Multimedia Stories

Kayak Polo --> Overall, I did not really like this multimedia package.  I feel like the it was constantly the same shot used.  Although the whole underwater shots are pretty interesting, I don't think the photog did a very good job with a variety of shots, which kind of makes the multimedia package uninteresting.  I feel like the filming was amateur and many more creative shots could have been done.

Musician "What I'm Into" series profile --> This multimedia package was pretty simple.  It showed the different instruments that the man could play.  There were more variety of shots than the kayak feature.  Although this was filmed and edited very simply, I think it did a good job protraying the man's personality and his interest in instruments.

Student's protest --> I really like this multimedia story because the whole story is told through nat sound and the shots the photog took.  Although it was simple, it was acceptable and it made sense.  From the video, you can really understand the students anger.  They video definately raises emotions.

Maggie Wirth: The Singing Waitress --> I really, really like this multimedia project.  Although it's black and white photos, the voice over by Maggie makes the story very energentic and interesting.  The photos were really well-taken and shows lots of emotions that fits perfectly along with the the voice over.

Photographer's Journal: A War's Many Angles --> This was a slidshow of videos that, as a viewe, you had to click through the photos yourself.  The photo and voice over are both extremely intense and shocking.  It's also shocking how calm the photog speaks about the tradegies that he has encountered.  It realy makes you understand that this is normal for the people over there and therefore the story raises emotions.   The photos definately does a good job telling the story and give the viewer a good understanding.

This is an attempt on changing font with html code

Citrus Press Release

LAKELAND, Fla. (February 10, 2009) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released its February orange crop forecast for the 2008-2009 season, reducing its earlier estimate by 2.5 percent, or 4 million boxes.

The USDA did not attribute the decline to the freezes that hit the Florida citrus belt in late January and early February. The USDA attributed the decline to smaller sizes and increased fruit drop and said it would continue to assess the impact of the freezes.

The crop is now expected to total 158 million boxes.

“The USDA has taken off several million boxes since their original orange estimate in October and with the field reports we’re getting regarding fruit damage and juice yield loss from the late January and early February freezes we would expect less juice production than we were just a month ago,” said Michael W. Sparks, executive VP/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual. “As a result, we would anticipate better grower returns for the late crop than what we experienced for the early crop.”

“This is most definitely a challenging season, however, Florida citrus growers will continue to produce the quality citrus known across the globe for its taste and health benefits.”

Florida citrus was hit with a cold spell on January 22 and February 5 which dropped temperatures below 28 degrees for several hours on both nights.

In its release Tuesday, the USDA said “A freeze survey…conducted on (January 27-28) showed little or no damage at that time. Additional assessments will be made in mid and late February.”

The USDA makes its initial forecast in October and then revises it monthly until the end of the season in July. In 2007-2008, Florida harvested 170.2 million boxes of oranges.

The USDA maintained its prediction that 23 million boxes of grapefruit will be produced in ’08-’09.
The early and midseason crop is now projected at 83 million boxes, down from 84 million boxes. The Valencias projection is now at 75 million boxes this season, down from January’s forecast of 78 million boxes. Florida specialty fruit is down; the USDA predicts 1.3 million boxes of tangelos, down from 1.5 million in January, and 4.6 million boxes of tangerines, down from 4.9 million. The yield for from-concentrate orange juice (FCOJ) is expected to be 1.61 gallons per 90-pound box, down from 1.62.

The Florida citrus industry creates a $9.3 billion annual economic impact, employing nearly 76,000 people, and covering more than 576,000 acres. Founded in 1948 and currently representing nearly 8,000 grower members, Florida Citrus Mutual is the state’s largest citrus grower organization.

Interested in learning more?:

www.flcitrusmutual.com.

http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu

http://www.sunharvestcitrus.com/

http://www.ultimatecitrus.com/growers.html

http://www.flsouthern.edu/citrusarch/

Linking to Other Sites

I believe linking to other sites is a good idea. Creating more opportunities for the readers to be informed will help broaden their knowledge on the subject and also keep them wanting to come back to the orginal website, knowing that it will direct them toward beneficial information in vast amounts. Also, if websites are linking to others, the chance that their website is being linked on alternative webiste is a high possibility. Having alternative links about relative subjects will also give the reader the ability to have the options to have knowledge about different points of view and give more information on the subject. With the direction the industry is heading, convergence is playing a big factor. By mainstream websites using other links, I believe this is heading the direction of convering. I also believe that mainstream websites, such as NBC, linking to their local affilates is very beneficial because it will make it easy for a reader to go from national news to local news. I don't believe that websites would lose internet traffic because people will naturally go to the usual mainstream website, knowing they will be getting a plethora of information will want them to come back more. It could potentially increase the use of the use of the mainstream website.

HTML Attempt Part 2....

My favorite recording artist is Jason Mraz.

HTML Attempt....

My favorite team is

Steroids

Steroids have commonly been known to be used by professional athletes and body builders; however, recently they have been becoming more common within today’s society.  More and more people are starting to abuse the drug, including high school students who participate in athletic activities.  According to one of the sources I found, the number of teenagers using steroids had increased alarmingly.  Within a few years, the numbers have rapidly risen.  Students believe it will make them strong and buff like professional athletes.  They also hope it will give them advantage of becoming college athletes.  The use of steroids have had many negative effects, physically and psychologically.  Some incidents have ended in death.  Recently, three states (Texas, Florida, and New Jersey) have started to require high school athletes to take tests for steroid use in hope of discouraging the use of the drug.

Google:

http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/steroids.htm This source gave general information about what steroids were and how they can potentially effect people who use them.  It explains the different uses of steroids and why people may want to use them.

http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/steroids/ppd.htm The second sources explains the actual effects of steroid use in both men and women.  Steroids not only have effects on a person physically, but also psychologically.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/2005-06-08-sports-weekly-steroids-report_x.htm This is an USA TODAY article about student athletes using steroids and the reasons for the use.  It also describes stories from parents whose teenagers have died from the use.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Student-Anabolic-Steroid-Statistics&id=243467  This website gives statistical information about students using steroids for athletic purposes.  Within a small amount of time, steroid use have gone up rapidily. 

Lexus Nexis Journal  Database:

http://www.lexisnexis.com:80/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?start=7&sort=RELEVANCE&format=GNBFI&risb=21_T5654881144 This is an article that was also in USA TODAY.  Within the article, it describes how some states are taking action in preventing students from using steroids.  However, in this article, it explains two different views of the use of steroids and testing.  It also give good statistical information.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T5654704923&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T5654704926&cisb=22_T5654704925&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=11063&docNo=4   In this article, from the St. Pete’s Time, it explains the testing methods and reasons behind the testing in Florida high schools. 

After reading the articles, I believe that Twitter is not journalism. It simply is a social networking website, similair to Facebook and MySpace. Although people may post current events because they are near the"action," I don't think this could be use a reliable source. They may give the wrong information, and regardless if they fix their mistakes later, it still can have a negative effects on many different levels. Many people are dependent on the media/journalism, so to base news off of a website that also reports what people are eating for lunch, may not be as reliable. Also, if information gets misconstrued, situations similair to the Hinderburg explosion -- in which the reporter indicated no one survived the explosion when, in fact, most had -- could happen again. People may also start creating "jokes" and putting up false information to confuse people. Twitter could potentially be used as a base to start a story. If the reporter chooses to research the information more, they could perhaps persue the story to see if it's in fact true. However, I don't believe that Twitter is currently more than a social website.

Assignment 2

The first site I checked out was slate.com.  This website is owned by The Washington Post Company.  It's an online news magazine that provides information on politics, news, and culture.  The layout of the website was clean-cut and organized.  Although there were advertisements, they did not dominate the page.  Instead, your immediate focus is on a picture that pertains to their "lead" story.  

The next website I viewed was aircongress.com.  This website claims to be "The Voice of Capitol Hill," however it seems that it is from a Conservative point of view.  It was started by  K. Daniel Glover.  This website has not had much added to it since September.  As far as layout, it's very plain and there were too many links all over that kind of made it confusing and intimidating.

Moveon.org:  This website is more opinionated then others.  It claims to be a site where anyone can come and give there views, however, it seems to be a more 'liberal-thinking' website.  Moveon.org is the website of the MoveOn PAC.  The members discuss their views and opinions.  The website it updated basically on a daily basis.  Their layout is pretty well done and organized.  It's simple and, therefore, easy to get around.  

The last website I looked at was nationalword.com.  This is a blog of one man about his political views.  Not much information was given about this website, but at the bottom it did have a disclaimer that he was using his "first amendment rights," which probably means it's all opinion.  The last blog posted was in November.  The layout of the site looks like an amateur made it, it's extremely simple and boring.

Michigan State University

http://jrn.msu.edu/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=171

Syracuse University

http://newhouse.syr.edu/

Oakland University

http://www2.oakland.edu/jrn/

University of Miami

http://www6.miami.edu/umbulletin/und/com/jou.htm

Central Michigan University

http://www.cmich.edu/Admissions/Academic_Programs/Communications/Broadcast_and_Cinematic_Arts.htm

I think to improve the Com website, there should be updated pictures of students and faculty and pictures of the labs, classroom, studio, etc.  Also, post videos of examples of work the students do.  But compared to many of the other websites I checked out, FSC's Com's website seemed pretty well organized.