Newshounds:
How could you resist a story that you can slug “Amalga Barrens”?
Here's the newstip. Not for the tour—which could make a good story by itself. But the larger issue story is about the Bridgerland Audubon Society’s purchase and protection of this chunk of land. As always, when people are passionate about a thing—as these people are—good stories can emerge. See below....
TP
---
Bridgerland Audubon Society (BAS) fought long and hard to block a dam at the Amalga Barrens. We then purchased 150 acres to make sure we had a voice in any future dam discussion. See why this place is so special. These leaders will show you migrating shorebirds that are on their way to the far Arctic north. Places such as the Barrens are critical refueling spots on this arduous journey. Our visitors should be in full breeding plummage by now and glorious to behold.
April 19: Amalga Barrens for Shorebirds and Spring Wildflowers. We will be looking for early spring migrants and wildflowers with Keith Archibald and Reinhard Jockel. Meet at the parking lot between the Caffe Ibis and the Logan Fire Station (50 East 150 North in Logan) at 9 a.m. For more info call Keith at 752-8258 or Dick Hurren at (435) 720-7074.
Bryan Dixon
H: 435-752-6830
C: 435-760-0691
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
NewsHounds Gradesheet
Here’s how your grades for the semester break down.
I. Preliminary/In-Class work (60 pts/12%)
Day 1
Leads1 (all 3 for 5 pts)
Leads2
Fire/SpellingBee (5 pts.)
Obama Speech (10 pts.)
Bush Speech (10 pts.)
DelBarco Speech (10 pts.)
Wally Crash (10 pts.)
Overton Fire (10 pts.)
_________________________________
II. Midterm (25 pts./5%)
_________________________________
III. Outside stories (225 pts/45%)
Story1 (20 pts.)
Story2 (20 pts.)
Story3 (20 pts.)
Story4 (4/4) (25 pts.)
Story5 (4/11) (30 pts.)
Story6 (4/18) (50 pts.)
Story7 (4/25) (60 pts.)
__________________________________
IV. Other Stuff (120 pts./24%)
NewsHounds online (20 pts.)
News Quizzes (50 pts.)
Class participation (50 pts.)
__________________________________
V. FinalExam (70 pts./14%)
Extra credit? Adjustments?
Total possible points = 500
Computing Final Grade = I+II+III+IV+V = xxx pts./500 = xx%
I will provide comments individually with your final gradesheet
~~~~~~~~~
Translations: Assignments have been graded this semester with letters, numbers and hieroglyphics. Here’s the translation key
Grades/Scores
A/10 = 100%
A-/9 = 93%
B+/8+ = 87%
B/8 = 85%
B-/8- = 83%
C+/7+ = 77%
C/7 = 75%
C-/7- = 73%
D+/6+ = 67%
D/6 = 65%
F/5 = 50%
F/4 = 40%
F/3 = 30%
Other items affecting grades:
FE*—Fact Error
SP*—Spelling Error
grammar/punct/syntax errors
Questions about any of this or concerns about your grades, make an appointment to see me.
Guns at USU? Story help wanted
On Apr 15, 2008, at 9:20 AM, Raelle Greer wrote:
For my article this week i am not sure what to do it on. I still want to do the article on guns at usu. I interviewed the USU police about the gun policy and they didn't have much to say i only have one quote from them.I think i am going to try again and see if they have ever had any problems with it. I want to ask them about the Virginia Tech incident. i also interviewed someone who actually carries a gun on campus and i have an interview with someone who has a permit but doesnt think it is good to carry them on campus. I am not sure how to focus the story. I think on safety. How safe are we kinda thing. I need help i suck at news writing. I am not creative enough.
Raelle
Raelle: I'm going to post this on NewsHounds to see what the rest of the mob thinks would be a good focus.
Is there a USU NRA club (or some other gun org)? Ask ASUSU if there is a club. While you're at it, ask the ASUSU president what his position is on concealed weapons on campus. Ask him what would happen here if a Northern Illinois or VaTech case happened.
What would the university policy/response be if concealed weapons were permitted on campus? (Actually, what is the law at this point? I think Utah law permits concealed weapons on campus--Google the UofU stories on this from a couple of years ago). Ask the USU Police what the policy--state and local--is on concealed weapons on campus. Is it legal? If so, what's the USU Police position on guns on campus?
Call John DeVilbiss, the USU PR guy (797-1358; 7-1351 office) and ask the same question--what is USU's policy of guns? And what policies does USU have in place if--gawd forbid--something like Northern Illinois or Virginia Tech happened here? Is there a policy? What is it?
Ask President Albrecht (797-1162) the same question. Seriously. If it turns out that there can be guns at USU, call the president's office and ask what his response would be. When they don't provide you with a comment, tell them that you'll just put in the story that, "USU President Stan Albrecht had no comment about the issue of guns on campus." See if that gets you any kind of response.
How about faculty? Ask the president of the Faculty Senate (find these people on the USU website, under Faculty Senate: Doug Ramsey, President, Professor, Wildland Resources, doug.ramsey@usu.edu, 797-3783) the same questions.
Can you do that? It's a great story.
Comments, anyone?
Ted
For my article this week i am not sure what to do it on. I still want to do the article on guns at usu. I interviewed the USU police about the gun policy and they didn't have much to say i only have one quote from them.I think i am going to try again and see if they have ever had any problems with it. I want to ask them about the Virginia Tech incident. i also interviewed someone who actually carries a gun on campus and i have an interview with someone who has a permit but doesnt think it is good to carry them on campus. I am not sure how to focus the story. I think on safety. How safe are we kinda thing. I need help i suck at news writing. I am not creative enough.
Raelle
Raelle: I'm going to post this on NewsHounds to see what the rest of the mob thinks would be a good focus.
Is there a USU NRA club (or some other gun org)? Ask ASUSU if there is a club. While you're at it, ask the ASUSU president what his position is on concealed weapons on campus. Ask him what would happen here if a Northern Illinois or VaTech case happened.
What would the university policy/response be if concealed weapons were permitted on campus? (Actually, what is the law at this point? I think Utah law permits concealed weapons on campus--Google the UofU stories on this from a couple of years ago). Ask the USU Police what the policy--state and local--is on concealed weapons on campus. Is it legal? If so, what's the USU Police position on guns on campus?
Call John DeVilbiss, the USU PR guy (797-1358; 7-1351 office) and ask the same question--what is USU's policy of guns? And what policies does USU have in place if--gawd forbid--something like Northern Illinois or Virginia Tech happened here? Is there a policy? What is it?
Ask President Albrecht (797-1162) the same question. Seriously. If it turns out that there can be guns at USU, call the president's office and ask what his response would be. When they don't provide you with a comment, tell them that you'll just put in the story that, "USU President Stan Albrecht had no comment about the issue of guns on campus." See if that gets you any kind of response.
How about faculty? Ask the president of the Faculty Senate (find these people on the USU website, under Faculty Senate: Doug Ramsey, President, Professor, Wildland Resources, doug.ramsey@usu.edu, 797-3783) the same questions.
Can you do that? It's a great story.
Comments, anyone?
Ted
Next-To-Last Week (Yikes!)
My dear, hard-working NewsHounds:
It’s the last two weeks of classes (gasp!)(Hooray!), and the stories that you do this week and next will be the best you can do, the apex of your journalistic endeavor so far. These stories will count more than anything else you’ve done this semester toward your final grade. I'm looking for Pulitzer Prize quality here.
Remember that your story idea(s) for this week (and your final story next week, if you're thinking ahead) are due to me Monday.
These stories, because they represent your best work, will be compelling topics, a minimum of 2-3 pages (double-spaced), with multiple (at least 3) sources, great quotes, excellent punctuation/grammar/mechanics. They should not be simple speech or event stories.
REMEMBER that if your story is about an event—a speech, a bike-swap, etc.—it’s due to me via email and on the blog within 48 hours of the event.
If you like, please discuss story ideas and ask for feedback from your fellow NewsHounds on the blog.
When pitching a story idea to me, please include:
a) the topic—what’s the story about?
b) what about it? (angle/focus);
c) three (or more) possible sources (either specific individuals or a kind of source--e.g., a mechanic or a Middle East scholar) and why? you want them for your story, what kind of info/perspective you want from them;
d) likely timeframe for completion. (All stories are due by midnight Friday. If you’re going to be late—and these things do happen—let me know ahead of time by email.)
Remember that we will not meet on Wednesday this week. There is a speech by Cory Flintoff of NPR on covering Iraq in the Performance Hall at noon Wednesday. Be there. Cover the story for any of the following kinds of credit:
a) to fill a hole if you owe me a story
b) to fulfill this week’s story assignment (IF you have not already done a speech/event as one of your last four stories)
c) as extra credit--on top of everything else you've done this semester.
Flintoff stories due by NOON FRIDAY.
ALSO: Wednesday, 4/16, 5:30-7:30 p.m., BIZ 317: For extra credit, come to a screening of the film, “The Paper,” about a year in the life of the student journalists of Penn State University's Daily Collegian. Find out more about the movie at the PBS website I sent you.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Bryant's Story—Seegerfest
Singing, Clapping, Feminism and Propaganda
By Bryant Vega
Singing, clapping, feminism, and political propaganda were all part of tonight’s annual Fife Folklore lecture series held by Utah State University inside of the Kent Concert Hall with guest lecturer Peggy Seeger.
Seeger, 73, has produced political theatre, run a record company and magazine, she has made over 22 solo CD’s and has been the subject of a BBC documentary. Seeger’s mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, was an important modern American composer, and her father, Charles Seeger was an imminent musicologist. Her older siblings Mike and Pete Seeger are both still prominent in the music scene. The Seeger family must be what happens when nurture and nature collide in all the best ways.
Shortly after her introduction Seeger asked the audience to sing along to a short courtship song. “Oh when you coming to see me my pretty little buffalo boy?” When the song was completed the audience became hypnotized by a woman with a tissue in her bra, and prescription medicine bottle and coffee mug on front stage. But as Seeger said “folk music is not about the person singing the song it’s about the music.”
“Folk music is not made as a commercial commodity, not made to sing at bars or places of large entertainment, it’s not meant for patronage,” said Seeger. “In an ideal community, folk music was the creation of the lowest economic class, they were the people who did all the work got dirty, died of starvation. They made this music out of their hopes and dreams.”
Folk music, before the 1800s, was orally transmitted and the author was usually anonymous. The instruments were portable, “I can sing any of the songs I know while traveling the interstate,” says Seeger. The harmonic structure is very simple, generally the one chord, four chord and five chord; “anyone can play Folk music, you don’t have to go to school to learn it”
“You can’t write a folk song, the folk create the song,” says Seeger, “I have made up one Folk song in my life, it’s called “The Ballad of Springhill because nobody knows I made it up and there’s already two new verses added to it.”
Seeger played two songs which had political propaganda in both. The first was an anti-Bush song with the chorus of Impeach! Impeach! That's what we need to do. Impeach! Impeach! And take Dick Cheney too." In the middle of her song her fifth string on the banjo broke and she continued playing as if nothing happened.
Her last song was a piano ballad called “Oh how I long for peace”. “The left wing to me is very confrontational and male,” said Seeger bringing in her political and feministic views to close.
What do you think? Hit "Comments" below.
By Bryant Vega
Singing, clapping, feminism, and political propaganda were all part of tonight’s annual Fife Folklore lecture series held by Utah State University inside of the Kent Concert Hall with guest lecturer Peggy Seeger.
Seeger, 73, has produced political theatre, run a record company and magazine, she has made over 22 solo CD’s and has been the subject of a BBC documentary. Seeger’s mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, was an important modern American composer, and her father, Charles Seeger was an imminent musicologist. Her older siblings Mike and Pete Seeger are both still prominent in the music scene. The Seeger family must be what happens when nurture and nature collide in all the best ways.
Shortly after her introduction Seeger asked the audience to sing along to a short courtship song. “Oh when you coming to see me my pretty little buffalo boy?” When the song was completed the audience became hypnotized by a woman with a tissue in her bra, and prescription medicine bottle and coffee mug on front stage. But as Seeger said “folk music is not about the person singing the song it’s about the music.”
“Folk music is not made as a commercial commodity, not made to sing at bars or places of large entertainment, it’s not meant for patronage,” said Seeger. “In an ideal community, folk music was the creation of the lowest economic class, they were the people who did all the work got dirty, died of starvation. They made this music out of their hopes and dreams.”
Folk music, before the 1800s, was orally transmitted and the author was usually anonymous. The instruments were portable, “I can sing any of the songs I know while traveling the interstate,” says Seeger. The harmonic structure is very simple, generally the one chord, four chord and five chord; “anyone can play Folk music, you don’t have to go to school to learn it”
“You can’t write a folk song, the folk create the song,” says Seeger, “I have made up one Folk song in my life, it’s called “The Ballad of Springhill because nobody knows I made it up and there’s already two new verses added to it.”
Seeger played two songs which had political propaganda in both. The first was an anti-Bush song with the chorus of Impeach! Impeach! That's what we need to do. Impeach! Impeach! And take Dick Cheney too." In the middle of her song her fifth string on the banjo broke and she continued playing as if nothing happened.
Her last song was a piano ballad called “Oh how I long for peace”. “The left wing to me is very confrontational and male,” said Seeger bringing in her political and feministic views to close.
What do you think? Hit "Comments" below.
Jordan’s Story—Balanced Man Triathalon
Balanced Man Triathlon
By Jordan Allred
The crowd cheered and applauded the competitors as they dove into the HPER pool, Saturday, for the start of the third annual Balanced Man Triathlon held by Sigma Phi Epsilon to raise money for YouthAIDS.
Less than six minutes later, the first of 71 athletes emerged from the pool and dashed out to the HPER field to begin the bike course.
The triathlon began with a 400 meter swim in the HPER building, followed by a 10K bike ride that passed by landmarks such as First Dam and the LDS temple, and concluded with a 2.5K run that looped around the HPER field, Spectrum and cemetery right back to the finish line at the HPER building.
Many of the athletes described the multiple hills on the bike course to be the hardest part of the event, "The hill next to the temple was the worst," said Taylor Price, a former member of the USU track team and the winner of the Balanced Man Triathlon.
Price overcame an additional obstacle during the race as a pedestrian stepped out in front of him, "I had to swerve into the sidewalk which ended up flattening my back tire," Price said, "It was good that I only had a few hundred more yards to go on my bike."
Even with the flat tire, Price was able to finish the triathlon in a time of 39 minutes 49 seconds, just faster than his best friend who also competed, "By the way, you owe me dinner tonight," said Price to his friend.
Competing in their first ever triathlon Cathy and her husband Ron from Syracuse, described the course as "very hilly" and found running the final hill along the cemetery to be the hardest part.
A group of friends shared their personal horror stories of swimming in the same lane with other competitors, "Every time I was passed [in the pool] water got shoved into my mouth," said one participant, another followed saying "Yeah, racing in the pool sucked."
Although each athlete found one or more parts of the race to be difficult, they all agreed it was a fun way to celebrate the start of warm weather in Logan.
"This week was cold but today was nice," said Casey a first time competitor and resident of Brigham City, "I loved it."
Scott Biggs, a member Sigma Phi Epsilon, said that the Balanced Man Triathlon fits in with the fraternity's motto 'a sound mind and a sound body', "Triathlons require having a balance between mind and a body," he said.
Biggs, who was in charge of the event this year, did credit Grayson Weeks for originally coming up with the idea three years ago; Weeks had never actually been able to attend the event since he left for a LDS mission right after he came up with the idea.
However this year Weeks was back and able to serve as a volunteer for the event he created, "It's exciting" he said as he kept count for the swimmers, "I want to be able to compete in it someday."
As a freshman Weeks was encouraged by the fraternity to think of a way to raise money for a charitable organization, Weeks had ran track and cross country in high school and liked the idea of an athletic competition as a way to earn money.
"I wanted to create an event that not only exposed others to the fraternity but got people more involved in living a healthy life," said Weeks, who went on to reiterate how a triathlon represented the fraternity's motto of 'a sound mind and a sound body.'
"We plan on holding this event every year," said Biggs who plans to enter as a participant next year, "Hopefully more and more people will show up and compete."
The Balanced Man Triathlon has become the fraternity's biggest project of the year, raising on average $1700 a year for YouthAIDS.
Weeks explained that he chose YouthAIDS or the organization they would donate the money towards because he had been part of activities in the past that had made donations to that organization, "It's a good cause, and they need the help," he said.
What do you think? Hit "Comments" link below.
By Jordan Allred
The crowd cheered and applauded the competitors as they dove into the HPER pool, Saturday, for the start of the third annual Balanced Man Triathlon held by Sigma Phi Epsilon to raise money for YouthAIDS.
Less than six minutes later, the first of 71 athletes emerged from the pool and dashed out to the HPER field to begin the bike course.
The triathlon began with a 400 meter swim in the HPER building, followed by a 10K bike ride that passed by landmarks such as First Dam and the LDS temple, and concluded with a 2.5K run that looped around the HPER field, Spectrum and cemetery right back to the finish line at the HPER building.
Many of the athletes described the multiple hills on the bike course to be the hardest part of the event, "The hill next to the temple was the worst," said Taylor Price, a former member of the USU track team and the winner of the Balanced Man Triathlon.
Price overcame an additional obstacle during the race as a pedestrian stepped out in front of him, "I had to swerve into the sidewalk which ended up flattening my back tire," Price said, "It was good that I only had a few hundred more yards to go on my bike."
Even with the flat tire, Price was able to finish the triathlon in a time of 39 minutes 49 seconds, just faster than his best friend who also competed, "By the way, you owe me dinner tonight," said Price to his friend.
Competing in their first ever triathlon Cathy and her husband Ron from Syracuse, described the course as "very hilly" and found running the final hill along the cemetery to be the hardest part.
A group of friends shared their personal horror stories of swimming in the same lane with other competitors, "Every time I was passed [in the pool] water got shoved into my mouth," said one participant, another followed saying "Yeah, racing in the pool sucked."
Although each athlete found one or more parts of the race to be difficult, they all agreed it was a fun way to celebrate the start of warm weather in Logan.
"This week was cold but today was nice," said Casey a first time competitor and resident of Brigham City, "I loved it."
Scott Biggs, a member Sigma Phi Epsilon, said that the Balanced Man Triathlon fits in with the fraternity's motto 'a sound mind and a sound body', "Triathlons require having a balance between mind and a body," he said.
Biggs, who was in charge of the event this year, did credit Grayson Weeks for originally coming up with the idea three years ago; Weeks had never actually been able to attend the event since he left for a LDS mission right after he came up with the idea.
However this year Weeks was back and able to serve as a volunteer for the event he created, "It's exciting" he said as he kept count for the swimmers, "I want to be able to compete in it someday."
As a freshman Weeks was encouraged by the fraternity to think of a way to raise money for a charitable organization, Weeks had ran track and cross country in high school and liked the idea of an athletic competition as a way to earn money.
"I wanted to create an event that not only exposed others to the fraternity but got people more involved in living a healthy life," said Weeks, who went on to reiterate how a triathlon represented the fraternity's motto of 'a sound mind and a sound body.'
"We plan on holding this event every year," said Biggs who plans to enter as a participant next year, "Hopefully more and more people will show up and compete."
The Balanced Man Triathlon has become the fraternity's biggest project of the year, raising on average $1700 a year for YouthAIDS.
Weeks explained that he chose YouthAIDS or the organization they would donate the money towards because he had been part of activities in the past that had made donations to that organization, "It's a good cause, and they need the help," he said.
What do you think? Hit "Comments" link below.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Hayley’s Story—Peggy Seeger
Folk Singer Brings ‘Heart-Songs’ to USU
By Hayley Jensen
With only a guitar, a 5-string banjo and a bottle of pills at her feet, Peggy Seeger entertained students, faculty and public Thursday at the Utah State University Performance Hall, as a part of the Fife Folklore lecture series.
Seeger, 73, the daughter of musical pioneer Mike Seeger and sister to well-known folk singer Peter Seeger, has found her fame in folklore studies, performance and presentation of folk music. " The ballads… they are my heart-songs. To me they are the core of our tradition. They have been created, tended, loved pruned and trimmed by generations of singers so that they are down to their very bones."
Seeger spoke to the audience about the importance of folk music in society today to the individual, the singer, the songwriter and community as a whole. Noting that folk music may not be the most popular or well-known form of music Seeger discussed the attributes that make the music so special.
" Folk music is not made as a commercial commodity, not for places of large entertainment or patronage. It is the music created by the lowest economic class. It is the music out of their hopes, dreams aspirations and values." Seeger stated. Describing the music as that of an oral tradition, she explained that the songs, characterized by simplicity and repetition, are used to pass down history and document mundane to important events in the lives of those who create the music.
Folk music differs from classical and other forms of music in that the "folks" create it it is a community effort and not the individual. Folk music is more about the words and style of the performance than about pleasing the masses and having a great voice. " You have to have in your head a reason for singing it because there is so much baggage." Seeger stated.
Seeger's own unique and clear voice blended into a unique musical experience as she invited- more like required- those in attendance to sing along with her simple and often humorous lyrics including "When you coming to see me my little Buffalo boy?" or the anti-Bush number stating " Impeach! Impeach! That's what we need to do. Impeach! Impeach! And take Dick Cheney too!"
The difference between folk music and other music according to Seeger is this "This is a community interchange. You are not just sitting there receiving it, you have to be a part of it."
What do you think? Click "Comments" below.
By Hayley Jensen
With only a guitar, a 5-string banjo and a bottle of pills at her feet, Peggy Seeger entertained students, faculty and public Thursday at the Utah State University Performance Hall, as a part of the Fife Folklore lecture series.
Seeger, 73, the daughter of musical pioneer Mike Seeger and sister to well-known folk singer Peter Seeger, has found her fame in folklore studies, performance and presentation of folk music. " The ballads… they are my heart-songs. To me they are the core of our tradition. They have been created, tended, loved pruned and trimmed by generations of singers so that they are down to their very bones."
Seeger spoke to the audience about the importance of folk music in society today to the individual, the singer, the songwriter and community as a whole. Noting that folk music may not be the most popular or well-known form of music Seeger discussed the attributes that make the music so special.
" Folk music is not made as a commercial commodity, not for places of large entertainment or patronage. It is the music created by the lowest economic class. It is the music out of their hopes, dreams aspirations and values." Seeger stated. Describing the music as that of an oral tradition, she explained that the songs, characterized by simplicity and repetition, are used to pass down history and document mundane to important events in the lives of those who create the music.
Folk music differs from classical and other forms of music in that the "folks" create it it is a community effort and not the individual. Folk music is more about the words and style of the performance than about pleasing the masses and having a great voice. " You have to have in your head a reason for singing it because there is so much baggage." Seeger stated.
Seeger's own unique and clear voice blended into a unique musical experience as she invited- more like required- those in attendance to sing along with her simple and often humorous lyrics including "When you coming to see me my little Buffalo boy?" or the anti-Bush number stating " Impeach! Impeach! That's what we need to do. Impeach! Impeach! And take Dick Cheney too!"
The difference between folk music and other music according to Seeger is this "This is a community interchange. You are not just sitting there receiving it, you have to be a part of it."
What do you think? Click "Comments" below.
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