I'm really excited to build an audio slideshow for our final. It was really cool to read the Poynter website and see how soundslides came into development and how they impact online journalism. Joe Weiss, the creator created the program so that he could be a better story teller. Because I love feature stories, I'm really psyched to try this out, thanks to Weiss!
I really liked how he talked about the challenges and pitfalls of an audio slideshow. It gives me a better idea and makes me feel more comfortable when going out and starting my own. I now know not to make it too long, or to try to cram in too many images. I know I have to pay attention to the fact that the audience attentions wavers. And most importantly, the images are key to telling the story. If you have a really great image you should let it tell the story and leave it up there a little bit longer for people to digest. But in the end the most important thing is not your photojournalism or your audiojournalism. It is about the STORY and using images as a vehicle to communicate that story.
I really liked the interview with Poynter!! It gave me some inspiration, I'm glad we got a chance to see it and hear his own words.
The tutorials were EXTREMELY helpful. I liked the step by step guides to using the various programs and although I am not using the program hands on right now, I am sure it will be an amazing reference when I actually go start the project. Because I basically knew nothing about ANY of the programs to begin with, this was a great introduction. It had really basic child-proof directions to both the simple and complex tasks that I want to use.
IMovie had cool tips on how to make a timeline, scroll credits for your movie, add themes and effects, and of course work with the audio and photos. The Garage Band tutorial was a great overview of how to create and edit digital audio. It demonstrated how to create music projects, record, and how to use filters and audio effects.
Reading these tutorials and reading about Joe Weiss made me really excited to start the project, so thanks for the information which really helped me to get inspired!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Giuliani Raising Questions
According to CNN, Republican Presidential nominee Rudy Giuliaini has called a story raising questions about the accounting of his security expenses while he was major of New York. Last night Politico.com reported that city records show Giuliani billed New York City government offices for at least 30,000 dollars in security and travel costs on trips to the Hamptons in his last year of office!!!
Giuliani told CNN that he "thought the story was presented like a hit job." This would happen, right now. Perfect timing. The story broke two hours before his Republican debate! Although Giuliani denied doing anything wrong, he told CNN the expenses were perfectly appropriate.
I'm not really sure what side to take here. I'm not sure if he didn't think he would get caught and just developed a safety plan to counter the argument if in fact it ever did get leaked. However, because he was covered by police 24 hours a day since he essentially had various death threats, there could be some truth behind actually needing the money.
A former New York major and Giuliani campaign advisor Joe Lhota told CNN that the security costs "were allocated throughout the various divisions within the mayor's office." If this is true it lends evidence to the fact that maybe that money was legitimate and maybe he wasn't just hoarding it for himself?! However, it is a little discerning how Giuliani's office would not comment. I don't know if thats fishy or normal?
The New York Times lead infact reported how one political site actually ACCUSED "Giuliani of billing tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses to little known city agencies as he was beginning an extramarital affair."
It is unsure whether these allocated travel expenses were intended to conceal expenses associated with his new relationship or for some accounting purpose. I guess it makes a big difference huh? Although it is ironic his "lady friend" did have a condominium in Long Island, because the documents say American Express Bills were used for hotel, gas and other costs in that area.
Interesting. I dont know what to believe.
This says a lot. Because it shows how the campaign trail has grown fierce and brutal. Anything and everything is getting reported to try to sway voters. It goes without saying that voters of course should have all this information, it is just funny to see the shift. We are no longer talking about policies and abortion issues. We are now digging for dirt.
In the coming weeks I'm curious because this story could develop further, and other dirty facts might arise on other candidates too. You gotta love the turmoil and gossip!! Whether its true or not, its definitely something to take into consideration when entering the polls next year!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/nyregion/29campaign.html?em&ex=1196485200&en=7645a09e7c9032c9&ei=5087%0A
Giuliani told CNN that he "thought the story was presented like a hit job." This would happen, right now. Perfect timing. The story broke two hours before his Republican debate! Although Giuliani denied doing anything wrong, he told CNN the expenses were perfectly appropriate.
I'm not really sure what side to take here. I'm not sure if he didn't think he would get caught and just developed a safety plan to counter the argument if in fact it ever did get leaked. However, because he was covered by police 24 hours a day since he essentially had various death threats, there could be some truth behind actually needing the money.
A former New York major and Giuliani campaign advisor Joe Lhota told CNN that the security costs "were allocated throughout the various divisions within the mayor's office." If this is true it lends evidence to the fact that maybe that money was legitimate and maybe he wasn't just hoarding it for himself?! However, it is a little discerning how Giuliani's office would not comment. I don't know if thats fishy or normal?
The New York Times lead infact reported how one political site actually ACCUSED "Giuliani of billing tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses to little known city agencies as he was beginning an extramarital affair."
It is unsure whether these allocated travel expenses were intended to conceal expenses associated with his new relationship or for some accounting purpose. I guess it makes a big difference huh? Although it is ironic his "lady friend" did have a condominium in Long Island, because the documents say American Express Bills were used for hotel, gas and other costs in that area.
Interesting. I dont know what to believe.
This says a lot. Because it shows how the campaign trail has grown fierce and brutal. Anything and everything is getting reported to try to sway voters. It goes without saying that voters of course should have all this information, it is just funny to see the shift. We are no longer talking about policies and abortion issues. We are now digging for dirt.
In the coming weeks I'm curious because this story could develop further, and other dirty facts might arise on other candidates too. You gotta love the turmoil and gossip!! Whether its true or not, its definitely something to take into consideration when entering the polls next year!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/nyregion/29campaign.html?em&ex=1196485200&en=7645a09e7c9032c9&ei=5087%0A
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Ethics
In general ethical reasoning can take many forms.
Principal reasoning assumes that you are not acting ethically if you do something simply because you have been told to do it or because thats what everyone does. To help journalists make ethical decisions, ethicists have adapted a model or moral reasoning.
The Potter Box is a model that has four basic elements.
1. Appraising the situation - collect all the facts from a variety of sources.
2. Identifying values - consider your values, your community values, your news organizations values, and your nations values.
3. Appealing to ethical principles - look at the ethical decisions such as kant's categorical imperative.
4. Choosing loyalities - consider to who you owe a certain loyalty to such as your readers, your sources, and your organization.
Usually there is no one clear answer to an ethical dilemna but these elements of the Potter Box can help you make a decision effectively and quickly.
After reading the chapter I learned three guidelines of ethical problems.
1. Be free of obligations to anyone or to any interest but the truth.
2. Be fair
3. Remember good taste
The book then outlines some specific problems you could face, all of which I thought were really interesting:
*Deceit - For the absolutist, the answer is simple - never! But for the rest of us, the answer isn't so easy.
* Conflict of Interest- Reporting generally assumes that reporters start out with no point of view but you should determine what constitutes a conflict of interest.
* Friendship - Sometimes reporters get too close to their sources and sometimes that isn't too good.
*Payola- Journalists may not accept payment for writing a story from anyone other then their employment.
* Freebies- Most news organizations have rules against accepting freebies such as accepting gifts, so you should learn your code of conduct at your news organization.
* Checkbook journalism- Another problem for journalists is deciding if it is ethical to pay a source for an exclusive story.
* Participation in the news- You also should make sure to let your boss know which organizations you belong to incase you end up participating in the news.
*Advertising pressure - Advertising can sometimes dictate what must or must not be printed.
*Invasion of Privacy - Basically it comes down to a matter of ethics and the public's right to know. Is secrecy better than disclosure?
*Witholding information- As a journalist are you ever off duty? Sometimes the press witholds information to protect its reporters and to maintain acess to news sources.
* Plagiarism- No one wants you to use his or her work as if it were your own. So don't do it!
Principal reasoning assumes that you are not acting ethically if you do something simply because you have been told to do it or because thats what everyone does. To help journalists make ethical decisions, ethicists have adapted a model or moral reasoning.
The Potter Box is a model that has four basic elements.
1. Appraising the situation - collect all the facts from a variety of sources.
2. Identifying values - consider your values, your community values, your news organizations values, and your nations values.
3. Appealing to ethical principles - look at the ethical decisions such as kant's categorical imperative.
4. Choosing loyalities - consider to who you owe a certain loyalty to such as your readers, your sources, and your organization.
Usually there is no one clear answer to an ethical dilemna but these elements of the Potter Box can help you make a decision effectively and quickly.
After reading the chapter I learned three guidelines of ethical problems.
1. Be free of obligations to anyone or to any interest but the truth.
2. Be fair
3. Remember good taste
The book then outlines some specific problems you could face, all of which I thought were really interesting:
*Deceit - For the absolutist, the answer is simple - never! But for the rest of us, the answer isn't so easy.
* Conflict of Interest- Reporting generally assumes that reporters start out with no point of view but you should determine what constitutes a conflict of interest.
* Friendship - Sometimes reporters get too close to their sources and sometimes that isn't too good.
*Payola- Journalists may not accept payment for writing a story from anyone other then their employment.
* Freebies- Most news organizations have rules against accepting freebies such as accepting gifts, so you should learn your code of conduct at your news organization.
* Checkbook journalism- Another problem for journalists is deciding if it is ethical to pay a source for an exclusive story.
* Participation in the news- You also should make sure to let your boss know which organizations you belong to incase you end up participating in the news.
*Advertising pressure - Advertising can sometimes dictate what must or must not be printed.
*Invasion of Privacy - Basically it comes down to a matter of ethics and the public's right to know. Is secrecy better than disclosure?
*Witholding information- As a journalist are you ever off duty? Sometimes the press witholds information to protect its reporters and to maintain acess to news sources.
* Plagiarism- No one wants you to use his or her work as if it were your own. So don't do it!
The Pre-Debate Spin Begins
Well the Democratic debate in Las Vegas starts in less then THREE hours!!
At the last Democratic debate, Clinton's opponents attacked her issues of foreign policy and her reluctance to take a strong position on illegal immigrant driver's licenses. Since then the idea that the former first lady is the inevitable Democratic candidate has lost some of its luster, Clinton's chief strategist is trying to bring that back.
Without a doubt it is a big night for Clinton to try to fix her image and debate performance. Although the past few weeks have been rough for Clinton, she still has the lead. With her new slogan being "Turn up the Heat," all eyes will be on Clinton tonight.
The race in New Hampshire has tightened significantly. Iowa is virtually a three-way- tie. With stakes so high, its rather appropriate the debate occurs in one of the hottest, fast paced cities in the world.
The Times says that "the last debate began a new level of intensity in the Democratic contest." The Washington Post says that right now "the race is more fluid than it has been in months."
Those comments aren't an exaggeration. Advisors say that Clinton is now prepared to give yes-or-no answers to convey "forthrightness" and that she is prepared to point out inconsistencies in Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama's positions.
The Silver State is securing the third in the nation primary but candidates of both parties have been spending a lot less time and money there than in Iowa, New Hampshire, and even South Carolina.
The Washington Post said that its still up in the air whether the placing of the primary in Nevada was a worthwhile effort. CNN said that apparently Nevada was chosen because of its growing Latino population and strong union force, among others. When it comes to the general election, Nevada is a very important state for the Democrats. And who knows, it could be an ideal proving ground.
President Bush won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 but the Democrats came close and hope to seal the deal next November. Moving up Nevada's Democratic status and holding a party-sanctioned deate in Vegas could pay off on Election day next year.
Among the issues of concern to Nevada voters are energy independence, nuclear waste storage, water resources, economic growth, homeland defense, and illegal immigration. I'm pretty excited to turn on the TV tonight and see some of these things coming up in the debate!!
I'm excited to see if Sen. Hillary Clinton keeps her lead over her rivals among Nevada Democratic caucus-goers (which was confirmed in a CNN poll.) But time will tell if Clinton can correct her last stumble at the previous deate in Philadelphia.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/14/debate.preview/?iref=mpstoryview
Clinton is in the hot seat tonight since the polls show her lead over Obama have narrowed since her last performance. John Edwards needs to be careful, and Barack Obama needs to step it up. It looks like the time to strike for both of them is tonight, so the debate will be the ultimate showdown!!
At the last Democratic debate, Clinton's opponents attacked her issues of foreign policy and her reluctance to take a strong position on illegal immigrant driver's licenses. Since then the idea that the former first lady is the inevitable Democratic candidate has lost some of its luster, Clinton's chief strategist is trying to bring that back.
Without a doubt it is a big night for Clinton to try to fix her image and debate performance. Although the past few weeks have been rough for Clinton, she still has the lead. With her new slogan being "Turn up the Heat," all eyes will be on Clinton tonight.
The race in New Hampshire has tightened significantly. Iowa is virtually a three-way- tie. With stakes so high, its rather appropriate the debate occurs in one of the hottest, fast paced cities in the world.
The Times says that "the last debate began a new level of intensity in the Democratic contest." The Washington Post says that right now "the race is more fluid than it has been in months."
Those comments aren't an exaggeration. Advisors say that Clinton is now prepared to give yes-or-no answers to convey "forthrightness" and that she is prepared to point out inconsistencies in Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama's positions.
The Silver State is securing the third in the nation primary but candidates of both parties have been spending a lot less time and money there than in Iowa, New Hampshire, and even South Carolina.
The Washington Post said that its still up in the air whether the placing of the primary in Nevada was a worthwhile effort. CNN said that apparently Nevada was chosen because of its growing Latino population and strong union force, among others. When it comes to the general election, Nevada is a very important state for the Democrats. And who knows, it could be an ideal proving ground.
President Bush won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 but the Democrats came close and hope to seal the deal next November. Moving up Nevada's Democratic status and holding a party-sanctioned deate in Vegas could pay off on Election day next year.
Among the issues of concern to Nevada voters are energy independence, nuclear waste storage, water resources, economic growth, homeland defense, and illegal immigration. I'm pretty excited to turn on the TV tonight and see some of these things coming up in the debate!!
I'm excited to see if Sen. Hillary Clinton keeps her lead over her rivals among Nevada Democratic caucus-goers (which was confirmed in a CNN poll.) But time will tell if Clinton can correct her last stumble at the previous deate in Philadelphia.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/14/debate.preview/?iref=mpstoryview
Clinton is in the hot seat tonight since the polls show her lead over Obama have narrowed since her last performance. John Edwards needs to be careful, and Barack Obama needs to step it up. It looks like the time to strike for both of them is tonight, so the debate will be the ultimate showdown!!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Writing News for Radio and Television
As an Assistant Producer for Newswatch, my job is pretty much to write the stories for the nightly live broadcast. So this chapter was pretty much a review for me however I did find some useful things!
I learned about the four criteria that distinguish radio and teleivion news from print news. I never really took the time to think about these things so this was pretty interesting! My goal is to emphasize timeliness above all other news values, information more than explanation, news with audio or visual impact, and people more than concepts.
However when it comes to actual writing I recieved some good advice, which I can probably start using in the newsroom next week!
- Emphasize immediacy (for example use the present tense as much as possible.)
- Use simple short sentences with active verbs
- Write so that your copy sounds good (use a conversational style.)
- Cut down adjectives and adverbs and the usage of the passive voice
- Condense and use tight phrasing (don't be too wordy!)
- Select your facts carefully because you don't have a whole lot of time to tell a story
- Be clear and precise because viewers can't go back over the copy to check what you said, they only hear it once
- Use nickle and dime words, don't look for synonyms, and don't be afraid to repeat words for reinforcement
- Try not to use figures of speech or too many numerical figures
Lastly, I learned about story structure. One of the most important things is that because viewers are often doing other things with the TV in the background, leads have to grab the readers attention. I also learned that lead-ins should generate interest, while wrap ups should give the story an ending.
The chapter also gave a good overview of how to prepare radio and television copy. The main jist? Make the copy easy for the newscaster to read and easy for the audience to understand!!
I'll save you the time but here are the best tips I received!
- Titles should always precede names so that listeners are better prepared to hear the name.
- Write out difficult names phonetically to help the newscaster.
- Try not to use abbrevations in copy because it is easier to read a word then decipher its real meaning.
- Don't use symbols because newscasters can read a word more easily then they can interpret a symbol.
- Write out small numbers, round off big numbers or statistics, and try to keep numbers in general to a minimum (per sentence) so it is easier to swallow.
- Stay away from using direct quotations because it is dificult to indicate to the reader what is a quote and what isn't (however if it is important, keep it short!)
- Less punctuation is good punctuation!
Although stations may vary in writing style and preparation of the copy, as I learned during Newswatch myself, it's pretty easy to pick things up once you practice!
I learned about the four criteria that distinguish radio and teleivion news from print news. I never really took the time to think about these things so this was pretty interesting! My goal is to emphasize timeliness above all other news values, information more than explanation, news with audio or visual impact, and people more than concepts.
However when it comes to actual writing I recieved some good advice, which I can probably start using in the newsroom next week!
- Emphasize immediacy (for example use the present tense as much as possible.)
- Use simple short sentences with active verbs
- Write so that your copy sounds good (use a conversational style.)
- Cut down adjectives and adverbs and the usage of the passive voice
- Condense and use tight phrasing (don't be too wordy!)
- Select your facts carefully because you don't have a whole lot of time to tell a story
- Be clear and precise because viewers can't go back over the copy to check what you said, they only hear it once
- Use nickle and dime words, don't look for synonyms, and don't be afraid to repeat words for reinforcement
- Try not to use figures of speech or too many numerical figures
Lastly, I learned about story structure. One of the most important things is that because viewers are often doing other things with the TV in the background, leads have to grab the readers attention. I also learned that lead-ins should generate interest, while wrap ups should give the story an ending.
The chapter also gave a good overview of how to prepare radio and television copy. The main jist? Make the copy easy for the newscaster to read and easy for the audience to understand!!
I'll save you the time but here are the best tips I received!
- Titles should always precede names so that listeners are better prepared to hear the name.
- Write out difficult names phonetically to help the newscaster.
- Try not to use abbrevations in copy because it is easier to read a word then decipher its real meaning.
- Don't use symbols because newscasters can read a word more easily then they can interpret a symbol.
- Write out small numbers, round off big numbers or statistics, and try to keep numbers in general to a minimum (per sentence) so it is easier to swallow.
- Stay away from using direct quotations because it is dificult to indicate to the reader what is a quote and what isn't (however if it is important, keep it short!)
- Less punctuation is good punctuation!
Although stations may vary in writing style and preparation of the copy, as I learned during Newswatch myself, it's pretty easy to pick things up once you practice!
Clinton Hits a Rough Patch
According to Reuters, Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton has hit a rough patch on the road to the white house.
Although she remains firmly in the lead and there has been no indication of her national advantage being in any kind of jeopardy, her "less than sharp" debate performance has "given hope to her Democratic opponents and energized Republicans."
This is really interesting to me because if one debate can sway things this much, it shows a lot about the public and the voters out there right now. They really don't know WHO they want and are pretty shifty and shaky and could potentially change their mind at the drop of a hat. Voters don't seem to be too steadfast right now in supporting their candidates, I suppose they are just waiting to hear more from the candidates themselves rather than from reporters like us.
For example in Iowa, polls have shown that Clinton is basically in a dead heat with a narrow lead over Obama and Edwards. In addition to this her larger lead in New Hampshire has since diminished. It is obvious many Iowa voters are undecided on whom to support but Reuters suggested that a key issue for some is the fact that Clinton may have too much baggage.
I find it hard to believe supporters change their mind that quickly over ONE debate, I mean it seems a little preposterous to me actually, but hey that means the presidential candidates have their work cut out for them- to be on top of their game during every waking second. It almost seems sad because thats pretty impossible.
After reading the article I almost felt bad for Hilary because it seems that because she is the leading lady, people are getting nervous and putting her in the spotlight and on a pedestal waiting for her to slip and fall. ANY human being is going to have their down moments and maybe this was one of them for her.
Clinton even admitted that this was not her best week last week (as was evident after repeated attacks by Edwards and Obama during the Philadelphia debate.)
However, a USA Today/Gallop Poll found that she is STILL backed by 50 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning Independents compared to Obama's 22 percent. Even though she has a TWENTY point lead over her closest competitor,a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said she would face a dead heat with Giuliani in the end.
In the end though, she may have slipped a LITTLE bit but Clinton has overcome a lot inside and outside the White House and I don't think its fair to base decisions on one night. She seems to be so far ahead that even though she may have hit a rough spot, it will be interesting to see if she can "weather the storm."
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0759557820071108?pageNumber=3
Although she remains firmly in the lead and there has been no indication of her national advantage being in any kind of jeopardy, her "less than sharp" debate performance has "given hope to her Democratic opponents and energized Republicans."
This is really interesting to me because if one debate can sway things this much, it shows a lot about the public and the voters out there right now. They really don't know WHO they want and are pretty shifty and shaky and could potentially change their mind at the drop of a hat. Voters don't seem to be too steadfast right now in supporting their candidates, I suppose they are just waiting to hear more from the candidates themselves rather than from reporters like us.
For example in Iowa, polls have shown that Clinton is basically in a dead heat with a narrow lead over Obama and Edwards. In addition to this her larger lead in New Hampshire has since diminished. It is obvious many Iowa voters are undecided on whom to support but Reuters suggested that a key issue for some is the fact that Clinton may have too much baggage.
I find it hard to believe supporters change their mind that quickly over ONE debate, I mean it seems a little preposterous to me actually, but hey that means the presidential candidates have their work cut out for them- to be on top of their game during every waking second. It almost seems sad because thats pretty impossible.
After reading the article I almost felt bad for Hilary because it seems that because she is the leading lady, people are getting nervous and putting her in the spotlight and on a pedestal waiting for her to slip and fall. ANY human being is going to have their down moments and maybe this was one of them for her.
Clinton even admitted that this was not her best week last week (as was evident after repeated attacks by Edwards and Obama during the Philadelphia debate.)
However, a USA Today/Gallop Poll found that she is STILL backed by 50 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning Independents compared to Obama's 22 percent. Even though she has a TWENTY point lead over her closest competitor,a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said she would face a dead heat with Giuliani in the end.
In the end though, she may have slipped a LITTLE bit but Clinton has overcome a lot inside and outside the White House and I don't think its fair to base decisions on one night. She seems to be so far ahead that even though she may have hit a rough spot, it will be interesting to see if she can "weather the storm."
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0759557820071108?pageNumber=3
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Campaign 08 By the Numbers
According to an analyst on CBS News, Hilary Clinton is going to get the democratic presidential nomination UNLESS she does something seriously VERY wrong until the primaries. As far as the republican presidential nomination? It looks like its a two man race between Giuliani and Romney.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/01/opinion/main3440351.shtml
Although polls can be misleading, he did develop some interesting conclusions!! Even though some supporters of Edwards and Obama say that just because they aren't in the lead in October, it doesn't mean they can't win the nomination all together.
However, when considering Hilary's size of advantage, she has a lead double that of her closest competitor.
CNN's latest poll says Hilary is at 51%, Barack is at 21% and Edwards is at 15%. She is even ahead in all the polls in EVERY state.Could this mean we could have a WOMAN in the whitehouse!?!
In addition to this her support appears to be relatively solid. The CNN poll said, 64% of her supporters strongly favor her candidacy. In the past few months she has gained a growing advantage among young voters, college-educated women and upper income voters. Some voters in Obama's electoral base have even said they are shifting to Clinton.
Interesting... it seems like she must be doing SOMETHING right!
It seems that Obama has about 20-30% of voters to win over in order to catch up with his female rival because Edwards seems to be falling out of the runnings.
On the republican end, things are more close. It appears that Fred Thompson's candidacy hasn't really taken off yet. At this point, if he fails to win South Carolina, it will most likely become a two man race. It looks like the pressure is on!!
McCain appears to be lacking the money and the republican base to win. Meanwhile Giuliani appears to have the lead in the larger voting states such as Florida, California, and New York. According to the polls, Romney's support is far from solid as compared to those supporters backing Giuliani and McCaine. The only thing that could could really hurt Giuliani is if his rivals begin running negative ads against him.
Only time will tell what will happen, but things are starting to shape up early, and I'm getting pretty excited to think about having a lady in there and I'm getting pretty curious to see what will happen. Maybe we'll have a FIRST MAN?
Even though the polls are beginning to put Hilary and Giuliani in the boxing ring, these polls don't tell us TOO much other than the enormous gender gap that seems to be developing. Men favored Giuliani by 50-38%, while women favored Clinton by 58-33%.
Despite these conclusions, in the end I think Giuliani would be the strongest matchup for Clinton. In addition to this I think Clinton could truthfully take over the white house under one condition. If she can prove to the men of America she is strong enough to be the President of the United States, and if she can prove that she is friendly and not coldhearted. If she can be a tough, nice guy, I mean girl, then she could really make history.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/01/opinion/main3440351.shtml
Although polls can be misleading, he did develop some interesting conclusions!! Even though some supporters of Edwards and Obama say that just because they aren't in the lead in October, it doesn't mean they can't win the nomination all together.
However, when considering Hilary's size of advantage, she has a lead double that of her closest competitor.
CNN's latest poll says Hilary is at 51%, Barack is at 21% and Edwards is at 15%. She is even ahead in all the polls in EVERY state.Could this mean we could have a WOMAN in the whitehouse!?!
In addition to this her support appears to be relatively solid. The CNN poll said, 64% of her supporters strongly favor her candidacy. In the past few months she has gained a growing advantage among young voters, college-educated women and upper income voters. Some voters in Obama's electoral base have even said they are shifting to Clinton.
Interesting... it seems like she must be doing SOMETHING right!
It seems that Obama has about 20-30% of voters to win over in order to catch up with his female rival because Edwards seems to be falling out of the runnings.
On the republican end, things are more close. It appears that Fred Thompson's candidacy hasn't really taken off yet. At this point, if he fails to win South Carolina, it will most likely become a two man race. It looks like the pressure is on!!
McCain appears to be lacking the money and the republican base to win. Meanwhile Giuliani appears to have the lead in the larger voting states such as Florida, California, and New York. According to the polls, Romney's support is far from solid as compared to those supporters backing Giuliani and McCaine. The only thing that could could really hurt Giuliani is if his rivals begin running negative ads against him.
Only time will tell what will happen, but things are starting to shape up early, and I'm getting pretty excited to think about having a lady in there and I'm getting pretty curious to see what will happen. Maybe we'll have a FIRST MAN?
Even though the polls are beginning to put Hilary and Giuliani in the boxing ring, these polls don't tell us TOO much other than the enormous gender gap that seems to be developing. Men favored Giuliani by 50-38%, while women favored Clinton by 58-33%.
Despite these conclusions, in the end I think Giuliani would be the strongest matchup for Clinton. In addition to this I think Clinton could truthfully take over the white house under one condition. If she can prove to the men of America she is strong enough to be the President of the United States, and if she can prove that she is friendly and not coldhearted. If she can be a tough, nice guy, I mean girl, then she could really make history.
Investigative Reporting
I think it was really interesting to see the transformation and importance of intvestigative reporting in our society today. Once investigative reporting used to be flowered with muckrakers and now more so than ever they are carrying on that tradition and doing difficult, important work serving our society. Many decades later reporters still have the same committment to exposing and reforming corrupt situations and policies, but NOW we have an essential tool: the computer.
In this chapter I learned a lot about the process of investigative reporting. Usually it all starts with one small tip or a hunch. Then as the books says, its time to analyze, organize, and write the story.
Acting on suspicion you first form a hypothesis and then you set out to prove or disprove it. Then the actual investigative work proceeds in two stages. The first step is cleverly called the sniff, because you sniff around in search of a trail worth following. If you find one the second stage of a serious investigation begins!! If you think you have a story and you think you can actually GET that story then you follow the pursuit, which is supposed to be the exciting part, however it entails the most work :(
A few tips the book told me that seemed really helpful were: to stay organized, and then develop a plan to go over it with your editor. When carrying out the plan you want to allow for unexpected twists by being extremeeeely flexible. And most importantly analyze what you learn to figure out how it will help YOU understand your story.
I also learned that the importance of accuracy is understated, its basically the essential element. Inaccuracy leads to lawsuits, lost jobs, embarassment, and ruined reputations, and NO ONE wants that. AKA its a prettty big risk but it has BIG rewards, as seen from the watergate investigation.
Although good writing is key in journalism, some of these tips the book gave me explained that they are even more crucial in investigative reporting. I learned to make sure to get people into the story, keep it simple, tell the reader what your research actually means and to ultimately give solutions.
I also thought that although some of the tips involving sources were pretty obvious, they did offer some good insight. By talking to enemies, friends, losers, victims, police, experts, and people in trouble , you can cultivate sources that can make your story. However because they rarely want to be identified, and often change their mind, written sources are a valuable source as well.
By scouring public records such as property records, corporation records, and court records you can find the details and solid evidence you need for your story. Even though public records such as investigative files, bank records, credit checks, tax records, and past arrests are dull and sometimes confusing, they are able to explain things that people can not. In the end having both human and documentary sources are what investigative reporters need to write the story.
At the end of the chapter I had found that despite the material being REALLY dry, it made me see that even though investigative reporting is obviously important, it has its obstacles. The first obstacle is money because it is the most expensive kind of reporting and requires a lot of time. The second is staffing because most organizations are smaller and dont have the reporters to devote to such lengthy pieces. The third is a lack of courage because its intimidating to fish around in the dark asking questions about controversial issues.
It can even be a violent job, and many other pressures such as social and economic pressures can play a part, but utlimately investigative reporting is very important and pretty rewarding to you as a reporter and to the public and greater good as a whole.
In this chapter I learned a lot about the process of investigative reporting. Usually it all starts with one small tip or a hunch. Then as the books says, its time to analyze, organize, and write the story.
Acting on suspicion you first form a hypothesis and then you set out to prove or disprove it. Then the actual investigative work proceeds in two stages. The first step is cleverly called the sniff, because you sniff around in search of a trail worth following. If you find one the second stage of a serious investigation begins!! If you think you have a story and you think you can actually GET that story then you follow the pursuit, which is supposed to be the exciting part, however it entails the most work :(
A few tips the book told me that seemed really helpful were: to stay organized, and then develop a plan to go over it with your editor. When carrying out the plan you want to allow for unexpected twists by being extremeeeely flexible. And most importantly analyze what you learn to figure out how it will help YOU understand your story.
I also learned that the importance of accuracy is understated, its basically the essential element. Inaccuracy leads to lawsuits, lost jobs, embarassment, and ruined reputations, and NO ONE wants that. AKA its a prettty big risk but it has BIG rewards, as seen from the watergate investigation.
Although good writing is key in journalism, some of these tips the book gave me explained that they are even more crucial in investigative reporting. I learned to make sure to get people into the story, keep it simple, tell the reader what your research actually means and to ultimately give solutions.
I also thought that although some of the tips involving sources were pretty obvious, they did offer some good insight. By talking to enemies, friends, losers, victims, police, experts, and people in trouble , you can cultivate sources that can make your story. However because they rarely want to be identified, and often change their mind, written sources are a valuable source as well.
By scouring public records such as property records, corporation records, and court records you can find the details and solid evidence you need for your story. Even though public records such as investigative files, bank records, credit checks, tax records, and past arrests are dull and sometimes confusing, they are able to explain things that people can not. In the end having both human and documentary sources are what investigative reporters need to write the story.
At the end of the chapter I had found that despite the material being REALLY dry, it made me see that even though investigative reporting is obviously important, it has its obstacles. The first obstacle is money because it is the most expensive kind of reporting and requires a lot of time. The second is staffing because most organizations are smaller and dont have the reporters to devote to such lengthy pieces. The third is a lack of courage because its intimidating to fish around in the dark asking questions about controversial issues.
It can even be a violent job, and many other pressures such as social and economic pressures can play a part, but utlimately investigative reporting is very important and pretty rewarding to you as a reporter and to the public and greater good as a whole.
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