Shattered Glass Extension

Patricia Smith wrote a review of a concert she didn't go to and she wrote many columns of fictional characters and fabricated events. She was forced to resign from the Boston Globe. What she did was a lot like what Steven Glass did.

I think what Steven Glass did was very wrong. He didn't just make mistakes in reporting, he just flat out lied. Shattered Glass showed me that it isn't as hard as I thought to make stories up or even accidentally write a false statement that changes the way the reader feels about the subject. It is important to get all the facts right the first time.

Shattered Glass

Option One

Steven Glass showed that he might not be the model journalism at many times. When he says he pretended to be a behavioral psychologist to investigate talk radio coverage of a Mike Tyson fight, he shows he had lied in order to get a good story. Applying to law school might have been a back up plan in case he got caught. It might not have been to make his parents happy. When Michael Kelly finds he has misreported a small detail, Glass offers to resign. He does this to try and get out of The New Republic in case this mistake leads to an investigation that proves Glass has totally made up the entire story. I am also surprised that he got away with what he did for so long.

The Mourning Anchor

I think "The Mourning Anchor" deserves to be considered as a great piece of journalism. He does a great job of showing Bryant Gumble's thinking that everyone needs to be as good as his father. Reilly is able to show this by spending a lot of time with Gumble and those who know him. He shows both sides to all of Gumble's feuds with other people including his own wife. He shows the readers the whole in Gumble's life without his father and how someone can have such a great personality on the outside, but an extremely messed up heart on the inside. Reilly does a good job in showing how this attitude affects Gumble's actions. It makes you feel sorry for him, but also disgusted by him at the same time, which is pretty cool.

Staff Feature Writing

About 50 years ago, Charles T. Mangum was testing his skills on fastballs. About 25 years ago, he was a colonel in the air force. Since then, he has taken on possibly an even tougher task; substitute teaching.

Good subbing takes a variety of talents. Like all teachers, subs have to be good leaders. Good enough to be able to control a classroom full of students. Subs have to fill in for different subjects, so they need a solid knowledge of many subjects. Flexibility is key because different classes will be doing different things. And a touch of improvisation is important to take on lesson plans on the fly. Subs work with less control than your average teacher.

Mangum has gotten good at all of these qualities over the course of his life, which has prepared him for substitute teaching. Mangum's leadership can be accounted to his jobs in the air force. And his flexibility was on display during his life in college, where he juggled playing three sports and being an air force ROTC.

Mangum went to Southwest Texas State College, now Texas State, in pursuit of following his dad's path. "My dad was a principle, coach, teacher," Mangum says. "So I grew up in the education business as a kid." Soon, though, his focus drifted to other things. An air force ROTC, Mangum played football and baseball for three years, as well as basketball for one. During his junior year, Mangum was offered a pro contract to join the Houston Colt .45's, a newly made MLB team. He accepted the offer and dropped out of school during his junior year to play. In spring training, though, Mangum was released from the team. So he reentered school and graduated in his fifth year, 1963.

After graduating, Mangum was obligated to join the air force, where he moved his way up the ladder from second lieutenant to first lieutenant to captain. After five years of service in the air force, Mangum left in order to become a coach and a teacher in Houston, but returned a few years later. He worked his way up to colonel in the air force before he retired in 1993. He worked as chief of plans of fifth army in San Antonio before retiring again, this to time to become a substitute teacher. He started working at McCallum in 2004, but left to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005. He returned to McCallum in 2007.

Ever since then, Mr. Magnum has taken on the challenge of subbing. This semester Mangum took over the classes Richard Fidelman left when he retired. The previous long-term sub for these classes wanted to become a full time teacher, but after trying to deal with these students whenever Fidelman wasn't there she decided to give up on that dream. Despite the tough challenge of subbing, Mangum continues his work in his old age. "I am out here every day," Mangum says, "because I can adjust to English, History, Math, and fill in, keep the classes going." Mangum knows the importance subs have in giving many students education. If he wanted to, Mangum, being a certified teacher, could be teaching a social studies class full time. But he finds the value in subbing instead. "I like substituting because I'm retired, and I can fill in for Mr. Garrison whenever he needs teachers," says Mangum. "I really do like the students, and I'm older, but I think it keeps me in touch with what's going on. I'm only looking for the best in everybody, and I like substituting because I can maybe inspire someone, encourage them, and so by substituting I get to see more students at McCallum."

Staff feature

Can I write about Mr. Mangum, my long term sub in business information management, for my feature on a staff member?

Where's Jake Scott?

1. Gisondi said feature profiles take a lot of effort and you could see Dave Hyde worked hard to find Jake Scott, get him to talk, and to watch him for two days. It was obviously not easy for Hydeto get to Scott, but he persevered and got a good story. Hyde adds conflict like Gisondi said you should do. There is conflict between Scott and the outside world and conflict between Scott and Shula. The first conflict is resolved, but the second conflict isn't. Gisondi said the conflict didn't have to be resolved. Gisondi said to determine why you are writing the story and that is what Hyde did. He had his three questions he wanted answers to and he stuck with those three to get to know the most important information for the reader to know. All of his other communicated with Scott is to set himself up for those three questions and when he gets to them he gets the answers he was looking for. Hyde also follows Gisondi's advice when he says to put the person in a place. He puts Scott all over Hawaii which makes it easier to follow the story. It also shows why Scott likes Hawaii so much and why he chose to live there. Gisondi said to develop the main character and Hyde does that also. He shows the way Scott lives, acts, and thinks. He dosen't make Scott be all good or all bad either. Gisondi said to learn a lot about the person and Hyde does that. Hyde is also fair and looks at all of the sides to Scott's conflicts. Gisondi said to stay with the main character for a long time and Hyde stays with Scott for two days. He was able to become like a friend to Scott.

How to Write a Feature Profile

1. Gisondi says that feature profiles take a lot of effort. You need to take time to make the best story possible. there should be conflict, but the conflict doesn't have to be resolved. Determine why you are writing this story and remember to put your reason in the story. Put the person in a place whenever you can. this allows the reader to follow the story more easy. The main character needs to be developed into a complex person. Don't make the person all good or all bad. Learn a lot about the person. Include commentary and insight, but don't insert yourself. Make the person being doing something. Tell where the person is going. Look at all sides of an issue, and stay with the person for a long time.

Finding Feature Leads

1. http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/from-esquire-classic-looking-at-john-sacks-m/

Description-Person

2. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/us/this-land-with-an-act-of-kindness-a-lady-vanishes.html?smid=tw-share&pagewanted=all&_r=1

Then and Now

3. http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/notable-narrative-beyond-the-finish-line-by-tim-rohan/

Sequence or Narrative

4. http://www.lifeofthelaw.org/2016/01/overruled/

Contrast

5. http://nymag.com/news/features/cancer-peter-bach-2014-5/

Description-Site

Feature Exploration Day

1. I liked the stories because they were interesting and gave a picture of the scenes. They both have traits of good feature writing. They start interestingly, are touching, and end leaving ripples. I liked the one about Allen Burnett better because it did a good job showing how awful, but still common murders like this are. It had some really interesting quotes from the victim's family.
2-1. It tells a story.
2. It shows a reader a scene by having detailed decriptions.
3. Start by grabbing the reader's attention.
4. The lead should start with the specific.
5. End the story subtly.
6. Tie the ending back to the beginning.
7. Tell an untold story.
8. Touch the reader.
9. Add a nut graph after the lead.
10. Use transition quotes.

Iowa Caucus

1. Ted Cruz won and Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were in a virtual tie.
2. Cruz was the big winner while Donald Trump was the loser because Cruz peaked at the same time and got conservative and evangelical voters on his side.
3. The New Hampshire primary is next and Bernie Sanders is supposed to do well, and Ted Cruz isn't.