I read an article by Debra Potter that talked about a couple of factors that affect directly what news is. Here is a link to the article for further reading:
http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2008/April/20080416211618eaifas0.8870203.html
In the article, Potter talked about some of the qualities of news that make it exactly what the public wants and needs to hear. The first she talked about was timeliness, which is the one that I feel is the most important. People care about what is new and exciting. They want to know what is happening now, not two days ago. Two more of the qualities that were listed that I feel go hand-in-hand are conflict and prominence. Both of these qualities deal with things that attract the public. Potter was correct when she said that people love to take sides and also the public loves people that are famous or prominent. Both of these qualities tend to deal with emotion which is very important in news.
I also learned a lot about the different types of news stories and what categories they are put under. Personally, I want to be involved in sports news which can either be hard news if it is reporting on current games, or soft news if it is a story about a particular athlete or coach. Also, the soft news stories about athletes are also considered features, which are more entertainment than actual breaking news. Another topic that I found particularly important was the section on objectivity and fairness. It can be very difficult to write without personal feelings or bias, but I feel like it is very important to communicate the news in a way that shows both sides evenly and fairly to make sure that you reach the entire audience. Overall I found it to be a very detailed article that was very informative.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
What I know about news on the second day of JMC 201 at Marshall University
News writing is an art form that the average person may think they have an idea about, but in all actuality they are probably pretty far off. A reporter, or news writer, is a person who examines the world around them and communicates the timely, worthy, and accurate facts that people need or want to know. There are different types of news writing, whether it be politics, economics, art, or sports, all are relevant topics that people care about and also want to know more about.
Personally, I want to be involved in the sports section of news writing. I love sports and I have a passion for knowing as much about my favorite sports as possible. The term "news" can be considered as broad if one does not cut it down to be a little more specific. News is the timely, accurate, worthy, and important facts about various subjects that are necessary for the public to be aware of. As I said earlier, whether it be world news, political news, economic news, or sports news, each one of those topics is important to different groups, which makes them all relevant.
My personal definition of the news probably relates more to me than the definition of news I have received in school. My definition of news is the information and facts that I want to learn more about and read about. Although that is not an accurate definition, it is the one I apply to myself. If you ask different people their definitions of news you would get a variety of answers. That is why I think that it is not the definition of news that is changing, it is the public's idea of what news actually is that is changing. There is always something new that needs to be reported. As the world progresses in science, technology, medicine, and sports, the news itself must also progress right along with them. That means the definition of what news is will always be changing.
I cannot remember all of the qualities of news that I have been told before, but I can say that a couple of them are timeliness, accurate, worthiness (newsworthy), and truthful. I don't have the foggiest idea about the rest of them, but I will have the answer by the end of the semester. If I could throw one quality into that list that I know is not on there it would be balanced. Many times certain news writers fall into the trap of not being objective and it comes out in their reports.
When it comes to the actual news reporter, their is a list of qualities that they must posses in their reports in order to be successful in their jobs. Their writing style needs to be quality work, with a list of attributes to follow. The list is accuracy, attribution, completeness, balance and fairness, objectivity, brevity and focus, and well-written. If a reporter follows those rules, they will have a much better chance at being successful and achieving their goals in the journalism field. This is what I know starting out. Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
Personally, I want to be involved in the sports section of news writing. I love sports and I have a passion for knowing as much about my favorite sports as possible. The term "news" can be considered as broad if one does not cut it down to be a little more specific. News is the timely, accurate, worthy, and important facts about various subjects that are necessary for the public to be aware of. As I said earlier, whether it be world news, political news, economic news, or sports news, each one of those topics is important to different groups, which makes them all relevant.
My personal definition of the news probably relates more to me than the definition of news I have received in school. My definition of news is the information and facts that I want to learn more about and read about. Although that is not an accurate definition, it is the one I apply to myself. If you ask different people their definitions of news you would get a variety of answers. That is why I think that it is not the definition of news that is changing, it is the public's idea of what news actually is that is changing. There is always something new that needs to be reported. As the world progresses in science, technology, medicine, and sports, the news itself must also progress right along with them. That means the definition of what news is will always be changing.
I cannot remember all of the qualities of news that I have been told before, but I can say that a couple of them are timeliness, accurate, worthiness (newsworthy), and truthful. I don't have the foggiest idea about the rest of them, but I will have the answer by the end of the semester. If I could throw one quality into that list that I know is not on there it would be balanced. Many times certain news writers fall into the trap of not being objective and it comes out in their reports.
When it comes to the actual news reporter, their is a list of qualities that they must posses in their reports in order to be successful in their jobs. Their writing style needs to be quality work, with a list of attributes to follow. The list is accuracy, attribution, completeness, balance and fairness, objectivity, brevity and focus, and well-written. If a reporter follows those rules, they will have a much better chance at being successful and achieving their goals in the journalism field. This is what I know starting out. Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Marshall Football Update
Ryan Tillman Thriving at New Position
Here is a link to the article for further reading:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x1562580884/Tillman-moves-to-guard
Sometimes moving positions on the football field can be difficult, if not close to impossible. Football is a game in which skills and movements are learned over a long period of time and take a while to perfect. Ryan Tillman is a sophomore Left Guard for the Thundering Herd this year. The strange thing is that Ryan Tillman was a freshman Left Tackle for the Herd last year. Tillman started 12 games and performed very well, especially for a freshman. This year he is helping out the team by switching positions. He feels like it will be difficult, but he is looking forward to it. He has added about 15 pounds of muscle during the off-season workouts and is feeling great about the upcoming season. We all share his excitement for the upcoming season and are looking forward to seeing the Herd compete for a Conference USA title.
Press Taylor Accepting Role as Backup
Here is a link to the story for further reading:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x265519806/Transfer-QB-suits-Herd-as-backup
Press Taylor is a junior-college transfer who is going to serve as the backup quarterback for the Marshall University football team this season. He will be the backup to Brian Anderson, who catapulted himself into the starters role with a great performance in the last game of the season last year. Anderson has continued his great play throughout training camp and practice, and Taylor and the rest of the Thundering Herd are supportive of their starting quarterback. Taylor has looked great working with the second team and he is ready to come in and help the team win if called upon.
Here is a link to the article for further reading:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x1562580884/Tillman-moves-to-guard
Sometimes moving positions on the football field can be difficult, if not close to impossible. Football is a game in which skills and movements are learned over a long period of time and take a while to perfect. Ryan Tillman is a sophomore Left Guard for the Thundering Herd this year. The strange thing is that Ryan Tillman was a freshman Left Tackle for the Herd last year. Tillman started 12 games and performed very well, especially for a freshman. This year he is helping out the team by switching positions. He feels like it will be difficult, but he is looking forward to it. He has added about 15 pounds of muscle during the off-season workouts and is feeling great about the upcoming season. We all share his excitement for the upcoming season and are looking forward to seeing the Herd compete for a Conference USA title.
Press Taylor Accepting Role as Backup
Here is a link to the story for further reading:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x265519806/Transfer-QB-suits-Herd-as-backup
Press Taylor is a junior-college transfer who is going to serve as the backup quarterback for the Marshall University football team this season. He will be the backup to Brian Anderson, who catapulted himself into the starters role with a great performance in the last game of the season last year. Anderson has continued his great play throughout training camp and practice, and Taylor and the rest of the Thundering Herd are supportive of their starting quarterback. Taylor has looked great working with the second team and he is ready to come in and help the team win if called upon.
World News Update
President Obama Has a Decision to Make
Here is a link for the article for additional reading and information regarding this topic:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082501312.html
President Obama is being put between a rock and a hard place. The War on Terror has been going on in Afghanistan for many, many years and many Americans would like to see the troops pulled out of that country. There are currently 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan with a request for more probably coming soon. The problem is that President Obama based some of his campaign on the promise of removing troops from the Middle East. With many high-ranking generals requesting additional troops and Democratic members of Congress calling for the removal of troops it is creating a sticky situation.
Should President Obama try to finish the work that is being done in removing terrorists and radicals from Afghanistan like his generals are asking, or should he stick to what he said in his campaign and start the removal of the troops? Personally I would like to see whatever is best for Afghanistan. I know that our troops are over there fighting a war that may not seem like ours, but for decades the United States has been the country that has taken the responsibility of making the world a safer place. Although it may seem like a contradiction to make the world a safer place by the use of force and violence, sometimes that is the only way to achieve the necessary outcome that is best for everyone. It is better to do the job right and see it finished to the end then have all the men and women who lost their lives doing that work have their lives be lost in vain.
Cash Being Used to Help Heal in Afghanistan
Here is a link to the story for further reading:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082802352.html
With all of the destruction and distress that a war causes there are always going to be civilians that get the raw end of the deal. The U.S. Military and Congress have come up with a strategy to make it a little better for those civilians who have lost some of their material things or even family members. Its a program that has been in existence for a while, but it is new in a couple sections of Afghanistan where there had not been very much fighting in the past.
A surprising fact is that only $2,500 is the compensation for a slain civilian. Their family receives that money, but does that seem fair? That seems very ridiculous to me. That is almost the same amount that is given for a slain cow, and the reasoning is that cows are so hard to raise in that area of the world. Seems slightly ridiculous that a family receives close to the same amount for a dead family member as a dead cow.
Here is a link for the article for additional reading and information regarding this topic:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082501312.html
President Obama is being put between a rock and a hard place. The War on Terror has been going on in Afghanistan for many, many years and many Americans would like to see the troops pulled out of that country. There are currently 62,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan with a request for more probably coming soon. The problem is that President Obama based some of his campaign on the promise of removing troops from the Middle East. With many high-ranking generals requesting additional troops and Democratic members of Congress calling for the removal of troops it is creating a sticky situation.
Should President Obama try to finish the work that is being done in removing terrorists and radicals from Afghanistan like his generals are asking, or should he stick to what he said in his campaign and start the removal of the troops? Personally I would like to see whatever is best for Afghanistan. I know that our troops are over there fighting a war that may not seem like ours, but for decades the United States has been the country that has taken the responsibility of making the world a safer place. Although it may seem like a contradiction to make the world a safer place by the use of force and violence, sometimes that is the only way to achieve the necessary outcome that is best for everyone. It is better to do the job right and see it finished to the end then have all the men and women who lost their lives doing that work have their lives be lost in vain.
Cash Being Used to Help Heal in Afghanistan
Here is a link to the story for further reading:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082802352.html
With all of the destruction and distress that a war causes there are always going to be civilians that get the raw end of the deal. The U.S. Military and Congress have come up with a strategy to make it a little better for those civilians who have lost some of their material things or even family members. Its a program that has been in existence for a while, but it is new in a couple sections of Afghanistan where there had not been very much fighting in the past.
A surprising fact is that only $2,500 is the compensation for a slain civilian. Their family receives that money, but does that seem fair? That seems very ridiculous to me. That is almost the same amount that is given for a slain cow, and the reasoning is that cows are so hard to raise in that area of the world. Seems slightly ridiculous that a family receives close to the same amount for a dead family member as a dead cow.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
