By Shena Sanchez '08

Jenny Kincaid Boone '01 and Lindsey Nair '98 are crossing new boundaries in the news media territory. Both work as news writers at The Roanoke Times, but also make weekly appearances as webcasters in the newspaper's TimesCast.

"The TimesCast is a collection of the day's top stories, features and sports information, all delivered [by] a host and [with] as much video or still photos as possible woven in," Nair says. It is an attempt by The Roanoke Times to present the news to a broader audience in an unconventional manner by utilizing today's technology. It is posted online daily at 3:30 p.m. and lasts for no more than five minutes. The Webcasters are each assigned a day of the week where they appear as anchors.

Boone, who is a full-time business reporter, is the Webcaster on Thursdays. "The days that I do it, I'm writing about business all day, so it's nice to have something else to be a part of," Boone says. She likes the variety that the TimesCast allows her and even though she enjoys writing, she says she is also keen on the different ways that news can be presented.

The TimesCast has "a little bit more flavor and edge" than your average television news broadcast, Boone says.

While at Roanoke, Boone assisted in writing sports-related information for the athletic department. She says she wanted to experience "a wide variety of what you can do with communications." With her occupation today, Boone finds herself using analytical skills and recalling information she learned during her time at Roanoke.

After graduating with a bachelor's of art in English, Boone attended Northwestern University where she earned her master's in journalism. A month after graduating she began working for The Roanoke Times where she met a fellow Roanoke grad, Nair.

Nair transferred to Roanoke her junior year where she enjoyed her professors saying that "every one of them was completely dedicated to their teaching and their students." However, she didn't arrive with a particular plan for how to use her English degree. She says that taking two journalism classes "opened up a whole new world" to her. "I knew from that point forward that I really wanted to be a reporter," she says.

Nair's devotion to journalism comes from a sense of responsibility to her audience. "As a reporter, I learn something new every single day because I'm responsible for translating information into a format that can easily inform my readers," she says. Nair covers federal courts for The Roanoke Times and appears on the TimesCast once a week.

Boone and Nair helped celebrate the TimesCast's one year anniversary on December 8th.

To see Boone and Nair's latest webcasts, visit www.roanoke.com and click the webcast tab.

To experience some of the "flavor and edge" Boone refers to, visit these links for their "greatest hits."

Lindsey Nair:

July 7

November 28

Jenny Kincaid Boone:

December 5

December 9