Final Blog Entry

Headlines are one of, if not, the most important parts of a story. A headline can either make or break whether a reader will read the story or not. I feel that a clever or witty headline is more effective than one that sacrifices cleverness or "personality." I think the clever headline or the headline with "personality" is what draws the reader in. For example, if a speaker were to come into a classroom and start off with a joke, he is most likely able to gain the students' attention by telling that joke rather than simply just stating his purpose in the classroom.

I think it is possible to combine both the cleverness and the facts into one phrase that will hook the audience. One rule to go by is to try to fit a pun or play on words in the headline, but to also state a who, what, when, where, why, or how component in there as well. That way the audience can have some kind of sense of what the story is about while being drawn into it with the cleverness of the headline.

Profanity Debate

I think profanity is profanity no matter how many letters are hidden in the word. Although some journalists may feel that by keeping the quote how it is may add accuracy to the story, it is also inappropriate to a younger audience. This day and age, children of all ages are brought up to rely on technology and are exposed to everything on the Internet, television, and in newspapers. I think the same standards should be held for the Internet and newspapers. I think that by just stating that profanity was used in the story would prove that the people were passionate about the events that took place. There shouldn't be different treatment for Internet stories and newspaper stories. Younger audiences are capable of being exposed to both and it is unacceptable to print profanity when there is a chance that they may see it.

Punctuation Exercise

Edit the following sentences. Pay particular attention to the correct use of apostrophes, colons and commas.

Down syndrome has been linked to a defect on a tiny slice of one of the human chromosomes, an important step toward prevention and treatment of the disorder researchers said Saturday.

“By mapping a gene, you can find it, isolate it, and develop new means of therapy,” said Dr. Frank Ruddle of Yale University one of the organizer’s of the conference.

At the Ninth International Gene Mapping Workshop two years ago in Paris, scientists had mapped about 1000 human genes.

The announcement of 400 new genes Saturday, brings the total to nearly 2000, an increase of more than one-fourth over what it was two weeks ago.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has proclaimed the law a clear success, but the current administration has yet to put its own stamp on immigration policy.

“The legislation bought time for everyone and made the problems more manageable for a while,” said Leonel J. Castillo, former I.N.S. commissioner.

The law offered legal status to immigrants who had lived in the United States continuously since before Jan. 1, 1982 and imposed penalties on employers who knowingly hired illegally.

He said he had but one thing on his mind: sleeping.

Gardeners who wear broad brimmed hats, coveralls, and heavy duty gloves while using an electric hedge clipper to trim bushes, are displaying common sense—but not enough of it says the American Optometric Association.

The garb protects the face from the sun , and clothing and hands from the wear and tear of yard work, but the eyes are left exposed and vulnerable to flying twigs leaves and other debris.

- Courtesy, “Creative Editing.”

Journalistic experiences and career aspirations

My name is Sharon Carpenter and I am 22 years old. I grew up in River Vale, NJ (North Jersey) and I still reside there. I live there with both parents and a younger brother. I graduated from Pascack Valley High School in 2004 and continued my education here at Rowan University. Snowboarding, the NY Yankees, I Love Lucy, and people are my passions in life.
My journalism interest started when I realized that I had a passion for writing. I love to write, but tell stories that are true. That led me to the path of journalism.
I started out as a public relations major, but I didn't enjoy sugar coating everything. I enjoyed reporting and interpreting the truth to the public. I decided that journalism may be the path that would allow me to pursue an interest like this one.
At first I wanted to be a sports journalist. My ideal goal was to work for ESPN and write either on their online journals or their magazine. As I began to take more and more journalism classes I found that I didn't want to be limited to strictly sports.
Unfortunately, as I took more and more classes in journalism and gained more writing experience, I found out that journalism was not something I wanted pursue in the future. My career aspirations changed to something more along the lines of human resources. I found out, through conducting so many interviews in journalism, that I realized that I wanted to be on the other side of the interviewing.
I have had the opportunity to write for The Whit. This has been a great experience to write for a college crowd. I have also experienced a taste of broadcast journalism at Studio News, which is an internal news company run by the Walt Disney World company. I got to experience what broadcast journalism is comprised of and shadow the staff that worked for them. I enjoyed the broadcast side of journalism more than the print side, but it was confirmed that journalism would not be my career.
Journalism has taught me a lot about writing. I learned the right way to write clearly, but not too verbose. My grammar has improved even in my speech. I do not regret majoring in journalism because it has taught me exactly what I want to do later on in my life.
Although my career aspirations changed, I learned a lot from my journalistic experiences and it was those experiences that formed my opinions today.