Rules a Journalist Should Follow

As a journalist, it is your responsibility to make honorable, intelligent decisions regarding a story. Following ethical guidelines will assist you in creating a valid story and help avoid social disagreement.

Controlling objectivity is one rule a journalist should follow. Objectivity requires that the journalist concentrate only on observable facts and avoid concerniing their opinions into news reports.

Fairness is also a rule that should not go unnoticed. The purpose of fairness is to make sure all angles of the story are being covered. This tells the journalist to look at different viewpoints and to be willing to listen to those who disagree.

Another important rule to follow is transparency. This rule refers to the jouralists' ability to be open to bias, how they get information and how they go about making decisions and choosing stories. This makes the job of the journalist easier and more open to diverse situations.

A journalists most important rule to follow is libel. A writer needs to be able to identify the difference between what material is justified and what is not.

With these few rules in mind, the creation of a news story can be simple and still be strongly affective.

Snap Shot

Photography has many different aspects. The lighting, eye level and position can make all the difference in a single photograph. A mug-shot is a simple type of picture. It’s the image of just a person’s face.
A still shot is another form of photography. This is used in feature writing and editorials. This photograph is good when accompanying a story that is directed towards one main item or event. Be sure to change your position frequently. Eye level can be boring. Try taking the image from ground level or raise yourself higher than the object and take it from a higher view. This gives the photograph variety.
The news shot is a popular form of photography used in feature writing. It is good for conveying action and adding depth into the news story. Use the rule of thirds when focusing on a particular person or object. This gives the photograph character and variety.
Delta Sigma Phi fraternity of Towson University raised money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation by see-sawing outside the University Union for 48 hours. Andy Oster, a junior and economics major and Andrew Pearlstein, junior and business major bundled up and raised money for testicular cancer.
“We try to get everyone together,” said Oster.

Spreading the Breast Awareness

Sigma Lambda Gamma fraternity of Towson University plans to do their part in fighting back against breast cancer. On Wednesday October 28th, the fraternity is hosting, "Feel Your Boobies," an event designed to help raise breast cancer awareness. The event will be held in the University Union's Susquehanna Terrace at 5p.m.

Dreaming Big at $3 -a -gallon

Now that gas prices are showing drastic decreases, people are starting to save, and maybe even think, SUV. In the Northeastern corner of Maryland, consumers are enjoying some of the lowest prices in gas.

According to AAA, Mid-Atlantic, prices dropped 23 cents this past week and four more cents on Sunday, when the state average settled at $3.20. Within Maryland, there is more than a dollar's worth of disparity between the highest off gas prices and the lowest. According to MarylandGasPrices.com, the lowest prices are found in North East and Elkton, while Washington suberbs are hosting some of the highest prices. Baltimore-area prices were dropping quicker than the statewide figures, with an average of $3.17, according to AAA.

Government relations director for the Washington, Maryland, Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, Paul Fiore, said the differences of prices in the state come from a few factors. The level of competition, price zones set by distributors and the formulation of fuels sold in markets around Maryland are all contributing reasons.

Consumers seem to be responding positively from the change. Kristin Bienert, was content to fill up her Plymouth Sunfire in Bel-Air for $2.95-a-gallon. However, even with gas prices dropping, you will still find cars fleeing to find the cheapest gas stations.

SGA Open House

For my very first featured story I plan on covering the Student Government Association, commonly know as SGA, open house event happening on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. The meeting is scheduled to start at 3p.m and plans to run until 4:30p.m in the University Union, Potomac Lounge. Members of any student organization on campus and the general student population are welcomed to enjoy company and delicious food at the open house. Listen to the SGA president as well as Towson University adminstration present plans and goals for the school year. SGA is the primary organization, that encourages students to plan, organize, and direct on -campus events. This would be a great opprotunity to learn about what plans Towson has for this school year and what new programs and events are being planned for the students. I found this event, as well as many others from the Towson website under September Celebration, under the Events and Entertainment.

Twitter Thoughts

This just in: Twitter is a great way to practice short reports and lead writing! The last three posts have helped me present newspaper stories in a short and concise way. As I browsed my classmates twitters, I came across quite a few that presented their leads/ short reports well.

Jennie's twitter, in my opinion has great leads. From reading the list of leads, I got an immediate understanding of what the article was about. Her summary leads are concise and are specific. This makes it easy to understand each post. Her layout is also visually appealing to the reader.

Christina's twitter also caught my attention. The verb usage in her short reports/summary leads is strong and makes the stories appeal greater. Lastly, Tamara's twitter stood out to me as havinf a different, more creative element. Her leads are worded in a more creative manner that still is able to explain what the article is really about. These creative, worded leads gain the reader's attention and still are able to get the main concept of the story across. All in all the twitters were a pleasure to surf through and can really get someone hooked!

Short but full of life

Although, they appear to be very short contributions to the news, short reports and summary leads serve their own little purpose when it comes to getting information out there. Short reports are typically comprised of one sentence - possibly a few additional ones - and serve as an entire story. They are efficient in getting the news to the public quickly. Even if they do not merit full coverage, they are still found to be interesting stories. Newspaper briefs are a common type of short report that summarize the story. A short report from the Baltimore Sun, Credit union worker charged with bank fraud, gives a brief report of a loan supervisor caught with fraud and embezzlement, amongst other things. Even though this story is not front page, the material brings its own character to the paper and helps liven up the rest of the material.

Summery leads showcase the most interesting and important aspect of the story. They are designed to be concise and give full detail within the first few lines. A news story featured by the New York Times talks about the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. The main ideas that the article is centered around are mentioned within the lead. This lead gives the 5 w's and an H within a few short lines and makes it affective.

All the News

As I rummaged through the many articles on The Baltimore Sun website, a simple few really caught my interest. Although, a short, brief article, the first piece that I looked at involved a shooting in downtown Baltimore. The startling title reads: "Man, 25, fatally shot in East Baltimore." The man died from injuries after being shot while sitting on rowhouse steps. At the scene, the victim was found suffering gunshot wounds in his head and torso. The man died at about 12 a.m. There was no information released regarding a suspect or motive in the killing.



I found this article to be newsworthy because of its relevant proximity. The scene of the crime happens to be relatively close to Towson University, where I along with thousands of other students, attend school. Having such a sudden event occur so close to where I currently live is startling. The location of this story is one element of the article that caught my interest immediatly.



An additonal article that caught my attention was one regarding the mother of legendary popstar, Britney Spears. The article touches on a book that mother, Lynne Spears, wrote that focuses on her daughters, Britney and Jamie Lynn. Other than the fact that my sister and I share the same names as the Spear's sisters, I found the article to be interesting and relative to the lives of mothers and daughters. In the book, "Through the Storm," Lynne talks about Britney and her obvious talent at a young age. She discusses her regrets as a mother and her life as a powerless parent.



This feature article seemed to be newsworthy to me because of it's affinity. It had the element of family and I can easily identify myself with that. Although it was written by a parent, and I am not yet one myself, I still found myself able to relate well. Although probably on a smaller scale, I am familiar with some of the same issues Lynne Spears faced with her two daughters, as my mother does with me and my sister.



The last article, my eyes wondered over to was a strange and peculiar one. The headline reads," 10-inch desert tortoise, found at Idaho highway rest stop, awaiting ride to Mojave Desert." What drew me to this article was its unusual elements. It's not everyday where you hear of a lengthy tortoise found at a US 95 truck stop. Sadie, the tortoise is accsustomed to certian temperatures and climates, so it was suprising to find her roaming around Idaho. The unsualness of the article stands out from the rest of featured pieces and cathces the reader's attention. It allows you to focus on a story or event that you do not necessarily hear about everyday.

Blog #2

A backpack Journalist is a Journalist who does freelance writing and gathers their information for stories by means of travel. They keep whatever items or equipment they may need in a personal bag. Journalism student, Jared Silfies, carries an aray of items in his backpack that assist him in doing his work. Some of the important things carried in his backpack are a macbook, a digital camera, writing utensils, a standard planner, a cell phone, USB cables and flashdrive. Silfies's bag also contains a copy of the Element Style Book. By carrying this around it shows that he takes his work seriously and has little room for mistakes in his writing. The style book assists Silfies with concerns about grammer and usage in his work.

Journalist, Rachel Youens, works out of Austin Texas. This is where most of her research and work takes place. Youens incorportates a lot of multimedia in her work. Her backpack most likely consists of materials that assist her with these tasks. As a journalist that can deliver work both in print and electronically, she probably uses a plethora of reporting material. Her bag may contain a digital video recorder, tape recorder, a digital camera, USB drive as well as the basic pad of paper. All of these materials are helpul in creating and posting the videos, blogs and digital portfolios that Rachel Youens displays on her webpage.

This is me

Hi, my name is Brittany and I am a sophmore at Towson University. I am a Mass Communications/ Journalism major and knew from the start this is what I wanted to do. Writing has always been in my life and I like to think I am one of the lucky ones who enjoy this. Other than writing, I am your typical teenage girl. I love the beach and enjoy hanging out with my friends. I love the summertime and can't get enough of the warm weather it brings. Traveling is probably my favorite thing to do. I am fortunate enough where I have been able to travel often in my lifetime and hope to continue doing so. This past summer I had the fantastic opprotunity of traveling to Europe. That experience is the most memorable I've had so far and I can't wait to add more places to the list! When I am not traveling I am at home in New Jersey. I am a daughter and a sister to what I believe is the most loving family there is. I'm big on spending as much time as I can with them. Every sunday we plan activities we can all do together. As far as career goals, I have always wanted to work for a fashion magazine. The more I think about it, the more I know that writing for a fashion magazine is what I was meant to do. The excitement of the job and the experiences it can offer make me want to work harder than ever. I know it's going to be tough, but I hope I am lucky enough to do it!