Monday, June 25, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
JRN 200: Your Turn To Grade Me!
Starting June 22 and until July 10, you will have the opportunity to grade me, as part of MSU's standard instructor reviews.
In the past, you may have done these reviews via Scan-Tron sheet or online; this summer, we are doing it online-only. You can find a link here. Our class is JRN 200, Sec. 101.
I ask only that you be completely honest. If I did great, say so. If I sucked ass, say that, too. I do look at the data and use it to help me make decisions in what to keep doing, and what to change for the future.
And thanks for the help!
In the past, you may have done these reviews via Scan-Tron sheet or online; this summer, we are doing it online-only. You can find a link here. Our class is JRN 200, Sec. 101.
I ask only that you be completely honest. If I did great, say so. If I sucked ass, say that, too. I do look at the data and use it to help me make decisions in what to keep doing, and what to change for the future.
And thanks for the help!
JRN 200: What Class Is Next?
You have some new options for online-only classes for the second summer term, courtesy of MSU's School of Journalism. Here's the details, as emailed to me earlier this week:
Dear Great Faculty of Summer Courses:
Like us on Facebook: School of Journalism at Michigan State University
Dear Great Faculty of Summer Courses:
Please let your
students know that we have opened two new courses. (There is no more
room in CAS 205 in the fall or spring, and it is required for several
300-level courses. They also might want to be in a smaller CAS 110 class
this summer.)
The following required and
elective courses are online for the second summer session. There is
still room and still time to enroll.
CAS 110 Creative Processes*
CAS 205 Media Photography*
JRN 430 News Media Law & Ethics*
JRN 432 Feature Writing & Long Form Storytelling
JRN 492 International News Reporting: Natural Disasters, Risk and Security
JRN 492 News Management
JRN 492 Social Media: A Novice's Guide for Work, School and Play
JRN 892 International News Reporting: Natural Disasters, Risk and Security
JRN 892 News Management
JRN 892 Social Media: A Novice's Guide for Work, School and Play
* required course or a prerequisite to other classes.
Thank you!
Dr. Lucinda D. Davenport
Professor & Director
School of Journalism
College of Communication Arts & Sciences
Michigan State UniversityVisit us online at jrn.msu.edu
Follow us on Twittter: @msujschoolProfessor & Director
School of Journalism
College of Communication Arts & Sciences
Michigan State UniversityVisit us online at jrn.msu.edu
Like us on Facebook: School of Journalism at Michigan State University
MM #2: Let's Look At Some Vid/Blog/Tweet Combos!
Okay, round two of multimedia. Except this time, we're going to look at how each medium -- social, online and video -- told the same story topic in different ways.
Let's look at how each medium maximized its advantages -- video telling stories in motion and sound, online using hyperlinks for background, and social breaking things into short blasts -- and how each medium complemented the others and helped form a well-rounded examination of the subject at hand.
Off we go:
Julia: construction accident first story / update story / video / tweets #jrn200collapse
Max: MSU baseball: first story / update story / video / tweets #maxonmsubaseball
Justin: summer school first story / update story / video / tweets #msujrn200class
Lindsay: grub crawl event first story / update story / video / tweets #omargrubbing
Kyle: healthy eating first story / update story / video / tweets #healthyisexpensive
Lilly: Facebook policy first story / update story / video / tweets #facebookpolicy
Nubia: bike safety first story / update story / video / tweets #msubikesafety
Emily: student work first story / update story / video / tweets #jrn200story2tweetstream
Now, this is how the grading worked: the first story, second story and tweets were individually graded, then an average grade was determined that was your multimedia assignment grade.
Your video was graded individually, and had its own grade equal in weight to the multimedia package grade.
Grades were figured more on content and substance and proper use of journalistic style than in the previous multimedia/video assignment. This assignment was NOT a perfect 4.0 as long as you met the technical requirements, as was the last assignment, though the technical aspects still weighned in as part of your grade. Those were:
-- Videos staying within the 1-2 minute range and on-topic
-- Videos containing at least two human interviews on tape
-- Videos containing sufficient attribution of sources
-- Each breaking news story staying over the 100-word minimum
-- The breaking news stories being written in a journalistic style, as opposed to a first-person blog-like style
-- Each breaking news item containing two working hyperlinks, inserted onto text
-- A minimum of 12 tweets on the same subject as the breaking news topic
-- Each tweet having a consistent unique hash tag, to allow the tweets to be chained together
In addition, a fatal resulted in a 1.0 grade. And failure to turn it in without proper and verified excuse, of course, is a 0.0.
Let's look at how each medium maximized its advantages -- video telling stories in motion and sound, online using hyperlinks for background, and social breaking things into short blasts -- and how each medium complemented the others and helped form a well-rounded examination of the subject at hand.
Off we go:
Julia: construction accident first story / update story / video / tweets #jrn200collapse
Max: MSU baseball: first story / update story / video / tweets #maxonmsubaseball
Justin: summer school first story / update story / video / tweets #msujrn200class
Lindsay: grub crawl event first story / update story / video / tweets #omargrubbing
Kyle: healthy eating first story / update story / video / tweets #healthyisexpensive
Lilly: Facebook policy first story / update story / video / tweets #facebookpolicy
Nubia: bike safety first story / update story / video / tweets #msubikesafety
Emily: student work first story / update story / video / tweets #jrn200story2tweetstream
Now, this is how the grading worked: the first story, second story and tweets were individually graded, then an average grade was determined that was your multimedia assignment grade.
Your video was graded individually, and had its own grade equal in weight to the multimedia package grade.
Grades were figured more on content and substance and proper use of journalistic style than in the previous multimedia/video assignment. This assignment was NOT a perfect 4.0 as long as you met the technical requirements, as was the last assignment, though the technical aspects still weighned in as part of your grade. Those were:
-- Videos staying within the 1-2 minute range and on-topic
-- Videos containing at least two human interviews on tape
-- Videos containing sufficient attribution of sources
-- Each breaking news story staying over the 100-word minimum
-- The breaking news stories being written in a journalistic style, as opposed to a first-person blog-like style
-- Each breaking news item containing two working hyperlinks, inserted onto text
-- A minimum of 12 tweets on the same subject as the breaking news topic
-- Each tweet having a consistent unique hash tag, to allow the tweets to be chained together
In addition, a fatal resulted in a 1.0 grade. And failure to turn it in without proper and verified excuse, of course, is a 0.0.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Multimedia #2: How My Last Class Did It
If you're looking for some examples of people who were at the same stage you're at now. Let's look at some of the groupings!
Sam: beyond coal video General comments: Video: Watch your spellings! One video caption has a misspelling.
Jessy: roommate conflicts video General comments: Video***: Notice the back-and-forth use of sound bytes, where you talk to one person, then another, then go back to the first person. It's more conversational and generally preferable to using everything someone has to say all at once.
Darcie: protest video General comments: Video***: note the use of narration to help keep the story moving between sound bytes.
Julianne: restaurant video General comments: Video*** Nice use of b-roll and neutral experts! The latter turns what could have been a one-sided puff piece into something more analytical.
Stefany: speaker video General comments: Video***: This was a tough assignment, in that you were reporting on a speech that already took place. Smart back-tracking in getting an interview with the speaker, reactions from people who were in the audience.
BriAnn: dodgeball fundraiser video / General comments: Video***: Good use of b-roll and nice use of yourself as an on-camera narrator. But remember as journalists we need to present ourselves neutrally, which means don't wear a Greek shirt when doing a NEWS story about Greek life.
Julia: holiday creep video
Connor: Dorm security video General comments: Video: a little more b-roll, pleez!
Sam: beyond coal video General comments: Video: Watch your spellings! One video caption has a misspelling.
Jessy: roommate conflicts video General comments: Video***: Notice the back-and-forth use of sound bytes, where you talk to one person, then another, then go back to the first person. It's more conversational and generally preferable to using everything someone has to say all at once.
Darcie: protest video General comments: Video***: note the use of narration to help keep the story moving between sound bytes.
Julianne: restaurant video General comments: Video*** Nice use of b-roll and neutral experts! The latter turns what could have been a one-sided puff piece into something more analytical.
Stefany: speaker video General comments: Video***: This was a tough assignment, in that you were reporting on a speech that already took place. Smart back-tracking in getting an interview with the speaker, reactions from people who were in the audience.
BriAnn: dodgeball fundraiser video / General comments: Video***: Good use of b-roll and nice use of yourself as an on-camera narrator. But remember as journalists we need to present ourselves neutrally, which means don't wear a Greek shirt when doing a NEWS story about Greek life.
Julia: holiday creep video
Connor: Dorm security video General comments: Video: a little more b-roll, pleez!
Ethics: the 9/11 Falling Man, Ect.
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?
Likewise, what would you do if you were a photographer covering an African famine and you came across a starving girl being stalked by a vulture? That was a real-world decision for one photog, and it may have led to his own unfortunate end.
Finally, what would you do if you were the photographer who took this award-winning pic?
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?
Likewise, what would you do if you were a photographer covering an African famine and you came across a starving girl being stalked by a vulture? That was a real-world decision for one photog, and it may have led to his own unfortunate end.
Finally, what would you do if you were the photographer who took this award-winning pic?
Let's talk it out.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Crime: Ledes
Let's look at some ledes; first, this one:
The Ingham County Sheriff's Office responded to an armed robbery around 1:30 a.m. today in Okemos.
It's factually correct, but does it go to end resul and ultimate outcome? No. It's like those hypothetical sports ledes we looked at last class: MSU football played a game Saturday night. It doesn't say how things finished, or at least set context. And in journalism, we start with ending and/or context.
The end result was what transpired. This lede got there:
An attempted armed robbery occurred today in Okemos, resulting in one arrest.
That's better, but there's still something missing. It wasn't a routine armed robbery; I mean, the clerk captured one of the robbers. That's different, right? So, why not highlight what makes this different, like this:
A store clerk captured one of two men who attempted an armed robbery at a convenience store this morning, according to an Ingham County sheriff's report.
Now, the reader knows not just that something happened, but what happened and how it ended.
It's fair to say what made this story stand out from other armed robbery stories is that the victim caught the suspect. What made it stand out among stories where the victim caught the suspect is that the victim was lame. This lede captured that extra element:
An armed robbery attempt at Jiffy Foods, 4010 Holbrook Drive in Okemos, was foiled by a clerk who had recently been injured in a construction job.
Yet another lede developed that context -- a lame victim beating a robber -- a bit more. This more anecdotal lede is followed by a nut graf that helped zero in on the basic details of end result:
While many view being cane-dependent as a handicap, Jiffy Foods clerk Terry DaRoza saw it as an advantage that helped save his life in an armed robbery late last night.
DaRoza, recently injured in a construction job, had to resort to violence when two customers threatened him with a knife at the convenience store on Holbrook Drive at 1:15 a.m., according to an Ingham County Sheriff's report.
This lede/nut graf combo did an outstanding job of setting context and offering basic details. Look carefully at how the nut graf answers specific questions created by the lede; e.g., who was the clerk, who was the robber, how did he defend himself, where and when did this happen, ect.
An injured convenience store clerk used his cane in self-defense this morning when two armed men tried to rob Jiffy Foods, according to an Ingham County Sheriff's Department report.
At about 1:15 a.m., Terry DaRoza, 34, beat Timonthy Keel with his cane after Keel allegedly pulled a knife on DaRoza at the store located at 4010 Holbrook Drive, the report said.
Then the story starts a chronological narrative. But the reader already known end result and context.
The Ingham County Sheriff's Office responded to an armed robbery around 1:30 a.m. today in Okemos.
It's factually correct, but does it go to end resul and ultimate outcome? No. It's like those hypothetical sports ledes we looked at last class: MSU football played a game Saturday night. It doesn't say how things finished, or at least set context. And in journalism, we start with ending and/or context.
The end result was what transpired. This lede got there:
An attempted armed robbery occurred today in Okemos, resulting in one arrest.
That's better, but there's still something missing. It wasn't a routine armed robbery; I mean, the clerk captured one of the robbers. That's different, right? So, why not highlight what makes this different, like this:
A store clerk captured one of two men who attempted an armed robbery at a convenience store this morning, according to an Ingham County sheriff's report.
Now, the reader knows not just that something happened, but what happened and how it ended.
It's fair to say what made this story stand out from other armed robbery stories is that the victim caught the suspect. What made it stand out among stories where the victim caught the suspect is that the victim was lame. This lede captured that extra element:
An armed robbery attempt at Jiffy Foods, 4010 Holbrook Drive in Okemos, was foiled by a clerk who had recently been injured in a construction job.
Yet another lede developed that context -- a lame victim beating a robber -- a bit more. This more anecdotal lede is followed by a nut graf that helped zero in on the basic details of end result:
While many view being cane-dependent as a handicap, Jiffy Foods clerk Terry DaRoza saw it as an advantage that helped save his life in an armed robbery late last night.
DaRoza, recently injured in a construction job, had to resort to violence when two customers threatened him with a knife at the convenience store on Holbrook Drive at 1:15 a.m., according to an Ingham County Sheriff's report.
This lede/nut graf combo did an outstanding job of setting context and offering basic details. Look carefully at how the nut graf answers specific questions created by the lede; e.g., who was the clerk, who was the robber, how did he defend himself, where and when did this happen, ect.
An injured convenience store clerk used his cane in self-defense this morning when two armed men tried to rob Jiffy Foods, according to an Ingham County Sheriff's Department report.
At about 1:15 a.m., Terry DaRoza, 34, beat Timonthy Keel with his cane after Keel allegedly pulled a knife on DaRoza at the store located at 4010 Holbrook Drive, the report said.
Then the story starts a chronological narrative. But the reader already known end result and context.
Crime: Peanut Barrel Rule
I'm kind of surprised that 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 item? 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 none of you noted that bit of interest.
Any explanations?
As journalists, it's important that even when we are looking at what we think is a routine event, that we are always on the lookout for something that makes it a bit different and a bit more interesting. Even if that bit of interest is buried in the nuances of a police report.
Isn't that a Peanut Barrel-type of item? 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 none of you noted that bit of interest.
Any explanations?
As journalists, it's important that even when we are looking at what we think is a routine event, that we are always on the lookout for something that makes it a bit different and a bit more interesting. Even if that bit of interest is buried in the nuances of a police report.
Crime: 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. And it's not a crime to get your ass kicked (though it may be a crime to do the ass-kicking).
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. And it's not a crime to get your ass kicked (though it may be a crime to do the ass-kicking).
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?
Crime: Writing With (AP) Style
Was the address of the store 4010 Holbrook Dr., or 4010 Holbrook Drive?
It's Drive, spelled out.
AP Style under addresses says to abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street when it's part of a specific address. But similar words like alley, drive, road and terrace are always spelled out, no matter what.
I know the report had drive abbreviated, but our job as journalists is to translate anything except direct citations and quotes into AP style.
It's Drive, spelled out.
AP Style under addresses says to abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street when it's part of a specific address. But similar words like alley, drive, road and terrace are always spelled out, no matter what.
I know the report had drive abbreviated, but our job as journalists is to translate anything except direct citations and quotes into AP style.
New Media: Let's Look At Some Breaking News/Tweet Combos!
Look! We have some breaking news/tweet combos! Let's take a look at a few:
Max: Stanley Cup preview / review /tweets #maxonstanleycup
Julia: making pasta preview / review / tweets
Lindsay: rainy day preview / review / tweets #whenitsraining
Molly: making a sandwich preview / review / tweets #bestroomie
Nubia: movies review / another review / tweets #vh1babyboy
Lilly: Bachelorette/baseball game preview / review / tweets #bachelorettelivetweets
Tiarra: TV show preview / review / tweets #funnyshow
Justin: NBA Finals preview / review / tweets #NBAFJRN200MSU
Emily: TV show preview / review / tweets #finallysomedecenttv
Kyle: NBA Finals preview and review / tweets
Katelyn: TV show and scary stuff: preview and review / tweets
ONE PROBLEM with this assignment: some of you sent me tweets from protected (closed to the public) accounts. Either open your accounts so I can see your work, or unprotect me as a follower. I'm @omars81 on Twitter.
Max: Stanley Cup preview / review /tweets #maxonstanleycup
Julia: making pasta preview / review / tweets
Lindsay: rainy day preview / review / tweets #whenitsraining
Molly: making a sandwich preview / review / tweets #bestroomie
Nubia: movies review / another review / tweets #vh1babyboy
Lilly: Bachelorette/baseball game preview / review / tweets #bachelorettelivetweets
Tiarra: TV show preview / review / tweets #funnyshow
Justin: NBA Finals preview / review / tweets #NBAFJRN200MSU
Emily: TV show preview / review / tweets #finallysomedecenttv
Kyle: NBA Finals preview and review / tweets
Katelyn: TV show and scary stuff: preview and review / tweets
ONE PROBLEM with this assignment: some of you sent me tweets from protected (closed to the public) accounts. Either open your accounts so I can see your work, or unprotect me as a follower. I'm @omars81 on Twitter.
Videos: Let's Look At Some Vids!
Justin
Lindsay
Molly
Emily
Tiarra
Lilly
Nubia
Kyle
Max
Julia
Katelyn
Now, on these assignments, everyone got a 4.0 as long as they met the basic parameters of the assignment. (Remember I said that was the condition of getting an automatic 4.0?)
Those included:
-- Videos staying within the 1-2 minute range and on-topic
-- Videos containing at least two human interviews on tape
-- Each breaking news entry being about the SAME topic, being covered as a preview and then a recap of what happened
-- Each breaking news story staying over the 100-word minimum
-- The breaking news stories being written in a journalistic style, as opposed to a first-person blog-like style
-- Each breaking news item containing two working hyperlinks, inserted onto text
-- A minimum of 12 tweets on the same subject as the breaking news topic
-- Each tweet having a consistent unique hash tag, to allow the tweets to be chained together
The penalty for failing to meet these parameters is 0.5 of your grade, per error. So, if your tweets lacked a consistent unique hashtag, you got a 3.5. If your breaking news stories lacked topic consistency AND the minimum hyperlinks, you got a 3.0.
In addition, a fatal resulted in a 1.0 grade. And failure to turn it in, of course, is a 0.0.
These same deductions will apply on all future multimedia assignments. But future assignments WILL include consideration of content and journalistic value.
Lindsay
Molly
Emily
Tiarra
Lilly
Nubia
Kyle
Max
Julia
Katelyn
Now, on these assignments, everyone got a 4.0 as long as they met the basic parameters of the assignment. (Remember I said that was the condition of getting an automatic 4.0?)
Those included:
-- Videos staying within the 1-2 minute range and on-topic
-- Videos containing at least two human interviews on tape
-- Each breaking news entry being about the SAME topic, being covered as a preview and then a recap of what happened
-- Each breaking news story staying over the 100-word minimum
-- The breaking news stories being written in a journalistic style, as opposed to a first-person blog-like style
-- Each breaking news item containing two working hyperlinks, inserted onto text
-- A minimum of 12 tweets on the same subject as the breaking news topic
-- Each tweet having a consistent unique hash tag, to allow the tweets to be chained together
The penalty for failing to meet these parameters is 0.5 of your grade, per error. So, if your tweets lacked a consistent unique hashtag, you got a 3.5. If your breaking news stories lacked topic consistency AND the minimum hyperlinks, you got a 3.0.
In addition, a fatal resulted in a 1.0 grade. And failure to turn it in, of course, is a 0.0.
These same deductions will apply on all future multimedia assignments. But future assignments WILL include consideration of content and journalistic value.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
JRN 200: An End-of-Semester Checklist
Per Max King's excellent idea, here is a checklist of when what out-of-class assignments are due in the homestretch. Hope it helps make keeping track of what's due when a bit easier. Here we go:
Due by email to omars@msu.edu 9 a.m. Thursday, June 14: First multimedia package due. Package includes 1-2 minute news video on what people have learned sofar in JRN 200 posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories on any personal activity posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
Due by the start of class Friday, June 15: Second out-of-class story (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end)
Returned to you at the start of class Monday, June 18: Your graded first out-of-class story. Rewrite will be due Monday, June 25.
Due by the start of class Monday, June 18: First out-of-class rewrite (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count, source list AND original graded story appended)
Due by email to omars@msu.edu by 9 a.m. Thursday, June 21: Second multimedia package due, with topic based on all of or an aspect of either of your first two out-of-class stories. Package includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
Due by the start of class Monday, June 25: Second out-of-class rewrite (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count, source list AND original graded story appended)
Due by the start of class and via email to omars@msu.edu by 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 27 (last day of class attendance): Third out-of-class story and related multimedia package. Story must be minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end. Package on same topic or related subtopic includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag. This assignment has no rewrite opportunity.
Due by 9 a.m. Friday, June 29 via email to omars@msu.edu or by 4 p.m. Thursday, June 28 to The State News Building at 435 E. Grand River: Several things:
1. Fourth out-of-class extra credit story, if applicable. (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end). This assignment has no rewrite opportunity.
2. Fourth multimedia package; topic may be related to fourth out-of-class story or a different topic. Package includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
3. Extra credit first-day personality profile rewrite, with original version attached.
4. Job shadow reports.
5. An unlimited number of extra credit mini-stories, covering any local news event, between 250-600 words in length and containing a minimum of two human sources.
6. All makeup work, unless you and I have agreed to an extension and an incomplete grade reported due to substantial excused absences. You are responsible for finding out what makeup work you have due. Makeup work will only be allowed for excused absences.
In-class and/or homework exercises that will be done at unspecified times through Wednesday, June 27: At least one more practice story; four test stories (on ledes, organization, meetings/speeches and/or statistics); an open-book AP Style quiz, other unspecified quizzes as needed; reading RFTM chapters 6-7 (p. 129-186);lectures on ethics and media law; in-class ethics discussion; other classwork and reading as needed. Exact times/deadlines will be announced on a same-day basis.
Due by email to omars@msu.edu 9 a.m. Thursday, June 14: First multimedia package due. Package includes 1-2 minute news video on what people have learned sofar in JRN 200 posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories on any personal activity posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
Due by the start of class Friday, June 15: Second out-of-class story (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end)
Returned to you at the start of class Monday, June 18: Your graded first out-of-class story. Rewrite will be due Monday, June 25.
Due by the start of class Monday, June 18: First out-of-class rewrite (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count, source list AND original graded story appended)
Due by email to omars@msu.edu by 9 a.m. Thursday, June 21: Second multimedia package due, with topic based on all of or an aspect of either of your first two out-of-class stories. Package includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
Due by the start of class Monday, June 25: Second out-of-class rewrite (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count, source list AND original graded story appended)
Due by the start of class and via email to omars@msu.edu by 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 27 (last day of class attendance): Third out-of-class story and related multimedia package. Story must be minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end. Package on same topic or related subtopic includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag. This assignment has no rewrite opportunity.
Due by 9 a.m. Friday, June 29 via email to omars@msu.edu or by 4 p.m. Thursday, June 28 to The State News Building at 435 E. Grand River: Several things:
1. Fourth out-of-class extra credit story, if applicable. (minimum 600 words, three human sources, with word count and source list appended at the end). This assignment has no rewrite opportunity.
2. Fourth multimedia package; topic may be related to fourth out-of-class story or a different topic. Package includes 1-2 minute news video posted to YouTube with at least two human sources on tape; two online breaking news stories posted to blogger.com, each 100-250 words in length and consisting of a preview/recap or a main story/secondary angle, each with at least two relevant hyperlinks; and 12 related news tweets posted to Twitter with a unifying unique hashtag.
3. Extra credit first-day personality profile rewrite, with original version attached.
4. Job shadow reports.
5. An unlimited number of extra credit mini-stories, covering any local news event, between 250-600 words in length and containing a minimum of two human sources.
6. All makeup work, unless you and I have agreed to an extension and an incomplete grade reported due to substantial excused absences. You are responsible for finding out what makeup work you have due. Makeup work will only be allowed for excused absences.
In-class and/or homework exercises that will be done at unspecified times through Wednesday, June 27: At least one more practice story; four test stories (on ledes, organization, meetings/speeches and/or statistics); an open-book AP Style quiz, other unspecified quizzes as needed; reading RFTM chapters 6-7 (p. 129-186);lectures on ethics and media law; in-class ethics discussion; other classwork and reading as needed. Exact times/deadlines will be announced on a same-day basis.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
JRN 200: Conflict of Interest = Loss of Job
This is what happens when you get pulled into a conflict of interest, via Gawker.com:
Wall Street Journal Fires Iraq Reporter Who Slept With White House Source
The Wall Street Journal announced today that reporter Gina Chon, who was revealed by recently leaked emails to have slept with a National Security Council Iraq expert while covering that country, has resigned.
That expert, Brett McGurk, is now Barack Obama's nominee to serve as ambassador to Iraq. According to email exchanges between McGurk and Chon leaked anonymously to Flickr earlier this month, the pair began a romantic relationship in 2008, while Chon was the paper's Iraq correspondent and McGurk was a special assistant to George W. Bush and an adviser to the NSC on Iraq. The emails make clear that Chon was relying on McGurk for information, guidance, and access while she was sleeping with him. McGurk, who married a woman named Caroline Wong in 2006, was reportedly still married at the time the affair began.
According to a statement released by the Journal, Chon resigned after acknowledging that she had violated the Dow Jones code of conduct by sharing unpublished stories with McGurk. That's right—a member of George W. Bush's National Security Council had secret access to the Wall Street Journal's unpublished stories. The statement doesn't say how often Chon fed stories to McGurk or which ones were made available to him.
At the same time, the Journal insists that Chon and McGurk's romance—which she did not disclose to her editors—had no effect on her reporting: "At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk."
Last week, the paper said that Chon was preparing to take a previously planned leave of absence in light of the nomination of McGurk—whom she subsequently married—to the post in Iraq. It will be longer than planned. Here's the full statement:
That expert, Brett McGurk, is now Barack Obama's nominee to serve as ambassador to Iraq. According to email exchanges between McGurk and Chon leaked anonymously to Flickr earlier this month, the pair began a romantic relationship in 2008, while Chon was the paper's Iraq correspondent and McGurk was a special assistant to George W. Bush and an adviser to the NSC on Iraq. The emails make clear that Chon was relying on McGurk for information, guidance, and access while she was sleeping with him. McGurk, who married a woman named Caroline Wong in 2006, was reportedly still married at the time the affair began.
According to a statement released by the Journal, Chon resigned after acknowledging that she had violated the Dow Jones code of conduct by sharing unpublished stories with McGurk. That's right—a member of George W. Bush's National Security Council had secret access to the Wall Street Journal's unpublished stories. The statement doesn't say how often Chon fed stories to McGurk or which ones were made available to him.
At the same time, the Journal insists that Chon and McGurk's romance—which she did not disclose to her editors—had no effect on her reporting: "At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk."
Last week, the paper said that Chon was preparing to take a previously planned leave of absence in light of the nomination of McGurk—whom she subsequently married—to the post in Iraq. It will be longer than planned. Here's the full statement:
Wall Street Journal reporter Gina Chon agreed to resign this afternoon after acknowledging that while based in Iraq she violated the Dow Jones Code of Conduct by sharing certain unpublished news articles with Brett McGurk, then a member of the U.S. National Security Council in Iraq.
In 2008 Ms. Chon entered into a personal relationship with Mr. McGurk, which she failed to disclose to her editor. At this time the Journal has found no evidence that her coverage was tainted by her relationship with Mr. McGurk.
Ms. Chon joined the Journal in 2005 in Detroit, followed by an assignment as Iraq correspondent in Baghdad from 2007 to 2009. She also reported for the Journal from Haiti in 2010 in the aftermath of the earthquake and has served as a M&A reporter for Money & Investing in New York since April 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 transcript, 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 some of you didn't use any quotes 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. Such quotes aren't necessary, but they do help.
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 some of you didn't use any quotes 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. Such quotes aren't necessary, but they do help.
911: Allegedly
Some 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. Or that the girl said a man, alleged to be Caspinwall, did this and that.
Is Caspinwall allegedly charged with rape? No. He is charged with rape. That's the name of the charge he's facing. It's a bit confusing in this exercise because the name of the charge and the action he is alleged to have done are the same: rape.
So, let's imagine instead of allegedly raping the woman, Caspinwall stabbed her to death. Caspinwall would be charged with murder, since that's the name of the charge which he will face in court. He's a murder defendant. The charge of murder came because he allegedly stabbed a woman to death.
The action is alleged. The charge is simply the label of the law which he is alleged to have broken.
I know this is confusing. Does this help?
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. Or that the girl said a man, alleged to be Caspinwall, did this and that.
Is Caspinwall allegedly charged with rape? No. He is charged with rape. That's the name of the charge he's facing. It's a bit confusing in this exercise because the name of the charge and the action he is alleged to have done are the same: rape.
So, let's imagine instead of allegedly raping the woman, Caspinwall stabbed her to death. Caspinwall would be charged with murder, since that's the name of the charge which he will face in court. He's a murder defendant. The charge of murder came because he allegedly stabbed a woman to death.
The action is alleged. The charge is simply the label of the law which he is alleged to have broken.
I know this is confusing. Does this help?
911: Did You Know ...
... the copy-editing symbol for adding a comma to a sentence is an
insert symbol and a comma, which tends to look like a little arrow?
I'm not sure many of you checked your copy-editing guide sheet to verify that, since so many people seem to be making repeated comma errors.
Also, the curly squiggle means you should delete any punctuation it touches. The squiggle looks like a little curly fry.
So if you have a squiggle connecting to a period and then there's that little arrow, what I'm trying to tell you is to replace the period with the comma.
I'm not sure many of you checked your copy-editing guide sheet to verify that, since so many people seem to be making repeated comma errors.
Also, the curly squiggle means you should delete any punctuation it touches. The squiggle looks like a little curly fry.
So if you have a squiggle connecting to a period and then there's that little arrow, what I'm trying to tell you is to replace the period with the comma.
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.
And on this point, this is where we did a bit worse than previous semesters when virtually no one did that. Here, three of you DID name the victim by name.
Earlier in this semester, we discussed when and when not to name victims in stories. In most cases we DO name victims, but a notable exception in American journalism regarded the names of rape victims.
In general, the current rule of thumb is that in weighing the benefit to society in knowing who exactly was victimized versus the harm that would come in terms of stigma to the victim, we do not name rape victims expect in rare circumstances, like a victim wanting to intentionally put a name and face to a victim to promote greater societal understanding, or a rape victim whose alleged attacker wasn't convicted in criminal court but who is facing a lawsuit for money in civil court.
This wasn't one of those times.
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.
Three of you named the victim's daughter. A daughter only has one mother, right? So that would be real easy to narrow down who the victim was if you gave the girl's name.
Also, one of you listed the exact home address where the crime took place. Only one family lives in a home, right? Again, you took a huge step in virtually identifying the victim.
Even though an exact address would expose the victim, don't readers still 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.
A couple 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 proximity, without giving away the victim's home and creating a virtual identification.
Now, what about the suspect's name? I think only under the rarest of cases would you not name the suspect. He's central to the story. As a society we need to know who among us is considered dangerous, and who among us is being locked up like a zoo animal by our authorities.
The only time in my whole journalism career when I didn't name a suspect was in a case around 1992 -- really early in my professional career -- where I was covering the trial of a teen accused of raping his own mother.
My editors went back-and-forth on how to handle it before deciding they wouldn't name the victim or the suspect, because naming the latter would identify the former. And there was a big ol' editor's note added ahead of my lede to explain their reasoning.
So exceptions are rare. Either the circumstances are amazingly twisted and unique or the suspects are juveniles and a particular media organization has rules about naming kids.
Again, this ain't one of 'em.
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 about half of you noted the link.
Note I say Caspinwall was a neighbor, not her direct neighbor. A neighbor -- or even better, a nearby neighbor -- could be somebody next door or down the street, right? So using neighbor in the generic doesn't necessarily narrow the possible victim pool to a single house or two.
Next, is the suspect's home address needed? I think some identification of where he lives is noteworthy. Wouldn't readers really want to know if an alleged rapist and home invader lived by them? Wouldn't you?
Also, there was something else that I think you owed the reader: an explanation of why you weren't naming the girl or listing her exact address.
Even though you're following journalistic rules, your readers probably don't know those rules and may simply be wondering, why the hell aren't there any names or exact addresses in this story? It wouldn't have hurt to have a simple background sentence somewhere in the story, like this:
The names of the girl and victim and the exact address where the crime occurred is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim.
That way, you are being transparent with readers about why they're not getting the level of information that other non-rape stories would include. A couple of you did do something along those lines.
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.
And in all fairness to you, how you handled these circumstances were a smaller-than-usual part of your assignment grade here. I gave you a break because I didn't want you to suffer a penalty on this one, but I did want you to have to think about it before we discussed it now.
Finally, this is how I would have handled it: I WOULD NOT name the victim or the girl. I WOULD name the suspect and even use HIS home address. I'd say the victim lived nearby, but I wouldn't specifically 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.
This is the sort of stuff you'll have to think about all the time in deciding what is the best way to tell your story.
First, you should have been operating under the general journalistic premise that we do NOT name rape victims in almost all cases.
And on this point, this is where we did a bit worse than previous semesters when virtually no one did that. Here, three of you DID name the victim by name.
Earlier in this semester, we discussed when and when not to name victims in stories. In most cases we DO name victims, but a notable exception in American journalism regarded the names of rape victims.
In general, the current rule of thumb is that in weighing the benefit to society in knowing who exactly was victimized versus the harm that would come in terms of stigma to the victim, we do not name rape victims expect in rare circumstances, like a victim wanting to intentionally put a name and face to a victim to promote greater societal understanding, or a rape victim whose alleged attacker wasn't convicted in criminal court but who is facing a lawsuit for money in civil court.
This wasn't one of those times.
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.
Three of you named the victim's daughter. A daughter only has one mother, right? So that would be real easy to narrow down who the victim was if you gave the girl's name.
Also, one of you listed the exact home address where the crime took place. Only one family lives in a home, right? Again, you took a huge step in virtually identifying the victim.
Even though an exact address would expose the victim, don't readers still 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.
A couple 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 proximity, without giving away the victim's home and creating a virtual identification.
Now, what about the suspect's name? I think only under the rarest of cases would you not name the suspect. He's central to the story. As a society we need to know who among us is considered dangerous, and who among us is being locked up like a zoo animal by our authorities.
The only time in my whole journalism career when I didn't name a suspect was in a case around 1992 -- really early in my professional career -- where I was covering the trial of a teen accused of raping his own mother.
My editors went back-and-forth on how to handle it before deciding they wouldn't name the victim or the suspect, because naming the latter would identify the former. And there was a big ol' editor's note added ahead of my lede to explain their reasoning.
So exceptions are rare. Either the circumstances are amazingly twisted and unique or the suspects are juveniles and a particular media organization has rules about naming kids.
Again, this ain't one of 'em.
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 about half of you noted the link.
Note I say Caspinwall was a neighbor, not her direct neighbor. A neighbor -- or even better, a nearby neighbor -- could be somebody next door or down the street, right? So using neighbor in the generic doesn't necessarily narrow the possible victim pool to a single house or two.
Next, is the suspect's home address needed? I think some identification of where he lives is noteworthy. Wouldn't readers really want to know if an alleged rapist and home invader lived by them? Wouldn't you?
Also, there was something else that I think you owed the reader: an explanation of why you weren't naming the girl or listing her exact address.
Even though you're following journalistic rules, your readers probably don't know those rules and may simply be wondering, why the hell aren't there any names or exact addresses in this story? It wouldn't have hurt to have a simple background sentence somewhere in the story, like this:
The names of the girl and victim and the exact address where the crime occurred is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim.
That way, you are being transparent with readers about why they're not getting the level of information that other non-rape stories would include. A couple of you did do something along those lines.
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.
And in all fairness to you, how you handled these circumstances were a smaller-than-usual part of your assignment grade here. I gave you a break because I didn't want you to suffer a penalty on this one, but I did want you to have to think about it before we discussed it now.
Finally, this is how I would have handled it: I WOULD NOT name the victim or the girl. I WOULD name the suspect and even use HIS home address. I'd say the victim lived nearby, but I wouldn't specifically 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.
This is the sort of stuff you'll have to think about all the time in deciding what is the best way to tell your story.
Meeting; Whoopsie!
What I gave you for Monday homework was a page number and an assignment number that didn't match. I did send out a correction email, but it seems not all of you got it. Some people did the correct assignment; others did not.
Even though I did send out a correction email, this one is on me, and no one iwll be penalized for doing the wrong assignment.
If you're scoring at home, that means I'm now a member of the Fatals Club. Sucks to be me.
But I'm THRILLED to report I was the only fatal on this assignment. Good job with fact-checking, folks!
Even though I did send out a correction email, this one is on me, and no one iwll be penalized for doing the wrong assignment.
If you're scoring at home, that means I'm now a member of the Fatals Club. Sucks to be me.
But I'm THRILLED to report I was the only fatal on this assignment. Good job with fact-checking, folks!
Meeting: Did You ...
Write about everything that happened at the meeting? Or just the things you thought were most newsworthy?
Our job as journalists isn't to necessarily record everything, and put things in the order in which it took place. That's stenography. Rather, we decide what was most important, and rank things in the order of importance.
What did you do, and why?
Our job as journalists isn't to necessarily record everything, and put things in the order in which it took place. That's stenography. Rather, we decide what was most important, and rank things in the order of importance.
What did you do, and why?
Meeting: Ledes
Ledes got a bit choppy in this exercise.
I suspect a large part of that came when you didn't have one dominant idea to hook your lede upon; instead, one approach many of you took was to have a lede with multiple angles, which is one legitimate way to do it.
Problem is, in doing so many of you reverted back to old habits and overlooked some basic lede rules.
Let's look at some hypothetical ledes on this exercise, which included multiple items worth writing about. First, there's this one:
The Grand Ledge School Board discussed several issues at its meeting Monday night.
That lede doesn't have any errors, but it doesn't say anything. That's the problem, readers don't know what they were doing. It would be like doing a sports lede that read like this:
The MSU football team played a game Saturday night.
Not a lede that works, right? So let's evolve the school lede to include what those issues were, like this:
The Grand Ledge School Board discussed its budget, evolution vs. creationism in textbooks and summer school at its meeting Monday night.
That's better, but it's still short in that it doesn't go to end result; that is, what ended up happening. Again, let's do a comparable sports lede:
The MSU football team played Notre Dame Saturday night.
Again, a lede you would never write. So let's now add ultimate outcome to the school lede, like this:
The Grand Ledge School Board approved a new budget and voted to keep evolution-based textbooks and summer school at its meeting Monday night.
Now, readers know what was discussed, and what happened, And the football lede will now do the same:
The MSU football team beat Notre Dame 63-0 Saturday night.
When working on ledes, think about ultimate outcome and end result. Think about bringing up what happened, and not just that something happened. Be specific and conclusive.
I suspect a large part of that came when you didn't have one dominant idea to hook your lede upon; instead, one approach many of you took was to have a lede with multiple angles, which is one legitimate way to do it.
Problem is, in doing so many of you reverted back to old habits and overlooked some basic lede rules.
Let's look at some hypothetical ledes on this exercise, which included multiple items worth writing about. First, there's this one:
The Grand Ledge School Board discussed several issues at its meeting Monday night.
That lede doesn't have any errors, but it doesn't say anything. That's the problem, readers don't know what they were doing. It would be like doing a sports lede that read like this:
The MSU football team played a game Saturday night.
Not a lede that works, right? So let's evolve the school lede to include what those issues were, like this:
The Grand Ledge School Board discussed its budget, evolution vs. creationism in textbooks and summer school at its meeting Monday night.
That's better, but it's still short in that it doesn't go to end result; that is, what ended up happening. Again, let's do a comparable sports lede:
The MSU football team played Notre Dame Saturday night.
Again, a lede you would never write. So let's now add ultimate outcome to the school lede, like this:
The Grand Ledge School Board approved a new budget and voted to keep evolution-based textbooks and summer school at its meeting Monday night.
Now, readers know what was discussed, and what happened, And the football lede will now do the same:
The MSU football team beat Notre Dame 63-0 Saturday night.
When working on ledes, think about ultimate outcome and end result. Think about bringing up what happened, and not just that something happened. Be specific and conclusive.
Meeting: Ledeing a subsection
With subsections of stories, you want to lede with the end result first, just like with a lede.
What some of you did, though, was lede a subsection with something like, something was discussed, and then ended the subsection with the end result, like the board approved the plan.
What you wanted to do was start the subsection with, something was approved by the board, and then detailed what the proposal was and what discussions took place.
So let's look at a hypothetical subsection done right, and wrong. First, the wrong:
In other business, the board discussed creationism vs. evolution in textbooks. The current books feature evolution.
"The current books suck. I didn't come from no monkey," said parent Omar Sofradzija.
Said parent Lindsay Lohan: "Thaat's scientific fact. Omar is an idiot."
In the end, the board voted 10-0 to keep the current books.
Now, the right way to do it:
In other business, the board voted 10-0 to keep current textbooks that teach evolution. Some parents had argued for a switch to the teaching of creationism.
"The current books suck. I didn't come from no monkey," said parent Omar Sofradzija.
Said parent Lindsay Lohan: "That's scientific fact. Omar is an idiot."
See the difference? In the latter version, we know right away at the start of the subsection what was the end result. Just like a lede. Think of subsections as mini-stories, and look for the mini-story lede to go to end result and ultimate outcome.
What some of you did, though, was lede a subsection with something like, something was discussed, and then ended the subsection with the end result, like the board approved the plan.
What you wanted to do was start the subsection with, something was approved by the board, and then detailed what the proposal was and what discussions took place.
So let's look at a hypothetical subsection done right, and wrong. First, the wrong:
In other business, the board discussed creationism vs. evolution in textbooks. The current books feature evolution.
"The current books suck. I didn't come from no monkey," said parent Omar Sofradzija.
Said parent Lindsay Lohan: "Thaat's scientific fact. Omar is an idiot."
In the end, the board voted 10-0 to keep the current books.
Now, the right way to do it:
In other business, the board voted 10-0 to keep current textbooks that teach evolution. Some parents had argued for a switch to the teaching of creationism.
"The current books suck. I didn't come from no monkey," said parent Omar Sofradzija.
Said parent Lindsay Lohan: "That's scientific fact. Omar is an idiot."
See the difference? In the latter version, we know right away at the start of the subsection what was the end result. Just like a lede. Think of subsections as mini-stories, and look for the mini-story lede to go to end result and ultimate outcome.
Meeting: You Don't Need That!
"That" is one of the most unneeded words ever. Let's look at this sentence:
The board said that in its decision that parents should talk to their children about the issue and provide their home with the religious training that they feel to be most appropriate.
Now, let's get rid of the three references to "that." This is what's left:
The board said in its decision parents should talk to their children about the issue and provide their home with the religious training they feel to be most appropriate.
Now, what's different? Besides the loss of an unnecessary word?
Most of the time, you don't need "that."
The board said that in its decision that parents should talk to their children about the issue and provide their home with the religious training that they feel to be most appropriate.
Now, let's get rid of the three references to "that." This is what's left:
The board said in its decision parents should talk to their children about the issue and provide their home with the religious training they feel to be most appropriate.
Now, what's different? Besides the loss of an unnecessary word?
Most of the time, you don't need "that."
Meeting: Transitional Phrases
In stories where you have multiple subissues, like a meeting story, it's helpful to have a new subsection started with a transitional prhase, like
In other business, the board ...
Also, the board ...
In other news ...
Also at the meeting ...
Also approved (or rejected) ...
Such transitional phrases help clearly delineate when reporting on one matter ends and another begins.
In other business, the board ...
Also, the board ...
In other news ...
Also at the meeting ...
Also approved (or rejected) ...
Such transitional phrases help clearly delineate when reporting on one matter ends and another begins.
Meeting: Writing With (AP) Style
Is it 5 percent, or 5%, or five percent, or five %?
It's 5 percent, with "percent" spelled out and the number 5. And even though the number is under 10, whenever a percentage is used then the numeral should be presented as a digit, and not spelled out.
How do I know all this? AP Style, under percent.
In the next couple of weeks, we are going to have an AP Style quiz that will be equal in weight to roughly NINE current events quizzes. So be sure to be boning up on your AP Style!
It's 5 percent, with "percent" spelled out and the number 5. And even though the number is under 10, whenever a percentage is used then the numeral should be presented as a digit, and not spelled out.
How do I know all this? AP Style, under percent.
In the next couple of weeks, we are going to have an AP Style quiz that will be equal in weight to roughly NINE current events quizzes. So be sure to be boning up on your AP Style!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Out-Of-Class #1: Some Probs, Strugs
Normally I don't blog about out-of-class work. Normally, the first out-of-classer is a bit of a struggle for my classes, as they ramp up and put their full set of skills to the test for the first time.
But for many of you, this one was a real struggle.
We had a time fatal, where someone missed the deadline. Please make sure you meet your deadline, no matter what. A safe way to do that is to email your story to me the night before, as a backup. Then hand in the printed copy the next day.
We had fact fatals. I've never had more than one person fatal on a single round of out-of-class stories, until now. In this one, we had three.
In one case, someone apparently assumed a locale was in East Lansing. In fact, it was on the Lansing side of the Lansing-East Lansing border. In another case, someone misspelled the name of an MSU landmark. DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING AND DOUBLE-CHECK EVERYTHING.
In the third case, someone misspelled "oversees" in a quote as "overseas." Any error in a quote is a fatal.
Use the accuracy checklist I handed out at the start of the term. There should be no reason anything should be unverified in an out-of-class story. You have access to Google searches and Web sites to help you confirm spellings and names and locations. Make sure you are dedicating a significant amount of time to fact-checking.
We had weak ledes, where you failed to develop a central idea. Think about the principles we've been practicing in here every day with the practice stories. After interviewing, look through your notes and identify a central theme or point or end result or ultimate outcome that adheres to the Peanut Barrel rule. Saying that you spoke with somebody is not a lede.
We had too few sources. Three is not really the minimum. Rather, it's having enough sources to cover the complexity of an issue. That would mean proponents AND opponents, decision-makers AND those impacted by those decisions, people with an interest in an issue AND neutral experts that can help make sense of things in an unbiased way.
We had one-sided stories that just talked to one side of an issue, without getting counterpoints or the views of everyday people or neutral experts. That's not journalism. Journalism is getting ALL sides of a complex issue, and not just one. Do research and explore an issue; the fewer sides you talk to, the more vulnerable you are to not knowing what you're leaving out.
We weren't curious enough. Some people just took one source's word for it, and though it was enough reporting. It never is. We talk to multiple people about the same thing to ensure consistency in answers and to discover and then research any inconsistencies. Others thought it as enough to send emails or fill out Web site forms. It's not. Get on the phone or go meet people face-to-face.
We had too few neutral experts. A part of this exercise is to find and utilize neutral experts: people who have knowledge on a particular issue, but who don' have a stake in the outcome. Look at the blog entries for neutral experts if you need ideas. But you need to come up with ideas.
For many of you, this may mean you need to see me during office hours. And that's fine! That's what office hours are for. If you're having issues with story organization or structure or sourcing or whatever, come see me and let's work on it. Don't wait until a day or two before things are due; let's get ahead of these issues.
The good news for you is that you'll get opportunities to do a rewrite of this story, due Monday, that will help lift your grade on this assignment. And you'll have a second out-of-class story due Friday that also will be eligible for a rewrite. And there's a third out-of-classer and even an extra credit out-of-classer, each of which will be due the last day of class.
So this is all fixable. But we're running out of time. We have to start acting on things NOW. Be proactive, see me for help as needed and as soon as possible, and let's get you a grade you'll feel good about.
But for many of you, this one was a real struggle.
We had a time fatal, where someone missed the deadline. Please make sure you meet your deadline, no matter what. A safe way to do that is to email your story to me the night before, as a backup. Then hand in the printed copy the next day.
We had fact fatals. I've never had more than one person fatal on a single round of out-of-class stories, until now. In this one, we had three.
In one case, someone apparently assumed a locale was in East Lansing. In fact, it was on the Lansing side of the Lansing-East Lansing border. In another case, someone misspelled the name of an MSU landmark. DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING AND DOUBLE-CHECK EVERYTHING.
In the third case, someone misspelled "oversees" in a quote as "overseas." Any error in a quote is a fatal.
Use the accuracy checklist I handed out at the start of the term. There should be no reason anything should be unverified in an out-of-class story. You have access to Google searches and Web sites to help you confirm spellings and names and locations. Make sure you are dedicating a significant amount of time to fact-checking.
We had weak ledes, where you failed to develop a central idea. Think about the principles we've been practicing in here every day with the practice stories. After interviewing, look through your notes and identify a central theme or point or end result or ultimate outcome that adheres to the Peanut Barrel rule. Saying that you spoke with somebody is not a lede.
We had too few sources. Three is not really the minimum. Rather, it's having enough sources to cover the complexity of an issue. That would mean proponents AND opponents, decision-makers AND those impacted by those decisions, people with an interest in an issue AND neutral experts that can help make sense of things in an unbiased way.
We had one-sided stories that just talked to one side of an issue, without getting counterpoints or the views of everyday people or neutral experts. That's not journalism. Journalism is getting ALL sides of a complex issue, and not just one. Do research and explore an issue; the fewer sides you talk to, the more vulnerable you are to not knowing what you're leaving out.
We weren't curious enough. Some people just took one source's word for it, and though it was enough reporting. It never is. We talk to multiple people about the same thing to ensure consistency in answers and to discover and then research any inconsistencies. Others thought it as enough to send emails or fill out Web site forms. It's not. Get on the phone or go meet people face-to-face.
We had too few neutral experts. A part of this exercise is to find and utilize neutral experts: people who have knowledge on a particular issue, but who don' have a stake in the outcome. Look at the blog entries for neutral experts if you need ideas. But you need to come up with ideas.
For many of you, this may mean you need to see me during office hours. And that's fine! That's what office hours are for. If you're having issues with story organization or structure or sourcing or whatever, come see me and let's work on it. Don't wait until a day or two before things are due; let's get ahead of these issues.
The good news for you is that you'll get opportunities to do a rewrite of this story, due Monday, that will help lift your grade on this assignment. And you'll have a second out-of-class story due Friday that also will be eligible for a rewrite. And there's a third out-of-classer and even an extra credit out-of-classer, each of which will be due the last day of class.
So this is all fixable. But we're running out of time. We have to start acting on things NOW. Be proactive, see me for help as needed and as soon as possible, and let's get you a grade you'll feel good about.
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