Background interviews are a strong way to gather knowledge without padding and bias. Knowing what information to use displays ‘news sense’. Pre-interviews help with context and eliminating fluff.

We should spend no more than 20 to 30 minutes on research. When writing a story on a subject we should always read the last article written about it to know what new angles we can come at the story from.

When interviewing go to the person of highest authority available, it won’t always be a captain.

Stop making assumptions. Assumptions are baseless and not supported by fact. Use judgement, but not without solid statistics or concrete evidence.

Loyalist College Bancroft Campus is a satellite campus, which was established in 1967.

Credit: Loyalist College news release for source material.

It is one thing to boo a player for not living up to expectations, but it is quite another to cheer after the player has been knocked unconscious on the field. Eric Winston, teammate of Chief’s quarterback Matt Cassel who suffered the injury unloaded on the cheering fans in a post game locker room interview.

I am by no means a big football fan, but it doesn’t take a television football analyst to tell you that cheering for a head injury is wrong. As Winston said “We are athletes. We are not gladiators, and this is not the Roman Coliseum.”

While being critical of the fans who cheered against his teammate as he lied motionless on the ground, Winston praised the fan’s right to cheer and/or boo for who they want and accepting personal responsibility and welcoming criticisms as a player.

To the fans, it’s just a game, but to those players, it’s their livelihood on the line. Those fans in attendance who cheered the injury of Matt Cassel should be ashamed of themselves.

Credit for video goes to KickAsshTv

 
Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), a member of the Committee of Science, Space and Technology is taking heat for some controversial remarks he made recently at Liberty University.  The Georgia Republican stated and I quote “God’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell.”

The Congressmen was adamant that the world is no older than 9,000 years old, despite overwhelming evidence. There is strong proof of civilizations existing some 10,000 years ago, not to mention ancient mammals, forests and the tens of thousands of Dinosaur fossils dug up worldwide to this day.

The congressman’s words are perhaps most startling because of the position he holds with in the scientific community. After all, you wouldn’t want Professor Hawking teaching Sunday school, now would you.

“Sound”

“Interview”

When I heard that my Uncle had died I went silent. I couldn’t express emotions. So I walked up the stairs, grabbed a sheet of paper, maybe two and I wrote. As tears began to pour out of my eyes, I knew what I had to do.

A box of ash, photographs and memories were all that remained of Dave Archer. His wife, Debbie was inconsolable, almost catatonic. Unable to cry, unable to laugh and unable to display her infectious personality. Debbie Archer had lost her soul mate.

As I read that letter to my Uncle I heard laughter, I heard people cry and I saw smiles on every face in front of me.

When I left the podium, I was greeted with hugs, with handshakes and the kindest words I have ever heard. But that all paled by comparison to my Aunt Debbie’s reaction. Laughter, tears and the biggest hug I’ve ever received. Debbie Archer kept that letter, and she returned to a sort of normalcy afterwards.

That is my proudest moment.

Sean Carleton

Lecture notes: October 1, 2012

Walter Lippmann was against the mob mentality, laxness and propaganda (spin) in newspaper in his time. Lippmann believed in a supply of trustworthy and relevant news, he taught us the importance of everyday news as well.

Today, however present the resurrection of spin might be, is very different. Our audience is able to peak beyond the curtain and voice their opinions in ways previously unimaginable.

This has switched our role from inform, explain and interpret to educate, engage and empower. An educated audience will make educated decisions, they will vote and our democracy will be strengthened.

In 2012 journalists not only answer to editors but to thousands of people online. We have an obligation to our audience to be honest. We are held accountable if we are mess up. And if we can’t go to sleep at night clear of conscience, we will have trouble as journalists.

We (journalists) make important news relevant and interesting to the viewers while maintaining independence and relying on credible sources and fact based information to educate our audience.

Professional journalists are separated from ‘citizen journalists’ by standards and practises, the process of verification based on facts and because we earn the public’s trust based on credibility and loyalty while remaining as objective as possible.

The Internet has drastically changed the way people consume and interact with the news. Everyone has a soapbox now, we give these people a voice through our stories. Humans are in-born with the need to communicate, to share ideas and to be informed, and the Internet gives everyone an open form for criticism and interaction with journalists.

We have come a long way since the invention of the printing press.

While looking for the proper journalistic blog I came across three people of interest. Kady O’Malley, Cenk Uygur and Franklin McNeil. But there could be only one.

When you can make an article sing just by explaining the importance of the most elementary and underutilized punch in mixed martial arts, you’re a natural born sports writer.

Franklin McNeil has been covering sports, namely boxing & mixed martial arts in particular for over 30 years. Starting as a copy boy in 1980.

Franklin McNeil’s blogs are informative without being overwhelming. Paragraphs are kept short, giving McNeil’s audience breathing room.

Franklin currently works for ESPN.com as an MMA/Boxing writer. His pieces are both informal and informative.

Franklin McNeil has a very specific audience.

Combat sports fans both adore and criticize McNeil on a daily basis.

McNeil rarely responds directly to comments, but has been known to respond to questions on ESPN.com’s online show MMA Live.

While McNeil tends to focus on fighter techniques footwork and athletic conditioning, he has no problem covering the human side of fighters.

Franklin McNeil comes off as professional but he’s not afraid to have fun either.

McNeil often makes predictions but he is not one to champion particular fighters and wave their banners.

Franklin McNeil is fair. He goes in-depth and he lets you know what you want to know about upcoming fights and analysis.

While his professional style and classic sports writing approach may not always appeal to the more casual fans, McNeil is perfectly capable of engaging just about any fight fan.

Despite being an annalist at heart, McNeil is proficient at drawing you into the fights and making you feel as if you have cage side seats without writing like an Oxford professor.

This brings me to detail.

I’m not sure if it is McNeil’s encyclopedic knowledge of fighting, his vivid analysis the fact that he uses an artistic approach when detailing fight results, or if it is a combination of all three, but McNeil gets fighting and fighters.

I am a big fan of McNeil’s articles, and I believe that is because he loves fighting as much as I do, nay more than I do.

Franklin McNeil may have a background in literature, but he doesn’t use it to beat you over the head with.

As for the blog itself, the presentation is sleek, well polished and not surprisingly it screams ESPN.

McNeil incorporates social media, fighter interviews and highlight photos to make his blog pop.

If you’re a sports fan, you will enjoy McNeil’s blog. If politics are more your thing, may I suggest you go elsewhere.
Sources: http://www.linkedin.com/in/franklinmcneil & http://search.espn.go.com/franklin-mcneil/

What is true now may not be true later. The further down we drill, the more questions we ask, the more hunches we follow, the more truth we reveal. Absolute truth is deeper down.

Put a face on your story. For a higher quality of story, give your story the human factor. A seemingly unimportant event can be turned into a story about people, and how that story impacts them.

Always come to story meetings with at least one story to pitch. There is nothing worse than coming into a story meeting empty handed. You never know when you might be saddled with a hokey story about running shoes because you didn’t have an idea of your own.

Press releases are often sent out to make a company look good, other times they contain solid information. If you can distinguish between vital information and glorified advertisements, it will help. Rely on your natural abilities to sniff out a story and you will do well.

A follow up story on the death of Sam “The Record Man” Sniderman would be an interview with the owner of the last remaining Sam The Record Man, Spencer Destun. Follow up on stories other people may not follow up on. Even if updates take weeks to come in we need to follow up on them.

When you have great sources and facts to back up a story, it doesn’t need to be a novella. Cooperation with other journalists and pooling of resources can give shorter stories legs. Ask tough questions, contact solid sources and use your investigative instincts. Remember, a hunch can lead to a great story.

Takeaways:

In Monday’s lecture Rob Washburn taught us the five characteristics of “hard news”:

Timeliness: Hard news happens now, not 2 weeks ago. We report on stories as they happen, immediately.

Importance: As journalists we are required to explain the importance of a story to our audience. Explain; what could happen if we go to war, if there is a postal strike or if the world economy takes another hit? Explain how stories affect the average person.

Proximity: The size of the story doesn’t always matter, but it us how close the story hits to home that affects us does matter. Faulty traffic lights in Trenton could be more important to local tobviewers than what happened half the world away.

Oddities: From time to time oddities matter, but, if you cover just the oddities and you forget stories that matter you could risk losing your audience.

Prominence: The Prime Minister pull troops out of Afghanistan takes prominence over the NHL Lockout.

Real journalism focuses on real issues, multiple angles and news that affects the viewer’s lives, it’s not about celebrity.

News is now, it affects us at the moment. As journalists we will learn to tell the difference and focus on what is worth reporting.

Journalists are around to inform the public so that they can make informed decisions.

Everyone sees things differently in 2012, as Journalists we need to appeal to a broader audience.

News affects us right away. As journalists we learn to tell the difference between news and everything else in order to focus on what is worth reporting.