puns, racism and referenda

Abstract:

Christopher Smith, the author of “So many headlines, so few zingers,” shows how different publications worded the title of a story on Bush’s budget cuts. Depending upon the politics of the paper, newspapers worded the headline to show the budget cuts as both positive and negative. Portraying the budget cut as positive or negative gives a slant to the story that might not even be present in the copy.

Some papers used imagery, “Bush wields budget knife.” The most effective headlines were the ones that localized the story, mentioning the state in the title. These headlines told how the budget cut directly affected the reader and made the story relevant to the reader of the area.

In “Pardon the puns: E-N headline writers told to play it straight,” Bob Richter addresses the issue of puns making a newspaper look unprofessional. On April 20, 2006, Express-News Editor Robert Rivard set a ban on the use of puns. I can understand why many headlines with puns would be offensive to the reader, but the story mentions one headline I didn’t find offensive, “Mumps outbreak swells.”

Puns often draw readers into a less exciting story, and the use of the word “swells” is subtle. Readers might not even think about the pun. I don’t agree with putting a ban on puns, but Rivard could have asked copy editors to think about sensitivity when using puns. Also, in the fifth paragraph from the top, the author writes, “pardon the pun—broke the camel’s back.” That isn’t an example of a pun. It would only work in a few instances, such as if the editor’s name was Camel.

“Pardon the puns” includes a paragraph in which copy editors are described as having small egos, preferring the “solitude of the newsroom to the limelight of chasing news.” Basically, this article is calling copy editors shut-ins. The next article I read, “Ignore copy editors at your own peril,” basically gives tips on how copy editors can better present their job so that it doesn’t appear to be the occupation of a lonely, shut-in. One of the tips is, “Have regular content discussions with copy editors.” This seems to be instructing editors to treat copy editors as worthy members of the publication.  

Case study:

I had ethical issues with the Diversity Game. I chose to play level 1 just to test out the game. On question 2, the game presents the problem that the player is the editor of a newspaper, and he or she has the opportunity to make an important hire because there are no managers of color on staff. There is a person in line for the job, a white male, who has worked his way up and has “demonstrated commitment to diversity.”

The game asks what the best option is, and then says that it was to do a nationwide search until you find a person of color. I think this is wrong, it’s a reverse racism. If a person proves his or herself worthy and has worked up in the company, I think he or she should be rewarded regardless of color. Also, the game seems inherently racist, assuming that the player is white and that only minorities should be hired, not whites.   

In “Grandfather charged in blaze that killed 3” it seems that through the title the authors Gerry Smith and Tina Shah gave their stance on the debate of whether unborn babies are considered people or not. The article mentions that Subhash Chander, the grandfather, was charged with one account of intentional homicide of an unborn child, which would count as a fourth person even though the title only mentions the death of three people.

On the ACES Web site, I read the thread entitled, “When not married: “Girlfriend”? “Lover”? The thread began with Neil Holdway, the ACES treasurer, posting an article called “Perplexing matter of how to identify couples who aren’t married,” which addressed the issue of what to call someone’s significant other when the two people are not married. It was unclear if the article was referring to a homosexual relationship, but that’s what the message board discussion veered toward.

Some of the issues that were brought up include figuring out what to call someone’s significant other of the same sex. “Lover” carried negative, scandalous connotations, and one person mentioned “partner,” although others thought the word pertained more to business. Some participants of the discussion questioned how a reporter should classify a homosexual relationship in the specific case of two women living together who loved each other but did not engage in sexual activity. Do you classify a homosexual couple based on sexual activity or sexual orientation? Another person questioned if the classification was even relevant or necessary.     

Tips for writing a resume:

I found this on Poynter Online. The second half of the article is a conversation between the author of the article Colleen Eddy, who is the director of the Poynter Career Center, and Joe Grimm, the recruiting and development editor at the Detroit Free Press.

Consider what you are dealing with: human nature. We want things to be easy:

• Make your resume easy to understand and easy to read.
• Make it easy to contact you.
• Tell people why they want to hire you by listing your skills and strengths.

What you put on paper makes a statement about you. Ask yourself what image you want to create through your fonts, use of white space, and most importantly, with clear, accurate, straightforward language. People perceive all these things just as though you were speaking.

Don’t worry about that rule you’ve heard about keeping your resume to one page, but don’t stretch it out, either. A resume doesn’t have to say it all, just enough to get them to call you for an interview. Above all, it must be honest and accurate.

Here’s what Joe Grimm has to say about resumes, followed by some of my own comments:

Joe: Generally an “objective” line is not helpful. However if you are changing directions in your career, a good objective line can help the reader look at your work experience from your point of view.

Colleen: I agree. Objectives can limit the hiring manager’s view of you. If they don’t have an opening that matches your objective, they may not read further. Instead of an objective, use a summary heading that makes a statement about why you’re worth hiring.

Joe: Use verbs that show action, such as: founded, directed, initiated, created, led or advocated.

Colleen: Action verbs show performance — you actually did or are doing something. That’s what we need to achieve goals.

Joe: Use concrete nouns. They can help your resume show up in database searches. Useful nouns include software programs, languages, job titles and fields of study.

Colleen: What’s important here is “concrete.” Such nouns anchor to reality the actions described in the resume.

Joe: A resume works on multiple levels. It is not just a professional summary; it is also a sample of your work. Make it a persuasive piece of evidence that you are professional and competent.

Colleen: Amen. Like the attire you wear to the interview, the resume is your first impression — on paper.

Joe: A well-organized resume is built in a grid format with two or three columns. Use the left margin, an indented column and a right column. Use one for employers and schools, another for dates, and the center area for longer descriptions.

Always have a good editor — not your best friend — edit your resume before you submit it.

Colleen: The pain of a typo on a resume cuts deep. It may cut you right out of the picture.

And we both agree that there is never any need to write “references available upon request.” Instead, when you are asked for your references –- which will happen if the company is interested in hiring you –- then submit a list of references with contact information.

Story Idea:

The University of Florida Responsible Endowment Coalition has gathered enough signatures to put a referendum on the Student Government elections ballot. The REC proposes putting together a group of faculty, students, and alumni representatives to oversee the university’s spending, making sure UF’s $1.2 billion endowment is spent on companies that would ensure socially and environmentally sound plans.

According to the Facebook event, which encourages students to vote, the referendum question says: “Should UF facilitate the creation of an independent committee of student, faculty, and alumni representatives to advise the board of trustees on the socially responsible investment of UF’s endowments?”

I would first talk to Skeet Surrency, the student who created the REC group on Facebook.

Skeet Surrency
FloridaREC@gmail.com

I would ask what drove him to start up this group, and why he suggests that the university has little transparency in its spending as he suggests on the Facebook group. 

Then I would see if I could talk to President Bernie Machen about this referendum. Would he be willing to allow a group to advice the university on its spending? I would be interested to know what he thinks about the accusations that spending isn’t transparent enough to the students.

For visual interest, I would include a photo of Surrency approaching a student with a petition, or of him near the voting, possibly trying to influence a student to vote yes on the referendum. Of course I would not set up a posed shot. I am just trying to brainstorm some possible picture ideas and images to watch out for. I would run the print story at 15-17 inches.

The online version could explain more in depth about REC, which is a national organization that aids students in forming their own campus chapters. I would also include video clips of my interview with Surrency, and Machen’s response.  

Woodstein, ethics and women engineers

“How Do You Photograph the Amish? Let Us Count the Ways” brought up the subject of ethics and sensitivity toward religious tradition. After the murder of five Amish girls, a reader of the Columbia Journalism Review, the publication in which this article was published, wrote in asking how the photographers handled photographing the Amish. The author of the article, Liz Cox Barrett, asked a few photographers from publications that covered the shooting how they handled photographing a group of people whose religion advises against being photographed.

 

The most logical response was from Ed Hille, a Philadelphia Inquirer photographer, who said, “This isn’t a story about the Amish and their quaintness … We’re covering a news story.” It’s true that journalists need to respect religion, but the news aspect needs to be addressed as well. At the risk of discrediting religion, anyone can make up a cult that states that something is offense and their beliefs would have to be passed off as religion. If the media was forced to respect every aspect of every religion, it would be difficult for journalists to cover the news for fear of impinging on beliefs.

 

In “What the F—k Are They Driving At?” which was also published in the Columbia Journalism Review, Gal Beckerman writes about the New York Times’ omission of the word “fucking” from a quote. Beckerman talks about the importance of tampering with a quote because it the makes the reader question the integrity of the paper. Also, the word which was omitted is taboo among high-ranking officials. The word’s inclusion showed General Tommy R. Franks character. However, the paragraph telling how Douglas Feith has to sit alone in the cafeteria was unnecessary. What did the reader gain from this? It might be based on truth, and the intent might have been to include this paragraph to verify the validity of Franks’ statement about Feith, but it seems it might embarrass Feith.

 

James Dooley, the author of “Readers question use of Lexington, Ky., crime scene photo” confronted the issue of whether to run a picture with showing a dead body. The article focused specifically on the printing of a picture a police officer photographing a dead woman with only her legs showing.

 

Unlike the omission of the “F” word in the New York Times story, this photo didn’t give any new information to the reader. I thought that running this photo on the section’s front page was tasteless. The photo should have been buried. There’s not a lot that the reader can gain from seeing a dead woman’s legs, and there’s a point when this kind of imagery becomes all shock and no news.

 

There’s a marked difference between showing people grieving, such as in the story “How Do You Photograph the Amish?” and showing the victim. I’m sure the people of the Amish community would have had a problem with photographers taking pictures of the legs of the five slain girls. People tend to have a morbid curiosity, which can turn into a disorder, creating copycat murders for notoriety. Although newspapers main objective is to make money, the decision to run this photo was distasteful and ethically unsound.

Case Study:

 

I’m so glad we got to watch this movie. Movies from the ‘70s seem to have this unself-conscious, genuine quality lacking in most blockbusters out today. If this movie had just come out, I’m certain the writer would have been asked to inject some sort of made up love story or sex scene.

 

Even though I found this movie charming, I couldn’t help feeling frustrated throughout the film. Woodward and Bernstein were extremely lucky: they had underground help from Deep Throat, and the slip-ups from those involved with the White House helped reassure the two reporters that something was going on—that there really is a story.

 

For example, the White House librarian at first slips up, saying that the one guy (I cannot recall his name despite attempts to find it online) checked out many books on Kennedy and Chappaquiddick, and then she comes back on the phone and denies even knowing the guy. I would imagine that because of stories like this one, now every person who works for any company or organization, such as the White House, would be trained in how to talk to journalists.

 

Stories like this one make our jobs as journalists more difficult. Back when Woodward and Bernstein were working on this story, records were printed on paper. I imagine that with changing technology, records are now mostly recorded onto computers to save space. It makes me wonder who gets access to these records. My other concern with records going digital is that it makes them easier to hack and easier to alter. I know I’ve got a case of paranoia, but I can’t help thinking of George Orwell’s “1984.”

 

Woodward and Bernstein built their case from oddities surrounding the case—scraps they found throughout their investigation. I found it incredible that they were granted access to records I would have figured would be private, such as the receipt of the $25,000 check. It seems like anyone could pose as a journalist, there’s no badge of authority you can flash once you become a reporter, and because of this, most likely records will be more difficult to access. Presidents and other officials can hide information. Especially since Sept. 11, they can pull the old “compromise to national security” b.s.

 

Story idea:

 

The Society of Women Engineers is hosting an all-day event called “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” on Wednesday, Feb. 20 in the Reitz Union. According to the event ad on Facebook, more than 100 middle school students will be able to participate in hands-on science activities, engineering lab tours and a panel discussion. I think this would make a good preview story so that parents reading the story have time to get their child involved if interested.

 

I would start out by talking to the event creator, Cherona Levy. I’d like to find out why she and the Society of Women Engineers wanted to put on this event. I’d also like to talk to some of the other members of the club and find out how they first became interested in engineering, what or who influenced them and why they think girls should become interested.

 

Cherona Levy

954-683-6828

ig2ed.ufl@gmail.com

 

I would also like to find out the statistics on the number of women in the University of Florida’s College of Engineering and the ratio of females to males in the college.

I’d also like to consult a professor in the Center for women’s studies and gender research about the event, why women have previously not been prevalent in the world of science, and if the professor sees any indication of more women entering the trade.

Milagros Pena, Director

mpena@soc.ufl.edu

This story would probably work best to start out from the point of view of a member of the Society of Women Engineers with the most compelling story of how she became interested in engineering. I’d also like to talk to some of the girls who will be participating, a teacher from a participating school and the parents of a participant.

In the print version, I would include a box with the key information on the event, as well as contact information of the event coordinator. If there has been a past event similar to this one, I would include a picture from the past event. The story should run at 25-30 inches. In the online version, I would compile an attractive video of interviews with the members, parents, teachers, and the women’s studies professor.

buzz words, Wal-Mart and free trips to the alleged land of milk and honey

I was drawn to “FactCheck.org: The Whoppers of 2007” because Professor Rodgers assigned that Web site for me to review on the second day of class. The list discussed all of the major fact errors that presidential candidates made in 2007. I was confused that FactCheck.org included falsities like, “Democrats made false promises about their Medicare drug bill in January,” because both sides make false promises all the time. President Bush made many false statements about what he as president would do to help our country. The “No Child Left Behind” act failed and continues to fail, and yet that was not included on the list, although it may not be considered a “whopper” by this point. This list proved that all candidates in both parties either use made up statistics to make their point, or they sway information in their favor.

In “The Political Power of Words: Emerging Writers” author Dean Powers talks about how journalists use key words to describe a person’s political views and personal characteristics. Specific examples include associating NASCAR with those who are politically conservative and the use of the word “terrorism.” Professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, Geoffrey Nunberg explains using “values” in reference to getting people upset about “the drift of culture.” Powers cites the use of buzz words as laziness on the part of journalists, who use the word as a short-hand instead of taking the time and word space to explain.   

I also read “Goodbye copy desk, hello trouble?” by John Russial. The article talks about the pros and cons to the reorganization of newspapers, which includes getting rid of copy desks and incorporating copy editing into other aspects of the newspaper. A benefit includes editors and reporters working together, which enables reporters to have a greater appreciation for fact-checking and stories to contain less last-minute errors. But the article also points out that reporters aren’t always the best at writing headlines, nor do they want to be bothered with the task. Similar to the use of buzzwords, I think that newspapers often departmentalize in a way that restricts workers from performing to their full potential. Labeling someone as a reporter or a copy editor only allows that person to do specific work. Reporters are capable of writing headlines, and editors are capable of more than looking up facts.

The thread between all three of these stories is the importance of fact-checking. Candidates can paint themselves in a more favorable color through the use of skewing facts to their advantage, but which is false and misleading to the public. No one has the first amendment right to yell “fire” when there isn’t one. Also, editors should be fact-checking their buzzwords. The use of “terrorism” is a popular word in the media, and often it’s applied inaccurately to sensationalize stories, which can change the meaning of the term.           

Case Study:

The two stories on the Wal-Mart opening in Athens different immensely. In “Athens is welcoming Wal-Mart” it seems that the author, Richard Beck, copied and reworded the Wal-Mart press release. The other story, “Wal-Mart to strike up the bands for grand opening Wed.” appears biased against the opening of Wal-Mart. This became apparent to me after the author compared the size of Wal-Mart with a Kroger supermarket, which seemed unnecessary to the story, and the author’s inclusion of only one side of the story, what the protesters had to say.

Unlike the first story which reads like a press release, “Wal-Mart to strike up bands” addresses the social context of Wal-Mart’s opening in Athens. The story offers the perspective of the town’s activists, who are opposed to the opening.

I think that to know why these two publications took different approaches, I would have to know more about the publications. The newspaper that published “Wal-Mart to strike up bands” might be a newspaper that is known for more investigative journalism with a liberal leftist slant, and the other newspaper might be known for just wanting to deliver the news and not get readers riled up. I also have a feeling the newspaper that published “Athens is welcoming Wal-Mart” may have a more right-wing conservative slant, because the real story is that not all of Athens actually is welcoming Wal-Mart. Many protesters aren’t.  

Story idea:

Registration for Birthright, a free 10-day trip to Israel, opens Tuesday, Feb. 12 nationwide. The trip is open to “Jewish young adults” ages 18-26, who have never been to Israel.

How does the organization know if you are Jewish? What percentage of Jewish blood qualifies someone for the trip? I think it’d be interesting to contact UF’s Hillel organization and find out about the screening process. Do non-Jews every try to go? Are background checks done? What are qualifying factors?

UF Hillel

Keith Dvorchik 
Executive Director
keith@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900 x705

I would also like to get in touch with people who have gone on the trip recently. What was their least favorite part of the trip? Are those who go on the trip required to participate in religious activity? Is the trip really completely free, or what costs are involved? Different organizations around the U.S. offer trips, how does someone decide which one to pick? Which trip organizers should be avoided?

Hillel’s program associate would know UF students who have recently been on Birthright that I could get in touch with.

Jess Kendler
Program Associate
jess@ufhillel.org
Phone: (352) 372-2900

I have also heard that those who go on the trip can extend their trip. How long can the trip be extended, and how much does this cost? 

I would also like to know who funds the trip, and about the purpose of the existence of this organization.

This story could run at about 15-18 inches in print. The online version could include links to the Birthright Web site, as well as pictures and the logo from the Web site. The online version could also include video interviews with UF students about their experience on the trip. Did they ever feel like their security was threatened? Does the organization take steps to ensure their safety? Also, how much freedom to roam were they given on the trip, or did they have to follow a strict itinerary?   

kitchen grease fuel and a “good spirited row”

Fellow journalists: Ben Goldacre has just called us out. In his piece, “Don’t dumb me down,” Goldacre points out the disconnect reporters create between scientific research and accurate reporting. He talks about how reporters dumb down science so that key pieces of information used to validate a story, such as figures and statistics, are left out. He said the reason for this is reporters think the reader either won’t understand the data or won’t care. Because of these omissions, reporters are able to pass off hypotheses as axiom. The average reader wouldn’t know the difference.

Goldacre explains a conversation with a science journalist with whom he “had a good spirited row.” In the conversation, the journalist said she thinks scientists need to “get better at communicating to a lay audience.” Goldacre asks her, “Isn’t that your job?” In most professions, a person must be an authority to write on a subject. It seems that journalists can get off the hook merely for being people who write, as if the power of writing gives the journalist equal authority.

In “A billion people can be wrong,” Steve Rushin talks about how a false statistic was passed off by many papers to be truth. Newspapers such as Bloomberg News reported in 2006 that the Super Bowl is viewed by 1 billion worldwide. After checking with a research company, Rushin concludes that the figure is actually 93 million, 98 percent of which were in the U.S.

However, the NFL’s original statement said that the Super Bowl would be viewed by “a potential audience of a billion people.” As mentioned in “Don’t dumb me down,” reporters took this hypothesis of a potential number and rewrote it as a fact. This fact error should have been caught by editors. Rushin describes several other instances in sports in which untruths are printed and accepted as truths. Don’t newspapers get in trouble for printing false statements, even if they were obtained from a PR person?

After reading about the editing mistakes prevalent in both of the aforementioned stories, I chose to read, “Who would want to be a copy editor?” Ann Auman discusses the plight of copy editors. Copy editors are treated as “second-class citizens” who tolerate lower pay, little respect and must work “lousy” hours, but in order to get this job, Auman said they need to know be multi-talented and have a thick skin.

The job of a copy editor is so much less glamorous than that of a journalist. For instance, journalists get a pat on the back when they crack open a story and bring attention to that publication, but there is no reward for a copy editor who catches a big mistake in a story, saving the newspaper’s behind. It’s just assumed that it’s part of a copy editor’s job. With so many facts that a copy editor needs to check, such as Super Bowl statistics and scientific data, who would want to be a copy editor? The job seems masochistic.

Case Study:

In the story “Violent crime increases in Gainesville,” the author repeatedly used “saw” to explain that the city had an increase. For example, the first sentence begins: “The city of Gainesville saw a 19 percent increase…” I think that this is bland writing, and inaccurate. Cities cannot see.

In class, I originally defended the use of percentages in news stories. Another student argued that percentages aren’t necessary and can be misleading, such as the article’s mention that murder rates doubled, when in fact it only increased by 1. I agree that percentages can be misleading, and figures can be given for the reader to decipher for themselves.

However, for the sake of readers relating to a story, I still think sometimes the inclusion of percentages can be useful. When a reader reads a story and then relates that information to a friend, he or she is not going to say, “Violent crime in Gainesville has risen from 460 to 534.” It would be more realistic and better relatable for a person to say “Violent crime in Gainesville has risen 16 percent.”

Story Idea:

I was looking at Target.com and I came across a video featuring a girl named “Tacee” who converts cars to run on vegetable oil. Alternative energy has become such a trend, but how is this trend attainable? I’ve heard people talking about wanting to convert their cars to run on peanut oil, but how can someone actually go through with it? How much does it cost?

I would start out by talking to professors at the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy, such as Mark Brown. I would want to know if there are drawbacks to driving a car that is run on vegetable oil. He might be able to put me in touch with a mechanic in town who converts cars to run on vegetable oil.

Mark Brown
Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering Sciences
Phone: (352) 392-2309
Email: mtb@ufl.edu

I would then track down a mechanic in town who knows how to convert cars. What cars work the best? How much does the service cost? What are the benefits and drawbacks? How many miles to the gallon on average does a car that runs on vegetable oil get?

Next, I would contact Freedom Fuels, Inc., a local company that sells biodiesel. I would ask about what cars qualify to be converted to run on biodiesel, and the best way to go about finding one of these cars.

info@freedomfuelsinc.com

Telephone 352/215-7265

352/226-4877

I would next want to get in touch with a person in Gainesville who has converted their car to run on vegetable oil, besides the owners of Freedom Fuel, Inc. How much money a month do they save? Where do they get the vegetable oil from? Can you make it yourself? I’ve heard that the grease can be obtained from restaurants, but which restaurants in Gainesville are willing to give you their kitchen grease? I would also like to know the downsides, such as what type of car troubles occur that differ from cars that run on gas.

In a print version, I would run a recipe for biodiesel as a sidebar. I would run the story at about 20-25 inches. For both an online and print version, the story would need attractive photos. The pictures that could not fit in the print version could run online. I would also link to the Freedom Fuel, Inc. Web site.