Dec. 10 -- Journalism Staff Meeting

We are changing it up. Ms. Greer

Dec. 5 - Look and then add your video to list (10 pts)

Here is a link on photographing the essence of people.

Here is a link that you will see uses very important close-ups in the video that enhance the story-telling. We want to do this when we shoot our news videos. Story is going to be key . . . always.

That is all I have today. For homework, send me a link to something that you think is a great video we should look at as a class. Due Thursday by class time. Send it to: joanna_g_greer@mcpsmd.org

Worth 10 points so make it worth the class time and explain how and why it is important in covering the news. The explanation will be more important than the video you choose. So choose wisely.

As for your stories, we will talk tomorrow about what else you need in them. Did you talk to at least five people who are valued-added (no one else could say with authority what they say) and give varied enough answers that add more dimension to your story? I am finding that they are not researched well enough . . . they feel thrown together and don't show all perspectives. You cannot print that as it is a disservice to those you interviewed and the community you serve.

Think like a judge . . . ask yourself what are all sides here and then do the legwork with your notebook in hand. This is one kind of writing that you cannot fake. Remember that you MUST identify yourself as a reporter and not use anonymous sources. No hijacking people here. You are doing a public service job that is noble. Remember that.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Nov. 27 - Check out this video

This is what other students think about journalism. Click here.

Nov. 26 - Assignment Due on Thursday and Friday This Week

Name: _________________ Due: 2 pages of notes due on Thursday, Beginning of Class (25 points)

Story Due Friday and posted before end of class (20 points)

My Story is on _______________________________________________________ and it passes the “who cares test.”
_________________At least five quotes that are value-added( no one else can say them) For example: Coach Nelson on prospects for the team or a student who would not go to college unless the Dream Act passed, etc.
_______________One/two photographs on subject
_______________Two links in the body of the story

No class on Tuesday, so come by the classroom to run your story by Ms. Greer to see if it will fly.

Ms. Greer
Silver spring, Md

Nov. 21 -- Check these out

These online newspapers won best awards at the last JEA convention this month.

Publication Website Large School

1. CNHSMedia.com, Columbus North HS, Columbus, Ind.
Click here for link
Rachel McCarver, adviser

2. Denebola, Newton South HS, Newton Centre, Mass.
Click here for link
Brian Baron, adviser

3. Manestreamnews.com, McKinney HS, McKinney, Texas
Click here for link
Lori Oglesbee/Alyssa Boehringer, advisers

4. The Prospective, Bryant HS, Bryant, Ark.
Click here for link
Margaret Sorrows, adviser

5. West Side Story, Iowa City West HS, Iowa City, Iowa
Click here for link
Zora Hurst, editor
Sara Jane Whittaker, adviser

6. The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kan.
Click here for link
Duncan MacLachlan, Sami Walter, editors
C. Dow Tate, adviser

7. The Lancer Express, Carlsbad HS, Carlsbad, Calif.
Click here for link
Danielle Ryan, adviser

8. Highlights, Beverly Hills HS, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Click here for link
Katie Murray/Gaby Herbst, advisers

9. The Lowell, Lowell HS, San Francisco, Calif.
Click here for link
Elijah Alparin, editor
Sharn Matusek/Cathy Innis, advisers

10. The HiLite, Carmel HS, Carmel, Ind.
Click here for link
Patrick Tan, Aaron Kearney, Victor Xu, editors
Jim Streisel, adviser

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring. Md.

Nov. 19 -- News Packages on Survival

It is weird but after Hurricane Sandy I have noticed an uptick in surviving disaster stories in the media. So, I have gathered some together. Here is one link.

Here is how they got that photo.

Here is another link.

Here is the government link to surviving disasters. Look around in this website.

Click here for another take on surviving a disaster. This one is interesting in that many people just stand still and don't seem to move. Huh?

Something missing seems to be a can opener.

How would you localize a story like this our school community?

More specifically, are there issues with the school being on lock-down for a while?
Does the school have what it needs to take care of the students?
What are the policies if we had a big earthquake? Or attack?
Do we know what to do here in the school and out in the community?
Does your family have supplies to survive or is it a stupid idea?

Write up your thoughts answering those questions and how you would cover a story on this subject for our newspaper.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Nov. 12 - Analyze this article

Mr. Glaros is a Composition Assistant in the English Department here at Kennedy. You will see that he is the reporter on the following story about a counselor at Einstein. Here it is.

Look at the lede. What makes it interesting?

Print this out, get out a colored marker, and circle the places reporter Glaros uses descriptive analogies, comments from others that add to a deeper picture of Monte, active verbs instead of passive verbs (is, was), etc.

Now, write an analysis and answer this question in a critical way that shows you looked at how Mr. Glaros build this story. Why is this a good newspaper feature article?

Homework: Due Wednesday 15 points

Oct. 31 - Writing A Lede

This is from an interview with Nora Ephron, the writer who could make me laugh out loud. What she says here is important for our writing and for the intros to our stories.

************************************************

Interviewer: What about teachers? Were there teachers who were pretty important to you?

Nora Ephron: Yes. I had a couple of great, great teachers. The teacher who changed my life was my journalism teacher, whose name was Charles Simms. I always tell this story. I love it. I had already decided that I was going to be a journalist. I didn't know why exactly, except that I had seen a lot of Superman comics. Lois Lane and all of those major literary characters like that, but Mr. Simms got up the first day of class, and he went to the blackboard, and he wrote "Who, what, where, why, when, and how," which are the six things that have to be in the lead of any newspaper story. Then he did what most journalism teachers do, which is that he dictated a set of facts to us, and then we were all meant to write the lead that was supposed to have "who, what, where, why, when, and how" in it.

He dictated a set of facts that went something like, "The principal of Beverly Hills High School announced today that the faculty of the high school will travel to Sacramento, Thursday, for a colloquium in new teaching methods. Speaking there will be Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, and two other people." So we all sat down at our typewriters, and we all kind of inverted that and wrote, "Margaret Mead and X and Y will address the faculty in Sacramento, Thursday, at a colloquium on new teaching methods, the principal announced today." Something like that. We were very proud of ourselves, and we gave it to Mr. Simms, and he just riffled through them and tore them into tiny bits and threw them in the trash, and he said, "The lead to this story is: There will be no school Thursday!" and it was this great epiphany moment for me. It was this, "Oh my God, it is about the point! It is about figuring out what the point is." And I just fell in love with journalism at that moment.

So, now my question is this. What was the major point of our story with Kate Stephansky?

Go over your notes and rewrite the first paragraph with a strong lede now.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Look at this story for a great lede.

October 23 -- To do

I will be back tomorrow. Please work on your videos and start your story for this week. Please share with me what you plan to write this week when we meet tomorrow. We need some sports coverage as we go into playoffs.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

October 11 -- Assignment for today at News U

Click here for the Be A Reporter Game.

The Poynter Institute teaches reporters how to report or to get better at their game. You will need to sign up with them. Please do that. This game is worth the time. Print off your score so that I know you did this.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

October 8 -- Assignment (Greer returns tomorrow)

Read first article on school lunches. Write a response in a couple paragraphs comparing what you know of the JFK school lunch to the article. Use your personal knowledge right now. Do you know students who take lunch every day? Are our lunches any healthier? See the following article.

No Appetite for Good-for-You School Lunches (a prime opportunity for a localized story, and one that you can enhance with observations and interviews in neighborhood schools) Click here for article.

THEN READ ONE OTHER ARTICLE OF YOUR CHOICE. JUST READ AND NOTE WHICH ONE YOU READ ON YOUR PAPER. I WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT LATER.

Four of Five Red Pencils to The Times on Fact-Checking the Debate (the NYT public editor on how The Times did) Click here for article.

Marijuana Only for the Sick? A Farce, Some Angelenos Say. Click here for article.

Emory Confronts a Legacy of Bias Against Jews. Click here for article.

Student IDs That Track the Students (in Texas) Click here for article.

Helping a Child to Come Out. Click here for article

Tributes From Times Readers Mattered Most (about Arthur Sulzberger). Click here for article.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md

October 5, 2012 - Current Event Quiz

This is not a typical current events quiz.

Look at CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and one other press outlet. Look at their coverage of the debate and write a synopsis (with links to the site) of what you think they said. Small paragraph from each outlet with your impression of the coverage. Remember to show YOUR analysis. This will make you a better reporter because you need to know the news but also look at how others are covering it.

5 pts for each news outlet analysis. 20 pts total. Hand in to sub.

Ms. Greer Silver Spring, Md.

October 3 - Short exercise warm-up

Click here for more on MacArthur Genius Awards. This is particularly well-developed site that explains the work of the awardees. Note that videos follow the five-shot rule. We want to do that, too. You will be interviewing different people for your pieces and you need to know this rule like the back of your hand.

Watch at least two of the videos and describe the way they use this five-shot rule while telling about the awardee. This is not just an exercise in tedium. By observing and writing down how you see this done, you are also making it stick in your mind. You are on your way to video muscle memory, so to speak. 10 pts.

Stories are still due for the paper at the end of the period.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

October 2 - Classwork

In addition to the stories/work you need to turn in, you need to keep abreast of breaking news. Yesterday, they released the names of the MacArthur Genius Awards. Click here for the news on this. Do you know what that is? What happens to the winners? Who they are? What their work is about? Write answers to these questions. 8 pts.

Now, pretend we gave Genius Awards here. Pick five students you believe would be considered a genius in some fashion. They could be artists, scientists, musicians, designers, etc. Something that makes them stand above the rest. Write up a small paragraph about each of them that explains why they were chosen. (15 pts.)

Lastly, make a genius profile of yourself. Why should you be considered a winner of a genius award? 2 pts.

This is a good assignment for several reasons. There is no road map. You have to make a decision about why you chose this person which correlates with picking stories to cover. It is localizing a national story to our Kennedy landscape. These are all things good reporters do.

Total points: 25
Due on Wednesday, October 3
Hand in on paper.
No lates will be accepted
Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Sept 25 -- How can we localize this story?

Check out this story. What questions would you ask other students about their sleep patterns and how it affects their behavior or their day?

Write up five potential people to cover this story and why you think they would be good to follow. For example, you know a student who is killer with a certain video game or they are on social media with tons of twitter posts and followers but it may be affecting his/her grades. 10 pts.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

September 14 -- News story ideas (193 things)

Well, some great minds over the summer made this list

Photojournalism -- Look at

TEd Talk on photojournalism Click here.

Photojournalism - Watch this

Here are two videos on photojournalism that you must watch.

Click here is the first one.

Click here is second one.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

March 2 - Great piece to check out

Here is a link to a wonderful piece on dementia in prison. Wow. Just the photography alone is amazing but when you add the narration and nat sound, double wow. Click here to watch and listen.

Feb. 21 - Design Exercise for Paper Newspaper

Click here and take this tutorial.

WE have to decide whether we want to spend the money for a paper that is made out of trees.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Feb 4, 2011 Radio Rookies

Click here for Radio Rookies story.

Feb.21 - Journalism comics

Check this out: Journalism comics

Ms. Greer

Silver Spring, Md.

Jan. 31 - Grammar

So here is a reality check. Click here.

Ms. Greer

Silver Spring, Md.

Jan 11

According to a new Gallup poll, 50% of Americans think that pot should be made legal. Click here to read the poll.
Questions a reporter might ask include:
How prevalent are drug problems at school?

What is the current drug of choice?

What is the school doing about it?

What is the community doing about it?

What are the school policies toward drugs and how do they compare to other schools policies?

Answers should come from school staff, students, teachers, parents, police and substance abuse counselors

Ms. Greer

Silver Spring, Md.