7QUESTIONS+PLUS

The Kenosha News’ summer newsroom staff — Joe Boesen, Kirstin Maguire, Scott Mussell and Zack Livingston. Now that we’ve had them here for a few weeks, we thought it was time to ask them the tough questions. We were delighted to find they really get this journalism stuff, and hey, if it doesn’t work out, they have alternate plans ...
They will now take your questions ...

Joe Boesen:

What prompted your interest in journalism? Actually I had no idea what journalism was until my high school gym teacher commented on a piece I wrote for the high school newspaper complaining about the lack of space in the school parking lot. He asked if I was interested in journalism and I responded, "Yeah, I guess so.”
Newspapers are laying off staff nationwide – why do you want to become involved in a shrinking field? Newspapers need to adapt into 24-hour publishing houses and rely more on the Internet to communicate with the readers. They can give in-depth coverage that radio and T.V. could never hope to. As for myself, I guess I'll have to be good if I want a job.
What types of music do you listen to? I really like everything from the ‘60s and ‘70s rock, that my parents listen to but also more recent stuff, alternative stuff and some rap if I'm in the mood. Don't turn country on while I'm around.
What’s your career back-up plan? If this doesn't work out I'd like to either be a garbageman or a history teacher. They both get great benefits!
What’s your favorite movie? "Forrest Gump"
What things do you think the Kenosha News can do better? Better use of the Internet.
What’s your strongest journalism skill and why do you think that? How has it helped you in previous work and now at the News? I believe my strongest skill is persistence and my rather outgoing nature. The profession is all about the people so you have to learn how to communicate in thousands of situations. In all truth, it is one of the best parts of the job, learning what to say to who and how to get the best, most accurate information from sources. Persistence is so necessary, call early and often. I would have quit before I started if I wasn't outgoing and persistent.
What has surprised you most about Kenosha? Big stories happen here. It's pretty sweet and tons of fun.
What's the best/worst story you've worked on this summer? I think my best story so far was the baseball bat attack stories. I had the most fun covering the circus and Nostalgia Fest. I have enjoyed stories when I actually go out and talk to people. Those are the ones I remember and am proud of.
What books are you reading right now? 1984 by George Orwell. Pretty Creepy...

Kirstin Maguire:

What prompted your interest in journalism? My dad is actually a journalist. It’s scary when you turn into your parents at such a young age though!
Newspapers are laying off staff nationwide – why do you want to become involved in a shrinking field? Why does everyone have to ask this question? I think that journalism is one of the few professions with the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives and effect necessary change. Maybe I’m just idealistic, but I want to make a difference in the world, no matter how small.
What types of music do you listen to? A combination of classic rock, bad rap and old jazz standards. We’ll just say I’m eclectic.
What’s your career back-up plan? Are you saying I need a back-up plan? I’m also double majoring in economics at Northwestern, so if journalism leads me to live in a cardboard box, I’ll just become CEO of my own Fortune 500 company. No biggie, right?

Where do you see journalism progressing in the next 5, 10, 20 years? I see journalism progressing more to the Web. The need for news will never disappear. Yes, the medium is changing, but that doesn’t mean that journalism, or even the newspaper, is obsolete. Journalists will have to become more versatile and more comfortable with all mediums, especially video and the Web. By that time, I hope to be writing for a financial publication. The big dream is the Wall Street Journal.
What’s your favorite movie? "Forrest Gump." Life is like a box of chocolates.
What things do you think the Kenosha News can do better? Pay me more? Just kidding, I’m very happy here.
What’s your strongest journalism skill and why do you think that? How has it helped you in previous work and now at the News? I’m a strong writer with good people skills. Not that anyone at the News is like this, but a lot of people who can write have a hard time talking with people. I think it’s helped me sweet-talk my way into good stories and also make mundane stories readable.
How great is it to live with Liz Snyder and her greyhounds? It’s amazing, except for when I come home and they (the greyhounds, not Liz) jump me.
What has surprised you most about Kenosha? I’m surprised that the street layout makes so much sense, yet I still manage to get lost.
What's your favorite/least favorite thing about Kenosha? My favorite part is that Kenosha is beautiful, especially with the lake and so many beaches. My least favorite part is that there’s not a whole lot to do on the weekends, but at least Chicago and Milwaukee are close by.
What's the best/worst story you've worked on this summer? I can’t quite figure out if this is the best story or the worst story I’ve worked on this summer, but I’m fond of the story I wrote about the new diet pill that has side effects of uncontrollable diarrhea and gas with oily discharge. Hey, you asked.
Why do you want to be a reporter? I love the rush of meeting new people and getting to the bottom of a story. Reporters can never get bored. Each day brings something new.
What books are you reading right now? I’m reading “Anna Karenina” by Tolstoy, and on the lighter side I’m reading a collection of short stories by Alice Munro titled “The Runaway.”

Scott Mussell:

What prompted your interest in journalism? As a youngster I played with a camera that was my mother’s. By the time I was in middle school I was very interested in the photo parts of the tech-ed class we had to take and from there, in high school, I figured out I might be able to make a carer out of it, so I locked in from there. I wanted to be a nature photographer at first, but the images that always pulled at me weren't landscapes and sunsets but harsh realities and things of human interest. It felt like a natural fit for me to tell stories with my cameras.
Newspapers are laying off staff nationwide – why do you want to become involved in a shrinking field? The industry is changing more than ever. A lot of people look at that and say "this is bad" and some say "this is good." They are both right, but I think the opportunities to tell stories is greater than ever and we shouldn't take that lightly. We have to be so conscious of what we point our camera at. These type of things go in waves. Newspapers have been down before and they'll be down again but more importantly they will be up again. I want to be there when the ship is righted.
What types of music do you listen to? I listen to a great deal of old blues artists like Blind Willie McTell, John Lee Hooker, Charlie Patton and Son House. To name a few other favorites: Lou Reed, Pixies, Kraftwerk, The White Stripes, Radiohead ...
What’s your career back-up plan? None at the moment... maybe radio if it came down to that.
Where do you see journalism progressing to in the next 5, 10, 20 years? Where do you want to end up by that time? This has been an ever-changing industry since the first paper rolled of the press. I’ve seen photojournalism changing in a number of ways. Most of all is the push for expanded content with audio slideshows, and video as newspapers make an effort to boost their Internet presence. I feel both these methods add a new dynamic to storytelling which is the bottom line for the readers. In five years, I imagine newspapers will still be printed and delivered and online editions will become more prevalent. I could see in 10 years off papers being printed on a weekly basis with a strong emphasis on the Web version of the paper. Twenty years off, I can see most papers being hyper-local and a few very large national chains and most papers having no print editions or very few.
What’s your favorite movie? I'm no movie buff, but I was always a fan of David Lynch's work especially “Wild At Heart.”
What things do you think the Kenosha News can do better? In general, get everyone to think of this as a package. So when a writer has a good story idea and wants to spend a week or two on it, then the photographers need to spend a week or two on the photos. Every step of the way, photography needs to be considered. In the end, this will help communicate stories to reader on a whole new level. There have been a number of assignments that could have been really nice if photography is brought in early. Also, the photographers shouldn't be afraid to go back to an assignment if necessary. Anytime I feel like I have a good story idea I go right to a writer and run it by them. I like to see everyone on the same page. There is nothing worse than getting a photo assignment that could be good only to find out that you’re not going to get the time you need for it.
What’s your strongest journalism skill and why do you think that? How has it helped you in previous work and now at the News? I've tried to keep ahead of the technology and that has helped me a lot.
How great is it to live with Liz Snyder and her greyhounds? It's pretty nice. Liz is a very wonderful person who has gone out of her way to really provide us with not only a place to stay but a great deal of Kenosha history and lots of contacts. Coming to a new place and knowing no one and nothing about the town, it is very helpful to have a person like Liz helping you.
What has surprised you most about Kenosha? How well respected the photographers are in the community. Almost everywhere I go I am met with smiles and niceties.
What's your favorite/least favorite thing about Kenosha? My favorite thing so far has been meeting people in the community.
What's the best/worst story you've worked on this summer? There was a Shrine Circus early on that I covered on a whim when there was no assignment for it. That type of thing is always very interesting and visual. I also did a slide show on Thompson Strawberry Farm and that was a lot of fun. The worst stuff frankly isn't worth mentioning.
Why do you want to be a photographer? I've always loved telling peoples stories.
What books are you reading right now? I just finished “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” by Kurt Vonagut and started re-reading “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac.

Zack Livingston:

What prompted your interest in journalism? When I was a kid I wrote my parents explanation letters when I knew I was in trouble. The truth (even when I was wrong … rarely) on the paper always got me better results than lying. Newspapers have a major influence on how people view situations because the facts are written from research. I wanted to be part of that influence as a kid because like people, sometimes parents just didn’t understand.
Newspapers are laying off staff nationwide – why do you want to become involved in a shrinking field? Why do foreign immigrants continually strive to get into America illegally while America continually deports them and creates new hoops for them to jump through when they try to do it legally? When you see potential to better your position for success in a medium that you confide your abilities in, you don’t worry about failure because it’s not an option. Foreign folks know America is the land of opportunity and that’s what the field of journalism is to me.
What types of music do you listen to? I’m a church boy so you can find a lot of Gospel music in my car like Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond and music sang by the Shalem Youth Choir in Waukegan, Ill. However, I’ve got to have some old school rhythm and blues like Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and the Comodores. I’m a fan of a few new RnB artists, but today it seems like if you can dance you can release an album. Not cool!
What’s your career back-up plan? I play the piano and I live next door to one of the greatest music teachers ever (Maurice Byrd)! I think I’d become a music teacher.
Where do you see journalism progressing to in the next 5, 10, 20 years? Where do you want to end up by that time? Technology and consolidation doesn’t promise that bright of a future for journalism. I mean who wants to write a letter when they can send a text message or e-mail. There is going to come a day when the daily information in the newspaper is automatically uploaded to someone’s cell phone every morning. (Probably already happening) I just hope people remember what form of communication brought our country through some of it’s most trying times. It wasn’t an iPhone. When all that does happen I just hope I can find myself a spot in all of this technological advancement.
What’s your favorite movie? “Ali,” and “The Last King of Scotland.” Two movies involving countries people should learn more about.
What things do you think the Kenosha News can do better? Ummmmm? I think I’ve gained five pounds in the newsroom. Maybe we should replace some of those doughnuts with carrots!
What’s your strongest journalism skill and why do you think that? How has it helped you in previous work and now at the News? My strongest skill really isn’t a skill at all. I’m very talented at asking questions. Who, what, when, where, why, and how is something that I learned very quickly growing up as my mother interrogated them in my brain when I caused mischief! Its helped me in previous work to gather all details from instruction and now to interview sources for stories.