Where can I improve? You’re important to me and I want to know your opinion. Because without you, I wouldn’t have an audience. My job as a journalist is to make sure I am covering topics that matter most to you. What’s bothering you? What topics would you like to see?
I’m open to all suggestions, even negative feedback. I actually value negative feedback because I can learn more from it.
What do you like or dislike about my blog/website?
Feel free to leave a comment or vote in the poll below.
By: Joe Gullo, Student Journalist at SUNY Plattsburgh
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Marijuana farmers in the small residential town of Monroe Township have been arrested. Police seized more than 10 million dollars worth of marijuana.
According to the New Jersey State Police News Release, “In total, ten search warrants were executed over five days by numerous agencies in three counties. Along with a vast array of indoor cultivation equipment, 3,370 growing plants, 115 pounds of harvested marijuana and $65,000 cash was seized.”
The raids stretched across five towns including Monroe Township, Millstone, Old Bridge, Manahawkin and Manalapan. The bust was the largest in New Jersey history.
Attorney General Paula Dow said, “While law enforcement in New Jersey has encountered high-tech indoor marijuana growing operations in the past, we have not seen anything to match the volume of production of this criminal enterprise. These defendants might be called tenant farmers in one sense, because of their use of rental properties, but they certainly were not struggling to pay the rent with their harvest.”
At least three other suspects are still on the loose.
I am super pumped that this my 100th post on the blog. It’s actually very exciting. So what am I going to talk about in my 100th post. Well journalism of course!
In my On-Camera Performance class we have been going on the air and working on our broadcasting technique. The most challening aspect I think is the writing. Many say it’s all about the way you look on camera, which is true, but it’s also your writing ability.
What makes the writing so challenging is that you have write simple sentences. I have taken numerous English courses which have pushed me to become a better and more descriptive writer. In broadcast writing, you kind of throw all of that away. You simplify the sentence. People don’t have time nor do they have the concentration to listen to heavy weighted sentences (like this one).
People are in a hurry. They are also preoccupied with other activities. Simple doesn’t always mean shorter sentences. You also have to chose words that simple and easy to understand. If you have to think about what the broadcaster said are you really going to understand what the story is about? More than likely not.
Think about it this way. Do you talk the way that you write? When your talking with your friends would you say:
“Mary, I just got back from a long walk along the winding river behind the school yard.”
Or would you say:
“Mary, I just got back from a walk.”
That probably isn’t the best example, but the point is we speak in fragments. We speak in simple and short sentences. Because it would take too much energy and too much time to understand. The trick is to write well, but in a way that’s simple and conversational with the audience. That’s the hard part.
I decided to do a little exercise today. I wanted to see if I could simulate writing under pressure. In some instances, I am going to be required to produce quality material with a short deadline. This is the most crucial time because proofreading and writing fast is essential.
Proofreading is important regardless of the amount of time you have to write story.
Today I wrote an article for DigitalJournal.com, which I have been writing for the past couple of months. I wrote a story on The Oldest American Woman died on Sunday. I made a little blunder and a simple one at that. The birthday of Mary Joseph Ray was in 1885 and not in 1985 as I wrote it.
Since I wrote fast, I didn’t even pick up on it. So lesson learned, proofread before you click submit or hand in your article or copy!
Happy Friday everyone on the blog! Don’t worry, I haven’t forgot about my readers. Thanks for everyone who checks out the blog!
I’m super pumped and super excited! I am going to be working on a video for Plattsburgh’s Got Talent which is going to be sweet! The show is being put on by the Student Association’s Activities Coordination Board; More specifically the Entertainment Committee. The show is going to consist of a variety of acts; singers, musicians, comedians and dancers — pretty much anything that you can do!
I am in the process of coming up with ideas for the video. The most exciting part about planning a video is sorting through all of the ideas. It’s like your mind is in overdrive thinking of creative and cool things to do with the video.
Before I begin making any video, I try to think about the focus of the video, the audience, and the audience effect that I want to get.
When I was in high school, I was involved in the marching band program. We had so many opportunities to perform in front of hundreds of people. We even had the opportunity to go to Disney World to march in a parade. We also went to a work shop and we played a song from The Little Mermaid. The music director said something that will become an intricate part of my video planning for the rest of my life. He said something along the lines of, the music makes the video. Try and watch a movie without having any music. The movie is kind of dry and lacks, emotion.
The point is. You could have the best video – but the music will make a good video or movie that much better. Your choice of music will change the mood of the video. Now I’m not saying that the video itself is not important but the music is a very important element. The music for the video has already been determined – which I have to say is an excellent song for the “audience effect” we’re trying to achieve. However, if you have a song idea – feel free to let me know and it may wind up in the video at some point. You never know. The way I look at it, the more options the better.
So the focus of the video is the people that are performing in Plattsburgh’s Got Talent. I want the camera to be there every step of the way – covering the journey and telling a story. Who are these people? What struggles did they have to overcome? How much work did they have to put in to their performance? That’s the story that needs to be told.
College Students. Well that’s the audience. After all it is a college event open to college students. This may seem like a stupid question to consider being that this video is covering college students and being delivered by college students. However, different audiences require different things in the video. When making a video, the video must be:
Fun stuff. So I’m open to suggestions so please feel free to comment on this post. I want to know what you want to see.
Also, if you’re a SUNY Plattsburgh Student and you have a talent, don’t be shy and sign up. Leave a comment on the post or email me at joe@joegullo.net to learn how you can get involved! You’ll have fun, promise. If you’re not going to sign up then at least encourage a friend or a friend of a friend.
