Extra Credit Topical Blog Post

I attended the Magazine Club meeting to hear three editors from the San Francisco Panorama who are also a part of McSweeny's, a publishing company. The San Francisco Panorama was a project undertaken by three men: Jesse, Brian and Chris and the idea was to create a newspaper in a more innovative way. The Panorama was about 350 pages and in a sense it was magazine style with an immense amount of large graphics and a more youthful feel than the average newspaper. When talking about their inspirations and aspirations for the final project, Jesse stated that they took into consideration "things paper can do that the internet can't". All three of the editors stressed teh idea behind "having a print physical object in your hand is different than on a screen, no matter how big the screen is", as worded by Chris. Chris also stressed that the Panorama was an example into "putting effort into the way information is portrayed" inferring that this as an art has declined. Brian placed a lot of emphasis on the graphic design aspect of the Panorama. He believed it was necessary to "give the reader something they might want to keep and hang up on their wall".
Overall, I saw the San Francisco Panorama as a succesful project and experiment, and it is unfortunate that they will not be doing it again. It definitely gave me a bit of inspiration to follow my passion for journalism. The stories they featured were "subjects that got less exposure" and/or "subjects magazines have covered but in a more extensive way", as Chris put it, and I really admire that. The Panorama awakened that concept of writing for society and things that truly interest the people. It showed that the news does not always have to be about tragedy and the economy. There are other aspects of our world that are less covered, it is just up to the new generation of journalists to cover them in a more innovative way such as these three editors did.

Broadcast Style Excersise

NORTHQUEST AIRLINES ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IT IS CUTTING ITS DOMESTIC FARES BY UP TO 40-PERCENT FOR HOLIDAY TRAVELLERS.

"WE LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS A HOLIDAY GIFT TO OUR CUSTOMERS," SAID FRANK DEWITT, C-E-O OF NORTHQUEST AIRLINES.

DISCOUNTS VARY DEPENDING ON TRAVEL DATES. WITH THE DISCOUNTED, NON-REFUNDIBLE FARES, A PASSENGER COULD TRAVEL ROUND-TRIP BETWEEN BOSTON AND SAN FRANCISCO FOR AS LITTLE AS 3-HUNDRED AND 49 DOLLARS.

TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED BY JULY 1ST FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN NOVEMBER 20TH AND JANUARY 5TH IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S.

REVISEDVStories Rewritten for Broadcast

1. AN AMTRAK TRAIN IN RICHMOND STRUCK AND KILLED TWO PEOPLE YESTERDAY. THE TWO WERE HIT ABOUT A HALF MILE SOUTH OF THE RICHMOND AMTRAK STATION NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF CARLSON BOULEVARD AND OHIO AVENUE AT ABOUT 1:40PM. THE 39 PASSENGERS ON BOARD THIS TRAIN WERE ESCORTED ON FOOT TO THE TRAIN STATION AND WERE ABLE TO BOARD ANOTHER TRAIN. BY 5:35PM THE TRACKS WERE REOPENED FOR USE. THE VICTIMS HAVE NOT YET BEEN IDENTIFIED AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR DEATHS ARE STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION.

2.DRIVERS ON HIGHWAY 17 WERE IN STORE FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPANION JOINING THEM FOR THEIR COMMUTE TWO WEEKS AGO. THE HORSE THAT COMMUTERS SPOTTED GALLOPING ALONG SIDE THEM WAS A 22-YEAR OLD WHITE ARABIAN NAMED STAR WHO HAD ESCAPED FROM HIS MONTEVINA ROAD CORRAL.
STAR WAS REUNITED WITH 10-YEAR OLD ATHENA MUZUMDAR AND HER PARENTS AFTER BEING CAUGHT AND TAKEN TO AN ANIMAL SHELTER.
AT FIRST THE HUMANE SOCIETY OFFICIALS WERE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE HORSE'S RELEASE DUE TO THE BELIEF STAR HAD POSSIBLY BEEN MISTREATED. HOWEVER, ATHENA AND HER PARENTS HAD THE PREVIOUS OWNER CALL THE SHELTER TO EXPLAIN STAR HAS BEEN REGAINING WEIGHT AFTER EXPERIENCING HEALTH PROBLEMS.
THE BIGGER QUESTION OF THIS STORY IS HOW DID STAR ESCAPE IN THE FIRST PLACE? ACCORDING TO THE OWNER OF THE CORRAL SUZANNE CRISTALLO, THE ACCOMPLICE TO STAR'S RELEASE IS A PONY NAMED OREO WHO FINDS ENJOYMENT OUT OF SLIDING OPEN THE LOCKS ON THE METAL GATES THAT HOUSE THE HORSES.