Tackling the Non-linear Assignment

It's interesting that after every blog, twitter, in-class assignment, midterm, final, feature story, slideshow, audio story and website design that I've endured over this year combine, it all comes down to the non-linear story assignment. This assignment will combine virtually every aspect that has previously come my way and now the time has come to put it to the test. For my final project of MCOM 257-258, I'm generating ideas for how I want to approach it. I already know that I'm going to combine every assignment that relates to my beat which is student stress including my feature story, audio story, and slideshow presentation. These three will serve as my branches that viewers can see once they choose a particular branch. I imagine the trunk of my tree will serve as a long blurb that highlights the purpose of the branches and how they each contain a piece to discovering a different avenue of stress.

I'm actually amazed at myself. When I first began my beat on stress, I thought I would have to end up changing my beat because I figured that I only could take it so far, but I've managed to tell a different story each and everytime on a beat in which I originally thought had one perspective. What concerns me the most is my additional two stories. I haven't really brainstormed on what to talk about next and in what capacity to tell it. The stories only have to be 250 words long which is doable, but I really don't know who or what to talk about. Secondly, I'm concerned with how to incorporate a map on my webpage. I would like to use one, but I'm unsure about how to incorporate it considering what my beat is. Change or something new intimidates me. I fear not being able to accomplish or producing my very best work, but I'm willing and ready to handle the next phase before reaching the end. With a little more time, I will have ideas, meanwhile I need to brainstorm.

Brainstorming a slideshow

For my slideshow presentation about an interesting person, I am literally stuck and I'm not sure where to look. My beat is on student stress here at Towson, but I'm having trouble finding someone who can be seen as interesting and more importantly being worthy of two minutes. This assignment is challenging to say the least, but as always, I pull through in a clutch. I want to take a different angle for this story and develop a focus taking stress management to a new light, so I am open to ideas from anyone and please feel free to contribute.

Possible idea:
Charles Matthews, a chemistry teacher at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School has been teaching in the Baltimore City Public School System for over 35 years. From school year to school year he says he's going to retire, but always summons the strengh to start off another school year. He has acquired multiple degrees and certifications and has had an amazing journey thoughout his lifetime. Matthews spends day-in and day-out at school even on weekends. He enjoys the love of teaching, but dealing with teenagers at 68 years old is no walk in the park. Over the past several years, Mervo has experienced arson, vandalism, theft and much more. For this story, I want to focus on how a veteran teacher in the Baltimore City Public School systems deals with the stress from students while working in an unpredictable learning environment.

-This is only the idea that I have so far, I thought it was worthy of two minutes because he's very knowledgeable and has experienced multiple school years of stress over the years, if I'm going to do this, I still need to appropriately fine tune it more. If there any suggestions, please contact me.

Put a smile on your face and laugh your stress away

There are many times when we all deal with stress, but have no idea how to cope with it. Believe it or not, the answer lies within you; it's the explosive yawn that can sometimes leave you in tears. Give up? It's Laughter! Laughter is the best medicine to cure matters that constantly stress you out from day to day. According to the article, Stress Management-TOP 5 Ways to Bring Laughter Into Your Life, laughter brings people together, allows you to maintain a healthy perspective on life and it's simply contageous. Have ever been overwhelmingly stressed out about school, jobs, or relationships, but then all of sudden started laughing? After a few hours or so, you felt the weight on your shoulders seem a little lighter and you began to breathe again and reclaim your life. In the article by Michael Authur Moore, he explains 5 ways to brighten your days with laughter:

1.) The Media

2.) The Fun Friend Sydrome

3.) Look at the Bright Side

4.) The Internet

5.) New Experiences

The first method is the media. News broadcast such as the evening news focus on violence, war and the economy all of which are sad and depressing things, but you can add laughter into your life by going to see a comedy at the movies or renting a DVD of your favorite comedy. Secondly, the fun friend sydrome. Moore suggest that everyone should have a fun friend who makes an outing between the two of you entertaining and keeps the fun going nonstop. This person makes you laugh and keeps you wanting to be in their company. Third, looking at the bright side. If you find that something is stressing you out look for things that are worth laughing about. It may seem like simple advice, but the more you practice it the more less stressful a situation may appear. Fourth, surf the net. The internet contains a variety of websites, articles and pictures that make you laugh. You know what you enjoy better than anyone, so why not take some time for yourself and find what leaves you in stitches. Finally, explore new experiences. A chance to find something different than the ordinary is an exciting venture. Like the old saying says, you only have one life to live and it's too short to live it stressfully.

Once you've master these techniques, you'll be enjoying life a little less stressfully. There are destined to be harder days than others, but just know that stress is only temporary. Don't little things stop you from enjoying the one and only life you have.

A picture is worth a thousand words

In this blog post, I want to discuss editing techniques used in mainstream media and popular networks such as the National Geographic channel. There are a variety of techniques for making a story more compelling and impactful by bringing news home to the audience. Recently, we've all have heard of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Italy and the tragedy of the lives that were lost. Viewers like you and I, who were not there to experience the quake firsthand, cannot imagine the pain and suffering that befell the people of L'Aquila, but with proper editing techniques combined with captivating visual images, it could be made possible for the story to come to life. This clip from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams features a vast amount of editing techniques. It provides natural sound, a variety of shots, sequencing, appropriate spacing and most importantly shots that tell the full story. Once you click on the link to the story, you'll see the destruction caused by the earthquake, natural sound of sirens, victims crying, workmen removing rubble, occasional chatter and construction machines. The shots follow the reporters words to illustrate the story including medium, tight and wide angles. When elements such as these are utilized sequentially, it makes a story come full circle. Click on the link below and see for yourself.

Watch Italy Quake

Stress Revealed: An exclusive feature from students just like you

Hold it! Before you completely pull your hair out, you may wanna check out my feature story on Stress Management at TU. In this feature story, you'll meet two students, right here at Towson, who tell their stories of stressful encounters. Featured inside are TU sophomores, Kevin Stewart and Jasmine Pitts as well as Dr. Jaime Fenton, the coordinator of Eating Disorders at Towson's Counseling Center. Kevin and Jasmine provide tips and experience into their lives as students while Dr. Fenton gives perspective from a professional standpoint elaborating on the subject with answers to key concerns from students like you. There are only seven weeks remaining in the semester, but stress has no time limit. So before you stress and complain about homework, papers or finals take a look and discover how your study habits can improve in no time at all.

For your listening ear

Recently, I completed an audio story continuing my beat on stress here at Towson. My story is entitled, "Its not just TU, students are stressed across Maryland campuses." The purpose of my story was to show stress from a new perspective featuring students from other local colleges and universities. In my story, your introduced to my brother Brandon Wright, a freshman at UMBC who can't find time to get all his daily tasks completed in a stress-free manner. Secondly, you'll meet Joy Williams, a junior at McDaniel College who found unique ways to keep her cool while under intense pressure. Joy's methods are so simple, yet students consistently let stress take over without taking time to breathe in between work loads. I want this story to illustrate that students here at Towson are not alone in their personal fight against stressful situations. I encourage you to take a listen at my audio story and let the weight be lifted off your shoulders......at least for 1:13. Enjoy!

My Audio Story-Brainstorming

For my audio story, I haven't quite decided on what I am going to write my story about just yet. My beat blog focuses on student stress here at Towson, but I think that I may want to travel off campus for this story to get a different perspective on what students on other campuses are going through to show variety. I have a few sources in mind that I may want to interview and I will conduct these interviews over spring break. If my story idea is approved, I will be talking to students from McDaniel College, UMBC and College Park. The interview subjects that I have in mind are extremely knowledgeable and could provide excellent soundbites from their rountine ventures. I haven't quite worked out the natural sound that I could grab from the interviews, but I will keep brainstorming and promise to come up with an idea soon. Wish me luck!

Print Leads vs. Broadcast Leads...Can you tell the difference?

Whether in print or broadcast news, the lead is the hard-hitting element of the news story. Highlighting the 5w's and pertinent information to gain reader or viewer interest in the story. The following examples were found either in the Baltimore Sun or the New York Times and were changed from print to broadcast with similarities, but distinct differences.

Example #1
Print: The Baltimore Sun "Girl attacked in Odenton on way home from school"
Police have released the name of a 33-year-old woman who was killed in a fiery crash that injured her young daughter in Glen Burnie this morning, authorities said.

Broadcast Version
Authorities say police have released the name of a 33-year-old woman killed in a fiery car crash that injured her young daughter in Glen Bernie this morning.

Example #2
Print: The Baltimore Sun "Woman Killed, child hospitalized after fiery collision"
An 11-year-old girl on her way home from school was dragged into the woods, thrown to the ground, kicked and robbed in Odenton yesterday, police said.

Broadcast Version
Police say an 11-year-old girl was dragged into the woods, thrown to the ground, kicked and robbed in Odenton yesterday on her way home from school.

Example #3
Print: The New York Times "Woman Found in Smoke-Filled Harlem Fire"
An unconscious woman was dragged from her burning sixth-floor apartment in East Harlem on Tuesday morning by firefighters who had to crawl through dense smoke, using their hands to feel the walls and floors in front of them, fire officials said.

Broadcast Version
Officials say an unconscious woman was dragged by firefighters from her burning sixth-floor apartment in East Harlem on Tuesday.

You're not alone, stress is a nationwide epidemic

According to an article from USAToday, many college students around the country are feeling pressured by overwhelming amounts of stress. The article entitled, Poll shows stress pains many in college by Alan Fram and Trevor Tompson of the Associated Press depicts the hidden reasons why students are being stressed out and the phychological occurances that can prove fatal for some. In the article, students discuss factors that contribute to stress such as classes, relationships, family and finances including some students so stressed that they consider suicide as a possible escape from life's challenges.

In fact, four in 10 say they endure stress often and nearly one in five say they feel it all or some of the time from a poll conducted by MTVU. Chris Curran, a junior at the Albany College of Pharmacy, says his work has piled up. "Everything is being piled on at once, Curran said. "You just get really agitated and anxious, then you start procrasatinating, and it all piles up." Students alike can relate to Chris's testimony and feel his pain as well their own. The article goes on to report that classic symptoms of stress include trouble concentrating, sleeping and finding motivation. Relatively common results of stress include eating disorders, feeling lonely or depression.

A lot of people often do not take stress as a serious issue. Some students think of suicide, drinking or drugs as a way to separate themselves from the anguishes that plague their mind. About one in six say they have friends in the past year considering suicide and about one in 10 say they have seriously thought about it themselves.

However, its not all bleak, six in 10 in the survey said they enjoy life and are hopeful. Emily McMahan, a junior at the University of Cincinnati says she is one of those individuals. "I enjoy college, I'm enjoying my experiences," said McMahan. Its been shown in the survey that women are more stressed out than men. To be more exact, 45% of women were more stressed than 34% of men.

Though the future doesn't look any easier, we can the ways of managing stress will improve. Students are encourged to find methods that will decrease the pressure of stress. MTVU, a television network available on most college campuses is a sponsor to its work on "Half of Us," which is a non-profit group working to decrease the number of suicides in relation to college students.

I enjoyed the reading the story published in USAToday, I felt it highlighted issues that occur with stress as well as provide insight to what we as college students go through on a daily basis. I honestly can't find anything to add considering the detailed length of the article. In the beginning, I was a little unclear as to who conducted the surveys, but learned of their credentials at the end of the article. I also feel a picture or graph would have been more effective to illustrate their findings to create a more powerful impact, but overall, a great research effort.

My feature Story Idea

My beat blog topic is college stress at Towson, so for my feature story, I want to do a "how to" story. My reasons for doing choosing this idea were mainly because I have yet to do this type of story and I feel it will present my story from a different perspective. So far, I've written about articles that I've found relating to stress and found a student here on Towson's campus whose taking us on a journey of her stressful life. Now, I want to retrieve findings from experts here on Towson's campus. I want to consult the Health Center on campus to see if I can find an expert who can shed some light on the subject with statistical findings, experience and advice. Then, I want to seek out yet another TU student who can provide tips for how they remain cool underpressure. I haven't quite worked out everything yet, but I feel that this is the direction I want to go. I believe this can be beneficial to students and maybe an escape from what seems like an impossible feat, known universally as STRESS!!!

The Wall Street Journal Formula

According to All the News by Thom Lieb, the Wall Street Journal formula is proabably the most used feature story structure. The four main sections include:

1. The story typically opens with a specific example (presented in an anecdotal, descriptive or narrative lead.
2. A nut graf relates that example to a more general point and explains what the story is about.
3. The body of the story provides support for the general point (quotes, facts, and development). 4. The story typically ends with another anecdot or description-often featuring the person or people featured in the lead-or speculates on a future development related to the lead.


I found an article on the Baltimore Sun's website entitled, Nightly dialysis keeps teen alive that contains the essential elements to the Wall Street Journal formula. The narrative lead reads, "No matter what Eric Washington is doing - be it catch up work from the classes he has missed a game of pick-up football that his doctors have forbidden- he must be home by 10p.m. No exceptions." This illustrates the narrative lead for the story and sets the scene.

The nut graf of the story reads, "There aren't a lot of children on dialysis - roughly 1,600 in the United States require a machine to perform the normal functions of their kidneys. But there are more than ever, because many children whose kidney disease would have killed them in infancy are surviving to need organ transplants."

The body of the story supports the general point. An example in the story reads, "Eric 17, is but one example of millions of children nationwide with a chronic illness, from with kids with diabetes who are on strict diets and even give themselves insulin shots to those with cystic fibrosis who may need for treatments a day to maintain therir ability to breathe. Many face uncertain futures. All have obstacles the healthy do not." There is also a quote from Eric as to how he feels about having his illness, Eric says, "I'd like to one time go home and just go to sleep," he says, "without having to worry aobut it." Eric's feelings bring the raw emotion into what his life is like on a daily basis.

The final section of the Wall Street Journal formula closes the story by revisting the central person being talked about. In Eric's case, the article reads, "Each day brings a chance that Eric will get a kidney. That ofcourse, would change everything. Dreams about that day bring a smile to his face." The final word comes from Eric in which in says, "I want to go out," he says, "and not come home until the next day."

A Day in the STRESSFUL life of Whitney Reid

Whitney Reid (center) shown enjoying a ride on the water in Panama City, Panama. Photo by Teresa Mora/January. 15, 2009

TU sophomore, Whitney Reid wishes she had time to relax, but her constant busy schedule keeps her running from sun up to sun down. From classes to meetings to a social life, Reid endures it all.

Meet Whitney Reid, a sophomore at Towson University who faces everyday demands equipped with stress along side. Reid is a biology and spanish double major with aspirations of becoming a doctor in her native state of Delaware. As a college student, Whitney fully understands what it means to be under pressure from day-to-day chores such as classes, meetings, homework, clubs, councils and organizations. Reid's day begins at 8am and ends around 9pm everyday with classes including: biology, chemistry, spanish and math. "I try to manage my time effectively by prioritizing my day to be as smooth as possible," Reid said.

Talk about a full plate, while juggling classes, she also tries to maintain a social life with her friends and relationship with her boyfriend. "My boyfriend understands my schedule and is very supportive of me as well as my friends," Reid said. After her classes are done for the day, Reid serves on the building council for Tower C of the Glen Complex as treasurer. The meetings usually last from 6 to 8:30pm every Tuesday, where Reid and other council representatives make progress reports on the standings of committee business.

The stress Reid endures may seem immeasurable, but she manages as we all must do until the work gets done. "My favorite part of the day is to come back to my dorm and hop in my bed, until tomorrow when it all begins again," said Reid. This goes to show that tackling several tasks throughout the day can be stressful, but not impossible. After college, Reid plans to attend graduate school followed by medical school soon after.

Suddenly, my schedule doesn't seem quite as bad when compared to Whitney. I follow my daily routine day-to-day and somehow find time to get everything done before beginning again the next day. I am involved on campus, but maybe not as much as Whitney may be and not as bold to tackle biology, chemistry, spanish and math in one semester. I have much respect for Whitney and appreciate the work that she places upon herself. Whitney demonstrates the attitude of perseverance and strives in all of her endeavors. Despite her stressful encounters, she makes it out on top.

Feature Leads vs. Summary Leads: Same Purpose, Different Goal

The purpose of feature leads is to entice you (the reader) into wanting to read the story by providing a vivid picture or creative insight to what a story is about without giving everything away. The summary lead sets the stage for what the story is about as an overview presenting the 5W's and H, however summary leads used on feature stories do not try to pack the 5w's and an H, but gives the reader just enough information before going on to read the story. Feature leads avoid trying to cram TONS of facts, writers of feature leads want to "wet the whistle" of the reader to encourage them to go on and read more. In the case of summary leads, there are four tips that can help you accomplish writing a successful lead. First, Be as specific as possible. You want to make sure that your summary lead reveals the most interesting or important aspect of the story or the BAM!!! Next, you want to avoid backing in. This refers to placing an introductory clause or phrase before the subject, make your sentence STRONG!!! Third, Be Concise. Avoid trying to cram a lot of information into a sentence that should only be no more than 30 words. Finally, Use Active Voice. By using active voice, it increases the odds that you will grab readers' attention.

In the Living Green section of the Baltimore Sun's website, I found an example of a feature lead. The article is entitled College turn french fry oil into fuel and reads as follows: Dayton, Ohio - "Forgive the students at Sinclair Community College if they get the munchies when they pass the tractors that cut grass, blow leaves or sweep snow on campus: Oil that once cooked french fries and onion rings is being used to power the vehicles."

Another example of a feature lead comes from the Books section of the New Times website, This article is entitled A Lifetime's Collection in Hebrew, at Sotheby's which opening paragraph says, "Is bibliophilia a religious impulse? You can't walk into Sotheby's exhibtion space in Manhattan right now and not sense the devotion or be swept up in its passions and particularities. The 2,400 square foot opening gallery is lined with shelves - 10 high - reaching to the ceiling, not packed tight, but with occational books open to view. Each shelf is labeled, not with a subject, but with a city of town of origin: Amsterdam, Paris, Leiden, Izmir, Bombay, Cochin, Cremona, Jerusalem, Ferrera, Calcutta, Mantua, Shanghai, Alexandria, Baghdad and on and on.

Why Stress May Not Bring Out The Best

This is the title of an article published by Melissa Healy of the Los Angeles Times. In this article, she follows 20 medical students as they prepare to take broad exams. Ofcourse, they're all stressed and perfect for an MRI scan to measure blood flow in the brain as they performed several tasks. New York's Weill Medical College at Cornell and Rockefeller University researchers conducted a study between the medical students and a group of non-stressed students around the same age. Researchers gave the groups two tasks to see where the attention shifted.

To no one's surprise, the non-stressed subjects out performed the stressed medical students. In the attention shifting exercise, the medical students brain function that conducts attention, task-handling and judgment, known as the frontal cortices, had an obvious low performance to that of the non-stressed. The connectivity throughout the other parts of the brain were low as well. After a month since exams ended for the medical students, they repeated the same tasks asked of them before and resulted relatively the same as the non-stressed subjects.

I enjoyed Melissa's article about stress and I felt connected to the medical students as they endured the tasks with the thought of exams embedded on the brain. As a college student, I can fully understand the weight of having several of assignments to accomplish and having to do something else one on top of the other. I thought the idea of medical students was a unique angle to examine stress through and it shows Melissa's creativity and ability to think outside the box. Even though I really enjoyed her angle, I would have investigated several different type of students just out of curiousity to know what the research would have shown. Other than that, I feel Melissa did an excellent job writing the story and exposing readers to what stress looks like under medical observation. Check out Melissa's story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020603146.html

One word says it all...STRESS!!!

Stress is a unanimous word that college students and everyday people face everyday of their lives in some form or fashion. On a weekly basis, students attend classes where it seems as though one particular professor thinks his/her class is the only one you have and instantly your mind begins to race with other priorities including the newest task weighted on your shoulders. My reason for selecting student stress as my beat of choice is because its universally understood and easy to relate to audiences. No matter what your personal obstacles may be, sometimes it can be liberating when you hear the load of someone else, it makes your schedule seem alot less stressful....ITS TRUE!!! I always remember that there's someone who has it a lot harder than I do, so this beat blog will allow you to walk inside someone else's shoes and experience the demands of Towson University from their perspective. I also want to give tips for effective stress management and what you can do to make life's challenges a little easier. Enjoy! We have a long semester ahead of us.

Who I Am?

Hi Professor Atwater,

My name is Brian Wright and I was in your journalism 257 class last semester. It feels great to be back in your class once again and I look forward to tackling the second half. Last semester introduced me to a new set of challenges and in time I overcame those obstacles and made it out on top. I hope to acquire a new set of skills and better myself to becoming well-rounded in mass communications. I'm still uncertain what exactly I want to do with my career. Lately, I've had a real fascination with public relations, so I'm not quite sure what is in store for me this semester and what the future holds. When I grow up, I would want to become a journalist or pr practitioner with my own firm. I look forward to working with you once again this semester!