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.