Comm 422 final project pictures

The Stratford Ecological Center
(All picture taken by me. Click on picture to see larger image.)


The Stratford Ecological Center is located in Delaware, Ohio. The gazebo (left) is a place for visitors to sit and relax and enjoy the scenery.






Pictured to the right is the children's garden. Here kids have the opportunity to walk through the garden and learn where some of there food comes from.




The greenhouse (left) runs all year round and hosts a variety of plants and vegetables. Whatever vegetables are not picked or sold are donated to the local food banks.





Stratford manages 236 acres of land and is a mostly grass based farm. This picture (right) shows the vast pastures as well as a small pond in the distance.





Stratford is home to a variety of livestock such as dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and hogs.





Two kids (baby goats, right) snuggle up and take a nap.







Stratford raises cattle for milk and meat. These two calves (left) are a Jersey breed.






Michael Mercil, an artist and professor at The Ohio State University, houses his sheep for his Virtual Pasture project at Stratford. Pictured right is one of his Shetland sheep.





Tunis is the main breed of sheep at Stratford. This Tunis lamb (left) is stretching out and enjoying a nice long nap.





Not only do the chickens (right) provide eggs, but they are also a source of parasite management. Since Stratford is all organic they do not spray chemicals or pesticides, so the chickens eat harmful bugs and parasites.

Ethics

I think the first article on fact checking is very interesting. A key part of being a good journalist is always checking your facts before reporting it to the people. This idea of making the people check the facts for themselves is just plain laziness on David Gregory’s part. When people are watching a TV show such as Meet the Press they expect to get the facts the first time. I know I wouldn’t want to take the time and look up all the information that was presented to me just to make sure that it’s all factual. This would instill a sense of distrust for me and the show. With Meet the Press being such a popular news show, I would be hoping that most of the information coming from these authoritative voices was not misleading.

I think ProPublica’s idea of getting the news out to people accurately before worrying about costs is a moral approach. But at the same time, how does one secure a career working for such a company? How are journalists who choose to write for the company earning a living for themselves?

In the article about the writer for the New Jersey Devils, I understand some of the ethical issues being presented here. Many people would most likely feel that anything written by Eric Marin would be biased toward the Devils’ team. At the same time, it’s not always easy to get reporters to cover every game or sporting event out there. If Marin wants to provide a story for the Gannett when they need to fill a gap I think it should be allowed. An editor at the paper can read through the article themselves to make sure that it is objective before submitting it. I think the executive editor makes a good point as well. They make it clear that the article was written by a Devils’ employee and the readers don’t seem to mind. So why make a big deal out of something that’s doesn’t seem to be a big deal?

Multimedia

The first story I found was done by CNN on the death of Brittany Murphy's husband. The story included a short video which I feel was unnecessary. It featured a person talking about what police had found so far but did not say specifically who he was. The video was very hard to see because it was dark and the lights were casting a glare on the speaker. The video also showed his home and coroner trucks leaving the scene. I feel that the video didn't do much to enhance the short story that was there.

The second story I found was done in the New York Times on the former wife of Prince Andrew. The story includes a picture of Sarah Ferguson (Andrews former wife) and a link to a video. The video showed Sarah accepting a large sum of from a reporter in disguise in order for the reporter to get the chance to meet Prince Andrew. The video is a nice supplement to the story because it shows the moment that the exchange happened. The picture is a nice addition because it puts a face to the name.

The third source I found is also from CNN and is just a video updating people of the current BP oil spill situation. I feel that videos are a lot easier for some people. They don't want to take the time to sit down and read the story when they can watch and hear the whole thing.

For my final project I would definatly include pictures of the business I am profiling. I also hope to include a short video that shows highlights of the place and gives the reader a good idea of what the place looks like.

In Class Exercise- Worst State to do business

Slug:Worst State For Business

Short Hed: Ohio among worst states to do business in

Long Hed: Ohio ranked 44th among best states to do business in

Ohio is among the nation’s worst states to do business based on its taxes, workforce and living conditions, according to a recent survey of more than 650 CEOs.

Ohio ranked 44 in Chief Executive magazine’s annual ranking of the states, which is up one spot from last year. The state received a grade of “C-“ in taxation and regulation, a “B” in workforce quality, and a “B-“ in living environment.

State tax officials blamed the weak assessment on Ohio’s reputation as a “high tax state,” which it is taking steps to shed. (Awkward sentence)

“Perception has yet to catch up to reality in Ohio,” said John Kohlstrand, spokesman for Ohio Department of Taxation.

Since 2005, the Buckeye State has been working to lower taxes while creating a more attractive tax system for business. Local property taxes on equipment and a state tax on corporation profits have been eliminated and replaced with a new commercial activity tax based on the location of a business’ customers. That means when businesses establish new facilities or hire more workers, “they don’t pay additional CAT,” Kohlstrand said.

Marshall Cooper, CEO of Greenwich, Conn.-based Chief Executive Group, shared four comments from surveyed CEOs with operations in Ohio. Three mentioned a need for an improvement in the tax situation one said “get rid of the CAT.”

But Ohio’s overall grades among the CEOs with business operations in the state were slightly higher than the national rankings. Local CEOs gave Ohio a “C+” in taxes, a “B+” in workforce quality, and a “B+” in living environment, Cooper said.

The state’s most recent rankings in the Chief Executive survey represent a dramatic downgrade among the CEOs, who placed Ohio at No. 20 in 2005. The 24-spot decline was second only to Illinois falling 29 spots in the same period.

Despite its weak ranking in the Chief Executive survey, Ohio is home to 23 Fortune 500 companies, including four based in Columbus: Nationwide, American Electric Power, Limited Brands and Big Lots. At least one company on that list, and one that is not, recently announced plans that should result in more than 1,000 local new hires.

Huntington Bancshares last week said it will add 500 jobs in the next five years and keep its headquarters Downtown for 20 more years. Nationwide earlier this month said it plans to fill 600 job openings in Ohio.

Still, Ohio’s unemployment rate remains above the national rate. The jobless rate in Ohio was 11 percent in March. April figures are due out next week. The national unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in April and 9.7 percent in March, according to federal data.

Texas again finished first in the Chief Executive rankings, followed by North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The worst state was California, with New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois and Connecticut all finnishing below Ohio, according to the survey of 651 CEOs conducted in late January.

Final Project Outline

My original plan for my final project has to be changed because my profile subject recently informed me that she will be leaving for Maine soon on a summer vacation. So I am thinking about either doing a story on Micheal Mercil and his "virtual pasture" project or on the Stratford Ecological Center in Delaware, Ohio where he keeps his sheep for the pasture.

The Stratford Ecological Center is an educational farm for children and adults to learn about relationships between living things. I was hoping to speak with the owner of the farm and ask how they are working to spread knowledge about animals as well as some outreach projects that they may do. Such as working with Mercil at Ohio State on the virtual pasture.

I also hope to talk with visitors at the farm or other employees and get their thoughts about center and what they like and dislike about it.

*Social Media:
-There is a facebook page for the virtual pasture
-Twitter has a feed on Delaware County and features and upcoming event at the Stratford Ecological Center. This could be a very beneficial event to attend for my final project.

Obama Press Conference Exercise

NYC, Oil Spill

Obama informs public of clean up efforts

Obama addresses public about attempted bombing and BP oil spill

President Obama addressed the public Wednesday, to discuss the recent bomb threat in New York City as well as the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama made it clear that BP will be paying for the spill and that he will not rest or be satisfied until the leak has been stopped

Obama commended the New York police department and fire department for their work in stopping the bomb from going off. He also commended the people for their quickly alerting authorities of the crime.

The president also ensured the American public that national security is taking all the steps necessary to make sure that New York remains safe.

After a quick comment on the weather, Obama continued his speech on the oil spill that has taken over much of the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil spill is currently 9 miles of the coast of Louisiana said Obama. Workers have been working around the clock to stop this massive leak from reaching the shore.

“From day one we have prepared and planned for the worst even as we hoped for the best,” said Obama. “And while we have prepared and reacted aggressively, I’m not going to rest, …. or be satisfied until the leak is stopped at the source.”

BP is being held responsible for the spill and will be paying for it as well as damages that this massive leak has caused.

Obama concluded his speech by saying he and the government will be doing everything in their power to protect the ecosystem, repair what has been damaged and compensate those who have been harmed by this leak.

422 2-minute Broadcast

Good Afternoon, I’m Catie Noyes with the latest news update

In top news today New York faced a bomb scare Saturday evening when a street vender noticed a smoking Nissan Pathfinder parked on a curb in the center of Times Square. The vender alerted authorities and a bomb squad was brought in to inspect the vehicle. Police found a car bomb made of propane, gasoline and fireworks inside the S.U.V.. Police are investigating a surveillance video which shows a white man who appeared to be in his 40s leaving the scene.

Shifting gears and taking a look at our weather. Monday will be partly cloudy with a high of 78 and scattered showers in the evening. Expect to dry out by Tuesday and reach a high of 73. Wednesday will bring in plenty of sunshine with temperatures reaching a high of 80 degrees. Rain and storms make their way back in on Thursday and Friday with temperatures cooling back into the 70s.

Weather conditions didn’t slow down weekend movie goers from getting their horror movie fix. Freddie Krueger made his return to the big screen in the 1980s remake of “Night Mare on Elm Street.” The movie brought in 32 million dollars landing it in first place at the box office this weekend. Second place went to “How to Train Your Dragon” which brought in an estimated 10.8 million dollars.

In sports news Cavalier’s star LeBron James takes home his second consecutive M.V.P. award. He received 116 of 123 possible first place points to give him a landslide victory over Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. James is the 10^th N.B.A. player to win the award two years in a row.

In local news the destination of the Columbus casino will be decided in Tuesday’s vote placing it either in the arena district or in the site of the former General Motors-Delphi auto parts plant on the west-side of Columbus. Issue 3 may have passed in Ohio but 58 percent of Franklin County residents were opposed to the casino being built. Residents of the city should have a say in where this casino is being built since it will affect them the most and why not build it where space is available.

Thanks for tuning in today, this has been Catie Noyes with your latest news update.

Broadcast Exercise

Washingtonians Fear Job Loss
One-Third of Washington residents fear job loss
Washington residents express great fear over job security


Washington residents are worried about the security of their jobs. During the 2nd Annual Washington State Workplace Confidence Survey, 29 percent of workers say they are concerned about loosing their jobs. 36 percent of respondents said the are considering returning to school. Many residents currently employed said that they would like to enhance their career by returning to school or even consider a new career all together.

Vice President of employer development at Everest College, Wendy Cullen says that the lack of workplace confidence is understandable considering Washington was hit hard last year by a falling economy.

The survey also found that anxiety in the workplace is on the rise with the most stressful factor being money followed closely by fear of losing jobs.

FDA Broadcast exercise

Faulty Defibrillators
FDA warns defibrillator components faulty
FDA warns 14 models of external defibrillators have faulty components

The FDA has issued a warning on the use of 14 models of external defibrillators used worldwide. It is estimated that about 280-thousand of these defibrillators, used at home or in public places to rescue someone suffering from cardiac arrest, may malfunction. Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart stops beating and blood stops flowing to the brain an other organs. The external defibrillators send an electric shock to restore the persons normal heartbeat. Faulty components may cause these defibrillators to fail to deliver the shock as well as a failure to accurately analyze a persons heart rhythm.

Toyota Recall Exercise

Toyota Recall 2003 Sequoia
Toyota Recalls 2003 Model of Sequoia
Toyota Recalls 2003 Sequoia for Vehicle Stability Control

Toyota Motor Sales announced yet another recall today on the 2003 model of SA-COY-A. An estimated 50,000 of these SUVs were recalled today due to problems with its Vehicle Stability Control system (VSC). The VSC helps control loss of traction as a result of front rear tire slippage but without this upgrade vehicles may not accelerate as fast as the drivers would expect.
There have been no reported injuries or accidents since this problem was discovered. Toyota is currently working to fix the problem.

Profile Critique

This profile, posted to the New York Times was written about Marilyn Berger a 73 year old women who decided to raise her first child. I though that this was a very interesting story about a women who had a very full-filling life of being a White House correspondent for NBC news, to learning to sail at 60 and writing a book at 72 but decided at 73 that she wanted a child.

I liked the lede in this story up until the third sentence. It reads "A fourth noted: 'You've been out.'"
I personally did not understand this quote and didn't think it needed to be there.

The profile does a good job of describing her travel to Ethiopia, where she discovered this young boy that she would soon adopt. The story starts to get a little to descriptive and wordy when it starts to describe Ms. Berger reminiscing about her son.

The sentence reads "Ms. Berger said, clicking through photographs of Danny on her computer the way parents do, so quietly absorbed in the images that they scarcely notice whether the person for whose benefit they're ostensibly displaying those pictures has even glanced in their direction." That is a mouthful and I think if I was reading that I would probably have to go back and read it again or just stop right there. Also I have no idea what ostensibly means. I appreciate that they were trying to paint this vivid image in the readers mind about that particular moment but it could have been simplified for the sake of the reader.

I appreciate the last paragraph and how it describes a typical day for Ms. Berger after she picks him up from school. It paints a picture in the readers mind of this playful little boy happy to see his mom and be done with his day of school. It plays with human interest and can't help but make you go "aw!"

This profile uses very good descriptions but can get a little wordy at times.

In class exercies (News Conference)

Meisel nominated college sports editor of the year

Lantern editor nominated for College Sports Editor of the Year Award

Lantern sports editor Zack Meisel has been nominated for the College Sports Editor of the Year Award.

Dan Caterinicchia, the Lanterns official spokesperson, was very excited to inform Meisel of the news early Monday morning.

"It's truly an honor. Nothing I ever would have expected," said Meisel. "It hasn't truly sunk in yet."

Meisel, a 20-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, started his job as editor for the Lantern in September 2009. The Lantern is the Ohio State Universities newspaper.

Profile Outline

I plan to do my profile story on associate professor and advisor Cam Thraen. Thraen works in the Agriculture, Environmental and Developmental Economics department for the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. I hope to interview him on why he chose this field of work and how he came to work at Ohio State. I also hope to interview some of his students and fellow faculty members to learn more about him.

Lantern Story

“Off-campus bars not concerned that Union alcohol sales will reduce customers, profits”

By: Rachel Jacklin 

Short Hed: Union not competing with off-campus bars

Long Hed: Union not looking for competition with off-campus bars

Tweet: Off-campus bars feel their long time establishments will not be affected by union alcohol sales

Re-written lede: Even though the Ohio Union reveals two diners that serve alcohol, they are not looking for competition with off-campus bars.

Tiger Woods Press Conference

Short Headline: Woods returns to Masters with high hopes

Long Headline: Back on the green: Woods ready to move forward and take on Masters again

Tweet: Still taking full responsibility for his actions, Woods hopes to start fresh and move forward in Masters

Weather Story outline

With the weather getting warmer most people are craving a cool treat. I will do my story on the ice cream shop called Rita's. I hope to interview a manager and see how much sales increase when the weather is warmer. I also hope to talk to some other employees and customers who enjoy Rita's ice cream.

ABC 6 Interview

On Monday March, 8, while Amanda Domsitz and I were leaving are class we spotted a news van in the parking lot. Amanda had said that it would be cool if we got interviewed and then we noticed that they had seen us coming. As we were walking to the bus stop they cut us off. The reporter was rather abrupt about it, saying she was from ABC 6 and she wanted to ask a few questions about the crime alerts on campus. We said we didn't know much about them but that's what the point of the story was about. She shoved the microphone at each of us and asked questions about what we knew about the sexual assaults that happened and if we would sign up to receive crime alert messages. When the interview was over we were both excited that we might get to see ourselves on the news. In the end we were both disappointed to find that they didn't air our clip.

Final Project 2-minute Broadcast

(There are a few technical difficulties I could not fix within this broadcast. The watermark that appears for the first half of the broadcast was put on  when I was finalizing my video, by the software I used because I used a trial version. The camera I used didn’t always have the beast audio so, some clips are a little harder to hear than others.)

Hello everyone I’m Catie Noyes bringing you your latest news update.

Facebook has made its way to the top in the social media world. A study done by The Neilson Company shows that Facebook topped MySpace and Twitter in the amount of time users are spending on social media sites.

This chart, courtesy of The Neilson Company, compares the amount of time spent on some of the top social media sites. Based on these studies MySpace was in the lead with over 7 million total minutes in April 2008 while Facebook followed in second with almost 2 million minutes. Since then Facebook has soared to the top with a total reaching over 13 million minutes in April and still growing.

I took a walk around The Ohio State University campus in order to see how much time students are spending on Facebook and what it is they are doing on the site.

(Interviews)

Me: “How much time would you say you spend on Facebook?”

Annie DeWitt, 18: “A day?”

Me: “Yeah”

DeWitt: “Half hour.”

Danny Adams, 21: “Somewhere between an hour or two a day.”

Tom Smigel, 19: “Hour and a half. Hour a day.”

Tressa Casey, 18: “I think his answer actually means 3 hours and probably like 30 minutes.”

Stephanie Moormann, 20: “Depends on how much I procrastinate. Anywhere from maybe 2 to 5 hours a day, 5 hours being if I have more homework.”

How they spend their time:

Casey: “Just checking up on friends that aren’t, like, here.”

DeWitt: “On Facebook?”

Me: “Yeah.”

DeWitt: “Talking to people.”

Moormann: “My high school friends, checking up on them or stalking them.”

Adams: “Checking up on friends’ statuses, once in a while I’ll get into a conversation with somebody and I’ve got a couple stalkers so I try to avoid them while I’m on too.”

(Closing)

Facebook has come a long way in the social media world and is a major part of student lives.

That’s all there is today, thanks for tuning in for this special news update.

Critiquing Dan Cat

Dan wrote this article on gasoline prices on May 25, 2008.  The headline “Gasoline isn’t only rising cost for drivers,” is good headline that lets you know what the article will be talking about. However, I feel it might read better if it said Gasoline isn’t “the” only rising cost for drivers.

To me the opening graph seems a little corny (spirit sputtering). The second line where it talks about sticker shock seems a little cliché by saying “sticker shock will make the summer even stickier.”

In the third graph the word “bemoaning” is used. I don’t think I would have known what that meant without looking it up. These were the main things that I noticed about this article. This article had no multimedia aspects.

It’s baby lamb season!

It’s that time of year again and new life fills the Noyes family barn. Baby lambs are being born and taking there first curious steps in this new world. Some of them even enjoy a good cuddle now and then!

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One Minute News Broadcast

Today is Saturday, Feb. 27 and this Catie Noyes bringing you your one minute news update.

Top Stories

Mother Nature strikes again this morning attacking Chile with a massive earthquake. The 8.8 magnitude quake hit at 3 a.m. killing at least 147 people, topling buildings and sparking tsunami warnings as far away as the western coast of the U.S.

Weather

Taking a look at our weather today expect scattered snow showers that reduce to flurries. We will experience a high of 33 degrees and low of 24 degrees. As we take a look at the 7-day forecast we start to see some gradual warming. By Tuesday expect temperatures to reach a high of 35 degrees and a high of 39 degrees by Friday. The sun will make an appearance this week hopefully making your week a little brighter.

Sports

In Olympic news today U.S. speed skater, Apolo Ohno, was disqualified Friday night after officials said Ohno pushed his way to the finish. Ohno was ruled winner of the silver medal until replays showed his hand on Canadian Francois Louis-Tremblay's hip befor Tremblay fell on the final turn. Referees ruled Ohno disqualified and the silver medal went un-awarded.

That's the latest in top news stories today. I'm Catie Noyes and this has been your one minute news update.

Multimedia in News Stories

3 examples of multimedia used in news stories:

-The New York Times included an action picture of the olympic skier they did a story on. Its always nice when you can put a picture in your story because its more likely to attract the readers.

-CNN posted this story about the whale trainer that died. This story uses a combination of videos, pictures and a link to facts about whales. I like that the story includes a nice picture of the trainer at the beginning. The videos are nice because they give you a visual reference to the story and the links are good for people who want to learn more about whales.

-The New York Times posts a daily video on the olympics. Being a visual learner I would prefer to watch a video versus having to read the whole thing.

First Post

I have managed create my first blog!