Thursday, February 26, 2009

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.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

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.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

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.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

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.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

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.

Monday, February 2, 2009

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.