BROADCAST NEWS WRITING
10 ARTICLES
BY ASHLEY OWENS
PRODUCERS FROM “THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW,” ASKED INTERN COURTNEY SCOTT TO A TAPING OF THE SHOW DURING WHICH THE HOST WILL PUBLICALLY APOLOGIZE FOR AN ANGRY CONFRONTATION.
WILLIAMS TERMINATED THE INTERVIEW ON FRIDAY AS SCOTT ASKED, “DO YOU THINK PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES WOULD BE DISCOURAGES FROM REASERCH AND DEVELOPMENT IF THEIR PROFITS WERE RESTRICTED?”
HE CONFRONTED HER LATER AND TWO OTHER REPORTERS SAYING, “I CAN LOOK YOU UP, FIND WHERE YOU LIVE AND BLOW YOU UP."
A POLICE REPORT HAS BEEN ISSUED AGAINST HIM.
“AMERICAN IDOL” FINALIST JAILED IN TAMPA BAY FLORIDA FOR THE SECOND TIME AFTER A DRUNKEN CONFRONTATION WITH AUTHORITIES.
SHE WAS CHARGED ON SATURDAY WITH DISORDERLY INTOXICATION, RESISTING ARREST AND VIOLATING CONDITIONS OF HER PAROLE ON EARLIER FELONY BATTERY AND POSSESSION CHARGES.
A TOP-10 CONTESTANT ON THE SHOW IN 2005, SIERRA WILL ENTER A CALIFORNIA REHAB.
FACILITY IN JULY THAT WILL DOCUMENT ON VH1'S REALITY SHOW "CELEBRITY REHAB WITH DR. DREW," SOMETIME EARLY
NEXT YEAR.
A SINGLE MANUSCRIPT PAGE FROM A LOVE STORY WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON BON AH PART AY SOLD AT THIRTY FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS IN PARIS.
THE FIRST PAGE OF THE FINAL DRAFT OF HIS FIRST NOVEL “CLISSON AND EUGENIE” WAS APART OF AN ANNONYMOUS PRIVATE FRENCH FAMILY’S COLLECTION.
THE NOVEL, NEVER PUBLISHED IN NAPOLEON’S LIFETIME HAD BEEN LOOSLY BASED ON THE ROMANCE WITH HIS BROTHER’S WIFE.
IN INDIANAPOLIS A TEENAGER HELD UP A DOZEN BUISNESSES TO GET EXTRA MONEY BUT ALL IN TIME FOR HIS CURFEW.
EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD JUSTIN VEAL IS CHARGED WITH FELONY ROBBERY AFTER BEING ARRESTED IN A LIQUOR STORE HOLD UP.
STEALING AN ESTIMATED TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE EVERYDAY EXPENSES, VEAL SAID IN AN INTERVIEW AT THE MARION COUNTY JAIL THAT HE MADE SURE HE FINISHED THE ROBBERIES IN TIME TO MAKE IT HOME BEFORE HIS CURFEW AT 1:30 AM.
POLICE SAY VEAL STAYED CLOSE TO HOME FOR SEVERAL OF THE ROBBERIES AND THAT WHILE HE HAD A WEAPON IN EACH OF THE HOLDUPS, NO ONE WAS INJURED.
HERSHEY’S NEW PRODUCT, ICE BREAKERS PACS, ARE CAUSING PROBLEMS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT DUE TO THE VISUAL SIMILIARITES TO ILLEGAL DRUG BAGS.
THE NICKEL-SIZED DISSOLVABLE POUCHES WITH POWDERED SWEETENER INSIDE, HIT STORE SHELVES IN NOVEMBER.
THE PACKETS ARE SIMILAR ENOUGH THAT A CHILD FAMILIAR WITH THE CANDY COULD MISTAKENLY SWALLOW A HEAT SEALED BAG OF DRUGS.
"IT IS NOT INTENDED TO SIMULATE ANYTHING, SAID HERSHEY SPOKESMAN KIRK SAVILLE.
THERE IS NO WORD IF HERSHEY PLANNED ON CHANGING THE PRODUCTS APREARENCE.
A LANDSCAPING CREW IN KEY WEST FLORIDA FINDS WORLD WAR TWO MORTAR SHELLS.
THE PROPERTY ONCED OWNED BY THE NAVY HAS THIRTY SHELLS THAT ARE BURIED UNDERNEATH A TREE STUMP.
A WORKER ACCIDENTLY HIT AND BROKE ONE OF THE SHELLS FRIDAY WHICH didn’t DETONATE.
aS A PRECAUTION A DOZEN HOMES WERE EVACUATED AND CARS CLEARED FROM THE AREA AS A BOMB SQUAD REMOVED THE EXPLOSIVES.
ACCORDING TO A NEW GOVERNMENT REPORT THE NATION’S TEEN BIRTH RATE HAS RISEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOURTEEN YEARS.
THE BIRTHS IN 2006 FOR UNWED MOTHERS HIT A NEW RECORD HIGH, THE HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 1971.
THE STUDY WAS BASED ON THE FIFTEEN TO NINETEEN YEAR OLD GIRLS WITH AN APPROXIMATE FOUR HUNDRED FORTY THOUSAND BIRTHS TO TEENS IN 2006.
GOVERNMENT STATISTICIANS SAY IT JUMPED THREE PERCENT FROM 2005 TO 2006.
A WOMAN IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA HAS BEEN AWARDED ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AFTER CLAIMING SHE WOKE UP DURING A MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY.
AN UNIDENTIFIED SIXTY TWO YEAR OLD RETIREE TESTIFIED SHE COULD FEEL THE SURGEONS USING A SCALPEL AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS ON HER, BUT WAS UNABLE TO SPEAK OR MOVE.
ORIGINALLY DEMANDING FIFTY SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL SUFFERING, THE COURT REJECTED THE AMOUNT AND SAYS THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT PROOF THAT THAT SHE REGAINED FULL CONSCIOUSNESS.
HER LAWYER HAD ARGUED THAT THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST FORGOT TO ATTACH A TUBE THROUGH WHICH THE PATIENT WAS TO BE KEPT UNDER SEDATION.
WEDNESDAY'S RULING ENDED A THREE-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE.
IN NEW YORK A FORMER PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT JACK JORDAN HAS STALKED ACTRESS UMA THURMAN FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS.
IN COURT ON WEDNESDAY HE REFUSED TO PLEAD GUILTY, AND LOST HIS CHANCE TO RECEIVING A MISDEMEANOR IF HE WOULD COMPLETE AT LEAST A YEAR IN A MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM.
JORDAN IS FREE ON A TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR BAIL IS ACCUSED OF FOLLOWING AND CONTACTING THE ACTRESS SINCE 2005, AND ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL HIM SELF IF HE SAW THURMAN WITH ANOTHER MAN.
JORDAN, A GRADUATE STUDENT AT MILLS COLLEGE IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, IS LIVING IN MASSACHUSETTS WITH HIS PARENTS.
IN MADISON WISCONSIN A MAN IS ACCUSED OF STEALING SEVERAL BLOW-UP DOLLS FROM AN ADULT NOVELTY STORE.
TWENTY SIX YEAR OLD JOSE SANDOVAL OF DEFOREST SMASHED THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR AT NAUGHT NOVELTIES IN BURK LAST MONTH, STEALING A TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY DOLLAR LOVE DOLL AND OTHER ITEMS.
VIDEO SURVEILLANCE WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CAR TO PULL OVER. SANDOVAL DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS OF BURGLARY BUT FINALLY GAVE IN LED DETECTIVES TO AN ABANDONED SEMI TRUCK BEHIND A MOTEL WHERE THE STOLEN ITEMS WERE RECOVERED.
INTERNET WRITING
2 ARTICLES
BY ASHLEY OWENS
1. A Non-Combat Death Poses Questions with Family
SOLDIER DISCOVERED WITH SINGLE GUN SHOT WOUND TO HEAD.
Specialist Ciara Durkin was found dead in a secured Area of Bagram Airfield last month. She lay to rest with full military honors as her family said their last goodbyes. As to the cause of her death, there is an investigation within the military base to look in on the “enemies” that she had mentioned she had made, due to her knowledge of certain information. Suicide was never in question.
2. Into the Wild, But safely
TOURISTS ARE CAUTIONED TO BE SAFE WHEN VISITING SITES OF CHRISTOPHER MCCANDLESS, JOURNEY.
The up and coming movie “Into the wild,” starring Emile Hirsch, tells the story of the 24 year old adventure seeker who traveled the Alaskan wilderness who died in 1992. Fans of the movie are traveling to the places where Chris actually traveled. But the officials of Fairbanks are cautioning tourists of the lack of cell phone signal and that’s only applicable by either hiking or swimming down the river. Alaska is only one of many places featured in the film, directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch as McCandless
News paper writing (3 articles)
Ashley Owens
Writing for Mass Communications ARTICLE 1
Security; Are We Really Safe?
September 5th, 2007, around 2PM sexual harassment of Kings’ students.
A couple days later the incident occurs again while students are sitting in their cars.
Days later, another student is sexually assaulted at Kirby Park while taking a leisurely jog.
The city of Wilkes-Barre has its fair share of issues, but the first two weeks of classes had set the bar for harassment problems.
Campus security provides a Jeep to escort students from parking lots and areas around campus. What is assumed is that security is under staffed and isn’t always accessible to students.
“I had called for an escort to come pick me up at the Court House parking tower,” explained a female sophomore, a student at Kings who has to park two blocks away from campus because parking spaces are limited.
“They (security) told me that all the men they were available were responding to the fire alarm that was set off accidentally by the construction workers and that they wouldn’t be available for some time. So I kept my head down and walked back and tried not to look at anyone who crossed my path. I carry defense spray with me, but sometimes you just never know.”
That same student is on her guard every time she goes to her mandatory tutoring session that is required to get her teaching license. The parking lot behind the school she works at had a reported rape incident.
It is issues like these that not only affect the women of King’s College but the men as well. Many unreported incidents had “strange and awkward people” approaching them sometimes being offered drugs and asked for money.
But there is hope. Security is cracking down on the areas on and around campus. With twelve full time guards and two part-time, the pepper spray protected authority figures have made a point to make their presence known.
Along with the one security Jeep that makes trips back and forth from the Public Square and all King’s owned parking lots, there are shuttles that have been added this year that have planned routes and are available to any Kings student which can hold up to 22 people.
“On campus there is enough security where the students should feel safe. It is what is off campus that can be questionable,” says Dale Rinker, the Director of Security. “But as long as people walk in groups and are aware of their surroundings then there is usually never a problem.”
There are a total of 10 functional call boxes around campus that are easily accessible. Two more are being installed within the next couple a weeks.
Security officers are also patrolling the parking lots after there have been cases of “break- ins” and the common theme among them was the navigation systems and radios being stolen out of the cars. “There is a guard in the parking lots 7 hours a day 7 days a week,” stated the Director of Security.
Last year, the city of Wilkes-Barre issued a grant that doubled the officers that would patrol the perimeter problems, and work privately for the school. Such as patrol the colleges sports games and have a uniformed officer pass through the campus a couple times a week.
Even though all security on campus is strictly for safety purposes, some students are rumored to hear about undercover officers crashing parties and arresting unsuspecting and underage drinkers. “That is absolutely untrue,” laughed the Rinker. “As far as we understand, the only officers on campus are the ones in uniform, and if there were undercover officers crashing parties, we would be the first to know about it.”
Their main concern, as is most colleges, is the issue with under age drinking. “There was a party where we arrested 16 King’s Students,” he explained. “We don’t mind small house parties that are contained, what our real concern is the parties that get out of control and when other people hear about it from other areas that just show up, they usually don’t know who they are, that’s when problems arise.”
So as the first semester of the 2007 school year begins, it is safe to say that it started off a little sketchy. But after the very first incident that involved a Kings College student, action was immediately taken. Increased appearances of security, Wilkes-Barre police patrolling the area on a regular basis, and a 24 hour 7 day week availability to the escort service show that there is something being done.
“It is good to know that our safety is the school’s top priority,” responded a student. “I feel better now, knowing that there are options and the support of the city behind the college community.”
Ashley Owens
Writing for Mass Communications ARTICLE 2
Freedom of Speech, How Far Can We Really Go?
Andrew Meyer, a Florida State University Student, attended U.S Senator John Kerry’s Question and Answer session in Gainesville, Florida. Unknown to any of the students and faculty, the simple presentation got out of control when Meyer used his right to freedom of speech and tackled and tasered by law enforcement.
Within the first 30 second that Myers reached the microphone to pose his question, it was obvious that he also wanted some camera time, but nevertheless there was a point to his eccentric comments.
“He was talking for two hours, I have a right to ask my questions,” exclaimed Myers as he was being man handled by police. “Excuse me why are you arresting me I was just speaking my mind!”
Senator John Kerry was not enabled security when he visited the college, therefore it was law enforcement of the college that thought he was getting out of hand, when Kerry even said, “that's alright, let me answer his question."
Every person in this country has the right to free speech. College students especially find it easier to express this right while in the midst of a college experience. Did the police get out of hand? It was apparent to the students and Senator Kerry, that there was something wrong with the way police were handling the situation.
College student all over have used this incident as a way to express how important free speech is. The well known website “Face book,” has opened up its pages as students voice their opinions on the group called,” People AGAINST the University of Florida for the arrest & taser of student.”
The creator Hunter Ligon of Putnam City North High School responds to the incident on his page.
This type of violation doesn’t stop on just one college campus. Like the incident with Virginia Tech, a horrible ordeal, affected many student across the country. This however, as well as less emotionally intense, still strikes a cord with most students at King’s College.
Sandra Mennuti a sophomore at King’s watched the video for the first time and was astonished at what she saw.
“It’s disgusting how they treated him, that’s really scary. They pinned him on the ground, and he is only one person and there were so many of them. But he didn’t have the power to hurt anyone and it’s just cruel. He was being inappropriate but that’s a violation of human rights and cruel. And he was screaming for help and they were torturing him.”
Another student from Saint Thomas Aquinas has a different opinion. Matt Bickford is studying criminal justice and is in training to be a state trooper in New Jersey.