Follow the Leader

As the warmth of the morning sun woke Stacey, she noticed the bedroom she fell asleep in the night before was no more. The only things left were her comforters, sheets, and mattress that was now afloat on the Hudson River. "But I went to sleep in Florida," said Stacey.


This was my poor attempt at a suspenceful lead! Two major components of a good lead are keeping the reader intrigued and keeping the tone of the lead consistant with the information in the story. Generally, I enjoy the style of leads found in magazines vs. newspapers because they have more room to draw the reader in. But I was able to find two great examples from The Washington Post and The New York Times:


You Gotta Love the First Lady. No, Really, You Have No Choice.







By Robin Givhan Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 15, 2009;













The rise of first lady Michelle Obama as an icon -- of fashion, black womanhood, working motherhood and middle-class success -- has propelled her onto a pedestal that would surely give the average person vertigo. She is Jackie Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, Hillary Clinton and a Horatio Alger character all rolled into one J. Crew-clad package.

Hey finish reading the article>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021204221.html?sub=AR

Economy Adjusts Store Relations on Madison Avenue

By ERIC WILSON
Published: February 17, 2009

WHO among us, man or woman, rich or less than rich, fashion reporter or prostitute, cannot relate to the “Pretty Woman” experience of walking into a designer boutique and being made to feel unwelcome by a snooty salesclerk?

If you like the lead, finish the article>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/fashion/18SHOPPING.html?ref=fashion

Hi My Name is Melany and I Abuse Grammar....

The first step in recovery is admittance. I admit my use of commas are excessive, and the wicked step-sister herself, Homonym will confuse me!

Commas

I'm the comma queen! If the words 'and' or 'but' are in a sentence you can guarantee that there's a comma there.

HomonymIn my previous blog I explained Dictionary.com is my friend. This is mainly because of homonyms. I'll check the definition to confirm I'm using the correct word.

The Five that Effect Me....Or is it Affect?! Uuuuugghhhh...

Being a journalist generally makes you a word buff. Honestly you have to be! So this assignment was really insightful for future reference. Plus, it reminds me of an lost episode of School House Rock (humming the theme song as I type it)!

My Five:

1.) Affect/Effect - They sound just alike, so I use them as if they're interchangeable. But clearly they're not because they're different meanings!!!!

2.) Agnostic/Atheist - The two are usually associated with one another, so getting them confused is a common mistake I make.

3.) Burglary/Robbery/Theft - Well it's evident you learn something new everyday because I had no clue of the difference between the three!

4.) Conscious/Aware - I'll typically use aware as a synonym of conscious (ie. being aware of your feelings)

5.) Canvas/Canvass - It's the extra 's' in canvass that changes the meaning. Spell check won't catch it because it's spelled correctly.

Dictionary.com is pretty much a good friend of mine. I've learned to double check words such as the ones above to know it is the correct word and not it's fraternal twin!

Oh, and just for kicks enjoy the video below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkO87mkgcNo

They Come in 3's: Accuracy, Fairness, Thoroughness

Accuracy

Accuracy simply equates to, know your stuff! One thing journalists should always have is strong ethos. Lying or excluding facts (whether accidentally or deliberately) leads to that, "burning ball of flames" as professor Atwater informed us. Literally speaking, a fall from journalist grace--if inaccuracy is found--may not be embroiled with third degree burns; but not only is the journalist shunned, the industry as a whole has a dimmer light cast on it. An example of the importance of accuracy is former New York Times journalist Jason Blair.

Consumers want to trust the media they observed and use to remain informed. So not only knowing the facts but checking them keeps accuracy foremost.

Fairness

Represent all sides involved or affected. Fairness reiterates objectivity--removing yourself from the story and acknowledging each view. Consumers are able to make fair choices from stories that are well-rounded and representative of all parties.

Bill O'Reilly (top) and Keith Olbermann (bottom) are from two different political worlds. They remain objective but their stance can often exclude other views.

Thoroughness

Thoroughness is required in basically all areas of journalism: getting the story, researching or following leads for the story, and definitely writing or reporting the story. The two previous ideals are intertwined because both fairness and accuracy should be obtained earnestly.

So Tell Me About Yourself...

Well, I usually feel pretty awkward talking about myself. I'm not sure what it stems from, but for the sake of the class here I go.....

For the past four or five years, I've become, what I like to call, a professional traveling student. What does that mean you ask? Basically, I've been to five schools in the last five year and finally Towson has become my home. This has been the longest I've attended one school since I've been in college, so I guess Towson was a well needed stop on my personal college tour. I know some of you maybe wondering why in the world would you transfer every year of your college career. Well the answer is simple, Hurricane Katrina. I'm originally from Michigan but I attended Dillard University in New Orleans up until the storm. Honestly, if Katrina never came I would've graduated from Dillard because I absolutely loved it! Sigh...

That's probably the biggest thing about me, because it's the most current. Which makes it newsworthy! But a few other random facts about me; I'm the youngest of two, I have an older brother. I heart food and music, not equally though. A day or two without food I could handle but more than a couple of hours without music I'm going insane! I'm ten times better expressing myself with a pen and paper than verbally. Lastly, my biggest goal--besides graduating in the very near future--is to live my life as a working journalist doing what I love most which is writing!

So... maybe this wasn't so awkward after all because this is clearly over 100 words. At least it seems that way lol.

See ya guys Friday