Lady GaGa and Starnight

I am interviewing Lady GaGa today.

For those of you not familiar with this blonde, fashion-loving, theatrical performance artist, her hit single is "Just Dance."

YouTube it.

Her up-and-coming singles include "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi." (Both songs I was previously unaware of but will admit to playing more than a dozen times in the last few days... they have made it onto my Top 25 Played playlist already...)

So I am beyond excited. It is my first big-time interview, and with that realization comes nervousness and a little self-doubt. I am actually two years older than she is, so I will try to keep that in mind while I ask her my questions. Although, it still is really hard for me to fathom what her life must be like right now. I can't even imagine having that kind of life at 22 years old. Wahnsinn.

I am also trying to figure out how to balance my professional side with the side that likes her music. I would feel so odd bringing my camera and asking for an autograph, because I, like most people, think celebrities are cool and want to prove that I have indeed met them. Or interviewed them. Writing an interview is one thing—an enormous clip that will be great for my career—but how to balance that other side? Should I act like a fan in the least bit, or just do my job?

I think I will just play it by ear. I will only have 10 minutes with her anyway, and of course I am going to concentrate on getting the information I need first and foremost. Then we will just see... of course it wouldn't harm anything to at least mention that I am a fan of her music.

Furthermore, there is an event taking place in Munich at the moment, called the DLD Conference. (Digital, Life, Design) It's a big deal. Many people important to the media, online especially, will be speaking, including people from Google, Facebook, The Economist, UPS, The Guardian, etc. will be there. Arianna Huffington was scheduled to come, and I was really, really looking forward to meeting her (she is one of my favorite columnists) but she unfortunately had to cancel her trip, due to personal reasons.

Tonight, following my interview, I am cordially invited to attend the DLD Starnight, during which Lady GaGa will perform. I am stokedddddd, and I hope I will (actually I know I will) meet a lot of interesting people there, and I know it will be a blast.

DAHHHHH it's so wonderfully excellent that I have been given this kind of opportunity. I am young, a budding journalist if you will, and even though those in careers similar to mine have had an abundance of experiences like this, some getting to speak with presidents, world leaders, inventors, actors, musicians, the list goes on and on; this is the first time I will be speaking with someone who is known world-wide. My more experienced colleagues' skills are chiseled to perfection; they are no longer nervous, perhaps it's just like breathing to them at this point.

But one must start somewhere.

My stomach clenches when I think of walking into that hotel lobby and meeting the popstar who is said to be "the next Madonna," but I will put my best effort forward, all the while keeping in mind that at this moment, I am doing exactly what it is I set out to do.

I don't know if there is anything greater than just to be given the chance.

A Day for the History Books

I am going to post the first story I wrote for Focus (Online actually), that sadly, didn't get published. But Stephan looked at it, made great suggestions that will really help me in my career already actually. I wanted to rewrite it and have him critique the revised one as well, but he said "Don't work for the trash can." Ha! Right again. So tomorrow, we're going to brainstorm to come up with subjects that I can write about for the Boulevard section... aber die nächstes muss auf Deutsch sein. Schauen wir mal!

Here you go:

Beverly McNeely-Feuss never thought she would see this day would come.
“This is a historical event,” said McNeely-Feuss, a U.S. citizen and Munich resident. “As you can see, I’m an African-American, and I never would have believed that America would vote for an African-American… Miracles do happen.”
More than 400 guests joined McNeely-Feuss at the Munich Inaugural Ball yesterday to welcome Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.
In a display of true bipartisanship, American Democrats and American Republicans came together as one during the event to celebrate the country’s democracy, said the president of the Republicans Abroad Munich chapter Michael Ricks.
“I think the entire world is committed to change … now is the time to think about the future,” he said.
The world has come to a point in time that rarely happens, said Democrats Abroad Munich chapter president Randy Caldwell.
“Eight years of disappointment are met with the hope of the next four years,” he said. “It’s a crash, and people are ready for a new beginning.”
Yet this year’s inauguration was not just a momentous occasion for Americans, but rather for citizens of countries worldwide. They, too, showed up to offer their support.
“I was actually quite involved, actually I think everyone was involved in this election,” said Tetyana Druzhynina, a citizen of the Ukraine and resident of Munich.
Held at the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel Ballroom, the Munich event boasted to be “the only formal inaugural ball being held in Germany and one of the largest inaugural events outside the United States,” said Dave Dowdy, president of the California Association of Germany, the organization that hosted the event along with the Munich International Ski Club.
But the event was one of many. Hundreds of other inaugural events were taking place all around the world as millions tuned in to witness what was likely to be the most watched event in television history, according to AOL news.
“It’s amazing what is happening tonight around the world,” Caldwell said.
Beginning at 16:30, the guests—clad in elegant gowns and sharp tuxedos—began trickling in through the doors and made their way to the main ballroom, where they settled in to watch the events taking place in Washington D.C. on a movie theater-sized screen.
With a registration fee of 75 Euros, guests enjoyed welcome drinks, a fancy dinner and extravagant dessert buffet, dancing until midnight and a front-row seat in which to observe the festivities.
As Obama took his oath of office, the crowd was brimming with emotion and excitement.
A second after Obama was announced America’s next president, shouts of glee could be heard over the applause and smatterings of miniature American flags were seen dancing above the assembly.
Obama’s speech called for “a new era of responsibility,” a time in which every American citizen must put forth the effort in order to solve the challenges that presently face our country.
And effort he will get.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck call to get us going back in the right direction,” Ricks said. “Americans are used to public service and this is the time to jump on board.”
Obama has warned time and time again that change will not happen overnight, and it seems as though the world is more than prepared to give the 44th president the time to start accomplishing his goals.
“People are understanding of the problems and people have patience and are willing to give Obama the time he needs,” Caldwell said.
“I don’t envy him at all,” McNeely-Feuss said, “but I’ll give him my 100 percent support.”


So there you are. Mainly what Stephan said was that there is nothing really in this story that Germans don't know already or that they find interesting. He is completely right. He says as a Fulbright scholar from New Mexico, he knows I can do better and find things to write about that the German auidence will really be interested in reading. Aber es ist ganz schwierig für mich. I told him this was because I think Germans, as a whole, know a lot about a lot. It's hard to surprise them, you know? But that now, is my goal.

And I will succeed, oh yes, I will succeed...

Today's the DAY

It's finally here.

The day has come when our country will finally be rid of it's most disasterous president in history. And today our hope will be restored in the intelligent, poised, moral, articulate, strong, empathetic as well as logical; the one and only, Barack Obama.

I can't believe it has been 8 long, chaotic, hopeless and frustrating years, but Bush will at last be gone.

Finally.

What I love most is now we have a president that when he speaks, I really want to listen. It seems as if my ears perk up to that voice, like he could be whispering in a crowd of hundreds, and I could still tune in, because I know his message is worth it.

Before, when Bush was ever on television or on the radio, I would almost always change the channel. I can't stand to hear that man speak... it's like listening to nails on a chalkboard, only with several grammatical errors and a few made-up words tossed in there as well. Bush's speeches and Obama's speeches couldn't be further from one another on the articulatory spectrum. One side inflicts cringes, frustration, anger and shame, while the other inspires, gives hope and restores faith in America.

While it's clear that I was obviously not a fan of Bush, quite rather I despised our former president, I do not think it was all his fault. He had a horrible administration and advisors (a.k.a. Dick Cheney) and it seemed the deeper he dug himself, the more impossible it was for him to resurface.

I very much liked a quote from Adam McKay as spoken to The New York Times (he incidentally is the director of Will Ferrel's debut broadway play—"You're Welcome America"—which will run for a short time beginning inauguration day and ending March 15 at the Cort Theater). McKay said this to describe the main theme of the play, and thus America's previous position:

"It really gets to the question of how Americans covered their eyes and ears for the last eight years, how cowed the media was. I think America got caught at its fattest and laziest, and I say that as someone who is fat and can be lazy."

I agree. We were all at fault. Maybe not at the beginning, where Democracy went by the wayside and allowed Bush to be "elected" in the first place. (And AGAIN—outcomes I still cannot comprehend but only know that some shady business went on in both elections. That being said a fair amount of Germans I encounter here, who, when they find out I am American, ask "Why did you re-elect Bush?" and I say "I did not re-elect Bush, nor did I elect him in the first place. And that goes for most of America I think. Don't ask me how it happened, I also thought America was a Democracy.")

I digress.

Perhaps what grinds my gears most about these past years was the feeling of utter hopelessness and frustration for not being able to change the course of events unfolding before me. To quote Albert Einstein, who said: "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing," to tackle the government by one's lonesome, or perhaps even in groups, is still a task of unbelievable enormity. People tried. People, for the most part, were unsuccessful.

Which brings me to the point of why I, myself, became a journalist. It's quite simple, really. I want to change the world. Don't laugh. I know it's far-fetched, but let me rephrase, and repeat my mantra for why I do the work I do, taken word-for-word from when I first created it the moment I began journalism school:

The day I realized my passion was the day I realized I could perhaps make one small difference in the world by writing about what I have seen and heard, that I might change someone somewhere by truthfully and professionally informing my community, that I could talk to whomever I wished and get the answers I wanted, that all I needed in life was a pen and a pad of paper and I could get by, that my job as an observer is a serious one that I will not compromise—for whenever there has been conflict and war, love and honor, grief and loss, there has been a journalist unnoticed in the background, waiting to tell the story.

But, I have learned a few things since that time. One, not a lot of people like journalists. This observation stands more true in the states than here in Germany. Here, journalists are respected. People WANT to talk to you when you say you are going to write a story about something. In America (now I am generalizing mind you), often I tell people I am a journalist and the most popular response is "Why?" Well, to keep the lines of communication in this world open and to keep people informed. "Yes, but journalism has gone so far down the hill nowadays..."

Ok, well let me ask you this: If journalists are working for media COMPANIES, and the only way to stay afloat is to make a PROFIT, and all the American people want to read about is Britney Spears' latest lapse or what a normal day is like in the lives of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, then why is it journalists' fault? We too, have to make a living.

(By the way I will apologize now for going off on this tangent when I initially intended to write my thoughts about Obama's inauguration and Bush's last day in office, but I am on a roll now and must continue...)

That is, however, not to say that I don't agree that the media has markedly lost some of its credibilty over the years (need I mention Jayson Blair?) but I do think some editors and publishers make decisions in order to please superiors. Lest we forget the massive take over by far-right partisan Rupert Murdoch, who no doubt uses his influence (a.k.a $) to pull several American newspapers and TV stations to favor his side of the political spectrum.

I, too, have been a victim of working with investors of a newspaper, who claim not to be responsible or have an influence on the content of the newspaper in which they are investing. The situation resulted in me being told I couldn't write about politics or the economy anymore because "I had no idea what I was talking about." Well, what I said was that our country was headed toward another Great Depression if people didn't start to change their habits, and I cited the declining employment rate and such. I was told I didn't use facts. I quoted Anna Roosevelt during a speech she made in Santa Fe when she said she also believed we were headed for a bleak future. Not factual enough. The one mistake I did make is when I said we were going to soon experience life as it was in the 20s and 30s, when what I should have said was, the LATE 20s and the 30s. My apologies. But, if I may say so myself, I believe that column was very spot-on. Anyone who has read the news recently would agree.

(If you want to read the column it can be found here: http://nmfreepress.com/2008.shtml. It's issue 15, June 11th.)

And yet, although I was proud of that column, the feedback I received for it didn't leave me aching to produce more like it. It even had me a little afraid to voice my opinion. But, the columnist who bashed Obama every chance he got was welcomed with open arms.

But really, investors don't control content... no way...

Well. there you have it. My little rant on modern journalistic integrity and conglomerate media control. I really hope that with Obama, the lines of communication between a community and its publications are thrown WIDE open, and that people will have the freedom to write whatever they wish.

I also somehow doubt that we will have as much to criticize about our new leader than we did about our old one...

But if, by chance, we do, something tells me that the "real" stories won't be covered up by pictures of Nicole Richie's newest haircut...

GO OBAMA!!! I wish you all the best of luck and am behind you 100 percent!!!

Already starting to become adjusted

OK, this has to be quick, while it's still fresh in my head. (Plus, I am writing this in my office at Focus, using a German keyboard and a different computer, which I REALLY don't happen to fancy as much as my own.)

So yay!!! It is my third day at Focus, and I am beginning to get the swing of things already. At first I was frustrated, because I wasn't used to the enormity of the company, and it felt to me like... well, I don't really know. Like they didn't really have a place for me here. But, I have realized, this opportunity is much more of a learning experience and will not really be like any job I have had before. And that is really all I wanted. So of course, as in the way of my natural tendencies, I was worrying over nothing. I guess it just takes me a bit to see something for what it really is.

Yesterday, most of the people from the Modernes Leben department weren't in the office. Some were working from home, and one went home sick. The highlight of the day was that Peter—the man who is in charge while Stephan is on holiday—showed me around the office and I got to see how the production of the paper works. That was really interesting for me. Of course, it's similar to any newspaper/magazine: the editorial department is assigned so many pages based on the advertising for the week, they write the stories, the photo department gets the pictures, data and graphics and the designers construct the layout. Of course, the editorial department always must tweak their copy in order to fit the design of the pages. This is what I find the hardest to do, and it was always a struggle for me back at NMFP to edit and re-edit my own stories until they fit into Ana's design. It's tough, and I like how my old Public Affairs professor used to describe it: Journalists are always having to "kill their babies." Morbid, yes. That's a journalism professor for you.

But I also liked the way in which they set up their dummy pages—just one sheet with small squares assigned to each individual department and color coded so that each department knows when their content deadline is. I like this much more than our full-page printouts at NMFP; it saves much more paper. The one thing I don't like is that the entire building smells of cigarettes. That's Germany for you.

Today, I finally met Stephan Paetow. He is the "big boss." I liked him very much. He seems very excited to have me here and told me that if I want to know anything, go anywhere or do anything, I just have to ask. He also gave me some things to work on, consisting of coming up with some news briefs for the weekly "Boulevard" section, as well as trying to come up with things in the news on which to comment on (with wit and humour of course) for the Tendenz-O-Meter section. He said if I can do this, in another language, then that will really be something. But it will be a challenge.

Stephan also said he will take me with him next Friday to meet the founder, editor and publisher of Focus Magazin—Helmut Markwort—and this is a huge deal. He is very famous here in Deutschland. That is beyond awesome.

So geht es doch viel besser. Und jetzt bin ich mehr glücklich.

The future looks bright...

Mein erster Tag bei Focus (a.k.a. I should have expected this)

Heute fange ich mein Job bei Focus an. Und es war einbißchen anders wie ich originell dachte. Aber troztdem, eine Erfahrung.

Morgen bin ich um 8 Uhr aufgestanden, und ich war ganz pünktlich bei dem Focus Gebäude (unglaublich, ich weiß.)

Ach Kwatsch. Genug Deutsch. Ich muß jetzt auf Englisch schreiben, weil dieses zu lange dauert.

So, I woke up at 8 this morning, was on time for meinen Termin um 10 Uhr, but a few things did not go quite as I expected. When I first arrived, I was nervous of course, and initially I went to the wrong building, but once I found the right place, I met Nina—the secretary for the Modernes Leben department—who showed me around the office as some people introduced themselves. And then, everyone disappeared. I was left sitting on the couch in Stephan Paetow's (the man who hired me) office, but he is actually out this week, literally twiddling my thumbs. Then, after a while, I got up and asked someone if there is paperwork I need to fill out, or if there is anything I can do for anyone, or if I should perhaps come back at a later time. Then Sven (another employee) leads me to the office of another Modernes Leben employee who is also out this week and tells me that Nina will be along in five minutes to show me how to log in. Later, Nina comes in, and informs me that there is a meeting now and I should attend. This part I quite liked because I was actually doing something, and alles ist auf Deutsch, so it's really good for me.

I discovered that this week the Modernes Leben section, which ususally has something like 15 pages to fill, only has three this week due to advertising. So that makes it more understandable. Plus, with three people gone this week, there are still 6 people working at the department, including me. So it's definitely comprehensible that they don't have much for me to do. Plus, everyone works very independently around here. They know what everyone is doing and evryone gets their work done in his or her own way. But still, it's quite a change from what I'm used to... True, I used to do everything independently at my old job, but I had a budget due every week so that the rest of the staff would know the exact content of the paper, and my boss definitely kept on me to see how my progress was going.

During the meeting, however, Katja (another staffer) pitched the idea of doing a story on Bruce Springsteen's upcoming concert at Obama's inauguration, and she was voicing that she didn't know why they chose Bruce as an act and why not an African-American performer. So after the meeting I went and put some information together for her about why Springsteen is probably playing—because he is one of Obama's most outspoken celebrity supporters and sang after his speech at the DNC in Cleveland—and I also threw in that Aretha Franklin is scheduled to perform at the inauguration, and that this makes sense as she herself is eine sehr berühmtes afroamerikanische Person.

Katja probably already knew all of that... but at least I feel like I did something productive.

But I am in no way discouraged: I should realize that first experiences almost never go the way you expect them to, and that a lot of good came out of this too. For one, my German is going to rapidly improve (my mom pointed out that I will also--hopefully--catch on to German journalism slang, not to mention the ever perplexing Bayerische Dialekt), I am going to learn what it is like working within a huge media conglomerate instead of being a big fish in a small pond, and I will have a first-hand look into the differences between German and American media institutions. Which is why I am here in the first place.

SO really, when you think about it, I have no reason to feel out of place whatsoever. It turns out this first day is exactly what I should have been expecting. Now it's my job to make the most out of it.

And, well, sometimes... that doesn't just happen overnight, now does it?

I'll keep my nose to the grindstone, my ideas fresh and my Langenscheidts in my pocket; and I'll keep you updated every step of the way.

Versprechen.

Return to München

Hello all!

I am now back in Munich after a wonderful trip stateside. It was so crazy to go home and now it's so crazy to be back! It feels like I was home for a very long time, and it feels odd to be back in Munich now, as if the last time I was here was last year... ha. Get it? I am so utterly funny.

Anyway, I left Munich on the 23rd, früh, and everything was going smoothly... at first. My plane from Munich to Philadelphia left on time, despite its fellow planes leaving 8 hours late the previous few days. So I was thinking I was golden. When I got to Philly, all the screens said my plane was on time, so I called my mom saying everything was fine. Boo. When we were about to board our plane to Chicago, a woman tells us on the intercom that our plane is changing gates, but not to worry because we will be boarding once we reach the other gate. When we get there, the flight departure has changed from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., but I hear the attendent telling passengers that the plane actually won't be leaving until 10:30 at the earliest. So I go and stand in the customer service line for two hours (because I know I won't be making my connection in Chicago) to see if there's anything they can do... nope. Natürlich nicht.

So I board the plane to Chicago, we sit on the tarmac for three hours, the pilot always changing his mind about whether or not we'll be able to leave, when finally, at 11 p.m., and our very last chance, we take off.

When I get to dreaded Chicago, I get a rush of hope because I see a plane taking off for Springfield. I am standing in line at the plane's gate, waiting to talk to a service person when they hear me talking to my mom on someone's phone (I must have borrowed 9 people's phones) and tell me that this plane is going to Springfield and to get out of line and get ready to board. Springfield, Missouri I say? No, Springfield, Illinois. Duh. Damn.

So I spend the night in the airport. And am put on the dreaded standby list. I don't think I will ever get out of Chicago O'Hare. And it doesn't ever look like I will. With the more than 500 flights that were cancelled, how do I have a chance? Blagh. Long story short, I go and speak with a United Airlines representative (who was so charming, let me tell ya) and I say please just get me anywhere close to Springfield, Missouri. There is a flight to St. Louis, he says. Great, I say. Put me on it. So now I have to call my mom again and tell her that she and my sister need to drive to St. Louis to get me. Not a problem, she says. (Sure.)

But in the end, it all worked out despite the tears running down my face and the 36 hours of being awake and thinking I will never get home. We had to tell the whole family I was coming (initially it was going to be a surprise), but it was a lovely time anyway.

I love Christmas. I love my family. I was very lucky I got to see them.

I also got to visit home for about a week as well. I saw some friends, my DOGS, stopped by the NMFP office and got to surprise my co-workers, and I got to sleep in my awesome Queen-size bed. Yay for Queen-size beds.

The enchanting visit felt like it lasted for a month rather than a few weeks. And it was weird to be back in the states, and similarily weird to come back to Munich.

But I am back now, and trying very hard to honor my New Year's Resolutions.

Alles gute.