Response to Journalism post by Sara Ross

I liked your take on sensationalism in the media, it makes sense. The world of media is a market place where rules of economics apply just as they do for any other market. It's all supply and demand, the media that can't supply what the public demands won't remain successful very long. If there wasn't a demand for sensational stories that shock or entertain, we wouldn't see them in the news. But society is entertainment focused, and media has to go where the business is. Whether or not there's a way to change the demand, I don't know, but it would be nice to see our society actually concerned about things other than what appeases them.

Post on Web 2.0

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article, it did a good job of covering the views and incentives of each side, but made some very crucial points in the process. While mainstream media may be a huge industry that has no competitors, it still is held in check by the very public it appeases. News programs have to make sure to check there facts, since putting the wrong facts out there could lead to lawsuits and settlements against them, not to mention the risk of losing viewers. While they may seem like they can put what they want on air for the world, they still are held in check by some laws and by the public themselves. Web 2.0, while it does empower the people to publish and post what they want, it gives such power without any restraint. Who is accountable if a anonymous poster begins smearing someone else with false facts, publishing them as truth? Sadly enough many people will believe what they read, if it made to print or got published online, well they must have checked their facts right? In the interested in receiving news and media that is more or less free of errors, there is a need for some sort of restraint. Mainstream media is held in check by the fact that if they put out something that is false, they could stand the chance of lawsuits costing millions of dollars. While I'm not saying the mainstream media is flawless, I would rather get my facts from them may be safer then getting my information from whichever blog happens to be posting their opinion on a topic.

Response to Vic Marcus' post on news

If I had a time each day that I knew I could sit down and catch up on the news I would, having a routine such as Vic's would definitely help me keep up on what's going on in the world. I liked that Vic identified the general layout of a news broadcast. I've never taken the time to see what the order of the news is when I watch it, which doesn't happen very often. I don't get cable at my home and there is a very poor selection of channels via the use of antennas. My method for catching the news right now is through the internet, but since I don't do this consistently, my ability to keep up with world and local events is sketchy at best.

Television News

I don't watch that much television at home, what I do see is usually in the break room at my work. I watched yesterday for a short portion and saw a report on KGW channel 8 about a double homicide that was now believed to be a murder/suicide. I did not get a chance to truly watch the entire news broadcast. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about TV news is something big and bad just happened. It seems like there's always more negative news than positive. I'm not saying there isn't both, it is possible that since the negative side grabs ones attention more that it's what is remembered most at the end of the news. I prefer to get my news updates through online news source, I find it less depressing at times to be able to read what you want to know about without the extras.

Response to Brandon Mitchells post on freelance writing

I liked your reference to Spiderman for a description of freelance writing. I can see how the freeing lifestyle of getting to write what you want when you want can be, especially if you have have need of extra time for super hero endeavors. I am obligated to point out that while freelance writing or photographing does support these ends, Superman does hold done a set position as a reported and manages to maintain his super hero lifestyle. Super heroes aside, I can see how being a freelancer could provide a source of incentive to work harder when the prospect of your paycheck size directly correlates to the amount of time and effort put into your writing. I think though that it can be freeing if you are successful, but if you don't get many pieces published, it could be the source of a lot of stress and frustration as well.

Freelance writing

I found the class on freelance writing intriguing. I have never viewed myself as a writer and would never have thought about writing articles to make money, but the class raised my interest a bit. I don’t believe I would ever want to write concerning career based subjects, I enjoy engineering, but I would rather work on projects than write about them. Maybe if it was a project I was invested in or involved in some way, I may feel the urge to attempt to get an article published about it. But for the most part that isn’t my thing. I got to thinking though, I am a amateur photographer and though I have thought about going into it as a career I always felt that it would take away some of the pleasure of the art if I was depending on it to provide a paycheck. The same thing for freelance writing, I don’t think I would write about work or career related topics, I deal with those every day, why would I want to write about them once I get home? Activities and hobbies I enjoy on the other hand, I think I could write about them. For example, I have been dancing for over 7 years; I range from swing dances to ballroom and many in between. In particular I have been getting involved in blues dancing over the last year and I would have no problems writing an article about the dance, events in the area or just about the scene itself. So even though I wouldn’t see myself as a writer, I think if it was about a hobby or interest that I have, it might be enough to tempt me off the bench and into the world of freelance writing.

Response to Rich Bowers

Your explanation of the difference between reader-centered voice and using your own voice. When I first read that chapter that point was not quite clear to me, it seemed at first as if you had to choose one or the other. If you are really trying to please your reader than bypass your own voice and write only for them. After reading your post I went and reread that portion of the chapter and was able to understand a little better what the message was.

Chapter 8 & 19

Chapter 8 covers how to create an effective writing style. Once again the reader centered approach is followed, after all you are writing for them not you. Start off by finding what it is your readers are interested in, tailoring your writing to this ends helps keep your writing clear and to the point. How you feel about the subject matter will come across in your writing, you must watch your tone and how you portray your feelings on the subject. If you are presenting a proposal for your bosses pet project that you aren't thrilled about, maybe you should not give a negative tone to the proposal just because you do not like it. Be sure to be adaptable to your readers, considering their backgrounds and experience and always avoid using stereotypes of any sort. The second part of the chapter talks about sentence structure, since this is one of the areas I struggle with I was very interest in the guidelines it gave. Writing with an "active voice" is a struggle for me as well, I have a tendency to write mainly in the past tense, or hop between the two when I write. The rest of the chapter really works on eliminating extras in your writing that is unnecessary, I appreciated the list of fancy verbs versus common verbs.

Chapter 19 covers project management and relations with clients during this process. It starts off with a list of things that should be known about the client before you undertake the project.

Things to know about your client:
- Client's organization
- Readers
- Usability and persuasive objectives
- Stakeholders
- Deadlines
- Preferences and requirements
- Resources
- Budget

After creating a clear picture of your clients and their expectations you must evaluate your view of the project, in order to choose the best course of action. The next step is to create a management plan for completing the project, then the fun start, the proposal. The proposal is not only a way to let the client know how you plan on doing this project for them, it is also how you ask for the written agreement to proceed with the project for them. The chapter ends off with a very detailed example of a proposal covering layout and content that should be in a good proposal.