Edit this!

Andrea Cambern, news anchor at WBNS-10TV news, will bid her goodbyes to everyone watching the 6 p.m. news on May 23, 2012.

Cambern started her career at 10TV in 1991 and has since become a recognizable name not only in Columbus but also across national media.

With her six Emmy awards, Female Anchor of the Year by the National Association of Television Journalists, honors from the Associated Press, induction into the Ohio Radio and Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame and YWCA Women of the Year Achievement Academy, Cambern leaves behind a legacy.

In addition to her award achievement, Cambern has also made a lasting imprint on Columbus’s health and wellness with her “Commit to be Fit Program,” which she headed with Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

“She has had a positive influence on the community with her Commit to be Fit program, it is a good program,” said Lee Johnson, a fifth year in Economics and Japanese.

Cambern hopes to always be involved someway with “Commit to be Fit” after she leaves 10TV.

“Commit to be Fit has always been a passion of mine, I hope that it will be around for a long time,” Cambern said.

As Cambern is entering a second chapter in her life, her next path has yet to be determined. However, she mentioned that if she goes back to school, she would like to get her degree from Ohio State.

“I have adopted OSU as my university, it should be my Alma-mater. I feel like I am a Buckeye,” said Cambern.

Cambern refers to her stepping down as following her heart, not her head.

“So few people in this business get to say when they leave, what a gift it would be if I just leave it as is with a wonderful memory of what this career has been,” said Cambern.

In the focus of her heart is her husband, Brett.

“My husband’s family and job is in California, he came to Columbus for my job. This transition is really about changing priorities and letting where he wants to be take precedence,” said Cambern.

While Cambern is excited to see what the next chapter in her life may bring, she expressed her sadness for what she will miss most about Columbus.

“Its gut wrenching to leave something you love. The starkest difference between California and Columbus is the way people care about each other and the community here. I am worried that I am going to miss the midwestern values and
sensibility,” said Cambern.

And while Cambern will miss Columbus, many people here will miss her as well.

“I will miss her zest for life, her sunny personality is real,” said Jerry Revish, news anchor for 10TV news and Cambern’s long time co-host.

Additional members of the 10TV crew shared their feelings about Cambern.

“The newsroom is going to feel empty without her. It’s going to feel like someone let the air out of the room,” said Kurt Ludlow, 10TV news anchor.

“We will miss her versatility. Anchor, reporter, field producer/reporter, interviewer, get on the plan and get to this story. She can do it all,” said Tom Griesdorn, President and general manager of 10TV.

Cambern said she will miss 10TV and the perks that go with it.

“10TV is truly my family. But in addition I will also miss all the people I meet with the job. That was one of the most appealing aspects of it,” said Cambern.

While Cambern is not sure what her next major step will be, she does know that she plans to devote more time and attention to her current programs such as “It’s Abuse,” which is an anti-violence initiative among young college women.

“It’s Abuse” was started here at OSU and has spread to several other campuses around Ohio.

As Cambern follows her heart and leaves her 20-year legacy behind, she said, “I need to take the leap while I am still young enough to have a second chapter. “

HEADLINES! FULFILL YOUR PROMISES!

1. Numerals are fine. Proper AP style in a story requires you to write: “The man robbed three women at gunpoint.” But the heds for that story could say: 3 women robbed…or Man robs 3 women. The second one is better because “robs” is active while “robbed” is passive.

2. Periods are not needed! Very rare that you will need to use a period in a headline unless you are trying to write complete sentences, which is also rare. A semi-colon can be used to introduce a new thought. For example: Jobless rate hits 10 percent; 2 million people lost jobs in Oct.

3. Almost always OK to replace the word “and” with a comma. For example: Obama, Biden to visit Iraq….or Obama visits Iraq, Iran, Japan, China

4. Heds do NOT need to be complete sentences. See examples above.

5. Avoid question heds, quote heds, etc. They can be effective….RARELY!

6. Make sure the headline accurately portrays the story that follows. Think of them as 50- and 94-character sneak previews, OR PROMISES THAT MUST  BE KEPT.

Problems in 2nd News Stories for Comm 421

1. NOT ENOUGH SOURCES!!!! This is inexcusable and will result in a full-letter grade drop going forward.
2. TRANSITIONS. Getting better but still too many back-to-back quotes and changes in tone or subject without bringing your audience along for the ride.
3. AP STYLE!!!
4. SPECIFIC DETAILS!! Need more of them and less use of words and phrases like “a lot.”
5. TOO MUCH OPINION!! More specific detailed observations will help you eliminate this.
6. NO SUMMARY!!! Do not try to wrap a bow around your story at the end. When you do, it is almost always opinion. Many times, stories just end.

Comm 421, 423– Let’s talk about this on Thursday, Jan. 26

What do you think after reading this piece about errors/corrections in newspapers?

You be the editor

Richard Ehrbar III is anything but a typical undergraduate student at Ohio State. He is a 29-year-old non-traditional student, and when he isn’t in class, he’s on the campaign trail, preparing for his run for U.S. Congress in 2012.

The Libertarian candidate and third-year in strategic communication has never held a government position before, but has been considering getting into politics for a while.

“I decided officially that I was going to run back in July, it was something I’d thought about and strongly considered for the past couple of years. I decided that the time was now,” said Ehrbar.

Erbhar is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Ohio’s newly formed 3rd District, which encompasses the Ohio State Columbus campus, Columbus State University, Franklin University, and Capital University, as well as Clintonville, the East Side, Worthington, and part of the Short North.

There is no incumbent seat holder in the district and the field has yet to be narrowed down to a single candidate in the Republican and Democratic parties. One of Ehrbar’s opponents is Joyce Beatty, senior vice president for outreach and engagement at Ohio State, who recently said she is stepping down from her position to pursue the 3rd District seat.

Ehrbar, a Huron, Ohio native graduated from high school in 2001, and worked in the food industry to save enough money to go to continue his education at Bowling Green State University in 2006.

“I grew up in a lower-middle class family. At the time there really wasn’t much money to go around to pay for college, so after I got done with high school I went to work,” Ehrbar said, who described his path to Ohio State a “blue collar, no collar kind of journey.”

Ehrbar transferred to the university in March 2010, “I always wanted to be a buckeye,” he said.

Ehrbar’s childhood friend, Ryan Terry, said that Ehrbar hadn’t shown an interest in politics when he was younger, but “had always been interested in what’s going on in the world.”

While Ehrbar isn’t taking classes this quarter in order to focus on his campaign, he plans to take classes during the coming spring quarter and fall semester.

“I want to be visible on campus during the home stretch,” he said.

Even though he is taking a break from school this quarter, Ehrbar will have to find a balance between classes and campaigning.

“I think what’s really important is exercise, meditation, and prayer. The best way to stay focused on those things is to make sure that you are healthy outside of those. Health, nutrition, is very important to me,” he said.

Still a ways off from completing his degree, Ehrbar is planning to declare a second degree in psychology as well, which he said would add about a year to this expected graduation date. If Ehrbar wins the election, he plans to take more time off school.

“I would want to focus of course on my responsibilities, maybe an online class. I’d be so focused on going back and forth between Washington and Columbus, rallying, organizing, facilitating, I don’t think I would have much time to be in the classroom, he said.

After his term or subsequent terms end, Ehrbar plans to return to Ohio State to finish his bachelor’s degrees and pursue a master’s degree.

Robert Bridges, the political director for the Ohio Libertarian Party, doesn’t work directly with Ehrbar and his campaign, but is excited to work with him in the coming months.

“He has such new ideas and is an out of the box thinker,” Bridges said, “I can say for a fact that Richard has central Ohio on his mind, he wants to see Columbus and its citizens be successful.”

Ehrbar said to The Lantern on Jan. 21 that he wants to “bring our troops home” while also focusing on “restoring individual liberties, and restoring the economy,” if he wins the election.

If he doesn’t win, Ehrbar has thought about pursuing a different career path down the road.

“After school I would really love to have my own Italian restaurant. In a city, by a body of water, maybe looking at the downtown skyline or something like that. Just a little place where I can cook and serve people good Italian food,” he said.

However, he plans to finish his time at Ohio State first.

“I’m going to finish up my degrees. I’m going to keep working hard and keep being a poor, broke college student,” Ehrbar said.

Sanders transcript

http://wockner.blogspot.com/2007/09/republican-san-diego-mayor-embraces.html

You be the editor.

Being an athlete and a student can sometimes be a daunting task, especially at Ohio State.

For sophomore women’s swimming and diving team member Michelle Williams, the concept isn’t quite as difficult. In fact, Williams makes it looks easy.

During the 2010 season, Williams was one of just three student athletes at OSU to record a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

Williams, whose main events for OSU are the 50 and 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly, along with some of the relay teams, said that she is able to succeed because swimming helps her manage her time.

“My free time is used to study,” she said.

She said that academics are her priority, followed closely by swimming and family.

“Swimming helps me to be a better student,” she said.

The classroom isn’t the only place where Williams has found success.

The Toronto, Ontario, native will be competing in the Canadian Olympic trials this March.

It will be the second time she has competed in the trials.

The first time around, she knew that she was fighting an uphill battle.

“I have a better shot (this time),” she said.

Williams not only wants to make the Canadian Olympic team, but she wants to succeed.

“Many people make it to the Olympics and then don’t know what to do,” she said. “The next step is to perform.”

Making the team has been one of her goals for a long time.

Williams’ swimming career began when she was 8 years old. Her parents signed her up for a learn-to-swim program and things blossomed from there.

“Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to go to the Olympics,” she said.

And, she isn’t the only member of her family to find success in athletics.

Her sister is a gymnast at the University of California, Berkeley and her brother was always involved in high school sports.

“My family is pretty athletic,” she said.

When the trials come around in March she will be trying out for the 4×100 freestyle relay team along with the 100 butterfly, and 50 and 200 freestyle events.

Head coach Bill Dorenkott said he has been emailing the Canadian Olympic team coaches trying to make them more aware of Williams.

“She’s flying under the radar,” Dorenkott said.

Dorenkott is confident that she will make the team.

“She has a great shot,” Dorenkott said. “Myself, her parents, and her club coach might be the only ones that know that.”

It might be hard for a prospective Olympic athlete to stay motivated, but not for Williams. She looks to her competition to stay motivated.

“My rivals in the same events as me are always big influences,” she said.

Her teammates and coaches, both at home and at OSU, are also big influences she said.

“She’s very humble and hardworking, sometimes to a fault,” Dorenkott said. “I love coaching her.”

Williams’ teammate, junior Jackie Brousseau, also spoke highly of Williams.

She said Williams, “is a hard worker and someone who is easy to talk to.”

Brousseau said that it’s a privilege to swim with Williams.

“She always looks to her teammates first,” Brousseau said. “She’s definitely a team player.”

Brousseau said that Williams’ best attribute is her ability to cheer up her teammates.

“We’re up at 5 a.m. every day and sometimes we’re grumpy,” Brousseau said. “She always knows what to say and reminds me of my goals.”

With the Olympic trials being more than a month away, Williams said her focus right now is on the Big Ten championships that will take place mid-February in Iowa City, Iowa.

“The team is really excited and really prepared,” she said.

The women’s swimming and diving team continues its season Friday when they will travel to East Lansing to take on the Spartans.

Feature writing

Good story. Compelling characters. Full use of senses. Strong scene setting. Narrative arc. Good quotes. Deep reporting. Memorable.

Some good ones from Lantern:

Best feature of the year according to Associated Collegiate Press.

A dream wedding and a heartwarming story.

Friends and rivals on the men’s bball team.

I learned a lot about dubstep from this.

Ethical questions about photos/placement

What do you think about the WaPo’s use of this photo technique?

 

What do you think about the photos from Sexapalooza in today’s Lantern?

Common problems in Comm 421 news stories

Missed ledes: where is the news? What is most important? Why should your audience care? FOLLOW THE RULES FROM SYLLABUS! 1 sentence as a standalone paragraph. 35 words or less.

AP Style

THIS IS NOT PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR)!!! This is a news story. You must show the “other” side, whatever that means in context. Avoid spin: what is the other person trying to sell or convince you of?
EVERYONE DOES NOT FEEL OR THINK EXACTLY THE SAME WAY ABOUT THIS ISSUE, EVENT, ETC. Think of it as the “To be sure” graf or section.
For example:::: To be sure, not all ice cream parlors have seen their business drop this winter.
While many students said they dislike the changes, some are embracing them.

AP STYLE!!!!!!!!!!

BE SPECIFIC!!! Avoid the terms like “a lot, large, small.” Instead, tell your reader: How many? How long? How much? Don’t say it was “cold and windy.” Find out what the temperature was and how high the wind gusts got.

AP Style

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS AND READ YOUR SYLLABUS!! Many of you did not include slugs, 2 headlines, etc.

Keep It Simple!

TALK TO MORE PEOPLE!

Limit your paragraphs to 1-2 sentences.

ATTRIBUTION!! Must be 100% clear who said what, or whom you are paraphrasing or what study or group you are citing. Otherwise, it is your opinion, or worse, not your work and words!!

NO FRIENDS and NO FAMILY!!! Quotes too perfect, there is obvious cutting and pasting and you kept in words like “our” and “we” that likely occurred on the Web site or because you are too close to the person. I am watching.

NO FIRST or SECOND PERSON! Can’t use “I, we, our, you, me” unless directly quoting someone or if I give you permission.

TRIM THE FAT!! AVOID REPETITION! AVOID MEANINGLESS QUOTES. “I like it a lot.” WEAK!!!

Attribution usually better at end, maybe in middle of quote. Rarely good first. “Blah, blah,” said Jones. NOT –Jones said, “Blah, blah.”

Did I mention AP style?