My Journalistic Perspective

There are no absolutes. Nothing in this life is always right or always wrong. Everyone views things differently, and we must respect that. Do not ignore a person or idea that may seem insignificant. Listen, observe, ask questions. Always ask questions. Use your experiences, but include other perspectives. Write the truth as best you can. Then leave it up to others to draw their own conclusions.

Writing: It's Harder Than It Looks

While browsing the New York Times Web site, I came across an opinion column by Timothy Egan titled "Typing Without a Clue." The blurb read, "Publishers, let’s set some ground rules: Anyone who abuses the English language on such a regular basis should not be paid to put words in print." After my recent experience with the Twilight Saga, I was eager to hear someone else bash bad writers.

Unlike my Twilight experience, I was not disappointed.

Though Egan didn't mention "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer as someone who shouldn't be allowed near a writing utensil, I truly enjoyed his column. He talked about a new book by Samuel Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber) and the fact that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is worth nearly $7 million should she ever put her thoughts on paper. He immediately followed with a typical convoluted Palin quote, which inspired the story blurb. Anything that pokes fun at the would-be vice president is right up my alley.

Egan asserted that good writers often work hard for little money and even less recognition, only to learn that someone who can barely string together a sentence is getting a book deal. Writing isn't easy, he said, quoting notable authors who struggled against an empty page. He suggested that if Wurzelbacher really wanted to become a writer, he should read good writing first. Egan hopes that a Barack Obama presidency will raise the standards of the American publishing industry.

As someone who has chosen editing as her career goal, I believe that the quality of American writing helps define our country and our culture. Be it good or bad, writing is the legacy we leave for future generations. I hope to be a positive force in the publishing industry by refusing to allow bad writing to be published. There are plenty of good writers out there who work hard and deserve a little piece of immortality. That's what I want to do as an editor: find good writers and reward them.

Fortunately, there is way for bad writers to have their voices heard that doesn't require publishing houses or unsuspecting readers to spend money on garbage. It's called blogging.

To read Egan's article, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07egan.html?ref=opinion

"Twilight" Has No Bite

Sometime in the three years since the first installment was published, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga gained a cult following to rival that of the Harry Potter series. Meyer has been heralded as the next JK Rowling, and all four Twilight novels were No. 1 New York Times Bestsellers. With all the hype surrounding the series, I gave in to curiosity and started reading "Twilight," expecting the same pleasant surprise as Harry Potter provided.

I was thoroughly disappointed.

I have several problems with Meyer's 500-page debut. First, she should have done a little research on vampires before writing a four-book series about them. I'm still not convinced they sparkle in the sun. One of her main characters, Edward Cullen, dismisses many well-known facts about vampires (i.e., they burn to dust in the sunlight) as "myth." I know it's fiction, but it's like she didn't want to put in the effort to do any research, so she just made things up.

Most of my criticism is aimed at Meyer's writing style. Her characters have no personality, and the storyline is flat. There is no suspense; all mysteries are too quickly revealed, and all problems are too easily solved.

Meyer has a huge problem with redundancy. It seemed as if every page contained a description of beautiful, perfect, angelic Edward with his bronze hair, topaz eyes and godlike body. I found a Facebook group titled "Stephenie Meyer Needs a Thesaurus" that lists the number of times Meyer used certain words in the series. "Chagrin" was used 15 times in the novels, "marble" 30 times and "perfect" 282 times. The final book alone saw "beautiful" used 61 times.

If I could give Meyer a piece of advice, it would be "Show, don't tell." All she does is tell. "Bella is intelligent. Carlisle is compassionate," Meyer tells her readers, but she offers no proof. The book reads like a play-by-play: "I went to the kitchen and ate a bowl of cereal. Then I got in my truck and drove to school." (These are not actual sentences from the novel; I'm just trying to give examples.)

If all the redundant and boring information was cut, "Twilight" would probably be less than 200 pages and a much better read. The editor in me was tempted to go through the whole novel with a red pen, cutting unnecessary adjectives and replacing weak verbs. But that would mean I'd have to read it again.

To give Meyer a fair chance, I'm reading the second book in the series, "New Moon." I haven't seen much improvement. I haven't decided yet if I want to waste my time on "Eclipse" or "Breaking Dawn."

Hell Yeah, We're Ready

It's been a long time coming.

This time last year, when the Ole Miss Rebels were sitting discontentedly with a 3-9 record (0-8 SEC), no one could have imagined a bowl game in the near future. Yet here we are, No. 22 in the AP poll with a record of 8-4 and a list of victims that includes Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn and Arkansas.

Fresh off the LSU victory, the Rebels destroyed the Bulldogs in the 2008 Egg Bowl with a final score of 45-0. Ole Miss had school records of 11 sacks and minus 51 yards rushing allowed. The Bulldogs only crossed into Rebel territory twice and scored just 37 total yards. Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom resigned the next day.

Statistics, however, can never portray the mood inside the stadium when Ole Miss stormed to victory. Pom-poms flew furiously as the crowd screamed "Hotty Toddy" and chanted head coach Houston Nutt's name. One player held the Golden Egg aloft as Jamarca Sanford waved a flag emblazoned with the Ole Miss "M." Rebel yells echoed through Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the crowd reluctantly left the celebration.

Now, Rebel fans wait eagerly to learn which bowl their Cinderella team will play in. Wherever they go, Ole Miss will certainly bring a winning attitude and a hunger for victory.

This season, there has only been one answer to the age-old question, "Are you ready?": Hell yeah!

Always Be Selling

Roger Stolle is every bit the promoter.

The Dayton, Ohio, native and longtime blues fan left a corporate marketing job to open Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art Inc. in Clarkesdale, Miss. Stolle's mission is "Promote from within," a strategy he uses to market his store, blues music and Mississippi. He said he doubts his venture would have been successful were it not for his 13 years of marketing experience.

Stolle's experience didn't go to waste. His Journalism Week presentation was informative and entertaining, but afterward I started wondering if he had been trying to sell us something. He played video clips from the documentary on blues musician Big George Brock and the new blues-pilgrimage movie "M for Mississippi," which was filmed in the Mississippi Delta this spring. Yes, they were perfect examples of the culture that Cat Head is trying to preserve, but was there another motive behind showing those clips?

I just wonder what Stolle thought when an audience member asked where he could buy "M for Mississippi."

Don't Eat Paste; Read It

I came across an interesting article on Paste magazine's Web site. The title alone was enough to draw me in: "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Shocking Similarities Between Gospel Music and Death Metal." The subject matter was incredibly interesting, and the writing was smooth and powerful. The author got some really good quotes from band members and from the former editor of a Christian music magazine. Citing song lyrics for comparison was incredibly effective.

I was raised going to a small Baptist church, so I'm familiar with most of those hymns. I also listen to a wide range of music and have heard some pretty gory rock and metal lyrics. I think it's a striking comparison, one that I have never considered but from now on will notice more often.

To read the article (because you know you want to), visit:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/10/sabbath-bloody-sabbath.html

Saving the Arapaho Language

As I was browsing for an article to react to, I came across a New York Times story about the Arapaho tribe of American Indians trying to preserve their native language. In the late 1800s, the U.S. government started boarding schools to educate and "Americanize" Indian children, forbidding them to hold on to tribal customs or even speak their native languages. As a direct result of that initiative, there are only about 200 Arapaho speakers alive today.

Fearing for the fate of their heritage, the Arapaho at Wyoming's Wind River Reservation have established a school where children will learn strictly in their native language. Currently there are about 22 children ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to first grade enrolled at the school. Administrators plan to add a grade each year. Tribal elders hope the school will create a whole new generation of Arapaho speakers.

When I began reading, the first two paragraphs immediately drew me in to the story. It began with a brief anecdote about a 69-year-old Arapaho woman, then immediately shifted to an excellent quote. The article flowed well, explaining the urgency of creating the school and the repercussions of losing a native language. It showed how the loss of a language has a far greater impact than one might assume. Teaching children Arapaho not only preserves the tribe's culture; it also creates an environment where that culture is honored and valued.

The end of the article really impressed me. It included an anecdote of tribal elders listening quietly to songs sung in Arapaho at the school's opening ceremony. The anecdote is followed by this quote: “They are the ones who whispered it on the playground when nobody was looking.” It perfectly links the beginning and ending of the article while showing the strength and perseverance of the Arapaho people.

To read the article, click here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/us/17arapaho.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=arapaho&st=cse&oref=slogin

One Minute

I am in the balcony of Fulton Chapel, tape recorder at my side, pen poised over paper waiting for the forum to begin. In a few moments, eight education experts from across the country will take their seats in the leather armchairs on the brightly-lit stage to discuss education policy. Below the balcony, the house is packed with teachers, students, media and others in the education field anxious to hear what these people will say. I am more anxious for the three-hour forum to be over so I can go home.

Someone takes the stage and utters a welcome to the university guests. Following the applause, a woman silently takes the stage. She doesn't introduce herself. She doesn't welcome the guests. Instead, she begins to speak in a ringing voice, full of conviction:

"'I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it,
forced upon me, can’t refuse it, didn’t seek it,
didn’t choose it, but it’s up to me to use it,
give account if I abuse it, suffer if I lose it.
Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.'

Let me say that again. 

'We have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it,
forced upon us, can’t refuse it, didn’t seek it,
didn’t choose it, but it’s up to us to use it,
give account if we abuse it, suffer if we lose it.
Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it.'"

No one came to this forum to hear poetry, but that is what we heard. Simple lines read in a brisk, confident voice by a woman who never mentioned her own name. The three-hour forum is merely a blur in my memory, but that poem has never left my mind.

Good, Better, Best

Recently, my editing professor gave the class a list of five ways to make a story better. He then asked us to look at two stories, one from The Daily Mississippian and one from the Florida Times-Union, to see if those elements were present.

Allison Wing’s article “Over exercising leads to joint pain, fractures” (The DM) contained some but not all of those elements. The story affected ordinary people because it could potentially prevent someone from an exercising-induced injury. The story was written to warn people against over-exercising. However, the story’s “nut graph” is the fifth paragraph. It should be much higher in the story.

For the article, Wing interviewed Jenny Wilson, a graduate student at the Turner Center; Barbara Collier, director of University Health Services, and Dr. Kim Beason, associate professor at the Turner Center. Collier and Beason are typical authorities for this type of story. Wilson seems to be an nontraditional authority figure. However, Wing missed the mark by failing to interview students or people who had suffered from injuries related to over-exercising.

These are the key questions I gleaned from the article: How are students over-exercising? Is the trend increasing? Why do students over-exercise? What are the effects of over-exercising? What is considered an ideal amount of exercise? What other age groups are over-exercising?

Bridget Murphy’s “Hitching at the Crossroads” (The Times-Union) was an example of a story that embodied all five elements. It affected ordinary people by informing them that not all hitchhikers are shady characters—but some are. Basically it was written to tell a story about a group of people that is often misunderstood.

Murphy used almost strictly nontraditional authorities: Town & Country waitress Naomi Engle and hitchhikers Kenny Bramlett, John Gotti, Belinda Kashella and Lance Moravits. She got a quote from a trucker who picked up con artist Kashella. Murphy also talked to authorities who had arrested Kashella previously and listed a hitchhiking law from the Florida Highway Patrol.

These are the key questions: Why is this person hitching? Why is Engle jaded to hikers? How long has this person been hitching? What are the dangers to hitchhikers? How do they make money? Do hitchhikers take any ride that is offered? Where is this person going and why?

Five Steps to a Better Story:
1. Who is affected by this? The answer should be ordinary people, not officials.
2. How are people affected by the news?
3. Why is the story being written?
4. Who are the authority figures? Are there some that are not identified?
5. What are the key questions?

The Art of the Well-Told Story

Bill Rose came to Ole Miss on a golf scholarship.

That is the way Rose began recounting the story of his journalistic beginnings to an auditorium full of students during his guest lecture Sept. 8. Seeking an easy A, Rose enrolled in Journalism 101 during his first semester of college.

While he had written a few sports pieces for area newspapers, the Shelby, Miss., native couldn’t tell a lead from a headline. Once his instructor set him on the right path, Rose fell in love with the art of journalism. Today, he is managing editor of the Palm Beach Post.

Rose’s biggest concern with today’s journalism graduates is their inability to write.

“Learn how to write,” he told the audience, urging aspiring journalists to write often and to read great writers.

Rose spoke animatedly about storytelling in journalism, encouraging students to “throw off the shackles” and use narrative features to tell the stories they are covering.

I found it incredibly refreshing to hear the editor of a major daily newspaper encouraging young journalists to be creative when writing their stories. I generally dislike news writing because it is bland and uninteresting—both to read and write. I am glad to know that creativity still has its place in journalism.

An Exorcism of Hate, or an Exercise in Hate?

At first, nothing seems terribly out of the ordinary. Two of the University Museum’s galleries house the works of Alabama artist William Christenberry. One is filled with his renderings of trees. The other contains only a few larger pieces.

Two guards keep watch outside a section of the gallery cordoned off by a black and red curtain. The only real preview of what stands behind the curtain is an enormous painting on the wall near the entrance: angry white-clad figures splashed across a brilliant yellow background.

There are plaques, and handouts, and warnings. After reading them, this no longer seems like an ordinary art exhibit. One gets the sense that no one should ever step behind that curtain alone.

On the other side is Christenberry’s installation piece, the Klan Room Tableau. Visitors are surrounded by life-size drawings of hooded faces and miniature Klan dolls being lynched, tarred and stabbed with pins. These voodoo figures stare out of miniature jails and tiny coffins.

Holly Bethune, the museum’s curator of education, said she has never heard people use the word “creepy” as much as she has since the exhibit opened.

The project is based off Christenberry’s encounter with a fully robed and hooded Klansman more than 40 years ago. The artist refers to his work as an “exorcism,” a cleansing of the Old South’s racial injustice.

The artist’s violent hatred of the Klan is blatantly obvious in his work. While he is trying to dispel the Klan’s doctrine of hate, he is perpetuating hatred toward that group. In effect, he is saying that while it is not OK to hate minorities, it is perfectly acceptable to hate the people who hate minorities. 

In no way do I support the Klan. Those white-sheeted ghosts haunt my past along with that of any other white Southerner. The Klan hates without reason, while Christenberry has just cause to hate the Klan. They have perpetuated unspeakable crimes against African-Americans and other minorities for decades.

What I'm asking is this: is it logical to battle hate with hate? 

The answer I have reached, after much internal debate, is no. Christenberry's figures are tortured in effigy, and I cannot help but wonder if he would like to see real Klansmen subjected to the same treatment. Violence is still violence and hatred is still hatred, no matter who it is directed toward.

Preview Lab 1

Questions for the Following Story:

1. What is the news value of the story?

2. What details can be cut?

3. What is the purpose of the story (to inform, to entertain, to persuade)?

A new school year; fresh resolve; renewed enthusiasm. For some. Hopefully for many. But not everyone.

There are lots of reasons why some children do not face a new school year with optimism: little home encouragement, low self-esteem, inadequate educational foundation, poor classroom achievement, no dream of the future.

Volunteers can make a difference. Volunteers are making a difference. Schools need tutors and mentors for elementary, middle school, and high school students, especially for high school students at risk of dropping out. And volunteers are beginning to respond. Due to a concerted effort during the past year, 20 mentors were recruited for Oxford High School and 25 for Oxford Middle School. More are needed. Many more. In all the schools. For example, OHS needs 25 and OMS 100.

The greatest need for tutors is in the lower grades, school officials say. They hope that the tutoring relationship might develop into mentoring. Anyone interested may apply at the district office.

Edited Version:

Volunteers are needed at local schools to tutor elementary, middle and high school students.

Oxford High School is calling for 25 tutors to help curb the drop-out rate, and Oxford Middle School is in need of 100 volunteers.

School officials say lower grades have the greatest need for students. They hope that the tutors might develop a mentoring relationship with the children. 

During the past year alone, Oxford High School recruited 20 mentors and Oxford Middle School signed up 25.

Anyone interested in volunteering as mentors may apply at the district office.