At CNS-TV: In Front of and Behind the Cameras

Students got to try anchoring and behind-the-scenes jobs at the CNS-TV studio.  On cameras: Godsee Joy and Justin Danzinger. Anchoring: Brieanna Bowman and Kayla Demeritte. (Photo by Chris Harvey)

WMUC's Library: Thousands of Albums Archived

Brieanna Bowman (front) and classmates Leenika Belfield-Martin and Kayla Demeritte survey the two-level album stacks at WMUC. The student-run campus radio station dates back more than 75 years and has opportunities for student reporting and show hosting. (Photo by Chris Harvey)

Your Ideas for Your High School News Publications

·     More deep dives – look at real stories on real people; athletes (how few make it to the pros); how drugs and alcohol affect teens;

·     Expand on a school entertainment section. More on music/concerts; maybe more reviews.

·     Adding podcasts for the Web, to sum up news at school.

·     More editorials. Opinions about concerns.

·     Stories on athletes – how stressful is it to juggle studies with practices and travel?

·     Dress codes: trends? Are there stricter rules for gals than guys? When were they last updated? What is their goal?

·     Cafeteria food: Is it healthy? Is it good? Is it too expensive? How does it stack up against offerings at other high schools?

·     PDA rules? Is your school not strict enough? Too strict? Do school PDAs make you uncomfortable? 12-inch rule at McNamara; don't get closer than that to another student!

·     Bullying? How rampant is it at your school? How are people different than the majority treated? How well do school policies to curb bullying work? 

·     Advanced students vs. those who struggle academically. Are students who struggle encouraged, or discriminated against when they try to advance?

·     Standardized testing: are there penalties for low performance, for students or schools? How helpful are the frequent tests? Is there too much teaching to the tests?

Newsroom Ethics Guidelines

Please post in the comments below the guidelines your team drew up for possible use in your student newsrooms. Thanks!

Kevin Blackistone Visits to Chat About Sports Reporting

"Sports journalism doesn't need sports fans; sports journalism needs journalists," Professor Kevin Blackistone told students. (Selfie by Adam Cines)

Internet Scavenger Hunt: Finding Examples of Strong Feature Story Openings

Please take a look online at some of your favorite news sites to find an example of a strong feature opening and nut graph. Look for examples of one of these:

• anecdotal leads
• scene setters
• compare / contrast leads

Then link to the story in a comment below this post, describing what type of lead it is, why you think it works well, and at what point in the story the nut graph drops in.

This will be due at the start of class on Friday.

Diversity in the Newsroom and in Coverage

How far have newsrooms come in diversifying their staffs? Not far enough, journalist and Merrill teacher Anne Farris Rosen said Monday. 

For instance: Although the minority population in the U.S. reached about 38 percent in 2013, the minority workforce in television news hovered at around 21 percent, and in radio, at about 11 percent, she said. A year earlier, minority journalists accounted for about 12 percent of the workforce in print newsrooms.

How worried as news consumers should we be by these numbers? How does minority representation in the newsroom affect the types of stories covered by the media-- and how they're covered?

Please comment, below, on stories on race or gender disparities that you have seen in recent years that were reported well, or not so well. Please be diplomatic, but specific, in your comments, which should be fact-based. Please give links to stories or studies you cite.

OR:

Talk about some specific stories that you think should be covered following the spring riots in Baltimore, but haven't been covered by the Baltimore Sun or Washington Post. What should these papers be writing about that they haven't written about?

OR:

What most intrigued you or worried you about Ms. Rosen's talk? Be specific; give examples.

I'm looking for several well-reasoned and well-written paragraphs.

What Surprised You About USA Today?

The newsroom hub at USA Today, where editors track breaking news on CNN, MSNBC, Fox and other competitors, make home front updates, and collaborate on other projects. (Photo by Chris Harvey)

USA Today Mobile Editor Emily Brown spoke Thursday about the high percentage of the organization's audience coming to the site through mobile -- about 66 percent. I knew mobile traffic was high, but I didn't realize how high at USA Today.

What surprised you about the visit?

Or what did you find most interesting?

Please leave comments below. 

USA Today Today!

See you at 9:40 a.m. on the steps of Tawes Hall, to the right of Knight Hall (as you're facing the front of the building). The bus will pull up in front in Lot 1 at 9:45 a.m. sharp. Please be on time. 

For Day 2

Class, before our second class, be sure to:

• Add a comment to my welcome blog post, regarding your news consumption habits. (You must first click on the Blogger invitation to the site to access it. Please check your email for that.)
• Email me your short bio.
• Read the readings linked to the blog schedule for day 2.
• Keep up with the news. Especially big, continuing stories on washingtonpost.com.

Welcome class of 2015!

Welcome! And Tell Me About Your News Consumption 

Welcome Young Scholars students! I'm looking forward to working with you in JOUR 150 this summer.

This blog will be used throughout your three weeks with me to start discussions about media coverage of events, changes in technology and practices in newsrooms, media hiring practices and ethical questions about publications' handling of news. The best posts will include some research and links to reported stories or primary documents. Remember to be thoughtful and tactful; this blog is open to the public for viewing.

Each of you must start at least one blog post; all of you must also comment on some of your classmates' posts. I'm hoping our class discussions and guest speakers will give you ideas for this.

To get you started, I'd like you to tell me in the comment area of this post where you typically go for news, what you like to read, listen to or watch for news, and how you get there. (For instance, do you read sports stories linked to friends' Facebook pages? Or do you religiously go to ESPN's home page several times a day to read about certain teams or sports?) Be specific!