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…

Last night I was at the Warner Theater for the unofficial Military Ball. A majority of attendees were patients at Walter Reed Hospital, a first-class rehab facility for wounded men and women. One guy pointed to his stomach when I asked what he was being treated for. “I lost 40 percent of my stomach during a roadside explosion.”

No one I talked to was bitter for the last minute collapse in the run of show – which was set to include Jamie Foxx, Nas, Josh Groban and Tiki Barber. Senior-level organizers told me there were last minute contract demands that the modest organizer, United Service Organization, a nonprofit organization could not meet. USO’s mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreational services.

All drama aside – which was minimal to say the least, the show went on. And it was a great show. The spirit of the historic nature of the day and the camaraderie of the military was evident.

Check out the story I wrote filed from the fifth row of the show. I don’t know what I would do without the iPhone.

Check it out. With just my iPhone, I fed the MTV News headquarters in NYC a stream of blog posts and updates. During the concert, I was under orders to submit constant updates. My little fingers typed as fast as they could to get them immediate reactions from the people around me. It was awesome.

There will be hundred of parties in DC over the pre-Inaugural weekend with the most taking place on Tuesday, January 20th. So where will you be…and who has the hottest tickets in town? Here’s a comprehensive list of parties, but for my top picks see below.

Impact Film Fund at Fur nightclub. (1/20) 

Heard of the Impact Film Festival (IFF)? At each Convention, IFF conducted four-day events, showing a few socially-mixed, politically relevant films with panel discussion of filmmakers, civic leaders, lawmakers and more. Now they are bringing the good times to DC – where the three creators are based – to host one of the most celebrity-rich parties in town. Kanye West, Will Smith and Denzel Washington to name a few.

Be the Change Inaugural Ball at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. (1/20)

Sponsoring this ball is Service Nation and MTV. It has been rumored that this will be the “official” youth vote ball…meaning President-elect Obama will make an appearance. No word yet if it is true…but one thing is for sure, any place Sway Calloway makes an appearance at is fine by me. That hip-hop, political VJ is a strong represenation that MTV cares about the youth vote. No invites were extended to the Street Team – though I will only be hurt if I hear LC of the Hills, the furthest thing from political service, receives the red carpet. Ouch.

Creative Coalition’s Gala Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts (1/20)

Creative Coalition, a non-profit social and political advocacy oganization, has a party lots of elites are trying to get into. (Try a $25,000 donation to get in.) This is chump change for the list of celebrities expected to show-up, including Elvis Costello who is set to perform!

Neighborhood Ball at the Washington Convention Center (1/20)

Last but not least is the Neighborhood Ball, which President-elect Obama and wife Michelle will start the evening. This will be held at the Convention Center and is going to provide “affordable tickets” for some of DC’s other representatives…ahem…a population living under the poverty line with the most to gain from a change in Washington.

As reported in the New York Times,

In a symbol of the importance of the Web, both to Mr. Obama’s election and presumably to how he will run the government, this ball will be interactive, with webcasting and text messaging, “to link neighborhoods across the country with the new president and this premier event.”

Over the past 48 hours, a few things have progressed with what Ryan Tate of Gawker called the “Street Team Stipend Disaster.” First, the conversation over MTV not paying freelancers has gone viral – and is being led by the community of past and current freelancers. Second, we have still not heard a public response from the Network as to why the Street Team and other freelancers not been paid on time.  

I took the MTV job because I believe in the pursuit of truth in all aspects of life – especially in journalism. I also believed that if there was one time to set the tone for my career, it would be to work hard, willingly and fearlessly for the network. I did – and I valued every moment. And now I see that perhaps, in some ways, what we were paid to do – “promote digital innovation and advance the quality of journalism worldwide”  is precisely what we are now doing. Except the subject of the story is hitting awfully close to home.

Here is a quick recap for those of you just joining in.

• On Friday, Gawker published this: “Is MTV Hoarding Charity Cash from Workers?”
• Later that day, I responded to the post with a link to my own account called “Street Team Real World: Late Paychecks Again.”
• On Saturday, the Huffington Post ran with the story and posted this…“Viacom to Employees: Happy Holidays and Go Screw Yourself”
• And on Sunday morning, I woke up to a Google Alert that read: “Whistleblower: MTV Sweatshop Sponsored by Charity” with a photo of my face. Sweatshop? Whistleblower? Me? Lord! I jumped out of bed and positioned myself at the computer to see what was happening.

Since then, dozens of responses of support have been posted to both Gawker and EricaAmerica. What’s more, other Street Teamers, like Idaho, Michigan, (former) Vermont, New Jersey, Maine and New York Rep Sara Benincasa, have come forward to add other valuable and humanizing insight to the story. The time we spent communicating over listserves and late nights seems to have created a unique bond. What a refreshing result – to have a collection of people from different parts of the country and the political spectrum – protect each other in a digitally divine way.

The positive responses from others in the industry are also much appreciated. 

In short, I think the organization has tried to handle the situation as best as they could – but at the end of the day have fallen short. It is as simple as that. But we must keep going.  No matter what politician, person or corporation is discussed. Honest Journalism does not criticize, it empowers people to do the right thing.

Keep up the important work.

EricaAmerica

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?

Last week I spoke to a Georgetown University class on the use of social media, video and blogs in the election. Alan Rosenblatt of Center for American Progress, also the Professor, invited me. I opened up with some stories about my experience blogging and reporting for MTV, and then listened as Netroots Rising authors, Lowell Feld and Nate Wilcox took it away. I love speaking at classes because I know I am bound to learn something. That night was no exception.

This morning I spoke for the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL). The organization works in tandem with the House Democracy Assistance Commission and is internationally recognized for introducing rising political and policy leaders to each other. I spoke alongside Arielle Fleisher of Campus Progress and Adrian Talbott of Generation Engage.

ACYPL had brought young political leaders from Jordan, Israel and Hungary for their Election Study Program. From the Hungarian Socialist Party to Israel’s Women’s Rights Movement, these intellectuals would be in the U.S. for a few weeks — starting in Washington and then moving to battleground states to observe U.S. democracy in action.

I wondered last week what I could discuss about the Youth Engagement in this election that would be original and of interest.  Then it dawned on me when I saw this video.

The impact of citizen journalism in this election.

I gave an overview of how user generated content on YouTube, THINK and Facebook have revolutionized the way my generation interacts socially and politically. But then I got a question.

“Will young people be to blame if Obama loses?”

The question was fair, and my answer simple.

Definitely not. With an age-old electoral college, state resources stretched to accomodate the record number of voters – we have bigger problems than pointing fingers at first-time voters. Yes? No?

Here is my latest MTV story.

Last weekend in DC, there was a sort of…”Last Call” party for Barack Obama.

It was a massive phone banking telethon – designed by Obama’s national headquarters, organized and put into action by the DC for Obama office.

Rachel, a full-time volunteer, was on hand to talk. She had two cell phones, numbers scratched in Sharpie on the back of each and a dazed but focused look.

“Our job in the DC Office is to mobilize DC Residents to turn out Virginia Voters.”

Neighborly…or nosy? Check out this video to see how the massive mobilization effort functions – and what it is like to witness the Obama grassroots grow.

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…

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.