Amherst Police Capt. Jennifer Gundersen visits class

By Julia Marion

In the case of noisy off-campus house parties, the Amherst Police Department is the place to call. With a semester that has seen great fall weather and the largest freshman class ever seen, it may be needless to say that the Amherst police have been keeping busy this 2010-2011 academic year. Although there are often complaints from students about cops, there are certain procedures which Amherst police must follow in response to a noise complaint from residents.

Jennifer Gundersen is the police captain who often attends to these calls. Marking the beginning of her seventeenth year on the force this December, she started out in the detective bureau where she was the officer that reporters would go to for questions. Nowadays, students might come to her for a class assignment. On Nov. 22, 2010, she switched it up a bit by personally visiting the Journalism 300 class in the University of Massachusetts W.E.B Du Bois library. She talked about what type of calls she receives as well as trying to satisfy both Amherst residents and students in a fair manner. In her talk with the class, she related how there are both positives and negatives to a college town such as Amherst.

As captain of a town police, Gundersen is responsible for keeping Amherst residents safe and happy. “We have a unique challenge as you can expect. We have 25,000 students in college and also a very demanding citizen base. We often have to switch gears for them.” This means that if conflicts between residents and off-campus students arise, the Amherst PD is obliged to step in. “Our community are the taxpaying citizens of Amherst. The community guides our response. If they think there is a nuisance, we think there is a nuisance. They set our priorities,” she said.

The most common scenes involving both residents and students are noise complaints. Oftentimes, a residential neighbor of an off-campus house will call in around 1 a.m. complaining of a large amount of noise. These calls are most likely to occur between Thursday and Sunday nights. Amherst police consider this type of complaint to be a disturbance of the peace and are therefore required to “quell the disturbance” even though they have better things to do.

“We don’t make noise complaints up,” said Capt. Gundersen. “We have to have a valid reporting party and we don’t respond if the caller does not want to reveal their name.” The procedure to breaking up a house party is standard and most parties will quiet down after the initial warning. Arrests are only made if the owner of the house is uncooperative or fails to even open the door.

Although rowdy students provide Amherst police with a job, they also provide a liability and an economic disadvantage. “Weather dictates the activity. In the spring we hope for rain every weekend. We also hope for the Red Sox to lose. Just one weekend can drain our budget as overtime has to be paid for some officers.” Graduation parties can also be a lot of work. But on the upside, graduation traffic brings in a lot of business for the town.

Despite the authority of the police, Gundersen does acknowledge that some officers do overstep their boundaries. She said that about 10 percent of the time when there is a complaint, officers are at fault and are provided a counseling session before being disciplined. As long as students are cooperative with police, there should be no problems.

The Amherst PD has its own blog at Amherstpd.blogspot.com where information can be shared and received within the community.

Questions for Capt. Gundersen

1) What are the reasons why this is one of the worst falls ever, according to police quoted in a recent Amherst Bulletin article.

2) What re the mostcommon calls to police in general and this year as compared with other years?

3)What could be done to improve the situation that is or is not being done now?

4) What rights do students have that they may not know about?

5) Have you seen complaints about students' rights being infringed upon?

6) What is the proper way to respond to police when stopped?

7) What is an officer suppposed to say and do when arriving at a house party? That is,
what are the police told to do by the deparment when they go to a huge house party? And to what extent do they use individual initiative rather than standard procedure?

8) Do the Amherst and UMass police have substantially different policies and procedures?

9) Why did you want to become a police officer?

10) Has your gender been a major factor?

11) How do you choose what's newsworthy to put on the blog?

12) Before you were a captain did you respond to any of the house party calls?

13) Have you ever been injured during a call, suited up in riot gear, use a taser or pepper spray?

David Pakman visits Journ 201

University of Massachusetts alum David Pakman's mother was the only one he could say for sure listened to his radio show when he got started at Valley Free Radio, in Northampton, in 2005.
And even she couldn't muster much enthusiasm when he asked her how he liked it.
Pakman didn't blame her.
"All I was doing was reading the news -- and not very well," he told two dozen or so Introduction to Journalism students at his alma mater this week. He was too nervous to even add any political commentary of his own, at first.
Now, The David Pakman Show, formerly known as Midweek Politics with David Pakman, airs on over 100 radio and TV stations nationwide; he's got over 2,500 subscribers to his Internet podcasts and some of his recent YouTube videos have gotten 20,000 or more hits within several days of him posting them.
In September, Pakman, 26; his producer and childhood friend Louis Motamedi and Pakman's brother and film producer Natan Pakman moved into their own studio in Northampton, underwritten by Greenfield Savings Bank.
Pakman, who graduated in 2006 with a degree in economics and communications and then got his MBA at Bentley, is also a consultant who helps other media personalities, includingThom Hartman, the country's Number 1 progressive radio show host, expand their audiences.
Pakman said he would be happy to give the students advice for free. He's also looking for for-credit interns and is registered with the UMass Office of Career Services.
The easiest place to start your own radio show is at a community radio station, Pakman said.
"Not many people will listen at first, but you'll get practice."
He recommends posting videos on YouTube, even if it's just an audio radio show with still photographs.
And then promote your show relentlessly.
Pakman has found that email is his best form of contact and he is constantly soliciting guests for his show.
Some of the people he thinks are least likely to respond to him have been the most enthusiastic about being on the show, Ohio Congressman and former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, for example. He's also interviewed U.S. Sen. John Kerry, Congressman Barney Frank and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Others have not been as responsive, for example Michael Moore.
Pakman doesn't sweat it when he doesn't hear back from someone, he just keeps trying to get in touch with them. He sends out a regular newsletter, using the email marketing service Constant Contact, which allows him to see who opens his emails and who ignores them.
Some of his best guests have been the ones whose points of view he agrees with the least -- anti-Semites, white supremacists, anti-gay rights activists, and the like.
"Anytime I can argue with someone, I will," Pakman said.
Likewise, some of his most loyal listeners claim to hate the show.
"The people who don't like what I'm doing are more responsible for the success of the show than the people like me," Pakman said. Someone named Butch, for example, has been emailing him for years, expressing how much he can't stand it.
Pakman doesn't engage with detractors like Butch, he just thanks them.
After all, Pakman said, "He listens to the show more than my mom."

Dan gives the class an impromptu tour of Collegian headquarters

Welcome Back! Fall Calendar

Last day of class: Team A vs. B

Team A, the champs.
Team B, tough competitors.
Team A advantage: Andrea's fast writing.

The Questions:

1) Write an example of a good lead/lede for an article describing what we did in Journ 300 this semester.

2) What are some ways in which a news story is different from an essay you might write in English class?

3) What is a nutgraph/nutgraf?

4) What does S-V-O mean?

5) What are LOCAL ANGLE, PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources, SUBSTANTIATION, VERIFICATION, ATTRIBUTION, NEWS HOOK?

6) Give an example and define EUPHEMISM. Is it good to have euphemisms in news stories?

7) What does HAGIOGRAPHY mean? Is it a good model for a news profile?

8) Explain ON and OFF THE RECORD.

9) What is the MASSACHUSETTS OPEN MEETING LAW? What is it designed to do? What is a QUORUM? Give some examples of circumstances under which a governmental body may meet outside

public view.

10) Give an example of a very useful AP tip. Why does AP style matter?

11) When are the private as well as the public actions of public officials the subject of a news story?

12) True or False: Joseph Pulitzer said that "the highest mission of the press is to render public service."

13) What's the difference between an arraignment and an indictment?

14) What is the difference between libel and slander?

15) What is "actual malice"?

16) Describe what makes a quote "quoteworthy."

17) What is better CONCRETE or ABSTRACT, SPECIFIC or GENERAL, PRECISE or VAGUE. Give examples of each.

18) Do quotations need to be in the speaker's exact words 100 percent of the time?

19) The reporter should go to an event without having read anything about it beforehand so as not to influence his/her perceptions of it. True or False.

20) What are the components of a solid blog post?

21) What's "search engine optimization"?

22) What is Proposition 2 1/2 and when would you find yourself writing about it most likely?

23) What's an ordinance?

24) What's better, in general, SHOWING or TELLING? Why?

25) What's an important point to remember with respect to journalism that hasn't been mentioned in this list of questions?

Mary Serreze and April Francis visit

Mary Serreze and April Francis, publisher and web developer of the Paradise City news portal Northampton Media.com, entertained class, today, with the unusual and inspiring stories of their careers in journalism, thus far.

Mary, who has a master's degree in landscape design, was a technical support person at the Daily Hampshire Gazette then a radio host and producer. She jumped into reporting when the proposed redesign of Exit 19 off Route 91 threatened to curtail bike access to the bridge connecting Northampton and Hadley.

"Nobody's going to tell me not to ride my bike on the Coolidge Bridge," Mary said. And she hasn't looked back.

April was a Holyoke Community College student working full time at a pizza place and taking care of a young daughter before she started making serious money selling vintage clothing on Ebay. She attained "power seller" status before quitting the online shopping giant, starting her own web site and learning search engine optimization to bring traffic to the site, where she also modeled lingerie in the persona of "Roxy McKellen." Before long, Roxystyles was the first thing Google turned up for the keywords "sexy Halloween costume" and "sexy lingerie," and April was driving three carloads of product to the post office every day. When it got too hard to keep up, she decided to get out of retail and into the web development business.

These days, the two have been staying up late working on "super nerd stuff," as April put it, to make Northampton Media the go-to portal for all things Northampton and beyond. They're still a lean and mean operation, but "We're very serious about making money," Mary said. She has applied for grants; they've got some advertising and the next thing on tap is a fundraiser with the emphasis on FUN.

"One of the keys is keeping it lightweight," said Mary about the future of journalism. "Does it really take 100 cubicles to produce the news?"

Eddie Hand, for one, was convinced!

Media critic Dan Kennedy on Nichols and McChesney

Speech story (around 750 words, include the word count) due Monday.

Here is media critic Dan Kennedy on Nichols and McChesney, who spoke at Northeastern University on Feb. 2. Kennedy writes:

"To their credit, they do not propose taking taxpayer funds and handing them to (publishers) Rupert Murdoch and Arthur Sulzberger. Instead, they would like to see a variety of initiatives that, properly implemented, would bolster journalism without raising the specter of government interference: greatly expanded support for public broadcasting with an arm’s-length funding mechanism; an AmeriCorps for young journalists; even a $200 tax credit for every family to spend on the news media of their choice.

And they are correct in asserting that other Western democracies, particularly the Scandinavian countries, subsidize their media to a far greater extent than we do without suffering any loss of freedom.

Yet I still worry that theirs is the wrong solution."

AP Style Tip

AP does not use TM or Circle-R symbols in news stories. (apstylebook.com)

Chapter 15 worksheet

JOURN 300/Chapter 15 Interviewing Principles and Practices (and writing a profile)

1) It is better to prepare for an interview. If so, why? Or is better to approach an interview with a mind like a blank slate?

2) Could you write a story about a fire if you didn't see it? If so, how? Would it be preferable to go to the scene during or after the fire?

3) Read the excerpt on page 298. Which paragraph is the NUTGRAPH -- that is the paragraph that sums up what the story is about, puts it in context and answers for the reader the question -- "Why am I reading this story?"

4) What are the two "P's"of a good interview, according to the book (299)?

5) Who can the reporter legitimately "demand" information from?

6)What is meant by A) an open question, B) closed question and C) "courageous" question?

7) If an interviewee expresses a view the reporter disagrees with, what should the reporter do?

8) Should the reporter abide by requests for non-attribution, "background only" or off-the-record requests (304)?

9) What does the book say about momentum, background and quotes in a profile?

10) What are some of the book's tips for becoming a good listener?

11) In a direct quote do you ever change the words someone said? If so, in what cases?

12) Is it acceptable to conduct an interview by email?

13) Should you use anonymous sources?

AP Style Tip: Percentages

Percentages are always expressed in numerals followed by the word "percent."

Example: The price rose 20 percent.

Robert McChesney and John Nichols event

Hi Everybody -- Here's the information about the event we're planning to attend on Monday and write about for the speech assignment:

February 1st 2010 Lecture/Reading
Time 5:00 pm
Admissions / Ticket information Free and open to the public.
Campus UM
Location Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Building
Title Talk and Book Signing by Robert McChesney and John Nichols
Robert McChesney and John Nichols, the award-winning authors of twenty books on media and politics, will speak about their newest book, The Death and Life of American Journalism. Followed by a book signing.

Event sponsored by the UMass Department of Communication, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), and the Media Education Foundation.

Check out this biographical information about McChesney and other material you can find online in advance of the talk.

The speech assignment should be 750 words (include a word count after your name and date) and the basics are:


1) The lead should get to the heart of the event -- NOT just say it occurred.
2) Include in the first few sentences of the story --what the occasion was, -- who sponsored it, --where it was held and -- how many attended. (We'll talk about how to estimate how many people are in the audeince.)
3) Nutgraph: This takes the reader beyond the lead and sums up in a few sentences the major points the speaker made or the basic gist of his/her argument/case/presentation.
4) Body of story: Take the reader through the points that the speaker made in support of his or her case/main point/argument/presentation. Provide specific examples and direct quotes.
5) Interview 3-4 people who attended for their reaction/thoughts and include direct quotes.

Worksheets for Chapters 5 and 16

JOURN 300/SPRING 2010

CHAPTER 5/LEADS

1) It's good to start a story with a quote. True or False

2) It's good to start with a question. True or False

3) The lead does not have to be grammatical. True or False

4) Explain why the following are good or bad leads: A) A snowplow hit a cow on South Pleasant Street, Thursday, splattering its guts all over the road. B) When the mayor announced there would be deep cuts in next year's budget, she let the cat out of the bag.

5) Is it a good idea to start thinking about your lead at the same time you are reporting a story?

6) Which of the following two leads is best and why? A) A Harvard sociologist studying teen-age pregnancy gave a speech last night to more than 200 students and faculty members in Hall Auditorium. B) Teen-age pregnancy is costing the country billions of dollars a year, a Harvard sociologist told students and faculty Monday.

7) Will any anecdote or incident related to the story suffice as a delayed lead?

8) You go to a city council meeting that lasts two hours. Board members spent the first 15 minutes discussing whether they should meet on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays, an hour listening to reports from the DPW and Council on Aging directors, approved four taxi-driving licenses and voted to close City Hall on Fridays. What would you report in the lead?

9) Should you make sure to include the who, where, why, what and how of an event in the lead even if it makes the lead, hard to read and clunky?

10) Is the following a good lead? Ayla Brown, a Boston College student, will appear on "American Idol" this season.

CHAPTER 16/SPEECHES, MEETINGS and NEWS CONFERENCES

1) If something unusual occurs at a speech event, it's best to just leave it out and focus on the theme of the speech. True or False

2) If the reporter is unsure of the main theme of a speech, what is one way to try to find out what it was?

3) Could an interesting story be written about a dull speech?

4) Does the reporter have a right to be present an an official, public meeting and report on anything he or she sees or hears? Is the same true of a private meeting?

5) What does off- and on-the-record mean?

6) Is it a good idea to get a meeting agenda ahead of time?

7) Is there any reason why you interview someone who wasn't at a meeting for a story about it?

8) Should you include direct quotations from a speech or meeting and, if so, who should you quote?

9) Research online the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law at http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/39-23b.htm and briefly explain it.

Coming event

Hi Everybody -- Here's some information about the Wed., Feb. 10 event (7-9 p.m., Fine Arts Center) we discussed attending and reporting on. It's PostSecret, an invention of Frank Warren that involves people writing their "secrets" on a card and sending it to him.

There is a Facebook page, where it says you can go to the Fine Arts Center and get two tickets with your student ID. It seems like a good idea to get two tickets each ASAP.

Spring 2010 schedule and syllabus

JOURN 300/CAREY/ SPRING 2010--M/W 3:35-5:30 p.m.-Dubois 720

This is a tentative schedule of topics subject to revision to accommodate the news, campus goings-on that we’ll attend and classroom visitors. Check the blog (Journ300.blogspot.com) for updates and changes. Each day 3-4 people will bring in an article to discuss and post an "AP Style tip" to the blog.

JAN 20 Introduction, In-class writing assignment. Next: read Chap. 5; write 300-word summary for next class. Bring three or more ideas of speeches/events to attend at UMass or nearby in the coming days.

JAN 25 Discuss Chap. 5 and speech options, in-class exercise on leads. Next: Read Chap. 16 on speeches, write 200-word summary for next class.

JAN 27 Discuss chapter on speeches, how to write a speech story. In-class work on blog. Next: Read Read Chap 15 on Interviewing Principles to discuss. Write 6 "bullet points" based on information in chapter.

REVISED:

Monday, FEB. 1 --We attend the Robert McChesney-John Nichols speech, beginning at 5 p.m. after we talk about Chapter 15 and the profile pitch. Next: Write a brief profile pitch to present Wednesday.
Wednesday, FEB 3 -- Discuss McChesney-Nichols event. Present profile pitch. Next: Speech paper due Monday. Read Chaps. 2 and 3.

Monday, FEB 8 -- SPEECH paper DUE (750 words). Discuss Chaps. 2 and 3
Wednesday, FEB 10 -- In-class work on profiles. Read Chap. 7 on the Writer's Art. Write 100-200 words SHOWING something (vs TELLING)

Monday, FEB 15 NO CLASS
Wednesday, FEB 17 -- FIRST DRAFT PROFILE DUE Discuss feature stories. Discuss Chapter 7 and SHOW v. TELL examples. In-class work on profiles. Next: in-class feature pitch, read Chap. 8 on Features.

REVISED

FEB 22 Have read Chapter 8 on features to discuss. Peer edit first draft profiles. (Final draft is now due Wed., Mar. 3) Next: Read Chapter 18 on Accidents and Disasters and Chapter 19 on Obituaries.

FEB 24 FEATURE PITCH. Discuss chapters on accidents and obituaries. Next: read Chapter 21 on Courts.

MAR 1 In-class work on feature and blog, discuss Chap. 21 on Courts

MAR 3 FINAL DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, include word count) In-class work on feature drafts Discuss Issue paper requirements, including interviews with 2-3 "experts." Next: read Chaps. 11 on layered reporting. and 14 on sources.

MAR 8 MID-TERM QUIZ Discuss Chap. 11 and 14.

MAR 10 FIRST DRAFT FEATURE (1,000 words, include word count) DUE. Discuss issue paper ideas and strategy. Next: Issue pitch.

SPRING BREAK

MAR 22 Discuss issue ideas, experts. In-class work on blog.

MAR 24 Issue pitch.

MAR 29 In-class work on Issue papers. Next: read Chap 20 on police.

MAR 31 FINAL FEATURE (1,000 words, include word count) DUE. Discuss Police chapter. In-class work on issue, blog. Next: read Chaps. 26 on Taste in Journalism and 27 on Morality.

APR 5 ISSUE DRAFT DUE DATE POSTPONED TILL APRIL 12 (with four voices, two of whom are "experts") due. Discuss chapters on Taste and Morality.

APR 7 INTERVIEWS WITH 2 EXPERTS DUE!!!In-class work on Issue paper, blog. Watch video "Independent Media in a Time of War" and discuss with reference to chapters on Morality and Taste. Next: Read Chaps. 24 and 25 on Government and Reporters and the Law.

APR 12 FIRST DRAFT ISSUE DUE!!!!!Discuss Open Meeting, definitions of slander etc.

APR 14 , discuss Chapters 24 and 25

APR 19 NO CLASS

APR 21 FINAL DRAFT ISSUE DUE!!!!!Discuss review writing, issue paper issues.

APR 26 Watch film and write REVIEW (10 percent of final grade) on deadline, due at end of class.

APR 28 Begin review of take-away points from the class

MAY 4 LAST DAY OF CLASS/ REVIEW

JOURN 300 :NEWSWRITING and REPORTING, Spring 2010

MARY CAREY mary.carey@att.net, 413-549-4595, 413-219-7772 (cell), Journ300.blogspot.com

REQUIRED TEXTS

Melvin Mencher, News Reporting and Writing (latest edition)

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING

Daily newspapers and news magazines. Try to scan online or in print at least one of the local newspapers including the Collegian, Daily Hampshire Gazette or Springfield Republican every day. Also be aware of what’s on the front page of, for instance, the Boston Globe and New York Times. Each class, three or four people will bring in a newspaper article and comment on some aspect of the news, news coverage, style, choice of stories or contrast between coverage. Being conversant with what is in the news is essential to writing it.

GRADES

Grades are based on timely and thoughtful completion of in-class and out-of-class writing assignments and quizzes, attendance and in-class participation. Writing criteria include news judgment, clarity of writing, grammar, accuracy, organization, spelling, conciseness, use of AP style, and meeting deadlines. Although the big picture things like news judgment and solid reporting are important, misspelling names and other seemingly minor shortcomings can ruin a story and your reputation, so they will count. Numerical equivalent of grades: A=95, A-=92, A-/B+ =90, B+88 etc.

ATTENDANCE

Not making appointments or missing the action will also undermine your career and the class. You MUST tell me BEFORE class if you are going to be absent and it has to be a legitimate excuse. (I read my e-mail regularly and have a phone message machine at home.) Otherwise you will receive zeroes for the day’s assignments. Please do not be late or leave early. More than three absences and/or repeatedly being late or leaving early will result in a significantly lowered final grade. We'll follow university guidelines regarding swine flu.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

In-class writing assignments usually won’t be longer than 2-3 typewritten pages. Most major assignments are 1,000 words or 4 pages. Among your assignments are a profile (counts for 15 percent of final grade), feature (15 percent), coverage of a speech (15 percent), issue piece (25 percent) and review (10 percent), minor papers, including first drafts (10 percent), participation/homework, worksheets and quizzes etc (10 percent).

HONESTY

There’s no excuse for any dishonest use of material. Any instance of plagiarism or any other form of cheating is ground for course failure.