Focus Story Structure

Running routes, making tackles, and winning the game are concerns of high school football players. This was no different for 17-year-old Pete Stenhoff of Chula Vista High School. Today, it is game over for the young football player as he struggles to win a diploma and survive the game of life.

"I knew the risks involved when I decided to play football" says Stenhoff, "I wish I would have known how bad it could be." he added. 

Stenhoff was seriously injured in his junior year when he rammed head on into another football players chest, cracking his vertebrae in his spine. Now confined to a wheelchair for life, he has missed the chance to graduate with his class and has to take correspondence courses in order to receive his diploma.

High school football is a dangerous activity for young students. 20,000 injuries occur within the sport each year, 12 percent of them disabling the victims. Thirteen high school players died last year and thirty-five percent of injuries were to the neck or head. Critics blame the helmets.

Stenhoff is not blaming anyone for his injuries and is not bitter. The young man will continue his fight to finish his schooling and to live a normal life. 

Find That Lead

DIRECT ADDRESS LEAD

Look Up Tonight For a Spectacular Treat In The Sky

Times Online UK

If the full moon tonight looks unusually large, it is not your imagination – it is the biggest and brightest full moon to be seen for 15 years.

This is an example of a Direct Address lead because the author using second-person narrative to address the reader. This is obvious in the "it is not YOUR imagination" line. 

SCENE SETTER LEAD

Christmas' Season High 35 Points Lead Temple Past No. 8 Tennessee

ESPN (Associated Press)

PHILADELPHIA -- Temple students dressed for an upset, wearing Santa Claus hats and white beards and some even held signs that read "Merry Christmas!"

This is an example of a Scene Setter lead because the author describes the scene before the college game, setting up the story.

Topical Blog Post #3

This dream is based on a true story. 

At times, I feel that most of my dreams could be made into some type of feature film or horror story. Since I was a child my dreams have been very vivid, compelling, and sometimes down right strange. Surely my dreams must have a purpose, but I have yet to figure out what that is. 

Unfortunately, most of my dreams are forgotten within a few hours of awakening from sleep. Only the dreams which create shocking interest within my mind allow me to remember them for longer periods of time. 

Some people may feel it is not important to remember their dreams, but I believe in the importance and purpose of remembering dreams.

This leads me to ask the question, what if you could record your dreams and watch them back after you awake from sleep? 

Now, this is possible with advances in current technology unlocking the secret world of dreams. Japanese scientists have created a device that enables the processing and imagery of dreams as experience in the brain to appear on a screen. 

This advancement in technology will allow us to further explore our dreams with greater detail than simply recalling a memory or writing down a dream experience. Secrets of our past and glimpses of the future may be revealed when analyzing our dreams. 

Sometimes, I felt it was difficult to fully describe some of my more complicated dreams. With this type of technology, individuals will be able to play the dreams over an image to give another person the full experience of their dream, allow others to enter another's secret world of dreams.  

Topical Blog Post #2

The Auto-Tune Trend in the Music Industry

Using the Auto-Tuner is a recent trend in the music industry. The Auto-Tune effect is the robotic voice sound that changes the pitch of a singer or rapper’s tone. This voice pitch magic was first used in the 80’s, by rock star Peter Gabriel and then by funk legends Roger and Zapp. Recently, Tallahassee R&B singer T-Pain has made millions of dollars off this simple studio effect. Listening to the new Kanye West album, “808’s and Heartbreak”, I noticed the rapper jumped on the Auto-Tune bandwagon as well. On the album, West used the Auto-Tune on every track and sung every lyric. Surprisingly, the rapper opted to sing all tracks, not rapping at all. This is disheartening to hear one of Hip Hop’s most creative and promising stars following a Pop trend.

Many Hip Hop artists have ventured into the Auto-Tune world as well, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Akon, Rick Ross, and 50 Cent. This trend is a lack of creativity. The Auto-Tune effect distracts the listener from the lyrics, allowing artists to create lyrics without relevance or substance. Unfortunately people will still listen to this type of music because it sounds interesting due to the Auto-Tune. These artists sound like robots and have sold out to the industry to make a quick buck. Today’s average listener consumes large amounts of dance trendy Hip Hop and this auto-tune craze is the pinnacle of nonsense within the Hip Hop world. 

Yet, there is hope within the Hip Hop culture. There is a strong movement of conscious rap in the underground realms of Hip Hop. Artists such as Living Legends, Hieroglyphics, and Dilated Peoples promote music, which contains meaningful lyrics with soulful backdrops of beats, something, Kanye used to do as well. I am eagerly awaiting the day the Auto-Tune trend is over and we can return to restoring the heart of Hip Hop.

Topical Blog Post #1

Technology and the Obama Campaign

Technology plays a major role in my life. I also noticed that technology played an unprecedented role in this year’s presidential election. President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory can be credited to a well-run campaign, heavily influenced by technology and multi-media marketing tools. Obama’s campaign used blogs, social networking and texts to expand political awareness among the public, and ultimately secure a win for the presidency.

The voter turnout on Election Day was huge, surpassing experts predictions. The use of technology enabled the Obama campaign to form a direct relationship with the general public. This campaign was one of the most effective campaigns using new technology within the media. Instead of the normal phone call to home Obama supporters would receive a text with the information needed to help them find a polling station. 

Technology allowed for Obama supporters to engage in the multi-media campaign and created a closer bond with the candidate. The campaign was hip, in tune with technology, and socially conscious, sealing the victory for Barack Obama. This election was historic not only for the reason that we now have our first black president, but also for the heavy use of technology. I believe we will continue to see campaigns follow in the footsteps of the Obama campaign in order to achieve success. 

My Kind of Magazine

For the past 2 years I have had a free subscription to the Hip Hop publication XXL. I am a music driven person so I love any type of publication which features music, but I tend to enjoy the ones that focus on Hip Hop. Since I was a young teenager, I have been reading music publications including The Source, Rolling Stone, VIBE, Murder Dog, Blender, and most recently XXL.

I enjoy XXL because the magazine covers the urban music genre in a direct fact driven way. Most magazines tend to overlook the Hip Hop genre unless it is commercialized Pop Rap. Other publications seem to push agendas of record labels and favorite certain artists, XXL seems to be more diverse than the other magazines featuring articles from all artists and honest album reviews. Although the XXL publication has actually become slightly weak with their content within the past couple years, they have the respect of the industry due to their past work. Futhermore, the magazine has a great online community, which allows readers to communicate with the editors and other readers to share their opinions and suggestions. 

XXL magazine is my magazine of choice for the moment, it may be partially due to the fact that I have a free subscription. But I will always be interested in reading music publications. Maybe I will be reading The Source again in 2009. Overall, it is great material as long as it is music related, Hip Hop or not. 

Reflections on the Elections

I have participated in the past 2 presidential elections. Yet, both those elections were not as historical as the presidential election of 2008.

After enduring 8 years of the worst presidential administration of all time, this country needs a change. As a country, we endured terrorist attacks, economic downfall, hurricanes, and military invasions. The American constitution was disregarded and our liberty and rights were taken away. Yet, when George W. Bush is asked about his legacy he states "I liberated Iraqis". 

Within these past 8 years, this country has been kept in fear through belief of a constant threat against our nation. This fear is instilled within our people to keep us ignorant to the actions of our government, thus allowing us to be subject to the diction of the administration. 

This why there is such a dire need for change within our country. In this election, I saw a country come together through media, music, education, and youth movements in order to spark a revolution to ensure a change of administration. 

I first learned about Barack Obama back in 2004 with his role in the United State senate, I knew the man had a bright future, but I didn't think he would become president so quickly. Unlike our last president, Obama is charming, engaging, well spoken, and passionate about his work within this country.

Overall I am proud to have taken part in this historical election. I don't believe Barack Obama is going to be the perfect president, but he seems to be the lesser of the 2 evils. Although change was promised, Obama is already picking top Washington insiders to his Cabinet. The new president-elect is hiring people with experience into his administration but it seems as if it is more of the same. Only time will tell if this is a true change for this country or just the same game with different people. 

FOG Index Assignment

For my FOG Index assignment, I decided to use a paragraph from my recent term paper on blogs. This seemed to be the proper sample of my writing due to the fact I am posting this on a blog. Below is the paragraph...

"This technology must be understood by individuals within public relations campaigns of company due to the fact they are used and understood by the general public. In today’s technology driven world, blogs are the quintessential tool for providing good public relations for any company. Blogs give companies and their employees their own voice on the web as well as a place to collect and share ideas and pertinent information with customers and potential customers, thus making corporate blogs a great public relations tactic for any company."

In my results,  I had 28.6667 words per sentence, which 17 hard words. The total for this equation is 28.66 + 17 = 45.66 x 0.4 = 18.26. According to the text, a reader would have to have a college education to understand my writing. I feel this is a little over exaggerated, and it seems that the results are based more on the number of hard words within my writing then the actual content. Maybe next time I shouldn't use a term paper as the sample for my writing. 

Got What It Takes Quiz

On the Got What It Takes To Be A Reporter quiz, I scored a total 0f 27 points. The score puts me in the second category. According to the category list, I am a solid contender to be for a successful journalism career. I've got the personality and ability that a good reporter requires.

I was actually surprised by the score that I received from this test. Although I do enjoy this journalism class and enjoy world news and events, I never thought that I would be journalist. My minor is public relations which is the reason I am taking this class. After taking this test and this class I had to second guess my major. Maybe I am in the wrong field. I do enjoy writing but I do not want to be a journalist nor a reporter. One of the sections on the test where I missed points is the first question which has to do with reading. I do not like reading books, but do enjoy reading a lot of information in newspapers, online sources, and magazines. Therefore, in my opinion, I feel that I might not be a good fit for journalism. Overall, this test was an interesting eye opener to see where I stand within the journalism community.

Broadcast Project

Broadcast Project Script

SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP'S VOTERS REGISTRATION RALLY

60 SECONDS

SOME MAY SAY THE YOUTH IS THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. THIS WAS EVIDENT TODAY AT THE SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP'S VOTERS REGISTRATION RALLY AT SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY.

HIP HOP MUSIC WAS HEARD THROUGHOUT THE SAN JOSE STATE CAMPUS AS PEOPLE GATHERED IN THE CESAR CHAVEZ PLAZA AWAITING THE START OF THE EVENT. MARISELA (MAR-REE-SELL-A) HERNANDEZ, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF CITY AFFAIRS BELIEVES THE EVENT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REACH OUT TO YOUNG VOTERS.

IN THIS EVENT, POLITICAL FIGURES, LOCAL CELEBRITIES, AND STUDENTS HAVE ALL COME TOGETHER IN ORDER TO RAISE VOTER AWARENESS INCLUDING SOME MEMBERS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AND SAN JOSE MAYOR CHUCK REED.

REED ASKED EVERYONE TO VOTE IN THIS YEAR'S ELECTION AND REMEMBER TO VOTE ON OUR LOCAL PROPOSITIONS AS WELL. 49ERS TIGHT END DELANIE (DA-LANE-E) WALKER STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THE YOUTH INVOLVED IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION.

THIS EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER PEOPLE FROM ALL CULTURES, ETHNICITIES, AND POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS. YET, REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL VIEWS AND PARTY AFFILIATION, ALL IN ATTENDANCE ENCOURAGED EVERYONE TO HEAD TO THE POLLS THIS NOVEMBER AND MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD.

Broadcast News Story

WOMEN'S RACE WINNER DISQUALIFIED

60 SECONDS

FIRST PLACE DID NOT WIN THE RACE AT THE NIKE WOMEN'S MARATHON IN SAN FRANCISCO ON SUNDAY. ARIEN O'CONNELL, A 24-YEAR OLD FROM NEW YORK CITY, CAME IN FIRST PLACE, BEATING RECORD TIMES, BUT DID NOT RECEIVE THE FIRST PLACE TROPHY. 

NIKE OFFICIALS CLAIM HER TIME DID NOT COUNT DUE TO THE FACT SHE HAD NOT CLASSIFIED HERSELF AS AN ELITE RUNNER. ALTHOUGH O'CONNELL RAN THE MARATHON IN LESS THAN THREE HOURS, THE TROPHY WAS AWARDED TO ANOTHER RUNNER WHO'S TIME CLOCKED IN OVER THREE HOURS.

DIRECTOR OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNING PROGRAM, JIM ESTES, EXPLAINED THAT THE ELITE RUNNING GROUP IS GIVEN A 20 MINUTE HEAD START, THEREFORE BY NOT RUNNING WITH THE PROPER GROUP, O'CONNELL WAS DISQUALIFIED.

O'CONNELL ADMITTED HER MISTAKE BUT REMAINED CONFIDENT "I'M A GOOD, SOLID RUNNER. I NEVER CONSIDERED MYSELF ELITE." IT SEEMS THAT THIS RACE WAS A MATTER OF OPINION AND NOT SPEED.

Broadcast Style Exercise

NORTHWEST AIRLINES CUTS TICKET PRICE

30 SECONDS

NORTHWEST AIRLINES ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT IT IS CUTTING ITS DOMESTIC FARES BY UP TO 40 PERCENT FOR HOLIDAY TRAVELERS. 

CEO OF NORTHWEST AIRLINES, FRANK DEWITT SAID "WE LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS A HOLIDAY GIFT TO OUR CUSTOMERS."

THE TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED BY FRIDAY FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN NOVEMBER 12 AND JANUARY 14 IN THE LOWER 48 STATES, ALASKA, AND CANADA.

DISCOUNTS VARY DEPENDING ON TRAVEL DATES AND ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON CERTAIN POPULAR DAYS, INCLUDING NOVEMBER 23, NOVEMBER 26, DECEMBER 23, AND DECEMBER 26.

WITH THE DISCOUNTED, NON-REFUNDABLE FARES, A PASSENGER COULD TRAVEL ROUND-TRIP BETWEEN BOSTON AND SAN FRANCISCO FOR 500 DOLLARS ON CERTAIN DAYS.

Feature Lead #2

Candles lead to a bigger party than expected.

By: Luis Saldana

Tulsa, Okla.

A 95-year old senior citizen goes out smokin'!

In celebration of a long life, the First United Methodist Church women's group in Tulsa, Okla., threw a birthday bash for senior citizen Mabel McCullough. McCullough, who turned 95 on Sept. 27, was presented with a carrot cake which held 95 candles.

The party was sure to be a blast. One guest, Eddi Carlin was in awe of the fire carrot cake, stating "there wasn't an inch to spare, by the time we had them all lit it looked like a torch." To know surprise to her guests, McCullough blew out the candles with a little help.

The birthday gal and her guests did not know that the smoke from the candles had set off a fire alarm in the building. When the time came to eat, 24 firefighters were standing in the doorway. 

"We had just sat down to eat when we saw them in the doorway." said Carlin. 

As a result of the alarm, five fire engines and two ladder companies had arrived at the building.

The smoking birthday party was amused Fire Chief Lonnie Lamb, who stated "In my 25 years on the job, I've seen a lot things set off a fire alarm, but I don't think I ever hard of one going off because of a birthday cake." The firefighters did not indulge in cake eating, but did pose for photos with the birthday crew.

Even at age 95, Mabel McCullough continues to go out smoking.

Copy Edit the World #2 (REVISED)

The above photo was found when I purchased a 12 pack of Rolling Rock beer at a Safeway Supermarket in San Jose. On the case of beer was a sticker reminding people about getting their flu shots.

Don't Forget Your Flu Shot?

should be...

Don't Forget Your Flu Shot.

This photo was taken at a parking lot in Sunnyvale. Clearly, someone forgot a letter or the letter was rubbed off over time.

Reserved Parkin

should be...

Reserved Parking

This photo was taken at a Chinese restaurant in Mountain View. The restaurant had their menu posted on their window, oddly enough they missed their error for their string beans.

Dry Satueed String Beans 

should be...

Dry Sauteed String Beans

This last photo was taken from the San Jose Mercury News sports section. If you look closely at the last paragraph on the right side, the first sentence contains an error.

That is good new for rookie forward Anthony Marrow.

should be...

That is good news for rookie forward Anthony Marrow.

These photos were taken in or around the Bay Area.

Real-Life Reporting News Story (REVISED)

Deep in the heart of the Silicon Valley, along the painted concrete blocks of San Jose State University's Cesar Chavez plaza, the political force of Hip Hop music is heard. A crowd formed in the plaza, political figures and local celebrities gathered on stage. These individuals partaked in the Voter's Registration Rally put forth by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, co-sponsored by San Jose State University and West Valley College. Many prominent political figures were amongst those in attendance, including California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, and San Jose Mayor, Chuck Reed. The city of San Jose hopes that this event will increase voter awareness of local propositions and encourage voting amongst the youth. Administrative Assistant to the Associate Vice President of San Jose State Public Affairs, Marisela Hernandez stated, "This is a great opportunity for the city of San Jose and the state of California to reach out to young voters."

The event began with a keynote speech was given by Mayor Chuck Reed. Reed did not endorse any candidate but did stress the importance of voting for local propositions which are vital to our city. While discussing the local propositions the Mayor said, "voting for our next president is important, but don't forget the local propositions at the bottom of your ballot." After the Mayor finished his speech, several members of the San Francisco 49ers hit the stage; this gained much interest from the students. Delanie Walker, tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, stated that the youth will decide this years election, "we need to get the word out to the youth, so they don't miss the boat this time."

In closing, California Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, reminded all students to take part in this year's historic election, and asked those who aren't registered voters to register at the registration table set up along the plaza. This event brought together various people from all cultures, ethnicities, and political affiliations, yet regardless of political views or party affiliation, all in attendance encouraged everyone to head to the polls this November.

Top News Story 5 (REVISED)

Obama accuses McCain of looking for distractions

Sen. Barack Obama has claimed that Sen. John McCain's campaign is lanching "Swift boat-style attacks" on him instead of addressing the country's problems. Alaska Governor and McCain running mate Sarah Palin claimed that Obama associated "with terrorirsts who targeted their own country."

Palin questions Obama's association with William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground. Evidence proves Ayers and Obama worked together on community boards for education and hosted a political events early in Obama's career. Clearly, Palin's claims are over-exaggerated if not false, yet the McCain camp is gambling on taking advantage of the American public's ignorance.

Obama responded to the McCain campaign saying "That's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time." The McCain campaign continued to insist that these are "true facts" and not "smears."

Obama accuses McCain of looking for distractions (story link)

We are four weeks away from the 2008 presidential election, so one can expect these attacks between campaigns to continue. While dirty tactics are being used by both sides of the ticket, citizens of America must remember to retain focus on relevant issues within the country.

It is not surprising that the McCain campaign is quick to pull out the terrorist card on Obama. It was only a few months ago when they made associations with Obama and terrorism due to Sen. Barack Obama's middle name which is Hussien. One must not be ignorant enough to let these attacks persuade them to make a decision of vote based on smear tactics.

These smear campaign tatics by the McCain camp may backfire in the end. Claiming that Barack Obama is affiliated with terrorists only screams out wekaness of a faltering campaign. Both camps better be ready for these last weeks leading up to the election, because accusations, over-exaggerations, and finger-pointing will continue from both sides. I guess the truth hurts sometimes.

Video of Sen. Barack Obama's repsonse to attacks...

REVISED ADDITION TO STORY...

Impact : This news story will have major impact on the lives on not only all Americans but the entire world as well. This upcoming election is one of the most important elections of my lifetime, the president selected in this election will have to lead America out of a war disaster and financial crisis, therefore this story impacts everyone.

Timeliness : This story is very current with the political issues at hand and contains relevance to the upcoming election which is only a few weeks away.

Prominence : This story focuses on the two individuals that will lead the country of the free world into the next decade, this individuals are of great importance.

Conflict : There is conflict within this story as it showcases the dirty tactics used with political campaigns by both sides of the ticket.