The Mobile Journalist - Have Story Will Cover...

A Tale of Two Journalism Models

2009-05-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

Journalism schools still popular

2009-04-29T13:20:00.001-04:00

Journalism may be under stress, but students are still enrolling. Read about it here.

What we learned!

2009-04-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

The TOP SIX things we learned this semester (suitable for framing):

--How to tell a story (vs. dry facts)
--How to orchestrate the process (Writing isn't magic; there is a structure and process to go about doing it)
--Reporting is 50 percent time management and 50 percent luck (with a bit of talent thrown in!)
--There is a revolution going on in journalism and no one has the answers right now
--How to find and engage an audience
--Journalism affects people and has a responsibility to the public

Congratulations on completing a challenging class!

New deadline for final project and other info!

2009-04-20T13:57:00.003-04:00

Lots of important information here:

--A reminder that there is a new deadline for our final projects -- Monday, April 27. Everyone should be ready to turn in their projects, and groups should be ready to give about a 15-minute presentation about them, with visuals to show the class. There will be no contest for best project -- just all final presentations on Monday.

--Remember that your contribution needs to meet the criteria I have laid out in two documents -- the suggestions for possible project contributions and the final project rubric. Your contribution needs to have original content -- not just be taken from another web site. Do the best you can in turning it in -- if it's an online visual, describe what it would look like or make a drawing, Indesign, Photoshop, Powerpoint or other type of page, and print out the printed material that would go on it. Spell it out for me so that I know what your concept is. Make it easy for me to give you a grade. Don't forget to grade yourself - and including references to your original content will help, and don't forget to grade your group.

--On Thursday, we will have the journalism division director in class with us, and perhaps other students and professors, to talk about the state of the business and your suggestions for the journalism curriculum. Please read the handout, which can also be found here. If you have not given an SOB presentation, you may turn in a paragraph on a topic related to the article, for extra credit. One place to get more info is on Journchat. There is also lots of information on this blog, including links. These handouts are available in a folder taped to my office door.

--If you missed class on Monday, we did an in-class, breaking news reporting assignment and turned it in for a grade. You may do the assignment as homework with the loss of a letter grade. The info is in a folder taped to my office door.

I will see everyone on Thursday. Attendance is mandatory. Please be prepared for our discussion on the NYT article and your own research, and be prepared to talk about your hopes/fears for the industry as well as your suggestions for the journalism curriculum.

A good example of a meeting story in The Washington Post

2009-04-16T14:23:00.002-04:00

A good example of a meeting story can be found here. Thank you for pointing this out, Ethan!

Rubric for final project

2009-04-16T13:19:00.002-04:00

Final project rubric

Reporting – Dr. Walker – Spring 2009

20 points – Your contribution to the overall project meets the general criteria in the list of possible projects, or is the equivalent in terms of work/effort (Generally, this means your part includes writing, research and/or finished visuals such as a cut video or narrated slideshow.)

20 points – You use proper journalistic writing techniques for headlines, blurbs, news summaries and sidebars/interviews

15 points – You and your group have an overall conception of the package that hangs together well and presents the information in the most effective and creative way

15 points – You include original material in each aspect of your project, including original photos/videos/interviews

10 points – You include a half page description of your contribution and a sentence or two on the group, and you grade yourself and the group

Fun videos for class!

2009-04-09T09:23:00.002-04:00

Fun videos for class!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=related
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4930423n
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/epic

Info on the Millstone Power Station

2009-04-08T20:05:00.001-04:00

The Millstone Power Station is a nuclear power plant in Connecticut. First, here is the 76-page media manual produced by the plant.
You can read more about the classification levels of events here.
Read about how a nuclear power plant handles emergency situations here.
Here is some basic information about the plant location.
Sources of information:

Take a look at the Web site for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Look at the Web site for the Millstone plant.
Here is the Wikipedia entry for the plant.
This is the last event to occur at Millstone, in May 2008.

Three Mile Island Anniversary - loads of background

2009-04-08T19:52:00.002-04:00

The Poynter blog, E-media tidbits, recently did a long post on the anniversary of Three Mile Island, which relates to our final project. Go here for the link.

All about me!

2009-04-02T18:05:00.001-04:00

Link to the American Forum.

Story to "Webify"

2009-04-02T09:06:00.000-04:00

By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer

From "Romeo and Juliet" to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," literature, art and the movies have long found inspiration in the conflicts between parents and their offspring over whom the young people should marry.

Just in time for spring weddings, scientists decided to put what has become an entertainment cliche to an empirical test. Do young people and their parents really disagree about the qualities of a suitable mate?

In a study involving Dutch, American and Kurdish students, psychologists in the Netherlands found that the cliche is, in fact, true. Young Americans told the researchers that qualities they would find unappealing in a potential mate included low intelligence and physical unattractiveness. But they said their parents would object to a mate who was of a different ethnicity, was poor or lacked a good family background.

The responses of Dutch and Kurdish students were similar in that young people invariably considered the potential mate's attractiveness the most important quality, whereas parents uniformly paid more attention to the suitors' social background or group affiliation -- race, religious background and social class.

Shakespeare and Hollywood can duke it out about whether the young people or their parents are right -- "Romeo and Juliet" sided with the young people, whereas a number of recent books and movies have essentially taken the view that "Mom knows best" -- but the interesting question from a scientific perspective is why this conflict occurs at all.

Abraham P. Buunk, Justin H. Park and Shelli L. Dubbs at the University of Groningen, who recently published their findings in the Review of General Psychology, said the consistency of the conflict across cultures suggests the hand of evolution: Parents and offspring clash, the researchers argued, because their genetic self-interests, while overlapping, are not identical.

The reason young people care so much about intellectual and physical attractiveness, the scientists suggested, is that these characteristics are markers of genetic fitness. By contrast, they said, parents care about group affiliations because parents are primarily interested in whether an incoming member of the family is likely to make a good parent -- and a good all-around team player.

When a potential mate has both sets of qualities, parents and young people are likely to agree on the appropriateness of a match. But often, the researchers said, the qualities don't go hand in hand: The tall, dark and handsome guy might make the bride swoon but turn out to have a roving eye, whereas the bald and bespectacled fellow might never be a GQ model but could make a great dad and caregiver.

"When it comes to mating, the key is that the kinds of mates who score high on 'good genes' traits" -- such as attractiveness and sense of humor -- "tend to score low on 'good parent' traits, and vice versa," said Park, a social psychologist who studies relationships.

As with many aspects of evolution, the process by which parents and offspring reach their different conclusions is not a conscious one. Young people don't explicitly check with their genes about what to do; rather, their genes predispose them to find certain characteristics appealing, just as genes predispose parents to find other characteristics more suitable.

"The 'good genes' mates offer relatively higher reproductive payoffs to the offspring (while potentially imposing costs to the parents), whereas 'good parent' mates offer relatively higher payoffs to the parents," Park added in an e-mail exchange. "So, to the extent that parents try to meddle in their children's mating business, they may want to tip the scale toward what's more beneficial for them."

While acknowledging the role of biology in shaping human behavior, historian Stephanie Coontz argues that the researchers did not draw a clear enough distinction between love and marriage. Evolution might play a big role in shaping the reproductive drive, she says, but it would be a mistake to think that the institution of marriage has primarily been about either love or reproduction.

Until very recently, Coontz contends, children and parents were rarely in conflict about whom to marry -- they both agreed that marriage was not about love, but about social and economic ties.

As recently as four decades ago, most American men said they wanted wives who would be good housekeepers. Most American women said they wanted husbands who were "industrious." In contrast to such expectations, U.S. men and women today invariably say they want partners who are intelligent and attractive.

Nearly everyone in the West -- and growing numbers of young people elsewhere in the world -- believes in the ideal of marrying for love, an idea that would have been ludicrous and dangerous a century ago, said Coontz, author of "Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage." Coontz traces the change in attitudes about marriage to the fact that growing economic self-reliance has made it less likely that people need to marry for money.

"Until the 1960s, marriage was the best way a woman could invest in her economic future," Coontz said. "Now marriage is a risky proposition, especially for a low-wage woman, given her pool" of potential mates. A woman who marries someone who is an economic and social drain, in other words, might be better off single today because she can earn her own living.

"Marriage as an institution is a completely unique human invention, and a very political one," Coontz said. "It has to do with making alliances beyond the mating pair, which is why there are so many cultures that allow you to marry someone who is not mate-able. In ancient Sudan, parents would engage their children young, and if one of the children died, the parents would marry the living child to the tablet of the dead child -- to the 'death certificate.' "

Online journalists optimistic about future

2009-03-30T11:34:00.002-04:00

These report findings add to our class discussion today:
--

Journalists working online have an uneasy optimism about the future of their industry—but they are more hopeful than news people from more traditional media outlets, according a new survey of select members of the Online News Association (ONA) produced by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the ONA.

“I think there’s a huge potential in online journalism, but there’s also a lot of scary stuff out there … We have to try to not lose our way,” said one respondent.

The respondents were less likely to think journalism is headed in the “wrong direction” than are journalists from legacy media, but more than half believe the internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism—more often than not for the worse. Among the biggest changes cited are a loosening of standards (45%), more voices from outside the institution (31%) and an increased emphasis on speed (25%).

Fully 91% praised some aspect of available technology, 30% saw value in the diversity of voices and half believe the move toward more overtly ideological points of view at news sites “is a good thing.”

This optimism also applies to the economics of the online news business. More than 60% say their online unit currently is making a profit, and four in ten respondents are “very confident” that online news can find a profitable model for online journalism.

Still, these economic hopes are largely pinned on Internet advertising, which began flattening out in 2008 with signs of further decline. Roughly two-thirds of journalists surveyed predicted advertising would be the most important form of revenue at websites in three years. Only a quarter of respondents named an alternative model.

These are some of the findings of a survey of nearly 300 of ONA’s 1,800 members, produced jointly with the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, which drafted the questionnaire. The survey was administered by Princeton Survey Research Associates. The survey is a special report included in the Project’s annual report on the health and status of the news industry, the State of the News Media 2009.

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of online journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, technologists, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism.

Read the complete survey.

Among the findings:

* When asked what online journalism is “doing especially well these days,” more named aspects of technology like creating rich, engaging media (31%) speeding up the delivery of information (30%), and reaching out to new audiences (30%) than named new forms of storytelling (16%) or exploiting the potential for greater depth or analysis (12%).
* Six in 10 (63%) of respondents ranked original reporting as the most important type of information they produce. This was more than four times as much as the second-most important information type: aggregated material from wires and other legacy outlets (13%).
* Three-quarters of ONA members surveyed said their sites’ home page is “essential to getting their content to users.” This is nearly three times the number that named e-mail alerts (26%) and RSS (26%). Just 9% considered posting to social media sites essential. Postings on the increasingly popular YouTube were named essential by a mere 4%. And four times as many (18%) said YouTube postings were not at all important.
* The vast majority of these respondents (77%) work in for-profit models. And, a majority, 61%, says their sites are currently turning a profit—but “making a profit” may not be as clear-cut here as in other genres. First, few of these sites are being forced to carry the full weight of those profits. Two-thirds of those in for-profit models (67%) say their sites are subsidized by their legacy media outlet. Less than a third (29%) are either an online-only entity or fully separate from the legacy outlet.

Keeping J-School Relevant

2009-03-27T11:20:00.003-04:00

Some of the discussions going on about the future of J-School. Available at Inside Higher Education.

VO/SOT video - for Professor Perri's class

2009-03-26T09:14:00.004-04:00

Sample video.

Text of bite:
(SOT) Everybody deserves to be able to express themselves. And the fact that a group of people would pick on anybody else or harm them because of their beliefs, I think, is something that should be abhorrent to everybody.

---

BASIC STRUCTURE OF A VO/SOT

(OC) THIS IS YOU TALKING DIRECTLY TO THE CAMERA - WRITE ONE SENTENCE INTRO SCRIPT

(VO) DESCRIBE WHAT THE STORY IS ABOUT WHILE THE VIEWER SEES VIDEO ILLUSTRATING IT. WRITE TO YOUR VIDEO. LEAD INTO YOUR SOUND BITE SO IT MAKES SENSE.

(SOT) SOUND BITE

(VO) MORE VIDEO WITH YOUR VOICE BEHIND IT.

Twitter to seek business revenue

2009-03-25T22:08:00.001-04:00

Twitter to seek revenue from businesses
* Twitter to offer business services in 2009
* May try several revenue models this year
* Set to offer commercial accounts

By Alexei Oreskovic
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet start-up
Twitter is taking a much-anticipated first-step in its quest to
parlay its popularity into revenue by offering certain
customers an expanded range of services.
The company is preparing to offer commercial accounts in
which corporations and other types of businesses pay a fee to
receive an enhanced version of Twitter, a free service that
allows people to send short, 140-character text messages to
their network of friends.
"We think there will be opportunities to provide services
to commercial entities that help them get even more value out
of Twitter. If these services are valuable to companies, we
think they may want to pay for them," Biz Stone, co-founder of
Twitter, said in an e-mail sent to Reuters.
San Francisco, California-based Twitter has enjoyed a surge
in popularity since its creation three years ago, despite the
fact that the company has yet to make any money. According to
Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, Twitter's Web
site had more than 7 million unique visitors in February,
compared to 475,000 in February 2008.
Last year, the company turned down a $500 million
acquisition offer by social networking powerhouse Facebook. And
some observers have speculated that Google Inc might
have its eye on Twitter, because of Twitter's so-called real
time search capabilities.
Twitter recently closed a round of venture capital
financing pegged at $35 million by media reports, following two
earlier funding rounds totaling $20 million.
While Twitter initially planned to begin seeking revenue in
2010, the company recently decided to accelerate the schedule
and find ways to monetize its service this year.
On Monday, Microsoft Corp and online marketing
firm Federated Media rolled out a special Website dubbed
ExecTweets that allows individuals to monitor Twitter messages
of business executives.
Stone said Twitter has just hired someone to work on
creating commercial products. He would not say when Twitter's
commercial accounts product is set to be introduced, but said
it would be sometime in 2009.
"We have lots of time for experimentation with regard to
revenue generation, so we'll probably be trying a few different
things this year," said Stone.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing Bernard Orr)

SOC Job Fair Thursday!

2009-03-25T12:30:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow's Job Fair will include recruiters from the following companies: USA TODAY (internships) and USA WEEKEND (internships), EDITORIAL PROJECTS IN EDUCATION (internships); NORTHERN VIRGINIA MAGAZINE (internships); COMCAST SPORTSNET (internships); SIRIUS/XM RADIO (internships); WTOP RADIO/WFED FEDERAL NEWS RADIO (internships); and WAMU 88.5 FM (part-time jobs and internships). Please encourage your students to attend!

The AU Job and Internship Fair

Launch your career with one of the many employers eager to recruit communication students at Thursday's Job and Internship Fair. Explore internship and job opportunities with organizations including:
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Comcast SportsNet
DC Film Alliance
Discovery Communications
Editorial Projects in Education
MS&L Northern Virginia Magazine
SIRIUS XM Radio
U.S. Department of State
USA TODAY
USA WEEKEND
WTOP and WFED Radio
Log into AU CareerWeb to view all registered employers
Prepare for YOUR FUTURE.

PRESENTATION COUNTS
Monday, March 23
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Kogod Student Lounge

Learn from DC's 2007 Best Dressed designer, Ebong Eka, and impress employers with your business attire. RSVP and enjoy gourmet cupcakes from The Blushing Bakeshop.
RESUME STATION
Wednesday, March 25
12-2 and 5-7 p.m.
The Tavern

Fine-tune your resume during a walk-up advising session with a Career Center advisor.

Access other tools and resources to prepare for the Fair and Your Future at www.american.edu/careercenter/future.

Please help spread the word, and remember to bring your AU ID for admittance to the Fair!

American University Career Center
Butler Pavilion, 5th Floor
P: 202-885-1804
F: 202-885-1861
www.american.edu/careercenter

Minna Scherlinder Morse
Career Advisor, American University Career Center
Direct Line: 202-885-1809
Appointments: 202-885-1804
Email: minnam@american.edu

HOURS: Monday: 12:30-5, Tuesday 10-3, 6-8, Wednesday 10-3, Thursday 10-5, Friday 9-1

The Machine is Us/ing

2009-03-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

Check it out.

Need to revise a story? Toss around an idea?

2009-03-23T15:52:00.001-04:00

IDEA CLINIC at AU SOC
Bring your story ideas, and two pros will help you refine them.
Bring your lunch. Dessert and drinks provided.
Professors AMY EISMAN and LYNNE PERRI
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
NOON-1 p.m.
MGC 200
Grad and undergrad journalism students welcome

Journalist Social Network

2009-03-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

Big Quiz!

2009-03-23T09:41:00.000-04:00

Review Quiz

Spring 2009

Reporting

Dr. Walker

Delete all unnecessary words in the following sentences. Avoid rewriting.

1. The car will cost the sum of $250 to fix.

2. With the governor’s signature, the new law takes effect today.

3. We got a lesson in past history from the anthropology professor.

4. A young, 11-year-old boy was injured today in an accident.

5. The police have no suspects at this point in time.

Rewrite the following sentences to make them more precise. Remember: Inanimate objects cannot do the same things people can do.

6. Smaller grocery stores usually know their customers.

7. After paying a $225 fine, the dog was free to go home with its owner.

8. A car stopped to help the accident victims, then called the police.

9. After robbing the convenience store, a waiting vehicle sped east on Northrup Road.

10. American University canceled classes again Wednesday.

Punctuate the following sentences and/or correct any grammatical mistakes. There may be more than one mistake in a sentence, and some sentences may be correct.

11. Goldie Hawn a 50-year-old actress says she has trouble finding work.

12. “If they close school for Christmas, they should close it for Yom Kippur” said Jean Rosenburg a senior.

13. Ann McLaughlin a sophomore from Long Island wants to be a television reporter.

13. The school’s who have the best sports teams are the most popular.

14. My roommate, her sister and me spent the weekend in New York.

15. The woman that called Diane Rehm's radio show told about the accident.

16. In Prince George's County, everyone must recycle their cans and bottles.

17. Nobody in my journalism class is as smart as me.

18. The number of students at American University are increasing.

19. We live next door to the Peterson's.

20. The fate of three students remain in doubt.

21. The Olympic committee were debating Harding's fate.

22. Each student is responsible for getting their paper in by Monday.

23. The D.C. jury reached their verdict in record time.

24. A cat will chase it’s prey if it’s allowed outside.

Correct the following sentences. You may rearrange sentences as necessary.

25. “I love the independence and freedom I find here. I love being my own boss,” says Delrine Alvis, a 42-year-old immigrant from Sri Lanka.

26. Lorraine Hamilton, 38, feels she would have divorced her husband even in her native Bangladesh.

27. Researcher Lisa Chung isn’t surprised by women who refuse to date people outside their native cultures.

28. Fatima Dias, a Sri Lankan, says he is not looking for an American mate. “Dating someone not of your own culture is a disadvantage. Their values and upbringing are different.”

“You have to pick what’s good for you, like buying a skirt. Skirts come in different lengths. You pick the length that suits you best.”

29. Bangladesh native Lorraine Hamilton says life would have been less stressful if she had stayed home. “I would have had my family to help me raise my son and also give me the emotional support I need.”

Paraphrase the following quote, using one sentence only.

30. “I think the media have gone out of their minds with their coverage of this trial because all we ever see on TV anymore is Simpson, Simpson, Simpson. Enough is enough, already. I’ve had it with the Simpson trial. It’s on all the time,” says Maggie Wilson, a senior chemistry major.

Critically evaluate the following news leads. Do not rewrite; just explain their flaws and suggest how they could be improved.

31. Two 7-year-old girls suffocate in unused freezer during game of hide-and-seek at friend’s birthday party.

32. Police Officer Rhoda Brey shot and seriously wounded Robert R. Chuey, 25, of 624 Church St., who fled from the scene of a robbery, then fired at the officer during a foot chase in an alley in the 1600 block of N. 35th St. early this morning.

33. A pollster who spoke to political scientists today began by welcoming them to the city.

34. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report on alcoholism today.

35. Health care for the poor is substandard in this country, according to medical experts who met at an AMA conference here. They said Vertical Integration Systems will help reverse that trend.

Write a summary news lead that follows the guidelines we have learned in class. Write the lead and then explain how you would construct the second and third paragraphs.(5 points)

FACTS:

a. Yountville is a town of around 3,000 45 minutes north of San Francisco.

b. There’s a not air balloon company in this town.

c. Around 6 a.m., the company was filling 40-gallon portable tanks from a 3,000-gallon tank.

d. One of the 40-gallon tanks exploded as it was being filled.

e. A dozen other 40-gallon tanks exploded.

f. The 3,000-gallon tank was threatened by flames. But a relief valve opened, keeping it from exploding.

g. Several other tanks, one 50,000 gallons, another 10,000 gallons, were also threatened.

h. The town was ordered evacuated by firefighters, who were worried that the larger tanks would explode. They didn’t.

i. No one was killed. One man was injured, hospitalized in stable condition.

j. Yountville is in the Napa Valley.

k. Hot air balloons are inflated by hot air warmed by propane gas burners.

36. An important aspect of covering local government is reporting on:

a. the mayor’s infidelities

b. the city social scene

c. arrests of council members

d. city council meetings

37. According to the reading, many cities have a governing structure that includes the mayor and city council, as well as a:

a. political machine

b. meddling first lady

c. city manager

c. none of the above

38. In the city council story lead in your reading, what elements are missing from the lead, and rightly so? (Tempe is getting most of the noise pollution and too little of the benefits from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, a consultant told the City Council Thursday.)

a. that there was a meeting

b. the name of the consultant

c. the building where the meeting was held

d. the fact that items were “discussed”

e. none of the above

f. all of the above

39. Read the item: “The Reporter’s Preparation” on p. 318 of the Chapter Twenty handout, and write a sentence about what is most important in these four paragraphs.

40. Read the item: “After the Meeting” on p. 320 and summarize in one sentence here:

41. On p. 330, is a section called Working with PIOs. List the three tips on how to do this well that you find most important (not the first three in consecutive order).

42. An important rule in broadcast writing is to write as though you were:

a. imitating Edward R. Murrow

b. talking to a friend

c. trying out for the anchor job

43. Style rules for broadcast writing mainly focus on:

a. hair

b. makeup

c. making numbers and names easy to pronounce for the reader

d. strict adherence to the stylebook

44. Radio is all about sound bites. Television is all about:

a. talking heads

b. sensationalism

c. “happy talk”

d. visuals

45. List and briefly describe five items on the basic checklist and essential tips for effective broadcast journalism that you find most important.

Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive in the Digital Age

2009-03-23T08:44:00.002-04:00

For Thursday, please read through Chapter 6: How to Report for the Web. The link is here or go to j-lab.org.

More meetings to cover!

2009-03-18T13:08:00.001-04:00

Check out the DC city government calendar.

Perhaps the Last Word - for now - on the Failing Newspaper Industry

2009-03-17T09:44:00.001-04:00

A must read: The state we're in and how we got here.

South by Southwest Interactive

2009-03-16T13:44:00.003-04:00

Only the savviest among you will freak out about South by Southwest Interactive. Dig around online and you will be amazed at what is happening in this industry!

Good news about the news biz

2009-03-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

The future is high tech (natch), but here's a bit about how.

PEW's 2009 State of the News Media Report

2009-03-16T08:11:00.001-04:00

Just out! Look here.
Here's a summary:

Cable Grows Audience, Advertising While Other Media Face Declines

The big media story of the decade is supposed to be the inexorable movement from print to digital, but there is a ringer attracting both audience and advertising as most news media suffer -- cable television.

With a big boost from the presidential election, cable news had a banner year in 2008, growing advertising spending 27 percent in 2008, making online (up 4 percent) look like a 97-pound weakling by comparison. So says the Project for Excellence in Journalism's sixth edition of its State of the News Media electronic yearbook published today.

As co-author of the newspaper chapter of the report, I'm on the leading edge of a litany of bad news familiar to most Biz Blog readers. But comparison to the fortunes of other media yields some surprises:

Local television audiences were down 4.5 percent for early evening news in 2008, almost exactly matching newspaper declines (4.6 percent daily and 4.8 percent Sunday) for the most recent reporting period. Advertising revenues were down 7 percent, an astonishingly bad result in an election and Olympics year, which typically produces a big increase over a previous year lacking those revenue boosters.
News magazines probably have it even worse than newspapers. They too had circulation declines of almost 5 percent and ad revenue declines of 17 percent. U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek are both rolling the dice with big changes in their formats.
Ethnic media, a growth area through most of the years the report has been published, saw circulation declines for most African American papers, mixed results for Spanish language papers and continued growth for Spanish language television.
Digital media took its own hit as the recession settled in, with ad growth slowing to a crawl. Newer formats like ads to mobile devices and pre-rolls continued to show healthy growth (59 percent and 33 percent respectively), but they were exceptions. Banner advertising looks less and less like a sustaining income source for newspaper organizations in transition or online-only startups. One ominous indicator for newspapers and local TV: While local advertising is a growing share of the online total, 57 percent of it goes to Google and Yahoo.

Cable news is the exception to the overall negative or mixed picture. Audience grew 38 percent in 2008. That probably cannot be sustained in 2009. But after decades weighed down by heavy initial capital costs, cable has evolved into a highly profitable business. It is sustained by subscriber fees even if advertising is soft. And the package of services (often including high-speed broadband connections and sometimes phone) is one consumers are loathe to cancel.

The report is cautious on prescriptives, dubious, for instance, about micro-payments for online content or a philanthropic rescue of failing newspapers. "The closest thing to a consensus right now," PEJ executive director Tom Rosenstiel writes, "is that no one source is a likely magic bullet (for newspaper organizations)."

More and more of the news audience, often in a "hunt-and gather" mode, goes to the Internet as a first choice, Rosenstiel writes, but the experimentation with new revenue models to capture that attention has been stalled by the recession.

The Power of the Flip

2009-03-14T08:58:00.002-04:00

Friday, Mar 13
Power of the Flip Cam

WTOP investigative reporter Mark Segraves was the first to break that story about the FBI raid at the DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer yesterday.

He was in the building as the raid was going on and shot video on his Flip cam. The full story and links here.

Wanted at The Washington Post:: Community Journalists

2009-03-12T11:20:00.002-04:00

A new development at the Post that has Journalism tongues wagging!

Colombia J School's Existential Crisis!

2009-03-12T11:17:00.002-04:00

Ever think about going to Colombia? Read this.

The 10 Twitter Users Every Journalism Student Should Follow

2009-03-09T12:47:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Becca Wall for finding this -- it's fascinating! Also, if you have time, check out www.twitterfall.com. It may blow your mind!

The Washington Post to hire a "citizen journalist"

2009-03-05T11:47:00.001-05:00

Read all about it here. Low pay, unfortunately.

Washington Watchdogs - links online

2009-02-26T11:17:00.000-05:00

You can listen to the Washington Watchdogs American forum on WAMU or you can watch it on C-SPAN. Enjoy!

SOC job and internship fair!

2009-02-25T13:02:00.001-05:00

Spring 2009 Job & Internship Fair
Thursday, March 26, 2009, 1-4pm
Interested in recruiting? Want to be recruited?
Register today at http://american.edu/careercenter/jobfair

The School of Communication, Alumni Programs and
American University Career Center
cordially invite you to the

SOC Alumni and Student Networking Reception

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
7:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.

American University
Mary Graydon Center
First Floor, Rooms 4 &5

This is an opportunity to meet and learn from SOC alumni and leading communications employers.

Organizations that will be represented include APCO Worldwide, BNA,
Booz Allen Hamilton, CBS News, EFX Media, Ketchum,
National Cancer Institute, and USA Today.

Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Business attire is requested.

Join SOC Professor Chris Palmer for a pre-reception networking workshop
6:15 P.m. - 7:00 P.M. in MGC 3

Students should RSVP through AU CareerWeb (events tab)
Faculty & Staff can RSVP for the reception through http://eagleeye.american.edu/careercenter/details.cfm?event_ID=4731or stop by between classes

Thanks to Jack for the latest on Twitter as news delivery system!

2009-02-25T12:55:00.001-05:00

Read here for Twitter's role in reporting on the Turkish plane disaster.

Still having trouble with AP Style?

2009-02-25T11:09:00.001-05:00

If you're still having trouble with basic AP Style rules, go to this link and learn these few rules. They fit most situations, including in-class quizzes!

Oh nooooooooo! Congress-types Tweeting

2009-02-25T11:03:00.001-05:00

It seems that Congress has come to Twitter. See Dana Milbank today. Look for Twitter's obituary soon!

Quiz – Oh dear, it’s been awhile!

2009-02-23T08:45:00.004-05:00

Name: ______________________

1. Name the four basic tenets of the SPJ Code of Ethics.

2. According to the reading, the American Society of Newspaper Editors began a five-year campaign in the late 1990s to find out how the public really felt about journalism. Participants were pleasantly surprised to find that most people thought journalists were doing a good job. T / F

3. One issue that ASNE researchers found out was that reporters can act ethically and within journalistic guidelines but the public may still find what they did objectionable. T / F

4. Who won the 2009 Oscar for best male actor?

5. President Obama this week will carry on a tradition of new presidents in delivering his first speech to __________________?

Correct the following for spelling and style (there could be more than one error):

6. The first meeting of the committee will be at 2:00 P.M. on Sun., January 26th.

7. Boston, MA, is the home of Old North Church.

8. The city counsel will meet at 3 p.m., Fr., November 7.

9. There were more than sixty persons waiting in line.

10. First National Bank has lowered its prime interest rate to 10 per cent.

Students demand Journalism curriculum changes

2009-02-22T19:38:00.002-05:00

San Jose State student Suzanna Yada makes demands of J faculty at http://www.collegejourn.com/.

A for effort? Not exactly.

2009-02-19T18:53:00.001-05:00

Read all about it in the NYT.

Announcements, etc.

2009-02-19T17:18:00.003-05:00

Great discussion today on American Forum and your interview stories. Just a reminder that the stories are due on your blogs by noon tomorrow (Friday 2/20). If you didn't get yours back until yesterday, you have until noon on Saturday.
For Monday, you have a reading packet on ethics and related issues. We will likely have a quiz on that, including style and current events.
*NOTE: I need your submitted commitment to an on-campus or off campus event by midnight tonight! I will approve your ideas. You need to attend your event as soon as possible. The on-campus event can be a meeting or panel discussion, but please avoid film screenings. If there is nothing else, these can be a last resort.
If you are going to an off campus event, you need to call ahead to confirm the time and place. Familiarize yourself with the handouts on covering press conferences and meetings. You should get as much information as you can ahead of time -- the agenda, participants, information sheets or handouts. Try to talk to a human being before you go to get the lowdown on what is expected to happen. Conduct interviews while you are there and be sure to get contact information. Get identifying information for all the people you interview. You must have the full name of everyone you quote in your story.
*NOTE: There is no class next Thursday to allow you time to attend your event and write your first draft. This will be a shorter story -- about 700-800 words. The first draft will be due Monday, March 2, in class.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this, your interview story or anything else.
-You know who...

Where to look for off-campus meetings and events

2009-02-18T19:34:00.002-05:00

Look here for D.C. neighborhood meetings. Also, try googling "Washington, D.C., neighborhood meetings" and you get a lot of useful stuff.
Capitol Hill hearings: here and here.

A good grading policy!

2009-02-17T12:41:00.002-05:00

Ha! Some students say I'm a pushover. Obama has a good take on that allegation:

Speak Up! People Will Think You're Smarter

2009-02-17T09:17:00.002-05:00

New research shows that people who speak up in groups are perceived as leaders and as knowing what they're talking about. Even professors might be influenced!

Hate Twitter? Better Get Used to It!

2009-02-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

The future is now!

Ethics Guidelines for Journalists Using Facebook, MySpace and Twitter

2009-02-16T13:28:00.001-05:00

A Ha! New proposed ethics guidelines for using social networks in journalism. Thanks Ethan Klapper!

On the need for good writing in journalism

2009-02-13T15:49:00.001-05:00

Check it out in Editorialiste -- an article about a lecture at Columbia by Tina Brown .

College Culture Needs Overhaul

2009-02-10T17:12:00.000-05:00

Opinion by Charlie Szold.

David - please cater our class!

2009-02-10T16:01:00.000-05:00

I forgot David Lewis' food column in the Eagle. Yum!

American Forum - be there!

2009-02-10T13:43:00.002-05:00

Hear your professor's real voice!
--
An American Forum: Washington Watchdogs: An Endangered Species?

Download flyer (PDF)
Download Podcast

The news industry is in distress and the recession has made a dire situation critical. Newspapers are declaring bankruptcyand even folding. Nowhere are newsrooms being slashed more than in Washington, where some venerable bureaus are being shuttered all together. Will there be a vacuum in coverage of Congress, the White House and federal agencies? Is our democracy at stake? Or, have the Washington watchdogs grown fat and lazy? Are there any silver linings for leaner and meaner journalism? This American Forum will look at what many say is a crisis in the survival of Washington news coverage.

Tuesday, February 17, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
MCG 3,4,5
Mary Graydon Center
American University

Panelists:

Mark Whitaker,
senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, NBC News

Melinda Wittstock
founder and CEO of Capitol News Connection

Bill Kovach
founding chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists

Suzanne Struglinski
she is Senior Editor of Provider Magazine

Moderator:

Wendell Cochran
Associate Professor and Director, Journalism Division, American University, School of Communication

*****************
For more information, contact the School of Communication at 202-885-2074 or go to www/soc.american.edu

American Forum archive

An American Forum is sponsored by Laird B. Anderson and Florence H. Ashby

An American Forum is produced in cooperation with WAMU 88.5 FM

Washington Unplugged

2009-02-10T12:14:00.002-05:00

For broadcast students, this is CBS News' newest effort online -- the first major network to produce a show just for online (as far as I know):

Watch CBS Videos Online

Big brains debate the future of newspapers

2009-02-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

Walter Isaacson with Jon Stewart on how to save newspapers: http://www.thedailyshow.com/-- focus on Isaacson's piece in Time.
Another view from Jeff Jarvis of Buzz Machine.

Homework/assignment updates

2009-02-09T16:06:00.002-05:00

The profile FIRST DRAFTS are now due to me via e-mail by noon on Friday.
For Thursday, please watch the Obama press conference tonight. In a half page, single-spaced, tell me who asked the most effective questions and how you could tell this was a MEDIA EVENT. Read the main story about the press conference in The Washington Post tomorrow morning. Analyze the coverage. What did the Post pick out as the most newsworthy topic? (Bet we can guess that one.) What was the angle? What type of lead did the Post use? Do you agree with their approach? Note the story structure. Did it have an attention-grabbing lead, a second graf that builds and expands on that, good quotes/background/context, etc.
On Thursday, we'll have guest speaker Emily Freifeld of washingtonpost.com. She'll tell us what it's like out there -- in the big, bad real world of new media!

Our class members write for the Eagle

2009-02-09T15:51:00.002-05:00

Ethan Klapper demonstrates exactly what we talked about in class today regarding finding "the news" in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session such as a press conference. Take a look at his story on the front page of the Eagle or online here. Also, Travis wrote a story about a topic near and dear to our hearts -- food on campus! And, finally, The Eagle has new information on the web site to make it easier to work for them. Check it out.

How Tweet It Is!

2009-02-09T15:27:00.001-05:00

New York Magazine on Twitter -- as only NY Mag can do it...

Emily Freifeld to speak to our class

2009-02-09T15:07:00.003-05:00

Emily Freifeld
Emily Freifeld, an American University School of Communication graduate, is a multimedia producer on the politics desk at washingtonpost.com, where she co-hosts the daily politics podcast as well as the weekly washingtonpost.com show on XM’s POTUS ’08. Freifeld also produces humorous videos to accompany the daily column, “The Sketch,” by Dana Milbank, and writes for the “Channel ‘08’” blog.
Before coming to washingtonpost.com, Freifeld interned at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, U.S. News & World Report, the Brookings Institution, WTOP Radio News and her local PBS affiliate.

Journalism Education's Broader, Deeper Mission

2009-02-09T11:39:00.001-05:00

By Dan Gillmor of Arizona State.

Obama's Saturday Radio Address

2009-02-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Obama's Saturday Radio Address

Quiz - Oh No!

2009-02-09T08:52:00.001-05:00

Quiz – Style/Reading/News - 2/9/09

Name: _______________________________

1. (Correct for style.) Senator Edward Kennedy (D.-Massachusetts) introduced the bill.

2. (Correct for style.) The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the case did not involve the 1st Amendment.

3. (Correct for style.) Sven Swennson, twenty-nine, of Hays, Kansas was indicted.

4. President Obama, in an action directly related to today’s class topic, will ______________________________ tonight.

5. Name one winner of a Grammy award last night. ________________________

6. Reporting a speech story is one of the easiest jobs of journalism because there is little need for background information or context. T / F

7. The presidential press conference is the “granddaddy” of press conferences and is a media event in and of itself. T / F

8. The top news of the morning is the continued wrangling on Capitol Hill over the Obama-supported:
a. planned pullout from Iraq
b. closing of the Guantanamo prison facility
c. economic stimulus package
e. automaker bailout plan

9. In writing a story about a speech or press conference, reporters always look for:
a. ways to play up the gaffes of those speaking
b. ways to make the speakers look bad
c. body language that says the speaker is lying
d. the most newsworthy points and responses

10. Speech and news conference stories generally follow the same guidelines as most other stories, including an attention-grabbing lead (usually a summary lead), a second paragraph (nut graf) that backs up the lead and expands on it, a third paragraph with a great quote or two, etc.
T / F

Obama Meets the Press, But Cautiously

2009-02-09T08:47:00.002-05:00

Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post on Obama's beginning relationship with the press: Obama Meets the Press, But Cautiously.

Profile guidelines redux

2009-02-08T20:08:00.005-05:00

A link to the profile guidelines already on the blog. The rubric:
--20 points, your subject meets the guidelines and is compelling
--10 points, you quote the right number of people as stated in the guidelines
--20 points, your writing overall is in journalistic style with an attention-grabbing lead, transitions and great use of quotes, background and description
--10 points - no factual errors
--5 points -- no wordiness or unnecessary/boring info
--10 points -- your story is publishable with minor editing
--5 points -- style/usage/grammar errors
--10 points -- you include necessary background info and stats
--10 points -- you include the "profile story" elements in the class handout

Have the rubric, the profile handout and my rules to write by at the ready when you sit down to write!

Jumpstart Your Journalism With Social Media

2009-02-07T21:28:00.002-05:00

An amazing panel of some of the leading thinkers/doers in Social Media. Go here. (walker@american.edu/august23)

2008 Top Ten Newspaper Sites

2009-02-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Big Guns take top billing for the best newspapers sites. Check it out.

Speaking of Rush Limbaugh...

2009-02-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

Bloggers focused on him a lot last week. See this link for the newly launched weekly analysis of bloggers by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Good news for newspapers online

2009-02-06T10:47:00.001-05:00

Top Newspapers Saw More Readers in December

Nielsen Online reports a 16 percent year-over-year increase in unique visitors to the top 10 newspaper Web sites, growing from 34.6 million unique visitors in December 2007 to 40.1 million in December 2008.

The number one online newspaper destination in December 2008, with 18.2 million unique visitors, was the NYTimes.com.. USATODAY.com and washingtonpost.com took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.

Top 10 Newspaper Web Sites (Dec 2008 vs Dec 2007 U.S., Home and Work)
*Rank*	*Site*	*Unique Audience* *(000) Dec-07 UA*	*Unique Audience* *(000) Dec-07 UA*	*Percent Change*
	Top 10 Online Newspapers	34,602	40,093	16%
1.	NYTimes.com	17,177	18,187	6
2.	USATODAY.com	9,939	11,420	15
3.	washingtonpost.com	8,478	9,470	12
4.	LA Times	4,607	7,963	73
5.	Wall Street Journal Online	5,409	7,235	34
6.	Daily News Online Edition	2,956	5,883	99
7.	Chicago Tribune	3,891	5,235	35
8.	New York Post	2,851	4,557	60
9.	Boston.com	4,364	4,086	-6
10.	SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle	2,785	3,503	26
Source: Nielsen Online, January 2009

Chuck Schilling, Research Director, agency & media, Nielsen Online, said "Nine of the top 10 newspaper Web sites experienced positive year-over-year growth," driven, in part, by the holiday season, the weakened economic news, and political reporting.
Not only are more people visiting newspaper Web sites, but they are also visiting these sites more often than they were a year ago, says the study. The number of total visits to the top 10 newspaper sites increased 27% year-over-year, growing from 199.6 million in December 2007 to 252.7 million in December 2008.
"Despite the current troubles for the traditional newspaper industry, people are visiting newspaper sites more and more often to stay on top of current events," said Schilling.
Nielsen Online also reported December 2008 data for the Top Parent Companies/Divisions and Top Web Brands. The parent level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single company or division.

Top 10 Parent Companies/Divisions for December 2008 (U.S., Home and Work)
*Rank*	*Parent*	*Unique Audience (000*	*Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)*
1	Google	133,854	2:00:12
2.	Microsoft	125,826	2:24:00
3.	Yahoo!	117,821	3:11:49
4.	AOL LLC	86,080	3:41:02
5.	News Corp. Online	78,081	1:29:19
6.	eBay	68,272	1:38:32
7.	Amazon	67,362	0:36:39
8.	InterActiveCorp	63,493	0:19:08
9.	Apple Computer	56,881	1:25:49
10.	Facebook	55,217	2:07:58
Source: Nielsen Online, January 2009

Example: The data indicates that 55.2 million home and work Internet users visited at least one of the Facebook-owned sites or launched a Facebook-owned application during the month, and each person spent, on average, a total of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 58 seconds at one or more of their sites or applications.
The brand level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs that has a consistent collection of branded content.

Top 10 Web Brands for December 2008 (U.S., Home and Work)
*Rank*	*Brand*	*Unique Audience (000)*	*Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)*
1.	Google	126,199	1:25:10
2.	Yahoo!	116,906	3:12:05
3.	MSN/Windows Live	103,229	2:07:49
4.	Microsoft	96,711	0:50:37
5.	AOL Media Network	86,080	3:41:02
6.	YouTube	80,704	0:54:37
7.	Fox Interactive Media	67,959	1:30:56
8.	Amazon	61,084	0:34:31
9.	eBay	57,434	1:39:39
10.	Apple	56,881	1:25:49
Source: Nielsen Online, January 2009

Average U.S. Internet Usage, Combined Home & Work, (Month of December 2008)
Sessions/Visits per Person	59
Domains Visited per Person	108
Web Pages per Person	2,353
Duration of a Web Page Viewed	0:00:55
PC Time per Person	68:23:22
Active Digital Media Universe	166,120,474
Current Digital Media Universe Estimate	225,748,755
Source: Nielsen Online, January 2009

For more information, please visit Nielsen-Online here.

Perfect quote structure!

2009-02-05T17:06:00.002-05:00

Note the quote/attribution/quote structure. This is from The Washington Post, 2/5/09, and it's about the phenomenon of the "25 random things about me" alerts on Facebook:

"Attention is power," said Michael Stefanone, assistant professor of communication at the University at Buffalo. "You see this in waves, friends contacting friends with this request. It's self-serving."

Using video for your profiles

2009-02-05T16:49:00.002-05:00

Jaclyn and I had a good conversation after class today about ways to use video for your profile stories. Too bad it wasn't in class! But the major point was that you don't have to videotape your entire interview. It's, of course, a good idea to record the interview; you can use your videocamera for the purpose of recording it for your records and writing purposes (you can even just use the audio), but for your "sound bite," you can do that at the end of the interview. In other words, you could talk to your subject, have a great interview and then at the end ask if you might do a quick question on video, which is a requirement for the article (from your demanding professor!). This will give you an advantage because you can then go back and focus on a really interesting part of the interview and have the person elaborate on that. Your subject will most likely come up with something new and interesting to say that you can use in your story. Good luck!

What every journalism student should know!

2009-02-04T20:35:00.001-05:00

In case you were wondering, look here.

Journalism Organizations and Professional Sites

2009-02-04T20:30:00.001-05:00

Journalism Organizations & Top Professional Sites

Media News:

Romenesko. Jim Romenesko of the Poynter Institute links to the latest media-related news, updated throughout the day.
Daily Briefing. Daily media stories from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
AP Industry News. Media industry news daily from The Associated Press.
PBS Media Watch. Media stories from PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
CNN Reliable Sources. Transcripts from the CNN media show.

Selected Top Sites for Journalists:

American Journalism Review. AJR's Newslink provides links to nearly 5,000 newspapers, listings of journalism awards and fellowships and full text of selected AJR articles (Disclosure: I am a senior editor of AJR).
Investigative Reporters and Editors. IRE includes a searchable database of more than 11,000 investigative reporting story abstracts, handouts developed by speakers at IRE conferences, campaign finance data and sources and a directory of investigative reporters worldwide, plus details on IRE contests, programs and conferences.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The committee provides some of the most practical tools for reporters, such as the Freedom of Information Act letter generator, state laws on open records and public meetings, updates on Freedom of Information cases from around the country and a legal defense hot-line for journalists.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Poynter Online gives details on the institute’s week-long workshops, which are some of the best journalism educational opportunities available, plus research from the institute on various newsroom topics.
Society of Professional Journalists. The Electronic Journalist includes news stories on press issues and lists more than 60 journalism contests.
Columbia Journalism Review www.cjr.org
Editor & Publisher www.editorandpublisher.com
IPI Report (International Press Institute) www.freemedia.at
Romenesko’s Medianews www.poynter.org/medianews
Salon Media www.salon.com/media
USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review www.ojr.org
Slate Magazine www.slate.com

Minority Journalism Organizations:

Women & Journalism:

Is Journalism a Safe Major?

2009-02-04T12:08:00.002-05:00

Q & A from Joe Grimm, the "Ask the Recruiter" columnist for Poynter online:
--
Q. I know a lot of questions you answer come from students graduating from college or older adults who are already working in the journalism field, but I'm hoping you can still help me.

I'm going into my freshman year of college and I've wanted to study journalism for a couple of years now. I read your column every day, and it doesn't take much to know that journalism isn't the best profession to be in right now. Is it foolish for me to work toward a journalism degree when the industry is in such bad shape?

I've always been optimistic about the profession, but I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother trying to have a career in it.

Thanks!

Lindsey

A. If you love it, do it.

I see a lot of people who are excited and passionate about journalism in forms that were unimaginable five years ago. At the Communication College's orientation, established students were recruiting for traditional organizations like the campus paper, but also for online magazines, game building, animation, video and audio. There is a lot innovation going on. Get into that.

At a faculty meeting, a colleague talked about how excited recruiters outside of journalism are about the skills that journalism schools teach. This tells me that journalism is a good platform degree. Just as many law school graduates wind up in good jobs that are outside the legal profession, the same can be said for journalism grads.

So, if you have the passion and can tolerate some rapid change (and where is that not happening?), keep going, but look for innovative ways to tell stories and pursue emerging career paths.

New deadlines - already!

2009-02-02T15:21:00.001-05:00

I have decided to change the deadline for the rough draft of your profile story to next Wednesday, Feb. 11, at noon to give you enough time to schedule interviews.
I'll try to give a quick turnaround on feedback so we don't get bogged down.
Based on your feedback, it seems many of you also want to learn more at this stage about interviewing, so we will do that next class.
There will be no quiz next class on your reading packet handout on covering speeches. (A couple of you left without picking yours up.)There may still be a quiz on style/news.
The profile story needs to be about 1,000 words, which I don't think I had specified before.
It also needs a "sound bite" from your subject, which is a short video clip of the person saying something short and pithy. This should go on your blog along with the final version of your story.
For homework this Thursday, then, you will be diving into your profile interviews and stories. Bring your questions about the process to class!
Your final inauguration stories are still due on your blogs by noon on Wednesday (Feb. 4).
I hope everyone is happy with the new deadline but does not feel it is too lax. I don't want to hurt you (!) but I also want you to try to work as if you are in the real world. I think this is fair since you have other interviews to schedule besides your main one.

Revised syllabus calendar!

2009-02-01T10:46:00.004-05:00

Your revised syllabus calendar is now on Blackboard. I will hand these out in class. Unlike courses with "static topics," journalism classes are often changing due to current events, outside events and your progress in acquiring skills throughout the semester. Your assignments will always be made as clearly as possible - either in class, on Blackboard or on the blog. I am available anytime for questions. I reward flexibility!

For the quiz on Monday

2009-02-01T09:23:00.002-05:00

See the post: Professor Walker's Rules to Write By. It will be from there and current events (usually from the front page of The Washington Post or The New York Times.)

More syllabus highlights!

2009-02-01T09:17:00.001-05:00

Forget the game highlights. Here are syllabus highlights -- commercial-free!
--

Biography
Academic Integrity – yours:
Academic integrity essentially means "intellectual honesty" -- honesty in the use of information, in formulating arguments, and in other activities related to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. With the Internet, academic honesty, particularly in journalism-related classes, is being pushed to the limits. If you start down the road of plagiarizing others now, it could halt your career before it starts or haunt you throughout your life. In recent times, for example, top journalists have been fired and publicly humiliated because they stole the work of others.
The University’s Academic Integrity Code sets forth standards of academic conduct. It is new this year, so please review it. By registering, you have acknowledged your awareness of the code.
Here are some examples of Academic Code violations that are pertinent to this class:
 You plagiarize by copying others’ work, either unpublished or published in print or on the World Wide Web.
 You make up sources and/or citations.
 You collaborate with others on work that you, alone, agreed to do by enrolling in the course.
 You use work done in another class for this class.
 You fail to attribute material to the proper source.
 You misrepresent yourself in seeking material for the course.
Academic Integrity – mine:
I will do my best to uphold the high scholarly and ethical standards of my discipline. I respect my students and make every effort to foster honest academic conduct and to ensure that my evaluations reflect each student’s true merit. I respect the confidential nature of the relationship between professor and student and never want to exploit, harass or discriminate in my treatment of students. I will defend your academic freedom.
I want to encourage you in your quest for knowledge. I want to maintain a positive atmosphere in which you are free to ask questions. I will adhere to the syllabus as much as possible, offer timely feedback and make myself accessible. I will strive to offer you a look into a unique area of knowledge and experience.
I’ll do my best to be on time.

For Monday

2009-01-29T21:23:00.001-05:00

Please do about a page (single spaced) reaction to the handout on profile stories. Tell me what elements of these story examples worked well. How did the writers use description, quotes, detail and facts effectively? What news values are there? After reading the profile, do you feel you know the person and why? Do the writers follow the criteria listed in the handout? You should critique at least two stories - about two different people.

Also, schedule an interview with your subject for your profile story and another person who knows him or her. Turn in on a half sheet of paper the time and place for your interviews and your list of potential questions.

Remember, next class we will have a short presentation on what's happening in journalism and media, and we will have a quiz on current events and the AP style rules on the blog.

I will also have a new calendar section for the syllabus with correct deadlines in place. These went haywire immediately due to the inauguration story.

I will work hard to return your inauguration stories with comments over the weekend.

A good and productive weekend to all! I liked your leads about me!
Professor Walker

Cool speakers open to you

2009-01-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

Jose Antonio Vargas, the young reporter who covers the marriage of politics and the Web for the Washington Post. (He coined "clickocracy" as "one nation under Google, with email and video for all.") MGC 332 Friday, Jan. 30. *
Lynette Clemetson, managing editor of theroot.com, who just made a big splash with their inaugural ball; she spoke to my IJ class and was fantastic. MGC 332, Friday, Feb 20.
Christina Pino-Marina, videojournalist. MGC 332 March 17

Professor Walker's Rules to Write By

2009-01-28T22:40:00.003-05:00

AP Style and Other Rules

The journalist who does not know AP style basics will be branded by coworkers as an amateur. Here are some bare basics you will find in the AP Stylebook. Plus, I’ve added some basic rules to write by. Please study these, learn them and use them. (These few rules right here will go a long way toward making you a writer the pros will pay attention to.)

--Avoid run-on sentences; one thought to a sentence.

--Don’t put a comma after the last “and” in a series.

--Don’t use titles on second reference. Always refer to people by their last names on second reference, even if it is the pope or the president.

--Avoid putting people’s names in leads (unless it is a feature that begins with an anecdote).

--Most leads are one sentence long.

--Avoid most adjectives, including examples such as “exciting” or “adorable.”

--Keep tenses in line with each other; don’t say “the group they.” A group is an “it” because it’s singular.

--Know the difference between plural and possessive. The cars were on the road (plural). The car’s tire was flat (possessive).

--Tell a story; don’t just relay facts. (This is hard!)

--Quote your sources in your story; don’t put a source list or cite references.

--Here is the form for quotes: “That Professor Walker is a real nitpicker,” said a student. Note that the quote ends with a comma, close quote, said and then source.

--Avoid using full quotes in leads; partial quotes are okay (even good sometimes).

--Trust your instincts as to what is interesting to you; remember, you are the voice for your reader, who likely knows nothing about what you’re writing about.

--Avoid clichés like the plague (cliché alert!); don’t write how you think it’s supposed to sound. Be straightforward.

--Show, don’t tell. Let your reader decide. For example, you could say, The dog was a mangy stray that could have bitten the child outside the pre-school. Or, you could say, The medium-size dog with matted, dirty fur and a hungry scowl approached the toddler as the tike stood unsteadily in his bulky jeans on the sidewalk outside the pre-school.

--In general, the rule for using numbers is this: Use words to spell out numbers from zero through nine; use numerals to refer to numbers 10 and above. So: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, etc. That stands until you get to 999,999. Then, it's a combination of numbers and words for 1 million, 1.5 million, 2 million, etc. Don’t begin sentences with numbers unless you spell them out.

--Spell out percent and cents, and use them with numerals, even if the number is smaller than nine: 1 percent, 8 percent, 12 percent, 300 percent. Also: 1 cent, 6 cents, 24 cents, 99 cents.

--Never spell out "dollars." Use the dollar sign, along with numerals: $1, $4.50, $16, $1,000, $100,000, $1 million.

--Capitalize titles when they come before a name: I voted for President Bartlett. But do not capitalize titles if they come after a name: Danna Walker, an American University professor, teaches classes online. Likewise, do not capitalize titles if they appear without a name: The vice president often wants to become president.

--Abbreviate state names when they follow a city in a sentence. Note that AP abbreviations are different from postal abbreviations: The University of Maryland is in College Park, Md. There are eight states that you should never abbreviate: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Utah. Example: I traveled from Arlington, Texas, to Boulder, Colo., for my vacation.

--Abbreviate "avenue," "boulevard" and "street" when they follow a numbered address: I live at 444 Kenilworth Ave. Do not use the abbreviation if there's no number: I live on Kenilworth Avenue. Do not abbreviate "road," "terrace," "circle" or other addresses.

--Abbreviate months when they are used with a date: I was born on Aug. 16. Do not abbreviate if there is no date: I was born in August. There are five months you should never abbreviate: March, April, May, June, July: I was born on July 4.

--Use commas sparingly. Generally, you use them to enclose clauses. Do not use them in a series: red, white and blue. Avoid colons, semi-colons and other formal types of punctuation.

--The AP Stylebook is a guide to consistency, which is important in any printed piece. Inconsistencies look like mistakes, and mistakes kill your credibility.

Your profile subjects

2009-01-27T13:58:00.003-05:00

I am enjoying talking with you face-to-face about your inauguration stories. Your next drafts are due by noon Wednesday or a time to be worked out, if you have not yet talked to me by then. I graded the first attempts based on the criteria of word count, number of quotes, etc. -- not so much on the structure/lead/writing. You will receive specific feedback on the structure/lead/writing for the next draft.
For your profiles, see the syllabus and the blog for specific instructions. Try to find someone to profile who is compelling to you or whom you would want to know more about. Try to get permission from that person for the profile. If you can't, try to have a backup person. This continues our journalistic investigation into writing for an audience.
See you Thursday!

Advice from Sean Blanda, recent J school grad

2009-01-27T13:40:00.001-05:00

many thanks to Ethan Klapper for this! see Blanda's RSS feed now on blog.

4 things I would tell a freshman journalism student

Looks like she read another newspaper article about newspapers dying

I remember the exact moment when I decided it was time to get a job. Chris Wink and I were winding down some travels and we had to set ourselves up with a grown-up job to come home to. So in a hostel basement we propped open the laptops and starting firing off emails to everyone who would listen. Throughout our four years at Temple and The Temple News we had amassed a respectable list of contacts and friends in the industry, and we began to ask them if they knew of any openings. Slowly the responses came back. The responses slowly spiraled from “Sorry, no” to “Why the hell are you trying to work for a newspaper now?”

At the same moment, a member of my family was preparing to enter college and was considering some sort of media field. As I gave him advice and pondered my own employment future, the same advice came up again and again.

1 - Don’t create content, manage it.

The sad reality is, nobody is hiring basic content creators. No one needs writers, and there are thousands of them that were just laid off that are more talented and experienced than most recent grads. No matter what happens to the industry, you can be sure that content creators will continue to be treated like pieces of meat as long as the business is suffering. There is no scarcity in people willing to write, shoot video, or report. To further the problem for grads, there is a huge crop of veterans floating around in the talent pool while editorial staffs are getting cut daily. Yet journalism schools continue to pump out thousands of new entries into the market every year. Simple supply and demand would dictate that in the off chance someone is hiring, they are going to take the best talent for the cheapest cost. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that talent is not you.

If my younger brother came to me today and told me he wanted to do any of the jobs I listed above I would tell him to avoid being the grunt that creates the content, and instead be the person that controls it. If you step back and look at some of the most successful companies in the sphere of media, they aren’t the Philadelphia Inquirers of the world. They are the Googles or the Apples. That is, companies that organize and make sense of the huge amount of content out there and sells it to the consumer.

It may seem as if I am advocating the repurposing of content instead of the creation. Creating content is the most important function in media and journalism. But there are a large amount of people capable of doing that fighting for a very small amount of jobs. I think it behooves members of the media to either increase the amount of jobs available through entrepreneurship, or maximize the productivity and impact of the small amount of paid content creation that is happening.

2- Be prepared to be untraditional

Throughout my professional life, my friends and I mostly had the following plan: go to a good college, intern at some newspapers, make contacts at said papers, get a journalism degree, use aforementioned contacts to land entry level newspaper position. Several links in that chain have since become unreliable. As a recent grad you must be flexible in your vision of your future. Don’t be afraid to work for a small upstart news company, or a business to business publication, or a Web site.

Those in the job market willing to get outside of that traditional path will get to the new opportunities first. Sitting around and lamenting the loss of the traditional reporter job won’t help. Or, even worse, it will force you to miss some budding fixes to the journalism industry.

3- No one loves Journalists more than themselves

This was something pointed out to me by a friend during inauguration coverage. Journalists are among the most self-referential trades in the world. Industries come and go regularly. But because the media has the soapbox, you would think the end of the world was in store when a local newspaper stops printing.

For sure, there is nothing light-hearted about the loss of jobs and the end of a business. But it is disgusting how much coverage the death of newspapers receives in newspapers. Maybe I may feel this way because I have an ear out listening for such news, but the journalists-covering-journalism angle taken in many publications leads the common person to roll their eyes. Don’t get caught up in the cycle, as it doesn’t do anyone any good. Leave the stories about journalism to Romenesko and move on.

4- Multimedia won’t save journalism.

In j-school it is a common belief that journalism students will be most marketable possessing multimedia skills. For the most part that means slideshows, short videos, and flash animation. But how many of your friends family members spend more than five minutes on a news site? Considering the amount of education and man power that goes into some multimedia presentations, the multimedia model is not practical.

Journalism students should learn multimedia for sure, but not in a dabbling capacity. It would be wise to learn one aspect of multimedia in depth so, if need be, the student could do that full time. For example. don’t just learn enough Flash to get you by, learn enough Flash to be a professional Flash animator. Most people can write and taking photographs to some capacity, and those talents have a limited application in a limited set of industries. If you learned Flash, not only can you use that talent to land a media job, you can freelance with that talent. Or create your own content. Or work for a non-media corporation, as well as being part of smaller talent pool.

Agree?

I’m aware that the above points contain an overabundance of generalities, but when we are discussing a turbulent industry’s state in four years, that is the only language this conversation can take place in. Is there anything radical or unconventional you would tell an incoming journalism class?

Many thanks to Brian James Kirk for lending ideas about this post.

Bashing the news since 1641!!

2009-01-27T11:59:00.001-05:00

From New York Times...
January 24, 2009
When the News Was New
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN

WASHINGTON — The good lady Opinion sits perched in a tree, wearing the weighty towers of the town as her hat, which blinds her eyes. On one of her hands a chameleon sits, doubtless changing its spots to accommodate the surroundings. Held in her other hand is a wand used to shake the tree’s branches, from which leaves fall: leaves of books and papers, which offer not knowledge but libel and foolishness, which “in everie streete, on everie stall you find.”

Such is the cynical vision of the news business put forward by Henry Peacham in 1641 London, as journalism, in its earliest forms, was becoming a major force during some of the most tumultuous decades in England’s history: no wisdom, he finds, just much posturing and gossip.

More than 360 years later, as advance obituaries are being prepared for the very forms of printed journalism born during Peacham’s era, Lady Opinion is on display, along with far more reverential examples of news and opinion, at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill in the exhibition “Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper.”

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/arts/design/24muse.html?ref=arts
NYT photos: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/23/arts/design/20090124_MUSEUM_index.html

Guidelines for your profile story

2009-01-25T09:56:00.002-05:00

From the syllabus:
*Your subject could be someone who works within AU or outside of it but is related somehow to AU. For example, you might choose to interview an administrator, a professor (not one of yours) or a groundskeeper. You could focus on a healthcare worker or a reference librarian. For a subject who works outside AU, you might choose a vendor or the director of a partnership or someone who drives an AU bus. Other suggestions:
• Someone who started a new association or charity on campus
• Someone who studies avian flu or another interesting topic
• Someone who updates the Web site for a campus department
• Someone who works at WAMU

The basic idea is for you to write a profile that focuses on a person whose job could only be done in relation to AU. No restaurateurs, bartenders or food service workers.

Think of your story as part of a bigger package that will show the variety of people, interests and careers that converge on campus and how people view their role working in or with the university.

I require you to use a minimum of three human sources, at least two of whom must be interviewed in person. As in the first assignment, this doesn't mean you'll only interview three people; it means you'll find three people among all of those you interview who give you the best quotes to back up the focus of your story. Lesser interviews may be conducted by telephone. E-mail interviews should be limited to sources outside the Washington area. If you do an e-mail interview, the article should say that.

Your grade will be based on the enthusiasm, diligence and depth you bring to the assignment. In other words, don’t settle for the first subject you come across. Find someone who has a story to tell. And tell all subjects the article will be published on your class-related blog.

You may not: interview a relative, friend, employer, student, one of your own professors or an acquaintance. You must base this story on a stranger who works in an area with which you are not intimately familiar. You must also go beyond the obvious.

Your story must include statistical information that puts your subject’s job in perspective. For example, if you choose a building security guard, how many security guards work on campus? If you choose a professor, how many other professors with that title are in that department, on campus overall? If you do an administrator, how many are in that office – on payroll generally?

Look for profile stories in The Washington Post and The New York Times for inspiration.

Dr. Walker's pet peeves

2009-01-24T19:25:00.004-05:00

In the real world of journalism, there are no excuses. The reporter either gets the job done or doesn't. That's not to say that reporters don't fail or can't compromise. They do -- all the time, and they may have to apologize for things they fail to do or do wrong. But they take responsibility for their work. They don't use excuses.
Here are some of the excuses that students sometimes use that make me wince:
--I overslept.
--My computer broke.
--I couldn't reach my source.
--I don't have a printer so I couldn't bring the story in time.
--My Mom booked my flight before the test/final, so I can't be there.
--I had to take a friend to the doctor.
--"They" gave me the wrong information so I couldn't find where I was going.
--I didn't have time to follow up.
--I didn't find anyone to interview.
--The meeting/event was boring and I couldn't find a story.

Professors make excuses, too. What are your pet professor peeves? I encourage you to post a comment, anonymously if you wish.

First rough draft grading rubric

2009-01-24T19:11:00.002-05:00

Here is the rubric for the rough draft I am currently grading (percentages are attached to the elements of the directions that you had before the story):
Word count minimum, 10 percent
Included multimedia aspect (photos and/or video OR Twitter feed), 30 percent
Quote three people and fully identify them, 10 percent
Include background and context, 5 percent
Found trends that told a story, 10 percent
Did not write in first person or include opinion, including summing up at end, 15 percent
General writing/usage/style, 20 percent
I am enjoying your stories! I will have comments for you when you come see me so that you can ready your rough draft, which is due Wednesday at noon. (If you are not able to talk with me before then, we can discuss the deadline.)
As a reminder on deadlines, the official rough draft is due to me via e-mail by Wednesday at noon (unless we couldn't schedule a meeting). Your half page name/background of a person to profile is due in class Thursday.
I apologize for diverting from the syllabus so early. I'll adjust and amend the syllabus once we get through next week.
A happy weekend to all!

Me Bragging About You!

2009-01-23T16:23:00.002-05:00

The dean's office asked for a couple of sentences describing what, if anything, our classes did for the inauguration. I was proud to say this: For the inauguration, my beginning Reporting students took their notebooks and Flip video cameras and did stories on the inauguration, ranging from security snafus to what type of food people brought with them to the Mall to how an Ohio family experienced bunking in at a college dorm. One student got poignant quotes from an attendee from Kenya about what the Obama swearing in meant to his country. The students also contributed Twitter feeds to the NPR/CBS/AU inaugurationreport.com Twitter project and submitted video and photos to The Eagle. They will post their final stories and multimedia on their own blogs, which are linked on our class blog: www.mojo-a-gogo.blogspot.com.
--And, that's just the second week!

Cheap Flip Ultra 30-minute version

2009-01-22T17:05:00.001-05:00

Flip Ultra 30-minute version - cheap.

No class Monday 1/26!

2009-01-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

Great class today hearing about your experiences at the inauguration. I'm really looking forward to reading your stories. So far, they look great.
To reiterate, I'll grade your stories that you turned in today, along with your Twitter feeds and/or photos/video, for ability to follow instructions. There was a lot to keep up with, so this is a legitimate area for grading.
Remember, NO CLASS ON MONDAY. This will give you time to work on your official rough drafts, which will be due to me via e-mail by noon Wednesday. I will return those with feedback as soon as possible and will give you the final deadline in class (which will probably be Friday at midnight.)
ALSO due Thursday, your choice of a subject for the next assignment, which is a profile of a person. You will need to turn in the person's name, who they are in about three paragraphs, and contact information. I will approve your choices.
DON'T FORGET to come see me in my office sometime before class next Thursday. Shoot me an e-mail to make sure I'll be in. I'll try to be available for much of the day tomorrow (I have a lunch appointment at noon), Tuesday and Wednesday.
We're getting off to a great start! I look forward to talking with you one-on-one.

Not Again!!!!!

2009-01-22T09:31:00.002-05:00

Quiz 2 - Reporting – Dr. Walker – Spring 09
1. Name two ways audiences have changed in the last 20 years.

2. Who predicted the media glut more than 25 years ago?
a. Walter Cronkite b. Marshall McLuhan c. Stephen Colbert d. Wendell Cochran

3. What has the result of all these changes in media been on mainstream or traditional news media?

4. What are the three steps to having success with audiences?

5. Why is the lead of an article so important?

6. Ranking your information in order of importance is one way to start crafting a lead. T / F

7. What are the six news elements?

8. Name five news values

9. Most journalists go by one or two rules in writing leads because sticking to a formula leads to success. T / F

10. This type of lead is over-used and often is an easy way out for writers.
A. Summary lead
B. Anecdotal lead
C. Question lead

Bonus:

Who swore in Barack Obama, flubbing a line and causing the new president to later re-do taking the oath of office?

For inspiration and background...

2009-01-21T15:08:00.001-05:00

Read The Washington Post coverage of Inauguration Day and all that it entailed.

Post-inauguration class tomorrow!!!!!

2009-01-21T12:52:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone,
I hope everybody survived Inauguration Day and got lots of great stories!
For tomorrow, please bring in a rough draft of your story ready to hand in. If your focus changed slightly from your original idea, no problem. This happens in the real world.
Also bring in a digital version, so we can work on it in class. Bring your notes -- hand-written, whatever, doesn't matter. We'll do a workshop after a brief discussion of the reading, which is the rest of the packet handout.
ALSO, please bring in a printout of your tweets on Twitter and/or photos that you took for the Eagle. The photos can be printed in black and white on regular paper. If you submitted video, please turn in a piece of paper with either the Youtube url or another way that I can see it (and your name, of course).
YOU MUST BRING ALL THIS TO CLASS tomorrow in order to get credit for your work. This is your first major graded assignment and I will be grading for your ability to follow instructions. The instructions for the story are on the class blog and on Blackboard. This is your chance to demonstrate that you are a self-starter with the determination needed for journalism! (Talent is much less important, especially at this stage of the game!)
I will grade this rough draft but you will get a chance to improve it in the rewrite.
Heads up: No class on Monday to give you time to polish (see syllabus). I will be available via e-mail for personal, one-on-one help with your final story.
See you tomorrow!
Professor Walker

A Moving Moment - Inauguration Day '09

2009-01-20T20:04:00.000-05:00

Obama cutout - Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T20:00:00.001-05:00

Blog posts

2009-01-19T20:41:00.002-05:00

I have really had a great time reading your introductions more closely. For those of you who related your anecdote to who you are as a person and connected that to your quotes, my hat is off to you! You have written a story -- a true piece of journalism. Good journalism writing is focused, and all the information in each story relates to that focus.
These were a great read! Almost all of you had wonderful writing "voices" -- that is you wrote conversationally in your own style, which is fantastic.
I took points off only if you did not have an anecdote (a brief description of an event) or a quote about you (that you got recently just for this piece).
Anyway, good work all!

Inauguration story guidelines

2009-01-19T10:04:00.004-05:00

Inauguration assignment guidelines (These can also be found under Course Information in Blackboard)

Look at the lead Washington Post story on the Mall concert yesterday for inspiration: Jamming on the Mall for Obama.

Some specific guidelines for the inauguration assignment:

The stories should be ABOUT 500-600 words, but that's a minimum requirement. If you do exactly 500 words, I'll assume you were more interested in counting words than telling the story you found.

Do look for stories. That is, be open to what you find that's interesting and makes a good narrative. You're not doing a "report" on your activities, but looking to be a reporter on the human stories that are out there. Of course, you'll have an idea of the focus of your story before you start out but be open to what really exists; don't force a point of view. Go toward the surprising and the interesting, not the mundane or expected.

Even though we haven't spent time on how to craft a news story, many of you have been exposed to that, and you'll find information on that in the rest of the reading packet you have. Part of your assignment is to finish reading that packet.

Things to keep in mind:
-- don't make it first-person. This won't be a first-person, personal essay. You can have lots of quotes and observation, but leave your personal opinion out. The watchword here is: "Show, don't tell." Describe and focus on facts and let your reader draw conclusions. Try to take a neutral tone; don't cheerlead.
-- interview at least five people and quote at least three in your story. Again, these are minimums. This does not mean that you should only interview five people. You should interview lots of people, and hopefully at least five will have interesting stuff to say, and three will be worth quoting. You want the best stuff from a whole lot of other stuff. Find out more information than you need.
-- look for background and context questions that you can answer with a little research on your topic.
-- don't sum up your story at the end, with comments like: "With all the diversity at the parade, it was heartening to see Americans coming together for such a moving experience." This is your opinion. If you are summing up what you've been telling your reader throughout your story, your reader already gets it, so you don't need to hit him or her over the head. Respect your reader for the intelligent person he or she is, and for appreciating all that you have told him or her in your enlightening story. Often, just ending with a good quote is the perfect way to go.
-- try to find trends among your interviewees and concentrate on those. Avoid leads that say there were a variety of opinions or a wide range of activities. Remember your audience. Find meaning and trends that tell your reader a story, not just a list of information or a "report."
--one way you can focus your story is by keeping it to the geographic location you were in. Be sure to spell it out in your story.
-- do your best with AP style. Some basic rules can be found in a link to the right on this blog.
-- watch out for grammar and usage, as well as run-on sentences -- one thought to a sentence.
-- you may NOT interview family and friends for your story.
-- always get the full name, spelled correctly, of your subject, along with where he or she is from, age (if appropriate) and other identifiers such as occupation (especially if it's pertinent to the story). Write down what they say exactly. Get them to repeat, if necessary. Record it, if possible.
--identify yourself as a journalism student from American University who is writing a story that will be published online.

Ok, I've said my spiel. Now, for the Eagle and Twitter stuff: To participate in the Twitter feed, simply Tweet from your own log-in and at the end of your comment, put this: #inaug09, and it will go to the inaugurationreport.com site. To see if it's working, put in your tweet and then search for #inaug09 at www.search.twitter.com. For the Eagle, you may e-mail photos and video to Andrew Tomlinson at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com or take them via flash drive to the Eagle office on the second floor of MGC -- either Tuesday or Wednesday. You should do either the Twitter feed OR the Eagle contribution in addition to your story.

As for deadlines, bring a rough draft of your story to the next class. Also bring your notes, and we will try to do some work on the stories in class.

inaugurationreport.com search

2009-01-19T09:56:00.003-05:00

If you're not sure if your #inaug09 tweets are showing up on inaugurationreport.com, go to http://search.twitter.com and search for #inaug09 - that should show it.Things are moving slowly.

Follow Darthcheeta on Twitter for #inaug09 Updates

2009-01-16T15:14:00.001-05:00

Please, everyone, follow Professor David Johnson (darthcheeta) on Twitter for updates on the inauguration Twitter project.

Washington Post Inauguration Survival Guide

2009-01-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to The Washington Post inauguration site. You can do research for your stories for background info and perspective, and get useful tips on surviving inauguration day! I wish everyone good luck and great story karma!

Syllabus Excerpt - please read!

2009-01-16T14:14:00.004-05:00

Every few days, I'll post excerpts from our syllabus, so you can focus on small sections. That way we'll all be clear on policies and grading and I can take any questions you may have. I'm also willing to negotiate some of these points and to work out mutually acceptable. reasonable deadlines. If you have questions on these sections, you can ask them as comments on the blog or ask them in class, or e-mail me, or ask me in person. I covered the first part of the syllabus on the first day of class. Here is the next section:

--

What you'll be doing and why

Each week, you will research, interview and write articles because the best way to learn is through hands-on experience. You will post most everything on your own blog that is linked to the class blog. This activity will naturally lead you to explore journalism’s mission and role in society. Remember to stay flexible: Assignments will pop up weekly based on current events – just as they do in the real world. Not all assignments are announced ahead of time.

As you build your portfolio of skill sets, remember that understanding basic journalism is the key to any job in the news media field. If you don’t believe me, go to www.journalismjobs.com and take a look!

Below, I share a list of competencies you will have when you finish this course. The skill sets cover everything from how to write news leads and gather information effectively to how to structure a story, cover live news events and ensure accuracy in your reporting. I believe that investing you in the expectations will make the course not only more clear, but more enjoyable.

Conceptually, think of the progression of the course this way: You will be reporting and writing in consecutively wider geographic circles as the semester moves along. This means at first we will have reporting and writing exercises in the classroom; then we will write articles on or about campus; then we will cover stories in the community and at local meetings. Finally, we will work on “enterprise” news features, which can take place anywhere in Washington, D.C.

This course in reporting is required of all journalism majors (print and broadcast). It is the first course in the professional sequence. Students must have satisfactorily completed Comm. 200, Writing for Mass Communication, or its equivalent, prior to enrolling. Students will learn specifically to:

• Recognize newsworthy issues and events
• Cover public meetings, speeches, panel discussions, police records (and other public records), local government documents
• Identify appropriate sources (human and documentary) for information
• Conduct basic interviews with news sources
• Verify the accuracy of facts and information to be included in stories
• Write a variety of news stories, including breaking news and enterprise (news features on topics students develop) on deadline. Stories must meet professional standards for broadcast or publication (print or Web), including proper use of AP style and mathematical accuracy.

Twittering Tips

2009-01-15T14:34:00.002-05:00

Twittering tips for beginners.

Quiz, Egads!

2009-01-15T09:32:00.000-05:00

Quiz 1 (You may refer to your readings)
Reporting
Your name: _______________________
1. The writer in the salon.com article has a common problem. What is he afraid of?

2. Why does this bother him on a deeper level concerning journalism?

3. Do you agree with the advice given? Why or why not?

4. Chapter 1 in Reaching Audiences describes Evelyn Hsu’s typical morning dealing with incoming information. Why is this relevant to a discussion of journalism writing?

5. According to the chapter, new technology and digital developments have made writing unnecessary and obsolete. T / F

6. Good writers are born, not made. T / F

7. List the five questions a media writer must be able to answer before writing begins:

8. List the seven stages of the writing process:

9. As a writer, who should get your utmost consideration when you write (and whom should you have the most sympathy for)?

10. Who faced confirmation hearings this week as Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of state?

2009-01-15T08:32:00.000-05:00

Alum Praised for Mumbai Coverage

Journalism >> Alum Praised for Mumbai Coverage

"[Inayet] covered the crisis with authority and calmness."
During the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Marukh Inayet, MA Journalism, '03, reported live from the Taj Hotel for some 62 hours while the siege raged.

Inayet, foreground, covers the Mumbai terror attacks Inayet--who reported for Times NOW of India TV, the 24-hour live English-language TV channel in India--is also the deputy news editor for the TV channel. Time magazine captured Inayet reporting during the siege and published the photo on the cover.

Inayet's courage and professionalism throughout the crisis was singled out for praise by Indian media critics.

One reviewer for the Hindustan Times wrote, "It can't have been easy for reporters to camp out for days on end, without any sleep and barely out of range of the terrorists...The real stars were Marukh Inayet at the Taj and Bhavtosh Singh at Nariman House, the Jewish culture center. They covered the crisis with authority and calmness. In the case of Inayet, this is probably her Kargil moment."