300 word blog post.  Be prepared to discuss.

The first time I ever noticed Twitter was watching Rick Sanchez on CNN during the hurricane that was heading straight for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (where my parents live — so I had a somewhat vested interest in the topic).  I was a bit confused as to who these people were until he started explaining Twitter.  I immediately signed up for an account on the sole reason of trying to get onto TV and be famous by him reading my online handle.  That didn’t happen but I thought it was interesting that although people didn’t have power, they did still have the ability to keep in touch with the outside world.  The news world was able to use all of this content, for free, on their newscasts.  In fact, it was very easy for them to get content on the air without Rick Sanchez getting knee deep in water.

As far as Twitter in the news in the future, I’m not sure how used it will be.  While it is effective for fast news like finding out about the shootings in Mumbai or planes landing in the Hudson, it is not, and will never be, the same as a story on tv, in the paper or on the web.  The only thing Twitter has going for it journalistically is that it gets on the web fast.  But 120 characters is not enough to get a story out with details.  Another thing that it is useful for is almost live-blogging from events like the inauguration and sporting events.  Sometimes you just want to know what people are thinking and not an 800-word recap.

Element 1: Point of View

The story is told from the view point of the team’s captain.  It is narrated by him and tells his story of how the team came from nothing to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.  The photo slideshow takes the viewpoint of a fan watching the action of a match takeplace.

Element 2:  A Dramatic Question

The slideshow starts with natural sound of the beginning of a paintball match.  You stay hooked to see/hear what happens to this team and figure out why they are getting shot at.  The story ends with several rounds being fired, a barrel being hit and a referee yelling game.

Element 3:  Emotional Content

The emotional content of the story is the story of the team captain and the rise of the NT Paintball team –  a rags-to-riches-esque story.

Element 4:  The Gift of your Voice

This story isn’t done with a voiceover but uses the voice of the team captain to tell his own story.  In a way that makes it more personal and more engaging to the audience as opposed to telling about things he has done.  A first person recanting of stories is always better told than second-hand experience.

Element 5:  The Power of the Soundtrack

There is no music playing in this multimedia package.  There is the use of natural sound which makes the story seem as if the interview is being conducted on a battlefield of sorts.

Element 6:  Economy

The slideshow starts with the opening of the match and the sounds match what we see.  As the slideshow progresses we see people crouched and taking aim.  As time goes on we start to see eliminated players, some with bruises or bleeding.  We finally see paint flying out of a gun and someone declared the victor.

Element 7:  Pacing

The slideshow and audio move very smoothly and has a good pace.  The slideshow breaks up natural sound with interview but then switched back and forth between the two and never lingers on one for too long.  The interview is interesting but so is the sound of “combat” on the field.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in a 39-13 vote today in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  

The proposed bill, if passed in Congress, will regulate the $80 billion-a-year tobacco market and is supported by President Barack Obama.

A similar bill was passed through the House in July but did not clear the Senate due to lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration resources and because there was not a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes.

The bill will place stronger restrictions on marketing cigarettes on young people, add larger warnings to packaging and give the FDA authority to monitor ingredients and new products.

Smoking is a leading cause of death in the U.S. with one in five deaths attributed to the disease.

The bill passed the committee with full Democrat support and six Republicans joining the cause.  President Obama, a former smoker, supported last July’s bill.

(Assignment after jump)

From DentonRC.com:

City Council to vote on revamping property regulations

The City of Denton City Council will vote tonight on updating some of its property maintenance codes.

The new set of codes will unite several ordinances as well as add some additional regulations to the outdated set.

Among the biggest changes is the addition of “chronic defender” definition for repeat code violators.  The new codes would allow tougher prosecution for residents who break the code more than three times a year.

The last attempt to change the maintenance codes was in 2006 but was never implemented after protest from property managers, real estate agents and other critics who criticized the proposal.

This time around the city has seen little resistance to the change after forming a council committee and resident advisory committee.

The council’s vote tonight will be on the first 12 articles, which both the council committee and advisory committee have agreed upon.  Included in the articles are rules for noise, odors, junk vehicles, lawn care, trash and debris, outdoor storage, stagnant water, fences, temporary carports, parking and graffiti.

• I would add a map that would use crowdsourcing to allow Denton residents to show if they’ve had a violation before and how many.  This could lead to another story of how the City of Denton is picking on certain neighborhoods more than others.  It would also help show how often people are pegged as repeat offenders.
• I would also include a poll to see how residents would vote on the issue that the council will vote on.

Students, teachers reflect on lost lives of Denton students

Funerals have been set for two Denton teens who died in a car crash Saturday on North Elm Street.

The services for eighth-grader Bryan Moreno Pena, 14, and high school sophomore Jhon Bernal-Garcia, 16, will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

Counselors assisted grieving students yesterday at Davis School where the two teens attended school in Denton.

The boys’ teachers reflected on their kindness and willingness to always lend a hand whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The Kia they were driving rolled over at least four to five times and crashed into a large bush in the median and into the northbound lanes.  The other vehicle went the opposite direction and slid sideways into a utility pole.

Donations for memorial services have been set up at Denton Area Teachers Credit Union, 225 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201.

• To crowdsource this story I would allow people to submit pictures on the children to create a memorial slideshow.  This would add an interactive element to the story that would draw out emotion in those who know the boys and those who don’t.

Texas bars keeping their own tabs with alcohol distributors

With a worsening economy, many Texans are staying at home instead of hitting the bars to drown their sorrows.

According to figures from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, bars and liquor stores behind in their payments to alcohol suppliers grew more than 18-percent in the last year.

The TABC counted almost 23,000 late payers last year a figure that more than doubled from 2006 to 2007 when only 7-percent paid late.

By law, suppliers are required to report every late payment to the TABC.  Alcohol sales must be paid for by the 10th or 25th of each month while beer must be paid for upon delivery.

The TABC declined to say what they think the cause of so many delinquent payments is.

• I would crowdsource this story by seeing who is going out, how often and to which bars.
• I would also include a map that had information, obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request, on local area bars and liquor stores that have had late payments and compare that with who is visiting those locations.

http://www.crowdsourcing.typepad.com

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070731niles