Past two weeks (until 14 June)

The past two weeks were not exciting at all for me, except for the Citizen Journalism Workshop on June 13. The workshop, organized by the Society of Professional Journalists, trained non-professional citizen journalists from all walks of life and offered a light for me as to how some ordinary Americans see and practice journalism.
The speakers talked about some basic journalism, such as ethics, media law, access to government information, writing, and use of technological tools in assisting reporting. I've rehearsed such skills as writing (how to ensure accuracy and clarity, and how to plan and structure a feature story) and gained new insight into getting access to public information in the US, the rise of twitter in reporting and how to avoid being sued in writing something potentially controversial.
Those topics were thought-provoking. For example, in China, we don't have a law as the Freedom of Information Act here. How should we gain access to government information that officials may not want to open to the public?
I spent the rest of the two weeks reading my host newspapers and talking with my colleagues, trying to figure out what's new and could be helpful for my home newspaper in Beijing. I've found the Pioneer Press, as many other US newspapers, has tried its best to interact with readers, seen from such columns as Watchdog, in which the reporters would respond to readers' need and help them solve some problems, such as failure to get social benefits.