I'm happy to report EVERYBODY did well on the latest out-of-class assignment -- even though it was your most complex assignment to date, where you were asked to file a long written version, a short breaking news version, two related blog posts, a Twitter stream with at least 12 tweets, a related map and a multimedia component such as a video, audio slide show, interactive map, ect.
In general, I thought you all did a nice job of finding the best ways to tell your stories in each medium . . . writing emphasizing details and structure; video showing action and movement; blogs using a personable style and hyperlinks to relevant info; and tweets that captured an event blow-by-blow or presented interesting details and insights piece-by-piece.
Some of you may notice generally lower grades for the writing exercises than for the multimedia and social media components. I graded the latter more leniently since you've been working on new media only for the past three or four weeks, while we've been focusing in on writing, reporting and story structure all semester long.
Still, I have seen improvement across the board -- and no fatals! Fatal cat says thank you! -- and that makes me happy.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Out-of-Class Story #3 -- Some Multimedia Highlights
This blog post combined various mediums: words, hyperlinks, still images taken by the author, and a link to the video version of the story. Lots of options for readers/viewers.
Nice blog here, with embedded pics and links to an awesome complex map that replaced a video.
This Tweet stream offered something simple but nice: a quick 11-second linked video snippet capturing mood and moment.
This blog post also had a brief video take-out, not so much that it was too much trouble to do, but just enough to help set the mood and give the reader a feel for being there.
One blog linked to a PDF of an actual law. Plus, nice use of properly-attributed images in a related video.
Another blog post links to a YouTube snippet, but it also finds something else: neutral experts!
Let's compare some video on the same topic: yours and one done by professional media. Whaddya think?
Nice blog here, with embedded pics and links to an awesome complex map that replaced a video.
This Tweet stream offered something simple but nice: a quick 11-second linked video snippet capturing mood and moment.
This blog post also had a brief video take-out, not so much that it was too much trouble to do, but just enough to help set the mood and give the reader a feel for being there.
One blog linked to a PDF of an actual law. Plus, nice use of properly-attributed images in a related video.
Another blog post links to a YouTube snippet, but it also finds something else: neutral experts!
Let's compare some video on the same topic: yours and one done by professional media. Whaddya think?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Ethics -- The Falling Man From 9/11
There's a fine line between showing readers the brutal truth of a situation so that they understand the powerful truth of any story, and showing readers a truth so brutal that readers ignore the point you were trying to make and instead question your judgment.
I can think of no better example of this than the so-called Falling man photo, taken by an Associated Press photographer during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and published by The New York Times the next day.
This remarkable article from Esquire Magazine in 2003 offers a summation of the complex and contradictory forces at play in deciding if running the image was the absolute right thing or the incredibly wrong thing to do.
If you were an editor on Sept. 11, what would you have done? And why?
Let's talk it out.
I can think of no better example of this than the so-called Falling man photo, taken by an Associated Press photographer during the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and published by The New York Times the next day.
This remarkable article from Esquire Magazine in 2003 offers a summation of the complex and contradictory forces at play in deciding if running the image was the absolute right thing or the incredibly wrong thing to do.
If you were an editor on Sept. 11, what would you have done? And why?
Let's talk it out.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Out-Of-Class Stories #3 & 4
Regarding your final two out-of-class projects, this is how your grade for each assignment will break down:
Blog version (at least 2 posts, at least 2 hyperlinks per post): 12.5 percent
Twitter stream (at least 12 tweets, at least 1 hyperlink): 12.5 percent
Multimedia (minimum 1-minute video or audio slide show or podcast, minimum 3 sources; or a complex map with at least 10 data points and at least 5 hyperlinks): 12.5 percent
Breaking news version (no more than 250 words, at least 1 source, plus a simple map with at least 1 data point): 12.5 percent
Print version (at least 600 words; at least 2 sources for 3rd OOC story and at least 3 sources for 4th OOC story) : 50 percent
The weighted grade for each component will be converted into an average score, and that average will be your final assignment grade. So if you get 4.0s on all the multimedia, social media and breaking news components and a 2.0 on the print version, then your final grade will be a 3.0 (since the print version is half the grade and everything else combined is half the grade).
Also, DON'T FORGET the breaking news version of out-of-class story #3 is due by noon TOMORROW, Thursday the 18th to omar@msu.edu.
One more reminder: THERE WILL BE NO REWRITE OPPORTUNITIES ON THESE ASSIGNMENTS. Be sure you get assignments in on time, and that they are fatal-free.
We're taking the safety net away for these exercises. Just like the real world. So don't take any chances or short-cuts. Do your due diligence.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Test Story #3 . . . Some Highlights
Seems like all the video stuff made you a bit rusty on your writing. Let's go over some patterns I saw that I feel can be improved upon:
>>> Yes, we did have a fatal. The essence of journalism is getting it right. That's our first duty; to make sure what we wrote lines up with the facts. In this case, you referred to the fire department as the Ingham County Fire Department, even though on the board it was written that the fire department was of Meridian Township and the county commission was of Ingham County.
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: there is no such thing as a small error in journalism. Any mistake erodes your credibility with readers, and gets them wondering what else you may have gotten wrong. If you're going to make it as a journalist, you MUST make fact-checking your top priority.
Don't take fact-checking for granted. Learn to check items, line-by-line and item-by-item.
>>> The news isn't that things were discussed; it's what was done or not done. Too many ledes or section starts defaulted to things were discussed. That's not the news, right?
This was a lede that went in that direction:
The Ingham County Commission met Sunday afternoon and discussed plans for new condominiums, a proposed gun ordinance, and a rejected pay raise for commissioners.
You would have been better off to emphasize what happened -- and de-emphasize the simple fact that they met -- like this:
The Ingham County Commission on Sunday approved a plan for new condominium, discussed a proposed gun ordinance and rejected a pay raise for commissioners.
Just putting everything into a catch-all category like "discussed" -- when some of the items wet far beyond discussion and resulted in inaction -- falls short of ultimate outcome.
>>> Label transitions to subsections. When ending reporting on one item and beginning another item, use transitional tags at the start of a subsection lede like, "In other business," or "Also at the meeting," so readers can see the transition point clearly.
>>> Fact-checking includes checking for AP Style. I don't still have to remind you of that, do I?
>>> Yes, we did have a fatal. The essence of journalism is getting it right. That's our first duty; to make sure what we wrote lines up with the facts. In this case, you referred to the fire department as the Ingham County Fire Department, even though on the board it was written that the fire department was of Meridian Township and the county commission was of Ingham County.
I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: there is no such thing as a small error in journalism. Any mistake erodes your credibility with readers, and gets them wondering what else you may have gotten wrong. If you're going to make it as a journalist, you MUST make fact-checking your top priority.
Don't take fact-checking for granted. Learn to check items, line-by-line and item-by-item.
>>> The news isn't that things were discussed; it's what was done or not done. Too many ledes or section starts defaulted to things were discussed. That's not the news, right?
This was a lede that went in that direction:
The Ingham County Commission met Sunday afternoon and discussed plans for new condominiums, a proposed gun ordinance, and a rejected pay raise for commissioners.
You would have been better off to emphasize what happened -- and de-emphasize the simple fact that they met -- like this:
The Ingham County Commission on Sunday approved a plan for new condominium, discussed a proposed gun ordinance and rejected a pay raise for commissioners.
Just putting everything into a catch-all category like "discussed" -- when some of the items wet far beyond discussion and resulted in inaction -- falls short of ultimate outcome.
>>> Label transitions to subsections. When ending reporting on one item and beginning another item, use transitional tags at the start of a subsection lede like, "In other business," or "Also at the meeting," so readers can see the transition point clearly.
>>> Fact-checking includes checking for AP Style. I don't still have to remind you of that, do I?
Making Maps
Seriously, it's easy as hell.
Let's go to Google Maps and make one now!
This is a map I made last night. Took me all of about two minutes to do it. Beyond this, you can use different locator tabs, embed pics and videos and links, ect.
Maps work well with stories where geography and location weigh heavily in telling a story, like where crimes happen on campus and such. It also allows readers to interact with the story, clicking on tabs and reading about whatever news happens at that location.
Let's go to Google Maps and make one now!
This is a map I made last night. Took me all of about two minutes to do it. Beyond this, you can use different locator tabs, embed pics and videos and links, ect.
Maps work well with stories where geography and location weigh heavily in telling a story, like where crimes happen on campus and such. It also allows readers to interact with the story, clicking on tabs and reading about whatever news happens at that location.
Multimedia -- Something A Bit Different . . .
Instead of looking at your latest round of multimedia work by segregating different mediums, we'll look at your work by topic, so we can see how each medium complemented the others in the telling of the story.
In alphabetical order:
Molly C: blog/tweets/hybrid video & slide show/breaking news version
Excellent job on the breaking news version here. See how it gets to the point and offers basic details in a direct way? On the blog, when hyperlinking, there's no need yo say something like, "you can see that here." Just link directly on the related copy. The hyperlink itself denotes that there's something extra to see. Also, don't forget to credit photos that you did not take yourself. Liked the embedded video in the blog, too.
Dave C.: blog/tweets (#davecobblovesyou)/video
Very nice hyperlinking to background info.
Joey K.: blog/tweets (#BWC)/video
Strong overall package, where each element supports the other. Good Twitter stream offers kind of a play-by-play of a comedy theater event. Video lets viewers see what happened. The blog sets context and meaning. Good use of b-roll in video. Watch your audio; the last interview subject can barely be heard. A video that viewers can't follow wouldn't be of much use.
Brittney K.: blog 1 and blog 2/twitter (#snec)/video
Here, you use raw video, which does a nice job of showing the event. I would have preferred for you to have edited the video, so that if a viewer decided to skip the blog and Twitter stream, they could still gain some context from the video, like you did with this earlier video that we haven't seen yet.
Devyne L.: blog1 and blog 2/tweets/video
In this video, I think the use of b-roll -- the concessionaire going through the motions of what she does while on the job -- would have helped much. So would have a tripod! No matter how unshaky you think you can hold a camera, it'll look shaky when you upload the video.
Jordan M.: blog/tweets (#concussedathletes)/video
Wonderful use of Tweeting a non-live event here, by picking out main and secondary points of story, interesting facts and quotes, ect. Essentially, the tweets add up to a story that was deconstructed, piece by piece. Very nice video with an array of interviews, but you know what would have helped? A neutral expert, like a doctor.
Josh S.: blog/tweets/video
Very nice technical qualities on the video, but the scope of interviews were narrow. You talked to a lot of people, but they were all from the same perspective -- that of a local shop owner. What about residents? Customers? Passers-by? Get their input, too, or else you risk sounding more like a promotional video than a news story getting many perspectives.
Jordyn T.: blog/tweets/video
Some of the tweets were almost too vague. You were saying something was funny, but not really saying what it was that you found funny. It could be confusing for followers. On the video end, I liked that you nabbed a couple of the performers to get their post-show take. That's hustling and going the extra mile to get ALL angles.
Kelsie T. : blog/tweets/slide show
Here, you combine mediums by offering a hybrid slide show/video. The video segments -- showing interviews of blood donors -- might have been helped by interspersing b-roll or even still shots to break up the overuse of a plain old head-on interview shot.
Noriah W: blog/tweets (#wondershall)/video
I really liked that you used video for what video does best -- show activity. You didn't just talk about security changes and how they work; you demonstrated the security systems in use. You didn't just tell viewers; you showed them.
Courtney Z.: blog/tweets/video
In alphabetical order:
Molly C: blog/tweets/hybrid video & slide show/breaking news version
Excellent job on the breaking news version here. See how it gets to the point and offers basic details in a direct way? On the blog, when hyperlinking, there's no need yo say something like, "you can see that here." Just link directly on the related copy. The hyperlink itself denotes that there's something extra to see. Also, don't forget to credit photos that you did not take yourself. Liked the embedded video in the blog, too.
Dave C.: blog/tweets (#davecobblovesyou)/video
Very nice hyperlinking to background info.
Joey K.: blog/tweets (#BWC)/video
Strong overall package, where each element supports the other. Good Twitter stream offers kind of a play-by-play of a comedy theater event. Video lets viewers see what happened. The blog sets context and meaning. Good use of b-roll in video. Watch your audio; the last interview subject can barely be heard. A video that viewers can't follow wouldn't be of much use.
Brittney K.: blog 1 and blog 2/twitter (#snec)/video
Here, you use raw video, which does a nice job of showing the event. I would have preferred for you to have edited the video, so that if a viewer decided to skip the blog and Twitter stream, they could still gain some context from the video, like you did with this earlier video that we haven't seen yet.
Devyne L.: blog1 and blog 2/tweets/video
In this video, I think the use of b-roll -- the concessionaire going through the motions of what she does while on the job -- would have helped much. So would have a tripod! No matter how unshaky you think you can hold a camera, it'll look shaky when you upload the video.
Jordan M.: blog/tweets (#concussedathletes)/video
Wonderful use of Tweeting a non-live event here, by picking out main and secondary points of story, interesting facts and quotes, ect. Essentially, the tweets add up to a story that was deconstructed, piece by piece. Very nice video with an array of interviews, but you know what would have helped? A neutral expert, like a doctor.
Josh S.: blog/tweets/video
Very nice technical qualities on the video, but the scope of interviews were narrow. You talked to a lot of people, but they were all from the same perspective -- that of a local shop owner. What about residents? Customers? Passers-by? Get their input, too, or else you risk sounding more like a promotional video than a news story getting many perspectives.
Jordyn T.: blog/tweets/video
Some of the tweets were almost too vague. You were saying something was funny, but not really saying what it was that you found funny. It could be confusing for followers. On the video end, I liked that you nabbed a couple of the performers to get their post-show take. That's hustling and going the extra mile to get ALL angles.
Kelsie T. : blog/tweets/slide show
Here, you combine mediums by offering a hybrid slide show/video. The video segments -- showing interviews of blood donors -- might have been helped by interspersing b-roll or even still shots to break up the overuse of a plain old head-on interview shot.
Noriah W: blog/tweets (#wondershall)/video
I really liked that you used video for what video does best -- show activity. You didn't just talk about security changes and how they work; you demonstrated the security systems in use. You didn't just tell viewers; you showed them.
Courtney Z.: blog/tweets/video
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Extra Credit Breakdown
Here is a guide as to what extra credit will be worth what in this class:
FOR OFFERING PREVIOUS EXAMPLES OF YOUR PERSONAL BLOGGING/VIDEO/TWEETING AND FOR TURNING IN YOUR NEUTRAL EXPERTS EXERCISE ON TIME . . . each example replaces one quiz grade with a perfect score, either to your lowest-graded quiz or the highest-weighted quiz.
FOR ATTENDING SESSIONS OF THE JOURNALISM CENTENNIAL WORKSHOP . . . each session you attended with replace your lowest practice story grade with a 4.0 grade.
FOR REWRITING THE FIRST-DAY PERSONALITY PROFILE . . . I will replace your lowest test story grade OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with whatever grade you get on the rewrite, as long as the rewrite grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
FOR DOING A MULTIMEDIA VERSION OF THE FIRST-DAY PERSONALITY PROFILE in which you use at least two sources, none of which are me or members of my family, I will replace a second test grade story OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with whatever grade you get on the multimedia, as long as the multimedia grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
FOR GETTING AN OUT-OF-CLASS STORY PUBLISHED, I will replace your lowest test story grade OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with the grade you received in the out-of-class story, as long as the published story grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
FOR OFFERING PREVIOUS EXAMPLES OF YOUR PERSONAL BLOGGING/VIDEO/TWEETING AND FOR TURNING IN YOUR NEUTRAL EXPERTS EXERCISE ON TIME . . . each example replaces one quiz grade with a perfect score, either to your lowest-graded quiz or the highest-weighted quiz.
FOR ATTENDING SESSIONS OF THE JOURNALISM CENTENNIAL WORKSHOP . . . each session you attended with replace your lowest practice story grade with a 4.0 grade.
FOR REWRITING THE FIRST-DAY PERSONALITY PROFILE . . . I will replace your lowest test story grade OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with whatever grade you get on the rewrite, as long as the rewrite grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
FOR DOING A MULTIMEDIA VERSION OF THE FIRST-DAY PERSONALITY PROFILE in which you use at least two sources, none of which are me or members of my family, I will replace a second test grade story OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with whatever grade you get on the multimedia, as long as the multimedia grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
FOR GETTING AN OUT-OF-CLASS STORY PUBLISHED, I will replace your lowest test story grade OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments with the grade you received in the out-of-class story, as long as the published story grade is higher. If not, then I will replace your TWO lowest-scoring practice story grades with 4.0s.
(Speaking of this opportunity, one of you got a second out-of-class story published by spartanedge.com. Way to go!)
IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING FOR EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THESE, please see me and I would be happy to arrange for additional extra credit assignments on a case-by-case basis.
THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ALL EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS is that you are demonstrating to me that you can now correctly apply skills learned in this class that at one time you did not apply as well; that you went above and beyond what we are learning in this class to further educate yourself in journalism; and/or you are demonstrating ability learned on your own prior to this class but applicable here. You can expect any ad hoc extra credit beyond the assignments listed here to include at least one of those components.
I don't care if you messed up earlier; show me you can get it right now and I'm happy to replace earlier grades with something more accurately reflecting where you are at NOW.
All the other rules from our earlier blog post regarding extra credit still applies. Again, the deadline is Dec. 1, but the sooner you get the work to me the sooner I can apply it to your grade and give you a realistic idea of where you're at.
IF YOU ARE STILL LOOKING FOR EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THESE, please see me and I would be happy to arrange for additional extra credit assignments on a case-by-case basis.
THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ALL EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS is that you are demonstrating to me that you can now correctly apply skills learned in this class that at one time you did not apply as well; that you went above and beyond what we are learning in this class to further educate yourself in journalism; and/or you are demonstrating ability learned on your own prior to this class but applicable here. You can expect any ad hoc extra credit beyond the assignments listed here to include at least one of those components.
I don't care if you messed up earlier; show me you can get it right now and I'm happy to replace earlier grades with something more accurately reflecting where you are at NOW.
All the other rules from our earlier blog post regarding extra credit still applies. Again, the deadline is Dec. 1, but the sooner you get the work to me the sooner I can apply it to your grade and give you a realistic idea of where you're at.
Monday, November 8, 2010
JRN 200 Help . . . An Update . . .
From JRN Helper extraordinaire Joe Grimm, via email, regarding the JRN 200/300 help sessions we posted about earlier:
Everyone:
CAS 236 for all sessions.
If we run into a class, we can port ourselves down the hall to another room that is also always open. but that attracts a big crowd. If I get displaced, I will use signs to redirect.
So ... tell your students they can some to CAS 236.
9-noon Nov. 10
noon-3 p.m. Nov. 15
6-9 p.m. Nov. 17
I hope there is enough variety in the hours to accommodate students' schedules. I will try to help them. If you send anyone with particular issues, I'd appreciate a heads-up. We will not be discussing grades and such things.
Thanks, all.
Joe
Everyone:
CAS 236 for all sessions.
If we run into a class, we can port ourselves down the hall to another room that is also always open. but that attracts a big crowd. If I get displaced, I will use signs to redirect.
So ... tell your students they can some to CAS 236.
9-noon Nov. 10
noon-3 p.m. Nov. 15
6-9 p.m. Nov. 17
I hope there is enough variety in the hours to accommodate students' schedules. I will try to help them. If you send anyone with particular issues, I'd appreciate a heads-up. We will not be discussing grades and such things.
Thanks, all.
Joe
JRN 200 -- More Blogging AND Tweeting. . .
All forms of media have something in common; you're trying to convey the same stories, but in different way, maximizing the use of any one medium to offer an aspect of the story.
Let's look at one blog/Twitter combo, where you covered the latest episode of the TV show "Breaking Bad."
With Twitter, you highlighted that medium's ability to immediately tell a story, as that story is unfolding. Your tweets essentially covered the event live.
Your blog version offered a summary with hyperlinks that used clips from various sources, which makes a lot of sense. After all, if you're blogging about a TV show, it only makes sense to show snippets of that show, right? It also links to still image that capture telling moments.
Notice that -- while both the tweets and blog posts are regarding the same subject -- that the mediums don't conflict with each other' rather, they complement one another. The blog previews and reviews, while the tweets cover as it happens. The tweets tell the story in its basic form, while the blog offers context and meaning.
In our final out-of-class exercises, that's precisely what we're going to try to do: find the best and most diverse ways to tell the same story, with each form playing on the advantages of that particular form, and each form complementing the other.
Let's look at one blog/Twitter combo, where you covered the latest episode of the TV show "Breaking Bad."
With Twitter, you highlighted that medium's ability to immediately tell a story, as that story is unfolding. Your tweets essentially covered the event live.
Your blog version offered a summary with hyperlinks that used clips from various sources, which makes a lot of sense. After all, if you're blogging about a TV show, it only makes sense to show snippets of that show, right? It also links to still image that capture telling moments.
Notice that -- while both the tweets and blog posts are regarding the same subject -- that the mediums don't conflict with each other' rather, they complement one another. The blog previews and reviews, while the tweets cover as it happens. The tweets tell the story in its basic form, while the blog offers context and meaning.
In our final out-of-class exercises, that's precisely what we're going to try to do: find the best and most diverse ways to tell the same story, with each form playing on the advantages of that particular form, and each form complementing the other.
Let's look at some more blog/tweet combos:
Let's look at 'em and tell me what you liked and what extra stuff you would do, if anything.
JRN 200 -- More Videos (And Other Stuff!) . . .
You've seen this video. Now let's look at this one. And this one. Whaddya think?
One of you did something a bit different: a podcast. That is, an audio-only report kind of like a radio segment. It worked well, except for one thing -- it was a bit hard to keep track of who was saying what. Perhaps the person acting as the show host could have prefaced each new commenter with a quick identifier, such as "What do you think, Dave?" or "Devyne?"
You may ask yourself, "Where do you post a podcast?" I didn't know either. So I Googled "podcast upload" and found something in about five seconds. I used podbean.com, which is free (with registration) and which you can link to here.
That wasn't the only bit of different multimedia done by this class. This person did an audio slide show, where still images are used instead of video, and sound is run concurrent with the person pictured at the time.
Look at how you introduced animation of sort, by having the still image pan back slowly. That's a nice touch, making a static shot a bit more lively.
I'm sorry to say this story failed in a very critical area: one name was misspelled in the closing credits.
I wish I didn't have to, since otherwise this was such a nicely-done assignment. But no matter what the medium, the journalistic value of getting it right applies. If I gave you a pass on multimedia, I send the message that it is lesser journalism. It's not. I'm sorry to say this was a fatal.
The good news for you is this: the extra-credit rewrite of the first-day class profile will be allowed to replace your worst grade in a test story OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments.
One of you did something a bit different: a podcast. That is, an audio-only report kind of like a radio segment. It worked well, except for one thing -- it was a bit hard to keep track of who was saying what. Perhaps the person acting as the show host could have prefaced each new commenter with a quick identifier, such as "What do you think, Dave?" or "Devyne?"
You may ask yourself, "Where do you post a podcast?" I didn't know either. So I Googled "podcast upload" and found something in about five seconds. I used podbean.com, which is free (with registration) and which you can link to here.
That wasn't the only bit of different multimedia done by this class. This person did an audio slide show, where still images are used instead of video, and sound is run concurrent with the person pictured at the time.
Look at how you introduced animation of sort, by having the still image pan back slowly. That's a nice touch, making a static shot a bit more lively.
I'm sorry to say this story failed in a very critical area: one name was misspelled in the closing credits.
I wish I didn't have to, since otherwise this was such a nicely-done assignment. But no matter what the medium, the journalistic value of getting it right applies. If I gave you a pass on multimedia, I send the message that it is lesser journalism. It's not. I'm sorry to say this was a fatal.
The good news for you is this: the extra-credit rewrite of the first-day class profile will be allowed to replace your worst grade in a test story OR one of the first two video assignments OR one of the first two blog/Twitter assignments.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
JRN 200 -- Help Is On The Way!
From the J-school:
JRN offered standard help sessions for JRN 200 and JRN 300 students in the distant past and we are reinstating them. Joe Grimm identified times and days, listed below. The sessions can be combined to help both JRN 200 and JRN 300 students, depending on turnout. Please offer this opportunity to all of your students.
Joe is looking into an open lab for these times:
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to noon (obviously, you can't go to this one)
Monday, Nov. 15, noon to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 6-9 p.m.
His ground rules are the following: "I do not discuss grades, teaching, etc. I am here to help them if they have identified in themselves problems with an area, such as accuracy, style, lead writing, tax millages, beat management, etc. FEEL FREE TO REFER STUDENTS."
I was not immediately given a location; I suggest that if this is of interest to you, contact Joe at CAS 303, or by email at jgrimm@msu.edu, or by calling 517-353-5425.
Joe is looking into an open lab for these times:
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to noon (obviously, you can't go to this one)
Monday, Nov. 15, noon to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 17, 6-9 p.m.
His ground rules are the following: "I do not discuss grades, teaching, etc. I am here to help them if they have identified in themselves problems with an area, such as accuracy, style, lead writing, tax millages, beat management, etc. FEEL FREE TO REFER STUDENTS."
I was not immediately given a location; I suggest that if this is of interest to you, contact Joe at CAS 303, or by email at jgrimm@msu.edu, or by calling 517-353-5425.
Seriously, if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed at this time of the semester and are stressed you they should be "getting it" by now, please feel free to take advantage of these tutoring sessions.
And, as always, I'm available during my office hours to go over things. This doesn't replace that; this is just a supplement to that.
We're heading into the home stretch. Let's all work together to make sure you get the best grade you can!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Let's Look At Some Video!
First up, let's look at this video story. Just under one minute, and quick and dirty -- no editing involved; just a rolling tape. Not bad and in a pinch it's certainly better than nothing, but it doesn't allow for much interviewing (and if it does, it's more pre-interviewing, which means the responses you're getting are probably a bit unnatural and pre-planned).
Ideally, you would have done all your interviews; chosen which parts of interviews you'd want to highlight and which you'd discard as less necessary, and then organized your story. Just like you would for a written story, right?
One basic video editing program is iMovie, which is available on most lab desktops in this building and for which last week I emailed you a link to this guide on how to use it.
Such editing was done with this video. It ran way over the one minute that you were allotted, but for now let's simply focus on how the story was told. The lede wasn't one I'd recommend with a harder news story, but in this case it was fine.
The problem was with the audio. I can barely hear what some folks are saying. Can you? Make sure you follow some of the recording tips offered in the handout I gave you last week and in the downloaded texts I offered in the syllabus: Journalism 2.0 by Mark Briggs and The Reporter's Guide to Multimedia Proficiency by Mindy McAdams.
In the same way a print story must be easy for a reader to navigate in terms of word use and sentence structure, a video story has to be easy to watch and listen to in terms of clear video and understandable audio. Make sure the audio and video are clear and easy to follow for your viewers.
Ideally, you would have done all your interviews; chosen which parts of interviews you'd want to highlight and which you'd discard as less necessary, and then organized your story. Just like you would for a written story, right?
One basic video editing program is iMovie, which is available on most lab desktops in this building and for which last week I emailed you a link to this guide on how to use it.
Such editing was done with this video. It ran way over the one minute that you were allotted, but for now let's simply focus on how the story was told. The lede wasn't one I'd recommend with a harder news story, but in this case it was fine.
The problem was with the audio. I can barely hear what some folks are saying. Can you? Make sure you follow some of the recording tips offered in the handout I gave you last week and in the downloaded texts I offered in the syllabus: Journalism 2.0 by Mark Briggs and The Reporter's Guide to Multimedia Proficiency by Mindy McAdams.
In the same way a print story must be easy for a reader to navigate in terms of word use and sentence structure, a video story has to be easy to watch and listen to in terms of clear video and understandable audio. Make sure the audio and video are clear and easy to follow for your viewers.
This video also has some choppy audio, but what I want you to focus in on is the use of multimedia tools in this video, such as titles and captions and transitions (like the page-flip effect between interviews) and even background music. When you're in a visual medium, use the tools offered by programs like iMovie to maximize your presentation.
Such tools aren't just to make your video look flashy. The captions with each interview, for example, provide value-added information: the name of who is being interviewed. It gives the viewer MORE information. That's a good job of attribution, which is a basic journalistic principle. The tool, in this case, allowed you to seamlessly offer that attribution.
Instead of relying on titles and such, in this video you offered narration before heading into the interview sections. Note a common problem -- and a frequent problem for first-time videographers -- and that's poor sound. Try to avoid spots that create an echo (like a hotel hallway) or places with background noise. If you can use a microphone, put it close to your subject. If you are using a device lacking an extended mike -- like a Flip camera -- try to shoot the person as close to the camera as possible, so audio doesn't suffer.
Try to be precise in where you have transitions between interviews. In this video, the first person seems to get cut off. Perhaps you transitioned too quickly. With the last one, the interview subject kind of trails off at the end. Maybe the edit should have been a bit sooner. In the same way you try to be precise in using quotes in print, try to be just as precise in audio and video.
We'll be looking at more of your videos Wednesday, when we'll also look at blogs and tweets beyond the ones we're about to sample.
Let's Look At Some Blogs!
Remember the field hockey video story? Here's the blog version.
Lots of hyperlink use here, which is good. But what could you have done to further use hyperlinks, and use hyperlinks more diversely? How about linking to pics of some of the paces you describe -- the interior of the bus, or the restaurant at which the team ate? You could shoot pics and upload it to a photo sharing service like Flickr, for which I have a link right here.
Of course, you could have also linked to video, like the one you did for this blog topic in the first place.
This isn't criticism, folks. I'm just trying to broaden your mind set as to what you can link to. Think about all the social media tools you use in everyday life, and think about how best to incorporate those tools in your story-telling. Better yet, think about good ways to use multiple tools at once.
Lots of hyperlink use here, which is good. But what could you have done to further use hyperlinks, and use hyperlinks more diversely? How about linking to pics of some of the paces you describe -- the interior of the bus, or the restaurant at which the team ate? You could shoot pics and upload it to a photo sharing service like Flickr, for which I have a link right here.
Of course, you could have also linked to video, like the one you did for this blog topic in the first place.
This isn't criticism, folks. I'm just trying to broaden your mind set as to what you can link to. Think about all the social media tools you use in everyday life, and think about how best to incorporate those tools in your story-telling. Better yet, think about good ways to use multiple tools at once.
This blog about the UM-Illinois game liberally uses hyperlinks, but one of those links was out-of-date by the time I got a chance to read it. Try to make sure your hyperlinks stay evergreen -- that is, no matter when it's linked to, it's still in context and hasn't become outdated or stale.
This other blog about the MSU-Minnesota game was very light on links. And one of the links simply took readers to a Google search. Part of me says it's good, that it gives the reader many options in getting additional information; but another part of me says it's lacking focus and direction and may simply confuse a reader.
Let's look at this blog, which is devoid of any hyperlinks. The topic is a bit more vague, but let's try to be helpful here. What could be some good hyperlink sources? Let's problem-solve this.
On another point regarding blogs, you can get a sense of how you can turn a news story into a blog by looking at this Gawker.com blog post based on a news story you have have heard about on your own: Michigan's ban on energy drink/alcohol mixes. Oh, and whaddya know, this blog links to -- and even credits -- The State News!
On another point regarding blogs, you can get a sense of how you can turn a news story into a blog by looking at this Gawker.com blog post based on a news story you have have heard about on your own: Michigan's ban on energy drink/alcohol mixes. Oh, and whaddya know, this blog links to -- and even credits -- The State News!
Let's Look At Some Tweets!
This is a pretty basic use of live-tweeting a news event; in this case Saturday's MSU football game. You get basic progression and notable events happening in the game as it happens.
This one follows the CMU-WMU game. It makes nice little observances, like that snow started falling. I couldn't get the hash tag to work right away on this live tweet of a Big Ten soccer playoff (for which I'm simply linking to the Twitter user's account), but again it tracks things as they occur.
A live-tweet of the UM-Illinois game went waaaaay beyond the minimum 12 tweets for this assignment. Looks like you really got into it. And that's okay! If there's something going on that calls for constant updates, then tweet away until you feel the story is adequately told.
And that's the most basic value of Twitter -- it's another way to relay events live and as they happen to an audience who may not be near a TV or radio or whatever. You can essentially "broadcast" live, just using text sent to mobile devices of readers.
Same thing with other updates, like this one:
mmcass143
#MSUFHroadtrip New update on MSU field hockey happenings @ http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-fieldh/spec-rel/110310aaa.html
The link takes you to a press release about the field hockey tournament that was the cause of the road trip. It lets readers get waaay beyond 140 characters, right.
An option you had here was to use a URL shortener, like bit.ly. What the service does is take a URL and replace it with a much shorter one. The URL we just looked at was pretty long. So I went to bit.ly and pasted the URL into the site, and it converted it into this:
http://bit.ly/birDuE
Using a bit.ly link here would have given me more room to write text without the URL taking up so much space.
Ideally, the bet tweet streams can be put in reverse order and read just like an inverted-pyramid news story, with (timewise) your first tweet summing up what happened, and the following tweets filling in details and offering a chronology as something unfolds.
Here -- again, in recerese order, with the tweets in order of when they were posted -- is the State News' sports Tweet stream just before and from the press conference announcing Coach Dantonio's heart attack:
Report: Football head coach Mark Dantonio suffered a heart attack but is OK.
There is a "important football-related press conference" scheduled for 1 p.m. It is unclear if it is related to reports of Dantonio's health
MSU: Dantonio will remain at the hospital for a few days for monitoring. Return to sidelines at a later date.
MSU: Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell will manage day-to-day responsibilities of head coach.
MSU: Dantonio had "symptoms consistent with a heart attack."
MSU: Dantonio had a cardiac catheterization procedure early Sunday morning.
AD Mark Hollis said Dantonio will not be on the sidelines for the Northern Colorado game Saturday.
Hollis: "This is a time for the Spartan nation to come together, to rally."
Dr. D'Haem of Sparrow Hospital said a full recover is expected.
Dr. D'Haem said procedure is very routine and happens often. Also said he expects no long-term negative impact. Return yet to be determined.
Dr. D'Haem said Dantonio began feeling symptoms around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Dr. D'Haem: Heart attacks are never good...but I would classify this as a rather small heart attack.
Hollis said he spent the night at the hospital until about 5:30, the returned to hospital this morning at 8.
Dr. D'Haem: "Stress doesn't cause coronary heart disease, but very stressful events can be a trigger."
Coach Treadwell on players' reaction: "They're handling it as well as they can. They love their head coach."
Hollis: "(Dantonio's) thoughts went immediately to his family and then to the football program."
Treadwell said the fact staff has been together for a number of years will make this process easier from a football point of view.
Dr. D'Haem said timetable for Dantonio's return will be taken week-by-week.
There's a lede. There's a nut graf. There's supporting details. There are quotes. There is background. It collectively qualifies as a journalistic story. And you did it within the confines of social media.
This is exactly how The Associated Press wire service has always filed breaking news stories as a story is breaking: line-by-line, with the idea the lines can be pasted together into a story. It allows the writer to push out a story (and an editor to edit copy) much faster than if he or she waited to have a mass of information combined into a story, and yet a reader still ends up with all the information they need to consider the package in its totality.
There is a "important football-related press conference" scheduled for 1 p.m. It is unclear if it is related to reports of Dantonio's health
MSU: Dantonio will remain at the hospital for a few days for monitoring. Return to sidelines at a later date.
MSU: Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell will manage day-to-day responsibilities of head coach.
MSU: Dantonio had "symptoms consistent with a heart attack."
MSU: Dantonio had a cardiac catheterization procedure early Sunday morning.
AD Mark Hollis said Dantonio will not be on the sidelines for the Northern Colorado game Saturday.
Hollis: "This is a time for the Spartan nation to come together, to rally."
Dr. D'Haem of Sparrow Hospital said a full recover is expected.
Dr. D'Haem said procedure is very routine and happens often. Also said he expects no long-term negative impact. Return yet to be determined.
Dr. D'Haem said Dantonio began feeling symptoms around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Dr. D'Haem: Heart attacks are never good...but I would classify this as a rather small heart attack.
Hollis said he spent the night at the hospital until about 5:30, the returned to hospital this morning at 8.
Dr. D'Haem: "Stress doesn't cause coronary heart disease, but very stressful events can be a trigger."
Coach Treadwell on players' reaction: "They're handling it as well as they can. They love their head coach."
Hollis: "(Dantonio's) thoughts went immediately to his family and then to the football program."
Treadwell said the fact staff has been together for a number of years will make this process easier from a football point of view.
Dr. D'Haem said timetable for Dantonio's return will be taken week-by-week.
There's a lede. There's a nut graf. There's supporting details. There are quotes. There is background. It collectively qualifies as a journalistic story. And you did it within the confines of social media.
This is exactly how The Associated Press wire service has always filed breaking news stories as a story is breaking: line-by-line, with the idea the lines can be pasted together into a story. It allows the writer to push out a story (and an editor to edit copy) much faster than if he or she waited to have a mass of information combined into a story, and yet a reader still ends up with all the information they need to consider the package in its totality.
So really, tweets are just a way of applying old journalistic skills in a new way.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Test Story # 2 -- I Let You Down
I need to apologize to you. I really do. Because I failed you.
How did I do that? Because four of you fataled the test story.
It's the usual mix of avoidable fatals. Misspellings in quotes that created unintended words and changed the meanings of the quotes; using the incorrect spelling of a name and not clarifying with me which of two spellings were correct; saying the plane stopped 10 miles from the highway when you meant to say 10 feet.
No one who avoided a fatal failed to score worse than a 3.5 on this exercise. If there were no fatals, everybody in this class would have scored at least that high. Some people showed remarkable improvement in this exercise. You all are understanding good story structure.
And that's not surprising. Journalism is weird in that for most people, improvement isn't a steady climb. There are things they learn that they can't fully understand and implement until they learn something else. So quite often with young reporters, there's a frustratingly slow growth curve until you get that one missing puzzle piece, and then you take off.
But that's not where I fail you. Where I am doing an inadequate job is with importing upon you how important it is to avoid fatals, and offering you strategies on how to keep from fataling.
If I were doing a good enough job, then you wouldn't be fataling now, right?
So I ask you: why are these fatals happening? what can I do to help you fatal less? What am I missing here that you need to know?
We need to solve this problem. If I let you advance to JRN 300 without resolving fatals, then all I'm doing is setting you up for failure at a higher level, when the stakes for you will be higher. And I sure as hell don't want that to happen.
I'm not doing my job here, folks. Not well enough, at least. Help me help you.
How did I do that? Because four of you fataled the test story.
It's the usual mix of avoidable fatals. Misspellings in quotes that created unintended words and changed the meanings of the quotes; using the incorrect spelling of a name and not clarifying with me which of two spellings were correct; saying the plane stopped 10 miles from the highway when you meant to say 10 feet.
No one who avoided a fatal failed to score worse than a 3.5 on this exercise. If there were no fatals, everybody in this class would have scored at least that high. Some people showed remarkable improvement in this exercise. You all are understanding good story structure.
And that's not surprising. Journalism is weird in that for most people, improvement isn't a steady climb. There are things they learn that they can't fully understand and implement until they learn something else. So quite often with young reporters, there's a frustratingly slow growth curve until you get that one missing puzzle piece, and then you take off.
But that's not where I fail you. Where I am doing an inadequate job is with importing upon you how important it is to avoid fatals, and offering you strategies on how to keep from fataling.
If I were doing a good enough job, then you wouldn't be fataling now, right?
So I ask you: why are these fatals happening? what can I do to help you fatal less? What am I missing here that you need to know?
We need to solve this problem. If I let you advance to JRN 300 without resolving fatals, then all I'm doing is setting you up for failure at a higher level, when the stakes for you will be higher. And I sure as hell don't want that to happen.
I'm not doing my job here, folks. Not well enough, at least. Help me help you.
Test Story # 2 -- Make-Up Work
I was going to save this for later this term, but seeing the fatals as of late I think now is the best time to do this.
Remember those personality profiles of me that I asked you to do as an opening assignment?
Well, I'm going to return 'em to you. First, I want all of you to take a look and see how far you've come in identifying ledes, and using quotes, and determining story structure. I think everybody's come a long way.
For those of you who have fataled a test story, here's the kicker: if you rewrite the profile into a more professional form -- and that includes finding and fixing any fatals, redoing reporting or doing additional reporting, incorporating AP style, everything that you now know how to do to put it in the most presentable form possible -- then I will replace one fatal test story grade with that grade.
For the rest of you, doing the same will get you substantial extra credit points to be determined. It's a great way to either make up for a weak grade on an earlier assignment or boost your overall grade.
Additionally, if you include a multimedia component -- a video, a slide show, a podcast, whatever -- you will get even more extra credit points to be determined. Here's the catch with that part: you will have to do no fewer than two interviews but you CANNOT interview me or any of my relatives -- a realistic scenario, as from time to time you will have to do stories on subjects who will decline to comment. A big part of the exercise will be evaluating your problem-solving skills.
Here's another catch -- these extra credit or replacement credit assignments HAVE TO BE FATAL-FREE. Take nothing for granted. Check everything. See me if you have questions BEFORE you turn it in.
The deadline will be NO LATER THAN DEC. 1, but I urge you to do it and turn it in sooner than that, so we can repair your grade and get a better sense of where your final grade is headed before your final overall class assignments are due.
Remember those personality profiles of me that I asked you to do as an opening assignment?
Well, I'm going to return 'em to you. First, I want all of you to take a look and see how far you've come in identifying ledes, and using quotes, and determining story structure. I think everybody's come a long way.
For those of you who have fataled a test story, here's the kicker: if you rewrite the profile into a more professional form -- and that includes finding and fixing any fatals, redoing reporting or doing additional reporting, incorporating AP style, everything that you now know how to do to put it in the most presentable form possible -- then I will replace one fatal test story grade with that grade.
For the rest of you, doing the same will get you substantial extra credit points to be determined. It's a great way to either make up for a weak grade on an earlier assignment or boost your overall grade.
Additionally, if you include a multimedia component -- a video, a slide show, a podcast, whatever -- you will get even more extra credit points to be determined. Here's the catch with that part: you will have to do no fewer than two interviews but you CANNOT interview me or any of my relatives -- a realistic scenario, as from time to time you will have to do stories on subjects who will decline to comment. A big part of the exercise will be evaluating your problem-solving skills.
Here's another catch -- these extra credit or replacement credit assignments HAVE TO BE FATAL-FREE. Take nothing for granted. Check everything. See me if you have questions BEFORE you turn it in.
The deadline will be NO LATER THAN DEC. 1, but I urge you to do it and turn it in sooner than that, so we can repair your grade and get a better sense of where your final grade is headed before your final overall class assignments are due.
Stats -- A Few Points . . .
>>> Watch your math. First, be careful with numbers. Make sure you say what you mean, and you mean what you say, and that you understand what you say.
For example, let's look at this passage:
According to the survey, the percentage of today's households with computers has risen 53.6 percent since 1984, with a total of 61.8 percent of people owning computers.
This is a fatal.
How is that? you may say. It went from 8.2 percent in 1984 to 61.8 percent now. The difference is 53.6 percent!
That's because the difference in percentage points is 53.6 percent. But the difference in percentage growth is actually 653.6 percent!
Here's what I mean:
In 1984, 8.2 percent of 100 percent households had computers. If 100 percent is 113.1 million households, that means 8.2 percent is around 9.2 million households.
Today, 61.8 percent of that 113.1 million households have computers. 61.8 percent of 113.1 million is around 69.9 million.
So the percentage increase isn't 8.2 to 53.6; it's roughly 9.2 million to somewhere around 69.9 million. And that's an increase of over 650 percent. If the 9.2 million only went up just over 53 percent, we'd be talking about a total of around 14 million or so.
What I think you meant to say was that the percentage of households with computers has risen 53.67 percentage points. Which it did. But that's not what you said.
If you're not sure, check with your sources to make sure your math is correct and in proper context.
>>> AP Style. It's not 53 %; it's 53 percent, with percent spelled out. C'mon, folks; we've been over that one before.
>>> Who's missing? Three of you did NOT turn in this assignment. If you didn't get a graded copy back from me and you did turn it in, please see me ASAP. If I don't hear from you, you know what your grade will be.
For example, let's look at this passage:
According to the survey, the percentage of today's households with computers has risen 53.6 percent since 1984, with a total of 61.8 percent of people owning computers.
This is a fatal.
How is that? you may say. It went from 8.2 percent in 1984 to 61.8 percent now. The difference is 53.6 percent!
That's because the difference in percentage points is 53.6 percent. But the difference in percentage growth is actually 653.6 percent!
Here's what I mean:
In 1984, 8.2 percent of 100 percent households had computers. If 100 percent is 113.1 million households, that means 8.2 percent is around 9.2 million households.
Today, 61.8 percent of that 113.1 million households have computers. 61.8 percent of 113.1 million is around 69.9 million.
So the percentage increase isn't 8.2 to 53.6; it's roughly 9.2 million to somewhere around 69.9 million. And that's an increase of over 650 percent. If the 9.2 million only went up just over 53 percent, we'd be talking about a total of around 14 million or so.
What I think you meant to say was that the percentage of households with computers has risen 53.67 percentage points. Which it did. But that's not what you said.
If you're not sure, check with your sources to make sure your math is correct and in proper context.
>>> AP Style. It's not 53 %; it's 53 percent, with percent spelled out. C'mon, folks; we've been over that one before.
>>> Who's missing? Three of you did NOT turn in this assignment. If you didn't get a graded copy back from me and you did turn it in, please see me ASAP. If I don't hear from you, you know what your grade will be.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Lawsuit -- In General . . .
I'm happy to say that the need for multiple blog posts is lessening. You seem to be mastering the fundamentals of journalism in a way where we can comfortably start applying those skills to different mediums beyond just writing. And that's where we want to be. Good job, everybody!
A few things to note from this assignment:
Don't forget the use of "allegedly." In a lawsuit, nothing is proven yet; all is alleged. So don't skimp on using that disclaimer. One of you wroye that the kid's lack of skills was "in fact due to . . . incompetent teachers." Uh, no! No facts have yet been proven! It's allegedly due to incompetent teachers!
Make sure you have the news in the lede. The news isn't that a lawsuit was filed; it's why, right?
Use AP Style. I know the document said it was the 9th Judicial Circuit, but in AP Style that is Ninth Judicial Circuit. Remember your AP number rules.
One of you didn't name the plaintiffs. I assume it was to protect the identity of a minor. While the policies of newspapers, TV stations and Web sites widely vary on whether or when to use the names of child suspects or victims, rarely does that standard apply to lawsuits where the plaintiffs are seeking mucho dineros.
Don't be redundant. You don't need to say they are suing for compensatory damages of $5000,000; just say they are suing for $500,000. That's what the compensatory damages are; why not just cut to the chase?
Simplify things. One of you wrote that the parents "are pursuing a civil court case against the school district." Why not just say "suing the school district"? Again, cut to the chase and translate legal gobbledygook to simple English.
Watch for unnecessary fatals. One very-nicely written story idnetified the plaintiffs as the Dowells. It was the Dowdells. Nothing to add here, folks. Just pointing it out.
Watch your punctuation. This isn't a grammar class, but I'm concerned about the proper use of apostrophe s's. Lots of incorrect usage in this exercise. You can find a cheat sheet on where to put an apostrophe around an "s" in the AP Stylebook in the chapter titled "A Guide To Punctuation." Under "Punctuation Marks And How To Use Them," read the section under "apostrophe."
A few things to note from this assignment:
Don't forget the use of "allegedly." In a lawsuit, nothing is proven yet; all is alleged. So don't skimp on using that disclaimer. One of you wroye that the kid's lack of skills was "in fact due to . . . incompetent teachers." Uh, no! No facts have yet been proven! It's allegedly due to incompetent teachers!
Make sure you have the news in the lede. The news isn't that a lawsuit was filed; it's why, right?
Use AP Style. I know the document said it was the 9th Judicial Circuit, but in AP Style that is Ninth Judicial Circuit. Remember your AP number rules.
One of you didn't name the plaintiffs. I assume it was to protect the identity of a minor. While the policies of newspapers, TV stations and Web sites widely vary on whether or when to use the names of child suspects or victims, rarely does that standard apply to lawsuits where the plaintiffs are seeking mucho dineros.
Don't be redundant. You don't need to say they are suing for compensatory damages of $5000,000; just say they are suing for $500,000. That's what the compensatory damages are; why not just cut to the chase?
Simplify things. One of you wrote that the parents "are pursuing a civil court case against the school district." Why not just say "suing the school district"? Again, cut to the chase and translate legal gobbledygook to simple English.
Watch for unnecessary fatals. One very-nicely written story idnetified the plaintiffs as the Dowells. It was the Dowdells. Nothing to add here, folks. Just pointing it out.
Watch your punctuation. This isn't a grammar class, but I'm concerned about the proper use of apostrophe s's. Lots of incorrect usage in this exercise. You can find a cheat sheet on where to put an apostrophe around an "s" in the AP Stylebook in the chapter titled "A Guide To Punctuation." Under "Punctuation Marks And How To Use Them," read the section under "apostrophe."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Police -- Peanut Barrel
I'm kind of surprised that so few of you cited something that to me stood out like a sore thumb: the fact that the cane-wielding victim was almost 6 1/2 feet tall, while the would-be alleged robber he beat was not much over five feet tall and weighed less than half as much as the victim.
Isn't that a Peanut Barrel-type of story? Isn't that sharp contrast in size what takes an out-of-the-ordinary robbery story (unusual in that the victim beat off the attacker) and make it even more unique?
I'm not shocked that many of you didn't weave it into your ledes, because to do that is doable but a bit complex. I'm just surprised many of you didn't note that bit of interest at all.
So now we have nine students who are part of the Fatals Club. If you count time fatals, it's ten.
That means we have only one person left who hasn't fataled in any way, shape or form this semester.
Sigh.
Isn't that a Peanut Barrel-type of story? Isn't that sharp contrast in size what takes an out-of-the-ordinary robbery story (unusual in that the victim beat off the attacker) and make it even more unique?
I'm not shocked that many of you didn't weave it into your ledes, because to do that is doable but a bit complex. I'm just surprised many of you didn't note that bit of interest at all.
So now we have nine students who are part of the Fatals Club. If you count time fatals, it's ten.
That means we have only one person left who hasn't fataled in any way, shape or form this semester.
Sigh.
Police -- Fatals
Quite often, the ratio of fatals is proportional to deadline pressure; the less time you have, the more fatals you create.
Paradoxically, that wasn't the problem in this assignment.
In fact, the two people who fataled were the first two people finished with the assignment!
So it wasn't lack of time that caused the fatals. Far from it. The assignments were turned in 31 and 28 minutes, respectively, from the original 11:20 deadline that was extended another 10 minutes.
And the fatals were in the completely-avoidable category. Each person misidentified the store (one mistakenly listed the suspect's place of employment as the crime scene, the other spelled the store as Jimmy -- and not Jiffy -- Foods, another case where spell check wasn't going to catch the problem).
Then, one person spelled "DaRoza" two different ways in the same sentence, while the other claimed the robber escaped with the cash register and $80 in cash, even though the report indicated nothing was actually stolen.
You had time to catch these errors, folks.
If you get done early, PLEASE take a few minutes to do more than your usual fact-checking. Take advantage of ALL the time you have to properly vet a story.
I know you want to get out of here. But you also want to get the grade you deserve, right?
So do the work that's necessary.
Paradoxically, that wasn't the problem in this assignment.
In fact, the two people who fataled were the first two people finished with the assignment!
So it wasn't lack of time that caused the fatals. Far from it. The assignments were turned in 31 and 28 minutes, respectively, from the original 11:20 deadline that was extended another 10 minutes.
And the fatals were in the completely-avoidable category. Each person misidentified the store (one mistakenly listed the suspect's place of employment as the crime scene, the other spelled the store as Jimmy -- and not Jiffy -- Foods, another case where spell check wasn't going to catch the problem).
Then, one person spelled "DaRoza" two different ways in the same sentence, while the other claimed the robber escaped with the cash register and $80 in cash, even though the report indicated nothing was actually stolen.
You had time to catch these errors, folks.
If you get done early, PLEASE take a few minutes to do more than your usual fact-checking. Take advantage of ALL the time you have to properly vet a story.
I know you want to get out of here. But you also want to get the grade you deserve, right?
So do the work that's necessary.
Police -- Allegedly
Some more problems with when to use allegedly.
It's not alleged that Keel entered the store. He has a face full of broken bones proving he was there.
What is alleged is whether he pulled a knife, and tried to commit a crime.
So, where does allegedly fit in here?
DaRoza walked behind the counter for the key to the restroom when Keel followed him and exposed a knife.
Before "exposed a knife," right?
It's not alleged that Keel entered the store. He has a face full of broken bones proving he was there.
What is alleged is whether he pulled a knife, and tried to commit a crime.
So, where does allegedly fit in here?
DaRoza walked behind the counter for the key to the restroom when Keel followed him and exposed a knife.
Before "exposed a knife," right?
Police -- Many of You . . .
. . . didn't list an address for Jiffy Foods.
You should have. It's news WHERE something happens, right?
Who, what, when, where, why, how.
You should have. It's news WHERE something happens, right?
Who, what, when, where, why, how.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
911 -- Quotes
A big part of this story -- if not the central focus of this story -- was the little girl's bravery. And you had some telling quotes in the 911 trascript, like these:
Somebody's hurting my mommy.
Hurry. My mommy's crying.
My mommy. What'll happen to my mommy?
I'm afraid. Will he hurt me, too?
Great quotes. They're telling. They set context in a special way -- they sound like things you'd imagine a 6-year-old girl would say, right?
Yet only four of you quoted the girl at all in your articles!
We've talked about the concept of showing and not just telling readers; that is, don't just tell them something happened; show them the proof.
Those quotes are the "show" part. Don't be afraid to use quotes that support and prove your key points.
Also, the quotes also humanize the story. It's not the dry legal jargon of a crime taking place; it's the quivering voice of a scared little girl. It emphasizes people, and when it comes down to it, all stories are not crime stories or business stories or political stories; they are all people stories -- stories about what happened to people, or what people did, or what may affect people.
Let the humanity shine through in your stories, when possible.
Somebody's hurting my mommy.
Hurry. My mommy's crying.
My mommy. What'll happen to my mommy?
I'm afraid. Will he hurt me, too?
Great quotes. They're telling. They set context in a special way -- they sound like things you'd imagine a 6-year-old girl would say, right?
Yet only four of you quoted the girl at all in your articles!
We've talked about the concept of showing and not just telling readers; that is, don't just tell them something happened; show them the proof.
Those quotes are the "show" part. Don't be afraid to use quotes that support and prove your key points.
Also, the quotes also humanize the story. It's not the dry legal jargon of a crime taking place; it's the quivering voice of a scared little girl. It emphasizes people, and when it comes down to it, all stories are not crime stories or business stories or political stories; they are all people stories -- stories about what happened to people, or what people did, or what may affect people.
Let the humanity shine through in your stories, when possible.
911 -- Fatals
So, somebody filed their story and noted the rape happened on Monday. Of course, for this assignment the crime date had to be Wednesday or Thursday, depending on which day you actually wrote it.
The person realized their mistake and sent in a corrected copy. I'm sorry to say that the original copy holds. We have to get it right the first time we turn something in, especially on deadline. There's no stopping the printing press unless it's a real emergency, and you can't restart the 11 o'clock news at 11:03.
This one especially pains me because this was my most common type of fatal when I was a pro: I couldn't get the day of the week right to save my life. Thursdays would feel like Tuesdays, and I'd type in the wrong date like an idiot.
So I got into the habit of religiously checking the date before I turned in a story; even asking peers to take a quick check and see if I got the date right.
I learned that lesson the hard way; after a couple of fatals found their way into the paper. So my heart goes out to you, but I wouldn't be doing you a favor by acting like it's no big deal when in the real world, it is.
Sorry, folks.
We now have eight members of the Fatals Club (nine, if you count me). Three more to go.
The person realized their mistake and sent in a corrected copy. I'm sorry to say that the original copy holds. We have to get it right the first time we turn something in, especially on deadline. There's no stopping the printing press unless it's a real emergency, and you can't restart the 11 o'clock news at 11:03.
This one especially pains me because this was my most common type of fatal when I was a pro: I couldn't get the day of the week right to save my life. Thursdays would feel like Tuesdays, and I'd type in the wrong date like an idiot.
So I got into the habit of religiously checking the date before I turned in a story; even asking peers to take a quick check and see if I got the date right.
I learned that lesson the hard way; after a couple of fatals found their way into the paper. So my heart goes out to you, but I wouldn't be doing you a favor by acting like it's no big deal when in the real world, it is.
Sorry, folks.
We now have eight members of the Fatals Club (nine, if you count me). Three more to go.
911 -- Identification
Probably the hardest thing about this exercise for you was identification. You had competing interests at work here.
First, you should have been operating under the general journalistic premise that we do NOT name rape victims in almost all cases.
Yet FOUR of you named the victim. Why?
Then, there is the concern of making a virtual identification; that is, giving so much other information that it is easy for anybody to identify the victim.
Two of you named the victim's daughter. A daughter only has one mother, right? So that's real easy to narrow down. One of you even listed the exact home address. Only one family lives in a home, right? Again, you virtually identified the victim.
Even though an exact address would expose the victim, don't readers deserve to know where a crime took place? I mean, a story is much more relevant if it happened on your street or in your neighborhood than if it didn't. Some location is necessary to establish relevance.
One of you handled it in a smart way: you simply said the incident happened on Wilson Avenue. No street address included. That gave readers enough information to better set proximitry, without giving away the victim's home and creating a virtual identification.
I also thought important to the story was noting that Caspinwall was a neighbor of the victim. Readers need to know if this crime was totally random or if there was some sort of link between the victim and attacker. Readers have more reason to worry if someone is willy-nilly breaking into random homes, as opposed to attacking a neighbor, right?
But only five of you noted the link.
One of you took a different tack in noting the connection but trying to minimize virtual identification: you didn't name the suspect, either. Uh, don't you think that people deserve and need to know the name of somebody who allegedly breaks into homes and rapes people?
Admittedly, this was a confusing exercise. You had many different factors tugging at you. It's really a tough situation for a young reporter to find himself or herself in. In a real-world setting, you'd definitely want to bring an editor in the loop to help make the best judgments that give the readers the most information while at the same time minimizing harm to the victim.
But here, I wanted to test your judgment and see how you responded. And I figured you''d appreciate the lesson much more if we did it this way, as opposed to just lecturing about it.
This is how I would have handled it: I WOULD name the victim or the girl. I WOULD name the suspect and even use HIS home address. I'd say the victim limed nearby, but I wouldn't say they were direct neighbors.
That way, readers know who did this (and know exactly where the sicko lived) and the general area where the crime occurred and that it wasn't a random crime, while at the same time limiting the ability to identify who the victim was.
First, you should have been operating under the general journalistic premise that we do NOT name rape victims in almost all cases.
Yet FOUR of you named the victim. Why?
Then, there is the concern of making a virtual identification; that is, giving so much other information that it is easy for anybody to identify the victim.
Two of you named the victim's daughter. A daughter only has one mother, right? So that's real easy to narrow down. One of you even listed the exact home address. Only one family lives in a home, right? Again, you virtually identified the victim.
Even though an exact address would expose the victim, don't readers deserve to know where a crime took place? I mean, a story is much more relevant if it happened on your street or in your neighborhood than if it didn't. Some location is necessary to establish relevance.
One of you handled it in a smart way: you simply said the incident happened on Wilson Avenue. No street address included. That gave readers enough information to better set proximitry, without giving away the victim's home and creating a virtual identification.
I also thought important to the story was noting that Caspinwall was a neighbor of the victim. Readers need to know if this crime was totally random or if there was some sort of link between the victim and attacker. Readers have more reason to worry if someone is willy-nilly breaking into random homes, as opposed to attacking a neighbor, right?
But only five of you noted the link.
One of you took a different tack in noting the connection but trying to minimize virtual identification: you didn't name the suspect, either. Uh, don't you think that people deserve and need to know the name of somebody who allegedly breaks into homes and rapes people?
Admittedly, this was a confusing exercise. You had many different factors tugging at you. It's really a tough situation for a young reporter to find himself or herself in. In a real-world setting, you'd definitely want to bring an editor in the loop to help make the best judgments that give the readers the most information while at the same time minimizing harm to the victim.
But here, I wanted to test your judgment and see how you responded. And I figured you''d appreciate the lesson much more if we did it this way, as opposed to just lecturing about it.
This is how I would have handled it: I WOULD name the victim or the girl. I WOULD name the suspect and even use HIS home address. I'd say the victim limed nearby, but I wouldn't say they were direct neighbors.
That way, readers know who did this (and know exactly where the sicko lived) and the general area where the crime occurred and that it wasn't a random crime, while at the same time limiting the ability to identify who the victim was.
911 -- Allegedly
Lotsa confusion on what was alleged here.
Is it alleged that the woman was raped? No. She was raped. Someone broke into her house and raped her. That much was clearly established.
What is alleged is who raped her. A man did, obviously. But it's alleged that it was Andrew Caspinwall.
So you should say Caspinwall allegedly raped the victim. Or the victim was raped, allegedly by Caspinwall.
Is it alleged that the woman was raped? No. She was raped. Someone broke into her house and raped her. That much was clearly established.
What is alleged is who raped her. A man did, obviously. But it's alleged that it was Andrew Caspinwall.
So you should say Caspinwall allegedly raped the victim. Or the victim was raped, allegedly by Caspinwall.
Rescue -- Was it . . .
. . . a fort the kids were building?
Or a tunnel that was a kind of play-fort?
It's the former, right?
So, why call it a fort when it was really a tunnel?
One of you hit the description just right: in the first reference, you called it a make-shift fort; then in the second reference you called it a tunnel.
Or a tunnel that was a kind of play-fort?
It's the former, right?
So, why call it a fort when it was really a tunnel?
One of you hit the description just right: in the first reference, you called it a make-shift fort; then in the second reference you called it a tunnel.
Rescue -- Attribution
In this exercise, your source was the incident report.
Not Lt. Chenn. Not neighbors and witnesses, The report!
You saw the report, but you didn't talk to anybody yourself, right?
So it was " . . . Chenn said, according to the report."
Or "In the report, Chenn said . . . "
Or " . . . neighbors told Chenn, according to the report."
Make sure you understand your attribution, and that you offer PROPER attribution!
Not Lt. Chenn. Not neighbors and witnesses, The report!
You saw the report, but you didn't talk to anybody yourself, right?
So it was " . . . Chenn said, according to the report."
Or "In the report, Chenn said . . . "
Or " . . . neighbors told Chenn, according to the report."
Make sure you understand your attribution, and that you offer PROPER attribution!
Rescue -- Watch For Illogical Things
Like when you said:
The Okemos attorney of fence and the Zoning Board have been notified.
This is what you were paraphrasing:
Notify City Attorney of fence and Zoning Board of possible hazard for children.
What it meant was, the city attorney should be notified about the fence, and the zoning board should be notified about the possible hazard for children.
Your first tip-off that maybe you read it wrong should be been the title of attorney of fence. That makes no snese, right?
If it makes no sense, don't assume. And don't just go with what you have. Check it out!
That example is kinda funny. This next one is not:
The collapse happened at 4:40 p.m. and Lo was freed at 3:24 p.m.
Obviously, you can't be rescued before you get into trouble. So if you were adequately fact-checking what you wrote, that should have tipped you off that you had an incorrect number in there somewhere. (In fact, it was the latter number that was wrong. It should have been 5:24 p.m.)
Sadly, that was a fatal.e you get into trouble.
The Okemos attorney of fence and the Zoning Board have been notified.
This is what you were paraphrasing:
Notify City Attorney of fence and Zoning Board of possible hazard for children.
What it meant was, the city attorney should be notified about the fence, and the zoning board should be notified about the possible hazard for children.
Your first tip-off that maybe you read it wrong should be been the title of attorney of fence. That makes no snese, right?
If it makes no sense, don't assume. And don't just go with what you have. Check it out!
That example is kinda funny. This next one is not:
The collapse happened at 4:40 p.m. and Lo was freed at 3:24 p.m.
Obviously, you can't be rescued before you get into trouble. So if you were adequately fact-checking what you wrote, that should have tipped you off that you had an incorrect number in there somewhere. (In fact, it was the latter number that was wrong. It should have been 5:24 p.m.)
Sadly, that was a fatal.
e you get into trouble.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Meeting -- Ledes
Really good work in this exercise by everybody. Lots of strong ledes and good story structure. Everybody scored at least a 3.0. One person got the first 4.0 of the semester. Congrats!
Let's look at some examples:
In an effort to address the growing problem of housing the city's homeless population, the Grand Ledge City Council voted 6-1 yesterday to donate city land to build a new homeless shelter.
It's to-the-point and direct. Here's a good lede/nut graf sequence:
The Grand Ledge City Council voted Monday in favor of donating land on Garland Avenue proposed by the Coalition for the Homeless Inc. as the site for a new homeless shelter.
The city council's 6-1 vote will turn the location of an old fire station valued at $5090,000 into a $1.5 million homeless shelter which the CHI will raise money to construct and provide the working staff.
One of you had your interest drawn to how the vote came about:
The Grand Ledge City Council approved a proposal Sunday by the Coalition for the Homeless Inc. to construct a homeless shelter on Garland Avenue, despite angry opposition from Council Member William Belmonte.
Though Ida Levine, the president of the coalition, assured the council her organization would raise the $1.5 million needed to construct the shelter, Belmonte was not convinced. In an angry outburst, he questioned the ability of the coalition to raise the funds and the effect their failure to do so would have on taxpayers in Grand Ledge.
"Why should taxpayers suddenly start paying for this, people who work hard for their money and are struggling these days to support their families?" he said.
Is this approach better or worse than the others? Or is it just different? Is this the right way to do this story, or are there several "right" ways?
This lede was atop a story that was structured very well, except for the lede. Here it is:
Organization leaders gathered at the city council meeting Monday night to discuss the idea of expanding the First United Methodist Church's basement, used as a homeless shelter that has recently become overwhelmed.
In the fifth graf, it first mentions the plan for a new shelter. And only in the last graf is the council's approval of the plan noted.
In this case, you essentially end the story with your lede: the ultimate outcome. Don't forget that, unlike traditional linear writing, in journalism you START with the ending.
Finally, if you're wondering if your lede is jumbled or is clear enough, do this: read it out loud. Does it sound jumbled? Then unjumble the word order. Does it sound like a complete sentence? If not, add the necessary words.
Read this one out loud:
A triumph for the newly-formed Coalition for the Homeless Inc. Sunday night, as the Grand Ledge City Council affirmed the donation of property on Garland Avenue for a homeless shelter.
What's missing? Perhaps a "There was" at the start?
Let's look at some examples:
In an effort to address the growing problem of housing the city's homeless population, the Grand Ledge City Council voted 6-1 yesterday to donate city land to build a new homeless shelter.
It's to-the-point and direct. Here's a good lede/nut graf sequence:
The Grand Ledge City Council voted Monday in favor of donating land on Garland Avenue proposed by the Coalition for the Homeless Inc. as the site for a new homeless shelter.
The city council's 6-1 vote will turn the location of an old fire station valued at $5090,000 into a $1.5 million homeless shelter which the CHI will raise money to construct and provide the working staff.
One of you had your interest drawn to how the vote came about:
The Grand Ledge City Council approved a proposal Sunday by the Coalition for the Homeless Inc. to construct a homeless shelter on Garland Avenue, despite angry opposition from Council Member William Belmonte.
Though Ida Levine, the president of the coalition, assured the council her organization would raise the $1.5 million needed to construct the shelter, Belmonte was not convinced. In an angry outburst, he questioned the ability of the coalition to raise the funds and the effect their failure to do so would have on taxpayers in Grand Ledge.
"Why should taxpayers suddenly start paying for this, people who work hard for their money and are struggling these days to support their families?" he said.
Is this approach better or worse than the others? Or is it just different? Is this the right way to do this story, or are there several "right" ways?
This lede was atop a story that was structured very well, except for the lede. Here it is:
Organization leaders gathered at the city council meeting Monday night to discuss the idea of expanding the First United Methodist Church's basement, used as a homeless shelter that has recently become overwhelmed.
In the fifth graf, it first mentions the plan for a new shelter. And only in the last graf is the council's approval of the plan noted.
In this case, you essentially end the story with your lede: the ultimate outcome. Don't forget that, unlike traditional linear writing, in journalism you START with the ending.
Finally, if you're wondering if your lede is jumbled or is clear enough, do this: read it out loud. Does it sound jumbled? Then unjumble the word order. Does it sound like a complete sentence? If not, add the necessary words.
Read this one out loud:
A triumph for the newly-formed Coalition for the Homeless Inc. Sunday night, as the Grand Ledge City Council affirmed the donation of property on Garland Avenue for a homeless shelter.
What's missing? Perhaps a "There was" at the start?
Meeting -- Write With (AP) Style
Is it Lieutenant Luis Rafelson or Lt. Luis Rafelson?
It's Lt. AP Style, under "military title," offers a list of such titles that should be abbreviated. Lieutenant is on that list.
Additionally, it offers a subhed of "firefighters, police officers" which says this:
Use the abbreviations listed here when a military-style title is used before the name of a firefighter or police officer outside a direct quotation.
It's Lt. AP Style, under "military title," offers a list of such titles that should be abbreviated. Lieutenant is on that list.
Additionally, it offers a subhed of "firefighters, police officers" which says this:
Use the abbreviations listed here when a military-style title is used before the name of a firefighter or police officer outside a direct quotation.
Neutral Experts -- Imagine This Story . . .
. . . if you didn't have one. Or two. Here's a link, and here's the text:
O'Donnell questions separation of church, state
WILMINGTON, Del. – Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.
The exchange came in a debate before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, as O'Donnell criticized Democratic nominee Chris Coons' position that teaching creationism in public school would violate the First Amendment by promoting religious doctrine.
Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."
"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.
When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"
Her comments, in a debate aired on radio station WDEL, generated a buzz in the audience.
"You actually audibly heard the crowd gasp," Widener University political scientist Wesley Leckrone said after the debate, adding that it raised questions about O'Donnell's grasp of the Constitution.
Erin Daly, a Widener professor who specializes in constitutional law, said that while there are questions about what counts as government promotion of religion, there is little debate over whether the First Amendment prohibits the federal government from making laws establishing religion.
"She seemed genuinely surprised that the principle of separation of church and state derives from the First Amendment, and I think to many of us in the law school that was a surprise," Daly said. "It's one thing to not know the 17th Amendment or some of the others, but most Americans do know the basics of the First Amendment."
O'Donnell didn't respond to reporters who asked her to clarify her views after the debate.
During the exchange, she said Coons' views on creationism showed that he believes in big-government mandates.
"Talk about imposing your beliefs on the local schools," she said. "You've just proved how little you know not just about constitutional law but about the theory of evolution."
Coons said her comments show a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the Constitution.
The debate, their third in the past week, was more testy than earlier ones.
O'Donnell began by defending herself for not being able to name a recent Supreme Court decision with which she disagrees at a debate last week. She said she was stumped because she largely agrees with the court's recent decisions under conservative chief justices John Roberts and William Rehnquist.
"I would say this court is on the right track," she said.
The two candidates repeatedly talked over each other, with O'Donnell accusing Coons of caving at one point when he asked the moderator to move on to a new question after a lengthy argument.
"I guess he can't handle it," she said.
O'Donnell, a tea party favorite who stunned the state by winning the GOP primary last month in her third Senate bid in five years, called Coons a liberal "addicted to a culture of waste, fraud and abuse."
Coons, who has held a double-digit lead in recent polls, urged voters to support him as the candidate of substance, with a track record over six years as executive of the state's most populous county. He said O'Donnell's only experience is in "sharpening the partisan divide but not at bridging it."
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Speech -- I Am An Idiot
I could tell you some B.S. like, "it happens to the best of us!" but this class is about accountability and I'll take full responsibility with no excuses:
I fataled. If you're wondering how, let me explain:
After uploading blog posts about the speech assignment, one of you took an early sneak-peek and noted that I fataled somebody for saying the speech took place two days before Halloween. I fataled it, noting that in the preface it simply said the event was a few days before Halloween.
What I missed -- and what you caught -- was that in the text, the surgeon general said this:
"In just two days many of our young people will be celebrating Halloween."
Yes, I completely missed it. Yes, in this instance I failed to do the due diligence that I implore each and every one of you to do each and every time. That is my fault. There is no excuse.
If any good comes out of this, I hope this highlights that it simply doesn't matter how experienced you are at being a journalist; you have to do the fundamentals each time and every time. You can't take short cuts because you're busy or in a hurry or tired or because you think you know what you're doing. There are things you can find ways to do faster in journalism, but you can never skip a step in the process. You have to do the little things every time out.
My thanks to the person who tipped me off to this and saved somebody else's grade. You did the right thing; you double-checked a fact and brought attention to a claim not supported by the facts. That's a good journalistic action. That's what we do, right?
If your mother says she loves you, check it out. And if the teacher says it's a fatal, check that out, too. The worst thing that happens is that you confirm I'm right, and the best thing that happens is that you find -- and, more importantly -- fix -- a mistake.
You may flog me now. And no, it doesn't mean I'll take it easy on finding and noting future fatals on your part.
I fataled. If you're wondering how, let me explain:
After uploading blog posts about the speech assignment, one of you took an early sneak-peek and noted that I fataled somebody for saying the speech took place two days before Halloween. I fataled it, noting that in the preface it simply said the event was a few days before Halloween.
What I missed -- and what you caught -- was that in the text, the surgeon general said this:
"In just two days many of our young people will be celebrating Halloween."
Yes, I completely missed it. Yes, in this instance I failed to do the due diligence that I implore each and every one of you to do each and every time. That is my fault. There is no excuse.
If any good comes out of this, I hope this highlights that it simply doesn't matter how experienced you are at being a journalist; you have to do the fundamentals each time and every time. You can't take short cuts because you're busy or in a hurry or tired or because you think you know what you're doing. There are things you can find ways to do faster in journalism, but you can never skip a step in the process. You have to do the little things every time out.
My thanks to the person who tipped me off to this and saved somebody else's grade. You did the right thing; you double-checked a fact and brought attention to a claim not supported by the facts. That's a good journalistic action. That's what we do, right?
If your mother says she loves you, check it out. And if the teacher says it's a fatal, check that out, too. The worst thing that happens is that you confirm I'm right, and the best thing that happens is that you find -- and, more importantly -- fix -- a mistake.
You may flog me now. And no, it doesn't mean I'll take it easy on finding and noting future fatals on your part.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Speech -- If This Were A Real Story . . .
. . . who, if anybody, would you contact for reaction/rebuttals/comment after the meeting?
Speech -- Lotsa Good News!
You guys were under the gun to identify what made this a story; what made it newsworthy. Not that some big-shot was speaking; rather, what was the big-shot saying that was relevant/interesting/useful?
You didn't have a lot of time to figure that out. You were on deadline.
Still, you did your job. Congrats! Let's look at some of the ledes. Tell me which ones you liked the best, and why:
In a speech delivered Sunday night at a Michigan PTA Convention in Detroit, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo addressed the issue of underage drinking as a problematic element of the Halloween season.
(Suggestion: first, why not get rid of the unwieldy "addressed the issue of" and replace it with a "called," like this:)
In a speech delivered Sunday night at a Michigan PTA Convention in Detroit, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo called underage drinking a problematic element of the Halloween season.
(I'd also consider flipping the lede to emphasize what was said over who said it, but I wouldn't say a flip was necessary, especially if you wanted to emphasize the speaker's status. Let's move on now and look at another lede.)
The surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service, Tom Izzo, addressed the issue of the alcohol industry targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit Sunday night.
(Again, I think this one is a bit heavy with unnecessary words. I'd flip the sequencing of Izzo's title and replace "addressed the issue of" with "alleged," as in Izzo was making an allegation, like this:)
U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General Tom Izzo alleged the alcohol industry is targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit Sunday night.
(One other thing; watch your statement placement. Read it literally, it says "the alcohol industry targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit." That's not what you meant to say, is it? Perhaps the "where" (PTA convention in Detroit) should have been paired next to the who (Izzo) to avoid any potential confusion.
More ledes here:
Just days before Halloween, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo spoke in Detroit Sunday night about the harmful role the alcohol industry plays in the lives of America's youth.
This one brings some different context: it was just before the holiday, which makes the speech more relevant and useful than if it was the day before Easter, for example.
Next:
The alcohol industry is targeting Halloween, a traditional children's holiday, to market their products to a young audience, according to the nation's surgeon general who spoke at a convention in Detroit Sunday evening.
Again, we get context here with the "traditional children's holiday" mention. Next:
Surgeon General Tom Izzo took a stance against alcohol companies' efforts to target Halloween as their latest marketing opportunity.
Straight and to the point, right? Those are juts a few of some really good ones.
You didn't have a lot of time to figure that out. You were on deadline.
Still, you did your job. Congrats! Let's look at some of the ledes. Tell me which ones you liked the best, and why:
In a speech delivered Sunday night at a Michigan PTA Convention in Detroit, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo addressed the issue of underage drinking as a problematic element of the Halloween season.
(Suggestion: first, why not get rid of the unwieldy "addressed the issue of" and replace it with a "called," like this:)
In a speech delivered Sunday night at a Michigan PTA Convention in Detroit, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo called underage drinking a problematic element of the Halloween season.
(I'd also consider flipping the lede to emphasize what was said over who said it, but I wouldn't say a flip was necessary, especially if you wanted to emphasize the speaker's status. Let's move on now and look at another lede.)
The surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service, Tom Izzo, addressed the issue of the alcohol industry targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit Sunday night.
(Again, I think this one is a bit heavy with unnecessary words. I'd flip the sequencing of Izzo's title and replace "addressed the issue of" with "alleged," as in Izzo was making an allegation, like this:)
U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General Tom Izzo alleged the alcohol industry is targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit Sunday night.
(One other thing; watch your statement placement. Read it literally, it says "the alcohol industry targeting Halloween as a marketing opportunity at a PTA convention in Detroit." That's not what you meant to say, is it? Perhaps the "where" (PTA convention in Detroit) should have been paired next to the who (Izzo) to avoid any potential confusion.
More ledes here:
Just days before Halloween, U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo spoke in Detroit Sunday night about the harmful role the alcohol industry plays in the lives of America's youth.
This one brings some different context: it was just before the holiday, which makes the speech more relevant and useful than if it was the day before Easter, for example.
Next:
The alcohol industry is targeting Halloween, a traditional children's holiday, to market their products to a young audience, according to the nation's surgeon general who spoke at a convention in Detroit Sunday evening.
Again, we get context here with the "traditional children's holiday" mention. Next:
Surgeon General Tom Izzo took a stance against alcohol companies' efforts to target Halloween as their latest marketing opportunity.
Straight and to the point, right? Those are juts a few of some really good ones.
Speech -- And Some Bad News
There were two fatals this time. Both fall under the "avoidable" category.
Two people had misspellings inside of a quote that changed the meaning of the quote. One said kids were "robed" when what was meant was that kids were "robbed." And the other said Halloween and "hobs" do not mix, when "hops" was meant.
BTW, I had no idea before now, but "hob" is an actual word. It's a noun, meaning several things:
1. A shelf or projection at the back or the inside off a fireplace, used for keeping things warm.
2. A tool used for cutting the teeth of machine parts, as of a gearwheel
3. A hobgoblin, sprite or elf
Seriously. Page 615 of The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition.
Every day is a learning experience, I guess.
Please learn to carefully double-check your work, folks.
Two people had misspellings inside of a quote that changed the meaning of the quote. One said kids were "robed" when what was meant was that kids were "robbed." And the other said Halloween and "hobs" do not mix, when "hops" was meant.
BTW, I had no idea before now, but "hob" is an actual word. It's a noun, meaning several things:
1. A shelf or projection at the back or the inside off a fireplace, used for keeping things warm.
2. A tool used for cutting the teeth of machine parts, as of a gearwheel
3. A hobgoblin, sprite or elf
Seriously. Page 615 of The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition.
Every day is a learning experience, I guess.
Please learn to carefully double-check your work, folks.
Speech -- Writing With (AP) Style
Is it Detroit, Michigan, or just Detroit?
It's the latter. Under "Detroit":
The city in Michigan stands alone in datelines.
And under "cities and towns":
See datelines for guidelines on when they should be followed by a state or country name.
There ya go.
BTW, how many of you are unclear on what is a dateline?
It's the latter. Under "Detroit":
The city in Michigan stands alone in datelines.
And under "cities and towns":
See datelines for guidelines on when they should be followed by a state or country name.
There ya go.
BTW, how many of you are unclear on what is a dateline?
Speech -- Better Word Order . . .
. . . equals shorter grafs! For instance, you can rearrange this . . .
In a speech made Sunday night made by the surgeon general, alcohol has been recognized as the nation's number one drug problem among youth, and the alcohol industry is taking advantage.
. . . to this . . .
In a speech Sunday night, the surgeon general recognized alcohol as the nation's number one drug problem among youth, and the alcohol industry is taking advantage.
In "made by the surgeon general, alcohol has been recognized," I dropped the empty "made" and then rearranged "surgeon general," "alcohol" and "recognized" while cutting the then-unnecessary "made by" and "has been."
See how this streamlines things?
Here's a simpler example:
. . . according to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, Tom Izzo.
Why not just reorder it to say:
. . . according to U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General Tom Izzo.
. . . and drop the "of the"?
In a speech made Sunday night made by the surgeon general, alcohol has been recognized as the nation's number one drug problem among youth, and the alcohol industry is taking advantage.
. . . to this . . .
In a speech Sunday night, the surgeon general recognized alcohol as the nation's number one drug problem among youth, and the alcohol industry is taking advantage.
In "made by the surgeon general, alcohol has been recognized," I dropped the empty "made" and then rearranged "surgeon general," "alcohol" and "recognized" while cutting the then-unnecessary "made by" and "has been."
See how this streamlines things?
Here's a simpler example:
. . . according to the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, Tom Izzo.
Why not just reorder it to say:
. . . according to U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General Tom Izzo.
. . . and drop the "of the"?
Speech -- How Did You Know . . .
. . . this?
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem.
This is kind of a trick question. You DON'T know this because the NIAAA told you, or because you read their report. You know it because Izzo cited the report, right?
So, correct attribution would be something like this:
Izzo said 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem, citing National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism figures.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem.
This is kind of a trick question. You DON'T know this because the NIAAA told you, or because you read their report. You know it because Izzo cited the report, right?
So, correct attribution would be something like this:
Izzo said 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem, citing National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism figures.
Speech -- Good Quote!
This one was:
"Let us not make this year, the year they robbed the kids of Halloween," Izzo said. "For their sake and our own, let us keep Halloween sane, safe -- and sober."
Telling quote. It really got to the point of what many of you hooked your stories upon.
Then why did so many of you use it late in your stories?
The better a quote and the more it directly supports your central premise of key premises of your story, the more prominent and higher up that quote should be.
"Let us not make this year, the year they robbed the kids of Halloween," Izzo said. "For their sake and our own, let us keep Halloween sane, safe -- and sober."
Telling quote. It really got to the point of what many of you hooked your stories upon.
Then why did so many of you use it late in your stories?
The better a quote and the more it directly supports your central premise of key premises of your story, the more prominent and higher up that quote should be.
Speech -- Is This Fair?
This was one of your transitions:
Izzo's anger and frustrations with the alcohol industry was apparent throughout his speech.
It was closely followed with these quotes:
"The availability of alcohol and its acceptance, even glamorization, in our society are factors," he said. "Trick or treat. This year the alcohol industry has given new meaning to those innocent words of childhood."
"They (the alcohol industry) are serving up now treats -- and new tricks."
"The alcohol industry and its hired guns, the advertising agencies, know these facts," he said. (They have) chosen to be part of the problem, it is up to you to be part of the solution."
What do you think?
Izzo's anger and frustrations with the alcohol industry was apparent throughout his speech.
It was closely followed with these quotes:
"The availability of alcohol and its acceptance, even glamorization, in our society are factors," he said. "Trick or treat. This year the alcohol industry has given new meaning to those innocent words of childhood."
"They (the alcohol industry) are serving up now treats -- and new tricks."
"The alcohol industry and its hired guns, the advertising agencies, know these facts," he said. (They have) chosen to be part of the problem, it is up to you to be part of the solution."
What do you think?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Out Of Class Story #1 -- Bad Newz
Any fatals are too many fatals when it comes to out of class stories. Those assignments are just too big a part of your final grade for you to make a mistake.
I'm sorry to say TWO people fataled the first out of class story. One was a time fatal -- it was not turned in before or during the last class. And in the other, the person had two misspellings within a quote that changed the meaning of the words.
And yes, these were words that, when misspelled, created different but correctly-spelled words: sad became said, and lose became loose.
The only good news is that a fatal on this out of class story is salvageable. Fix the fatals -- in the case of the time fatal, that means simply turning in the work by the next due date; and in the case of the spelling fatals, that means simply correcting the spellings -- and the fatal will become only one-third of your assignment grade, with your rewrite grade being two-thirds.
Yes, getting a zero on one-third of your grade will mean you'll probably have a lower overall grade than you'd like, but a zero on one-third of your grade is still a helluva lot better than a zero on three-third of your grade.
Two more things to remember here: One, DO NOT INSERT A FATAL IN YOUR REWRITE THAT WAS NOT IN YOUR ORIGINAL STORY. For these two folks, that would be a killer. Make sure what you have is fact-checked!
Second, you will NOT have rewrite opportunities on the third and fourth out of class stories. Any fatal in those stories won't be fixable.
So let's be careful out there, okay?
I'm sorry to say TWO people fataled the first out of class story. One was a time fatal -- it was not turned in before or during the last class. And in the other, the person had two misspellings within a quote that changed the meaning of the words.
And yes, these were words that, when misspelled, created different but correctly-spelled words: sad became said, and lose became loose.
The only good news is that a fatal on this out of class story is salvageable. Fix the fatals -- in the case of the time fatal, that means simply turning in the work by the next due date; and in the case of the spelling fatals, that means simply correcting the spellings -- and the fatal will become only one-third of your assignment grade, with your rewrite grade being two-thirds.
Yes, getting a zero on one-third of your grade will mean you'll probably have a lower overall grade than you'd like, but a zero on one-third of your grade is still a helluva lot better than a zero on three-third of your grade.
Two more things to remember here: One, DO NOT INSERT A FATAL IN YOUR REWRITE THAT WAS NOT IN YOUR ORIGINAL STORY. For these two folks, that would be a killer. Make sure what you have is fact-checked!
Second, you will NOT have rewrite opportunities on the third and fourth out of class stories. Any fatal in those stories won't be fixable.
So let's be careful out there, okay?
Out Of Class Story #1 -- Neutral Experts
I won't get into the out of class stories too much, other than to say most of you did a decent job for the first time out and that I think you're well-positioned to use this as a springboard to do even better on your next out of class story.
One thing I will get into in a bit of detail is the concept of neutral experts.
Neutral experts are people who have a great deal of knowledge and/or expertise regarding the subject you're wring about, but importantly they don't have an interest in the outcome. It's someone who can offer analysis that helps readers decide which side of an issue is more credible. In a one-sided story, it helps readers evaluate whether the people you're writing about are on the up and up.
Think of it in terms of a game: you normally have one side and the other side, right? How you view the game depends on which side you're on. Unless you have a referee, that is. A neutral expert is sort of a referee, helping point on when one side is telling the truth and the other side is stretching it a bit -- or a lot.
Most news stories at least attempt to include at least one neutral expert. And almost all of your stories would have benefited from having a neutral expert included.
One person actually did find a neutral expert for their report. The story was about a Pennsylvania college which blocked students and faculty from using Facebook for a week, as part of a social science experiment.
The story cited officials from the school, of course. But the story also sought comment from an MSU prof who researches social media in general but who has nothing to do with the Pennsylvania project. That prof could expertly evaluate the experiment without any obvious bias like an official at the Pennsylvania school could be perceived as having (after all, that official wouldn't want his school to look bad, right?).
You can find a neutral expert about almost anything, no matter how obscure. Let's look at this example: during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, a lot was made about how the Obamas would fist-bump each other. The New York Times Sunday Magazine even did a story about it.
Here's how the story started:
Is this the end of high-five?
On the night in June that Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, he and his wife, Michelle, exchanged what was variously described as a “closed-fist high five,” a “fist pound,” a “knuckle buckle” and a “fist jab.” Jonathan Tilove in The New Orleans Times-Picayune called the gesture “the dap heard ’round the world,” which he felt encapsulated “the new cultural trajectory of American politics.”
Believe it or not, they found an expert on fist-bumping. And that expert is right here. Let's continue the story:
Prof. Geneva Smitherman, director of African-American language study at Michigan State University, says: “Pound is when knuckles touch in a horizontal position. That’s the gesture that Michelle and Barack used. Dap is when the knuckles touch in a vertical position. Both gestures can be used as a greeting, to signal respect, agreement, bonding.”
Like many other schools, MSU -- in hopes of getting free publicity -- even makes it easy to find experts. The MSU News Office's Web site has an experts list, which you can link to here: http://news.msu.edu/experts/Results/?
Just looking at the first page, these are just some of the topics for which MSU can find you a neutral expert: wind power, renewable energy, water preservation, breast cancer, breast cancer education, medical education, microfinance, filmmaking, documentary production, sensors and nano-bisensor devices for biodefense, health diagnostics and theraputics, child welfare, biblical references and history, Samartian population, meteorology and climatology, Isreali-Palestinian conflict, Israeli politics, society and culture, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, school funding, school choice, school district building projects, the effects of mass communications, health communications, communications campaigns, international relations, the Middle East, Muslim issues, the early formation of galaxies, tax and expenditure policies, state and local public finance, poverty and income distribution, campus sustainability, Internet governance, new wireless technologies, telecommunications regulation and policy, bone and tissue engineering, labor markets, chaos theory, alternative dispute resolution, primitive stars, galaxy formation, labor unions and collective bargaining, international and domestic labor policy, work and family policy, flexible scheduling policy, tropical diseases, malaria, AIDS/HIV . . .
. . . and those are just a FEW of the subject areas!
You can also search by typing in a topic here: http://news.msu.edu/experts/
I took some of your general topics and looked for experts. Like Google, sometimes you have to try the same general term in different ways (like if you're searching for an expert in campus safety, you try that term, then campus, then safety, then police, and so on).
Under "campus living" I found one expert. For "transportation" I found two. There were three each for "housing" and "discrimination" and "elections." I found four each for "police" and "campus" and "drug." For "safety" I found 14! And "health" produced 35!
And you can filter by these general topic areas: agruculture and environment; arts and humanities; athletics; board and administration; business, economy, law and communications; education; family and social issues; health, medicine and veterinary medicine; international; science and technology; staff and faculty; students and campus life; tuition, costs and enrollment.
Plus, there's always Google, right? And other schools as well. And think tanks. And private research institutions.
Wherever you find a good one, it's critical that you do. Journalism isn't about just getting both sides of the story. Getting one side and the other side and nothing else is just enabling a fight.
We're about trying to arrive at a verifiable version of the truth based on facts and checking out what people have to say, right? That's the role a neutral expert helps accomplish.
To paraphrase legendary baseball announcer and willful drunk Harry Caray -- and this might be the only smart thing he ever said in his life, God rest his soul -- there are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth.
We need to get more than two out of three. We need all of 'em.
Go find some neutral experts!
One thing I will get into in a bit of detail is the concept of neutral experts.
Neutral experts are people who have a great deal of knowledge and/or expertise regarding the subject you're wring about, but importantly they don't have an interest in the outcome. It's someone who can offer analysis that helps readers decide which side of an issue is more credible. In a one-sided story, it helps readers evaluate whether the people you're writing about are on the up and up.
Think of it in terms of a game: you normally have one side and the other side, right? How you view the game depends on which side you're on. Unless you have a referee, that is. A neutral expert is sort of a referee, helping point on when one side is telling the truth and the other side is stretching it a bit -- or a lot.
Most news stories at least attempt to include at least one neutral expert. And almost all of your stories would have benefited from having a neutral expert included.
One person actually did find a neutral expert for their report. The story was about a Pennsylvania college which blocked students and faculty from using Facebook for a week, as part of a social science experiment.
The story cited officials from the school, of course. But the story also sought comment from an MSU prof who researches social media in general but who has nothing to do with the Pennsylvania project. That prof could expertly evaluate the experiment without any obvious bias like an official at the Pennsylvania school could be perceived as having (after all, that official wouldn't want his school to look bad, right?).
You can find a neutral expert about almost anything, no matter how obscure. Let's look at this example: during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, a lot was made about how the Obamas would fist-bump each other. The New York Times Sunday Magazine even did a story about it.
Here's how the story started:
Is this the end of high-five?
On the night in June that Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, he and his wife, Michelle, exchanged what was variously described as a “closed-fist high five,” a “fist pound,” a “knuckle buckle” and a “fist jab.” Jonathan Tilove in The New Orleans Times-Picayune called the gesture “the dap heard ’round the world,” which he felt encapsulated “the new cultural trajectory of American politics.”
Believe it or not, they found an expert on fist-bumping. And that expert is right here. Let's continue the story:
Prof. Geneva Smitherman, director of African-American language study at Michigan State University, says: “Pound is when knuckles touch in a horizontal position. That’s the gesture that Michelle and Barack used. Dap is when the knuckles touch in a vertical position. Both gestures can be used as a greeting, to signal respect, agreement, bonding.”
Dap started among black soldiers during the Vietnam War; to give “some dap” (not usually “a” dap) means “to offer kudos, congratulations”; Prof. James Peterson of Bucknell, a hip-hop historian, says he thinks it is rooted in dapper, “neat, fashionably smart.” Pound came out of hip-hop in the late 1980s. Fist bump came later: a 1996 note in the Sports Network wire service reported that Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles was accepting congratulations from baseball teammates with “high-fives, handshakes or fist bumps.” Peterson says the new phrase robs the gesture of its cultural significance, which includes the Obamas’ “quiet but pronounced in-group affiliation with all of black America.”
Hand signals have a checkered history in politics, from Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s V-for-victory sign to the famed photo of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller “giving the finger” to hecklers to the clenched-fist salute of “black power” to Lyndon Johnson’s fondness for “pressing the flesh.”
When Michelle Obama visited Barbara Walters on “The View” on ABC, the candidate’s wife sought to soften her image with “I have to be greeted properly. Fist bump, please. It is now my signature bump. . . . I got it from the young staff. That’s the new high-five.”
Colleges are notorious for being loaded with neutral experts (think of all your profs doing research, and all the TA's working on their thesis papers!) So really, there's no excuse for you NOT to find a neutral expert, especially here or at other schools.Like many other schools, MSU -- in hopes of getting free publicity -- even makes it easy to find experts. The MSU News Office's Web site has an experts list, which you can link to here: http://news.msu.edu/experts/Results/?
Just looking at the first page, these are just some of the topics for which MSU can find you a neutral expert: wind power, renewable energy, water preservation, breast cancer, breast cancer education, medical education, microfinance, filmmaking, documentary production, sensors and nano-bisensor devices for biodefense, health diagnostics and theraputics, child welfare, biblical references and history, Samartian population, meteorology and climatology, Isreali-Palestinian conflict, Israeli politics, society and culture, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, school funding, school choice, school district building projects, the effects of mass communications, health communications, communications campaigns, international relations, the Middle East, Muslim issues, the early formation of galaxies, tax and expenditure policies, state and local public finance, poverty and income distribution, campus sustainability, Internet governance, new wireless technologies, telecommunications regulation and policy, bone and tissue engineering, labor markets, chaos theory, alternative dispute resolution, primitive stars, galaxy formation, labor unions and collective bargaining, international and domestic labor policy, work and family policy, flexible scheduling policy, tropical diseases, malaria, AIDS/HIV . . .
. . . and those are just a FEW of the subject areas!
You can also search by typing in a topic here: http://news.msu.edu/experts/
I took some of your general topics and looked for experts. Like Google, sometimes you have to try the same general term in different ways (like if you're searching for an expert in campus safety, you try that term, then campus, then safety, then police, and so on).
Under "campus living" I found one expert. For "transportation" I found two. There were three each for "housing" and "discrimination" and "elections." I found four each for "police" and "campus" and "drug." For "safety" I found 14! And "health" produced 35!
And you can filter by these general topic areas: agruculture and environment; arts and humanities; athletics; board and administration; business, economy, law and communications; education; family and social issues; health, medicine and veterinary medicine; international; science and technology; staff and faculty; students and campus life; tuition, costs and enrollment.
Plus, there's always Google, right? And other schools as well. And think tanks. And private research institutions.
Wherever you find a good one, it's critical that you do. Journalism isn't about just getting both sides of the story. Getting one side and the other side and nothing else is just enabling a fight.
We're about trying to arrive at a verifiable version of the truth based on facts and checking out what people have to say, right? That's the role a neutral expert helps accomplish.
To paraphrase legendary baseball announcer and willful drunk Harry Caray -- and this might be the only smart thing he ever said in his life, God rest his soul -- there are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth.
We need to get more than two out of three. We need all of 'em.
Go find some neutral experts!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Murder -- Too Many Fatals
Yes, we had some more. Four folks fataled this exercise. For the semester so far, seven of the 11 people in this class have fataled. I'm not happy about that for many reasons.
But my feelings don't matter here; learning from these mistakes is Let's go over what went wrong:
>>> You offered the wrong time element.
One story reported the robbery took place last night. Another reported it was this morning. In fact, it was yesterday morning.
>>> You misspelled the name of a central fact: the location.
You spelled North Pointe Inn, when in fact it was North Point Inn.
I've been giving some latitude to misspellings, as long as those misspelling do not involve changing a quote or one of the five W's in a story. This one regarded where, a central fact.
>>> You incorrectly quoted your sources.
One person quoted Cortez as saying "but I locked it." In fact, she said "but I'd locked it."
Another person quoted Cortez as saying Blohm has "another in his had," when in fact she said "another on one hand."
And Cortez was also quoted as saying she heard someone say, "Get the money out of here," when in fact the person said "Get that money out of here."
Additionally, some of you almost fataled by firmly asserting there WERE two suspects. You don't know that for sure; you have reason to believe there MAY have been a second suspect, but your witness could only absolutely confirm one.
We say NOT to assume, right? Well, don't. You can say there was at least one suspect or that there may have been a second suspect, but to go beyond that -- that is, what you know for sure -- is to assume.
Maybe if I were in a worse mood I would have put those down as fatals. Please, folks, don't have your grade rest on whether I'm feeling generous or not. Instead, guarantee an acceptable grade by committing to the fundamentals of vetting your work.
Check EVERY spelling, EVERY line, EVERY date, EVERY statistic, EVERY quote and EVERY fact for accuracy once you finish writing your story, and before you turn in your report.
Please, folks. You're better than this.
But my feelings don't matter here; learning from these mistakes is Let's go over what went wrong:
>>> You offered the wrong time element.
One story reported the robbery took place last night. Another reported it was this morning. In fact, it was yesterday morning.
>>> You misspelled the name of a central fact: the location.
You spelled North Pointe Inn, when in fact it was North Point Inn.
I've been giving some latitude to misspellings, as long as those misspelling do not involve changing a quote or one of the five W's in a story. This one regarded where, a central fact.
>>> You incorrectly quoted your sources.
One person quoted Cortez as saying "but I locked it." In fact, she said "but I'd locked it."
Another person quoted Cortez as saying Blohm has "another in his had," when in fact she said "another on one hand."
And Cortez was also quoted as saying she heard someone say, "Get the money out of here," when in fact the person said "Get that money out of here."
Additionally, some of you almost fataled by firmly asserting there WERE two suspects. You don't know that for sure; you have reason to believe there MAY have been a second suspect, but your witness could only absolutely confirm one.
We say NOT to assume, right? Well, don't. You can say there was at least one suspect or that there may have been a second suspect, but to go beyond that -- that is, what you know for sure -- is to assume.
Maybe if I were in a worse mood I would have put those down as fatals. Please, folks, don't have your grade rest on whether I'm feeling generous or not. Instead, guarantee an acceptable grade by committing to the fundamentals of vetting your work.
Check EVERY spelling, EVERY line, EVERY date, EVERY statistic, EVERY quote and EVERY fact for accuracy once you finish writing your story, and before you turn in your report.
Please, folks. You're better than this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)