inside page

inside page assignment

front page design

page 1

October 13 Issue Critique

October 13 issue: Front Page

Positive point:

The headline for the water polo article is a good number of lines.  According to Chapter 1 , a story one column long should have a 3-4 line headline. Page 29

Critical Point:

the picture of Kim Chattergee drawing is on the right side of the corresponding story even though the main subject of the photo (Kim) is facing right.  It would have been better to put the picture on the other side of the story so that she is facing the story, leading the readers from the picture to the story.  On page 55 of chapter 2, it says “If the photo faces right: This [photo on the left side of the story] is the better solution, since the action of the photo will flow into the text. To anchor this design, both the photo and the text block need ample width; the photo should be at least 2 columns wide.”  Page 55

October 13 issue: Page 5 Features

Positive Point:

All of the cutlines are properly formatted.  “Every mug needs a cutline. Mug
cutlines often use a two-line format: The first is the person’s name; the second is a description, title, etc.” (Page 50)

Critical Point:

On the 2 articles on the sides (New PE teacher… and Teacher returns…), the picture and caption is above the headline.  Chapter 2, page 52, says this is a risky design, but it is doable, as long as there is no story above it.  However, the photos seem separate from the articles, and would have looked better under the headline.  page 52

Also, the photos are not cropped enough.  “Mug shots should fill the frame tightly – but not too tightly. Leave air above the hair, if you can. Avoid slicing  into ears, foreheads or chins.” (page 50)

leads…again

Rescue workers in Madeira dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sunday, searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides that have killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island.

Who? Rescue workers. What? Dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris. Where? Madeira. When? Sunday. Why? Searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides. How? By digging through mud.

California’s dire and ongoing budget predicament is raising a tough — and touchy — question about the state’s finances, one that some at the Capitol do not want discussed: Is California bankrupt?

The hook in this lead is the question:Is California bankrupt? I really don’t know how much more explaining about what kind of hook is used I can do. I know it’s a question lead because there is a question mark at the end!

Journalism semester 1

Well I started out the year thinking I would be photo editor, but ended up being features editor instead. Being editor of the features section was unexpected, and even though the center spread takes more planning than the photo page, I like being features editor more than I liked being photo editor. I hated writing captions and figuring out who the people were in the photographs.

The most important thing I learned this semester in journalism is, DON’T PROCRASTINATE. It is impossible to pull together an issue at the last minute. If we don’t stay on track, we end up with a crappy, error-filled issue, despite staying in Mr. Skillings’ room until eight p.m. the night before distribution.

For the second semester, I hope that we can be more organized, especially now that everyone knows what to expect. I also hope that I can assign and edit articles for web in a more regular and organized manner.

infographic blog post

infographic

I like this infographic because it’s not too complicated. A lot of infographics i found were really elaborate to the point that I didn’t even want to read them to figure out what they were about. This could be used in the hatchet to show for example, the anatomy of a high school student’s bad choices! or anatomy of a decision. or something. For example, draw a student, and show his stomach being empty as a result of not eating breakfast, his eyes having eyebags from sleep deprivation, and his wrist hurting from playing counterstrike too often. etc.

Photo Assignment

This is an establishing shot. From it we see that Washington High School, in orange uniforms, is racing against American, the team in red, white and blue uniforms. It follows the rule of thirds and "intruduces color into a monochormatic scene." On October 14, 2009 Washington's cross country team raced against American. Some races were combined because of American's lack of a JV team.

This is a time captured shot. It shows the "during" of an event. The edge of the grass makes a diagonal that leads your eye in toward the destination of the runners. Jessie and Matt Padilla are not in the lead, however cross country runners are often reminded that the race is won in the second half of the race.

This image displays the rule of thirds as well as introduces color against a monochromatic scene. The Washington varsity girls team won.

This image shows the runners emotion as she runs. It is a detail shot. The foreground is dominant over the background. Junior Laura Dunford determinedly makes her way to the finish line.

This image displays the rule of thirds. American runner struggles to catch Varsity runner Ben Rich, however Ben Rich continued to widen the gap and came in first by a longshot

This image is a detail/close up shot of the Husky fans. This image displays the use of panning which isolates the subject from the background and shows movement. In this image, a Washington High School fan rushes to cheer on the varsity team.

This photo makes use of the rule of thirds as well as leading lines. The lines outlining the curvature of the pathway depict where the runner is going. In this image, Senior Ben Rich makes his final lap around a pond before reaching the finish line.

This line shows the rule of thirds and peak of emotion. It is also a closing shot--it shows the end of the race. The varsity race has just ended and the exhaustion and hard effort put into the race shows plainly on Sophomore Mark Leprince's face.

News Broadcast

VCHS News-Broadcast 5-15-08

I liked this broadcast because the reporters showed their personality through their reporting.  Even though it’s a news cast, it’s interesting and entertaining to watch.  It’s not just dry facts.  Maybe it wasn’t a very orthodox news broadcast, but i thought that more entertaining than the other ones I watched.  They also used creative, though kind of cheesy video effects that added more to the appeal.

“Attribution and Interviewing”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092204290_pf.html

The article, “The Deadly Silence of the Electric Car” was written by Peter Whoriskey, one of the staff writers for The Washington Post.

To get information for his quotes and stories, Whoriskey probably asked questions such as, Do you think silent cars really pose a possible danger to pedestrians?, What kind of sounds are being considered for the cars non visual signal?, and What problems do these sounds have?

Asking more questions about how the sounds would affect the car owners would have made the article more interesting to the reader.  Instead of relying on the words of Tesla spokeswoman, Rachel Konrad regarding the appeal of quiet cars to consumers, it would be more relevant  to ask more questions from the general public.  Perhaps, many people would actually favor the sounds because it then gives the pedestrian as well as the driver responsibility for an accident.  Another interesting question would have been to ask, what can be done with the extremely quiet cars that are already on the road?

Inverted Pyramid and Summary Lead

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091403316_pf.htm

The lead of the article covers Who, What, and Why.

“LONDON, Sept. 14 — In a case that altered airport security worldwide, three British Muslims were each sentenced Monday to at least 30 years in prison for a plot to kill thousands by blowing up transatlantic airliners with liquid explosives hidden in soda bottles.”

Right away we get all the information we want to know.  Who? Three British Muslims.  What? Were sentenced for at least 30 years in prison. Why? For  plotting a terrorist attack

The lead does not really answer where or when, however that information is provided in the Place and date that precedes that article. “LONDON, Sept. 14.”

The article goes on to explain the motive for planning the attack and exactly how many years each terrorist was sentenced.  As the article continues, more descriptive details are given, including the logistics of the planned attack, how many people would have died if the plan had gone through, and information about a fourth man who also contributed to the plan but was only sentenced 22 years of prison.

This article follows the inverted pyramid format.  It starts with the general information before moving onto specifics.