RichelleDodaro

I can't believe that it is the end of this course, let alone the semester! It's been a great experience in terms of new knowledge and writing styles. I definitely have been able to incorporate the clear, concise, relevant, etc. style of news writing to my academic writing. It's definitely important to be specific and clear when writing academically, so this helped me foster these skills. This course has been a challenge in some ways for me because it's something I was not used to. Overall, it has been helpful to me.

Coverage

Invite the Whole Community - in this blog, I discuss why it is important to invite the community to local meetings regarding the news.

Like the Movies - I compare investigative journalism to the movies, and explain why I would not want to work in this kind of field.

In Their Hands - I blogged about the video from The New York Times website that featured inmates from a South Carolina prison playing with cards that had faces of people involved in unsolved homicides or missing reports.

All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten - I talked about the connection between the news and sensitivity.

Good Information and Reminders, not Great Webpage - I discuss a website that displays information about recycling and garbage.

Distractions, Not Useful Help from the Internet - I explain why the "Wired" website is not helpful and an eyesore.

Flashback - I compare The Harvard Crimson to The New York Times.

Attention-grabber to boring and without balance - I discuss the Cavalier Daily.

Freedom of Press is like talking with your friends - I blogged about why freedom in the press is important, but also discuss its disadvantages.

Depth

In Their Hands

Like the Movies

Freedom of Press is like talking with your friends

Distractions, not Useful Help from the Internet


Interaction


The Backbone of Investigative Journalism

Click here for...click here for...

Some comic-book wisdom for the ages

The Danger of Preconception

Discussion

All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten - Aja commented on this blog of mine, and I responded to her comment.

Like the Movies - Derek, Angela, Greta, and Wendy commented on my blog.

In Their Hands - Jeanine and Aja commented on my blog.

Timeliness

Like the Movies

All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Good information and reminders, not great webpage

Distractions, not useful help from the Internet

Freedom of Press is Like talking with your Friends

Xenoblogging - The Link Gracious

Distractions, not useful help from the Internet - One of Angelas's wording helped me to understand how the website we observed made me feel.

Freedom of Press is like Talking with Your Friends - Jeanine's blog provoked a thought for me.

Wildcard

Like the Movies

Before I wrote my blog, I read Jeanine's blog and the comments left on hers and it really made me understand why I sometimes get so annoyed with newspapers. I'm not sure if I feel like newspapers and news media aren't necessary because I do want to know what's going on around me. Word of mouth, as Jeanine mentioned, definitely does help us become informed, to a certain extent, though. It makes me think of the game "telephone" we would play in gradeschool. Once you got to the last person, the story was almost completely off. I just wanted to talk about that briefly.

Regarding the Haiman reading, the argument over the freedom of the press is very interesting to me because to me, freedom of the press reflects our own personal freedom of speech. We have opinions; we are biased; we have different interests. Those facts are what, obviously, makes all the unique journalists who may upset or please the next person who reads their article or editorial. Isn't that how our daily speech is? We like what our friends say, sometimes we don't We shouldn't beat them up over it (figuratively speaking, of course).

However, I understand there is a difference between freedom of the press and how we freely speak with those around us. With newspaper, TV, etc. more people with more views and experiences are reading and viewing it. Someone is bound to be offended. The only way that I can say the press has too much freedom is if they print stories with facts that are false. We discussed this issue in class awhile ago. Even if it was unintentional for these false facts to be published, they still were, which will most likely outrage some people. Overall, I don't have much of a problem with the news. Maybe it's because I really don't pay attention to it unless it has something to do with this class. One last thing, after reading this, the press definitely should have responsibilities. Newspapers, news stations, etc. are businesses, and as with other businesses, they serve a purpose and have specific responsibilites.   

The three videos posted at the top of the Cavalier Daily instantly caught my attention, but in a way that I thought this was unusual. However, it caught my attention nonetheless. I like that this webpage has videos because it allows for interaction and things that can't be shown in print. I didn't like how there were these three videos placed at the top and then the rest of the page was just words and section titles. It was pretty boring and the spacing made my eyes wander off. I didn't and couldn't really focus on the page. There was no balance with this webpage.

The Harvard Crimson webpage reminded me of The New York Times online because of the videos and the amount of clickable links for articles. Not only were there just links, but below some headlines an excerpt was provided, which was nice because it wasn't just a bunch of headline links. The part of the webpage that I did find a bit overwhelming was at the bottom left under the section "More News." It seemed like there was too much going on. A story that did catch my attention was the one about students protesting the Stupak amendment which prohibits the publicity of abortions. The one line from the article that said that abortions would still happen, they would just be dangerous, really stood out to me because of its truth.

"Reporters should work on developing 'fairness skills' "(Haiman 59).

This idea of developing "fairness skills" was both striking and funny to me. As a journalist, it definitely is important to be fair because many people with different kinds of values and beliefs, as mentioned in the text, read the stories. For example, the story about the Buffalo Soliders provoked happy reactions from African-Americans, whereas Native Americans were disgusted by the praise these soldiers were given. Both sides had legitimate points, but it just goes to show that a "good" story is only good depending on who reads it, some of the time. This quote was funny to me because as adults, you would think that we have already developed "fairness skills" It just sounds like such an elementary term. However, the idea of fairness may differ slightly in journalism. I'm sure the idea isn't far off, though, from what "fairness skills" mean in general.

The information displayed on this webpage was useful for me because I didn't know that you shouldn't put things like yogurt containers in the recycle bin. When the text mentioned the blue barrels, it made me think of my borough and how they recycle because our bins used to be a forest green color, and now they're the blue color. I liked how the forest green blended in with the environment, now the blue just really sticks out. However, that may be the purpose. I clicked on the link of what can be recycled in the city of Tucson and I really liked how images were displayed along the descriptions. It made the information much more lasting in my mind. I'm not sure if it was just my computer, but the page seemed cut off. Also, there was no link to go back to the homepage, which was a little frustrating. The video took very long to load, even after I finished reading the text beside it. I liked the idea of the video because you could really see how it all works.

This webpage, Wired, immediately overwhelmed me and I didn't know which article to click on. It'd be different if there were several links with a preview of the content of the article because then you wouldn't be bombarded with tons of links and colors, as Angela mentioned in her blog. It was all just too much. Everything on the site was clickable! Personally, this annoys me and I'm not one to typically enjoy clicking through links and reading. I'd rather read an actual book. This webpage just really made me realize even more how the internet truly has taken over. The title of the webpage was excellent because it really did make you feel "wired," as Angela also said. Jeanine made a good point in her blog about how links should be kept to a minimum and that they should get straight to the point. I totally agree. Another thing I'd like to mention is that links within readings just distract me from my thoughts and my reading comprehension. The highlighted and underlined word is distracting and makes me stop to think, "Maybe I should click on it?" There needs to be a balance, and with this site, there was none. The only good thing I can say is that it had useful links that led you back to the homepage; and for people who do like to just skim titles or headlines to see if the story will interest them, then this is the site for them.

I watched the video about the inmates at a prision in South Carolina who play with decks of cards that have missing people and unsolved homicide victims and faces on them. The idea of this just sent chills through my body because of physically seeing how many there were and the fact that the hope for this project is that one or more of the inmates will remember something that can help solve one or more of cases. It's a "constant reminder" for them, as said by one of the mothers whose son was murdered at 24. I think this is an interesting project, and even though none of the cases have been solved through it, I think someday one will. These cards aren't only in this South Carolina prision; they're in 28 prisions in the country. Many anonymous tips have been given, but nothing has been solved. Throughout time, one of the cases has to be solved. These cards are constantly in the hands of people who obviously are associated with crime. Someday, I hope the memory of some of the inmates is jogged and a loved one can be found or their  death can bring about some closure to the family. However, that's not to say that maybe none of the inmates won't know anything. This project is just so interesting and chilling. The whole idea of prisoners playing a game with the faces of lost ones and murdered in their hands is what makes it so chilling. I'm really glad I chose to watch this particular video and to have learned about this.   

"Invite citizens from minority groups to the office to talk about coverage. Better yet, hold those meetings in communities where it may be more convenient for the residents to attend. Consider adding some minority community members as resources to the staff team doing the audit. Several newspapers now are inviting readers to attend the daily news meeting to offer reactions and comments on proposed and budgeted stories and to join in the discussion about story play" (Haiman 51-52).

I definitely agree with this suggestion from the section that deals with minorities and communities. Alot of the times, minority groups feel as though they are left out of the news and don't have a say. Or, they feel as though their group or groups are constantly in the news but don't have a say in what goes into the newspapers, in terms of reactions and comments. However, I believe that all community members should be invited to meetings because they also make up the voice of the community. After reading Dianna's blog, I agree that an even bigger issue can arise with the focus being on minority groups rather than those in "majority" groups. This quote could be perceived in several ways depending on context. If all community members are typically invited, and minority groups are being encouraged to attend as well, then that's different. But, if only minority groups are invited, then that presents a case for discrimination all over again.

 

It truly is unbelievable that it is time for our third portfolio for Newswriting. Over these past three to four months, I have struggled with news writing, related it to my other English courses, and have come to appreciate it. It has helped me in that I believe I am a more specific writer due to word limits and encouragement to use active rather than passive verbs. I've struggled with not writing in chronological order when I have covered an event, such as Dr. Stephan Jacob's "Holocaust and Genocide: What's in a Name?" speech during the Holocaust Education Conference at Seton Hill. Overall, I have developed a more positive attitude towards this course and news writing in general. However, it is still not my prefered style of writing or occupation. So, here is a list of my blogs during this part of the semester dealing with coverage, depth, interaction, discussions, and timeliness.

Coverage

Unidentified - I searched for two breaking news stories that I thought would be ongoing stories.

I Like This - I discussed why I enjoy editorials. 

Reality in Journalism - I blogged about how news writing is a learning experience for the readers and writers, and keeping readers in mind while reporting a story.

Hard Work - I argued for both sides of the news writing world - the journalists and the public.

You Can Never Know Too Much - I liked how editors and journalists still take classes to further their knowledge on news writing and reporting.

Depth

You Can Never Know Too Much 

Hard Work

Unidentified

Interaction

Following Breaking News 1 - I commented on Kaitlin's blog about the ongoing breaking news stories.

They Have to Make the Right Mistakes - I commented on Katie's blog concering drafts.

Sorry Mom - I commented on Aja's blog regarding how some people immediately believe everything they hear in the news.  

Discussions - fellow classmates commented on my blogs, listed below.  

Unidentified

Reality in Journalism

You Can Never Know Too Much

Timeliness

You Can Never Know Too Much

Unidentified

Xenoblogging

Sorry Mom

Wildcard

Reality in Journalism

Hard Work