Hi all,
My name is Becky Larson and I am a first year grad student studying digital media. I did my undergrad at the University of Maryland, just outside of DC, and have degrees in Japanese and Linguistics. Mass Comm is definitely new in some ways but I’ve enjoyed using my linguistics study as a lens for learning new coding languages. My intro to coding came last semester in Jacie Yang’s web publishing class, which I shared with some of you, and other than Advanced Online Media I am putting my web skills to use as a part of the SXTX State team this year. We just launched our redesigned site, so you should definitely check it out and tell everyone you know: http://sxtxstate.com/
Data journalism is even newer to me than regular journalism but I can see the opportunities data can make possible. Trend stories, growth and development, changes in demographics, etc… These are stories that really need the support of data to make an impact. I just interviewed one of the adjunct faculty, who is also a reporter for the SA Express-News, for a quick spotlight piece for the SJMC blog and she told me that the ability to work with data is indispensable in the media these days.
As many of you already know, and the rest of you will find out, I really love studying gender and minority issues and the representation of marginalized groups in the media and elsewhere. My favorite project thus far has been a series of short interviews I conducted with members of the LGBT community in San Antonio asking what marriage equality coming to Texas would mean for them personally. You can see it here: http://marriageequalitysa.beckslarson.com/
In using data to study music, I would love to look at the live music scene in Austin and see not only what genres are getting the most bookings and the largest audience numbers, but what the gender and racial makeup of those bands are. Do bands with front-women book more commonly, or less, than those with frontmen? Is the music scene in Austin experiencing the same lack of racial diversity the city is struggling with? This is data I can imagine would be difficult to obtain, since bands are not often listed by the gender or race of their members. However, the racial information would give another facet of the story that is already unfolding about Austin’s decreasing diversity. As for gender, Austin is experiencing a boom in startup culture and many are calling it the next Silicon Valley. Gender has been a hot-button issue in the tech industry and as that becomes more and more a part of Austin’s professional makeup it makes sense the city will face some of the same questions. Seeing how gender struggles play out in the city’s entertainment scene would be a fascinating addition.