Upcoming Story . . .

I found a focus for my feature story. I'll be focusing on how students at Towson spend their free time on campus outside of studying. It will also be a how-to type of story for those who don't know what to do on campus. I will interview three students to see how they spend their free time to overcome boredom. It's a simple concept, but it happens all around campus. Everyone deals with it in their own ways.
I will also try to find some type of person affiliated with campus activities and interview them about what they have been doing to keep students busy on campus and if there are any upcoming events.

The Wall Street Journal Formula

I found an article in the Baltimore Sun online that fit the Wall Street Journal formula as defined in the text. The article is titled Suburban Federal’s short, sharp fall. It starts with an anecdotal lead. “Getting a mortgage from Suburban Federal Savings Bank couldn’t have been much easier for Samuel Burrow Jr.” The next paragraph continued his story about his problem. The nut graph begins two paragraphs later to tell the larger story. Suburban Federal has been lending money to customers with no questions asked leading to bad debts, and it was seized by the government. Burrow’s problem with the bank wasn’t the first, generally speaking. The rest of the story provides supporting information and quotes. It ends with an anecdote that kind of speculates the future by saying that “the entire U.S. is caught up in it.”

A NIGHT IN TV STYLE

(IMAGE COURTESY OF GOOGLE)

It’s Thursday night, a week of hard work, tedious note taking and stressful tasks surrounding school has finally come to an end. It passed in a blur without notice. The night is growing long. You sit there with nothing to do wondering how to spend your night.

That’s an easy solution; watch that screen that idles before you, your TV. What’s on you may ask? Plenty.

Thursday’s prime-time starts of strong on NBC. Starting at 8 p.m. is a show called My Name Is Earl. It’s a show following the life of Earl, of course, and his infamous karma list. Immediately after, at 8:30 on the same channel, is Kath & Kim. It’s an adaptation of a successful Australian show about a quirky, dysfunctional mother and daughter pair played by Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. On at 9 p.m. is The Office. And rounding up the comedic prime-time time slot is 30 Rock.


If you’re a fan of forensic investigation, you may want to tune into Fox to watch Bones at 8 o’clock and CBS to watch CSI: Crime Scene Investigation at 9 o’clock also.

Once all of these shows end, what else is left? What about 10 o’clock? The News? Maybe for those who need their nightly fix on current events. For others, it may not be what they are interested in at that moment. They still want to be entertained. Well how about a these choices to get you through the rest of the night.

Spies, explosions, and guns, oh my! Now in its third season is Burn Notice on USA. It’s an action filled series about a black listed CIA agent, Michael, and his quest to find out what happened to his life and how to get it back. The action is there, you just have to turn it on to witness it.

Forty-nine channels away on MTV is Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew. Don’t let his name steer you away from this exciting program. With five crews left, the votes could go either way. It’s never too late to get involved.

Don't let your time and these good shows go to waste. There's always something on TV to watch. There's never a time you should be bored. Make use of what you have to entertain yourself.

Feature Leads vs. Summary Leads

Summary leads summarizes in one sentence what the story is about. It includes some of the w's (what, where, when, who, why) but not all. Feature leads add description to set the scene and get readers to read the story. It also gives a quick preview of what's coming, or it displays the major point of the story.

I found an example of each lead courtesy of The Baltimore Sun.


Gang members turn themselves around

In this story, a narrative type of feature lead is being used. It set the stage for a story and describes an individual and his or her surroundings. This story did exactly that. "They know him as "Black," a convicted felon and longtime member of the Bloods street gang. He is leaning far back in a chair, under the only working light in a nondescript rowhouse in East Baltimore. He is talking about street life and hustling. And this group of more than 25 gang members and young men recently sprung from prison are hanging on his every word." The story focuses on Tony Wilson, aka Black, and his mission to change young people's lives.

Salmonella outbreak eases way for food safety reforms

A normal summary lead is used in this story. "The salmonella outbreak that has killed as many as nine people and sickened hundreds nationwide has created what advocates say is an unprecedented opportunity to reform the way America safeguards its food supply." It answered the what, where, and who, but not the why and when.

"Brotherhood uses Open Mic Night for a Cause"

Assistant Art Director, Lauren Slavin, wrote a article about Brotherhood's charity inspired One Mic Night. It focuses on the reason behind the even and the importance of it. Brotherhood wanted to raise awareness about "how to stop depression in their communities." They called their event "Entertainment with a cause" sponsoring Visions of E.Y.E.
When i first read the article's headline "Brotherhood uses Open Mic Night for a cause," I thought that it would be about the event also. Slavin neglected to talk about the event. The only bit of information she included was that it took place on Friday. The article was about the reason. I wanted to know how the event went. I would've liked to see quotes from the people who attended. She could've interviewed a few members from Brotherhood and their involvement with the cause. It would be a complete story if those elements were added.

Student Life

For a beat I will be following student life. Yes it's pretty broad, but it's fitting for me. It's also convenient. It will focus on commuting issues, dealing with stress, lack of sleep, dinning issues, TV and Entertainment, campus involvement, and money savers.

Edit**
"Jobless and Bored in 09"
For my beat I will be following Events/Entertainment. It will be focused on those who are not working and need something to occupy their time. The main idea of it is to keep students busy on and off campus. It's not necessary to always be bored. There's always something going on campus. If the student doesn't live on campus, there's things he or she could do at home. The possibilities are endless. Not everyone has a busy schedule, but I can help them deal with their boredom.