Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Word of the day: yummy

When I read a blog on the NY Times Web site, I saw a comment that asked the author to refrain from using the word "yummy." They said, "Please, can the word 'yummy' be banned? It means nothing, and sounds sick-making." I thought that this was hilarious, and then I wondered if "yummy" was a real word. I found out that it is!

YUMMY

pronunciation:
yuhm-ee
part of speech: adjective
origin: 1925-1930


Definition:
1. very pleasing to the senses, esp. to the taste; delicious: The waiter brought out a tray of yummy desserts.
2. extremely attractive or appealing.

Colleen's sentence: The Thanksgiving dinner I ate yesterday was quite tasty.
Haha just kidding. The sentence really is: The Thanksgiving dinner I ate yesterday was quite yummy.

I think I am most entertained by the fact that it was invented in the 1920's/1930's. The roaring 20's gave the English language some interesting words and phrases, such as "the bees knees" and the "the cats pajamas," and now, possibly the word "yummy."

This word has been around for a while, and if it's going to stay in our lovely repertoires, the angry comment-leaver is just going to have to get used to it!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

When protecting a source goes too far

I just read an article in my favorite magazine, Allure, about narcissistic behavior and how it is becoming more prevalent in our celebrity obsessed society. The author, Judith Newman, wrote a fantastic article after she interviewed a woman who had risen quite quickly in the TV producing industry.

She described how this woman was very pretty and very smart, and as a result, believed that the world owed something to her. Overall, it was a well-written, well-researched article. There was just one huge problem. Judith Newman revealed that she had convinced the source not to use her real name because of the potential problems that she would face after the article came out.

Now, I think that because the source wanted to use her name in the article, Newman should have used it. As journalists, we are taught that we should always use a source's name if we can get it. Newman had the name.

I suppose that her reason for withholding the source's name was noble, but I don't think it was Newman's responsibility to make sure the woman knew what the consequences would be. If the source was a smart woman, as Newman says, than she would have been able to foresee the consequences of using her name.

Journalism stories should be informative and journalists should strive to be honest with their audiences. Journalists have more of a responsibility to their readers, not their sources. I'm not saying journalists have no responsibility to their sources, but they shouldn't protect a source that doesn't want or need protecting.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Blogging is a commitment

Blogs can be hard to do. In theory, they aren't at all because all you seemingly have to do is think of something to say, and then post it. However, sometimes you just don't have anything to say that you believe is worth other people reading. Plus, real life activities can take up all of your time, so even if you do have something to say, you may not have time to say it.

Well, I just want to apologize to all of my readers for not posting in several weeks. My problem was a combination of having nothing to say, as well as no time to post, which resulted in an empty blog. And I know it is hard to follow a blog when there aren't regular posts.

One of my all-time favorite blogs, Beauty Addict, went without any posts for several weeks. I became quite discouraged when I logged on repeatedly and found nothing new. As a result, I hadn't logged on until today, and the only reason I even did today was to find the link for the blog. I didn't even know if it had any new posts.

Here, the blog's author stated that pressures at work were causing her to slack off with posting. Pressures with work and school will always be there, and if you really love something and want it in your life, you have to work around those pressures and make time to do what you love.

That said, I also have to start making time for my own beauty blog on the Daily Illini Web site. Part of the reason I haven't been posting there is that I don't have money to spend on beauty products and makeup right now. So I guess I'll just have to think of creative ways to post about beauty without spending money. I'm sure anyone reading will appreciate that, too, especially with the state of the economy.

Monday, October 27, 2008

What to do with life

I know I'm not the only person in college who has worried about what they are going to do with his or her life, but now, senior year has brought about intense worries about the future. I know I love journalism, but now I don't know what I want to do with it. I used to think that I wanted to be a reporter, but now I'm not so sure.

I think that design is really interesting, and it would be awesome to get a job as a designer at a fashion magazine. However, I don't think I want to ever design at a newspaper. I think a newspaper's design is a lot less interesting than a magazine's, and that is where I would want to design. Plus, I adore looking at magazines for the design and photos; I think a lot of people do too. I really don't like all of the graphs that have to be made for a newspaper, and I know I would not want to do it, especially after we had to design a graph for graphics. There was just so much room for error, and almost every graph we critiqued in the class was not good. Magazines never have graphs, plus they have more artistic photos and are visually more appealing. I also just like them better!

I also think I would be interested in becoming an editor. I really like our editing class, and so far, I have been surprised to learn that it is interesting. Yet, I would still want to be an editor at a magazine, rather than a newspaper.

Basically, I don't want to write for a newspaper, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up at one to get some much needed experience for the magazine world.

(Now watch a recruiter find this blog and refuse to hire me for a newspaper! Maybe I should just go to law school....)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Random thoughts on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I just read a fantastic editorial that was on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Web site about a dad who is starting to deal with his daughter becoming a teenager. It is well-written, funny and best of all, while it is a topic that has been done so many times before, the author brought his own voice to the story and made me want to keep reading.

I love how instead of using her real name, he used a fake name. But he didn't just use a random girl's name - he chose the name Gustavo. He clearly pokes fun at a journalist's tendency to use fake names in a hilarious way while still keeping his daughter unnamed, giving her some protection.

He also was able to take simple concepts about a teenage girl and write about them in creative, entertaining ways. For instance, instead of simply saying that his daughter loved to have her picture taken he said, "Gustavo normally never met a camera she wasn’t in the mood to mug for. About the only time she’d refused to smile for a camera in the past was when she was actively vomiting or asleep with her mouth open."

That wasn't the only clever thing that he wrote, and I did not want to stop reading. But his writing style wasn't the only thing that made me keep reading.

I love how the Post-Dispatch did not make me click on a "next page" button to keep reading the article. I absolutely hate doing that, and would much rather scroll down to read a story. I don't understand why papers use that format because I learned in my graphics class that people are less likely to keep reading if they can't scroll down to see the rest of the words. I also learned that there usually isn't a spatial reason that these papers can't have the text continue on the same page.

I really think that online newspapers would have a more readers if they kept all of the words on the same page. So if I'm ever involved in the web design of a paper, I would suggest that readers have the ability to scroll down.

To see the article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/columnists.nsf

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

LOOK HERE! Quiz Question Answer

Q: Why do some people believe that a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing is better than a Chapter 7?


A: Some believe that filing a Chapter 7 allows many individuals to rack up as much debt as they can, and simply wipe it all out with a Chapter 7 filing. There are few consequences for their actions.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Ethical Quandaries

Would you run these photos?
What criteria did you you use to make a
decision?
Under what circumstances would you run the
photos?
Would your decision be different if the events
were local?
Does where or how you play the photo have
any bearing on your decision?
With which photo did you struggle the most?

These are the questions that editors must ask themselves to determine whether or not they would run an ethically questionable photo. Below are my responses for the photos that we had to look at in class.

"Dead Dog" photo: This is one of the more tame photos that we have in the bunch. I
would not run this photo, unless it had a significant news element. Perhaps something like drunk
driving. There is no reason to run a picture of a broken-hearted child unless his dog was hit by a drunk driver, which would raise awareness for the problems of drunk driving. I think that a photo would really capture how drunk driving can hurt so many. Yet, I think that I would hesitate to run it, even if there was a drunk driver, if I worked at a smaller paper with a smaller circulation. I think it would be sufficient to talk about the dead dog in the article, and there wouldn't be a need for the picture. I think that in a smaller community you are more likely to know those in the photo, and it would be really hard to see someone you know completely torn up over his or her dead pet. So I would run this in a larger circulation paper, if there was a drunk driver involved. While making this decision I thought about what it would be like to be
the little boy in the picture who lost his dog, and then saw it in the paper, or
the parents of the little boy. Again, I think that makes a difference in a small town setting. I would also say this photo would have to run as a still shot, if was going to run at all.

"Drowned Boy" photo: I would not run this picture. I think it is very intrusive and it really invades the family's privacy. There is no reason to run a picture of the dead boy. I might see
the logic in running the picture with the boy cropped out of it, but I personally would not run it at all. My decision would not be any different if this was a picture of a national event or a local event. When deciding whether or not I would run this photo, I thought of the family members once again. If I was at all related to this family, or knew this little boy, I would be shocked and angered to see this photo run in the paper. Again, I don't think there is any need to run
this.

"Bud Dwyer" photo: This was the most shocking and disturbing photo to me simply because of the information that they believe this is when the bullet is in his brain. I literally cannot get his facial expression out of my mind, and I refuse to look at this picture for a long period of time. I don't think anyone should ever see someone kill himself or herself. I would not run this as a clip on TV, either. There is a possibility that I would run it as a video online with explicit warnings
to the viewers. However, I am not entirely sure I would even do that. This is the picture that I
struggled the most with. I would be angered and appalled to see it if I was a family member or knew him in any way (these words can't even convey the extreme emotion I would most likely feel). Yet, I understand why there are video clips of the suicide. I also understand that there is a news element here because he is a public figure. That's why I would consider running it on a Web site, again, with many warnings. This way, viewers would have to seek out the information. But, I still don't know for sure if I would run it online, and hope I am never faced with this kind of decision.

"Dead Plant Worker" photo: I would not run this photo either. I don't think there is a reason to show the photo of the dead body to convey that people were killed. You can get that information from the text. Again, I asked myself how I would feel if I was the family of the victim, and I know I would not want to see my relation lying dead on the floor. The photo is really unnecessary. I would not run this photo if it was a local event or a national event. I was even speaking with Drake (the other class) about this issue and he said that he thinks showing photos of dead bodies is necessary only if the death is a result of war. I completely agree because while this is a tragic event, it is not necessarily a national issue. (I also don't have a problem with the New York Times running the photo on the front page of the dead bodies in the water in the aftermath of Katrina. I think that people needed to be made aware of how awful the situation was there so people would want to help.)

"Fence Climber" photo: This photo was a little trickier, but I don't think I would run it. I can kind of understand the logic of wanting to run a photo if children climbing fences was extremely prevalent, and obviously, dangerous, but I still don't think this graphic of a photo is necessary. I think it would probably do a better job of warning people of the dangers than text would, but I think a description of the fall could still get the message across. It seems as if the picture would be used merely for shock value. For this picture, I didn't really consider how his family would feel if they saw it because I think it makes a difference that the boy is still alive. I would consider the family only if the boy had some sort of irreparable damage because it would be horrible to see how your relation was brain damaged or whatever the case may be. If I were to run it, I would be more likely to do so if it was a local incident because it seems like it would not be a newsworthy event to anyone outside of a local community.

"Mardi Gras" photo: This is another photo I struggled with, but decided I would probably run it- with the woman's face blurred if I was going to run the photo as is. However, I can't decide if I would crop the photo to eliminate any of the surrounding men. I realize that the majority of them are violating her, but I would hesitate to run it with their faces because some of them could be trying to help, and then this photo would be basically accusing them of assaulting her.
Then the paper could be sued for libel. I'm not sure how that would pan out in court, but I don't know if I would want to chance it because I think a cropped photo of just the naked woman and all of the hands could convey the same thing. Obviously, I thought of how the woman would feel if she saw this photo in the paper, but I don't think there is a clear answer. It would be distressing to see, but at the same time, if it was me, I might want people to know the horrible experience I had had, in order for a similar incident to be prevented in the future. That said, I'm not sure what good could actually come out of running this photo, except that maybe women would be more hesitant to participate in Mardi Gras celebrations. I would treat this photo the same way if it was a national or local paper because it is about an event that everyone in America knows about. I also don't know how I would treat this photo if I were deciding to run it online,
in the paper, or on TV. I think the libel question is really the biggest factor, and I know I would discuss this with other people to see what they thought.

Which brings up the importance of speaking with different people when you are confronted with an ethical quandary. It is really helpful to get many opinions because I know I would be hesitant to run something that no one else would run. Also, perhaps you are too close or too far removed from something and a different opinion could put things into perspective for you.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Error of My Ways

Last Monday, we took a Stylebook quiz and on the quiz was one of my sentences. Obviously, it was a little embarrassing, but it really taught me to edit my work to the best of my knowledge. This is something that is very important because when you showcase your work to the world, it should be correct, or it will reflect poorly upon you.
I kept this in mind when I was writing a cover letter a few nights ago, and I think it really helped. I edited the letter several times, and had a few other people look it over because I realize that I am not the best at grammar and punctuation. While I personally edited it, I found several punctuation mistakes that I never would have noticed had I not read it several times. I would not have read it several times if my incorrectly punctuated sentence had not been on the quiz. So even though it was embarrassing, I think seeing the sentence on the quiz actually helped me, and will continue to help me in the future.
However, I think my personal problem with editing is that I only see a mistake if someone points out the possibility of a mistake. So for me, it is easier to see the mistakes on the quiz sentences because I know that they are there. Hopefully, by reading my work over several times, I'll start to notice any mistakes.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

So many rules, and are they even necessary?

During my last editing class (or the one before, sometimes the lessons blur together), I learned that we cannot accept the use of the word "their" to connect singular and plural possessive pronouns. This may seem a little confusing, so to simply this rule, here's an example of an incorrect sentence:

Anybody can have their child sing in the local talent contest.

This sentence is incorrect because anybody literally means "any one person" and therefore, we can't use the plural possessive pronoun "their". The grammatically correct option would be to say either "anybody can have his child...." "anybody can have her child...." or "anybody can have his or her child...."

Yet, we can't really choose the option with just "his child" or just "her child" because that would leave out half of the population, so we correctly say "his or her child."

Still, this is a mouthful and it is understandable that someone would want to save time and write/say "their" (see I love saving time, and felt it was necessary to put a slash in my sentence instead of the word "or"). I don't think that people use the word "their" to be grammatically incorrect, but to include everyone and save time. It a way, it's like the word "funner". It's not a real word, but people use it so often, that it has the potential to turn into one. It's used frequently in the vernacular, and so is the word "their" instead of "his or her".

Nonetheless, using the long "his or her" is better than just using "his" which is how the sentence would have been structured in the past. It's good that women have progressed enough in society to be re-included in the English language, so I will gladly use "his or her" over "his,"even if it takes longer to do so.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Word of the Week

My word for this week is exacerbate. This is a word that I actually use a lot in conversation- perhaps more frequently than I actually should- but it is fun to see who gives me a confused look when it comes out of my mouth. Plus, I really like the word.

EXACERBATE

pronunciation: \ig-ˈza-sər-ˌbāt\
Part of Speech: transitive verb

Etymology: From Latin exacerbatus, past participle of exacerbare, from ex- + acerbus harsh

1.to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of (disease, ill feeling, etc.); aggravate.
2.to embitter the feelings of (a person); irritate; exasperate.

Colleen's sentence: After my foot was broken while playing soccer, Ashley accidentally stepped on it which exacerbated the pain.

I saw this word today in an article on CNN.com about the failing stock market. I thought they used the word particularly well because I can imagine that many people's fears are exacerbated with the Dow dropping 300 points. .

Again, I chose it because it is such a great word and one that I use all the time.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Daily Illini Corrections for Monday, Sept. 8

At the University of Illinois, we have an outstanding newspaper that is produced soley by the students on campus. No matter how good it is, the paper can always be improved upon, and those of us who work there are constantly trying to make it a better publication.

Today's paper looked as if it needed a lot of editing work. For instance, in the front page story about Student Trustee Paul Schmitt resigning from his position, the lede began with the date of his resignation. The date was over one week old, so obviously this story could have been run then. If they were going to hold off on the story, than the author should not have put this information right away in the lede. Furthermore, the lede would have been much more powerful had it started off with the announcement of the resignation of Schmitt as Trustee, not the date of the resignation, which isn't the most important information.

Another story in the Sports section was misleading. In the lede, the author writes, "nobody told 1966 Illinois alumna Lois Diller there was an age limit for the 2008 Alumni Weekend round-robin tennis tournament." This implies that there is an age limit for the tournament that Diller was not made aware of. However, the author was merely trying to express the fact that at age 63, Diller was not too old to play in the tournament because she is a very active person. Nowhere else in the story does the author talk about the age restriction, so it becomes clear that he wanted a creative opening for the story. While I understand this idea, I think it is important to make sure that your audience is not mislead, as I was. I even thought this story was about age discrimination for a while!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Word of the Week

Grapple

Pronunciation: grāp'əl or grap-uhl
Part of Speech: Verb
Etymology:
Middle English grapel, from Old French grapil, diminutive of grape, hook

1) to seize or hold with or as if with a hooked instrument
2) to seize and struggle with one another
3)
A struggle for superiority or dominance

Colleen's Sentence: The two girls grappled with each other, each vying for the bouquet at their friend's wedding.

I recently saw this word in a New York Times article about the upcoming presidential candidates, Obama and McCain. I chose this word because I thought the author did a perfect job using it, and I wanted to share it with other people. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/us/politics/05campaign.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Reading is Especially Fabulous

Everyone has heard that in order to be a good writer, one must first read, read, read. This is something that I truly believe in and as a result, I am a voracious reader. Anyone who loves words should not underestimate the importance of constant reading because it enables you to expand your vocabulary and ultimately, become a better writer. That's why I couldn't agree with my editing class book more. They publishers advocate frequent reading and say that it will help you not only learn how grammar functions in your everyday life, but how to become a better writer. So get out there and read, people! Besides, it's not like reading is work- it's so much fun!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Word of the Week

Hey all! Welcome to my blog about fabulous words. This is my very first post, so I'm going to try to make it worth your while. And the way that I am going to do that is by beginning with a word of the week. Every week I will choose a word that I think is interesting, or I have never heard of before and I will post the word with the meaning, the origin and where I saw the word used. I will also try to use it in a sentence that I have come up with myself. Be prepared! I will use a combination of Web sites to determine the meaning and origin of the word, including www.miriam-webster.com as well as www.dictionary.com. Also, I am not the best doing cool tricks with computers, so if I have an error with a link, I apologize, but I will try my best to ensure that everything is as accurate and efficient as possible. After all, I am a journalism major, and we love nothing more than accuracy and connecting our audience with as much information as possible. With that said, here is the first word I discovered earlier today in class.

CADRE
Pronunciation: \ˈka-ˌdrā
Part of Speech: Noun
Etymology: (multiple possible origins) French, from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum square

1) a nucleus or core group especially of trained personnel able to assume control and to train others; broadly : a group of people having some unifying relationship. (Webster's Dictionary)
2) a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled work force. (Dictionary.com)

Colleen's sentence: A cadre of doctors met this week for a medical convention in San Diego, Ca.

I first saw this word in the Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 Time article entitled, "How Healed is Hillary?" http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1836042,00.html

I chose this word because I had never heard it before and I love learning new words to dazzle people with!