A. She felt bad about missing the school board meeting, but her editor fired her regardless of her excuse.
B. We will join together in prayer and fly the flags at half–staff for the students who died the shooting.
C. It is all right if you miss class for a job interview. You can make up the test tomorrow.
D. We will divide the workload among three students.
E. The St. Joseph Board of Commissioner plans to submit a proposal for a bond issue to pay for road improvements, and they are hoping the election committee will reach a consensus to put the issue on the ballot.
F. I know you are eager to get this, but each of the applicants will have a chance to discuss his or her strengths and weakness, with the personnel director.
G. Based on your writing skills, it looks like you could be a good journalist.
H. Each of the students will receive a plaque with his or her diploma at graduation.
I. She was embarrassed that she fewer than five answers correct on the quiz.
J. After the boss read the report, he gave it to Jim and me to rewrite. He said it is due back by Monday.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Revised News Story
Life Expectance Longer for Right-Hand People
Being left-handed is not going to kill anyone. However, research suggests that people who are left-handed maybe at a greater risk of dying earlier.
Diana Halpern, a psychology professor at California State University at San Bernardino and Stanley Coren, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, examined the death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties. A relative of each of the deceased were contacted about the subjects’ dominant hand.
Although the study was first conducted to determine why there are fewer left-handed people in the elderly population, results indicate that right-handed people have a longer life expectancy then left-handed people.
“The results are striking in their magnitude,” Halpern said.
Right-handed women tend to live six years longer then left-handed women and right-handed men tend to live 11 years longer than left-handed men.
The average age of death for right-handed people was 75 and for left-handed people, 66.
Left-handed people make up 10 percent of the U.S. population.
Halpern suggests her study should be interpreted with caution and that it does not take into account the fitness levels of any of the deceased.
“There are many, many old left-handed people,” Halpern said. “It should not, of course, be used to predict the life span of any one individual.
Being left-handed is not going to kill anyone. However, research suggests that people who are left-handed maybe at a greater risk of dying earlier.
Diana Halpern, a psychology professor at California State University at San Bernardino and Stanley Coren, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, examined the death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties. A relative of each of the deceased were contacted about the subjects’ dominant hand.
Although the study was first conducted to determine why there are fewer left-handed people in the elderly population, results indicate that right-handed people have a longer life expectancy then left-handed people.
“The results are striking in their magnitude,” Halpern said.
Right-handed women tend to live six years longer then left-handed women and right-handed men tend to live 11 years longer than left-handed men.
The average age of death for right-handed people was 75 and for left-handed people, 66.
Left-handed people make up 10 percent of the U.S. population.
Halpern suggests her study should be interpreted with caution and that it does not take into account the fitness levels of any of the deceased.
“There are many, many old left-handed people,” Halpern said. “It should not, of course, be used to predict the life span of any one individual.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
News Story
This is not a blog. This is practice news story beat for my News Gathering class at CU. Enjoy!
Life expectance longer for right-hand people
Being left-handed is not going to kill you. However research suggests that people who are left-handed are at a greater risk of dying early.
Diana Halpern, a psychology professor at California State University at San Bernardino and Stanley Coren, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, examined the death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties.
A relative of each of the deceased were contacted about the subjects’ dominant hand.
Although the study was first conducted to determine why there are fewer left-handed people in the elderly population. Results indicate that right-handed people have a longer life expectancy then left-handed people.
“The results are striking in their magnitude,” Halpern said.
Right-handed women tend to live six years longer then left-handed women and right-handed men tend to live 11 years longer than left-handed men.
The average age of death for right-handed people was 75 and for left-handed people 66.
“Some of my best friends are left-handed,” Halpern said.
Left-handed people make up 10 percent of the U.S. population.
Halpern suggests her study should be taking lightly and that it does not take into account the fitness levels of any of the deceased.
“There are many, many old left-handed people,” Halpern said. “It should not, of course, be used to predict the life span of any one individual.
Life expectance longer for right-hand people
Being left-handed is not going to kill you. However research suggests that people who are left-handed are at a greater risk of dying early.
Diana Halpern, a psychology professor at California State University at San Bernardino and Stanley Coren, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, examined the death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties.
A relative of each of the deceased were contacted about the subjects’ dominant hand.
Although the study was first conducted to determine why there are fewer left-handed people in the elderly population. Results indicate that right-handed people have a longer life expectancy then left-handed people.
“The results are striking in their magnitude,” Halpern said.
Right-handed women tend to live six years longer then left-handed women and right-handed men tend to live 11 years longer than left-handed men.
The average age of death for right-handed people was 75 and for left-handed people 66.
“Some of my best friends are left-handed,” Halpern said.
Left-handed people make up 10 percent of the U.S. population.
Halpern suggests her study should be taking lightly and that it does not take into account the fitness levels of any of the deceased.
“There are many, many old left-handed people,” Halpern said. “It should not, of course, be used to predict the life span of any one individual.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Blog 4 part 2
Write a second blog article discussing the coverage of Weblogs by the mainstream media and what effect you think bloggers have on the media's coverage of an issue. How do bloggers fit into the communication sphere of our country? Do they make media better, or do they distract media from the important issues of our world?
The question is, are bloggers credible sources? The credibility of all bloggers is in a constant state of question. The information given by the bloggers who claimed to know the “truth” behind controversial “Memogate” was eventually dismissed. According to the article Blog-Gate, “bloggers fact checking was seriously warped” and “their driving assumptions were often drawn from flawed information or based on faulty logic.” I couldn’t agree more with Corey Pein, the author of Blog-Gate. Who are bloggers and how do they get their information? Although the bloggers cited in Pein’s article had creditable titles and information, their assumptions on the “Memogate” story were never proved to be true.
America is a very outspoken country and what a better way to let every American give there opinion on a subject than blogging. As a journalism graduate student, I hate blogging. Blogging is not “real” journalism. Although everyone has an opinion, a journalist is supposed to report the facts as unbiased as possible. There is a certain code of ethics a journalist must follow and with bloggers there is no such code.
In most cases blogs are merely biased stories that are poorly written by people who are no more qualified than my five year old cousin. Writers and anchors blogging on their newspaper or network’s website are not real bloggers. These are qualified people who are most likely forced to blog to keep up with the growing trend of electronic media. I think blogging is the reality TV of the internet, people love it and it’s not going away. On that note, I believe “mainstream media” and “bloggers” are both equally as corrupt.
The question is, are bloggers credible sources? The credibility of all bloggers is in a constant state of question. The information given by the bloggers who claimed to know the “truth” behind controversial “Memogate” was eventually dismissed. According to the article Blog-Gate, “bloggers fact checking was seriously warped” and “their driving assumptions were often drawn from flawed information or based on faulty logic.” I couldn’t agree more with Corey Pein, the author of Blog-Gate. Who are bloggers and how do they get their information? Although the bloggers cited in Pein’s article had creditable titles and information, their assumptions on the “Memogate” story were never proved to be true.
America is a very outspoken country and what a better way to let every American give there opinion on a subject than blogging. As a journalism graduate student, I hate blogging. Blogging is not “real” journalism. Although everyone has an opinion, a journalist is supposed to report the facts as unbiased as possible. There is a certain code of ethics a journalist must follow and with bloggers there is no such code.
In most cases blogs are merely biased stories that are poorly written by people who are no more qualified than my five year old cousin. Writers and anchors blogging on their newspaper or network’s website are not real bloggers. These are qualified people who are most likely forced to blog to keep up with the growing trend of electronic media. I think blogging is the reality TV of the internet, people love it and it’s not going away. On that note, I believe “mainstream media” and “bloggers” are both equally as corrupt.
Blog 4 Part 1
Write a blog article discussing your opinions and feelings about the Dan Rather/CBS/National Guard scandal. Provide a brief synopsis of the events surrounding the scandal and discuss how the various actions by the people involved made you feel as a news consumer, a journalism student and a voter.
On September 8th, 2004 just weeks before the presidential election CBS News airs memos which suggest President Bush received special treatment when he was part of the Texas Air National Guard. Later CBS News and Dan Rather eventually apologize for airing memos. Dan Rather is quoted in saying that, CBS was misled by Bill Burkett and in later interview Rather questions Burkett on why he falsified information. Burkett admits to misleading CBS, but the question still remains whether the information in these memos is true.
As a journalism graduate student I question why Dan Rather’s producer Mary Mapes trusted the information provided by Mr. Burkett. CBS is criticized for not know Burkett’s original source, but it is hard for me to believe that Mapes, a “star” CBS producer would trust the opinion and information of just one man. Maybe Mapes couldn’t reveal Burkett’s original source for “ethical” reasons.
Who cares what President Bush did while he was in the Texas Air National Guard? I don’t think something that happened forty some odd years ago should have so many people in an out roar. Nor do I think it is the fault of Dan Rather. Although I have not been involved with news anchors on a national level, I have at the local level. Local anchors don’t write or research the stories they read on the news.
So, don’t tell me that Dan Rather had much more input on this, than being handed a script thirty minutes prior to this story airing. Yes, maybe Mary Mapes discussed the story she was working on with DanRather, but I highly doubt Dan Rather pondered the question of “Should I do research to make sure Mary’s story is real before I read it to the American people?” He doesn’t get paid the big bucks to do the research; he gets paid the big bucks to read someone else’s research.
This might sound bad coming from someone who hopes to have a career in broadcasting, but anchors aren’t journalist, they are merely readers of information.
Take a listen to CBS "Memogate" Stories on NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3928513
On September 8th, 2004 just weeks before the presidential election CBS News airs memos which suggest President Bush received special treatment when he was part of the Texas Air National Guard. Later CBS News and Dan Rather eventually apologize for airing memos. Dan Rather is quoted in saying that, CBS was misled by Bill Burkett and in later interview Rather questions Burkett on why he falsified information. Burkett admits to misleading CBS, but the question still remains whether the information in these memos is true.
As a journalism graduate student I question why Dan Rather’s producer Mary Mapes trusted the information provided by Mr. Burkett. CBS is criticized for not know Burkett’s original source, but it is hard for me to believe that Mapes, a “star” CBS producer would trust the opinion and information of just one man. Maybe Mapes couldn’t reveal Burkett’s original source for “ethical” reasons.
Who cares what President Bush did while he was in the Texas Air National Guard? I don’t think something that happened forty some odd years ago should have so many people in an out roar. Nor do I think it is the fault of Dan Rather. Although I have not been involved with news anchors on a national level, I have at the local level. Local anchors don’t write or research the stories they read on the news.
So, don’t tell me that Dan Rather had much more input on this, than being handed a script thirty minutes prior to this story airing. Yes, maybe Mary Mapes discussed the story she was working on with DanRather, but I highly doubt Dan Rather pondered the question of “Should I do research to make sure Mary’s story is real before I read it to the American people?” He doesn’t get paid the big bucks to do the research; he gets paid the big bucks to read someone else’s research.
This might sound bad coming from someone who hopes to have a career in broadcasting, but anchors aren’t journalist, they are merely readers of information.
Take a listen to CBS "Memogate" Stories on NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3928513
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Story Ideas for beat
CU Hockey- How do you recovery from last season
Avalanche- The chase for the cup and upcoming season
Joe Sakic resigns for 1 year
Local Peewee/Youth hockey-upcoming season
Rookie profile piece
CU Equestrian- Why is the CU equestrian team not an NCCA Division 1 sport
Upcoming Horse show at CU horse show Oct 5th-6th
What is the IHSA and how does it work?
The different disciplines of equestrian
The Hunt Seat Team vs. The Western Team
Avalanche- The chase for the cup and upcoming season
Joe Sakic resigns for 1 year
Local Peewee/Youth hockey-upcoming season
Rookie profile piece
CU Equestrian- Why is the CU equestrian team not an NCCA Division 1 sport
Upcoming Horse show at CU horse show Oct 5th-6th
What is the IHSA and how does it work?
The different disciplines of equestrian
The Hunt Seat Team vs. The Western Team
Research Questions
Theses questions weren't easy to answer. I have called and emailed several people. Hopefully they will be returning my calls/emails and I can provide the missing infomation.
1. How has the production of Colorado natural gas changed in the past 5 years?
With the constant increase in oil prices the U.S. has looked for other resources as an alternative for oil. According to ColoradoProspects.com, in the past five years natural gas production in Colorado has shown a steady increase due to the development of Western Colorado (Mesa Rio Blanco, and Garfield Counties.) The natural gas resources found in these three counties is estimated to be 31 trillion cubic feet in diameter. Making this the largest discovers of natural gas in the Rocky Mount region.
2. How many companies currently explore and mine natural gas in the state of Colorado?
According to ColoradoProspects.com, there are more than 940 energy and mining businesses in Colorado. Also Wikinvest.com suggests, that companies such as, Exxon Mobil, BP, and Chevron, play a huge part in the rise of natural gas trends.
3. What ecological or environmental disasters have occurred as a result of raw resource recovery in Colorado’s history?
Although I did not find this answer I have emailed and called a few people concerning environmental disasters resulting from natural gas. One person emailed is Bob Beers, State Senator, District 6. Mr. Beers have been working on preventing future natural gas environmental and ecological disasters. I have also emailed Joe Neuhof from the Colorado environmental coalition.
4. How many people live on or near the Roan Plateau?
There are three major counties that surround the Roan Plateau, Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Mesa. The last statistics and demographics I could find were from 2006 on the Garfield county website. www.garfield-county.come
2006 Population
Garfield County- 49,325
Mesa-127,808
Rio Blanco-6102
Total Population surrounding the Roan Plateau-183,235
5. How much of Colorado’s drinking water is unprocessed? (What percentage of the population does not receive water from treatment plants?)
Although I don’t have an answer for this question yet, I emailed Mark Cardwell,Managing Editor Digital Media, at the Denver Post. Mr. Cardwell has written articles on the drinking water in Colorado. Also, I have called and I emailed the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Their mission is, “The Colorado Drinking Water Program makes sure that Public Water Systems always provide safe drinking water. We adopt and enforce regulations and provide assistance and incentives that further protect the quality of drinking water supplied by public water systems.”
1. How has the production of Colorado natural gas changed in the past 5 years?
With the constant increase in oil prices the U.S. has looked for other resources as an alternative for oil. According to ColoradoProspects.com, in the past five years natural gas production in Colorado has shown a steady increase due to the development of Western Colorado (Mesa Rio Blanco, and Garfield Counties.) The natural gas resources found in these three counties is estimated to be 31 trillion cubic feet in diameter. Making this the largest discovers of natural gas in the Rocky Mount region.
2. How many companies currently explore and mine natural gas in the state of Colorado?
According to ColoradoProspects.com, there are more than 940 energy and mining businesses in Colorado. Also Wikinvest.com suggests, that companies such as, Exxon Mobil, BP, and Chevron, play a huge part in the rise of natural gas trends.
3. What ecological or environmental disasters have occurred as a result of raw resource recovery in Colorado’s history?
Although I did not find this answer I have emailed and called a few people concerning environmental disasters resulting from natural gas. One person emailed is Bob Beers, State Senator, District 6. Mr. Beers have been working on preventing future natural gas environmental and ecological disasters. I have also emailed Joe Neuhof from the Colorado environmental coalition.
4. How many people live on or near the Roan Plateau?
There are three major counties that surround the Roan Plateau, Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Mesa. The last statistics and demographics I could find were from 2006 on the Garfield county website. www.garfield-county.come
2006 Population
Garfield County- 49,325
Mesa-127,808
Rio Blanco-6102
Total Population surrounding the Roan Plateau-183,235
5. How much of Colorado’s drinking water is unprocessed? (What percentage of the population does not receive water from treatment plants?)
Although I don’t have an answer for this question yet, I emailed Mark Cardwell,Managing Editor Digital Media, at the Denver Post. Mr. Cardwell has written articles on the drinking water in Colorado. Also, I have called and I emailed the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Their mission is, “The Colorado Drinking Water Program makes sure that Public Water Systems always provide safe drinking water. We adopt and enforce regulations and provide assistance and incentives that further protect the quality of drinking water supplied by public water systems.”
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Function of the Press in American Society Blog
Every four years the American people are bombarded with an array of political advertising. Media companies, i.e. networks, are intricate businesses that need to make money to survive. During next two months millions of dollars will be spent on political advertising. Some people would agree that FOX News is more of a conservative network, where as CNN leans towards liberal and big networks like these will profit significantly over the next two months. This in turn could influence how they might affect the current political structure.
According to Lemann, Arthur Bentley believes, “anyone who comes into public life claiming not to have an interest is either deluded or deceitful.” In short, I believe Bentley is stating that, everyone has their own agenda. The owners of these media corporations most likely have their own political views, which can influence the role that an “individual” media corporations plays in the political structure in the U.S. Money talks and politicians have the money to influence the media/press to create their own ideal political structure.
Online I listened to a speech given at the University of North Carolina, by Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst, in his speech he suggests, that political analysts play a big role in how the media affects the political structure in this country. According to Schneider, “political analysts show what the “times” and the American people really want or what they are missing.” In other words, political analysts show politicians, polls & statistics relating to what the American people want to see in their individual campaigns. In turn they help shape the political structure.
No matter which way you look at the political structure in the U.S. some how the press/media plays a role in shaping the opinions of millions of Americans and no matter who you are everyday you are affected by the opinions of varies media outlets.
Link referenced: http://www.jomc.unc.edu/schneider.com
According to Lemann, Arthur Bentley believes, “anyone who comes into public life claiming not to have an interest is either deluded or deceitful.” In short, I believe Bentley is stating that, everyone has their own agenda. The owners of these media corporations most likely have their own political views, which can influence the role that an “individual” media corporations plays in the political structure in the U.S. Money talks and politicians have the money to influence the media/press to create their own ideal political structure.
Online I listened to a speech given at the University of North Carolina, by Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst, in his speech he suggests, that political analysts play a big role in how the media affects the political structure in this country. According to Schneider, “political analysts show what the “times” and the American people really want or what they are missing.” In other words, political analysts show politicians, polls & statistics relating to what the American people want to see in their individual campaigns. In turn they help shape the political structure.
No matter which way you look at the political structure in the U.S. some how the press/media plays a role in shaping the opinions of millions of Americans and no matter who you are everyday you are affected by the opinions of varies media outlets.
Link referenced: http://www.jomc.unc.edu/schneider.com
Story Ideas
Original Topic- With the recent sales of the mineral right leases on the Roan Plateau and the history of problems associated with water quality near mines, what plans do the companies who purchased leases and plan/hope to drill for natural gas have to monitor water quality?
Story Angles
1. Consult and interview ordinary people living near the Roan Plateau in order to create a human interest story with authenticity that resonates readers. In doing so you will set the overall tone of the piece as, ordinary people concerned for themselves and their family’s safety.
2. Research and locate a family who had a child’s health affected by the drilling of natural gas in another location; discuss these families’ recollections, opinions and emotions in order to validate them. Try then to directly link it to the Roan Plateau and the number of families with children living near the Plateau.
3. Interview the spokes people for the companies who purchased the leases on the Roan Plateau. Giving these companies a chance to answer “unanswered” questions and also allow them an opportunity to show and discuss facts regarding water quality, near and around areas of natural gas drilling.
4. Track down an expert on the drilling of natural gas, maybe a professor, a scientist, or author. Allowing them to offer an opinion based on fact and knowledge about the safety concerns of residents and the overall quality of water near mines.
5. Look for official records, like statistics, reports, court records, etc, that are in direct connection with natural gas drilling. Creating a piece that establishes accuracy through authority and objectivity, in order to depict the timeliness of such a compelling concern.
Story Angles
1. Consult and interview ordinary people living near the Roan Plateau in order to create a human interest story with authenticity that resonates readers. In doing so you will set the overall tone of the piece as, ordinary people concerned for themselves and their family’s safety.
2. Research and locate a family who had a child’s health affected by the drilling of natural gas in another location; discuss these families’ recollections, opinions and emotions in order to validate them. Try then to directly link it to the Roan Plateau and the number of families with children living near the Plateau.
3. Interview the spokes people for the companies who purchased the leases on the Roan Plateau. Giving these companies a chance to answer “unanswered” questions and also allow them an opportunity to show and discuss facts regarding water quality, near and around areas of natural gas drilling.
4. Track down an expert on the drilling of natural gas, maybe a professor, a scientist, or author. Allowing them to offer an opinion based on fact and knowledge about the safety concerns of residents and the overall quality of water near mines.
5. Look for official records, like statistics, reports, court records, etc, that are in direct connection with natural gas drilling. Creating a piece that establishes accuracy through authority and objectivity, in order to depict the timeliness of such a compelling concern.
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