News Anchors vs. Journalists

Most news anchors arent journalists but the most prominent ones that I have come across seem to do both. In order to become a news anchor you dont really need to posess the skills of journalist. Local anchors often times dont even know exactly what they are going to be talking about untill they are about to be on the air. One the most popular anchors of modern time, Anderson Cooper, at least makes it seem like he knows what hes's talking about. If he is completly cut off from the production of his show he hides it well. His enthusiasm for the topics he is reporting on resonates with the audience. He does seem to be a lot more connected to his work than many journalists. It seems that even if you arent a journalist being a sucessful news anchor comes with at least a little work into the creation of the what they present on the television.

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Writing Journalism

An article I read by The Guardian has helped me quite a bit in my pursuit to begin writing quality journalism. The biggest aspects that I took away from this article are that sucessful journalists need to be cunning, entertaining, and oftentimes able to throw out their inhibitions in order to get the good information on a topic. Articles are written very quickly and need to be very good in order to even make it into publications. If a journalist cannot deliver quality work they wont be published. Now that I know some of the characteristics of a good journalist I need to find something that describes how to write well. The easiest way to do this would probably be through my English class but I dont feel that me teacher would be a lot of help in this outlet.

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Homecoming Assignment

This post isnt really for this class but I had a prompt for english where I could write in any format I wanted. So of course I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a journalism style essay. I haven't actually read the book about how to be a journalist yet. This essay is kind of like a before point in my journey to become a journalism master. Hopefully one day I will be able to look back at this post and laugh at how terrible I was. Here goes nothing.....

Palatine Highschool is celebrating Homecoming week with a variety of spirit days to get students excited for the big game on Friday. Each year the football teams play against their biggest rivals, Fremd. After the game a dance is held for the highschoolers at Palatine High School. Pep rally's marked the beginning of the year and introduced the theme of this years celebration. 2012 is the year of the circus and the school has been decorated for the occasion. Streamers hang from the ceiling and walls. Members of each grades club made posters with all of the students names, and sports teams made banners that get people excited for the game.

Fun clothing spirit days were also held. This year these included: pajama day, sports day, clown day. The decorations brighten up the school and gave the student body a great sense of Pirate Pride.

 A pep assembly, aptly named Royal Rally, was held after school on this Thursday. Performances from Poms, Flags, Orchesis, Pep Squad, Cheer, and the Marching Band were given to a large group of students, faculty, alumni, and parents. This year was band director Mrs. Horn’s last year at Palatine. A selection of junior and seniors gave speeches to honor her. At the end of the assembly this year's Homecoming King, Queen , and court were announced. Nominees from each grade were announced. The winners will also be presented at the football game.  With all the anticipation this years game will definitely be great. We hope to see you all there to cheer on your favorite team, regardless of preference.

I don't really think this turned out to well but I guess its a good start for now.

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Fundamentals Of Journalism

Today is the day of the random posts, youre just going to have to deal with that for now. I just wanted to share a picture of the second book I plan on reading on journalism.

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