No quiz

No current events quiz tomorrow. I'm too busy. We'll talk a bit about the news of the week in class.

Wednesday discussion

Hope you are all are enjoying your Monday off from class. On Wednesday, Kellyn Brown, editor of the Flathead Beacon, will be in class so that you can get the word straight from someone who is still in the trenches, working at an actual newspaper.

As I mentioned, Brown will be talking to you about the newspaper's coverage of the Rehberg/Barkus boat crash. This will be your chance to talk to someone charged with making decisions about what aspects of the story the Beacon reports to its readers, and what it doesn't and why.

For class it would be a good idea to review these stories in the Beacon (and keep an eye out for updates Tuesday night):

Barkus doesn't remember much

Beacon discusses BAC issues

And here is an example of some good reporting from the Missoulian getting the point of view of the campers who first responded to the crash.

If there are heroes in this tragedy, these folks fit the bill.

And it wouldn't hurt to scan the SPJ Code of Ethics, to be found here.

Have a good week. I'll see you on Friday.

Boat crash update

Not much new here, but I still want all of you to take a look at this story from the Daily Inter Lake. Read it, then note the comments from Montanaeasy56 and HF Davidson regarding the confusion about who is speaking about the condition of the injured man near the end of the story. The story shifts from one speaker to the next without first alerting the reader.

On Wednesday we'll begin our discussion about the basic news story. In addition, we'll talk briefly about transition grafs and how to guide the reader from speaker to speaker without confusion (we'll give trans grafs even more attention later in the semester).

You'll need this

A link to the SPJ Code of Ethics. Start getting to know this important document. The SPJ Code is second only to the AP Stylebook in terms of its importance as a resource for journalists.

A world without journalism

What happens if newspapers go away? Here are some possibilities.

Important policy is determined by who shouts the loudest.

No one is there to ensure the courts operate transparently.

Your assignment is to read these stories and make at least one post to this blog by the start of class Friday. Extra credit if your post includes a link to a relevant news story.