October 2009 Archives

What the public says about ignorant and incompetent reporters: "The reporters just come and go; by the time they learn something about us they are shifted to another beat." ... "The stories she writes about us are so oversimplified and distorted we'd rather not have any coverage at all." ... "I don't expect him to be a doctor, but couldn't they give us somebody who had at least one course in human biology" (From Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists 23).

The first quote is an understandable opinion.  However, I have trouble agreeing with the last two quotes.  In regards to the second quote, sometimes stories have to be oversimplified for others to be able to read and fully understand it.  If I read a story about a medical breakthrough, I probably would not understand any of it if it weren't oversimplified.  The majority of people reading newspapers are not medical experts so the same might relate to them as well.

The third quote is the one I disagree with the most.  When I take a class that is completely unrelated to my interests, I forget what I learned in it when the class is finished.  If this person expects someone reporting on biology to have taken a course in it, what good will that do?  The reporter may not remember anything and it would be as useless as someone who had never taken a course.  It is easier to check reliable internet sources or, as Haiman states, "A regular series of brown-bag lunches with local experts can help a staff build baseline knowledge on a variety of topics" (26).

I really liked this suggestion which Haiman provides.  Sometimes it is easier to learn and retain information in a more casual environment since questions can be asked and a genuine interest may then exist.  Also, the knowledge would be more recent and accurate when applied to a reporter's news story.


Course Page

Possible breaking news

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Tonight I was able to follow and be involved in a possible news story. 

The story began with my brother, who went hiking with his boy scout troop this weekend.  He and two other boys walked ahead of the larger group (including the adults) and took a wrong turn.  My brother and one of the boys walked too far ahead and the younger scout was separated from them.  If they had taken the right path, the larger group would have caught up to the younger scout.  However, this was not the case.  Once my brother called my mom, the rush to find the lost boy began.  My mom and I both had the same instinct to call the state police to find the lost boy since he was young and alone somewhere in the wilderness as it was getting dark.  After many phone calls and hours of waiting, the boy was found.  He was a little spooked, but alright. 

This story could be news worthy because a young boy scout was lost in the wilderness for almost five hours and the police were called to search for him.  Anything could have happened.  I wondered as this situation was happening whether or not it would be on the news.  If reporters listen to police radios, they would hear about this story.

I was checking news websites to see if they wrote a story about it since my mom called the state police.  There are no news stories as of now which is good.  The priority should always be on finding a missing child first before reporting it.  I am going to keep tabs on the news to see if they ever do report this story.



UPDATE:  
Well, maybe this isn't much of an update, but no stories ever came out of this incident.  I guess that is because the boy was found and nothing bad happened.  Perhaps it would have been more newsworthy if the search lasted over night, lasted more than a day, or if they never found him.  Thankfully, none of this was the case and the newspapers and stations let the story slide.

Bridge-to-be

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An engagement announcement I saw in the Tribune-Review recently:


newspaper.jpg

This is a good example of why reporters should revise more closely.  Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists states that the Chicago Tribune's "guideline's memo reminds staff members of Tribune accuracy rules such as those requiring that reporters...[read] word-for-word everything in the section for which they work" (Haiman 11).  Reading word-for-word would be a great way to catch obvious mistakes like this one. 

The "bridge-to-be" mistake is not simply the common typo of an extra letter in a word.  The extra letter in the word adds new meaning to what is written.  I don't think a bride-to-be would be happy with being called a "bridge-to-be." 

Journalists should rely on themselves, not historians

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"Many journalists apparently believe that since they are writing the 'first rough draft of history' and doing it under deadline pressure, it should be expected that some errors, misunderstandings and misinterpretations will occur; that historians eventually will sort it out, and that only the most egregious factual errors to be corrected now" (Haiman 13).

This belief of journalists brought up in the Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists bothers me for several reasons.  Those reasons are:

1.  Journalists should never consider their articles to be "first rough drafts."  What they have published should be a final draft.  Actually, every writer's piece should be a final draft when it is published.  In journalism this even more important since journalists are responsible for informing the public.  People often rely on newspapers and articles for information about the world around them.  If a journalist just writes a rough draft to be published, the readers may not be correctly informed.  In a way, this is a lack of integrity.  Rough drafts are meant to be kept to the writer until he/she completes the story; they are not meant to be published for the public to read. 

2.  Just because journalists write under pressure does mean errors should be expected.  Of course mistakes happen, but to have the attitude that mistakes are going to happen is not good.  A writer should have expectations that they will not make any mistakes.  This way, the writer will be more diligent and careful with what he/she writes.  Furthermore, everyone experiences writing under pressure.  Students often are still finishing papers twenty minutes before class and thus make mistakes and typos.  However, they are held responsible by the teacher for fixing these mistakes.  Journalists are held responsible by the public as well as the editors.  So to brush aside their mistakes by saying "I was under deadline pressure" is not an excuse.  Yes, mistakes happen, but writers should still write carefully and re-read their work to prevent as many as possible.  

3.  Relying on historians to "sort it out" is a lazy attitude which is using historians to do clean up something the journalist should have done in the first place.  Why don't the journalists just write the correct story in the first place?  They should have their facts straight since they are informing a large number of people.  Historians may fill in the cracks if a journalist happened to miss something, but journalists should not rely on them to do so if necessary.


Therefore, I think it is ridiculous that many "professional" journalists who are responsible for informing the public would consider their writing a first draft and expect it to have mistakes.  Just write carefully and include all the facts while being sure information is correct.


Course Page

Sources make for a more credible argument

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"Avoid vague references to 'some people say' or 'research shows.' Name names. Interview sources yourself." Editorials, Course Page



I thought this information was an important tip to remember when writing an editorial.  By including specific sources to help support your editorial point, it will be more valid.  Unsupported opinions (especially when put into writing) are difficult to agree with if they are vague and unsupported.  In an academic paper or literary research paper where the writer takes a certain stance, he/she must support his/her point.  Otherwise, there is no reason to agree with the writer.  The same goes for editorials and any writing involving opinions. 

Portfolio 2: Still learning...

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Here's another portfolio of blogs from my News Writing class.  I still am learning how to write news stories.  Although I think I have the basics down, there are still a lot of details involved in news writing, like how to pitch a good story and AP style tips.  My blog entries, therefore, continue to focus on what I am learning.


Coverage
All of my blogs since my first portfolio...

Why do we report crime? - In this entry, I reflect upon why we are so inclined to report crime stories.
Two crime articles, both a little pointless - This entry analyzes two local crime stories and found that the less serious crime story struggles to include details where as the more serious crime story fails to organize and word its information clearly.
Writing with a sense of place in journalism too -  On the spot articles incorporate writing with a sense of place, which I am able to relate to the topic of regionalism in literature.
Tone, minus the opinions - Discussing how naturally tone is incorporated into writing and how easy it is to include opinions.
Quotes out of context is worse than misquoting - A tip from Cappon I found to be extremely important.  After we have the words right, we must be sure that the words are used in the correct context.
Comparing Front Covers: Taxis, Parrots, Veiled faces, and Jet-skis - Comparing the Sept. 29th 2009 covers of AM New York and The Times.  The covers are designed to capture attention, but have awkwardly placed stories and ads.
Following Breaking News 1  - The first day of tracking breaking news and the updates.
Following Breaking News 2 - The second day of tracking breaking news and the updates.  Not much has happened since day one.
Following Breaking News 3  - The third and final day of tracking breaking news and the updates.  Still no updates... so I chose to look at a different story as well.


Depth


Why do we report crime? - In this entry, I reflect upon why we are so inclined to report crime stories.
Two crime articles, both a little pointless - This entry analyzes two local crime stories and found that the less serious crime story struggles to include details where as the more serious crime story fails to organize and word its information clearly.
Writing with a sense of place in journalism too -  On the spot articles incorporate writing with a sense of place, which I am able to relate to the topic of regionalism in literature.


Interaction

Hmm... I don't have any of these types of blogs for this portfolio.  Guess that is something I have to work on for the next one.


Discussion

Following Breaking News 1  - The first day of tracking breaking news and the updates.  This entry includes a small discussion between my classmates and me about the articles I chose to follow.


Timeliness
For these entries, I began working several days ahead in order to follow news stories as thoroughly as I could.  It might have turned out better if the stories actually continued. 

Following Breaking News 1  - The first day of tracking breaking news and the updates.
Following Breaking News 2 - The second day of tracking breaking news and the updates.  Not much has happened since day one.


Xenoblogging

Michelle Siard's blog- Discussion of the crime reports
Richelle Dodaro's blog - Another (longer) discussion of the crime reports
Aja Hannah's blog- Gave an example which helped me understand why people read crime reports


Wildcard
 
Fitting into skinny jeans while eating cupcakes - A magazine cover on which a picture and article title don't exactly blend... in fact, they send opposite messages.




There were not as many blog entries this time around... we spent more time using what we learned rather than blogging about it.  Click here to see my classmates' portfolios as well
.

Fitting into Skinny Jeans while eating cupcakes

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I saw this magazine cover and couldn't help but laugh.  Even though this is a magazine, it could also be a lesson to newspaper layouts as well.  The title "Fit into your SKINNY JEANS!" runs directly over the picture of cupcakes.  These two things don't exactly go together.  (Actually, it is the newest diet fad... lose weight by eating cupcakes!)

layout fail.jpeg

Following Breaking News 3

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Apparently, I failed at choosing news stories which would continue.  The accident story I chose to follow was probably just a filler.  It would have been more newsworthy if something unusual caused the crash, such as a cow crossing the road.  However, it seems to be a simple car crash with injured people.  My second story has potential to continue once the suspect is caught and questioned, however that did not happen in the past few days.

However, there are several stories about a man's suicide in Greensburg:
Man in police standoff fatally shoots himself - This version of the story contains a good deal of information
Toddler In Home Where Man Found Dead - This story is more vague about details.  Perhaps this reporter did not have the same inside information as the previous one.



Day 2 of tracking news


More news cycles

Following Breaking News 2

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I checked on the news stories I chose to follow yesterday and nothing has happened since then.  However, I did find part of one of the stories which could have happened earlier.


Mother Kidnapped After Dropping Off Child At Daycare :  This is actually a video clip reporting the news that a mother was kidnapped after dropping her child off.  This story sets the foundation for what's to come. 
The article Man Sought In Fayette Mother's Kidnapping, Rape seems to be an article version of the video.  However, the headlines of the two differ.  The first describes the incident, while the second describes the continuing news and what the status is as of now.
This story has potential to continue.


The other story I chose to follow (3 Hospitalized in Penn Hills Crash Overnight) has not had any updates.  Since it mentioned unidentified victims of a car accident, to which the cause is unknown, I thought maybe they would run a news story to reveal names, the cause, and provide updates on the victims' conditions.  It could also remain as it is, a car accident story to fill space but not be important enough to continue. 


Day 1 of tracking news

Day 3 of tracking news


More news cycle stories

Following Breaking News 1

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Following local news stories:

3 Hospitalized in Penn Hills Crash Overnight : Three people were sent to the hospital in critical condition-- the people are unidentified and the cause of the crash is unknown.  It seems as though this news story was written so that people would know a crash happened.  Many of the details which would be important to the story are missing.  Hopefully, there will be follow-up stories which include the names of the victims and a cause for the accident.  Also in a follow-up news story, there might be updates on the victims' conditions.

Man Sought In Fayette Mother's Kidnapping, Rape : This story seems to be a continuing story of the search for an attacker.  It identifies a suspect, which police were able to identify from witnesses' information.  Since this is a continuing search, there could be follow-up stories to update the public of the search's progress.


Day 2 of tracking news 


More news cycles being tracked

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