Don't stress but DO STRETCH

This is wonderful advice for would-be journalists. And others too. Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/business/04unbox.html?em&ex=1210219200&en=df42aea0a77e7ad3&ei=5087%OA

Public Records are your friends!!

(Material from The Baltimore Sun's Guide to Public Records is used liberally in this post.)

USE PUBLIC RECORDS

   They will make a difference in your reporting because too many writers don't use them. Spend a little time looking at forms, both ones you fill out in your daily life and some you can just ask for in various offices. They will give you ideas of the kind of information that is available.

Remember we are a "paper" or computer society and so are obsessed with record keeping. Comedian Mitch Heldberg (check it out on youtube) has a hilarious joke about getting a receipt when he buys a donut. He cannot imagine a scenario, he says, in which he would be pressed to prove he'd bought a donut! Still, you get a paper record of your transactions in Dunkin' Donuts.

Computerization has made collecting and seeing paper records easier. That is a good development for journalists, but the fear and paranoia over loss of privacy that has accompanied this is not. Be sensitive to the fact that people worry about their secret information becoming known, even while they support the idea of finding out secret information about other people. Yes, it's contradictory.

Records are good but they can be wrong. Talk to people, the people who created the reports are good, and ask them to explain the records. Also talk to the people whose lives are being described in the records you use to give them a chance to make corrections or full explanations.

And records can be public or PRIVATE and still obtainable and useful. Diaries, letters, a canceled check, a resume submitted to get a job, lists, these are all potentially important to your story telling.

KINDS OF RECORDS:

The Basics:

1. Births and deaths

2. Marriages and divorce

3. Wills

4. Voter registration

5. Police records

6. Criminal court case files

7. Civil court case files

8. Lawyers' files (depositions are public and lawyers sometimes share)

9. Liens

10. Bankruptcy court case files

11. U.S. Tax Court case files

Real Estate

1. Land records

2. Assessments

Regulatory agencies

1. Federal agencies that oversee the environment and worker safety, as two examples

2. State and local agencies that oversee such things a restaurant conditions, housing, building code and fie safety inspections. Construction generates lots of local-government records from planning and zoning approvals, site plans to occupancy permits. 

3. State licenses for professionals such as attorneys and doctors

4. Environmental protection agencies

5. Hospitals -- owners records are kept by state health departments usually and annual reports on profits, costs, average stays and daily room rates are filed with a state health agencies.

6. Charities keep and must provide 990 forms that show where their money goes and what top officials earn

State Government

1. Guides to how state government work are invaluable in helping you figure out who you need to talk to and how things work.

2. Motor vehicles -- usually a small fee to get info on an individual's record

3. Boat licenses

4. Ethics-financial disclosure forms required for elected state officials and others.

5. Campaign finance information (start with county Board of Elections)

6. Road and bridge inspections

7. Gun permit records (start with county clerk or sheriff)

8. State comptroller keeps info on alcohol and tobacco taxes and on state contracts

10. State archives

Business records --There is a whole separate set of financial, banking and public corporation records that were outside the scope of this course but which you should explore in your future. Beside this class of paper, investigate businesses by thinking of them as if they were a person. They are "born" or incorporated, buy and sell property, are regulated, trade and sign contracts sometimes with the government and generate news. Just as for a person each of these events generates records you can secure.

Internet sources on public records:

1. www.brbpub.com BRB is a company that charges companies and people to dig through public records for information. But on its website you'll find "free resources" that will give you ideas about finding records.

2. www.idiganswers.com  This is the web site of Joe Adams, a terrific Florida editorial writer who has been a life's study and published books and guides on the use of public records in that state, where unlike NY, many records are accessible. On his site he posts newspaper and other articles based on public records and shows how they were done.

Happy hunting.

Model Meeting Story

For those of you who covered the Albany Common Council meeting April 21, here is the Albany Times-Union story against which you can compare your work.

Please note that first names are used, possessives and plurals are correct, questions about background are filled in. My one criticism is that the article does not explain what the Department of General Services actually does, as the name does not make it clear.

COUNCIL APPROVES JENNINGS NOMINEE

By Tim O'Brien

ALBANY -- The Common Council approved Mayor Jerry Jennings' pick to lead the Department of General Services Monday despite concerns over some employees trading trash for cash.

Nick D'Antonio won appointment to the $94,448-a-year job by a vote of 31-1. D'Antonio has been second in command at the department for about five years.

Some departmental employees and council members lauded the nominee for improving service and responding quickly to concerns. Others raised concerns about allegations in 2006 that D'Antonio cursed at former employee Roy Charland after he revealed workers were selling scrap metal for cash.

"In the last five years that Nick D'Antonio has come down to the department, new ideas he brought with him have energized the department," said Roy Bargallo, deputy chief supervisor.

Earl Filkins, president of AFSCME Local 1961, agreed.

"He did straighten out a lot of problems we had down there," he said. "He's done a great job."

Resident Elise Van Allen cited 2006 stories in the Times Union about the sale of discarded appliances for cash revealed by City Comptroller Tom Nitido. At the time, Charland said D'Antonio reminded him that his brother and son still worked for the department.

"Under the eyes of Nick D'Antonio, the citizens of Albany were defrauded," she said.

Council member Michael O'Brien said Nitido's report found no illegality. D'Antonio has said the funds were used for office parties.

"Commissioner Nitido said in his report use of the funds would have been permitted if carried out under the city's purchasing system" O'Brien said. "He also said he round no evidence of systemic fraud."

The report was referred to the district attorney's office. Councilman Corey Ellis said the district attorney's office would not say if the case is resolved so he was not comfortable voting for or against D'Antonio.

Councilman Dominick Calsolaro, the sole "no" vote, praised the 14-year city employee as responsive but said he was concerned he did not have an engineering degree or other more advanced degree.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

I hope many of you caught what Lucy had to say Tuesday night about the use of anonymous sources, a topic we have visited in class.

She said she would never say we don't use too many. Anonymity is always an easy fallback way to get someone to talk to us about uncomfortable issue and blame.

But, she is clearly not among those editors who have outright banned used of unnamed sources. Without them, she said, the public is not going to hear the truth about such matters as intelligence mistakes, back-room budgeting and military matters. There is a place for this journalistic tool.

The difficult part is to determine if there really is no other way to get information from other sources, multiple sources or documents than to put it in the mouth of a person with a hidden identity.

Lucy Dalglish on anonymous sources

I hope many of you captured what the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had to say about use of anonymous sources Tuesday night. We have debated this a bit in class. She would not ever stand up and try to say we don't use too many anonymous sources, she said, first.

Indeed, it's too easy to grant annonymity to people to get them to loosen up and talk.

Modern day IF Stone?

Check out this article -- with video -- about a producer on Jon Stewart's Comedy Central show whose stock in trade is comparing what officials and pundits are saying now with what they have said in the past.

The Post has dubbed this investigative humor because it involves digging up stuff out of the past and because it's frequently funny to see the twists and hypocritical turns officials take.

Stewart uses all this to excellent comedic effect but it's not an insignificant past time. Legendary investigative reporter IF Stone was a rigorous watchdog of government through much the same technique. He read government reports. He looked at minutes of meetings, He compared what officials said through a multitude of speeches and they he charted the changes and discrepancies. This is all on-the-record stuff, no anonymous sources, no leaks. He just paid attention and read widely.

Get the lesson in that?

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article2008/04/29/AR2008042902827/html

A photographer's interviewing trick

Philippe Halsman was a great portrait photographer for Life magazine (Remember Bruce Squiers' speech?) who shot many celebrities and stars in his day from Marilyn Monroe to Richard Nixon.

There is a link between photographing and interviewing people. Fashion photographer Richard Avedon spoke about how he was given permission to bore into people when they let him shoot them. Nothing is out of bounds. That's a good way to think about questioning people. The trick for photographer and for reporter is to get your subject to let down barriers and fear so that you can really "see" more.

Halsman's technique for doing this was to get his subjects to jump.

Just jump.

And oddly enough they did, including society dames and royalty. It was so unexpected and silly, and seemingly non-threatening that his subjects did as he asked. There is a book of Halsman's jumping picture but that was not the point. What he did in shooting those jumps was loosen up his subjects and get closer to them.

Nice meeting coverage

Some nice work on the meeting assignment.

I commend these for you to check out because they are meeting stories, rather than stories about covering a meeting; they are limited to what the reporters thought was the most important items on the agenda,  rather than reports on the entire agenda; and there are some nice touches of colorful reporting, description and quotes:

 Anand (http://anandbalasar.blogspot.com)

Aimee (http://aimeeHx3.blogspot.com)

Bridget (www.bridgetjoy.blogspot.com)

Sam (http://samh-jrl2008.blogspot.com)

A scheduling change

I apologize for another abrupt change in scheduling but it's necessary to accommodate a speaker.

Originally I had told you we would meet Monday and then Tuesday night you will attend the Lucy Dalglish speech in lieu of class on Wednesday.

But Steve Gourds who is going to talk to you about digging up information on people and places using public records can only meet with us on Wednesday, April 30. So, I am rescheduling that class and I will give you the follow Monday May 5 off instead. 

You may well need this -- Your final papers are due to me May 7.

Let me go over the rundown of work owed between now and the end of the semester.

If you have turned in everything to date in on time, you will owe me:

1. The final story

2. A blog item about Lucy Dalglish, the Tuesday April 29 speaker.

3. A blog item on what finally you have discovered about the person who's name you were assigned toward the start of class.

4. A blog item explaining what Swift Boating is

5. Rewrites of any stories handed in on time that you want a chance at redoing.

As always, call, email or let me know if you have questions or problems.

Swift Boating

Jo-Ann Armao talked a lot about the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election. This was an example, she said, of how journalists striving for a kind of fake balance did a poor job representing reality to readers. 

The quizzes on the notes you took today reveal that none of you know what the Swift Boat campaign was.

Yet, no one asked the speaker to explain.

So, now please look it up and write a one-paragraph explanation because I am asking.  Thank you.

How to take better pictures

Taken as a group, the photos you turned in for our last class had these common problems:

1. They were blurry, grainy or otherwise technically lacking. Digital cameras far surpass cell phones, although I did allow both. The library lets you check out digital cameras. Try one or experiment with the one you have.

2. They were shot from too far away. The closer you are to your subject matter the more dramatic and effective the shot is likely to be. If you can't get close, use a telephoto lens or try to figure out how you might get a different shot that emphasizes some other angle of the story. This is superior to sticking with your original idea anyway and getting a lousy photo.

3. They showed "things" or "places" but no people. We humans like photos with life forms in them, preferably fellow humans, preferably pictures close enough to see their eyes. The one exception in this class was Bridget's shot of one of the routers destroyed by vandals on campus and the subject of a front-page ASP story Tuesday.

Check out this illustrated FotoFinish guide on "How to Take Better Pictures." http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/takingpictures.htm

The good news is -- NO CLASS on WEDNESDAY

I would like you all to go to hear a leading national expert on First Amendment and press law issues.

Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, will be speaking at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, in the Standish Board Room, which is on the Third Floor of he Science Library.

Please plan to attend and to write a 250-500 word news article on her address in your blogs by the end of the day Friday, May 2. If you choose to tell the story in an alternative form -- through pictures or audio -- that will be acceptable.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Journalism lessons in bite-sized chunks

Ted Pease calls himself a professor of interesting stuff. He runs a website at http://tesdword.blogspot.com or you can sign up to get a once-a-day posting about journalism/writing/civics. Send a note to ted.pease@gmail.com

I find these, well, interesting as he says, but they sometimes lead me to other issues and names I want to know more about. At any rate it's a way to learn more without a huge investment of time you don't have.

Today's offering, for example is Timidity:

"Without newspapers, without someone telling us what is happening, all kinds of mischief can occur. It can be pretty serious, such as corporate and government corruption. Of course, unless newspapers really dig for stories, we won't be able to root out shady goings-on. And today, many newspapers seem tame and timid, far from the old newspaperman's challenge to 'comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.'"  A quote from Bangor Maine Daily News columnist Steve Cartwright, 2008

The "old newspaperman" quoted in the quote is Joseph Pulitzer. Look up Pulitzer's platform. It's not really a piece of flooring but a statement about the role of journalists. Pretty inspiring stuff.

Where'd all the men go?

Speakers and several of you have commented about the overwhelming number of women in the class compared to men.

Essayist Nancy Gibbs in Time magazine 4/14 writes that 58 percent of undergraduates nationally are female right now. In a few years the ratio will probably tip to 60/40. Black men are outnumbered on campus by black females 2 to 1.

The essay was not as strong on reasons as it was on numbers.

As to journalism, New Media Women Entrepreneurs, a project of the McCormick Tribune
Foundation (all that by way of letting you as readers know the numbes look credible):

Women make up two-thirds of all J-School students -- but only one-third of the full-time journalism workforce.

Also:

only 15 percent of executive leaders and 12 percent of board members in top communications companies

just 40 percent of the TV news workforce and 25 percent of TV news directors

and only 14 percent of Sunday morning TV talk show guests.

Stop the Presses!! Most students believe they deserve A's

Here's an analysis of the editorials you did on the grade you feel you deserve:

Of 18 students:

* 7 wrote that they deserved A's.
*5 wrote that they deserved A-'s
*1 wrote he/she deserved a B
*5 did not do the assignment (not good!)


The techniques used to persuade included:

1. Flattery as in: "I've truly enjoyed this class and I am so happy I discovered journalism."

2. Honesty as in: "I know I have slacked off quite a bit at times, but I try my best to get myself back on track."

3. Mild coercion as in: "If I received lower than an A- in this class I will be very disappointed both in myself and the professor."

4. Favorable self-assessment as in "Although far from achieving the level of journalist, I have been surprised by myself as this is my first journalism class, and (I) already feel leaps and bounds ahead of w(h)ere I was before this semester started."

5. Empathy as in: "It must be hard for a teacher to decide what grades a student should get."

Bruce Squiers does your photo assignment

Daily Gazette shooter Bruce Squiers knows the assignment you are all working on -- to shoot a news photograph on campus over the next two days. He sent along a shot done recently showing how he might have responded to this assignment. Here's the note he sent about this picture:

"Attached is a fairly recent photo of a U of Albany shot I made, a basketball game.
Remember how I told the class that good photos usually have an "unusual" moment? This one has a player on his back on the floor, appearing like he might get stomped. (He wasn't)."

Those of you looking for Broadcast Experience....

A notice from Journalism Program Director Bill Rainbolt:

HotNewz.tv is a Web television news service aimed at a predominantly college-age audience -- with well-experienced broadcast journalism professionals on the senior staff, and with college correspondents from around the country providing much of the on-air content.

HotNewz.tv wants UAlbany students to get involved as broadcast journalism correspondents (they will be the first from the SUNY system). The HotNewz.tv people say they are looking for "any story that will be of interest to college students across the country . . . news, sports, politics, interesting profiles, commentary, music videos, whatever."

One of the anchors of HotNewz.tv and the CEO will present information about the service and would like to talk with UAlbany students who are interested in submitting footage and stories. This would be a great opportunity to get experience and materials for a resume.

The main studio is in New York studio, but the local correspondents would be based here, in the Capital District.

When: 2:45-3:45 Thursday, April 17
Where: Humanities 354
Who: One anchor and the CEO of HotNewz.tv

Note to the class from speaker Jo-Ann Armao

Rosemary:
Thank you for the invite to the class. I always find it interesting to hear
the questions and concerns of a different generation. In thinking about my
presentation, I fear I might have given short shrift to the writing part of
editorials. It goes without saying that it is the writing where everything
comes together and that often is the toughest part.

It's important that the writer really know what it is he or she wants to say.
There can be no throat-clearing. Some find it useful to write a headline
first. That really focuses your thinking. The lead, just as in straight
reporting, is the hardest to write. It has to be forceful and state clearly
what the whole piece is about. The second graph is generally considered the
background section. When providing background, the writer should also not
be afraid to infuse opinion.

The rest of the piece is arguments to buttress the lead. Unlike news
stories, it is important to have a kicker that sums up and makes a final
statement.

One final word: be careful with adjectives. They can be powerful friends
but some, like shameful, are overrused and trite.

Cheers
Jo-Ann

To Name or Not to Name

Classmate Hope Still got a great quote from a student she was interviewing recently for the Fountain Day assignment. The only trouble was, the student didn't want his name used. To be identified with his words would identify him as an underage drinker.

So should the quote have been used or not?

Anonymous Sources
What is a name? While yes, when a name is not on paper, it's a means of addressing someone, of giving their identity and being a word to call. But on paper, in an article where the person is not the main focus, but the words they say contribute to the point being made, what does it matter? If something they say does in fact deem itself important enough to be attributed to a person by name, they by all means the journalist should use wise discretion and include the name; but if a quote just adds flavor to the story, and the speaker would rather not be named, then I see no harm in not including it.

As for an editors demand for a source that will allow his or her name to be used, perhaps a speaker might not be as candid if he or she knows that their words will be attributed. Illegal activity or unsavory behavior is most certainly not something a person would want associated with their name. But if that information helps along a story, then it seems ridiculous to rule out useful information for the sole reason that the speaker does not want to be named. This is most especially true if the alternative is a nameable source with inferior comments.

Even some of the most intriguing and influential stories have involved anonymity; does the name Deep Throat ring a bell?
It seems quite evident that journalists must use their discretion when deciding if appropriate to include an anonymous source. While editors ultimately have control, it seems they should be willing to lose a "Bob" or "Sally" for decent information.
Posted by hope123 at 6:12 PM 0 comments

UAlbany journalism students as they....

listen actively and devise clever questions to elicit the best information from class speakers. Right?