SJSU- Investigative Reporting Day

Be a little optimistic. Make new friends. Keep old friends. Keep your promises. Morals to live by? These were 4 mindsets recommended for future Investigative reporters at feature panel investigative reporters and Pulitzer Prize winners. San Jose State University, sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, held an Investigative Reporting Day and had a panel of professionals, two SJSU alumni, to answer the question: “Can Investigative Reporting Save Journalism?"

Yes was the answer given by Mark Katches; Pulitzer Prize winner and SJSU alum, David Williman, Pulitzer; prize winner and SJSU Class of 78”, Lance Williams; from the San Francisco Chronicle and one of the men behind Balco’s steroid scandal, and Bart Roberston; who works on the “Tainted Trials/Stolen Justice” for the San Jose Mercury News. Lance Williams gave us the four recommended mindsets for all investigative journalists. Other panelist like David Williman spoke about news in general saying, “All news is inherently “investigative.” He also urged the listeners that journalists are not “stenographers”, the need to be “rigorous with facts” and above all the “need to be unbiased to political sway.”

There was also a realistic opinion about the future of print journalism. It was mentioned that many news reporters do a lot of the same work. Consolidation may have to be the best course of action in order to adjust with the company’s budget and revenues. But the consensus of the panel was that investigative reporting should not only be immune to consolidation but should be built upon to grow or “evolve” as one member put it, within the ever changing environment.

NO MEDAL FOR 1ST PLACE
1 MINUTE
A WOMAN AT THE NIKE WOMENS MARATHON WITH THE FASTEST TIME DID NOT WIN FIRST PLACE

A FIFTH GRADE TEACHER FROM NEW YORK…ARIEN O’CONNELL POSTED THE FASTEST WOMENS TIME IN THE RACE BUT DID NOT PLACE FIRST BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT SIGNED UP AS AN ELITE RUNNER. ELITE RUNNERS ARE GIVEN A TWENTY MINUTE HEAD START

O’CONNELL…WHO BURST INTO TEARS AFTER HER BEATING HER BEST MARATHON TIME BY 12 MINUTES WATCHED THE AWARDS GIVEN OUT NOTICING SHE HAD BEATEN THE FIRST PLACE WINNER BY MORE THEN 10 MINUTES.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE LONG-DISTANCE PROGRAM FOR USA TRACK AND FIELD JIM ESTES SAID THE THEORY IS THAT, BECAUSE THEY HAD SEPARATE STARTS, THEY WERE NOT IN THE SAME RACE

O’CAONNELL IS NOT BITTER THOUGH…SHE POSTED HER BEST TIME EVER, ENJOYED A WEEKEND IN SAN FRANCISCO AND GETS TO GO HOME WITH A STORY TO TELL.

Broadcast Style Exercise
Please review this news story for errors in broadcast style, as well as for typos, etc. Correct the errors and post the revised story on your blog.


NORTHWEST AIRLINES ANOUNCED THAT IT IS CUTTING IT'S DOMESTIC FARES BY UP TO 40 PERCENT FOR HOLIDAY TRAVELLERS.

CEO OF NORTHWEST AIRLINES FRANK DEWITT SAID WE LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS A HOLIDAY GIFT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED BY FRIDAY FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN NOV. 12 AND JAN. 14 IN THE LOWER 48 STATES…ALASKA AND CANADA.

DISCOUNTS VARY DEPENDING ON TRAVEL DATES AND ARE NOT AVIALABLE ON CERTAIN POPULAR DAYS…INCLUDDING NOVEMBER 23, NOVEMBER 26, DECEMBER 23 AND DECEMBER 26.

WITH THE DISCOUNTED, NON-REFUNDIBLE FAIRES…A PASSENGER COULD TRAVEL ROUND-TRIP BETWEEN BOSTON AND SAN FRANCISCO FOR 500-DOLLARS ON CERTAIN DAYS.

The monkey wrench that brought commuter railroads to a halt on Monday was wielded by a squirrel. If you were one of the 50,000 Metro-North Railroad commuters, trying to get out of Manhattan on Monday, your train probably did not show up. Apparently, a squirrel journeyed onto the Metro-North power lines and created a power surge. The surge weakened an over head bracket causing one of the wires to droop. A train, passing underneath the wire, became entwined with the wire and tore down all the power lines.
According to Donna Evans, a Metro-North spokeswoman, the squirrel was electrocuted during his exploration of the power lines. Crews restored service on Tuesday.

Reporting with Numbers
Please refer to the “Math for Journalists” section in Inside Reporting (Ch. 4, p. 84-85) for the information you will need to complete these exercises. You’ll need to review the segments on calculating percentages and figuring the mean and median (p. 84), as well as the “idea file” bullet points (p. 85) on how to present numbers.


1 - $80 million is 60 percent of the budget
- $6 million is 5 percent of the budget
- 34 million is 28.3 percent of the budget

Local college revenue for the budget comes mostly from the state; two-thirds of the total budget, grants and gifts; just below one-third the budget, and the remaining from student tuition; 5 percent.

2)

Name
Sentence
Donald Lee
1 year prison, 2 years probation
Richard Smith
1 year prison, 1 year probation
Wesley Mitchell
14 months prison, 1 year probation
Mary Jones
1 year prison, 1 year probation
Juan Rodriguez
1 year prison, 2 years probation
Harold Rothstein
8 months prison, 1 year probation
Michael Reese
7 years prison, 5 years probation

154 months of time spent has an average of 22 months.
Months of convicts- 8, 12, 12, 12, 12, 14, 84…12 months is the median.

The median figure is the most useful in this chart because one of the prison sentences, Michael Reese, is considerably higher then the rest of the sentences. Using the average would be eschewed by the 84 month sentence when the sentence closest to it is 14 months.

3)
State sales tax is 7.25%
$5 spent would be $.36
$75.40 a year in savings

JOUR 61 – AP Style Exercise (S-Z), v. 2
15 errors / 15 points / 1 bonus point
Please identify and correct the AP style and other errors in the following sentences.


1) When he heard the building scheme for the new high school had been rejected, Bill pulled out his stationary; wrote a letter of protest. (2)
2) Ben really knows his scriptures, but he knows little about The Talmoud or The Shariah. (3)
3) Her home in upstate New York is surprisingly ultramodern and rather unique for its middle class neighborhood. (4)
4) To celebrate Veterans Day, the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, troupes of former soldiers will march down Main Street, carrying U.S. flags. (3)
5) Word-of- mouth has it that Ellen will windup with the only “A” in the class. (2)
6) When Sara spotted the Louis L’Amour paperback, she asked who’s book it was. She couldn’t believe it was John's. After all, nobody reads westerns anymore. She had no idea he was such a weird-o. (3)

BONUS:

· The man was arrested for brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun outside his home. (1)

1) He hopes to make one billion dollars by the time he’s forty. Already, he figures, his net worth is between $2 and $3 million, depending on current stock prices. (3)
2) Lt. Col. John Carpenter was a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Seventh Fleet. (4)
3) 21 winners were named two days after the 3rd Annual Procrastination Awards ceremony. (3)
4) It was a one sided game and he was a poor loser. After losing the play off, when his ball went out-of-bounds, he made an offcolor remark that could be heard in the stands. (4)
5) Hundreds of people attended Sundays race to watch 75 top bicyclists peddle across the finish-line. (3)
6) Every winter, the Jone's and the Kinney's pour over travel brochures, planning their summer trip together. This year they’re hoping to go to Panama City. (3)

redefining news

I really like the EveryBlock site. After looking through the "Crimes" section for San Francisco, I was reminded of old community boards. The old community boards were mainly used to inform the public of town events, jobs, lost pets or stolen items. The problem with those boards were their location. If you wanted to view them, you would have to go to them. EveryBlock allows these same curious people the luxury of viewing them in their house. It also has a wider range of posts, such as crimes, restaurant inspections, zoning permit and pool inspections. It also allows a person to not only view there immediate area but communities close by as well. A potential problem is where the information is coming from. This is what the site says about its information:
"Each type of information we publish on EveryBlock comes from a specific source, with a specific method. We obtain some data by parsing government Web sites and crawling the Web; in other cases, governments send us data that isn’t available online."
Though I appreciate the information, if I really want to know the validity of the content I still need to research the sources. Yet, that is the same tactic we would need to pursue with newspapers and broadcasts. I am not sure what kind of accountability these kind of sites are held in comparison to the major media such as libel and misinformation outlets. I would like to believe with proper oversight and journalistic integrity, sites like these would be a wonderful outlet for community communications.

Top News 5

The much anticipated Vice Presidential Debate took place yesterday in Michigan. The first and only VP debate was between Democratic Nominee Senator Joe Biden and Republican Nominee Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. In one of the most watched elections in the history of America, the VP debate drew almost 70 million viewers, Nielsen Co. reported.

Why was it so heavily watched? Biden has been in the senate for 36 years with a track record ranging from foreign policy to tax reform is known for being a little short tempered and a bit long winded. Sarah Palin, a 20 month Governor of Alaska, who's stance on hot button issues is virtually unknown to the American public and after many shaky interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson have left the many American questioning her ability to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

In all fairness, I felt that the debate was almost a tie. Biden, in my opinion, won the debate by a small margin because of his knowledge and experience on major issues. Palin held her own with her shining personality and loose grip on the concepts of the major issues. Major issues being foreign policy, the economy, health care and the war in Iraq. At best Palin portrayed a person who is not afraid of challenges and has an acute ability to connect with the average American.
I believe that Palin was able to live up to her abilities as an affective debater but not a person I would feel comfortable running the country.

Truck

An out of control asphalt truck wreaked havoc in El Cerrito, leaving the driver with two broken legs and a house completely destroyed. The crash, which happened on Moeser St., also left parts of El Cerrito, Berkley and Richmond with out power. The 10-wheeler hauler snapped a power line, severely damaged at least five vehicles and smashed into a local residence.
Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples, with help from form Police Chief Scott Kirkland and Detective Ken Zinc, pulled the driver from the over turned hauler seconds before it burst into flames. Maples said, “We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there.” According to Maples, the driver’s legs were mangled and he couldn’t move.
Ruben Sharma, whom lives across the street from the home that was destroyed said, “First, I thought it was a major earthquake. This is unbelievable.” His front yard is littered with bricks, broken glass, car parts, splintered wood and palm fronds.
Rescue workers had to cut the roof of a Honda sedan to free the trapped driver and a parked electrician’s truck on Moeser was knocked over to the next street. Both were struck by the hauler.
The driver of the hauler, a San Jose man whose name was not released, broke both of his and is listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

Top News 4

Finicail Crisis

The collapse of major finacail institutions and the goverment buy outs have been the major topic of the last 2 weeks. I woul dlike to specifically talk about the 7oo billion dollar bailout plan and Friday meetings that involved the presidentail canadates. After reading articles in the Wall Street Journal and San Jose Merucury News, as well as watching CNN,MSNBC and FOXNEWS I was interested in the politics involved in what was suppose to be a bi-partisan meeting.
Initailly, the Bush Administration proposed a 3 page planned bailout of the morgage crisis. It recieved a lot of push-back on some core principals, that both presidentail canadates in a joint statment agreed upon, and was revised. The Senate Republicans, Democrates and House Democrats who worked on the revision were in favor of the new plan. House Republicans, more specifically the Conservative base, did not agree with the complete revision.

In steps the Presidentail canadit John McCain. He met with the Conservative base and shortly after the revised plan did not get approved. McCain later, at a meeting with President Bush, his advisors and Senator Obama, defended the Conservatives right to disapprove the plan. Subsiquently, lawmakers are still in negotiations for passing another bailout plan.

I commend the Republicans for standing by their values but have issue with their overall lack of substance. They submitted a plan of their own, one page in length, which offered supporting insurance for the flailing finacial institution. As a result of these politics the bailout has not occured, the stock market is in a frenzy and millions of Americans are very worried about their financial future.

Carjack

Carjacking attempt leaves a suspect in custody and two honeymooner' s a little shaken up. Alan Ticas-Soto, 21, is in police custody for carjacking a car that had a wedding bride still in the passenger seat last Saturday night.

Ticas-Soto, who has no criminal record, pleaded "not guilty" Monday in San Mateo Supreme Court and is being held on $100,000 bail. He has been charged with felony carjacking and misdemeanor drug charges, he is suspected to have been high on methamphetamines.

The newly married couple, names not released, had stopped for a late night snack at Taco Bell on E. 4th Ave in San Mateo. Mr. Ticas-Soto, allegedly, entered the vehicle after the groom had gotten out of the still running 2003 Nissan Maxima, leaving the bride in the passenger seat. Ticas-Soto had initail problems driving the Maxima because it was a stick shift. The problem allowed enough time for the groom to reach the car and help his bride out. Ticas-Solo then proceed, according to witnesses, run into the Taco Bell sign, exit the car and run away from the scene. Neither the bride or groom were injured but were obviously shaken by the experience.

Gas Leak

A high-pressure gas rupture shut down business and traffic South of Market early yesterday afternoon. The punctured pipe shut down, roughly, a four block area and required at least 100 people to evacuate.
A private construction company, according to a PG&E source, punctured the gas pipe with a backhoe while trying to repair some sewer lines. Traffic was at a stand still, in an already heavily traveled area, caused by the police blocking off the area. Neighborhood residents, business and their customers who were vacated from the area were upset by the disturbance. Carlann Lauria of Crocker's Lokckers, a self-storage business in the area, said about her customers,"They were pretty irate." Employees of Crocker's Lockers had to go out past the police perimeter to find their customers in order to receive payments. Samantha Feldmen of Wa-Ha-Ka restaurant, located on the corner near the gas line, said she lost upwards of 500$ in business due to the rapture. Gas was turned back on at 5:09p.m. last night.

AP

1) There has been no let up all day, after class, I plan to soak in my Jacuzzi and then lay down for a short nap. (3)
2) They called the late Sen. Fred Fried a liberal because he voted against the Patriot Act. (3)3) They unfurled her white sails. The sailboat caught the breeze and began to slice steadily through the waves. Their dream cruise of the Pacific Islands had begun. (2)
4) After two days of hard rain and rising waters, the river flooded its banks; leaving the road partly impassible. (2)

JOUR 61 – AP Style Exercise #2 (E-H)
(15 points)

Please identify and correct the AP style errors in the following sentences. Post the corrected sentences on your blog.

1) To ensure the accuracy of the news story, Sarah Jones checked with her source. For Jones, this is an every day practice; not the exception. (4)
2) As the two boys argued, over who should get the last piece of pizza, both seemed equally as hungry. Clearly, they had forgotten their earlier decision to forego having seconds. (2)
3) He suspected his neighbor was selling drugs so he called the F.B.I. His neighbor, however, cried fowl at the accusation. (2)
4) She grew up on the Great Plains near Alliance, Neb., where the winters are long and harsh and the living is hand-to-mouth. (3)
5) Her car was side-swiped by a hit and run driver on Route 1-A this morning. She wasn't really injured but the impact sent the contents of her purse helter-skelter. (4)

Fire
No smoke detector, third-degree burns. A fire, yesterday in San Jose, left Robert Kent,50’s, in “grave condition” at Valley Medical Center according to the supervising nurse.
San Jose Fire Captain Rob Piper told us that at around 3 p.m. firefighters entered a burning single-story home on Annapolis Way and found Mr. Kent in the kitchen floor, unconscious. Piper also said that the fire appeared to have started in the kitchen, spreading to the attic allowing smoke to engulf the entire house.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but no smoke detectors were evident and, according to Captain Piper, Mr. Kent had 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50 percent of his body.

Top News 2

The search for survivors has begun after Hurricane Ike swept through parts of Texas. President Bush declared a major disaster area in Texas after some cities were flooded, many homes were damaged and power failure.
New worthiness- After the Katrina debacle last year the United States government has been given the opportunity to show that it has learned from past mistakes. Americans were displaced after last years major hurricane drowned New Orleans and its surrounding areas. Some of those displaced found their way to Texas and have had to evacuate their new homes in the wake of Hurricane Ike.
Though there was a call for the evacuation of south-eastern Texas, it is estimated that roughly 100,000 people did not opt to leave before the hurricane hit(DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer). A declaration for federal aid was given by President Bush today that is meant to help displaced families, temporary housing and low-cost loans for uninsured properties.

AP

1) The new head of the Journalism Department, Dr. Deborah Dunwoody, recently bought a house at Six Riverside Dr. in San Mateo, a lovely city in the San Francisco Bay Area. (4)

2) “What kind of person would break into my apartment and rob my brand new thongs,” she asked her friend. (3)

3) The instructor asked her students to read chapter 6 in the text and to pay close attention to the section on the Great Depression, which began in the late 1920’s and continued through the 1930’s. (5)

4) Sarah Smith has not let partial blindness or wheelchair confinement stop her from living life to the fullest. In spite of her handicaps’ she volunteers at a local senior center and enjoys going for strolls (she calls them “rolls”) with her friends. (3)

Lead 5

Pipe fitter Duane La Chance Was listed in serious conditions for third-degree burns after accidently touching a 15,000 volt power line.

A Gross Engineers employee suffered third-degree burns yesterday afternoon after accaccidently touching a 15,000 volt power line.
Duane La Chance is in the Intensive care unit at Springfield Hospital listed in serious condition.

Wayne Clay,19, crashed into James Cunning,20, on U.S. 63 this morning after apparently crossing the center divider. Cunning is listed in satisfactory condition at the Springfield Hospital.

A 2005 Ford focus was struck today after another vehicle apparently crossed the center divider on U.S. 63. The accident occurred in the south bound direction just north of Blue Bridge Road.
James Cunning,20, the Ford Focus driver, is listed in satisfactory condition at Springfield Hospital.

Lead 4

Smoking Wheels
A flight from Minneapolis landing in at LaCrosse Municipal Airport evacuated 40 passengers when a landing tower employee spotted smoke coming from the wheels of the plane.

Missing Boy
A 7-year-old Boy was found after missing for three years on Monday in Brick Township, N.J. A neighbor of the boy recognized his picture when it was shown after a movie, Adam: The Song Continues, and contacted police.
The boy's mother, Ellen Lynn Conner, was taken into custody. The 27 year old faces charges of kidnapping and interference with a custody warrant.

News of the Week

Governor Sarah Palin took on the honors of the Vice Presidential candidate this week the Republican National Convention. This surprise move by Senator John McCain has caught the attention of the American people in what is already one the closest watched elections in history according to Marybeth Kuznik of VotePA in a resent AOL news realease.http://news.aol.com/elections-blog/2006/11/06/the-most-watched-election-in-history/
Governor Palin of Alaska is a virtual unknown in the political arena. According to Slate.com, who released a Frequently Asked Questions story on the Governor, she met John McCain for the first time in February of 2008, has been in position for 20 months, was allegedly involved in the firing of a state trooper which brought on an independent investigation by the state legislature and in a 2006 debate said she supported the teaching of creationism in schools.
Plain’s political career has been covered in great detail since she was chosen to run with Senator McCain. CNN, MSNBC, FOX and the Mercury News have all ran stories which range from positive to negative. It has definitely been one of the top stories for the last week, if not THE top story. From my perspective it is hard to tell whether Senator McCain’s choice is a ploy to reach out to disgruntled Clinton voters or a genuine push to separate his campaign from that of George W. Bush.

Lead 2

Snowstorm expected to hit the Sierras today will be one of a series of storms to come, forecasters say.

Lead 1

$150,000 awarded to a Butte County couple yesterday after a traffic accident in March. Damages were paid for injuries they incurred.

Welcome!

This is my very first blog ever...so welcome and I hope that this is the right way to do it. I work for Jamba Juice, am raising a 5 year old boy whom likes to be Jack Sparrow and we both love pizza. I have read many books, seen many more movies and nothing beats 4th of July at the beach.