Elements of News, Ethical Behavior, and Interviewing Techniques

John K. Williams

Brogdon

September 29, 2011

Writing for Media

Elements of News

Ethical Behavior

Interviewing Techniques

The elements of news are put into effect depending on the situations. Just imagine a situation happening to you personally such as an accident. If it were to happen to a celebrity, there would be a full cover story on it. It’s all about, impact, prominence, conflict, and currency.

With ethical behavior, you notice that it’s about how people think and the principles they hold. In history s person could have done something but it’s all about the honesty they have. If a person just comes out and admit, they will face fewer speculations. Also plagiarism is not tolerated.

For mass communication majors, having great interviewing skills are vital. When interviewing, there are two ways to quote what they say; they are direct and indirect quotations. You must listen to the questions as well as the answers you get when interviewing. Sometimes the information a reporter seeks is much more controversial and the sources are not in depth, so it is also good to find your own sources when engaging yourself in this activity of interviewing.  

Muckraking

John K. Williams

Brogdon

September 27, 2011

Writing for Media

Muck Raking

— verb

1.      To seek out and expose scandal, especially concerning public figures

Muckraking is a term that means to dig up information that may expose scandals. You may not notice it, but it is in our daily lives. It is constantly on the news.

Here are a few muckraking examples that occurred.

1.      The US election. McCain has been engaging in a lot of muckraking while Obama said he won't engage in it. He wants to show higher integrity but the problem is that the population, especially the American population, respond more to negative information than positive.

2.      An example of a contemporary muckraker work is Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed (1965) and one of the more well-known from the early period is Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, (1906) which, respectively, led to reforms in automotive manufacturing and meat packing in the United States. Some of the most famous of the early muckrakers are Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Ray Stannard Baker.

Troy Davis Movement

John K. Williams

September 23, 2011

Writing for Media

Troy Davis Case

Executed in Innocence

Troy Davis, an accused murderer of a Georgia police officer should not be put to death. This case is a bunch of garbage, and a waste of time. How can they charge a man that has no criminal record, a loving family, and a man that stands up for what is right, a murderer? There wasn’t viable evidence to tag this man as such. Cases like this don’t happen often but when they do, you know that there will be a movement that will cause eyes worldwide to drop a tear.  The people that thought they saw Troy Davis do the crime changed their testimony because they knew that they weren’t sure of what they had seen. They knew that they would be boiling on the inside knowing that they were the cause of a good man to die. Even after the testimonies were change, the court proceeded with their decision. I believe that we have dogs in high positions that let that very power go to their head. He served 19 years in prison. If he did in fact commit the crime, don’t you think he serve enough time. They held him on false acquisitions; not proof or DNA. The weapon used didn’t even have his finger prints on it but there still was nothing to be said in his defense.  It was truly a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The world knows his innocence, and in the event that Troy Davis is put to death, he still won’t be dead. We will remember you Troy Davis.

Ethics and Their Importance

John K. Williams

September 23, 2011

Writing For Media

What is Ethics?

Ethics

Dicitonary.com

“a complex of moral precepts held or rules of conduct followed by an individual: a personal ethic.”

To me ethics are just as dictionary.com states. They are moral precepts held or a rule of conduct followed by an individual. To other people ethics may have a different definition but to them I say this; if ethics supposedly is in your definition is the word that some call “swag”, why?

Ethics are vital to the success of the world as we know it. If none of us have principles that we follow to become what we dream to be, the world and it inhabitants would crumble. It’s the only ways we can make a decision that will be not only help ourselves, but the world. With Ethics comes a philosophy that we need to help make those important decisions that will help us pursue our dreams. Any flaw in ethics within ourselves, will reduce our chances to be successful in our endeavors.

The Passing of a Great Man

John K. Williams

Brogdon

Writing for Media

August 30, 2011

The Passing of a Great Man

            A well-known man and painting icon, John Williams of Baltimore Maryland died tragically in a freak accident on his birthday, December 27, 2055. As he drove his BMW 745 LI into the Jersey turnpike, the tunnel suddenly collapsed onto his car, causing an explosion that set off all the gas pipes underground throughout the entire city. John Williams was seen as a great father figure, and a man deep into the word of a greater power than himself. As a young boy, he found himself growing up around negativity but he overcame that adversity when he met Bishop T.D Jakes at a local church. John soon went to college at Claflin University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and in Art. After attending college he used the knowledge he gained and became a professor at Harvard University as the Chairman of the Mass Communication department, and he was the sports anchor of WIS News 10. After GOD gave him his soul mate, they soon made a family together. At an early age he always knew that there was a calling on his life spiritually, but he just didn’t know when it would happen. He received his license to preach at New Covenant Holiness and branched of when he moved back to Baltimore, to build his own chain that led him to the highest extremities in The Lord. The night of his birthday after preaching a sermon, he headed back home, thinking about his wife and kids when all of a sudden the turnpike fell, ending the life of a great man, December 27, 2055. He died at the age of 62.