Exercises 8.2, 8.3, & 8.4

8.2 Writing an Audio News Story
Faculty Death

Professor Elizabeth Billson passed away in her sleep around three in the morning. She suffered from cancer for ten years. During her 36 years of instructing at Liberty University, Professor Billson taught approximately ten thousand prospective teachers. She was the recipient of Liberty University’s “Outstanding Professor” award last year. The students and faculty will grieve this recent loss through a prayer vigil held at DeMoss Hall around six o’clock this evening.

Wreck

Last night a two-truck collision occurred on 1-95. Both drivers are without injury. The roadways were blocked on both sides for about 45 minutes and traffic was jammed. There was also an oil slick caused by fuel that spilled from both trucks. The accident happened on the part of 1-95 that is currently undergoing repairs. The lanes narrow into two at that spot and the trucks hit head on. Both drivers claim to have braked but they still ended up colliding. They each have histories of speeding and reckless driving.

8.3 Writing an Audio News Story with Actuality

The recently repaired, 75 year old bridge that sits over Roaring Creek has finally re-opened for use. It was washed out by a flood last year and the county has spent the past 11 months trying to repair it. According to Roland Lively, the department head of the County Department of Transportation, the county was already setting aside some funds to repair the bridge. (actuality) Those funds, however, were not enough to cover the seven hundred thousand dollar replacement fee. The county was able to afford replacing it after the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation chipped in. While the bridge was out, residents in the Oak Grove neighborhood had to drive farther up Roaring Creek Road to connect onto Highway 19. With the bridge back in order, they now only have to drive about a mile to get to the highway.

8.4 Writing an audio News Story with Actuality

Last year's record of 3 wins and 22 losses for the Harbrace University women's basketball team brought them their third losing season. Coach Jess Storey resigned at the end of the season, and Harbrace announced her replacement earlier today. Pam Neubaugher (NEW-bow-er), the assistant coach for three years at Staley Colley in Pennsylvania, accepted the position. Neubaugher feels a lot of potential for Harbrace this season and she is determined to find some good recruits to help secure that feeling. (actuality) Neubaugher played basketball at the University of California, Long Beach, and made the all-conference team her senior year. She is also six feet two inches tall.

ABC 13: An Analysis

Audio/Visual Impact:

Tonight's 6 pm broadcast used a variety of images and video clips to help communicate information to the audience. Some of those visuals included: photographs of criminals, bullet points of important information, moving images displaying weather forecasts, interviews with neighbors and family members effected by different crimes or accidents reported on, a list of forecasted temperatures in the local areas, etc. Some of the pictures and interviews could definitely trigger certain emotions, which gives those news stories greater impact on the audience. There were also some interviews which helped to provide more information on the topics being presented. For example, an interview with the woman who heads up a food donation program that provides children with backpacks full of meals and snacks explained that they try very hard to help fill a need rather than just “putting a band aid” on the problem. Her interview was a good addition because it not only allowed viewers the chance to put a face with the program but also to see what the backpacks  and meals looked like, along with how they are stuffed. Overall, the use of different visual and audio aids provided a much greater impact than just reading the story would.

Timeliness:

The timeliness of the broadcast was on point. There were a large number of stories considering the half-hour block of time that the whole broadcast filled. Each story was at least 30 seconds long and at most about a minute. There were no transitions, which added to the quick timing. Overall, the whole thing almost seemed disorienting because it was so quick-paced, but it was like most news broadcasts, so it was probably good that it moved so fast. The audio and visual aids mentioned above helped to speed things along. Also, the reporters were able to quickly read the stories, which were written in such a way as to provide only the bare bones facts that viewers would care about. Along with the incredible speed of the stories, there was a large variety in what was reported on. The broadcast was able to cover local news, college sports, local racing news, weather, and a special on how to protect one’s plants through the predicted frost of this coming weekend. If the reporters were not reading such briefly written stories, or if the visual aids were not included with the stories, there is no way the broadcast would have been able to report so much.

Information, not Explanation

 The broadcast did a very good job on spending more time presenting information and less time explaining it. An example of one story that explained more than most was a special they did on how to keep plants alive during the upcoming predicted frost. It included some background information on plants, along with a series of tips supplied by a local gardening expert. The extra explanation made sense, though, because it was a how-to piece rather than just a normal news story. An example of when the reporters did not over-explain was when they were reporting on a man who is under charges for possessing child pornography. This story is an ongoing story that has been unfolding for the past few months and the reporters simply stated the new facts that have been released, but they did not waste time on giving lots of background information. There was enough to fill in any viewers who are new to this story, but there was also enough new information to satisfy those who are already aware of the background pieces of information. Overall, the stories were brief, to-the-point, and just what was happening. There was not any fluff or added, unnecessary information.

Critique of a Blog: BuzzFeed

At first glance, BuzzFeed may not be the most aesthetically pleasing website out there, but upon further investigation, one can see that it is actually well organized, full of interesting content, and easy to navigate.

Most of the content on BuzzFeed is organized in a list format. This allows readers easy access to the material in a fun, readable way. These lists also include lots of photos and gifs (moving photos). Pictures add clarity and ease to conveying information. They also just add to the visual interest of the articles, along with giving the reader a sense of interactivity.

On the side of their main page, BuzzFeed incudes a long lost of links to other websites. This gives readers quick and easy ways to navigate to other sites that may supply information that is equally interesting.

The videos they post are short clips, which also allows the content to be more easily accessible. Viewers do not have to feel bogged down by the idea of watching long, drawn-out videos.

A special feature on the BuzzFeed website is a series of buttons for readers to rate their reaction to the different stories. The buttons include reactions like "OMG," "LOL" and "FAIL." This allows readers to interact more with the text, and see how others have felt about the information.

Along with all of the fun and entertaining content, BuzzFeed has a pretty solid news section as well. They include hyperlinks and photos in those stories, just like one might expect to see on a more formal news website.

Unfortunately, BuzzFeed does have some questionable/crude content. It would not be a recommendable family website. For its intended audience of adults, however, it does pretty well relating to them.

Overall, BuzzFeed does a really good job at meeting the needs of an audience and fulfilling the characteristics of a good website. It's easy to navigate, fun to use, and a little addicting.

Photos: Long Range, Mid Range, Close-Up

This is a long-range shot of a tree by the edge of the intramural fields on South Campus.

As you can see here, this tree by the intramural fields has already begun to take on its autumn colors.

This image shows the differing colors on the leaves of this tree by the intramural fields.