Second-Day Lead

After searching a six block perimeter around the Norton home, police are still searching for 4-year-old Angela Melissa Norton, who went missing from her crib 24 hours ago.

Sport Management Program/ 1st Story

Pullman - After the sport management program was put on the chopping block during last April's preliminary budget cuts, students, faculty and alumni were able to convince Washington State University administrators to save the program with hopes of moving it to the college of business.

The cut would have affected as many as 300 students and eliminated the program from the only school in the northwest that offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees in sport management.

The news came as a major surprise to the sport management faculty because the program has been in such high demand. Even with the program being as competitive as it is, they only allow 30 students to certify each semester said Dr. Cathryn Claussen, the sport management professor in charge of writing a proposal to the business college. This competition has driven the minimum GPA to nearly 3.0.

According to Claussen, the program is a financial asset as well. The program has drawn students from around the country to enroll at WSU, allowing the school to benefit from the out-of-state tuition costs. The university also benefits from student volunteers. The program requires students to complete practicum hours, many of which are done at university sporting events.

“We received a lot of support from Jim Sterk and the whole athletic department,” said Claussen. “They make use of a lot of our students and have saved an estimated $60,000 in staffing at WSU events last year.”

Not only were these points brought to the minds of university administrators, but students and alumni showed an outpour of support to save the program through various actions. A campus protest was organized on the Glen Terrell Mall, letters were mailed to WSU President Elson Floyd and a 1,100-member Facebook group was created in an effort to show support for the once eliminated program.

On June 15, 2009 all the efforts proved successful when Floyd released the finalized budget plan which included a proposal to move sport management to the college of business.

Even though Floyd and university administrators changed their minds, problems still exist with their new decision.

The college of business has seen 16 percent budget cuts over the past two years and has lost 15 percent of its faculty, causing the college's administration to be weary of adding another financial responsibility.

Associate Dean David Whidbee is hesitant about adding a program in tough economic times, especially one that, in his opinion, is not an ideal fit into a business school.

“For us to maintain our business school accreditation through the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), any program we offer must meet a certain set of standards,” Whidbee said. “In its current form, I'm not sure the spot management program would meet those standards.”

Administrators in the college are worried that sport management students do not receive enough business core classes to be accepted to the college without altering the program's curriculum. Claussen has engaged in talks with Whidbee and others, to try and limit these changes.

“The college of business is working with sport management to try to figure out what makes the most sense for both the sport management program and the College of Business,” Whidbee said. “It will take some time, but I am hopeful we will figure out something that enhances both programs.”

Although the change would be new to WSU students, Claussen said more schools around the country are making the switch to the business colleges.

There is no set deadline for an agreement to be made, but Claussen said she hopes to submit an official proposal sometime in October and wants to have the plan in action by next school year.

Livestation

The first thing I noticed about the channels on Livestation was the primary focus is on global news. This is very different from U.S. stations where the main focus is national events and may not even be important issues. I was actually glad to see these stations commenting on serious world topics instead of things like fashion in the White House. I was also surprised at the quality of production. Each of the channels had high production value and looked of similar quality if not better than American news programs. For some reason I had this idea in my mind, and I think others do as well, that foreign news programs are not as aesthetically pleasing as some in America.

1. I don't think Al Jazeera can reach the forefront of Americans minds if the station is limited to the internet. There are too many news sources and websites(whether they are credible or not) for Al Jazeera to become a prominent outlet in American society. If the station moved to cable, it would be one the 100 or so channels people can choose from.

2. Al Jazeera should be allowed to broadcast in the U.S. The quality of reporting seems acceptable and, in my opinion, has less bias than some stations that are on TV right now. It would provide a more global news source and may get Americans the think about issues outside their nation.

3. The biggest differences in style between Al Jazeera and U.S. stations is that Al Jazeera moves at a quicker pace, and seems to not worry about fun feature stories. American anchors use less time transitioning between topics which made a surprising difference in flow. While this allows a chance for more news in the segment allowed, it might not keep the viewers interest as well as American shows. After watching about 15 minutes of the program, I felt like reporters were sort of droning on.

4. From what I have seen, Al Jazeera follows their own guidelines for the most part. They seem to be fair and unbiased. They really focus on the "victims" or people which is exactly what they say in there code of ethics. The only place they stray is distinguishing between material, opinion and analysis. I feel these three are all blurred in the newscasts.

Summary Lead

"Clark County's employment picture darkened in August as the jobless rate climbed to 13.9 percent--highest of Washington's 39 counties." --www.columbian.com

This is a summary lead because it tells the when, where, and really emphasizes the what of the story. This statistic is the basis for the whole story and if a reader wanted or needed to take one piece of information from this story, I think this would be it.

Story Ideas

Story 1: Students at WSU have been informed of the swine flu outbreak by a wide variety of sources. Whether it be news reports, WHO Information, or a letter from the president of the university, swine flu has been brought to the forefront of our minds. I would look at different media sources to see how they frame the outbreak and whether it has contributed to some of the paranoia around campus. This would be a Daily Evergreen-type story. I would talk to a few students and Paula Adams, the comunication coordiantor of the Health and Wellness Center to get opinions and information.

Story 2: Martin Stadium was in the middle of being renovated when the economy plummeted. A struggling football team does not help the cause either. I would talk to John David Wicker and see when the construction will be finished and how a bad economy and football team has affected the process. I could also talk to Todd Thrasher with the WSU Athletic Foundation. This is important because Martin Stadium is a focal part our campus to students, alumni and the community in general. This article could proabably post in either the evergreen or the Daily News.

Story 3: The sport management program was on the verge of being cut this year, but with a strong show of support the program was saved. Now the education department is being "encouraged" to take in the SpMgt program. I would like to see how both sides feel about the situation, and how it will affect the sport management program. This is particularly relevant to all SpMgt and Education students and teachers, but might be interesting to all WSU students to see how the economy has affected there school. This would be an article that could be read in the Daily Evergreen. I would talk to Dr. Claussen, a sport management professor and Judy Mitchell, the Dean of the College of Education.

Texaco Vs. Ecuador

After watching the 60 minutes segment I thought the reporter did fairly well upholding the "Murrow Standard." Most voice over dialogue in this piece were simple facts or statements, and in my opinion, did not show much bias. When the reporter did say something opinionated or controversial, he attributed it to the individual that said it. I also think he asked fair, and straight forward questions, with maybe one or two exceptions in the Texaco attorney interview. The only place where the report strayed from the high standards of traditional journalism is when it omited crucial facts. The second report shows evidence of sewage dumps and the striking similarities between the plaintiff's and court-ordered damage reports. Both of these points should be included in any report on this subject.

While the second report did make some good points, it was hard to ignore the obvious bias in favor of Texaco. The journalist used some phrases that demean the plaintiff and the citizens of Ecuador. But one major spot I had a problem with is when he mentions the photos of the damage report.

"Then there are photos to consider. The man in the red shirt is Donald Muncaillo, apparently assisting Cabrerra's so-called independent search for evidence. Muncaillo is a leading activist with the Amazon Defence Coalition, the designated recipient of any court awarded damages in Ecuador. In this shot, Muncaillo is wearing a yellow shirt, Cabrerra is seen leaning against a tree."

These photos do not provide significant evidence of anything, and the reporter should not have implied that corruption seems obvious. Even if they did prove something, it is not a reporter's job to make assumptions.