Yet Another Guest Speaker

We will meet Monday, Oct. 22, in the Hall of Fame again in the 3rd Floor Dean’s Conference Room for a guest lecture conference call by New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt.

Clark is a former Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and editor who oversaw Knight-Ridder’s coverage questioning the Bush Administration’s case for the Iraq war. He was Knight-Ridder’s Washington bureau chief, among other things, before the newspaper chain was sold last year. As public editor, he will function as the New York Times’ ombudsman.

edited by Jilane @ 5:33pm 10/20/07

Guest Speakers Monday & Wednesday

In my continuing effort to upgrade the entertainment and excitement levels of our class, I am pleased to announce the following back-to-back guest speakers.

On Monday (Oct. 15), we will join Al Eisele’s advanced reporting class in a roundtable discussion with Gina Cavalarra, who has been to Iraq six times for the Army Times and is one of the best reporters covering the Iraq conflict today, Al says. His class also meets at 9:30 a.m. somewhere on the second floor of Copeland, but he couldn’t remember the room number. We’ll just have to find them.

On Wednesday (Oct. 17), Oklahoma Gazette Editor Rob Collins will join our class to talk about the kind of big features and investigative stories the Gazette likes to publish; Oklahoma politics and culture; the journalism job market, including internships and freelance opportunities; and anything else we want to ask him about.

Please show up and ask a lot of questions. Consider what your day would be like if we were having a regular class.

Warren

Intersection Survey

East Lindsey & 12th Avenue intersection survey

The survey was done on Friday 12, from 1:20 pm to 2:20 pm.
I was concentrated in surveying cars coming from West Lindsey and going toward East and North 12th Avenue going toward South.
During this time 400 cars came from West Lindsey and in 52 of them drivers were using their cell phones.
In the other hand, 476 cars came from North 12th Avenue and in 53 of them drivers were using cell phones while driving.
In total, during an hour, 105 out of 876 drivers coming from West Lindsey and West 12th Avenue were using their cell phones while driving.

New Assignment: Your Wiki Page

In-Class Wednesday, Oct. 10

Go to the Class Wiki home page.
Open the page with your name on it.
Click the Edit Page button.
Copy and paste to your Wiki page:
Your Profile sked.
Your Profile Interview Questions.
Your Profile Source List
(when they’re done; due Monday).
Click the Save button.
That’s it!
Remember: Your Profile Story is due Monday, Oct. 29.

New Assignment: Profile Source List

New Assignment #1
Profile Story Source List

Due Monday, Oct. 15

Compile a list of possible sources for your Profile Story.
Cite specific people, organizations, documents and other data.
Include contact information: phone numbers, email addresses, web sites.
(If you don’t have any yet, gather some.)
The more entries, the better. You can pare down the list later.
Save your list. You will need to turn it in with your finished story.
File a copy in the Profile Source List dropbox.
Remember: The Profile Story is due Monday, Oct. 29.

Profile Story Criteria

Profile Story Criteria
Due date: Monday, Oct. 29.
Length: minimum 1,000 words.
Stories must contain:
-Original, current reporting.
-Quotes from a minimum of five interviews.
In addition to the profile subject, a mix of friends, family, associates, competitors, critics, experts and others, depending on the subject matter and type of profile.
-Biographical and historical information, as needed.
-Supporting facts and statistics, as needed.
-State, regional or national data, as needed.
-Broader trends, precedents and examples, as needed.
Stories must not contain:
-Profiles of roommates, friends or relatives
(unless approved in advance and disclosed in story).
-Quotes from any of the above.
-Quotes taken from other stories
(unless approved in advance and fully attributed).
-Information attributed to other news media
that you could have reported yourself.
Grading criteria:
-Idea (originality, scope, difficulty).
-Reporting (effort, resourcefulness, difficulty).
-Writing (creativity, structure, style, errors).

Revised Class Schedule

WEEK 8
Oct. 8 - 10
Profile reporting & writing
Profile Source Lists
WEEK 9
Oct. 15 – 17
Profile reporting & writing
WEEK 10
Oct. 22 – 24
Assignment: In-Depth Story skeds
WEEK 11
Oct. 29 – 31
Profile due Monday, Oct. 29
In-Depth Story reporting & writing
WEEK 12
Nov. 5 – 7
Monday: Guest Speaker: Heather Spencer, Preparing for the Career Fair
In-Depth Story reporting & writing
WEEK 13
Nov. 12 – 14
In-Depth Story reporting & writing
WEEK 14
Nov. 19 (no class Wednesday)
In-Depth Story first draft due Monday, Nov. 19
WEEK 15
Nov. 26 – 28
In-Depth Story final draft due Wednesday, Nov. 28
WEEK 16
Dec. 3 – 5
Student Exhibitions
WEEK 17
(Finals Week - No exam)

Yay! Norman statistics!

Finally. Car crash and cell phone statistics in Norman for recent years.

In 2006, Thirty-three (33) motor vehicle collisions occurred where cell phones were in use in the City of Norman. One (1) of those collisions resulted in a death and 14 resulted in injuries.

In 2007 to date, forty-two (42) motor vehicle collision occurred where cell phones were in use. Twenty-three (23) of those collisions resulted in injuries.

Sidebars/Graphics

Did any of you come across information that would be particularly great for a sidebar or graphic? As I'm sorting through, there's some good suggestions, and a ton of numbers, but I realize I need to ask the reporters that gathered the data as to what is the most important. Feel free to comment with text or links.

Something Fun

Just something lighter in regards to cell phone use while driving...
Plus, it's a great piece of information in case you ever have to resort to carjacking.

How To Profile A Saint

One big challenge with the kind of profiles some of you are pursuing is that they focus on truly admirable characters, such as outstanding faculty members or inspirational role models or people who have triumphed over adversity. The trick is to find a way to include something other than a string of consistently gushy quotes and flattering anecdotes. That’s tough to do when the subject is somebody who genuinely deserves admiration.

One way to provide a little balance is to ask your profile subjects some questions designed to provide a more nuanced portrait. Are there are any dark chapters in their lives? Anything they did they now regret? Anything about their past they’re not proud of? Any exceptions to what appears to be the life story of a saint? When they got in trouble in high school, what was it for? If they were writing their own profile, what would they describe as their strong and weak points?

When you talk to family, friends and colleagues, ask them whether the profile subjects are as perfect as they sound, or whether they have traits or experiences that would make them appear more human, like the rest of us. Sometimes questions like that will elicit material that makes the story less one-dimensional, and probably more honest.

To identify some of these sources, you will need to ask the profile subjects themselves for suggestions and contact information. When you talk to your subjects, ask them whom they would suggest to provide interesting observations about their present and past. Tell them you’d like to talk to old friends, family members, teachers, cronies, rivals, enemies, etc. Just asking for names & numbers might cause your subjects to remember and describe funny or serious anecdotes you can use in the story.

When it comes to in-depth profiles, nothing or nobody is irrelevant or off-limits.

Think about the kind of people you can use as sources, besides the obvious. People who worked with them in previous jobs? Professional competitors? High school buddies? Grade-school teachers? Parents? Siblings? Best friends? Spouses? Old boyfriends? Fellow poker players?

Also think about potential information sources. If your subjects are journalists or educators, what about clip searches for stories or articles they might have written? High school yearbooks? Report cards? Graduation speeches? Do your subjects have their own websites? Blogs? Do they post on other people’s blogs? Do they pop up on Facebook? MySpace? YouTube? The police blotter?

Good luck and have fun.

Kids Using Cell Phones Raises Concerns

The Indy Star reported today that kids as young as five are using cell phones now...
When Quri Twitty misplaced her cell phone charger about a month ago, the 5-year-old became upset, her mom, Collene, says.
So with this generation starting to use phones before they can write cursive, what does this mean for the next generation of drivers? Can this legislation be important as a preventative measure for the future?