Journalists in Peril

     My journalism teacher, Ms. Turner, thought we should be made aware of the dangers journalists face on a daily basis. A few weeks ago she showed us a website, cpj.org, with information on the journalists all over the world who have died, or been injured, as a result of them trying to uncover what the government does not want to become public knowledge.
     One of these journalists is Wickermatuge, who risked his life to inform the public on what was happening in his country's government. He, along with several other journalists, was harassed before his death and knew he was going to eventually die. Knowing about his impending death, he wrote his own obituary that gives the reader chills because he talks about why he chose to continue his line of work despite the danger to himself and his family.
     Another journalist is Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded by terrorists in Pakistan. A few days ago Ms. Turner showed us a movie, A Mighty Heart, based on what happened to Pearl and his pregnant wife. The movie made me think twice about becoming a journalist and consider whether I'm prepared to risk my life for a story.

What I Learned in Journalism

     This semester in journalism I learned about leads and how to write different type of leads. The Journalism teacher gave us (the class) different scenarios and we had to write a few different type of leads that were appropriate for the scenarios. For example, a scene-setter lead is when a journalist describes the setting of the story and makes you feel like you’re there when the action happened. I also recently learned how to write an article based on a the inverted pyramid. The first paragraph of an article consists of the most important information in the story while the rest is the details. Another thing I learned about is how to properly conduct an interview. I learned that the journalist’s body language is important during an interview to show professionalism and interest. You also have to ask open-ended questions to get the best information for your story. 
     Before Christmas, I had to do an assignment that required me to write a letter to a 5 year old girl, telling her that Santa Claus was not real. The assignment was given because we had to learn that no matter what, journalists must always be honest. Even if you have to break a little girl’s heart by crushing her fantasies.

The Hunger Games

I recently read the Hunger Games, about a month after seeing the movie. I heard great reviews about the book and I thought the book was worth reading. I was disappointed. The movie was so much better. The book was boring and I struggled to make it to the end. I'm not a big fan of the way she writes. The grammar errors I found distracted me from the story. The Hunger Games was highly recommended to me, however I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/

Gang Vows Revenge

A gang threatened revenge on Maimonides ambulance employees after an ambulance driver killed a motorcycle rider on Saturday. All female employees will be removed from the ambulance. That's sexual discrimination. This was a tragic accident but to threaten death is unacceptable. These people are savages. These same savages expect EMS to perform miracles when they shoot and stab each other. My mother is an EMT and it angers me when people threaten them. Like it's not bad enough people have to be afraid to go to work.
http://www.boroparkscoop.com/2012/05/exclusive-gang-vows-death-revenge-against-maimonides-ambulance-employees.html#more-5686

Top 10 Authors

1. Christine Feehan
2. Lynsay Sands
3. Sarah Dessen
4. Sherrilyn Kenyon
5. Elizabeth Scott
6. J.K. Rowling
7. Stephenie Meyer
8. Dean Koontz
9. Stephen King
10. Meg Cabot