Deck 14: Imho: Expressing Your Opinions As a Journalist

Question 1

A good blogger or columnist never does any original reporting for an opinion piece, because that falls outside the purview of such a piece.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Good opinion writers report first, and form their opinions afterward, as opposed to the other way around.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Good commentary can add background information, context and analysis.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One way for a writer to establish tone in an opinion piece is to use a more conversational tone, with contractions and informal language.

Question 5

Which of the following are examples of when opinion pieces in journalism are not helpful?

A) When an argument isn't grounded in evidence
B) When too much is based on secondhand information
C) When opinions are based on sloppy journalism
D) All of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is the best definition of persona?

A) Any individual referred to in a news story
B) The byline on a news story
C) The character that a writer projects
D) The kind of opinion a person has on a particular issue

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of helpful, evidence-based opinion?

A) The Keystone XL pipeline is idiotic. The government shouldn't build it.
B) The Keystone XL pipeline is a bad project because it poses a strong risk to the environment. For instance, the U.S. Department of State's report says that several threatened or endangered species could be harmed by the project.
C) People who are against the Keystone XL pipeline are losers.
D) None of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is a good rule-of-thumb for a good news blog?

A) A news blog presents informed opinions and may often be based at least in part on original reporting.
B) A news blog sticks to basic journalistic principles: Journalists rely on facts, they don't repeat rumors, they carefully cite sources, and they move beyond "he said, she said" reporting to provide information that readers can use.
C) A news blog may provide in-depth information about narrow subjects that don't get as much coverage in the mainstream news media.
D) All of the above

Question 9

Please describe why journalists should be wary when the blogosphere picks up on a thread, an idea or an event, repeating and discussing it.

Question 10

Please identify and briefly define three qualities of a well-crafted news blog.

Question 11

Please edit the following blog post to make it a well-crafted news blog. Cut it by at least a third.
A few weeks ago, I had an awesome opportunity!! My friend Frida, who goes to college in Colorado, needed a house sitter for a couple of weeks, and she messaged a bunch of her friends to see if anyone was up for it. I was definitely up for a road trip, so I packed up and got on the road. So anyway, saw Frida off, and then went about enjoying my little old self by hiking, biking, and just appreciating the beauty around me. Each state possesses unique and special places, but it sure seems to me that Colorado hit that lottery!
So, Frida's house is in town, but town is close to wilderness, which is going to mean something to you in a minute. It's like ten at night, and I hear this crash outside. Not like a car crash, more like something big fell. I look out back toward where I heard the sound, and this huge dog is just sitting there. Then the huge dog rears up and grabs some apples from Frida's apple tree. I realize that ain't a dog, and I'm not in Kansas anymore.
It's a bear. I think the crash I heard was the bear climbing over the fence. I called my mom to see what I should do, and she said to call the police. I didn't want to bug them with a bear call, so I just sat there for a while watching the bear. And that made me wonder what someone like me should do. So I decided to leave it alone but then call the authorities in the morning to see what they had to say. I called around the next day.
What I found out bummed me out. I guess bears in this part of the country have gotten used to hanging out where people live because of the easy access to food. Trash cans beside houses, dumpsters behind restaurants, pet food on the deck, bird feeders in the trees. People make it so easy for bears to get food, the bears just say, heck with the little berries on bushes in the wilderness!
The bummer is that when bears get accustomed to humans and their pets, the chances of an altercation increase dramatically. According to a local organization called BeBearSmart, dozens of bears statewide have to be put down because they are no longer afraid of humans, and they have become nuisance bears. They topple trash cans, get in altercations with dogs, etc. Plus, I guess bears have a good memory, and they remember where those food-filled trash cans are. And they teach their cubs, too.
The local office of the Department of Wildlife told me that the bear problem gets worse during drought years when there aren't many yummies for bears to eat in the wilderness, even if they wanted to. The only solution to stopping having to put bears down is to take away the food source. That means putting garbage cans in garages, or some other enclosure until trash day, or getting a bear-proof trash can-it has hooks that make it impossible for a bear to get into the trash can. (Of course, that's assuming you live in a house, and that it has a garage. Or that you can afford the extra $4 a month that a city like this adds to your trash bill.)
And even though I don't live in Colorado, and the closest I'll get to a bear in the future is probably never, this experience made me think about human-wildlife interaction in general. What other animals have been "eliminated" because they became "nuisances," when they were just being…dare I say logical? My apartment in central Missouri might have displaced a squirrel family, or not, but I don't even know. Wherever you live, what can you do to minimize your impact on wildlife? I don't know. Probably too late for many of us. But look around to see who still remains. And look at your impact. I mean, pigeons, even. I'm out. Cheers til next time.