Read about the replacement of Ted Kennedy's Senate seat...
Maine teacher brings what to a school!? Read here.
A new green development in your local area. Read the article and obtain more info.
An unanticipated turn in a terror plot investigation: read here Make sure to find out what this original incident in 2008 is (in Mumbai, India), if you don't know about it already!
Check out this article concerning a new role of Twitter! How relevant this is to our past class discussion!
H1N1 still dominates the news, this time with some unnerving story. Watch this.
"This situation is my fault." That's what he said. Read and watch about it here.
As Maine recently discussed gay marriage rights, other parts of the world are also discussing homosexuality from a legal angle. Read what is happening in Uganda, that shocked many.
Busted and fined: Giving the finger after getting "caught up in the excitement of a great day."
Even lobster fishermen think green in Maine! Read about the trading of float ropes in Ellsworth.
A new lunar discovery: Is living on the moon becoming more and more reachable? Watch this.
A step towards the shutdown of Gitmo, or a threat to national security? Read and watch the video about the controversy behind the prosecution of some of the alleged conspirators of the 9/11 attacks.
**Image: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, one of the conspirators being tried
Image retrieved 17 November 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/us/14terror.html
Read the Maine Campus article about the ongoing layoffs at UMaine, one case being that of Mr. Loredo.
A historic rendezvous for a historic event! (I didn't even know Gorbachev was alive!) Watch this video.
A benchmark legislation was (barely) passed by the House of Representatives last Saturday. Read about it, and about the decisions Maine's Congressional representatives reached about this legislation. The ragged road does not end right yet, though...
Read CNN and NYT articles, and find out what happened in a Texan army base, last Thursday.
When will the US economy and labor force see light at the other end of the tunnel? Read about the current situation of the job(less) market...
Get acquainted with your future student representative; check Maine Campus for information on the UMaine student govt. presidential/ vice presidential candidates and their debate, which took place last Thursday.
This should help you locate local courts, their hours, and phone numbers. You must call these courts or contact them in other ways to obtain info on open sessions.
YES, BE PREPARED TO CALL THEM OR GO TO THESE COURTS TO GET INFO ON COURT SESSIONS, IN CASE YOU CAN'T EMAIL THEM!!
The assignment is due on the 20th of November on our syllabus, but since we are one class behind, make that the 23rd.
Additionally, the police beat is due on the 13th, rather than the 11th of November(the 11th is the deadline strictly according to the syllabus).
By the time we get to the sports beat, we would have caught up with the syllabus, so no extended deadline for the sports beat!
LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD AND GOVERNMENT MEETINGS ARE HARD TO FIND!Start looking now, because "I couldn't find any to attend" will not be a legitimate excuse. (Yes, I am heartless.)
If you need help or have questions, come talk to me.
Read the assignment due for next class (about attending a speech or meeting).
The blog post (an article) is due Wednesday evening. The script is due IN CLASS! I stress the HARD COPY!
I am sorry I didn't return some of your broadcast script assignment/ grade. (Those of you who did not give me a hard copy has not received the assignment back yet.)
What I want to remind you are three things:
1) The broadcast script format
Check this link for Dr. Hughes' tips on writing a VO broadcast script.
Make sure to format your script this way. Don't just write "Script: Yesterday was a groundbreaking day in human history...."
Write who the new reader is, when the VO starts, what the video is that you are writing for, definitely include a VO-SOT (since this was a proper interview), remember to include the Total Run Time (TRT) for your VO-SOT, etc....
If you have questions, EMAIL me before hand. It won't be an excuse if you tell me "I didn't understand the assignment." during the Wednesday class.
2) The writing of broadcast scripts
This should be more conversational than writing stories for print. (After all, you are going to be 'speaking' the lines!) Broadcast stories must catch viewers'/ listeners' attention because other than newscast on news websites, one can't rewind to lsiten to stories over and over again. That means you should keep the language simple, sophisticated, readable, simple, concise, direct and.... what was the other one... SIMPLE! Remember that it should be no more than 30 seconds long, when read out loud.
Do you know what 'simplicity' also indicates? ACTIVE VOICE!
3) I said "Try to keep it past tense, except for ongoing concepts" during class today. This may be a good example...
EX:
a) President Obama said ...... on Monday, after a series of meeting with global leaders.
b) North Korea says that Japan ........
Either can work. If you focus on how the script is read on these two clips below (you can even just notice the first sentences the newscasters utter), you will hear that one uses past tense, while the other uses present tense, even though both of the events have already happened technically.
One is about a event that happened. An action that a figure took. = Past tense
The other is about a comment a figure made, AND simultaneously a stance that the government is maintaining (until a contradiction, a change of policy, or recantation is made). = Ongoing = Present tense
Notice this present tense turns back to past tense as soon as past events are discussed.
There was a deadly attack very recently, which was reported to have killed 130 people last night, and which is currently confirmed to have killed over 160.
The IAEA was recently on the move again. The hot spot for their investigation was (again)... Watch the video on the article too.
Read about the recent happenings at the MLB World Series...
Madoff's partner-in-crime has died of a heart attack. Read about it here, and read on about who Madoff is , if you need to refresh your memory...
Look out for a Grammy-winning, former boy band member celebrity who has recently won a restraining order against a stalker...
Is the White House waging war on a new front, other than Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Public Option? Read this.
Microsoft has released a new OS (operating system) succeeding Windows Vista. Read about this topic. (CNN has a good article, fyi.)
Was he asleep? Was he spacing out? Was he carried away while using his laptop? What happened to the NWA flight 188 and its pilot? Read on...
Senior trips are supposed to be fun, but it didn't turn out to be exactly thrilling for some of the senior students of Washington University... Read the article, and watch the video to it too.
An interesting edict proposed by education officials in China: read about it!
Friday, October 23, 2009
I hope some of the questions, types of questions, preparation (knowing the background of the interviewee and the topic of the interview), and proper conduct (or rather the lack of it, in this video!?) will give you ideas.
Don't hesitate to write down questions you want to ask your interviewees, but don't feel constrained to these questions also. Be quick to think of follow-up questions too. BE FLEXIBLE BUT ON-TOPIC!
An example of an interview between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore:
The below interview is less heated than the above, but the one being interviewed is no less controversial than Michael Moore. Feel free to compare the two, but remember that, just because the interview is getting heated does not mean it was not a bad interview. If you were listening in class provocative and challenging probes are as important as neutral ones, for example. BE CIVIL BUT GET THE INFO YOU WANT (AND MORE!) FROM THE INTERVIEWEE!
(Image retreived from NY Times)
