Fall 09'

Hello everyone,

My name is Patrick Graham.  I am a senior and planning on graduating next semester.  After graduating I hope to work on T.V. as a possible sports broadcast journalist.

I've been thinking whether to stay in the area or move away to seek employement and I still am unsure.  Of course, before I think about that, I plan on taking about a three month vacation far off in the remote parts of the world.

Recession may have health benefits.

A recession is here and college bars may be feeling the pinch, while the college kids may be feeling better in the mornings.

Tuesday: Two for one.

Wednesday: $1 beers.

Thursday: Downtown specials.

These weekday specials are certainly keeping the college kids entertained, but when the drink specials are missing, the college kids are lacking. Weekend gatherings at bars are diminishing due to the fact that prices are high and money being made is little. With many college students in the service industry, they are the first to feel the effects of an economy that has seen better days.

Junior, Caitlin Leach stated, "Working in food service has made my income less and less each week."

With less and less each week, weekend warriors are retiring and finding other activities, possibly a second job.

"My weekend fun has shifted to the packed bars full of Coors Light bottles on the weekdays" said, Leach.

Towson students alike are finding common ground in this area and have cut back on the consumption, leaving pocket books and wallets full.

Picture Blog

Tips

General tips....get everything possible on a particular story in a choke hold. Do not leave any loose ends. It may take awhile to think like a journalist, but eventually parts of stories that never dawned on you before will become second nature.

Be precise, accurate and be diligent.

100 words

A young girl, trapped inside a washing machine at a local laundromat yesterday evening is going to okay, Rockland Police said.

This incident happened when two sisters were innocently playing. The 3-year-old climbed inside, and her 7-year-old sister had shut the door. An automatic locking mechanism on the machine had caused the child no way to escape. Police Chief, Ralph Robinson said, the girl was trapped inside for 5 minutes while water was filling the machine. The girls were in care of their aunt had not noticed until the door was locked and the water was flowing in. She pulled aside a citizen that was on his way to the grocery store, he went to his car, got his tools and smashed the glass that allowed the child to escape. She is listed from the hospital in good condition.

Revised ledes

A bill to enforce stricter penalties on identity theft is a major priority in Maryland legislation after the outcry of many victims.



The federal government is awarding over $30 million in grant money throughout 53 Maryland school districts.

Lede Post #2

#4) A bill to be passed by Maryland legislation to prevent identity theft is being reviewed by officials.

#5) At-risk students may find no more troubles after the distribution of federal grant money throughout the Maryland school system.

Ledes

#1) Roger Datolli, husband of Mayor Sabrina Datolli, was involved in a serious car accident Thursday afternoon.

#2) City council members propose local changes to over haul the downtown historic district.

#3) Department of energy receives the green light from Senate to store nuclear waste in Las Vegas.

Extra! Extra!

Below are a dozen comma rules.

Rule #1: Use commas in a compound sentence with a conjunction.
Ex. I drank a Red Bull but, I was still tired.
She ate mushrooms yet, did not feel any different.

Rule #2: Seperate elements in a series.
Ex. The wild dog had fleas, ticks, and worms as it walked around the gated community.
Her car leaks oil, hydroplanes, and rarely starts.

Rule #3: Using commas when using quoted material.
Ex. She said, "I am leaving for good."
Ex. He told her, "Have fun."

Rulw #4: Commas follow introductory matter.
Ex. When the team went down by one goal, the coached pulled the goalie to get an extra skater.
Ex. When the dog bit the neighbor, animal control had to put it down.

Rule #5: Salutations in a letter.
Ex. Dear Stripper,
Ex. Love, Patrick

Rule #6: Commas in dates or an address.
Ex. April 9th, 1986, is the date of my birth.
Ex. I will be visiting Savannah, GA for St. Patrick's Day.

Rule #7: Commas surround non-essential words or phrases.
Ex. Here, nobody makes it out alive.
Ex. Well, I am too drunk to drive my car tonight.

Rule #8: Commas surround words of direct address.
Ex. Jeovanny, I'd like some cheese bread now.
Ex. It's obvious, Eugene, nobody wants you here.

Rule #9: Commas indicate omitted verbs.
Ex. Men were traditionally large in the family; compassion, hardly.
Ex. She was sweet; intelligence, lacked.

5 errors

Grammar errors are hard to avoid at times, but following 5 basic categories can eliminate mistakes. They are as follows:

1) Punctuation: Do not add any punctuation marks unless you know the rules. There is no need to fill in spaces if punctuation does not belong.
i.e. He makes plent of money, but he cannot manage it.

2) Subject and verb agreement: A basic sentence structure is quite simple. Areas where people struggle is the use of subjects that appear to be plural, or pronouns that may be misused.
i.e. Neither candidates make a good argument.

3) Correct use of pronouns: Allows the language to use different words to express the same thing. This allows for a sentence to become easier to read.
i.e. Patrick said he was better of without his ex-wife.

4) Sentence structure: Aside from mistakes of fragments, and run-on sentence, two other problems occur. Faulty parellelism and modifier placement. Instead of having a bunch of choppy sentence, blend them together if possible.
i.e. Jay told me he likes scrabble. He also collects coins.
Instead use: Jay likes scrabble and collecting coins.

5) Correct word usage: Since english is a rather complex language, the correct word must be used. Many words sound the same but have different meanings.
i.e. Set the empty beer cans in the recycling bin.
Not: Sit the empty beer cans in the recycling bin.

Summary Lede

Summary ledes are meant for grabbing your attention. Some factors therefore are needed.

1) Only a sentence or two is used in order for the reader to advanced to the actual story.
2) A journalist would want to make it typically 30 words or less.
3) Always use past tense.
4) Active voice with correct order of subject, verb, and object.

It seems the more widely circulated papers (i.e. The New York Times) can get away with sloppy headlines due to the fact that the readership is a loyal niche. A good example of a solid summary lede was from The Washington Post today, titled, "Phelps Suspended for 3 Months." It is short and sweet, and would capture most readers interest, especially a Phelps follower. Then the article goes in depth to the sponsers he lost, and public apologies. If those items were condensed to the lede, chances are the story will not be viewed as much.

Oh...whoops. I answered the other questions, did not even see that link right to it. I'll get a new post up tonight after class.

Chapter 14

1) The three most critical rules for sound journalism would be accuracy, thoroughness, and transparency. Obviously accuracy because the viewer or reader trusts the story. If a mistake is caught, credibility is severly damaged. Thoroughness is a must. If journalists just take initial information to be the whole story, major components would be missing, it would be a story with hardly any muscle. Transparency needs to be in all journalists agendas. Whether it be on obviously slanting networks or papers, those media outlets cannot disregard other interpretations and take them head on, rather than just ignoring everything aside from their information.

2) Objectivity is slowly evolving into a characteristic for journalists to ignore. It seems that wherever the journalist is employed can make objectivity disappear. To write or speak in a style that is conducive to their target audience is what seems to be on the agendas of such media outlets.

3) Since local papers or school papers are not held in such high regard as the New York Times, it allows the writers some leverage, and injecting their own ideas is much more feasible. From local to national they are both important mediums, but as far as the peking order to obey transparency for the readerships sake, local or school papers have a little bit more room for indivdualistic tendencies.

Myself

Hey Everyone,

My name is Patrick Graham. I am a transfer student from upstate New York. I am a senior and will be graduating next Fall. I am obsessed with making music, taking vacations, and playing sports. My New Year's resolution was to read one book a week, and it has been going alright so far. When it comes to the Satan box, I'll get down with dark comedies or anything terribly sarcastic. When I am not at school, I'll be found at Fogo de Chao. It is a Brazilian steakhouse, and consumes practically all my hours when I am not at Towson. When a zombie epidemic breaks out, I'll be the most prepared.