Commodity Classic Student blogger Margy Fischer, sponsored by Monsanto

Hello! My name is Margy Fischer, I’m a senior at the University of Missouri – Columbia studying Agricultural Journalism, and I’ll be blogging on this site during the 2006 Commodity Classic thanks to a student fellowship with Monsanto. It was almost three weeks ago that I learned of this opportunity from Bill Allen and am very grateful for this trip.
Blogging is completely new to me. The closest I may have ever come to posting a blog would be the weekly e-mail updates I would send my friends this past summer while interning in Washington DC. If those e-mails can serve as any precedent, then my posts will be full of anecdotes and observations of my surroundings. But my lack of experience with “new media” could be interesting enough that you’ll want to stay tuned.
I am intrigued by the idea that blogs have the power to turn bystanders into sources and reporters. In my journalism classes we discuss the philosophies behind our journalistic principles and practices, and blogs have done an amazing job of throwing convention to the wind. This week in Anaheim I want to experience as much as I can and in turn present all of that to you.
It was beautiful here in Columbia today, so the weather in California will be hard pressed to beat a day like this. However, I hope that I am so busy attending events and meeting people that I won’t be able to leave the convention hall. Those are probably the reasons why I am very excited to be attending this year’s event. So a big thank you again to everyone who made this possible.