Shattered Glass Extension Activity

Michael Finkel: In 2001 Michael Finkel wrote a story about child labor's in Mali. However when he got there he relied it was much more complicated. He fictionalized a boy from interviews with many laborers. When he returned inconsistencies were spotted in the story and he was fired. Shortly after this he found out that a man, Christian Longo, who killed his three children and wife was pretending to be him. Finkel was interested and contacted the man. Longo was a fan of Finkel's work and that's why he chose to use his identity. Finkel admits in "True Story" that he lied many times to make himself look better or appear less ordinary. Longo was found guilty and Finkel's book was published in 2005. 

I think that Steven Glass got what he deserved for what he did. I think that the fact checking process definitely needs to change and the people the stories are written about should be proved real. Something that could help would be if it was mandatory to have a picture of them included. "Shattered Glass" changed my perspective because I didn't know that someone could so easily print false stories and it makes me wonder how many more there are out there that we don't know about.

Responses to Shattered Glass

Option 1:

1. The problem with the scene is that he probably didn't actually pose as a psychologist and do interviews. If he had then it would have been okay but he probably made it all up and created false notes.

2. This scene probably stems from the anger he felt because his editor wasn't standing up for him even though he was lying, so his editor was justified in not standing up for him. He also knows that most editors will defend the writers stories so he knows he can get away with making them up.

3. This shows that he does things to keep people happy. He may have been making up the stories to receive praise and make people happy around him.

4. He may have been offering to resign so that they wouldn't find out that he made up many of his stories because if he left they probably wouldn't continue investigating.

5. He is getting mad at an intern for not having notes and acting like he always gets it right even though he does always have the notes many of the notes he has are false and therefore he is hypocritical.

feature exploration 2

1)tells the reader a story

2)lead opens the story and grabs the readers attention

3)don't use cliches

4)after the lead include a paragraph that gives a kind of overview of the story

5)use the transition, direct quote formula

6)use the 5w's in the main part of the story

7)the rest of the story should answer any question that weren't mentioned in the lead

8)the main sort should be more general

9)don't state the obvious

10)end your story with a powerful quote or tie it back to the beginning

Feature: Stephanie Stanley

Stephanie Stanley is a math teacher at Mccallum High School, but on the side she assists Coach Honeycutt in coaching girls soccer. “Being a coach is awesome” says Stephanie Stanley. She says that the relationship she has with the athletes is different with the one she has with her students because “you get to mentor them, build their character, and challenge them to be better student athletes.” Stanley played soccer in high school and remembers how good it felt to do well and is glad to see she is helping others do the same.

The hardest part of the coaching is balancing being a coach and a teacher. Stanley has to balance getting lessons plans and papers copied with being at practices and games while still sleeping! To do all this she must keep up with her players grades as well as remembering to grade her students work. Stanley was asked by Coach Honeycutt to be the assistant coach this year, although she had been wanting to help out with soccer before, but with her busy schedule it just hadn’t worked. This year however she made it work. “I would go and watch the girls play last year and got to know most of the players then.” says Stanley.

As a coach Stanley runs practices and helps Coach Honeycutt come up with drills. In high school Honeycutt played on defense while Stanley played offense, so the two divide the team and work with a smaller group of girls to teach them individual skills for the role they play on the team. Stanley also supports the athletes by going to the games.

“Closer relationships with students on a different level from teaching in the classroom.” Is one of the perks of coaching. Not only is the relationship with the students closer, but being a coach allows Stanley to get to know the athletics department of Mccallum. “The closer you are to your coworkers, the more enjoyable your job.” The only disadvantages of being a coach are the time commitments that Stanley has to make because she does have to juggle the work of being a coach with the work of being a teacher.

Stanley’s favorite thing about being a coach is the athletes she gets to work with. “They’re so much fun, hard working, challenging, and really close-knit. It’s great to lead them!” She is very proud of how far the team has come just this year. They had a game recently and according the Stanley it was the best they have played yet. This year the team has had to overcome some serious injuries but they worked hard and some girls even played positions they wouldn’t normally. Stanley says “it’s awesome to see them do whatever it takes for their team.”

Next year Stanley would love to continue assisting coach Honeycutt with soccer and watch the underclassmen get better as the team gets closer and plays for longer.

Bryant Gumbel

Bryant Gumbel seems like he lives a routine life in which he is always trying to replicate the image his father created in his mind. He is a introverted person. The story tells me this because he doesn't really socialize that much. Reilly was able to obtain that information through interviews with his mother mostly and maybe coworkers and friends. I think the street is fair and balanced but I think that it shed a bad light on Gumbel, I don't know if that was the intended point but it was the point I got. The article succeeded in climbing the ladder by telling us about Gumbel as well as revealing the universal truth that some people don't really get along with other people because they're not compatible intellectually. This story was made up of signatures more than samples because throughout the story we were given more information about Gumbel and so by the end we had an understanding of his personality. The essential purpose of this story is to show how Gumbel got where he is today and to tell people who he really is. The reader can gain from this article that some people have a harder time getting along with others. I don't think Gumbel would like the story very much because it sheds him in a bad light and it doesn't make him seem like someone that you'd want to meet or be friends with. Reilly had an obligation to tell the story because people see Gumbel on TV all the time but they don't know who he really is and Reilly helped them understand the real Gumbel.

Sports profile summary

When writing a good sport profile you first need a conflict, in order to make your story easy to read but don't make up conflicts that aren't real. You next must have a angle for your story, like the conflict should be centered around the person your writing about. You also must give a backround on the setting your story takes place. Your main character, much like in any other story, must be fully developed and not some bland borin person. Write like you know what your talking about, research and learn extensively about the subject so your work becomes better. Make sure the person you profile is activly doing something that makes the sotry keep going other wise it can get a little boring. Get as much access as possible to the persons life, hangout with them, follow them and talk to family and friends. Use a tape recorder because nobody can write down every detail. Be patient and nice and piece together what you learn to create a story. Lastly emphasize a beginning, middle and end in your story.

lead scavenger hunt

1. John Sack is an integral part of Esquire lore. 
description (person)
http://niemanstoryboard.org/storyboard-category/notable-narratives/

2. Ken Armstrong and T. Christian Miller found themselves in the odd position of moving from competitors to collaborators, over the course of a phone call or two and a few emails.
contrast or description (event)
http://niemanstoryboard.org/storyboard-category/notable-narratives/

3. Was artist Larry Rivers a sexual swashbuckler, breaking taboos and changing the way we think of the human body, or did some of his work have truly disturbing elements?
question lead
http://niemanstoryboard.org/storyboard-category/notable-narratives/page/6/

Obituary

Audrey Victoria Sayer was a beautiful woman with and even more beautiful heart, she died unexpectedly and tragically yesterday on February 14, 2036. Her death along with sister wife Claire Caudill shocked millions of fans and viewers in America and the world. Sayer was born in Austin, Texas in the year 2000, she and Caudill shared a tv show that aired every Sunday afternoon and was very successful. 

The story of the deaths is hard to understand and much like a movie, "I was very much I love with all of them." said Justin Bieber their husband. It was known that he had two wives, but there had been another. "I had a thing on the side with a younger woman and I had been bringing her gifts." Bieber says. Both Caudill and Sayer thought the gifts were for the other and were beginning to get jealous. "I guess the last straw was Valentine's Day," said Bieber "I told them I was leaving the house to go buy something and when I came back my world had changed." While he was gone the two woman so filled with jealousy attacked each other and it got so violent the result was their deaths. 

Although the the death of Audrey Sayer was tragic, her life was quite the opposite. She worked with a charity which helped hungry children in 3rd world countries and was often traveling and trying to make a difference, yet she always found a way to make it back in time for her Sunday show. She will be remembered not by her death but by the colorful life she lived and the people she helped.

feature&warm up

Current Events Warm-Up

The winner of the Iowa debate was Ted Cruz, then Rubio and last Donald Trump but the pools where very close so they all are still close together. Next the candidates that didn't do so well in Iowa can try to do well in New Hampshire.

Feature Exploration Day

I liked them, they were both very detailed and had good writing styles but I liked "It's an Honor" better because it was an interesting idea to have the story be about a grave digger who is having to dig a grave for a president. Also the other ones writing style was detailed but towards the end gave to much information and it got boring. I liked the writing style in "it's an honor" because Breslin have little details that made the sotry more interesting to read.