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Monday, September 8, 2014
Monday, May 21, 2012
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Classroom bulletin: story seven
Consider these leads. Which would you consider exceptional? Adequate? Need-to-be-revised? Why? Delve into what criteria you are using to judge these leads, and consider how that has changed over the course of the semester.
• Author Kathryn Kysar can be found most days of the week handing out advice and critiques to her creative writing students at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids.
• According to Joseph Schoen, a professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community college (ARCC), the concepts of economics can be important tools in understanding many of life's every-day issues, causes and solutions.
• 31-year-old Melissa Nanti of Carmel Court in Shoreview, Minn. is a single mother, a hospice nurse, and a college student.
• Growing up as a small-town girl, Wendy Wild experienced intense teasing and harassment by her peers as the result of being the daughter of the school principal. The immense pain and hurt that deeply affected her during her adolescent years fueled her passion to purse a life-long career in social work and education.
• There is nothing in the world that is more precious to Sarah Bach-Bergs than her family. With the holiday season approaching she found herself pondering the importance of family and time-honored traditions.
• Being a straight A student often takes commitment, determination, and drive. For Miranda Baldwin, a student attending Anoka-Ramsey Community College, it means that and much more after overcoming poverty and near homelessness.
• Allan Geoffrey Hodak has been a great mentor to many of his students and faculty that he has influenced with his many years in education.
• Every year more college students are looking to start their venture at a community college. It is becoming more common after finishing two years at a community college for those to transfer and further their education at a four-year school.
• Stephen Peter is a man who has done many different things throughout his life and whether it is teaching various political based classes or the trails of his life, it has shaped his views and has helped mold him into a man who has seen not only local but international acclaim for his work.
WATCH OUT FOR...
• Unattributed opinion
It’s fine to include opinion in your feature stories, but it can’t be your opinion. It needs to be the opinion of people who know the subject, or of the subject him/herself.
HE SAID, SHE SAID
Many of you are attributing quotes incorrectly. In a news story, you need to always attach the “he said” directly to the quote via a comma. It isn’t enough to merely put quotation marks around a sentence. That tells the reader someone said something, but doesn’t say who.
DON’T
Pantley intends to pursue a degree in journalism, “I love to write.”
DO
Pantley intends to pursue a degree in journalism, “I love to write,” she said.
DON’T
Pantley intends to pursue a degree in journalism. “I love to write.”
DO
Pantley intends to pursue a degree in journalism, “I love to write,” she said.
GENERAL NOTES:
• Don’t use courtesy titles like Mr., Mrs. and Ms. in news stories (unless you work for the Wall Street Journal!).
• Don’t use first or second person in a news story (no I or you). Stick with third person.
• Rememer to double space your stories. In college, you’ll want to be in the habit of double spacing all of your stories, and to also include your name and the assignment information on each one. Just as employers in the real world require specific protocol, so do college instructors. It’s good to get in the habit of this now.
Friday, November 25, 2011
CLASSROOM bulletin: Adopt-A-Street press release
CONSIDER THESE LEADS
Read through these leads and consider what ones give the reader the most information up front. Ask yourself which ones you consider “best” and which ones need improvement. How would you make them better?
• The “Adopt-A-Street” program is a volunteer service project.
• Through the Adopt-a-Street program, students from Anoka-Ramsey Community College (AARC) will begin working with members of the community to help cleanup and beautify the community and the AARC campus.
• The Student Government Association at Anoka Ramsey Community College will begin an Adopt-A-Street Program which will have volunteers cleaning up the streets and beautifying the campus and the surrounding community.
• Student Government Program is offering an on-campus organization to keep the community of Anoka-Ramsey clean.
• More than six hundred students, from eighteen on-campus organizations, volunteer in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• Anoka-Ramsey Community College will be offering students and faculty the chance to help their community by participating in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• With more than 600 students form eight on campus groups pitching in to clean up the streets, the Adopt-A-Street program is growing.
BEWARE OF ATTRIBUTING ‘PEOPLE’ TRAITS TO STATIC THINGS
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
FIX: Adopt-A-Street members will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program lets students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
FIX: Through the Adopt-A-Street program,students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
DON'T USE ADJECTIVES
Like all news stories, your opinion shouldn't show up in a press release. Avoid using adjectives at all times (great, wonderful, amazing, etc.). Also watch out for other loaded words that give away what you think of something.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE RELEASE
Remember that news releases are like news stories: you need to keep yourself out of them. Refrain from using words like “I,” “our,” “we,” and “us.”
PROPER FORM INCLUDES CONTACT INFORMATION
Remember to include the contact information at the top of the press release. See page 512 in your textbook for the proper form for press releases. It doesn’t do any good to send out information on a program if reporters and other interested parties don’t know who to contact for more information.
Adopt-A-Street Program
11200 Mississippi Blvd
Coon Rapids, MN, 55433
Release Date: Monday, Sept. 20, 2010
CONTACT: Tesha Christensen
Office phone: (763)-555-1111
Cell phone: (763)-653-8279
Email: Tesha.christensen@anokaramsey.edu
Read through these leads and consider what ones give the reader the most information up front. Ask yourself which ones you consider “best” and which ones need improvement. How would you make them better?
• The “Adopt-A-Street” program is a volunteer service project.
• Through the Adopt-a-Street program, students from Anoka-Ramsey Community College (AARC) will begin working with members of the community to help cleanup and beautify the community and the AARC campus.
• The Student Government Association at Anoka Ramsey Community College will begin an Adopt-A-Street Program which will have volunteers cleaning up the streets and beautifying the campus and the surrounding community.
• Student Government Program is offering an on-campus organization to keep the community of Anoka-Ramsey clean.
• More than six hundred students, from eighteen on-campus organizations, volunteer in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• Anoka-Ramsey Community College will be offering students and faculty the chance to help their community by participating in the Adopt-A-Street program.
• With more than 600 students form eight on campus groups pitching in to clean up the streets, the Adopt-A-Street program is growing.
BEWARE OF ATTRIBUTING ‘PEOPLE’ TRAITS TO STATIC THINGS
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
FIX: Adopt-A-Street members will also clean up debris and trash left over from the winter months.
WRONG: The Adopt-A-Street program lets students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
FIX: Through the Adopt-A-Street program,students work with members of the community to help clean up and beautify the community and campus.
DON'T USE ADJECTIVES
Like all news stories, your opinion shouldn't show up in a press release. Avoid using adjectives at all times (great, wonderful, amazing, etc.). Also watch out for other loaded words that give away what you think of something.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE RELEASE
Remember that news releases are like news stories: you need to keep yourself out of them. Refrain from using words like “I,” “our,” “we,” and “us.”
PROPER FORM INCLUDES CONTACT INFORMATION
Remember to include the contact information at the top of the press release. See page 512 in your textbook for the proper form for press releases. It doesn’t do any good to send out information on a program if reporters and other interested parties don’t know who to contact for more information.
Adopt-A-Street Program
11200 Mississippi Blvd
Coon Rapids, MN, 55433
Release Date: Monday, Sept. 20, 2010
CONTACT: Tesha Christensen
Office phone: (763)-555-1111
Cell phone: (763)-653-8279
Email: Tesha.christensen@anokaramsey.edu
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Classroom bulletin: Story 6
Read these leads through with your newly-sharpened reporter’s eyes. What is missing? Do these leads identify the subject of the feature to the reader? Do they grab your attention?
•Anoka-Ramsey Community College Soccer Coach Brady Eichhorn-Hicks has drastically turned around the schools' soccer program into one of the most successful men's programs in the region.
• Kathryn Kysar first realized she was a writer in high school.
• When Mary Jacobson left the world of corporate marketing over eight years ago to simply take a position that was close to home, she didn't envision that she would eventually have the ambition to advance her career in the education field.
• Educational success along with athletic success is what every student-athlete strives for, and that's what Anoka-Ramsey is all about. Three years ago, Anoka-Ramsey Community College added an addition to the faculty board, athletic director, Dave Alto.
• How many people can truly say they love their career? Philosophy and Ethics professor Kristen Klamm-Doneen of Roseville, Minn. said, “Honestly, there is not another job that I'd wish to have instead of this one.”
• Jeff Knapp, an instructor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, has a passion for science and the outdoors. Each year he shares this enthusiasm with students by bringing them on a weeklong camping trip into the wilderness of South Dakota where they can experience classroom material in real life.
• Trying to better the world one person at a time is Christopher Guzik's vision and goal in life.
GENERAL COMMENTS
• You don’t need to capitalize the names of programs or classes. Nor do you need to capitalize bachelor’s or master’s, but be sure to specify that you are referring to a bachelor’s degree.
• Don’t use present tense for words of attribution. Instead use past tense.
X) Said not says.
• Remember to use short paragraphs in news stories. Go through when you’re done writing and break up what you have. The average in a news story is one to three sentences long — not the 4-10 you see in research papers.
• When speaking about the degree someone has, use “earned” instead of “got.”
IT DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT ON PAPER
When we speak, we use slang and we change what we’re saying mid-sentence. We might start talking about a singular entity and then switch to plural. If you write down exactly what someone says, it will look and sound terrible! As a writer, you want to just use quotes that sound good and are grammatically correct. For the others, paraphrase. You don’t want to leave someone sounding uneducated and stupid when they’re not.
Classroom bulletin: Story 5
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE LEADS?
Here are the leads from your stories last week. Read them through and think about which ones are entertaining? Solid with the basic information? Which make you want to read more? Which just confuse you? How would you do things differently?
• The Anoka Ramsey Community College men's soccer team captured their 3rd consecutive Region XIII championship by defeating local rival, Century Community College this past Sunday on the Anoka-Ramsey campus soccer field.
• Every step further into the Haunted Corn Maze of Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd, Minn., brought excitement and thrill, Saturday, Oct 22nd. “It was really scary. I heard the chainsaw and ran,” said Logan Lene, 13, of St. Francis, Minn., a visitor to the attraction.
• Cordelia Anderson, a prominent speaker and advocate for the prevention of sexual violence, spoke at Anoka Ramsey Community College's Mental Health and Wellness event yesterday afternoon.
• The Jack-o-Lantern is an essential part of Halloween. For many families that means a trip to the pumpkin patch. Choosing a patch can be tricky, but a good one will keep families coming back year after year.
• Rebecca Bowers, manager of a small business shop called Crystal House, arranges an annual fashion show. This public event took place on Saturday, October 15th in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
• Approximately 180 State of Minnesota employees attended an open enrollment meeting at a local state office to learn about any upcoming changes to their state benefits.
• Each Tuesday afternoon, Tina Perpich leads a free yoga class offered to the students and faculty at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids.
• Wednesday, October 19th, heading into their last regular season game with a record of 9-6-1 Anoka-Ramsey Women's soccer pulls out with another win.
• As world-renowned designers, noted fashion photographers, socialites, media, and the rest of the fashion community gather to descend on fashion weeks worldwide, DHL Global Forwarding continues to support the fashion industry.
• Currently only 3 out of every 100 people in America donate blood.
• Diversity and tolerance is a very hot topic in the modern world that attracts all kinds of people with differing views. That could at least been implied from the people in attendance to a showing of the PBS documentary about the Stonewall uprising.
GENERAL COMMENTS
• I am delighted to see so many of you taking advantage of the extra credit by submitting a photo with your story. Not only does it benefit you right now (with the extra credit), but it makes your story stronger. If you think back to what folks noticed in newspapers, the image that accompanied the story made an impact and pulled readers into the story. It’s great to use a combination of words and images to get your point across.
• Please remember to submit photos as jpg attachments to the dropbox. Images in Word docs are just screen images and can't be used for publication.
• Remember that when writing a news story off an event, you don’t have to write about things in the order that they happened. Instead, pick what was most important. Then write about what was second most important. Then third, etc. You also don’t have to include everything that happened if you run short on space or it just wasn’t that important.
• I am not able to comment on whether you spelled all the names correctly in your stories. I recommend getting in the habit of doublechecking the spelling of all names after you've written the story.
NOT YOUR JOB TO BE A CHEERLEADER
When you interview people and develop a relationship with them, it can be very tempting to turn into a cheerleader. You like them, so you want their play or concert to be successful. You want to praise what they’ve done. You want to let them know you think they were great.
But that’s not your job. (Unless you’re writing a review, anyway, and then it’s still not your job, but you get to state your opinion.)
Your job is to remain an unbiased reporter who gives the facts. Then the readers can decide for themselves.
PUNCTUATE QUOTES CORRECTLY
Many of you are punctuating quotes incorrectly. I recommend that you brush up on your knowledge of quotes by viewing a video I have created.
View video here:
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Classroom bulletin: Story 4
Which of these leads answer the basic journalism questions (who, what, when, where, why and how)? Which entice the reader to keep going? Which get straight to the point? Which identify the individual featured right away to the reader? I encourage you to take one and figure out a way to make it shine.
As a young child, Lindsay Niemi protected worms from getting crushed and helped bugs back onto their legs. Looking back, she understands those small acts were part of her passion to care for the health and safety of animals.
Would you like the opportunity to travel all over the world as a job requirement? Most people cannot say they love their career but Nancy McMullen, who travels the world for her work, said, “I really LOVE my job.”
Are you freaked out when you see a spider crawling up your wall? Would you rather die than touch a beetle? Or, are you the type who would turn over a rock or a rotting log just to see what was living under it? If the latter describes you, then a career in entomology may be the perfect fit
Nicole Zur has always had a passion for the written word. It was this same passion that inspired her to pursue a career in a field she loves.
If you’re looking for guitar lessons, or a guide into the music world, Justin Johnson is your man.
It's not uncommon, today, to see students in their 30s sitting along side those most recent high school graduates.
Jen McCorkle knows what it means to succeed despite challenges.
Jamie Haddox is a 27 year -old woman pursuing a career in journalism here at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
On August 14th, Megan Meyer and Mickey Cease tied the knot.
If you want opinions you can always as a sports fan and Jamie Newburg is no exception when he shares his views on his favorite team, why he loves sports and more.
OF NOTE:
• Don't use courtesy titles like Mr. or Ms. in news stories. Merely refer to people by last names.
• Be sure to identify your subject to the audience right away. You typically need an age and a town. When writing stories for the ARCC newspaper, be sure to identify the person as an ARCC student (or faculty members, etc.).
• Refer to people by their last names in news stories. Never use first names.
• Remember to properly identify subjects in your stories. For this class, you should include not just the person’s age and city of residence, but also the fact that he/she is an ARCC student.
• “Added” is a great word to use in place of “also said.”
• Use shorter paragraphs in news stories. The average should be one to three sentences long. You should always have more than one or two paragraphs in a news story.
• Use past tense not present for statements of attribution: reflected not reflects, said not says, stated not states, etc.
• The college name needs a hyphen in it: Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
• When you are writing a feature story, be sure to include a quote within the first couple paragraphs so that the reader gets to know the subject in his/her own words.
• Please remember to submit photos as jpg attachments to the dropbox. Images in Word docs are just screen images and can't be used for publication.
A GREAT WAY TO END A FEATURE STORY IS...
With a quote from the subject. It’s nice to end a feature story with the words of the person you were writing about.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE STORY
It gets harder to keep yourself out of the story when you begin conducting your own interviews. But remember to never use statements such as: “She told me,” “I think...”, and “Here at ARCC.” Never use the words “I,” “me,” “us,” or “our” in news stories unless they are in direct quotes.
ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION
Remember to attribute all information in a news story. You have to point out that so-and-so said this or thinks that. Otherwise the reader will assume you think so.
Also, don’t assume that by putting quotation marks around a sentence that the reader will know who said it because the last time you put in a quote it was from the same person. Always, always, always say “she said” after or before a direct quote.
BRING YOUR GRADES UP
I encourage you to take advantage of the extra credit options I offer. Submit a photo with a story to earn 20 extra credit points. Submit a video for 100 extra credit points.
When submitting a photo, remember to upload it to the dropbox as a JPG attachment. Don’t pop it into the Word doc as that won’t work for publication because it is just a screen image.
DON’T ASSUME A READER KNOWS WHAT THE ACRONYM STANDS FOR
Don’t assume your reader know what PSEO or ARCC means. Instead, write out the full name or term the first time you use is in a news story and then follow that with the acronym in parentheses. After that you can just use the acronym.
EXAMPLE: Call is an 18 year old PSEO student at ARCC.
FIX: Call is an 18 year old student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) through the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program. As a PSEO student, Call doesn’t have to pay for his own tuition.
DON’T INCLUDE YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE STORY
The reader doesn’t need to know what questions you asked during the interview. The reader doesn’t need to see the frame of your interview at all. Avoid phrases such as: “When asked...” or “he answered.” Just provide what he/she said.
As a young child, Lindsay Niemi protected worms from getting crushed and helped bugs back onto their legs. Looking back, she understands those small acts were part of her passion to care for the health and safety of animals.
Would you like the opportunity to travel all over the world as a job requirement? Most people cannot say they love their career but Nancy McMullen, who travels the world for her work, said, “I really LOVE my job.”
Are you freaked out when you see a spider crawling up your wall? Would you rather die than touch a beetle? Or, are you the type who would turn over a rock or a rotting log just to see what was living under it? If the latter describes you, then a career in entomology may be the perfect fit
Nicole Zur has always had a passion for the written word. It was this same passion that inspired her to pursue a career in a field she loves.
If you’re looking for guitar lessons, or a guide into the music world, Justin Johnson is your man.
It's not uncommon, today, to see students in their 30s sitting along side those most recent high school graduates.
Jen McCorkle knows what it means to succeed despite challenges.
Jamie Haddox is a 27 year -old woman pursuing a career in journalism here at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
On August 14th, Megan Meyer and Mickey Cease tied the knot.
If you want opinions you can always as a sports fan and Jamie Newburg is no exception when he shares his views on his favorite team, why he loves sports and more.
OF NOTE:
• Don't use courtesy titles like Mr. or Ms. in news stories. Merely refer to people by last names.
• Be sure to identify your subject to the audience right away. You typically need an age and a town. When writing stories for the ARCC newspaper, be sure to identify the person as an ARCC student (or faculty members, etc.).
• Refer to people by their last names in news stories. Never use first names.
• Remember to properly identify subjects in your stories. For this class, you should include not just the person’s age and city of residence, but also the fact that he/she is an ARCC student.
• “Added” is a great word to use in place of “also said.”
• Use shorter paragraphs in news stories. The average should be one to three sentences long. You should always have more than one or two paragraphs in a news story.
• Use past tense not present for statements of attribution: reflected not reflects, said not says, stated not states, etc.
• The college name needs a hyphen in it: Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
• When you are writing a feature story, be sure to include a quote within the first couple paragraphs so that the reader gets to know the subject in his/her own words.
• Please remember to submit photos as jpg attachments to the dropbox. Images in Word docs are just screen images and can't be used for publication.
A GREAT WAY TO END A FEATURE STORY IS...
With a quote from the subject. It’s nice to end a feature story with the words of the person you were writing about.
KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE STORY
It gets harder to keep yourself out of the story when you begin conducting your own interviews. But remember to never use statements such as: “She told me,” “I think...”, and “Here at ARCC.” Never use the words “I,” “me,” “us,” or “our” in news stories unless they are in direct quotes.
ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION
Remember to attribute all information in a news story. You have to point out that so-and-so said this or thinks that. Otherwise the reader will assume you think so.
Also, don’t assume that by putting quotation marks around a sentence that the reader will know who said it because the last time you put in a quote it was from the same person. Always, always, always say “she said” after or before a direct quote.
BRING YOUR GRADES UP
I encourage you to take advantage of the extra credit options I offer. Submit a photo with a story to earn 20 extra credit points. Submit a video for 100 extra credit points.
When submitting a photo, remember to upload it to the dropbox as a JPG attachment. Don’t pop it into the Word doc as that won’t work for publication because it is just a screen image.
DON’T ASSUME A READER KNOWS WHAT THE ACRONYM STANDS FOR
Don’t assume your reader know what PSEO or ARCC means. Instead, write out the full name or term the first time you use is in a news story and then follow that with the acronym in parentheses. After that you can just use the acronym.
EXAMPLE: Call is an 18 year old PSEO student at ARCC.
FIX: Call is an 18 year old student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) through the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program. As a PSEO student, Call doesn’t have to pay for his own tuition.
DON’T INCLUDE YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE STORY
The reader doesn’t need to know what questions you asked during the interview. The reader doesn’t need to see the frame of your interview at all. Avoid phrases such as: “When asked...” or “he answered.” Just provide what he/she said.
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