Feb 29 - JOURNALISM (8th pd.) Assignment (15 pts)

This was a prize-winning photo from the Sony competition that Ms. Greer loved. Guess what is going on.

Click here for the link to the grammar police at The New York Times.

Plenty to learn from this. If you plan to major in journalism, you generally have to pass a grammar test and an AP Style test to be admitted. They aren't playing.

Click here for words journalists use/overuse but we never really say.

Scroll down and look at the words people turned in.

Can you think of overused words we use?

Now check out another cool item in the NY Times by clicking here.

This is cool picture puzzle thing. Test yourself by looking carefully, guessing what the photo might be about and then checking if you were correct on Fridays. Look at the entries from prior weeks today.

Write up your thoughts about these three links and turn in to me tomorrow. Show evidence that you really looked at them and you teach me something from your analysis.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

TV Production Assignment - Feb. 29 15 pts.

We have two weeks to get our projects done for the film festival. Today is look around and gather info. Combine a group. Think about what you can do.

Write a response to the following NYTimes videos and film trailers.

Click here for 1. The Revenant clip

What do you notice about this shot sequence? Does it make you think about the way you will shoot? How do you plan that?

2. Click here for the clip to The Race.

3. Here is the link to Creed.

These are the groups that are registered for the 7-day competition.

"*" means the contact person in the group.

Group 1

*Alisha White
Pattie Saunders
Viviana Vacaflor

Group 2

*Crystal Ubadiniru
Myliah Brown
Maria Ramos

Group 3

Muhammad Zina
*Asita Zina
Alex Sorgo
Bubakar Bojang
Michael Diaz

Group 4

*Chris Amparo
Milton Flores
Marta Esayes
Carlos Alonzo
Josue Hernandez
Jason Zepeda
Alex Alvarez

Group 5

Truman Becker
Stephanie Mora
*Blaine Tadesse
Kevin Bonilla

Group 6

Steven Espinosa
Khalid Mohamud
*Henry Haley Goldman
Nick DeGirolamo

Group 7

*Chynna Kelley
Talia Callands
Renee Bond
Arnaldo Pesoa

Feb 24 - TV Production Why is Journalism Important?

This is Scholastic Journalism Week.

We need to answer why it is important on tape for the show on Friday. Think of a good answer or a personal one. We will call you up when it is your turn to be interviewed on tape.

You will also have a current affairs quiz. You get 12 min. to do this. You are allowed to look up answers on the computer or your phone.

Friday all groups must be finalized for the 7-day competition. Everyone must be in a group making a film.

Ms. Greer
Silver Spring, Md.

Feb 24 -- Journalism Assignment -- Watch these videos and answer the questions. (20 pts) Due: Friday

1. Watch the 30 min video.

Here is the link to the article and the video on Barton Gellman, a student journalist superhero.

What were the issues with this court case? Look up and explain what Tinker is. Also, explain what Gambino is in the context of the court case.

2. Here is another short video with student journalists I want you to watch. Click here for the video.

What are the issues in this second video? (Hint: There are two. What are they?)

P.S. What are the differences in the way the two different reporters talk? Do you notice something? This is just something I noticed. What do you think?

Ms. Greer Silver Spring, Md.

TV Production - Film Festival Assignment (Total 70 points)

You all will be working on film competition submissions.

This will have to be carefully planned as we have to ration cameras.

Twenty (20) points will be for the planning and submission of your planning sheet with script.
Due Friday, March 4. THAT is also the day that the 7-day competition requirements drop.

Twenty (30) points will be for the execution of the project.
Due March 10 beginning of class

Twenty (20) will be for the reflection and critique of your group partners (individual points will be taken off for slackers).
Due March 11

Feb 22 - Journalism -- 15 pts

Caption Rule

First sentence, describe action in the photo. Present tense.
Second sentence, give background. What 5Ws/H are we missing? Paste tense.
Third sentence, content. Give me a good storytelling quote or interesting information. Past tense.

Go to the paper and look at the caption under the Sports vs. Social life story by Andrea.

YOu are going to take three pictures of students in this classroom and write caption for all three in the style above. Due at the end of the period.

Feb 22 - TV Production on Senior Slump

Check out The Buzz here.

Feb. 8 TV Production - Editing (20 pts)

I understand that some of you are brand new and I will cut you some slack.

But returning students must make a two-minute package that distills the message of whatever file you are given. This is for the show.

No copyright music allowed.

See these tutorials if you get stuck.

I am here to help you.

Ms. Greer

Journalism - Feb 4 Assignment -- Captioning

See the following photos. Write a caption in the style of the video at the bottom of this post.

Click here for the tutorial for captioning.

Feb.2 - Journalism Assignment

Here is a news skill we will learn to sell ads on our news site. Click this link from the Berkeley School of Journalism. I cannot print the tutorial, so just leave it on your desktop to refer to as you go through the steps.

Feb1 -- Journalism Organization This Semester

The class is going to be broken into teams. This is also called Maestro (more on that later).

Each team has 5-6 reporters. They're basically on a 4-week rotation with about a third of each team assigned to each:

Type A stories (these basically are full length news/feature--500+ words and 3+ sources). They take a week to write* and week to research.
Type B stories (350 or so words 2+ sources can be researched and written* in a week)
Type C stories (opinions, reviews, "Buzzfeed" type listicles etc.) that can be researched and written in a week).
Type D stories. (Basically briefs. 200 words or fewer. 24 hour turnaround. Sports gamers in ALT format, basic Bloomberg Formula beats (Straight Lead, Quote, Factual paragraph, Quote).

So the week you are researching a Type A you might be doing a type D or two, then the next week writing and editing the longer story then a couple weeks rotating through shorter pieces before getting back in the rotation on a larger piece and on and on and on. It's our first year on this system and it's working well (ish) after a semester--still breaking editors from four years of thinking PRINT vs. WEB as opposed to continuous news cycle.

*includes editing/revising time.

TYPE D -- ALT format

It's a very specific type of ALTernative Copy Format we use for sports gamers. Totally stolen and modified from the way the Detroit Free Press does them, presumably for quick turnarounds to get into their outstate editions. They are something that can be turned around, edited and posted within one class period.

Here is what it looks like in the Detroit Free Press.

Here is what ALT format would look like turned around in one class period.

TYPE D --Basic Bloomberg Formula beats are modeled here.

Bloomberg Formula is simply a four paragraph formula Bloomberg uses for breaking news. (They update frequently, we probably wouldn't)

Straight News Summary Lead.
Quote
Factual paragraph
Quote

Hypothetical Bloomberg Format story:

The library will host a coloring therapy event to reduce exam stress on Jan. 20, after school until 3:30 p.m.
"We know kids are pretty stressed out during exam season," media specialist Gloria Klinger said. "We wanted to do something fun and creative to help get kids' heads into good space. I had seen a recent article about how adults are using adult coloring books to reduce stress and improve brain function and I thought we should try it."

The library will provide coloring books, most of which were purchased with the help of a donation from the Student Senate. Crayons/colored pencils will be available but students are encouraged to bring their own as supplies will be limited.

"In the big picture, this probably doesn't do a whole lot," Klinger said. "The week is still going to be a stress bomb. But this is fun, there's actually some science behind it and it should give some kids a laugh and a chance to be a kid again during one of the most stressful times of the year."

P.S. If you were wondering how the newspapers and press outlets are working across media platforms, check this article from Vox.