Karis' Journalism Blog

Current Events Extra Credit: 1. Doug Jones (I think that was his name? He's a Democrat I know) 2. California 3. Bitcoin 4. NYC 5. San Francisco 6. Justice League 7. 8. Hanukkah 9. The 2018 Winter Olympics are being held in South Korea. They were using drugs like steroids to make them "better" 10. 11. 12. 13. Utah 14. 15.

      Many junior high and high schools around the country now require students to spend a certain number of hours each term doing volunteer work or community service. Some believe this is an excellent idea that promotes good citizenship and cultivates compassion. Others feel that forced volunteerism is not volunteerism at all. How do you feel about this issue? Use specific reasons and examples to support your position. Forced Volunteerism Isn't Volunteerism Volunteerism is devoting your time to help others without pay and with choice. If you force children to "volunteer" and do community services, what is the message about good morals here? It changes kids' opinions on good deeds as something you're made to do, not something you want to do because it's kind.  Forcing our kids to spend time doing volunteer work is wrong. Yes, it benefits the hungry or the poor, but they're not the reason the kids are there helping. They're there because...

Story #2: The Shoplifter Last Saturday during Panzer's Department Store's shopping hours, a man identified as Timothy Milan died while supposedly shoplifting. He lived a 1112 Huron Avenue and worked as a chef at a local restaurant in the city.   A guard at the department store told police he began to chase Milan after seeing him stuff two sweaters into his pants legs, then attempt to walk past the checkout lines and out of the store. "We saw him start running and the guard was right behind him," eye witness Sherry Carter said. The guard then caught up with Milan, along with several bystanders, one putting him in a headlock, causing Milan's lack of oxygen and eventual death. "The gentleman who held onto Milan was just being a good citizen," police spokesman Michael Williams said. An autopsy determined the cause of death was indeed lack of oxygen to the brain, most likely from the headlock. "It was a case of excusable homicide," ...

         FINAL REVIEW      Here are the terms you need to know for the final exam. Please create a new blog and title it "Final Exam Review" - type in or copy and paste the terms below and in your own words, try to describe what the word(s) mean from a journalistic perspective. This should help you the most on the test. MULTIPLE CHOICE: 1. Timeliness: How recent the story is, like in the newspaper you want to hear about a recent story 2. Proximity: Where the event in the story happened and how it can relate to you, how close it it to us 3. Human Interest: The topic/subject of the story that people find interesting, make people want to read it 4. Prominence: How important the subject of the story is, make sure it's relevant 5. Conflict: A problem or issue, two sides of a story WORD BANK: 6. Interviews: When a reporter meets with a source to ask them questions about a subject 7. Research: Looking at sources to find info...

Binnie Duval’s Teaching Career Ever since retired teacher Binnie Duval was a young child, she had always dreamed of being an educator or teacher. After she graduated from the all-girls Catholic school Our Lady of the Elms, this dream became a reality. In 1963 she married Don Duval and they were ready to start their lives together. Don was in the military when they married and they lived on a military base in Fort Benning, Georgia. There was an opening for a third grade teacher at an elementary school on the base, so Binnie gladly took the job. Binnie describes one of her more memorable days teaching at Fort Benning. “I grew up in a small, ‘all-white,’ town in Massachusetts,” Binnie said. “I was never exposed to racial diversity before.” So when a little black boy was placed in her class, she was determined to treat him with respect, despite being in a country where people of color had to fight for simple civil rights, the 60’s. The boy had had rough exper...

Naya Tillisch's Feature Story: 1. Who were the sources? Wiliam Clyde Carson, Kennedy Carson, 2. Summarize in 1-3 sentences the story. William Clyde Carson became interested in birds when he was 12 after his mother got him two parakeets. He then began a successful business selling birds to people and pet stores. He still keeps busy with them today. 3. How many paragraphs is the story? 19 4. How many words is the story? 952 words 5. How many direct quotes are there in the story? 9 6. How many different people are quoted in the story? 2 7. Which quote is the most impactful of all the ones included? "It [the parakeets] has been not just a business for me, but it's been about the animals and the experience." 8. Where is that quote located in the story (beginning, middle, end)? End 9. Does the lede effectively capture the readers attention? Yes 10. If there could have been one additional person interviewed for the story, who would it be? One of ...

1. Who were the sources? Binnie Duval and Michele Bivona. 2. Summarize in 1-3 sentences the story. The story was about Binnie Duval's teaching career and how it impacted her life and people around her. 3. How many paragraphs is the story? 42 paragraphs. 4. How many words is the story? 1141 words. 5. How many direct quotes are there in the story? 12 quotes. 6. How many different people are quoted in the story? 2 different people. 7. Which quote is the most impactful of all the ones included? "That's when I realized I wanted to be a teacher just like her." 8. Where is that quote located in the story (beginning, middle, end)? It's at the end. 9. Does the lede effectively capture the readers attention? Yes, I think it does. 10. If there could have been one additional person interviewed for the story, who would it be? My dad/her son. 11. Is the story objective, which means are all non-direct quotes statements of fact and NOT the opinion of...

(I was absent on Tuesday, so that's why this is late.) Short Answer: 1. Sean Foley and Andrew Nestor 2. So that he could use more of that public land for public use 3. To keep up with inflation, offer competitive pay for faculty, and to improve maintenance in lab classrooms. 4. Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Lamar Jackson (Louisville), and Bryce Love (Stanford). 5. I'd want to see Wonder because I've read the book and I enjoyed it. Long Response: 1. Trump shouldn't have voiced his opinion on Twitter. I'd be much better for him just to tell the facts because that way people won't attack him as much. Trump shouldn't even have posted that update on Twitter because it's a social media platform, not meant for important political figures like the president. 2. I think Trump probably knew what was going on with Flynn before he fired him. It seems like too much of a coincidence that Trump fired him at that the same time Flynn was lying to the FBI. 3. ...

(Questions on "Feature Story Brainstorm" Blog Entry) 1. As soon as she graduated from college. Husband was in military, so she was hired on the base (Fort Benning, Georgia) to teach once they were married in the summer. 1964 2. The college of Our Lady of the Elms 3. 3rd grade, because there was an opening for that grade. She had wanted to teach 3rd grade either way because they're eager to learn at that age. 4. Stopped teaching when her husband was discharged, after one year. Had first child and didn't teach again until 1980. Taught preschool in California for 3 years, then she moved to NY. Stopped teaching for a while, then began teaching Montessori for 9 nine years. She retired when her husband retired. Didn't teach right away after moving bc they were getting settled and were often busy. 5. Didn't prefer one grade over another since they were all kinda young. After retirement she began to do floral arrangements for weddings. 6. All subjects in 3...

Link to Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zOVoTYxV3-DYo08zh6Vf7_zdSz_SDATzyHleWoUZNq0/edit?usp=sharing

Post-game Whataburger Enacts Additional Security (NEWS) First: This story was about post-game traditions and security. Whataburger recently enacted more security after games, a security guard, so students and customers feel safer. Second: 1. Whataburger manager Marcus Casillas, junior Rylee Holder, junior Levi Ander 2. The third quote from Levi Ander 3. Not really, it was just saying a fact 4. Quote We Shouldn't Joke About Death  (COMMENTARY) First: This story was about how students tend to make inapropriate "jokes" at school. These jokes can offend people and need to stop. Second: 1. No quotes 2. No quotes 3. Yes, I was excited to see that someone else finally addressed this topic 4. Statement Hurricane Harvey Drives Student to Move to Austin  (FEATURE) First: This story was about a senior who's home was affected by Harvey. She moved here because her house was beyond repair. Second: 1. Senior Janna Beardsley, family friend Tree Glowka, friend ...

    Naya’s blog a.      You’ve got 2 close-ended questions, but the rest are good, open-ended ones. b.      Two more questions you could ask your Grandpa: What were your parents like? Did they inspire you in any way? c.       A question for your Grandma: Did he change your outlook on life? d.      If your grandpa had any siblings, maybe you could interview them. Or friends of your grandparents. e.      1. The audience is people who enjoy hearing about other people’s lives. The purpose of this piece is to share a story with others. 2. The writer’s main point in these questions is unclear to me, but when they find their main topic, I think it will be. 3. I’m most interested in question 7, because it will reveal a lot about her Grandpa. 4. Question 1 could have more detail, like they could add how it affected him. 5. I didn’t really find any questions u...

1. Who is your main subject? My main subject is my grandmother. 2. Supporting interviews, (who else do you need to talk to, minimum 2 other people)? I'll also interview my aunt and my dad, (her children). 3. What is the topic of potential topic? Her teaching career. 4. Which angle from above will you write the story? Personality. 5. Come up with 20 questions that you can ask your main subject. - When did you start teaching and why not earlier or later?  - Where did you get your degree and why? - What grade(s) did you teach and why? - How many years did you teach for? Why did you retire? - Did you prefer teaching one grade over another and why? - How would you describe your teaching style? - What subjects did you teach and why? - What inspired you to want to teach? - Did you learn any lessons when teaching? - Can you describe your first day teaching if you can remember it? - Did you enjoy teaching? - Have you ever thought about substitu...

1. What is the difference between a hard news lead (lede) and the one you read above? A hard news story has facts and just straight out tells you what happened and the details. This story did have facts but it was more like a book story instead of just a hard news story, if that makes sense. 2. What paragraph(s) did you learn the following information? a. Who -   2 b. What -   2, 5 c. Where -   25 d. When -   15 e. Why -   3-5 f. How -   3 3. Are there quotes in this story? Yes, there are several quotes in this story. 4. Are those quotes arranged in the "quote-transition" style we used in news writing? Most of them were, yes. But there was an occasional quote in it's own line/paragraph without anything else, that wasn't quote-transition style. 5. Who is quoted in the story? Many radio stations and tv channel representatives were quotes. These include director of post-production films for the NFL Kevin McLouglin,   D...