Week 6: Andrew Enlightens CLOSED!

This piece contains some commentary coupled with the wisdom of Jon Stewart
regarding our current political system, why it's broken, and what he is
doing to point out its ridiculous nature. I love the way the piece
addresses the absurdity of the state of politics today. Even though the
nature is only semiserious I felt like it was a perspective to good to
ignore.

---

I decided it was time for an Onion piece once I decided on the Stewart
piece. It is a perfect example of what Stewart says, and half the comedy
of the piece comes from its proximity to the truth. If you think of it as
absurdist commentary on American politics, it turns out to be pretty
on-target and informative.

Edition 2 Article Ideas

Same rules as the last time:

Please post 5-7 ideas for the second edition of the year. Be sure to read the other ideas BEFORE you post your own. You can elaborate on another person's post (with a citation, of course). Be specific and try to format each idea as such:

Article Idea:
Must interviews:
Why will people want to read this:

Week 5: Riley Reads! CLOSED

1. "Clive Thompson on the Death of the Phone Call"
Summary: This Wired opinion piece raises some interesting points about the
changing culture surrounding phone use. Specifically, the author notices
how short our voice calls are becoming, if they are even made at all. But
his tone is not nostalgic and critical of the change, rather he sees logic
in this emerging trend.

2. "How New Orleans is Cleaning Up Its Big Sleazy Reputation"
Summary: In commemoration of the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,
Time magazine did a series of articles looking back on the event and
assessing the progress made since then. I chose this article because I
thought it did a good job of mixing journalism with a bit of history when
reflecting on the recent condition of New Orleans.


Share your thoughts insights and ideas about the content and structure of these pieces.

Edition 1: Staff work

Please read these instructions carefully so as to understand what you are expected to do in class during these layout days.

NEW STAFFERS
Welcome to chaos, magic and the computer lab. During these next four class periods (usually it will only be three) we will be here, in the lab, working on putting the newspaper together. Yes, this is where the magic happens and where all the hard work gets turned into the awesome thing called The Marin Academy Voice. For you, your work is done. You have written articles, taken photos, pulled together the content for the newspaper. Now you get to work on some skills and otherwise become even more awesome than you currently are.

Please complete the following work as directed. Check the syllabus for nightly homework.

Wednesday:  First Amendment for the high school journalist — This will be your first introduction to NewsU and to the courses you will take. You will need to create a log-in account and register for the course. Once you've done that, you can get going. Send a course report to me once you've complete this course.

Friday: The Interview — As one former staffer said, "I feel like my MA diploma should have an asterisk that says NewU graduate."

Tuesday: Building Blocks of News — It's amazing how much smarter you are after today's class.

Thursday: CHANGE IN PLANS! Two stories, 40 minutes. It's go time.


RETURNING STAFFERS
Your work during these days is a bit different, a but more fun (I hope). I would love you to make either some InDesign or Photoshop tutorials for the class. Think about the lessons you learned over the last year or what cool thing you figured out. Or you could do some of the basics: how to adjust color on a photo, how to change the color of a text box or text, etc. There are lots of options, and hopefully you'll find something you enjoy to work on and teach others. You could also do something about the elements of a good news piece or feature piece and find examples. Think of this as expanding on the MUSTS already on the blog. If you have any questions, let's chat.

Week 4: on my own CLOSED!

1. The NFL: What you need to know —This is a priceless piece on the upcoming NFL season. It's not cutting edge news; it's all about the really important stuff. The tone is fabulous: a little cheeky yet quite knowledgeable. What do you think? Do you have to be an NFL follower to find the humor in the piece?

2. Ramadan means midnight practice — There were plenty of stories about Ramadan and its effects on some players' preseason schedules, but this piece focuses on a high school team in Michigan. A timely piece considering our center spread. What are your thoughts on the style and the content? Could you see an MA team ever making this kind of change for its players, regardless of the religion?

Edition 1: Editor goals

Please post three goals you have for your section. Reflect on the last edition of last year, areas where you have the most to improve and areas where you're doing great work. These goals can be design related, deadline related, or anything else. BUT, make sure these are measurable, outcome goals.

Edition 1 headline ideas

Please post your article headlines here. Make it clear what your article is & what section it belongs in. Please post 3-4 options ranging from 30-50 characters in length. Profile pieces should be on the shorter side. Remember, spaces count as characters, and all headlines should have verbs!

Week 3: Lauren shines! CLOSED!

1. How the E-book will change the way we read and write: Agree, disagree, thoughts?

2. Facebook Stalker Button: Is this the final step in on-line voyeurism? While this may seem somewhat over-the-top, if you had this magic button, would you be enticed to follow a friend .... all the time?

Share your thoughts, ideas, and feedback.