... is a continuation of the weekend homework, as assigned on Friday. Here's a recap:
Tonight, we will need to write a practice story slugged STATS. The
background material is a press release from the U.S. Census Bureau
(which you may refer to as such in attribution) that can be found in the
10th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 19, Ex. 6, p. 523-4 ONLY. Do NOT use info listed on pages 525 and beyond.
For this exercise, all information is from the U.S. Census Bureau, and all data is regarding American households. Plus, be careful and precise with your math, as this is a data-based story.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Tuesday, to omars@msu.edu.
Also, the rewrite of your first out-of-class story will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7
by email to omars@msu.edu. That's the Monday after the Fourth of July
holiday. (Normally, you get just one week to do a rewrite, so you're
getting extra time here.)
For
the rewrite, do whatever suggestions I have noted, whether that
involves additional reporting, AP Style fixes, rearranging story
structure, whatever. You do not have to do a rewrite, but I strongly
encourage you to do so.
If you do the rewrite, then your assignment grade will be the average between your original one and the rewrite.
Als, let's start working on our second out-of-class story tip sheet. The second out-of-class story tip sheet will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7 by email to omars@msu.edu. That's also the Monday after the Fourth of July holiday.
As a reminder, here are tip sheet instructions. Requirements include:
1. That the topic be a news topic, rather than a features or sports topic.
2.
That the topic be an issue or a trend, and NOT an event. What I mean by
that is that you cover something that's broadly happening in society
(such as a tuition increase or summer employment), rather than a
happening (a house fire or a fund-raiser).
3. That the
topic be one that you can report locally, doing interviews in-person.
With out-of-class stories, I am testing your ability to find people to
actually talk directly to, and to do interviews face-to-face.
(So, doing a story on riots in Turkey may be tough, because you're not in Turkey. But doing
a story on how students of Turkish descent at MSU are reacting to the
rioting, and/or how MSU study abroad students are handling the issues
there, is much more doable.)
4. That the topic will
allow you to meet the prerequisites of an out-of-class story, as
detailed in the syllabus. Minimum of three sources you interviewed
yourself; minimum of 700 words; double-spaced and conforming to AP
Style; a word count at the end; a list of sources with their phone
numbers and email addresses (so I can do spot checks on whether you
really talked to them and whether your citations were accurate, ect.)
5. That the story can be fully reported, written and turned in within a 1-2 week time frame after approval.
6. That I approve your tip sheet for the project.
Now, WTF is a tip sheet? It's the proposal sheet that will detail your proposal in the following categories:
YOUR NAME. Duh.
THE TIP SHEET DUE DATE. That will be July 8, 2013
STORY SLUG. Please keep it to 1-3 words
STORY TOPIC. Describe in a few sentences what you expect this story to be about.
NEWS VALUE. Describe
the news angle or angles you are exploring. Refer to news values from
the blog or textbook. Explain how your proposed story is interesting,
relevant and/or useful to the audience.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS. Describe in a sentence or two what niche orf readers would be interested in or affected by your story.
STORY SOURCES.
Do some Googling and come up with a primary interview source and at
least two other interview sources who you wll try to interview in-person
or by phone.. Give me their names, titles, addresses, telephone
numbers, email addresses and Web URLs (if applicable) for each source.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE CONTACTED THESE SOURCES BEFORE LISTING THEM
HERE! In fact, if those sources, in the end, don't make it into your
story because you later find better sources, that's okay, too. I simply
want to see where you're starting out in trying to get sources to
interview.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. List any print
and online sources you plan to rely on in writing your story. These
should be secondary sources only; I want your story topic to rely on
primary sources who you actually interview yourself.
SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND EXPERTISE. Why are these good sources? How are they appropriate and available for the story?
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
Disclose any and all conflicts of interest you may have. Do you have a
personal interest in this topic and/or sources? Are you related to or
friends with your sources? Does this topic directly affect you? Is it
regarding a group or activity in which you participate or have an
interest? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then you should find
another topic.
PUBLICATION POTENTIAL. What
publications or media might be interested in printing or posting this
story? What do you think your chances are of publication or
distribution?
STORY ALTERNATIVES. If the planned
story does not work out, what will you do instead? Will the planned
story be modified? Will an entirely different story be needed? Briefly
explain fallback plans.
I need you to put all this info in a Word document and send it to my email account at omars@msu.edu, with the subject line of TIP SHEET 2, by the deadline.
To help get you started, here are some examples of topics from past JRN 200 classes of mine:
Pros and cons of living on-campus versus off-campus at MSU
"Culture of rape" on college campuses, including MSU
Summer vacation employment plans among college students at MSU
Prevalence of fake ID use among college students at MSU
Finals week stress among students at MSU
How foreign students acclimate to being on an American campus, like MSU
Seniors at MSU facing the "real world" after graduation
Recycling at MSU
Notice
how many of the topics are local, or MSU is being used to put a local
focus on a broader trend. That's important, because (once again) YOU
WILL NEED TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE YOURSELF!
This isn't a
term paper; this is journalism. And there's a big difference. With a
term paper, you find and cite the reporting and research that others
have done, and put that in your paper. But in journalism, YOU do the
actual reporting and research YOURSELF.
You don't cite
CNN saying there was a bombing in Boston; YOU call the Boston
authorities YOURSELF, and do YOUR OWN interviews to get the raw material
that makes up your story. You don't cite a study done by Harvard
University that you found online; YOU call the person who authored the
study and interview him or her YOURSELF.
That's why I
think the best topics are local. It's probably a lot to ask novice
journalists to do a story on American foreign policy and get President
Obama on the phone yourself.
With this being an online
class, I know there are many people who are nowhere near East Lansing.
And that's okay. Find topics in and around your geographic area. My
biggest concern isn't that it's an MSU topic; it's that it's a topic you
can report first-hand. The latter is the reason so many of the past
topics I listed were MSU-centric. It was proximity.
In
previous in-person summer classes, I had some students commuting from
home, and some took topics from their home areas. For example, one
student from the Port Huron area did a story on plans to expand the
bridge linking Port Huron to Canada. So it's no big deal if stories are
coming from Albuquerque or Nashville or suburban Detroit (which are
actual locations of some of our current JRN 200ers!).
And
if you have any problems whatsoever in coming up with a topic, or
detailing a topic, do not hesitate to call me (517-432-3009) or email me
(omars@msu.edu) or stop by my office (435 E. Grand River Ave., at the
corner of Grand River and Division, across the street from Berkey Hall
and next to the SBS bookstore) during regular weekday business hours.
Hope this helps. Good luck, everybody!
Also, a reminder: because of the Fourth of July holiday this week, I will
only update the blog through Wednesday. On that day, you will receive
any holiday homework assignments (heads-up; you will have a bunch of
reading, but I do not anticipate at this time you will have any written
work, other than the out-of-class story rewrite and tip sheet) and then
we're off until the Monday after the Fourth.
Just thought you'd want to know. Have a nice start to the week, everybody!
Monday, June 30, 2014
Lawsuit: You And Me Are (Almost) Fatal-Free!
The good news is, we had only TWO of us fact-fatal this time. We've had as many as six do so in any one assignment lately, so this is progress.
The bad news is, we had SIX people who failed to turn in the assignment. And that's really bad. The 0.0 we get for missing an assignment is far, far worse than the 1.0 we get for a fact fatal. Here's why:
The worst thing we can do in journalism -- even worse than getting a fatal -- is to blow off an assignment. A newspaper can't go to print with blank spots in the pages, and a 30-minute newscast can't to to air without content that fills up all 30 minutes. That means in the media business, you can never miss a deadline.
And yes, to reinforce good habits and deter bad ones, assignments that are not done will have a much more severe impact on your final grade than fatals will, and if I have to use a tie-breaker in determining your final grade, the first categories I will use will be whether you blew off any assignments, since that tells me how seriously you are taking this class.
I express that value in the grading scale. Everything we do in here translates to a 1,000-point scale to which your grade is converted to a smaller subset of points that add up toward that. So when we get a 4.0 you get 100 percent of points, a 3.9 gets us 99 points, a 3.8 gets 98, and so forth.
And under that scale, a fact fatal that gets us a 1.0 still gets us 70 points. If we screw up an assignment so bad that we get a 0.1, that's still 61 points.
But a 0.0 is zero points. At a 0.1, we're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0.
Again, that's to emphasize that missing your deadline is simply not an option in the media biz. We always need to hit our deadlines. Every single time.
Beyond that, none of us can afford to miss a single assignment because we need the practice! You'll soon be working on out-of-class stories (which are our biggest projects that most impact your final grade), and the best way to make sure you're writing it in a proper journalistic manner is to have opportunities with these practice stories to try our best, review our work, keep applying good habits and learn how to fix our bad ones.
We can't do that if we don't do that.
Again, the more you tell me you are unreliable as a journalist by skipping assignments and not showing up without a valid excuse, the more I will recognize that in your final grade. I can work with you if you give me an assignment that's not up to snuff -- and so can an editor in a real-world setting -- but I can't work with nothing, and I can't work with you if you're not here. Neither can your future bosses.
The bad news is, we had SIX people who failed to turn in the assignment. And that's really bad. The 0.0 we get for missing an assignment is far, far worse than the 1.0 we get for a fact fatal. Here's why:
The worst thing we can do in journalism -- even worse than getting a fatal -- is to blow off an assignment. A newspaper can't go to print with blank spots in the pages, and a 30-minute newscast can't to to air without content that fills up all 30 minutes. That means in the media business, you can never miss a deadline.
And yes, to reinforce good habits and deter bad ones, assignments that are not done will have a much more severe impact on your final grade than fatals will, and if I have to use a tie-breaker in determining your final grade, the first categories I will use will be whether you blew off any assignments, since that tells me how seriously you are taking this class.
I express that value in the grading scale. Everything we do in here translates to a 1,000-point scale to which your grade is converted to a smaller subset of points that add up toward that. So when we get a 4.0 you get 100 percent of points, a 3.9 gets us 99 points, a 3.8 gets 98, and so forth.
And under that scale, a fact fatal that gets us a 1.0 still gets us 70 points. If we screw up an assignment so bad that we get a 0.1, that's still 61 points.
But a 0.0 is zero points. At a 0.1, we're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0.
Again, that's to emphasize that missing your deadline is simply not an option in the media biz. We always need to hit our deadlines. Every single time.
Beyond that, none of us can afford to miss a single assignment because we need the practice! You'll soon be working on out-of-class stories (which are our biggest projects that most impact your final grade), and the best way to make sure you're writing it in a proper journalistic manner is to have opportunities with these practice stories to try our best, review our work, keep applying good habits and learn how to fix our bad ones.
We can't do that if we don't do that.
Again, the more you tell me you are unreliable as a journalist by skipping assignments and not showing up without a valid excuse, the more I will recognize that in your final grade. I can work with you if you give me an assignment that's not up to snuff -- and so can an editor in a real-world setting -- but I can't work with nothing, and I can't work with you if you're not here. Neither can your future bosses.
Lawsuit: A Good Example
Consistent attribution, consistent use of allegedly and a lede/nut graf sequence that zeroes in on the main point:
-->
-->
Two parents are suing the Kennedy High School principal,
superintendent, and East Lansing School District for $500,000 in Ingham County Circuit Court.
Parents Thaddeus and Laura Dowdell allege that their son
James Dowdell has not learned enough to be graduated from high school and that
this is the failure of Principal Marvin Ferrell, Superintendent Greg Hubbard
and the school district.
James Dowdell, who has attended Kennedy High School for the
past three years, has allegedly been told that he will graduate from the school
on or around the beginning of next June, according to the lawsuit.
The problem is that James Dowdell’s parents allege that he
can barely read or do simple arithmetic and has not learned enough to be
graduated from high school or to successfully function in a society as complex
as ours, according to the lawsuit.
Thaddeus and Laura Dowdell allege that the fault does not
lie with son James, who according to tests administered by guidance counselors
at Kennedy High School has an average IQ of 94, according to
the lawsuit.
The Dowdells allege that it is the failure of the defendants to employ competent teachers,
to maintain discipline, to provide remedial help and to provide an atmosphere
in which learning might take place, according to the lawsuit.
Along
with $500,000 in compensatory damages, the Dowdells are also demanding
that James Dowdell be retained at the high school until he further
masters the skills expected of
a high school graduate, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are
also demanding a trial by jury, according to the lawsuit.
Lawsuit: Allegedly
Like we've discussed before, in a lawsuit anyone can allege anything. So it's extra-important to note things are alleged.
The district didn't fail to adequately educate James Dowdell. They allegedly failed to adequately educate Dowdell. We won't know whether that's true or not until the trial takes place and evidence is presented.
Also, what is being alleged is what, specifically, is being said; not that something is being said.
What I mean is, it's not that the Dowdells allegedly said their child received an insufficient education; that is what they said. What is being alleged is the substance of the claim, so better placement of allegedly would be, the Dowdells said their child allegedly received an insufficient education.
Let's be sure to liberally use the word alleged since what is being alleged has yet to be proven in court and can be considered libelous given the claims of ill-repute being made.
In any instance where one side is making claims about the conduct of the other side that are disparaging or indicate criminal action, please use alleged.
The district didn't fail to adequately educate James Dowdell. They allegedly failed to adequately educate Dowdell. We won't know whether that's true or not until the trial takes place and evidence is presented.
Also, what is being alleged is what, specifically, is being said; not that something is being said.
What I mean is, it's not that the Dowdells allegedly said their child received an insufficient education; that is what they said. What is being alleged is the substance of the claim, so better placement of allegedly would be, the Dowdells said their child allegedly received an insufficient education.
Let's be sure to liberally use the word alleged since what is being alleged has yet to be proven in court and can be considered libelous given the claims of ill-repute being made.
In any instance where one side is making claims about the conduct of the other side that are disparaging or indicate criminal action, please use alleged.
Lawsuit: Plurals Vs. Possessives
When you are talking about the Dowdells as a family unit, it's plural, as in Dowdells; e.g., the Dowdells demand a jury trial.
When you are talking about a single Dowdell in the possessive form, then it's Dowdell's; e.g., Dowdell's IQ score was 94.
When you are talking about a group of Dowdells in the possessive, then it's Dowdells'; e.g., the Dowdells' lawsuit.
When you are talking about a single Dowdell in the possessive form, then it's Dowdell's; e.g., Dowdell's IQ score was 94.
When you are talking about a group of Dowdells in the possessive, then it's Dowdells'; e.g., the Dowdells' lawsuit.
Lawsuit: Legal B.S.
Did you need to say the Dowdells demand a jury trial of all issues triable as of a right by jury?
What the hell does that mean, anyway?
It just means they are asking for a jury trial. So it would have been enough to say the Dowdells demanded a jury trial.
Likewise, did you need to say the lawsuit targeted both the defendants jointly and severally, for the compensatory damages in the amount of $500,000?
No. More legal B.S. You could just say the lawsuit targeted the defendants for $500,000.
Now, I didn't knock your grade for your inability to navigate legal mumbo-jumbo, unless it changed the meaning of things. This is the sort of stuff you'll get the hang of when you actually start covering court cases.
Still, if you're not sure of the meaning of what you're writing, you should ask a source for a layman's translation.
What the hell does that mean, anyway?
It just means they are asking for a jury trial. So it would have been enough to say the Dowdells demanded a jury trial.
Likewise, did you need to say the lawsuit targeted both the defendants jointly and severally, for the compensatory damages in the amount of $500,000?
No. More legal B.S. You could just say the lawsuit targeted the defendants for $500,000.
Now, I didn't knock your grade for your inability to navigate legal mumbo-jumbo, unless it changed the meaning of things. This is the sort of stuff you'll get the hang of when you actually start covering court cases.
Still, if you're not sure of the meaning of what you're writing, you should ask a source for a layman's translation.
Lawsuit: Writing With (AP) Style
On second reference, should James Dowdell be James Dowdell or just Dowdell or just James?
For this story, it should be James Dowdell, using both his first and last names on most references.
Now, normally under AP style rules we use just the last name on second reference. But there's an exception. In AP Style, under names:
When it is necessary to distinguish between two people who use the same last name, as in married couples or brothers and sisters, use the first and last name.
In this case, since we were writing about a lawsuit filed on his behalf by his parents, and since we used the last name of his parents, and since that last name is the same as his, then we would default to that exception.
For this story, it should be James Dowdell, using both his first and last names on most references.
Now, normally under AP style rules we use just the last name on second reference. But there's an exception. In AP Style, under names:
When it is necessary to distinguish between two people who use the same last name, as in married couples or brothers and sisters, use the first and last name.
In this case, since we were writing about a lawsuit filed on his behalf by his parents, and since we used the last name of his parents, and since that last name is the same as his, then we would default to that exception.
Friday, June 27, 2014
JRN 200: Your Friday 6/27 Homework
First off, I'm emailing you your graded first out-of-class stories this afternoon. Please carefully and thoroughly review the comments on the returned papers and the following blog posts for comments, observations and examples of work.
The rewrite of your first out-of-class story will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7 by email to omars@msu.edu. That's the Monday after the Fourth of July holiday. (Normally, you get just one week to do a rewrite, so you're getting extra time here.)
For the rewrite, do whatever suggestions I have noted, whether that involves additional reporting, AP Style fixes, rearranging story structure, whatever. You do not have to do a rewrite, but I strongly encourage you to do so.
If you do the rewrite, then your assignment grade will be the average between your original one and the rewrite.
Now, here's a reminder of the rest of your weekend assignments:
First, we will need to write a practice story slugged LAWSUIT. The background material is a court document (which you may refer to as the lawsuit in attribution) that can be found in the 10th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 18, Ex. 7, p. 493-4.
For this exercise, the circuit court is the Ingham County Circuit Court. The school district is the East Lansing School District. All relevant individuals and institutions live or are located in East Lansing.
Also, here are explainers of some basic terms: plaintiffs are people who are filing a lawsuit, and making accusations. Defendants are the people being sued and accused. Damages are what plaintiffs seek from the defendants, if the defendants are eventually found guilty.
Plus, keep in mind everything contained in a lawsuit is an allegation that has yet to be proven in court. So, in describing things, I would advise you to overdose on the liberal use of allegedly.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Monday, to omars@msu.edu.
Second, we will need to write another practice story slugged STATS. The background material is a press release from the U.S. Census Bureau (which you may refer to as such in attribution) that can be found in the 10th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 19, Ex. 6, p. 523-4 ONLY. Do NOT use info listed on pages 525 and beyond.
For this exercise, all information is from the U.S. Census Bureau, and all data is regarding American households. Plus, be careful and precise with your math, as this is a data-based story.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Tuesday, to omars@msu.edu.
Also, let's start working on our second out-of-class story tip sheet. The second out-of-class story tip sheet will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7 by email to omars@msu.edu. That's also the Monday after the Fourth of July holiday.
As a reminder, here are tip sheet instructions. Requirements include:
1. That the topic be a news topic, rather than a features or sports topic.
2. That the topic be an issue or a trend, and NOT an event. What I mean by that is that you cover something that's broadly happening in society (such as a tuition increase or summer employment), rather than a happening (a house fire or a fund-raiser).
3. That the topic be one that you can report locally, doing interviews in-person. With out-of-class stories, I am testing your ability to find people to actually talk directly to, and to do interviews face-to-face.
(So, doing a story on riots in Turkey may be tough, because you're not in Turkey. But doing a story on how students of Turkish descent at MSU are reacting to the rioting, and/or how MSU study abroad students are handling the issues there, is much more doable.)
4. That the topic will allow you to meet the prerequisites of an out-of-class story, as detailed in the syllabus. Minimum of three sources you interviewed yourself; minimum of 700 words; double-spaced and conforming to AP Style; a word count at the end; a list of sources with their phone numbers and email addresses (so I can do spot checks on whether you really talked to them and whether your citations were accurate, ect.)
5. That the story can be fully reported, written and turned in within a 1-2 week time frame after approval.
6. That I approve your tip sheet for the project.
Now, WTF is a tip sheet? It's the proposal sheet that will detail your proposal in the following categories:
YOUR NAME. Duh.
THE TIP SHEET DUE DATE. That will be July 7, 2013
STORY SLUG. Please keep it to 1-3 words
STORY TOPIC. Describe in a few sentences what you expect this story to be about.
NEWS VALUE. Describe the news angle or angles you are exploring. Refer to news values from the blog or textbook. Explain how your proposed story is interesting, relevant and/or useful to the audience.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS. Describe in a sentence or two what niche orf readers would be interested in or affected by your story.
STORY SOURCES. Do some Googling and come up with a primary interview source and at least two other interview sources who you wll try to interview in-person or by phone.. Give me their names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and Web URLs (if applicable) for each source. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE CONTACTED THESE SOURCES BEFORE LISTING THEM HERE! In fact, if those sources, in the end, don't make it into your story because you later find better sources, that's okay, too. I simply want to see where you're starting out in trying to get sources to interview.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. List any print and online sources you plan to rely on in writing your story. These should be secondary sources only; I want your story topic to rely on primary sources who you actually interview yourself.
SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND EXPERTISE. Why are these good sources? How are they appropriate and available for the story?
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Disclose any and all conflicts of interest you may have. Do you have a personal interest in this topic and/or sources? Are you related to or friends with your sources? Does this topic directly affect you? Is it regarding a group or activity in which you participate or have an interest? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then you should find another topic.
PUBLICATION POTENTIAL. What publications or media might be interested in printing or posting this story? What do you think your chances are of publication or distribution?
STORY ALTERNATIVES. If the planned story does not work out, what will you do instead? Will the planned story be modified? Will an entirely different story be needed? Briefly explain fallback plans.
I need you to put all this info in a Word document and send it to my email account at omars@msu.edu, with the subject line of TIP SHEET 2, by the deadline.
To help get you started, here are some examples of topics from past JRN 200 classes of mine:
Pros and cons of living on-campus versus off-campus at MSU
"Culture of rape" on college campuses, including MSU
Summer vacation employment plans among college students at MSU
Prevalence of fake ID use among college students at MSU
Finals week stress among students at MSU
How foreign students acclimate to being on an American campus, like MSU
Seniors at MSU facing the "real world" after graduation
Recycling at MSU
Notice how many of the topics are local, or MSU is being used to put a local focus on a broader trend. That's important, because (once again) YOU WILL NEED TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE YOURSELF!
This isn't a term paper; this is journalism. And there's a big difference. With a term paper, you find and cite the reporting and research that others have done, and put that in your paper. But in journalism, YOU do the actual reporting and research YOURSELF.
You don't cite CNN saying there was a bombing in Boston; YOU call the Boston authorities YOURSELF, and do YOUR OWN interviews to get the raw material that makes up your story. You don't cite a study done by Harvard University that you found online; YOU call the person who authored the study and interview him or her YOURSELF.
That's why I think the best topics are local. It's probably a lot to ask novice journalists to do a story on American foreign policy and get President Obama on the phone yourself.
With this being an online class, I know there are many people who are nowhere near East Lansing. And that's okay. Find topics in and around your geographic area. My biggest concern isn't that it's an MSU topic; it's that it's a topic you can report first-hand. The latter is the reason so many of the past topics I listed were MSU-centric. It was proximity.
In previous in-person summer classes, I had some students commuting from home, and some took topics from their home areas. For example, one student from the Port Huron area did a story on plans to expand the bridge linking Port Huron to Canada. So it's no big deal if stories are coming from Albuquerque or Nashville or suburban Detroit (which are actual locations of some of our current JRN 200ers!).
And if you have any problems whatsoever in coming up with a topic, or detailing a topic, do not hesitate to call me (517-432-3009) or email me (omars@msu.edu) or stop by my office (435 E. Grand River Ave., at the corner of Grand River and Division, across the street from Berkey Hall and next to the SBS bookstore) during regular weekday business hours.
Hope this helps. Good luck, everybody!
Okay, moving on with homework: there will be no reading assignment this weekend, BTW.
If there's anything you need to talk to me about, please call me at 517-432-3009, email me at omars@msu.edu, or stop by my office at The State News Building, 435 E. Grand River Ave. (which is at the corner of Grand River and Division, next to the SBS bookstore and across the street from Berkey Hall).
The rewrite of your first out-of-class story will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7 by email to omars@msu.edu. That's the Monday after the Fourth of July holiday. (Normally, you get just one week to do a rewrite, so you're getting extra time here.)
For the rewrite, do whatever suggestions I have noted, whether that involves additional reporting, AP Style fixes, rearranging story structure, whatever. You do not have to do a rewrite, but I strongly encourage you to do so.
If you do the rewrite, then your assignment grade will be the average between your original one and the rewrite.
Now, here's a reminder of the rest of your weekend assignments:
First, we will need to write a practice story slugged LAWSUIT. The background material is a court document (which you may refer to as the lawsuit in attribution) that can be found in the 10th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 18, Ex. 7, p. 493-4.
For this exercise, the circuit court is the Ingham County Circuit Court. The school district is the East Lansing School District. All relevant individuals and institutions live or are located in East Lansing.
Also, here are explainers of some basic terms: plaintiffs are people who are filing a lawsuit, and making accusations. Defendants are the people being sued and accused. Damages are what plaintiffs seek from the defendants, if the defendants are eventually found guilty.
Plus, keep in mind everything contained in a lawsuit is an allegation that has yet to be proven in court. So, in describing things, I would advise you to overdose on the liberal use of allegedly.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Monday, to omars@msu.edu.
Second, we will need to write another practice story slugged STATS. The background material is a press release from the U.S. Census Bureau (which you may refer to as such in attribution) that can be found in the 10th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 19, Ex. 6, p. 523-4 ONLY. Do NOT use info listed on pages 525 and beyond.
For this exercise, all information is from the U.S. Census Bureau, and all data is regarding American households. Plus, be careful and precise with your math, as this is a data-based story.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Tuesday, to omars@msu.edu.
Also, let's start working on our second out-of-class story tip sheet. The second out-of-class story tip sheet will be due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, July 7 by email to omars@msu.edu. That's also the Monday after the Fourth of July holiday.
As a reminder, here are tip sheet instructions. Requirements include:
1. That the topic be a news topic, rather than a features or sports topic.
2. That the topic be an issue or a trend, and NOT an event. What I mean by that is that you cover something that's broadly happening in society (such as a tuition increase or summer employment), rather than a happening (a house fire or a fund-raiser).
3. That the topic be one that you can report locally, doing interviews in-person. With out-of-class stories, I am testing your ability to find people to actually talk directly to, and to do interviews face-to-face.
(So, doing a story on riots in Turkey may be tough, because you're not in Turkey. But doing a story on how students of Turkish descent at MSU are reacting to the rioting, and/or how MSU study abroad students are handling the issues there, is much more doable.)
4. That the topic will allow you to meet the prerequisites of an out-of-class story, as detailed in the syllabus. Minimum of three sources you interviewed yourself; minimum of 700 words; double-spaced and conforming to AP Style; a word count at the end; a list of sources with their phone numbers and email addresses (so I can do spot checks on whether you really talked to them and whether your citations were accurate, ect.)
5. That the story can be fully reported, written and turned in within a 1-2 week time frame after approval.
6. That I approve your tip sheet for the project.
Now, WTF is a tip sheet? It's the proposal sheet that will detail your proposal in the following categories:
YOUR NAME. Duh.
THE TIP SHEET DUE DATE. That will be July 7, 2013
STORY SLUG. Please keep it to 1-3 words
STORY TOPIC. Describe in a few sentences what you expect this story to be about.
NEWS VALUE. Describe the news angle or angles you are exploring. Refer to news values from the blog or textbook. Explain how your proposed story is interesting, relevant and/or useful to the audience.
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS. Describe in a sentence or two what niche orf readers would be interested in or affected by your story.
STORY SOURCES. Do some Googling and come up with a primary interview source and at least two other interview sources who you wll try to interview in-person or by phone.. Give me their names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and Web URLs (if applicable) for each source. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE CONTACTED THESE SOURCES BEFORE LISTING THEM HERE! In fact, if those sources, in the end, don't make it into your story because you later find better sources, that's okay, too. I simply want to see where you're starting out in trying to get sources to interview.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. List any print and online sources you plan to rely on in writing your story. These should be secondary sources only; I want your story topic to rely on primary sources who you actually interview yourself.
SOURCE CREDIBILITY AND EXPERTISE. Why are these good sources? How are they appropriate and available for the story?
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Disclose any and all conflicts of interest you may have. Do you have a personal interest in this topic and/or sources? Are you related to or friends with your sources? Does this topic directly affect you? Is it regarding a group or activity in which you participate or have an interest? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then you should find another topic.
PUBLICATION POTENTIAL. What publications or media might be interested in printing or posting this story? What do you think your chances are of publication or distribution?
STORY ALTERNATIVES. If the planned story does not work out, what will you do instead? Will the planned story be modified? Will an entirely different story be needed? Briefly explain fallback plans.
I need you to put all this info in a Word document and send it to my email account at omars@msu.edu, with the subject line of TIP SHEET 2, by the deadline.
To help get you started, here are some examples of topics from past JRN 200 classes of mine:
Pros and cons of living on-campus versus off-campus at MSU
"Culture of rape" on college campuses, including MSU
Summer vacation employment plans among college students at MSU
Prevalence of fake ID use among college students at MSU
Finals week stress among students at MSU
How foreign students acclimate to being on an American campus, like MSU
Seniors at MSU facing the "real world" after graduation
Recycling at MSU
Notice how many of the topics are local, or MSU is being used to put a local focus on a broader trend. That's important, because (once again) YOU WILL NEED TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE YOURSELF!
This isn't a term paper; this is journalism. And there's a big difference. With a term paper, you find and cite the reporting and research that others have done, and put that in your paper. But in journalism, YOU do the actual reporting and research YOURSELF.
You don't cite CNN saying there was a bombing in Boston; YOU call the Boston authorities YOURSELF, and do YOUR OWN interviews to get the raw material that makes up your story. You don't cite a study done by Harvard University that you found online; YOU call the person who authored the study and interview him or her YOURSELF.
That's why I think the best topics are local. It's probably a lot to ask novice journalists to do a story on American foreign policy and get President Obama on the phone yourself.
With this being an online class, I know there are many people who are nowhere near East Lansing. And that's okay. Find topics in and around your geographic area. My biggest concern isn't that it's an MSU topic; it's that it's a topic you can report first-hand. The latter is the reason so many of the past topics I listed were MSU-centric. It was proximity.
In previous in-person summer classes, I had some students commuting from home, and some took topics from their home areas. For example, one student from the Port Huron area did a story on plans to expand the bridge linking Port Huron to Canada. So it's no big deal if stories are coming from Albuquerque or Nashville or suburban Detroit (which are actual locations of some of our current JRN 200ers!).
And if you have any problems whatsoever in coming up with a topic, or detailing a topic, do not hesitate to call me (517-432-3009) or email me (omars@msu.edu) or stop by my office (435 E. Grand River Ave., at the corner of Grand River and Division, across the street from Berkey Hall and next to the SBS bookstore) during regular weekday business hours.
Hope this helps. Good luck, everybody!
Okay, moving on with homework: there will be no reading assignment this weekend, BTW.
If there's anything you need to talk to me about, please call me at 517-432-3009, email me at omars@msu.edu, or stop by my office at The State News Building, 435 E. Grand River Ave. (which is at the corner of Grand River and Division, next to the SBS bookstore and across the street from Berkey Hall).
Out-Of-Class #1: A Quick Overview
Here's the good news: everybody made deadline. That's a great start.
Now, here's the bad news: unfortunately, we had some fatals.
And the frustrating thing to me was that it was clear that the fatals came from the simplest of mistakes, and were ones where the most basic principles of fact-checking were not being followed. You know, the same old stuff.
All the fatals were the same in nature: a misspelled name. A school name, a person's name, a business name; just names.
We need to make sure we don't take anything for granted, and double-check all info we have in a story. We need to ask ourselves, how do we know that? And then we need to check against a source of that information to make sure what we have is true and accurate.
Early on in this class, I talked about how doing all the little routine things in journalism -- like thoroughly checking your work to make sure what you wrote was what you intended to write, and that it was accurate as compared to your notes and the facts -- was something that you could never take for granted. It's not.
And it has nothing to do with talent, just vigilance. In the same way American can have the best army in the world, it doesn't really matter if the one night the army takes the night off, Canada decides to invade us.
Or if we're trying to stay in shape, and instead of running our miles every day we start to cut corners and slack here and there. Eventually, the pounds will start showing.
The fact is, you could be the world's best journalist, and you still have to do all the little and annoying things -- like checking routine facts -- if you want to stay ahead of making mistakes. Because when you're processing thousands of words a day in a professional environment and on deadline, a mistake is always waiting to catch you at a lax moment and bite your ass.
It's why The New York Times has the best journalists in the world, yet they still have a copy desk.
So there's no big thing to learn from the fatals, other than if we want to do things the right way, we have to do things the right way completely and each and every time.
This job isn't about writing. It's about getting it right. I'm sorry some of you have to learn that lesson in a very harsh manner, because in this case we're not talking about a practice story that's worth not very much in terms of your final grade; we're dealing with an out-of-class story that's worth ten times as much.
The good news is, you have a rewrite. You have the opportunity to do a fourth out-of-class story, which will negate your worst-graded out-of-classer. You have other assignments. And I will offer a wide range of extra-credit opportunities that will do two things: prove to me that you can do all those little things right (along with the big things), and give you an opportunity to repair your grade and (hopefully) essentially make these fatals go away when it comes to your final grade.
But we have to start making sure we're following all the steps, every time. No more short cuts. No more assumptions.
Each and every one of you is capable of doing this, and doing it well. But we need to do all the things we're supposed to do for that to happen.
This is a particularly big problem with out-of-class stories. Out-of-class stories are kind of like midterms and finals: they are a BIG part of our final grade. The whole point of doing a bunch of practice stories has been to emphasize your good habits, identify your bad habits and fix the latter, so that by the time we do out-of-class stories you're not at risk of making a huge small mistake on something that's oging to be a huge part of your final grade.
Folks, let's please make sure we're doing our due diligence and carefully fact-checking, based on the advice and handouts and checklists from previous blog posts.
For the most part, many people did very well -- but not great. Writing, organization and story structure were in general very, very good, but where we fell short was with range of sources.
In many stories, we had just one side of an issue. Maybe we just talked to officials in charge of something. Maybe we just talked to people affected by something. Maybe we just talked to neutral experts, who have no vested interest in how things turn out, but know a lot about the subject at hand.
What we need to do is talk to all such groups. Not just one, and not even just two of three. We need to explore all the levels of complexity of a story, and reach out to all the niche groups that have an interest in what is happening, is affected by what is happening, is in charge of what is happening, and is expect in what is happening.
To find such sources, we need to ask ourselves, who is interested in this? Who is affected by this? Who is in charge of this? Who is expert in this? And where might I find these people?
Then, we need to find them.
Google is your pal, sure. But it starts with your own curiosity, and your willingness to act upon it. You can't just race to the minimum three sources and think, I'm done. You're done when you've answered those aforementioned questions in italics; then interviewed all those people; and then answered all their questions.
Only then do you know what you have. Only then do you know what to write. Only then have you committed an act of journalism.
Now, having said that, I'm pretty happy with how things went.
Were things perfect? No. You probably know that already, from all the comments I made. But when I was comparing your work to that of previous classes on the first out-of-classer, I think in many ways you showed more advanced work than many of those classes did.
In general, I think not only are where we ought to be, we're probably a little bit ahead of where I thought we should be, based on previous classes.
So, good job!
Plus, two more good things: first, I usually find that the first out-of-classer is the hardest one to do, since you have nothing to compare it to in terms of writing and organizing a self-reported story, and especially regarding setting up and carrying out in-person interviews.
Now, since you have those experiences, the second and third ones should be much easier.
Second, I'd like to remind you that even though the semester is halfway done, the work we've done so far represents only about 25 percent of your final grade. That means 75 percent of your grade will be determined in the coming weeks.
So, if you've struggled at times at the start of this class, don't fret. There's still plenty of work with which you can show me that you're picking up concepts, executing them well, and deserve a great grade.
Now, here's the bad news: unfortunately, we had some fatals.
And the frustrating thing to me was that it was clear that the fatals came from the simplest of mistakes, and were ones where the most basic principles of fact-checking were not being followed. You know, the same old stuff.
All the fatals were the same in nature: a misspelled name. A school name, a person's name, a business name; just names.
We need to make sure we don't take anything for granted, and double-check all info we have in a story. We need to ask ourselves, how do we know that? And then we need to check against a source of that information to make sure what we have is true and accurate.
Early on in this class, I talked about how doing all the little routine things in journalism -- like thoroughly checking your work to make sure what you wrote was what you intended to write, and that it was accurate as compared to your notes and the facts -- was something that you could never take for granted. It's not.
And it has nothing to do with talent, just vigilance. In the same way American can have the best army in the world, it doesn't really matter if the one night the army takes the night off, Canada decides to invade us.
Or if we're trying to stay in shape, and instead of running our miles every day we start to cut corners and slack here and there. Eventually, the pounds will start showing.
The fact is, you could be the world's best journalist, and you still have to do all the little and annoying things -- like checking routine facts -- if you want to stay ahead of making mistakes. Because when you're processing thousands of words a day in a professional environment and on deadline, a mistake is always waiting to catch you at a lax moment and bite your ass.
It's why The New York Times has the best journalists in the world, yet they still have a copy desk.
So there's no big thing to learn from the fatals, other than if we want to do things the right way, we have to do things the right way completely and each and every time.
This job isn't about writing. It's about getting it right. I'm sorry some of you have to learn that lesson in a very harsh manner, because in this case we're not talking about a practice story that's worth not very much in terms of your final grade; we're dealing with an out-of-class story that's worth ten times as much.
The good news is, you have a rewrite. You have the opportunity to do a fourth out-of-class story, which will negate your worst-graded out-of-classer. You have other assignments. And I will offer a wide range of extra-credit opportunities that will do two things: prove to me that you can do all those little things right (along with the big things), and give you an opportunity to repair your grade and (hopefully) essentially make these fatals go away when it comes to your final grade.
But we have to start making sure we're following all the steps, every time. No more short cuts. No more assumptions.
Each and every one of you is capable of doing this, and doing it well. But we need to do all the things we're supposed to do for that to happen.
This is a particularly big problem with out-of-class stories. Out-of-class stories are kind of like midterms and finals: they are a BIG part of our final grade. The whole point of doing a bunch of practice stories has been to emphasize your good habits, identify your bad habits and fix the latter, so that by the time we do out-of-class stories you're not at risk of making a huge small mistake on something that's oging to be a huge part of your final grade.
Folks, let's please make sure we're doing our due diligence and carefully fact-checking, based on the advice and handouts and checklists from previous blog posts.
For the most part, many people did very well -- but not great. Writing, organization and story structure were in general very, very good, but where we fell short was with range of sources.
In many stories, we had just one side of an issue. Maybe we just talked to officials in charge of something. Maybe we just talked to people affected by something. Maybe we just talked to neutral experts, who have no vested interest in how things turn out, but know a lot about the subject at hand.
What we need to do is talk to all such groups. Not just one, and not even just two of three. We need to explore all the levels of complexity of a story, and reach out to all the niche groups that have an interest in what is happening, is affected by what is happening, is in charge of what is happening, and is expect in what is happening.
To find such sources, we need to ask ourselves, who is interested in this? Who is affected by this? Who is in charge of this? Who is expert in this? And where might I find these people?
Then, we need to find them.
Google is your pal, sure. But it starts with your own curiosity, and your willingness to act upon it. You can't just race to the minimum three sources and think, I'm done. You're done when you've answered those aforementioned questions in italics; then interviewed all those people; and then answered all their questions.
Only then do you know what you have. Only then do you know what to write. Only then have you committed an act of journalism.
Now, having said that, I'm pretty happy with how things went.
Were things perfect? No. You probably know that already, from all the comments I made. But when I was comparing your work to that of previous classes on the first out-of-classer, I think in many ways you showed more advanced work than many of those classes did.
In general, I think not only are where we ought to be, we're probably a little bit ahead of where I thought we should be, based on previous classes.
So, good job!
Plus, two more good things: first, I usually find that the first out-of-classer is the hardest one to do, since you have nothing to compare it to in terms of writing and organizing a self-reported story, and especially regarding setting up and carrying out in-person interviews.
Now, since you have those experiences, the second and third ones should be much easier.
Second, I'd like to remind you that even though the semester is halfway done, the work we've done so far represents only about 25 percent of your final grade. That means 75 percent of your grade will be determined in the coming weeks.
So, if you've struggled at times at the start of this class, don't fret. There's still plenty of work with which you can show me that you're picking up concepts, executing them well, and deserve a great grade.
Out-Of-Class #1: Do Your Own Reporting
A big and common problem with the first out-of-classer is reliance on other media, especially for background information.
Let's say you're doing a story on the Boston Marathon bombing; you may have cited what happened via an article from CNN and then added some everyday people's reactions from interviews you did yourself. Or maybe you do a story about whether college makes you stupid, for which you cite a study you found on CNN and then talk to some random college students.
Those approaches are entirely wrong.
This isn't a term paper; this is journalism. And there's a big difference. With a term paper, you find and cite the reporting and research that others have done, and put that in your paper. But in journalism, YOU do the actual reporting and research YOURSELF.
You don't cite CNN saying there was a bombing in Boston; YOU call the Boston authorities YOURSELF, and do YOUR OWN interviews to get the raw material that makes up your story. You don't cite a study done by Harvard University that you found online; YOU call the person who authored the study and interview him or her YOURSELF.
That's why I think the best topics are local. It's probably a lot to ask novice journalists to do a story on American foreign policy and get President Obama on the phone yourself.
Let's say you're doing a story on the Boston Marathon bombing; you may have cited what happened via an article from CNN and then added some everyday people's reactions from interviews you did yourself. Or maybe you do a story about whether college makes you stupid, for which you cite a study you found on CNN and then talk to some random college students.
Those approaches are entirely wrong.
This isn't a term paper; this is journalism. And there's a big difference. With a term paper, you find and cite the reporting and research that others have done, and put that in your paper. But in journalism, YOU do the actual reporting and research YOURSELF.
You don't cite CNN saying there was a bombing in Boston; YOU call the Boston authorities YOURSELF, and do YOUR OWN interviews to get the raw material that makes up your story. You don't cite a study done by Harvard University that you found online; YOU call the person who authored the study and interview him or her YOURSELF.
That's why I think the best topics are local. It's probably a lot to ask novice journalists to do a story on American foreign policy and get President Obama on the phone yourself.
Out-Of-Class #1: What Journalism Really Is
A while back, I received the following email from one of youze:
> Hello,
> After doing some research on why higher education faces increased
> tuition costs, I started to understand why this has been happening at
> MSU and how it relates to the current state of the economy. Instead
> of having my paper focus on why MSU is increasing tuition but still
> spending money on adding amenities to campus, such as Wi-Fi in dorms,
> I wanted to focus on the spending cuts and how it is affecting higher
> education.
>
> My new topic idea is:
> Spending cuts made by the state and the Budget Control Act are
> affecting the funding for higher education. The spending cuts being
> made are increasing tuition and reducing the quality of education due
> to program cuts and faculty cuts (among other things). I will focus
> on how MSU is currently receiving its funding, how much did tuition
> increase this year, what are the things being done to reduce excess
> spending on campus, and what is being done to help students with the
> increasing cost of tuition.
>
> I wanted to get your approval on this topic so I can begin to write my paper.
>
And my answer was an enthusiastic YES! Not simply because you were switching the topic, but because you were switching the topic based on where the facts were taking you!
And THAT is journalism. Journalism isn't starting with an initial assumption and then finding facts to support it. That's a term paper. Rather, journalism is starting with an initial assumption, then seeing where the facts take you. Sometimes, research finds that the initial premise was correct. Other times, not so much. And still other times you discover things that support a premise that's better than the original one.
It's that process of research and then determining what you actually have that is journalism. That's what separates it from simply finding out about stuff; it's that discovery through doing reporting.
It's like being a detective: you start out with a dead body, and then you start interviewing people to see what you can find out. You may start out with one suspect, but the evidence might take you to another suspect -- or none at all, if you find facts showing it was an accidental or natural death, or a suicide. Either way, you follow the facts, and you make your final determination on the facts you find, rather than simply what you initially presumed.
Ideally, each of us will have a story that evolves this way. I'm glad at least one of us did, so the rest of us can see this process in action.
> Hello,
> After doing some research on why higher education faces increased
> tuition costs, I started to understand why this has been happening at
> MSU and how it relates to the current state of the economy. Instead
> of having my paper focus on why MSU is increasing tuition but still
> spending money on adding amenities to campus, such as Wi-Fi in dorms,
> I wanted to focus on the spending cuts and how it is affecting higher
> education.
>
> My new topic idea is:
> Spending cuts made by the state and the Budget Control Act are
> affecting the funding for higher education. The spending cuts being
> made are increasing tuition and reducing the quality of education due
> to program cuts and faculty cuts (among other things). I will focus
> on how MSU is currently receiving its funding, how much did tuition
> increase this year, what are the things being done to reduce excess
> spending on campus, and what is being done to help students with the
> increasing cost of tuition.
>
> I wanted to get your approval on this topic so I can begin to write my paper.
>
And my answer was an enthusiastic YES! Not simply because you were switching the topic, but because you were switching the topic based on where the facts were taking you!
And THAT is journalism. Journalism isn't starting with an initial assumption and then finding facts to support it. That's a term paper. Rather, journalism is starting with an initial assumption, then seeing where the facts take you. Sometimes, research finds that the initial premise was correct. Other times, not so much. And still other times you discover things that support a premise that's better than the original one.
It's that process of research and then determining what you actually have that is journalism. That's what separates it from simply finding out about stuff; it's that discovery through doing reporting.
It's like being a detective: you start out with a dead body, and then you start interviewing people to see what you can find out. You may start out with one suspect, but the evidence might take you to another suspect -- or none at all, if you find facts showing it was an accidental or natural death, or a suicide. Either way, you follow the facts, and you make your final determination on the facts you find, rather than simply what you initially presumed.
Ideally, each of us will have a story that evolves this way. I'm glad at least one of us did, so the rest of us can see this process in action.
Out-Of-Class #1: An Okay Example ...
... with decent structure and writing, but a few issues that are typical for a first out-of-classer:
(name redacted)
June 23, 2014
Out-of-class 1
FINALS STRESS
Stress levels among students at Michigan State University
are at an all-time high COMMA HERE according
to students and faculty members at the university.
Finals week, the time when professors assign tests that
challenge students on material covered throughout the semester, are the main
source of the problem COMMA HERE according
to Michigan State University student Nicholas Shatney.
“There is just so much that we need to prepare for,” Shatney
said. “Professors could honestly test us on anything that they have said
throughout the semester. It adds a ton of stress to my life thinking about all
the topics that I need to prepare for and become knowledgeable about.”
Students typically begin preparing for finals week a couple
weeks in advance, Shatney said. However, some students begin preparation a
little bit later than others and that usually adds more stress COMMA HERE said Shatney. ONLY ONE ATTRIBUTION NEEDED IN ANY
PARAGRAPH WHERE THERE IS ONLY ONE SOURCE
“Kids have come up to me in the past asking for more time to
prepare,” said Robert Bell, a Michigan State University graduate assistant in
the accounting program at the university.
“There usually isn’t a whole lot that I can do for them. We
tell students what day their final exam will be on in the beginning of the
semester,” Bell said. “They should have plenty of time to prepare and get
comfortable enough with the material so that they do not stress out.”
Bell SAID HE believes
that a lot of the stress that students feel around finals week is actually due
to a lack of preparation from students.
“I’ve found that most students who complain about stress are
the ones who have missed assignments throughout the semester. They put all
their eggs in the finals basket and expect that their grade on the final will make up for
the lack of work that they have done all year,” said Bell.
Some parents oppose the viewpoint of Bell and were quick to
point out that not all students rely on the final to turn their grade around.
Dawn Miller, mother of a former nursing student and a current
packaging student at Michigan State, said that both her children have always
excelled throughout the semester but noted that their stress levels around
finals week are usually noticeably high.
“I think my children are usually just nervous about ruining
all the work that they put into the semester. Teachers ask so much of students
during finals week. Kids have three or four different classes that they have to
start studying for and since every final is worth such a big part of their
grade, kids start to freak out and stress,” Miller said.
Miller said that her children never really dealt with stress
outside of school. She said ONLY ONE
ATTRIBUTION NEEDED IN ANY PARAGRAPH WHERE THERE IS ONLY ONE SOURCE they
grew up in high-pressure situations playing sports their entire lives, but she
never saw stress the way she does around the end of each semester.
“I usually end up on the phone with my daughter trying to
talk her out of the meltdown she is having. Finals cause her to freak out. She
sets such a high standard for herself that there is usually nothing I can say
that makes her feel more comfortable,” said Miller.
Despite all the attention that this topic is generating,
some students have realized that they add a lot of pressure to themselves that
wouldn’t necessarily be there if they didn’t hold themselves to such a high
standard.
“I put the most pressure on myself to succeed. I’ve found
that my professors and my family have always been nothing but encouraging,”
said Alex Wrobleski, a current accounting student at Michigan State University.
“The stress comes from myself. It’s usually when I put off studying or have
been doing bad in the class.”
Bell SAID HE;
ATTRIBUTE! believes that the solution for this problem will eventually have
to come from the students.
“Once students realize that they are not set up to fail like
so many of them believe, then we will make progress in solving this problem.
Kids think we are trying to make them nervous and that we enjoy making them
anxious. That is definitely not the case,” Bell said.
The anxiety felt by students is
sometimes a good thing COMMA HERE Bell
said. He believes that it shows how much some students care about school and
said that it is refreshing to see kids so actively involved in their education.
“Too much stress is a bad thing.
However, these young adults have no idea what real stress is yet. Many of them
do not have a real job yet or a family to feed. That is real stress,” Bell
said. “In a weird way, stressing over a final exam might help students in the
long run as they become adults. They will have dealt with pressure and know how
to handle stress later in life.”
References
Nicholas Shatney- Michigan State Supply Chain Management Student
– 206 Commerce Road, Milford, MI 48381 –
248-505-1360 – shatney1@msu.edu
Robert Bell- Michigan State
Accounting Major, graduate assistant- 3086 Hickory Ridge Trail, Milford, MI
48380 – 248-464-2218 – bellrob6@msu.edu
Alex Wrobleski – Michigan State
Accounting Major – 788 Dorchester Way Milford, MI 48381 – 248-231-9877 – wrobles3@msu.edu
Dawn Miller- Michigan State
University parent of two students – 425 Chatam Drive Milford, MI 48381 –
248-790-9327
ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (grade redacted)
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: NICE OVERALL STRUCTURE AND WRITING; WHAT WE ARE
MOST MISSING ARE MORE TEACHER VOICES/OBSERVATIONS; A NEUTRAL EXPERT LIKE A
SOCIOLOGIST OR A TEACHING TEACHER WHO CAN EXPAND ON THE MENTAL DYNAMICS OF
FINALS WEEK; AND PERHAPS SOME DATA THAT WOULD OFFER UNDERLYING SUPPORT THAT
THIS INDEED IS A REAL PROBLEM AND NOT JUST A FEELING THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE.
Out-Of-Class #1: ALMOST a pretty decent story ...
... you'll see why not. Also, watch for a common first out-of-class story problem: a story that can use better organization.
(Name redacted)
June 26, 2014
Out of Class #1
Concussions
“It
is better to miss one game, than the whole season” is the quote buzzing around
the increasing prevention and treatment of concussions in the sports world
today.
The
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1.6
million to 3.8 million concussions occur each year, as reported by the Sports
Concussion Institute.
High
schools and college programs are following suit of professional action taken to
prevent concussions among their athletes more so than in the past. Previously,
players could be cleared to play once the symptoms disappeared, but today
concussions are given deeper medical attention. THIS IS YOUR NUT GRAF, AS IT BEST SUPPOrRTS AND AMPLIFIES THE LEDE.
PLEASE MOVE IT UP
“There
is a greater awareness of the cognitive effects of concussions in the news and
possible connection between repeated concussions in professional athletes and
dementia,” said Dr. Jean-Claude Dutès, Michigan State Professor and Clinical
Neuropsychologist. PROFESSOR AND
CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST ARE LOWER CASE WHEN USED AFTER THE TITLE HOLDER’S
NAME, PER AP STYLE. PLUS, THIS IS
YOUR TELLING QUOTE, AS IT BEST HUMANIZES THE LEDE AND NUT GRAF SEQUENCE. PLEASE
MOVE IT UP.
Dr.
Jean-Claude Dutès JUST DUTES; DO NOT USE
FIRST NAMES OR TITLES ON SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT REFERENCES, PER AP STYLE is
a Fully Licensed Psychologist with more than fifteen years of experience in the
assessment and treatment of persons with acquired brain injury and other
neurocognitive disorders and over twenty years of experience as a psychologist,
as stated in his Michigan State University Rehabilitation biography.
YOUR ORIGINAL NUT GRAF IS A BETTER FIT
HERE, IN CREATING A MINI-DATA AND FACT SET ESTABLISHING THE PROBLEM
Concussions
can happen in a variety of different sports, such as basketball, baseball,
football, cheerleading, diving, and among others causing the head to jolt. Football
is one of the highest and most serve occurrences due the constant forceful
contact of the athletes. HOW DO YOU KNOW
THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
The
Sports Concussion Institute reported on their ITS, STED THEIR website WEBSITE
IS CAPITALIZED, PER AP STYLE that 5 to 10 percent of athletes will
experience a concussion in any given sport season COMMA HERE with football holding a 75 percent chance of concussion.
The
Michigan Department of Community Health defines a concussion as a type of brain
injury that changes the way the brain normally works, which is caused by a
bump, jolt, or blow to the head or body that causes your head to move quickly
back and forth. I’D MOVE THIS GRAF TO
JUST BEFORE THE GRAF STARTING WITH, CONCUSSIONS CAN HAPPEN IN A VARIETY OF
DIFFERENT SPORTS …
WHAT SCHOOL? Girls Junior Varsity Coach Justin Nowak said, “A lot
of times people get concussions and do not even realize it because you do not
have to lose consciousness to get one. When an athlete gets just one it
increases risk for another one, which is scary to think about for girls at such
a young age.”
Students
at Richmond High School received an informational handout for parents and
athletes to read and sign as a requirement to participate 2014 season of
sports, including with the summer off-season. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
Nowak
said the Richmond Girls Basketball Program GIRLS’
BASKETBALL PROGRAM IS LOWER CASE is making concussion prevention a higher
priority with upcoming seasons.
HOW SO? SHOW ME WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO
HELP PREVENT CONCUSSIONS.
Alongside
high schools, colleges are taking strides to make their athletes more aware of
the risks of concussions.
Kasey
McKay played softball at Gannon University, located in Pennsylvania, last
spring where she was constantly reminded of the dangers of concussions. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
“Coach
made sure we knew the signs of a concussion to help be his eyes of the team if
we noticed something he didn’t. He was always afraid someone would not want to
sit out the game, even though they truly needed to,” McKay said.
McKay
said some of the signs her coach told them to look out for was when someone was
complaining about headaches, blurred vision, confusion, memory problems, or sensitivity
to light and noise. He knew by having us knowing the signs we would be able to
notice if another girls seemed a little off that day after a head accident.
Jessica
Barjaktarovich is an in-fielder at Concordia University, located in Ann Arbor, where
her coach focuses on ensuring the players are healthy to get back on the field
after an injury to the head. HOW DO YOU
KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!
“If
you get hit in the head you go see the trainer and they assess you, then it’s
really up to them when you get to play again. There are a series of tests you
have to pass,” Barjaktarovich said.
START QUOTE GRAF WITH ATTRIBUTION WHEN
THE SOURCE IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SOURCE IN THE PREVIOUS GRAF “Concussions are something that need to be taken
more seriously. An athlete with a concussion needs to rest in order to heal.
Continuous concussions without proper recovery time could end up potential severe
and ever-lasting effect to the brain,” Nowak said.
Personal
Trainer Tyler Muzljakovich at Anytime Fitness IN WHAT CITY? THEY’RE EVERYWHERE, SO TELL ME WHICH ONE said, “If I
am working with a client that has recently had a concussion, we avoid impact
training such as running and jumping and we keep their heart rate from getting
too high, as too high of heart rate can lead to an onset of symptoms.”
Muzljakovich
said he ensures to incorporate balance training into his routines to help
strengthen the core to improve balance mechanisms to prevent falling, which
could result in concussions.
“The
cognitive effects of most first time concussions fade in seven days, in some
cases symptoms can last three months. Recovery is complicated, that is it takes
longer, when there have been multiple concussions. In some cases when completed
by psychological factors, symptoms can be reported years after the injury or
injuries,” said Dr. Jean-Claude Dutès.
Coaches
of all competitive levels have began to take concussions more seriously with
growing knowledge of the negative impacts concussions can have following serve
injuries and lawsuits in the professional realm of sports.
Luna
Shyr’s National Geographic News report on the new football equipment stated how
the NFL and football helmet company Riddel ***
FATAL FACT ERROR: RIDDELL, STED RIDDEL *** were sued by the family of
retired linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year. I DON’T WANT YOU CITING OTHER MEDIA;
RATHER, GET BACKGROUND LIKE THIS FROM A NEUTRAL EXPERT LIKE A SPORTS CONCUSSION
INSTITUTE OR A LAWYER INVOLVED IN SUCH CASES
“Posthumous
tests revealed that Seau had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease
linked to repetitive head blows. Seau’s family alleged that his sucide MISSPELLING; SUICIDE, STED SUCIDE resulted
from CTE, which can cause neurobehavioral problems like depression,” Shyr said
in her report. HERE’S ONE WAY TO GET
YOUR OWN SOURCES FOR THIS: LOOK AT HER ARTICLE AND SEE HOW SHE KNOWS IT.WHAT
SOURCES DOES SHE ATTRIBUTE? THEN, CONTACT THOSE SOURCES YOUSELF.
Seau’s
lawsuit is one of the thousands that have taken place recently leading to
millions of dollars of research to be conducted in helmet safety and increasing
focus on concussion prevention and treatment.
Word
Count: 953
Sources
–
1.
Dr. Jean-Claude
Dutès, Ph.D./LP/LPC/NCC
Clinical Neuropsychologist,
Psychology
Section Leader,
Dept. of Radiology
, Clinical Associate Professor,
Dept. of
PM&R College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University
dutes@msu.edu
2.
Justin Nowak,
Richmond High School JV Girls Basketball Coach
586-817-1728
3.
Kasey McKay,
former college athlete at Gannon University in Pennsylvania
586-907-6525
4.
Jessica
Barjaktarovich, college athlete at Concordia University in Ann Arbor Michigan
586-292-5923
5.
Tyler
Muzljakovich, Personal Trainer at Anytime Fitness in Richmond, Michigan
586-430-1526
6.
Sports Concussion Institute
7.
Luna Shyr’s National Geographic News report
ASSIGNMENT GRADE: 1.0 (1 FACT FATAL)
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: THIS ONE MADE ME
SAD, BECAUSE I THINK YOU WERE ON TRACK FOR A DECENT GRADE. THE BIGGEST ISSUE
OTHER THAN THE FATAL I HAD WAS STORY ORDER; I THINK YOU HAD GOOD GRAFS, BUT NOT
IN THE BEST SEQUENCE. HERE’S A STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE: WHEN YOU FINISH
WRITING, PRINT OUT YOUR STORY. THEN, CUT OUT EACH PARAGRAPH. THEN, PLAY WITH
PARAGRAPH ORDER UNTIL YOU HAVE A FLOW YOU THINK CASCADES SEAMLESSLY FROM GRAF
TO GRAF. THE GOOD NEWS HERE IS, IF YOU DO NOTHING MORE THAN FIX THE FATAL FOR THE REWRITE, YOUR GRADE WILL
GO UP A BUNCH. MAKE STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND DO A LITTLE BIT OF REPORTING AND IT’LL
GO UP EVEN MORE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)