David Simon

The quote that caught my attention was the one on the choice of words or slang used in "The Wire."

"Viewers of “The Wire” must master a whole argot, though it can take a while, because the words are never defined, just as they wouldn’t be by real people tossing them around."

This is important because sometime when you tell a story the reader or audience has to get a true feel for what you are talking about, and the best way to achieve this is to let the subject or interviewee give thier own account of a story in their own words, hence the beauty of quotes.

I believe this will definiately help any journalist even in broadcast media, although in those elements some things may need to be explained, the main point is still there.

Feature

I read a story entitled Madonna's Live Nation deal isn't about music, but about money. This story talks about Artist Nation, a company who targets big name music celebrities promises to increase the artist's revenue. This company Does not focus on the artist's music but on the artist as a brand.

"No one can begrudge Madonna’s business smarts. She saw this as a way to get even more rich and more famous, if that’s possible."

$$$$$$$

The War

Burns and Novick wanted to show the elements of the second world war in a way that no one has before. They wanted to clear the "good war" myth by giving very personal accounts of the war from the people directly effected by it. They accomplished this goal by asking people in three or four different cities in the US to share their stories. This personal touch added to the emotional impact of the film.

People Watching

Because I live my life at a very fast pace I dont usually have time to slow down and observe my surroundings so I came up with an idea...Why not observe a few things in different aspects of my life? Here is what I came up with...

1.How many people actually wake up when the alarm goes off(the first time)?
2. How many people wake up in time to eat breakfast?
3. Why do so many people multi-task while driving (scary!!)
4. Why cant daycares have buses to pick your children up like schools do? That will surely save me some time.
5. Look at how people swing their arms while walking. I've spotted people who swing both arms crazily to those who swing only one leaving the other one limp(this can be quite amusing).
6.How many people go into work without really "working" for the whole day?
7.How many of those people get promoted?
8.Hey Zach K from my Comm class is checking IDs at Catch22?
9.How many times has he had to kick a drunk guy's ass?
10. Some of the people in this bar look unfamiliar, they must be from somewhere else.
11. WOW! They just happen to be State Troopers in town for a convention...interesting!

"I'm Shocked"

Reporters are generally responsible for reporting the truth in an objective manner. But objectivity doesn't nessassarily mean reporters have to be predicable and boring. Because most big stories are reported in abundance, and small stories tend to be a bit mundane, reporters have to find their own ways to mix things up a little to catch the readers eye.

In my opinion, good reporters notice everything around them, so nothing is really missed or left out. Things that....

...to be continued

Writing Tips

When writing I generally try to focus on one topic and then develop that topic as I go. I start out with a main idea and then make sure that I know the direction I plan to take.



Murray's tips on editing were very helpful. Because I am a procrastinating writer I usually leave this very essential part out. When writing for print errors of any sort are unacceptable so I really need to brush up on this skill.

Donald Murray

In reading Mr. Murray's articles, I felt they gave me a real sense of who he was as a person. His style of writing was very conversational and easy to read. He never weighed it down with ambiguous words or things that should have been left out, which allowed the reader to connect with him through his articles. I truly believed that writing was Murray's own personal escape from everyday life, or even perhaps he reality surrounding last days. Writing was his undoubtably his passion.

"I try to capture a fragment of life and reveal its wonder to you. I never get it quite right, but there is a joy in the trying that makes me young at 83." Says Murray expressing he joy of writing.

After reading Mr.Murray's obituary and last articles, I learned to do what I love and be the best I can be at whatever that may be. Murray was very dedicated to his profession, writing up until his death. That type of commitment served as an inspiration to live out my professional aspirations.

Interview with David Mehegan

I found this interview to be very informative. I think that although everyone will have their own approach to journalism, Mehegan does a fine job at pointing out a few very important devices. I especially appreciated the response to the question, "How do you get people to answer questions they don't want to answer?" Getting the answers your looking for from a person who is trying to remain obscure is an obstacle reporters often stumble upon while interviewing. Mehegan suggests,"You want to build a reputation for being a straight-shooter. If you prove trustworthy people will be more talkative next time."

I also found the information about writing writing a lead was also helpful because that is the part of a article that i find toughest to write. Mehegan denotes "...always speak directly to the reader's desire for interest and enjoyment." Personally I don't always read the newspaper because I find it stuffy and boring, but if something catches my attention I tend to read a little more about it. I would think that most readers operate in a similar manner.