Speaking of Christmas...and Punctuation...

Q: What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?

A: It's Christmas, Eve!



(It's okay. You can groan and roll your eyes. I won't be offended.)

It's All About the Blog

Seeing as how this semester is nearly over, I thought I would take the opportunity to blog about … well, blogging. Original, I know.

For those readers who may not know why I started this blog in the first place, let me explain. This started as a potential extra credit assignment for my “Advanced Writing for the Mass Media” class. In considering the prospect of doing a “professional blog,” I did a little research to see what other people out there are doing.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that there is not one specific way to do a professional blog. There are some that are more focused on reporting about specific techniques, theories, or innovations within a certain profession. Then there are those that are written by someone within a certain profession and more focused on their ideas or opinions about specific techniques, theories, or innovations within that field.

The range of professional blogs that I found made the idea of doing this assignment less intimidating. And for someone who constantly has random thoughts and ideas banging around in my head, it’s turned out to be a good outlet. I’ve really enjoyed the weeks that I knew a thought was forming in my head and making connections. This would usually end up giving me something to post about later on. Thinking about concepts that we’d discussed in class for the blog was a good way for me to get a better understanding of them as well.

The hard part was coming up with a post on the weeks that no idea had room to form. Those were the weeks where school demands, work demands, and life in general felt like it was taking up all extra space in my head and any idea that tried to move around in there would run the risk of causing an explosion. I gained a lot of respect for columnists that have to come up with an interesting piece several times a week, or even daily!

As I continue on down the road of education in the field of communications and journalism, the blogging exercise is something that I hope to continue and expand upon. I’m very interested in the move to the Internet that journalism is taking and I’m thankful that this assignment was given as an option for us students. I think it will be a valuable tool to have in the future.

So, until the next thought starts rattling around in my head, best wishes to all for a very happy holiday season and to my fellow students: good luck on finals!

PR Pondering

After having hit on all the major areas of communication in class now, I have to admit that the one I find most intimidating is public relations. From what I can tell, working in a public relations department--for pretty much any company--seems like it could be a very overwhelming and stressful experience.

Which, if my past is any indication of my future, most likely means that I’ll be doing exactly that one day.

It would be hard to imagine, though. In class we discussed several examples of a public relations crisis that some companies have had to face, such as the peanut butter recall in the last year or the rumors of medical syringes in Pepsi cans. That kind of thing. Every time we turned to a new issue, and my professor asked how we would handle the situation if we were in the PR department for that particular company, my first thought was “Oh my god, I have no idea! What could we possibly do in that situation?! The company is ruined!"

Of course, none of the companies we discussed were ruined. In fact, the PR departments at most of them handled the situation impressively well. I guess that’s the point, after all.

Luckily, as with all areas of communications, there are plenty of examples of how to do PR effectively, as well as how to really screw it up. And with all the opinions out there today and the rate at which those opinions can be shared, I’m sure the PR guys are kept on their toes.

For example, I caught a piece on the radio today about the medical marijuana issue and the companies that provide the marijuana in states that allow the practice. One issue that the report brought up was regarding the lack of regulation for these companies or the patients that use their product. The piece ended with a quote from a 19-year-old patient who was asked about his use of the drug. The guy stated that he used medical marijuana to help with the problem of “stress” because basically, “I’ve been using medical marijuana all my life, and when I don’t use it…I get stressed.”

I wonder how the medical marijuana PR guys would handle that kind of portrayal. If nothing else, it sounds like that might be one group that has a way of dealing with the stress!

To Buy or Not to Buy

Our writing lab for last week was actually a take-home assignment that involved developing an ad for the Kindle DX. The issue that we had to tackle was how to get college/university students to see the benefit of purchasing the nearly $500.00 Kindle DX as opposed to continuing to buy all of their textbooks and novels separately.

It was up to us to decide on a theme as well as the type of advertisement that we wanted to do, such as for television, print, radio or Internet. Although I ended up deciding on a television ad, I did consider developing one for the Internet and spent some time looking at ads that I ran across online.

It’s no secret that the Internet has changed things pretty dramatically in our society. People expect to be able to get information quickly and see what they want without much delay or interruption. This attitude has been a dilemma for advertising and I was interested to see how companies have adjusted to deal with this.

Something I noticed right away is that advertising companies have become more adept at making sure that you are still seeing their ads. For example, you can get access to all kinds of movies and television shows at hulu.com, but you will have to sit through a couple ads throughout the program as well. Some things are obviously different, such as the fact that you are only asked to sit through one ad at a time. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the ad that lets you know how quickly it will be over. These are effective tools online because you are unlikely to get up and walk away from the computer during the ad.

A couple more things that I found interesting about online advertising actually had to do with an ad that I noticed  for the Kindle on the msn.com homepage, as well as some details about ads on the homepage itself. Overall, the homepage does not have many product ads pasted all over it. They have one large box in the upper right hand corner that you notice right away when you click onto the homepage. However, in order to get to the other ads, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to the “ads” box and actually click on the link for a particular product.

The thing that caught my eye about the Kindle ad was a little link at the bottom of the ad that said “ad feedback”. I clicked on this and was immediately taken to a short OpinionLab survey for msn.com regarding the ad. It gave you the opportunity to comment on a particular area such as the ad’s content, credibility, design and relevance to you. It then asked you rate the ad on certain things ranging from its clarity of message and format to how it impacted your opinion about the product’s advertiser as well as the msn.com homepage. When I completed my survey for that particular ad, I was taken back to the msn homepage where a second ad for the Kindle was now showing in the same spot where I’d just seen the first one.

Apparently, even the websites that run the ads have adjusted to the fast pace of information that the Internet allows. Gone are the days of just talking about ads that you see with the other people in your living room. Now you can comment on them just as quickly to the advertiser and marketing mediums! In other words, Geico--with your disturbing money critter and annoying talking potholes--better watch out!

StoryCorps

We've covered the process of interviewing in class and have recently touched on radio and television broadcasting as well. A favorite method of mine that combines both broadcasts and interviews are those programs that feature stories from everyday people about life events. Those of us living in Jacksonville have a unique opportunity coming up in a couple weeks to experience this first hand when the StoryCorps project comes to town.

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project that began in 2003 with the opening of a StoryBooth in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. In 2005 they launched the MobileBooths, which are traveling recording studios housed in airstream trailers. By the end of 2008, the MobileBooths had recorded stories in over 100 cities in 48 states.

As stated on the StoryCorps website, the mission of the project "is to honor and celebrate one another's lives through listening." Their belief is that "StoryCorps reminds us of the importance of listening to and learning from those around us. It celebrates our shared humanity. It tells people that their lives matter and they won't be forgotten."

Since beginning in 2003, StoryCorps has launched several initiatives to get stories from people that have experienced specific shared events or backgrounds, including those effected by the events of September 11, individuals dealing with memory loss and Alzheimer's, African-Americans, Alaskan natives, and Hispanics in the US. However, the experience is open to everyone and they encourage everything from "a son asking his mother about her childhood" to "an immigrant telling his friend about coming to America, or a couple reminiscing on their 50th wedding anniversary."

As I mentioned before, the StoryCorps experience will be arriving in Jacksonville for anyone interested in participating or getting more experience with the interview process on a slightly more professional level. The MobileBooths will be in the area from November 19-December 19, 2009 in partnership with WJCT public radio. Reservations can be made at www.storycorps.org/record-your-story/locations/jacksonville-fl. Slots fill up fast, however, so keep an eye out for more slots opening on the 19th, as well as possible cancellations. Once a StoryCorps interview is recorded, a copy is given to the individuals that participated and another copy is archived at the Library of Congress.

The StoryCorps website (http://www.storycorps.org/) provides more background information on the project as well as helpful hints to prepare for the interview/conversation. You can also listen to examples of StoryCorps interviews such as this one by retired New York City firefigher John Vigiano and his wife Jan as they remember their two sons, a firefighter and policeman, who died at the World Trade Center. Or subscribe to the StoryCorps podcast:

Some interviews are sad, some are funny, some are eye opening. All are worth listening to.

As Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, explains on the website, "By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation, reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive."

Perspectives

When it comes to getting information for a news story, sources can come from many different places. However, the sources generally fall into two basic categories: the bird’s eye view (macro) or the worm’s eye view (micro).

The bird’s eye view sources can include things like databases, advocate groups, associations, etc. They give a wider range of information and general knowledge about a specific issue. On the other hand, a worm’s eye view source would help to narrow the focus of the larger issue and personalize the story. This would include a “real person” account of a particular experience or issue.

The differences in these two things remind me of some picture puzzles I used to like when I was a kid. The ones where you see a very, very close-up photo of something and are supposed to guess what the whole picture actually is:

The close-up picture gives you an idea of the texture of something. If you were actually that close to the object, you would be able to feel the rough or smooth texture, the softness or hardness of whatever it is. You would be able to smell it and feel the coldness, hotness, dampness-whatever feeling it may be giving off. You would have an idea of what it was like to actually experience the object, much like the worm’s eye view of an issue can give you an idea of what it would be like to actually experience it first-hand.

However, as intimate as that experience of the object may be, it won’t necessarily give you an idea of what the entire story is:

From the bird’s eye view, you can see the entire picture for what it is. You may not have the personal touch or feeling that the worm’s eye view would give, but you can get a good idea about the object as a whole. Much like the bird’s eye view of an issue can provide information that the worm’s eye view may not, allowing you to get a more objective and well-rounded take on the story.

Both perspectives are important and helpful in developing a good news story. They can often work together to give the best perspective of an issue, providing broad, over-all information while adding a more personal, up-close touch.

"Just an observation, not a post" post

I just took a minute to read back through some of my posts and realized something. I could really use an editor. Or more time to work on things.
... I wonder which one is easier to get. ...

The Curious Case Of...

"Whatever you do, don't ever lose your curiosity."

That was some advice given by Jim Schoettler, a reporter for "The Florida Times-Union". In class, we had the opportunity to watch a video of Schoettler giving a guest-lecture for a previous class of my professor's. It was interesting to listen to a veteran reporter talk about some of the experiences he had and the process that he went through to write a story.

I agree with him that a natural tendency towards curiosity is helpful for a journalist and/or reporter. It is often this trait that allows a reporter to shed light on something that may have been hidden. Of course, there is always the risk that the light won't uncover something that people want to see. In fact, it may be down right disturbing. ...

It's possible that thought crossed Schoettler's mind when he was reporting on "The White House Boys" and working with photographer/videographer, Jon Fletcher, to develop his video about the torture that the boys endured at the Florida Industrial School for Boys in the 1950s. However, whether you believe that the purpose of journalism is to hold a mirror up to society or to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, there are times that the truth uncovered will not always be pretty or easy to tolerate.

That's one of the paradoxes of curiosity, I suppose; and something that we all run into in life. We ask questions because we wander about something. Sometimes what we learn can be beneficial or fascinating (you can get moisture out of a cell phone by leaving it overnight in a bag of rice?! Really!), and sometimes it can be scary or hurtful, despite the fact that it may be needed. Sort of like re-breaking the nose that is crooked from a childhood fall in order to allow the individual to breath through it again.

I guess the risk (or benefit, depending on your perspective) of doing this as a journalist is that the implications can be so much bigger than just you or a couple people in your life. The light that a journalist gives has the potential to impact entire communities or society as a whole, as well as an individual. It can be a sobering task to consider.

Of course, in the end, what people do with that information and the light that is shed is beyond the reporter's control. ...

Sticks and Stones

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

It’s a lie.

The basic premise of this statement, one that many people learn during rough days of childhood taunts, is that words can’t really have an impact on you. They’re just words. Any good student of journalism should understand that this is just not the case. Words CAN impact you, and often in surprising ways. And you can impact others by the words that you choose.

I’ve found that you never really know how even one word choice can effect someone that you’re talking to. I was reminded of this recently while taking a client to a doctor’s appointment. She’d seen this doctor three or four times already and, although a professional doctor and reasonably nice guy, he’d never come across as particularly empathetic to her. I’d even witnessed him in conflict with a nurse over scheduling issues for about 15 minutes in the middle of a pre-op room at the hospital because neither of them could seem to accept the other’s point of view. However, at this particular appointment, my client mentioned that she’d recently had to deal with the death of one of her beloved cats. The doctor stopped his chart review and looked up at her.

“What?!” he asked, “One of your cats died?!”

I was completely taken aback by his sudden display of emotion. He seemed truly upset by this. He went on to explain that he had two cats and couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for him to deal with when one of them passed away. And just like that, he became a real person. There was a change in his voice in the way that he spoke with my client from that point on. All because of “cat”. Who knew?

It helped me think about the interviews that we’d conducted on Monday night and the way that simple word choices may have influenced the direction that answers took. I think I saw this most clearly by being interviewed as opposed to doing the interview. One question in particular that was asked of me was along the lines of “how did growing up in South Carolina help in shaping you into the person that you’ve become?” I’m not sure if this was one of the original questions that was planned or if it was an afterthought. It’s not a bad question at all. However, the initial negative reaction that I had to it was a surprise to me. It wasn’t until later, when I had a chance to process that, that I understood why I may have had the internal reaction to the question that I did.

As a result of the phrasing of that particular question, I think I felt like my answer had to portray the impact of growing up in South Carolina as being positive because of the word “help”. In all honesty, I appreciate that the question did make me think about the positive side of growing up where I did, because I’m typically a lot more likely to focus on the negative and out of place feelings that I had while growing up there. However, even though I did answer the question in a positive way, I’m not sure I did the best job of giving a really accurate picture of the entire impact that growing up in South Carolina may have had. All because of how one word led me to interpret the question, whether it’s what my interviewer intended or not.

As I looked back over the questions that I’d asked during the interview, I could see that I’d also made assumptions and phrased things in a way that may have led my interviewee towards a specific direction. I hope that this lesson will be a good reminder to re-read questions that I come up with for any future interviews in order to look for leading words or assumptions. It’s always good to remember that there are things that interviewers or question askers can do to elicit certain responses, for good or bad. But even with this lesson, I know that it is still not always possible to predict how a person may respond to something. As I said before, you never really know what kind of response a specific word or phrase may get, no matter how unbiased or general you try to make it.

For example, had the subject of MY cat come up at the doctor’s appointment earlier this week, I’m not even sure it’s the cat I would have focused on. At this point in time, it’s more likely to be the lizards that we are finding on a daily basis in the house as a result of the cat.

…or at least, what’s left of them.

Just Asking...

Okay. I have to admit something: I’m really excited about the interview stuff that we’re working on in class right now. Last week we went over some information about conducting interviews and are preparing to put that in to practice tonight. My experience with the process of interviewing and writing up the resulting story, assessment, etc. is one of the major factors in influencing my decision to return to school for a journalism degree. I love getting an opportunity to hear someone’s story about their perspective, experiences, life in general.

When I worked for an outpatient mental health agency in St.Louis, MO, I had around 35-55 clients at any given time with everything from personality disorders to major depression or schizophrenia. One of the things I enjoyed most about the job was the opportunity to conduct the annual interviews with my clients. As we talked about the steps of interviewing in class, I thought back to my experience in these interviews.

Keeping control of the situation when you’re in a psychiatric ward with a client telling you what she’s hearing the news anchor on the sitting room television really saying; or leaning back in his chair, eyes shut, to serenade you with his best rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” at the top of his lungs, can be a challenge for the best interviewer. I had one of those situations happen early on in the job and one about a year later. I’m not sure I really made much of a change, right or wrong, in handling those situations, despite having more experience.

However, there are many other areas of interviewing in which I could clearly see a progression. Although the assessments covered specific areas, there weren’t necessarily specific questions to ask, leaving some flexibility for the case manager conducting the interview. As I became more experienced, I learned what type of questions to start off with in order to build some trust before moving on to questions that would be more difficult to open up about.

For example, I would typically try to start with questions that asked about some basic background info, what they did in their free time, how they were feeling physically before moving on to areas such as specific psychiatric symptoms or sexual issues, despite the order in which these things came up in the assessment itself. I learned to listen and write without appearing disconnected from the interviewee. I learned how to move people back to the question at hand when they went off on some (often very random) tangents. I learned when to be quiet, when to be empathetic, when not to react, and when to try to gently prod for more information. One of the biggest things I learned about interviewing is that it is truly an art. I think it could quite possibly take a lifetime of practice to perfect.

Some of my favorite programs revolve around more of a storytelling form of journalism, such as “This American Life” or “Fresh Air” on NPR. My husband’s natural ability as a storyteller was one of the things that initially attracted me to him. People crack me up. They do. And I love trying to get at WHY they do the things they do.

While this might also help explain why I decided to get a degree in psychology and counseling, I have since realized that I didn’t necessarily want to pursue people’s ‘why’s’ in that particular setting. However, I know that within journalism interviewing can take a range of forms from briefly talking to an eyewitness about a car accident they just saw to a feature article similar to what I’ve been talking about above. I’m looking forward to getting more opportunities to experiment with this particular art form, in whatever aspect it may be!

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut...Graf...

And sometimes you just don’t….

Over the last couple of weeks, my class has focused on the inverted pyramid style of writing. I’ve already mentioned the “lede” sentence or paragraph, which provides the reader with the most important information of the story right up front. However, it often doesn’t answer every one of the “what, when, where, why, or how” questions. That’s where the next most important paragraph of the story comes in: the nut graf. According to Wikipedia, it’s also known as the nut graph, nut 'graph, nutgraph and nutgraf; a contraction of nutshell paragraph, from the expression "in a nutshell".

Blogger Chip Scanlan elaborates on the definition of a nut graf as he explains that, “The nut graf tells the reader what the writer is up to; it delivers a promise of the story's content and message. It's called the nut graf because, like a nut, it contains the "kernel," or essential theme, of the story.” He goes on to mention that reporters and editors at “The Philadelphia Inquirer” refer to the nut graf as the "You may have wondered why we invited you to this party?" section.

The lede and nut graph function as an important element of the inverted pyramid style of news writing and its purpose of getting information to the readers quickly and enabling them to move through the story easily. Or to help them decide whether or not to move through the story at all.

In his explanation of the purpose of the nut graf, blogger “Tei” states that,“In my experience, frequently the nut graf is where one of two things happens: either you get really psyched about what you’re about to learn, or you find out that you were suckered by the lede and this article isn’t about what you thought it was about.”

Along with allowing the reader to decide quickly whether or not they want to continue on with any given story, the inverted pyramid style of writing also organizes information in a way that allows the reader to be efficient. It puts the most important and up to date information at the top of the story and progressively leads to the least important information. This also allows for editing to occur by simply chopping off the from the bottom of the story, should space end up being an issue in the layout of the paper.

But back to my initial statement at the beginning of the blog…Although I understand the point of this style of news writing and can see how it functions well for the purpose of getting news out quickly, there is a part of me that takes issue with it. As I’ve been thinking about this, I can’t decide if I’m simply getting frustrated because I don’t feel particularly comfortable with learning a new form of writing, which can obviously change with practice and education. Or if this style of writing is simply not what I’m cut out to do. I don’t feel like I have a clear enough idea of myself as a journalist to be able to answer that question completely. That being said, the issue that I have with the syle itself is the fact that, along with allowing for the reader to be more efficient, it also enables the fast paced, immediate form of news distribution that has become the norm in our society. As efficient as the inverted pyramid style of writing has been, it has allowed for people to become used to getting important information quickly without needing the patience to read through an entire story. It has enabled the attention-deficit form of news reporting that our society is so used to at this point. Trying to get someone to read through an entire article to get to a point at the end would seem like asking too much. The difference in people’s ability to stay focused, particularly when receiving information through lecture or writing, from years ago to today can be pretty disturbing. As more and more people turn to the internet to get quick, “sound bite” information, I can’t help but wonder if newspapers shouldn’t consider a return to more in-depth, storytelling style of writing to get the attention of those people that still appreciate a good book or longer, more informative article.

Or, like I mentioned ealier, maybe it’s just me and all I need to do is get more comfortable with that particular style of writing. Especially since I’d never really had an issue with it before actually thinking about it with these classes. I guess I’ll just wait and see…

"I Can't Hear You When You're Talking!"

We spent a lot of time in class on Monday night discussing ledes. A lede is the all-important first line of a news story. It’s supposed to hook the reader and invite them in for more information. It’ll answer some of the who, what, when, where, why and how questions, while leaving more to be discovered further in the story.

It may seem like an easy thing—writing a sentence to get someone’s attention at the beginning of a news story. I am quickly learning, however, that “easy” does not fit very well into the equation for someone taking her first class on writing for the media. There isn’t really one perfect way to write a lede sentence. It will depend on the story and on what you determine to be the most important elements of that story. My class received a good tip on how to determine the most important points to include in a lede: think about how you would tell the information to a friend right after the event happened. For example, I would be willing to bet that no one summarizing what they’d seen on MTV’s “Video Music Awards” would start with a run down on who won the award for best art direction, best choreography, or even the video of the year. Instead, you would have referred to the most unanticipated and, um, exciting event of the evening: Kanye West’s upstaging of Taylor Swift as she tried to accept her award for best female video.

Of course, how you verbalize or construct your lede may vary. Just as there may be a variety of ways to write a good lede sentence, there are also plenty of ways to screw them up. One that I’d like to discuss briefly is the idea of “burying the lede.” This is what you would have done had you decided to begin your summary of the VMA’s with information about the winner for best choreography instead of mentioning the Kanye-Swift debacle. For some reason this particular mistake really stuck out to me when my professor brought it up. I think it may have something to do with the great visual of an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand that comes immediately to my mind when I hear that phrase. It also brings me back to the title of this blog. I recently overheard an individual that I work with exclaim at one point during a phone conversation, “I can’t hear you when you’re talking!” Although I don’t know for sure what my client meant when she said that, I'm positive that it did not have to do with the volume of her friend's voice as even I could hear that he was speaking. I have a suspicion that she was trying to tell her friend that he was, in a sense, “burying his lede.” Perhaps he was trying to get a point across that was getting lost in a jumble of words or stutters. In a similar way, if the most important information somehow fails to make it into the lede or isn’t mentioned until the end of the sentence… then consider it buried.

The Stockdale Paradox

It pretty much goes without saying that there are a lot of differing opinions floating around the country right now. A lot of opinions... and even more lies, half-truths and overreactions to base the opinions on. If I'm learning nothing else in my classes right now, I have definitely absorbed this: accuracy is key in journalism. This makes sense, of course. We would not want our news to reflect inaccurate information, would we? In the early days of newspapers, editors and printers were often in danger of being thrown into jail for 'seditious libel' if they were thought to have printed something that reflected negatively upon those in power. Could you imagine if such a thing was commonplace today? Particularly in light of the many, many people out there that are sharing their opinions and spreading questionable information on talk shows, publications and blog sites.

I'm appreciative of the emphasis that fact checking has in my classes now, as I am sure that it will help me to develop as a trustworthy source for others in the future. I'd like to be able to say that other people putting forth information, whether on a personal blog or in a very public news program, newspaper or radio talk show, were taking the time to really look at the facts before stating their opinion or passing along their information. However, this is just not the case. When it comes to today's media, we must continue to have faith that the information we are getting is accurate, while at the same time understanding the reality of the times in which we live. The authorities are no longer enforcing things such as 'seditious libel' and we, as consumers, have to accept some responsibility in the fact checking process ourselves. It is my goal to be a journalist that is dependable and able to verify facts that I present in my stories; none-the-less, when it comes to debatable topics, in an age when so many people can so easily pass along second-hand information and opposing viewpoints, I would challenge readers to double check the facts for themselves as well.

I'd like to take a minute here to pull from recent events, both public and private, to demonstrate the importance of personal fact checking. As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, we are regularly presented with differing opinions and questionable information. Our country feels so divided at times, that it's almost as if we are speaking different languages. So in order to get my point across here, let me use a language I'm sure we can all understand: food. And not just any food: dessert...

I have a friend, Mary-Butler, who decided to celebrate her birthday recently by enjoying some cherry pie. At least--she hoped she would enjoy the pie. See, when MB and her husband, Matt, went to The Fresh Market and picked up the "no sugar added" cherry pie, it resulted in some interesting reactions from the staff. They quickly learned from the three women behind the counter that it was probably not the best choice. At least, in their opinion. After all, THEY certainly wouldn't eat it! Now mind you, although they had baked the pie themselves, none of them had actually TRIED it. The strong reaction they felt was based on the fact that A) it wasn't exactly like the kind they would make at home and B) it had already been the subject of one woman's complaint. She'd apparently returned her pie to the store, complaining loudly that it was too sour and disgusting. And thus the poor pie was labeled so in the minds of these bakers. But it didn't stop there. The same complaint story was told to Matt and MB again by the boy who checked them out. He, too, hadn't actually tried the pie himself, but based on the woman's reaction and subsequent reaction of the bakers, he assured Matt and MB that they could get a full refund if they brought even one piece back because it was so bad.

Well, you can imagine that they were a little bit nervous about trying the pie, what with all the negative publicity that it was getting. None-the-less, they took the pie home and served it up. And I'm here to tell you that it was one DAMN GOOD PIE. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. Not only is it a healthier version than the sugary, canned filling that many cherry pies are made of, but it really tasted great!

What does this have to do with opinions in the country, accuracy and fact checking, etc., etc.? Well, in case the metaphor wasn't as obvious as I'd hoped, my point is this: there are a lot of opinions out there, most of which are not based on fact, but merely on the views expressed by someone with an agenda. I'm not asking anyone reading this to agree with me on the debatable issues, such as healthcare, that are on the table at the moment. All I'm asking is that, as a nation, we stop getting wrapped up in the hype and other people's opinions and start checking facts for ourselves before jumping the gun on something. Don't pass along an email that you can't verify for sure came from the original source, or was actually stated by the source that the email claims it was stated by. Did you hear it yourself? Did you look at the bill, etc., in question yourself and read through it to find out if the claims people are making are true? How accurate is the news source? What is their reputation when it comes to fact checking? We all know how dangerous it can be to spread water-cooler gossip. Stop to ask yourself what is really important to you and what you feel is important for your fellow man. Then go to the sources for yourself. If you're going to take a stand, know what you're standing on. AND-- know what it is you think you're standing against. Make sure the two really do line up like you think they do.

And maybe what you find yourself really standing on isn't going to be the same platform that is seems like everyone around you is crowded on to. But if you still think that's where you should go, just be sure to take a poll of how many of them have actually taken the time to taste the pie for themselves before you try to squeeze onto the stand with them.

Or better yet, don't take their word for it. Don't take my word for it. Try an honest bite of the truth for yourself and see what you think. Here are some places to start:

http://www.factcheck.org/

http://wordpress.asc.upenn.edu/2009/08/twenty-six-lies-about-hr-3200/

Illusion of Punctuation

A favorite artist of mine is M.C. Escher. I am a huge fan of his optical-illusionist style. There’s something about the trick of an illusion that many people find appealing, particularly in our image-driven society. For example, take a look at the following image. What do you see?

Some people will immediately see a white vase in the center of a black background. Others will see two shadow profiles looking at one another against a white backdrop. It all depends on what you see as the positive and negative in this picture. So what does this have to do with journalism? In the same way that a play on the positive and negative space of a picture can make an image appear to be something it isn’t, subtle changes in punctuation can make an entire paragraph have completely different meanings. Our professor gave a good example of this in class on Monday night. She presented us with this letter and asked us to fill in the punctuation:


Dear John
I want a man who knows what love is all about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you have ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no feelings whatsoever when we are apart I can be forever happy will you let me be yours
Gloria


I, along with the rest of the class, ended up with something like this:


Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we are apart. I can be forever happy—will you let me be yours?
Gloria


This version, though possibly leading one to wonder about Gloria’s mental health, is really pretty positive. Who wouldn’t want to be so thoroughly admired?


That’s where the illusion of punctuation comes in. With nothing more than some simple re-placements of periods, commas and the like, you end up with a very different letter:


Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind and thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn. For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we are apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours, Gloria


Who appears to be the one with the mental issues now? I thought this exercise was very effective in helping to prove the importance of punctuation in writing. Although we’ve developed some pretty good tools for getting a certain tone across in today’s online writing (e.g. use of emoticons, USE OF CAPS LOCK TO SHOUT IT OUT) there is no replacement for good grammar and use of punctuation. Unlike optical illusions, which tend to break the rules of how we process visual information, punctuation serves as a kind of boundary for our mind to make sense of what would otherwise be a confusing, jumbled mess. However…dun jst tAk my wrd 4 it. Try sndN n somTIN lIk DIS 4 yor college entrance essay, o a job app!