Taylor Mirfendereski

Taylor Mirfendereski is a multimedia journalist from Columbus, OH with a passion for storytelling, technology, and diversity.

She joined SPJ in 2008 during her first year at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She has served on the OU SPJ executive board for the past three years and currently serves as the vice president of the chapter.

Taylor sees life in the context of a story and finds herself viewing the world through the lens of a camera. As one of a select group of campus correspondents for CNN during the 2008-2009 school year, she produced a series of news packages to air on CNN.com. Through this experience, she gained knowledge and expertise in pitching focused story ideas, writing conversational scripts, capturing visually appealing b-roll, and editing packages with continuity.

In addition to her work with CNN, Taylor has held several local and national internships. In 2008, she was a communication’s intern for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. During the summer of 2009, Taylor interned with Central Ohio’s NBC affiliate WCMH-TV. Most recently, in the Fall of 2009, she held internships with NBC’s TODAY Show and NBC Weekend Nightly News with Lester Holt.

While Taylor’s internships have offered her hands-on opportunities, some of her most valuable experience has stemmed from her independent reporting. She has produced several stories on Iran, including an article about the treatment of Iranian homosexuals and transsexuals, and several Q&A stories about Iran’s 2009 presidential election fallout. She also produced a story about the homeless in Columbus, OH, in which she sought out five homeless individuals and profiled their living conditions.

Beyond her passion for storytelling and reporting, Taylor is intrigued by technology. She’s been producing and editing video for eight years and is proficient in both linear and nonlinear editing systems, including Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Grass Valley
Aurora Edit. In 2008, she began work as a video editor for Best Light Video in Columbus, OH. She produced 30-second commercials for businesses in the area. Her editing on a project for the North Market in Columbus, OH helped to win the company an Ohio Interactive Award.

Taylor also has experience with video camera operation, still photography, computer assisted reporting, and web design (using XHTML and CSS).

Taylor is now a junior attending Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the Honors Tutorial College. In addition to her involvement with SPJ, she serves as the president of the Radio-Television Digital News Association campus chapter. She is also an active member of Students for Global Media and Diversity and the Asian American Journalist’s Association. Taylor is the co-coordinator of a new AAJA student broadcast organization called the Asian American Student Broadcast Journalists.

Taylor also volunteers at the Athens County Dog Shelter in Chauncey, OH. She is presently designing a multimedia website for the shelter to maximize pet adoption, educate potential adopters, and recruit volunteers.

When not in school, volunteering or reporting in the field, Taylor enjoys traveling, writing, and spending time with family, friends, and pets. She travels annually to Iran and has visited several other locations in the Middle East and Europe.

Happy Friday to you all!

Tomorrow is a very busy day in my part of the world. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Scranton, which is arguably one of the most important days of the year in Northeastern Pennsylvania, will be held on Saturday – rain or shine.

However, the celebration cannot last too long. I am leaving early Sunday morning for the Crossroads of the World. I will meet up with my fellow Student Representative Tara Puckey, and attend the College Media Advisers’ Spring 2010 National College Media Convention.

We plan to post a whole lot of news and information on the blog over the next few days about the convention. There is no better way to get my fingers ready than to type a comprehensive edition of The Weekly Index.

So, here we go…

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act has been viewed as an impenetrable wall to many student and professional journalists around the country. SPJ’s FOI Committee has a new guide to make that wall look a little less intimidating. David Cuillier, chair of SPJ’s FOI Committee, has a post and link to the new guide here.
• Why is it a good time to join SPJ? Well, Holly Fisher, chair of SPJ’s Membership Committee, knows why. She has a post on The SPJ Garden Center. You can read her post here. For me, joining SPJ has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve met so many new friends and connected with so many professionals that I could not imagine my career without SPJ. Also, as a student entering the ever changing world of journalism… I think an SPJ membership is the safest investment you can make. One of my internship supervisors put it best. He told me that being a member of SPJ is, “just the right thing to do.”
• The Washington Post found themselves in a very interesting situation after running a photograph of two men kissing in front of a D.C. courthouse. The picture ran on the front page of the paper after the District started accepting marriage applications from same-sex couples. Andrew Alexander, The Post’s ombudsman, blogged about the negative response from readers, and defended the pictures place in the paper. A handful of people even canceled their subscription over the photograph. Some also suggested that the picture should have been buried on an inside page. Alexander posted an update that said readers led a counterattack against the negative comments about the picture. Some said they would subscribe to the paper to fill the void left by those who canceled their subscription in protest.

There was a time, after court-ordered integration, when readers complained about front-page photos of blacks mixing with whites. Today, photo images of same-sex couples capture the same reality of societal change. ~ Andrew Alexander

• There is an unfortunate case involving the University of Kansas and The University Daily Kansan. According to an article from The Kansan, Mason Heilman, student body president, lobbied that The Kansan’s funding be removed from the media fee charged to students. The motion passed the Student Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, which means the paper will lose approximately $83,000 next year. The paper says it is 8% of their operating budget. Heilman told the paper, “The parallel to me would be if Congress stepped in and said The New York Times is about to go under and we think they are an important news source so we are going to fund them, but then we are going to expect them to provide unbiased coverage of us.” However, the paper is reporting that this is the only cut to the media fee. I plan on looking into this a little more, and will get back to you all with what I find out. You can read the articles about this in The University Daily Kansan here and here. Update! Scott Leadingham, Managing Editor of Quill, points out that the measure must still pass the entire Student Senate on March 24. Thanks, Scott!
• Does anyone have friends at North Carolina State University? If so, send them to the newspaper office, because they need help! The campus’ 90 year old paper is in danger of shutting down this semester due to a series of unfortunate events. They need more students to get involved, and even put out a help wanted ad as an editorial. You can read the editorial here.
• The long legal fight surrounding the Medill Innocence Project may be over. The Chicago Tribune reported that the attorney for Anthony McKinney will drop the evidence obtained by the Project, even though it may help establish McKinney’s innocence. The information gained by the students at Medill was questioned and much of the material was subpoenaed by prosecutors.
• I want all professional members that stumble upon our blog to sign up to be a mentor in SPJ’s Mentor Match Up. SPJ assigns mentors to young professionals first and then starts assigning them to students. So please encourage all SPJ Pro members to be mentors for their younger counterparts. I bet many will find that the experience will be beneficial to each party. So sign up here!
• The deadline for applications is drawing near for the Ted Scripps Leadership Institute. As a 2009 graduate of the Institute, I can say that the experience is completely worth the time and investment. I met so many people, and it really helped me get my foot in the door on the national level. You can find out more information here.
• Some of us have not even had our regional conferences yet, and national already has a tentative schedule for Vegas! Can you believe it? Well, you don’t have to. You can see it here.
• And finally, why don’t you take a trip over to the link for the SPJ campus chapter of the University of Central Florida? They have a great website, and get to have their regional conference in Disney World! You can also follow them on Twitter @spj_ucf, and check out their Facebook page.

That is all for now. I will have another post up later today, and then I need to finish packing for my journey to the Big Apple. Make sure you check back for photos and videos starting on Sunday, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @CampusCopy.

And just to show you how important St. Patrick’s Day is in my neck of the woods… Here is Michael Scott, Scranton’s most notable resident.


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Andrew M. Seaman is a senior communication studies student at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He is one of SPJ’s student representatives on the national board and you can follow him on Twitter @aseaman06.