Needless to say, there are dozens of things a journalist needs to be wary of when writing an article. Bloggers are less beholden to many of these issues, both legal and ethical, but the closer they adhere to the same rules as a Sun reporter, the more seriously they'll be taken, and the less often they'll get sued.
Unless their name is Perez, in which case there is no reason to be taken seriously, and every lawsuit is another 20,000 hits.
I think the most important rule for any journalist, print or internet, is accuracy. If a journalist is inaccurate, people won't be interested in reading what they have to say, and sources will be less willing to talk to them for fear of being misquoted or misconstrued. A journalist who doesn't verify information is no better than a rumor-monger: they may get much of the story right, but God is in the details.
Further, if a journalist is thoroughly accurate, many other problems will fade into the background; even if he's biased or unfair, as long as his facts are facts, people will listen to him. And, he'll be harder to sue.
That being said, fairness and objectivity (which go somewhat hand in hand) are also hugely important for a writer. It's impossible to take an author seriously who takes a clear side on a not-so-clear issue. If you don't look at both sides of an issue, even if it's just a glance at the opposition's logic, then you're not writing a good article. No good assessment of a complicated matter is totally one-sided; if there was no merit to one side of an argument, it wouldn't be an argument at all. It belittles everyone involved.
The final issue I'll discuss if that of transparency. While many of the legal and ethical issues discussed in the book are important, maybe even more important than transparency, the idea has always been important to me.
Transparency brings with it a kind of automatic trust and respect. It shows a journalist respects the audience enough to tell them of any possible biases he might have, trusting the audience to use its discretion in taking that information as it is, without attributing any unfair subjectivity to it. No one can be totally unbiased, and for a journalist to tell the readers that he is would be ridiculous, and intelligent audiences would dismiss him out of hand. However, telling the audience, for example, "Yes, I vote Republican, but that doesn't mean that this report on Obama is untrue," shows that you respect their ability to distinguish between objectivity and subjectivity.
Even in everyday conversation, transparency brings trust. Phrases like, "I could be wrong, but...," make a speaker seem more trustworthy somehow. There's always the risk that people will think, "Oh, see, he's not 100% about it, he's making it up," and not believe you...but I'm not 100% about anything. And I don't trust people that are.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Oblivious student mauled by bronze tiger
When I was in high school, I took a photo class. The teacher, Mr. Lehr, was an overly ambitious MICA grad, and perhaps he tried to pack in too much for the one-semester class.
Since it was 1998, digital cameras were still priced out of reach, despite being unable to break the megapixel barrier. For this reason, we spent the majority of class-time in the darkroom, developing film and printing test strips, and had little time to discuss or practice photo theory.
The only things he really taught us of practical photography, or at least the only things I remember, were the Rule of Thirds, and to never split a subject's head with a line.
Hooray! It turns out, though I remember little, what I do remember is still good advice. Lighting was also always important to Mr. Lehr, but I never really got it down...and I guess that's something I'll need to work on still. I've always been a big fan of taking shots from odd angles, particularly from below the subject, so I like that Dr. Spaulding (and Patrick Smith) are into that too.
Another thing I have trouble with is not taking enough pictures of a particular shot; I'm always hesitant to take five shots of the same thing, and I'm not sure why. Flashbacks from the days of film? Too lazy to click 'delete' on my Canon? I'm working on it.
Dylan Rothman, a junior at Towson University majoring in business, pushes himself up on a makeshift see-saw for the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity's testicular cancer fundraiser. The 48-hour see-saw-athon was to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but it was unknown as of press-time how much money was raised, nor whether the fraternity was aware of the irony in see-sawing to benefit testicles.(Photo by Dillon Nestadt/ Oct. 29, 2008)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Man Accused of Plotting Wife's Murder Commits Suicide
CNN.com reports, a Japanese man accused of arranging his wife's 1981 murder in Los Angeles was found dead in a jail cell Friday night, having apparently committed suicide. The 61-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura had just returned to the United States to face the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
Miura had been held in Saipan since February on a U.S. warrant for murder and conspiracy, but a judge had ruled that trying him for murder in California would constitute double jeopardy, as he had been cleared of the murder charges in Japan in 1994. He was brought to Los Angeles Friday morning, and was to be arraigned Tuesday, but instead hung himself with a piece of his shirt, police said.
"I'm shocked," his attorney, Mark Geragos said. "One of my lawyers was with him for 12 hours yesterday and he seemed in good spirits. He was looking forward to fighting this." Geragos was informed of the death Saturday morning by prosecutors.
The couple was vacationing in Los Angeles when they were fired upon, allegedly at Miura's signal. Miura was struck in the leg, while his wife, Kazumi Miura, 28, was shot in the head. She was not killed immediately, but in fact survived for a year before dying in Japan. Prosecutors allege that he hired an assassin in order to collect on an approximately $750,000 life insurance policy. A shooter has not been found.
Miura had been held in Saipan since February on a U.S. warrant for murder and conspiracy, but a judge had ruled that trying him for murder in California would constitute double jeopardy, as he had been cleared of the murder charges in Japan in 1994. He was brought to Los Angeles Friday morning, and was to be arraigned Tuesday, but instead hung himself with a piece of his shirt, police said.
"I'm shocked," his attorney, Mark Geragos said. "One of my lawyers was with him for 12 hours yesterday and he seemed in good spirits. He was looking forward to fighting this." Geragos was informed of the death Saturday morning by prosecutors.
The couple was vacationing in Los Angeles when they were fired upon, allegedly at Miura's signal. Miura was struck in the leg, while his wife, Kazumi Miura, 28, was shot in the head. She was not killed immediately, but in fact survived for a year before dying in Japan. Prosecutors allege that he hired an assassin in order to collect on an approximately $750,000 life insurance policy. A shooter has not been found.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Super-Crazy Japanese Music Event Ever
This Thursday, the 25th, the Ottobar will be be playing host to Baltimore's leg of The JapaNoodle Fever, an eight-date tour with four Japanese pop-punk bands. I plan on attending this event and interviewing as many of the bands as possible: Nippophonia may be an issue.The headliner, Peelander-Z, is the only act to be currently based in the States, and is therefore the only band I'm confident that I'll be able to communicate with. Unfortunately, as they promote themselves as comic-book characters (not unlike GWAR or the Aquabats), they may be unwilling to speak with me in a serious manner.
Assuming I can find and interview a musician or two, I have several questions prepared:
- What is the difference in reception between American and Japanese audiences? Is there a comparable turnout and demographic?
- What's it like to write/sing songs in your second language?
- What are some of your favorite on-stage antics to perform, and are there any you don't do anymore for safety or other reasons? [Peelander-Z is known for their creative and high-energy show, performing such stunts as 'human bowling' and onstage pro-wrestling.]
- What are some other bands you like for their stage presence, be they Japanese or American?
pages and websites with varying amounts of information, as does the tour itself. Two of the bands have Wikipedia articles (inadmissible, I know), and there is a bit of other information online.Other relevant details I'll be looking at may include venue information, tour information, and where they get those Playmobil wigs.
The other bands performing are TsuShaMaMiRae, Bakubeni, quaff
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I almost didn't notice this assignment...
But I did!
Our book and classroom discussions tell us that the best way to write a lead or short report is to follow these four points:
* Be Specific
* Be Concise
* Avoid Backing In
*Use Active Voice
It is also important to note that the short report should elaborate on the lead without repeating any information. That's the tricky part.
Of course, you also have to be accurate, but I suppose that goes without saying.
Having looked over our classroom Twitter-stash, I've selected three notable Tweets that follow these four points well.
Matt Lund
-System haults hiring as budget cuts draw near
-USM's freeze on hiring could have an impact on Towson's growth as early as 2010 if budget problems persist.
This lead/short report pair was beautifully done, fitting a tremendous amount of specific information into a mere 163 characters. The lead says it well in SVO format, and the short report manages to tell much more than I would have thought possible. Concise and specific. My only real concern is that the lead doesn't specify which system is being discussed, but depending on the context of the headline, it might not need to.
Ed D'Adamo
-TU and the Green campaign makes it easy to recycle.
-The RecycAll program is placing 2,800 single-stream containers around campus. This means less confusion and more convenience for students.
This pair not only uses the active voice to its full potential, but does so while noting the three major names in the game (TU, Go Green, and RecycAll). It also has the specific detail of "2,800 single-stream containers," which is extremely relevant. That Ed discusses the ease of convenience is particularly worthwhile because that is what the article places much of its focus on.
Cara Flynn
-Towson football loses to Richmond.
-The Tiger's 45-14 defeat, in Richmond Saturday afternoon, was due in part to four interceptions thrown by quarterback Sean Schaefer.
The lead says Who and What simply and in active voice. The short report gives the Where, When, How (45-14), and Why (Sean Schaefer sucks) in rapid succession. Of all the Tweets about this article, I think Cara's was the best. It gave all the information possible, and in a manner that makes it look like the 150-character limit was incidental, like hers just happened to be within the limit. I think it's important to mention that it was football; many Tweets assumed you knew, but it could just as easily be a high-scoring baseball game, or a low-scoring basketball game. A reader who isn't particularly familiar with sports schedules or scoring wouldn't know. Also, I found a surprising number of people didn't even give us the score, which is the third most important part of the story, falling only behind Who Played and Who Won!
Our book and classroom discussions tell us that the best way to write a lead or short report is to follow these four points:
* Be Specific* Be Concise
* Avoid Backing In
*Use Active Voice
It is also important to note that the short report should elaborate on the lead without repeating any information. That's the tricky part.
Of course, you also have to be accurate, but I suppose that goes without saying.
Having looked over our classroom Twitter-stash, I've selected three notable Tweets that follow these four points well.
Matt Lund
-System haults hiring as budget cuts draw near
-USM's freeze on hiring could have an impact on Towson's growth as early as 2010 if budget problems persist.
This lead/short report pair was beautifully done, fitting a tremendous amount of specific information into a mere 163 characters. The lead says it well in SVO format, and the short report manages to tell much more than I would have thought possible. Concise and specific. My only real concern is that the lead doesn't specify which system is being discussed, but depending on the context of the headline, it might not need to.
Ed D'Adamo
-TU and the Green campaign makes it easy to recycle.
-The RecycAll program is placing 2,800 single-stream containers around campus. This means less confusion and more convenience for students.
This pair not only uses the active voice to its full potential, but does so while noting the three major names in the game (TU, Go Green, and RecycAll). It also has the specific detail of "2,800 single-stream containers," which is extremely relevant. That Ed discusses the ease of convenience is particularly worthwhile because that is what the article places much of its focus on.
Cara Flynn
-Towson football loses to Richmond.
-The Tiger's 45-14 defeat, in Richmond Saturday afternoon, was due in part to four interceptions thrown by quarterback Sean Schaefer.
The lead says Who and What simply and in active voice. The short report gives the Where, When, How (45-14), and Why (Sean Schaefer sucks) in rapid succession. Of all the Tweets about this article, I think Cara's was the best. It gave all the information possible, and in a manner that makes it look like the 150-character limit was incidental, like hers just happened to be within the limit. I think it's important to mention that it was football; many Tweets assumed you knew, but it could just as easily be a high-scoring baseball game, or a low-scoring basketball game. A reader who isn't particularly familiar with sports schedules or scoring wouldn't know. Also, I found a surprising number of people didn't even give us the score, which is the third most important part of the story, falling only behind Who Played and Who Won!
Monday, September 15, 2008
So, is 'lede' an alternate spelling, or what?
Oftentimes, a news outlet has to consolidate a story into a mere sentence or two, crunching down dozens of facts about an important event into just a few words. The reasons are many, but the effect is always the same: a brilliantly concise declaration of as much information as possible, in as few words as possible.
One common use for this story compression is to create a Summary Lead, which is basically the opening of a news article. A lead is used to grab the readers attention, while simultaneously giving them the most important details of the story.
A good example of a lead is found in the Sun article "Pratt St. plan gets mixed reviews." The lead follows:
"A prominent Baltimore developer says the city's planned $100 million makeover of a 16-block section of Pratt Street is not feasible and would exacerbate existing traffic problems and oversaturate an already ailing downtown with retail space."
This sentence gives some (but not all) of the salient details of the story: Who said What, but not Where, How, or When. The Why of the statement may be implicit: "Because that's how he feels."
A Short Report, meanwhile, is similar to a lead in many ways. It gets as many details as possible into an even smaller space than a lead. It differs mainly in that a short report is usually in present tense, rather than past.
A short report comes in a variety of forms, including screen crawlers, newspaper briefs, and even broadcast news bulletins. The following short report was taken from the Baltimore Sun
webpage: "Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America."
This sentence gives the most important details of these nationally significant financial events: The Who and the What. Again, the When, How, and Why are missing, while the Where is implied to be merely wherever Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch are headquartered. If that's even worth pointing out.
One common use for this story compression is to create a Summary Lead, which is basically the opening of a news article. A lead is used to grab the readers attention, while simultaneously giving them the most important details of the story.
A good example of a lead is found in the Sun article "Pratt St. plan gets mixed reviews." The lead follows:"A prominent Baltimore developer says the city's planned $100 million makeover of a 16-block section of Pratt Street is not feasible and would exacerbate existing traffic problems and oversaturate an already ailing downtown with retail space."
This sentence gives some (but not all) of the salient details of the story: Who said What, but not Where, How, or When. The Why of the statement may be implicit: "Because that's how he feels."
A Short Report, meanwhile, is similar to a lead in many ways. It gets as many details as possible into an even smaller space than a lead. It differs mainly in that a short report is usually in present tense, rather than past.
A short report comes in a variety of forms, including screen crawlers, newspaper briefs, and even broadcast news bulletins. The following short report was taken from the Baltimore Sun
webpage: "Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America."This sentence gives the most important details of these nationally significant financial events: The Who and the What. Again, the When, How, and Why are missing, while the Where is implied to be merely wherever Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch are headquartered. If that's even worth pointing out.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Qu'est-ce que c'est "News?"
The idea of "news" is not a simple dichotomy of Newsworthy vs. Not; rather, it is mightily subjective, dependent on such factors as one's intended audience, medium, competition's coverage, and perhaps most importantly, one's (or one's editor's) judgment.
Newsworthiness can be determined by how a story fits into the traditional news values, as the majority of news stories encompass several of these values. Towson professor Thom Lieb lists the news values as follows:
* Prominence - The more famous or important a person is, the more news coverage they receive, even for their most minor actions. This is true for both powerful figures such as politicians, whose lives can directly affect ours, but also (perhaps more so) for celebrities whose only direct impact on our lives will be starring in a romantic comedy we hate.
* Unusualness - If a story is unique or strange, it will receive greater coverage, despite its unimportance.
* Currency - Whether a story relates to other, current stories will impact how much coverage it gets.
* Conflict - People love reading about conflict! No one wants to read a story about Sarah Palin shaking Joe Biden's hand, but if Palin attacks Biden's Senate record, the story will certainly make the news.
* Timeliness - News is, by definition, new. More recent stories will get more coverage than older stories. Period.
* Proximity/Affinity - News is more appealing to people when it affects them, or barring that, affects people similar to them. This similarity may be geographic, by affecting someone in their neighborhood, or it may be a racial similarity, or religious, or any number of other characteristics that people identify with. The local news is very popular for this reason, and has the added benefit of cutting out the competitors that appeal to a different demographic.
* Human Interest - Emotional content, while not always important in terms of the other news values, is very useful as a quick and easy way of getting readers/viewers who would not otherwise be interested in the news. Just don't expect to garner any journalistic credibility.
Having discussed what makes a story viable as "news," perhaps now it's time to examine a few news stories and probe them for newsworthiness. The Baltimore Sun claims to be "among... the most distinguished" of American newspapers. Let's see for ourselves.
One of the two flagship stories on the website is headlined, "East Baltimore shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 hurt." The article tells of a drive-by shooting in East Baltimore on Tuesday night, tells what police think may have happened, and details the conditions of the victims. There is an
interview with a police spokesman, and one with a witness, and the website provides a link to a story of a shooting earlier in the day, as well as a handy (and depressing) interactive map of all the homicides in Baltimore City dating back to 2007, color-coded by cause of death.
This story meets several of Lieb's news-value criteria for newsworthiness: Timeliness, as the story occurred less than two hours before the writing of this blog; Proximity, as the Sun's target audience lives in or around Baltimore; Conflict, because, of course, the story deals with a direct, physical conflict; and Currency, because unfortunately, Baltimore is a violent city, with regular homicides, and there was even an unrelated shooting less than 16 hours earlier, less than 2 miles away. It is a sad comment on the state of the city when I say that this story does not meet criteria for Unusualness.
The second 'front-page' story, "Fire destroys city playground," tells of a blaze that destroyed a Waverly playground built on the site of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The author goes on to tell of the impact that the 3-year-old playground had had on the community, details of the
playground's ownership and maintenance, and how the community plans to rebuild. There were quotes from several people, including Waverly residents, a police spokesman, and a mayoral spokesman, and a picture of the fire.
This story also has several points of news value: Timeliness, as the blaze happened today; Proximity, as it occured in Baltimore; Currency, as a similar fire damaged another community center the day before; Human interest, as the story of a playground being the victim of potential arson tugs any number of heartstrings; and perhaps Conflict.
The last story I will deconstruct is called "KFC shoring up security as secret recipe is relocated." I chose this story, under the heading "Nation," because after those last two stories, I needed something lighter. And crispier. And finger-lickinger. The secret recipe, according to this story, is being removed from KFC's corporate headquarters for the first time in 20-odd years, where it
had been stored under lock and key, in a vault accessible only to two anonomyous executives. The story details the specifics of the recipe's former security measures, and the security measures being taken in its transportation, but notes that security upgrades are being kept secret. The end of the article tells of the history of KFC's famous recipe, and its famous inventor, Colonel Sanders, then goes on to detail KFC's current financial situation.
This story meets a few of the news value criteria, but not as many as the previous stories. The story is Timely, as the recipe was transported earlier today. It is moderately Unusual, because it is unheard of for a simple recipe to be given such extreme security precautions; it is doubtful even the Declaration of Independence would warrant such paranoia! The story has a bit of Proximity appeal, as it takes place a mere 600 miles from the Sun's readers. There may even be some Human Interest, because hey, if fried chicken doesn't Interest you, I doubt you're Human.
As you can see, all three stories are quite newsworthy by any standards. Although the first two articles are quite local, that appeals to the Sun's target demographic, and there are of course news from around the nation, and the globe, present on the page. The Baltimore Sun is certainly doing a fine job in hitting the traditional news values, which is why it's my second-favorite Baltimore-based newspaper. If it allowed curse words, it would perhaps even overtake my current favorite, the CityPaper.
But it would have to allow a TON of curse words to do that.
Newsworthiness can be determined by how a story fits into the traditional news values, as the majority of news stories encompass several of these values. Towson professor Thom Lieb lists the news values as follows:
* Prominence - The more famous or important a person is, the more news coverage they receive, even for their most minor actions. This is true for both powerful figures such as politicians, whose lives can directly affect ours, but also (perhaps more so) for celebrities whose only direct impact on our lives will be starring in a romantic comedy we hate.
* Unusualness - If a story is unique or strange, it will receive greater coverage, despite its unimportance.
* Currency - Whether a story relates to other, current stories will impact how much coverage it gets.
* Conflict - People love reading about conflict! No one wants to read a story about Sarah Palin shaking Joe Biden's hand, but if Palin attacks Biden's Senate record, the story will certainly make the news.
* Timeliness - News is, by definition, new. More recent stories will get more coverage than older stories. Period.
* Proximity/Affinity - News is more appealing to people when it affects them, or barring that, affects people similar to them. This similarity may be geographic, by affecting someone in their neighborhood, or it may be a racial similarity, or religious, or any number of other characteristics that people identify with. The local news is very popular for this reason, and has the added benefit of cutting out the competitors that appeal to a different demographic.
* Human Interest - Emotional content, while not always important in terms of the other news values, is very useful as a quick and easy way of getting readers/viewers who would not otherwise be interested in the news. Just don't expect to garner any journalistic credibility.
Having discussed what makes a story viable as "news," perhaps now it's time to examine a few news stories and probe them for newsworthiness. The Baltimore Sun claims to be "among... the most distinguished" of American newspapers. Let's see for ourselves.
One of the two flagship stories on the website is headlined, "East Baltimore shooting leaves 1 dead, 5 hurt." The article tells of a drive-by shooting in East Baltimore on Tuesday night, tells what police think may have happened, and details the conditions of the victims. There is an
interview with a police spokesman, and one with a witness, and the website provides a link to a story of a shooting earlier in the day, as well as a handy (and depressing) interactive map of all the homicides in Baltimore City dating back to 2007, color-coded by cause of death.This story meets several of Lieb's news-value criteria for newsworthiness: Timeliness, as the story occurred less than two hours before the writing of this blog; Proximity, as the Sun's target audience lives in or around Baltimore; Conflict, because, of course, the story deals with a direct, physical conflict; and Currency, because unfortunately, Baltimore is a violent city, with regular homicides, and there was even an unrelated shooting less than 16 hours earlier, less than 2 miles away. It is a sad comment on the state of the city when I say that this story does not meet criteria for Unusualness.
The second 'front-page' story, "Fire destroys city playground," tells of a blaze that destroyed a Waverly playground built on the site of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The author goes on to tell of the impact that the 3-year-old playground had had on the community, details of the
playground's ownership and maintenance, and how the community plans to rebuild. There were quotes from several people, including Waverly residents, a police spokesman, and a mayoral spokesman, and a picture of the fire.This story also has several points of news value: Timeliness, as the blaze happened today; Proximity, as it occured in Baltimore; Currency, as a similar fire damaged another community center the day before; Human interest, as the story of a playground being the victim of potential arson tugs any number of heartstrings; and perhaps Conflict.
The last story I will deconstruct is called "KFC shoring up security as secret recipe is relocated." I chose this story, under the heading "Nation," because after those last two stories, I needed something lighter. And crispier. And finger-lickinger. The secret recipe, according to this story, is being removed from KFC's corporate headquarters for the first time in 20-odd years, where it
had been stored under lock and key, in a vault accessible only to two anonomyous executives. The story details the specifics of the recipe's former security measures, and the security measures being taken in its transportation, but notes that security upgrades are being kept secret. The end of the article tells of the history of KFC's famous recipe, and its famous inventor, Colonel Sanders, then goes on to detail KFC's current financial situation.This story meets a few of the news value criteria, but not as many as the previous stories. The story is Timely, as the recipe was transported earlier today. It is moderately Unusual, because it is unheard of for a simple recipe to be given such extreme security precautions; it is doubtful even the Declaration of Independence would warrant such paranoia! The story has a bit of Proximity appeal, as it takes place a mere 600 miles from the Sun's readers. There may even be some Human Interest, because hey, if fried chicken doesn't Interest you, I doubt you're Human.
As you can see, all three stories are quite newsworthy by any standards. Although the first two articles are quite local, that appeals to the Sun's target demographic, and there are of course news from around the nation, and the globe, present on the page. The Baltimore Sun is certainly doing a fine job in hitting the traditional news values, which is why it's my second-favorite Baltimore-based newspaper. If it allowed curse words, it would perhaps even overtake my current favorite, the CityPaper.
But it would have to allow a TON of curse words to do that.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Backpack Journalism (also available in 'purse')
Backpack journalism is the necessarily modern idea, that an individual can be a one-person news crew. A backpack journalist can come across a story as he walks down the street, take 
high-quality photos of it with his Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH, record his interview with the relevant parties with his Olympus VN-4100 Digital Voice Recorder, write the entire story on his MacBook Air, and upload it to his blog using the nearest wi-fi hotspot, all while sipping a vente coffee from Starbucks (Organic Sumatra-Peru Blend). Backpack journalists can be self-published on the internet, or they can be freelance, selling stories to whoever will publish them. I suppose they could also be staff writers for a newspaper or magazine, but then what would the point be of using their own meager resources? The definition is loose.
If Jared Silfies is to be believed, he is never found to be without his "mobile journalism kit," and showers with his copy of The Elements of Style. This kit consists of a laptop, flash drives, digital camera (with portable card reader), cell phone, notepad and various writing utensils, and a few less indispensable items (including, inexplicably, an iPod). These are the tools he uses on a daily
basis to ensure that he is always prepared should a story collide into him on his way to Chipotle (I suspect a childhood in the Boy Scouts). If ever the need, or urge, should strike him, he will be fully prepared to have a story written, documented, and published within the hour. Silfies, sadly, has yet to obtain an audio recorder, or a video recorder more powerful than his Coolpix. Just a matter of time, I'm sure. And no, although I own a copy, I have never read through Strunk & White...but if it's anything like White's other work, I can expect a barnload of anthropomorphic animals, and a disturbing CGI film remake.
I have to admit, those outstanding portfolios intimidated me. Each was more graphically appealing and professional than the last, and even the two by students were stunning.
Impressed as I was by the student pages, I decided to spend extra time browsing Nick Trost's blog. Trost is one of the two students mentioned, and as an undergrad, particularly impressive. Despite (or perhaps due to) not being able to drink legally, Trost has created a beautiful website, complete with his media work, both in print and on camera, and even came up with his own eye-grabbing, if creepy, banner picture. As for what you'd find in his backpack, I suspect it would be less relevant equipment than Silfies; Trost seems to be less interested in backpack journalism, and more interested in the broadcast side. This leads me to believe that while he may carry around a laptop and camera, they would be filled with pictures of himself pretending to be Bob Costas. Any other journalism equipment would be incidental.
high-quality photos of it with his Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH, record his interview with the relevant parties with his Olympus VN-4100 Digital Voice Recorder, write the entire story on his MacBook Air, and upload it to his blog using the nearest wi-fi hotspot, all while sipping a vente coffee from Starbucks (Organic Sumatra-Peru Blend). Backpack journalists can be self-published on the internet, or they can be freelance, selling stories to whoever will publish them. I suppose they could also be staff writers for a newspaper or magazine, but then what would the point be of using their own meager resources? The definition is loose.If Jared Silfies is to be believed, he is never found to be without his "mobile journalism kit," and showers with his copy of The Elements of Style. This kit consists of a laptop, flash drives, digital camera (with portable card reader), cell phone, notepad and various writing utensils, and a few less indispensable items (including, inexplicably, an iPod). These are the tools he uses on a daily
basis to ensure that he is always prepared should a story collide into him on his way to Chipotle (I suspect a childhood in the Boy Scouts). If ever the need, or urge, should strike him, he will be fully prepared to have a story written, documented, and published within the hour. Silfies, sadly, has yet to obtain an audio recorder, or a video recorder more powerful than his Coolpix. Just a matter of time, I'm sure. And no, although I own a copy, I have never read through Strunk & White...but if it's anything like White's other work, I can expect a barnload of anthropomorphic animals, and a disturbing CGI film remake.I have to admit, those outstanding portfolios intimidated me. Each was more graphically appealing and professional than the last, and even the two by students were stunning.
Impressed as I was by the student pages, I decided to spend extra time browsing Nick Trost's blog. Trost is one of the two students mentioned, and as an undergrad, particularly impressive. Despite (or perhaps due to) not being able to drink legally, Trost has created a beautiful website, complete with his media work, both in print and on camera, and even came up with his own eye-grabbing, if creepy, banner picture. As for what you'd find in his backpack, I suspect it would be less relevant equipment than Silfies; Trost seems to be less interested in backpack journalism, and more interested in the broadcast side. This leads me to believe that while he may carry around a laptop and camera, they would be filled with pictures of himself pretending to be Bob Costas. Any other journalism equipment would be incidental.
Who is this silly person?
"Tell me about yourself." One of the most common and least fair demands one encounters.
Do I tell you about my personality? My hobbies? Likes and dislikes? Favorite music, favorite books, favorite Balinese dance styles? Would you like a copy of my résumé?
My name is Dillon Nestadt (b. 09/03/1983), and I'll tell you what you want to know.
I grew up in Baltimore, just a few miles from campus, and gosh, I just love the crap out of this town! I graduated from Rollins College in Orlando in '05 with a degree in psychology, a subject I (thankfully) have a healthy interest in, but not enough of an interest to pursue it occupationally. I've spent the past three years teaching preschool and kindergarten to people who can't even consistently remember their last names, and attending as many concerts as I can convince my friends to accompany me to. I recently discovered that, hey, I think I might enjoy writing, and am taking a journalism class at Towson University (you may have heard of it) to find out if I can write in a way that people other than myself and/or my mom will appreciate. In the meantime, I'll try to highfive as many children and bassists as humanly possible. Tell me how I'm doing.
Do I tell you about my personality? My hobbies? Likes and dislikes? Favorite music, favorite books, favorite Balinese dance styles? Would you like a copy of my résumé?
My name is Dillon Nestadt (b. 09/03/1983), and I'll tell you what you want to know.
I grew up in Baltimore, just a few miles from campus, and gosh, I just love the crap out of this town! I graduated from Rollins College in Orlando in '05 with a degree in psychology, a subject I (thankfully) have a healthy interest in, but not enough of an interest to pursue it occupationally. I've spent the past three years teaching preschool and kindergarten to people who can't even consistently remember their last names, and attending as many concerts as I can convince my friends to accompany me to. I recently discovered that, hey, I think I might enjoy writing, and am taking a journalism class at Towson University (you may have heard of it) to find out if I can write in a way that people other than myself and/or my mom will appreciate. In the meantime, I'll try to highfive as many children and bassists as humanly possible. Tell me how I'm doing.
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