Blog 2

In my opinion, social media and the internet make journalists lazy. Instead of contacting sources, researching information and conducting investigations, some journalists use tweets to back up their stories inappropriately. For example, in the Tucson shooting, a tweet mistakenly stated that Representative Gabrielle Giffords was dead, and the false news spread quickly.

This video is another example of the impacts of social media on journalism. Dwayne Wade, who is locked in the bathroom, uploads a video online that says “get me out.” This message mobilizes the news and everyone thinks he wants to trade out of the Miami Heat. These short posts are often said without context and cause misrepresentations of situations.

I think that Twitter, Facebook and Blogs could be used to inspire story ideas that readers care about. A journalist can look at these outlets to see what topics are popular and what subject needs to be investigated further. They should be used as tip generators

These websites bring up concerns regarding accuracy, credibility, fairness and balance. Who writes the information on these websites? Can they be trusted?

Reporters and editors should follow the same guidelines when dealing with print or web material. Anything a reporter uses from a social media website needs to be verified. He or she must do the math and check every fact, even if it comes from an official source. Accuracy leads to credibility and that is the most important value of an organization. Editors should use proper AP style online and examine the details and context of the information. Subscribing to the AP style website could facilitate the process of checking the material. Running fact checks in websites such as Poligraft could also help detect any discrepancies.

Editors must especially use their common sense and logic when dealing with online material because it is often taken out of context. They should always ask themselves: Does this information make sense?

Case Study 4

If I were the news editor of a newspaper, I would publish the gruesome photographs from Fallujah, Iraq. I believe that it is our job as journalists to show and tell the absolute truth, even when it is sensitive. If we do not show the situation as it is, then who will? People need to be aware of the realities of war. Technology offers a way to prove that we are honest in our reporting. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of it?

I think that I would run the photograph regardless of the sex, age, nationality or occupation of the depicted bodies. The photograph tells a story of war. People have a right to know what is going on in Iraq. I would include the photograph even if the charred bodies could be recognized as human forms. There is no need to distort the truth of war.

However, if a face were recognizable, I would consider not running the photo. Most newspaper’s codes of ethics state that journalists must be sensitive to the families of the deceased. It would be disrespectful to the families of those involved to show a human face if it is recognizable. In this case, I would consider cropping the human face or possibly blurring it out and including an explanation in an editor’s note.

I would also consider not running the photograph if the bodies were naked in an obscene manner, especially if any genitals were exposed. I would, however, inform the readers that the photograph exists.

The biggest concern I would have with running this photograph is that it might be impressionable to innocent children who stumble upon it. For this reason, I would not run the photograph on the first page of the newspaper. I would also include an editor’s note to warn the reader about the photograph and to explain why it did not run in the front page. I would provide a caption under the image explaining the news judgments made and the ethical dilemmas faced in the editorial decisions. The newspapers need to be unbiased and transparent, and editor’s notes are a great way to help citizens understand thought processes and to expose them to the absolute truth.

In regards to altering the image, I would only crop or blur if a face was identifiable and if the change would not distort the truth in any way.

I would not hesitate to run it on a news website because people have a choice to click on a link if they want to see the image. On television, however, I would be cautious because there is no way to warn the viewers and children might be watching.

Knowing the truth can help citizens make informed decisions for or against the war. I think that publishing the image might increase the newspaper’s credibility, especially if the proper editor’s notes accompany it. The publication might be accused of political bias, but this is an inevitable every time a controversial story is published. It is a risk that news outlets must take in exchange for providing the truth.

Poligraft

 Birthright Citizenship Looms as Next Immigration Battle

Analysis of Poligraft

I think that Poligraft is a reliable and helpful tool for journalists. It facilitates their investigative work by providing political context to news stories in the form of contributions from organizations to politicians and contributions received by politicians. The resources it uses, which are the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute for Money in State Politics, are both reliable and trustworthy.

It is important that a newspaper has balance of issues, people, news and opinion. The information provided by this website can help detect the bias present in any article. Once a journalist knows this bias is present, he or she can then balance it out. Instead of searching public records for background information, journalists can submit articles to Poligraft for analysis.

I think that newspaper companies could profit from using this tool on a regular basis. If Poligraft helps a newspaper notice that most of its articles are leaning too left or too right, it can then neutralize its articles. Poligraft could help detect negative trends and allow the newspaper to take corrective action.

This tool could even help inspire articles of its own. A journalist might encounter unusual numbers as he or she is evaluating the political contributions of a certain political figure or organization and then decide to investigate and write a story about it.

Summary

 U.S. lawmakers are debating the current policy that grants immediate citizenship to immigrants’ offspring who are born in the United States. Those in opposition of the policy say that some women cross the border when they are ready to deliver so they can have “anchor babies.” Even though these cases are rare, Arizona lawmakers are pushing to create two different birth certificates in their states. One would be for the children of citizens and the other for the children of illegal immigrants. The article “Birthright Citizenship Looms as Next Immigration Battle” summarizes the issue and offers varied points of view and reactions on the subject. 

 

Citations

“This is not a far-out, extremist position,” said John Kavanagh, one of the Arizona legislators who is leading an effort that has been called just that. “Only a handful of countries in the world grant citizenship based on the GPS location of the birth.”

“This is political theater, not a serious effort to create a legal test,” said Gabriel J. Chin, a law professor at the University of Arizona whose grandfather immigrated to the United States from China at a time when ethnic Chinese were excluded from the country. “It strikes me as unwise, un-American and unconstitutional.”

 “I can’t really say much more without showing my hand,” Mr. Kobach said in an e-mail. “But, yes, I am confident that the law will stand up in court.”

“It doesn’t seem fair to just change the rules like that,” Ms. Gomez said.

“I never imagined being here,” said Ms. Ledezma, 25, who was brought to Phoenix from Mexico as a toddler. “I’ll bet right now that my girls are asking, ‘Where’s Mom?’ ”

 “And we’re not being mean,” Mr. Hunter told a Tea Party rally in Southern California. “We’re just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen. It’s what’s in our souls.”

“They call themselves patriots, but they pick and choose which parts of the Constitution they support,” said Lydia Guzman, a Latino activist in Phoenix. “They’re fear-mongerers. They’re clowns.”

“I was born and raised in New York,” responded Mr. Kavanagh, who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the Arizona House. “I can ride a subway, drink coffee, read the newspaper and make sure my pockets are not picked all at the same time.”

FOIA Letter

The corresponding author for Team King is Anabel Diaz. This is our letter requesting Form 6 of Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

Anabel Diaz

----------------------------------

--------------------------

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January 26, 2011

The Florida Senate

Division of Legislative Information Services

Room 704 Claude Pepper Building

111 West Madison Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-1400

            RECORDS REQUEST

Dear Records Request Officer:

Pursuant to the state open records act, I request access to and copies of the 2009 Form 6 of Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

I agree to pay reasonable duplication fees for the processing of this request.

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Anabel Diaz

AP Terms

AP Terms

Strat44

Photo captions

1. Original: UF lecturer Mike Haridopolos sits in UF’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service on February 5, 2008.

Assessment: Writing a good caption for this photo is difficult because The Independent Florida Alligator recycled this photo from 2008. I am not sure if the staff photographers tried to take a new photo of Haridopolos, but they should have. In any case, the writer could have spiced up the caption by adding a significant quote or extra details from the story. This caption is not written with energy, and it does not have too much value. I would not blame it only on the writer though; the photo is pretty uneventful as well.

Rewrite: UF lecturer Mike Haridopolos, who is running for Florida’s U.S. Senate, sits in UF’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service on February 5, 2008. Haridopolos currently monitors UF students who intern with the state government. “This is a real plus for UF because we have had difficulty placing interns there historically,” said Albert Matheny, associate dean of the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

2.Original: RTS Director Jesus Gomez speaks during the joint City Commission/UF Student Government meeting.

Assessment: This caption is missing many details. When and where did this meeting take place? What exactly was he speaking about at that moment? How many people attended? All these extra details would make the caption serve the same purpose a headline serves for a story.

Rewrite: RTS Director Jesus Gomez speaks during the joint City Commission/UF Student Government meeting Tuesday. Overpriced taxi fares were the main subject of discussion at the meeting.

3. Original: Shayna Teijido poses with her boyfriend, Chris Tingley. Teijido, a UF nursing senior, died Monday after complications from blood clots.

Assessment: This caption offers no new information other than what is written in the first sentence of the article. This caption provides an opportunity to include a memory or anecdote about her life. It could also describe how the photo was obtained and when it was taken.

Rewrite: Shayna Teijido poses with her boyfriend, Chris Tingley. Teijido was described as warm, friendly and passionate about helping the community. About 100 people attended the vigil held for her Friday night.

Case Study 3

Protocols Anecdote

An editor at The Gainesville Sun made a mistake when he assumed that two sources, a homosexual couple, were heterosexual.

Even though one of the sources was named Leslie, a gender-neutral name, the editor should have never assumed that she was a man.

Instead of consulting with the reporter, the editor changed the feminine pronoun “she” to “he.”

As stated in The Charlotte Observer protocols, an editor should always consult with the reporter before making “any change that could alter the meaning of even one sentence in the story in such a way that might make it inaccurate.”

I have never had to deal with an issue like this in a newsroom, but I have dealt with it in my life. People always assume that I am not Jewish because I am Hispanic or that I am not Hispanic because I am Jewish. Sometimes they even try to pronounce my last name with a Spanish accent, which just sounds funny.

When I applied to the University of Florida as a Hispanic minority, one of my peers disapproved. When I asked him why he was upset about it, he told me that it wasn’t fair to lie in my application. I told him that I was born in Colombia, and he said something along the lines of “But your last name is Leventhal, aren’t you Jewish?”

I then had to explain to him that there are many Jewish people who immigrated to Central and South America during war times.

The editor at The Sun should have never assumed that Leslie was a man. The process of editing is a team process; the editor and reporter must work together to produce the best piece to publish. The editor should never make any major change to the lede, tone or content of an article without reporter approval.

Blog 1

Reflecting on the art and craft of editing ...

Editing requires lots of skill, especially the ability to focus. An editor must be able to dissect, inspect and fix an article until it is 100 percent bulletproof. The goal of the editor is to establish a sense of trust between the newspaper and the reader by double-checking for clarity, accuracy and logistics. An editor must also bring out the flavor of the story by arranging words, sentences and paragraphs in the best way possible without interfering with the voice and intention of the writer. An editor must consult the writer during the process to make sure he or she is in accord with the changes.

An editor is also in charge of writing accurate headlines that make the reader want to read the story. The headline must be short, it must have an action verb and it must tell a story. It shouldn’t be cliché or cheesy, but it should be pleasing to read. It shouldn’t give too much information away either.

The introduction of online journalism has made the task even more challenging. It has added a major component to the job: the need to write headlines for search engine optimization. The editor must now make sure that the article is findable through search engines, while maintaining the truthfulness and integrity of the newspaper. Headlines now have to be specific, and they must include findable keywords. The editor must now be able to read minds and predict what terms people will type into the search box.

The online world has also added some other dilemmas to the field. For example, should newspapers charge for online access to their websites? The New York Times is currently addressing that issue and others, such as the integration of print and online operations and the development of a strategy for mobile devices and smartphones.

In my opinion, reputable newspapers, such as The New York Times, should charge for website access. I think that people will ultimately pay a couple of dollars to have a trustworthy source of information. The media serves a necessary function for the public and should be rewarded appropriately for their efforts. People tend to complain about the media, but they are unwilling to help fund the costs needed to produce a high-quality newspaper.

In conclusion, an editor is like the condiments used to season a meal. Without them, the meal just would not come together into a cohesive whole. Through proofreading, arranging and creating, the editor makes a story effective and complete.

Strat41

Rewriting headlines

1. Original: The congresswoman and the astronaut: A love story

Issue: This headline is missing an action verb, and it does not tell a story. It is not written for SEO, even though it introduces a story written for the web. Including Giffords’ name in the headline is crucial because people will most likely search for “Giffords” and not for “the congresswoman.” Also, the headline sounds a little cliché.

My rewrite: Giffords’ friends tell her love story with husband


2. Original: Why do area schools trail other districts in energy savings?

Issue: This headline should not be written in question form. It is vague and lacks searchability. Instead of writing “area schools,” why not refer to them as “Alachua County schools?” For SEO purposes, “other districts” could be replaced with the specific names of districts.

My rewrite: Alachua County schools trail Marion, Polk counties in energy savings


3. Original: A new kind of weight-loss show

Issue: This headline lacks an action verb and doesn’t tell a story. It almost serves only as a label. It is also too vague to be used as an online headline. It needs to have more key words to increase its searchability.

My rewrite: New weight-loss shows premier on MTV and A&E


4. Original: What's your sign? Minn. prof suggests it's off

Issue: Headlines should not be written in question form, especially when it can be avoided. Also, this headline is missing an important keyword: zodiac. Without it, readers might not understand what signs the article will talk about, and they might skip over it. With a subject this controversial, the headline needs to grab the readers' attention. Also, the headline does not represent the article. This story is not about the sign changing but about the commotion that it has caused online, especially in social networking sites.

My rewrite: Professor suggests zodiac signs are off, stirs commotion in viral world

Strat5

My favorite print newspaper is The Independent Florida Alligator, and my favorite news website is The New York Times. I compared the stories published in the Jan. 13 edition of each paper and concluded that the differences in the news judgments of each are what make them my favorites.

The Alligator is my favorite print newspaper specifically for one reason: I am its main target audience, and it chooses its content based on what appeals to me. The Alligator combines just the right amount of Gainesville news, campus news and Gator sports news to keep me up to date on my social sphere. It is conveniently distributed outside of my apartment complex and outside each of my classes.

I use The Alligator only to read the local news. I use The New York Times website as a more serious source for national and international hard news stories. The New York Times is my favorite news site because its articles are well-written and thoroughly reported. I also like the way it subdivides its tabs into narrow sections. For example, the “world” tab subdivides into Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

The front page of The Alligator had the following headlines: “Vigil honors Haiti victims,” “Poster sales down at Reitz” and “UF freshman arrested after bar fight downtown.” These are stories that are not important to anyone but the members of the UF community. I don’t think The New York Times would run an article on poster sales in its front page. On the second page, there is a five-column personality profile on a UF groundskeeper who is also writing a science fiction novel. His story only appeals to UF students because he is a part of our community.

The headlines on the front page of The New York Times are the following: “Girl Is Mourned; Giffords Makes Progress,” Mixed-Party Seating Urged for State of the Union” and “F.D.A. Plans News Limits on Painkillers.” These stories all appeal to me because they are stories that are important to the entire U.S. population. These stories are chosen with the broadest possible audience in mind. Instead of having a personality profile on a local person, the Times published a story about Ellen Stewart, the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York, who passed away. She is recognizable by a much larger segment of the population than is Dan Scholes, the UF groundskeeper.

These newspapers are similar in that they both consider what their readers want to know and think broadly in terms of their target audience members. For example, The Alligator is written for students as well as for faculty and staff members at UF. The New York Times is written for an all-ages audience. Both of these papers allow for reader reaction and input through online posts.

Case Study 2

The key to dealing with breaking news is to expect the unexpected.

In my opinion, a news outlet should have a step-by-step written code that its employees must memorize during the training process.

Editors should have predetermined roles for specific groups of reporters to fulfill once they are notified of an emergency. The teams should have members with varied skills, including a good writer and a good videographer or photographer. Each team should also assign one person to stay in the newsroom and search social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, for extra information about any suspect. It is necessary that this person take snapshots of all websites in case someone decides to modify the information at a later date. This person should also look for any public records or background information related to the case. He or she should monitor the internet for information being released by other media outlets.

Every organization should have an emergency kit on reserve at the newsroom for these kinds of emergencies. A smartphone with internet access must be available to deliver the story at the scene before it is distributed in print the following day. The kit should also contain writing utensils, a notepad, an audio recorder and a video camera. The instructions for delivering the breaking news should also be included in the kit.

Every member of the news organization should have the contact information of other co-workers at all times, whether it is stored on a cell phone or written in an agenda book.

When notified of an emergency, the editor should immediately send a team to the scene to inspect and witness the occurrence. He or she should also send someone else to wait outside the place where the suspect will be and to the hospital where the injured were taken. Lastly, someone should be sent to speak to other potential sources, such as people in the community, neighbors, family members and co-workers.
An editor or staff member should be in charge of monitoring and editing any Twitter updates or posted news uploaded by the reporter at the scene.

Organization, planning and coordination are the key elements needed to handle spot news successfully.

Strat2

10 Steps to a Better Story:
Questions Editors Should Ask Reporters

Link to article: Friends, family pay tribute to UF student found dead

1. Who are the people affected?
The personal accounts in this story make it emotional and engaging. Those interviewed are ordinary people that knew Huuda on a day-to-day basis, such as Huuda’s peers from her dance and cheerleading squads and one of her professors. I believe the sources for this article were well-chosen.

2. How are people affected or how might they be affected?
This story sparks reader interest because it is about a regular UF student who was victim to a grass fire. Other students who read the article can identify with Huuda. The story also affects the Ghanaian community because Huuda was originally from Ghana. Her family is going to hold another ceremony according to Ghanaian custom. This story might lead people to be more careful around grass fires.

3. Why are you writing this?
This story is important because the University of Florida is a community, and we are all interested in what happens to any member of it. Whenever a student, staff or faculty member dies, the university usually unites in mourning as a form of respect.

4. Who are the bureaucrats?
The bureaucrat in this story is Art Forgey, the Sheriff’s Office spokesman. In regards to the subject matter, I think the reporter made a wise choice in focusing on those who were closer to Huuda instead of on bureaucrats.

5. What are the key questions?
The reporter in this story did a good job of asking her sources key questions. I can guess that the key questions she asked were:
-What were Huuda’s goals and passions?
-How do you remember Huuda?
-What made her special?
-What is her background?
-How do you plan to honor her life?

6. What research must you do?
In order to write this story, the reporter had to ask the Sheriff’s Office for a report on the events that led to her death. She then had to find out Huuda’s background information and the details of the vigil. Once the reporter found out which groups Huuda belonged to, she was able to find people who would be willing to be interviewed for the story.

7. Where can you go?
The reporter had to go to Huuda’s vigil in order to interview her peers. She also had to go to the Sherriff’s Office to get the basic information about her death.

8. What are you missing?
The only part that was missing was a direct testimony from Huuda’s family. However, it seems ethical to respect their silence in a time of mourning. Also, a short story about her move from Ghana to the United States could have added an interesting angle to the story.

9. How can you be creative?
This story is about a tragic event and should keep a respectful tone. However, the article could have started with an anecdote of her move to the United States or a description of one of her dance performances.

10. What is your vision?
With the meaningful quotes that were gathered, the article has an emotional tone. This appeals to the reader because he or she feels identified to Huuda as a UF student. I like that the reporter did not introduce the cause of her death until the fourth paragraph. The story focuses more on remembering her as a person than on the details of her death.

I think the reporter and editor of this article did a great job of answering the 10 questions. The only suggestion I would make would be to include a little more information about her move from Ghana to the United States. This would appeal more to other immigrants who could identify with her as a person. Also, if possible, a quote from a family member could have a stronger impact on the reader.

Case Study 1

The article “Eagle Snatches Dog While Owner Watches” demonstrates a classic problem in the field of journalism: It is complete in the macro level but incomplete in the micro level. In the macro level, the article gives readers a general idea of what happened. It is organized in inverted pyramid form, it has meaningful quotes, and it has a funny and memorable ending. However, in the micro level, the article has many holes.

To begin with, the headline does not reflect the story, which is a common problem in journalism. Often, reporters and editors will write catchy and convenient headlines without concern for accuracy. In this case, the headline is misleading because it makes it seem as though the owner knew that the eagle would snatch the dog and was passively watching as it happened. I think a more accurate headline would be “Eagle snatches dog in front of owner.”Also, the headline is incorrectly written in upstyle case.

The story is missing many important details. Here is a list of questions that, if answered, could improve the clarity of the article:

1. When did this happen? The date and time of the occurrence are missing from the nut graph.

2. What is the name of the dog? One of the basic rules of journalism is to ask for the name of the animal. It adds a twist to the story and increases the human interest appeal.

3. Where is the parking station where this happened? Local residents would probably want to know the address of the gas station, especially if they live nearby and have a pet.

4. What was Fleming (the gas attendant) doing while this happened? How close was he? How much can we trust his testimony?

5. Why did the reporter only interview one person? Interviewing only one source sets off the balance of the article because the reader only has one side of the story. Fleming could possibly be exaggerating the facts.

6. Why are the owners unidentified? Did they leave right away? The story would have been more interesting with first person accounts. Also, the reader wants to know what the couple did after their dog was snatched.

In general, the article covers the basic information in a condensed manner. The quotes and ending add to the article’s comical tone. However, a few details could be added to improve human interest, clarity and balance.

Dropbox

Zimbabwe’s Poor Barter Goods for Health Care

Who Am I?

Name: Stephanie Leventhal

What year? I am a fourth-year student.

E-Mail: stephlev@ufl.edu

Where are you from? I am from Bogota, Colombia, but I moved to Miami when I was 12 years old.

Why did you come to the University of Florida? I chose UF because it is a top university and it made sense economically because I am a Florida resident. Also, I wanted to be close to my family in Miami.

Major? Journalism.

Why are you taking this course (besides the fact it is required)? I took an editing course last semester with Dr. Rodgers, and I really enjoyed it. Also, it was the only capstone course that fit in my schedule.

Outside interests, hobbies, avocations, things you love to do? My passion is to travel and to learn about cultures. I love learning different languages, listening to ethnic music and tasting foreign food.

Tell me one interesting thing about you – something that makes you unique. I have traveled to 22 countries in my life.

Are you the first person in your family to attend a university? No.

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being top-notch, how would you rate your knowledge of grammar, punctuation and AP style? 9.

On the same scale, how would you rate your skills with working with InDesign and PhotoShop and with online media in general? 8.

What online skills do you feel you are proficient at? HTML, CSS, blogging, Soundslides, video editing and audio editing.

Where do you get most of your news? The New York Times and CNN.

What books are you reading and have read in the last three months? I only have time to read the textbooks for my classes.

Career Goals? Be specific as possible. Elaborate a bit. I am going to graduate this semester, and I am in the process of applying to law school. If I get in, that will take care of the next three years. If I don’t, I would like to move abroad to France and find a job in the field of journalism.

What magazines, newspapers and news Web sites do you read regularly? The New York Times and CNN.

What is your favorite Web site? Youtube.com.

Do you blog? Yes.

Do you have any media/communication experience? If so, what? Yes. I was an editorial intern for Counterpoise Magazine and a communications intern for Southern Legal Counsel.

Are you pursuing a media related internship or job at this time? I am currently the editor-in-chief of the Anole Magazine.

Do you have an updated resume in your files? Yes.