Alright, here goes nothing.
For those of you who will follow this blog, my name is Brendan Howe. I could just tell you I'm a junior converged journalism major at Slippery Rock University. Or that I serve as the Assistant Campus Life Editor for my school newspaper, The Rocket. But, trust me, that's not even as simple as it would seem.
From the time I was able to hold a pen and write legibly, I've wanted to tell stories. I would compose and illustrate--multitalented, I know--my own "books", about topics that were as simple as the variety of human eye colors. I showed my parents the different hues...brown, blue, green...and purple. Don't ask.
As my interest in sports, namely football, grew, so did my love for writing. It was in third grade, when a teacher of mine went out on a limb, trying to catch my attention in reading class by penciling me in for a short-story-writing contest through Grove City College. Naturally, I scribbled a narrative of myself standing behind center, leading my fictional football team to a championship. I didn't know it at the time, but I had figured out how to connect two of my biggest passions. I can consider those 500 words the origin of my sportswriting aspirations.
So, since my sophomore year of high school at Butler, I've written for a print newspaper. I wrote sports and features on the happenings around Butler Senior High School while considering my future, eventually deciding to head 20 miles down the road to a university with a distinctive name. The first thing I did after being accepted into SRU was email Dr. Fleming, the Rocket's advisor, hoping she'd have a spot for me. Since then, I've covered multiple sports and challenged myself by branching out into the section I help oversee today, all the while making friends and sharpening my writing skills. I love what I do.
In the future, I hope to write colorful, narrative-type features for my favorite magazine, Sports Illustrated, or cover my beloved Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
That's where this New Media Journalism course comes in. Almost any stranger who asks my major in a conversation gives me a funny look. Isn't the newspaper industry struggling?, they ask. Because of this, and also the goals I hope to accomplish professionally, I feel a sense of urgency in adapting to a shifting, technology-based journalistic culture. This class, I hope, will just be the start of my understanding and involvement in outlets that don't involve paper and ink.
Along with this blog, you can follow my opinions on Twitter and Facebook. Also, please make sure to check out my growing portfolio here.
Thanks for reading and you can always reach me by emailing me at bah1018@sru.edu.