Libel Case

While I was searching for something to write about for this assignment, I found an interesting libel case that was dropped. The case was against author John McPhee of The New Yorker magazine.

The suit was filed against "The Ransom of Russian Art," a 1994 book by McPhee on Russian dissident art. The book contained opinions of other people about the a fire that caused the mysterious death of a Russian painter, Yevgeny Rukhin. Ilya D. Levin who was quoted in the book naming a friend of the artist who could have contributed to Rukhin's death. Levin sued for libel.

However, the case was dismissed because the quotes that McPhee used were the opinions of others and therefore protected by New York's state law. People involved with the case called the ruling "very disturbing." The judge in the case believed that the "book deserved the protection given to expressions of opinion." Using the opinions of someone without getting prior permission is the same thing as plagiarizing, in my opinion. Even though someone make's their opinion public doesn't mean that anyone can publish it.

I believe the decsion in this case wasn't fair to the people who were misrepresented. If you publish someone elses beliefs you better have their permission. Perhaps if the case didn't involve a contorversial killing things might have been different.

Narrated Slideshow

In my search to find a narrated slideshow, I landed at the AP website.  I found a very captivating slideshow on the realities of the War in Iraq.  The civilians living in a world of destruction are rarely thought about.  However, this slideshow shines light on the hardships that Iraqi widows face day in and day out.

The images shown throughout the slideshow demonstrate the sadness these women feel.  The narration adds further information and the captions really show exactly what is going on. All the images are very real and envoke a sense of reality.

I think the best part of the slideshow is that you hear a story.  Even though the story doesn't relate directly to the photos, you can still tell the severity of the issue.  The only aspect I didn't like was the background noise in the narration; if you listen closely you can hear people talking and phones ringing.

Overall, this is a very powerful slideshow.  It really got me thinking about why we are in Iraq in the first place ruining all these people's lives.

Check it out: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/iraq_widows/index.html

Quotes: Change them up or leave them alone?

I believe a quote should never be changed.  If a direct quote had problematic features, the easiest solution would be to summarize the information the source had given.  That way you still have the facts and maintain a high level of credibility in your article.

For example quoting exactly what he said:  "Thanks to my opponent's dirty campaign, I ain't never gonna run again," the mayor said, a reporter may write: Citing his opponent's "dirty campaign," the mayor said he wouldn't run again.

narrative lead and nut graph

from ign.com

Knight Rider: TV-Movie Review

anecdotal lead -- "Ah, Knight Rider.  For those of us who grew up in the '80s, there's some undeniable nostalgia there.  That doesn't mean it was a particularly great show of course, but it was certainly fun, especially if you were a little kid at the time."

I believe the author used an anecdotal lead in order to get his reader's to remember a show that hasn't been around for awhile.  If you were a fan of the show in the '80s, then this article would definitely get your attention.

nut graph -- "So here we are in 2008, and Knight Rider is back in the form of the new TV-movie, which aired on NBC this past weekend."

link -- http://tv.ign.com/articles/853/835182p1/html

Response to being interviewed

I think Nai did a good job of conveying the information in our interview.  It was strange to sit down and have someone focus all their attention on me, knowing that they would in turn be writing about me.  However, Nai did a really good job of making me feel comfortable during the process.  I feel like I came across as a pretty boring person in her article, but I don't necessarily think that is her fault.  I need to learn to open up to people and let my true colors shine.

Darren Uyenoyama

Darren Uyenoyama, a 28 year old part-time student, has high hopes for the future. He is currently taking classes at Skyline College in order to slowly work towards his degree. However, he is not sure what he wants his major to be. One thing is for sure, though, Uyenoyama enjoys taking journalism classes and writing.
When asked what his future holds, Darren said he hopes to one day own a martial arts gym. For the time being, he enjoys teaching and competing in mixed martial arts. As a matter of fact, he just fought on February 1st and won in 50 seconds. His endeavors in mixed martial arts have taken him to many places in the world. However, Darren does have to follow a strict diet to ensure he is in the best shape for his fights.
Some people might think that not being able to go out and drink at 28 years old isn't a very fun lifestyle, but it works for Uyenoyama. He has been happily married since August of 2002 and has two beautiful children. His son Sean is 9 years old and his daughter Kako is 4 years old. He definitely considers himself a family man. When I asked him about some advice he would give his children, he said, "everyone has to paddle their own canoe."
When he is not at home with his family, you can find Darren at the movies or hanging out at the beach. He also enjoys listening to reagge and hip-hop music. Darren lives by the words his boss once told him, "Sometimes to get people to listen to you you just have to punch them in the face." Watch out!

All About Me

Hi my name is Kathryn. I am 18 years old and I just recently moved back to California. Before attending Skyline, I was a student at the University of Oregon. I decided that Oregon wasn't the right place for me and wanted to be closer to home. For now I am going to finish the year at community college and transfer some where for next year. I am a journalism major and hope to one day work at a major magazine doing page layouts and design. I enojy spending time with the people that mean the most to me. I am a very hard worker and dedicate most of my time to my school work. There isn't much else to know about me, but you can always ask me questions if you want to know anything else.