I was looking for a speech or event to cover in Towson or one of the surrounding towns, when I realized that it would make more sense for me to look on campus. In the Daily Digest I found out that Towson is having their own version of "The Last Lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch. In my Comm 131 class last semester we watched some of "The Last Lecture" and it interested and intrigued me. On September 23 Dr. Ed Chute, former professor at California University of Pennsylvania will speak here at Towson. He is known for being active in the Civil Rights Movement, and also being a humorous and inspirational speaker.
Dr. Chute will clearly be my main source, but I will also do some research on his background and just to learn more about him before listening and taking notes on his speech. As of right now I don't know much about Dr. Chute, but he sounds like an interesting man full of wisdom and life experience. Questions that could be asked may be about his experience in marching in the Civil Rights Movement.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tweeting on Twitter
I've never actually heard of Twitter until using the web-site for class, but I can see why it is used in the journalism world. These days everyone wants their news right when it happens, which is why many people use Twitter to tell stories and give updates on events using the 1-2-3 filing method. I read through other class member's Twitter posts and found 3 that I think are worth mentioning.
I thought Nicole's shorts summaries on the Go Green campaign at Towson showed a good example of 1-2-3 filing. Her first tweet tells the reader what the article was about in just 6 words. Her second tweet then defines single-stream recycling because some people may not have heard of it. It also states why this is easier for students and a better way to recycle in general.
The article about Univ. System of Maryland's budget cuts was summarized well in tweets by Matthew. His first tweet lets the reader know that these budget cuts will have an effect on Towson, which then captures their attention. His second post describes the main points of the article. If I hadn't already read the article, these posts would make me click the link to find out more.
Lastly, Mike's tweets on Towson football's loss against Richmond represent good newswri
ting as well. He uses abbreviations to make the posts short while still being informative. The first tweet includes who, what, when, and how, only leaving out the where. In the second post he notes that Towson played Richmond, so "where" could either be at Towson or at Richhmond. He gives more information by stating the quarterback's full name, telling the readers it was Towson's second loss of the season, and that Richmond is in 4th place. All of this information was told in less than 200 characters, but still describes the story in just enough detail.
I thought Nicole's shorts summaries on the Go Green campaign at Towson showed a good example of 1-2-3 filing. Her first tweet tells the reader what the article was about in just 6 words. Her second tweet then defines single-stream recycling because some people may not have heard of it. It also states why this is easier for students and a better way to recycle in general.The article about Univ. System of Maryland's budget cuts was summarized well in tweets by Matthew. His first tweet lets the reader know that these budget cuts will have an effect on Towson, which then captures their attention. His second post describes the main points of the article. If I hadn't already read the article, these posts would make me click the link to find out more.
Lastly, Mike's tweets on Towson football's loss against Richmond represent good newswri
ting as well. He uses abbreviations to make the posts short while still being informative. The first tweet includes who, what, when, and how, only leaving out the where. In the second post he notes that Towson played Richmond, so "where" could either be at Towson or at Richhmond. He gives more information by stating the quarterback's full name, telling the readers it was Towson's second loss of the season, and that Richmond is in 4th place. All of this information was told in less than 200 characters, but still describes the story in just enough detail.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
So much news, so little time...
Summary leads and short reports are 2 of the most important parts of a news article because they essentially find the heart of the story. These give the reader a chance to see if the story interests them with a quick look rather than having to read the whole thing.
Short reports can vary in the form they come in. They are typically bulletins which range from 1-2 sentences, e-mail alerts, crawlers, or newspaper briefs. Crawlers are the scrolling words on the bottom of the screen on sports or news channels, and newspaper briefs are the same only in print form. The declarative or opening sentence of news stories are called summary leads. These are useful to the reader because they project the important facts of the story in past tense and include the an element of time.
One example of a summary lead I found on the New York Times website. Alongside a picture it said "In one the most dramatic days in Wall Street history, Merrill Lynch was near a deal to avert a crisis, while Lehman Brothers hurtled toward liquidation." Although this was only one sentence long, it really gave good insight of the story behind it.
On the New York Times website I also found examples of short repor
ts. One in particular was a football score under the sports section on the bottom of the page, saying "Giants 41, Rams 13: Giants Win on the Road, Again." This is a short statement but it displays a lot of information. Not only does it give the score of the football game but it also lets the reader know (if they didn't already) that the Giant's have been winning while playing in other stadiums.
Short reports can vary in the form they come in. They are typically bulletins which range from 1-2 sentences, e-mail alerts, crawlers, or newspaper briefs. Crawlers are the scrolling words on the bottom of the screen on sports or news channels, and newspaper briefs are the same only in print form. The declarative or opening sentence of news stories are called summary leads. These are useful to the reader because they project the important facts of the story in past tense and include the an element of time.
One example of a summary lead I found on the New York Times website. Alongside a picture it said "In one the most dramatic days in Wall Street history, Merrill Lynch was near a deal to avert a crisis, while Lehman Brothers hurtled toward liquidation." Although this was only one sentence long, it really gave good insight of the story behind it.On the New York Times website I also found examples of short repor
ts. One in particular was a football score under the sports section on the bottom of the page, saying "Giants 41, Rams 13: Giants Win on the Road, Again." This is a short statement but it displays a lot of information. Not only does it give the score of the football game but it also lets the reader know (if they didn't already) that the Giant's have been winning while playing in other stadiums.Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Newsworthy or not?
"What is news?" is a commonly asked question among journalists. People may have their own opinions about what they consider to be newsworthy based on their personal interests and concerns. Overall, however, there are 9 traditional news values that journalists have in mind while creating their story. Impact can be direct, indirect, or potential and can effect the audience in different ways. Prominence, unusualness, currency, and conflict all help a story become more newsworthy. Timeliness, proximity, affinity, and human interest which evoke an emotional response from the reader are important as well.
I was scanning the Baltimore Sun website looking for interesting articles that I would consider newsworthy, or figure out why they were deemed newsworthy in the first place. The first article I came a
cross was about a fire that burned down a playground in Baltimore earlier today. It was a big fire at the Memorial Stadium site because approximately 35 firefighters were called in to go put it out. This story was short, but I think that it is newsworthy because of its timeliness and impact. It says that the fire was nearly contained at around 3:15 p.m., and I am reading this story a little more than one hour later. That's some very fast news. This fire may have had direct or indirect impact on families with children who live in the Baltimore area and frequently go or have been to this YMCA playground. (Photo taken by Barbara Haddock Taylor)
Everyone in the U.S. has recently become fans of Michael Phelps, the 8 Olympic gold medal winning swimmer, but I probably don't even have to tell you that. So I'm sure that everyone in Baltimore and specifically Towson has been wondering when their American hero would return to his hometown. An article on the Baltimore Sun website announces that Phelps will be coming back to Towson on October 4, a day in which a parade will be held in his and Katie Hoff's honor at Fort McHenry. Since Phelps attended Towson High School and is an Olympic winner this story contains prominence, currency, timeliness, and proximity. It contains currency since Phelps has been regularly featured all over the news and on television since he won his gold medals, and people are still talking about him. Overall, this article is a very good example of what newsworthy is.
The next article I read was very different from the first one. I found it under the section "Weird news" and was intrigued. Apparently, in a Japan zoo there are polar bears who have turned green because of algae. This phenomenon is puzzling the visitors at the Higashiyhama Zoo. It has been a con
cern if this algae is harming the polra bears, but a zoo official says that their fur coat will return to its normal color when the growth of algae decreases in November. This story can be considered newsworthy because of its unusualness, and it has some degree of human interest attached. It is not every day that polar bears turn green, so people are likely to be interested in this story and finding out the cause. If readers are not yet aware that the polar bears are fine and not suffering from their change of color, they may have an emotional reaction. If it caught my eye, I'm sure other people browsing the Baltimore Sun would notice it also.
I was scanning the Baltimore Sun website looking for interesting articles that I would consider newsworthy, or figure out why they were deemed newsworthy in the first place. The first article I came a
cross was about a fire that burned down a playground in Baltimore earlier today. It was a big fire at the Memorial Stadium site because approximately 35 firefighters were called in to go put it out. This story was short, but I think that it is newsworthy because of its timeliness and impact. It says that the fire was nearly contained at around 3:15 p.m., and I am reading this story a little more than one hour later. That's some very fast news. This fire may have had direct or indirect impact on families with children who live in the Baltimore area and frequently go or have been to this YMCA playground. (Photo taken by Barbara Haddock Taylor)Everyone in the U.S. has recently become fans of Michael Phelps, the 8 Olympic gold medal winning swimmer, but I probably don't even have to tell you that. So I'm sure that everyone in Baltimore and specifically Towson has been wondering when their American hero would return to his hometown. An article on the Baltimore Sun website announces that Phelps will be coming back to Towson on October 4, a day in which a parade will be held in his and Katie Hoff's honor at Fort McHenry. Since Phelps attended Towson High School and is an Olympic winner this story contains prominence, currency, timeliness, and proximity. It contains currency since Phelps has been regularly featured all over the news and on television since he won his gold medals, and people are still talking about him. Overall, this article is a very good example of what newsworthy is.
The next article I read was very different from the first one. I found it under the section "Weird news" and was intrigued. Apparently, in a Japan zoo there are polar bears who have turned green because of algae. This phenomenon is puzzling the visitors at the Higashiyhama Zoo. It has been a con
cern if this algae is harming the polra bears, but a zoo official says that their fur coat will return to its normal color when the growth of algae decreases in November. This story can be considered newsworthy because of its unusualness, and it has some degree of human interest attached. It is not every day that polar bears turn green, so people are likely to be interested in this story and finding out the cause. If readers are not yet aware that the polar bears are fine and not suffering from their change of color, they may have an emotional reaction. If it caught my eye, I'm sure other people browsing the Baltimore Sun would notice it also.Saturday, September 6, 2008
Blog 2 ...
Backpack journalists are freelance writers who work by themselves and do whatever it takes to get the whole story. In order to do this, they need to carry every item that is essential to creating the best story they can at all times. These items may include a notebook, tape recorder, camera, video recorder, laptop, and other technological devices. Jared Silfies blog shows and explains everything he carries with him in order to report a story. I think it tells a lot about Silfies as a journalist that he carries around the book The Elements of Style, and therefore is familiar with it and uses it frequently as a point of reference. It shows that he is serious about coming up with the best story he can and doesn't want to make any mistakes. Although I have never read The Elements of Style I definitely will because I think it would help me to become a better journalist.
I enjoyed looking and reading through most of the portfolios, but one in particular intrigued me more than the others. Rachel Youens is a multimedia journalist who lives in Austin, Texas. The first thing I noticed on her website was the artwork and the layout. I like how it is set up in a fun but not distracting way. Her video on the style and trends in Austin was put together in an interesting way and flowed really well. If I decide to keep pursuing journalism I would definitely want to create something in a similar way that Youens has done with her website. She must have to carry around a lot of equipment in order to make the videos she does and report in her style. Such items probably include a laptop, USB cord, digital camera/video camera, and the standard notebook. I was interested in reading her resume and also impressed while a little jealous of all of the experience she has. Her website definitely gives bosses and jobs a memorable impression of her, and aspiring journalists could learn from her.
I enjoyed looking and reading through most of the portfolios, but one in particular intrigued me more than the others. Rachel Youens is a multimedia journalist who lives in Austin, Texas. The first thing I noticed on her website was the artwork and the layout. I like how it is set up in a fun but not distracting way. Her video on the style and trends in Austin was put together in an interesting way and flowed really well. If I decide to keep pursuing journalism I would definitely want to create something in a similar way that Youens has done with her website. She must have to carry around a lot of equipment in order to make the videos she does and report in her style. Such items probably include a laptop, USB cord, digital camera/video camera, and the standard notebook. I was interested in reading her resume and also impressed while a little jealous of all of the experience she has. Her website definitely gives bosses and jobs a memorable impression of her, and aspiring journalists could learn from her.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
About Me...
Hey everyone, my name is Ariel Gononsky. I am 19 and a sophomore here at Towson. I'm from Wantagh, New York which is on Long Island. I have a black lab mix named Reggie and I love animals in general. My major is Mass Comm. with a dual track in Advertising and Journalism, although I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. I live in the University Village with 3 roommates who are my best friends. We're all in the same sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma. I enjoy being active in my sorority and I love being a part of it. Next summer I am hoping to get an internship in New York City at a magazine, publishing company, or anything in the Mass Comm. field. I also want to study abroad in London next year for a mini-mester or summer semester. I love being in Towson and am looking forward to learning a lot in this class.
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