SoJ Web Report | Feb. 16, 2011
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| Photo by Kelsey Collisi |
| Students in the Media Living Learning Center sit outside the Lorraine Motel, which houses the National Civil Rights Museum, during their trip to Memphis. The group traveled to the city during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday break. |
At the museum, housed in the Lorraine Motel where King was shot and killed in 1968, students viewed exhibits such as a bus representing the boycotts of the 1960s South. They ended their tour in King’s room, where they could see the balcony he was standing on when assassinated.
They also had a session with David Arant, chair of the journalism department at the University of Memphis, and Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Otis Sanford.
The group, led by Kate Lee, director of recruitment and experiential learning, also visited Graceland and historical sites from Memphis’ long music history.
Students in the Media Living Learning Center program often travel during the semester. Student members live in a section of Read Center, where they collaborate on projects. They also attend special events and participate in media discussion groups.
A visit to the museum, by Alex McCarthy
There are very few entrances to museums that carry as much of an impact as that of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn. A single white wreath hangs from the second story balcony of the former Lorraine Motel, which houses the museum. This wreath marks the spot where James Earl Ray shot and killed Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968.
Immediately, the tone of the museum was set.
As the students walked through the multitude of exhibits, from a bus containing information about the bus boycotts in Birmingham to Martin Luther King Jr.’s final hotel room, they said they felt a wide array of emotions from grief to remorse.
The museum, opened to the public in 1991, serves as both a way to learn about the civil rights movement and a reminder of everything that King lived and died for. In the museum, a question is posed: did the civil rights movement die with King? The existence of this museum and the fact that 3 million people have walked through its gates in the past two decades helps to prove that the movement is still very much alive.
A large gate across the street from the museum drove this point home. As the tour through the museum ended in the room in which King was staying before he was killed, we looked out the window past the wreath to see the his words engraved on the gate across the street:
“I may not get there with you but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the promised land.”
Journalism's future, by Jillian Miers
The Media Living Learning Center students who traveled to Memphis in January talked with two local men who shared their opinions about the media climate and careers.
David Arant, chair of the journalism department at the University of Memphis, and Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Otis Sanford talked to the 28 students and trip guides.
Despite pessimism about the media industry, Arant said he had hope for the students interested in entering the field. Arant spoke about the future of media and how the journalism school is preparing their students for the convergence.
He talked about the Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, and how the staff has dwindled over the years. A columnist in the paper, Otis Sanford, also talked about his decades of experience.
Sanford began his career in Alabama in the 1970s. From there, he moved to Pittsburgh and Detroit before ending up in Memphis. He talked about how Memphis was a “crossroads of media, music and race.”
Arant called the new media convergence “the perfect storm.” He named three “fronts” which have changed the face of media and news broadcast. The Internet, digitization and the economic recession have all contributed to the downfall of traditional news media.
“My ray of hope for you all is to be on the edge of new media,” he said. “ I think we've hit rock bottom and now we're back on the rebound.”
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