Dear NewsHounds:
During Wednesday's class discussions about the SPJ Code of Ethics and the responsibilities of the press in maintaining an informed citizenry, the natural question arose: Where to find reliable news?
That's a much more complicated question today than it was when I was in college, and there were only three TV news networks and much less competing noise in the marketplace of ideas. Now the “noise” is not just the three networks joined by Fox, MSNBC, CNN, etc. etc., but all the competing online sources of “information,” ranging from the NYTimes online to blogs that sound authoritative, to say nothing of the sophisticated spinners that strategically concoct our political news diet from moment to moment.
Ironically, it’s perhaps more difficult to be well informed today than it was 30 years ago, because it's so difficult to know whose version of the what the Hutchins Commission called “the day’s intelligence” to trust.
A few weeks ago, I think, I suggested Slate.com as one possible addition to your daily news diet. Slate Magazine has its own perspectives and biases, of course, but its daily email newsletter (called “Today’s Papers”) simply reports what major U.S. newspapers—The New York Times to The LA Times to The WSJournal, etc.—are reporting on their front pages. Certainly, this is only a limited slice of what’s going on in the world, but it’s useful not only for the specific stories themselves, but as a measure of how various mainstream and credible news sources agree or disagree on the major stories of the day.
Professor Pease
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Four stories due by 4/25
Dear NewsHounds:
As we discussed in class yesterday (3/26), we now enter the Last Big Push (!) to the end of the semester. We have four weeks of class left, and your assignment is to propose, write and (with luck) publish one story per week between now and the end.
These stories may be of your own choosing, and they may include ONE (1) simple speech story, for that week when you have too much to do in your other classes. Otherwise, each of your stories should include at least three sources, and should be at least two takes (double-spaced pages) long. These may be. . .
1. feature stories (e.g., about stray cats or the archery club);
2. news-features (e.g., feature stories with a news hook, such as an event: a bunch of third-graders clean up the shore at First Dam);
. . . or more complex stories such as
3. an issue story, which revolves around an important issue in the news (e.g., bank foreclosures or the Iraq war or the presidential races or health care), or
4. an in-depth personality profile of some interesting person (either a prominent person like President Albrecht or the new ASUSU president, or an interesting person like Brent the bicycle guy, the Logan animal control officer or a vet, or a mountain man or collector of hats....).
We will look at some examples of these in class over the next week or so.
Your current challenge is to come up with topics for these stories. You must pitch the story idea to me ahead of time, and include not just the topic and why it's interesting, but what angle you'll take on the story, and who will be good sources to talk to. We will have some of these conversations in class, and you should make use of the blog to talk with your fellow NewsHounds about your story ideas, too.
The stories are due one per week, no later than the Friday of each week. (Naturally, you may file your stories early if you wish.) Make sure I know if you are interested in trying to get your story in the Statesman or the Hard News Cafe, so I can look at it and give you feedback as promptly as possible.
Questions? You know where to find me.
Professor Pease, Grand NewsDawg
As we discussed in class yesterday (3/26), we now enter the Last Big Push (!) to the end of the semester. We have four weeks of class left, and your assignment is to propose, write and (with luck) publish one story per week between now and the end.
These stories may be of your own choosing, and they may include ONE (1) simple speech story, for that week when you have too much to do in your other classes. Otherwise, each of your stories should include at least three sources, and should be at least two takes (double-spaced pages) long. These may be. . .
1. feature stories (e.g., about stray cats or the archery club);
2. news-features (e.g., feature stories with a news hook, such as an event: a bunch of third-graders clean up the shore at First Dam);
. . . or more complex stories such as
3. an issue story, which revolves around an important issue in the news (e.g., bank foreclosures or the Iraq war or the presidential races or health care), or
4. an in-depth personality profile of some interesting person (either a prominent person like President Albrecht or the new ASUSU president, or an interesting person like Brent the bicycle guy, the Logan animal control officer or a vet, or a mountain man or collector of hats....).
We will look at some examples of these in class over the next week or so.
Your current challenge is to come up with topics for these stories. You must pitch the story idea to me ahead of time, and include not just the topic and why it's interesting, but what angle you'll take on the story, and who will be good sources to talk to. We will have some of these conversations in class, and you should make use of the blog to talk with your fellow NewsHounds about your story ideas, too.
The stories are due one per week, no later than the Friday of each week. (Naturally, you may file your stories early if you wish.) Make sure I know if you are interested in trying to get your story in the Statesman or the Hard News Cafe, so I can look at it and give you feedback as promptly as possible.
Questions? You know where to find me.
Professor Pease, Grand NewsDawg
How NewsHounds Works
Rules:
1. All posts must start with your name and email address, and a 1- to 3-word subject slug.
2. Students ONLY may post stories and comments.
How To File:
Entries—stories or comments—will appear in the order they are filed. To file, click on the “Comment” link under the last entry. A dialog box will come up. Paste your story or type your comment in the box, making sure it includes your name, email address and 1- to 3-word subject slug (e.g., “New Story—Puppies,” or “Feedback on Puppies”).
Slugs—Slug (label) EVERY entry like this at the top of the post:
New Story (or Feedback on (STORYNAME)
Your name
Your email
Queries—Students also make ask for ideas about sources or angles for their stories. Slug these entries “Query” and try to keep them short and specific. For example: Query: I'm doing a story on plumbers. Does anyone know someone who has a plumbing nightmare story (like an overflowing septic tank or toilet) or a plumbing hero?
Tips/Leads—To respond to a Query with the name of a source or an interesting angle on someone's story, slug the entry “Tips/Leads” and offer the suggestion concisely as possible (or email the student directly).
Responding Offline—If you prefer, you may respond to queries or offer feedback to each other offline, conversing directly with one another via email. You can tell each other that, too, but posting a response that simply says you’ll talk via email.
Etiquette—We’re interested in constructive feedback and give-and-take. Professor Pease will monitor the conversation closely and will delete inappropriate or overly harsh postings.
Ideas?—If you have suggestions on how to make this work better for you, let me (or everyone) know.
About NewsHounds2
About the NewsHound Blog
This blog is designed as a vehicle for students in Professor Pease's JCOM 1130--News Writing class, 3:30 Section (5) (Sp08) to post their news stories and to read and comment on one another's work. You must be enrolled in the class to participate. Questions? Email Professor Pease at ted.pease@usu.edu, or call his office: 797-3293.
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