ComJour333: Quick Speech Exercise

Gov. Christine Gregoire announced her support for the introduction of a bill that will allow same-sex couples to wed, before an audience of 100 supporters of gay marriage in Olympia on Thursday.

Gregoire said the ultimate decision to support same-sex marriage was a difficult one, citing her religious beliefs as an obstacle she had to overcome.

“The responsibility of a state is to license only, ” said Gregoire.

“Religions can decide what they want to do but its not in the state’s business to discriminate.”

ComJour333 Local Government Meeting Story Exercise

Whitman County Agenda

a. Michael Largent

b. Gonorrhea

c. Phil Hagihara

d. Scott Paradis

e. Today’s contribution: $100,000. They cut 80% of funding.

f. Financial Update (9:00 a.m.-Petrovich)

 

Pullman City Council

 

1. The difference between minutes and an agenda is that an agenda is a more complex and dynamic look at what is being covered at the meetings while minutes is more of a brief breakdown featuring one line explanations of events and discussions.

 

1. Schweitzer would open his building on May 1, 2013

2. SEL has 250 job openings currently

3. $100,000

 

Jan. 22 Agenda:

a. Derrick Skaug, Bill Paul

b. A consent agenda holds items “routin in nature enacted by a single motion of the Council without further discussion.

c. Mike Heston

d. $600,000

e. Salex Tax

Total: $1,144,117

YTD Total: $3,966,577

ComJour333 Story #1: Event

Play for a Cure: WSU students organize playathon benefitting cancer research

By: Zack Menchel

 

Pullman, Wash. Visitors to the Terrell Library atrium were greeted by the brilliant melodies of classical music on Jan. 25 as part of a piano playathon that raised nearly $1 thousand dollars benefitting the American Cancer Society.

The event showcased a handful of talented young pianists from WSU’s School of Music performing both classical and jazz repertoire to show support for a beloved professor who is battling cancer.

Dr. Karen Savage was recently diagnosed with breast cancer but has since resumed her teaching duties at the university while undergoing treatment.

Juliana Witt, a student of Savage’s who helped to orchestrate the event said she and seven other students wanted to give back to Savage through the gift of music while simultaneously raising money and awareness for a good cause.

“I think we just wanted to show our collective love and support for a professor we all know and care for that is fighting cancer,” she said.

“We felt that in playing music, we’re doing what we do best in order to benefit the lives of others.”

The playathon was intended as an addition to “Atrium Music”, an on-going series of impromptu concerts and recitals featuring aspiring musicians and was facilitated by WSU’s collegiate chapter of the Music Teachers National Association.

Sandra Albers, a performing arts facilities coordinator in her 17^th year at the School of Music sees the playathon and other related atrium performances as not only a great dress-rehearsal for the musicians to perfect their craft but also a relaxing experience for any foot traffic meandering through the library.

“The Atrium Series helps people to be exposed to music while going about their business in the library,” she said.

“It also simply allows people to stop and take a break on Friday afternoon, sit down and just listen to something beautiful and inspiring.”

Leaning back comfortably in her chair, Stephanie Long gently closed her eyes and bobbed her head back and forth in unison with the plethora of calming sounds permeating the room around her.

Long, a junior secondary education major said she initially entered the library completely oblivious to the playathon but instantly felt compelled to take a seat near the atrium’s grand piano to soak up the atmosphere.

“I was raised around music and have loved it my entire life as it’s always been something that’s been there for me,” she said.

“I still play music to this day and see it as part of my genetics, my DNA, a portion of me I couldn’t live without it.”

Long said she appreciated the fact that the playathon raised funds for a beneficial organization and hopes that the atrium continues to house events such as these, encouraging students to attend.

“Music should be a part of every student’s life because it helps create balance,” said Long.”

“As stressful as school is, music helps build a place where people can escape to reflect, relax, or just deal with whatever it is an individual is facing regardless if one is playing, producing, or listening.”

The appeal of soothing music in the atrium is undeniable but the question remains as to whether events such as the playathon can become a regular occurrence in the future and thrive without the added bonus of promoting a good cause.

“The beauty of it all is that people can come and go as they please or sit down to eat their lunch in a relaxing setting,” said Witt.

“It creates a greater sense of community and is so much more than just a performance.”

Sources:

 

1.  Julianna Witt

Title: Student/Teaching Assistant

Email: julianawitt21@gmail.com

 

2. Sandra Albers

Title: WSU School of Music Performing Arts Facilities Coordinator

Email: sandra_albers@wsu.edu

 

3. Stephanie Long

Title: Student

Email: stephanie.long100@email.wsu.edu

Summary:

On Friday, Jan. 25 eight WSU students performed both classic and original compositions on a piano in the Terrell Library Atrium. The series of performances was organized by the students in order to support a professor who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, Dr. Karen Savage. The event raised $900 in funds.

Outline:

I). Lead

• Time and Place
• Amount Raised

II). What/Why?

• Showcase of young pianists
• To benefit cancer research, honor Dr. Savage

III). Interviews

• Purpose
• Pros of event/music in general

IV. Wrap-Up

Paraphrasing

The author, Jonathan Fabulist admitted to Oprah on Monday to fabricating portions of his own book, claiming a good story should take precedence important than the truth.

 

Numerous amphibian species worldwide are in danger today due to climate change, a WSU associate professor of Biological Sciences said Wednesday.

 

ComJour333 Outline

I. What happened?

Budget Cuts

a. 30 cityworkers to lose their jobs, library to be closed for a week in the Summer

b. Mayor Greg Nickels will cut $13.3 million out of the 2009 general-fund budget and will spend $5 million of the city’s rainy-day fund

 

II. Why?

Bad Economy

a.  To close a budget gap caused by lower-than-expected tax revenue, $29.5 million shortfall

b. Worst economic crisis in Seattle in decades

III. Effects

a. Most city departments will take between a 1 and 3 percent cut

b. Mayor Nickels plans to cut $400,000 he set aside for public toilets after they were deemed a failure

 

IIII. How are people reacting?

a. A group of city employees is planning an “informational picket” outside City Hall on Monday morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. to protest the mayor’s cuts.

b. Nickels will brief the City Council on Monday about the cuts, and some members of his staff will attend a public hearing Wednesday at City Hall

ComJour333 From the Lead to the Structure

4. Four boys age 7 to 11 drowned when a group of seven boys plunged through thin ice.

1. As seven boys finished their snack run from the Lawrence Boys & Girls Club to Hanson’s Market yesterday afternoon, a sudden urge to slide around prompted 11-year-old William Rodriguez to dash for the serene expanse of river ice.

15. “Willie said he wanted to go down to the river, to slide on the Ice,” Ivan said. “We tried to stop him.”

9. It was a playful impulse that ended with his plunge through the ice, setting off an ill-fated rescue attempt that deteriorated into a mass of desperate children clinging to each other in 35-degree water.

10. The catastrophe left four boys dead, their families crushed and rescue workers shaken following an afternoon of fighting a river of broken ice, the steep mud-covered bank and driving rain.

11. Dead are William Rodriguez, 11, of 292 Howard St.; Christopher Casado, 7, of 18 Jasper Court; Mackendy Constant, 8, of 7 Clinton St.; and Victor Baez, 9, 46 Bernard Ave.

3. Police said the four dead boys were trapped under the ice at least 10 minutes.

8. It was the worst local Merrimack River tragedy in nearly a century.

14. “I threw the rope out once and it landed too far away, so I threw it out again, and again it was too far for them to reach,” said Jacques Fournier, a retired maintenance worker who tried to rescue the boys.

5. Lawrence and Andover firefighters equipped with ice rescue suits arrived and after a search of the area where the boys went in, found the four remaining boys under the ice, 25 feet from shore in 15-20 feet of water.

6. Because of the steep embankment, rescuers were forced to use ladders to bring the children up off the river to the waiting ambulances.

12. Surviving the incident were Francis Spraus, 9, 14 School St.; Christopher’s brother Ivan Casado, 9, 18 Jasper Court; Jaycob Morales, 10, 4 Winslow Place.

13. Ivan and Francis were released from the hospital last night, and recalled the story from its quiet start.

7. Members of the state police, Lawrence Police and Merrimack Valley dive teams entered the 38-degree water and conducted an area search to be sure no one was left behind.

2. The ice was one to two inches thick where they ventured off the river bank. Four inches is considered the minimum to support more than one person, and river ice may not be safe even at that thickness because of currents and other factors.

18. “My legs started to get stiff, and I had a freezing headache,” Francis said. “I was hanging on to Christopher, but he started to slip under. I tried holding on to his hand, but it was like he let go.”

ComJour333 Leads Assignment

Looking over the “Five Leads” post on the class blog, I have chosen the fifth lead as my favorite and the one that made me want to continue reading.

The lead, from a New York Times piece on unusual weapons such as icepicks still being used to commit crimes in New York City is as follows: “The young man staggered down a city street as blood flowed from a puncture wound. The weapon used in the steely attack — an ice pick — was sticking out of his lower back. The scene was reminiscent of an era in the 1930s and ’40s when members of a notorious Brooklyn murder syndicate left a trail of bodies riddled with ice-pick holes. This attack, however, was set in modern-day New York City, specifically, on Aug. 21, at 4:20 p.m. in the Norwood section of the Bronx.”

This lead is the most interesting because of the vivid imagery that however cliche, really paints a picture in your head of the grisly events that had taken place. The writer really sets the tone for the piece and generates reader interest and intrigue in what was simply a police blotter report. This lead is creative in the sense that it compares current crimes to historical ones and then brings it back to modern day again. The writer really did a great job in drawing me in and practically forcing me to keep reading.

Here are the two leads I selected that I thought were well done and/or drew my interest:

New York Times: Obama Offers Liberal Vision; ‘We Must Act’

Lead: “Barack Hussein Obama ceremonially opened his second term on Monday with an assertive Inaugural Address that offered a robust articulation of modern liberalism in America, arguing that “preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.”

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/us/politics/obama-inauguration-draws-hundreds-of-thousands.html?hp

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Shelters Work Overtime as Temps Plunge Across Southwestern Pennsylvania

Lead: “Pittsburgh’s homeless population filled local shelters by the dozens Monday night to escape temperatures that were forecast to plunge to 5 degrees and piercing wind gusts that were expected to create a wind chill as low as 20 degrees below zero.”

Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/weather/shelters-work-overtime-as-temps-plunge-671404/

ComJour33 News Story Assignment

Pullman Police are on the lookout for those responsible for a shooting that occured on Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013 at approxiametly 1:45 a.m. at 2400 block of S.E. 19th Avenue leaving one man dead, and two others wounded.

Donald James Connelly, 21, was declared dead at the scene. The other two victims were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries but their names have not been released due to safety concerns.

Court records indicate Connelly pleaded guilty to delivery of a controlled subsatance in 2007 in Whitman County Superior Court. Connelly had seven other drug-related offenses dismissed.

ComJour333 Clutter Exercise

1. The man in federal court pleaded guilty.

2. The leadoff man in the game hit a home run.

3. Several new items are on the agenda.

4. At the end of the day, he was exhausted.

5. The president made no announcement about the hostages during his press conference.

6. Several laws ban tools that allow people to break into cars.

7. He smiled as she scooped the ice cream.

8. The professor admitted he fabricated the data.

9. The critic said this movie will change her life.

ComJour333 Assignment #1: What is News?

What is News?

Simply put. to me, news brings the public what they want to read, hear, or see through means of text, audio, and video content. News keeps us connected to what is going on around us, both near and far at all times, day or night. News delivers messages and helps us to stay informed, well-rounded, and able to form opinions on significant current events. News is a tool of teaching and keeps life interesting. If events and happenings didn’t transform into stories, would they still matter?

News is important if it shows people the consequences of actions (American soldiers with PTSD) or provides an interesting glimpse into lives. News can be of significance from all over the world but the target audience favors proximity to catch their attention for more than just a glimpse.

Characteristics that make a topic newsworthy include being current, controversial, interesting, and informative. The news does not need to maintain positivity, nor negativity. As long as content can be considered to be on a must-know or want-to-know basis, it is news. Stories that are current events make for the most important characteristic at the foundation of news. If stories are of interest to a large demographic of potential viewers/readers/listeners such as gun control in the United States.

External pressures that might force publishing decisions include the paper’s collective opinion on a matter needing/wanting to be heard, the demographic (target audience), a company that owns the news outlet, and so on.

Joan Didion on Journalism and Tragedy

-Morals (values and beliefs)
-Sermon in the suicide
-Hope?
-Why?
-What were they thinking?
-How?

Translation:

I take it Didion’s excerpt as being about the pursuit of knowledge and keeping creativity alive. The reference to the naked woman and wanting to know her “story” pertains to that notion. Didion speaks about the our need to know what’s going on in the world around us and the significance  of news journalism in today’s society. It is important to know the story to things happening around us. The world would be incredibly strange, barren, lonely place if things just happened without any sort of explanation whatsoever. Didion is just keeping things real and in perspective.

Selection:

Story #2 “Biden says White House is Determined to Tighten Gun Law” from the Wall Street Journal

My group’s story, “Biden says White House is Determined to Tighten Gun Law” from the Wall Street Journal belongs at the top of our home page because it has the greatest appeal to the masses, seeing as how it serves as a follow-up to several recent unnecessary acts of violence in the United States in the form of President Barack Obama’s plan of action to combat gun violence in our country.

Gun control is a hot, fiercely contested topic that everyone has an opinion on these days due to several recent gun-related tragedies at an elementary school in Connecticut, a movie theater in Colorado, and at the Empire State Building in New York.

This is news that many people want to hear. It shows progress and initiative to a nation that is still grieving the loss of 26 innocent lives (many of them young school children) at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

Although the American public still remains largely divided on the issue of gun control, to me, what this story does is provide a positive response to a negative storyline. News is all about timeliness and keeping things fresh and invigorating both in style and substance. This story follows a trend, a current event that people will rely news outlets to hear about. That is what makes this story significant and noteworthy. The fact that it appeared in a publication with the clout of the Wall Street Journal also helps to promote its legitimacy.

Classification: Headline News

Critique:

Story #1 “Sacramento basketball team will relocate to Seattle, sources say” from Yahoo! Sports

As a Seattle sports fan, this story is of great interest to me. However, if you’re not an NBA fan, a resident of the Emerald City or Sacramento for that matter, do you really care all that much? The answer is most definitely a resounding “No”. This story might earn mention on the front page but certainly not something that should be a headliner for a national news outlet unless we’re talking about the sports page. There just isn’t enough national interest there, just civic pride and redemption for the basketball-loving citizens of Seattle. One might also make an argument that because the relocation is not yet a done deal that it takes away a bit from the need to highlight the story.

Classification: Sports (National and Local)

Story #3 “Dangerously Excessive” from Deadspin.com

This is another sports story that may not interest readers on a national level all that much. Also, the Pac-12 clearing WSU head football coach Mike Leach of any wrongdoing in the Marquess Wilson abuse allegations provides a more well-rounded story that will draw the readers in. I do not think that a story by a media outlet with questionable journalistic standards and practices such as Deadspin that revolves solely on what anonymous players think about particular incidents that drew the complaints of abuse to WSU football is enough to take over a front page on a respected source of news information and content.

Classification: Sports (Local)

Story #4 “Acting Out War’s Inner Wounds” from the New York Times

The New York Times is a highly-respected juggernaut in the journalism business and provides quality writing covering a wide variety of topics from all over the news spectrum. This is a human-interest story that brings to light the horrors of war and the injuries suffered by the brave men and women that fight for America’s freedom on a daily basis. This article discusses the hidden scars inflicted upon our soldiers meaning psychological problems, traumatic brain injuries, and PTSD among other things. We still have fighters over seas and thus this story is a current event that everyday Americans will be drawn to. People want and need to be aware of these things, even if they provide heart-wrenching narratives relating to our loved ones, neighbors, friends, etc. This story is one that needs to be told and thus, commands our respect and attention. This is a newsworthy piece on a national scale.

Classification: Features