TNATN style rules

By: Brian Steffen

The votes have been tallied in the two sections of BNR, and here are the style rules — beyond those of the Associated Press Stylebook — that will govern posting this term.

First, on bylines: Bylines should appear as mine does above, with "By:", followed by your first name and last name in standard upper-and-lowercase lettering. Bylines should also appear at the top of the text of each posting.

Next, on headlines: Headlines should be in what we call "downstyle" — that is, only the first letter of the first word of the headline should be capitalized. Of course, the first letter of each word in a proper noun should also be capitalized.

And on questions in headlines: We've decided to permit them, but to use them sparingly. Remember, that journalists generally answer questions rather than raise them. Keep in that mind as you come up with headlines that help sell your post rather than equivocate.

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Couragous or unintelligent?

By: Kayla Miller

We all know that America is still at war with Iraq. We also know that our courageous soldiers are fighting hard for our country everyday and putting their lives in danger to protect our country. But we have to realize that our soldiers are not the only ones in danger over in Iraq.

From when the war started in 2003 to March 1, 2006, 61 journalists have died, and 39 have been kidnapped according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) from the article of Broadcast Engineering News (BEN). And do not forget the anchorman and cameraman that were extremely injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq, too. What are these reporters thinking?

I mean, why are there journalists in the middle of a war zone? Okay yes, I respect them for giving us insanely close information about the war, but isn't it unintelligent to send reporters in the middle of war without any training or great military knowledge? Yes, our country knows we are at war, what more do we want? Let our trained soldiers fight, and leave the journalists at home. That is all America needs is to have more of our people die for no good reason.

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There is hope yet! Maybe...

By: Katie Anthony

"Journalism isn't dying. It's just evolving." That quote was taken from an article written by G.W Miller III, who is a journalism and society, magazine article writing, and entrepreneurial journalism professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not only does he teach those classes but he also is one of the professors that heads Temple News, the campus newspaper.

G.W Miller III seems like the type of professor that everyone dreams about having. He's blunt when he needs to be, but he cares enough to tell you the truth. He's grown such a bond with these students that he works with everyday, he worries about "encouraging college students...to pursue an industry in the throes of a very public meltdown."

But wait, wasn't this the same guy that is quoted saying that journalism is evolving? I found his article to be extremely lengthy, though I found myself not being able to stop reading. He makes a point that people still want information, they just are finding different means of getting their information. In my opinion, if we can adapt the journalists to those new means of information seeking, then journalism can make a come back. It's just a matter of adaptation.

John DiCarlo, who works with the Temple News staff along with G.W. Miller III, encourages his students that journalism is a teaching tool to help you get involved with many aspects of life. "The bottom line: If you have a passion for this, don’t get scared off," DiCarlo stated. "The skills you learn here are going to pay off no matter what you wind up doing, even if you don’t go into journalism.”

I think, both DiCarlo and Miller to have very strong opinions about bringing strength back into the journalism department, and I believe they have very logical and realistic ways of doing so. They both work daily with the future journalists and also are surrounded by journalism teachers and even some writers for well known newspapers.

Whether it's merely adapting, or if it's giving students the encouragement to pursue their dreams, these two men seem to be determined to bring hope back to future journalists.

But in all honesty, not everything is positive right now in the journalism world. They know this. They frequently discuss the different opinions throughout the article about how it is hard work to find a job, but the hard work is well worth it. They have seen their students reap the benefits of their hard work, they've seen countless people get jobs for putting in the effort...so why not at least try?

It seems like so many people IN the media today are solely focused on the negativity when it comes TO the media. How can a journalist sit there and write an article about how his or her coworkers are losing jobs because there's been a loss in profits? I think those same journalists need to spend time focusing on how they can improve and adapt to the changing media standards of society.

I leave you with this thought, the one sentence out of the entire, very lengthy, article that stuck with me even hours after I read it. Miller sees journalism as being like this, "Being a journalist has taught me to appreciate every moment of every day in a way that lawyers, financial analysts and advertising executives never will."

Living the dream, isn't that what it's all about? Regardless of the sacrifices..

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