One of my earliest ideas for this audio news story was to find out from various photographers "What makes a great image?" This was the one question that I wanted answers to. Each photographer will without a doubt have his or her own unique perspective as to what it is that makes a great image. It is a simple question that goes to the depths of what photography is all about: the images. I'm still playing with this idea, and may want to put it on the back burner for now...I'm not sure.
I was also considering turning my focus to the technology side of photography and to report on what technology skills and knowledge is necassary for photographers today. As my interview with Karlo Gesner brought to my attention, photography, although it's more about skill and technique, there is an underlying acceptance that the field requires knowledge in technology, computers, software, and how to utilize the Internet to further your career.
Of these two storms of my brain, the latter seems the most significant for my beat. The former is more of a personal curiosity, but could surface in a project down the line.
"Well it's all right, everyday is just one day."
- The Traveling Wilburys
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Print Leads to Broadcast Leads
This first hard news story was found on baltimoresun.com. It is titled "Pregnant Arundel woman found slain in Ore."
"An Anne Arundel County woman who had recently moved out west to have her first baby was found dead Friday in the Oregon home of a woman she might have met through Craigslist, police said. The baby also died."
Source:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-pregnant0607,0,7224215.story
If I were to rewrite this lead for broadcast, it would go like this:
"An Arundel County woman and her unborn child were killed on Friday in the home of an Oregan. Police said the victim and the accused may have met trhough Craigslist."
This next hard news story lead comes from The New York Times website, and the article is titled "Groundbreaking Set for New Jersey Transit Tunnel Under Hudson."
"New Jersey officials have been planning the next train tunnel under the Hudson River for so long that it is already on its third name. This month, work is scheduled to begin on the Mass Transit Tunnel — formerly known as the Trans-Hudson Express and, before that, Access to the Region’s Core — more than 15 years after it was conceived."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/nyregion/08tunnel.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
Rewritten as a broadcast lead, it should read as follows:
"After fifteen years of planning and three name changes, construction is finally underway for the Mass Transit Tunnel to run under the Hudson River."
This final hard news lead was also found on The New York Times's website, titled "More Bodies Recovered Near Site of Plane Crash."
"As searchers pulled 15 more bodies from the Atlantic on Sunday near the site of last weekend’s crash of an Air France plane, a mystery that riveted the world — what happened to a 200-ton jetliner — became a fight against time and currents to salvage rapidly disappearing evidence."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/world/americas/08plane.html?hp
There are two important facts in this lead. One is that there were 15 more bodies found, and that rescue crews are working against the clock to uncover evidence that would show what happened to the plane. To rewrite this lead as a more conversational broadcast lead, it would read like this:
"After 15 more bodies were found in the Atlantic on Sunday, rescuers are now working against the clock to uncover dissapearing evidence that would give clues as to why the 200-ton plane went down."
"An Anne Arundel County woman who had recently moved out west to have her first baby was found dead Friday in the Oregon home of a woman she might have met through Craigslist, police said. The baby also died."
Source:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-pregnant0607,0,7224215.story
If I were to rewrite this lead for broadcast, it would go like this:
"An Arundel County woman and her unborn child were killed on Friday in the home of an Oregan. Police said the victim and the accused may have met trhough Craigslist."
This next hard news story lead comes from The New York Times website, and the article is titled "Groundbreaking Set for New Jersey Transit Tunnel Under Hudson."
"New Jersey officials have been planning the next train tunnel under the Hudson River for so long that it is already on its third name. This month, work is scheduled to begin on the Mass Transit Tunnel — formerly known as the Trans-Hudson Express and, before that, Access to the Region’s Core — more than 15 years after it was conceived."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/nyregion/08tunnel.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
Rewritten as a broadcast lead, it should read as follows:
"After fifteen years of planning and three name changes, construction is finally underway for the Mass Transit Tunnel to run under the Hudson River."
This final hard news lead was also found on The New York Times's website, titled "More Bodies Recovered Near Site of Plane Crash."
"As searchers pulled 15 more bodies from the Atlantic on Sunday near the site of last weekend’s crash of an Air France plane, a mystery that riveted the world — what happened to a 200-ton jetliner — became a fight against time and currents to salvage rapidly disappearing evidence."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/world/americas/08plane.html?hp
There are two important facts in this lead. One is that there were 15 more bodies found, and that rescue crews are working against the clock to uncover evidence that would show what happened to the plane. To rewrite this lead as a more conversational broadcast lead, it would read like this:
"After 15 more bodies were found in the Atlantic on Sunday, rescuers are now working against the clock to uncover dissapearing evidence that would give clues as to why the 200-ton plane went down."
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Feature Presentation: Photojournalism in Today's Media Landscape
My aim for this feature story is to go in depth on photojournalism in today's media landscape, and to find out what students who are interested in going into the fields of photojournalism and/or photography need to know about these fields in order to succeed.
I have been in contact with Patrick Smith, a Towson University graduate and freelance photojournalist. I will be talking to him this coming Monday on this subject.
My second source that I have arranged an interview with is Karlo Gesner of Deep Creek Lake, MD. He is an independent photographer, and also does photo assignments for The Republican, the newspaper of the great small town of Oakland, MD. My freind Jeff told me of Gesner when I was interviewing him about his upcoming album. Gesner did the photography for the album. When I first Emailed him yesterday he was actually on his way back from a photo shoot in Annapolis. I really look forward to meeting with him this Saturday.
Both of these photographers, as their websites show, do incredible work. Here are the links to their websites. They are both worth the time.
http://www.karlophoto.com/
http://www.patricksmithphotos.com/
I am also trying to get in contact with Monica Lopossay, the photojournalism professor here at Towson University. She would be a great source given the subject matter of my story.
So that is where I am sitting right now on this feature. If all goes well, this should be a great story. Keeping it 500 - 600 words is going to be the challenge.
Stay tuned for your feature presentation....and following the show stay tuned for an audio story to come out of all of this.
"Train kept a rollin' all night long."
- Aerosmith
I have been in contact with Patrick Smith, a Towson University graduate and freelance photojournalist. I will be talking to him this coming Monday on this subject.
My second source that I have arranged an interview with is Karlo Gesner of Deep Creek Lake, MD. He is an independent photographer, and also does photo assignments for The Republican, the newspaper of the great small town of Oakland, MD. My freind Jeff told me of Gesner when I was interviewing him about his upcoming album. Gesner did the photography for the album. When I first Emailed him yesterday he was actually on his way back from a photo shoot in Annapolis. I really look forward to meeting with him this Saturday.
Both of these photographers, as their websites show, do incredible work. Here are the links to their websites. They are both worth the time.
http://www.karlophoto.com/
http://www.patricksmithphotos.com/
I am also trying to get in contact with Monica Lopossay, the photojournalism professor here at Towson University. She would be a great source given the subject matter of my story.
So that is where I am sitting right now on this feature. If all goes well, this should be a great story. Keeping it 500 - 600 words is going to be the challenge.
Stay tuned for your feature presentation....and following the show stay tuned for an audio story to come out of all of this.
"Train kept a rollin' all night long."
- Aerosmith
The Formula For A Great Feature
A story published June 9, 2009 in The New York Times, titled "Tiananmen Square Scars Soldier Turned Artist," is a story that follows the Wall Street Journal formula that we discussed in class. The beginning of the story offers an attention-grabbing acount of Chen Guang, a 17-year-old Chinese soldier who was given orders by his commanders to, at any means necassary, contain the angry student protesters at Tiananmen Square, including opening fire. A quote from Guang is included in the opening paragraphs.
The nut graph comes in the fourth paragraph, where it is learned that, for the first time in twenty-five years, Guang is speaking out about what really happened on that day. The "why we should care" moment in the story is that Guang's story is part of a broader picture of the Chinese Government's attempt to supress any discussion of this event in public, and its attempt to control certain artwork, such as Guang's, that tries to express the true feelings on this subject.
The story does a superb job in providing quote from Guang about his artwork and his reflections on the time the event took place. The article offers an in-depth and sincere view of what really happened that day and how the soldiers felt about it.
The story also supplies supporting details on ways the Chinese government is trying to suppress free speech by artists and any others who dare to speak out against it. A reference is made to Zhang Shijun, a former soldier who was arrested for speaking to The Associated Press that he had regrets about detroying pro-democracy protests. Furthermore, the article says that local art galleries refuse to show his work, and that when he posted images of his work online, only to have them removed in a matter of hours.
Still following The Wall Street Journal formula, the article circles around to the opening paragraphs, returning the attention to Chen Guang. The final paragraphs discuss what he is currently working on, such as a series of self-portraits and his paintings that have now become a depiction of history, which is rarely seen in China, according to this article. The article ends on a last thought from him that explains how China can stop an event like the one he went through from happening again.
Link to "Tiananment Square Scars Soldier Turned Artist" :
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/world/asia/04soldier.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=Tiananmen&st=cse&scp=4
The nut graph comes in the fourth paragraph, where it is learned that, for the first time in twenty-five years, Guang is speaking out about what really happened on that day. The "why we should care" moment in the story is that Guang's story is part of a broader picture of the Chinese Government's attempt to supress any discussion of this event in public, and its attempt to control certain artwork, such as Guang's, that tries to express the true feelings on this subject.
The story does a superb job in providing quote from Guang about his artwork and his reflections on the time the event took place. The article offers an in-depth and sincere view of what really happened that day and how the soldiers felt about it.
The story also supplies supporting details on ways the Chinese government is trying to suppress free speech by artists and any others who dare to speak out against it. A reference is made to Zhang Shijun, a former soldier who was arrested for speaking to The Associated Press that he had regrets about detroying pro-democracy protests. Furthermore, the article says that local art galleries refuse to show his work, and that when he posted images of his work online, only to have them removed in a matter of hours.
Still following The Wall Street Journal formula, the article circles around to the opening paragraphs, returning the attention to Chen Guang. The final paragraphs discuss what he is currently working on, such as a series of self-portraits and his paintings that have now become a depiction of history, which is rarely seen in China, according to this article. The article ends on a last thought from him that explains how China can stop an event like the one he went through from happening again.
Link to "Tiananment Square Scars Soldier Turned Artist" :
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/world/asia/04soldier.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=Tiananmen&st=cse&scp=4
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Take the Lead
Summary leads are designed to, as the name suggests, to summarize quickly in few words the most important facts in a story. This type of lead is a direct result of the inverted pyramid format for hard news stories, in which the most important information is delivered to the reader at the top of the story and the least important facts are at the bottom. Summary leads deliver the most significant of the 5 Ws and the H. The oppisite, the feature leads, do not rely on this format.
Feature leads allow the writer to persuade the reader to want to read more and to find out the main points of the story. Furthermore, feature leads do not rely on a lot of facts. Instead, they try to rely on ways to get the reader to want to know more. Unlike the summary lead, the feature lead puts faith that the reader will keep reading to discover the main points in the story.
Summary leads hit the reader with significant facts. If the reader is skimming stories, he or she will know the important information by just reading the lead. Feature leads ease into the stories, foreshadowing what the stories most important facts are.
The first feature story that I found that had a good example of an anectotal feature lead is from baltimoresun.com, titled "Trucking industry facing long layovers." The story ultimately calls attention to the alarming percentage of truckers who are out of work or on a minimized schedule. The story leads off with the situation of Odell Haggerty, a specific truck driver who is strugling for his job, and then laces his personal story in with the overall story of how truck drivers, both nationally and in Maryland, are struggling for their jobs. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.md.recession.truckers04may04,0,6069898.story)
The second feature story I found with a superb lead is from The New York Times website, titled "A Town Fights to Save an Oasis of Baguettes." This story gives a narrative lead telling about a French couple moving to Colebrool, N.H. to open up a bakery. The first three paragraphs offer an enticing, heart-warming story of the couple settling into the town and becoming part of the community. It is not until the fourth paragraph that the reader discovers that the main point is that this business was deemed "marginal" by the State Department of the United States, and that the couple were denied a renewal on their E-2 investor visa. The town stood behind the business.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/us/01land.html?_r=1&em)
Feature leads allow the writer to persuade the reader to want to read more and to find out the main points of the story. Furthermore, feature leads do not rely on a lot of facts. Instead, they try to rely on ways to get the reader to want to know more. Unlike the summary lead, the feature lead puts faith that the reader will keep reading to discover the main points in the story.
Summary leads hit the reader with significant facts. If the reader is skimming stories, he or she will know the important information by just reading the lead. Feature leads ease into the stories, foreshadowing what the stories most important facts are.
The first feature story that I found that had a good example of an anectotal feature lead is from baltimoresun.com, titled "Trucking industry facing long layovers." The story ultimately calls attention to the alarming percentage of truckers who are out of work or on a minimized schedule. The story leads off with the situation of Odell Haggerty, a specific truck driver who is strugling for his job, and then laces his personal story in with the overall story of how truck drivers, both nationally and in Maryland, are struggling for their jobs. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.md.recession.truckers04may04,0,6069898.story)
The second feature story I found with a superb lead is from The New York Times website, titled "A Town Fights to Save an Oasis of Baguettes." This story gives a narrative lead telling about a French couple moving to Colebrool, N.H. to open up a bakery. The first three paragraphs offer an enticing, heart-warming story of the couple settling into the town and becoming part of the community. It is not until the fourth paragraph that the reader discovers that the main point is that this business was deemed "marginal" by the State Department of the United States, and that the couple were denied a renewal on their E-2 investor visa. The town stood behind the business.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/us/01land.html?_r=1&em)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What does a photo mean?
This is the question I wish to pursue in this blog. It is obvious from the sister blog to this one, simply entitled "Photography," that I have a passion for images and the stories they convey. In this blog, I want to communicate with others who share this passion and report back in my blogs what I learn. I want to know the answers to questions such as what makes a good image, what part does photography play in journalism, and what inspires photographers and what they try to communicate in their images. I suspect that every photographer has varying viewpoints on what photography means. This inhibits the crucial roles of the journalist: to ask questions and to discover varying and diverse viewpoints on the subject.
I look forward to talking to other photographers and writing about them in my blog and in my writings in this course. I hope to have the opportunity to talk to various different professionals in the field, such as those working for local magazines and professionals in the area, as well as amatuers who have a passion for photography.
This April I had the chance to visit the Newsuem in Washington D.C., and got to see the Pultitzer Prize Photographs Gallery. This gallery brings the power of photograph to tell a story is to life.
In this beat blog, I look forward to reporting on the passion for photography on a more local level.
I look forward to talking to other photographers and writing about them in my blog and in my writings in this course. I hope to have the opportunity to talk to various different professionals in the field, such as those working for local magazines and professionals in the area, as well as amatuers who have a passion for photography.
This April I had the chance to visit the Newsuem in Washington D.C., and got to see the Pultitzer Prize Photographs Gallery. This gallery brings the power of photograph to tell a story is to life.
In this beat blog, I look forward to reporting on the passion for photography on a more local level.
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