Lottery loss

I stressed myself out over nothing. Turns out this little story I pitched on comparing states with lottery funded tuition assistance scholarships turned out to be pretty good after all.

I went into it thinking I'd find that Georgia's neighboring states with similar programs – Tennessee and Florida – would be facing the same worries as we are. But I was wrong. And at first that scared me. My initial reaction was "Oh no! I don't have a story."

But, you see. That is the story.

And after fearing that a crucial interview would fall through (but luckily it did not) and worrying all day, I got it done – and on deadline too!

Click here to read about how three Southern lottery funded tuition scholarships are faring in the economic downturn.

Adams vetoes University Council's provost input

What was supposed to be just another Executive Committee meeting yesterday turned into an opportunity to push along a story about the provost search at UGA.

Last month the University Council passed a motion which would effectively give it a larger role in the provost hiring decision. UGA President Michael Adams immediately expressed that he did not agree with the decision, a four-part proposal with the final part calling for a recorded vote by the council on their pick for provost.

At the committee meeting yesterday, the chair read a letter dated April 1 from Adams stating that he had decided to veto the council's decision. Adams cited Georgia's "stringent open records law" as his main reason for vetoing the motion.

Click here to read my article on Adams's decision to veto the council's motion.

R&B receives best daily paper award

My article today serves as a much deserved pat on the back to The Red & Black for winning 14 Society of Professional Journalists awards. Eleven of the 14 were first place, making this the most first place awards the paper has received in at least four years.

Click here to read my article about the SPJ awards The Red & Black won over the weekend.

'Behind the Hedges' book evaluates former disputes at University

I must say that I am very pleased with the way this article came out. It was hard work to make sure I was able to get through the book while also keeping up with class, but I did it and I'm happy with the outcome.

Synthesizing such a complex book with so much information that spans across a 10-year period is not an easy task. I had to make sure to give enough background about any event so that it made sense, but as anyone who has worked in print knows, newshole is not unlimited.

Click here to read my review of "Behind the Hedges," by Rich Whitt.

No clear candidate yet as provost search persists

The University of Georgia's No. 2 administrator will be stepping down at the end of this calendar year. UGA President Michael Adams announced the retirement of Arnett Mace as provost in January and the search for a replacement has just begun.

I sat down the the chair of the search committee to find out how the search will be conducted and what types of people they are looking for to fill the position.

Click here to read my article about UGA's provost search.

For many who applied to UGA, the news was not good

The economy is doing some interesting things for different industries. It seems that it is making students in Georgia more interested in attending in-state schools. Most likely this is because of the HOPE scholarship, which offers free tuition to qualifying students who live in the state.

About 18,000 people applied for fall admission at UGA and there is only room for 5,000. So when final notification of acceptance or rejection went out Friday, many must have been disappointed.

Click here to read my article and find out what some high school students had to say about their college application experience.

Adams discusses finance audits, furloughs during open mic session

I made a rookie mistake in my article today and missed a golden opportunity to continue along a story. I have learned from that mistake and hope to never make it again.

As I wrote yesterday, there is a book coming out that criticizes UGA President Michael Adams. His assistant expressed that Adams would not be answering questions concerning the book at the biannual "Open Mic with Mike" session yesterday. That was a substantial portion of the preview I wrote for the event, and I should have mentioned it in the review of the event.

When my story was being edited we discussed adding in a part about it, but the decision was made that it did not need to be in there. In hindsight, I think it should have and I am going to keep a more watchful eye on opportunities such as that from now on.

Click here to read my article about the "Open Mic with Mike" forum yesterday.

Adams may curb questions about book criticizing his tenure

A firestorm is brewing on campus. It may be a 10-year-old storm, but nonetheless, it has resurfaced.

With the upcoming release of Rich Whitt's book, "Behind the Hedges," today's 'Open Mic with Mike' comes at an opportune time for students to ask questions of UGA President Michael Adams.

I first learned of this book on Sunday at the paper's weekly staff meeting and was asked to take it on as my project for the week – which I was more than happy to do. The book takes a critical look at Adams's tenure and some controversies that I was never even aware of.

Click here to read my article about President Adams's biannual open forum session with UGA students.

As doom and gloom abound, I try to keep my spirits high

Reality is setting in.

I'm starting to come to grips with the prospect of not finding a journalism job before May. It's so difficult right now and print is taking a big hit.

Despite my persistent checking of every job board imaginable, I've only come up with a handful of prospects – most of which are unpaid internships. I have no qualms working for free and I'm lucky to have a supportive father who will let me stay at home and pay for things if that is the case. It's tough though because many of these internships don't accept students who aren't enrolled in classes.

What is a smart, driven, talented journalism graduate to do in today's economy? I honestly do not have the answer. I'm keeping my spirits high and hoping the stars align. But I'm not expecting anything to fall in my lap.

I know it all boils down to my determination. I'm willing to go just about anywhere, although it would be difficult to leave the state where I've lived for 22 years.

The AJC announced this morning that it would be cutting its full-time news staff by 30 percent – that's 230 positions – and reducing its circulation area by 2 percent. It is the paper in Georgia and one of the largest in the Southeast, and it is struggling to stay afloat in the economy's choppy waters.

And it leaves me wondering, what's next?

Academic calendar faces subtle changes

Fall break at the University of Georgia has traditionally – perhaps (not so) coincidentally – revolved around the Georgia vs. Florida football game. Until 2008, this meant that the Thursday and Friday before the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" was free reign for students to head to Jacksonville and let loose without fear of missing a class or test.

But in 2008 that break was re-worked. Instead of a two-day fall break and a three-day Thanksgiving break, students had a one-day fall break and a weeklong Thanksgiving break. The change in the academic calendar was met with both opposition and excitement. Some students were upset their partying time was being cut into, but some were happy to get a full week off as the semester came to a close.

Monday the Educational Affairs Committee voted to pass the 2010-2011 academic calendar, which keeps a one-day fall break and a weeklong Thanksgiving break. Click here to read the article and find out what else the committee decided.