Both WSAZ and the Associated Press covered the story of the murder that happened in Mingo County earlier this week.
WSAZ had a very weak print story of the murder, and it was very easy to see that it was not a true print journalist that wrote the story for the website. They needed a better lead and also need to focus on sticking to the important facts rather than giving insignificant details.
The AP story was much more concise and stuck to the facts. The lead was short and to the point and the story focused on important details.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Different Approaches to the Same Story
A speech story about President Obama's speech at the United Nations was portrayed three different ways by three different news groups.
The AP, New York Times, and NBC all reported on the speech by the President, and all three of them had distinctly different styles. The Associated Press was a more direct story that got down to the facts quickly. The New York Times added a lot more details and quotes, and was a more in-depth story.
NBC's broadcast report was down to the point but also focused on some of the other world leaders that made appearances at the United Nations. NBC also differed by being a little more detailed when describing the audience's reaction to the President's speech.
The AP, New York Times, and NBC all reported on the speech by the President, and all three of them had distinctly different styles. The Associated Press was a more direct story that got down to the facts quickly. The New York Times added a lot more details and quotes, and was a more in-depth story.
NBC's broadcast report was down to the point but also focused on some of the other world leaders that made appearances at the United Nations. NBC also differed by being a little more detailed when describing the audience's reaction to the President's speech.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Dr. Swindell Lecture
A broadcast journalism professor lectured to the JMC 201 class about broadcast news this morning.
Dr. Chris Swindell said that broadcast news is a skill that needs to be learned by all of the different journalism majors at Marshall. He also said that it is important to be well rounded in your skills. Many print journalism majors are now having to do work in broadcasting, and he told the class a couple different factors that define broadcast news.
Swindell said that broadcast news is, "Written for the ear, not for the eye, written in little bits rather than big facts, written how we talk and is conversational, and it is the dominant means by which we get news."
The professor also spoke to the students about retrieving good quotes and soundbites. He told the class that a good quote or soundbite can make your story great. He also encouraged the class to keep working to achieve their goals.
Dr. Chris Swindell said that broadcast news is a skill that needs to be learned by all of the different journalism majors at Marshall. He also said that it is important to be well rounded in your skills. Many print journalism majors are now having to do work in broadcasting, and he told the class a couple different factors that define broadcast news.
Swindell said that broadcast news is, "Written for the ear, not for the eye, written in little bits rather than big facts, written how we talk and is conversational, and it is the dominant means by which we get news."
The professor also spoke to the students about retrieving good quotes and soundbites. He told the class that a good quote or soundbite can make your story great. He also encouraged the class to keep working to achieve their goals.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Serena Williams Apologizes to Fans
Serena Williams apologized on her blog Tuesday in regards to her attention-grabbing outburst during her semi-final match at the U.S. Open on Saturday.
Williams blogged that she was sorry for letting her fans down. She said, "I make no excuses in regards to my word choice that night, but I am sincerely sorry." She said that she thanked all of her fans for their support after she displayed actions outside of her usual character.
She also went on in the blog to promote the release of her book, "On the Line." Although Williams made a mistake this week, these actions are outside of her usual behavior, and she should be able to recover without any harm to her career.
Williams blogged that she was sorry for letting her fans down. She said, "I make no excuses in regards to my word choice that night, but I am sincerely sorry." She said that she thanked all of her fans for their support after she displayed actions outside of her usual character.
She also went on in the blog to promote the release of her book, "On the Line." Although Williams made a mistake this week, these actions are outside of her usual behavior, and she should be able to recover without any harm to her career.
How to Report on a Speech
During this week, I have had the opportunity to write some news stories about speeches. The first one that I did was Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. It was actually more difficult than one would imagine. It is hard to keep from editorializing a story about a speech because it is really tempting to put your own emotion into the story. I realized that it is my job to report what happened, not interpret what happened.
It was also hard to get to the points using the inverted pyramid. Sometimes it is hard to only focus on certain key points when a speech has so many different points. The inverted pyramid is crucial to successful news-writing and that is something that I really tried to focus on this week when covering speeches.
It was also hard to get to the points using the inverted pyramid. Sometimes it is hard to only focus on certain key points when a speech has so many different points. The inverted pyramid is crucial to successful news-writing and that is something that I really tried to focus on this week when covering speeches.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Two Huntington Residents Appear on TV Show "Judge Judy"
When you think of a true court case, you think of a plaintiff with a legitimate accusation and a defendant with a legitimate defense. Apparently that is not how it always works.
The popular television show "Judge Judy" welcomed two Huntington residents on Wednesday and what followed was nothing short of humorous. Tigie Monroe, an entertainer from the Huntington area, claimed that the defendant, Dionne Lawrence, hit him in the eye with a bottle at a local nightclub. The hit to the eye caused significant damage, and the plaintiff had to go to the hospital to receive stitches and even a CT scan. The plaintiff claimed that the costs of the medical work he received came up to $3,000 that he had to pay out of his pocket.
With such a legitimate accusation against her, you would have expected Lawrence to have some sort of defense. Well, her definition of defense seems to be different than most people's. Lawrence claimed that she did throw the bottle, but it was an accident because she was not aiming for the plaintiff. Judge Judy actually asked her if she was being serious with that defense, and surprisingly she was. She had no evidence, no documentation, nothing to say, except that he stepped in the way of the person she was aiming for.
Another interesting twist to the story is that the defendant is actually the girlfriend of the plaintiff's uncle. The plaintiff also told the court that during the night of the accident, the defendant actually admitted to hitting him with the bottle and told him that she would pay for the medical bills. The uncle was actually in court and was aware that the defense was not going to hold up so he kept quiet. The defendant had no response to saying that she had once agreed to pay for the medical bills.
When both sides were done presenting their cases, it seemed obvious which way the ruling would go. Judge Judy ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the defendant to pay him $3,000 in medical costs. Both the plaintiff and the defendant smiled, because everyone knew that is the way the ruling would go. It was a humorous day at Judge Judy Sheindlin's court, and surprisingly the "it was an accident" defense did not hold up.
The popular television show "Judge Judy" welcomed two Huntington residents on Wednesday and what followed was nothing short of humorous. Tigie Monroe, an entertainer from the Huntington area, claimed that the defendant, Dionne Lawrence, hit him in the eye with a bottle at a local nightclub. The hit to the eye caused significant damage, and the plaintiff had to go to the hospital to receive stitches and even a CT scan. The plaintiff claimed that the costs of the medical work he received came up to $3,000 that he had to pay out of his pocket.
With such a legitimate accusation against her, you would have expected Lawrence to have some sort of defense. Well, her definition of defense seems to be different than most people's. Lawrence claimed that she did throw the bottle, but it was an accident because she was not aiming for the plaintiff. Judge Judy actually asked her if she was being serious with that defense, and surprisingly she was. She had no evidence, no documentation, nothing to say, except that he stepped in the way of the person she was aiming for.
Another interesting twist to the story is that the defendant is actually the girlfriend of the plaintiff's uncle. The plaintiff also told the court that during the night of the accident, the defendant actually admitted to hitting him with the bottle and told him that she would pay for the medical bills. The uncle was actually in court and was aware that the defense was not going to hold up so he kept quiet. The defendant had no response to saying that she had once agreed to pay for the medical bills.
When both sides were done presenting their cases, it seemed obvious which way the ruling would go. Judge Judy ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the defendant to pay him $3,000 in medical costs. Both the plaintiff and the defendant smiled, because everyone knew that is the way the ruling would go. It was a humorous day at Judge Judy Sheindlin's court, and surprisingly the "it was an accident" defense did not hold up.
Mad Men
The show "Mad Men" is a television series about advertising executives. There was an article in the New York Times that recently talked about the direction the show was heading. The article was not well written and the style was hard to follow. I would have tried to be a little more focused on the facts of the show then actually what direction the show was heading.
Local Charleston Couple Appears on Popular TV Show "Judge Judy"
Judge Judy Sheindlin is not one to take it easy on the people who enter her courtroom. Whether it be a dispute about money, or the rights to ownership of a vehicle, Judge Judy is known for intimidating people that end up on her television show. Monday's show was no exception.
Two Charleston natives that had formerly been in a dating relationship were on her show Monday to resolve a dispute about money that had been loaned in order to pay back some traffic violation fines. Samantha Jones, the plaintiff, is a 23 year old from Charleston who was suing the defendant, Chris Casdorph, for $1,350 that was used to pay his fines for traffic violations. She was also asking for money to fix her vehicle that he dented in a civil dispute.
The plaintiff offered up some concrete evidence in the form of bank statements and photographs. Judge Judy seemed somewhat persuaded by the evidence, but seemed to always have her doubts about the plaintiffs story. The defendant confidently said that he was never told that he had to repay the plaintiff for the loan and he also had already given her some money back as a goodwill gesture.
When it came to the time to talk about the dented vehicle, things really started to get exciting. The story as told by the defendant is that the plaintiff first threw a hairbrush at his older child, then proceeded to take their younger child away from him. He was upset about the hairbrush incident and was now really upset that his girlfriend would try to take his child from him. During the scuffle there was a dent put into the car. Judge Judy wanted to know why the plaintiff would try to take the defendants child away and ruled in favor of the defendant on that occasion.
A funny story followed when the plaintiff also told of another time when the defendant was driving her car wildly and hit a stop sign. Apparently the plaintiff had told the defendant to stop driving the car so recklessly and he did not listen. So the plaintiff proceeded to throw the defendants jacket out of the window as an effort to get him to stop the car. Judge Judy found that ridiculous and seemed surprised that the plaintiff actually thought that would help her case.
When the case came to a close it seemed as if Judge Judy was really favoring the defendant. However when the decision came it was the plaintiff that had a smile on her face. She was awarded the $1,350 for the money she loaned the defendant for the traffic violations. As for money for the damaged vehicle, Judge Judy saw it for the defendant and no money was awarded to the plaintiff. It was exciting to see local people on the show because if one thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment in Judge Judy's courtroom.
Two Charleston natives that had formerly been in a dating relationship were on her show Monday to resolve a dispute about money that had been loaned in order to pay back some traffic violation fines. Samantha Jones, the plaintiff, is a 23 year old from Charleston who was suing the defendant, Chris Casdorph, for $1,350 that was used to pay his fines for traffic violations. She was also asking for money to fix her vehicle that he dented in a civil dispute.
The plaintiff offered up some concrete evidence in the form of bank statements and photographs. Judge Judy seemed somewhat persuaded by the evidence, but seemed to always have her doubts about the plaintiffs story. The defendant confidently said that he was never told that he had to repay the plaintiff for the loan and he also had already given her some money back as a goodwill gesture.
When it came to the time to talk about the dented vehicle, things really started to get exciting. The story as told by the defendant is that the plaintiff first threw a hairbrush at his older child, then proceeded to take their younger child away from him. He was upset about the hairbrush incident and was now really upset that his girlfriend would try to take his child from him. During the scuffle there was a dent put into the car. Judge Judy wanted to know why the plaintiff would try to take the defendants child away and ruled in favor of the defendant on that occasion.
A funny story followed when the plaintiff also told of another time when the defendant was driving her car wildly and hit a stop sign. Apparently the plaintiff had told the defendant to stop driving the car so recklessly and he did not listen. So the plaintiff proceeded to throw the defendants jacket out of the window as an effort to get him to stop the car. Judge Judy found that ridiculous and seemed surprised that the plaintiff actually thought that would help her case.
When the case came to a close it seemed as if Judge Judy was really favoring the defendant. However when the decision came it was the plaintiff that had a smile on her face. She was awarded the $1,350 for the money she loaned the defendant for the traffic violations. As for money for the damaged vehicle, Judge Judy saw it for the defendant and no money was awarded to the plaintiff. It was exciting to see local people on the show because if one thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment in Judge Judy's courtroom.
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