23 Aug 08 Welcome home

My new apartment in St. Paul, Minn. I finally feel like I am home in my new city. Bring on the awesome!

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12 Aug 08 Wanted: One slacking blogger

Found him!

Yeah, yeah, like everyone else I’ve been busy, though that is no excuse. New job, lots of training, trying to find a place to live and exploring a new city take up a lot of time. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to scan the old RSS feed and make snarky comments at all of the whiny, angry and venomous curmudgeons talking about the news business.

Oh, and there’s also a little thing called the Republican National Convention happening right up the street. Kind of a big deal and I’m looking forward to being on the media (cyber) front lines.

That being said, I’m going to try and start writing here a lot more. With so many changes in the industry, both online and off, there’s a lot to talk about. Not to mention the Olympics, one of the best events to do unique multimedia coverage of.

Until then, go see what I’ve been taking pictures of.

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27 Jul 08 By the numbers, from Florida to Minneapolis

So I finally made it to my new city. I’ve spent the last few weeks visiting friends, family, taking a lot of pictures and traversing America’s highway system. I enjoyed it immensely and saw a lot of great things and met some good people. However, I am anxious to get to know my new city and get to work for Minnesota Public Radio.

Here’s a quick rundown of my trip by the numbers.

Total miles traveled: 2,303

Total gas bill: Approx. $292.00

Lowest gas price paid: $3.74/gal - St. Louis, MO

Highest gas price paid: $4.15/gal - somewhere in Georgia along I-95

States visited or passed through: 9
• Georgia
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Iowa
• Minnesota

Total food bill: Approx. $175.00 (I ate for free a lot with friends)

Newspapers read:
• Wilmington Star-News
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• The Tennessean
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Kansas City Star
• Des Moines Register

Hotel stays: 3

Traffic tickets: 0

Items lost: 1
- I left the sun hood for my camera lens at my dad’s in Tennessee. I think I’ll just get a new one.

So that’s that. I’m moving into my temporary apartment tomorrow and then I’ll start getting acclimated to my new city, my new job and getting this blog on track. To infinity, and beyond!

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19 Jun 08 Newman

More photos.

Off topic post, but I figured I’d share some photos of my old dog. I had to say my final farewell to the fella since I am moving to Minneapolis and he is staying in Florida with his mom. I’m going to miss the little guy, even though I rarely see him.

A new dog is on the horizon as soon I can know that I have the time for it. According to my book, over a third of the Twin Cities population are dog owners.

OK, back to our regularly scheduled journalism drivel.

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11 Jun 08 It’s official! I’m moving to the Twin Cities

After a long and difficult decision between two great opportunities, I finally had to choose. I am now an Associate Editor for Online News at Minnesota Public Radio, part of the American Public Media Group. The next few weeks will be spent handling the logistics of moving 1,600 miles, getting acclimated to the Twin Cities and learning my new role as part of the MPR team.

Once I get settled this blog will come alive again, especially once I’m playing a large role in the online development of such a creative and diverse news organization. I’m looking forward to having a more direct perspective of the online journalism world as we enter this age of broad and sweeping change in our beloved industry.

To say I am excited about this opportunity would be putting it mildly. Yay for the future!

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13 May 08 ‘Negative Ghostrider, pattern is full.’

I’m putting this blog in a holding pattern until next week or so while I handle some post-graduation duties, personal time and an all-around break.

Be back in a week, give or take.

p.s. Great online uses of Twitter and Facebook on multiple ongoing stories, most notably the Myanmar aftermath, the earthquake in China and the wildfires in Central Florida. Check them out.

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06 Apr 08 Tying up my loose ends

No, I don’t have dysentary or something. I did, however, just figure out that I can import all of my old Livejournal posts and any other bloggery I’ve committed over the last five years.

My Livejournal consists of over four years of banter, 3,000 posts in all. The bitch of it is that I have to export and import each month separately as an XML file. That’s going to take a while. However, I am comforted in knowing that soon I will have my entire history of Web writing in one place.

So, yay me and my new project.

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01 Apr 08 How Will Smith has caused me to reflect on life, sort of

So while perusing an LA Times Oscar 2008 photo gallery, I came upon a very disturbing fact. No, Paris Hilton isn’t vying for an Oscar, it’s much worse.

On September 25, 2008, the lovable Will Smith will turn 40.

Why is this disturbing?

Basically, as I near 30-years-old, I realize that I’ve watched pretty much the entire career of Will Smith. I’ve grown up with him, and him with me.

In 1987, when I was just 8-years-old and Smith was in his late teens, he and his partner DJ Jazzy Jeff were releasing their first album ‘Rock the House’.

I only vaguely remember this album, but I do remember listening to the hit single, ‘Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble’. It was a fun, party-pop, rap tune that set itself apart from the music of some raps more hardcore offerings of the time.

This lead to Will’s most popular album, ‘He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper’, which included the single ‘Parents Just Don’t Understand’. That song won a Will a Grammy and sent his career skyrocketing.

Not long after that, in 1990, Will starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. For some reason I loved the fish-out-of-water story from the first time I heard the catchy opening theme (which everyone of a certain age is guilty of singing with a group of friends on a road trip or house party at one time or another) to the final episode in 1996.

Since then Will’s career has continued to soar with both dramatic and comedic roles, Oscar nominations and consistent praise by the celebrity press. Sure a few movies have been less than stellar (I, Robot, Wild Wild West), Will, however, is always enjoyable. I have to admit, almost everything the guy does I like. You can always count on Will Smith to make you smile. He seems like the friend all of us want to have.

Him turning 40 years old, after watching his entire and ongoing career, makes me reflect a bit on my own life and accomplishments. It’s not that I’m saddened or disappointed in where I am by any means, rather, it’s that I’ve been able to watch someone else work, fight and be successful.

For some reason, it’s like getting to watch a friend do well. As I’ve grown up, he’s grown up. Because the man works so damn much you get to actually watch him grow up throughout his music, TV and movie roles.

There are very few people, or celebrities rather, that I can say whose careers have been so enjoyable to watch. From Will’s first forays into music to his recent turn as a scientist alone in NYC, it’s been an amazing thing to see.

So all of that was a long, rambling, round about way of saying — I’m getting old(er).

Crap.

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18 Mar 08 I am job

So I applied for four dream jobs last night and today.

• Web producer, The Baltimore Sun
• Overnight online producer, WashingtonPost.com
• Hyperlocal producer, San Francisco Chronicle
• Assistant web editor, The Nation

I’m hoping my eyes aren’t bigger than my stomach, but there is no harm in trying. Plus, someone whose opinion I hold in high regard told me there is no reason why any of these places shouldn’t consider me. Hey, it will be an honor just to be nominated.

The doors are wide open.

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15 Mar 08 Back in black

Back from spring break trip, so updates will be on the way.

Highlights:
• First leg to Myrtle Beach, SC early Monday
• Moved way too much stuff after 8-hour drive
• More moving on Tuesday
• Then to Wilmington, NC for friends
• Golf with dad at Arrowhead Country Club on Wednesday = awesome
• Back to NC
• 9 holes in Wilmington on Thursday
• Back to Florida on Friday
• Work, work, work on Sat/Sun

Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop once in a while to take a look you might miss it.

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20 Jan 08 Where should I go?

Now that graduation is on the horizon and I have a small foothold in the newspaper business, I’ve been looking at my options. Considering that I am working at a newspaper whose online division ranks in the top 30, not to mention several of its sister publications, I have a good avenue to go almost anywhere. I’m fairly certain that I’ve found my niche in online producing and going that route, the sky is the limit. This is my list of places I would/could go, feel free to offer any advice on the matter. Though I expect most people would advise against L.A., I like the idea.

Top 10 Newspapers I’d Like to Work At:

1. The New York Times, NEW YORK, NY - Is there really any explanation needed? Although I think this might be the only paper on my list that would actually be out of reach upon graduation. I’d need more experience under my belt if I were to go and rally with the big dogs here.
2. NewsDay, LONG ISLAND, NY - Another New York paper, this one on Long Island though. It’s a Tribune property so it’s accessible to me. Plus, I like their layout and presentation a lot.
3. LA Times, LOS ANGELES, CA - Again, kind of no-brainer. Moving to L.A. would be both awesome and terrifying, but I’d be up to it. Another Tribune paper so the doorway is there. Plus I’d be close to the movie industry in case that screenplay comes bursting out of me all of a sudden.
4. San Diego Union-Tribune, SAN DIEGO, CA - San Diego is supposedly one of the nicest places to live in the U.S. (and most expensive.) I think I could give it a whirl. Their online site is a little crowded, but I could help them with that.
5. San Francisco Chronicle, SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Another fantastic paper in, from what I hear, a fantastic city. Hmm, I wonder if there was a modern-day Zodiac killer he would send e-mails to instead of letters.
6. Las Vegas Review-Journal, LAS VEGAS, NV - Yeah, I’d probably get myself into trouble in Las Vegas, but man what a great city to be a reporter in. There is no doubt always something crazy going on, events to talk about, conventions, etc. I’d probably be hard to get bored here.
7. Chicago Tribune, CHICAGO, IL - Are we seeing a theme here? Yes, I want to live in a big city where I don’t need a car. Chicago is home to Tribune so if I ever needed a loan I could just go knock on ol’ Sammy Zell’s door and see if he could spare a couple of bucks. (Just kidding, sir.)
8. Baltimore Sun, BALTIMORE, MD - I don’t know about the cold, but this is another interesting city that is also home to a Tribune paper. John Waters swears by the town and says it is by far the strangest place in America. Not to mention it is just a hop, skip and a jump away from NY, Washington D.C. and the rest of New England.
9. The Boston Globe, BOSTON, MASS. - Yet another great city with historic appeal and a great paper. Plus, it’s where Good Will Hunting took place. A real plus actually is the great schools in the area for when I decide to go after a master’s degree. Then again, there are great schools in all of the cities I am looking at.
10. The Orlando Sentinel, ORLANDO, FL - It’s cheesy I know, but I like it here (at the paper, not Florida so much). Since I am already gaining a toehold here it would awesome if they offered me a full time position after graduation. I’d stay, and mom would be thrilled that I’m not moving across the country. We’ll see what happens.

And that is that, my vanity list of the day.

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11 Jan 08 Slacker Jack City, population: Me

I’ve been slacking here on the personal blog due to the new school semester, work and focusing a bit on the UCF Blog quite a bit. We’re averaging 500 page views a day which is pretty good by local blog standards. One day we even had over 1,600 page views thanks to Kevin Smith news. People love to read about that guy.

More comments and links will be forthcoming the closer it gets to the Florida primary and Super Tuesday. Although for a registered Democrat like myself the Florida primary holds almost no relevance. We’ve been stripped of all of our delegates, so it doesn’t matter who wins in Florida it does their campaign no good. Sure it helps support, but it doesn’t help them win the nomination.

Surprises though with McCain winning New Hampshire and Huckabee winning Iowa. I don’t think Clinton’s win in New Hampshire will be enough to rally her troops. Barack embodies change too much while Clinton will forever have the shadow of William Jefferson hanging over her head. I’m supporting Barack 100%.

The Ron Paul situation is ridiculous. Republicans and the right-wing media are treating him like he doesn’t exist. He is doing well and he should be acknowledged. FOX Noise refuses however.

<--END OF TRANSMISSION-->

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31 Dec 07 My year-in-review, the speedy version

Wow, so 2007 is already over. I know, everyone says that. Just once I’d like to hear someone lament at how their year dragged on and on like a dog with a bad leg. This time however, it is totally true in my case as well.

The short version of this year is basically this — IT ROCKED! Let’s do a quick rundown.

• Got further along in school, now with an actual graduation date in sight. It’s almost surreal. Gee, considering how long ago it was that I graduated high school I should be a doctor by now. No matter, I am where I am and it’s great.
• Wrote my first 11, real news stories. This was great, I finally felt like I can actually do this journalism thing instead of it just being a pipe dream.
• Started writing for the Orlando Sentinel UCF Community blog. This is something I’d had on deck since April and I finally was able to do it at the beginning of November. My fellow blogger Woody and I are really going to slam into this thing next term. We want to try and shake things up since we have the momentum of the Orlando Sentinel behind us.
• Met some cool, new and interesting friends both professionally and personally.
• Welcomed a new member to the family (not mine, it’s my nephew). Oh, and a name has been decided upon: Richard Gabrielle Mullis.
• And the big one, the coup de grâce! I got what pretty much amounts to my dream job at the Orlando Sentinel as an online producer. Sure I’m only a temp now but it is a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

So that’s about it I suppose. If 2008 is half as good as 2007, I’m in for a very good year. Something tells me it’s going to be even better however.

Hope all goes well for everyone out there. Have a good New Year and we’ll see you in the ‘08!

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16 Dec 07 Getting closer!

Two more spots from the top search return for “Steve Mullis.” It’s not this blog sure, but at least it is a link to me. My Orlando Sentinel identity is always going to get a higher ranking but that’s OK, it links here anyway.

Now if only I could find a way to get that Mesa, Ariz. real estate agent to retire. Another odd thing is that I can’t get this blog to show up properly in search results. Blogger nixes all of my meta-data tags so that it doesn’t get read correctly by search bots.

Back to work.

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03 Dec 07 Finals week

It’s the last week of the semester, which means finals. Now being in journalism I don’t have finals per se, but a lot of small projects to sew up and finish off.

So I’m taking the week off from this blog (though I still may hit up the UCF blog, I’ve got to try and get as much traffic there as possible.) Be back in week when things aren’t as hectic.

See you, and until then, here’s a little something to give you nightmares.

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