Story #6: Some Observations

There was one big problem about half of you had this week that will absolutely kill you in the real world: you missed your deadline.

And that really will kill you professionally: meeting your deadline is everything in the media business. 

The first reason is practical: of our first seven weekly stories, each is worth 7 percent of your final grade. That means missing just one story would make it impossible to get a 4.0 in this class, even if you 4-point everything else! And a 3.5 would be pretty much out of reach. It blows that big of a hole in your final grade, folks.

Now, the reason for that isn't that I'm trying to be mean; it's because in media, missing deadlines is an unforgivable sin. Have you ever flipped on the 11 o'clock news and seen the anchors say, hold on a minute; we're still finishing our scripts? Of course not. That's because anyone with even a whiff of missing deadlines is either fired right away or never hired in the first place. We must be perfect in this regard.

That means you're better off turning in a piece of hot garbage than nothing. Again, this reflects a real-world idea: an editor can work with a piece of junk and try to massage it to life, but an editor can't work with nothing. And either way, there is still a one-minute slot to fill for the news at 11. Your editor will be mad at you for turning in junk; your editor will fire you for turning in nothing.

Plus, in this class you're MUCH better off turning in less than stellar work than nothing! Everything we do in class adds to a points scale that determines our final grade. When we 4.0 we get 100 percent of possible assignment points; a 3.9 is 99 percent, a 3.0 is 90 percent, etc.

If you do the worst story imaginable but turn it in on time and get a 0.1 on the assignment -- I have never graded someone with a 0.1 but you never know -- they would still get 61 percent of assignment points. If you turn in nothing you get a 0.0 and zero points. So at a 0.1 you're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0!

Again, that's to encourage a journalistic habit: never turn in nothing.

If you're having any problems and need an answer within 24 hours, email me at omars@msu.edu. If you are having issues you need fixed in an hour or two call or text me at 702-271-7983. If you need to go into detail about a need, schedule an appointment to see me at my office at CAS 360. Don't be shy; I'm here to help, remember?

Yes, I expect much out of you this summer. But I'm here to help you achieve that. I can't help you if I don't hear from you. And we're running out of time to turn things around if we're in a hole.

Next Tuesday is the deadline for the optional eighth and ninth weekly story pitches. If you missed a story or two this summer and don't want to flunk this class, I strongly suggest you send in two pitches by then and start working on those extra weekly stories.Good luck, everyone. 

Pitch #7: A Round-Up

Another week, another round of pitches. This week's pitches include:

• How Fenton schools fare against state averages
• A controversial new restaurant is planned for Lansing; what's the big deal?
• MSU's impact on Lansing (not East Lansing!)
• Sex offenders living in Lansing
• Millennial voters and how they are affecting this year's presidential election

... and more!

Some thoughts:

* Keep pitching stories, even though this is the last week of mandatory pitches. We have a number of people who missed story deadlines in the past or didn't get great grades on their initial work, and by doing extra weekly stories you can make those grades go away.

Here's how: for every extra weekly story you do, I replace your worst-graded story of the semester with the new grade, as long as the new grade is better than the old one.

Now, the rules:

• You may only pitch up to two extra weekly stories!
• Pitches for both stories will be due Tuesday, Aug. 2 by 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu
• The first extra story will be due by Wednesday, Aug. 10 by 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu
• The second weekly story will be due by Wednesday, Aug. 17 by 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Each out-of-class story is worth 7 percent of your final grade, so even making one bad grade go away can make a huge difference. I urge all of you to seriously consider doing this.

* Plus, don't forget you still have your final project due Monday, Aug. 15 by 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu. That project is worth 25 percent of your final grade, so it's critical that you meet your deadline, have no fatal fact errors and give it your best effort.

* Other upcoming deadlines include your job shadow project (which is due no later than 9 a.m. Monday, Aug 15 by email to omars@msu.edu; don't forget your shadow topic must be pre-approved by me) and we will be having an AP style quiz at a time and date to be announced. 

* Any questions? Email me at omars@msu.edu, text or call me at 702-271-7983, or schedule an appointment to see me at CAS 360. 

Good luck, everyone!

Story #5: Some Observations

Range of sources are still a thing we're struggling with, people.

One more time: It's not enough to talk to one side of a story; we need to talk to the people whose actions are driving an issue AND people who are actually affected by the issue. Too many stories had one but not the other. For a refresher on range of sources, please click here to review the earlier blog post on range of sources.

Here are some of this week's stories with nice source ranges:

• Dry weather results in a burn ban
• Car break-ins at an apartment complex

Please note the stories have people who are in charge of the issue, everyday people affected by the issue or who have opinions on the issue, and neutral experts that help make sense of the issue. Not just one good viewpoint, but ALL good viewpoints.

I get that getting a hold of sources is a major headache. I know it's not easy. It's time-consuming. You have no idea who will call back, and who will blow you off.

But the job of a journalist is to solve those problems and get a hold of a good range of sources. That's what we do. It's not writing or shooting video or taking pictures that's hard, it;'s getting to people who give us something to write and shoot.

So, if 12 neutral experts blow you off, it's up to you to contact 13. That's the job.

When I was still a journalist, I had an editor in las Vegas who responded to my bitching about source difficulty like this:

Don't tell me why you can't do it; tell me how you're gonna get it done.

That's the question we have to answer each week. 

Now, regarding other areas we can stand to see improvement ...

* Remember to have a neutral expert. We are missing this way too often in our work. But this is an important person to include in our stories.

A neutral expert is someone who has knowledge of the subject you're reporting on but who doesn't have a stake in the outcome. Regarding the car break-in story, the police officer is an expert but he is not neutral; she's the one whose profession will look good or bad depending on what you find out. Everyday people are neutral but they are not expert.

In that story, the professor who studies crime can contextualize what details police offer and what generalizations everyday people share by comparing things to what happens elsewhere, what his research says is normal and abnormal and good and bad, etc. And like a referee, he or she will offer objective analysis because he or she is in a position where he or she is not affected by the outcome.

For a refresher on neutral experts, from earlier this semester look at this post first, and then this one. And look at the two stories linked to above and find the neutral experts they used.

* Use various mediums, and don't just write. We need pictures of what you're writing about; charts and graphs visualizing information you have in your story; hyperlinks to more information on your topics.

And hyperlinks are easy! Many times, you can simply link to some of your own information sources, like the story about things to do in Lansing did. Click on the hyperlinks and get a sense of how they help build upon what you did, so if a reader is interested in learning more they can simply click on what you provide, making your story a one-stop shop.

* Include data! Some stories made a point, like having an official saying something was better or worse. But then we lacked the data showing us the proof for that. By having data, we show (via data) and tell (via quotes). We want both. Think about how to quantify your stories. A good source for that are your quoted sources; ask them, how do you know that? and do you have any data for that?

* Proofread for AP style! And proofread in general. Lots of little AP style goofs and grammar mistakes. Please make sure you are taking the time to go over your work before you turn it in for AP style adherence; for good grammar; and for fact-checking.

* Go over the work of others, especially those on your team. See if that helps give you ideas on journalistic points you want to emulate or not, and if it gives you ideas for future stories.

Again, our sites are Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches.

* Don't miss your deadlines. A couple of people missed the weekly story deadline, and that can NEVER happen. Ever.

The first reason is practical: of our first seven weekly stories, each is worth 7 percent of your final grade. That means missing just one story would make it impossible to get a 4.0 in this class, even if you 4-point everything else! And a 3.5 would be pretty much out of reach. It blows that big of a hole in your final grade, folks.

Now, the reason for that isn't that I'm trying to be mean; it's because in media, missing deadlines is an unforgivable sin. Have you ever flipped on the 11 o'clock news and seen the anchors say, hold on a minute; we're still finishing our scripts? Of course not. That's because anyone with even a whiff of missing deadlines is either fired right away or never hired in the first place. We must be perfect in this regard.

That means you're better off turning in a piece of hot garbage than nothing. Again, this reflects a real-world idea: an editor can work with a piece of junk and try to massage it to life, but an editor can't work with nothing. And either way, there is still a one-minute slot to fill for the news at 11. Your editor will be mad at you for turning in junk; your editor will fire you for turning in nothing.

Plus, in this class you're MUCH better off turning in less than stellar work than nothing! Everything we do in class adds to a points scale that determines our final grade. When we 4.0 we get 100 percent of possible assignment points; a 3.9 is 99 percent, a 3.0 is 90 percent, etc.

If you do the worst story imaginable but turn it in on time and get a 0.1 on the assignment -- I have never graded someone with a 0.1 but you never know -- they would still get 61 percent of assignment points. If you turn in nothing you get a 0.0 and zero points. So at a 0.1 you're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0!

Again, that's to encourage a journalistic habit: never turn in nothing.

If you're having any problems and need an answer within 24 hours, email me at omars@msu.edu. If you are having issues you need fixed in an hour or two call or text me at 702-271-7983. If you need to go into detail about a need, schedule an appointment to see me at my office at CAS 360. Don't be shy; I'm here to help, remember?

Yes, I expect much out of you this summer. But I'm here to help you achieve that. I can't help you if I don't hear from you.

Good luck, everyone.

Pitch #6: A Round-Up

Here's a summary of our latest round of approved story pitches For Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches!  They include ...

• Bar closing time in Fenton; too early or just right?
• Foreclosures in Detroit vs. suburbs
• Public schooling in Detroit vs. suburbs
• Pokemon Go; WTF?
• Hot summer is drying up lawns; what to do?
• How do summer activities help children stay out of trouble?
• Local reaction to national political conventions
• Is there enough affordable housing in Lansing?

Honestly, I think this is a really solid group of pitches. They are exactly the sort of pitches I was looking for. Here's some things to keep in mind as you start working on your next weekly stories:

1. Remember to get a wide range of sources! We need to talk to people leading the issues; people affected by the issues; and neutral experts like a university professor from any school who studies the topic area in which you're delving into. 

Please review the earlier blog posts about range of sources and neutral expert of you need a bit of direction. And as always, you can contact me and we can brain-storm through this.

2. Do the interviews yourself! Don't cite other media or things you found online; all your sources should be people who you actually spoke to yourself. If you come across an interesting study or article don't cite the study or article; see who authored the study or who is quoted in the article and then contact those people yourself!

People need to be quoted by name; no anonymous sourcing, period. So be sure to get names, and double-check their spellings with your source.

3. Remember what you learned in JRN 200 doing out-of-class stories. The whole point of 200 was to give you a structure to use in 300. So recall what you learned about ledes and the body of the story and quotations and attribution and use that to put together your stories here.

4. Don't wait to work on this! Something you probably learned in 200 is that some sources can take a long time to get back to you. So don't wait on reaching out to them; start calling then ASAP. Likewise, don't wait to reach out to backup sources, as some of them may need time to get back to you, too.

The worst thing that happens if you put calls out to too many sources is that you have too much good info to use in your story, which is a good problem. A much better problem than being on deadline day and still having no sources.

5. Don't forget photos and graphics! Like fact boxes, Google maps, charts, etc. You need to make these photos, graphics and illustrations yourself; no taking stuff off the internet.

6. Follow style rules! Like AP style and story style guidelines that have been blogged about recently.

7. Double-check your facts carefully! Journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.

8. Do not miss your story deadline! From here on out, whatever story you are working on is due the following Wednesday by 9 a.m. via email to omars@msu.edu. This latest story deadline is July 27, one week from this Wednesday. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

9. Don't forget your next story pitch deadline! From here on out, a pitch for your next story will be due every Tuesday. That means your next pitch is due July 26, via email to omars@msu.edu. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

For some of you, you still owe me a pitch for this week. Please get it to me ASAP. You will NOT get extra time to work on your story, so you are already behind.

10. Learn from this! Don't stress on your latest story, no matter how you do. Just learn from it: see what worked well and why, and then repeat those habits in future assignments; and see what didn't work well and make a mental note to do differently the next time around.

Any questions? Email, text or call me ASAP.

This week, I will be reviewing your latest out-of-class stories, sending you grades and comments, and posting your latest stories online on Wednesday and Thursday.

Good luck to all!

Story #4: Some Observations

This week, I feel we started to slip a bit.

Remember that range of sources problem I've been noting the past few weeks? I feel like this was  a HUGE problem this week.

It's not enough to talk to one side of a story; we need to talk to the people whose actions are driving an issue AND people who are actually affected by the issue. Too many stories had one but not the other. For a refresher on range of sources, please click here to review the earlier blog post on range of sources.

Here are some of this week's stories with nice source ranges:

• Amid national debate on police use of deadly force, some mixed views
• Many cars, few solutions

Please note the stories have people who are in charge of the issue, everyday people affected by the issue or who have opinions on the issue, and neutral experts that help make sense of the issue. Not just one good viewpoint, but ALL good viewpoints.

I get that getting a hold of sources is a major headache. I know it's not easy. It's time-consuming. You have no idea who will call back, and who will blow you off.

But the job of a journalist is to solve those problems and get a hold of a good range of sources. That's what we do. It's not writing or shooting video or taking pictures that's hard, it;'s getting to people who give us something to write and shoot.

So, if 12 neutral experts blow you off, it's up to you to contact 13. That's the job.

When I was still a journalist, I had an editor in las Vegas who responded to my bitching about source difficulty like this: 

Don't tell me why you can't do it; tell me how you're gonna get it done.

That's the question we have to answer each week. 

Now, regarding other areas we can stand to see improvement ...

* Remember to have a neutral expert. A neutral expert is someone who has knowledge of the subject you're reporting on but who doesn't have a stake in the outcome. Regarding the police shootings story, the police official is an expert but he is not neutral; he's the one whose profession will look good or bad depending on what you find out. Everyday people are neutral but they are not expert.

In that story, the professor who studies police shootings can contextualize what details police offer and what generalizations everyday people share by comparing things to what happens elsewhere, what his research says is normal and abnormal and good and bad, etc. And like a referee, he or she will offer objective analysis because he or she is in a position where he or she is not affected by the outcome.

For a refresher on neutral experts, from earlier this semester look at this post first, and then this one. And look at the two stories linked to above and find the neutral experts they used.

* Use various mediums, and don't just write. We need pictures of what you're writing about; charts and graphs visualizing information you have in your story; hyperlinks to more information on your topics.

And hyperlinks are easy! Many times, you can simply link to some of your own information sources, like the story about things to do in Lansing did. Click on the hyperlinks and get a sense of how they help build upon what you did, so if a reader is interested in learning more they can simply click on what you provide, making your story a one-stop shop.

* Include data! Some stories made a point, like having an official saying something was better or worse. But then we lacked the data showing us the proof for that. By having data, we show (via data) and tell (via quotes). We want both. Think about how to quantify your stories. A good source for that are your quoted sources; ask them, how do you know that? and do you have any data for that?

* Proofread for AP style! And proofread in general. Lots of little AP style goofs and grammar mistakes. Please make sure you are taking the time to go over your work before you turn it in for AP style adherence; for good grammar; and for fact-checking.

* Go over the work of others, especially those on your team. See if that helps give you ideas on journalistic points you want to emulate or not, and if it gives you ideas for future stories.

Again, our sites are Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches.

* Don't miss your deadlines. A couple of people missed the weekly story deadline, and that can NEVER happen. Ever.

The first reason is practical: of our first seven weekly stories, each is worth 7 percent of your final grade. That means missing just one story would make it impossible to get a 4.0 in this class, even if you 4-point everything else! And a 3.5 would be pretty much out of reach. It blows that big of a hole in your final grade, folks.

Now, the reason for that isn't that I'm trying to be mean; it's because in media, missing deadlines is an unforgivable sin. Have you ever flipped on the 11 o'clock news and seen the anchors say, hold on a minute; we're still finishing our scripts? Of course not. That's because anyone with even a whiff of missing deadlines is either fired right away or never hired in the first place. We must be perfect in this regard.

That means you're better off turning in a piece of hot garbage than nothing. Again, this reflects a real-worfd idea: an editor can work with a piece of junk and try to massage it to life, but an editor can't work with nothing. And either way, there is still a one-minute slot to fill for the news at 11. Your editor will be mad at you for turning in junk; your editor will fire you for turning in nothing.

Plus, in this class you're MUCH better off turning in less than stellar work than nothing! Everything we do in class adds to a points scale that determines our final grade. When we 4.0 we get 100 percent of possible assignment points; a 3.9 is 99 percent, a 3.0 is 90 percent, etc.

If you do the worst story imaginable but turn it in on time and get a 0.1 on the assignment -- I have never graded someone with a 0.1 but you never know -- they would still get 61 percent of assignment points. If you turn in nothing you get a 0.0 and zero points. So at a 0.1 you're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0!

Again, that's to encourage a journalistic habit: never turn in nothing.

If you're having any problems and need an answer within 24 hours, email me at omars@msu.edu. If you are having issues you need fixed in an hour or two call or text me at 702-271-7983. If you need to go into detail about a need, schedule an appointment to see me at my office at CAS 360. Don't be shy; I'm here to help, remember?

Yes, I expect much out of you this summer. But I'm here to help you achieve that. I can't help you if I don't hear from you.

Good luck, everyone.

Pitch #5: A Round-Up

Here's a summary of our third round of approved story pitches For Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches!  They include ...

• Burning bans in light of dry summer weather
• Local reactions to police shootings
• Crime in Detroit; bad or getting better?
• Lansing Promise scholarships; what are they, and who benefits?

Honestly, I think this is a really solid group of pitches. They are exactly the sort of pitches I was looking for. Here's some things to keep in mind as you start working on your second weekly stories:

1. Remember to get a wide range of sources! We need to talk to people leading the issues; people affected by the issues; and neutral experts like a university professor from any school who studies the topic area in which you're delving into. Please review the earlier blog posts about range of sources and neutral expert of you need a bit of direction. And as always, you can contact me and we can brain-storm through this.

2. Do the interviews yourself! Don't cite other media or things you found online; all your sources should be people who you actually spoke to yourself. If you come across an interesting study or article don't cite the study or article; see who authored the study or who is quoted in the article and then contact those people yourself!

People need to be quoted by name; no anonymous sourcing, period. So be sure to get names, and double-check their spellings with your source.

3. Remember what you learned in JRN 200 doing out-of-class stories. The whole point of 200 was to give you a structure to use in 300. So recall what you learned about ledes and the body of the story and quotations and attribution and use that to put together your stories here.

4. Don't wait to work on this! Something you probably learned in 200 is that some sources can take a long time to get back to you. So don't wait on reaching out to them; start calling then ASAP. Likewise, don't wait to reach out to backup sources, as some of them may need time to get back to you, too.

The worst thing that happens if you put calls out to too many sources is that you have too much good info to use in your story, which is a good problem. A much better problem than being on deadline day and still having no sources.

5. Don't forget photos and graphics! Like fact boxes, Google maps, charts, etc. You need to make these photos, graphics and illustrations yourself; no taking stuff off the internet.

6. Follow style rules! Like AP style and story style guidelines that have been blogged about recently.

7. Double-check your facts carefully! Journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.

8. Do not miss your story deadline! From here on out, whatever story you are working on is due the following Wednesday by 9 a.m. via email to omars@msu.edu. This latest story deadline is July 20, one week from this Wednesday. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

9. Don't forget your next story pitch deadline! From here on out, a pitch for your next story will be due every Tuesday. That means your next pitch is due July 19, via email to omars@msu.edu. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

For some of you, you still owe me a pitch for this week. Please get it to me ASAP. You will NOT get extra time to work on your story, so you are already behind.

10. Learn from this! This is one of the hardest weekly stories to do because it's one of the first ones You don't have much to go by, especially since we haven't had a chance to review our first story yet. So don't stress on this one, no matter how you do. Just learn from it: see what worked well and why, and then repeat those habits in future assignments; and see what didn't work well and make a mental note to do differently the next time around.

Any questions? Email, text or call me ASAP.

This week, I will be reviewing your latest out-of-class stories, sending you grades and comments, and posting your latest stories online on Wednesday and Thursday.

Good luck to all!

Story #3: Some Observations

In general, a pretty good latest round of weekly stories. Here are some observations that may help you with stories going forward:

* Include data! Some stories made a point, like having an official saying something was better or worse. But then we lacked the data showing us the proof for that. By having data, we show (via data) and tell (via quotes). We want both. Think about how to quantify your stories. A good source for that are your quoted sources; ask them, how do you know that? and do you have any data for that?

* Remember to have a range of sources. This is still a problem. It's not enough to talk to one side of a story; we need to talk to the people whose actions are driving an issue AND people who are actually affected by the issue. Too many stories had one but not the other. For a refresher on range of sources, please click here to review the earlier blog post on range of sources.

Here are some of this week's stories with nice source ranges:

• Downtown redevelopment in Fenton
• Things to do in Lansing

And that leads me to my next point ...

* Remember to have a neutral expert. A neutral expert is someone who has knowledge of the subject you're reporting on but who doesn't have a stake in the outcome. Regarding the public safety story, the police chief is an expert but he is not neutral; he's the one that will look good or bad depending on what you find out. Everyday people are neutral but they are not expert.

In that story, the criminologist can contextualize what details the chief offers and what generalizations people share by comparing things to what happens elsewhere, what his research says is normal and abnormal and good and bad, etc. And like a referee, he or she will offer objective analysis because he or she is in a position where he or she is not affected by the outcome.

For a refresher on neutral experts, from earlier this semester look at this post first, and then this one. And look at the two stories linked to above and find the neutral experts they used.

* Use various mediums, and don't just write. We need pictures of what you're writing about; charts and graphs visualizing information you have in your story; hyperlinks to more information on your topics.

And hyperlinks are easy! Many times, you can simply link to some of your own information sources, like the story about things to do in Lansing did. Click on the hyperlinks and get a sense of how they help build upon what you did, so if a reader is interested in learning more they can simply click on what you provide, making your story a one-stop shop.

* Proofread for AP style! And proofread in general. Lots of little AP style goofs and grammar mistakes. Please make sure you are taking the time to go over your work before you turn it in for AP style adherence; for good grammar; and for fact-checking.

* Go over the work of others, especially those on your team. See if that helps give you ideas on journalistic points you want to emulate or not, and if it gives you ideas for future stories.

Again, our sites are Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches.

* Don't miss your deadlines. A couple of people missed the weekly story deadline, and that can NEVER happen. Ever.

The first reason is practical: of our first seven weekly stories, each is worth 7 percent of your final grade. That means missing just one story would make it impossible to get a 4.0 in this class, even if you 4-point everything else! And a 3.5 would be pretty much out of reach. It blows that big of a hole in your final grade, folks.

Now, the reason for that isn't that I'm trying to be mean; it's because in media, missing deadlines is an unforgivable sin. Have you ever flipped on the 11 o'clock news and seen the anchors say, hold on a minute; we're still finishing our scripts? Of course not. That's because anyone with even a whiff of missing deadlines is either fired right away or never hired in the first place. We must be perfect in this regard.

That means you're better off turning in a piece of hot garbage than nothing. Again, this reflects a real-worfd idea: an editor can work with a piece of junk and try to massage it to life, but an editor can't work with nothing. And either way, there is still a one-minute slot to fill for the news at 11. Your editor will be mad at you for turning in junk; your editor will fire you for turning in nothing.

Plus, in this class you're MUCH better off turning in less than stellar work than nothing! Everything we do in class adds to a points scale that determines our final grade. When we 4.0 we get 100 percent of possible assignment points; a 3.9 is 99 percent, a 3.0 is 90 percent, etc.

If you do the worst story imaginable but turn it in on time and get a 0.1 on the assignment -- I have never graded someone with a 0.1 but you never know -- they would still get 61 percent of assignment points. If you turn in nothing you get a 0.0 and zero points. So at a 0.1 you're closer to a 4.0 than a 0.0!

Again, that's to encourage a journalistic habit: never turn in nothing.

If you're having any problems and need an answer within 24 hours, email me at omars@msu.edu. If you are having issues you need fixed in an hour or two call or text me at 702-271-7983. If you need to go into detail about a need, schedule an appointment to see me at my office at CAS 360. Don't be shy; I'm here to help, remember?

Yes, I expect much out of you this summer. But I'm here to help you achieve that. I can't help you if I don't hear from you.

Good luck, everyone.

Final Story Pitches: A Round-Up

Here's some of the pitches I got for your final project, for which the pitches were due this week. Ideas include:

• Why so many festivals in Fenton?
• Nursing home problems in suburban Detroit

Not everyone turned in a final story pitch. If you have not, please turn one in ASAP. You will be docked on your final grade for missing the pitch.

Please keep in mind this assignment also has a draft version deadline of July 26, before your final version is due Aug. 15. The draft is a part of your final assignment grade, so make sure you make that deadline.

A full list of deadline dates for the semester can be found by clicking here.

Pitch #4: A Round-Up

Here's a summary of our third round of approved story pitches For Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches!  They include ...

• How many Lansing kids actually go to college?
• Dog park rules in suburban Detroit: fair or naah?

• Trafic headaches in Fenton

Honestly, I think this is a really solid group of pitches. They are exactly the sort of pitches I was looking for. Here's some things to keep in mind as you start working on your second weekly stories:

1. Remember to get a wide range of sources! We need to talk to people leading the issues; people affected by the issues; and neutral experts like a university professor from any school who studies the topic area in which you're delving into. Please review the earlier blog posts about range of sources and neutral expert of you need a bit of direction. And as always, you can contact me and we can brain-storm through this.

2. Do the interviews yourself! Don't cite other media or things you found online; all your sources should be people who you actually spoke to yourself. If you come across an interesting study or article don't cite the study or article; see who authored the study or who is quoted in the article and then contact those people yourself!

People need to be quoted by name; no anonymous sourcing, period. So be sure to get names, and double-check their spellings with your source.

3. Remember what you learned in JRN 200 doing out-of-class stories. The whole point of 200 was to give you a structure to use in 300. So recall what you learned about ledes and the body of the story and quotations and attribution and use that to put together your stories here.

4. Don't wait to work on this! Something you probably learned in 200 is that some sources can take a long time to get back to you. So don't wait on reaching out to them; start calling then ASAP. Likewise, don't wait to reach out to backup sources, as some of them may need time to get back to you, too.

The worst thing that happens if you put calls out to too many sources is that you have too much good info to use in your story, which is a good problem. A much better problem than being on deadline day and still having no sources.

5. Don't forget photos and graphics! Like fact boxes, Google maps, charts, etc. You need to make these photos, graphics and illustrations yourself; no taking stuff off the internet.

6. Follow style rules! Like AP style and story style guidelines that have been blogged about recently.

7. Double-check your facts carefully! Journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.

8. Do not miss your story deadline! From here on out, whatever story you are working on is due the following Wednesday by 9 a.m. via email to omars@msu.edu. This latest story deadline is July 13, one week from this Wednesday. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

9. Don't forget your next story pitch deadline! From here on out, a pitch for your next story will be due every Tuesday. That means your next pitch is due July 12, via email to omars@msu.edu. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here. 

For some of you, you still owe me a pitch for this week. Please get it to me ASAP. You will NOT get extra time to work on your story, so you are already behind.

10. Learn from this! This is one of the hardest weekly stories to do because it's one of the first ones You don't have much to go by, especially since we haven't had a chance to review our first story yet. So don't stress on this one, no matter how you do. Just learn from it: see what worked well and why, and then repeat those habits in future assignments; and see what didn't work well and make a mental note to do differently the next time around.

Any questions? Email, text or call me ASAP.

This week, I will be reviewing your latest out-of-class stories, sending you grades and comments, and posting your latest stories online on Wednesday and Thursday.

Good luck to all!