Jennifer Noel

Lunatics

I thought this article was kind of funny. It shows how bored lawmakers are, which is why I have to agree with Texas congressman, Louie Gohmert. It is a little crazy to worry about a silly little word like “lunatic,” when being called “crazy” or “insane” can be just as demeaning. We are so worried about hurting peoples’ feelings and being politically correct that we don’t focus on more important issues.

This is a newsworthy story, I guess. It would probably be considered more of a filler story. People like to keep up with whats going on in congress and legislation, but words being banned are not at the top of peoples’ list to read about. This could also be used as a filler broadcast story. It’s short, simple and to the point.

New Laws for Technology

This was an interesting article for the week. There is a new law that for law enforcement to look into technology based information (i.e. social media profiles, the cloud, phones and other electronic devices) they must now have a warrant from a judge to do so. It’s odd that this law wasn’t passed before.

I feel like now that this is being passed, maybe citizens weren’t really getting the privacy we deserve in previous years. I think this new “rule” will be beneficial in giving U.S. citizens more privacy. I also agree that this will not hinder law enforcement in doing their job. They are required to have warrants for everything else- why not this? I would say this is a newsworthy story that many people would be interested in.

Texting

This was a very cool “fun fact,” I thought. Despite our world of technology based everything, its odd to see something like texting diminishing. Unfortunately, it is too bad that it’s not diminishing because people realized how much better actually talking is. Instead, like always, we are trying to move on to the next bigger, better and cheaper thing.

Though seeing a decrease in texting is odd for our generation, it makes sense when phone companies are charging out the ‘wah-zoo’ for data plans, calls and texts.

I suppose this is newsworthy. Its not necessarily a major story, but a filler. People like to keep up on technology; what’s hot and what’s not. It probably would never make broadcast because it’s easy, but boring for radio or television.

Dinosaurs

I thought this was cool. Rarely anymore do we hear about finding fossils. So it’s exciting to hear about discoveries like this. This is definantly newsworthy, because it is a piece of ‘living’ history. Well, ‘living’ in the sense that we can touch it. People like to hear about this because it’s proof of creatures that were hear before us.

This is something unique that would be cool to put in broadcast. However, the scientific names of dinosaurs would be way to difficult to pronounce. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest it for broadcast to avoid tongue twisters. Unfortunately, they would need all those hard names to tell the complete story.

Ex-Morningside College Worker gets prison sentence

This is great local news. People love to hear about crime. It is also a good broadcast story and probably was one somewhere. People can easily listen to it on radio or television. Its short, sweet and to the point. I do wonder if this hurt Morningside College at all. I mean they hired an embezzler. That has to make them look bad to some extent.

The content was written in an inverted pyramid style. However some of the sentences are pretty long. The writer could have probably condensed at least some.

Pink in the Rink

I love this story! Mostly because I strongly support cancer awareness of all kinds. Cancer awareness hits close to home for me. This is a great, newsworthy story. Its the kind of story that is inspirational, involves a lot of people and for a good cause. The writer has a good use of quotes by the “main character.” The information is well spread out through the story; he uses the upside down pyramid well.

This is also a good broadcast story. It would be easy to summarize for radio (etc..). It can be short and clean cut. The material is easy to understand for people who have never heard about it, as well.

Face Tattoo

When I first saw the title I could not believe it. This is definantly news worthy, one because it’s not normal, and two because it’s so entertaining to others. Who in their right mind puts a tattoo advertisement on their forehead! That is going to be there for life. Despite the fact she says she doesn’t regret it- she will.

I thought it was hilarious that she did it for only $10,000, for her son’s school. Mostly because I got about that much in scholarship money! If I were her, I wouldn’t get a stupid tattoo and set a bad example for my son. I would teach him how to work hard and earn money, like scholarships. That would give him something to focus on, rather then the negativity going on in his life.

As a side note, the way the article was set up was very overwhelming. There were no paragraphs to separate text and a lot of information was mashed all together.

Daytime In No Time

I found something a little different this week. This was a video news article\interview, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I understand the idea is to cover a lot of things in a short amount of time. However, there was lots of pointless content. This made it really confusing.

At first, it’s hard to figure out who the host of the video is. Then when you do, it’s not even the person who was talking the most.

As for the the actual news parts; The handbag is ridiculous! Who in their right mind would want that? Like they said on the video, “A small child could fit in that.”  Nicki and Mariah need to grow up. They are like 30+ years old and  arguing like children, on a highly watched, public T.V. show.

Unfortunately, this is probably news worthy because people love gossip and fashion. That doesn’t keep it from being dumb. I hate the way this article\interview was put together. It took way too long to get to the point of the story too.

Pets Over People

I admit, this article was very cute with the bond between owner and dog. However, how far is too far, when it comes to animals? Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of things I’d do to keep my pet in good health for as long as possible, but asking for donations from other people seems a little far fetched. I quote from the article, “Because of the public’s generosity, Schoep has been getting expensive joint laser treatments to reduce pain and swelling related to arthritis.” This is ridiculous!

People in our country are living off food stamps wether they are really in need of them or not. Yet, they felt the need to start a foundation to support low-income families’ pets. Pets are great companions and nice to have around but they cost money, and lots of it. If you are a low income family why should I donate money to help take care of your pet, when there is a high chance you don’t even have the money to take care of yourself and family. This is why I ask, “How far is too far?”

On a more journalistic note, this article as well has a good lead and unfortunately is newsworthy because it’s heartwarming. Is it ridiculous? Yes. But that’s people for you.

Amusement Ride Gone Haywire

I thought that this was a bit of a crazy story. This is defiantly news worthy since it involves lots of people. Not to mention, it isn’t often (fortunately) that amusement rides go haywire like that.

Another thing I liked about the article was the lead. The journalist of course didn’t have to try too hard to get people to read. However, the lead was short and to the point. It kept people, including myself, intrigued enough to want to know more.

After the main points, I liked that it became very informative; which is how journalism is suppose to work, with the inverted pyramid. The fact they had a picture was also nice, too. This gives people an idea of the dangers and the extremities of the malfunction.