Hello from DC

Hello y'all!!

I suppose I'm picking up on the diverse accents here in Washington, D.C. I have to apologize for not posting anything yesterday evening but I was just too tired to do so. I'll just give you the run down of what we did between yesterday and today.

Monday, March 17

I'm a little disappointed that I missed corn beef and cabbage yesterday at Grandma's and after writing this I'm stunned that they didn't serve any here either. After waking up at 6 am, I went down for some food, yet again. Then we departed for a long day at the Newseum. We had a formal tour of the Newseum. I didn't realize how huge and interactive it is. Our first panelist of the day was Betty Baye, a columnist and editorial writer for The Courier Journal in Louisville, KY. Long story short, she was hysterical. She was very random at times and knows "there are dumb asses in the world." Born and raised in East Harlem, NY, Baye says we are on the journey and the "journey will be the adventure everyday." Considering we were her fourth Free Spirit group, she was very inspiring. "Cherrish your inner circle," she says.

After listening to Baye, we viewed a documentary of "What's News," and later viewed a 4-D film. This 4-D movie gave us the opportunity as aspiring journalists to see what professionals went through in the past during World War II. The unique part of seeing the film was being able to meet the creators after the show. Not only were we able to view it, but talk to the creators too.

We departed for C-SPAN at 1:30 for a LIVE to tape show of "Close-up at the Newseum." I believe I got a lot of air-time so I just sat there, laughed and smiled. The show should air this Friday at 7 pm EST if you'd like to check it out on CSPAN 2.

Dinner was amazing. We departed DC to embark on a riverboat tour in Alexandria, VA. After the meal, we were able to dance the night away in the dance room. It was hilarious at times because some kids from the Southern "colonies" (states) didn't know what "grinding" was. Enough said.

Tuesday, March 18:

What a day!!! I had an ethical meeting with Carol Knopes, the director of Education Programs, Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. She spoke about media ethics and later Charles Haynes spoke to us about our Differences and our Democracy. Later, we attended a session with David Mazzeralla, Lisa Burgess and Leo Shane III. These are all reporters from various organizations including the Washington Post and Stars and Stripes. These war reporters corresponded in war zones which is something that I may consider down the road.

Later, we went to USA Today, like I haven't been there in 2 weeks!! We met with editor Ken Paulson toured the building and ate dinner. I'm exausted by the way so I'll make this short. Afterwards, we went for a presentation of "Freedom Sings." It was a multi-media presentation that tells the story of banned or censored music. The live performers lined up on the stage and were introduced. One musician composed music for Tim McGraw and another either wrote the Rocky Theme song or was a drummer during the recording.

Tomorrow should be exciting. I'll be meeting Cathie Black, President of Hearst Magazines and enjoying an awards ceremony later in the day.

Nite!!

-Kyle