Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Future of News

The first article that I read was a blog post by Ryan Sholin titled, "Links that Redefine News." It was very interesting because it featured different on-line news sources that are available, besides the normal "gloom and doom" stories. The link that I particularly enjoyed was to a website-"EveryBlock". This website listed events and important things that were going on city by city. I looked at the San Jose link and it mentioned San Jose City Council members and the re-voting of them, as well as documentaries that were being premiered. It's cool to get such a range of what is going on in our cities. Websites like this will hopefully decrease the amount of horrible news we always hear, and give us more of a variety of news around our area.

The other blog post that I read was also by Sholin and asked if we were making the right decisions about on-line journalism revenue. It dealt with smaller, web-based news networks and how their funding should be pursued. He mentioned three main ideas: local advertising, freemium classifieds, and community-funding reporting.
First off, local advertising would be effective because if it is a smaller new source based in one community, local businesses would be more likely to advertise because it targets people around in the area of the business.
Secondly, freemium classifieds describes the idea of allowing new customers to use five free advertisements. That way, if they just want to sell something small, they won't have to pay for it. But if they wanted to continue the service, they would have to pay.
Lastly, community-funding reporting refers to the idea that the community would pay the newspaper because they would be reporting about things that are around them. These news stories could be missed by other news sources that have a larger range of coverage.
Hopefully these three ideas will increase the amount of smaller, on-line newspapers that focuses on communities and would also give us more of a variety of news that we care about.

News Story #5: Runaway Truck

An overturned truck in El Cerrito caused a major fire, numerous injuries, and caused severe power outages around the area yesterday.

The driver of the asphalt truck, an unidentified San Jose man, that overturned and smashed into a house was pulled out of it just in time by Detective Sgt. John Maples along with the help of two others. When describing the incident, Maples stated, "We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there." He is listed in serious, but stable condition at John Muir Hospital and both of his legs are broken.

Another vehicle, a Honda sedan, was crumpled after being hit by the truck and the driver was trapped inside. Rescue workers had to slice into the sedan and pull back the roof to free the driver. An electrician's truck was knocked over into the next street. A man and a boy ended up stuck in some shrubbery inside their sport utility vehicle next to the burning house.

Another witness was Ruben Sharma, who lives across the street from the home that was destroyed by the fire. He was about to go back to work when the incident occurred. He said, "First, I thought it was a major earthquake. This is unbelievable." Sharma's yard is covered with bricks, broken glass, car parts, and splintered wood and palm fronds.

AP Style #3 (M-R)

1. He hopes to make a billion dollars by the time he's 40. Already he figures his net worth is between $2 million and $3 million, depending on current stock prices.
2. Lt. Col. John Carpenter was a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the 7th Fleet.
3. Twenty-one winners were named two days after the 3rd annual Procrastination Awards Ceremony.
4. It was a one-sided game, and he was a poor loser. After losing the playoff when his ball went out of bounds, he made an off-color remark that could be heard in the stands.
5. Hundreds of people attended Sunday’s race to watch 75 top bicyclists pedal across the finish line.
6. Every winter, the Joneses and the Kinneys pore over travel brochures, planning their summer trip together. This year they’re hoping to go to Panama City, Fla.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Copy Edit the World

1. My green sheet for SCWK 120
Error: "Class: Tues., 9:00am-11:45am"
Correction: "Class: Tues., 9:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m."


2. News article from San Jose Mercury: "Drought still on tap..." from my top news assignment
Error: Right at the beginning, there is a fragment. "It's been nice. But not enough."
Correction: "It's been nice, but it hasn't been enough."


3. Church bulletin from my church back home
Error: "What aspect of God's comitment to us are you most thankful for today?"
Correction: "What aspect of God's commitment to us are you most thankful for today?"

AP Style: I-L

1. The last time she played soccer, she suffered a serious injury to her knee. Sometimes it's hard to understand why she wants to keep playing.
2. He was indicted on an assault charge, but his lawyer said the case against him is circumstantial and she is sure that the inquiry will exonerate him.
3. He knows it isn’t kosher, but green Jell-o is his favorite dessert. This admission has prompted his friends to question both his taste and his judgment.
4. Now that he has DSL, he finds it much easier to go online to check his e-mail and download files.

Top News #4

The article that I chose to analyze is all about the drought that Northern California has experienced. Although it has been raining for the past couple of weeks, and raining heavily at that, it is still not enough water to fill the reservoirs that supply us with federal water. Because of this, water will be rationed for the summer and it will bring heavy consequences to California's population. The article mentioned that farmer will be feeling the effects significantly because they will receive very little federal water and will have to provide their own. This may lead to a huge decrease in jobs available and plants being able to be produced, which is just what our economy needs right now. Apparently, the rain that has been coming down has just been filling in the dry soil and ground instead of running into the reservoirs and water supply.

This article applies to a number of news values. These include impact, timeliness, proximity, and currency. Impact would be a news value because this will effect almost all of the population of California. The article mentioned that Northern California all the way down to Los Angeles relies on this water and will experience rationing. It also includes timeliness because since our economy is going through a rough time, this water rationing is just what we need. Proximity is part of this article because obviously we live in California, so we will see this come into play first hand. Lastly, currency is a news value of this article because this topic is definitely of public concern and is a topic we care about as Californian citizens. It will have an affect on all of us one way or another.

The link to the article is: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11751949?source=most_viewed

Feature Lead: An Alarming Event

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Firefighters were just in time for cake at a 95th birthday party for Mabel McCullough after all 95 candles on her carrot cake were blown out...and set off a smoke alarm.

McCullough's birthday party, which was put on by the First United Methodist Church women's group, was one birthday the 24 firefighters will not soon forget. The candles were so close together on the cake that it was described to look just like a torch by one of the guests. Five engines and two ladder companies accompanied the firefighters to the birthday party. Fire Chief Lonnie Lamb stated, "In my 23 years on the job, I've seen a lot of things set off a fire alarm, but I don't think I've ever heard of one going off because of a birthday cake." Although the firefighters did not stay to eat any of the cake, they did get their picture taken with the party girl herself, Mabel McCullough.

News Story #4: Close Call

San Francisco - The Muni Streetcar system is under investigation after a passenger got his hand stuck in the door yesterday and was dragged along the platform before the train finally came to a stop just inches from a wall near the tunnel opening.

The accident occurred at 6:00 p.m. at the Embarcadero Station after the unidentified man was trying to board the streetcar. His hand got stuck as the door was closing. Passengers realized what had happened and attempted numerous things to stop the train. They pushed the emergency call button, pulled the cord to request a stop, pulled the emergency release for the door and screamed for the train to stop. It did not stop until one passenger set off the emergency release for another door and stopped the train.

The passenger refused to receive any sort of medical service. After the train stopped, the man appeared to be in shock and "slowly moved back into the crowd, cradling his arm and his hand," said a passenger on the car, Michael Pitalo. Pitalo, 52, has ridden the train for 15 years and has never seen anything like this. "Normally, the door would bounce open and make a screeching sound. This time it did not," he said. Pitalo also described how the train operator came back and yelled at the passengers for pulling the emergency brake. The train, which was westbound, was delayed for fifteen minutes while the brakes were reset.

News Story #3: Gas Line

Residents and businesses are irate after at least 100 people were evacuated from the South of Market Area in San Francisco yesterday after a gas pipe ruptured and the gas was shut off for nearly five hours.

Residents, along with the business owners and their customers, were forced to evacuate within a four block area of the accident, and are furious about it. Police shut down the area near Folsom and 11th after a private company ruptured a two-inch gas pipe while attempting to repair the sewer lines, says a PG&E representative. The accident occurred a little before 12:30 p.m. and was not turned back on until 5:09 p.m.

Among the business owners forced to leave their stores were Carlann Lauria, manager of Crocker's Lockers, and Samantha Feldman, manager of Wa-Ha-Ka Restaurant. Lauria stated that the customers of the self storage unit on Folsom and 11th were very upset and her employees were forced to walk outside the police parameter and collect payment checks from their customers. Feldman said her restaurant, which is on the same corner where the gas pipe ruptured, lost $500 of business during the accident because employees and customers were forced to leave.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

AP Style #1 (E-H)

1. His new book, on elections and the electoral college, is entitled “Does your vote count”? (4)
2. Brianna looked so sad that he wanted to envelope her in his arms and give her a big hug, but he was afraid the attention might phase her. (2)
3. They were so impressed by her flare for decorating that they offered fulsome praise and agreed to distribute her promotional flyer. (3)
4. He suspected his neighbor was selling drugs, so he called the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His neighbor, however, cried fowl at the accusation. (2)
5. The boys' stories didn’t gibe, so their father threw down the gantlet and demanded the truth. (2)
6. My great grandfather is a real gourmand, so I always let him pick the wine whenever we have dinner. (2)

Corrections:
1. His new book, on elections and the Electoral College, is titled "Does Your Vote Count?"
2. Brianna looked so sad that he wanted to envelop her in his arms and give her a big hug, but he was afraid the attention might faze her.
3. They were so impressed by her flair for decorating that they offered lavish praise and agreed to distribute her promotional flier.
4. He suspected his neighbor was selling drugs, so he called the FBI. His neighbor, however, cried foul at the accusation.
5. The boys' stories didn't jibe, so their father threw down the gauntlet and demanded the truth.
6. My great-grandfather is a real gourmet, so I always let him pick the wine whenever we have dinner.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Top News Assignment #3

The San Jose Mercury News posted an article about California's new plan to eliminate our $40 billion dollar debt. Basically, the plan is to raise taxes, spending cuts for programs, and borrowing money. This plan will be put to a vote on Friday. What caught my attention the most about this article is how it will affect us as students. The government will be cutting huge amounts of money towards public programs, such as universities, public schools, and health and human service programs for the poor. I am completely expecting our tuition to go way up and receive less benefits from the campus as a student as well as the salary for teachers going way down. As if we are not paying a ridiculous amount for tuition to begin with, more will be coming out of our pockets. It will also cause a tax increase in around 1 cent per dollar, raise the sales tax, and other tax increases. We will also be borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government as part of the federal stimulus package.

I think that this news story contains almost all of the news values: impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, and currency. It includes impact because this plan will have some sort of affect on all of us. It directly affects taxpayers and the cuts of programs will have an influence on the rest of Californians. It includes timeliness because the voting hasn't even happened yet, it will on Friday. It is just recently that we heard what this plan will entail. Prominence can be found in this article because it involves Arnold Schwarzenegger, the "governator" of California. It also briefly mentions President Obama with regards to the federal stimulus plan. The article obviously includes proximity because it is all about the effects the plan will have on our state. As I mentioned earlier, all of us will see this plan touch us in one way or another. After all, the plan is based in our own state. Lastly, it includes currency because this story is definitely of public concern. Many people care about this issue rather than just a few who will be affected by the plan.

The link to the article is:
http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11680407

News Story #2: Robbery

Two airline employees from a Taiwanese airline, 28-year-old Weiming Chen and 30-year-old Li Lu, were robbed at gunpoint while taking pictures at the Saint Mary's Cathedral's lower parking lot after separating from their tour group at 10 a.m. today, Sgt. Lawrence Price from the San Francisco Police Department stated. The thief, who was described as around 18 and wearing a black jacket and gloves, stole $100 in cash, a credit card, their passports, camera, and airline tickets before running away and may have caused the couple to miss their 1 p.m. flight back to Taipei with the rest of the airline employees.

News Story #1: Firefighters

San Jose resident Robert Kent is in grave condition and is suffering from second and third degree burns on half of his body after a fire struck his one-story house yesterday at 3 p.m. San Jose fire captain Rob Piper stated that Kent, who is in his fifties and retired, did not have a smoke alarm and the fire began in the kitchen where he was found unconscious on the floor and surrounded by flames in his home on Annapolis Way. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Leads Exercise #5 Re-do

Fact Set#1: Pipe Fitter
Immediate Identification:
Duane La Chance, 55, suffered third-degree burns yesterday and is in serious condition when he accidentally touched a power line with an angle iron at Springfield Municipal Power Plant, says Henry Rosen, project manager of the company.

Delayed Identification:
A Springfield resident suffered third-degree burns yesterday during a project accident and is listed in serious condition today. Duane La Chance,55, was installing new pipes on the roof of the power plant when the accident occurred and was shocked with 15,000 volts.

Fact Set #2: Car Accident
Immediate Identification:
Twenty-year-old James W. Cunning is in satisfactory condition at Springfield Hospital after his car was struck by Wayne Clay, 19, at 11:45 a.m. today on U.S. 63, one tenth of a mile from Blue Ridge Road.

Delayed Identification:
A Springfield resident was hopsitalized today after his car collided with another on U.S. 63. The Sheriff's Department stated that James W. Cunning, 20, is in satisfactory conidtion at Springfield Hospital after the accident that occurred at 11:45 a.m. today.

Leads Exercise #4 Re-do

a. Forty passengers were evacuated from a jet at the LaCrosse Municipal Airport in Wisconsin after a landing tower employee noticed smoke near the wheels today. The Northwestern Airlines jet, flight #428, had just arrived from Minneapolis.

b. A 7-year-old boy who had been missing for three years was found on Thursday night in Brick Township, New Jersey after a neighbor identified his face when it was shown after a movie and called the police. The boy's 27-year-old mother, Ellen Lynn Conner, faces charges of kidnapping and interference with a custody warrant.

Leads Exercise #3 Re-do

An Amtrak train, the Colonial, collided with three Conrail locomotives today at 1:30 p.m. near Chase, Maryland. The collision between all northbound trains occurred on a switch that merges four tracks into two after the Conrails ran a stop sign.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Top News Assignment #2

The article I chose to read was from the San Jose Mercury News and was about the loss of jobs and rise of unemployment, not only in California or America, but the world as well. The main part of the article is describing our particular situation in the Silicon Valley and how the future looks very bleak. Asian countries are also experiencing a recession so they are not ordering as many technological products as normal, which causes a cutback in many companies located here in the Silicon Valley.

The article stated that 600,000 jobs have been lost across America in January, added onto the 577,000 jobs lost in December. California's unemployment rate has risen from 5.9% in December, 2007 to 9.3% a year later. But the article says that there is something to look forward to: Congress is trying to pass a Stimulus Package which would require more technological services, which is what the Silicon Valley primarily provides. Also, the stocks are going up a little big, which is a positive sign.

I would say that this news story would include numerous news values: impact, proximity, timeliness, prominence, and currency. It includes impact because this will definitely, and has been, changing the lives of everyone around the world. If it hasn't hit you yet, it will sooner or later. This is a good time to be in college though! It also includes proximity because this article in particular shows how much this problem will be seen in our own back yard. The problem of the economy is definitely something every individual will feel in one way or another. It has timeliness because this issue is happenning now and is only going to get worse. It also includes prominence because the President has been criticizing Congress for how long it is taking them to give the Stimulus Package to him to sign. Lastly, currency is a value in this article because this is hands down an issue that people care about and are paying attention to.

Here's the link to the article:
http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11648180?nclick_check=1

Friday, February 6, 2009

AP Style #1 (A-D)

1) Mayor Richard Wrigley expressed confidence that the gubernatorial debate, which begins at 7:30 p.m. this evening, will have a positive affect on his candidacy. He added, “Gov. Red Davidson is a master of dirty politics, but I won’t take any of his bologna.” (4)
2) For her birthday, the nine year old girl invited five good friends over for ice cream and cake. The chocolate cake was so tasty that anyone of the children could have eaten it all, but they carefully divided it between themselves. (4)
3) Persuaded of the bill’s importance, members of the Democratic and Republican Parties came together on Capitol hill to support Anti-Terrorism legislation, despite their differences on other issues. (4)
4) ROME, Italy – All around the world, Roman catholics today listened as the Pope delivered his homily. (3)

Corrections:
1)Mayor Richard Wrigley expressed confidence that the gubernatiorial debate, which begans at 7:30, will have a positive effect on his candidacy. He said, "Gov. Red Davidson is a master of dirty politics, but I won't take anny of his boloney."
2)For her birthday, the nine-year-old girl invited over five friends for ice cream and cake. The chocolate cake was so good that any one of the children could have eaten it all, but they carefully divided it between themselves.
3)Persuaded of the bill's importance, members of the Democratic and Republican parties came together on Capitol Hill to support anti-terrorism legislation, despite their differences on other issues.
4) ROME-All around the world, Roman Catholics listened today as the pope delivered his homily.

Leads Exercise #5

Fact Set #1: Pipe Fitter
Immediate Identification:
Duane La Chance, 55, suffered third-degree burns yesterday and is in serious condition when he accidentally touched a power line with an angle iron, says Henry Rosen, project manager of the company.

Delayed Identification:
Springfield Municipal Plant employee suffered third degree burns in a project accident yesterday and is listed in serious condition today.

Fact Set #2: Car Accident
Immediate Identification:
James W. Cunning, 20, and Wayne Clay, 19, collided with eachother on U.S. 63 at 11:45 today when Clay crossed the center line and struck Cunning. Cunning is in satisfactory conidition.

Delayed Identification:
An accident occurred on U.S. 63, near Blue Ridge Road, at 11:45 today. There were luckly no fatalities when one car crossed over the center line and hit the other.

Leads Exercise #4

a. 40 passengers are evacuated from a Northwest Airlines Flight, #428, at the LaCrosse Municipal Airport in Wisconsin after an landing tower employee noticed smoke near the wheels today. The flight had just arrived from Minneapolis.

b. Mother , 27 year old Ellen Conner, is arrested after 7 year old son was found in Brick Township, New Jersey after 3 years of being missing on Thursday night. The boy was found after a neighbor recognized child's face and called the police.

Leads Exercise #3

Local Amtrack train, the Colonial, collides with three Conrail locomotives, at a switch that merges four trains into two, that apparently ran a stop sign, Amtrack spokesman, Larry Chase says. All northbound trains collided at 1:30 today near Chase, Maryland.

**For tomorrow's newspaper, I would change 1:30 today to 1:30 yesterday**