Last night, I saw a news program on Channel 11 (NBC) where there were updates on what has been going on in the Maryland area as well as the White House. First there was a major accident in Harford County on Interstate 95 that backed up all the way to the beltway. The anchor said that the truck that caused the accident was carrying liquid nitrogen and the newscasters would keep the audience updated on that later on. There was one camera shot of the traffic on the Interstate. However, there was no update on that afterwards because the nightly news was coming up shortly after.
After a brief update on Mayor Dixon's trial, the latest news that the healthcare bill finally passed in the House of Representatives. There was a couple of shots of President Obama coming outside of the White House to make a speech about the bill that passed the House, which eventually cut to the Speaker of the House who announced that the bill was passed. There was some cheering in the House that I heard when the Speaker made the announcement.
Later on, there was a sports update on the Ravens and Bengals game Sunday afternoon, where the Ravens lost 17-7. There was some field action shown which led to a close up on some of the players, looking tired and beaten. The Bengals players looked to be a bit more cheerful. There was more field action before another close up on the players. On the close up, one of the Ravens players exclaimed angrily in the air and the camera immediately cut to the crowd before going to the players again.
See everything on this channel at wbaltv.com
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Magically turning print leads into broadcast ready ones
And now, for my next trick, I, magical writer/future journalist, shall turn these three leads from other newspapers into ones for broadcast media!
Like this one from the Baltimore Sun...
"A Howard County man charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found floating in an underground cable vault under a Northeast Baltimore street Friday was pronounced dead Monday night after being found unresponsive in his jail cell, said a State Department of Corrections spokesman." -Liz F. Kay and Justin Fenton
That might be the longest lead in the world. It's 47 words long! And it's really heavy, too!
And now, I turn it into a broadcast ready lead. Oohf! Let's place it in the cabinet (Thud) and shut the door... There's nothing up my right sleeve and nothing up my left sleeve... and Fwahhh! It's done! Let's open up the cabinet and see what's there now:
A State Department Corrections spokesman said that a suspect of the murder of a woman found floating in an underground vault was found dead in his jail cell Monday night.
Ah, it's much shorter and lighter than the original lead! About half as many words than the original and it's easier to understand when it could be broadcasted on television or radio. Want to see the trick again? Well, let's try this one. It's different from that one, concerning our mayor.
"Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon should stand trial on charges that she perjured herself by not disclosing gifts from a developer boyfriend, a judge ruled Monday as he rebuffed objections from the mayor's defense team that the accusations rest on faulty evidence." -Annie Linskey
My, oh my, that is a mouthful! An anchor on ABC News can't possibly say all of that without taking a breath in the middle of it! But just stick it in the cabinet, close the door and... Fwaahhhhhhh! Here it is in short form:
A judge ruled that Mayor Sheila Dixon may be standing another trial on charges of perjury from a developer boyfriend.
That's better. Simple and easy to understand. It even answers some of the W's, but not all of them. The rest of the details can be revealed later in the story. It also has a conversational tone, as if just laying it out on the table.
Alright, one more. This time, let's pull it from (gasp) the New York Times. Oh, dear. There are lots of big long leads in the Times, especially those that aren't even feature leads. This will be interesting.
"President Obama said on Tuesday that Al Qaeda has “lost operational capacity” after a series of recent missile strikes and special forces raids, but vowed to continue pressing the battle to cripple the network around the world and protect America from future terrorist attacks." -Peter Baker
That's a tricky one. And it's 44 words, whew! Not as big as the first lead from the Sun, but that's very close. Leads normally shouldn't be that long.
Ooh, it's heavy! Let's throw it in the cabinet, I'm sure it can take it. (Thud) Now, shut the door and... FWWAAAAAHHHHHH! It's done! Now what have we here...
President Obama vowed to continue the battle against terrorism, despite Al Qaeda's damages from recent missile strikes and raids.
That's nice and simple. Not too many big words that someone listening to the radio won't be able to understand. Only 19 words long! That's great for any kind of broadcast.
Sorry, but that's all I'm doing tonight. Nope, a magician never reveals her secrets. I must go now. Night!
Like this one from the Baltimore Sun...
"A Howard County man charged with the murder of a woman whose body was found floating in an underground cable vault under a Northeast Baltimore street Friday was pronounced dead Monday night after being found unresponsive in his jail cell, said a State Department of Corrections spokesman." -Liz F. Kay and Justin Fenton
That might be the longest lead in the world. It's 47 words long! And it's really heavy, too!
And now, I turn it into a broadcast ready lead. Oohf! Let's place it in the cabinet (Thud) and shut the door... There's nothing up my right sleeve and nothing up my left sleeve... and Fwahhh! It's done! Let's open up the cabinet and see what's there now:
A State Department Corrections spokesman said that a suspect of the murder of a woman found floating in an underground vault was found dead in his jail cell Monday night.
Ah, it's much shorter and lighter than the original lead! About half as many words than the original and it's easier to understand when it could be broadcasted on television or radio. Want to see the trick again? Well, let's try this one. It's different from that one, concerning our mayor.
"Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon should stand trial on charges that she perjured herself by not disclosing gifts from a developer boyfriend, a judge ruled Monday as he rebuffed objections from the mayor's defense team that the accusations rest on faulty evidence." -Annie Linskey
My, oh my, that is a mouthful! An anchor on ABC News can't possibly say all of that without taking a breath in the middle of it! But just stick it in the cabinet, close the door and... Fwaahhhhhhh! Here it is in short form:
A judge ruled that Mayor Sheila Dixon may be standing another trial on charges of perjury from a developer boyfriend.
That's better. Simple and easy to understand. It even answers some of the W's, but not all of them. The rest of the details can be revealed later in the story. It also has a conversational tone, as if just laying it out on the table.
Alright, one more. This time, let's pull it from (gasp) the New York Times. Oh, dear. There are lots of big long leads in the Times, especially those that aren't even feature leads. This will be interesting.
"President Obama said on Tuesday that Al Qaeda has “lost operational capacity” after a series of recent missile strikes and special forces raids, but vowed to continue pressing the battle to cripple the network around the world and protect America from future terrorist attacks." -Peter Baker
That's a tricky one. And it's 44 words, whew! Not as big as the first lead from the Sun, but that's very close. Leads normally shouldn't be that long.
Ooh, it's heavy! Let's throw it in the cabinet, I'm sure it can take it. (Thud) Now, shut the door and... FWWAAAAAHHHHHH! It's done! Now what have we here...
President Obama vowed to continue the battle against terrorism, despite Al Qaeda's damages from recent missile strikes and raids.
That's nice and simple. Not too many big words that someone listening to the radio won't be able to understand. Only 19 words long! That's great for any kind of broadcast.
Sorry, but that's all I'm doing tonight. Nope, a magician never reveals her secrets. I must go now. Night!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
On second thought.....
I've been ignoring my idea for a new publication. I was going to start Baltimore Vinyl here in Towson right about now.
But think again.
I'm swamped with some things already. I need to write a feature story for journalism class, I just got hired as an assignment editor for "16 News" on the campus television station WMJF, I'm a notetaker for my political science class (with Professor Cates, who's awesome), and I'm seeing an additional counselor who's on campus and is referring me to a psychiatrist later in the month. I'm also still involved with the Ballroom Dance Club, I want to see what Martial Arts club is like (since I want to learn how to defend myself from muggers on the streets of Towson), and I've just been inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
I need to worry about my GPA to make sure I stay in the top 20 percent of my class to remain in NSCS. I still haven't been able to do community service in a long while, so I would love to do something for a good cause. But most importantly of all, I need to keep my mental health in check because I'm a bit of a chronic worrier and I have anxiety issues that I'm still working out.
Therefore, Baltimore Vinyl has been postponed until I find a decent editor in chief. I would love to start it up right now since I'm a junior and maybe the timing is right, but I need more experience and I don't have enough time on my hands to work with it. It may be good to have someone else to be in charge of it and have me as a contributing writer, music critic, or columnist.
Then again, it might be better if I start the publication after I graduate and I have more time. After all, this is my baby. I don't know what lies ahead. There are still so many things that I want to do in the field I'm venturing into right now. It depends on time, everything else in college and my future.
But think again.
I'm swamped with some things already. I need to write a feature story for journalism class, I just got hired as an assignment editor for "16 News" on the campus television station WMJF, I'm a notetaker for my political science class (with Professor Cates, who's awesome), and I'm seeing an additional counselor who's on campus and is referring me to a psychiatrist later in the month. I'm also still involved with the Ballroom Dance Club, I want to see what Martial Arts club is like (since I want to learn how to defend myself from muggers on the streets of Towson), and I've just been inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
I need to worry about my GPA to make sure I stay in the top 20 percent of my class to remain in NSCS. I still haven't been able to do community service in a long while, so I would love to do something for a good cause. But most importantly of all, I need to keep my mental health in check because I'm a bit of a chronic worrier and I have anxiety issues that I'm still working out.
Therefore, Baltimore Vinyl has been postponed until I find a decent editor in chief. I would love to start it up right now since I'm a junior and maybe the timing is right, but I need more experience and I don't have enough time on my hands to work with it. It may be good to have someone else to be in charge of it and have me as a contributing writer, music critic, or columnist.
Then again, it might be better if I start the publication after I graduate and I have more time. After all, this is my baby. I don't know what lies ahead. There are still so many things that I want to do in the field I'm venturing into right now. It depends on time, everything else in college and my future.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Introducing the Wall Street Method...
This time, we'll look at feature leads and stories in a different way. One example of a feature story with the "Wall Street Journal formula" is here:
Link to article "After a death, an extreme form of grieving" from The New York Times- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29grief.html?_r=1&hp
The Wall Street formula is basically taken out of the same format as stories are written in the Wall Street Journal. It's the basic structure of a feature story that uses an anecdotal, descriptive or narrative lead. To explain this concept, briefly look over the article, then read the details below.
The article with the link above has an anecdotal lead with a statistic before leading into the story of a psychiatrists who deal with people with grief disorders. Then by the second paragraph, the reader is introduced to a psychiatry professor from Columbia University who has found something on people who are in "a loop of suffering" after a loved one dies. That just pulls the reader in even more to find out about what that is.
The nut graph following that a couple of paragraphs later describes why grief should be separate from everything else when it comes to problems and death. The preceding paragraph made a statement about how some doctors didn't believe that idea when the nut graph showed some additional facts from researchers to prove that they're wrong. There are symptoms and difficulties that patients are feeling when they experience it. That really gives an idea why it's so important. For some people, it's hard getting over death that grief is too hard to take as well. That is the kind of grief that lasts much longer than people normally take.
Later into the story, it zeroes in on one of the patients- a woman from New Jersey was suffering from this kind of grief ever since her son died from cancer. She said in the story that she felt guilty about living and she moved around like a zombie. The body continues to explain the story with quotes and facts about the situations with her, other patients, and the doctors' and researchers' findings.
It finally ends with a final note with one of the same psychiatry professor who began the talking first. She says at the end that if she had the exact same problem, she would want help as well.
Link to article "After a death, an extreme form of grieving" from The New York Times- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29grief.html?_r=1&hp
The Wall Street formula is basically taken out of the same format as stories are written in the Wall Street Journal. It's the basic structure of a feature story that uses an anecdotal, descriptive or narrative lead. To explain this concept, briefly look over the article, then read the details below.
The article with the link above has an anecdotal lead with a statistic before leading into the story of a psychiatrists who deal with people with grief disorders. Then by the second paragraph, the reader is introduced to a psychiatry professor from Columbia University who has found something on people who are in "a loop of suffering" after a loved one dies. That just pulls the reader in even more to find out about what that is.
The nut graph following that a couple of paragraphs later describes why grief should be separate from everything else when it comes to problems and death. The preceding paragraph made a statement about how some doctors didn't believe that idea when the nut graph showed some additional facts from researchers to prove that they're wrong. There are symptoms and difficulties that patients are feeling when they experience it. That really gives an idea why it's so important. For some people, it's hard getting over death that grief is too hard to take as well. That is the kind of grief that lasts much longer than people normally take.
Later into the story, it zeroes in on one of the patients- a woman from New Jersey was suffering from this kind of grief ever since her son died from cancer. She said in the story that she felt guilty about living and she moved around like a zombie. The body continues to explain the story with quotes and facts about the situations with her, other patients, and the doctors' and researchers' findings.
It finally ends with a final note with one of the same psychiatry professor who began the talking first. She says at the end that if she had the exact same problem, she would want help as well.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ch. 6: Summary vs. feature leads
It's time to look at facts for writing stories again.
Feature leads and summary leads, I think I may have gone over them before in this blog before, but I don't know. I'll go over it again, if I did talk about it.
Feature leads are basically more craftier that summary leads. Summary leads are normally used when writing a story on "default". This means that summary leads are just normal leads with an objective voice and just summarizes what happens in the story. It just gives the who, what, when and where very quickly before the story goes into further details.
This is an example from the Baltimore Sun newspaper that shows a semblance to a summary lead: "Five football players at Baltimore's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and the mother of one student were arrested in the stabbings and beatings of a 14-year-old boy and three of his friends last weekend, Baltimore County police said Friday." (by Brent Jones)
Feature leads are slightly different. Instead of cramming all the W's in the first sentence right away, a quick preview of the story is given first. It's more of a short beginning or sneek peek of what's about to happen later.
And here's an example of a feature lead from the New York Times by reporter Martin Fackler: "OMA, Japan — Fishermen here call it “black gold,” referring to the dark red flesh of the Pacific bluefin tuna that is so prized in this sashimi-loving nation that just one of these sleek fish, which can weigh a half-ton, can earn tens of thousands of dollars."
There are some facts and details in that sentence, telling the what and where, but doesn't really give the basic, specific details of what's happening. It's basically an introduction to what the article is all about and it leaves the reader slightly captivated, wanting to read more. This may be why I call it the "clincher" or "catcher" sentence.
Another example of a feature lead comes from The Sun again, only the lead is hard to pinpoint. "Cephas Thomas didn't know whether he'd laugh, cry or give a speech when "Paddy" Culbert finally returned to town. He knew it would be a moment he'd never forget. Two years ago, Thomas, security director at the Renaissance Harborplace, was at work in the lobby when Culbert, a New Hampshire businessman, happened to be driving by. The New Englander had been working crazy hours and was tired. He didn't realize he was about to have a stroke." (Johnathan Pitts)
The lead is very hard to find because all of that information is in the first paragraph and it gives more of a classic story approach. When I read this, I was compelled to read more of the article to see what happened with this man who didn't know he was having a stroke.
Rolling Stone magazine does a different take on leads. "Minutes before the official opening of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s staged rendition of American Idiot, the members of Green Day were their usual affable selves." (Barry Walters) Then it goes into a quote from the band's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
The feature lead there takes a little more of a personal standpoint for an interesting story. But the whole article on Green Day making their best album into a broadway musical is mostly told in an objective voice. The story is still written with more creativity because it's more personal to the band that they're doing something different than any other rock band has done.
Feature leads and summary leads, I think I may have gone over them before in this blog before, but I don't know. I'll go over it again, if I did talk about it.
Feature leads are basically more craftier that summary leads. Summary leads are normally used when writing a story on "default". This means that summary leads are just normal leads with an objective voice and just summarizes what happens in the story. It just gives the who, what, when and where very quickly before the story goes into further details.
This is an example from the Baltimore Sun newspaper that shows a semblance to a summary lead: "Five football players at Baltimore's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and the mother of one student were arrested in the stabbings and beatings of a 14-year-old boy and three of his friends last weekend, Baltimore County police said Friday." (by Brent Jones)
Feature leads are slightly different. Instead of cramming all the W's in the first sentence right away, a quick preview of the story is given first. It's more of a short beginning or sneek peek of what's about to happen later.
And here's an example of a feature lead from the New York Times by reporter Martin Fackler: "OMA, Japan — Fishermen here call it “black gold,” referring to the dark red flesh of the Pacific bluefin tuna that is so prized in this sashimi-loving nation that just one of these sleek fish, which can weigh a half-ton, can earn tens of thousands of dollars."
There are some facts and details in that sentence, telling the what and where, but doesn't really give the basic, specific details of what's happening. It's basically an introduction to what the article is all about and it leaves the reader slightly captivated, wanting to read more. This may be why I call it the "clincher" or "catcher" sentence.
Another example of a feature lead comes from The Sun again, only the lead is hard to pinpoint. "Cephas Thomas didn't know whether he'd laugh, cry or give a speech when "Paddy" Culbert finally returned to town. He knew it would be a moment he'd never forget. Two years ago, Thomas, security director at the Renaissance Harborplace, was at work in the lobby when Culbert, a New Hampshire businessman, happened to be driving by. The New Englander had been working crazy hours and was tired. He didn't realize he was about to have a stroke." (Johnathan Pitts)
The lead is very hard to find because all of that information is in the first paragraph and it gives more of a classic story approach. When I read this, I was compelled to read more of the article to see what happened with this man who didn't know he was having a stroke.
Rolling Stone magazine does a different take on leads. "Minutes before the official opening of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s staged rendition of American Idiot, the members of Green Day were their usual affable selves." (Barry Walters) Then it goes into a quote from the band's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
The feature lead there takes a little more of a personal standpoint for an interesting story. But the whole article on Green Day making their best album into a broadway musical is mostly told in an objective voice. The story is still written with more creativity because it's more personal to the band that they're doing something different than any other rock band has done.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
An announcement
Yes, there is yet another announcement on this blog. I know you must be tired of hearing all of these announcements.
Baltimore Vinyl is coming out with its first online issue next week!
That's right, several articles, including some things I've covered, reviews, This American Campus: Towson and one of the posts from The Little Voice.
The countdown has initiated. The first issue will be released online on soon! Stay tuned!
It will be at this website (but don't click on it now because it's not up yet): http://tiger.towson.edu/~rahren1/pages/baltimorevinyl_vol1_issue1.html
See you there...
Baltimore Vinyl is coming out with its first online issue next week!
That's right, several articles, including some things I've covered, reviews, This American Campus: Towson and one of the posts from The Little Voice.
The countdown has initiated. The first issue will be released online on soon! Stay tuned!
It will be at this website (but don't click on it now because it's not up yet): http://tiger.towson.edu/~rahren1/pages/baltimorevinyl_vol1_issue1.html
See you there...
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
This American Campus- a wake up call
This American campus is... crazy. Maybe a little too overbroad of an idea.
No, This American Campus is my new beat blog. It really is. And it's here on Blogger.
You can also see it on wordpress.com.
It's a new blog covering the unusual, quirky, interesting, and exciting things on campus. Take a break from the news about Michael Jackson's autopsy and court case, the swine flu and all the boring same old news on campus. It's about time for a wake up call.
Go to thisamericancampustu.blogspot.com (or same name on wordpress.com) for more details and updates.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Wake up and smell the journalism!
No, This American Campus is my new beat blog. It really is. And it's here on Blogger.
You can also see it on wordpress.com.
It's a new blog covering the unusual, quirky, interesting, and exciting things on campus. Take a break from the news about Michael Jackson's autopsy and court case, the swine flu and all the boring same old news on campus. It's about time for a wake up call.
Go to thisamericancampustu.blogspot.com (or same name on wordpress.com) for more details and updates.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Wake up and smell the journalism!
Merriweather review- updated!
I haven't really gotten the chance to post this at all in months. But here's my concert review at last!!!
Please read my entire concert review of Fall Out Boy performing at Merriweather Post Pavillion online! I know the concert was in April, but this was probably one of the best reviews I've given. It was well worth the wait.
Instead of going to Tigerfest last semester, I decided to attend a completely different concert in Columbia, Md., and I decided to write a cool review on it. After all, I was a bit tired of hearing "Gives You Hell" every twenty minutes. And like that Sheryl Crow song, a change has done me good.
See it here: Fall Out Boy rocks out at Merriweather
Check it out soon
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Hello... Hello again
In the lyrics of the song "Hello" by The Cars: "Hello... hello again."
I am doing another introductory blog here for yet another semester of Journalism. As I'm listening to Paramore's debut album All We Know is Falling (An Alternative Press magazine reporter said the band will release a new record, Brand New Eyes, later this month.), I'm trying to make up my mind which topic this beat blog should be strictly about. Should I strictly cover music or local issues pertaining to campus or both? (Local issues such as the economy affecting the Towson Town Center Mall and affecting happy hour for 21-year-old students.)
Other than that, I am excited for this class since I get to do one of the things I love to do most, especially with my new professor (who's my advisor as well). Well, since this is a new class with brand new people, I'll just introduce myself again.
I'm Rachel Beth Ahrens (I just go by Rachel and my middle name's Elizabeth but I shortened it). I have a wild passion for the two loves of my life: music (particularly rock and old school jazz) and writing. I read and write constantly; I did a whole lot of it over the summer. Like my father, I'm a rabid chocoholic. I cracked at Baskin Robbins a couple of days ago by devouring a delicious scoop of low fat chocolate ice cream that tasted like frozen chocolate mousse.
And I will be the very first woman in my entire family to finish college with a bachelor's degree, so I better make the next two years count.
The reason I took MCOM 258 (or Journalism and New Media II) is not only for my journalism major's requirements, I want to improve my writing even more. My writing has improved so much after taking 257 last semester. I have many, many ideas for what I want to do after college. I have a very good idea for a new music/entertainment/political magazine that I'm actually practicing with right now. The magazine would be similar to that of Spin, Rolling Stone or Alternative Press.
Other than that, I have an idea for my own radio show, since I love music so much. It would have a never ending playlist of rock tunes with breaks for music and other news (local news and political). The other career paths I might want to look into are anchoring for the news on television, writing for Spin or Alternative Press or maybe become an author since I love writing fictional stories as well. But I think I could become a college professor when I'm tired of doing all of that or if I decide to get married and have a family.
However, I really don't know where I'll go at this point. All I know right now is that I want to write more than anything. Someone in the journalism field of work said "You've got to really want it." So I'm taking all the writing classes I can to help me along the way.
One of the things I will take with me for the next two years of college and beyond is something my dad heard not long ago. He ran into a reporter from the San Fransisco Chronicle somehow and he asked him for some advice for his future journalist daughter. The reporter said: "Be aggressive, because no one's going to come to you when you need a job. Put yourself out there and don't ever stop writing. Write about anything and write all the time."
I am doing another introductory blog here for yet another semester of Journalism. As I'm listening to Paramore's debut album All We Know is Falling (An Alternative Press magazine reporter said the band will release a new record, Brand New Eyes, later this month.), I'm trying to make up my mind which topic this beat blog should be strictly about. Should I strictly cover music or local issues pertaining to campus or both? (Local issues such as the economy affecting the Towson Town Center Mall and affecting happy hour for 21-year-old students.)
Other than that, I am excited for this class since I get to do one of the things I love to do most, especially with my new professor (who's my advisor as well). Well, since this is a new class with brand new people, I'll just introduce myself again.
I'm Rachel Beth Ahrens (I just go by Rachel and my middle name's Elizabeth but I shortened it). I have a wild passion for the two loves of my life: music (particularly rock and old school jazz) and writing. I read and write constantly; I did a whole lot of it over the summer. Like my father, I'm a rabid chocoholic. I cracked at Baskin Robbins a couple of days ago by devouring a delicious scoop of low fat chocolate ice cream that tasted like frozen chocolate mousse.
And I will be the very first woman in my entire family to finish college with a bachelor's degree, so I better make the next two years count.
The reason I took MCOM 258 (or Journalism and New Media II) is not only for my journalism major's requirements, I want to improve my writing even more. My writing has improved so much after taking 257 last semester. I have many, many ideas for what I want to do after college. I have a very good idea for a new music/entertainment/political magazine that I'm actually practicing with right now. The magazine would be similar to that of Spin, Rolling Stone or Alternative Press.
Other than that, I have an idea for my own radio show, since I love music so much. It would have a never ending playlist of rock tunes with breaks for music and other news (local news and political). The other career paths I might want to look into are anchoring for the news on television, writing for Spin or Alternative Press or maybe become an author since I love writing fictional stories as well. But I think I could become a college professor when I'm tired of doing all of that or if I decide to get married and have a family.
However, I really don't know where I'll go at this point. All I know right now is that I want to write more than anything. Someone in the journalism field of work said "You've got to really want it." So I'm taking all the writing classes I can to help me along the way.
One of the things I will take with me for the next two years of college and beyond is something my dad heard not long ago. He ran into a reporter from the San Fransisco Chronicle somehow and he asked him for some advice for his future journalist daughter. The reporter said: "Be aggressive, because no one's going to come to you when you need a job. Put yourself out there and don't ever stop writing. Write about anything and write all the time."
Monday, August 31, 2009
New Blog! The Little Voice has arrived
Hello all!
I have just created a brand new blog that will contain all of my opinion articles and editor's notes that are on the Baltimore Vinyl website. The first post is already up for you to see- it's a part in an opinion series called "Rachel's Rant". I tend to have some very thoughtful rants from time to time and I've finally decided to post them!
If you ever get the chance, please take a moment to visit the site and take a look. I will be posting another rant about my first year as a transfer/commuter student soon. Stay tuned!
Hope everyone has a great first week of the semester at Towson!
Later!
-Rachel
I have just created a brand new blog that will contain all of my opinion articles and editor's notes that are on the Baltimore Vinyl website. The first post is already up for you to see- it's a part in an opinion series called "Rachel's Rant". I tend to have some very thoughtful rants from time to time and I've finally decided to post them!
If you ever get the chance, please take a moment to visit the site and take a look. I will be posting another rant about my first year as a transfer/commuter student soon. Stay tuned!
Hope everyone has a great first week of the semester at Towson!
Later!
-Rachel
Friday, August 14, 2009
A lovely comical 'Summer'- 500 Days of Summer
Zooey Deschanel (right) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (left) stand in the elevator in the film "500 Days of Summer". AMC Theatres showed an advanced screening on July 22 before the movie was released everywhere August 7. (Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight productions)
If a comedy movie about love was made into a book, it should be placed somewhere between Tim O'Brien and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And that spot is especially reserved for this movie.
In fact, never before has a movie been taken into a form of a novel. There have been books made into movies, but there was never a movie that was made exactly like a real fiction novel that took a close look at real life. This innovative film was probably the first to create a novel theme to a comedy that examines romance and the bullshit of destiny and fate down to its core.
500 Days of Summer takes a close examination of real romantic love in great detail, showing how love can give a person very high highs ("I'm so happy I could dance and sing!") and very low lows ("So depressed I want to shoot myself."). It involves real life with the idea of a fiction book, teaching how fate and destiny are only in fairy tales and in reality, destiny and fate are only regarded as coincidences. The entire film explains that using the typical "boy meets girl" scenario.
The "boy" is Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stop-Loss), a man working at a greeting card company, who falls in love and becomes obsessed with the "girl", Summer (Zooey Deschanel, Failure to Launch, rock group She and Him). They begin as friends at work, but eventually become more than friends. And just when Tom falls in love with her, Summer leaves him as he spends months pondering over the last 285 days of their relationship to find what went wrong.
The film goes back and forth over the course of five hundred days that Tom spends obsessing over Summer, just like a typical story that follows a pattern similar to that of a classic American author. The story starts in the middle of the plot as there are flashbacks and fast forwards to what happens later on in Tom's life.
To add to the whole classic novel experience in the theatre, the opening credits begin after the author's note and a brief prologue from the narrator. The author's note states that everything in the movie is fictional and if anything had some semblance to things in real life, it was only coincidental. Then, the narrator entered with a prologue on the two characters' backgrounds before the opening titles rolled.
Another fictional fairy tale quality of the film was the scene where a smiling Levitt is dancing around to Hall and Oates's "You Make My Dreams Come True". His character just woke up after an incredible night with Summer and started dancing with the rest of the city. A marching band passes by and there's a small interaction with a cartoon, which gives a hillarious Snow White impression.
Yet, the film also has a strong closeness to reality. As soon as Tom entered the elevator on his way to work after the hysterical fairy tale scene, the story flash forwards to day 303 where Tom is totally miserable. Suddenly, Tom's clothes are sloppy and all of the grayness settles in to the workplace when he steps out of the elevator.
Also, the dirt, sweat, messy clothes and even the circles and bags under the actors' eyes were clearly shown to add to give a more realistic effect. There are split screen moments where there is a divide between what the main character expects and what really happens. It's basically the common, real life romance tragedy, told as if a classic postmodern writer would tell it, reminding the audience that everything is fake.
Clever, captivating, bittersweet, ironic, hillarious and surreal, 500 Days of Summer is probably the most highly recommended breakup movie that everyone needs to see. You will start laughing in the first minute guaranteed. If you don't laugh anywhere in the film or get any of the messages in the story, there is something mentally and physically wrong with you.
Rating: 4 hearts
Rating guide: 1 heart- Don't even leave the house, 2 hearts- Rent it, 3 hearts- See it in digital, 4 hearts- See it twice in the theatre, 5 hearts- See it twice and buy the DVD
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Rock band plays at Paws without singer
The rock band Alethia performs Friday, May 1, 2009 at the Local Scene concert in Paws. The band has been playing without a singer since they formed in October, 2007.
Alethia hangs out after a performance. From left to right: drummer Alex Falbo, guitarist Anthony Falbo and bassist Paul Steindler. (Photos by Rachel Beth Ahrens / May 1, 2009)Alethia, an alternative experimental rock band from Glen Arm, Md., performed Friday night at the Local Scene concert in Paws, without a lead singer.
The Campus Activities Board hosted the concert, which was their last event of the year and the last on campus event for local bands. Other bands that played were Getting to Goodbye, What's the Verdict and Crash Boom Bang. Alethia had microphones on stage, but none of their members sang throughout their thirty minute slot.
Guitarist Anthony Falbo said he was trying to develop his voice, but it was a work in progress. He additionally said that the band never had a singer.
Finding a lead singer for this band isn't easy.
"We've auditioned a lot of people," drummer and junior history major Alex Falbo said. "In terms of what we were looking for, we haven't been able to find one yet. Our music is heavily instrumental, so even if they were to sing, they won't be singing a lot."
Bassist Paul Steindler said that the group was more worried about getting “somebody that isn't going to sound how we want them to sound and they're not going to be good for our type of music.”
Although the band has been playing instrumentally for the whole time, there is a reason for why they still want one. "We do have lyrics," Falbo said. "So the songs do have themes, and the names correspond with those themes."
The band has been playing and recording since roughly January of 2008, according to Falbo, and it has been successful despite not having a frontman.
"Instrumental has worked," Falbo said. "We have a strong following, we just produced a demo, we have merchandise, we've been playing and we created our own venue in Timonium. And it's hard for instrumental bands to get gigs. We've been told, 'How do you expect to sell tickets if you don't have a singer?'"
However, the band has already played at other venues and built a following. "We played at the Recher twice," his brother Anthony said. "So we bring a crowd consistently, but without the singer, you have to step it up instrumentally to fill in for that."
"You need lots more melodies," he continued. "The bass needs to be very tight with the guitar, combining melodies and progressions, sometimes switching off parts and the drums always have to hold down perfectly."
Alex Falbo has played drums since he was 4 and works intensely with his brother Anthony and Steindler. "My brother writes the songs, I structure them and Paul also writes a couple of the tunes as well," he said. "So this is a very collaborative effort and we definitely don't want to have just anybody singing for us."
Freshman psychology major and Getting to Goodbye bassist Matt Taylor was impressed with the band. "It was my first time seeing them, but I thought it was really interesting because they don't have any vocals," he said. "I thought it was a good show."
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Audition softens up on Self-Titled Album
The Audition recently released their third record on April 28, 2009, entitled Self-Titled Album, from Victory Records. (Photo courtesy of Myspace.com / May 9, 2009)Something funny happened to The Audition when they released their latest album.
Their debut album, Controversy Loves Company, was the attention getter of many pop punk listeners. The follow-up, Champion, delivered a darker, razor sharp edge to their sound that clashed with descriptive, dream like intamacy lyrics. I was extremely impressed with the band's talent and technique on that last album. It may have been their best yet and I hoped that they'd keep getting better.
But when I found that the band recently recorded another album and bassist Joe Lussa left the band, I was in for another, yet less positive, surprise. Self-Titled Album, the third installment by the rock group, is a little bit more on the softer side of Champion. After listening to the entire record on Myspace, I was somewhat disappointed. I expected more firey guitar solos and songs with themes of angst, heartbreak and musicianship.
On the other hand, the album still rocks despite the pop fused punk style the band appeals to, the extra synthesizers and the Fruit Stripes album cover. There are still some great guitar licks and solos and the lead singer's voice has never been better. Perhaps this album is reaching out to audiences who prefer easy listening music to the sounds of screeching, chugging electric guitars.
"It's Gonna Be Hard (When I'm Gone)" is a perfect example of a song that appeals to a more easy listening audience. It begins with a gentle acoustic guitar melody before frontman Danny Stevens enters with the first verse. By the chorus, the song turns into a beautiful power ballad of heartbreak.
Stevens clearly hasn't lost his lovely, resonant voice that sometimes reminds me of The Alan Parsons Project. In fact, he has increased his vocal range on this album than ever before, which is impressive. He goes beyond listeners' expectations in "The Way That You Move" and the new single "My Temperature's Rising". It was also surprising to see that after roughly four years that the rock group has been together, Stevens finally picks up a guitar after their bassist left in January.
Some other tunes on the rest of the album are more thoughtful and clever than I thought was going to be, judging by the melodies on all ten tracks. "Over My Head" takes a stalker-user approach to the piece. The song is as electrifying and seductive as the scintillating lyrics. It would be even better if there was a more powerful guitar solo rather than repeating a chord progression during the bridge.
The Audition's new sexy single "My Temperature's Rising" sounds like a continuation of another one of their hits, "Warm Me Up", only that the tune takes a more romantic approach. The single itself has a Bon Jovi like rhythm and catchy lyrics to correspond with the warm, bright, colorful melody. However, the single isn't very original because it has the same description of how falling in love was like getting a fever or the flu, which is used in many other songs. But after seeing an online video interview and looking at the lyrics differently, it's actually more about finding out more about the person as love unfolds, like conducting surgery.
And somehow, The Audition always saves the best for last. "Sign. Steal. Deliver." is a tune that pays homage to Champion. It has a much darker tone, cutting into the heart of an ex, which the lyrics are about. The title is satirical, since it looks like it's taken from the Stevie Wonder hit, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours". But this song is just the opposite of the intended Wonder theme; it's a final note to a lover after a breakup. As for the song itself, it gives a harder, edgier rhythm and melody which is pleasing to The Audition's diehard listeners.
Although the album is catchy, biting and agreeable, Self-Titled uses too many synthesizers and not enough talent. It reminds me of the Plain White T's old sound. I'm still waiting to hear a record from them that will flat out throw me on the floor with originality and art. But from what I've heard, the band sounds like it's going to take a few steps back. If that's because the band lost their bass player, their guitarist Timothy Klepek has filled in for bass, and Danny Stevens is still learning guitar, there might be a reason for why The Audition is slowing down on their style. I'm going to give them another chance because their last record was crapshoot and I have a feeling that they're going to improve. Fall Out Boy has improved so much, especially with their record Folie A Deux, so now I'm waiting for The Audition to find their real groove that is uniquely them rather than All Time Low.
Overall, this record is well worth the money and time. After listening to the album about five times, it's just as great as their other albums. But I'll be waiting for their real, original sound.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Students find alternatives in a shaky economy
Students wait in line at Paws to order lunch. More students have taken advantage of meal plans rather than going out to eat due to the economy.Towson University students have found inexpensive ways to use their time and get to campus since the beginning of the 2009 recession.
“The time I spend with my friends is usually not going out to places we don’t have the money to be going out once or twice a week,” senior philosophy major R.J. Wines said. “We stay connected through the Internet, talk, instant message, play games online. Or, if we do want to go out somewhere, it’s very seldom, but we just meet up at one of the friends’ houses and just hang out there.”
“We definitely take advantage of the free pool tables they have in Paws,” senior computer science major Matt Sammarco said. “That’s definitely a good time killer.”
According to Bob Campbell, the Director of Auxilary Services, sales of meal plans have increased.
“As enrollment has grown, and as more people come, we tend to sell more meal plans,” he said. “It’s hard to factor out who would have been here if Towson had not grown, and who’s here as a result of Towson growing.”
With a meal plan or dining points, the price of a meal is lower than paying cash because each meal purchased with the OneCard excludes the 6 percent sales tax. And due to recent price increases, students use their meal plans and dining points more often.
“A lot of my friends, we mainly just stay in most of the time,” sophomore vocal performance major Emma Anderson said. “I have a lot of friends that live off campus and they go to get food a lot and that’s kind of hard for me just because I’m living off of loans right now. So, I do the alternative of having them come here and just hang out in my dorm or their apartment.”
Students are also taking advantage of the shuttle system.
“I live in one of the apartment complexes that has a shuttle,” senior chemistry major Genesis Hugghis said. “So even if I didn’t have the money to fill my gas tank up, I would still be able to take the school shuttle bus that they provide for us.”
Students are even avoiding alcohol to save money.
“I just usually go to parties or I just don’t drink at all because I don’t really find the need to drink too much,” junior theatre major Stephanie Holland said. “My friends are fun enough without drinking. Usually I just save whatever alcohol I have and try to drink as little as possible to save money because alcohol is expensive.”
Photojournalism! Practice shots
Some pictures I took last Thursday or Friday, just to practice taking shots.
Outside Van Bokklen... spring hath sprung!
Different angles and shots
Some action shots... that aren't all that great.
Girls playing football? No! There are no girls in football!
Fight on, Towson Tigers, fight on black and gold, fight on Towson Tigers, blah blah blah blah blah blah, fight fight...
Outside Van Bokklen... spring hath sprung!
Different angles and shots
Some action shots... that aren't all that great.
Girls playing football? No! There are no girls in football!
Fight on, Towson Tigers, fight on black and gold, fight on Towson Tigers, blah blah blah blah blah blah, fight fight... Wish I knew the words to the TU fight song. Even though I've only transferred from CCBC last semester and I've been at Towson for nearly a year, I still don't know it.
Metro Goldwyn Meyer Productions presents...
Tiger Eyes
Here, kitty kitty... rrrrrowl
Metro Goldwyn Meyer Productions presents...
Tiger Eyes
Here, kitty kitty... rrrrrowl Tiger pride!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Dialogue Wins Towson Battle of the Bands: Band to Open for Tigerfest
The Dialogue performing Friday night at the Battle of the Bands competition. The Dialogue won a Paul Reed Smith guitar as well as an opening slot for Tigerfest on April 25.
The Dialogue won the annual Battle of the Bands competition Friday night in Paws after several other rock performances, CAB Programming Chair and host Amanda Walter announced.The indie rock band was "speechless" when they won the competition, lead singer Drew Shaffer said. It was their first performance they've had since they finished recording their new album, to be released this spring, guitarist Brian Pollack said.
The Campus Activities Board hosted the event on March 6, from 7 to 10 p.m., where bands from the Towson music scene competed. The winner received an opening performance for the All American Rejects at Tigerfest, scheduled for April 25, and a Paul Reed Smith guitar. All bands that previously performed came to the stage at 10 p.m. where Walter announced the winner.
Some Like It Hot opened first, followed by Count Me In, Railaway, The Dialogue, and Getting to Goodbye. A group of judges who were members of CAB arrived at the event to decide which band would play at Tigerfest.
"We judge them based on their press kits and we judge them based on what we thought would fit Tigerfest," Walter said.
Hundreds of Towson students with their families came to the event to cheer on the bands. "A lot of our friends go here, so we feel at home," Some Like It Hot guitarist and business major Greg Parker said.
Each band also had at least one Towson student as a member of the band. "It's cool... to play the festival where we go to school." Drummer Jordan Goodman said. "If I could pick any festival we can play for, it would be at Towson."
CAB Assistant Director Janet Kirsch said that Tigerfest would also be great for a band's resume. "We like to give Towson students a great opportunity to move forward in their careers," she said.
Some bands aren't so sure of continuing after Battle of the Bands. Music education major and member of Some Like It Hot Mikiel Peratino said: "Some of our members are in other bands, too. We have to talk to each other first."
Others are even more hopeful of getting noticed. "We're trying to go as far as we can with our music, wherever it takes us," Chris Diller of Railaway said. "We want to live passionately."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Gone Shopping- "Confessions of a Shopaholic"
Imagine your relationship as a red Prada cashmere coat... It's beautiful and soft and comfortable; it gives you all the power and confidence. Then, you find out that it's dry clean only and the fabric is cheap, light material that doesn't keep you warm in chilly, windy weather and gets ripped at the seams the first day you wear it.That's not how I see a relationship normally, but I can understand shopaholic Becky Bloomwood's situation with buying things just for the labels.
On February 19, I paid a visit to the normal, expensive movie theatre, which is unusual for me because my parents can't afford something like that. Tickets cost eight or nine dollars per person today, which is pretty crazy considering the economic crisis today. However, the trip to the movies was worth it. I excitedly wanted to see Confessions of a Shopaholic ever since I saw the hysterical preview online.
The film stars Isla Fisher (the red-haired copy editor love interest in Definitely, Maybe and the crazy, 'stage five clinger' in The Wedding Crashers) as Rebecca Bloomwood, a New York journalist who has an obsession with trendy labels such as Prada, Chanel, Yves Saint Lauren, Gucci, and a bunch of others. She is so obsessed with shopping, that she's thousands of dollars in debt.
The movie begins with a flashback, where Becky is a little girl in a shoe store, sadly gazing at the cheap brown loafers her mom bought her and then looking back at the other girls her age who had prettier shoes than she did. Later, she passes by a very expensive store, where young Becky is mesmerized by all the beautiful fabrics and the women with "magic credit cards" who can buy as many of those fabrics as they wish.
Fast forward to present day, Becky now has twelve credit cards and an overflowing closet of over-priced clothes, bags, and shoes. But the one thing she fears most is the debt collector. She refuses to pay her credit card debt back, let alone even looking at the bills, and she makes ridiculous excuses over the phone not to pay them. And when the magazine she works for folds, she has to search for a new job and pay the bills back. She wanted to work for Allete, a fashion magazine she's coveted for years. Since the position she desired was filled, she gets hired by the manager of a savings magazine (Hugh Dancy, Jane Austen Book Club). Though, it's hillarious how she lands the job: after she and her roommate Suze looked at the credit card bills over shots of tequila, Becky wrote a pleasing article for her boss about the financial analysis of purchasing different shoes.
The movie continues with hillarious scenes and jokes about Becky's struggle with her addiction to stores and writing stories under the name 'The Girl in the Green Scarf'. She bestowed the title upon herself after purchasing a $120 green scarf with several different credit cards on her way to an interview with the boss of Successful Saving, who also helped her pay for the scarf by handing her twenty dollars at a hot dog stand.
The film is comical as it is suspenseful. Every moment was exciting, funny, and thoughtful as to today's economic crisis. I giggled incessantly when a mannequin came to life in Becky's mind, coaxing her into buying the green scarf. I give excellent, commending marks to the screenwriters. There is only one snippet near the end of the movie where it becomes dramatic, where Becky loses her job and her best friend/roommate, but it only lasts about ten minutes or so. Then, it gets back up to its fast-paced speed, only with Becky's financial makeover and change of heart. And the ending is just as funny and adorable as the rest of the film.
It not only pokes fun at movies and shows such as The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City, it takes revenge on all expensive stores that no one can afford. Every time I go into Hollister or G by Guess at Towson Town Center, I admire all the beautiful, stylish clothes but I never buy any because I know a simple t-shirt should not cost more than $10-15. I may have shopped at Wal Mart and Target for too long to believe that a shirt on the clearance rack for $15-20 is a good price, but I still think that a shirt at that price is an affront to any wallet. But go to a shop like Armani Exchange or Saks Fifth Avenue, the prices are much scarier than a bad deal at Arden B. A woman's blouse by Armani could cost anywhere between $50 and $98. Saks Fifth Avenue is even worse- tops cost as little as $100, and possibly even splurge over $2,000, which is almost the cost of yearly tuition at a community college. No one could possibly afford anything in there, unless that person is wealthy enough to pay for it, like Gwenyth Paltrow.
The other aspect of the film is that it gives the impression of "rehabilitation" for someone sobering up from drugs or alcohol. The scenes with the "Shopaholics Anonymous" group is hysterical and it eventually helps Becky kick the bad credit habit. ("My wallet is closed! I do not want to shop!") Also, the entire film reaches out to those with financial issues. The entire lesson of the film is not to spend money on things that are unneccessary. There are some cheap clothes and accessories out there that are inexpensive and fashionable. The film additionally reminded me of a lesson I learned in the past: NEVER get a credit card or it will ruin the rest of your life.
I highly reccommend any fellow redheads and fashion lovers to see this film. It isn't just some ordinary chick flick and it's well worth viewing than laughing occasionally or yawning through He's Just Not That Into You. Confessions of a Shopaholic is a long awaited, nail biting, must-see empowering comedy of 2009.
Rating: 5 hearts
Rating guide: 1 heart- Don't even leave the house, 2 hearts- Rent it, 3 hearts- See it in digital, 4 hearts- See it twice in the theatre, 5 hearts- See it twice and buy the DVD
Monday, March 2, 2009
News Story Draft- Toddler Caught in a Washer
It's not exactly 100 words, but it's close enough.
Rockland- A girl nearly drowned herself yesterday afternoon in a washing machine at Glen Rock Laundry and Dry Cleaner.
Police Chief Ralph Robinson said that 3-year old Jennifer Childs climbed inside one of the washers while playing with her sister at the laundromat. Jennifer's sister Elizabeth, 7, closed the door without knowing that a customer previously put coins into the machine, he said.
When Elizabeth realized the washer was running, she went to get her aunt, Janice Childs. Childs tried to open the door, but could not because the washers had automatic door locks. Five minutes later, a bystander, Paul Hecker, rescued Jennifer by using a hammer to smash the glass in the washing machine door.
Afterwards, a Rockland Hospital spokesperson said the hospital admitted Jennifer and listed her in good condition.
Rockland- A girl nearly drowned herself yesterday afternoon in a washing machine at Glen Rock Laundry and Dry Cleaner.
Police Chief Ralph Robinson said that 3-year old Jennifer Childs climbed inside one of the washers while playing with her sister at the laundromat. Jennifer's sister Elizabeth, 7, closed the door without knowing that a customer previously put coins into the machine, he said.
When Elizabeth realized the washer was running, she went to get her aunt, Janice Childs. Childs tried to open the door, but could not because the washers had automatic door locks. Five minutes later, a bystander, Paul Hecker, rescued Jennifer by using a hammer to smash the glass in the washing machine door.
Afterwards, a Rockland Hospital spokesperson said the hospital admitted Jennifer and listed her in good condition.
Tips for Future News Writers
(Photo courtesy of "Confessions of a Shopaholic") Curious about your surroundings? Want to find out about things happening at Towson U and in your neighborhood? Feeling creative writing juices? To anyone who wants to be a journalist, here are several tips for writing news stories and finding good stories to write about.- First off, keep these five words in mind (somehow, they come in fives): accuracy, transparency, fairness, objectivity, and thouroughness. These words keep all journalists in check when writing a good news story. Allow me to break it down briefly. When in doubt, don't use information that may be controversial or inaccurate. Evaluate every piece of information you have. Tell readers where you got the information from and be honest about any conflicts of interest. Look at all sides to a story and give equal coverage of a story. (In other words, be open minded.) Try to leave your opinions at home when you go to write. Finally, answer all questions that you have and do lots of research before hitting the event for your story.
- To maintain focus in the entire story, follow the 5 W's and the H, especially when you write your lead. In news stories, the most important information about an event is written first. This includes the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Remember this for your story, especially when you write your lead. The lead is usually the first sentence of a story that summarizes what happened quickly in less than 30 words. It usually includes the who, what, where, and when in one sentence. "Who did what where, at what time, (someone) said."
- Most important writing tip: write in SVO not OVS! Almost every news story in AP style format is written in SVO, or subject-verb-object. "Person did something", not "Something was done by this person." It saves a lot more words in the lead and in the story. All news stories need to be brief and to the point.
- Characteristics of a great summary lead: specifics (not vague, contains the most information), doesn't back in (strong leads don't have introductory phrases or clauses before the subject), conciseness (only put in the essential information in the beginning of a story), active voice (where a subject takes action, creating movement in the story and catches the reader's attention! once again, SVO not OVS)
- The "when" of your lead should usually go after the verb, to avoid confusing your readers.
- Handle each element and detail of your story one at a time. Don't try to blend them all at once in your story. Start with the most important, then break it down.
- Let the inverted pyramid be your guide for writing an interesting, pivotal news article. The inverted pyramid is the journalist's ultimate format and blueprint for writing in order to get a hold of readers. Your stories should be in this kind of style: most important information at the top (where you tell your story really quick), body (retelling the story with further details and interesting info. either chronologically or by order of importance), and the ending. However, you may want the story to just end where it is at the end of the body. You don't have to make a thoughtful statement at the end. Just let the remaining facts end your story.
- Double check your facts: names are spelled correctly, corporate or company names are also spelled correctly, titles of people or things (refer to the AP style book), numbers are correct, and any photos or graphics are relevant. Also, make sure you have places and dates are correct.
- Depending on what kind of story you're writing, you may or may not use a delayed lead. There are two kinds of leads that writers use: delayed and direct. Direct leads are the most frequently used leads in stories- they are basically the leads used in the above fashion (active voice, under 30 words, SVO, etc.). On the other hand, delayed leads are used in stories where the information isn't as important, but very interesting to learn about or second day stories. (Second day stories are follow up stories to a prior story that just covered the basic information. For instance, the "first day" story covered a very prominent or shocking event that happened yesterday, but didn't answer the how or why it happened. The second day story covers the rest of the interesting information.) Just decide whether or not to open your story with either lead style. You will see both styles used in publications such as The New York Times. But normally, delayed leads are used most in other sections of newspapers and direct leads are used primarilly in the news.
- Note on quotes: Know the quote rules! Make sure you get everything down word for word when quoting people. That, or you can use a partial quote. Also, remember when you quote the person, use the word said when in doubt. And, use said in the right order- "Blah blah blah blah blah," (person) said. NOT "...," said (person). You want to stay in active voice the entire time. The quote rules are listed in the blog below about newswriting rules.
- Covering events, speeches, conferences, meetings, panels, and others: Make sure you are well prepared, like going on a job interview, almost. Get any information about the event in advance. Prepare any questions you may have. Do plenty of research. Ask for clarity. Listen carefully, take good notes, check the details, and bring a tape recorder if you need to. And last, but definitely not least, look around at everyone else to find any sudden recations to anything.
- Another tip on writing about events you may cover: don't get correlation and causation mixed up! Correlation is when events happen at the exact same time and causation is where somethins causes something else (like a domino effect- event causes event). Make sure you get your facts straight and check your sources to get the correct insight of the events. Be careful of making assumptions! You may be wrong about something.
- Don't be a Becky Bloomwood (character from "Confessions of a Shopaholic", review of film coming soon). In other words, don't Google exactly what you're looking for and write things down word for word. Don't write about something without leaving your room. You can conduct research to look at what you're getting into, it can help you formulate questions. Don't be afraid to go out there and find an interesting event. In this case, it's alright to be curious!
Sorry if this is long, but I'm sure you can refer back to it when you can. These tips should help you out a lot and you'll be well on your way to writing the next featured news story, maybe.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Chapter 5- Newswriting Rules
1.) Inverted pyramid- the format of news stories, the framework, the blueprints. This helps writers write good stories to get readers' attentions.
It should look kind of like this-
In Jeremy Caplan's class at CCBC (community college I transfered from)-
Important information
More details
More details
More details
What the textbook says-
Important information
Interesting, colorful details
Remaining facts
It looks like an upside down triangle or pyramid.
2.) Delayed lead- doesn't show the major facts of a story to a reader and catches the reader's attention more creatively, usually when the information is more interesting than important.
Other names for this term: feature or soft leads
Towerlight example: The Peruvian Amazon is known for being one of the greatest places on Earth to find a biologically diverse environment. - Daniel Gross
3.) Nut graf- adds more important information than the lead can handle, helps the reader understand why the story's important.
*usually written directly after the lead
4.) In AP style, the when should be placed right after the verb.
Examples:
The Student Government vice president called Thursday... (correct)
The Student Government vice president Thursday called... (confusing title, wrong)
The Student Government vice president called......... Thursday. (sounds like the VP just did this on Thursday, also wrong)
5.) Summary/chronology story- story written in an order of how something happened, uses a summary lead, sums up everything.
6.) Crime issue in writing- Until the person is charged with the crime, it's best not to report the suspect's name. If the name(s) is(are) reported in the story, the suspect(s) may not keep a good reputation anymore and you could get sued for libel.
After someone's been charged with the crime, be careful with the words committed, convicted, allegedly, and charged. If the person was charged with the crime but no one is sure if the person actually committed those actions, it's best not to use the word allegedly. It may be better to say that the person was charged with those infractions.
And when writing the crime story, always describe what happened at the scene first without putting in adjectives or opinion. The suspect's name shouldn't be mentioned in the beginning of the story.
7.) Multiple element- 2-3 different ideas competing for attention, all 2 or 3 ideas are lead-worthy and don't really explain each other.
*Deal with those big elements only one at a time; break it down.
8.) Second day story- follow up stories from the first story that was printed a day or a few before, but require a complete rewrite of the first day stories.
9.) Correlation vs. Causation (big time issue- don't get these two confused!)
Correlation- events that happen at the exact same time
Causation- something causes something else (like a domino effect- event causes event)
Make sure you get your facts straight and check your sources to get the correct insight of the events. Be careful of making assumptions! You may be wrong about something.
10.) Facts to check:
*Names (spelled correctly)
*Dates
*Places
*Corporate (company) names
*Titles
*Numbers
*Photos/graphics
11.) Rules for using quotes-
- Make sure the quote adds to the story.
- Double check that quoted words are the exact words from the person.
- Paraphrase when you have to.
- Partial quotes also work fine for stories. Ex- Thomason said that the LeaderShape experience gave him "the best college experience I could ever get."
- Place attribution carefully. When writing a quote in, use "she said" or "he said" after a complete thought or sentence.
- Stick to "(person) said", not "said (person)." Why? Everything must ALWAYS be in SVO (subject verb object) format.
- Make sure you know who's talking in the quote! When more than one person is quoted in a story, attribution to the quote should be before the first quote of every new speaker. Don't confuse your readers!
And as always, the word 'said' works best for news stories when writing quotes, no matter what. Try not to use any other word than 'said' when using a quote.
It should look kind of like this-
In Jeremy Caplan's class at CCBC (community college I transfered from)-
Important information
More details
More details
More details
What the textbook says-
Important information
Interesting, colorful details
Remaining facts
It looks like an upside down triangle or pyramid.
2.) Delayed lead- doesn't show the major facts of a story to a reader and catches the reader's attention more creatively, usually when the information is more interesting than important.
Other names for this term: feature or soft leads
Towerlight example: The Peruvian Amazon is known for being one of the greatest places on Earth to find a biologically diverse environment. - Daniel Gross
3.) Nut graf- adds more important information than the lead can handle, helps the reader understand why the story's important.
*usually written directly after the lead
4.) In AP style, the when should be placed right after the verb.
Examples:
The Student Government vice president called Thursday... (correct)
The Student Government vice president Thursday called... (confusing title, wrong)
The Student Government vice president called......... Thursday. (sounds like the VP just did this on Thursday, also wrong)
5.) Summary/chronology story- story written in an order of how something happened, uses a summary lead, sums up everything.
6.) Crime issue in writing- Until the person is charged with the crime, it's best not to report the suspect's name. If the name(s) is(are) reported in the story, the suspect(s) may not keep a good reputation anymore and you could get sued for libel.
After someone's been charged with the crime, be careful with the words committed, convicted, allegedly, and charged. If the person was charged with the crime but no one is sure if the person actually committed those actions, it's best not to use the word allegedly. It may be better to say that the person was charged with those infractions.
And when writing the crime story, always describe what happened at the scene first without putting in adjectives or opinion. The suspect's name shouldn't be mentioned in the beginning of the story.
7.) Multiple element- 2-3 different ideas competing for attention, all 2 or 3 ideas are lead-worthy and don't really explain each other.
*Deal with those big elements only one at a time; break it down.
8.) Second day story- follow up stories from the first story that was printed a day or a few before, but require a complete rewrite of the first day stories.
9.) Correlation vs. Causation (big time issue- don't get these two confused!)
Correlation- events that happen at the exact same time
Causation- something causes something else (like a domino effect- event causes event)
Make sure you get your facts straight and check your sources to get the correct insight of the events. Be careful of making assumptions! You may be wrong about something.
10.) Facts to check:
*Names (spelled correctly)
*Dates
*Places
*Corporate (company) names
*Titles
*Numbers
*Photos/graphics
11.) Rules for using quotes-
- Make sure the quote adds to the story.
- Double check that quoted words are the exact words from the person.
- Paraphrase when you have to.
- Partial quotes also work fine for stories. Ex- Thomason said that the LeaderShape experience gave him "the best college experience I could ever get."
- Place attribution carefully. When writing a quote in, use "she said" or "he said" after a complete thought or sentence.
- Stick to "(person) said", not "said (person)." Why? Everything must ALWAYS be in SVO (subject verb object) format.
- Make sure you know who's talking in the quote! When more than one person is quoted in a story, attribution to the quote should be before the first quote of every new speaker. Don't confuse your readers!
And as always, the word 'said' works best for news stories when writing quotes, no matter what. Try not to use any other word than 'said' when using a quote.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Leads, Continued
4.) A state representative is sponsoring a bill increasing penalties for identity theft, making the crime a felony and allowing credit card holders to check for stolen numbers recently.
5.) The state Commission on Crime and Delinquency awarded $1.2 million to Towson school district's at risk program, the Maryland Department of Education said.
5.) The state Commission on Crime and Delinquency awarded $1.2 million to Towson school district's at risk program, the Maryland Department of Education said.
Monday, February 23, 2009
And Now... Practice Headliner Leads
I'll admit, it's much harder to write leads under 20 words rather than 30 words when given a whole load of important information! I tried very hard to get these leads as short as possible.
1.) My lead: BALTIMORE-- Mayor Sabrina Datolli's husband was injured in a three vehicle accident Thursday afternoon.
Next sentence: His car was struck broadside by a pickup truck and then was pushed into the path of another vehicle at the intersection of Warren and Davidson avenues.
2.) Lead: City council members dicussed creating a local board overseeing the downtown historic district's building constructions.
Next paragraph: Council members Sandra Gandolf and Alice Cyeler addressed the matter to the city's planning and zoning commission at the regular monthly meeting. However, they wondered whether or not it was legally possible and if they could muster enough votes to support their desire for implementing the changes.
3.) WASHINGTON-- The Senate's approval of a nuclear waste storage plan will allow safe storage for over 77,000 tons of radioactive waste, the head of the Department of Energy said. (30 words)
1.) My lead: BALTIMORE-- Mayor Sabrina Datolli's husband was injured in a three vehicle accident Thursday afternoon.
Next sentence: His car was struck broadside by a pickup truck and then was pushed into the path of another vehicle at the intersection of Warren and Davidson avenues.
2.) Lead: City council members dicussed creating a local board overseeing the downtown historic district's building constructions.
Next paragraph: Council members Sandra Gandolf and Alice Cyeler addressed the matter to the city's planning and zoning commission at the regular monthly meeting. However, they wondered whether or not it was legally possible and if they could muster enough votes to support their desire for implementing the changes.
3.) WASHINGTON-- The Senate's approval of a nuclear waste storage plan will allow safe storage for over 77,000 tons of radioactive waste, the head of the Department of Energy said. (30 words)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Towson University gets a Second Life
Trial news story--- (A friend of mine already wrote a news story on this event for the Towerlight a week ago. This is just a sample.)
The TU Second Life team along with some assistants from University Marketing, held an event at Paws in the University Union last Thursday, offering a free demonstration of a new software program, Second Life.
Second Life is a free software internet program that is still currently under construction. It gives a 3D virtual environment where people can network and communicate online, according to Mike Moore, a Graduate Assistant of Towson's Interactive Media Design program. Moore said that people using Second Life can also go to lectures, classes, and meetings electronically.
The TU Second Life team includes Center for Interactive Media Design program director Bridget Sullivan, lecturer James Braman, and a couple other collegues who plan to introduce Second Life to students and get them interested in it. "If someone has an interest in technologies, they should try it," Sullivan said.
Many students came by to play with the program to test it out. The Second Life team spread out computers, each one showing a demonstration of the software program, over one section of the entrance to Paws.
Juan Rodas, another Graduate Assistant, displayed a demo of the program on a projector against a screen. "It's supposed to be the next step for the internet," he said, explaining what Second Life was. "You can go to Google and explore it with an artificial character." Not only was this just an artificial character that could explore, it could walk around, jump, and fly to different areas across the screen.
Second Life can also be used in careers. Braman said that Second Life newspapers and magazines were up and coming and the team was looking for journalists to write for those publications. In the demonstration, the Graduate Assistants and the rest of TU Second Life showed the student audience one of the art galleries that graduate students showcased in the program. There was also a "sandbox" where users could build different things. Sullivan said that the sandbox application of Second Life is used in hospitals to build molecules. In addition, one of the graduate assistants showed that any special interest to a student could be found on the program's search engine.
But the program is not for everyone. "Not everyone accepts new technologies," Sullivan says. "(Students) may have other important things." She also said that there would be problems for those who have accessibility issues with the latest technology.
The new website also has some downsides. People who wish to use Second Life must be at least eighteen years old to participate, according to Sullivan. Though, the team is currently working on a program for younger users called "Team Grid".
Sullivan adds that Second Life can only be accessed with a "robust" graphics card and good internet access such as DSL. It cannot be accessed on a laptop. Other requirements to download the online program can be found on the website.
Other than that, it could be an open window for students to be more involved with campus without leaving the computer.
More information about Second Life can be found on the website secondlife.com or on the blog at tusecondlife.blogspot.com.
The TU Second Life team along with some assistants from University Marketing, held an event at Paws in the University Union last Thursday, offering a free demonstration of a new software program, Second Life.
Second Life is a free software internet program that is still currently under construction. It gives a 3D virtual environment where people can network and communicate online, according to Mike Moore, a Graduate Assistant of Towson's Interactive Media Design program. Moore said that people using Second Life can also go to lectures, classes, and meetings electronically.
The TU Second Life team includes Center for Interactive Media Design program director Bridget Sullivan, lecturer James Braman, and a couple other collegues who plan to introduce Second Life to students and get them interested in it. "If someone has an interest in technologies, they should try it," Sullivan said.
Many students came by to play with the program to test it out. The Second Life team spread out computers, each one showing a demonstration of the software program, over one section of the entrance to Paws.
Juan Rodas, another Graduate Assistant, displayed a demo of the program on a projector against a screen. "It's supposed to be the next step for the internet," he said, explaining what Second Life was. "You can go to Google and explore it with an artificial character." Not only was this just an artificial character that could explore, it could walk around, jump, and fly to different areas across the screen.
Second Life can also be used in careers. Braman said that Second Life newspapers and magazines were up and coming and the team was looking for journalists to write for those publications. In the demonstration, the Graduate Assistants and the rest of TU Second Life showed the student audience one of the art galleries that graduate students showcased in the program. There was also a "sandbox" where users could build different things. Sullivan said that the sandbox application of Second Life is used in hospitals to build molecules. In addition, one of the graduate assistants showed that any special interest to a student could be found on the program's search engine.
But the program is not for everyone. "Not everyone accepts new technologies," Sullivan says. "(Students) may have other important things." She also said that there would be problems for those who have accessibility issues with the latest technology.
The new website also has some downsides. People who wish to use Second Life must be at least eighteen years old to participate, according to Sullivan. Though, the team is currently working on a program for younger users called "Team Grid".
Sullivan adds that Second Life can only be accessed with a "robust" graphics card and good internet access such as DSL. It cannot be accessed on a laptop. Other requirements to download the online program can be found on the website.
Other than that, it could be an open window for students to be more involved with campus without leaving the computer.
More information about Second Life can be found on the website secondlife.com or on the blog at tusecondlife.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Accuracy: Five MAJOR Problems in Grammar
Sometimes people and writers make little mistakes and errors in their writings. It can just be careless spelling errors or great big sentence structure problems. But with the technologies we have today, those mistakes can be easily fixed with Microsoft Word's spell/grammar check application. Unfortunately, there are some cases where the spell check may miss some careless errors, particularly these five problems listed below.
Note that if you are a writer or you really want to be a journalist, you may want to double check your work before you submit anything. If you make one of these mistakes that's included in this list of problems, you could get yourself into a problem with accuracy, the biggest aspect in journalism. When there's a misprint, readers can easily misinterpret something. Or, readers would be left in confusion because the reading may not make any sense at all. So, take these problems into consideration and steer clear of the following errors that spell check might miss:
1.) Punctuation- The biggest problem of all of them! (which is why it's number one of the top five. Why else?)
In punctuation, you use little symbols like commas, semicolons, and periods to separate clauses and sentences, right? What if you just feel like adding a comma in a sentence because you think there are separate clauses in a tiny sentence? What about a long list that you may think it's all connected together? Made any of those mistakes before?
Just remember that unless you know a punctuation rule, leave the comma out. Think about the sentence before you add extra marks. Think- Does this sentence really need it?
Here's an example of an incorrect sentence from a textbook reading. (This is from the "Grammar Slammer" in Chapter 2: Tools for Writers)
"I like ice cream and cookies, I don't like cakes with icing." The wrong punctuation is used here; there are two distinct independent clauses that can stand alone. Therefore, there should be a semicolon used rather than a comma. Here's the correct sentence:
"I like ice cream and cookies; I don't like cakes with icing."
2.) Subject and verb agreement- Sometimes there are problems with the verb agreeing with the subject or noun. It may sound interesting or funny or cool in a song, such as Timbaland's "The Way I Are", but when writing an actual piece, you want to be careful not to run into that problem because it may confuse the reader. The phrase "Way I are" makes no sense. 'Are' is a word referring to a plural subject- they are, we are, etc. But since 'I' is singular, 'are' isn't used at all because it doesn't agree.
Example:
"Everyone in the Journalism major is required to take a course in Media Law in the third or fourth year of college." Note: When dealing with words such as each, everyone, either, neither, anyone, and anybody are considered singular subjects. So, the correct singular verb must go along with those kinds of words.
3.) Correct pronoun usage- Pronouns take the place of nouns or subjects to avoid unnecessary repetitions in a sentence. Just like in Schoolhouse Rock- "Saying those nouns over and over again really wear you down!" But whenever using a pronoun, make sure that it agrees with the subject that the pronoun is taking place of, known as an antecedant.
Example:
"Not only does the LeaderShape program help students strengthen leadership abilities, it can help them strengthen relationships with other people and have more school pride."
4.) Sentence structure- This is a tough problem that many writers face, myself included. I have made quite a few mistakes with this one before when writing an essay or short story. This is the problem where run on sentences happen and lists aren't agreeing with the rest of a statement. When writing something, sentences must be written in parallel structure- the lists and phrases must be parallel in form.
Example: (From Grammar Slammer, page 28 of Chapter 2)
Wrong: The mayor said the parade would feature the homecoming queen, the marching band will play, and as many floats as possible.
Correct: The mayor said the parade would feature the homecoming queen, the marching band, and as many floats as possible.
Notice the difference between the two italicized phrases?
5.) Word usage- Distinguish between words that may have almost the same spelling or sound, for each word has a different meaning. Some may be confused with words like affect and effect, bore and boar, compliment and complement, and so on.
Example:
Flare means to burn or a flash of something. "There was a flare of bright light in the kitchen and the oven caught fire." But flair refers to style or talent, as in "creative flair".
Note that if you are a writer or you really want to be a journalist, you may want to double check your work before you submit anything. If you make one of these mistakes that's included in this list of problems, you could get yourself into a problem with accuracy, the biggest aspect in journalism. When there's a misprint, readers can easily misinterpret something. Or, readers would be left in confusion because the reading may not make any sense at all. So, take these problems into consideration and steer clear of the following errors that spell check might miss:
1.) Punctuation- The biggest problem of all of them! (which is why it's number one of the top five. Why else?)
In punctuation, you use little symbols like commas, semicolons, and periods to separate clauses and sentences, right? What if you just feel like adding a comma in a sentence because you think there are separate clauses in a tiny sentence? What about a long list that you may think it's all connected together? Made any of those mistakes before?
Just remember that unless you know a punctuation rule, leave the comma out. Think about the sentence before you add extra marks. Think- Does this sentence really need it?
Here's an example of an incorrect sentence from a textbook reading. (This is from the "Grammar Slammer" in Chapter 2: Tools for Writers)
"I like ice cream and cookies, I don't like cakes with icing." The wrong punctuation is used here; there are two distinct independent clauses that can stand alone. Therefore, there should be a semicolon used rather than a comma. Here's the correct sentence:
"I like ice cream and cookies; I don't like cakes with icing."
2.) Subject and verb agreement- Sometimes there are problems with the verb agreeing with the subject or noun. It may sound interesting or funny or cool in a song, such as Timbaland's "The Way I Are", but when writing an actual piece, you want to be careful not to run into that problem because it may confuse the reader. The phrase "Way I are" makes no sense. 'Are' is a word referring to a plural subject- they are, we are, etc. But since 'I' is singular, 'are' isn't used at all because it doesn't agree.
Example:
"Everyone in the Journalism major is required to take a course in Media Law in the third or fourth year of college." Note: When dealing with words such as each, everyone, either, neither, anyone, and anybody are considered singular subjects. So, the correct singular verb must go along with those kinds of words.
3.) Correct pronoun usage- Pronouns take the place of nouns or subjects to avoid unnecessary repetitions in a sentence. Just like in Schoolhouse Rock- "Saying those nouns over and over again really wear you down!" But whenever using a pronoun, make sure that it agrees with the subject that the pronoun is taking place of, known as an antecedant.
Example:
"Not only does the LeaderShape program help students strengthen leadership abilities, it can help them strengthen relationships with other people and have more school pride."
4.) Sentence structure- This is a tough problem that many writers face, myself included. I have made quite a few mistakes with this one before when writing an essay or short story. This is the problem where run on sentences happen and lists aren't agreeing with the rest of a statement. When writing something, sentences must be written in parallel structure- the lists and phrases must be parallel in form.
Example: (From Grammar Slammer, page 28 of Chapter 2)
Wrong: The mayor said the parade would feature the homecoming queen, the marching band will play, and as many floats as possible.
Correct: The mayor said the parade would feature the homecoming queen, the marching band, and as many floats as possible.
Notice the difference between the two italicized phrases?
5.) Word usage- Distinguish between words that may have almost the same spelling or sound, for each word has a different meaning. Some may be confused with words like affect and effect, bore and boar, compliment and complement, and so on.
Example:
Flare means to burn or a flash of something. "There was a flare of bright light in the kitchen and the oven caught fire." But flair refers to style or talent, as in "creative flair".
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Summary Leads on the Move!
From Chapter 4 of our Journalism textbook
Disclaimer: Professor Spaulding, this blog may be a little over 50 words this time. I tried to get it as short as I could. Thanks!
Summary lead- the opening one or two sentences that summarize the news story very quickly
Characteristics:
1.) Specifics- Leads contain the most important information and answers the question, "What happened?"
2.) No backing in- No introductory phrase should come before the subject of the story. The subject always comes first.
3.) Concise- How brief is the lead? Should only include the essential information of the news story and leads are written in 30 words or less.
4.) Active voice- This catches a reader's attention by creating movement in the story and explaining how and why the subject takes the action.
Examples of leads from The New York Times:
*"Gunmen kidnapped an American who is a senior United Nations refugee official in Pakistan and killed his driver in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday morning, United Nations officials said." -Salmon Masood
Why I chose it: It's cutting edge and gets right to the point. There are no introductions before the article, it just tells me what this is going to be about. It really grabbed my attention and interested me in reading the rest of the story to find out more details.
*"The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday evening to confirm Eric H. Holder, Jr. as attorney general. The vote was 75 to 21, with only Republicans opposing the nomination." -Neil A. Lewis
Why I chose it: This lead is a lot shorter. I believe the first sentence is the lead itself since it tells me the basics about the turn out of the Senate vote for attorney general. The second sentence showed a little more information that told me how this candidate won by a landslide, but is really not part of the lead. Still, it strikes importance and makes the lead more specific, so it's placed at the beginning. This is a great example of conciseness since it's brief and sums up the whole story.
*"Nearly 14,000 donors- including homemakers, priests, and a former of the Los Angeles Dodgers- poured millions of dollars into the last two weeks of the campaign to pass Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California." -Jesse McKinley
Why I chose it: Again, it just states what happened in California a while ago on the subject of passing Proposition 8. Notice how the subject- the sum of 14,000 people- gathered together to do something about a controversial issue of same sex marriage. Like all leads, the subject comes first and is followed by a verb and object or goal.
Disclaimer: Professor Spaulding, this blog may be a little over 50 words this time. I tried to get it as short as I could. Thanks!
Summary lead- the opening one or two sentences that summarize the news story very quickly
Characteristics:
1.) Specifics- Leads contain the most important information and answers the question, "What happened?"
2.) No backing in- No introductory phrase should come before the subject of the story. The subject always comes first.
3.) Concise- How brief is the lead? Should only include the essential information of the news story and leads are written in 30 words or less.
4.) Active voice- This catches a reader's attention by creating movement in the story and explaining how and why the subject takes the action.
Examples of leads from The New York Times:
*"Gunmen kidnapped an American who is a senior United Nations refugee official in Pakistan and killed his driver in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday morning, United Nations officials said." -Salmon Masood
Why I chose it: It's cutting edge and gets right to the point. There are no introductions before the article, it just tells me what this is going to be about. It really grabbed my attention and interested me in reading the rest of the story to find out more details.
*"The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday evening to confirm Eric H. Holder, Jr. as attorney general. The vote was 75 to 21, with only Republicans opposing the nomination." -Neil A. Lewis
Why I chose it: This lead is a lot shorter. I believe the first sentence is the lead itself since it tells me the basics about the turn out of the Senate vote for attorney general. The second sentence showed a little more information that told me how this candidate won by a landslide, but is really not part of the lead. Still, it strikes importance and makes the lead more specific, so it's placed at the beginning. This is a great example of conciseness since it's brief and sums up the whole story.
*"Nearly 14,000 donors- including homemakers, priests, and a former of the Los Angeles Dodgers- poured millions of dollars into the last two weeks of the campaign to pass Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California." -Jesse McKinley
Why I chose it: Again, it just states what happened in California a while ago on the subject of passing Proposition 8. Notice how the subject- the sum of 14,000 people- gathered together to do something about a controversial issue of same sex marriage. Like all leads, the subject comes first and is followed by a verb and object or goal.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Chapter 14
Basis for a blog article coming soon. (I'm going to make an article about this to help other students who may want to pursue this writing track.) This is a 200 word entry for my Journalism class:
Objectivity: major journalistic value, stick to the observed facts without putting in opinions
suggestions:
Write what's happening.
Use as little adverbs and adjectives as possible. (Also, try not to use the word I.)
When listening to a politician/official or business person for a story, don't take sides. (See Fairness.)
Thoroughness: heavy, in depth researching for a story
suggestions:
Get as much factual information as possible from various sources.
Get the best sources and understand them.
Understand, explain, and make judgements about what the facts mean.
Accuracy: all information must be accurate and factual
suggestions:
Double check EVERYTHING to see if everything is correct and nothing is misinterpreted.
Don't alter the photos.
If you're unsure something is true, don't use it.
Fairness: all sides to a story are covered
suggestions:
When researching, do a thorough dig on all viewpoints to a story.
Talk to opposing teams on an issue. Listen and understand people who disagree on a matter.
Listen, listen, listen!
Transparency: gain and maintain public trust by being honest
suggestions:
Make links to sources online and refer to them in the story.
Be honest, direct, and truthful.
Ask what kinds of news stories people would like to hear/learn.
Objectivity: major journalistic value, stick to the observed facts without putting in opinions
suggestions:
Write what's happening.
Use as little adverbs and adjectives as possible. (Also, try not to use the word I.)
When listening to a politician/official or business person for a story, don't take sides. (See Fairness.)
Thoroughness: heavy, in depth researching for a story
suggestions:
Get as much factual information as possible from various sources.
Get the best sources and understand them.
Understand, explain, and make judgements about what the facts mean.
Accuracy: all information must be accurate and factual
suggestions:
Double check EVERYTHING to see if everything is correct and nothing is misinterpreted.
Don't alter the photos.
If you're unsure something is true, don't use it.
Fairness: all sides to a story are covered
suggestions:
When researching, do a thorough dig on all viewpoints to a story.
Talk to opposing teams on an issue. Listen and understand people who disagree on a matter.
Listen, listen, listen!
Transparency: gain and maintain public trust by being honest
suggestions:
Make links to sources online and refer to them in the story.
Be honest, direct, and truthful.
Ask what kinds of news stories people would like to hear/learn.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Hello world!
Hi!
Welcome to my first blog... not really much to say here.....
The image here is a picture I took with my digital camera while I was at the Welcome Concert last semester. The band is What Made Milwaukee Famous.
I'm going to be using this as a practice blog and perhaps use it later for the future when I create a music/politics publication for my state. Maybe. I have an idea to start a Maryland magazine similar to that of Rolling Stone. I am music obsessive- I listen to anything I can get my hands on and I have a great appreciation for several music genres, too. I also care about the world's issues. The issues that strike me most are political decisions (such as passing laws/ordinances or building new things that may cause some conflict in the community), Africa, sometimes foreign issues, hunger, and college related news, of course. I went on a LeaderShape program just last week and I've come up with two great visions to help the community- one for transfer and commuter students to get used to Towson University and one to help the poor, homeless, disenfranchised, less fortunate, and anyone who feels "stuck in a rut" to get back on their feet again.
I'm currently writing this post from Paws as the band Way Too Serious is setting up on stage. Funny how I can listen to music and write at the same time. I think I like this band already. A moment ago, the guitarist played an interlude from a song by The Academy Is...- "Down and Out". My favorite genre of music is punk rock, mainly. Though I listen to jazz, other styles of rock music (except death and heavy metal and most oldies music), classical, some pop and hip hop, indie, 80's, and alternative as well.
This blog probably isn't going so well right now. I'm thinking I should just close this thing up and go join the rest of my friends from LeaderShape for TU After Hours. But at least I'm enjoying myself listening to this band and writing from Paws. I love writing.
I promise I'll write again sometime soon, this time with a little more seriousness. Later!
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