King of Contrevorsy

Everyone knows it wouldn't be in true "Slim Shady" style to return to the spotlight without just a little bit of contrevorsy; And that is exactly what the mega-star is stirring. In his latest music video, We made You, Eminem takes a crack at hollywood's most talked about stars like Jessica Alba, Britney Spears, Bret Michaels and many other A-klisters.

Note everyone is "stoked" about the rappers return or his punch in the face new music video. In an MTV article, Bill O'Reily gives his opinion on the We made you music video.

"It's so crude what he does," O'Reilly elaborated. "Kids see it, not adults." He also claimed that "no one over 25 listens to him" (which may be news to some of the veteran rapper's older fans).

The article goes on to explain O'Reily's dissaproval with some lyrics of the song focused on Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin. The specific lyric makes a derrogatory reference about the Govenor. Here is what feminist Tommy Brute had to say.

"Eminem is obviously on an obscene rant about Sarah Palin, it's totally obscene, totally inappropriate."

I personally think this was an ok article. I think the writer did a good job at specifically showing the lyrics that O'Reily felt were offensive, but on the other side I don't think the article looked at both sides. I'm sure everyone is not offended by the fiasco and if I were to write this article I would at least dedicate a small part of the story to others who are fine with the Eminem's remarks. I don't disagree or agree with the article because I think it's O'Reily opinion which he is entitled to have.

Last night I watched "Deadliest Catch", a special on the Discovery Channel. This specific episode focused how on behind the scenes footage of the season's episodes. The program which regularly focuses on how fishermen endure bone-chilling ice, brutal waves, and other life risking aspects of life at sea.

During the program I specifically noticed these three aspects of the programs editing:

1. Cutting from wide shots to tight shots- going from a wide shot of the sea and boat to a specific person a wave

2. Natural Sound- The sound of the waves and the fishermen and crewman working out their plans

3. There was always movement in the shots-there was never a still moment where there was no movement within the story

Anonymous Dorm Muscians....Revealed

My audio story focused on Towson University students who play the piano in their resident halls. The story centers around two residents in the Glen Towers who play the public piano, located in the dorms lounge area.

Why should you check it out?
The story really explains why some of the players play, what kind of piano experience they and much more. The story pretty much answers things that I think most students who pass by and overhear them playing wonder everyday. ( I know I did). You will really be surprised at some of the answers and the overall talent of these once anonymous musicians.

Click here to listen.

BTW...The music at the beginning of the blog is really Blackstone playing the piano....it sounds so good some could mistake it as the real thing, but its him....he's really good.

Audio Story Ideas????

I am not very sure on what to do for my audio story. I have been brainstorming and have not yet been able to come up with a set topic for my the story. Since my beat is music, it shouldn't be that hard, but I can't quite find a good story idea.

Here is what I was thinking about:
-Covering a band or singer on campus
-Covering a dorm life music (people playing the piano in my building/my RA)
*natural sound of them playing
*interview

I think I need to do more brainstorming....fast.

Pop Controversy Turns Fans Sour

Recently, fans from around the world were hit with startling news of two of the most popular artist in music industry, Chris Brown and Rihanna. One of Hollywood's most famous couples dampened the spirts of many fans with the news of an assult crime between the two celebrities followed by the photo release of a battered and bruised Rihanna. Since then fans have been left with a decision on whether to continue to support the young pop stars or discontinue listening and supporting Chris Brown all together. However, this weekend the world was shocked again to here that Brown and the alleged victim Rihanna have reconciled. Here is howMTV News is reporting the reactions from the fans:

"Abuse is abuse," Duaanne wrote on the site. "What are you telling the young kids of the world??? It don't matter what their names are. He's a beater. ... Pictures don't lie."

Hpfan8795 put it more bluntly: "If she goes back with him, she is an idiot."

Highroller33138 said, "Chris Brown, you may con your way back into Rihanna's heart but your career will NOT con your way back into our wallets," YesWeCan warned. "YOUR CAREER IS FINISHED!"

However some fans backed Brown saying...."If she is being mature enough to work through this with Chris, it is something everyone should support if you are a true fan.

As a die-hard fan of both Chris Brown and Rihanna, I feel that fans are entitled to be outraged at how the recent events have transpired between the two stars. Fans can only go by what is being reported in the media (tabloids) and as public figures I agree that both stars have not set a great example as far as explaining to the public the entire story given their statuses and the evidence (photos) that have been leaked. The MTV article does a great job at explaining how fans feel from those who support the stars' actions and those who will not. The direct quotes from comments, left on the website's blog, painted a good picture of how fans really feel about the future of the Brown and Rihanna's career. I believe all we can do is wait and see how the celebrities reconciliation affects the legal aspect of the situation.

Can you hear me now????....Good

For my first multimedia story of the semester I plan to discuss hearing damage among ipod users specifically young adults.


My Attack
*I plan to use the Human Interest feature story approach.

*I plan to get information in the form of teen ipod users interviews(student/teen with hearing damage, students who listen ipods/mp3's frequently) as well expert interviews on the dangers and ways to avoid hearing loss and damage. (Ex. docotors, audiology professors.)

*I also plan to use statistics to help paint a better picture of the issue.


Image Possibilities
*Teen getting a hearing exam
*Teen listing to music with the volume up
*Teen listening to music with large head phones
*Teen pushing an earbud in ear further

Writing a Feature Story using the Wall Street Journal Formula

*The Wall Street Journal Formula(WSJ) is the most commonly used method of writing feature stories. This method consist of four basic sections.

1.) The story opens with an anecdotal, descriptive, or narrative lead (specific examples)
2.) The nut graf follows the lead and generally explains the lead
3.) The body of the story is supporting information (quotes, facts, developments)
4.) The ending includes another anecdotal or description of the people/person featured int the story

An example of this is in an Washington Post article titled, "6,473 Texts a Month, But at What Cost?".The story can be identifieid as the WSJ formula because of the folling sections.

1. ( LEAD) "Julie Zingeser texts at home, at school, in the car while her mother is driving. She texts during homework, after pompon practice and as she walks the family dog. She takes her cellphone with her to bed." - anecdotal lead that gave specific examples about Julie's texting

2.(NUT GRAF) Paragraphs 2-4 -explained the lead and let the story shift to the larger purpose.

3. (BODY) The Body of the story looks more in-depth at how text messaging is affecting teenager's social development. -uses many psychology statistics, quotes from doctors, psychiatrist, technology experts and other teenagers

4. (ENDING) "Still, she doubts she will change her text life anytime soon. "When I don't have my phone with me," she said, "I feel out of the loop." -ends with the person featured in the story. Julie, and gives the reader more details on the future of Julie's texting.

Tigers Accept "REJECTS"

This year's big decision for the headlining band for Towson's annual Spring music festival has every one buzzing. The campus acitivity board(CAB) recently announced that The All American Rejects, will be featured in this year's festivities. The All-American Rejects are an American rock band from Stillwater, Ok, formed in 2001. The band comprises lead vocalist and bass guitarist Tyson Ritter, guitarists and vocalists Nick Wheeler and Mike Kennerty, with drummer Chris Gaylor.The The decision was determined by the results of a school-wide survey in which students chose from award winning artist like Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, and the list went on.

" I couldn't wait for Tigerfest last spring because The Roots were playing," said sophomore Jazmine White "I was waiting for that from the start of the semester."

From what I'm hearing around campus some student's aren't so hyped about the performance decision. "I mean I listen to rock music, but why the All American Rejects?", says freshman Lanita Roberson, "I personally won't be there because I was hoping for some better and I'm not a big rejects fan."

According to CAB, the famous rock band will bring will be bringing two of their own opening actswhich have yet to be announced. The event will go down on April 25 on Burdick Field. Stay tuned for more information and more reactions as we countdown to the big day......

Wanna hear what the All American Rejects sound like??? Check out this video of their latest single, Gives you Hell.

What is the Difference?????

In journalism, the lead is the most important aspect of the story. It can make a break a story. The lead is what gets the readers' attention to read the rest of the story. However, there is a lead for every type of story you write. Say for instance you write a hard news story, you would use a summary lead and for a feature story you would use a feature lead aka "soft/delayed lead". So what's the difference????

Feature lead
• Also called delayed leads.
• Can be several paragraphs long.
• Takes a little longer to get to the gist of the story.
• Teases the reader with a descriptive or storytelling approach.
• Requires use of a nut graph early in the story to give reader the point of the story.
• Different types: descriptive, anecdotal, narrative, mystery, teaser, question

Feature Lead tips and Example:

Bring it to life with human interest

In 1989, Elizabeth McCann of Spring, Texas, felt a knot in her left breast. Her physician told her that she needed a biopsy, but was 99 percent sure it would be benign. McCann kept putting it off — until the pain in her breast woke her up at night. …

— ContourMed backgrounder

Give startling statistics

A startling statistic can set up your story beautifully:

Every day, each of the 25,000 U.S. veterinary clinics will get, on average, a visit from two arthritic dogs. Odds are, one of those dogs will leave the clinic untreated, still suffering in silent pain.

More than 10 million dogs (that's one in five adult dogs) suffer from osteoarthritis …

— Novartis Animal Health's Deramaxx release

*Overall, feature leads are much more creative than summary leads. Summary leads stick to the facts and answer the 5w's, but feature leads give a little more detail. Feature leads give the writing more room to get the reader interested because they are typically longer than summary leads.

Ruckus Goes Down!!!!

Ruckus, the well known university music download website will no longer operate. According to Techcrunch, as of February 5, 2009, Ruckus has apparently closed it's doors. For those of you not familiar with ruckus it is an online music service geared towards universities which allowed students to stream an unlimited amount of music. Ruckus became a phenomeon because it eventually opened to all students with an accepted university email address (typically .edu). This is a major blow for college students, like me, who do not want to pay hundreds of dollars for songs, but also want to download legally.

Jason Kincaid, the author, does an Ok job at explaining what happened in the process of ruckus' website termination, however he leaves us readers wondering why???? We really don't know why the number one music download source for college students went under, we just know how. Kincaid goes into detail about how the owners of Ruckus, Total Music, attempted to get backing from social networks like facebook and Warner, but doesn't explain on what those rejections had to do with the closure, especially when the website had been successful for over 8 years. Could it have been financial issues? poor advertisement? We just don't know. All we can do is ask what's next for college music lovers.

Drop the BEAT!!! MuSiQ

CHECK ONE, CHECK TWO....My beat for my blog is of course MUSIC!!! I will be exploring many aspects of music from the latest music jamming in Towson student's mp3's to local bands visiting Towson's campus, lastest news for popular artists and popular student music websites'. Since most students can't walk from their dorm to their classroom with out pushing play on their ipod or zume I feel this blog topic is perfect for the average student to get the latest music info. and stay in the music mix. I'm ready to get started so stay tuned for the first track........

Get Fresh w/ Me....

If you don't already know me name is Charnay Anderson and I'm a Mass Communications student at Towson, University. I'm a 19 year-old sophomore and I'm eager to learn more about the latest technologies withing the journalism field. I have many interest with in journalism such as magazine publishing, sports writing, and the list goes on. I like to write about exciting subjects usually "artsy" or "sporty" topics like music, dance, basketball, and pretty much anything that doesn't put me to sleep. All in all I'm really looking forward to my New MediaII class because it will ultimately help me to learn the "techi basics" of journalism.

PS: Don't be afraid to comment on my posts...I'll take all the help I can GET!!! lol ;)

Writing with the Code in Mind

There are three major rules that stick out to me when reading the Journalist code of ethics.

1.Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.

*This rule is extremely important to me because writing with bias can be harmful in many ways. As a journalist it is important that you keep other's views and values in mind as you write because you want to be sure not to offend anyone by placing your views in your work. Writing with your opinion on topics such as race, religion, and culture where you put one over the other can stop readers with your opposing views to discontinue reading

that specific source.

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2. Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.

*It is extremely important to me for journalist to show respect dealing with heavy issues such as death or tragedy to a love one or to atr agic event that is life changing. I believe that reporting cautiosly is extremely important because I feel it is inhumane to disregaurd what a person in going through just to get that story. The information and the event is not going to dissapppear so why not give that/those grieving people time to cope with the event, instead of being bumbarded by the media.

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3. Admit mistakes and correct them promptly

*Everyone makes mistakes, ESPECIALLY journalist. Some mistakes are made knowingly and others are made unknowingly, but regaurdless it is impearative as a journalist to admit what he/she has written incorrectly. Whether it is a spelling error or the ine correct date journalist have a responsibility to the public to let us know whether what they have written untruthfully.

Going Green

For my next multimedia story I will be covering Towson University's effort to "go green". This story will focus on the enviromentally friendly action in which students and faculty have initiated which are trayless tuesday and the reusuable mug program.



Background Information-The university is working to reduce its impact on the environment by adopting new processes that decrease energy consumption and implementing new technologies that make more efficient use of energy.There are many campus organizations such as, Students for Environmental Awareness, Towson Campus Greens, Towson Energy Activists/Conservationists etc.



FACTS:
*The Glen Marketplace and Newell Dining Hall go trayless every Tuesday to reduce food waste, decrease the energy and water used to clean trays, and encourage healthier eating habits.

*Launched this fall, Towson University's reusable mug program enables students, faculty and staff to receive a discount on all drinks purchased in a 20oz. insulated Go Green mug, which is available at Brick Street Cafe, Arts Cafe, The Den, Fresh TRAX and Paws Cafe for $6.99. Refills with the Go Green mugs are $1.09 for fountain beverages, tea and coffee. Trade in your personal reusable mug and become part of the Go Green mug program, mugs sold at a discounted price of $3.99.



Possible Interview Questions:
Students:
Reaction to trayless tuesday/mug program?
Do they think its a good idea/bad idea?

Staff or faculty that initiated program:
How did you come up with the idea?
Is the reusuable mug/trayless progam is successful?



Possible Photos:

Pictures of students on Tuesday w/o trays in Glen

Picture of a student with a go green mug

Possible Audio:
Students talking about one of the programs
Professional enviromental worker speaking about Towson's efforts to go green.(programs)

IN THE MIX..PIX

Finding the Perfect Shot

Photo of the Towson University Tiger on the campuses main front lawn

Headshot of Amber Owens on the Towson University campus

Fall snapshots takeng on the campus of Towson University's in the Glen Woods

Getting a Better photo: There are many different great ideas to snapping a better photo with your camera. Some of the of the techniques I just learned helped me to look at what what I see in my viewfinder totally different than before. One of the many techniques is framing, which allows the photographer to use an scenery or another element as a frame around the object of your picture. Framing gives the picture another interesting addition to the photo. Another technique is perspective. You can explore your surroundings and take multiple shots from various angles. Look for focus points that capitalize on the best available light. Also,shoot from far away, get close, even closer, lie on the ground, use a ladder, hold the camera above your head, tilt it at crazy angles. These are just some of the tools that helped me take a better photo. Now get out there and try it for yourself!!

1st Multimedia Story

For my first Mutlimedia story I plan to cover young voters of the 2008 presidential election. For this event I plan attend an Election watch party in Paws on Election night, November 4, 2008. I feel this will be a great event to attend and to get college student's perspective and thoughts on the historical election. I also plan to interview experienced voters first-hand at the polls on November 4th in Bowie, MD.

Background Information

According to a rock the vote forum, the number of 18-29 year old voters has increased in every state's primary or caucus so far in 2008, even doubling and tripling in several. Overall, the number of 18-29 year olds voting in primaries and caucuses in 2008 is 109% more than in the previous set of primary elections. In addition, while turnout has been high across all age groups, young voters have increased their turnout by muchmore than any other age cohort.
__________________________________________________

Possible Interview Questions for young voters

1. Which presidential canidate do/did you want to win the election?

2. Are you a first time voter?

3. How important was it for you to vote today?

4. Do you feel you made an impact in this election? why?

5. How did you vote? in the polls or absentee ballot?

6. Will you vote again in the next election?

____________________________________________________________

Possible Interview Questions for experienced voters

1. Which presidential canidate do/did you want to win the election?

2. Why is voting in this particular election important to you?

3. Compared to past elections, is this the most voter turnout you have experienced?

____________________________________________________________

Possible Images

1. An excited young voter

2. group shot of voters at the election watch party

3. A long line at a polling location

4. students watching the big screen at the party

5. Action shot of the reactions after the election results are revealed

Redskins lose to the Winless Rams

REDSKINS LOSE TO THE WINLESS RAMS

The Washington Redskins end their 4 game winning streak losing to the winless St. Louis Rams, 19-17 on Sunday. The winning field goal was kicked with 2 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter at FedEx Field in Landover, Md .

According to DC Sports Box article, "The Previously Winless Rams Shock Redskins" Jason Taylor, Redskins defensive end, expressed his feelings on the game, “The focus was there. We were prepared. Coach Zorn was expressing the importance of this game all week and therefore I don't think anyone took this game lightly. In this league, you can get your butt kicked on any given Sunday. We knew we would get their best shot. They have a new coach, they are coming off a bye-week and they were re-energized and ready to go. We just didn't play as well as we could play. The Rams came in our house and played well enough to win the game.”* The redskins fall to the record of 4-2.

After watching the game it is obvious that simple mistakes cost the previous successful Skins an easy win game. Some say they underestimated their opponents and that their overly confident attitudes turned into faliure, but regaurdless the Redskins cannot afford to go into another game playing as they did Sunday. They are in a very tough spot this season with rival NFC east teams, the Giants and the Cowboys, who all have winning records in the standings. The skins will have to regroup and show their fans why they have those four wins today at home next Sunday against the 2-3 Clevland Browns. Fans will hope for the best. Hail to the Redskins!

Put Your Best Foot 4ward!!!!

What is the main tool that professional writers use to keep readers engaged in theirs newstories? Inverted Pyramids are very popular among writers to keep readers reading.The inverted pyramid consist of three portions. At the very top of the pyramid ,or the beginning of the story, are the leads that answer the 5w's and/or the 1 h. The next portion down are interesting facts or colorful details found in the body of the story. The last portion consist of the least important information found at the end of the story.

The following are examples of inverted pyramid found in the Baltimore Sun. This article gives a very informational lead, colorful details in the body, and little details at the end.

EXAMPLE: Woman, hit by falling tree outside condominium

lead-"A woman was killed yesterday afternoon when she was struck by a falling tree while emptying trash outside a Pikesville condominium, said a spokeswoman for the county Fire Department."

body info-"Armacost said someone called 911 and that firefighters from the Pikesville station arrived a few minutes later and removed the woman from beneath the tree. An ambulance crew pronounced her dead at the scene."
least impt.info- Armacost said that police were investigating the woman's death

Link to the full story: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-tree0930,0,4194652.story

1st Story-Making News

Making News

The story that I will cover is a local event happening at a high school in Prince Georges County. This event is their 2008 Pep Rally Dance Showcase. This pep rally is for Visual and Performing Arts High School in Suitland, Maryland on October 1, 2008. According to the information given on the flyer the Pep Rally will mostly consist of dances and a small presentation of the Suitland High Rams Football team.

Important things that I will have to look for:
*The size of the audience
*Important reactions among the audience
*Speakers; important figures that attend
*Details of performances

Questions I will Ask
1.) What goes into creating the pep rally performances?-Student
2.) How long have the performers been together?
3.) How important is this event to the students?
4.) How much does the event raise fiancially for the school?


I look forward to getting information from both audience members, performers, and important staffers that make the event possible. I'm off to make great news...wish me luck ;-)

Twitter-Tweet Tweet SWEET!!!

Twitter.Com- The Internet’s newest phenomenon is letting citizen journalism reach higher heights. Here “Websters” and Internet fiends can continuously update their personal statuses letting the public know their every action, thought, and whereabouts. So why is this site so addictive you ask? I think it’s because of its convenience. Users can access twitter virtually anywhere when using its cell phone feature. It has become the newest and coolest source of news.

My Experience

*I am very new to twitter however, it was surprisingly easy to get a feel of how users write effective news statuses.I feel the following clearly explain at least two of 3 5ws and 1h which is the who, what, when, where and how of the story. It gives you a clear understanding of what the story is about while also giving you a link to the full story.

“Towson loses to Richmond while away 45-14 after many missed opportunities. http://tinyurl.com/6xs8sb” -(Who, What and how) –Blake Musicboy232

“Towson fumbles a victory in a turnover battle allowing Richmond to take advantage of Tigers miscalculated plays. http://tinyurl.com/6xs8sb” (Who, what, when, how)-Brian Bwrig5

“The hiring freeze is due to budget cuts. At Towson, hiring freezes applies to all faculty and staff positions. http://tinyurl.com/5pxv3h” (Who, what, where, how)- Amber akowens