Read all questions before beginning this reflection. Post to your Weblog by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. (I changed this...sorry this was late to be posted. I know...I'm a loser.) Please put some thought into answering the questions below. I'm interested in effort and honesty...there are no right answers.

1. Discuss the highlights and lowlights of your process in writing your story. I want to know what you learned from your successes and failures. What did you learn about journalism? What did you learn about the process? What did you learn about yourself? Be specific an thorough.

2. Critique your story. What are it's strengths and weaknesses? What did you do well? What, given more time and enthusiasm, would have made it better?

3. What was good and bad about this class? Be honest.

4. What opinions or thoughts do you have about the quality of media and journalism that we get?

5. Write about any other observations about the class or about your experiences here that may be meaningful.

Well, here we are. This is what it has come to:

"This...is...it. Pray for not failing."

"FINAL DRAFT!!!!!!!!! ( PLEASE GIVE ME A "B"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I WORKED REALLY HARD!!!!!"

"PLLLEEAASSSEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! ...I'm so freaking out..."

Prayers. Begging. Puhleese people. Have some dignity.

All I can say is I truly apologize for the torture and agony that I put you through this quarter. Your constant sniveling and whining makes me know that my choice to leave teaching is the right one. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ahhhhh....just kiddin!

So, I hope you're feeling good about your stories. I hope some of you, at least, feel it was worth the effort, and that you are really proud of what you created. As I look over these, I think many of you can be proud. I hope you feel a little of that mixed in with your relief.

Like I said, I'll have the reflection posted on Sunday night, but my expectation is you work on it in class on Monday. Good luck with all of your exams, and please let me know if you get your story published (or any others in the future.) Don't be strangers...

Link O' the Day: This year, we're going all the way...

Now I know that MOST of you have been working hard on your stories, and I can sense that many of you are feeling some trepidation about tomorrow's deadline. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I've decided to extend the deadline until Monday. Details here.

I want to give you a couple of reminders:

Those of you who have gotten positive responses back need to send your stories out.

Don't forget to e-mail your mentors one last time, thanking them for their efforts and asking them to take a look at your final product.

Give Dana money for bagels.

PUHLEEESE...proofread. Check the style sheet to make sure you have everything covered.

Link O' the Day: From the things are looking up dept.

AND ANOTHER FOR YOU SENIORS!

# Posted to the Daily Dose Department at 4/1/04; 6:55:26 AM- Discuss -

First of all, this should scare you, especially the first line of the second graf. What is up with that?

Ok...I see progress everywhere...well, almost. Keep at it boy and girls. You'll make it happen.

At some point this week, I'd like you to send one more note to your mentor letting him/her know that your deadline is Friday and if they have any advice they should spill it now. Please copy me on any that you do send.

On a personal note, in light of yesterday's discussion, I started thinking about the little things my wife and kids and I try to do to make a difference. Maybe you can take one or two for yourselves:

We buy organic, and preferably locally grown foods. (That last part is the key.)

We don't eat meat, chicken and certain kinds of fish due to environmental effects the production of those items cause.

We buy things that come in recyclable packaging or no packaging at all.

We recycle everything we can. (See this site.)

We bring cloth bags to the grocery store for reuse (and we get 3 cents a bag back!)

We ask for no bag when we don't absolutely need one.

We reuse plastic bags (of which this country throws away 15 millions a day.)

We have plastic coffee and water cups...my wife insists on NO PLASTIC BOTTLES (of which this country throws away 2.5 million every hour.)

We buy bathroom tissue made from recyled products.

We buy biodegradable dish and clothes washing soap.

We buy used clothes for ourselves and our kids.

We turn our thermostat down to 60 at night.

We use flourscent light bulbs.

We're buying a wood pellet stove.

We flush every other time (unless of course...)

We trap the cold water that starts every shower in containers for use elsewhere (plants, dishes, etc.)

We turn off every light when not in use.

We only buy stuff that we really NEED (82% of the time, at least.)

We compost kitchen scraps.

We reuse plastic utensils.

We reuse aluminum foil, and we try not to use plastic wrap.

We are involved in political campaigns.

We sign petitions.

We volunteer at soup kitchens and such, though not as much as we'd like to.
Like I said, we are not even close to being perfect with all of this. But I will say that we have done our homework, and at least we know when we're not being pefect and we live with that choice. 99 percent of this is knowing, and if you want to be a good citizen of this world, you have some homework to do. Don't feel guilty about what you have or what you do, just work to change some things for the better. We'll appreciate it.

Link O' the Day: We should all be interested to see how this turns out. Oh, and by the way, check out the lead.

# Posted to the Daily Dose Department at 3/31/04; 6:18:41 AM- Discuss -

The end is definitely in sight. We're almost there. You can do it. Really. You can.

After reading your goals, I'm seeing about three of you in the 90% done range, about 7 of you in the 80% range, and about three of you in the oh-my-god-what-the-heck-am-I-going-to-do range (67%). So, I'll say again, since most of you are still working, those 90 percenters out there should be helping...reading and commenting. If you haven't read all the stories yet, you really should. Some of them are very, very good.

Ok...so today we spend a little time talking about jobs...er...I mean word level editing. First, here's a reference to a journalism style sheet that you should use to check your story.

Link O' the Day: From the "It Could Be Worse" Department: "The schools there are so overcrowded that the children attend classes in shifts: half in the morning and half in the afternoon. The largest classes have as many as 180 students taught by a single teacher." Tragic.

Ok, I know you guys are getting sick of me. But you only have one week left. Here's what it looks like.

Today: We're going to check in on some stuff, I'm going to ask you to set some goals for the week, and then we'll have some fun.

Tomorrow: Some last feedback.

Wednesday: Word level editing and style.

Thursday and Friday: TBA depending on what you need (tho Friday will be a publication party of some sort.)

The second drafts that I have seen look really good. Let's give a shout out to Meredith on drafting, Kristen for feedback, Jenna for feedback, and Dana for drafting. Oh, and by the way did I mention the the work that Erica did on transitions?

(By the way, some of you need to take some time to color the changes in your second draft.)

Now I know that this is not a real major deal, but I'm going to publish links to your stories on my site today and ask people to read a couple and give you some feedback. Hopefully you'll get some good responses.

Link O' the Day: The future of newscasting...yuck.

Ok, so today we're going to give each other some focused feedback. Here are the steps:

Prep--On the top of the draft you want someone to read, list three specific questions that you want your reviewer to address. (Questions like "Do you like it?" mean you forfeit your bagel.) Think about where you feel your story is weak. What are you struggling with from a writing standpoint? What needs to be better?

Feedback--When it's time, and when you get your reviewees, here's what I want you to do. Copy the entire story. Click on discuss. Paste the story into the box. When you react or make suggestions, color them blue. When you make corrections, color them red.

Some hints--In order to do feedback well, you have to tune into not only the story but your reader's brain as well. Remember, reading is a conversation with the author. You should be aware of your reactions and responses as you read, and YOU SHOULD SHARE THESE WITH THE AUTHOR. Here's an example:

Many people probably think that starting school at 7:30 is a good idea and has a lot of benefits to it, which it does have, says Lisa Brady. Who are the many people and how many are we talking about? By starting this early it allows students to be out at 2:00p.m. So does that mean we'll never start any later? This allows students to be able to travel to other schools for sports, be able to have tutorials until 2:50p.m, and allows students more time for after school jobs. Yeah, but I know other schools don't start as early as we do and they still do all that stuff.

According to teacher Christopher Bellotti, “The only benefit I can see is that it frees up the afternoon.” This needs to be restructured to put the attribution after the quote. Mr. Bellotti continued by stating, “Academically I don’t see any strong advantages,” talking about starting school at 7:30a.m. I wonder if he thinks it's a disadvantage.

According to an article from The Washington Post titled “Workshop Takes Pulse of Sleepy Teens; Researchers See Conflict in Early High School Starting Times,” research shows that teenagers need at least 9 hours of sleep a night. Really? That seems like a lot. However according to Emily Shartin of the Boston Globe adolescents also aren’t generally found to be sleepy until around 11p.m. Ok, so what does that mean? By waking up at 7:30 for school every morning, I wake up earlier than that. if students simply cannot seem to fall asleep earlier than 11p.m this is why students seem to be so tired, especially during morning classes. Sounds like you are saying this. Psychological and biological research has been done that proves that students cannot be expected to be fully awake and alert until about 8:30a.m according to Central teacher Christopher Bellotti. I think you need to be more specific about the research. I want to know why I'm not awake until 8:30.

In an article titled “Wake up call,” in the Boston Globe When? it stated that, “To give students more time to sleep, Duxbury High is considering making the start of the school day- now 7:25 a.m. - at least one hour later. A committee of teachers, parents, and students spent the past year reviewing research indicating that a later school start time is more suited to the natural sleep needs of teenagers.” Principal Wayne Ogden also went on to say, “Our conclusion was this makes sense for the kids.” This is pretty good stuff, but how does it relate to Central? Did you ask anyone if this might happen here?

Now, should you be as specific as that? Well, um, yes, you should. The hardest part about writing is getting to CORRECTLY understand what your readers are experiencing. This is a very good way of letting him or her know.

One last thing. It's time to be brutally honest. If something doesn't work, you need to say so. And if someone tells you something isn't working, you need to thank them.

Link O' the Day: Coaches Unite to Fight a Teen Danger

Transitions Hall of Fame:

While these types of fitness activities are oriented for a specific age group in the hopes that an enjoyment or satisfaction will be gained, there are many skeptics out there who simply are not convinced yet.

Vicki Stodart, Group Fitness Director at HealthQuest, one of the east coast’s premier fitness facilities, voices her opinions concerning children ranging from three to eight years of age becoming acquainted with what it means to “work out”.

“Teaching body awareness is important...most children probably don't get enough exercise, many are very sedative...however 5 years and younger isn't appropriate for group fitness...kids should go outside and PLAY,” as stated by Ms. Stodart.

---

While her closet may be filled with the latest in designer wear, some of which has been acquired through shopping excursions in her family’s favorite vacation spot, Italy, Devin is not unlike many of her teen peers.

According to Michael Wood, Vice President of Teen Research Unlimited, a research company that specializes in American teens, Lawton is only one of millions of teens in the national consumer market. Wood said these teens spend almost 100 dollars a week, a third of this on apparel alone, making American teens ages 12-19 some of the most fashion influenced consumer group today.

"In 1992, the US teen market consumers spent 122 billion dollars. In 2003, the US teen market spent 175 billion, an estimated 38% increase in under ten years," says Wood. This money, he says, is spent directly by the teen and does not include parental assistance.

---

Experts say the after effects are endless. For example, one is having an overblown sense of entitlement or expecting to be the center of attention.

John Rosemond, Family psychologist and best-selling author, explains that this could come from parents giving their children too much high self-esteem, which can lead to undesirable traits in a teenager.

"A person with "high self-esteem" thinks highly of himself," he said. "A person with high self-esteem thinks he is deserving; therefore, he is ungrateful."

---

Oh...the flow! The melifluousness of those paragraphs is truly praiseworthy. Something to which we can all aspire.

Ok, back to reality. Your job today, if you've got the draft done, is to color up your transitions. I want you to show by using color how each paragraph flows into the other. Hooks. Transition words. Ideas. They need to be there in oh, about 90% of your paragraphs. Make them pretty.

Link O' the Day: Keeping the faith at home.

As 16-year-old Kym McDonald says, she could care less about the news. A girl more interested in her appetite for “friends, having fun, (and) enjoying life,” McDonald walks the Florida beaches of her native Titusville thinking more about her outfit for the next day than the happenings of the world. But it’s certainly not as if she has any qualms about it.

“[The news] doesn’t really concern me,” says McDonald, a long time member of the fashion forum on StudentCenter.com. Quite simply, the world, current events, and the news just simply don’t speak to her. But is she alone among her peers? Certainly not. A growing gripe among the generation of adolescents and older is that the news is nothing more than boring for the young. As their apathy for the news and current events grows, adults are left wondering what will become of a world where the inhabitants don't seem to care what's happening to them. And yet, with stories that don’t spark teen interest and advertisements meant for their parents, it isn’t so hard to see why this problem is so common.

---

Since anti-depressants are supposed to help instead of harm, these studies raise some important red flags. Dr. Miriam Kaufman, pediatrician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine Hospital for Sick Children and author of Overcoming Teen Depression: A Guide for Parents, explained that the public should be aware that many of the studies have been funded by the industry, so readers need to be cautious. “We have to be very careful in the use,” Kaufman said of these drugs.

---

It's Jessie Bower's 15th birthday. Although she is still too young to drive, outside of her house is a brand-new, $30,000, silver BMW Z4 2004, a surprise gift given to her by her parents. “Ooh!” she squeals. “Just the color I wanted ! Thanks,” says Jessie casually as she walked by. "Now all I need is a stereo and DVD player installed."

Ok, this is me...We're getting there. Remember the bottom line here; it's to write a great story. Yeah, great stuff will make it an even greater story, but you can still write a great story with not so great stuff. Make sense?

This is a Tucker day, so sorry for the lack of content.

Link O' the Day: From the "It Takes All Kinds" Dept. Remember, differences are what make the world and life interesting. Can you imagine how boring this existence would be if we were all the same? Oh, and by the way, check out the writing.

Ok, now I really want you to read this post 'cause it took a lot of work by me and your colleagues. Here are some really good examples of the kind of writing you should be doing.

---

17 year old Patrick Calves enjoys playing the popular online game CounterStrike, and noted that it’s obvious when someone’s cheating. However, on several occasions he was the one out of place when he accidentally entered a level reserved for hackers.

“It was weird because we’re the ones who normally give the hackers a hard time, but this time they were mad at me because I wasn’t hacking” he said. However, he did later go on to say, “I wish I knew how to hack because it seems like it makes the games a lot of fun, because the normal rules don’t apply”.

---

Since cheerleading is an official sport in Michigan, teams are not permitted to travel out of state. That means that these teams cannot attend national competitions, which is considered by many to be one of the more important aspects of cheerleading.

"Sometimes I feel left out not being able to compete at Nationals," said Van Os. "We will never get to see how we compare to other teams in the Nation and we don't get to represent our state... It is difficult watching Nationals on TV, and knowing that you are just as good as the teams out there, but you will never get a chance to prove it."

---

Independent music stores across the nation are currently involved in a cut throat business of music success. With pressures from the Internet and major music store intimidation, the small-time stores are faced with the risk of failure and financial loss, so they push their products by all means necessary.

That's not always the case.

Many people try to blame the failure of mom-and-pop stores on the record industry, says lawyer Fred von Lohmann.

"What I've read suggests that music retailers are facing real market pressures to be more competitive, to offer customers more than just the opportunity to stare at shiny plastic cases," stated von Lohmann.

---

Mary Duitsman advises approaching stores in the most professional manner possible. She even started her company, Cloverleaf Creations, in order to do better business with retail stores.

"It is really, really helpful to have yourself established as a genuine business entity," she wrote on the Bead & Button jeweler's forum. "This lends a lot of credibility to your sales pitch, and makes the store owners more comfortable working with you."

---

According to Michael Wood, Vice President of Teen Research Unlimited, a research company that specializes in American teens, Lawton is only one of millions of teens in the national consumer market. Wood said these teens spend almost 100 dollars a week, a third of this on apparel alone, making American teens ages 12-19 some of the most fashion influenced consumer group today.

“In 1992, the US teen market consumers spent 122 billion dollars. In 2003, the US teen market spent 175 billion, an estimated 38% increase in under ten years,” says Wood. This money, he says, is spent directly by the teen and does not include parental assisstance.

---

Struggle is good. Struggle forces you to grow. Breathe and make the most of it. You'll be fine.

Link O' the Day: This really well written story that you should analyze from a writing standpoint will be the death of somebody. Discuss-ting!

Well this just seems like a great experience for all of you:

"So yea. Interview again, write better, stop sucking at everything, throw computer out window. Then I'll be good."

"If panic is a good part of the writing process, I'm doing great!"

" I want to apologize in advance for the horriblenicity of it (yup, it's so bad that it gets its own word)..."

And, wow, a positive note: "Overall, I am surprised by how this freelancing process is going. I never thought that people would actually respond to my ideas and writing. Its encouraging, especially after that discussion we had in class on careers and what not."

So a few words to you complainers...SUCK IT UP! Sheesh. If you think THIS is bad, just wait until you get married (or not) and have two little kids running around all the time taking tape out of the dispenser and sticking it to everything and have a mortgage and constant house repairs...and even THAT isn't so bad.

You CAN do this. And you CAN do it WELL. Breathe. Enjoy the struggle. The struggle means you are learning. NOTHING in this life that comes easily is a learning experience. That's why I love the fact that you're suffering. MMUUUUWWWWAAAAAHHHHHAAAHHHAAA!

So how was your weekend?

Silly snow day.

Link O' the Day: Well you guys did such a good job of finding a good story on Thursday that I thought I'd reward you. Here's the link.

...and it looks like we might, your drafts are still due on Monday...the schedule does not change. Let's get that out of the way right now. So there.

Today, we're going to review a couple of writing type things: transitional paragraphs and setup / quote combinations. See these examples:

---

From a story about chess teaching real life skills:

Some chess associations claim that the game's virtues have been shown in study after study. The U.S. Chess Federation, for example, cites numerous studies as proving the academic benefits. Kaplan and chess lover David Mehler concede that the studies are hardly definitive.

Mehler, a lawyer and former teacher, is the founder and director of the U.S. Chess Center, which for the past dozen years has introduced chess to children to help them improve their academic and social skills. Mehler said the studies have been too small or did not exclude all other factors that might influence educational progress.

Still, he said, there is "enormous anecdotal evidence" that chess does improve key skills, and he has witnessed it repeatedly. Other educators have said the same thing.

"We have a student here doing much better with his behavior because we tie the chess to his discipline," said Carmelita Walker, principal of Whittier Elementary School in the District, where three fifth-grade classes have a weekly hour-long chess lesson.

---

From a story on teens visiting alcohol Websites:

The report says that these sites not only provide games and interactive features such as custom music videos, but are easily accessible by minors. "Barriers really are a false hope when it comes to restricting underage youth access," says Jim O'Hara of CAMY. "Anyone can type in a birth date of 21 or more, and they'll be on these sites."

Mr. O'Hara adds that the study is the first of its kind to inspect closely the online advertising practices of alcohol companies. "In many instances, these features have a clear appeal to underage youth," he says. "Many parents and adults don't really appreciate the magnitude and severity of underage drinking."

The study comes on the heels of two lawsuits seeking class-action status filed against alcohol companies, including Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co., the industry's largest domestic brewers. Both suits claim the companies target youths with flavored malt beverages (aka "alcopops") that resemble sodas, as well as with advertisements in markets where minors comprise a significant percentage of the audience.

The companies, not surprisingly, dispute that there is a link between ads and underage drinking. They add that they shouldn't be held responsible even if they indirectly target minors. Companies rely on advertising, they say, and it probably isn't possible to avoid having their ads seen by kids who watch TV, read magazines, and surf online.

---

And finally...are their any high school students like this here?

The high school students said they feel an obligation to help their community.

“If we’re not going to do community service, then who is,” asked Emily Miller, Lt. Governor of Key Club in Palm Beach County, which facilitates dozens of community projects each year.

Junior Mariel Butan is the founder of a free tutoring program that pairs future teachers with students. Butan says teens have to make a choice about helping out.

“It’s not only an obligation, but my pleasure to help someone if you have the extra time,” said Butan. “When I see a student in the library struggling to do their math homework, you have a choice. You can either sit there and watch them or help out.”

The teens claim anyone who argues that they don’t have time to volunteer is lying. Most of these students are in the top of their class academically, participate in sports teams and even juggle part time jobs with their charity work. They say it’s all about time management.

“When people say they don’t have time for community service, I don’t think it’s a lack of time. It’s a lack of knowledge,” said Kristine Smith, who mentors students with muscular dystrophy. “Most people that are busy manage their time well.”

Get the idea?

---

Around the Horn (quickly): Devin gets an interview. Erica and Mallory are interviewing real authors. So there. Any drafting going on?

Link O' the Day: Your turn...find something good.

So let's hope that's it, ok? At least it wasn't enough to have to shovel. (My kids are doing that next year...)

Nut graph craziness -- So, what do you think?

Doctors, due to a fear of being wrong and not satisfying their patients, are quick to diagnose depression and other mental disorders in teens. The diagnoses are so frequent that those who are told they’re depressed are brainwashed into believing there really is something wrong with them.

---

Computer Gaming Companies involved in both the production of games, and those offering a place to play; are beginning to look for new, fresh faces to develop their products. The current generation of programmers are starting to get fade out of the busisness, and there are many worries that the new programmers won’t be as savvy as the previous generation, who are responsible for almost all of todays video games. To meet this demand for new, computer savvy computer wiz', colleges and universities are offering summer courses and even classes on how to create video games.

---

The SAT is not a proper indicator of how intelligent a student is. Students now have other options like taking the ACT or not taking the SAT, and applying to schools who do not require it.

---

Years ago the common idea of what a five year old being active was to go outside and spend hours on the playground. Nowadays however, children are gettiing involved in fitness activities that are fun and enjoyable to them. The idea of activities being geared toward younger individuals to make fitness fun and prepare them for a healthier future is a new aspect of fitness facilities.

---

For citizens of former small towns, urban sprawl has created many obstacles that hinder everyday life activities. This adds unneeded stress and annoyance to their day which is unexpected of a small town and didn't happen in the past.

---

The regulations and restrictions that come along with being an official sport would cause more harm than good for cheerleading. Some common rules include a designated starting and ending date for the season, a limit on the number of competitions, and a ban on out-of-state competitions. Kansas, Michigan, Georgia, and Virginia are four of the states where regulate cheerleading as an official sport.

---

The recent national movement towards the legalization of gay marriage has left many schools unsure of how sexual education programs will be affected. The majority of public schools around the country currently avoid the issue of homosexuality in health class, however, that all may change with the legalization of gay marriage in several areas.

---

Independent music stores across the nation are currently involved in a cut throat business of music success. With pressures from the Internet and major music store intimidation, the small-time stores are faced with the risk of failure and financial loss, so they push their products by all means necessary. Every so often, a music store arises that refuses to give into this burden of supposed failure and strictly sticks to their principals of primarily selling from the store, and refusing to do mail orders.

---

Jewelry artists looking to sell their wares should adhere to Rawley's rule of when to show off items for consignment. Minding the market and location, attractively displaying the items, and especially knowing how to price items accurately are equally as important.

---

The stereotype for spoiled kids is that they can have anything they want at anytime and not have a worry in the world. The truth is, spoiled kids might have it worse than regular teenagers might, and the after-effects of overindulging a child can be severe.

We're going to go over these in class and give some feedback, and I want you to ask your mentors what they think and give them a head's up that your first draft is going to be up on Monday.

Link O' the Day: We're going to use this as a sample in class today...pretty heartbreaking if you ask me.

First of all, thanks for your efforts last Thursday. They were very impressed with our coordination, and it was a great way to show them how blogs work. You were a hit!

14 Days...that's all we have left together. Sniff. Sniff. We're going to turn to the writing part now, but that doesn't mean you can't keep gathering information. In fact, next week you'll probably be trying to plug some holes in your story. At any rate, your first rough draft is due Monday, your second draft due a week from Monday, and your final draft is due Friday, April 2. Let's get crackin...

Around the Horn: Hmmm...not too much bloggin goin' on. That's not good. This week and next are the last two to be assessed...some of you need to get in there. Jess and Matt are using the word panic. They need support. Kristen on the other hand, is making some gains toward the party fund. YAY! And sounds like Dana might be moving in that direction too. And maybe Amelia? Anyone else? Hmmm...how does a cruise sound?

Link O' the Day: Online matchmaking, for dorm living. Leads, nut graphs, etc.

Now remember, just because I'm not there today doesn't mean you can goof off. (Kristine, turn off the games. Jess stop...well, stop whatever it is you're doing. And remember, I didn't forget the bagels.)

Please make sure you post your work today...remember that this week your posts count. If you think you're done with your interviewing, start drafting some stories. It's never too early...

Around the Horn: Looks like Kristen got another nibble. At least this time she didn't have to stretch the truth! I'm looking forward to hearing what responses the rest of you are going to get.

Link O' the Day: For those of you who are going to college, don't be too depressed. Look at the writing.

Let me know if you're having problems!

Well, the big news of the day comes from Kristen, who may have sold her idea. Check out the e-mail she got. Today we'll talk about what to do next. And who's gonna be next, huh??? I have a good feeling...

So I'm leaving you today until next Tuesday. Wow, that's a long time. But even though I won't be here in class, I'll be thinking about you, and worrying. Hopefully I'll be able to make it through my big presentation. You're going to help me, by the way.

Seriously, in my absence, you should be keeping up the good fight in trying to get more sources and info. We still have time. Even next week we have time, but it will pretty much be outside of class. Don't lose heart!!!

Around the Horn: Jenna's happy. And Whitney's changing her image. About time! (Just kidding. Really.)

Link O' the Day: This will be Tucker someday. Note the writing.

So I have to tell you, I had the worst night's sleep last night. Thanks. I feel better.

I'm here for you today and tomorrow. I'm pretty much thinking that I'm giving you time to do what you need to do, so I'm not going to bother you much unless you want to be bothered. However...

TODAY we send our queries out. Yay! If you are going to e-mail them, please make sure you BC me so I can check you off. If you are doing it regular mail, make sure they go throug me so I can check you off. Double check the editor's name and spelling before you send.

And, don't forget, this is a blogging week. And a commenting one too. Spend some time at each other's sites. One a day, eh?

Around the horange: Check out the great feedback that Matt got from his mentor on his query. You can all learn from it. Kristen's getting help from her dad...isn't that sweeeeeet? Clarire (who's that?) got some good stuff from her mentor (even though he typoed her name to death.) And it's true, Amelia may have a market! She's into high-level negotiations. And Whitney, golly...she's crankin.

On! On!

Link O' the Day: NOW LOOK AT THIS LEAD! SHORT! SWEET! EMULATE!

So now that you took a mental health break from your stories, it's time to crank it up. One more week of interviews and research, then next week we turn to the construction faze. (Remember the 4Cs? Conceive, Collect, Construct, Correct)

Remember that I am off to DC on Thursday and Friday, so you'll be on your own. I'm sure you'll be fine. Most of you. I think.

Please check your e-mail and your posts for comments. I left many of you some feedback on your letters. Some of you need to chat with me today. Others need to edit and tweak a bit. Bottom line is these letters should be short and to the point. We send them out tomorrow.

Around the Horn: It's so gratifying to see some of you actually thinking about this stuff over the weekend. Even better when your mentors are. Jess's mentor gives her this advice:

I would never stretch the truth. A journalist's credibility is everything. However, you can still accentuate the positive. In my opinion, your biggest plus and your biggest minus are two sides of the same coin: being young.

Actually, Jess had a pretty good weekend after a pretty cruddy week. Go congratulate her, eh? Kristine, on the other hand, got dissed by an interviewee. (Not sure I would boo him in public, though...) Mallory seems to have had an epiphany! (Is there something she can take for that?) And Amelia's mentor gives her some good advice you should all read.

Now, SOME OF YOU HAVEN'T POSTED YOUR QUERIES YET! Why not???? (Ruff, ruff!)

Link O' the Day: Well, I'm hoping you read the article I linked to in the "What's Mr. R. Reading?" column. In keeping with that theme, how'd you like to go to school here?

Before spending much time alone with a female student, a male student must ask her father or guardian for permission to court. Even then, displays of affection on campus are limited to holding hands while walking. If a couple stop moving, they must step apart.

Um, yeah...that sounds like Central...

...is the last day of class. So, how's that make you feel? (Makes me sad...)

Hope you had a nice mental break and that you're ready to come back with some energy. If not today, crank it up for Monday.

Around the Horn: Some interesting queries for you to check out: Meredith, who's stretchin': "Of all the articles that I have written and have published over the past years..."; Matt, who has been mentored; and Mallory (must be "M" day) who's goin' local. But, many are missing! (I think some of you took the "take the week off" speech a bit too seriously.)

IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO, you need to ask your mentor for some feedback on your letters. Final copies are due Tuesday, at which point we're shipping them out.

Link O' Day: Hey you college bounds, see what you have to look forward to? The Seventies were so much more, how shall I put it, interesting? Note the great story structure. Comments welcomed...is this a good thing?

Ok...so here we are, halfway through, and I think it's time for a small break. By small I mean like three days, two of which you're going to get from the HSPAs and one on Wednesday when I'm game for just having some plain old fun. I do think it's important to step back and get some perspective, if you can. Now I know some of you aren't feeling real solid ground under your feet at this point, and that is a concern. But in order to stabilize, I think taking a deep breath might help. You have this week and next to be gathering info. Then we turn to writing. Pressure is a good thing.

Today we're going to discuss the state of the class, and we're going to look at query letters. You'll note below that you do have a draft of a query due on Friday. AND, today I want you to send you mentors an e-mail pointing them to your State of the Story assignment and asking them to please respond as a comment. Please make sure they have the requisite instructions so they can do so.

Today's Reading: How to Write a Query Letter

Link O' the Day: Great, great, great lead, and a classic story. I love stories like this. And the picture is worth it all by itself. Can you imagine this life?

Query Letter--Should be a complete draft that your mentor can critique. Worth 100 points.

Dear Mr. Richardson,

I'm working on an article about blogging for TIME and am wondering if you are willing to be interviewed over the phone? If so, can you do it today (Friday) or sometime over the weekend?

Thanks,

Leslie W

I'm tired. Really, really tired. Tucker had a bad dream at 2:30 and turned the rest of my night into a bad dream. So watch out...the real blog monster may be here today.

So, it's your turn to play J2 reporter. I want you to scout around for good stuff from your compadres and write about them in a comment to this post. No bagels 'til we get 10 good posts. I mean it. AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!

Link O' the Day: That'll fix em.

Yeah, well, ya' know. What can I say? I have a passion. I'm a geek. You have to suffer through it. It could be worse, though, couldn't it?

First, the important stuff: who's doing bagels? And get ready, hopefully, for the press to descend. More on that later.

Here's the roundup: Mallory gets a call today 'cause she cranked it up from home even though she feigned being sick. (I told you you wouldn't be here yesterday, Mal...) Dana gets her first interview (Cheers!) and has big plans. Amelia is having a moment with "Duct Tape Girl" as her fascination for nicknames continues. Jenna's mentor (thank me) has had quite the ride:

I've been to four Olympics (Seoul in '88, Atlanta in '96, Nagano, Japan in '98, and Sydney, Australia in '00). I've also been to more than 30 World Series games, a bunch of All-Star games, and the Indy 500 and Daytona 500. I've frequently interviewed the heads of all the major sports leagues, and have written about sports business and television.

Jenna's also on the trail of big news. Yikes! Claire and Dana are giving lessons in truth stretching if you're interested. And if you're behind, DON'T go to Kristen's list of interviews. Really. Don't do it. I mean it. Erica's getting colorful which means, well...actually I don't know what it means. (Maybe she's been spending too much time with Tucker.) And puhleeese, can someone give Matt some help? I think he's going north of his border. Discuss! Discuss!

Link O' the Day: Now I know you don't like food stories, but how would you like this job, huh? Share! Share!

And Don't Forget: Five markets with some description as to why you think they would be relevant to your story for tomorrow.

Please prepare a "State of Your Story" post. Since we are at the midpoint, I want you to do a somewhat organized in-depth brain dump that you will ask for mentor response on. Consider the following questions:

What is the focus of your story?

What sources have I interviewed? (List them.)

What relevant information do I know about my story? (This could be a long list.)

What quotes do I have that I think will end up in the story?

What questions do I still need answered?

What are my potential markets? (Copy and paste.)

What's my lead going to be? (Write one.)

What specific questions/problems can my mentor help me with?

This is worth 100 points! OOOOOHHHHHHH! Do a good job.

# Posted to the Homework Department at 2/26/04; 8:10:21 AM- Discuss -

Ok, so I finally got that Writer's Market thing working. Did you try it yet? You should. Remember, five markets are due by Friday. Also, I want you to be thinking about what kind of grade you'd give yourself to date. I'll be speaking with some of you today.

Today's update: Thanks to all of you who gave Claire some feedback on her lead...NOT! (Don't take it personally, Claire...they don't write back to me either, sniff.)

Meredith has issues:

"I have an idea of what I ultimately want this article to be, what kind of audience I want it to speak to, but I can't seem to find an appropriate market. I guess I was envisioning something along the lines of Seventeen magazine, but there doesn't seem to be an article of this type on a smaller level. All my trials, haha. So I'm going to try and find something, but it looks like pickings are kind of slim. Unfortunately, the best places I've found thus far are online. Not that it would be awful to be published online, but it just doesn't really feel the same."

Hey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with online, in fact you'll be ahead of the curve. I think the Writers Market thingy has online markets as well... Here's Mr. R's Grunt Work Special of the Day, Meredith. Say "Thank You." And see if the rest of you can figure out similar assistance on your own.

Guess who's wondering "What if she's on to me?? oh no!"? Guess before you click.

Kristine's source is seeing the future:

Another project on the drawing boards is the conversion of the Flemington Fairgrounds into a “big box” center. Lowe’s and WalMart are rumored to be possible tenants. Current plans call for 1,900 sparking spaces for over 400,000 square feet of commercial space. This project has become very political and will likely end up in court before it is built.

Gee, that sounds great, doesn't it?

Now why would Jenna be keeping this to herself, huh? (Hear Tucker singing "Jenna's not shaaarrring, Jenna's not shaaarrrring...")

Uh-oh...Whitney needs support:

Just got the email from Dan Kindlon, it was kinda bad, maybe my questions just sucked because he didn't really answer much of anything.

Who's gonna get over there and help, huh?

Keep at it gang, you're getting there.

Link O' the Day: Jenna will like this, and any story with the word Blog in it is good enough for me.

. 1. What was it that made you interested in journalism in the first place? Did you have any other career aspirations? Answer: I have always been a writer. I began writing poems and such when I was 6 or 7 years old, and when I got into school I was put in advanced programs for reading and writing (and math, but that doesn't count for these purposes). So, I was already inclined to have a career in that field. When I finally arrived in high school, I had an impulse to join the high school editorial staff, even though I secretly wanted to be a great American novelist. I had a great time at the newspaper and got to interview some interesting people. My junior year, my teacher made me editor-in-chief, promoting me over Dana Pugliese. I'll never forget how angry she was! But the teacher said I was a better writer and deserved to be editor-in-chief and that's the way it works in the real world. I pursued journalism in college, and my first job out of college was as a receptionist for Worrall Community Newspaper. I worked my way up the ranks and became managing editor of my hometown newspaper, The Hillside Leader. I went on to work for a commercial real estate magazine and then as a public relations freelancer.

Other career aspirations: screenwriter (I have a script at Sony) and musician (I sing jazz-folk and am working on an album).

2. Was there any particular experience in writing that changed you or your outlook on life? I was at a friend's wedding in New Orleans. This is during the time I was writing for the commercial real estate magazine. I was sitting at my table and introduced myself to the people there, and someone asked me if I was the Pia Wilson who wrote for Commercial Property News. I replied that I was, and he said he worked for a rival magazine and read my articles every issue. He promptly offered me a job -- which I didn't take. It was nice to hear that I had such a good reputation as a writer.

3. What is the most interesting aspect you've ever written on? I loved working at my hometown newspaper because I got to write on varied topics: local politics, entertainment, local celebs. I interviewed former Yankee Phil Rizuto once. All the guys in my office were so jealous. That was fun.

4. How did you get involved in World Hunger Year? I came to World Hunger Year because Lisa Batitto needed some help, and I was tired of freelancing so much. Lisa and I have been friends a long time. We both worked for Worrall Community Newspapers, where she did the entertainment news. I also liked the idea that I'd be helping to fight hunger, a cause I support tremendously.

5. What advice would you give to an upstart journalist (such as myself)? Make sure you get the facts straight, and then weave a story when you write. Be conscious of how words sound and the real meaning behind each word. Paint pictures with your words. You can say gold or aurulent. They both describe the same color, but one is much tonier and airy while the other has more of a solid feeling. Learn another language. It helps with English grammar, believe it or not. Speaking of grammar, get yourself a copy of Strunk & White and the AP Guide. "It's none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way." -- Hemingway

Here are two samples of my work -- the first is real estate and the second is sort of a satire:

Panattoni Rivals National Firms by Investing Own Capital (Commercial Property News) In early August, Panattoni Development Co. signed a deal to sell the California Public Employees' Retirement System five Memphis distribution centers. CalPERS agreed to pay roughly $57 million for the 1.9 million square feet, including four warehouses in the Southpoint Distribution Park and one in ...

Keanu Reeves As Dionysus Reborn (Culturefront Magazine) In 1994 the movie Speed catapulted Keanu Reeves into superstardom, and went on to collect nearly $300 million in box office receipts worldwide. Speed was a rebirth of sorts for Reeves, who until then was best known for his portrayal of the affable (if obtuse) Ted Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent ...

First of all, I'm getting too many e-mails. Do me a favor and post your mentor information as a comment to this post. Name, contact info, and a link to a story if you have one. Thanks.

Second, lots to report on the classroom front. (That's what I've decided to be, the class reporter.) Mallory and Whitney are doing some good work with listing her markets. Keep track of what the editor's want so you know how to approach your query.

(By the way, I forgot to take you to Writer's Weekly yesterday. We'll go and dig around today.)

Claire's trying a lead:

Anxiously crowded by the door, a pack of students await the end of first period. The sound of the bell is heard, as crowds of teenagers swarm the hallways of San Francisco High School. Chatter of weekend plans and papers to write fill the ears of Jeremy Smith, who walks alone, searching eagerly for Room 110. Though like every other teenager, Jeremy finds himself bored with school and bogged down with work, one thing has kept his interest in school this particular Monday: Health Class. The monotony of health class curriculum will remain, with lessons on remaining drug free, and smoking. However, for the first time in Jeremy's twelve years of public schooling, he will learn something new in health class: (what should come here? homosexuality? no, not that...i need ideas.....)

Go give her some ideas (like Amelia did.)

Jenna's story is evolving due to her "feeling like a detective." Now I know why she wears black all the time...sneaky.

BTW, I got another e-mail from a journalist wanting an interview in case you want to check out his style.

Link O' the Day: The "total body participation" approach to teaching elementary school. Want to tell some stories about your elementary teachers?

Interview with Dana's mentor Nancy Schaadt.

1. When/How did you know you wanted to be a journalist?

I always liked writing but my interest in journalism didn't surface until I was in college. I learned how many stories had to be told. I started to see more of the big picture. For instance, New Jersey Zinc had mines in Palmerton, Penna. The mining (or was it processing?) plant emissions so poisoned the land that nothing green could grow. Twenty years ago, it looked like a barren war zone. Why didn't people talk about it? Why didn't anyone try to connect the disease rates with the plant? Anyway, it's the need for investigative stories that drew me to journalism.

2. Where did you go to school?

Bloomsburg U of Penna. (see resume)

3. What was your first big break? When were you first published?

I got my first job in journalism, (radio news), because I knew that King Kong lived on Skull Island and could discuss Ray Bradbury's short fiction. The news director at WSAN (the call letters have changes), Don Rutt, and I just hit it off. My first newspaper stories were in the food section of the Dallas Morning News and Texas Athlete. My first editor at the News, Dotty Griffith, needed writers and I knew how to string words together in a factually correct sentence AND understood the importance of deadlines. The Texas Athlete gig I got because the editor/publisher was humoring a good friend of mine who happened to advertise in the magazine. I didn't know they colluded -- if I had I wouldn't have taken the gig. But I did and it lead to assignments in Bike Magazine (a national mountain biking pub) and Texas Business.

4. As a freelancer, what magazines/newspapers have you had the opportunity to write for and which was your favorite? Why?

See resume for a list of pubs. I love writing for the Fort Worth Weekly because I review restaurants and cover food trend stories like the safety of rare pork, restaurant plumbing (the story was fascinating) (really), and am working on a story about freegans, vegans who dumpster dive for free food. My favorite pubs will always be the ones that pay well -- $1 per word well.

5. What was your favorite story? Why?

I wrote a great story about pre natal exercise classes. It's one of my favorites because I got a lot of positive response from pregnant women who didn't know they had fitness options. I like a food story I wrote about lightening Soul Food given the hypertension rates in the African-American community.

A couple of things before we begin today.I would like you all to e-mail me the name and contact info of your mentor so I can make a list. Also, please send the link to a piece that your mentor has written. From here on out, they should be posting directly to your Weblogs. They just need to Join Now at the bottom of your page and then click on discuss after the message they want to give you feedback to.

Also, I just want to point you to some excellent stuff that I've been reading from you guys: Jess, among others, is worried about interviewing:

Sources on the other hand are not going as well as I'd like. I admit, I'm nervous as heck to talk to people I have never met, know very little about, while trying not to let on that I'm a junior in high school. I'm afraid that I'll sound stupid, too young, too inexperienced, or will say any number of idiotic things that could very well come out of my mouth in the heat of the moment, so to speak.

That's totally natural, and something we should talk more about today.

For sheer effort, check out Kristen. Think she's into cheerleading? (Posting on Sunday, no less.) And Amelia, Dana and Whitney. Great stuff.

Here's Claire thinking through her topic:

Another aspect of my story that I think is important to look at is the striking down of sodomy laws, especially most recently in Texas. Before, schools could have possibly used the fact that sex between two men was illegal in many places, as a reason for why homosexuality wasn't included in health curriculums. Now, however, most states have struck down those laws, eliminating that excuse. I think that's something else I should ask in my interviews...how do the repealing of those laws affect education? Here's the article about the striking down of the sodomy laws.

What do you think? Is she moving in the right direction here?

Finally, Dana is getting into clothes trouble again. Somebody help that girl.

This week is a big week. We really have to get into interviewing mode at this point. There's still plenty of time, but at some point next week, we're going to take a little break from class work on the story. So if you are having trouble, let's make a plan. We're going to find markets this week and send out queries next week. (Check out How to Write a Query Letter for some great query writing tips that we'll come back to.)

Link O' the Day: Writer's Weekly is one of the places we'll be visiting today.

Story O' the Day: Is The End Of The World near?

From Meredith's mentor:

1) Has there ever been a time during your work that you have felt likeyou were putting yourself in danger for your story? Yes, but nothing like our colleagues who work in foreign countries. Still, I have had police officers threaten me during an investigation into police corruption in Florida and I'm about to go overseas for some reporting that could put me at risk. But I've always believed that reporters need to be brave in the face of danger and try to tell their readers or viewers what is happening without outting themselves in immediate danger. No story is worth a life.

2) Do you face a lot of censorship (from The Washington Post as a corportation, an editor, collegues, whoever) when you conceive and write a story? Never seen it at my newspapers. I believe most papers are honorable and strive to put their readers above all else. The day that changes is the day i resign.

3)What is the most important recommendation you would make to someone who is making their first attempt to enter the workplace as a journalist? When you arrive at college, try to get a broad, well-balanced education, work for the college newspaper, try to become the campus stringer for the local daily paper and line up summer newspaper internships at good papers, We can talk more about this over the phone if you'd like because there's a lot of ground to cover.

4)What was the biggest misconception you had about being a journalist before you became a professional? Not many. It's as cool as I thought it would be, and you really can make a difference.

5) What is the best way to separate yourself and excel in journalism? This is a very smart question. To excel, I think it's important to question everything around you, be compassionate and passionate in everything you do, have a strong sense of outrage and always try to give a voice to those who are not heard.

Some great responses yesterday. I meant what I said, by the way, about collective greatness in the class. You can learn more from each other and more from your mentors than you can from me because you're really doing it, and that's the only way your really learn anything. So keep visiting each other and encouraging each other and helping each other. Share what you learn. I'm going to suggest that you take a look at someone else's Weblog once a day and leave a note of feedback or encouragement. Some of you are already doing that, and I think that's great. And remember, I'm here for guidance, at your service. I'll do some grunt work with you if that's what you need. I want you to be successful, so just ask.

I'm getting pretty psyched by the quality of interviews some of you seem to be getting. Exectutive Directors, CEOs, book authors...Sheesh. If I'd had that much luck when I was a journalist I'd be here instead of here.

Remember, keep blogging. I know I've noted this already, but Jenna seems to have this down pretty well. She's combining her personal frustrations with the work she's doing and making it interesting. (Did you get the job, Jenna?) You realize, don't you that every time you write in your Weblogs you're writing for publication? Pretty good practice for writing a story for publication, I think.

Link O the Day: You think they'll be able to stop this? Leave a comment with your favorite junior high dance memory and win a prize...

Oh, and don't forget to see the interview below. Post some comments if something strikes you as interesting. Remember, comments are our friends...

From Jess's mentor, Linda Wasmer Andrews:

Q1: What made you decide to become a freelance journalist? A1: I would like to tell you that this was a carefully thought-out decision. However, the truth is that I more or less fell onto this career path. I started writing professionally when I was 24 (I'm 46 now). At the time, I had a toddler and a new baby, a strong desire to stay home with my children, and an equally strong need to contribute something to the family budget. I decided to try freelance journalism because writing had always come easy for me. It took a few more years for me to really *enjoy* this career choice, but that eventually happened, too. Obviously, I no longer need to be home for the babies (they're 22 and 24 now.) Yet I'm still freelancing out of my home office, and I genuinely love much of the work I do.

Q2: What benefits do you think that freelancing has as opposed to a job for just one place? A2: The benefits include working at home in my bathrobe, setting my own hours, and choosing which assignments I take. The drawbacks including working at home in my bathrobe (it's pretty isolating), setting my own hours (I work 50, 60, even 70 hours per week), and choosing which assignments I take (this decision too often boils down to who's willing to pay what). Freelancing is definitely not as free as the name would seem to imply. I have no employer to provide health insurance, paid sick days/holidays/vacation, and a steady income. I have no coworkers to bounce ideas off, share the workload, and cover for me when I'm busy. I spend at least half my work time on marketing my services, keeping records, and other mundane aspects of running a business rather than on actual research and writing. Nevertheless, I'm a bit of a control freak where my career is concerned, and there *is* something liberating about having ultimate control over what I do and how I do it.

Q3: Is it really necessary to have majored in Journalism or English in college in order to have a career as a writer? A3: I didn't. I majored in psychology, although I minored in English and took a smattering of journalism courses. If you already know what you want to write about, I think it might be at least as beneficial to get a degree in that field. However, it's also absolutely necessary to hone your writing and reporting skills. The ideal, in my opinion, might be a double major in English/journalism and your specialty field.

Q4: What's the most challenging part of freelance journalism? A4: In addition to the challenges mentioned in my response to Q2, most freelancers find that diversification is necessary in order to survive financially. Personally, I write about almost anything related to health, medicine, mental health, or psychology, and I work for about 18 clients every year. These clients are a diverse group, including large-circulation consumer magazines, custom magazines with corporate sponsors, commercial and nonprofit websites, and trade and reference book publishers. Each editor has a slightly different style and set of editorial requirements. It can be a challenge juggling all of these competing demands.

Q5: How often do you end up selling your stories? A5: 100% of the time--but that's only because I never undertake an article until I have a contract to write it.

You also asked to read something I've written. Here are some links to articles that are posted on various websites: here, here, and here.

Ok...today, you are on a quest. I want you to spend our normal get together time (20 minutes or so) to read your colleagues Weblogs and find some real gems that the rest of us can benefit from. I can tell you, there is a lot of good stuff to mine out there, and you can learn more from each other than you can from me. So, today's post is all you. Find good stuff, click on Discuss just below this post, copy the good stuff in, tell us how it can help the rest of us, and click Submit.

Fourteen really great comments or no bagels allowed tomorrow! Have fun.

I just want to review your note taking and interview process a bit today. I'm thinking that the phone in this room should be pretty much a "take a number" event, meaning we're using it a lot. Like I said, e-mail is ok, but it would really help if you had some synchronous conversation happening too. (Anyone know what that means?)

It looks like a many of you got some benefit from the homework last night. (What a surprise!) Devin's gone crazy with her new topic. (When you start calling stories "gifts from God" well, that ought to tell you something...) She gets an "A" for effort in narrowing down her story, and her sister should get an award for patience. But I love this...after two failed attempts:

So again I walked away in my corner, lol. So I came back for more! So bold I know...lol. So this time around I said, " My story is about how the SAT is not a proper indicator of how intelligent a student is. And that now students have other choices like taking the ACT or not taking the SAT, and applying to schools who do not require it." A sigh of relief. I think I got it! This technique worked; I just hope that now I can write about it!

Effort is a wonderful thing.

Some other gleanings:

As much as I know it's important to get those crucial background interviews and statistics, in the end I want this article to be a kind of portrait of teenage life. I don't just want to state and explain that teens don't care about the news - we know this. Rather, I want my article to give some insight about WHY this is, WHY Susie and Doug don't read the newspaper in the morning with their dad. Meredith

A lead from Matt:

Twelve year old Jeremy Sahan has been sitting at his computer for the last five hours without a break. A thin line of sweat forming on his forehead, the boy is almost finished. His squeaky high pitched voice screamed "Dude, I ROCK!" as his newest weapon upgrade for the popular online video game Diablo began to take bids on EBAY.

Kristen's takin' notes!!! Click some links!

Amelia thinks she's funny with this headline. And Dana's feeling flourescent.

I just want to say for the record that I'm getting pretty psyched to read your stories. I love being able to spy on your process, because I really believe as with most things in life, the process is more important than the product. If you tend to the process and demand excellence, the product takes care of itself. Some of you are really showing your excellence. Keep it up!

Link O the Day: Science anyone? A Lab Where You Can Lick the Test Tubes. It's a sweet story, I promise.

Well, I saw two movies, ran six miles, slept in twice and all in all had a pretty darn nice couple a days off. Then last night both my kids got the stomach virus, threw up on themselves a few times, and I got maybe 3 hours of sleep. But, I'm feeling a whole lot better now that Jess got a mentor. Whew. Hope the rest of you had good ones.

So this is pretty much crunch week for a couple of things. Ideas are at the no turning back stage. Mentors are ya gotta have one by the end of the week stage. When you do get a mentor, here is what I would like your first contact to be, an e-mail that:

tells them a little about yourself, what your aspirations are, and why you took the course

clearly defines the story that you are working on and where you are at with it

points them to your site and tells them how it works for them to respond to your work (we need to change some configurations beforehand...)

asks them five questions about their experiences as journalists that we can post to our website

asks them for a link or a sample story that they have written You can also tell them that next week you'll be giving them a rundown on what you have so far and asking for some suggestions in regards to the reporting. Remember to proofread it carefully (this counts) and copy me. This is for a grade (25 points) so make it excellent.

Today, we're going to catch up, tweak our weblogs, and do some initial thinking about markets. You have homework, by the way.

Link O' the Day: Actually, look at the top two stories in my reading list at right. Both a pretty good features, if you know what I mean...

# Posted to the Daily Dose Department at 2/17/04; 6:30:30 AM- Discuss -

Read this article on writing a long journalism story and do two of the suggested exercises in the first part under "Keep a Sharp Focus." When you post your answers, I want you to give us a couple of sentences for each (average) of what your experience was in coming up with that answer. Give us some specific narrative of how you accomplished it. (20 points)

I need more hours in the day, I swear.

Check your Bloglines account. Check your e-mail. Lots of good stuff to read.

Before I start (although I guess I already did), would any of you be willing to lend a student voice to our Website Redesign Team which I chair? We'd like to get a student's perspective on our work.

So, I'm thinking today we start talking about markets, pretty much. Where should you be with the other stuff?

Ideally, you have a mentor. If you don't, you have about 4 or 5 e-mails out there to potential mentors that you're waiting to hear from. If you don't, you're behind.

Ideally, you've got some interviews lined up. If you don't, you have about 4 or 5 e-mails out there to potential sources that you're waiting to hear from. If you don't, you're behind.

Ideally, you've blogged, and I mean blogged, at least three times this week already. (I'll refer you to the Blogger of the Week for guidance.) If you haven't, you're behind.

Ideally, you've been commenting on each other's sites. Kristen gets a mention today for giving some feedback to Kristine yesterday, even though it was brief. It's a start. PB Cup coming her way. If you haven't, you're not behind, but you're not fulfilling your duty as a member of this class who has been sworn to work for the collective good and help each other sell a lot of stories so we can have a big party and maybe even a field trip at the end of class when the weather is warmer and we're ready to celebrate.

Ideally, you've been thinking about some markets, been focusing your angle, and thinking about what I can get my wife for Valentine's Day and her birthday next week. If not, I'm in trouble.

Link O the Day: You're turn. Who wants flip flops? Post a link as a comment. Win a prize. Make it good. I need sleep.

I'm trying to respond to as many of you as I can on a regular basis when you post so keep checking for comments. So far, I think a couple of you are really showing a great deal of effort, the bulk of you are doing average, and a couple of you are falling behind a bit. We're already 10 days in gang...it's going to go fast.

It seems that Kristine outed us at Profnet, so that's probably going to be tough sell. Jess, did you come up with any alternatives last night? Or were you Lamped out?

I want some feedback on this site in terms of finding experts. And this one. And don't forget there are many other potential starting points listed on this page. Let's try to dive in and see what we can find.

Finally today, I want you to start thinking about your markets. It's better if you can have a couple of magazine titles in your interview request as it gives some meat to your presentation. So I'll be talking briefly about the Writers Market and some other sources you can go online to get info.

Link O' the Day: Imagine trying to teach like an American in an Iraqi classroom. Actually, stop imagining and read about it. Comments on the writing and structure ARE REQUIRED for homework. That means pick it apart journalistically. What can you learn from it. 10 points.

By the way...If you haven't already done so, I expect you to take the first five minutes of class and add the following feeds to your bloglines account:

http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/mf069/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/ka004/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/ja0012/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/me0962/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/dl1992/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/el113/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/km214/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/mm1302/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/ko2462/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/cs3092/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/js181/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/at057/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/dt0382/xml/rss.xml
http://central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/wt2042/xml/rss.xml

Well, I got a handful of mentor application e-mails last night, and I'll wait until class to make my decision. By the way, just for the record, I'm really liking my time with you guys. Yesterday was all around one of those mediocre keep-running-into-walls type of day that was highlighted by Block 2. You'll just have to deal with my energy...

So today I really want to focus on the mentor thing. I know some of you are struggling. We have strategies. Here is a start. Now I know these are investigative journalists but hey... Here's another we can play with.

I also want to spend some time on your research, and we're going to look at the Journalist's Toolbox. It's a great starting point for finding experts. (BTW, Profnet is a service we have had success with in the past.)

Props: Good blogging here and here. I'm going to have to get more candy.

Link O' the Day: I know that the Google News Search doesn't seem to be working very well. So, as I always say, try Yahoo!

Amelia...any typos?

Isn't it nice when good things happen to good people? (Well, mostly good...people that is.) So what journalism class on the planet Earth will have the benefit of a Pulitzer Prize winner mentoring one of it's students this quarter? Um...yep. THIS ONE! I know you're not into journalism as much as I am, and I know I have no life. But I have to tell you, this doesn't happen every day of the week, boy and girls. THIS IS FREAKIN' COOL!

Now, just so we're clear. The Pulitzer Prize is THE most prestigious award a journalist can get. Journalists who win them are considered the best in the business. And if you really want to be a journalist, you should aspire to win one.

Our mentor, Scott Higham from the Washington Post, won his Pulitzer in 2002 for a series on the child welfare system in Washington D.C. It's an amazing series that I would like you all to read at least some of.

Now, of course, the big question is which of you will get to interact with Mr. Higham on your story. Hmmm....more about that in class.

About getting a mentor. Some of you have started to write some letters already, and I have to say that this one by Mallory was pretty darn impressive. I would only add the fact that the expected time committment of the mentor would only be two or three hours over the course of eight weeks, and that the responses they give in your Weblogs will be available for others to read. Use this as a model.

Remember, you will want to send out more than one request for mentors, and if you get more than one to help you, great! It's up to you how many you will want to keep. When someone agrees to assist you, send them a quick e-mail telling them you will get back to them in the next week with some background questions to answer. We'd like all of them to share some of their knowledge with the rest of the class in terms of posted interviews.

Props also go to Claire who constructed what I think is a pretty good request for interview e-mail. To this I would only add some type of reference to attemptint to sell the article to a major magazine market. Remember, you should use an outside e-mail but bc: me when doing so. Don't give more than your name in terms of personal info.

Link O' the Day: I dug around in Google and I found a pretty good blog from my Journalism 2 class two years ago. (The class didn't run last year...sniff. BTW, there are 13 signed up for next year, so spread the word...we need at least 15 to run it.) I want you to spend a little time going through it to get a sense of how she used it. From a collection standpoint, you should be using yours this way as well.

Props: Two really great blog entries by Jess and Mallory. These meet the bar of excellence, I think... (And nice pic, Mal.)

Ok...here we go. I hope you're ready to do some serious collecting of information for your stories. You really need to have enough clay for the sculpture at the end of this process, so the more you can collect, the better.

It's Sunday evening as I write this, even though I may not post it until Monday morning. As of 6:44 p.m., NO ONE has done a blog post over the weekend. A quick look shows that few of you have done more than the requisite single post from last week. Since that's the case, be advised the assessment of blog posts started in earnest at 12:00 a.m. this morning (Sunday) and this first week will end at 11:59 p.m. next Saturday night. If you want excellence in both story and assessment, make sure you are getting to this regularly.

On tap: Today, we're going to do a last run through of your ideas, and then I want you to set some goals for the week. We'll have two major goals this week outside of working on stories. 1. I want you to find a mentor. 2. I want to start getting a list of potential markets together. Next week we write our query letters and start sending to editors.

Link O' the Day: This article in the New York Times magazine yesterday is a great example of magazine journalism and an interesting read about the geeks that make our computer lives miserable. Now read the whole thing to get the gist of what an in-depth feature is all about.

Props: To Amelia for suggesting not one, not two, but three links to my post on Friday, (Prizes!) and to Dana, who despite growling from time to time did a heckuva job with the homework.

Since we start collecting in earnest next week, it's time to get clear on your stories. Here's what you need for Monday:

A concise statement that clearly indicates what your story is about. "My story will..." type of thing. If it takes a couple or three sentences, fine, but there should be no doubt about where you are going in anyone's mind after reading it.

A plan of attack. How are you going to report (collect) this story? Who are the people, or at least the types of people, that you need to interview? Describe them clearly if you don't know their names. What other sources of information will you go to?

25 GREAT and I mean GREAT questions that you will want/need to answer during your reporting.

This is worth 50 points and is due in your Weblogs as a news item by 8:45 on Monday.

# Posted to the Homework Department at 2/6/04; 9:34:22 AM- Discuss -

Now look, you guys could get me into a lot of trouble today so if anyone asks, the answer is "no one ever said there was an imminent threat of bagels in our classroom."

Now I really want to thank you for your patience yesterday. I know that many of you are feeling like my guinea pigs, and all I can say is...yep, you are my guinea pigs. So deal with it. Seriously, I hope you can see at least a sliver of usefulness with all this stuff. Believe me, you'll have your chance to throw it all back in my face later if it doesn't work for you.

Having said that, you'll need to gird yourselves for one more day of searching folly. And it's going to require some (dun, dun, duuuuuunnnnnnn....) CODE! Look!

viewRssBox ("http://voidstar.com/gnews2rss.php?num=50&q=holocaust", boxTitle:"Google News", align:"", width:150, frameColor:"#000000", titleBarTextColor:"#000000", titleBarColor:"#F5F5F5", boxFillColor:"#FFFFFF", timeZone:"PST", hspace:15, vspace:0) (Someone remind me when we do this to put the brackets on each end...)

Wow! Wait until you tell your friends! Let's all make t-shirts like Jenna! But I promise, this will be fun! Really. No, I mean it...

Also, I'm going to set you up with just one more little search feed thingy at Google Alert. Then I'm done, unless you beg me for more.

You have homework for Monday...see below.

Link O' the Day: Your turn. Give us all some good links by posting them as a comment. I'll judge and give a prize to the winner on Monday...

You asked me yesterday if I could teach a course in this stuff. The more I thought about it yesterday, the more I thought "absolutely." I may be a geek (no snickering, please) but I think there are some tools you'll be using in this class that a) will really set you apart from other student researchers and b) only about .008573847 of high school students in America even know about.

So there.

Class News: I think Claire is onto a cool topic. Narrow. Timely. I'm thinking dollars, here. Also, I saw a few bloggy type posts come through my aggregator today. (What's an aggregator you say? No, it doesn't live in the Everglades. It's another cool tool we'll be talking about today.) I'm hoping all of you will have blogged successfully by the end of today.

So Where Are We? Day 6. You should have your idea pretty well set. You should be looking for articles that match your topic or come close to it. You should be refining. You should be happy you're alive and warm and safe. You should be looking for names of potential sources to interview. You should be blogging. You should be excited about learning cool new tools to help you. You should be looking a good therapist for me to talk to.

So What Are We Doing Today, Mr. R.? First this. Then this. And then maybe this. Oh, the Humanity!?!

Can you tell I'm not getting enough sleep?

Link O' the Day: Personally, not only do I think you should do this, I think you should write like this. What more could you ask for???

So I'm hoping you're feeling a little bit more focused on your topics. I would keep drilling them down a couple more days, and I'm going to ask you to get real specific on Monday. So keep honing and defining and thinking...

Today we're going to start blogging in earnest. The deal here is that you will be using your Weblog to collect information, ideas, thoughts, etc. for your stories. This will be a space in which you will keep track of what you are LEARNING. In other words, linking and summarizing is one thing, but making sense of that information in the context of your topic is another. And in the end, what you write about has to make sense to your own worldview, your own understanding of events and ideas. Remember, you have six weeks or so to immerse yourself in your topic, to become an expert, and to approach the writing of your story from that expertise. Your Weblog is where you will establish your expertise.

I think this exercise will be almost as important as your story. Those of you that have had me know that I prefer to define things in terms of levels of excellence rather than grades. Excellence here will be measured by four main qualities: frequency, relevance, depth, and synthesis. Excellence in frequency, to me, is a minimum of five posts a week. In relevance, it means that what you are blogging about is consistently useful information for your story. In depth, it means that you are consistently pushing beneath just the surface responses to the information, that you are using what you find to generate more questions or push your thinking. Excellence in synthesis means that you are consistently making connections with the information and thoughts you are collecting.

Being able to collect and synthesize information is a skill you will need not only for college but for your whatever career you choose to pursue. And that's especially true in today's information overload society. There is so much stuff out there that it is becoming increasingly difficult to sort the good from the irrelevant, and to make sense of what the good stuff means. I believe this process will help you to do that.

So what does an excellent Weblog post look like? It can start with a link, include some summary of the salient points from the source that relate to your research, make connections with your own experience or beliefs, discuss new questions that the information raises, and talk about how it fits with what you already know and how it might be used in your story. Or it might start with something you are struggling with, a lost of questions, and a plea for help. Or it might be something totally different. Whatever it looks like, your learning and understanding is central to what you write about.

Now I expect you to use your Weblog as a repository for notes and quotes and whatever else you feel useful to your process. I also will encourage you to use your space to write about other things as the spirit moves, things in the news, incredible events, etc. I will trust that you will remember that all content in your Weblog should be appropriate, and will remind you that these spaces are open to reading by anyone who finds them.

Once we get into the flow here, you will have much of your time in class to work. Blogging will be a part of that, but I do expect you to be posting from outside of class as well. We'll talk more about this as we proceed, obviously.

Link O' the Day: About.com on freelancing.

Being the political junkie that I am, today is a big day to watch the news. Could say a lot about who the Democrats pick to run against President Bush.

And this is not the brightest news day lately. Scary stuff.

So, here's hoping you have some good ideas to talk about in class. Please take a moment to post them here as a comment. We'll talk about them in class. You do have a bit of homework to do tonight in terms of starting to find some models and giving some feedback to your classmates.

Link O' the Day: The Newseum is just the coolest journalism site I know, and you should check it out. So there.

Two things...

1. Find a fantastic feature article that has to do with your topic and post the link. The closer to the topic the better. Write 250 words as a journalist on what you think of the story from a reporting/writing standpoint.

Here are a couple of strategies to find such an article, some of which we'll go over in class.

Go to Proquest and do a search of keywords. (Note: I'm not sure that link will work from home. If it doesn't, you can do the same search by going to the Hunterdon County Library Site and using your library card number.) Make sure to click the magazine tab after your search. PLEASE REMEMBER that you won't be able to link to these articles, so you will want to copy and paste them into a story page on your site. (I know this bends copyright laws, but make sure you include the source information as well.)

Go to Looksmart and do a keyword search. These articles do link. (I've just recently found this resource, so tell me what you think.)

Try Google News.

2. Give some feedback to your colleagues. Go to the person's Weblog, join now if you have to, and in response to the topic post, suggest a way to narrow the topic, and ask five burning questions that you want to know about it. Respond to the three people below you on the class list on the homepage. Those at the bottom count to the top.

# Posted to the Homework Department at 2/3/04; 7:11:21 AM- Discuss (1 response) -

Day 3--Hope you all had a good weekend. How about those Pats, huh? (That's a reference to the Super Bowl, by the way.) And how about that halftime show? Sheesh. Planned or accidental...you decide?

So I hope you did some thinking about your topic this weekend. As I've already said, it's important that you do the mental work necessary at the beginning because it's going to make the end a lot easier to get to. I'm going to try to go through this process with you as well, and I've been thinking about ideas as well. Right now I have a couple of Weblog related ideas that I'm kicking around, maybe something aimed at a teen magazine about how to make sure you stay anonymous if you start a blog. But I'd also like to stretch my writing wings a bit and maybe do something with teens, technology and politics. Maybe blogs are a piece of that, but I think the Dean phenomenon may have gotten some of the younger generation a bit more interested in politics. We'll see.

Today we really are going to review some of the qualities of good feature writing and talk more in depth about the freelance process that you wrote about last week. We'll also look at those stories that you read over the weekend.

Some links--News Directory is about as comprehensive a list of magazine links that I can find online. I want you to add it as a link to the left hand column of your Weblog. From there I found Audobon, which is an environmental magazine, and there I found this story on Grizzly Bears. You're going to need to read a number of stories that are in your topic area and are from the markets you are choosing. This is one way to do it.

Tomorrow...we crunch our topics. Please come to class with a specific "this is what I want to write about" statement. Narrow the focus.

What are you passionate about? As a warm up to today's class, I want you to make a quick list of five things you REALLY have an interest in, ones you can write about. Then, scroll to the bottom of this page, "Join Now" so you can add comments, and then add your list as a comment to this post.

I can't tell you how much easier and more fun this class will be for you if find a topic that you are really, really, really interested in. I'll promise you this: if you have a passion, we can find an idea that you can sell. So, what do you really want to learn more about?

As an aside, here's an article about finding story ideas to write about. It's geared a bit more toward newspapers than magazines, but it offers some great ideas.

Today we're going to talk about the freelance process, see what initial ideas you might have, and do some reviewing of feature writing. I'm also going to have you read a couple of stories over the weekend and react to them. See the homework post below.

You want to do a good job with your story? You need to read and desconstruct good writing. We're going to do a lot of this.

First, read these two articles:

In Some Schools, It's One Teacher, One Student

Learning trend: Kindergarten becomes an all-day affair

Then, create a story page where you write about the characteristics of these stories that make them successful. What qualities of good feature writing do they have? What do they have in common? Which one do you like better and why? What would you like to be able to do that these reporters do? Feel free to go where the spirit moves you. Effort, ladies and Matt...the effort you put in now will go a long way to determining how good the piece you eventually craft will be.

Welcome to J2 I have a pretty good idea of what we are going to do over the next nine weeks, but don’t be surprised if we “experiment” a little with the curriculum. I’m going to be asking you for your feedback at the end.

J2 is not an “honors” course. It is, however, an advanced course that will build upon your knowledge of journalism, which hopefully you still remember from J1. I’m assuming you are here because you want to learn more about the profession, or because you want to become an expert at using the Internet, or you are into publishing, or something else along those lines. I hope that you can finish this sentence without too much trouble: “In this class, I want to learn...” Within certain limits, I’ll be happy to let you pursue whatever your interests may be.

I’ll tell you from the start that a lot of our time will be spent working independently on quarter long projects, and that I’ll be expecting you to make a lot of the curricular decisions concerning what you are going to do and when. Here’s an overview of the elements of the course that I have planned.

• First, the cornerstone of this class will be one in-depth story on a topic of your choice that you will write and attempt to sell for publication to a real-life magazine. It will go far beyond what you produced in J1. In fact, by the time you finish with it you will probably a) consider it one of the finest things you have ever written, and b) hate me.
• Second, you will use a Weblog to become a true expert on the topic that your story is about, and you will share that expertise with your audience.
• Third, you’ll be working with real live professional mentors. (What fun!)
There will also be some other various assignments and interviews and stuff that I’ll have you do. Sound like a lot? Well, I think we’ll have plenty of time to do that. I see this as potentially a very fun class if you approach it with some motivation and some zeal. (I guess that’s part of my job too.)

More formally, then, here’s what I hope you leave this class with:
1. A better understanding of the journalistic process.
2. Improved interviewing skills
3. A technical understanding of the Internet.
4. An understanding of the use of Weblogs in the journalism profession. 5. A better understanding of what it means to be an editor and publisher and all that goes along with that.
6. A better knowledge of current events and the world around you.
7. Better research and reporting skills
8. The ability to communicate and collaborate with professionals in the field.
9. An improved writing style.

We’ll talk about how we are going to assess all of this later, but I can tell you that one extremely important part of that assessment will be the weblog that you begin today. I am going to give you a lot of time in class each day to complete the projects above, but your perpetual homework assignment is your log. I’m expecting you to spend at least 20-30 minutes a day (preferably from home) “logging” your work and your thoughts about what you are doing in this class. Here is what your log should be filled with:

• Fairly detailed descriptions of what you accomplished in class that day.
• Goals for the next day.
• Journal entries, i.e. brainstorms on your projects, thoughts about the class or the people you are working with, reminders, etc.
• Links to relevant sources on the internet.

This should be a day book that chronicles your work in class. I am going to try to look at these at least two or three times a week (especially since this is a small class.) And I will use them heavily at the midpoint and at the end of the quarter when we assess your work.

YOU SHOULD START YOUR LOGS TONIGHT, after we discuss them further in class today.

I’m looking at this as an opportunity; I hope you are too.