Ed Bond's News Reporting and Writing II

Tips from Bob Woodward on investigative journalism

2010-05-28T10:56:00.001-07:00

Shooting with two cameras

2010-05-18T16:01:00.001-07:00

http://vimeo.com/11620561

Journalism ethics

2010-05-04T20:48:00.001-07:00

http://journalism.indiana.edu/resources/ethics/

http://journalism.indiana.edu/resources/ethics/military-issues/tell-the-truth-stay-alive/

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=873531&category=ALBANY

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/business/media/06animate.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=animated%20simulation&st=cse

Hoaxes

2010-05-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1277

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/the_society_for_indecency_to_naked_animals/

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/display/category/alan_abel/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0008433/

http://www.joeyskaggs.com/

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/index

http://www.snopes.com/

http://theyesmenfixtheworld.com/

Final exam times for News II

2010-05-04T10:17:00.001-07:00

The final for the 10 a.m. class will be 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 12.

The final for the 2 p.m. class will be 10:30 a.m., Thursday, May 13.

Another story that matters

2010-05-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

If you want to read a story about how journalists can change the world, read this one:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126386819

Robot reporters

2010-05-02T14:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/startup_aims_to_add_real-time_news_to_newspapers.php

Stories that matter -- Pulitzer prizes

2010-04-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

2010

Pulitzer prizes announced

http://www.mefeedia.com/news/30510987

http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2010-Feature-Photography

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/washington-post-wins-four-pulitzers-new-york-times-gets-three/

The prize for public service went to the tiny Bristol Herald Courier of southwestern Virginia, circulation 29,000, for revealing that many energy companies failed to pay required royalties on natural gas drilling, and that the royalties that were paid were not reaching the local people who deserved them.

http://www2.tricities.com/tri/special_sections/mineral_rights/

http://www.propublica.org/feature/the-deadly-choices-at-memorial-826

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30doctors.html

2009 and earlier

http://info.vassar.edu/news/2009-2010/091116-urbanstu-berzon-pulitzertalk.html

http://www.pulitzer.org/press_releases

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/apr/21/sun-wins-pulitzer-prize/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/topics/construction-deaths/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/30/construction-deaths/

http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Public-Service

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=61526

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/16/us/town-gets-clean-water-as-paper-gets-a-pulitzer.html

http://www.wdnweb.com/our_newspaper/about_us/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/invisible/deaths5.htm

http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5747

http://www.gannett.com/go/newswatch/2002/may/claxton.htm

Nellie Bly

Seymour Hersch

Woodward and Bernstein

The Smoking Gun
Any fan of researching police and court records should become familiar with The Smoking Gun

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/

Sample lede

2010-04-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Steve Spangler begins his schtick by coaching a woman who stares into a 7 foot long, 3 foot wide vat of 2,500 pounds worth of a sloshing corn starch and water mixture. At Spangler’s cue of “Go, Go, Go!” the woman runs on top of the mixture. She wildly stomps atop of it, punishing the surface of the mix with the soles of her feet. She then scampers to the other side, surprisingly clean of the sloppy mixture, and extends her arms as if to say “Tada!”

Good stuff.

Just some tightening to think about:

Steve Spangler begins his schtick by coaching a woman AS SHE stares into a 7 foot long, 3 foot wide vat of 2,500 pounds of corn starch and water.
“Go, Go, Go!” he yells, and the woman runs across.
She wildly stomps atop of it, punishing the surface of the mix with the soles of her feet. She then scampers to the other side, her feet surprisingly clean and extends her arms as if to say “Tada!”

Once you have captured the moment like this, the trick becomes whether you can tell the story with even fewer words. Fewer words, well chosen, have a bigger impact.

New York Times stories

2010-04-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/health/25warrior.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/us/25vegas.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/world/middleeast/25saudi.html

Weighing the Evidence on Exercise

2010-04-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18exercise-t.html

Science writing exercises

2010-04-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/88996/june-21-2007/sign-off---goodbye-to-mr--wizard

http://www.mrwizardstudios.com/

Reporting advice

2010-04-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

My general advice would be to be open to questions that come up during the interview, and very often the best question to ask is "Why?" Look for why questions, when possible. They lead you to even better interviews, better stories.

Another question: Tell me about where you were when you discovered X. Get them to give you details before some big event occurred.

Ask your sources if they know other people they recommend that you talk to.

Last question: Are there other questions that you think need to be asked? Or ask: What else should people know about this?

Upstate Local Journalism Center

2010-04-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

this is at http://wxxi.org/about/jobs/UNYLJC.html

WXXI (Rochester), along with WNED (Buffalo), WRVO (Oswego/Syracuse),
WSKG (Binghamton) and WMHT (Albany) are partnering to create Upstate
New York's Local Journalism Center. Together they will hire a total
of five additional reporters, one at each station. WXXI will also hire an editor and a
managing facilitator.

The Upstate Local Journalism Center will focus on "The Innovation
Trail." The Center's extensive multi-media reporting will help the
public gain a better understanding of the impact of investment in
research and technology projects across the region, the ways that
colleges, universities and medical centers are working to create
opportunities in emerging technologies, and other industry efforts to
transition from a manufacturing base to a knowledge economy. Working
across the region, this initiative will allow reporters to move
beyond traditional media to provide in-depth coverage with a
high-degree of community engagement and involvement.

This is a grant driven, two-year project with the possibility of continued sustainability.

Ground rules for embedded reporters

2010-04-19T06:45:00.001-07:00

Excerpts from materials sent by Lt. Col. Paul Fanning:

... All local Afghan as well as international, foreign and/or American media representatives must be credentialed by the CPIC and issued a CFC-A Media Badge to cover U.S. Coalition Forces. Expiration dates will vary depending on length of approved coverage dates and embed periods.

All journalists/media representatives are required to have a CFC-A Media Badge and a CPIC/Public Affairs escort while on Camp Eggers. This includes credentialed media leaving through the checkpoints.

Journalists who are granted access on Camp Eggers or other installations falling under CFC-A are automatically bound by the CFC-A Ground Rules governing coverage in Afghanistan. You and your agency must adhere to all rules and accept the risks that exist when covering activities and operations on or around CFC-A installations. ...

....
A weekly joint International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan Press Conference is held every Monday at 10 a.m. at the HQ ISAF compound. Media advisories are issued by ISAF/CFC-A prior to each press conference to confirm time and location. All media wishing to attend the joint press conference are asked to arrive at HQ ISAF’s main gate no later than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled press conference to go through security (15 – 20 min). Commercial ground transportation is limited and traffic can be congested. Please be aware of the gate schedules and plan accordingly.

We do not have billeting/housing for journalists. If staying overnight you will be required to make accommodations with a local hotel, unless told otherwise by CPIC personnel.

NOTE: Alcohol, non-prescription drugs, knives and firearms are not allowed on any CFC-A installation/compound. Cellular/satellite phones, cameras/photography, video and computer equipment must be inspected and cleared by Force Protection representatives.

Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan Media Ground Rules

I, __________________________ of _____________________ understand that I am bound to the
(print first, middle initial, last name) (media organization/affiliation)
following CFC-A Media Ground Rules and any violation of these rules will result in the immediate termination of coverage/access to CFC-A units/installations and confiscation of my CFC-A Media Badge. (Please initial) ____________. CFC-A Media Ground Rules:

1. All interviews will be on the record.
2. Media will be escorted by a public affairs representative at all times while in coalition areas, at all tactical or field locations and encampments, unless embedded with a unit. When escorted, media must remain with escorts until released and will follow instructions regarding their activities.
3. When embedded with a unit, media must remain with that unit at all times.
4. Media will not carry or possess personal weapons, knives, firearms or alcohol.
5. The media is responsible for loading and carrying its own equipment at all times.
6. Under no circumstances will media take photographs or video of detainees or persons in custody (to include recognizable face, nametag or other identifying feature), detainee or custody facilities or operations in Afghanistan. No interviews with detainees or persons in custody will be granted.
7. Media will not photograph Special Operations Forces or other equipment. Only photos of personnel in U.S. uniforms will be allowed.
8. The following categories of information are not releasable since their publication or broadcast jeopardize operations and endanger lives:
9. Specific numerical information on troop strength, equipment or critical supplies (e.g. artillery, tanks, landing craft, radars, trucks, water, etc.) for U.S. or coalition units.
10. Names of military installations or specific geographic locations of military units in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, unless released by the Department of Defense.
11. Information regarding future operations, current operations or strikes including postponed or cancelled operations.
12. Information regarding security precautions or force protection measures at military installations or encampments, to include video or still footage. CFC-A PAO may allow photography/video on a case-by-case basis if footage is reviewed prior to release.
13. Photography that shows level of security at military installations or encampments, especially aerial and satellite photography which reveals the name or specific location of military units or installations.
14. Information on intelligence collection activities/operations compromising tactics, techniques and procedures to include targets, methods, analyses and/or results.
15. Information and images of special operations units, U.S. or coalition, unless otherwise directed by the CFC-A public affairs or granted prior approval by Combined Joint Special Operation Task Force (CJSOTF).
16. Rules of engagement details.
17. During an operation, specific information on friendly forces, troop movements, tactical deployments, and dispositions that would jeopardize operational security or lives. Information on ongoing engagements will not be released unless authorized for release by the on-scene commander.
18. Information on effectiveness of enemy electronic warfare.
19. Any additional guidelines the CFC-A PAO determines necessary to protect tactical security.
20. Photos of local nationals employed by the coalition may not be published without written consent of the individual photographed or the Commander of the unit the individual is supporting.
21. Media may terminate coverage and/or embed opportunity at any time and will be offered
transportation from the area of operations, if the tactical situation permits and/or is available.

Hold Harmless/Release from Liability Statement
I recognize that covering combat and other military operations carries with it certain inherent risks to life, limb and equipment. I recognize that U.S. military, in pursuing the successful accomplishment of its mission, cannot guarantee my personal safety or the safety of my equipment. I hereby release the U.S. government and the U.S. military of any liability and hold them harmless for any injuries I may suffer or any equipment that may be damaged as a result of my covering combat or any other military operations. I understand that my agreement to this statement is a condition of being credentialed to cover U.S. military operations and receiving assistance for that coverage.
In consideration of receiving free transportation from the United States Military by land, air or other means that may be reasonably required to cover military operations in Afghanistan, I hereby release the United States Government, including its subdivisions, officers, military personnel, employees, and agents from all liability for any injuries or death that may result to me from this transportation, whether caused by negligence or otherwise.
I understand that in transporting me, the United States Government is not acting as a common carrier for hire and does not bear the liabilities attaching to that status.
I acknowledge that I voluntarily accept such transportation, I incur no obligation toward the United States Government except as imposed by this release.
I agree that this release not only binds me, but also my family, heirs, assigns, administrators, and executors.

A letter from Lt. Col Fanning about embedded reporter Dave Tobin

2010-04-19T06:44:00.003-07:00

-----Original Message-----
From: Fanning, Paul A CIV USA NGB

Sent: 5/20/2009 9:29 AM

John:

There were at least two photographers that I am sure have the right shot and I will track them down and get back ASAP. I was the narrator for the ceremony and wasn't taking the shots myself otherwise you would have them now.

As for the award, we have complete professional respect for Dave and the Post Standard and as an organization wanted to and felt compelled to express it. More over, our sentiments were shared and driven by the feedback from our military families, veterans groups and from those in the community who reached out to us after reading Dave's reports. This is our way of saluting him and his special contribution to the community.

Dave and the paper had a tremendous impact because of what was reported and the way in which it was done. Dave earned -- won the trust of everyone back home and in the combat zone. His reporting was independent, accurate and comprehensive. He was not a guy who stayed at the base. He went out nearly everyday on convoys to get his stories and he went "down range" to remote sites as well. he shared the same risks as the soldiers who went "outside the wire" on a daily basis.

He never missed an opportunity, didn't waste any time and I only saw his stories and photos when they were posted on line at the paper's website. I also say his reporting was compelling due to the feedback that came our way. Bottom line -- he was on target.

I know a lot of us who are saying "if you want to know what it was really like for us in Afghanistan go to the Post Standard's website Following Orion and read Dave Tobin's reports."

I do hope that the paper's Central New York readers appreciate Dave's work and the paper's commitment to the story of our deployment and mission. We believe it was a very important story that needed to be told and he did tell it -- extremely well, THE BEST. We appreciate that all newspapers are under incredible pressure today but are grateful on behalf of the community that Dave and the Post Standard went above and beyond in its mission to serve them.

I also mentioned to Dave that I am actively seeking opportunities to engage with academia and news organizations about war coverage and the Army's embedded media program and NY's experience in particular. I think Dave has an important story to tell on his own about his role and that of the Post Standard's.

I will try and get photos to you ASAP.

Lt. Col. Paul Fanning

2010-04-19T06:44:00.001-07:00

http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/news/news.php?id=1219956578

Wall Street Journal

http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=news/news_show.php&id=23520

Reporting on War

2010-04-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/christopherhowse/3647251/First_and_greatest_war_correspondent/

http://journalism.indiana.edu/resources/erniepyle/

The Death of Captain Waskow

http://todayshistorylesson.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/ernie-pyle-writer-war-hero/

http://www.bebo.com/BlogView.jsp?MemberId=271453248&BlogId=6376773354

http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/contemporary/herr_mi.html

http://www.johnsack.com/company_c_associated_press.htm

http://www.johnsack.com/company_c_scene.htm

http://www.esquire.com/features/vietnam-war-m-company-0365

http://www.esquire.com/features/page-75/greatest-stories

http://www.pbs.org/weta/reportingamericaatwar/reporters/

My Lai

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai.html

Geraldo Rivera

The clash between science journalists and bloggers

2010-04-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2009/03/25/visions-of-the-crash/

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=402

http://www.badscience.net/2009/03/venal-misleading-pathetic-dangerous-stupid-and-now-busted/

Rashomon and Courage Under Fire

2010-04-18T18:54:00.001-07:00

In 12th century Japan, a samurai and his wife are attacked by the notorious bandit Tajomaru, and the samurai ends up dead. Tajomaru is captured shortly afterward and is put on trial, but his story and the wife's are so completely different that a psychic is brought in to allow the murdered man to give his own testimony. He tells yet another completely different story. Finally, a woodcutter who found the body reveals that he saw the whole thing, and his version is again completely different from the others.

Errors in science reporting

2010-04-18T18:52:00.001-07:00

Writing about issues such as global warming is complicated, and too few reporters brush up on their science when doing so.

http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/a_reporting_error_frozen_in_ti.php

http://www.regrettheerror.com/2009/12/16/crunks-2009-the-year-in-media-errors-and-corrections/

http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2009/08/more-on-science.html

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/08/31/how-science-reporting-works/

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/07/17/i-heart-jorge-cham/

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7009081.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/21/sea-level-geoscience-retract-siddall

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2010/01/27/taking-on-glaciergate-the-latest-climate-science-scandal/

Former News II student at NPR internship

2010-04-18T18:15:00.001-07:00

Story reported by Zach Tomanelli.

http://www.npr.org/internedition/spring10/?p=349

Final Cut Express titles

2010-04-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

http://joeflip4.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/final-cut-express-tutorial/

Pulitzer prizes announced

2010-04-12T12:56:00.001-07:00

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/washington-post-wins-four-pulitzers-new-york-times-gets-three/

Marcellus Shale

2010-04-11T20:30:00.001-07:00

http://kdka.com/kdkainvestigators/Marcellus.Shale.drilling.2.1291919.html

In Depth Look at the Potential of the Marcellus Shale Play - Click here for another funny movie.

http://www.cleanskies.com/

Science journalists are needed

2010-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Science Journalism from Jim Stovall on Vimeo.

On Being a Science Journalist

2010-04-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

Scientific Publication Cycle

2010-04-11T20:19:00.001-07:00

Fair and balanced vs. objective and truthful

2010-04-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

http://energysmart.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/tradition-washpost-global-warming-reporting-fair-and-balanced/

http://www.crosswalk.com/1303136/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-david/global-warming-time-for-t_b_7938.html

Science reporting

2010-04-11T20:02:00.001-07:00

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell/

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5377319n&tag=related;photovideo

Reuters employees killed in Iraq

2010-04-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

This video shows gun camera footage from an Apache helicopter as Reuters employees were killed in Iraq. A van that went in to try to help someone who survived the initial attack was also shot up. They learned later that two children were inside the van and were hurt in the attack. The military confirmed the validity of this video last week.

How Galen Was Saved

2010-04-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

By ED BOND
Let me tell you how we named our dogs.
Tug was a throwaway dog, an eight-week old shepherd-mix pup with fur ravaged by mange. As Amy and I walked her around the block, I would spin the leash in front of her. She would catch it and, well, tug back.
We got her a year ago in February. She left us that March.
Selkie was a black lab, with some shepherd, a messy eater with a nose perpetually coated with her previous meal. She was named out of hope, from an ancient Gaelic mythical creature of the sea with an insecure relationship with man. The hope was that she would not leave us.
We had rescued her in mid-May. She left in mid-June.
By the time we found Shadow, in October, we were mentally exhausted, too drained for a creative name. But she shadowed us around the house, so we applied that verb to her. An Australian Cattle Dog – again with some shepherd – she is muscular and high strung, taken to barking at 1 a.m. Either Amy or I drag ourselves out of bed, and if we have the patience, close our hands to her head, make eye contact and as calmly as possible say, “No barking.”
Galen’s first act with us – this February – was to put his chin on Amy’s thigh, followed by one front paw, then another. His name means calm in Gaelic, but later we would learn his demeanor was part fraud, he was already weary from battling an old enemy of ours.
In a year, we fought that enemy four times, and became too familiar with his attack, the silence, deception and betrayal.
Thirty years ago, this enemy was as common as fleas. Today, vets tell us how unlucky we were to have faced it so often. Most vets never even see it.
The tally, so far: two dead, one survived and one never attacked.
Now let me tell you how we fought canine distemper.

The enemy assembles

“The small brown dog you ordered has arrived,” said the message on our answering machine that rainy February Sunday afternoon. It was the Dog Lady of Los Angeles. “No payment is required. You only need to pick her up.”
Amy and I affectionately call my sister, Karen, the Dog Lady of Los Angeles. She keeps treats in her car to lure strays and either reunites them with their owners or finds them homes.
Tug had been left in the women’s restroom at Farmer’s Market. She was found in a box next to the garbage can.
That night, we watched a dirty, four-legged creature walk around Karen’s courtyard in that undriven death march of the homeless, less like a puppy than scrawny pink skin held together by exhaustion and despair. We couldn’t tell what kind of dog she was.
Amy shook her head.
“I just don’t know about this,” she said.
“We’ll try it for a week,” I suggested. “And see what happens.”
I was the one who wanted a dog. Our summer wedding was a few months off. We had two cats, but dog helps makes a home.
But the enemy had already invaded and was assembling microscopic armies against us.
We didn’t know.
Amy paged me after Tug’s first trip to the vet, for shots and a checkup.
“I have one word for you,” she said. “Mange.”
She would need weekly dips for the next four weeks to eliminate the microscopic parasites that had eaten her brown and black fur. We had to keep the cats away from her, using spray bottles to drive them off, sometimes having to leave her in the bathroom alone. But classical music soothed her.
For the first two nights, the death march walking continued. I’d find her in the dark, where she paused on one more circuit around the bed and fell asleep.
Then, she realized she didn’t have to walk, that she had a home. She rested, ate, and slowly the real dog emerged. We bought squeaky toys and gave her oatmeal baths to restore her coat.
“You really picked a great dog,” Amy said one day.
That morning, after her walk, Tug had sat down to protest the routine being broken. “It was as if she was saying, `You know you are forgetting something, aren’t you?’ Amy said.
She had forgotten to let her play with the toy in her pocket. So, they played for about 15 minutes, Tug chasing in and around Amy’s legs. “I love this dog,” she said.
As an airborne virus, distemper is usually breathed in from the aerosol nasal discharge of an infected dog, although sometimes it can be ingested, said Dr. Janet Foley, an infectious diseases fellow at the Center for Companion Animal Health at U.C. Davis. It is a highly unstable virus that does not survive more than a few hours outside of a dog’s body. The virus quickly spreads in enclosed environments, like shelters.
Within 24 of exposure_before she was found in that restroom_the virus had already reached Tug’s tonsils and lymphatic system. It was attacking her natural defenses first. By the second or third day, the virus was attacking her mononucleaic cells, a class of disease-fighting white blood cells. A fever can develop within four days, Foley said.
On her second trip to the vet after we had her for a week, Tug was prescribed an antibiotic for a runny nose. At this stage, distemper is indistinguishable from a lesser problem, like kennel cough.
But it was now attacking the epithelial cells in the lining of the respiratory tract. We didn’t know.
We made the pills into treats, wrapping them in little pieces of bread and made her sit for them. She learned to sit quickly for them, as if to tell us, “I will sit because I love you.”
Amy took Tug to work with her in Sherman Oaks. She became a favorite there and at the vet’s. Tug followed her around the office. Tug wagged her tail and squirmed when I came to pick them up at the end of the day.
“She has the will to live now,” one of Amy’s coworkers said. “That’s the difference.”
In distemper, the course of attack varies with the individual strain of the virus and the ability of the animal to fight the disease. Puppies, especially those who have not had any natural immunity from mother’s milk, are least able to fight it off. Between the third and the ninth day, the virus has become wide spread throughout the dog.
The virus attacks cells with what is called a cytopathic response, invading a healthy cell, causing them to swell up and die.
The danger of the mange faded, and after four weeks, the gates and barriers we had used to keep her away from the cats came down. I brought her to Moorpark College, where I was teaching journalism, and let her play with the students.
It was about 7 o’clock on a Monday morning, rather than soiling the rug as usual, Tug barked to go out for the first time and then squirmed and squealed at my feet, waiting for me to take her outside.
She was housebroken.
But the enemy had assembled its forces. That afternoon, the virus struck.
The distemper had destroyed the white blood cells that filled a lining called the meneges – between the spinal cord and brain – that had been defending Tug’s grey matter.
After the first seizure, Tug was confused and barking. Amy and her boss had to corner her before she could take her to the closest vet she could find, in Studio City.
What had happened was similar to using a pair of wire cutters to strip the insulation from an electrical wire. Nerve cells are protected by a sheath of cells called mylen. If the mylen decays, “it is very much like a short circuit,” Foley said.
The mylen is not necessarily destroyed by the distemper, but sometimes is destroyed by the dog’s own antibodies trying to attack the virus.
Tug’s first seizure was brief. The Studio City vet let Tug go back to the office. Epilepsy was one possibility. Or maybe she ate a spider. Or there was something called distemper.
Amy left Tug at the office with her friends so that she could work a shift at her other job as a bartender. I was planning to pick her up when my pager went off again.
It was raining.
Tug had another seizure, much worse, and was back at the vet in Studio City. The rain was chopping into fine pellets making it difficult to find the right building on Ventura Boulevard. I waited for a half-hour in a little room until I could meet Dr. Stein.
Distemper was still only one of a handful of possibilities, until they got the blood tests the next day. If it was distemper, well “Distemper dogs usually don’t live,” Dr. Stein said.

Facing the reality

He took me into a room where the cats are housed_distemper is only contagious among canines_Tug had been put there as a precaution. She had been loaded down with drugs but still dragged herself out of her stupor to say hello.
The phone rang early the next morning. Tug had more seizures. “You should be prepared for the worst,” Stein said.
“We’d still like to have her back,” I said. “Can we pick her up this afternoon?”
I called Amy after teaching a morning class at Los Angeles Valley College. “It’s distemper,” she said, and then added firmly. “But it is NOT a death sentence. We are going to do everything we can for her.”
“You bet,” I said. Boosting the immune system was the key, we were told. And our regular vet was willing to try a few treatments.
Somehow, for us that became a vow to fight for Tug any way we could.
“After these changes happen, I don’t find that they have much of a chance,” Foley said.
Dr. Stein explained the basic medication that afternoon: Phenobarbital and anti-biotics every 12 hours. The Phenobarbital was to control the seizures and antibiotics – which I had originally assumed was to attack the virus – was meant to prevent secondary diseases from attacking in the absence of an immune system either weakened or already destroyed by the virus. She was also given Valium to supplement the Phenobarbital.
“In about a week, she’ll either get better,” he said as we left. “Or the seizures will get worse.”
A blonde-haired young man handed Tug to us through a door in the back of the building. The muscles in her head were rigid and bulging. Saliva drained from her mouth, and snot and mucous coated the fur on her chest. I wrapped Tug in a blue towel as I took her into my arms and put her onto Amy’s lap after she got into the car.
Throughout the long rush hour drive home in the sunset traffic, we took turns talking to her. “Good girl Tug. You’re going to be OK, Tug.”
That Friday night, I collapsed asleep on the couch. Amy was bartending, and for the past few days we seemed to be going around the clock, cleaning up Tug, making her comfortable, getting the medication into her, and getting food into her. With the seizures and the drugs, Tug had been unconscious for a couple of days.
Then, as I dozed on the couch at about 12:30 a.m., something jarred at my arm.
I’d left her in a basket on the floor by my side.
Tug jumped at my arm again. She cried. She was awake and had to go outside.
Her walk was staggered, the legs having trouble supporting her. She seemed to propel herself forward to keep herself upright. And kept drifting off to the side like a drunkard headed for the bar.
She could barely support herself when she stopped to pee. She walked for a half a block with me. Back inside, she kept walking, and as she walked I used a syringe to squirt food and water into her mouth.
We kept that up for another hour, until Amy got home from work. “You’re going to get better,” I told Tug. “You’re going to be playing on the beach with us real soon.”
The beach in Playa del Rey had been her favorite place.
Unfortunately, the demylenization is not the main attack of distemper. “It’s more a secondary problem,” Foley said.
Distemper attacks nearly every organ in the body, from the kidneys and liver to the enamel in the teeth, as well as the structure of the eyes, and the tear ducts. In the brain, while the short-circuiting of seizures is occurring, the virus is also attacking other cells including those of the cerebellum, where the higher consciousness resides.
We didn’t know it, but we were losing Tug cell by cell.
The fight lasted another two weeks. Our vet tried acupuncture treatments and vitamin C. We didn’t want to think about killing her. The seizures were not painful, we were told, the animal simply feels nothing during the episode. Tug seemed to settle down into a pattern of one long but mild seizure. Often we felt the top of her head as the two muscles there throbbed rhythmically.
Like having a baby, we took over all her bodily functions for her, hoping that if we took care of everything else, she could fight off the virus. She lost control of her bowels and we diapered her. We bathed her and fed her with a baby bottle, a formula of special puppy food, milk supplement and water blended into a kind of canine milkshake.
As long as she kept eating, which she did, we felt there was a chance.
We lost sleep. It seemed our eyes were playing tricks on us, not sure if she was seizuring or just breathing, we watched her carefully, looking for any hope.
One morning after preparing a cocktail of her medicines in a shot glass of water heated in the microwave, I watched in bleary-eyed disbelief as the yellowish solution evaporated before my eyes. The glass split in two.
It took a couple of minutes for my addled mind to realize that heating the water in a microwave had ruined the glass. A small hole had cracked the bottom.
Eventually, pneumonia set in.
At times it seemed that Tug would forget to breathe and only remember to as we called out to her.
By now we were moving her legs and head for her to keep her muscles from atrophying. We changed her position routinely to keep the fluids from the pneumonia from settling in one part of her lungs.
After one breathless period, late one night as we thought about getting ready to put her down for the night, my tired brain tricked my mouth into saying the words. “Do you think we should put her to sleep?”
But we weren’t ready to give up yet. We continued the routine until one Sunday morning after she had eaten a portion of the food in her baby bottle. Tug choked and vomited on me.
The virus had finally attacked her stomach. We weren’t able to feed her.
Later that day, while I was at work, Tug stopped breathing again and Amy hospitalized her at our vet.
They were able to feed her better, and a more intensive drug treatment was started with an intravenous tube.
While visiting her a couple days later, our vet, Dr. B.. suggested one more thing. She had heard of a vet in Lancaster who used some unorthodox treatments, and asked if she could try a blood transfusion from another dog she had that had survived distemper.
Her idea would not work. That vet, Dr. Alson Sears of Lancaster, had tried without success using simple blood serum from distemper dogs. But the treatment that he claims does work is a little more mysterious than that.
Tug died in her sleep, just before her evening medication, sparing us the decision to euthanize her. We were on the way to visit her. I was making an awkward left turn just a couple of blocks away from the vet when the pager went off. I handed it to Amy.
“It’s the vet’s,” she said. Then after a busy silence as we moved through traffic, she said, “I think it’s bad news.”
She was brought to us in an examination room, wrapped loosely in a blue blanket, and laid on a table, resting with her eyes open and cool to the touch. In the three weeks we had battled the virus, Tug’s fur had come in, more a full shepherd now. Her legs had been growing, giving the slightest suggestion of adult shape.
I was surprised to collapse in tears against Amy.

Picking up the pieces

About a month and a half after Tug’s ashes were scattered on the beach_ in a ceremony with my sister and some close friends _I absent-mindedly picked up an animal rescue newspaper at the neighborhood market on an evening walk. I handed it to Amy without thinking.
She stopped.
“It looks like Tug,” Amy said. A story about a litter of Labrador/shepherd mix puppies that needed to be rescued from a shelter included a photo of a Tug-like dog.
That puppy died of a ruptured intestine before we could reach the woman who was trying to find them homes. But Amy found Selkie among its siblings.
The Selkie is a creature from Gaelic legend, half-human, half-seal. We had recently seen “The Secret of Roan Innish,” which tells the tale of a man who captures a Selkie and lives in fear of losing her. We had heard she might be a good water dog, so the name seemed appropriate.
Within minutes of picking her up, I was in an examining room presenting her to Dr. B.
Dr. B. gave the animal an exam, her shots _ we weren’t going to let it happen again _ and the usual tests. She shrugged and said “Feed her and love her.”
“Isn’t this the scrawniest thing on four legs you’ve ever seen,” she said to another vet.
The routine returned, a puppy in the back seat on our morning commute that would stay with Amy all day.Then she developed a small cough.
“It could be kennel cough,” Karen said. Maybe.
We had her tested again for distemper. She’d been tested before and was found clean. That was the only reason we accepted her. The second test may have been pointless, since the vaccination she got from Dr. B. would have thrown it off.
“It couldn’t be distemper again,” we kept saying to ourselves.
If it was, we at least knew we had a better chance fighting it now, before the seizures started. We put aside the fear for the worst and did what we could to boost her immune system. At least that might help her with the kennel cough — or whatever that was.
“The amazing coughing dog,” is what we started calling her, even as I chopped vegetables for hours as part of a special diet suggested by the Venice Animal Alliance. I would mix them with raw lamb and the rest of her food. But Selkie wouldn’t eat it.
We started giving her vitamin C pills. She didn’t like them wrapped in bread. We would have to open her mouth and toss them down her gullet.
She remained skin and bones on four legs. She developed a fever, but we still hoped.
Then one morning when I had asked to work at home, Amy called from the vet. She was about to get on the freeway when Selkie had a chewing gum seizure.
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
A chewing gum seizure is a twisted smacking of the gums, where the sides of the dog’s mouth snarl up, and the saliva is released and sometimes foams.
Again in an examining room with Selkie, Dr. B. asked us to think about putting her to sleep this time.
“I can’t do that,” Amy said. Now she was the one crying. “Not while she’s still with us.”
Selkie started to seizure again, more like a rabid dog. Dr. B. found a point on her leg and pressed her thumb on it. `”It’s an accupressure point,” she said. “It is supposed to relieve the seizure.”
Her mouth stopped flaring.
I had one idea.
“Who was this vet you told us about,” I asked Dr. B. “The one up in Lancaster?”
I got a name and phone number for Dr. Sears, brought Selkie home and called. No, a technician who answered the phone said, there is nothing they could do once the seizures started.
I spent the next 24 hours with Selkie, cleaning her, comforting her, and giving her medication. Oddly enough, she got her appetite back and started eating everything I gave her, including that vegetable/raw lamb mix she used to refuse. In between seizures she was a normal dog.
I kept searching the Internet for information on distemper, even e-mailed a couple of vets, trying to find out the survival rate for dogs after seizures started. I found nothing I didn’t already know.
On the second night, Amy and I were bathing her when another seizure started.
At first I thought it was just from the shock of being in the water again. But Selkie was locked in a permanent short-circuit.
It didn’t stop after we took her out of the bath.
It didn’t stop after we dried her off.
It didn’t stop to let us get her evening medication into her. We only were able to drip a drop or two into her mouth as her head jerked side to side, throwing spit.
Our friend, Margaret Owens happened to stop by that night. “It’s not fair to her anymore,” she said.
Our vet was already closed for the night. Finally, we decided we could not wait until morning. We started going through the phone book. Just before midnight, we climbed into the back of Margaret’s four-wheel drive and she drove us to an emergency veterinary hospital on Sepulveda near Westwood.
We waited for half an hour, with Selkie on my lap spraying spit on me as I watched a bad episode of Star Trek on the waiting room television. We watched to make sure there were no dogs around. Only cats.
Finally we were shown in to a vet. We explained she had distemper.
She gave her quick look.
“What do you want me to do?”
“We think she should be put to sleep,” Amy said.
A few minutes later, after signing the paperwork, we were brought into another room. Selkie was lying on the table, still spraying spit back and forth. A tube had been inserted into her leg. The fatal injection was ready.
“Good-bye Selkie,” Amy said. “I’m sorry, Selkie.”
“Bye-bye Selkie,” I said. “We tried.”
We both kissed her on the top of the head. The table was cool and smooth. The vet began the injection.
Finally, the seizures stopped.
Selkie’s head stopped thrashing. The drooling ended. The puppy we knew returned, falling asleep.
“She is no longer with us,” said the vet, almost crying herself. “Please, in the future, make sure you get the dog vaccinated.”
She meant well. She didn’t know the virus had beaten us to the needle again.
Selkie died on my birthday in June. We scattered her on the same beach as Tug.
In July we forgot about dead dogs, and returned to Upstate New York to get married. Some friends of mine sent us a card with $80, to be used to buy a new puppy.

Living with paranoia

“You guys are on restriction,” Dr. B. told us. “The next dog you get, I have to approve it.”
By that she meant, if we brought in another dog that she had any doubts about, she would just take it away from us.Shadow cost $100, but that included a free bag of food and a coupon to get her fixed.
She had been born in a South-Central animal shelter in August. We started looking for her in October. Our friends insisted on coming with us as we went from shelter to shelter, afraid Amy would fall in love with the sickest thing to come along.
But we found Shadow in a pet store in Westwood. PALS had rescued her from the South-Central shelter and kept her for a month to make sure she was healthy before putting her up for adoption.
She was playful and quick to lick Amy. Most importantly she was strong. Amy took her for her first checkup. “You don’t realize,” Dr. B. said to the puppy, “your four paws just landed in the lap of luxury.”
“[Dr. B.] has a message for you,” Amy told me later. “ `Good job.’ ”
Again, we took another puppy with us to Sherman Oaks. But Shadow was too full of energy. She chewed furniture, bit fingers, peed in the wrong places, once on top of an important piece of paper that had the misfortune to land on the floor.
We were _ mostly me _ the most paranoid dog owners in the world.
Before getting Shadow, we had moved to a new house. Most of Tug’s and Selkie’s toys and bedding had been thrown out– just in case. I never let her off the property. And when I found a foreign deposit on the front lawn from a strange dog, I not only picked it up, but I wrapped the newspaper I picked it up with and wrapped it in a plastic bag.
Then I wrapped that bag in another plastic bag.
I guess I would have wrapped Shadow in plastic bags if I could have.
Each month we took her to the vet for booster shots. In late October, she started sneezing.
I panicked, suddenly realizing that we had washed her in the same plastic tub that we had bathed Tug and Selkie in. I e-mailed some vets, but was reassured distemper could not be transmitted after so long. “Distemper needs a live animal or a laboratory to survive,” one vet said in an e-mail.
The sneezing didn’t last. In December, she got her final vaccination shot, which included the shot for rabies. I clasped the rabies tag in my hand like an alcoholic with a one-year chip from AA. “Now we have a real dog,” I said.
However, she was the most paranoid animal we could have had. Since we had kept her away from other dogs, she didn’t know how to play with them.
“Maybe Shadow needs a friend,” Amy caught herself saying one day. She immediately made me swear never to repeat that. But fate was already working to bring us to Galen.
ot long after Amy absent-mindedly wondered about whether Shadow needed a friend, Karen found another dog, a street dog from Pico and Alvarado Karen was calling “Red Dog,” which she was trying to place in a good home.
In late January during a rainstorm, the engine on Amy’s Toyota blew just beyond Getty Center Drive on the 405. It took a couple of weeks to find the right mechanic, but after the job was done we didn’t have enough money.
We stopped by Karen’s apartment on the way home one night to borrow the money, and Galen introduced himself with chin and paws on Amy’s lap. Again she was in love.
“You don’t have any reservations about him, do you?” Amy asked as we talked about the dog on the way home.
“None,” I said.
Only to myself did I admit that so far almost every dog she has fallen in love with so quickly has died. “Nah,” I thought. “It couldn’t possibly happen again.”For one thing, Galen was an adult, probably about two years old. He was a strong dog who had probably survived on the streets for a while. Most importantly, Dr. B. had checked him over and gave him a clean bill of health.
Karen brought him over to visit Shadow that Saturday. They got along well enough and he liked being with us. So, she just let him stay.
“How do you keep doing this too me?” Amy said.
“What did I do?”
“Look, now we have two cats and two dogs. How did that happen?”
Amy had always suspected that if I had my chance I would fill any house we moved to with animals. Both of my sisters have done so. She had sworn that she would not let it happen. But no, I pointed out. I didn’t do anything. Each animal was either a joint decision or one that she had fallen in love with hopelessly.
Shadow was still a puppy and was already even in height with Galen. We thought that as she grew that might happen to balance Galen’s natural aggressiveness. They played together, a constant game of wrestling with their mouths and teeth. Galen quickly taught Shadow to how to chase cats.
Then, one night, I heard Galen coughing.
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
In the next couple of days, we watched him carefully. His eyelids became heavy. The nose had a discharge. We had him tested.
“If anything happens to Shadow,” Amy said. “I’ll never forgive myself.”
The results showed a low-grade infection. Distemper had found us again. Amy called me.
I had her ask if we should take him to this doctor in Lancaster, this Dr. Sears we had heard of.
“She said that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
The next day, Karen drove Galen to Lancaster. He threw up on the backseat.

Finding Dr. Sears

It was a few months after Galen’s treatment that I finally talked to Dr. Sears for this story. He hadn’t returned earlier phone calls. I called again.
“Get me out of this,” he said to his wife, Ruth, when he heard I was on the line.
It took some convincing on my part before she let me talk to him. “I just don’t want to go out there again,” he told her.
I wasn’t trying to make him out to be more than he was, I said. I just wanted to write this story. With the understanding that Sears was not attempting to sell himself as a savior of dogs, Ruth put me on the phone with him.
The problem was that the treatment has not been published, except once in the 1970s, and that was a treatment for cats, for a different disease, Sears said. As a treatment for canine distemper, it had not been published.
At a 1974 convention in front of about 2,000 colleagues, Sears brought up his treatment during a seminar.
The lead doctor at the seminar, thought about it, and then said, “Sit down, that’s impossible.”
“I was so mad I was spitting nails,” Sears said.
Forget about getting acceptance, Sears said. He decided to shun publicity because of the continued resistance he expected to see by trying to promote the treatment. “I’ll just keep saving animals.”
Al and Ruth Sears had met at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s. She was a nursing student and he was in vet school. She was from the East Coast, and Al had grown up in the Panama Canal Zone. The moved to California to finish his veterinary training and in the 1960s, Sears started working in the Antelope Valley.
“When I came here, distemper was as common as fleas,” Sears said.
As today, there was no treatment for distemper. And, vaccines were not as strong or reliable. When an outbreak occurred, all that could be done was to make an announcement and ask people to bring in their dogs, line them up and give them shots.
Sears agreed to meet with me. I drove up and had lunch with both of them at a country club. Ruth acts as an office manager. They work in a small, one story building, with a clean, white lobby sometimes visited by Mitchell, a grey and white cat. He had been dropped off one day, never picked up, and eventually became the office cat.
“Call me Al,” Sears said as we shook hands. He was a big man with white hair.
As he drove us to the country club, I told him about the dogs that we lost. “There must have been something I missed,” I said, talking about how Tug’s symptoms had not tipped us off.
“You can’t tell the difference between a real bad case of kennel cough and a mild case of distemper,” Sears said.
During distemper outbreaks in the 1960s, “we were losing ten dogs a week,” Sears said.
They tried a variety of experimental treatments, including massive doses of vitamin C, another using ether. But no such treatments worked.
“The key to the whole thing is to turn the virus off,” Sears said. By accident, he somehow found a way.
In the 1970s, a paper was released on developing an interferon for dogs. Essentially, it was a method to stimulate the disease fighting macrophage cells and T-cells to get into a dog’s system in force.
Sears followed a procedure he had heard of for triggering the interferon, and withdrawing a material from the animal at a key time. He did so without the full written report and made a mistake in the timing for withdrawing the material.
But he didn’t know that when he tried the serum on one dog with distemper.
“Literally, the next day, the dog was better,” Sears said.
He mailed a sample of the material to Cornell University. A report returned to him said the levels of interferon were insignificant.
“In the meantime, we were saving dogs,” Sears said. “So we didn’t care.”
But how did it work?
“I don’t know,” Sears said. “What we don’t know to this day is what the material is.”
To find the answer requires intensive research. That requires money and support that Sears does not have and is not willing to seek out because of the strong criticism he received in the 1970s that prompted him to keep his discovery mostly to himself.
Fortunately, our vet had heard of him.
“I’ll probably publish, but it will be when I’m ready to get out of the firing line,” said Sears, who is still at least a couple of years away from retirement, when he wanted to publish.
“I’ve been burned a couple of times by the big guns before,” he continued. “I finally said, `I don’t care.”
He chose to wait until retiring because of the examples of Copernicus, who believed the Earth revolved around the sun, but fearing the wrath of the church, did not publish until the year of his death, and Galileo, who proved Copernicus right, but had to recant under threat of excommunication and torture from the church.
“These are milestones in science,” said Sears, as he explained why he was so reluctant at first to talk to me. “And everybody remembers them.”
Sears expects that when he publishes his treatment, it will create a similar uproar in the veterinary community. “Everybody will yell and scream,” Sears said. “But then, I’ll be saying, `Fine, yell and scream, but this is what I found.”
In recent years, distemper became less the problem. Parvo, a powerful virus that can survive outside a dog for a long time, which causes severe dehydration, diarrhea and death, became the issue.
Thanks to the stronger and commonplace vaccinations of today, distemper is more rare.
Galen had been the first case Sears had seen in at least six years.
He had a fever when Karen brought Galen in. He was treated with fluids, and antibiotics. He was clearly sick. “He wasn’t fighting anyone,” Sears said.
Sears keeps the material _ the color of weak honey beer _ what he calls “goofy serum” but Ruth prefers the more respectable name of ”Serum X” in a refrigerator near the back door. Ten CCs of the serum was taken from a simple vial and injected into the rump.
Further shots were required. Galen had to stay over the weekend.
The fever was under control in 18 hours.

Facing the skepticism

Foley and other vets are doubtful about such a treatment. Antiviral treatments have not been successful. Most who espouse experimental treatments are only interested in grabbing media attention, funding and patients. “If they’re so wonderful,” Foley said. “Why don’t they come forward and be tested in the methods of science?”
But Foley _ who does not know Sears _ can understand why he hasn’t come forward. Research costs money, and distemper is better controlled through vaccination. Finding a treatment after the disease has struck is a low priority in veterinary science.
“If I were to write a grant to study distemper, it wouldn’t get funded,” Foley said.

Coming home

I had to work the Sunday that Amy and Karen brought Galen back, but I was waiting when they got home.
As I waited, I thought about the night before Galen left. Amy and I sat with him in the home office where he had to be kept. We didn’t want Shadow exposed to the virus any more than we had to. We petted him, scratched his head, and took a few pictures. We were saying good-bye.
“I know,” Karen said. “I was so upset. I thought I was going to take him up there and he was going to die there.”
That weekend even Shadow was unhappy.
At about the moment that Galen was brought into the back gate _ breathing, not cremated and scattered on a beach, not comatose or seizuring, all qualities I prefer in dogs _ Shadow launched herself through the dog door into the backyard.
In the chaos that ensued, Karen and Amy explained to me that according to Sears, the virus had been turned off. However, the distemper had probably already done damage, possibly to the stomach, the lungs, most definitely the eyes, the skin on the nose and the pads of the feet.
Distemper attacks the tear ducts, shutting them down, making it impossible for the eyes to naturally rewet themselves. That develops into dry eyes.
Along with treatments of liquid vitamin A on the pads of the feet and on Galen’s nose, which had seemed to dry up and crack like the bed of an evaporated lake, we also had to start putting ointment directly onto Galen’s eyeballs.
Amy held Galen still, as Karen _ who seems to have a talent for these things, and a special relationship with Galen as his original rescuer _ started to apply the ointment. My job was just to hold Shadow.
But she broke free, and with front legs outstretched, she threw herself bodily against Galen. About the closest a dog could come to giving a bear hug, as if to say, “HOORAYYY!! Welcome home!”
We kept up the treatments for a couple of weeks. Galen would sometimes need a muzzle because he hated the eye ointments and nose cream. We watched him carefully, wondering if a smacking of chops was a preliminary chewing gum seizure. Dr. B. saw one of these smacking of chops on a visit.
“If it was an actual seizure, you will see more,” Sears told me. The mylen continues to degrade after decay begins.
It has been months now. And Galen has remained healthy. We have found out he is really an aggressive dog, who will sometimes bite. But we are working on him, and he is getting better.
Meanwhile the love affair continues between our dogs.
Their favorite game is tug

How scientists think

2010-04-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

http://xkcd.com/242/

Final Cut Pro training

2010-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

There's still a few of you who have not had training in Final Cut Pro, especially log and capture.

So, my offer is that if you meet me either at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. on a Friday morning until the end of the semester, we'll go find a Final Cut editing computer and put you through the paces. I am usually in Park 275 between 9 and 11 a.m., getting ready for the News Editing lab at 11 a.m., but if I'm not there, you will probably find me in my office.

Or I could be downstairs somewhere, showing someone log and capture.

Ed Bond

Some other science stories

2010-04-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

NASA Slated To Receive Billions To Study Earth

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125507009

A Space Voyage To Genesis

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125322033

Making Sense of Science Reporting

2010-04-05T10:34:00.001-07:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120502959.html

Key points:

1) Look for the evidence.

2) Give readers enough information to judge "the strength of a claim"

3) Report "how the news fits into what's already known about the subject,"

4) Follow-ups are important. (Because it's impossible sometimes to get it all on deadline.)

5) Look for context.

6) Look deeply into the numbers.

7) Who sponsored the research and who makes money from its findings?

Blood Test, Statin Afford Potent Shield, Study Says

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110900852.html

Mrs. Kelley's Monster and The Multi-Leaf Collimator

2010-04-05T10:23:00.001-07:00

Here's two stories I'd like everyone to read. The first is by Jon Franklin. The second is by me.

http://www.jonfranklin.com/Stories/Mrs_Kellys_Monster.html

Hospital to Use Precision Device Against Tumors On...
Doctors at St. Joseph in Burbank hope the multi-leaf collimator will cause fewer side effects. Skeptics wonder about its $250,000 cost.

ED BOND
The Los Angeles Times

Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times

The mortal game cancer specialists have played for decades goes like this: blast the tumor, not the patient.

A group of doctors at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank are about to begin a new round in that confounding task, armed with a $250,000 device called a multi-leaf collimator.

The complicated-sounding machine has a simple purpose, to shape the beams of radiation so that most of the surrounding tissue is left untouched, sparing the patient nausea, diarrhea, discomfort or other side effects.

Doctors at St. Joseph plan to use its precision to test the effectiveness of higher doses of radiation on tumors. By better channeling the radiation, these doctors say, the machine will allow them to provide a level of care closer to that found in major medical institutions with multi-million-dollar equipment.

St. Joseph will be the first community hospital to use the device in California when patient treatment begins within two weeks, according to its manufacturers and members of the California Radiation Oncology Society. The machine will soon be in use at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.

Some praise the machine as a breakthrough that finally gives the medical community a reliable tool for attacking a tumor. But others are more skeptical, saying that the machine is expensive and unnecessary.

"Right now we do a fairly good job of confining the radiation dose," said Dr. Donald Fuller, a San Diego radiation oncologist, who said most hospitals now use neither the multi-leaf nor its more expensive cousin. "If it is more expensive (to use the multi-leaf), can it be justified? These are the kinds of dilemmas we are wrestling with."

"This needs to be validated," acknowledged Dr. Christopher Rose, associate technical director at St. Joseph's radiation oncology department, who helped push for the technology to be developed in the mid-1980s. "It may be a $250,000 piece of junk."

The National Cancer Institute is planning a nationwide study next year on the effectiveness of multi-leaf collimators in fighting prostate cancer, said Dr. Dwight Kaufman, acting assistant director of the institute's radiation research program.

"Whether it translates into better control of cancer with less toxicity still remains to be seen," Kaufman said.

But supporters of the new procedure say they're betting it will prove an affordable way to focus radiation doses on tumors.

"This is the latest frontier in answering the question of how do we improve radiation treatment," said Dr. Michael Steinberg, of the Santa Monica Cancer Treatment Center, who is president of the California Radiation Oncology Society.

Here's how it works.

Until now, cancer specialists have had to protect the flesh around a tumor with blocks of a lead alloy, shaped to protect vital organs from a field of radiation.

The multi-leaf, however, protects healthy tissue by covering it with overlapping leaves of metal. Each leaf blocks out an area in the field of radiation, allowing only a shape approximately matching that of the tumor for the beam to pass through.

The multi-leaf also improves that way doctors can aim radiation at a tumor, supporters said. Instead of only being able to fire the radiation through the side or through the front, the new equipment uses a computer to continually change that shape of the beam as it rotates around the patient. This way, the tumor can be attacked from every angle.

The multi-leaf is not the only piece of equipment meant to sharpen the stream of radiation. Science has created far more precise tools, such as the equipment used for proton radiation treatment at the cancer center at Loma Linda University Medical Center. But that equipment cost $45 million, and it is one of only two in the United States.

Proton radiation hits only the tumor, said Dr. Jerry Slater, clinical director for the department of radiation medicine at Loma Linda. Radiation from the multi-leaf, by contrast, still must pass through some healthy tissue to get to the tumor.

Compared with conventional treatments, the multi-leaf collimator is expected to do the most good in reaching tumors in the deep, hard-to-access areas of the body, such as the pancreas or the prostate. Those organs are lodged between the bladder and the rectum, which are particularly susceptible to harm by radiation.

It is already clear that the equipment will not be useful for all types of cancer. About 10% of the 700 cancer patients using radiation therapy at St. Joseph will be likely candidates for the new device, said Dr. Leslie Botnick, director of the Radiation Oncology Department at St. Joseph. Cancers such as lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease are not limited to a small area of the body, so patients with these illnesses would not benefit as much from the machine.

At Northridge Hospital Medical Center, it was the bottom line that encouraged hospital administrators to approve the purchase of their own multi-leaf collimator, which will be delivered in December, said Dr. Aaron Fingerhut, the hospital's director of the radiation oncology department at the Thomas and Dorothy Leavy Cancer Center.

"Right now we have a technician who manufactures these lead blocks, which is time-consuming, and then they have to be lifted up to shoulder height and mounted on the machine," Fingerhut said. A full-time technician earns more than $50,000 a year, so in a few years the hospital could recoup the cost on the device, he added.

With the multi-leaf collimator, treatments could eventually be made faster and more cost-effective, Fingerhut said. Some day, having the machine could increase a hospital's business, because insurance companies and health-maintenance organizations might send patients to the less-expensive program, he said.

One thing doctors at St. Joseph hope to do is use the machine to experiment with giving patients higher radiation doses. Researchers there say that if the machine really spares surrounding tissue, higher levels of radiation can be tried on tumors.

"St. Joseph's clearly wants to be a hitter in the high-dose studies," said Dr. Scotte Doggett, medical director of radiation oncology at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, which also plans to use the device. The work at St. Joseph may encourage others, he said.

It is important to note, however, that despite high hopes, the multi-leaf might not be the answer for hospitals struggling to provide appropriate care for patients with cancer.

Loma Linda's Slater said that although he thinks the new machine represents a step forward, proton radiation treatment is "a magnitude ahead."

Buying a high-technology piece of equipment may be an unlikely step for a community hospital in a struggling economy, said Botnick, who came to St. Joseph along with Rose in the early 1980s from the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy at Harvard Medical School, which had begun the nation's first studies in shaping radiation beams.

The two came to St. Joseph to study ways to bring the same level of care found at a university hospital to a community hospital.

"I think if (hospital administrators) had to make the decision in 1992 economics, they wouldn't have done it," Botnick said. "This is not going to help us make more money."

Still, said Rose, the technology is too important to be ignored.

"The issue is, can it be done in a community hospital?" he said. "That's what we're going to try to find out."
[Illustration]
PHOTO: Radiation oncologist Dr. Arnold Malcolm and radiation therapist Carol Nemeth with multi-leaf collimator. Carlos Reyes poses as patient.; PHOTO: Display shows how a beam of radiation is aimed on the cross-section of a patient's body. / RICARDO DeARATANHA / Los Angeles Times

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Section: Metro; PART-B; Zones Desk
ISSN/ISBN: 04583035
Text Word Count 1258

What we are looking for

2010-04-05T06:37:00.001-07:00

http://edbondreporter2.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-im-looking-for-in-your-writing.html

http://edbondreporter2.blogspot.com/2010/02/some-notes-on-tryout-assignment.html

Science Journalism

2010-04-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/stories/media-mayhem-bad-news-and-news-done-badly

http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2009/05/former-cnn-producer-on-h1n1-coverage-retaining-audience-through-fear-mongering/

http://www.unisci.com/stories/20022/0523024.htm

Snoutbreak '09 - The Last 100 Days

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_10_23/en/index.html

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/what-is-pandemic

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/10/09/01

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/30/science/sci-swine-reality30

http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:58108144-fc76-454f-abab-27005aedce2d&showPlaylist=true

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Health_Watch_Hand_Sanitizer_Dangers_102609

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=58108144-fc76-454f-abab-27005aedce2d

http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/northwilson-2-sanitizer090624.mov

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

ThreatDown - Environmentalists, Kang Lee & Mountain Pine Beetles

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Religion

Global warming vs. climate change
http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/2009/06/study_do_the_terms_global_warm.php

http://mises.org/Community/blogs/tokyotom/archive/2008/04/08/why-those-sneaky-enviros-changed-from-quot-global-warming-quot-to-quot-climate-change-quot.aspx

Journalism video contest

2010-03-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/projectreport?v=bId0znEVYVc&feature=pyv&ad=3885139639&kw=project%20report%20videos

On the Brink of Niagara's Horseshoe Falls

2010-03-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

http://downtown360.com/about/ManonBrink.pdf

Niagara Falls Jumper Resists Rescue

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/11/national/main4860726.shtml

Possible resource on writing about suicide

2010-03-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=0523D365-A314-431E-A925C03E13E762B1

check it out.

Likely sources for police, fire or rescue stories

2010-03-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.tompkinsready.org/

http://tompkinsfireems.com/main/

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/counties/tompkins.htm

http://www.tompkins-co.org/departments/detail.aspx?DeptID=41

http://www.tompkins-redcross.org/disaster.html

Fire, rescue, rescue or police reporting

2010-03-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/cicero_family_watches_house_bu.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/14/cheating.death.harden.cpr/index.html

Future topics

2010-03-21T20:32:00.001-07:00

Bottom-up reporting.

Outside-in reporting.

Cornell basketball

2010-03-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/03/21/cornell.wis/

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13095479/cornell-schools-wisconsin-in-every-facet-to-make-sweet-16

Discussion: How many story ideas can you think of related to Cornell's NCAA tournament wins?

Other stories from Cornell:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100321/SPORTS03/3210352/Feeling+is++indescribable++for+Cornell+s+Dake

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100321/SPORTS/3210350/Big+weekend+for+Big+Red+sports+teams

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100321/SPORTS03/3210366/Cornell+women+lose+hockey+title+in+triple+OT

http://www.silive.com/sports/advance/gordon/index.ssf/2010/03/everyone_except_the_players_su.html

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100321/SPORTS03/3210336/

Sunshine laws

2010-03-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100313/NEWS01/3130345/Sunshine-laws-aren-t-just-for-the-media-to-use

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100313/NEWS01/3130344

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20100313/NEWS01/3130355

Committee on Open Government
New York State Department of State
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/index.html

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/freedomfaq.html

Blog tags

2010-03-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Check out this link sent in by Natalie King:

http://slatest.slate.com/features/news_dots/default.htm

Journalism internships

2010-03-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

I do freelance writing for a Washington DC area parenting magazine and we are looking for summer interns. We'd like a few college journalism majors who are interested in publishing, writing for print/web and who live in the Northern Virginia area. These internships are unpaid but the experience is hands-on (byline credit and direct access to editorial leadership).

Please have any interested parties send me email/resume to WriterCroll@gmail.com.

Chris

Notes on Slideshows from Mindy McAdams

2010-03-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Do’s and don’ts for slideshows

DO:

1. Have clear relationships between what we hear and what we see. If the event planner is talking about making the decorations, for example, show the decorations.
2. Tell a story. Don’t just slap on an interview in which someone explains something.
3. Provide context. Why are these people doing this, or what’s the purpose of the event?
4. In an early caption, tell us exactly where we are (including the state, please!) and the exact date (including the year, please!).
5. Write captions that provide additional information. Do not tell us what we can see in the photo (if we can see it, you don’t need to tell us).
6. In captions, identify each person in the photo with first and last name, and some other information, such as where they live, their occupation, or (for students) their major.

DON’T:

1. Begin with an ID ( “I’m Mary Jones, and I’m a finance major”); this is completely boring. It fails to spark any interest in your story.
2. Allow the background sound to drown out the interview.
3. Use natural sound out of context — for example, a car horn blowing when we see no cars and no street.
4. Show objects, walls, signs — unless there is a person (or a person’s hand, etc.) in the photo too.
5. Combine audio and photos in a way that misleads (for example, we hear one person singing while we see a photo of a different person singing).
6. Repeat the same lengthy information in multiple captions.

Final Cut Pro log and capture

2010-03-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

Examples of Soundslides

2010-03-09T08:43:00.001-08:00

Journalists who have used Soundslides posted their work to their Web site here:

http://forums.soundslides.com/viewforum.php?id=12

Here's one from an L.A. Times photographer I used to work with:

Audio slide show: Chasing the dream

Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-p2p-vegas-audioslideshow,0,3148597.htmlstory

Homeless World Cup

http://jacopodettoni.altervista.org/kyrgyzstan/

The Music of China's Nomads

http://www.eurasianet.org/music/ss1.shtml

Making magnets

http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/mediacenter/slideshows/makingmagnets2/index.html

Khmer New Year

http://www.charles-fox.net/wpg2?g2_itemId=810#

http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/rgmp-10-learn-to-use-soundslides/

http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2009/dos-and-donts-for-slideshows/

http://support.soundslides.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=70

http://markhancock.blogspot.com/2007/07/embed-soundslides-onto-blogs.html

2010-03-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

Verifying your blogs for Google
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/10/verifying-blogger-blog-in-webmaster.html

http://www.google.com/support/news_pub/?hl=en

Reminder: I'm reading you.

2010-03-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

I cruise through the blogs once a week, and there are some nice posts. One about a barbershop, another on a writer of Haiku, another on belly dancing. These posts demonstrate a curiosity about Ithaca that helps to build strong reporting and writing skills.

Others have not posted anything since their observation assignment. You need to get cracking. As someone noted, the signs of spring are creeping in on us. That opens up a lot of possibilities.

Entertainment reporting

2010-03-07T06:01:00.001-08:00

Here's a good example from the New York Times. Possibly a cautionary tale for any journalists who also dream of making it in Hollywood:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/fashion/07boal.html

And below it on the same page, a feature on Joan Rivers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/fashion/07Rivers.html

Death Bear Will See You Now

(Not an entertainment story, but a good read.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/fashion/07love.html

Sports stories

2010-03-03T10:28:00.001-08:00

http://www.nesn.com/2010/03/world-champion-of-four-square-crowned-in-maine.html

Rachel Stokes

The lede in this story was interesting, the this third paragraph would have been a much better choice:
“With the hearts of all Canadians fluttering and the crowd at Canada Hockey Place creating enough electricity to light the entire country, Crosby took a pass from linemate Jarome Iginla and walked in alone on Miller. Crosby’s quick release decided the game, triggering roars here and all over Canada.”

Norah Sweeney

Here are two sports stories that I thought were marvelous. I don’t understand a thing about sports, so stories with statistics and technical lingo do nothing for me. These two tell personal stories, in gorgeous prose style, might I add.
Roger Federer as Religious Experience is from the New York Times’ Play Magazine. The writing gets pretty incredible when you get down a few paragraphs, but I personally would have gone with a different, more compelling, lede.
Canada Mourns for Great One is a bit of a classic, published in the St. Petersburg Times in December 1999, about Wayne Gretzky’s retirement. I like the conciseness of the piece, and the consistent use of one-sentence paragraphs. I also thought it a little overdone, in fact, I thought that Gretzky had died when I first read the piece. However, his retirement could probably equated to his death for hardcore hockey fans, and the writer undoubtedly understood that.
Enjoy!

Bridget Corrigan

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-olympics-hockey1-2010mar01,0,7064297.story

Laura Murray

I knew that the US Men's swim team just taking the gold in the 4x100m relay 
against the French team would have some great leads.  Here are two of my 
favorites.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/swimming/news/story?id=3528865

BEIJING -- With history about to slip away and Michael Phelps cheering him on, 
Jason Lezak pulled up next to the lane rope and set out after hulking Alain 
Bernard, like a NASCAR driver drafting down the backstretch at Daytona.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?
columnist=forde_pat&id=3529125

BEIJING -- Halfway through what might have been the greatest comeback swim 
in Olympic history, Jason Lezak peered through his goggles at the lane to his 
right and briefly abandoned hope.

Weir

2010-03-03T07:14:00.001-08:00

V1U camera

2010-03-02T19:54:00.001-08:00

The best advice on using the V1U camera is to go with the automatic features whenever possible.

User's manual:

www.edbond.com/v1u_manual.pdf

Tape to use:

http://www.amazon.com/TDK-60Mins-Digital-Video-Cassette/dp/B00006HST5

Product detail:

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-HVRV1U/

Video on camera tripods

http://edbondreporter2.blogspot.com/2010/01/equipment-available-for-checkout.html

http://www.videomaker.com/video/watch/reviews/348/sony-s-v1u/?utm_campaign=traffic&utm_content=/learn/product-reviews/digital-camcorder-reviews/sony/rss/&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=videomaker.com

http://vimeo.com/936720

Sports ledes

2010-03-01T20:56:00.001-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/sports/olympics/01last.html?ref=sports

From Jackie Wild

Soundslides

2010-02-28T12:02:00.001-08:00

Lansing Star Soundslides

http://www.edbond.com/conte_publish_to_web/

Chilifest Soundslides

http://www.edbond.com/evie_publish_to_web/

Basic photography/videography

2010-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Use a tripod when practical.
Get a variety of angles.
Compose the shot. Get the subject in the frame. Try to use the rule of thirds when practical.
Count to 10 to make sure shots are long enough.

Find ways to connect shots.
Monitor the audio, listen with ear buds/phones when you can.

One concept: Zoom with your feet, rather than the zoom on the camera. (But not always practical.

Pan the camera to stay with the action.

Zoom to get emotion.

Zoom and pan to connect, to reveal or surprise.

Zooming out pushes the viewers away.

Zooming in pulls viewers in.

Panning

Pan right for comfort; Pan left for attention.

DA explains deadly confrontation with police in Ithaca

2010-02-24T10:13:00.001-08:00

DA explains deadly confrontation with police in Ithaca

Posted using ShareThis

NPR story on campus rape

2010-02-24T06:14:00.001-08:00

News stories from blogs

2010-02-23T19:29:00.001-08:00

From Kevin McCall

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228921n

Rachel Stokes

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102170388

Suspect dead after confrontation with police in Ithaca

2010-02-23T19:02:00.001-08:00

http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story/Fatal-Shooting-In-Ithaca/4GeGIRN3kkGNaWxm7MC_Gw.cspx

Suspect dead after confrontation with police in Ithaca

Posted using ShareThis

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100223/NEWS01/100223035/Shots+fired++police+on+scene+at+Pete+s

Personnel from several area law enforcement agencies were at what appears to be a crime scene at Pete’s Grocery and Deli and Wine and Liquor at 805 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca on Tuesday evening.

Officers came to the scene at about 5 p.m. apparently responding to a report of shots fired. Two Bangs Ambulance vehicles subsequently left the scene in the direction of Cayuga Medical Center. Officers taped off the scene extensively and appeared to be questioning people inside the store.

One of the objects of the officers’ investigation was a green passenger van on the grass near the store with its doors open. The van appeared to have been driven up onto the grass, with tracks on the grass leading from the pavement.

Agencies on the scene included the Ithaca Police Department, New York State Police, State Parks Police and the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office. The Ithaca Police Department SWAT van was on the scene, its lights illuminating the area. State police investigators joined Ithaca Police Chief Ed Vallely and deputy chiefs John Barber and Pete Tyler at the scene.

A total of 10 police vehicles were at the scene this evening. Some were parked along West Buffalo Street; others had blocked traffic on Taughannock Avenue.
It appeared that some customers were inside Pete’s and some were being escorted from the store by police officers.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100223/NEWS01/100223035/1126/Shooting+victim+dies+following+confrontation+with+police+in+Ithaca

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100223/NEWS01/2230378/1001/news/Man-killed-by-police-after-West-End-chase

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Suspect-dead-after-confrontation-with-police-in/Q34jwO9RD0O7FK5sj7L5lg.cspx

Cornell and natural gas issue covered by NPR

2010-02-23T19:00:00.001-08:00

Notes on broadcast writing

2010-02-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

Writing for broadcast must be more conversational. It is written to be read aloud.

Tell the news through people:

Find a problem, find a person dealing with the problem and tell us how he or she is doing.

Immediacy

Use the present tense as much as possible.

Use simple, short sentences, written with transitive verbs. Transitive verbs do thing to things.

Avoid contracting ‘not’ use: not guilty. But don’t use: isn’t guilty.

Avoid slang and incorrect grammar. Avoid vulgar and off-color expressions. (Remember your audience.)

Listeners are often given just the bare facts.

Don’t look for synonyms. Don’t be afraid to repeat words.

Repeat proper nouns rather than use pronouns.

Avoid using dependent clauses. Use independent clauses.

Keep the subject close to the verb.

Don’t barrage the listener with a series of numbers.

Answer questions, but don’t ask them.

Words and pictures should be complimentary, never interfering with each other.

At the beginning of the scene or when a scene changes, you must tell the viewer where you are or what is happening.

Titles should precede names to better prepare the listener to hear the name.

Know how to pronounce words and proper names.

Lima, Newark,

Campbell

Rarely use direct quotations and quotation marks.

Use: he put it this way or in his words.

Possible health care news resource

2010-02-23T08:46:00.001-08:00

http://haiwatchnews.com/

Al Haig obituary

2010-02-22T06:40:00.001-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/us/politics/21haig.html

Final Cut Express for $134

2010-02-17T16:54:00.001-08:00

This is the best deal I've seen out there. I saw a $90 deal, but that was just for an updater. You may be able to beat this deal:

http://www.cosmogadget.com/pd-apple-final-cut-express-4-retail-box-pn.cfm

Whose flag is this?

2010-02-16T10:40:00.001-08:00

My curiosity was sparked by the Special Interest Flag that was flying on Monday. Who can tell me what this flag represents?

Business story resources

2010-02-15T10:50:00.001-08:00

Here are some business story resources that I would explore in putting together a business story on the Ithaca area:

Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce

http://www.tompkinschamber.org/

New York State Department of Labor

http://www.labor.state.ny.us/

The Index of Economic Activity in Tompkins County

http://www.ithaca.edu/economics/tcdex.htm

Tompkins County Area Development

http://www.tcad.org/

Tompkins Workforce New York

http://www.tompkinsworkforceny.org/

http://www.daycarecouncil.org/

Tompkins County Workers Center

http://www.tclivingwage.org/

Cornell Cooperative Extension

http://www.ccetompkins.org/localfood/index.htm

Business/government stories

2010-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

For the business/government stories, the skedlines are due on Wednesday, Feb. 17. The stories and videos are due Feb. 24. Each student will post a story of about 750 words and a 1-2 minute video for your group's online blog. You will coordinate with your fellow teammates on how these stories will be covered by you are graded individually as to how well you pull off this assignment.

Ithaca Journal stories to discuss

2010-02-15T06:21:00.001-08:00

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100212/NEWS01/2120351/Minorities -struggling-in-the-work-force

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/201002111910/NEWS01/2110381

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/201002071845/NEWS01/2070372

Business journalism

2010-02-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/media/14morrow.html

http://www.thestreet.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/economy/14revive.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/14ping.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/business/14novel.html

Scavenger hunt

2010-02-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be searching for ideas to blog about. So, I'm offering a scavenger hunt to help spark your curiosity about the news and issues in Ithaca. Try to do at least one of each of these for a blog posting this semester.

ATTEND an Ithaca City Council meeting, school board meeting, county government meeting or Town of Ithaca meeting. Write a short blog about an item on the agenda that interested you. Discuss the issues and the outcome. You may do a variety of these throughout the semester. You might get the first ideas for your final project here.

VISIT a store or shopping center you have not visited before.

RIDE the TCAT or a taxi cab or some other form of conveyance. Here's a tip that may turn out helpful later on -- if you are trying to find out about a city quickly, ride in a taxi. A good conversation with a knowledgeable taxi driver can fill you in on most of the big issues and news stories of a city.

GO TO a landmark or tourist attraction. Be open about learning about the history or a fact you didn't know about.

NOTICE historical plaques and signs. Ask yourself what effect this little piece of history may have on the city we have today.

STRIKE UP a conversation with a stranger. Find out about what they are concerned about with Ithaca. You don't have to identify yourself as a student or as a journalist (unless what they tell you could be a news story.) But I would recommend you do this in a public place. Be wary of anyone who may take advantage of you. Listen to your instincts about whether someone is leading you to danger. However, be curious about the other person as you learn about this city.

PAY ATTENTION when someone tries to sell you something or does sell you something. Ask yourself how did they make the approach and get you to be interested in what they had to offer. Think about their body language, their choice of words, their mannerisms. What turned you off or made you interested? This may help you when you have to approach strangers to get comments on stories.

FIND a new way to get to a familiar place. Don't be afraid to get a little lost. Notice the new landmarks, the businesses, ask yourself what purpose they serve, what possible news stories may be inside.

WALK when your destination is close enough. Pay attention to buildings and landmarks you may have passed too quickly because you were in a car or a bus. Think about possible news stories.

SIT IN on a court action in either Ithaca City Court or Tompkins County Superior Court. Notice not only the action going on in front of the judge, but also the drama stories of human nature that may be happening around you.

ASK the Ithaca City Police a question about a recent crime, accident or arrest. See how much information you can get.

Local news story to discuss

2010-02-14T12:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20100212/NEWS01/2120351/Minorities -struggling-in-the-work-force

Lines from the observation exercise

2010-02-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

Here's some of my favorite lines from observation exercises:

"A bus takes a break, releases a sigh; a small cloud floats up and evaporates into the sky."
-- Evie Santiago

"Echos of 'SAKE SAKE BOOM!' make the room rattle with teetering shots falling through glass and plunking in beer. Drink!
--- Carolyn Cutrone

This was a good line from Carolyn. Here's a little suggestion on how to do it faster with more punch:

"Echos of 'SAKE SAKE BOOM!' rattle the room with teetering shots falling through glass and plunking in beer. Drink!"

" A deep-bellied giggle escaped his mouth as the napkin tickled his tiny, flushed cheeks, packed with food."
-- Amanda Riggio, writing about a toddler eating lunch with his mom.

First came blue. Then pink. Then green. Each colored object about the size of a kidney bean rushed into the little boy’s clear plastic bag.
-- Becca Burns

A sales associate breezes past the old woman, arms loaded with multi-colored clothing.
Sam Schles

The girl linked her arms around her mother’s neck like a necklace and pressed her nose into her mother’s cheek, planting three staccato kisses.
Gabriella Waldvogel.

Misplaced shopping carts lie scattered across the concrete plain.
-- Peter Blanchard

The Nissan Altima woman’s hands tightened around her keys and purse.
Erica Conte.

One man sits in a green chair and sings in a calm voice and talks aloud to himself.
Jessica Dillon.

The woman nearly springs out of her chair as her lips curl in on one another.
Kellan Davidson

Twisted sticks and large rocks poke through the surface, slicing up the river’s water.
Breanne Durning.

His fresh tracks in the snow lead her to him. Hand back in hand, she joins in his gaze out to where deep blue has disappeared around the high, black boundaries. The silence speaks to them and they step over the edge.
Andrew Buraczenski

As the chef’s knife commandingly flails in her direction, she turns and glides back to her burrow, moving like a snail across a sidewalk, savoring the human interaction.
Natalie King.

A big hand grabbed the bills, and the register made a whooshing sound as the cash drawer flew open.
Laura Murray.

The ambidextrous adolescent hurriedly scoops orders of noodles and egg rolls into Styrofoam to-go boxes, and sticks a toothpick in another piece of pork.
Norah Sweeney.

The ice machine clunks and rattles as one woman waits for her cup to fill and converses to the women at the table across the room.
Jackie Wild

Sunbeams cut through the side windows and forced customers at side tables to furrow their brows and scoot their seats, constantly readjusting to relieve the irritation.
Abby Paulson

In all six courts slim athletes sprint with legs the width of tree trunks, reach with gangly arms and flick their wrists as if they were made of elastic in order to get their opponent to chase the ball into a narrow corner.
Kevin McCall

With one hand holding a drink and the other flailing in the air along with the beat of the music, she pops and swivels her hips in perfect sync with the rhythm, seemingly more hypnotized than those watching her captivating gyrations.
Bryant Kuehner

The residue doesn’t stop overzealous partygoers from turning down the lights, turning up the music and climbing onto the tabletops.
Rachel Stokes

REMINDER: This is an observation exercise. You are only to write about what you SEE, hear, smell, ect. Only write about what can be known through the senses. Don't guess about motivations or what people are thinking. Don't get into people's heads. Don't write about what you think or what you guess is happening. Use active verbs to describe the scene, engage the senses and allow the reader to experience the scene as directly as possible. Do not use the verb to be. Do not write in the passive voice. SHOW, DON'T TELL!

Here are the original notes for the observation exercise.

Please include the word "observation" in your blog headline so that I'll know that is what it is intended for. Anyone who has posted their exercise already may edit their work to meet the requirements so long as it happens before class time on Feb. 17.

A romantic science story

2010-02-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

Check out this piece from National Public Radio. It shows how science does not have to be stodgy.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123534818

Some notes on the Tryout Assignment

2010-02-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

Here's some advice that should be helpful for many in the class.

All in all, your writing becomes much better if you can actually see what you are writing about. If writing about a building or a construction project or whatnot, go down to the site and use your observational skills to describe what is going on. Make the writing active and immediate.

Get the good stuff, the good quotes, anecdotes and facts high in the story. Give examples and specifics. Avoid vague concepts. Avoid using "seems." It tells me you are guessing, that you aren't sure. Don't guess and don't leave unanswered questions. Also, don't advocate for a cause. At least don't do it in a news story or as a professional journalist.

Said is the best, most functional way to give attribution. Not explained, stated, asserted, feels, claims, commented, asserts, worries. I know as writers we strive to vary our language so that we do not bore our readers with repetition. However, in the attempt to vary said, we run into more problems than it is worth. Variations on said bring in connotations that often are not fair.

By straining to find variations to said, we are distracting the reader from the rest of the piece. It takes energy away from that part of your writing that the reader should be paying attention to. The word said just does the job in a straightforward way. It is like the white noise coming from a useful piece of equipment. It does not draw attention to itself but it gets its job done. When you notice that noise, and it becomes distracting, the equipment is breaking down.

Stay consistent with your tenses. Switching between says and said means you are switching between present and past tense. If you are writing in the past tense, use said throughout. If you are writing in present tense, use says throughout. Yes, it is OK to write in present tense in a news story. Sometimes the story calls for that. But don't switch tenses.

Believes and feels are particularly troubling kinds of attribution. They imply that somehow you really know what someone believes, and I maintain that is often impossible for a journalist to know.

Think about it this way. What if I told you, "You are the best student I have ever had."

I said it. But maybe I said it to every student I met that day. Maybe, for some reason, I told you that but didn't believe it.

What's the truth? The truth is that I said it.

"You are the best student I have ever had," Ed Bond said.

The point is that you should be skeptical. People tell reporters things for all sorts of reasons, mostly because they want to portray a point of view in the public. But their public stance may be very different from their private beliefs. An elected official may offer full support to an administrator one day, swear they will always be in their job, but then the next day fire that person. Who knows what they really believe?

ONE EXCEPTION: I did come across one example where believes worked: A group of scientists who believed that a treatment was effective against a disease. I was OK with it because it was not about a private belief, but a publicly shared belief. There is a difference.

I think often students use words as titles that should not be. For example: Parent Joe Smith.

Think about it? Who talks like that? How about: Joe Smith, a dad who lives in Ithaca.

Also remember that jobs are not always titles. So, don't use: Teaching Assistant David Brady. Instead: David Brady, who has been a teaching assistant for seven years, ...

It makes the writing more conversational. Also, if you are using a title before a name, it should not be longer than three or four words. If a title is longer than that, put it after the name and lowercase it.

One last style point: There is no italicizing in AP Style or newswriting. Check the entry for composition titles.

Scholarship

2010-02-09T10:23:00.001-08:00

I am an Ithaca alumni and just wanted to send this info over.

Thanks,

Eric Staub

Rubenstein Communications, Inc.

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

estaub@rubenstein.com

(212) 843. 9279

Hi everyone,

We’re representing the Eric Breindel Journalism Awards. The winner of the undergraduate award wins a $10,000 cash prize and gets a paid internship at the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, or the New York Post. The submission form is attached and the release is below.

Thank you,

Olivia

Welcome back to campus! As the spring semester starts, we’d like to remind you that applications are still being accepted for the Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award. The winner of this one-of-a-kind award receives a cash prize of $10,000 and gets to choose between a paid internship at The Wall Street Journal, Fox News Channel, or The New York Post. The winner can also receive free housing in New York City for the duration of their internship. The award is open to undergraduate students in all class years.

We are pleased to announce that the Eric Breindel Award is now on Facebook. Log on to become a fan and learn more about the award.

SUBMISSIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR A ONE-OF-A-KIND $10,000 UNDERGRADUATE JOURNALISM AWARD AND PAID INTERNSHIP

***

THE WINNER CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN AN INTERNSHIP AT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE NEW YORK POST OR FOX NEWS CHANNEL AND RECEIVE HOUSING ASSISTANCE IN NYC

The Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for the “2010 Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award,” the nationwide undergraduate competition whose winning prize is unmatched by any institution in the country, are now being accepted.

The winner will secure the following awards:

A cash prize of $10,000
A paid internship of his or her choice at Fox News Channel, The Wall Street Journal or the New York Post
Residential housing in New York City, if necessary.

The Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation will present the award to the undergraduate columnist, editorialist or reporter whose work best reflects the spirit of the writings by Eric Breindel: Love of country and its democratic institutions as well as the act of bearing witness to the evils of totalitarianism.

The award, created in memory of the New York Post editor and columnist, includes opinion journalism, news coverage and online articles. It is open to undergraduate writers and reporters of all political convictions and backgrounds and submissions may include college newspapers, magazines or periodicals, as well as online articles published on accredited college institution web sites. The award recognizes the editorial pursuit of freedom and American ideals.

In the past the award has been presented by Rupert Murdoch, Chairman & CEO, News Corporation and Roger Ailes, Chairman of Fox News Channel and Fox Television Stations.

Last year’s winner, Carl J. Kelm, was a recent graduate of Stanford University with a major in political science and a minor in history and chose an internship at The Wall Street Journal.

The winner two years ago John Wilson, chose an internship at the New York Post and was subsequently hired as the Associate Editorial Page Editor. The first winner, Matt Mireles, attended Columbia University in New York and chose an internship at Fox News Channel. He is currently involved in creating technology for the new era in communications.

Those who wish to be considered should submit no more than two editorials, columns or news stories, per person, written in the 2009-2010 academic year. Articles specifically produced for and published by an established newspaper or magazine web site will be accepted as well as internet exclusive material. All rules governing submissions appear on the attached page. A confidential panel of judges appointed by the Foundation will judge the entries. The winner will be announced in June 2010.

ABOUT ERIC BREINDEL

In 1977, Eric Breindel graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was editorial chairman of the Harvard Crimson and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his A.B. from Harvard, Eric studied politics at the London School of Economics. He went to Harvard Law School where he received his J.D. in 1982.

Eric Breindel became the Editorial Page Editor of the New York Post in 1986. Breindel was appointed Senior Vice President of News Corporation in 1997. His nationally syndicated column appeared weekly in the New York Post and he was the moderator of a weekly national public affairs television program, Fox News Watch, on the Fox News Channel. A book of his columns, titled A Passion for Truth: The Selected Writings of Eric Breindel, was published in 1998.

The Eric Breindel Memorial Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt entity based in New York City.

FOR AN APPLICATION OR QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT GERMAINE FEBLES AT (212) 843-8031 OR GFEBLES@RUBENSTEIN.COM OR VISIT WWW.ERICBREINDEL.ORG

Story structure

2010-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

For Wednesday, check out this piece from the New York Times, posted by Abby Paulson: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/world/asia/24trap.html?hp

Also, from the Los Angeles Times, please read this piece for next week, and think about how this piece and the NY Times piece was structured. Also, what kinds of reporting skills are at work in both stories?

The City's Eight Road Warriors
Never Bring Them Back Alive;
By: JOHN M. GLIONNA
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Robert Hadnot considered the dead dog's body, examined its thousand-yard stare and the teeth clenched in an eternal snarl.

"Looks like another homicide," he said.

With a sigh, Hadnot jumped from his truck and pointed to the telltale tire tracks spun into the dusty shoulder of the Pacoima side street. He gazed down at the hefty mixed-breed still wearing its tags and kicked the dust: "Sorry big man, but somebody done you wrong."

Hadnot is a talkative man with a cow-catcher goatee, a former forest service firefighter who now spends his days driving the streets of the industrial east San Fernando Valley in search of things that make most motorists wince and turn away.

He looks for road kills. He inspects them, pokes at them, sometimes talks to them. And then, one by one, without fanfare, he carries them away.

At 35, Hadnot is one of the city's eight dead animal collectors, weighted with the thankless job of annually removing tens of thousands of bloodied animal remains from city streets. Last year, he and co-collector Curtis Fontenot disposed of 8,100 carcasses from the East Valley alone.

That averages two dozen bodies a day each, not counting their twice-daily visits to local animal shelters. It's a cold cargo of dogs, cats, possums, deer, coyotes, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, monkeys, snakes, pigs, skunks. Even a gorilla.

Seven of 10 are domestic pets, luckless animals who made one last ill-timed move onto some Tarmac thoroughfare. All are trucked to a rendering plant in the bowels of Los Angeles where they are boiled into ingredients for things like fertilizer and soap.

Hadnot knows his job commands little respect from the general public--unless, of course, it's their pet he's carting away.

"This job is not important to people," he said, "so I make it important to myself."

He sees himself as a canine coroner of sorts, an expert investigator who questions the deaths no one else cares about. He talks in cop jargon, refers to the animal corpses as his cases. He responds to calls about anxious pets who have accidentally hanged themselves with their own leashes, who have been mysteriously shot or beaten with 2-by-4s, animals dumped at lonely locations in plastic garbage bags.

Talking to himself, he says things like: "This doesn't look right."

And then there are the road kills--not DOA (dead on arrival) but DOR (dead on road).

Each morning, he arrives at his sanitation department garage in Sunland and consults the daily dead animal report, which on a recent day listed some one dozen victims, including a lamb, a goat, three dogs and a question mark--an animal John Doe.

Two hours and a dozen stops later, his emerald green city truck begins to reek of death. Hadnot sniffs the air: "This is nothing. Wait until August."

Veteran road kill collectors trade war stories about the smell that lingers in the brain, settles rudely onto the tongue, making some trainees quit after only one day.

"If you could turn that stink into perfume, it would sell for $500 a ounce, it's that potent," said supervisor and former dead animal collector C. W. Perkins.

Motorists run red lights when they get a whiff of the collector trucks. Steely-eyed motorcycle cops back off, return their ticket books to their pockets. Said Perkins: "A pile of 2-day-old dead animals and a skunk carcass will drive even the flies away."

At first, Perkins says, the job made him unable to eat ketchup or any red food. Finally, it turned him into a vegetarian. "I picked up so many road stiffs that looked like hamburger meat, that when I went to the meat counter and looked at the real thing, I said to myself, 'Uh-uh. Never
again.' "

Veterans tell of the collector who removed so many dead animals that he had nightmares about being chased by dogs. "Every morning," Perkins said, "he woke up tired."

Others have encountered panicked possums who aren't quite dead, venomous snakes with one last bite in them, cats sacrificed in ritual killings. Then there was the dead 400-pound pig stuck in the mud and the gorilla killed by a fall in its cage.

Worse, perhaps, are the distraught pet owners. Like the woman who cried so violently, her angered husband finally said: "You won't even cry that hard at my funeral!"

One weeping pet owner asked Perkins what would happen to her dog's body. He gave no answer. "I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was going to take her dog to the rendering plant where they would grind it up, that she would probably be washing her face with her dog one day."

Time was, Vietnam veteran Fontenot could not comprehend the agony suffered by grown men and women over some dead pet. But five years on the job have taught him compassion.

"Now I find myself praying for these animals and their owners," he said. "And when I pick up an animal, I always make a point to say 'I'm sorry about your pet.' "
*
For his part, Hadnot shakes his head at unleashed pets allowed to run the streets. Passing some smiley-faced dog running free, he mutters sadly to himself, "I'll be back for you later."

But the worst part of his job are the visits to the animal shelter, where he sometimes imagines that the ghosts of dead animals are waiting for him along with the bodies.

On one recent visit, he tossed 40 carcasses from a holding cooler into his truck, including the bodies of kittens he cradled in the palm of his hand.

In one nearby cage sat a large dog ready to be put down. "He's a biter, so nobody wants him," the attendant said, adding, "Kind of like putting your grandmother to sleep because she yells at you. That's the mentality."

Hadnot shakes his head, looks at the dog: "Yeah, I know. It's tough, big man."

My hours this week

2010-02-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

For this week, to review the Tryout Assignment, please stop by to visit me in my office.

I will be in the office:

From 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday.

9 a.m. to 9:40 Wednesday; 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday (and after 3:40 p.m. Wednesday if requested)

From 9 a.m. to 1:30 on Thursday.

From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, and after 12:40 if requested.

If none of these times works for you, please e-mail me at ebond@ithaca.edu.

You need to see me to get a grade on this assignment.

Reminders

2010-02-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

Observation exercise should be done by Feb. 17.

Continue to review and study AP Style rules on abbreviations, capitalization and numbers.

Teams need to created their team blog and then send me the links and the names of the team members.

Maintain your personal blogs on a weekly basis.

Review and discuss Beat Notes and Future Files and how they help reporters.

Local government links and info

2010-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

City of Ithaca

Ithaca City School District

Town of Ithaca

Tompkins County Legislature

Amended line-up for semester projects

2010-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Feb. 24: Business or government packages due. AP Style test.

March 24. Sports or entertainment news packages due.

April 7: Fire/rescue or police or courts assignment due.

April 21: Medical/science/environment/technology assignment due.

Message from Jeff Cohen

2010-02-07T19:50:00.001-08:00

Please remind your classes and students that environmental journalist Sandra Steingraber – author of Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment – will lecture this Tuesday, 7:30pm in Park Aud. She’ll speak on “The Importance of Journalism and Independent Media in an Age of Ecological Crisis.”

Sandra is a cancer survivor. She has a powerful personal story and insights about journalism. A documentary film based on “Living Downstream” will be released this spring. The Sierra Club called her “the new Rachel Carson.” More info about Sandra: http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/409/the_good_earth

Testing Dipity

2010-02-03T06:28:00.001-08:00

Ed Bond on Dipity.

Anecdotal lede

2010-02-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

Here’s an example by Edward Wong of The New York Times' Beijing bureau:
BEIJING — The first sign of trouble was powder in the baby’s urine. Then there was blood. By the time the parents took their son to the hospital, he had no urine at all.
Kidney stones were the problem, doctors told the parents. The baby died on May 1 in the hospital, just two weeks after the first symptoms appeared. His name was Yi Kaixuan. He was 6 months old.
The parents filed a lawsuit on Monday in the arid northwest province of Gansu, where the family lives, asking for compensation from Sanlu Group, the maker of the powdered baby formula that Kaixuan had been drinking. It seemed like a clear-cut liability case; since last month, Sanlu has been at the center of China’s biggest contaminated food crisis in years. But as in two other courts dealing with related lawsuits, judges have so far declined to hear the case.

This was republished here: http://journalism.about.com/od/writing/a/featureledes.htm

A blog on great newspaper ledes:
http://greatledes.blogspot.com/

Writing tips

2010-02-02T19:58:00.001-08:00

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=9641

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=13061

There are lots of good writing tips in these links. Some of my favorites:

1) Read your work out loud.

2) Highlight periods to spot the pattern of short and long sentences. When you have longer sentences, you are more likely to get into grammatical problems. Simplify as needed.

3) Turn negatives into positives when possible and appropriate. It means avoid writing about what is not there or didn't happen, but instead write about what did happen and was there.

4) Show, don't tell ... always.

5) Don't trust adjectives.

6) Consider point of view. Do you take the point of view of the government body or that of the public?

7) Tell the story in one word. Keep that focus in mind as you write.

Business story from NPR

2010-02-02T19:51:00.001-08:00

I never told you to be boring ...

2010-02-02T19:40:00.001-08:00

http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-newspapers-fail.html

Note to self

2010-02-02T19:17:00.001-08:00

We need to understand how to use links in our blogs and online stories. Also, we need to use tags, categories and properly written headlines to draw readers to our work.

Layers of reporting – source originated reporting
Second-level reporting – spontaneous events/ reportorial enterprise
In-depth reporting/investigative – interpretive and explanation.

Story structure

2010-02-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this piece from the New York Times, posted by Abby Paulson:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/world/asia/24trap.html?hp

Also, from the Los Angeles Times, please read this piece for next week, and think about how this piece and the NY Times piece was structured. Also, what kinds of reporting skills are at work in both stories?

The City's Eight Road Warriors
Never Bring Them Back Alive;
By: JOHN M. GLIONNA
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Robert Hadnot considered the dead dog's body, examined its thousand-yard stare and the teeth clenched in an eternal snarl.

"Looks like another homicide," he said.

With a sigh, Hadnot jumped from his truck and pointed to the telltale tire tracks spun into the dusty shoulder of the Pacoima side street. He gazed down at the hefty mixed-breed still wearing its tags and kicked the dust: "Sorry big man, but somebody done you wrong."

Hadnot is a talkative man with a cow-catcher goatee, a former forest service firefighter who now spends his days driving the streets of the industrial east San Fernando Valley in search of things that make most motorists wince and turn away.

He looks for road kills. He inspects them, pokes at them, sometimes talks to them. And then, one by one, without fanfare, he carries them away.

At 35, Hadnot is one of the city's eight dead animal collectors, weighted with the thankless job of annually removing tens of thousands of bloodied animal remains from city streets. Last year, he and co-collector Curtis Fontenot disposed of 8,100 carcasses from the East Valley alone.

That averages two dozen bodies a day each, not counting their twice-daily visits to local animal shelters. It's a cold cargo of dogs, cats, possums, deer, coyotes, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, monkeys, snakes, pigs, skunks. Even a gorilla.

Seven of 10 are domestic pets, luckless animals who made one last ill-timed move onto some Tarmac thoroughfare. All are trucked to a rendering plant in the bowels of Los Angeles where they are boiled into ingredients for things like fertilizer and soap.

Hadnot knows his job commands little respect from the general public--unless, of course, it's their pet he's carting away.

"This job is not important to people," he said, "so I make it important to myself."

He sees himself as a canine coroner of sorts, an expert investigator who questions the deaths no one else cares about. He talks in cop jargon, refers to the animal corpses as his cases. He responds to calls about anxious pets who have accidentally hanged themselves with their own leashes, who have been mysteriously shot or beaten with 2-by-4s, animals dumped at lonely locations in plastic garbage bags.

Talking to himself, he says things like: "This doesn't look right."

And then there are the road kills--not DOA (dead on arrival) but DOR (dead on road).

Each morning, he arrives at his sanitation department garage in Sunland and consults the daily dead animal report, which on a recent day listed some one dozen victims, including a lamb, a goat, three dogs and a question mark--an animal John Doe.

Two hours and a dozen stops later, his emerald green city truck begins to reek of death. Hadnot sniffs the air: "This is nothing. Wait until August."

Veteran road kill collectors trade war stories about the smell that lingers in the brain, settles rudely onto the tongue, making some trainees quit after only one day.

"If you could turn that stink into perfume, it would sell for $500 a ounce, it's that potent," said supervisor and former dead animal collector C. W. Perkins.

Motorists run red lights when they get a whiff of the collector trucks. Steely-eyed motorcycle cops back off, return their ticket books to their pockets. Said Perkins: "A pile of 2-day-old dead animals and a skunk carcass will drive even the flies away."

At first, Perkins says, the job made him unable to eat ketchup or any red food. Finally, it turned him into a vegetarian. "I picked up so many road stiffs that looked like hamburger meat, that when I went to the meat counter and looked at the real thing, I said to myself, 'Uh-uh. Never
again.' "

Veterans tell of the collector who removed so many dead animals that he had nightmares about being chased by dogs. "Every morning," Perkins said, "he woke up tired."

Others have encountered panicked possums who aren't quite dead, venomous snakes with one last bite in them, cats sacrificed in ritual killings. Then there was the dead 400-pound pig stuck in the mud and the gorilla killed by a fall in its cage.

Worse, perhaps, are the distraught pet owners. Like the woman who cried so violently, her angered husband finally said: "You won't even cry that hard at my funeral!"

One weeping pet owner asked Perkins what would happen to her dog's body. He gave no answer. "I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was going to take her dog to the rendering plant where they would grind it up, that she would probably be washing her face with her dog one day."

Time was, Vietnam veteran Fontenot could not comprehend the agony suffered by grown men and women over some dead pet. But five years on the job have taught him compassion.

"Now I find myself praying for these animals and their owners," he said. "And when I pick up an animal, I always make a point to say 'I'm sorry about your pet.' "
*
For his part, Hadnot shakes his head at unleashed pets allowed to run the streets. Passing some smiley-faced dog running free, he mutters sadly to himself, "I'll be back for you later."

But the worst part of his job are the visits to the animal shelter, where he sometimes imagines that the ghosts of dead animals are waiting for him along with the bodies.

On one recent visit, he tossed 40 carcasses from a holding cooler into his truck, including the bodies of kittens he cradled in the palm of his hand.

In one nearby cage sat a large dog ready to be put down. "He's a biter, so nobody wants him," the attendant said, adding, "Kind of like putting your grandmother to sleep because she yells at you. That's the mentality."

Hadnot shakes his head, looks at the dog: "Yeah, I know. It's tough, big man."

AP

2010-02-02T19:02:00.001-08:00

bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/apexercises2

AP Style Test

2010-02-02T10:25:00.001-08:00

For the AP Style test, I would recommend you make use of my links from the News Editing class on using abbreviations, capitalization and numerals.

You should become familiar with the entries on abbreviations, capitalization and numerals in the Stylebook, but you should also read these related entries: courtesy titles, legislative titles, religious titles, company names, academic degrees, months, addresses, state names, academic departments, brand names, composition titles, fractions, decimal units, ages, congressional districts, dates, decades, dimensions, mile, millions, billions, monetary units, percent, speeds, temperatures, times, weights and years.

For more help, go to http://www.newsroom101.com/

Links to technology

2010-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Adobe Photoshop -- http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/

Soundslides -- http://soundslides.com/

Garage Band -- http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/

iTunes -- http://www.itunesitunes.com/

Flickr -- http://www.flickr.com/

Dipity -- http://www.dipity.com/

DeviantArt -- http://www.deviantart.com/

Fotki -- http://www.fotki.com/us/en/

Zooomr -- http://www.zooomr.com/

Vuvox -- http://www.vuvox.com/

Apture -- http://www.apture.com/

Sent in by Bryant Kuehner

2010-02-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

Observation exercise for your blog

2010-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

It’s simple, really.

Pick a spot, any spot out there in the city of Ithaca. It can be indoors or outdoors.

The point is to be there and observe.

You are to write about 300 words. But you must follow these rules:

1) Do not include yourself in what you write. Write in the third person, meaning you should not use “I” or “me” or “we” or “you” or “us” ect. You are to write about what you observe. Do not become a participant in what you are writing about.

2) Use ACTIVE verbs. Avoid any variation of the verb “to be” (is, are, were). Write in the ACTIVE voice. Avoid passive constructions like: “They are playing.” Instead write, “They play.”

So, you may be in a park, and suddenly you smell pine. You write in your notes, “I smelled pine.”

That violates rule one, and is not as active as it could be.

Better to write: “The smell of pine wafted over the park.”

Be specific, look for details which can convey the scene clearly to the reader. Show, Don’t tell.

Rather than, “They obviously were happy.” Try, “They jumped up and down and cheered.”

See? Be specific. Use active verbs. Let the reader SEE what you are observing.

You can use direct quotes. When people talk, it is the best way to let the reader experience what is being said, the emotion, the nuances of the language.

Instead of simply writing, “He looked worried.” Describe his furrowed brow, his shaking head, the nervous twitch in his eye. Let the reader see it. Show don’t tell.

This may count as your weekly blog posting, but it must be posted by Feb. 17. Please include the word "observation" in the headline for this blog.

News II Tryout skedlines:

2010-01-31T17:39:00.001-08:00

10 a.m.

LOCAL SPORTS BARS

ITHACA-- On the first Sunday afternoon without football, Benchwarmers Restaurant and Sports Bar is bustling. The bar's seven large screens showing Pro Bowl chatter and sports news are largely ignored as families and students talk, laugh, and dig into a variety of cuisine. This comforting atmosphere has found a home in many of Ithaca's sports bars and restaurants, allowing them to succeed regardless of the game on the television.

By Abby Paulson.

FREECYLCE

FreeCycle is a grassroots non-profit movement that is taking a new tact on cutting down wastefulness in modern society. 4,880 groups with over 6,936,000 members create localized networks where objects that are no longer of use are posted to be picked up and used by someone else, entirely free of charge. Likewise, users can post up their needs and meet members who may be able to fill their needs. This article will explore the environmental and economic impact of FreeCycle in the Ithaca area, as well as the nation as a whole.

Kellan Davidson

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION-CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

ITHACA, New York--- The only catholic school in Tompkins County celebrated both 125 years of existence and Catholic Schools Week by hosting an All You Can Read Winter Book Fest last night. Proceeds from the event went to the school’s library. By Kevin McCall

BRUNCH

Moosewood Restaurant hosted a Benefit Brunch on Sunday in an effort to help the Ithaca Free

Clinic in its mission to expand in the coming year.

Sam Schles

SPCA OF TOMPKINS COUNTY ANNEX

ITHACA— Tompkins County’s SPCA has temporarily and possibly permanently opened an annex in, The Shops at Ithaca Mall. The annex was opened on Memorial

Day and has led to the adoption of over four hundred cats and kittens since then. The annex was opened to lessen the over-crowding at the main SPCA shelter and

to give the animals a greater chance of being adopted.

Jackie Wild

Heart-attack Row

ITHACA- How many fast food joints does one town really need? Better yet, how many does one road need? Here in Ithaca, Route 13 has one of the most interesting, and mind-boggling sites ever witnessed. One “restaurant” after another, offering more grease and fat than the previous. (Last sentence might not be needed)

By Seth Schniebolk

MICAWBERS: A Turbulent End to a Colorful Legacy

Ithaca – Large, foreboding signs handwritten in black Sharpie are pasted right beside the flyers advertising local music events, warning possible passersby to keep out of Micawber’s Pub on North Aurora Street in Ithaca. The local hangout, open since 1977 and touting itself as “the most storied bar in Ithaca,” has finally met its demise, after a series of unfortunate events that leave this now empty bar even more storied.

Bryant Kuehner

TCAT-NEW ROUTE

ITHACA – Parents of Cayuga Heights Elementary School and others are organizing against the TCAT bus route change that causes the buses to pass along the back entrance of the school. They are afraid for the safety of the children and said they had little to no warning.

By Jessica Dillon

2 p.m.

VILLAGES

A nonprofit, Ithaca store, in affiliation with corporate company Ten Thousand Villages, has joined the relief chain for Haiti. The store carries fair-trade goods from the poorest countries in the world in hopes to stimulate economies and splice the cycle of debt. The store is currently selling Haitian goods “at cost” to maximize sales. They are also collecting donations. The stores efforts are unique as they focus on providing for the long-term, rather than solely quick, cash aid.

Amanda Riggio

ITHACA-BOUTIQUES SURVIVE

ITHACA -- Stores in the Ithaca Commons have been continuously successful in some cases for over 15 years. However, with the introduction of the commercially known Urban Outfitters, there was doubt on where college students in town would now choose to shop. While some of the more upscale boutiques in Ithaca have seen a drop in sales, most have felt unaffected, relying on their ability to familiarize themselves with customers and offer one of a kind prices and apparel.

EVIE SANTIAGO

BOUTIQUE

Clothes are being pulled off every hanger and accessories are flying across the store. These excited shoppers are experiencing the biggest sale Ithaca's "Some Girls" has ever had, but unfortunately it is their last. "Some Girls" is a local boutique in the heart of Collegetown that is coming to a close.

Erica Conte

PATTERSON

Yale had Mona Lisa Smile, Princeton had Across the Universe , Harvard had Legally Blonde, but now it’s finally time for Cornell to shine on the big screen with heart throb Robert Patterson most likely coming this June to film “Water for Elephants.” The campus is buzzing and so is the popular social networking site, Twitter with talk of the hugely famous Twilight series star coming to their very own school.

Carolyn Cutrone

DESTRUCTIVE GROUNDHOGS  ITHACA—Punxsutawney Phil will soon reveal himself and determine whether or not we have six more weeks of winter. But do we really want Phil out of his hole? Cayuga Nature Center hosted an informational session Sunday about groundhogs, and spectators learned some key facts about the animal. When groundhogs come out of hibernation in early February, they immediately start eating and burrowing. Their ravenous appetite can sometimes destroy whole gardens overnight. Groundhogs also typically dig new burrows where the ground has already been shifted. As a result newly built fences become damaged and trees may lose years worth of growing. By Laura Murray

CITY DEVELOPMENT

ITHACA -- The city of Ithaca is currently undertaking multiple development projects which city planners hope will stimulate the local economy. Current plans include construction of low-income housing on Seneca St, luxury apartments behind the Cayuga Street Garage, the arrival of a Panera Bread and Olive Garden, and plans have gone underway for the much-anticipated Hotel Ithaca.

Peter Blanchard

BUDDHIST MONASTERY

ITHACA, NY - Nestled quietly between Farm and Cayuga Street, the Namgyal Buddhist Monastery stands tall, as the North American Seat of the Personal Monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. On Friday night, Namgyal held a discussion led by Geshe Tenzin Sherap, a teacher of Buddhism throughout America and India. Sherap’s discussion focused on the Abidharma-kosa, which is a core text for Tibetan Buddhists.  Bridget Corrigan

TCAT CHANGES  

Ithaca- Many people in Ithaca and Tompkins County rely on public transportation to get from point A to point B. Recently, the TCAT has undergone route and payment changes in order to better serve the community.  Rachel Stokes

HEMP

ITHACA—Several stores located in Ithaca’s commons have joined together in their support for the Industrial Hemp Non Binding Resolution. Passing this bill would allow farmers and storeowners to cultivate/sell hemp, which is legal in only nine states in the United States.

Breanne Durning

Deadly Virus

ITHACA – Cornell University researchers discovered a deadly fish virus last week in Lake Superior. This means the virus, which causes fatal anemia and hemorrhaging in many fish species, is now present in all of the Great Lakes.

Becca Burns

FOOD

ITHACA- More than eight local vendors have teamed up with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier to launch the organization's annual food drive. Customers can make donations through the items they purchase, with varying dollar amounts going to the Food Bank. The drive will last until Feb. 27, and it already finding challenges is soliciting donations from a public already solicited for Haiti donations.

Natalie King

TOMPKINS HYDRO FRACKING
ITHACA, NY - Signs protesting “Frack” decorate Ithaca’s front yards, along with the snow, this winter. A sizable handful of Ithaca’s residents have taken issue with the proposal to begin hydro fracking, or drilling for natural gas, in Tompkins County. Those in favor of fracking cite the economic benefits that it will bring to Tompkins, while those opposed fear the environmental risks of the controversial drilling process.
Norah Sweeney