Instructor: Angelia HerrinJune 24, 2008

Where do you get your information?

A bus loaded with elementary school children crashed head-on into a compact car in southwestern Jefferson County yesterday, injuring 24 students and the two drivers.

A 71-year-old former psychologist received an eight-year prison sentence Monday for running the most sophisticated indoor marijuana growing operation ever discovered in Clackamas County

Authorities said Arvord Belden of Estacada may be the oldest man ever sentenced to federal prison for a drug crime in Oregon – The Portland Oregonian

Walking your dog along the beach here is illegal – and so is lounging with your lizard, Chris De Mando found out Monday.

DeMando and his 20-pound purple-tongued monitor lizard, Mortimer, were out for exercise Monday when they were stopped by police. DeMando said a daily walk makes Mortimer more docile, but police said it makes him an illegal lizard – animals are banned on the beach. DeMando was ticketed and faces a $500 fine. – St. Petersburg Times

A California jury acquitted Michael Jackson of all counts in his trial on child molestation charges against a 13-year-old boy.

Susan Smith once failed to attend her grandmother’s funeral because her anxiety over crossing bridges stopped her from driving from Washington to Baltimore.

Now Smith heads a foundation aimed at helping phobics like herself overcome their fears -- and cross those bridges when they come to them.

Opponents of a new law that makes it easier to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan are preparing a petition drive to stop the law’s implementation

New research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes bolsters mounting evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in good health.

Farmer Pete Belluomini says the ground-cracking drought and unrelenting insects make it difficult enough to make a living on the land.

But they are the least of his concern these days as a new menace haunts farmers in Bakersfield, California: diesel thieves.

Sgt. Walt Reed of the Kern County

Sheriff's Department said that more than $300,000 worth of diesel fuel was stolen in Kern County in the past three months.

Double latte in the morning, soda with lunch, energy drink at midday. Sound familiar?

Americans are consuming caffeinated beverages as never before and energy drink sales are skyrocketing. The sale of Redbull, for instance, rose 19 percent in 2007, according to Beverage Digest..

All this caffeine consumption has given rise to growing numbers of "caffeinated moms." A study by an independent, nonprofit research group, The National Sleep Foundation, found more than 65 percent of moms drink caffeinated beverages to get through their day.

“ The essence of journalism is a discipline of verification.”

The Books of The Times review in The Arts on Feb. 26 and an article in House & Home on Thursday described the experiences of Margaret B. Jones, who said that she had been a foster child and gang member in South Central Los Angeles and survived to write a book about that life. “Margaret B. Jones” turned out to be a pseudonym, and her story a complete fabrication, as The Times reported on Tuesday. An article about how her publisher, and the newspaper, failed to discover the truth earlier appears today in The Arts.

Objectivity

Context-setting

Sense-making

Connecting

Verification

www.isites.harvard.edu/k37128

Inclass News story Draft: September 30 Revision: October 5Fourth of July story Draft: November 12 Revision: December 17Feature Story

Project Memo: December 3 Draft: January 10 Revision: January 19

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“You may have wondered why we invited you to this party!”

Interview a fellow student about his decision to join this class

Learn about her background, her interests in journalism and her plans for the future

Use the backgrounder to help you write a short feature story.

You are applying for an intern job at my newspaper. Now I need a letter of recommendation about you. Before I hire you, I want to know who you are and how well you can write. So write a letter about YOU.

As a potential employer, what should I know about you? Write about your background, experiences, skills and personality.

Here are the ground rules:

1) Write in third-person style. (Don’t use the pronoun I.) 2) Use complete sentences, correct grammar and punctuation. 3)Organize the material in a way that puts the most important

information first, the second most important facts second. In other words, you are writing to tell me quickly why I want to hire you, out of a huge field of applicants, right now.

4)Write no more than two pages. 5)Have fun. Energy, humanity and creativity are rewarded in this

business and in this class.

In one page, tell me what you hope to get out of this class. What skills do you hope to sharpen or gain? What big questions do you hope to answer?