01 May 08 The tale of the Cougar Ace, the perfect storm
The Cougar Ace was a car transport ship that was en route from Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia, Tacoma, Washington, and Port Hueneme, California, with a cargo of 4,812 Mazda vehicles. On the way a malfunction caused ballast water to dump out and the ship listed 60 degrees putting both crew and cargo in danger.
Since the story was first reported it has been followed by journalists of all stripes. The entire tale, from the initial accident to the salvaging of the ship to the final fate of the close to 5,000 vehicles, is a multi-layered and fascinating story.
Wired contributor Joshua Davis wrote a brilliant story that focused on the salvaging effort of the Cougar Ace. His vibrant descriptions and literary format make the salvage team, a rogues gallery of hardened characters that makes the hardened seaman of ‘The Deadliest Catch’ look like a bunch of Long Johns Silver employees, come to life. Take the time to read it, it’s worth it.
Related LinksTags: article, online journalism, wired
01 Apr 08 Popular Science: ‘Study Confirms the Obvious
Popular Science has a great gallery up of scientific research that points out the obvious, such as the gem below.
Unathletic Kids Are Unpopular at School
Photo by Kevin FebruaryThe Study: “Perceived Athletic Competence, Sociometric Status, and Loneliness in Elementary School Children,” Journal of Sport Behavior, September 2007
The Findings: Janice Causgrove Dunn of the University of Alberta studied 99 boys and 109 girls in Western Canada in grades four through six, finding that those students who were perceived by others as having good athletic skills were more popular, while the seemingly uncoordinated often felt dissatisfaction and isolation.
Why Bother? Because no one had thought to study the phenomenon before, yet it’s crucial to understanding how social strata form among students. “We knew there was a common-sense link between lack of athletic skill and loneliness,” Dunn says. Although much research relied on that assumed link, she couldn’t find a single study to back it up, so she undertook it herself. “It’s funny how many colleagues have said ‘thank you’ for finally having something to cite.”
Gee, I could have told you that from first-hand experience. Check out the full gallery for more.
Related Links01 Apr 08 Understanding Tibet
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| Police push away protesters as scores of Tibetans protested against China outside the Visa section of Chinese Embassy in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday March 31. (SAURABH DAS, ASSOCIATED PRESS) |
For those that don’t quite get what is going on in Tibet, like me, Foreign Policy magazine has an excellent and succinct article about what exactly is going on over there.
FP talks with Tibet expert Robert Barnett, director of the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University and author most recently of Lhasa: Streets with Memories.
We have to put aside these questions that fascinate some people, such as, “Is the Dalai Lama losing his power?” That’s the opposite of the issue here. The exile complaints are not about power. And we have to put aside suggestions that the protests in Tibet are because people are unhappy about economic loss. That really is reductive. And I think we have to get over any suggestion that the Chinese are ill-intentioned or trying to wipe out Tibet. It’s obviously horrible that people are being savagely beaten up and killed. But crucially, this is a historic change in the profile of Tibetan politics. We’re looking at something much larger than any immediate anxiety about Olympics, or whether somebody planned one of these things, or whether people are upset about economic disadvantage. Historians are going to tell us that we missed the big picture if we didn’t notice that this is the big story here. All the party cadres are going to be sent to the countryside areas to listen to the Tibetans’ complaints and find out what has gone so wrong with the policy machine in China.Related Links| READ FULL |
Tags: article, world news
04 Nov 07 Research event gives voice to fresh ideas
This story was interesting because it was the first story where I went to an off-campus event, put on a tie, got credentials and strutted around like an actual journalist. I even talked my way out of paying for parking at the Shingle Creek Resort (which is hella awesome) by flexing some media muscle.
I have another article that ran in the special Homecoming section but I can’t find it online. When I do I’ll put it up. It was a bit of a fluff piece but it was fun to write and cover.
And just another shameless plug, I’m on The Orlando Sentinel too! Yeah it’s another blog, but it’s still The Sentinel damn it.
Related LinksTags: article, journalism, vanity
25 Oct 07 Group calls for concealed weapons.
This is the third story I got above the fold (not counting the lead story), so I’m stoked about that. Also, I’m particularly proud of this story for two reasons:
1. My turn-around time on this was one day. I received the assignment mid-afternoon on Tuesday and had the story filed by 4PM the next day.2. I had to flex some journalistic muscle to get the story. After I was assigned the story I contacted sources, set up interviews and did other research. This was Tuesday. On Wednesday our editor-in-chief ran this opinion piece criticizing the group.
After reading it my two main sources decided, minutes before my interview, that they didn’t want to talk because they thought we would cast them in a negative light. Not wanting to give up I played damage control, massaged their egos a bit and assured them it would be an objective article.
They agreed, mission accomplished. Interviews in, wrote the story and filed it before deadline.
So yeah, I really felt like a journalist on this one.
Tomorrow I am interviewing Z Magazine founder Michael Albert. I can’t wait.
EDIT: After reading some stories on the same topic there are some mistakes I made with this story. Nothing ethically, but just journalism-wise. There are details I should have included in hindsight, such as some gun violence statistics, an example of concealed carry working somewhere (Utah) and the experience Culotta and Pollitt have with guns. Oh well, live and learn.
Related LinksTags: article, journalism
23 Oct 07 The weight of words
Soused curmudgeon and gifted writer Christopher Hitchens, reflects in the new Vanity Fair, on something that no writer or journalist ever wants to face. Having volunteered for Iraq, Mark Daily was killed in January by an I.E.D. While reading a story about Daily in the LA Times, Hitchens came across these words:
“Somewhere along the way, he changed his mind. His family says there was no epiphany. Writings by author and columnist Christopher Hitchens on the moral case for war deeply influenced him … “
Daily enlisted in the military as a direct result of Mr. Hitchens’ articles and words. That’s heavy shit. Regardless of what you might think of Hitchens, his reflections in this article reveal him to be undoubtedly human.
Being an aspiring journalist myself, this is something that no professional would ever like to experience. In front of Hitchens was clear, direct evidence that his rousing support for the war and his own words, led directly to the death of a young man in Iraq.
It’s an interesting read and brings up a lot of issues concerning journalistic ethics and responsibility. Should Hitchens feel anything at all? Maybe, maybe not.
How would you deal with this situation?
Related LinksTags: article, journalism
21 Oct 07 Mike Gravel visits UCF
New Article:
Pres. hopeful speaks to students
This was an interesting story to do, Mike Gravel was a pretty wild guy. He won’t win of course, but it was nice that he took the time to speak and his candor and honesty were refreshing to see in a politician.
Related LinksTags: article, journalism
18 Oct 07 I am really sick of meningitis (no pun intended)…
…but I still had to write an update to it.
It’s just a short piece, but it’s another clip to show at the internship fair I am attending Monday. The thought of being a 28-year-old intern is a little unsettling, but I’ll get used to it. We all have to pay our dues. Related Links
Tags: article, journalism, vanity
14 Oct 07 Breaking News Article
This was a breaking news piece that I had about two hours to gather information and write. I was pretty proud of myself. Front page again, I’m three-for-four.
Funny though that after my article on how prevalent meningitis isn’t in the student population, some kid gets it. Does that make me look like a bad journalist, or just the people that I interviewed?
Related LinksTags: article, journalism, vanity
11 Oct 07 Article up.
Bridging the gap - UCF professor works to make computers adapt to users
The editors chopped it a bit but that was to be expected. I turned it in at over 1,000 words, which is taboo in the college circuit. Damn child pornographers, if that kid could have held off getting caught I might have gotten page 1 treatment. Oh well.
I was wrong, it’s on the front page, feature story.
Related LinksTags: article, journalism, vanity
08 Oct 07 New Article.
Next up, Augmented Cognition in the gaming industry. Coming Friday.
Tags: article, journalism, vanity
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