1. Glenn Hegar, a comptroller, was asked by Sen. Royce West "is the sky falling in Texas?" This was in regard to falling oil prices. Hegar responded by saying it wasn't but we do need to keep close attention to oil prices and how it affects us. Hegar supported this by saying although state revenue has dropped, the state budget won't be badly affected and that Texas is less dependent on the gas and oil industry than it has been in the past. Severance taxes are taxes on oil and gas. They will bring in less money than expected due to the dip in oil and gas prices.
2. Donald Trump is sitting out of the final presidential debate due to his disagreements with moderator and FOX anchor Megyn Kelly. This is a risky decision because Monday is the day of Iowa's caucuses. Instead he will be hosting an event to benefit wounded warriors and other veteran groups. I think it will help his campaign if the event is highly publicized because if there's one thing Republicans love, it's veterans. The democratic candidates are debating on whether to attend a newly proposed debate that is not sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. It looks like they will not participate, as Hillary Clinton says she'll only take part if all the other candidates do and Bernie Sanders has stated he will not participate. Five days later is the New Hampshire primary. It doesn't look like the debate will take place because only Martin O'Malley has said he will participate.
3. Brazil troops are fighting mosquitoes by trying to eradicate the insect and handing out repellant to pregnant women. Zika and dengue are diseases that are spread by mosquitoes. Zika causes microcephaly, a birth defect in which the baby is born with a remarkably small head. Brazil has had an outbreak of Zika, which has caused them to start fighting this war. The health minister's suggestion that women try to stop getting pregnant until the crisis was resolved was controversial because it was seen as fatalistic, as if Brazilians should just give up. Brazil's Carnival celebration is coming up in a month and Rio de Janeiro is set up to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
4. Steven Weinberg has decided to ban guns from his classrooms, despite UT's decision to comply with the law. Chancellor McRaven announced that all UT System campuses should develop gun policies while still following the law. The campus carry law will go into effect August 1st. The open carry law went into effect on January 1st. Justin Wood said that the law hasn't had much effect, explaining that “most of the people who were concealed carrying are still concealed carrying."
5. Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, objected to the US government's settling of Syrian refugees in Texas without giving the state without giving the state the official one-week notice. The Justice Department settled seven Syrians, a couple and their five children, in Houston. Paxton had filed a suit to block resettlement efforts on December 2nd. The request was denied by the judge.
6. If the Lady Longhorns beat Kansas, it will mark 1,000 all-time wins for them. The Lady Longhorns are doing well this season, they're ranked 6th in the country. Their greatest weakness, according to the article, is that they play too aggressively and get sloppy.
7. I liked Austin's obituary more because it seemed more sincere and personal. The New York Times just listed his achievements, so it seemed more detached and sort of boring (especially since I haven't seen any of his work). I liked the Times lead better however because I feel like it gave more information.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Feature Writing
1. In this day and age, journalists are finding it harder and harder to keep people's attention due to social media and fast news. Sports columnist Jim Albom's speech details how a reporter might change his writing to keep a reader engaged. He says that the most a journalist has to offer is their writing skills. He goes through the segments of a news story, the lead, the middle, and the end, and tells us how to write each one to provide an exciting and interesting news story.
2. Leads: When writing leads, don't just stick to the basic information. A lead like that comes off as boring and dry to a reader. Instead, use "misdirection," make the reader think they are reading something interesting while still providing them with the facts. Write the lead as if it was the beginning of a story while still incorporating the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Middles: To write a good middle, you must write about something beyond what is obvious in the story. Instead of writing about a basketball player's refusal to accept $10 million dollars, expecting more, write about people working minimum wage jobs and ask them what they think of that basket ball player. People already hear the apparent on the news and on social media, a reporter must take a new perspective in order to keep the story fresh.
Ends: A good ending doesn't necessarily have to be big. An understated ending often works better. It's what's left unsaid that resounds more with readers. Instead of telling the readers what to think about something, describe a picture that makes them feel something.
3. "One bullet. Follow its flight and you witness a devastation that far exceeds its caliber. A swath that cuts a community in two. You see children weeping and parents dumb with grief. You see a soccer team wearing armbands and a makeshift tombstone on a high school lawn. You see accused murderers in chains being cheered outside a courthouse. You see witnesses changing their stories. You see a Christmas tree in a suburban home devoid of presents for the oldest boy. You see a father in a hospital as a yellow body bag is unzipped. He looks at the face that used to be so bright, used to be his son, and is forever shattered by the hole of one bullet." I really like this paragraph of writing, especially the line "follow it's flight and you witness a devastation that far exceeds its caliber." I just think it really cool and original and it would have NEVER expected to read it as part of a news piece.
"He went out to the cemetery and interviewed the guy who was digging the grave for President Kennedy. He was the only guy to think of this. His whole column was just about how this guy was digging this dirt up and how he was trying to make the hole really perfect because this was a really special grave. Through the eyes of this lowly grave digger, whose only connection to Kennedy was the fact that he was digging the hole in the ground in which he was going to be placed, he captured the heartbreak of the country way better — way better — than the hundreds of other columnists who wanted to write that big sweeping broad statement. He went and found a person, and through the eyes of that one particular person, told a story for everyone." Once again, I picked a quote because I am impressed by the actions of Jimmy Breslin. The dude is so original. Just hearing about it made me want to read that Kennedy story.
"There’s very little that anybody can do about it now, about this guy getting off. However, it is chain-snatching season. So I suggest that if anyone should ever get an opportunity to see whatever his name was again in the buff, maybe they want to grab that chain and run with it." I think the contrast between such a tragic and depressing story and a sort of humorous ending is so interesting, especially the way it only made the story sadder.
"The best writing just lets it sit there. Trust your readers, they’re pretty smart. They know how to read, they’re already ahead of most of the rest of the country. And they’ll get it, they’ll get what you’re trying to say. It’ll resonate with them." I think this is good advice for any kind of writer. I've seen a lot of people, including myself, overdo it trying to be meaningful or original or edgy. I guess it's kind of like "kill your darlings." Your writing should be able to stand without flowery gestures or sweeping declarations.
2. Leads: When writing leads, don't just stick to the basic information. A lead like that comes off as boring and dry to a reader. Instead, use "misdirection," make the reader think they are reading something interesting while still providing them with the facts. Write the lead as if it was the beginning of a story while still incorporating the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Middles: To write a good middle, you must write about something beyond what is obvious in the story. Instead of writing about a basketball player's refusal to accept $10 million dollars, expecting more, write about people working minimum wage jobs and ask them what they think of that basket ball player. People already hear the apparent on the news and on social media, a reporter must take a new perspective in order to keep the story fresh.
Ends: A good ending doesn't necessarily have to be big. An understated ending often works better. It's what's left unsaid that resounds more with readers. Instead of telling the readers what to think about something, describe a picture that makes them feel something.
3. "One bullet. Follow its flight and you witness a devastation that far exceeds its caliber. A swath that cuts a community in two. You see children weeping and parents dumb with grief. You see a soccer team wearing armbands and a makeshift tombstone on a high school lawn. You see accused murderers in chains being cheered outside a courthouse. You see witnesses changing their stories. You see a Christmas tree in a suburban home devoid of presents for the oldest boy. You see a father in a hospital as a yellow body bag is unzipped. He looks at the face that used to be so bright, used to be his son, and is forever shattered by the hole of one bullet." I really like this paragraph of writing, especially the line "follow it's flight and you witness a devastation that far exceeds its caliber." I just think it really cool and original and it would have NEVER expected to read it as part of a news piece.
"He went out to the cemetery and interviewed the guy who was digging the grave for President Kennedy. He was the only guy to think of this. His whole column was just about how this guy was digging this dirt up and how he was trying to make the hole really perfect because this was a really special grave. Through the eyes of this lowly grave digger, whose only connection to Kennedy was the fact that he was digging the hole in the ground in which he was going to be placed, he captured the heartbreak of the country way better — way better — than the hundreds of other columnists who wanted to write that big sweeping broad statement. He went and found a person, and through the eyes of that one particular person, told a story for everyone." Once again, I picked a quote because I am impressed by the actions of Jimmy Breslin. The dude is so original. Just hearing about it made me want to read that Kennedy story.
"Instead of you saying, “this is terrible, this is sad, this is awful,” look for a picture that tells it better than you and just describe the picture. That’s what we can do as journalists and writers that nobody else can." Possibly the best way to summarize what he just spent like three pages explaining. Write your leads like the beginning of a story? Focus on something deeper than what's apparent in the news? Maybe just "describe the picture" would've sufficed.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
My Obituary ;^)
Eleanor Anne "Anna" Addison passed away on Sunday, August 29th in New York City. She was 90. The death was announced by her publicist on her Facebook page, listing the cause of death as old age. She is survived by her sister Jane, her partner Lucky Blue, her children Theodore Atticus, Bellamoon Gia, and Honey Heaven, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchild. She is preceded in death by her parents, Amy and Doug.
Anna was born on July 5th 1998 in Austin, TX. She graduated from McCallum High School and went on to Northwestern University where she majored in journalism. She entered the fashion industry at 19, when she began writing and modeling for Rookie, an online publication. She later went on to work for i-D magazine in London, building her reputation as a new and innovative face in the fashion world. After i-D, she went on to be the editor in chief of Nylon and then Vogue, a position at which she stayed at until her retirement in 2068.
Throughout her career, she was known as being rebellious and free-spirited in a world that while promoting creativity, adhered to unspoken rules and didn't leave much room for improvisation. She wasn't afraid to wear non-designer pieces or last season shoes. She wore vintage Levi's to go sit in the front row of runway shows and thrift store finds to be photographed outside the Four Seasons during fashion week. Her work as an editor is considered extremely influential, her DIY attitude brought new life into every magazine she worked on, giving them an aire of casual youthfulness and bringing about the idea in the fashion world that anyone could be fashionable, no matter their economic standing.
Despite her often demanding career in the fashion industry, family was always important to her. She remained close with her parents and sister, Jane, throughout her life. While working for Nylon, she met her longtime parter, male model Lucky Blue Smith. The couple were together 59 years until her death, and had three children together.
Even in death, Anna Addison will live on in our minds and the pages of Vogue, immortalized as a fashion icon. "Anna didn't reflect fashion," said her successor to Vogue, Christian Thompson. "Fashion reflected her her."
Anna was born on July 5th 1998 in Austin, TX. She graduated from McCallum High School and went on to Northwestern University where she majored in journalism. She entered the fashion industry at 19, when she began writing and modeling for Rookie, an online publication. She later went on to work for i-D magazine in London, building her reputation as a new and innovative face in the fashion world. After i-D, she went on to be the editor in chief of Nylon and then Vogue, a position at which she stayed at until her retirement in 2068.
Throughout her career, she was known as being rebellious and free-spirited in a world that while promoting creativity, adhered to unspoken rules and didn't leave much room for improvisation. She wasn't afraid to wear non-designer pieces or last season shoes. She wore vintage Levi's to go sit in the front row of runway shows and thrift store finds to be photographed outside the Four Seasons during fashion week. Her work as an editor is considered extremely influential, her DIY attitude brought new life into every magazine she worked on, giving them an aire of casual youthfulness and bringing about the idea in the fashion world that anyone could be fashionable, no matter their economic standing.
Despite her often demanding career in the fashion industry, family was always important to her. She remained close with her parents and sister, Jane, throughout her life. While working for Nylon, she met her longtime parter, male model Lucky Blue Smith. The couple were together 59 years until her death, and had three children together.
Even in death, Anna Addison will live on in our minds and the pages of Vogue, immortalized as a fashion icon. "Anna didn't reflect fashion," said her successor to Vogue, Christian Thompson. "Fashion reflected her her."
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Obituaries
It’s really hard for me to believe that David Bowie is dead because I never really considered the fact that an icon like him would someday be gone. He was such an enigma, so unreal that he grew to be something greater than human and somehow I unconsciously equated that to mean immortality. I owe David Bowie everything, I really do. I grew up with him. There’s a reason that I tell people that I would not be me if my mom didn’t play me her Modern Love 45 on my grandparent's old record player when I was a kid. I truly believe David Bowie was the greatest artist ever for his visionary brilliance and originality. He redefined what it meant to be a musician and what it meant to perform, combining his music with fashion, theater, and visual art. Although he borrowed from everyone from Chuck Berry to Japanese Kabuki theater actors, he was always completely unique. He also influenced so many people, myself included and not just in the way of music. He told us it was cool to be strange and even cooler to just be yourself, especially if that meant dying your mullet bright red and parading yourself around as a space alien rock 'n' roll star called Ziggy. Musically speaking, we now have so many musicians who have been inspired by him and strive to follow in his footsteps but while many musicians have sprung from the seeds that he sowed, no one can ever replicate him, no one can ever replace him, and no one can ever parallel his genius.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Narrative Journalism Questions
1. The writer paints Colin to be the typical, or at least ideal, American boy. He's smart, popular, and upper middle-class, and his behavior is typical of that of a boy his age. The most obvious instance of the connections the writer makes between Colin and other boys his age is when Colin and his best friend talk about girls. The writer includes statistics about adolescent boys and how they percieve gender and sex.
2. Colin often interacts with the writer, informing her of the going ons in his life, what's hip and what's not (the writer uses the phrase "he tells me"), and asks her what job her husband has. The writer also inserts her own questions that she asks Colin into the story, as if it is dialogue. The writer also opens the article with a description of what her life would be like if she married Colin. The effect of this is that the article comes off more as a field journal than a short story. It makes Colin seem more real, not just a character but something being observed and reported on.
3. The writer inserts herself into the story more than you would in a regular news story. In particular, the way she opens the article deviates from traditional news writing, with a description of what married life would be like with Colin, a ten year old boy.
4. The majority of the article seems to be the reporter interviewing and observing Colin at home and at school but I imagine that she also interviewed Colin's parents, his teacher, and his best friend alongside him. It probably only took a few days at the most.
5. "When he dreams, he dreams about moving to Wyoming which he has visited with his family. His plan is to buy land there and have some sort of ranch that will definitely include horses." The reporter probably asked Colin what he would like to do when he's older or where his favorite place was or a trip he took to see his family.
'That's the point!" he said. 'You could do it with thread, but the fishing line is invisible. Now I have this perfect thing and the only one who knows about it is me." The reporter probably pointed out how you couldn't see the fishing line unless it caught the light.
'The most beautiful woman in the world is not Madonna! Only Wayne and Garth think that! She looks like maybe a . . . a ... slut or something. Cindy Crawford looks like she would look good, but if you see her on an awards program on TV she doesn't look that good. I think the most beautiful woman in the world probably is my mom." The reporter might of asked him who he thought the most beautiful woman in the world was or what he thought of Madonna or even what he thought of Wayne's World.
2. Colin often interacts with the writer, informing her of the going ons in his life, what's hip and what's not (the writer uses the phrase "he tells me"), and asks her what job her husband has. The writer also inserts her own questions that she asks Colin into the story, as if it is dialogue. The writer also opens the article with a description of what her life would be like if she married Colin. The effect of this is that the article comes off more as a field journal than a short story. It makes Colin seem more real, not just a character but something being observed and reported on.
3. The writer inserts herself into the story more than you would in a regular news story. In particular, the way she opens the article deviates from traditional news writing, with a description of what married life would be like with Colin, a ten year old boy.
4. The majority of the article seems to be the reporter interviewing and observing Colin at home and at school but I imagine that she also interviewed Colin's parents, his teacher, and his best friend alongside him. It probably only took a few days at the most.
5. "When he dreams, he dreams about moving to Wyoming which he has visited with his family. His plan is to buy land there and have some sort of ranch that will definitely include horses." The reporter probably asked Colin what he would like to do when he's older or where his favorite place was or a trip he took to see his family.
'That's the point!" he said. 'You could do it with thread, but the fishing line is invisible. Now I have this perfect thing and the only one who knows about it is me." The reporter probably pointed out how you couldn't see the fishing line unless it caught the light.
'The most beautiful woman in the world is not Madonna! Only Wayne and Garth think that! She looks like maybe a . . . a ... slut or something. Cindy Crawford looks like she would look good, but if you see her on an awards program on TV she doesn't look that good. I think the most beautiful woman in the world probably is my mom." The reporter might of asked him who he thought the most beautiful woman in the world was or what he thought of Madonna or even what he thought of Wayne's World.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Feature Writing Questions
1. Hawthorne suggest that reporters go about realizing this objective by asking a themselves "what is the story really about?", identifying a theme, getting rid of anything that doesn't advance that theme, and using the "conflict, struggle, resolution."
2. The story should involve these literary devices: drama, character, conflict, dialogue, order, anticipation, climax and resolution.
2. The story should involve these literary devices: drama, character, conflict, dialogue, order, anticipation, climax and resolution.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Best of 2015
Photos:
1. The ballet dancers in St. Petersburg taken by Mujahid Safodien because I think it's a beautiful picture because of the blue light, the cell phones which automatically adds intrigue to the photo, and I used to be a ballet dancer so it really speaks to me.
2. President Obama and VP Biden celebrating the Affordable Care Act taken by Stephen Crowley because I think it's so cute and that it really has a lot of emotion in it.
3. The dead body in Paris taken by Jerome Delay because, besides the great composition of the photo, it was the picture that evoked the most emotional response from me also it's the picture that I think I saw the most (on social media and various news outlets) this year.
Best Song: 1. "Let It Happen" by Tame Impala. This song was both catchy and well-written, a pop song with meaning. It was my favorite song of 2015 and I listened to this whole album like once a day for 4 months after it came out.
Best Movie: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. I chose this because Kurt Cobain was an important figure to me when I was a kid so seeing this movie was a very emotional experience for me and I enjoyed it more than Star Wars.
Top News Story: Same Sex Marriage Debate. I chose this because I remember this day very clearly and I remember that it was full of joy and happiness and it changed the lives of so many people I know so you could say that it's the news event that had the most direct impact on me.
Person of the Year: Bernie Sanders. I chose him because I'll be voting this year and he really changed the way I, and many other people, saw politics.
Biggest Sports Story: Serena Williams lost the women's US Open when everyone thought she would win! I chose this because I think it's the sports story I heard the most about and also Serena Williams is the most decorated athlete in US history so I think every sports story involving her should be considered the biggest.
My Holiday
1. I met Art Levy, a KUTX DJ and producer and now I have the opportunity to get an internship at the radio station.
2. My resolution is to stop living in the past.
3. This year I'm looking forward to turning 18, applying to college, and voting!
1. The ballet dancers in St. Petersburg taken by Mujahid Safodien because I think it's a beautiful picture because of the blue light, the cell phones which automatically adds intrigue to the photo, and I used to be a ballet dancer so it really speaks to me.
2. President Obama and VP Biden celebrating the Affordable Care Act taken by Stephen Crowley because I think it's so cute and that it really has a lot of emotion in it.
3. The dead body in Paris taken by Jerome Delay because, besides the great composition of the photo, it was the picture that evoked the most emotional response from me also it's the picture that I think I saw the most (on social media and various news outlets) this year.
Best Movie: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. I chose this because Kurt Cobain was an important figure to me when I was a kid so seeing this movie was a very emotional experience for me and I enjoyed it more than Star Wars.
Top News Story: Same Sex Marriage Debate. I chose this because I remember this day very clearly and I remember that it was full of joy and happiness and it changed the lives of so many people I know so you could say that it's the news event that had the most direct impact on me.
Person of the Year: Bernie Sanders. I chose him because I'll be voting this year and he really changed the way I, and many other people, saw politics.
Biggest Sports Story: Serena Williams lost the women's US Open when everyone thought she would win! I chose this because I think it's the sports story I heard the most about and also Serena Williams is the most decorated athlete in US history so I think every sports story involving her should be considered the biggest.
My Holiday
1. I met Art Levy, a KUTX DJ and producer and now I have the opportunity to get an internship at the radio station.
2. My resolution is to stop living in the past.
3. This year I'm looking forward to turning 18, applying to college, and voting!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)