Analyzing Zephyrus articles Cont. (cont)

Page four-sidebar article-Zephyrant

On the left-hand side of page four of the feature articles section of Zephyrus, there is a "Zephyrant" (a regular rant, but its in Zephyrus) complaining about how Zephyrus was apparently shunned when it went to a presentation of star Jerry Seinfeld's new "Bee Movie". This rant struck me as extremely poor taste. The author, who shall remain unamed complained of Jerry's "cold demeanor." Frankly, the fact that a school newspaper would be invited to a screening at all doesn't seem cold to me. The author also complains that Jerry paid little attention to Zephyrus once it was there, instead answering questions from papers like the Star Tribune. To that I say-why wouldn't he? Star Tribune is a much more reputable news source than any school newspaper. Of course he will place that higher on his list of priorities. The real insult, however, comes near the end, where the author admits that Zephyrus got an interview with Jerry that "entailed a formal handshake, a few sad attempts at jokes on Jerry's part, and a forced picture." It should be noted that said picture is right under the "Zephyrant headline." Now, here is a rich man with a schedule, and probably a lot on his mind...after all, he's working on a movie! The fact that an important celebrity would even GIVE a school newspaper an interview, forced or not, and a picture is more than I would have hoped for if I had been there. Frankly, I would have been happy just to have been invited, and to have seen Jerry at all. The author includes a sentence near the end stating "now when I come across Seinfeld on T.V. I pass right by it". Good riddance. The whole article stinks of someone who is upset that Jerry didn't ride in on a white horse and carry the author off into the sunset.

Zephyrus analysis continued

Analyzing page four-feature article-"Pets in classrooms offer new approach to learning."

The title definitely grabs ones attention, and it has the proximity element nailed. However, this article falls flat for one simple reason-it fails the "Who Cares" method. Unless you are actually in a class that uses animals to teach, this article is worth little more than a passing glance. I, for one, have noticed no new animals in our school, even though this started this year, and that is simply because I’m not in a class where pets are used. On the other hand, if I were in such a class, I suppose I would be happy that it (the class) was in the spotlight. All in all though, this article probably shouldn't have been on page four, and was, to me at least, relatively uninteresting. It should be noted, however, that the author got several quotes from a teacher using pets in the classroom, as well as students therein, and covers why some teachers have not yet added pets (they might bite, escape cages, etc).

Analyzing Zephyrus articles

For this assignment each person in class was to choose a section from the school newspaper (Zephyrus) and analyze it. I chose to do the articles found in the "features" section, starting on page 3 of the paper.


Analyzing "Classes give gender break"

The first thing that ever comes up in an article is the title. As such, it should grab a reader’s attention. "Classes give gender break" is not exactly a breathtaking title, but it does grab the reader’s attention. However, the first two sentences in the article are as follows: "Gym classes can be dominated by boys, with girls hanging near the back. Conversely, English courses are often controlled by females while many males shrink from discussion and participation."
These two sentences cite no studies that suggest this would be the case, and doesn't use a quote. As such, it can be classified as an opinion, which doesn't belong in the article. Apparently, nationally boys are falling behind in literacy compared to girls (again, no source is cited), and therefore, our school has instituted boys and girls only classes (satisfying the news element of proximity). The article then goes on to explain what each class is trying to accomplish, as well as any key differences in a given curriculum. I felt that to be well done. However, the article only quotes two people, namely the teachers of the single gender classes. Would not it have been more prudent to perhaps quote a student within either class?

Potential news story 2

1) Slug: Girls tennis team makes state

2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed): Sports

3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth:

_________________________ Why?
News element#1
Proximity. Again, this event is happening in our own school, to known students. Students are bound to be attracted to events happening to people they know.
_________________________ Why?
News element#2
Timeliness. This is happening now, and is going to make a better story then something that happened a week ago because of that.
_________________________ Why?
News element#3

4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about: This peice would be extremely similiar to the peice on the girls soccer team making state. It will interview the coaches and key players on the team, and cover what they hope to accomplish during state.


5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?

_________________________ Why?
Any and all coaches (unamed) of the girls tennis team, to talk about their different techniques for motivating his players, his hopes for state, and to obtain contact information for key players on the team. I will locate the names of various coaches via the school directory.

_________________________ Why?
Any key players would have to be interviewed, in order to get their perspective on nearly everything, from plays to scheduling to general ideas about the tournament itself. The players are as of yet unamed, however, I would obtain ideas about which players to interview from the aforementioned coaches.

_________________________ Why?
A coach and/or from the opposing team, to see if he/they believe Edina will be any threat, why or why not, and what players they are keeping an eye on.

6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
Contact information for potential interviewees, a rough draft involving potential interview questions, and time when each interviewee would be available.


7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
What do you hope to accomplish during state? What pushed your players to become good enough this year? Do you think you can do it again? What do you think of your chances? All of these questions give readers insight into each interviewee's thought process, and depending on their responses can inspire hope or gloom. Either way, their definately questions worth asking.

8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?

9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?

10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
Their is always the possibility that I will be unable to get a hold of someone, or someone will not talk to me for his or her own reason.

11) Other information?
There may be a section for random quotes from some of the players, words of encouragment from friends and family, or some such thing.

Potential news story 1

1) Slug: Girls Soccer at State

2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed):Sports

3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth:

_________________________ Why?
News element#1
Proximity-This event is happening within our own high school, to students many of us know. It is logical, therefore, to assume that many people would be interested to learn about this.

_________________________ Why?
News element#2
Timeliness-Simply put, this happened recently. Because of that, people are bound to be more interested then if, say, it had happened a week and a half ago.

_________________________ Why?
News element#3

4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about:
The article would interview key members of the girls soccer team, and talk about their journey to state. It would also cover what they hope to accomplish.


5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?

_______________________ Why?
The coach, Simon Whitehead, to get phone numbers for other members of the team, as well as to question him about his team's success.


_________________________ Why?
I would interview the team captain, Kelsey Moir, Natalie Pastor, and any other teammates that they (highly) reccomended.

_________________________ Why?
The opposing team's coach, too get an opposing point of view, assuming he has one at all.

6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews? Contact information for each potential interviewee, as well as what questions I may ask during the aforementioned interview.


7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
What do you hope to accomplish, certainly. It would give the reader's an idea of the team's hopes and aspirations, and give them an idea what to expect in terms of effort. Possibly a question about practice schedules, to once again showcase the effort being put into training for State.

8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?

9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?

10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
The coach, or a key player may not wish to speak to me for various reasons of his or her own.

11) Other information?
It's possible there could a section for quotes from players, or words of encouragement from friends or family.

Journalism attributes

I think the most important attribute a journalist can possibly have is courage. In fact, I would go so far as to say that without courage, a journalist has no chance of making it. Not every contact you have will be easy. Indeed, several contacts will be very powerful people who could likely make your life miserable if they wanted. If you did not have courage, how on Earth could you expect to get that story? But more then that, courage gives a journalist a tough outer skin. Lets face it, not every story you write is going to be a smashing success, and not all of them are going to sit well with the public. With a tough outer skin, you can take that criticism, learn from it or ignore it if you so choose, and then move onto your next assignment. Indeed, courage is truly a necessity.

Some stuff about my community

Frankly, I have mixed feelings about where I live. Generally, it's easy to navigate, and most of the people are friendly. On the other hand, most neighborhoods in the community have an irritating habit of competing with each other. That is to say that if one neighbor decides to improve his or her house, the neighbors on either side of that person must immediately improve upon their dwelling. The end result of this phenomenon is that one can usually find a few construction trucks around, and traffic gets impeded. The most irritating part of this is that, aside from a persons normal aquatences or friends, I cannot imagine who would even notice, or for that matter, care, that a house is being built upon. The entire thing leaves one with a feeling that they have wandered into a shallow community where money and size equates to more then kindness, even though this is not the case.

School journalism blog

This is a required blog for my journalism course. As the year progresses, I'll be updating this with various assignments and what not.