X-posted at The Future of Journalism
The title of this blog post should make the reader say "DUH! Any piece of writing that is going to be submitted for publication (even a blog post) should be edited.
Fact-checking is also extremely important, but that's going to be another blog post.
No one is going to get the lead perfect the first time writing it, and if someone thinks that the lead (first sentence for those who didn't know) written the first time is good enough then that person is incorrect.
When writing an article that just has a direct/summary lead (just answering the who, what, where, when) then maybe the lead doesn't need to be worked on as hard, but for indirect/delayed leads (will be explained later) the lead needs to be worked on.
The first draft of any sort of post (article or blog post, but mostly an article written by a journalist) should not be the only draft done before submitting for publication.
With print journalism there is usually an editor/copy editor that can go through the copy (the draft) and edit it in accordance to the style guide used with that publication (like the AP Style Guide). There are certain universal rules that all style books follow (which again, will be discussed in another blog post). Wow, there are a lot of other blog posts I need to make - or maybe I need to make "pages" so that when there's a "glossary term" that isn't understood by the readers I can just put a link to the page and voila! Or have the pages on the sidebar.. I'll figure that out.
Anyway, if there isn't an editor to go through and look through the copy then that responsibility is left to the reporter/writer. With anything that is published there needs to be editing, because no one ever gets it perfect the first time. To hand in the first draft written of an article is just foolish - sure it may be good enough to be published and well done, but it can always be better.
Checking through a document for grammatical and spelling errors can really help the credibility or the writer and/or publication. Simple spelling errors and grammatical errors really can make the entire post and publication look bad.
Even this post will be read through thoroughly and edited, re-worded, etc. before the "PUBLISH POST" button is clicked. Sure, it might take more time - but it's better to look something over and be able to be proud to have your name attached to that piece.
As an editor (I have been a Managing Editor and right now I am newly appointed as the Executive Editor for Zennie62.com) it is very hard not to read through any piece of writing without judging based off the errors made. Proofreading should always be done as well, but that goes without saying...or maybe it doesn't.
It's just disheartening to look through posts on CNN.com (or God forbid in an issue of Newsweek) and see errors that could easily be prevented if there was more time spent editing. If it is an emergency story that needs to be out there IMMEDIATELY then it is understandable as to why there wouldn't be as much editing done (like for a web story), but afterwards the post should be edited.
It is just a huge pet peeve to see no effort going into these news stories. Effort in getting interviews and actually writing and doing the research is another story, but after the entire thing is written the person should be proud of the work and want to edit it to make sure there were no mistakes.
More on editing later.
Now it's time to edit this post and click the "PUBLISH POST" button.
Monday, October 25, 2010
YouTube Asked To Remove 700 Anwar al-Awlaki Terrorist Videos
According to The New York Daily News, Anwar al-Awlaki is the Yemeni-American cleric who inspired the Fort Hood massacre and Christmas undies bomber.
But will that action called for by NY Rep. Weiner really help? YouTube's not the only video distribution service; the people who posted it can just as easily go to someplace like Dailymotion.com.
Moreover, taking down the videos just makes it harder to spot his sympathizers. In other words, having a place online where we can track his sympathizers's locations as they listen to him is valuable.
Taking Anwar al-Awlaki's videos down just seems rather narrow-minded.
For too long, before 9-11, people like Anwar al-Awlaki or Osama Bin Ladin were not known to much of the World. Even with that, they still recruited people. The best situation for America is to keep the videos up and active so reasonable people can hear the stupidly of his message.
Oakland City Council Election: Precinct Walking For Libby Schaaf
What was most enjoyable was meeting the people who make up the area around the Montclair Shopping District. We started with a coffee-table meetup at Montclair Park, led by Oakland Councilmember Jane Brunner, who gave us a good pep talk to get us going. More along the lines of what to say and not to say, than anything else. Meanwhile, a group of joggers went on their circuit, and people were just getting out to run errands. We were on our way.
A Lot Of "Joe Tuman For Mayor" Signs
This is just a fact: there were more "Joe Tuman For Mayor" signs around the area we canvased than for anyone else running for office at any level. Period. To write a blog post without noting that would be dishonest. On that note, Clinton Killian, Libby's challenger, also has some lawn signs visible, thanks to his supporters. It's great to see that Oaklanders are really engaged in this election, and even more so than I expected.
A Team Talk
We - Libby's parents Bob and Barbara Shock, and myself - had a strategy where Barb would take one side of a street, and Bob and I the other. Since Bob's more like your kindly grandfather, I felt it was better for him to do the knocking while I was on hand for background information. That teamwork succeeded in launching into conversations about what the voters wanted in a councilperson.
The best quality for the new councilmember is to be effective: to be able to take action to fix the streets and roads of the neighborhood. That calls for a feel for Oakland's City Hall and a knowledge of who to contact to handle a problem. The second quality is to be able to listen, and carefully, and for a long time. I can comfortably say Libby has both qualities and our job was to share that view with the people we talked to.
The Sprinkler
The Saturday walk was not without its interesting developments and mishaps. There was the large live turkey in a person's backyard and visible from the road. That thing must have been three feet tall! Seriously. That was one big turkey.
Then there was the sprinkler. Someone had their sprinkler set such that when you walked up their walkway to ring their bell, the water sprinkler, pointed at the path, would shoot a spray of water at you. That happened to me, and thank God I'm fast enough to dodge the stream or I'd have gotten pretty wet. Check out the video!
Folks, if you are not home, turn off the auto-sprinkler, or if you don't want to be visited by precinct walkers, put up a sign. It will be honored. But the sprinkler in my face? Not cool, but one of the hazards of doing a good deed of that kind.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
College graduates debt increases
CNNMoney.com has an article with a headline that is very eye catching: College grads: $24,000 in debt.
As a college student, this article is very overwhelming.
During Obama's State of the Union address I had blogged about it on The Future of Journalism and there was a part about Obama saying that he does not want students to be in debt for having an education, and he made a point to really emphasize that he wants to help make it possible for students to go to school and get an education without going in bankruptcy.
The exact part of the speech referred to above is:
"...When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all fifty states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let's tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years – and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college. And it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs – because they too have a responsibility to help solve this problem..."
When seeing posts about going into debt, students are probably finding Peter Thiel's offer of $100,000 to drop out of school very tempting.
The CNN Money article says that student debt is on the rise and "fewer graduates are getting jobs to pay back what they borrowed."
To make the college student feel more overwhelmed add onto the fact that unemployment rates are high and unemployment rates for college graduates jumped from 5.8 percent in 2008 to 8.7 percent in 2009 - which is the highest annual rate on record.
There is even a new term "boomerang kids" which refers to college graduates who move back home - which according to CNN Money is 85 percent.
Students with the most debt, over $29 thousand, are from New Hampshire, and students in Ohio are said to have the lowest, under $16 thousand.
Surprisingly CNN Money says, "Schools in the lowest average debt group included California Institute of Technology, Hampton University, CUNY Hunter College and Princeton University."
By Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger
Unemployment panic: What is a 99er to do?
Unemployment panic is rampant in America today, but what is a 99er to do without money to eat, a place to live or even the necessities to continue their futile job search?
According to Open Congress last week:
"There are about 20 major pieces of legislation being considered for floor time in the lame-duck session, and it’s hard to predict what the dynamic in Congress is going to be after the election. For example, what happenes if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D, NV], who controls what gets voted on in the Senate, is defeated in the mid-terms? Does he scramble to pass a last legacy bill on food safety or renewable energy instead of spending the final days of his 24 year career fighting for a temporary extension of benefits for the unemployed folks that he has already spent a good deal of time fighting for? Incentives and motivations will change significantly depending n what happens on Nov. 2, so, if you care about there being a lifeline for the millions of long-term unemployed after Thanksgiving, the best thing you can do right now is start making as much noise about this as you can."
Most 99ers have been without UI income for 8 months. After living on what little UI pays for 99 weeks (out of many more weeks unpaid) the 99ers are dropping like flies. Losing your home to foreclosure, eviction or just over staying your welcome at the relative’s, the street is now the new home of many who used to qualify as “the American middle class.”
One 99er (name withheld by request) recently told the San Diego Unemployment Examiner: “The constant fear and desperation I feel is unbearable. I do not know what to do. My life is an out of control spiral downhill and I cannot do anything to stop it. I am sick of being afraid all the time and yes I have considered ending this nightmare more than once - I just cannot do that to my family. My family cannot help me anymore and I feel so guilty for needing the help they have provided. Most of them live very far away, but I may soon need to pack up and move in with them. I cry myself to sleep every night just thinking of what a failure I am now that I can no longer support myself.”
It is true that this 99er has options that many do not. Thousands are already on the street or in shelters. Some have been just too depressed or scared to live this way any longer, so they give up on life completely.
Unemployment is likely to remain above 9 percent for the rest of this year, and for much of next. That means the ranks of the long-term unemployed will swell even further. This “Jobless Recovery” has been the trend so far in this recession, and it's not likely to stop now. Are we just going to leave the long term unemployed without incomes and without job opportunities? Without money to spend in their wrecked local economies, thus making it harder for those economies to generate new jobs? If this is the economic theory Washington is going to embrace amid terrible joblessness in America, then God help us - because we have far more to worry about than the Tea Party nut jobs going to Congress.
What we really need are public jobs for all 7 million of the people who have been unemployed for well over a year. I'd like to hear politicians touting a plausible scenario for creating quick, useful public jobs on that kind of scale in this sluggish economy immediately upon Congress’ return - even as they pass a Tier 5 and extend UI filing deadlines soon to expire.
Washington had better take heed to the suffering that is rampant in the USA due to the lack of income from jobs or UI benefits before we see the frustrations of Americans break out on Main Street, as it would appear it is just a matter of time before this century resembles the tragic desperation of the Great Depression of the last century. I can’t see 2010 Americans taking this much longer before they begin fighting back with possibly catastrophic results.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Obama in 2012
President Barack Obama has gotten a lot accomplished, but most of these
accomplishments are not the ones he outlined during his campaign.
accomplishments are not the ones he outlined during his campaign.
Obama spoke of change and his eloquence brought the nation hope. His
speeches were spoken like sermons and those in attendance could feel the
power.
A great speaker does not make a great president, but there were a lot of
things that needed to be fixed after the Bush years.
With Obama's positive popularity deteriorating is he destined to be a
one term president?
--
Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®
Lindsay Lohan To Rehab; Taylor Momsen Flashes
According to TMZ.com, Actress and Artist Lindsay Lohan was ordered back to complete rehab and not to jail. TMZ reports:
Lohan is due back in court on February 25 (2011). She will be subject to drug testing in between her release from rehab until her court date. If Lindsay does not test positive for drugs or alcohol before her next scheduled during that time, he will convert her sentence to unsupervised probation. The D.A recommended Lindsay get 180 days in county jail. The judge specifically stated he wanted Lindsay in rehab past the New Year.
Just how this will impact Lindsay's movie schedule is anyone's guess. TMZ also reports that she was complaining about her rehab schedule as interfering with her life, including her shoots. But it's the one thing keeping her out of the wasteland of jail and giving her a fighting chance at being clean and sober. At least she's not running around taking off her top, like Taylor Momsen, who's reported flashes of the NYC concert crowd made headlines.
The teen took off her top to reveal her breasts. As of this writing, Gossip Girl's Taylor Momsen's not been charged with anything and one has to wonder if that was her idea or her publicists' work. The act's made her name into a Twitter Trending Topic as of this writing and gained attention for her music. For what it's worth. Taylor's obviously working the porn angle hard.
It seems that's what an entertainer has to do to make themselves sand out in a World over-saturated with media content. It's the reason there are so many sex tape stories it's become almost standard for an actress to have one.
Crazy.
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