Last day of class

Thanks for a great semester!

Class visit to Amherst Police Station

Good example of an Issue story

Ethan's Story, Part 1: http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/04/ethans_story_part_1_heroin_addiction_massachusetts.html#incart_river#incart_maj-story-2

Part 2 (with video); http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/04/from_pills_to_heroin_ethan_rom.html#incart_river_default#incart_maj-story-2

Part 3
http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2014/04/ethan_romeo_day_3.html#incart_river_default#incart_maj-story-2

News "brief" about how a food blogger caused Subway to remove an ingredient from its bread:

Subway ‘yoga mat’ ingredient will be removed in a week

After a spate of bad publicity over the use of an ingredient also used in the making of yoga mats, Subway confirmed that the chemical will be removed from all of its breads in a week.

The sandwich chain earlier this year drew criticism after a food blogger launched a petition urging the company to remove azodicarbonamide, an ingredient used as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner.

A spokeswoman confirmed an Associated Press report in which Subway’s chief marketing officer Tony Pace said the chain will have phased out the ingredient from its bread in the next week.

Azodicarbonamide is found widely in other products, including foods served at McDonald’s and Burger King. The chemical, however, is banned from use in foods in Great Britain, the European Union and Australia. A 1999 World Health Organization study found it induces asthma in humans.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient can be “safely used” if it is intended for use as an “aging and bleaching ingredient” used in flour in an amount that doesn’t exceed 2.05 grams per 100 pounds of flour. It can also be used as a dough conditioner. The use of the ingredient was the subject of blogger Vani Hari’s petition earlier this year.— LOS ANGELES TIMES 

AP style points to review

1) What is AP style for movie titles, TV shows, novels? Newspapers and magazines? Newspaper articles? 2) When do you capitalize formal titles? 3) After mentioning sources by first and last name, do you then refer to them as Mr. Smith, Ms. Jones, Dr. so-and-so? 4) How do you handle percentages? Height and dimensions? 5) How do you write addresses?

Good parody of cliched, empty and abstract language and images intended to distort meaning and manipulate:

Feature assignment/Midterm quiz Spring 2014 answers

Journalism 300, Spring 2014 Feature assignment – Should be about a trend, group, phenomenon, event etc. First Draft due March 26, Final: April 7

·        1,000 words (include word count)  with photo(s).

·        Interview and quote a minimum of four (4) sources. You must include their complete names. Don’t quote people who won’t tell you their names.

·       Write your story with the idea of getting it published. Don’t include dated information. If you’re writing about an event that already happened make sure that the story is still relevant.

____________________________________________________________
Journalism 300 – Spring 2014 midterm answers

1)     B is a better quote because it includes specific information, details and an example of why Mary is an admirable person. A just has general, clichéd comments.

2)     A standard obituary should include: name, age, occupation and address of deceased; Date and place of death, Cause of death, Date of birth and birthplace; Survivors in the immediate family; Memberships, military service; Awards and achievements, funeral arrangements, Where to send donations in the deceased's honor.

3)     The reporter should always prepare as much as possible in order to understand an event, not waste a source’s time with questions the reporter can easily find the answers to ahead of time and to assure the source that the reporter is interested and professional.

4)     The lead is the most important sentence in the story and should get to the heart of the event. There is no need to cram in every who, what, when, where and what time detail.

5)     “Remarkable” is not a reporter’s word. It adds judgment and is “editorializing.”

6)     Words like progress, freedom, liberal and conservative are too abstract. They mean different things to different readers and could be considered biased or “loaded” with insinuations.

7)     A is not a good lead because it is way too gory. B is not good because it includes a cliché (beating a dead horse) and is a question.

8)     Calling an oil rig a an “oil farm” is an example of a euphemism and is designed to obscure meaning.

9)     Always use “said” vs. other words like “exclaimed,” “expounded,” “propounded” and other words like them.

10)  Direct quotations must always be the speaker’s exact words. Otherwise, a reporter could start saying whatever he or she wants and saying a source said it.

11)  On-the-record means you can quote a source saying something. Off-the-record means you cannot attribute this information to this source.

12)  Journalism IS the reporting of the visible and verifiable – not the speculative, hearsay, or unobserved.

13)  The reporter cannot report what a subject is thinking, unless the subject tells the reporter he or she is thinking this.

14)  Reporters use the word “disaster” when there have been many deaths, damage, destruction and displacement.

15)  A nutgraph lets the reader know what the story is about, why it is relevant, what its context is and it gives the reader a “roadmap” to the rest of the story.

16)  The nutgraph in the story begins, “Conversations with area law enforcement…” as this paragraph puts the story of a particular overdose victim into broader perspective and tells us why her story is relevant and what other points the story will cover.

17)  The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and should be over well before midnight.

18)  University of Massachusetts Police Chief John Horvath explained to neighbors that there aren’t enough police officers to stand around in neighborhoods on weekend nights to deter people from trampling on all the residents’ lawns.

19)  My birthday is in September, and my niece, who is from Waltham, Mass., turns 15 on Oct. 1.

20)  President Barack Obama said there was a 43 percent reduction in obesity in young children.

FYI:  An interesting food safety and fitness blog: http://foodbabe.com/

Speech assignment

Due Wednesday, Feb. 19: Hard copy of 750-word speech story, with quotes from the speaker Omar Dahi and two or more audience members (put these at the end of the piece). Include a word count.

Prepare in advance:

Omar Dahi, a Hampshire College professor of economics, will give a talk titled "The Crisis of Syria's Refugees in Lebanon," in the Commonwealth College Building, Events Hall -East, beginning at 4 p.m., today, Feb. 12. 

Some info and links to websites and videos:

A good, recent video interview with Dahi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxFgGBZnGA

Article Dahi wrote: http://www.merip.org/syrian-cataclysm

Video interview from a year ago: https://vimeo.com/47525682

Notes:

Dahi  talks in a recent video about how reporting on the subject of the humanitarian crisis in Syria has not been critical enough, that is that it has not been well-enough informed about the many dynamics involved -- the various sides, the role of foreign governments, the history of the conflict etc.  One challenge is to make sure that your pieces ARE well-informed about the crisis, based on Dahi's summary and analysis. 

What you'll be trying to do in a relatively short piece is to present a brief overview, as related by Dahi, of the crisis, where it stands now and what he thinks needs to happen. (He talks about four things he thinks need to happen in one of the videos I've linked to below.)  Your tone must be objective. Do NOT use the first person.

You will be writing for a general audience -- of people who, for the most part, are not very well-versed in what is going on in Syria, or what our government's role has been, is now, or should be, according to Dahi. Make sure that you totally understand what it is you're writing. (If you don't your reader won't.) Write as you would speak. Don't use abstract words, like "neoliberalism," for instance.

Your goal is to write a piece that clearly explains the main points of Dahi's talk to an audience that you can pretty much assume doesn't know much about Syria or the current crisis. So, think about what a typical reader might want to know, for example -- Is this a civil war? Who is fighting who? How many sides are there?  How many people are estimated to have died and how many displaced? What are the main things the sides disagree about? Has the United States taken sides, and is our government supporting one side with military assistance or money? Did the United States government or some other government(s) help cause the current crisis? Should other countries intervene? What does Dahi think the United States should do about this? Can average citizens like us do anything?

Article/AP tip schedule Spring 2015

FEB 3   FEB 5  ATTEND SPEECH at Campus Center FEB 10 Khadija, Afton, Jha'nai FEB 12  Kelly, Dan  FEB 17- NO CLASS/Monday scheduled followed FEB 19  Luis, Cole FEB 24     Nickole, Carson FEB 26    Afnan, Jacqueline MARCH 3  Sam, Erica MARCH 5 Matt, Khadija MARCH 10  Afton, Kelly MARCH 12  ***MID-TERM QUIZ ***  MARCH 17-19 SPRING BREAK MARCH 24    Dan, Tori MARCH 26    Luis, Cole MARCH 31  Nickole, Avalon APRIL 2  Carson, Patricia APRIL 7  Afnan, Richard APRIL 9  Jacqueline, Jha'nai APRIL 14  Sam, Erica APRIL 16  Matt APRIL 21 END OF SEMESTER QUIZ   APRIL 23  - Watch film and write SUMMARY/ANALYSIS (10 percent of final grade) on deadline APRIL 28 –  APRIL 30 - LAST DAY OF CLASS/ Final blog presentations Class interviews links: Erica, Kelly, Jacqueline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZeSTVelQkw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqDx7Tz6aGs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVmDZRpDceY Retail life :): http://youtu.be/M4w3aKRJJ_4 "Hipster" interviews "artist": http://youtu.be/nz9d3a1RGd4 Patricia's Passion: http://youtu.be/rLvHIQ4PW9U Afnan  interviews Nickole https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccuVqBD-K4I  Cole Interviews Dan:  Cole interviews Dan  Dan Interviews Richard -- Journalism 300 Richard interviews Cole  http://youtu.be/AnedaYqWdLs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj5dN4APBPQ&feature=youtu.be http://youtu.be/7UFkfOqPPw0 Sam interviewing Luis Matt interviewing Sam Jah’nai http://youtu.be/HYkAgRLe10I  Tori and Afton: Paranormal fun: http://youtu.be/ZGHHC211fNo Passion for Travel: http://youtu.be/O7M2AzxcEJ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QryXZlypMbg&feature=youtu.be Avalon

Article and AP tip

1) Article title, publication and date.

2) Shortest possible summary of what it’s about.

3) Reasons for picking this article. What is interesting about its content? Its form?

4) Great quote from the article and why it’s great.

5) AP Tip and example of how it is used. For example -- TIP: In general, write out numbers one through nine and use numerals for 10 and above. EXAMPLE: There are 15 people in the class, three of whom are from Connecticut. (Tip does not have to be related to the story you’ve chosen.)

ESPN writer Brendan Hall visits class

ESPN reporter Brendan Hall at UMass

By: Nicole B. Dotzenrod

Be it putting into words the unforgettable atmosphere of the Boston Bruins game two days after the Boston Marathon bombing, capturing a coach’s emotional and inspiring speech to his team following their devastating loss in the Division 1 state championship basketball game, or sharing in the enthusiasm of a special needs team manager who scored his first basket at TD Garden in the final seconds of the game, ESPN reporter Brendan Hall has made a life of capturing special moments in sports.

 “Once the moment is gone, it’s gone forever and there’s no getting it back … when moments like that happen you just become a fly on the wall and let it roll,” he said.

Hall, a 2007 University of Massachusetts Amherst grad, returned to his Alma mater last Monday to speak to current journalism students about his experiences as the high school sports editor and reporter for ESPN Boston since 2010.

 With his easy-going demeanor, Hall shared many stories with the students about the day-to-day life of a sports reporter and his passion for creating new ideas and ways to cover sports.

 “I’m never going to have this much creative autonomy in my life,” he said. “I use this as a cool thing to give to the kids. It’s not a bad way to live.”

Prior to joining ESPN, Hall has worked for a series of news organizations, including the Sentinel in Fitchburg, the Telegram and Gazette in Worcester, and The Boston Globe. The veteran reporter shared some advice with the college students: “You can have all the practice you want, but if you don’t know your subject, you’re gonna suck,” he said.

He also told students the importance of being a tough editor on yourself, and surviving in a changing field of journalism. “If you’re worried about your future, as there’s a lot of change as we morph into an online medium, you have to cast a wide net,” he said.

Hall shared with students that as a young reporter, he did everything necessary to stay afloat, picking up substitute teaching positions during the day, working as a basketball coach in the afternoon, and then driving to Boston to cover the Celtics at night.

Still, “It’s not a bad way to live,” he said. “One hundred years from now when people are looking at this in history, they’re going to pull up your account of it.”

Hall’s dreams go further than covering high school sports – he said his ultimate goal since playing football as a child has been to work covering the NFL.

“It’s been my biggest passion since I was five years old. As soon as I was heavy enough to be eligible, I was on the field. I’ve always been attracted to it.”

Hall’s laidback temperament shined through when he described one of his experiences interviewing New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. “His eyes have a way of piercing through your soul,” he said, laughing.

Student Katie Bowler said, “I thought Brendan Hall was hilarious. He didn’t hold back and gave great advice, especially on broadcasting your horizons and writing about a range of subjects. It was really cool to have him come in for the day.”

Hall told the students that the biggest reward of his job as a reporter is seeing other writers come along.

Link to Brendan Hall stories etc

Hi Everybody -- Don't forget to email me by this Friday 2 questions for Brendan Hall based on your reading of his stories at https://www.dropbox.com/s/swo4flk55zu3ih4/Brendan%20Hall%20stories%202.docx Email me by NEXT Friday a 500-word piece on his visit with a good lead, quotes from Brendan and from two students in the class. Due the following Monday: a list of 3 events/speeches we could possibly attend in the near future, so you can write a speech paper about it and your taped interviews.

Interviewing skills

SPRING 2014 Syllabus

JOURN 300: NEWSWRITING and REPORTING, SPRING 2014-- M/W 3:35-5:30 p.m. -- DuBois 767

Journalism 300 is a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts news writing and reporting class in which we learn and discuss:

• What is news

• How to identify and pitch a good story

• How to report and conduct interviews

• The news story "formula," especially leads and nutgraphs

• Kinds of stories and how to tell them

• The journalistic principles of fairness, accuracy, telling the truth and serving the public good

Email me anytime at MARY CAREY maryelizacarey@gmail.com, 413-588-4274 (cell)

Class blog: Journ300.blogspot.com

REQUIRED TEXT: Melvin Mencher, News Reporting and Writing (latest edition)

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING

AP Style Guide online

Daily newspapers and news magazines. Try to scan online and 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, one or more students 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, multi-media blog, 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, with the grade being lowered by a full half grade for each absence over three.

CELL PHONE RINGERS MUST BE TURNED OFF. NO TAPING WITHOUT PERMISSION – IT'S ILLEGAL. NO READING FACEBOOK, UMASS MEMES etc ONLINE DURING CLASS!

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. First drafts must be in turned in on-time for credit. Not turning in a first draft or turning in an insufficiently complete first draft will result in a zero for the first draft and a significantly lower final draft grade. Among your assignments are a profile (counts for 15 percent of final grade), feature (15 percent), coverage of a speech (10 percent), issue piece (20 percent)  analysis on deadline and deadline writing assignments (20 percent), blog (10 percent), minor assignments, quizzes, participation (10 percent).

HONESTY

Any instance of plagiarism or any other form of cheating is cause for course failure.

SPRING 2014 Schedule

SPRING 2014 Schedule

JOURN 300/CAREY/ SPRING 2014
Monday/Wednesday 3:35 – 5:30 p.m. / 767 Dubois 

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. Note: Each day two or more students will bring in an article to discuss and post an "AP Style tip" to the blog.

JAN 22 Introduction - discuss leads, effective interviewing, AP Style and (briefly) the nutgraph.

Due by Friday: Read story examples that I will give you and email me by Friday, Jan. 24 (maryelizacarey@gmail.com) 2 questions that you plan to ask next week’s guest teacher/visitor, Brendan Hall

READ: Chapter 5 on Leads and Chapter 15 on Interviewing Principles

JAN 27 ESPN sportswriter Brendan Hall guest-teaches class. Interview him; take notes; email me by Friday, Jan. 31, a 500-word news story about his visit. Pay special attention the lead; include 2-3 direct quotes and 1 or 2 meaningful, direct quotes from fellow students about his visit. This is assignment #1.

JAN 29 We will NOT be meeting during class time. Instead, arrange to meet in groups of 3-4 at a time and place you determine. One student will interview another on a subject of your and his/her choice while a third student videotapes it using a phone or camera. Keep it around 3 minutes or under. Bring video to class so I can upload them to the class blog and we’ll analyze them in class next week. This is assignment #2

READ: Chapter 16 on speeches.

WRITE: to hand in to class on Monday, Feb. 3, a list of three potential speeches/presentations we can visit on campus, ASAP in the next couple of weeks preferably during class time. (We will be writing the 650-word SPEECH paper which is assignment #3 about whichever speech we attend.)  In the written list that you bring into class on Feb. 3, include who is giving the speech and the topic, where/when it is being held, a brief couple of sentences of background information about the speaker and, if possible, the topic.  We’ll pick one of the speeches you’ve identified to attend.

FEB 3 Discuss chapters on leads, interview principles, speeches and your lists of upcoming speeches that we may be able to attend. In-class work on interview videos.

FEB 5 In-class work on blogs; write a 400-500 blog piece with photo based on your interview of a classmate. This is assignment #4.

NEXT: Write a brief profile pitch to present next class.

FEB 10  Present profile pitch; if time, work on blogs.

READ: Chaps. 2 and 3.

WRITE: 500 word “pre-first draft” profile with lead, nutgraph and quote(s). This is assignment #5

FEB 12:  Turn in pre-first drafts. Peer edit.

READ: Chap. 7 on the Writer's Art.

FEB 17  NO CLASS PRESIDENTS DAY

FEB 19  Depending on which speech we attend, 650-750 word speech story may be due

In-class, deadline writing assignment #6: In pairs, interview 4 people on campus on subject TBA; write 500 word story on-deadline with quotes from each of your sources.

READ: Chap. 8 on Features.

FEB 24 FIRST DRAFT PROFILE DUE (INCLUDE WORD COUNT) This is assignment #7. Discuss feature stories.

PEER EDIT first draft profiles. 

READ: Chapter 18 on Accidents and Disasters and Chapter 19 on Obituaries. Write Feature Pitch for next class.

FEB 26  FEATURE PITCH; if time, work on blogs.

MARCH 3 Discuss chapters on accidents and obituaries. In-class deadline assignment #8/obituary writing exercise  

READ: Chapter 21 on Courts.

MARCH 5  In-class work on feature and blogs, discuss Chap. 21 on Courts

MARCH 10  FINAL DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) This is assignment #9 In-class work on feature drafts. Discuss Issue paper requirements, including interviews with 2-3 "experts." Review for MIDTERM QUIZ.

READ: read Chaps. 11 on layered reporting. and 14 on sources.

MARCH 12 ***MID-TERM QUIZ *** If time, work on blogs; do advance work on your features as a pre-first draft will be due the Monday after you return from Spring Break. 

                          ***NO CLASS MARCH 17, 19: SPRING BREAK***

MARCH 24  PRE- FIRST DRAFT FEATURE (500 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) DUE. This is assignment #10.PEER EDIT. 

MARCH 26  FIRST DRAFT FEATURE DUE (1,000) words. This is assignment #11. In-class work on features, issue idea paper ideas and experts. 

NEXT: Issue pitch

MARCH 31  Issue pitch.

WRITE: 500-word Issue PRE-First Draft to peer edit next class. This is assignment #12.

APRIL 2  In-class work on Issue papers.  Peer edit Issue pre-first drafts.

READ: Chap 20 on police and Chapters 24 on Government  and 25 on Reporters and the Law. Review Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. Discuss progress on Feature and Issue papers.

APRIL 7  FINAL FEATURE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) DUE. This is assignment #13. Discuss Chapters 20, 24, 25, Open Meeting Law, definitions of slander etc

Work on Issue papers/blogs

APRIL 9  FIRST DRAFT ISSUE (1,000 words with 4 voices, 2 of whom are "experts") due. This is assignment #14.. PEER EDIT.

READ: Chaps. 26 on Taste in Journalism and 27 on Morality.

APRIL 14  Discuss Chapters 26 & 27; in-class work on issue paper, blogs

APRIL 16  FINAL ISSUE PAPER DUE. (1,000 words; include word count)  Assignment #15.  In-class work on Issue paper.  Review for FINAL QUIZ.

APRIL 21 NO CLASS PATRIOTS DAY

APRIL 23:  END OF SEMESTER QUIZ  Discuss summary/analysis writing. 

APRIL 28 – In-class deadline assignment 16: Watch film and write SUMMARY/ANALYSIS with quote(s) from someone in class (10 percent of final grade) on deadline, due at end of class.

APRIL 30 -  LAST DAY OF CLASS/RECAP Final blog presentations

Spring 2014 Calendar

So you want to be a reporter?

Final deadline assignment helpful links

Sut Jhally's "Dreamworlds 3"  transcript: http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/223/transcript_223.pdf

Fact sheet about "Dreamworlds 3"  http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/223/presskit_223.pdf

Really good account of the making of another video in collaboration with Sut Jhally, titled "Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music.  The name of the piece by the video's producer Kembrew McLeod is "Making the Video: Constructing an Effective Counter-Hegemonic Message in Only Forty-Nine Minutes.": http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=commstud_pubs  Good brief discussion of the way Jhally's use of film clips is supportable by the Fair Use Clause of the Copyright Act of 1976, "which protects the unlicensed re- production of media for the purposes of criticism, commentary and education."

"Women are More Likely to Be Half-Naked on Screen and Other Film Stats": Interesting infographic about a related topic: women in film: http://jezebel.com/women-are-more-likely-to-be-half-naked-on-screen-and-ot-1472083619 (Example of the stats: "Women on screen are way more likely than men to be not-talking and naked or half naked. Using data from Top Ten lists, the highest-earning woman in Hollywood makes about as much as the lowest-ranked men.")

Final assignment

The final assignment is a 600-word  deadline speech/event story. Plan to email it to me pasted in the email by 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25 if you are going to write about a speaker at the Tedx Professor Speaker Showcase, 6 p.m. in the Isenberg Flavin auditorium.

If you can NOT make it to this event, plan to write about a video I will show in class on Tuesday, Nov. 26. If you go to the Tedx event and send me your piece by 11 p.m., you do NOT have to come to class on Tuesday.

Your piece should include:

•  a solid lead that makes an assertion about the speaker's main theme
• a nutgraph that sums up that this was a Tedx event and a sentence explaining what that is, and that it is the second one held at UMass,  about how many people attended, who the speaker was that you are writing about and some of the key points he/she made that you will expand upon in your paper. (Or, if you do the Tuesday assignment, a video about what topic, directed by whom, and the year it was made and several key points about the video that you will expand upon in your piece.)
• quotes from the speaker (or speaker(s) in the video)
• Meaningful quotes from two people who attended

For more information about what Tedx, in general, is, check out the website: http://www.ted.com/pages/about

Here's what the UMass Journalism Facebook page says about the Monday, Nov. 25 Tedx Professor Speaker Showcase:

"Prof. Shaheen Pasha has been chosen to give a talk at the UMass Amherst Tedx Professor Speaker Showcase at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, in Isenberg's Flavin Auditorium. Pasha will give a talk entitled "What's Your Story?" about how her own personal narrative informed her work as a journalist on three continents."

More AP Tips

See:  Twelve Common Mistakes
and for titles: Quote Marks, Italics, Underline or Naked: AP vs Chicago style

Titles

• Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as professor, dean, president and chancellor when they PRECEDE a name. 

• LOWERCASE elsewhere. 

• Occupational titles are always lowercase, such as senior vice president Nancy Schmancy

TV, movie, book, newspaper titles:

• Use quotation marks for albums, TV shows, movies, works of art, speeches books, video games

• Do NOT italicize or put quotation marks around magazines and newspapers.

Vocabulary/words/spelling

• The words toward, upward, forward and backward do NOT end is S. For instance: She ran toward the front of the room.
• Use "more than" not over -- when you refer to numbers, for instance, More than 400 people came to the party. Not Over 400 people were at the party.
• Use fewer than -- not less than -- when referring to numbers. There were fewer than six people in line. Not -- There was less than six people in line.
• Blond is a noun for males and an adjective for males and females, as in She had blond hair. Blonde stands alone for a woman, as in, She was a blonde
• Fractions standing alone are spelled out, as in One-fourth of the students were absent.

Abbreviations:

• When using a month with a specific date abbreviate the following months Jan. (as in Jan. 1). Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spellout when using alone or with just a year. Don't abbreviate: March, April, May, June and July. Don't capitalize the seasons in general.
• For numbered addresses, abbreviate Ave., Blvd. and St. Not Road.

Capitalization

• Capitalize iPad and iPhone when beginning a sentence.. It's Google, Googling, Googled.
• Academic degrees are not capitalized, as in She had a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. 

Check out this blog/website

An example of a blog that functions like a website: http://icecoldland.com/adventure-diary/