Notes on the text

Our textbook for Newswriting was extremely easy to read. I enjoyed the style of writing and the generous amount of examples and screen shots to help understand which ever concept was being taught for that specific chapter. The book provides a great overview of newswriting.

I believe the text was slightly too full of examples and mini-stories. In order to improve the book, I suggest excluding some examples and replacing them with more instruction.

Cutlines

Obama wants change in Pennsylvania

Sen. Barack Obama(D-Ill.) ignites a crowd while speaking at a town hall meeting in Reading, Pa. Both Obama and Sen. Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.) have been campaigning in the state before Tuesday's presidential primary. (Reuters photo by Bradley Bower / April 20, 2008)

Chapter 14

Objectivity is the ability to stay neutral while writing a story. The writer must write without showing his or her opinion or attempting to sway the opinion of the reader.

Thoroughness is a technique that the writer should work hard not to leave any important details out. The reader should finish a story and have all of their questions answered.

Accuracy is key to news writing. If a writer is not accurate in his or her facts, the wrong ideas may be presented in the story.

Fairness is important in order to make sure that the subject of the story is treated fairly. Unfair writing will jeopardize the writer's credibility and may provide wrong information about the subject.

Transparency is the idea that all writing should be open and honest. If the writer tries to hide information, he or she will lose credibility and readers.

Personally, I feel that the principle of objectivity is the most important aspect to writing a story.

Seeing as the public turns to the media for their information, it is crucial that writers present raw information without any bias in order for everyone to be able to form their own opinion.

Photography principles

These images illustrate four principles of taking a great (or not so great) photograph:

Tells a story


Does not tell a story


Fills the frame


Does not fill the frame


Shows action and emotion


Does not show action and emotion


Candid


Not candid

Interviews and rough lede

I spent the remainder of last week attempting to reach everyone Ms. Mayhew provided the contact information for. Apparently, Thursday and Friday were very busy days for everyone at IHS. As I returned home for the weekend in the lovely state of New Jersey, I was unable to interview anyone else for my feature story. I will get up early tomorrow to try to contact the other participants in the loan repayment program and will hopefully have all of my interviews completed for the due date of the assignment.

As for a feature lede, I want to really tie in the angle of how much participants actually receive and how unique the program is. I was contemplating starting the story with:

Every year, thousands of students across America graduate from college with two consequential items: a diploma and debt. Whether accumulated through endless bar tabs, outrageous bookstore purchases or especially tuition, student debt is a prominent and growing problem.

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an organization dedicated to ensuring that American Indians and Alaskan Natives have access to personal and public health services, has a stellar loan repayment program. For their two-year service obligation, IHS will pay up to $20,000 per year to pay off undergraduate student loans.

Covering crime stories

In order to cover a local crime story in the Towerlight, I would need to collect basic information to inform the students of the situation. While there are no victims, I would make the point that campus police uncovered the plot before anyone was hurt. I would write that the investigation was still proceeding, as the evidence was only discovered the previous evening.

As for suspects, I would not mention the student's name and information until he or she was charged for the crime, but I would discuss if an arrest had or had not been made. If the police were searching for a suspect, I would be sure to release the appearance information in order to facilitate their search. In order to obtain such information, I would try to get in touch with students who lived in the residence hall where the bombs were found. Also, interviewing residence life staff or campus professors may provide needed information.

I would provide the readers with as much detail about the crime as possible, hopefully straight from the police report. I would also release the punishment given to the suspect if they were to be convicted, including jail time or fine.

Due to the seriousness and severity of the event, I would face difficulty writing the story without emotion. I would struggle to portray the facts but keep from scaring the student body more than they already will be.

For multimedia angles, I would provide links to Towson's security statement on their web page. I would also feature a video on what it takes to build a pipe bomb and video interviews of students expressing their feelings about the situation.

Feature Interview

After finally getting in touch with the Loan Repayment Program for Indian Health Services, I was able to speak with Sylvia Mayhew, Director of Bachelors and Associate Degree Physicians. Due to her busy schedule, I was only able to interview her over the phone.

I had a few general questions prepared but the interview turned into a casual conversation. I took notes on everything we discussed and thanked her for her help. We spoke for about 20 minutes and she gave me a couple names and contact information to help me with the story, promising to help me with anything else I needed.

The interview was very successful and Ms. Mayhew was extremely pleasant and helpful. I found it was easy to have a conversation and find out general information about the topic but probably need more practice getting my source to say the quote I desire.

Any advice? :]

Washington Post Trip

The sound of my alarm at 8 a.m. on Friday morning triggered one main repeating thought in my groggy mind: "Why on earth did I sign up for this trip?"

After returning home later that evening at 7:30 p.m., I had a couple answers to the morning question.

About 15 Towson students, mostly members of MCOM407, piled onto a bus and headed into DC on an overcast Friday morning around 10 a.m. We arrived at the Washington Post and after being scanned into the building, we took the elevator to a room containing and delicious lunch spread (there were even vegetarian sandwiches for people like me!) and a long table with comfortable chairs. Rob Curley, our host, arrived once we all started eating and began the presentation.

Overflowing with personality, Curley showed an impressive interactive slideshow of projects he has been part of in the past. Listening to him for 3 hours was like watching an exciting, educational, and downright comedic television show. Personally, I was touched by his conscious effort to ensure that every day people of the community were highlighted in almost every project he participated in. My favorite, OnBeing, was an archive of short interviews of random individuals from the DC area. The videos are extremely touching and I recommend watching all of them!

Curley gave our group a lot of insight into the field and some powerful words of wisdom to take with us. We left the Post and headed to Virginia for a quick tour of the WashingtonPost.Com newsroom, which proved to be interesting and fun as well! We said goodbye to Curley, but not before promising to friend him on Facebook, and boarded the bus to head back to Towson.

Noelle, Danielle, Professor Lieb and myself then proceeded to spend a half an hour of our trip discussing our idea of a new Towson Blog- complete with a directory of all things Towson, news stories and interviews, and awesome photography. Inspired by a day with Rob Curley, we will hopefully get the ball rolling soon and prove to the University how crucial blogging can be.

Thanks for a great time, Professor Lieb, Professor Spaulding and Rob!

Loan repayment company

For my feature story covering student loan repayment, I'm going to cover is the Indian Health Service. According to their website, "The purpose of the IHS Loan Repayment Program (LRP) is to obtain health professionals to meet the staffing needs of the IHS in Indian health programs."

Students can sign a contract and work full time in the IHS clinic for 2 years. In return, the Loan Repayment Program (LRP) will repay all or a portion of the applicant's eligible health professionals educational loans or tuition expenses.

Applicants are eligible to have their educational loans repaid in amounts up to $20,000 per year for each year of service.

After calling the IHS office, I reached a voicemail answering machine and left a message with my information. Hopefully I will receive a call back soon.

Feature stories

A feature story is often written to describe an event or information of less-than-earth shattering importance. The story does not follow the typical news story format, can be much longer in length and allows writers a chance to showcase their more creative writing talents.

A feature lede must entice the reader into the piece. For shorter feature stories, writers may decide to use summary ledes which serve as a brief summary of the following story instead of focusing on the 5 W's.

Writers also have the option of using an anecdotal lede. These require that the writer carefully isolates the major point of the story and then finds an anecdote that makes that point simply and clearly.

The third option, a narrative lede, presents a story to the reader but typically run longer and include dialogue and quotes and set up scenes.

For stories that focus on a specific place, person or group of people, a writer should use a descriptive lede. Good descriptive ledes include only those details that support the main point of the story.

A question lede should only be used if the question will catch readers completely off guard and therefore entice them into reading the article.

In a Washington Post article describing the nearly tragic story of a woman and her lost engagement ring, the writer uses his skill of suspense to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The feature story is written almost as an adventure tale.

The narrative lede exaggerates the severity of the event and does not give the 5 W's but is short and enticing.

The nutgraf is the third paragraph and reads: When a woman loses her engagement ring in such a freakish fashion, society goes into crisis mode, as it should. By yesterday afternoon, 29 hours after the hole-in-one, a crowd has gathered in the 1700 block. Four Potomac Electric Power Co. guys, including two diverted from exploding-manhole-prevention duty, have removed two sidewalk grates and are taking turns sifting through muck 20 feet below. They know this is a major chance to be heroes.

Revised lede

Towson University students consciously conquer and avoid credit card while relying on their OneCard for campus expenses, says the schools website.

Proofreading

I never thought I would be able to honestly say that I enjoyed proofreading until after class on Wednesday. I learned how important it was to read something three different occasions with three different focuses. I think the process is much more practical and efficient and a lot less time consuming.

Reading the newspapers and going on an adventure outside was the perfect way to clear my mind so I was ready to proofread each different element of the story. I will definitely use this process in the future.

News story

Towson physicians held a press conference in opposition of a bill being considered by the Maryland State Legislature that will not require motorcyclists to wear helmets.

The press conference occurred on the front lawn of Memorial Hospital on Monday morning. It consisted of about 50 physicians from Towson, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Mercy Hospital, and Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

Ironically, the conference was interrupted by ambulances rushing a motorcyclist to the emergency room who was involved in a two-car accident.

The number of serious head injuries caused by motorcycle accidents in Maryland is over 70 percent less now then when the helmet law was adopted 25 years ago, said Dr. Karl Sodergreen. He explained that reduction is directly related to the passage of the law.

The doctors collected nearly 400 signatures so far on the petitions and hope to have at least 500 by the time they send it to the legislature and it is considered on Wednesday.

Dr. Hector Rivera said a study from last year about health-care costs related to motorcycle riding by the by the state medical society showed that emergency room costs alone could go up more than 45 percent if the helmet law is repealed.

Nineteen-year-old Grady Smith, the motorcyclist injured in the accident, suffered a broken arm and several broken ribs. His doctor was quoted saying his injuries would have been much worse if not wearing a helmet.

Rough lede

For my story covering the topic of credit card debt and college students , I want to focus on how Towson University students work to erase debt or avoid it completely. I've already spoken to students on campus who have mastered the plastic card and I'm interested in seeing what other options are offered from campus or from Chevy Chase Bank.

For a lede, I'm considering opening with, Towson University students consciously conquer and avoid credit card debt through self control and money management skills.

While I would need to do much more research, this is definitely the main point I want to focus on in my story.

Sources

There are three types of sources that writers should resort to when writing a news story:

1. Everyday person (being impacted by the news)

2. Subject expert

3. Someone with control over policy

Each individual will be able to offer a different view and prime information to keep the story well rounded, unbiased, and interesting.

For our news stories covering college students and credit card debt, I sought out three sources that are directly related to local college students and the debt they have accumulated.

1. Hannah Riches; A sophomore at Towson University currently has two credit car and uses them for small purchases and building credit. She received a credit card application in the mail about a year ago and applied. Originally, her limit was $1,000 but has since increased to $1,500. Hannah has never been in credit card debt and would be a great resource for college students on how to remain debt free. I'll be able to interview her extensively for the actual story.

2. Chevy Chase Bank; The bank of choice on Towson's campus is always advertising new credit card deals for expense-ridden students. I would interview a bank representative about applying for a credit card and hopefully get rough statistics on Towson students who apply and how many are in debt.

3. Deb Moriarty; the vice president of student affairs at Towson University would be able to give me information on the campus policies for credit card sales and solicitation. I'll see her Tuesday morning and set up a meeting time.


As for my story, I want to focus on what Towson students can do to pay off their accumulated debt or avoid debt all together. All of my sources will be able to provide insight on how to manage debt and still gain the benefits of having a credit card.

Credit Cards- Something College Students Can Do Without

According to the United States General Accounting Office's Consumer Finance report, 63% of college students have at least one credit card. Of these card-swiping pupils, 59% reported paying their bill in full monthly. Of the remaining students, the average balance was $577. Between 14%-16% had balances exceeding $1,000 and only 5% exceeded $3,000. These numbers seem relatively low and I have to admit that they surprise me. I was sure that a larger percentage of college students would own credit cards and have higher balances because they are so easy to access.

A little more than 1/3 of all credit card owning college students claimed that they obtained their card through mail solicitation while 1/4 got their cards from campus displays. I remember receiving countless credit card applications in the mail after my 18th birthday and I can imagine how students desperate for more money would be tricked by the colorful wording of the company. Students use their credit cards to purchase books, supplies, food, clothing, entertainment, school fees, and tuition.

Personally, I do not own a credit card because I'm almost positive I would not be punctual with the payments and therefore would accumulate more debt. I say- stick to debit cards, they won't work when you try to use money you don't have.

How to Blog

In the article, “How to Blog," blogging is proven to be both practical and accessible. Mark Briggs explains that “a good blog is an ongoing conversation,” between the author and the readers. Blogging differs from newswriting because it allows for the writer to be informal and stray from the typical newspaper format. Readers will be able to get a taste of the author’s personality and insight into their sense of humor or passion. Blogging allows readers to participate in the particular blog through posting comments that can be read by the writer or other readers. Along with excess information provided through comments, the author can provide links in their blog to other databases or blogs for other insight or information on the topic. Blogs are also more accessible than newspaper articles and can be updated quickly and at any time.
I think that Bob Baker’s, “The Buzz Factor," is a great example of a blog. This indie music promotion blog is a refreshing blend of advice, podcast links, photos, and conversation between Bob Baker and his readers. Baker provides personal insight for anyone trying to make it big in the music scene and follows with helpful links.
Now that I’m taking Newswriting, I am writing in this blog regularly. Before enrolling in this class, I have kept a Livejournal and regularly check my friend’s blogs to stay updated on their lives back in New Jersey. Blogging has been a great way to organize my thoughts and keep in touch with friends who go to college in other states. As a college student, I am interested in blogs by my friends, news blogs, local activism blogs, and music blogs. Public relations practitioners can utilize blogs to post press releases, release information for their clients, and share campaign ideas.

Wildfire Maps on Google

The USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review article, “Newsrooms use Google Maps to improve wildfire coverage," discusses the effectiveness of using interactive maps to show locations and details of wildfires in Southern California. While online, these maps are easily accessible to news sources and the general public alike, and take little skill to create and share. Fire maps are prime examples of convergent journalism, as are our google maps, because different media outlets are blended to provide information. The information was obtained via interview or by reading a form of print media, edited and illustrated using an interactive map, and then posted for the public on an online blog. The maps provide visual stimulation as well as critical information with some simple pointing and clicking.

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