Final current events

1) The conflict is that the Labay family needs to demolish a house because of the money and the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association won't let them. I think the Labay family has the stronger case because they don't have the money to pay for the taxes on the house and they already have a lot to pay for as it is. A compromise could be subdividing the lot to preserve the home while allowing development on the other portion. I think it is a good idea because it can be developed but still kept preserved for the people who love "old Austin"

2) They bid to run Sandia National Laboratories which will leverage the research power of stellar universities. The university of New Mexico, the Boeing Co. and the battelle Memorial Institute will be their partnerships. They would provide research expertise, workforce training and independent peer review of the work done at Sandia. I think that this is okay for them to do this because they are going to provide research on things like climate change, cybersecurity, energy, etc.

3) They are crossing their final hurdle to bring Bill Cosby to trial. Cosby's lawyers had argued that the former district attorney promised never to prosecute Cosby as a way to induce him to testify in the civil suit brought by constand, which was ultimately settled. I think that it makes sense for it to be on the front page because it is a case that people have a lot of interest in. 

4) The school board renamed Robert E. Lee Elementary to Russell Lee Elementary in an 8-1 vote.

Russell Lee was a critically acclaimed Depression-ear photographer and a founder of the University of Texas photography department. He also lived in the neighborhood. The final vote may have been a bit awkward because Bettie Mann was not picked for the new school name and she had to make a comment about it. I like the new name better because it relates to the school more.

5) There are many sexual assaults made against the football program, and the university president Ken Starr would not survive the scandal. I don't think there is much you can do to "make things right" because I don't think you can ever really be forgiven for things like this. People should be educated and if in the future there are charges against someone they should not be let in to the school because it could happen again. 

Students going to college far from home

When picking the right college there are many things to consider, and going far away may or may not be the best for some people. Though you don't have to limit your self to what is closest to you. There are a lot of positive things like independence, and a fresh start, and negative things that there are to consider like expenses and long distance relationships. Clarissa Thompson is a senior who will be attending Maine College of Art in Portland, after she was offered an amazing scholarship. "It's an opportunity to be in a different part of America" she says. She has moved only around Texas but is ready to be in a new place. She recommends going to school far from home because it's a great way to get a feel for living on your own. Though going to college is a great step forward "I'm always going to miss my friends and family". June Bendich is a senior that will be attending Pratt institute in Brooklyn, New York. She is comfortable being on her own, but has a brother in New York City so she has some convenience. She has not been away from home for more than a month, so she plans on beating home sickness with lots and lots of Chinese food. She lastly says that whether you go to college or not, it is your decision to make and "I honestly don't think I have any reason to tell other people where to go to college. I can see the benefits of staying close to home and of going far away."

Newspaper Terms

Headlines- Large Type running above or beside a story to summarize it's content
Subheadlines- Lines of type, often bold, used to divide text into smaller sections
Boxes- A ruled border around a story or art
Teaser- An eye-catching graphic element, on page one that promotes an item inside
Flag- The name of a newspaper as it's displayed on page one
Folios- Type at the top of an inside page giving the newspaper's name, date and page number
Bylines- The reporter's name, usually at the beginning of a story
Jumps- To continue a story on another page
Story dividers- The lines inbetween different stories so they are separated
Screens- A pattern of tiny dots used to create gray areas
Infographics- Newsroom slang for "informational graphic"; any map
Masthead/staff box- A block of information
Bastard measure- Any non-standard width for a column of text
Raw wrap- Text that extends into a column alongside its headline
Reefer- A line or paragraph, often given graphic treatment
Wild art- A photo that does not accompany any story
Pull quote- Another name for liftout quote
Ears- Text or graphic elements on either side of a newspaper's flag.
Banner- A wild headline extending across the entire page.
Kicker headline- A small, short, one-line headline, often underscored, placed above a larger headline
Wicket headline-
Tripod headline- A headline that uses a big, bold word or phrase and two smaller lines of deck squaring off alongside.
Hammer headline- A headline that uses a big, bold word or phrase for impact and runs a small, wide deck below.
Modular design- a design system that views a page as a stack of rectangles.
Text wrap- text that wraps around the image
L-shaped text flow- L-shaped article with an image in the L's blank space
U-shaped text flow- U-shaped article with an image in the U's blank space

Extra credit

Mr. Sackett's Work:

"Who's Watching"

is about sexual predators and I though this photo was clever because the men are all watching her as she plays innocently outside, while at the same time it looks like she is running away from them.

 

Laci Spencer and her baby cow was one that I liked because it shows how much they love the show ring. 

4th of July fireworks in St. Cloud was an interesting photo because of the lighting involved and how this is a one shot picture to take.

Kermit the frog and Andrew Gibson playing was a great picture that shows a child's innocence so well.

The Ring-O-Fire in Florida was a great photo because it such an interesting angle of a roller coaster that isn't very often taken. 

William Mills celebrating was a good representation of how much sports affects peoples success and happiness.

Tim McMullen visiting his daughters grave was an emotional representation of what it is like to loose a loved one.

This picture of a sand hill crane was a great photo for the grey hazy colors.
 
Alligators in Orlando Florida was taken at an excellent angle so you can see all of them together.

I liked "Cheese" because it looks minimalistic and clean, and using the glasses shadows was unique.

video 
Sculpture Experience
"Sculpture Experience" was the video I picked because the message of it was art should be all around us and even if it's very simple art, and I really agree with what she says.

 

Current Events 6.1

1) Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Lew wanted to have a woman the face of the $10 dollar bill and at first he wanted to have Alexander Hamilton taken off, but he knew the Broadway rap musical about the first Treasury secretary fan base would not be happy. As for the $10, Hamilton will remain and the $5 will still have Abraham Lincoln but both will have images of women added to the backs of the bills.

2) There were three officials charged in the Flint lead crisis. Neil Rockind said that this is rare because "Its very hard to find a similar case where people are charged for just being personally bad or neglectful at their job. Usually there's some personal corrupt intent involved."

3) They are "invigorated" after the big wins in New York. Clinton now has 81 percent of the delegates she needs to clinch the democratic nomination that eluded her eight years ago. Trump strengthened his lead in the Republican race, but he is still far from in the clear. Next Tuesday Trump will have to build on his home state win with top-level performances for the round of primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware, as well as in California.

Newspaper Design Continued

1) My favorite newspaper front page is the Northridge Reporter because it is about the schools play.

2) The newspaper that grabbed my interest was The Arapahoe Herald because it was about rape victims and and how they are silenced.

3) From the Northridge Reporter newspaper I liked the "Tattoo Trend Presents Danger of Bad Ink" headline the most and I am interested in it because it's about the popularity of tattoos and how under aged teens are getting them.

4) Two

5) They have more than one headline, designed the relatively the same format and always a plain font, and they usually have photos of some sort.

6) The pictures on the Northridge Reporter have small pictures and some newspapers have larger pictures, it also only has two headlines and other newspapers have more headlines depending on the length.

7) I do think that they are similar but the high school newspapers are obviously about the schools news and not city/state/country news like the newspapers from around the world.

NewsMagazines:

1) Lee's Summit HS Hi.Life Magazine

2) Talon magazine, December 2013, Volume 6 Issue 2 -Stanley News, Stanley High School

3) Craze Issue One: Around the World - Craze Magazine 

Front Pages of the World

1) My favorite newspaper front page is the Temple Daily Telegram in Temple Texas because it has a picture of a dog wearing a crown on it

2) My favorite headline from the front page is "From Source To Sink: What's In Your Water?" I am interested in this headline because I thought the flint water crisis was an interesting topic and I think it's good to give people information about their safety.

3) Five

4) They all have both headlines and pictures and the designs are formatted in similar columns. The text is also the same in practically every newspaper. 

5) The size of the photos vary from every front page, some have small pictures and some have just one big picture. There also isn't always the same amount of headlines every time.   

Picture of my favorite front page

.

Best Sports Day Ever Draft

Last year my sister, my dad and I went to the summer X-Games in Austin. We were there all day to see the race cars, motorbikes and cyclists going down gigantic hills and doing flips before they landed again. It was early June which made the day incredibly hot. I was dressed inappropriately for the weather because I was wearing a dark blue rain jacket with a t-shirt underneath, I was also wearing jeans and my everyday black ankle boots, I did have my heart shaped sunglasses that was very needed though. Need less to say I was teased by my sister for this, and before we left the house she knew she would have her "I told you so" moment when I complained about being too hot. 

There was never a dull moment because every time you turned your head there was someone doing something crazy, I could always hear peoples engines roaring and announcers yelling into there microphones about who had the best scores. There definitely was a lot of walking around and the smell of food was everywhere, which made it seem like a sports lovers Disneyland. I could smell corn dogs and burgers until we got to the asian barbecue food truck and then the smell changed to spicy with a bit of sweetness. I didn't get anything because they had run out of the meal I wanted, which was later substituted by a corn dog and lemonade that I didn't eat until the sun was down. While we walked around I also saw people playing new video games outside before their release. We didn't stay long to watch but it seemed to be the typical first person shooter game and as we walked by I could hear the gun shots and guys cheering him on, because he apparently got far in the game. As much fun as the sports were, the other reason for us going to the X-Games was because my dad got all of us VIP tickets to see Metallica later that night, they preformed on the gigantic stage that we had to get a golf cart to drive to because it was a bit of a hike to walk all the way there. We have been to Metallica concerts before because my dad is friends/business partners with Kirk Hammett, the lead guitarist, and every time they are incredibly unforgettable. They are also very loud which results in me having to wear earplugs for hours. We had VIP tickets that gave us and other people the opportunity to stand up high on a platform above the stage. Through out the concert people were jumping up and down to the beat of the songs and the lights of the stage were always changing colors and flashing to the audience. Mid way through the show huge blow up beach balls were released into the crowd and people started deflating them so they could take them home. The day was almost over and we knew the last song was playing so we left the platform to get back to our car before the heavy traffic. Our feet were sore from waking and our voices were weak from yelling during the concert but it was worth it because I know that I won't have a day like that ever again.

Finding the Flaw

The flaw I believe is with the New York Times because their information seemed to be dated and the NFL had facts to back up their reasons for why the story had some false information. I think that if the NFL really wants the story retracted then it should be.

Current Events 5.2

1) A UT student was killed on campus last week and it appears that she was sexually assaulted and was a victim of strangulation. Forensic examiners collected DNA samples from her body to try to find more evidence against her killer. The sources declined to be identified because of the ongoing investigation and because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the case. They probably said something because they want to speed up the process of the investigation and make sure they get their story straight. It has gotten a lot of media attention because it happened in Austin.

2) Technology employers are offering women lower salaries than men for the same jobs at the same company, women salaries are 3 percent less than those of men. Hired.com helps connect tech employers with job seekers through a process that involves reviewing and accepting job offers and has inside points to study the gender wage gap. Causes of the wage gap is that women are setting their salary expectations lower than men do. It didn't surprise me that the technology companies are making these hires. It did seem to be a bit over done with the promoting of Hired.com but it makes sense considering thats where all their information is coming from.

3) He signed an executive order altering the equal employment policy for state workers to cover discrimination claims related to sexual orientation and gender identity. ACLU immediately criticized McCrory's order they said that "Gov. McCrory's actions today are a poor effort to save face after his sweeping attacks on the LGBT community..." PayPal, the National Basketball Association, Deutsche Bank and Bruce Springsteen have all protested against this law.

4) The number of child suicide bombers used by the Islamic extremists of Boko Haram has increased from 4 to 44 with a consequence in communities that now see children as threats. Terrorism experts say that the reason they reject the term suicide attacks when referring to these bombings because the children are often forced to carry them out or were not of age to understand the consequence of their actions. People will some times join do to a financial motivation.

5) Hawking Joins Bid To Explore Deep Space  - Yuri Milner said he is going to spend 100 million dollars on a futuristic plan to explore far outside our soar system. The eventual goal is sending hundreds or thousands of tiny spacecrafts that are going to weigh far less than an ounce. It will be expected to go 2,000 times as far as any spacecraft has gone and it will fly at about one-fifth the speed of light. They could reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years and send observations and send the results back to Earth, and they may be able to spot new planets or they may even discover new life. I liked this announcement a lot because it is very exciting for learning new things about our solar system and I just really love space.

6) 

outline on gisondi article on sports game stories

Game Stories are the most important part of any sports media. The key is to go farther than writing a one-sided story without much knowledge, and only taking notes play-by-play.

• Storyline - The narrative through the story, also needs to address the significance of the event, a strategy, a play, or a player. This should keep people reading even if they have already seen the game.

• Context - Explains news values and offers key details like the score and the participants. Using the nut graph, it should address which teams played , where they played, when they played, who won, and what the final score was

• Quotes - Comments from the players/coaches, they can give approaches and performances. (always talk to both teams) 

• Key Plays - Descriptions and references to key plays will illustrate how a team or player preformed. Requires detailed notes as you observe the game 

• Key Statistics - Most significant numbers, though there is no need to recite every scoring leader in a game story 

Covering a game is a challenging task, in order to cover a game well, you need to research teams, events, players and have a plan for taking notes. 

Reconsidering Rolling Stone's Reporting 

The Rolling Stone journalists made a mistake in their reporting by failure of reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking. The published story had failed to state where important information had come from. It's good for journalists to learn from these mistakes by understanding that it's important to build a trust with the people who read your work. Journalists should be expected to "balance sensitivity to victims", "collaborate survivor accounts" and "hold institutions to account" I don't necessarily think that Rolling Stone has to change their procedures, but I do think that everyone should take extra precaution before publishing anything, especially the journalists who actually wrote A Rape On Campus.

Current Events Activity 5.1

1) The investigation that has now been completed is an internal inquiry into the controversial shooting of an unarmed, naked teen, named David Joseph. Acevedo is not waiting for a criminal investigation to conclude before deciding whether to discipline the officer who shot and killed the teen. Officials could schedule a disciplinary hearing for Freeman, they could also request additional investigation or exonerate him of any policy violations. The investigation findings would only go public if he is suspended for at least a day for his actions related to the shooting.

2) Hortensia Villegas are rushing to become citizens so they can vote against Trump. Applications for citizenships have increased so much that there will be about 1 million in 2016. Obama launched a national campaign to galvanize legal residents to take the step. You can now pay a fee $680 and practice the civics test online.

3) The Texas Railroad Commission is struggling to get more money for the oil industry due to the slump in oil prices. The commission leaders are saying that the agency might not be able to accomplish their mission if they can't get more money.

4) Obama ordered the flags to be at half-staff because the former first lady died. Michelle Obama will attend her funeral on Friday. It's appropriate for her to go because Nancy Reagan was a very kind person to her and Barack Obama. For the past 15 years of her life she had been "the guiding force of the Reagan library".

5) A jury awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her lawsuit against a stalker who rented a hotel room next to her and secretly recorded a nude video. Her parents described for jurors the terror they and their daughter felt after learning of the video. The stalker was responsible for 51 percent of the verdict and the two companies should share the rest.

6) The Supreme Court ruled that states must honor adoptions by same-sex parents who move across state lines. In Alabama a lesbian was kept from seeing her 3 children she had adopted with her former spouse.

Who's Who Feature Profile

Lilly Dickinson

Lily Dickinson is a very accomplished senior and Visual Arts Major at McCallum High School. Her most memorable experience at McCallum was her first hall march two years ago. She felt like she belonged before the first day of school because it had a way of making everyone feel comfortable. Her favorite class is Statistics and her favorite teacher is Mr Anderson because he feels like not only a friend to her, but a great teacher who really knows how to communicate with his students. She states that she regrets not being active elective and extra curricular wise. In her time at McCallum  she also learned to think before speaking and to be more eloquent. She will be going to Ithaca College. It's sad to see her go but she will never forget the bonds made between her friends and teachers.

React To Rolling Stones Article

I did like the article though it is a hard subject to talk about, it is definitely an important one. It does a good job raising the issues of sexual assault on campus because it is so important for people to know that they are not alone and know that sexual assault is real and it happens more often than I believe people think. This story is well written because it was long and in depth but even though it was long it wasn't boring. At the end of the story I will admit I wished Drew had gone to jail because I think it is absolutely terrible that people get off with little consequence.

Shattered Glass Extension

Julie Amparano

Julie Amparano who worked for the Arizona Republic was fired in 1999 for inventing people to quote in her columns. She claimed to fact checkers that her sources were real yet when they checked her sources they could not be found. Her most memorable person created was "Jennifer Morgan" who was described differently for practically every piece. Later she went on to co-authorized a children's book and she also taught English at Arizona State University West.

Response To Shattered Glass

option one:
Stephen Glass showed clues to how he was not a ideal journalist, yet they were very subtle and convincing. At the very beginning of the movie he complements one of his co-workers by saying that her necklace looked nice on her. He also gave complements to others and brought some people gum. He does this because in order for people to trust him, he needs a good representation. When his original editor Michael Kelly questions his story "Spring Breakdown" for the mini bottles, Glass offers to hand in his resignation for his minor mistake to make it seem like he would never do anything worse than that, thus making him seem more trust worthy with the big picture with his story. When Glass says "A great editor defends his writers. Against anyone. He stands up and fights for you" I believe this is true but he is talking about an "editor" meaning thats their job, they edit. They have to fact check and not just take their co-workers word that something happened. As for when Glass says "This is The New Republic, remember? Nothing slides here. If you don't have it cold, you don't turn it in. Ever." It also gives people the validation that he knows the rules and because he knows it is more likely for him to follow them.

Feature Profile

Lucia Facundo

Lucia Facundo was born in Laredo Texas 1953 and is a counselor at McCallum High school, she had wonderful parents and has 18 siblings. She was offered a job in Austin as a teacher in 1977 after college to work at McCallum. Before counseling she was a science teacher at McCallum but when she heard about the new job opening for counseling she decided to change to it because she knew she would fit the job more. She was very involved in school and her church. "It was a much more..innocent time" she says. As a child she spent most of time outside and hardly listened to the radio. She had one black and white TV and one phone line. "With all those teenagers it was hard getting on a phone". She likes to run and did her first full marathon two years ago, but now she just does half marathons. Her mother and father got little education. "My father maybe got first grade education and my mother got through ninth grade". Her father was from Mexico so English was his second language. Her mother was from San Diego Texas but was raised in San Antonio so English was her first language. Both of her parents showed that you did not have to have formal education to continue your education. Her mother later in life continued her education and got a nursing certificate that made Lucia proud. Facundo debated about having a nursing job "In high school I never thought I would be going into education". She went to Laredo Junior College, then went to Texas Women's University and got her bachelors degree in science. She then transferred to North Texas State university (UNT) and got her masters degree in education. She has a loving husband and has three children of her own, who all live in Austin and all graduated from McCallum. She continues her job with a positive attitude and respects everyone there, but of course, thats what a counselor is for.

The Morning Anchor In The Morning

I do agree that "The Mourning Anchor" deserves to be considered a great piece of journalism because it was very in depth about Bryant Gumbel and had perfect examples of what a feature profile should be. Gumbel seems to be a very unlikable person even from the opening of the feature profile. Gumbel says "It's not that I dislike many people. It's just that I don't like many people."

Reilly probably obtained the information by interviewing him, saw other interviews, and was very involved with Gumbel's life. I believe that the feature was balanced because it gave more than one opinion on Gumbel and more than just the good and the bad things about him.

I don't think that the feature was at the top of the ladder of abstract at all, but I would maybe list it near the bottom or the middle, but not at the very bottom. I believe that the moments described were signatures. The reader will get more knowledge of Gumbel and his life. I liked that Reilly wrote his feature without feeling like he had to make Gumbel and his life seem better/nicer than it is.

Learning How to Write a Feature Profile Part 2 

300 word response 

Dave Hyde's Feature starts off with a setting for his lead. Gisondi says that it is important for there to be a setting because you need to put the person in a physical location to help the reader understand what they are reading. Jake Scott is then described before our introduction to him. Gisondi says your main character (Jake Scott) needs to be fully developed or your reader could get bored or not understand your story, so Hyde's when introducing Jake Scott starts be giving a description of what he looks like and a bit of background on his life. The reporter in the story offers all the events that took place while with Jake Scott, with little details to help relate the story to its main focus. The voice of the reporter is definitely in the story but not so much that it will take away from the story, for example before he meats Jake he adds his own dialogue when he says he is "A writer from florida" when talking to to the man in the driveway. Gisondi says this is okay to do as long as you don't interject yourself into the story. You do not make yourself the main focus because the feature profile is about the character you choose, and David Hyde's does a good job making it not about him.  The news angle was about Jake Scott and what he has been doing with his life as well as clearing up stories that may or may not be true about him.  This feature profile also has a beginning, middle an end like Gisondi recommends. 

Learning How to Write a Feature Profile

100 word summary

Have a begging, middle, and end. Make sure that there is action, something that makes the story propel. 

Conflict should be how the main character wants something but someone or something stands in the way (doesn't always have to be resolved).

News angles give the reason who you are writing about and why.

Setting is to give your character a physical location. Putting your character in a location allows for the reader to follow the story easier.

Your character needs to be fully developed, physical descriptions, actions, thoughts, and dialogue.

Profile stories can include commentary, just don't over do it.

Current Events Warm Up Activity 

Ted Cruz won in the Republican Party in the Iowa caucuses while Hillary Clinton won in the Democratic party in Iowa. Bernie Sanders was in a practical tie with Clinton while Donald Trump was defeated by Cruz. For the democrats I predict Bernie Sanders, now that he has gained so much popularity that he will start beating Hillary Clinton in future debates.

Feature Exploration Day Part 1

I liked both of the feature stories because they both took a good approach on them. They illustrated good feature writing by having interesting true stories, leads, middles, ends, and they both seemed to have worked on there stories for a long time. I liked "It's An Honor" more because I liked that the writer had an original approach by having the grave digger as their subject. I like how Breslin uses people who most people would over look in his stories. Breslin also makes him stories simple enough to read that anyone could understand the goal in his writing.

Feature Exploration Day Part 2

Top Ten Most Important Things About Features 

1) Features have a lead, a middle and end

2) Uses direct quotes liberally

3) Leads must grab the readers attention and should be in third person

4) There are different types of leads like Narrative, Descriptive, Direct quote, Starting Statement, Twist, and Contrast & Compare

5) The lead should open with the specific then go to the general

6) avoid stating the obvious, using cliches, and "imagine this" leads

7) have a strong nut graph (a summary of what the story is going to be about)

8) After the nut graph use the transition/quote formula

9) End your story with a powerful quote or tie the ending back to the lead

10) avoid using a news lead, writing in the passive voice, using too many adverbs and adjectives instead of specific nouns and powerful verbs, messy handwriting, lack of strong quotes.

Part 2 Of Finding Feature Leads 

1)The Recovery of a Boston Marathon Bombing Victim - NYTimes.com Sequence or narrative 

2)http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/from-esquire-classic-looking-at-john-sacks-m/ 

Description (person)

3)http://niemanstoryboard.org/storyboard-category/notable-narratives/page/10/

Description (person)

Writing An Obituary

Food Connoisseur Ada Faire Moore Dies In A Grilling Accident 

Ada Moore, caring food connoisseur living in Portland Oregon died at the age of 65 on her birthday due to an ironic grilling accident.

Ada's death was confirmed by her close business partner on the day of her passing. Ada will be remembered and missed for her wonderful accomplishments in her well-lived life. She received a masters degree at the Institute of Culinary Education, Americas number one culinary school and went on to win many awards for her excellent skill. 

Ada Moore on her way back home from her wonderful day of birthday fun arrived at home with her best friend from her work at 5:28pm when she then decided to cook up her favorite birthday dinner, some Capital T Tenders. Humming her way through the house she prepared her ingredients. Tenders, Panko bread crumbs, some spices, and most importantly the secret ingredient, It was now 5:39. With all going smoothly Ada stepped outside her plant covered, one-story, self designed house to the patio. The grill awaited her as it sat in silence and glistened in the sunlight, it was now 5:47 and the air was a perfect 72 degrees. "Now we're cooking with gas!" Ada says as she turned on the gas. She put the tenders on the grill one by one. The grill was not hot enough yet so she decided to pour some oil on it to make the fire flame up, this was her mistake..her last mistake. It was too late said Ada's close business best friend "She lit up so fast.. she was on fire! she was hot, piping hot!!" It was too late before the paramedics got to her home, Ada sadly had died from fourth degree burns all over the body.

Feature Writing: Mitch Albom on Writing

1) Mitch Albom discusses in his speech "On Writing" about his experiences with journalism.

He talks about how it is very important to write interesting in depth newspaper articles because with the Internet now being the main source of fast information people don't read newspapers as much anymore. Albom then explains how he breaks down the three elements of stylistic writing (for mostly feature writing) into leads, middles, and ends.

Leads
In journalism school a lead is to get all the basic information into the first or second paragraph. If you are trying to write a lead it may be hard to put style into the writing because the paragraph is about how old somebody is, where they live, what they did, what they're charged with, ect. You don't have to have a large amount of style though as long as you are able to hold the readers attention. When writing a lead it is also sometimes a good idea to give a bit of misdirection, something a writer can do to make you think one way while their actually doing something else.

Middles 
The most effective ways newspapers have dealt with stories is to look beyond what is apparent in front of you. Try to tell the story at a different angle because things like CNN, MSNBC, Fox, or the Internet have already given out the basic story before the newspapers can even catch up. You must tell a story through the eyes of someone who had relation to the topic you are writing about.

Endings 
One mistake that people make in ending their stories is that they have to have a huge declarative ending when really the ending can be much more subtle. You need to paint a picture at the end, just as you do in the beginning, and let it resonate. You know the ending is good when once you put down the story it stays on your mind for a long time. You can do this with humor, images or just leaving something unsaid. Leaving something unsaid will resonate with the reader more.

5) "Sometimes it's what's left unsaid that resonates with the reader" I chose this because I definitely agree with this statement in that I have read some endings that really make you ponder about the subject. "First of all, there's something thing I refer to as misdirection. Those of you that follow magic know they make you look over here, and meanwhile they're doing something over there." I agree with this because when you use misdirection it can lead to a sort of twist to the story making it more interesting. "See if you can tell the story through side angles." I liked this because it is something I feel the need to remember because if you want to make the story interesting think of it a different way than other people.

Current Events Activity 4.1

1) Glenn Hager is an American Attorney who serves as Texas State Comptroller of Public Accounts. State Sen. Royce West asked him "Is the sky falling in Texas?" he asked this due to the falling oil prices that might affect the state budget. Hager answered by saying "No, sir. Is it something we need to continue to pay attention to and watch? Absolutely. In October Hagar lowered his projection for state revenue in the current budget by $2.6 billion because of falling fossil fuel prices and the state budget is not in jeopardy of being dragged down by the energy market. Severance taxes on oil and gas producers takes 7.5 percent of the market value for natural gas and 4.6 percent or oil.

2) Donald Trump will be sitting out tomorrow's Republican debate because he is going to apparently host an event in the state to raise money for wounded warriors and other veterans groups just before Monday's Iowa caucuses. I don't think it will help his campaign and his chances on Monday (because honestly there is no helping him) On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are at odds over whether to participate in a newly proposed debate to be held Feb. 4. Five days later New Hampshire's Feb. 9 primary will take place. I don't think the Feb. 4th event will take place because some of the candidates will not be attending due to the event not being approved by the party.

3) They are fighting mosquitos that are spreading a virus that is causing birth defects by trying to distribute mosquito repellent to some 400,000 pregnant women who receive cash-transfer benefits. Zika, dengue and microcephaly are what viruses the mosquitos are infected with.  The health minister's remarks are controversial because they basically said to women "don't get pregnant".. The huge event next month is the Rio de Janeiro.

4) Steven Weinberg recently announced that he plans to ban guns from his classrooms. Bill McRaven saids to focus on safety and provide an environment that supports studying and research with minimal distractions. The campus carry law will go into effect on August 1st. The open carry law went into effect on January 1st. Justin Wood said that people who were concealed carrying are still concealed carrying and that people on the street were not openly carrying.

5) Ken Paxton is a Texas Attorney General who objected to the Obama administration's recent move to resettle Syrian refugees without giving state officials one week notice. On Friday lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice told Godbey that it had moved seven Syrians to Houston that day. Paxton asked a federal judge on December 2nd to block resettlement efforts. Godbey rejected Paxton's initial request.

6) If the Lady Longhorns beat Kansas it will mark 1,000 wins for them. The Lady Longhorns are doing pretty good this season and are ranked sixth in the country. The teams greatest weakness is all the turnovers.

7) I liked the New York Times obituary a bit better because it talked more about his achievements 

Last Respects And Learning About Obituaries 

Alan Rickman: Alan Rickman, a well accomplished British actor died at the age of 69 on January 14 2016 due to cancer. He should be remembered, missed and celebrated because he was an amazing person that so many love. His character in Harry Potter, Die Hard and many others will always be remembered and missed for his impressive acting skills.

I read the obituaries of Alan Rickman, David Bowie and Monte Irvin. Both the Alan Rickman and David Bowie obituaries had videos of them unlike Monte Irvin. Both Rickman and Bowie died at the age of 69 due to cancer, while Irvin died at 96. The Monte Irvin obituary was much shorter than the other two maybe because he was more well known and needed less of a explanation of his life. 

Searching for Stories with the pros: Sheltering Sky

1) The significance is that the writer is telling a story about an autistic child and through the story they explain the struggle of being a family member having to deal with their child being dangerous. The writer does focus on one subject in particular (Sky Walker) because he murdered his mother making his story more interesting to the public I assume, but they also discus other people in very similar situations.

2) The writer doesn't seem to include themselves into the story often which I think helps the story from losing it's objective.

3) The writer makes there story a story by taking you through the life of Sky and his family by including great sensory details that make it seem as if you were there experiencing it rather than just telling you how a man killed his mother without knowing detailed context.

4) The writer reported this story in chronological order. I'm pretty sure that the majority of the information came from interviews. They talked to the ex-husband, the school, the jail, Trudy's old friends, and some things from Sky. The reporter must have spent ages on this story because there was SO much information on every ones lives and experiences.

5) "I. Don't. Have. Words." The reporter would have asked about a story of Sky's early aggression. "It was the first time I got beat up by him." The reporter would have asked about Scotts first experiences with Sky's dangerous side. "Hurt Momma," he said. "Sad." The reporter would have asked about Sky's feelings after the murder.

Bobby Hawthorne Introduces Feature Writing 

1) Bobby Hawthorne says to remember that "We're not collecting data. We want to tell stories." He suggests that reporters should not just collect data because even though all the information is there, it isn't going to win many readers. Instead of trying to only transact data, a reporter should attempt to tell a story in human terms. When reading a story there should be humanity, joy, humor, facts, emotion and the image that should be retained after finishing the story. To succeed, a story must not just simply state what happened.

2) Hawthorne says that writing a story that isn't so good is the equivalent of microwave popcorn in that it is ready quick, and won't fill you up. Hawthorne then goes on to explain how to write a better story by stressing more about the human elements of the story. Consider the who, what , when, where, why and how but also the dramatic devices: character, setting, plot, conflict, dialogue, order, anticipation, climax, and resolution.

Photos I liked for 2015

Made by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

I picked this photo because it was not like any of the other pictures I saw for 2015 and it was also just really strange.

Found here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/bigpicture/2015/12/29/year-pictures-part/3F6obe2vzWeddZ47FI4UCO/story.html?p1=BP_Headline

Made by Lintao Zhang
I picked this photo because it seemed like a relaxing image because of the simple color scheme.

Found here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/27/sunday-review/2015-year-in-pictures.html?_r=2

I lastly liked this image that NASA released of giant columns of cold gas in a small region of the Eagle Nebula because I absolutely love space and the picture is so clear that it does not even seem real.

Found here:CNN Photos -- 2015: The Year in Pictures

All The "Best"/ Most "Important" Things of 2015

1) It Makes The Babies Want to Cry by George Clanton

I picked this song because I really like the style of music and how catchy it is. I also have been listening to it a lot for months now but I wouldn't consider this to be my absolute favorite song, just because every other song I really love was not made in 2015.

                                                                                           

  2) Brooklyn (2015)

I recently watch this movie and really loved it because it's set in the 50's (one of my favorite eras) and it's about a Irish immigrant that moves to Brooklyn New York. The set through out the whole movie is amazing and the actors did a great job. Though like my answer for music, most of my favorite movies were not made in 2015.

3) Same-sex Marriage Debate

4)

5)

Holiday Answers 

1) For christmas me and my family went to Dallas to see my aunt and uncle, we also celebrated my birthday at a bit early at their house because my actual birthday is on the 29th of December and I wouldn't get to see them for it.

2) I usually don't make resolutions, but I would like to try and procrastinate much less and make sure my work isn't late. I also would like to try and do yoga, just because it seems like the only form of exercise I could do without wanting to die.

3) Me and some of my friends are going to a concert in March!