Almost Friday at WJI: Thursday, May 23, 2024

By Annie Meldrum from Taylor University

“Is there like an adult?” asked David Mazula.

Students crowded around the desktop lab computers, Adobe Premiere Pro glowing on all the screens. Some screens featured elaborate sequences of video and audio spread across them. Others sat blank. We all needed the voice of a professional.

Group 2 filmed their broadcasts this morning while group 1 worked on editing their own shoots and group 3 worked on their scripts. The media room filled with chatting and laughter in some pockets of the warmly lit room, as some of us took a much-needed brain break from hunching over our projects. Photographs and an eclectic collection of vintage items filled the room with personality, showing us a glimpse of Mark Volkers, the media professor who has been helping students navigate Premiere. His record player and post cards, along with his warm smile and easy conversation, has helped diffuse stress for those of us who feel that Adobe actively hates us.

Our morning class session with Les Sillars centered around what it means to have a Biblical worldview in the context of journalism. He helps foster critical thinking by posing difficult questions, leading us towards the center of issues as we circle around them, drawing (hopefully) ever closer to the heart of the issues. He presented us with difficult but beautiful pieces, challenging us to broaden our perspectives.

For lunch today many of us chose to eat quickly and head off to work on our various stages of the broadcasting project. Meals have remained one of my favorite times of the week, though, as I get to talk and laugh with others over food, the universal medium of good conversation.

I think I speak for all of us when I say we have loved learning and stretching our journalism muscles this week but we are ready for the weekend.