Extra Credit Post #4

Part 1

1. I tend to have a bias against Religious groups. I feel that this bias would make it very hard to cover stories about church groups, religious affairs, or anything that has to do with religion in any form.

2. I think that if I was asked to do a story about a religious affair, that I would go ahead and do the story. I would have to be extremely careful with what I wrote and would have many people read it to make sure that there is no bias in it before submitting it. I think that a job is a job and you do what you have to, even if it means doing something that you don't necessarily like.

3. I don't actually read or watch much media, but the few that I do read or watch seem to not be as baised as people think. I think that it is possible for there to be a story that doesn't include the authors personal view. I guess that journalists could just make sure that they are doing everything they can to leave out their personal opinions.

Part 2

1. I feel that this story was not covered fairly because it seems very one-sided. I think that the author of this article is obviously against Blagojevich and made no attempt to hide that fact.

2. I would have to take into account the fact that journalists are supposed to minimize harm, I feel that this was not done in this story because if a person who was completely detached from this story read that article, they would think that Blagojevich was a comedian rather than a political figure. I don't feel, however, that there is any potential for libel in this story. The author quoted Blagojevich correctly and didn't say anything that isn't standard knowledge.

3. If I were writing this story, I think that I would have focused more on the meat of what Blagojevich said, instead of making him look like a funny guy. I feel like it might have ran this way because it is possible that this publication has more of a republican slant, or because the author has more of a republican slant and the publisher found nothing wrong with the way it was written.

Extra Credit #3

1. a. Topic- Religion

b. I would turn this topic into a religion fair. This fair would resemble Quad Day, but would be the various religious groups on campus showing their religion to other people to promote religious freedom. I would form this by talking to all the religious on campus and seeing how they feel about this issue.

c. I would use a scene-setting lede. This would be my lede:

You look around and see booths set up all around you. Muslim, Christian, Hindu, just to name a few. All of these religions have come together to express their beliefs to those that are curious.

d. This Religion Fair has been set up to inform those who are curious about the beliefs and practices of the religions that are represented on the campus of the University of Illinois.

2. a. This story is about the contestants that were eliminated from the current season of American Idol. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/25/arts/AP-US-TV-American-Idol-Results.html?_r=1

b. I would talk to the fans of the show to see how they feel about the eliminations and how they think the season will progress from here.

c. America holds its breath in anticipation for what is about to come. As the final contestant is told they are being sent home, some breathe out a sigh of relief, as others scream in protest.

d. On Thursday, American Idol fans watched the first Top 24 elimination held within the Fox Theatre in Hollywood. The results were listed within the hour and four American Idol hopefuls were sent home due to a lack of viewer votes.

Journalism 200 Extra Credit #2

1. The bill, which was defeated in the House, will now be debated on by the Senate.

2. At 9 P.M. last night, the 19-year-old boy got a ticket for jay-walking.

3. Meredith ran away from home; she was so angry that night.

4. Yes, Brittney, I can figure this one out.

5. Holding their flags high, the veterans marched through town.

6. The students said that they would "skip class" if Brittney made them do more exercises that had to do with grammar, punctuation, spelling or style.

7. I think most students in this class are part of the class of '09.

8. "I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote," Brittney said.

Bonus Point

9. If journalists don't get the simple punctuation and spelling down, then they will be looked down upon for not being able to get the little things right and will, in turn, become an unreliable source because people don't trust someone who is seen as "dumb."

Week 2 Extra Credit- January 27th

1. What are the steps involved in writing a story?

-The first step would have to be finding a story. After you have a story that you think would capture the readers attention, you have to figure out how you are going to about getting information for the story. The first thing that should cross your mind should be getting interviews with primary sources related to the story. After conducting many interviews to get the most information possible, you have to construct the story, make a title, and finish your first draft. After finishing that draft, having someone read it would be a good idea. That way you can avoid any and all grammatical errors and also make sure that the story is interesting. After that, you should correct anything that you find until you have either reached your deadline or you are fully satisfied with it.

2. What could be particularly challenging?

-I think that a challenging part of being a journalist would be interviewing people. The stress to make sure that you get as much information as you can without coming across as noisy would be remotely difficult. Another challenge would be to construct a story with no form of bias in it at all.

3. What resources might you use to overcome these challenges?

- The resource that I would use to overcome interviewing people would be an audio recorder. this might not seem like it would make that big of a difference, but to me it would make a world of difference. Knowing that I would not have to be writing down everything that they are saying, would relieve me of a lot of the stress that comes along with that situation. To get over the whole writing without bias, I would say the only resource would be experience. Taking the time to figure out if there is any bias in your writing is not just a one person task. Asking someone who you have confidence in to read your story and make sure that there is no bias would be another great way to defeat bias.

-Zack Harrell