You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November, 2008.
Math Tools Chapters 5-8
Polls and Surveys
Polls and surveys are extremely important, because they capture the sentiment of a journalist’s research on a topic or number of topics. They are used by everyone from political candidates to marketing firms to news rooms, so being able to translate them to the audience is crucial for any journalist. The book defines a poll as an estimate of public opinion on a single topic or issue based on representative samples of a population, while surveys are the same, but center around multiple topics or issues.
Twitter, the new obsession of the Technorati, is instigating a social revolution
By Ryan Catanese
November 21, 2008
What are you doing?
It’s a simple question with a simple answer, presented simply at the top of the window. It’s Twitter, the new
Twitter's straightforward layout
social interactivity tool that has swept the nation’s top media outlets and is growing more and more popular as a more informal communications tool, especially with young people.
The concept is straightforward: you have 140 characters, including spaces and punctuation, to tell the world exactly what you’re doing right now, whether by text message or a computer. This straightforward concept has made “microblogging” one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet, according to The New York Times.
The Importance of Understanding the Public Record and Open Meeting Laws
By Ryan Catanese
November 19, 2008
The most important aspect of journalism is being able to find the facts, the complete and unabridged facts. It is the journalist’s responsibility to be the eyes and ears of the people on all matters, whether it’s who won the Panthers game or who won the Presidential election.
In order to be able to fulfill this duty journalists have to know their boundaries: where they can step and where they cannot step. Most people don’t realize how far they can probe, and not doing this to find the absolute core truth in any story is a journalist not doing his or her job.
This is why it is absolutely imperative for a journalist to know the laws of his or her state, especially those pertaining to Open Meeting law and Public Record law.
Chris Cole: A Voice for Young People
Chris Cole: "I'm a chance to try something different."
By Ryan Catanese
Chris Cole works long hours.
Do you know who he is?
“Unlike my opponents, I have a day job, which makes it difficult for me to campaign like Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan do, because, well, they’re professional politicians,” Cole said. “They don’t have to punch a clock.”
Welcome to the world of a Libertarian politician, a place where the status quo is under constant attack and 40 hour work weeks are considered vacation time.
So, Chris Cole works a lot, but what does he actually think?
Members of the Elon Community Respond to Stossel
By Ryan Catanese
November 4, 2008
Should some people not vote?
In a recent column run in the Burlington Times-News, 20/20’s John Stossel made the bold claim that some voters, particularly the uninformed ones, shouldn’t vote. This column obviously coming in the closing days of a historic election year and the most enthusiastic voter turnout in recent memory.
It is easy to scoff at these claims, saying that it is imperative for all people to vote. But on a closer examination, does Stossel have a point?
This theory, as shocking as it may be, is not a new idea.
“There is an old Aristotelian argument that only the educated and well-informed, only the wise should make decisions for the rest of us who don’t know anything,” said Betty Morgan, political science professor at Elon University.
General number use
The use of numbers is important. The precision and accuracy of numbers lends itself to getting an accurate point across. That is, if you don’t have any numbers, you are not being as accurate as you can be. Here are a few lesser known style tips for using numbers correctly:
