Extra Credit Assignment 8

Due: Friday, May 4, 2010 (Worth 3 points)

Tell me three legitimate things you learned about/through journalism this semester that will help you to be a better writer and/or journalist.

Extra Credit Assignment 7

Due: Friday, April 30, 2010 (Worth 6 points)

Name three feature story ideas. Along with each, tell me a) what type of lede you could use and b) what your nut graf would be.

KEY: Extra Credit Assignment 2

Grammatically wrong

1. Defeated in the House, the bill moves to the Senate for debate.

Stylistically wrong

2. The man got a ticket for jaywalking last night.

See if you can catch what's wrong.

3. Meredith ran away from home; she was so angry that night.

These should be easy:

4. Yes, Brittney, I can figure this one out.

5. Holding their flags high, the veterans marched through town.

6. The students said they would skip class if Brittney made them do more exercises that had to do with grammar, punctuation, spelling or style.

7. I think most students in this class are a part of the class of '09.

8. "I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote," Brittney said.

Extra Credit Assignment 6

Due Friday, April 16, 2010. Worth 6 (not 5) points. (Each question worth 2 points.)

Nut grafs

1. Without peeking at the back of the book, do exercise 5 on page 63. Record your nut graf here.

News feature

2. Let's say the Vancouver Olympics are just now coming to a close. What kind of news feature story could you do about it? What's your news peg? What information would be your nut graf? (Be as specific as possible.)

Broadcast

3. Read pgs. 166 to 167. (Especially points 1, 2, 4, 5 , 6 and 10. These pages compare and contrast print and broadcast - this could be a big help for you to read for your own stories!) Then read the first two grafs of this NY Times story we looked at today:

Cruises have long been popular with honeymooners looking for a romantic getaway after the wedding. Now, a growing number of brides and grooms are tying the knot on cruise ships and sailing off into the sunset with their entire wedding party in tow.

Cruise weddings have increased 60 percent in the last decade, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents major North American cruise lines and associated travel agencies. Carnival Cruise Lines alone expects some 2,200 couples will marry aboard its ships this year paying anywhere from $1,195 for a basic civil ceremony to $1,795 for a deluxe romance package with a one-and-a-half-hour reception and a celebratory ice carving.

How would you rewrite these first two paragraphs for broadcast? Be creative. Write simply.

Extra Credit Assignment 5

There are a few parts to this. I will make it worth 9 points, 3 for each section. To get any credit, you at least have to complete Part 1. Due: Friday, March 19, 2010.

Part 1: Journalist Interview Prep

**For the journalist interview you don't have to write it like a regular news story. You can just do a Q&A. (It's probably easier.) If you don't know how to format it, let me know.

1. Look up an interesting journalist or two. (Could be an editor, blogger, columnist, etc.) Try to pick people you think you could interview. (Preferably in-person, if not, then by phone.)

2. What is the journalist's name? Indicate where this person works and what type of journalist he or she is. (E.g. Television reporter for WGN in Chicago, Illinois) (Try not to pick journalists in the Champaign area!)

3. Give me three interesting pieces of background information on this person.

4. If you were to do a story (Q&A or regular) what would the focus be? Try to think of an original idea. For example, don't make your focus: how this person became a journalist, etc. Make it relevant and interesting to your reader.

Part 2: Speech story 2

(If you don't feel comfortable putting this online that's fine. If not, give me a hard copy or e-mail me.)

1. Read over your story and read my comments. What do you need to work on most?

2. Look at the questions you answered about improving your last paper. (I handed this back with your papers and grades.) Did you apply the improvements you wanted to make, on your second paper?

3. Are any of the criticisms unclear? If so, which?

4. Do you have any questions about how to fix any of your mistakes?

Part 3: Style

1. How are you supposed to attribute a student? For example, "Do you attribute like this?" Brittney Henton, said. (What two things do you include in a student's title?)

2. If someone doesn't use grammar (tense, subject-verb agreement, etc.) correctly or leaves out a word, how do you fix it in the quote? (Fix this quote. Hint: you have to use parentheses.)

"When people talk, sometimes they jibber on about things, you know, don't think about whether she's saying the sentence correctly," Henton said.

3. How would you use an ellipsis in the previous sentence to leave out the "you know"?

Extra Credit Assignment 4

Ethics Wrap up. (Worth 6 points) Due Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Last week we talked about diversity in journalism and SPJ's Code of Ethics. For the first part of this exercise, I want you to think critically about and discuss your own biases. For the second part, I want you to read and discuss a story about former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Part 1

1. What personal biases do you have that might make you reluctant to approach certain story topics? (Could be religious, political, etc.) What specific topics might be hard for you to cover objectively?
   
2. If you had to do a story involving an issue you didn't agree with or have a strong bias against (e.g. a story on abortion and you're pro-life) what would you do? (Would you cover it? Why or not? How would you cover it, if you chose to do it? If you had a choice and you chose not to, why wouldn't you cover it?) (Use your own specific biases to answer this one.)
3. Do you think the media are biased? Why or why not? What can be done by journalists or by you to remedy any bias you detect?
   

Part 2

Read this story about the speech former Gov. Rod Blagojevich gave Tuesday. Kind of ironic, no?

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/blagojevics-ethics-lecture-full-of-laughs----for-audience.html

1. Do you think the Tribune covered this story fairly? Why or why not?
   
2. If you were doing the same story, what ethical considerations might you to take into account (according to the SPJ Code of Ethics in your book)? Which ethical tenets might conflict and how? Is there a potential for libel?
   
3. How would you have done this story? Would you have done it the same way that it ran or would you have written it differently and how? Why do you think the Tribune ran the story this way?
   

Extra Credit Assignment 3

Due Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010 (Worth 6 points if fully completed, 2 points for half)

Using correct grammar, style and punctuation, answer the following:

1. Next time you have a conversation over breakfast, lunch or dinner either jot down or make mental notes of the topics discussed. (If you don't see or talk to anyone during meals, just use any conversation.)

a. List the topics.

b. Answer this: How could what you discussed be expanded or turned into a story idea for campus or Champaign-Urbana? (You might have to think "outside the box.") Who would you talk to?

c. And this: Describe what your lede could be. (Avoid using a summary lede.)

d. Finally this: What would be your nutgraf?

2. Read a national news story or watch or listen to a national television or radio newscast.

a. Briefly describe the story and post the link.

b. Again, how could this story be localized? Who would you talk to?

c. Describe a possible lede that's not the same type of lede you described above or a summary lede.

d. What would be your nutgraf?