My name is Ron McNerney and I am a senior Digital Media student at Slippery Rock University. This blog is being created for my New Media Journalism class and I am excited to take all of you along for my journey in this course.
When I came to Slippery Rock University I thought I had my whole career choice figured out and I thought I would stick with the same major for the whole four years. I didn't. After my first semester as a computer science major, I quickly realized that computer science did not resonate with who I am as a person. As I looked more into who I am as a person, I found my passion for the digital media production world. During my second semester freshman year I changed the whole course of my life and started something completely new.
I decided that I needed to get involved to I can develop my skills outside of the classroom. I decided to join WSRU-TV News and that was the best decision I made while at Slippery Rock. WSRU has shown me how much work goes into making a show happen, and has taught me a lot of hard skills. I found my enjoyment for editing videos very quickly and I wanted to keep doing that as much as possible. Once I became comfortable behind the scenes, I decided to challenge myself and try being in front of the camera. I became the talent for a number of packages ever since and became an anchor for Around the Rock News. By stepping out of my comfort zone I gained experience on both sides of the camera to better myself as a student and employee. While I am forever grateful of the skills I have learned, I am more appreciative of the friendships I have made along the way. I have made lifelong friends in such a short amount of time and I would not change a thing.
As my college years progressed I became more involved in a number of organizations such as The Rocket, University Program Board, and Open Hearts for All, a student run non-profit organization. Being a part of these organizations has challenged my creative thinking and overall skill in the digital world. Most notably, this past summer I earned a position with the Pittsburgh Steelers as Brand Ambassador and ever since then I have been thankful for everyone that helped me along the way. While I am not out of school yet I am looking forward to wherever I end up as I am sure it will lead to something greater down the line.
Now that you know a bit more about me, I'm sure you're wondering why I am making this blog in the first place. I am currently enrolled in a course titled New Media Journalism (hence the blog name being Nerney's Media Journal) and we were assigned to start a blog for the entirely of the course. Since I am apart of WSRU-TV and The Rocket, I believe that this course will help me to contribute to those organizations more effectively. I am looking forward to this course and hopeful for the remainder of the semester.
Follow the links below to see my social media pages and news sites that I enjoy to read from.
Below are links to my Facebook and Twitter page:
Below is a link to Slippery Rock's homepage:
Finally below are two links to, what I feel are, significant media outlets.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has been around before the internet and has maintained national popularity in digital and written form.
But now we have media outlets that would not be able to thrive without the internet. IGN is a stand-alone digital media outlet that posts insider news and reviews the latest video games, television shows, and movies.
I hope that with this blog you can find out more about me and learn with me as I go through my New Media Journalism course.
-Ron McNerney