Tag: Stories about The Intrepid

Welcome to the new Intrepid

By Nic Gelyon

Hello, I’m Nic. I’m going to be the news editor for The Intrepid this coming year, working alongside incoming editor-in-chief Anthony Goss.

You may not know what The Intrepid is. As far as I’m concerned, it’s better if you don’t. If that is the case, please allow me to introduce you. 

But first, let me tell you a little bit about myself. 

The first thing you should know about me— I’m currently sitting and writing this piece from the cluttered upstairs space that once was my childhood bedroom. I’m not sure how I ever called home this mess of a room, or how I was ever productive within its four-ish walls. 

For a long time, this room was a microcosm of my life: Messy and cluttered. But I began to learn the art of prioritization. My definition of prioritization is to focus on the things that matter—and clear the mind of things (and people) that don’t. 

Second— I love talking to people. One of my favorite pastimes is hearing others’ perspectives on life and learning from the stories they tell.  

Recently, I’ve noticed it’s better to be positive or say nothing at all than to be negative and bring everyone down. I’m lucky that most of the interactions I have in any given day are 99 percent positive. That’s a very good thing when talking to people is your job. 

Third— I’ve always had a knack for producing stuff. When I was a kid, I wanted to produce a documentary on the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY, so I shot footage of cows, and carnival rides, and ice cream stands. I bought stock music. I was going to produce my doc with Windows Movie Maker (throwback to Windows XP). 

I still want to go back and finish it, but I can never find the time. 

Other random things: I’m a struggling vegetarian. I’m a football addict. I’m an up-and-coming jazz pianist and drummer. And I don’t take myself too seriously.  

However, I am serious about journalism. That’s where The Intrepid enters the chat. Let me explain. 

When I first arrived at St. Bonaventure, I certainly wasn’t thinking, man, I’m going to be news editor for The Intrepid someday. Woo! 

In fact, I wasn’t thinking at all about the many opportunities of which I would eventually take advantage during my first year at St. Bonaventure. That’s the amazing part about being a journalist at Bonas: there are so many options and so many ways to develop our craft. 

At that point, I only knew was I wanted to make a difference. 

I was introduced to The Intrepid at the annual campus Club Fair, an event where each club receives a fold-up table, some poster board, and an open mic to tell students about themselves. I, looking for journalism outlets, stumbled upon The Intrepid, and former editor-in-chief Jeff Uveino (who now works for the Bradford Era).  

Jeff’s message was clear: write what you want to, whenever you want to.  

And while that remains at the heart of everything The Intrepid stands for, I always felt something was missing within that message. There was some missing code that would unlock greatness in what we do.  

I realize now that “What you want, whenever you want” is far too selfish an approach. That’s why the secret sauce to our approach will be to care about others as well, because that’s ultimately what serious journalism boils down to.  

Don’t get me wrong, we’ll have fun. The more fun we have doing our job, the more content we’ll bring you. We’ll be creative, too. I’ll be reaching out to every single person who wants to try something new. I want to talk to them and learn from them.   

“I realize now that ‘What you want, whenever you want’ is far too selfish an approach.”

— Nic Gelyon

But, first and foremost, we are going to care about you, the audience. 

We’ll care about you as much as I’ll care about the stories I write and edit, as much as I still care about that documentary I tried to create when I was 14. In other words—you are the priority. Because you matter. 

And I assure you, our writers, photographers, and content creators will feel the same. 

I don’t know what this year will look like. I don’t know how big our staff will be, what types of projects we’ll get ourselves into, or what forms of content we’ll deliver to you. 

But I am certain about one thing: We’ll have the secret sauce. (Actually—the secret sauce is just barbeque and mustard.) 

Talk to y’all soon, 

–Nic 

What other websites have said about The Intrepid

Here’s an unbelievable picture of Devereux Hall on the campus of St. Bonaventure University.

via The Intrepid.

^ Check out The Intrepid, St. Bonaventure’s online newspaper providing information about SBU, its students and the surrounding communities.

It’s great to see students using social media in such an innovative way. SBU needed to update the way we receive information and communicate. Tony Lee, Editor in Chief of TheIntrepid.org and Journalism and Mass Communication major at St. Bonaventure saw that need and created a new, fun way to communicate with the student body. He has posted some excellent articles about the use of social media in academia that fellow students, faculty and staff should pay particular attention to.

TD

What other websites have said about The Intrepid

Students’ stories about The Intrepid (Part II)

This is part II of the students’ stories about The Intrepid.

Carole McNall, a journalism and mass communications professor, allowed The Intrepid’s editor in chief, Tony Lee, to speak to her JMC: 102 class. 

Two students have gave permission for The Intrepid to run their stories. Hopefully this will give a better understanding of what The Intrepid is and what it will stand for.

Stories have been edited for style and format. 

Part I by Simone Bernstein can be found here.

By Samantha Berkhead, @sjb124

Tony Lee is on a self-imposed mission to change the field of journalism.

His brainchild, the soon-to-be-launched Intrepid, will be a student-run newspaper with a prominent online presence. Lee, aware of the importance of social media in today’s rapidly-changing world, considers it essential that The Intrepid integrate aspects of social media and hyper-interactivity.

“This is not a second BV,” said Lee at a recent presentation given to journalism and mass communications students at St. Bonaventure University. “The Intrepid is the news that Bona students have been waiting for for a long time.”

The importance of social networking as an aspect of journalism has been proved by statistics. According to CreativeDepartment.com, approximately 81 percent of 18-25 year-olds use Facebook daily. 25 percent use YouTube, 20 percent use Twitter and 45 percent use some kind of blog daily.

With individuals connecting at a rate never seen before in history, Lee said he believes that journalists ought to pick up on the movement at hand.

“Social media is a conversation in a way that hasn’t been done before,” he said. “It is about making a conversation between the writer and the readers.”

With The Intrepid, Lee said he hopes to “develop a brand of forward-thinking journalists.” These journalists will have the skills to take their own pictures and record their own video as well as communicate—virtually becoming walking newsrooms.

The Intrepid’s embracing of social media will, he said, ultimately make its writers more precise and less prone to errors.

“Social media will be the ultimate truth serum,” he said. “Journalists can’t get away with making mistakes anymore.”

The Intrepid, in its earliest stages, developed over the past three years within Lee’s mind. It all began when he, a California native, discovered St. Bonaventure through a Twitter search for journalism schools.

He was also influenced by the layout of the blogging site Tumblr.

“The reblogging feature of Tumblr is going to change journalism,” he said. Tumblr also has a mobile version which adapts to smart phones—a feature that Lee hopes to establish for readers of The Intrepid and a feature that The BV doesn’t have.

Lee was finally pushed to make his dream a reality at the end of the fall 2010 semester. Disillusioned with the rigid, “pyramid-style” structure of The BV, he decided to move on.

“I couldn’t move up at The BV,” he said. “When a door closed, I opened one myself.”

His qualifications are legitimate enough.

Lee has held a position as The Bona Venture’s online editor, wrote for Sports Illustrated’s golf.com and had a concert review published on Fuse.Tv, the website of music television station Fuse.

This month marks the launch of The Intrepid’s website. Lee plans to start out on a small scale, running it mostly by himself.

By fall 2011 semester, Lee said he plans to hold a meeting for those interested in becoming a part of it.

Lee’s ambitions are high for someone founding a paper that has yet to be published. Along with a constantly updated website and a daily newspaper, he hopes that The Intrepid will put out yearly documentaries and a bi-yearly, all-color magazine.

He plans to work with industry-standard equipment and allow The Intrepid’s writers to use the same equipment.

Writers and editors will have access to Adobe Creative Suite 5, MacBook Pros, Canon DSLR cameras and high-definition 1080p camcorders.

All of it will be funded by him alone and donations without Student Government Association ties.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s a challenge I’m willing to take,” he said.

Whether or not the bold ambition behind the Intrepid will make the publication a success is still vague. Yet it’s Lee’s ambition and the untarnished belief which make this story so noteworthy so early on.

Students’ stories about The Intrepid (Part I)

The next two Saturdays will feature stories from students who attended a mock press conference about The Intrepid.

Carole McNall, a journalism and mass communications professor, allowed The Intrepid’s editor in chief, Tony Lee, to speak to her JMC: 102 class. 

Two students have gave permission for The Intrepid to run their stories. Hopefully this will give a better understanding of what The Intrepid is and what it will stand for.

Stories have been edited for style and format. 

By Simone Bernstein, @stlvolunteen

Junior Tony Lee is attempting to reinvent the newspaper and how the news is reported and delivered at St. Bonaventure University by sending text messages 140 characters in length via the Twitter hashtag @Intrepid_SBU.

Without a formal office or funding from the university, Lee is creating a news organization named The Intrepid, which will include a monthly tabloid-style paper and a website including podcasts, slideshows and videos.

“The Intrepid will provide hyper-localized, interactive content,” Lee said. “Papers are not just for reading anymore, but making a conversation between the writer and reader.”

Through social media sites, Lee wants to invite the community into the newsroom and allow readers and writers to interact on a personal basis.

Lee has experience as a writer and editor for numerous publications during college. He has spent three years formulating ideas for his dream paper and adventurous staff.

“I don’t want to create something just to pass a class; it’s my dream,” Lee said. “My dream will take 10 years to perfect. I hope The Intrepid will be a model that even The New York Times can adapt to one day.”

Due to the high costs of printing an all-color publication, Lee is seeking donations and sponsors from St. Bonaventure alumni and area businesses.

“I will be extremely active in finding sponsorships for the paper,” he said. “To fund the paper, I am also creating a documentary … All proceeds from selling the film will go to The Intrepid.”

Lee encourages fearless students with new ideas and an interest in integrating an online and paper format to join this publication. With an online version that will launch in mid-February and a print version that will debut in the 2011 fall semester, Lee hopes to acquire a variety of staff members with creative ideas.

“The Intrepid will be an outlet for students to try different things,” he said. “This is not a second Bona Venture. This paper will provide another opportunity for students to get published.”

Lee stresses that The Intrepid editors will need to understand that they will have more responsibility, not more power.

“An editor’s goal will be teach and mentor writers, increasing the personal interaction in the newsroom,” he said. “Editors will analyze a story from top to bottom. The first priority of an editor is to make the writer confident about his/her work.”

Lee hopes to create a paper with forward-thinking journalists who are excited about exploring the future of print through a unique medium.

“I couldn’t move up at The Bona Venture,” he said. “When a door closed, I opened one myself. I’m passionate about my writing and didn’t want to say goodbye to print journalism just yet.”

[Photo courtesy of womenofworth.com]