By : Tyler Bjerke
Slug : Hollow-Vandals
October 31st, the streets are flooded with colorful and dark costumes, children’s laughter in the air, kids rejoice in the free candy filled night of Halloween. Concerns now growing that this once glorious childhood holiday has been warped into a night of violence and destruction.
As the years progress teens in local neighborhoods seem to be picking up more and more the habit of vandalism, turning a night of fun for some, to a night of fear.
Parents are becoming concerned for the safety of their kids, as the stories poor in everywhere, of “eggings”, beatings, and theft.
“Some kid in black robe and a Scream mask ran up and grabbed my daughter’s candy bag,” said Kathy Fullerton, concerned mother of 4 year old Christina. “He ran too fast, and I couldn’t leave Christy. The police were unable catch him.”
Those still keeping the holiday spirit are losing it fast as those destroying their hard work get away scott free.
“I came home after trick or treating that night and found my pumpkins had been smashed against the wall of my house,” said 15 year old Valley View Middle School student Elsa Nordberg. “I was crushed to find my hard work smeared against the walls.”
Local friends and neighbors have begun to ban together in retaliation against these acts, creating a neighborhood watch system.
“Were trying to set up stations down our streets, where any volunteer adults can watch over any passing kids. No Child should have to live their Halloween in fear every year. We invite all neighborhoods to join us,” said Jannie Wallen local Edina citizen. “We’ll be ready for them next year.”
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Oh Zephyrus, how you've pained me so....
Front Page:
Even from the get go I'm rather disappointed with Zephyrus. The two articles displayed on the front page are filled with errors and seem to contradict everything we've learned in class in one way or another. The first article the I-35W bridge article lacks in the elements of news, its no longer timely, it lacks proximity seeing as it doesn't much affect an Edina Highschooler, there is no prominence, no human interest, no consequence, no conflict, and it barely wiggles it's way into "other". The article then slides further down hill by opening with two questions, where one question is left blank and open ended the rest of the article focuses on the other. The article was also poorly edited, the quotes aren't put into separate paragraphs, they are left embedded and almost hidden inside others. This article was written more like an essay then a journalistic article.
The second article is no more satisfying then the first, errors everywhere. It's entitles "Lend a hand this Thanksgiving: Hundreds of Edina citizens rely on food shelves for their meals". What I first notice, there are no quotes, making this a complete informative articles (booooooring......) or a complete opinionated article, I find out it's a little of both and gives off a very biased vibe. Upon actually reading the article the lede defies one of our rules, NEVER use "imagine" to start an article, never. This article uses the whole first paragraph for an "imagines". The next problem I notice is the acronym in the second paragraph, "Volunteers Enlisted to Help People (VEAP)"... I stunned by this mistake, I read it once and caught the mistake, last I checked the word "help" didn't begin with the letter "a". How could such a noticeable mistake get through the editors? Then later in the article I find something that almost hurt when when I read it, "Most of them have already finished for the season...", speaking of course of the food drives. That sentence alone contradicts the whole article, it's calling for help for something that's now over, something that gave the readers no time to respond, robbing the article of it's timeliness and for that matter, purpose. All in all again I was disappointed and I cant say I agree too much on the idea of a story that is no longer timely for the front page.
Second Page:
The first article of this page is entitled "Camel to the 9th", is an article about the targeting of woman from cigarette companies. This article was poorly written with no quotes, completely opinionated and a clear attempt to help clear up the miss hap of last months issue with the sexist article, "Nice...Shirt".
The Second article, "Safety First" was much better, it was informative and relative to the high school . The only problem I found with this one was that the quotes were poorly cited, they were again embedded in the paragraphs but also the author didn't use the word "said" once for any of the quotes, in its stead she used words such as, "reflected", "declared", "revealed" and "insisted". Though that seems like a small mistake to make, words such as those might create a new view point or feeling for the quote that the interviewed did not intend.
The last article of the page, "Got illegal tunes?", had so much potential and disappointed me so much. This article had so many different elements of news in it, proximity, timeliness and consequence, but was too poorly written to get any kind of point across. The article could have been lined with quotes from students, because just about anyone in the school with an ipod has downloaded illegally, but instead had none. I was happy to see though that the Zephyrus got their acronyms straight this time though.
Just two pages into the paper and I no longer want to continue, it's riddled with mistakes and stories that are really uninteresting, and its honestly demoralizing, I'm losing faith in my fellow peers and their talents. I think the Zephyrus staff needs to throw on a couple more editors to make sure there are fewer mistakes, and to say, "No, you NEED quotes". But lastly the writers REALLY need to start using the "Who cares?" method, because for most of these stories majority of the high school is saying, "I don't".
Even from the get go I'm rather disappointed with Zephyrus. The two articles displayed on the front page are filled with errors and seem to contradict everything we've learned in class in one way or another. The first article the I-35W bridge article lacks in the elements of news, its no longer timely, it lacks proximity seeing as it doesn't much affect an Edina Highschooler, there is no prominence, no human interest, no consequence, no conflict, and it barely wiggles it's way into "other". The article then slides further down hill by opening with two questions, where one question is left blank and open ended the rest of the article focuses on the other. The article was also poorly edited, the quotes aren't put into separate paragraphs, they are left embedded and almost hidden inside others. This article was written more like an essay then a journalistic article.
The second article is no more satisfying then the first, errors everywhere. It's entitles "Lend a hand this Thanksgiving: Hundreds of Edina citizens rely on food shelves for their meals". What I first notice, there are no quotes, making this a complete informative articles (booooooring......) or a complete opinionated article, I find out it's a little of both and gives off a very biased vibe. Upon actually reading the article the lede defies one of our rules, NEVER use "imagine" to start an article, never. This article uses the whole first paragraph for an "imagines". The next problem I notice is the acronym in the second paragraph, "Volunteers Enlisted to Help People (VEAP)"... I stunned by this mistake, I read it once and caught the mistake, last I checked the word "help" didn't begin with the letter "a". How could such a noticeable mistake get through the editors? Then later in the article I find something that almost hurt when when I read it, "Most of them have already finished for the season...", speaking of course of the food drives. That sentence alone contradicts the whole article, it's calling for help for something that's now over, something that gave the readers no time to respond, robbing the article of it's timeliness and for that matter, purpose. All in all again I was disappointed and I cant say I agree too much on the idea of a story that is no longer timely for the front page.
Second Page:
The first article of this page is entitled "Camel to the 9th", is an article about the targeting of woman from cigarette companies. This article was poorly written with no quotes, completely opinionated and a clear attempt to help clear up the miss hap of last months issue with the sexist article, "Nice...Shirt".
The Second article, "Safety First" was much better, it was informative and relative to the high school . The only problem I found with this one was that the quotes were poorly cited, they were again embedded in the paragraphs but also the author didn't use the word "said" once for any of the quotes, in its stead she used words such as, "reflected", "declared", "revealed" and "insisted". Though that seems like a small mistake to make, words such as those might create a new view point or feeling for the quote that the interviewed did not intend.
The last article of the page, "Got illegal tunes?", had so much potential and disappointed me so much. This article had so many different elements of news in it, proximity, timeliness and consequence, but was too poorly written to get any kind of point across. The article could have been lined with quotes from students, because just about anyone in the school with an ipod has downloaded illegally, but instead had none. I was happy to see though that the Zephyrus got their acronyms straight this time though.
Just two pages into the paper and I no longer want to continue, it's riddled with mistakes and stories that are really uninteresting, and its honestly demoralizing, I'm losing faith in my fellow peers and their talents. I think the Zephyrus staff needs to throw on a couple more editors to make sure there are fewer mistakes, and to say, "No, you NEED quotes". But lastly the writers REALLY need to start using the "Who cares?" method, because for most of these stories majority of the high school is saying, "I don't".
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Possible Stories
News Story idea #1: 54th St. and Oaklawn Protest
1) Slug: 54/oak-protest
2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed): Metro
3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth?
News element#1: Proximity- this is happening in our own city.
News element#2: Conflict- There are two opposing forces, its a persons right to build a house, but at the same time they are disrupting a peaceful neighborhood in doing so.
News element#3: Other- this story has a financial base to it, the wealthy are tearing aneighborhood apart by flaunting their money.
4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about: A local builder is buying local houses, knocking them down, and throwing up huge "McMansions" in their place. It's a succesful buisness and he has the right to do it vs. the moral side that he shouldnt be doing it and spare these neighborhoods the trouble.
5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?
The architect himself- get his point of view on the matter, is he doing the right thing?
One of the protestors- find their point of view in the matter, they are the key to this story.
One of construction workers- these houses are giving them work, they have a point of view in the matter.
6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
Names, the exact location of the houses, any laws on the construction of houses that are relevant, how are the citizens protesting?
7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews?
Why are you building? What gain do you get from this?
Why are you protesting? What gain do you get from this? What length will you go to keep the protest going?
8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?
The protests, the new houses along side the smaller ones, the architect
9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
The architect ( he can give locations of the houses)
The protest "leader" (she can bring him/her to the rallies)
10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
Names, I beleive names will be the hardest part, contacting people shouldn't be too bad.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story idea #2: College Around the corner
1) Slug: EHS-College
2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed): Metro
3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story?
News element#1 Timeliness- EHS seniors are just starting to apply to college, perfect timing.
News element#2 Proximity - this is whithin our own high school
News element#3 Consequence- this is something every senior has to do, if they don't they arnt going to college.
4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about:
This story is about how seniors in our school are beggining to take action on the rest of their lives. This story has alot of potential, with which colleges people are trying to get in, where Edina is ranking in comparison to other schools, etc.
5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?
Dr. Locklear- he can tell me where Edina stands and how succesful were to be as graduates.
Student- which colleges, hopes and expected outcomes.
School Administrator- Edina's past, what back then is likely to repeat?
6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
A few statistics about EHS's ranking for a state and national level, colleges most frequently applied.
7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
How much is the title "EHS graduate" going to help us or our future?
8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times,
etc.)?
Picture of the school, a testing room, a college application, of seniors.
9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
Dr. Locklear or any school official would be more then capable of helping out.
10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
Some test statistics might be a little difficult to get my hands on.
1) Slug: 54/oak-protest
2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed): Metro
3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story? Explain in-depth?
News element#1: Proximity- this is happening in our own city.
News element#2: Conflict- There are two opposing forces, its a persons right to build a house, but at the same time they are disrupting a peaceful neighborhood in doing so.
News element#3: Other- this story has a financial base to it, the wealthy are tearing aneighborhood apart by flaunting their money.
4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about: A local builder is buying local houses, knocking them down, and throwing up huge "McMansions" in their place. It's a succesful buisness and he has the right to do it vs. the moral side that he shouldnt be doing it and spare these neighborhoods the trouble.
5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?
The architect himself- get his point of view on the matter, is he doing the right thing?
One of the protestors- find their point of view in the matter, they are the key to this story.
One of construction workers- these houses are giving them work, they have a point of view in the matter.
6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
Names, the exact location of the houses, any laws on the construction of houses that are relevant, how are the citizens protesting?
7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews?
Why are you building? What gain do you get from this?
Why are you protesting? What gain do you get from this? What length will you go to keep the protest going?
8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times, etc.)?
The protests, the new houses along side the smaller ones, the architect
9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
The architect ( he can give locations of the houses)
The protest "leader" (she can bring him/her to the rallies)
10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
Names, I beleive names will be the hardest part, contacting people shouldn't be too bad.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story idea #2: College Around the corner
1) Slug: EHS-College
2) Section of newspaper story would appear (no Op-Ed): Metro
3) What are the most dominant news elements in the story?
News element#1 Timeliness- EHS seniors are just starting to apply to college, perfect timing.
News element#2 Proximity - this is whithin our own high school
News element#3 Consequence- this is something every senior has to do, if they don't they arnt going to college.
4) In a few sentences, describe what the story will be about:
This story is about how seniors in our school are beggining to take action on the rest of their lives. This story has alot of potential, with which colleges people are trying to get in, where Edina is ranking in comparison to other schools, etc.
5) Specifically, who will you interview or contact? Why those people?
Dr. Locklear- he can tell me where Edina stands and how succesful were to be as graduates.
Student- which colleges, hopes and expected outcomes.
School Administrator- Edina's past, what back then is likely to repeat?
6) What information do you need to gather before you begin interviews?
A few statistics about EHS's ranking for a state and national level, colleges most frequently applied.
7) What questions do you definitely need answered in your interviews? Why?
How much is the title "EHS graduate" going to help us or our future?
8) What photo opportunities are available to go alongside this story (give names, places, times,
etc.)?
Picture of the school, a testing room, a college application, of seniors.
9) Who should a photographer contact to set up photographs?
Dr. Locklear or any school official would be more then capable of helping out.
10) What concerns or problems do you foresee in getting this story together?
Some test statistics might be a little difficult to get my hands on.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Honesty with Journalism
Journalism is based on six principles, but I believe Honesty, is what creates the foundation for the other five. To be honest in journalism is to report the truth, without truth journalism is nothing. The world would be lost in colossal storm of rumors and gossip, people wouldn't know what to believe. Through honesty is how a journalist is able to build a reputation, by writing direct quotes instead of those out of context, people will be more willing for an interview or to come back for another. Journalism is a form of communication, a way for the people to be informed, so what would be the purpose if we simply spewed garbage in our journalistic writing?
Sunday, September 9, 2007
In class I've been staring at the voting list of Mr. Hatten's first hour's favorite restaurants in Edina and I couldn't be more frustrated with it. After a while of starring at it in disappointment I realized this city's youth has poor taste in anything that resembles a restaurant. The California Pizza Kitchen is a place to grab a good pizza, good pizza not great, before or after a movie. There's just nothing special to it, and to think it would win the number 1 spot on their list... But it was then I realized, their list is based off Southdale. The closer the restaurants are to it, the better the ranking, does this mean our generation is that lazy to just give up and claim the closest to them is the best there is? It's pathetic really. I wont even start with the cake eating stereo types I could make too with, Maggiano's, The Cheese Cake Factory, and P.F. Changs to follow. So all I can say to my fellow peers, is wake up, go the extra step and find a restaurant that is truly worth while, if you'd like my advice, try Salut, right on France, near 50th. I have yet to have anything close to a bad experience there. The waiters are always smiling and really know their menu well, the food is amazing and at a reasonable price and the atmosphere is comfortable, its very well kept and decorated but places no pressure on you to dress up. But my personal favorite is their desert, creme brulé, red velvet cake, terramissu and the king of deserts, their giant 20$ sunday built for four. It's served in an over sized martini glass, with chocolate cake, whipped cream, ice cream, hot fudge, bananas, strawberries and wafers, truly a treat of recognition, which sadly seems as though this city doesn't do it justice. So please kids of Edina, go further and give your stomach what it's been begging for.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
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