Ethan Birmingham - Blog Post #1

First Blog Post 

16th January, 2024

About Me

My name is Ethan Birmingham, and I am a first-year journalism major at Linn-Benton Community College. I moved to Corvallis in the fall of 2022, but before then, I had spent the rest of my life born and raised in central Oregon. I enrolled in classes at Linn-Benton mainly to earn my associate's in Journalism. I'm taking news reporting and writing because it's necessary for my degree and something I'm genuinely interested in learning more about. One of my biggest passions outside of school is sports. I have been playing sports almost my entire life and watching them for just as long. My favorite sport to watch and play would have to be soccer. In fact, the picture of me in this blog was after a Portland Timbers game. After completing my education and earning my degree, I plan on pursuing a career as a sportswriter. 

My Goals

1.  Become more comfortable approaching strangers for interviews - Because I'm typically an introvert, I'm challenging myself to be better at going up to strangers for interviews. I'll try to remember that most people will be willing to help, and interviewing will probably be less nerve-racking than expected. 
2.  Gain a better understanding of the process of putting together a news story - If I am going to make any progress in journalism, I will have to know the process behind creating a news story. Once I understand the process better, I might write more efficiently. 
3.  Learn more on how to write in a journalistic style - I know a little about writing in a journalistic style, but I would like to understand more. In the future, I will have to be able to cover sporting events in a journalistic style. 

My First Story 

    My first story for news reporting and writing will be a recap of an upcoming Linn-Benton men's basketball game. I plan on writing a detailed recap of the events of the game that features insight from the coach, players, and fans involved. 

Sources: Todd Zimmermann, Head Coach. Basketball Players. Fans in attendance. 

Questions: 

What do you think your team did well tonight? (to coach) 

How do you feel about how the season has gone so far? (to coach) 

What was your favorite moment from the game tonight? (to fan) 

How do you think your team can improve? (to player) 

What should students know about LBCC basketball? (to player)