So why publish my never-before-seen essays that landed me a job with MTV News? Paired with these essays and an intensive interview process, I somehow stood out in a pool of hundreds of applicants and was made their Washington, DC election correspondent. I guess that’s cool, but here is the part I like: I got to spend 12 months as a social media, digital news incubator, I had an interpretative job description yet straightforward guidelines: Tell untold stories. Pick up MSM’s slack. And apply all of Journalism’s Code of Ethics, without excuse.

As I look forward to 2010, I can’t help but revisit where my head was when this all began. True to MTV’s judgement (thank you Liz, Kristin, Ian), I provided in no uncertain terms why I have the potential, and now experience, to help guide journalism towards an inevitable reconstruction. Without further delay, here are my never-before-published essays. 24 months later, I still agree with them…so much in fact, consider it my manifesto.

1. What are the top three issues you care about?

I care about our foreign policy in the Middle East, affordable healthcare, and an open and honest dialogue between our President and the press.

If we were more proactive in applying America’s intellect and imagination to find alternative energy solutions, the U.S. would not be in the current conflict in Iraq.  Not addressing alternative energies has created complex problems. I want to push the next President to address the misleading rhetoric of this Administration, and work to fix internal shortcomings before waging war.

In terms of healthcare, it is simply not affordable. Pharmaceutical companies, weighed down by the cost of R&D, charge so much for drugs citizens are forced to choose between groceries and antibiotics. Generic drugs should be readily available, regulations on consumer ads should be strengthened, and children’s health insurance should be mandatory.

I also care about the issue of ethics and honesty, particularly in the Administrations interaction with the press and public. I want the President and the appointed administration not to degrade the media’s questions, or imply they are “unpatriotic” for questioning a war that has killed thousands of people and tarnished our international reputation.

But most importantly, I care about being lead by a person of character, humility, and selflessness. We need a candidate who can admit when they are wrong and will always have the best interest of the American people at heart.

2. What makes you uniquely qualified to cover your state (or District)? Read the rest of this entry…

A year ago, I was hired to report on the election for MTV News as part of their Street Team ‘08. I was thrilled – and so stoked that the Knight Foundation provided MTV with about $700,000 to run the program. With my gifted gear, I was ready to reach out to my peers, get some formal clips and gather lessons about life, journalism and the shape of our nation.

Did I ever.

Today Gawker broke the story about how MTV has been continually late on paying the Street Team. My heart just about dropped as one of my Street Team colleagues sent it to me. (I was the Washington, DC Rep for the program.) “Wow,” I thought. “This shit is finally out.”

Here is the story of how 51 totally connected, mobile, ambitious, do-good nerds…were recruited, called Street Team ‘08, and taught a very personal – and public lesson about the world we live in.   

Back in the summer, we received the first indication that MTV was not able to meet parts of their contract. Our paychecks were late. The official line from the company was “This is not just happening to you,” and that all other freelancers at the company were also not being paid on time. On the private Street Team list serve, the conversation raged. Admittingly, I listened more than I participated as I didn’t always notice how late they were. I, very fortunately, had another job that was more than understanding of my late hours and commitment to the network. What I didn’t have was more than four hours of sleep a night. But when you want something enough you make it work.

On the list serve, the team began to commiserate about not being able to pay bills on time. This is when I realized it was serious. We were under tremendous stress to meet deadlines and produce quality, Emmy-award winning work. (The program won an Emmy last month.) One of our colleagues lost his job because he updated a MTV post at his office. Another quit (well, many quit), because the time requirements were so enormous and the pay was hardly enough to cover expenses. Soon, the resignations began to pour in.

Each time a Street Teamer resigned, he or she was replaced and an email from our Producers would follow. To be honest, I did not blame any of them. It was a grueling 11 months, one that required us to hold down other jobs, work late into the night and wearily try to use the MTV Brand to land unbelievable interviews and opportunities.

But one thing happened that I never expected. The lesson now, has become so relevant to the news we were covering – and our experience with MTV at the intersection of our nation’s financial crisis, the meltdown of traditional news media – and how the innocent idealism of youth that helped change a nation’s course – was exploited. What happened would wake us all up – on the Street Team, to the Real World.

** This was difficult for me to write because despite the issues, I learned a tremendous amount about life, new media and the path I want to take in journalism from the Street Team experience. More than anything, this is not a personal attack towards any individuals who communicated the bad news to the team. Without them I would not have gained so much out of the program.

It was certainly a historic election to cover, perhaps in ways I will only understand with time and reflection. Last night as I dozed off and looked over my video camera perched on my tripod, I thought about all the times we spent together. Will I ever be out on the trail again with my mobile pack? I sure hope so. But in the meantime, I’ll take the break to relax, reflect and write about what the experience was like…for better and worse. It was one of the greatest learning experiences in my lifetime.

For the final video, we all had the same assignment. Create a highlights reel of our work. I wanted to include not just mine, but a few of the others that I particularly enjoyed.

Best of ST ‘08, Washington DC

Read the rest of this entry…

In April, there was an Earth Day Concert on the National Mall. I fought the rain, went and reported it – and think it is one of the coolest pieces I did. I got schooled in comedy by Chevy Chase and even better, discovered my peers engaging eachother on the election and issues, with beers in hand, on the National Mall. Who said we aren’t active? We just do it on our own terms.

Here is why it just came back to me. Less than 24 hours after Obama became the President-elect, in a lightening speed fashion, social network invitations starting pouring into inboxes across the country. The call to action for Obama’s Inauguration – was for everyone to Caravan to Washington to have “our own Inaugural celebration on the Mall.”
 
Hotels are sold out. In one facebook group alone, there are 1,939 confirmed guests. This is amazing. Who else is in?

From the MTV News Press Release that went out yesterday

****UPDATE: Watch AP’s “BIG ISSUE: ELECTION RESULTS” LIVE web cast Election Night, starting at 7:00PM EST. Here’s the link: http://video.ap.org/v/Legacy.aspx?partner=en-ap 

“Two MTV Choose or Lose citizen journalists will take part in the first-ever Associated Press live streaming online continuous video stream, “Big Issue: Election Results.” Both will report their experiences from being on the ground, covering the youth vote throughout the year. The webcast will be available to some 2,000 Web sites of newspapers, broadcasters and other AP customers throughout the U.S. beginning at 7 pm ET on AP’s Online Video Network at http://www.ap.org.”

Be sure to check myself and Nevada Street Teamer, Michael Gonzales, as we show a few of our best videos and talk about what it has been like to be a part of the MTV-Associated Press Youth Press Corp.

I started this series on GI Resistance a plastic blue bench at the Quantico brig. I sat across a Marine in a  blue jump suit and wire rim glasses. I could tell he was also apprehensive to see me as I was him. But there we were, face-to-face, two sets of security guard eyes on us, with a clock counting down the minutes of visiting hours. Read the rest of this entry…

I boarded Delta 4071 to Atlanta, on my way back covering the Convention for MTV. Next to me was Julie Zimmerman, a Program Advisor, at The Washington Center. I began to tell her about my job as a Citizen Journalist for the Street Team. I was reeling from adrenaline after all the live reports I broadcasted the night before – which I’m sure was illustrated by a permanent grin. By the time we touched down, she asked if I would speak to the fall class of interns at The Center.

“How many are we talking?”
“Nothing big. Just 100 or 200.”

I smiled but cringed inside. “Sure, I’ll do it.”

The day came yesterday, and with a few nerves but no doubt, I showed up with some notes and a flash drive. Before I was set to speak, I was pulled aside by a few of the organizers who each gave me varied interpretations as to what I could or should discuss. It was like a rushed cram session in college with one too many cooks in the kitchen. I took in what everyone had to say, walked myself to a corner and organized my key points in my head.

And just like that I was up.

I introduced myself and started asking no-brainer, conversational questions just to get a rise. In my last minute prep, I decided to just go with my favorite subjects: the rise of mobile tech, our generation’s involvement in the election and the unprecedented amount of user-generated content forcing traditional media to address us as an audience.

“Alright, who here has a cell phone? Any journalism majors? Who here has volunteered in the last year in DC or on their respective campus?”

And with a few smiles in the front row, I was in. I talked to them about our millennial movement – and how we are influencing a serious political realignment for the first time in 40 years. But I also told them there are big challenges ahead — like the fact that 8 in 10 young primary voters went to college. Meaning there is a deep civic divide between them and their peers who are not in line for a college education.

Finally, I answered a few great questions and received a polite round of applause. I breathed a sigh of relief, packed my purse and then went outside to hail a cab. 

Like on the plane that morning,, I knew I had a similar grin and the same rush of adrenaline. I sat myself in the cab, looked out the window – and couldn’t help but wonder. Another test completed — and hopefully many more to go.

Sarah Palin Speech Highlights
(3:01 for the exchange)

More than the cover story and the chant – I think the Olbermann/Matthews demotion brings to light a major challenge in modern journalism.

First, let me just say this. Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and  Bill O’Reilly are all the same to me. They pass personal opinions as fact. They reject the entrance of opposing views. And they act as if their answers are the only answers.  From my perspective – it goes against what I was taught in J school: maintain allegiance to citizens and the larger public interest above all else. Is it really in the public interest to introduce bias into any form of journalism?

When I think of the big picture – I think that this feeds our nation’s appetite for convenience and grants viewers a way to feel like a responsible citizen. But on the flip side – it allows citizens to be complacent in how they reach their opinions.

Network Opinion diminishes – not just NBC – but a common interest in a credible journalism practice. Seasoned journalists and industry leaders have pointed to blogs for hurting the health of the fourth estate — when it might be the exact opposite. While blogs open the conversation to people who have been shut out – cable news answered with talking heads -whose bias, vested interests are not always transparent.

In all fairness, I do not blame traditional media’s attempt to fill the opinion space. I see it as being provoked by unprecedented competition after the onset of the internet and their uninspiring response to 9/11. But the way I see it? New media and old face a challenge the industry has never before seen: how to provide citizens with accurate and reliable information in a seemingly polarized world - without telling them how to do it.

Other feature stories were:

• Charlie, Wisconsin “Behind Bars in the Twin Cities”
  Dani, Alaska “Weighin in on Palin”
  Charles, Utah “John Legend Opens Up About Opening DNC”
  Michael, Nevada “The Celebrity Vote”
  Nadir, Michigan “How Rage Raged Against the Machine”

More Dispatches from the RNC…

I am in some ways, more grown up after spending five days immersed as Press at the Republican National Convention. I watched celebrities, politicians, protesters, and people — like my right-wing roommates, Melissa and Gabby, come hundreds of miles away to take part in politics. I was impressed by the power of a political party — but not deterred from what I was there to do: test out cutting edge technology and cover this controversial Convention in the most unconventional way.

Here are a few of my favorite clips from the week. In no particular order, I give you, dispatches from the ground.

Arrested at the RNC

“Obama is Communist..” and Un-American

“In the Tent With Shepard Smith”

Bob Dole Campaigning for the Republicans

On the Floor – Live Broadcasting!

 “No Compromise” on Life – My Roommate for the Week

Ron Paul Supporters Protest

It was September 2008 | Bob Dole was in the Excel Center, on his way to visit the North Carolina delegation on behalf of his wife, Senator Elizabeth Dole. I caught him right before he walked into the floor pit.  I was alone, a credentialed journalist, with three cameras, an ID, and a pen in my pocket. I was on a mission to find some kind of story, and when I bumped into the Kansas Senator and Presidential candidate, I did. | More after the jump

Here are the basic nuts and bolts of the Live Streaming video process: After I hit “Broadcast”, the clip live went auNokia N95 to Flixwagon, a video sharing network that made it instantly available to anyone.

Instant connectvity. 60 seconds after I ended the clip, my phone buzzed twice. First a huge congrats from my Executive Producer who had watched it live, and my Dad, who called and admitted to having tears in his eyes. “You just interviewed my hero,” he said.

More Videos from the Republican National Convention 2008.

While I was at the RNC, my New York Street Team partner, Sara Benincasa did something wildly creative and amazing. She made YouTube series of her dressed as Sarah Palin – and begged the question — if Governor Sarah Palin had a vlog – would it sound like this?

Within days, the blog attracted hundreds of thousands of views — and an on air compliment from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that, “this stuff is pretty funny.”

Enjoy!

Vlog #6: Before the Big Speech!

 Vlog #1

 Vlog #2 — Bristol!

Adventures of the RNC continue…

For full coverage and my LIVE mobile to web streaming reports, check out: THINK.MTV.COM/EricaAmerica