News Print Writing 2009

I needed to post this much, much earlier, but I have been crazy busy.  If you haven’t heard, KTV is tonight starting at 7:30!  We’ll be rocking a huge room at 欢唱 near 文灶.  I hope to see you all there… soon!

No Comments »
Filed under: Class Related

I hope all of you enjoy the last few moments of 2009 doing something other than sleeping or studying.  Get out there and live a little!  I owe you all thanks for teaching me many interesting lessons over the last two semesters of 2009.  I wish all of you have an exciting, fulfilling 2010!

In my last post of the year 2009… I bring you… more links to “Remembering the ’00s” and 2009 countdown features.  Please remember that in lieu of a feature story, I ask that you publish a thoughtful comment on the end of this decade and what it has meant to you here in China.

Need more ideas?  Well, starting with 2009–  here is a list of stories that created major buzz on the internet in China, according to a Shanghai-based writer.

Sina says it has a list for everything in 2009.  Not to be outdone, The New York Times has photos documenting every major moment of the last ten years.

And I found this “2009:  The Year of Twitter and Facebook” story to be quite ironically placed on Sina’s site. Is this some editors subtle form of protest for China blocking two of the most popular sites in the world?  What do you think?

7 Comments »
Filed under: China in the News, Feature Writing tagged Crazy Stories, Facebook, Feature Stories, Funny Stories, Lists, The End of the '00s

Children shot at the basket, drew pictures with color pencils, or raced with each other on inflated balls. Parents carried their babies in the arms, wheeled the prams, or pinned their children’s drawings on the board.

The Egret Islet Park was turned into a theme park by various entertainment facilities and children’s laughter. However, the theme was neither cartoons nor movies. Instead, it was environmental protection.

This Green Carnival held on Dec. 12 to 13, attracted hundreds of families to participate.

“As Copenhagen Climate Summit is running on the other side of the globe, we also need to do something for our local environment,” said Mou Jun, the director of Amway Corp. which was one of the organizers of this activity.

The Carnival consisted of 18 games, each with a green topic such as Back to Nature, Forest Police, Helping Dolphins and so on. Dozens of kids aged from 2 to 9 years old, took an active part in these games, accompanied by their parents.

“Kids learn things by osmosis, and that’s how this activity is going to work,” said Peng Jun, a reputed TV host, who served as the master of the opening ceremony.

Peng spoke highly of this carnival and regarded environmental protection as of great significance.

“The three most meaningful things are: education, charity and environmental protection. All the three share a same theme—Love. Education means to love the ones who will change our future. Charity means to love the ones who need our help. Environmental protection means to love all the people living on this homeland,” he wrote in his blog.

Besides the tempting games for kids, 72 exhibition boards were placed near the entrance on two sides of the central stage. The boards showed a variety of environmental issues ranging from the overall situation of environmental protection to the individual practices closely related to daily life. To cope with the Copenhagen Summit, a board introducing low carbon life was specially included.

“These games and exhibitions are very direct and easy for kids to understand,” a mother told our reporters. “The vivid pictures and illustrations work well for kids in low grades.”

She pointed to the cartoon character “Water” on the board and explained “Water’s Journey” to her 7-year-old daughter standing beside. When the mother asked the little girl whether she would play with water in the future, the shy girl slightly shook her head.

The Green Carnival was mainly for parents and children. However, the elderly did not want to miss this family weekend, either. The Municipal Art Union of the Elderly, whose members were mostly over 60 years old, volunteered to perform in the opening ceremony of the carnival. The carnival became a green weekend for three generations.

The Green Carnival started from Beijing on June 13 this year. This Xiamen Stop was organized by China Environmental Protection Foundation, Xiamen Environmental Protection Bureau and Amway Corp.

————————–

Word Count: 483

My Critique: I liked the narrative lede, but I would have liked it to be a little more concise with more unique actions.  I was intrigued by it, but also could not place where this might be.  Were there more carnival specific activities?  Grafs 2 and 3 should have been combined and written more concisely.  Throughout, the reporters did a nice job using short paragraphs, but also a bit of variation in length to keep my interest.  Quotes were highlighted by being separated into their own grafs.  Very nice.  I like the use of additional outside sources by using the blog comment.  I also enjoyed the comment from the mother.  But, one of this stories real weaknesses was the lack of a quote from a child.  A few short quotes from children about how they felt about the activity would have been a nice fit.  A quote at the end from a senior citizen would have been nice too.  Also, the background information in the very last graf could have been a little more informative– where is the next stop?  When does it end?  What’s next for Xiamen?

No Comments »
Filed under: Class Related tagged Story of the Week

Xinhua has posted a report by Outlook (暸望杂志?) magazine that exposes the system of secret jails used to stop Chinese citizens from petitioning the government for grievances.

The government has denied the existence of these “black jails.”  But now, after two state-run media companies have clearly documented the existence and extent of these illegal holding cells, officials will have to answer some tough questions.

Again, as I’ve said before, I believe the biggest problem with corruption lies at the local level.  Beijing needs to figure out better ways to protect all of its citizens.

3 Comments »
Filed under: China in the News, Hard News Writing tagged Black jails, Dissent, Outlook, Progress, Reform, Xinhua

I plan on briefly talking about some pointers for feature stories during the first half of our last class.  I’ll skip over some of the basics, because I believe Stuart had you look at features last semester.

To give you an idea of what I may ask of you in class, take a look at some of these recent stories.  Christmas, the most widely celebrated holiday in the West, has come and passed.  Now, the end of the year looms near, and more notably, the end of a decade.  Check out these simple features:

My favorite feature– here’s an alphabetical list of all of the things that have changed in our lives over the last 10 years.  I’d like you to read this and consider your own list, here in China, over the last ten years.

“China’s rise” has been called the most read online news topic of the last decade.  Some say the 20th century was “The American Century,” and the 21st will be China’s.  Has it started?

Time takes an expansive look back at the news of the decade, focusing on the hardships America endured.

19 Comments »
Filed under: China in the News, Feature Writing