, her favorite color being blue, and her favorite food is spaghetti. Also I learned her favorite rock bands were Avenged Sevenfold and Godsmack, but once we got to talking more I learned some things about her.

Samantha grew up in Lake View, Iowa living on a cattle farm. During her high school years she was a cheerleader, played soccer and was part of her FFA sectional chapter for 2 years. At a college fair Samantha decided to go to Morningside. She chose Morningside because it was as she says, “Close, but not too close.” In addition to that, she also liked the tech refresh program Morningside offers.

Today Samantha is a Junior at Morningside College majoring in Psychology/Counseling. I never had good experiences with Psychology classes, so I wish her the best of luck in that. To get through college Samantha is working at Texas Roadhouse. Samantha lived on campus for her first two years of college, living in Dimmitt Hall. This year Samantha is living off campus with her boyfriend.

Knowing who I’m sitting next to during this class will definitely be better now.



Who to Cheer For?
September 8, 2011, 5:32 pm
Filed under: Journalism

Earlier I read an article on the WBUR Boston radio website about the Packers game tonight against the Saints. It was a kind of prediction and who to cheer for article. Basically the article had important points dealing with both teams, but the points didn’t deal too much with the players playing the game so much as it dealt with which team looks more interesting. The article talked about reasons to cheer for each team with statements like, “Do you prefer brats or gumbo?” and, “Which of these faces do you find more compelling?” (showing pictures of both Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees) Another reason to cheer for the Saints was about his post-game photo of Brees holding his son after winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago. Personally I chose the Packers because that’s how mamma raised me.

This article was interesting in the fact that it was different from other prediction analysts. One thing that i really dislike about sports analysts trying to predict who will win, is that there are so many variables that need to be considered that most of them will overlook. Variables such as unforeseen injuries during the game as well as players that would normally not be playing step up their game and play outstandingly making big plays when they need to. For the most part the article doesn’t go one way or the other, it seems very split in the middle between the two teams which is nice since usually most predictions are completely biased to one side even if the other team clearly looks better to win.