CoreyStruss

I couldn't believe she existed! She was there in the flesh, and I actually got to speak with her! ::faints:: Alright. Let me collect myself.

On Wednesday's class, we had a mock press conference with SHU President, JoAnne Boyle. Up until class, I had always thought she was a fabled character, only spoken about in hushed voices. But, she turned out to be very charismatic, energetic, and socially-engaging. Her presence actually made me want to ask questions. Usually, I'm a quiet kid in class, but I felt that this was my opportunity to fire away at "the big cheese." It also helped that I did my 1st article dealing with a background story of Seton Hill Football (a team that she helped create). I didn't have the chance to ask her these questions during the interview process, but it was nice to finally know her opinions on such matters as the goods/bads of the football team thus far. The mock conference was also cool because I got to see a glimpse into the future of SHU. Rumors of a new dorm? A new dining hall? A new building devoted to the arts? Whoa. Things are definitely looking bright for this institute, and I could only see that through JoAnne Boyle's description.

One last thing that I thought was really great to see was that the President of a major university took the time out of her hectic schedule, in order to do a *MOCK* press conference. It made me think that she really cares about us, as students. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the staff/faculty and my fellow students at SHU.

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"In this chapter we'll look at some examples of stories that became bigger than they should have been when reporters did not confuse their readers (or, perhaps, themselves) with some of the relevant facts."

Is it really the reporters fault that they are pulling false numbers? The numbers that they pull usually aren't researched by them. Isn't it typical for an editor, or some other outside source to pull up the statistics for a story? So if these statistics that are pulled for the story confuse the reader, who are we to blame? I know it all goes back to the rule of "Verify or Duck", but shouldn't that go for the editor as well? Like Bethany Merryman said, I am very scared of writing scientific data. Even if it is remotely incorrect, it will backfire in my face. Mistakes are easy to make when writing in this industry, and stats and facts only make it easier to screw up.

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Between Dr. Sassmore and the first chapter of It Ain't Necessarily So, I felt like they both covered the same thing. The media candy-coats every little detail, to make it more appealing and important. I loved the way that Dr. Sassmore used the fact that cigarette smokers are 20% more likely to get cancer. But, in reality, they have only an increased chance of .2. In It Ain't Necessarily So, they talked about how Newswriting is a career, so they must pose important and alarming facts in order to attract readers. This is why a newspaper would say that a smoker has a 20% greater chance of acquiring cancer than a non-smoker. The media just skews it and uses it as a hook for readers.

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Crime Stories

81-year-old woman shoots man in her laundry room

This is a crime news story that was hot off the press just a little while after it happened. It avoids going into much detail about the crime, it just gives the bare-bones facts. Who / What / Where / When. The woman heard the man in the house, so she grabbed her gun and capped him. The story only contained one quote, because that was probably all that they had time for. This kind of story, the goal is to get it out there to the public, not to go into depth.

Cockfight raid called nation's largest

Now this is a feature story. It has the basics, but goes beyond that and gives details. It tells you who, what, where, when, why, and how. It also enlightens the reader a little bit about the background of cockfighting, and previous busts that they have made in regards to the illegal sport. The story included lots of fair and balanced quotes, from many different sources. Just by glancing at the article, one can tell that this story took more than just the minimum facts.

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Reflective Portfolio 1

Ahh...So we are back at SHU for the Fall semester, the leaves are changing, the weather is getting colder...and portfolios are due. Eeek. But that's alright! There hasn't been too much to blog about yet this semester, so I have been able to keep up. With the extra time I have had to keep up with the blogging, I have made them better. I feel that these following blog entries convey my thoughts, feelings, interests, and opinions better than they ever have. Here you go:

Depth/Timeliness - I actually did all my blog entries on time!
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The Lead of a News Story
- Graphic details in a story
- The difference between crime stories
- A comparison of both types of crime stories
- The issues of TV Journalism

Depth
- Vulgarity and Newswriting

Interaction - This section showed that my blog entries were worthy enough of my classmates, and worth their time to read and discuss.
- The Lead of a News Story

Comment - This is me, portraying my thoughts on another's blog.
- Minor Injuries Make For Interesting News Stories - by Bethany Merryman

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Media Commentary

I thought that The Onion's spoof of a breaking news story was hilarious. It made me realize just how hard it is to cover breaking news, and it shows that even the reporters aren't always the first to know what's going on. I really liked how at the bottom of the text bar, it went from specific to general. At first it started at "riot", then it went to "coup", then "celebration", and finally "something happened in Haiti." It just showed that although news reporters promise to get you the coverage first, sometimes it's just not possible to be accurate with it.

The Wolf Blitzer parody was dead-on. I felt like I was watching CNN, only the person controlling the scrolling text had Attention Deficit Disorder. But it was an honest spoof! It showed that society cares little about pressing matters (The War in Iraq), and how we only pay attention to news stories that have little impact on us. (Anna Nicole Smith)

It was weird that I learned so much through a SNL skit and The Onion's parody of breaking news, but it shed some light on the issues of TV journalism.

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