Ideas for Multimedia Feature Story

My feature story is going to be a how-to story. The story will inform viewers and local musicians how to book their first show.  As a local musician in the Baltimore local scene, I have learned a lot of important things in my short time being in a local band, but I will inform people on some of the things I have learned along the way.   I will also talk to some members in other local Baltimore bands, and see what their method of booking shows is; and if they have any tips and advice they want to give to people who are looking to take their music from their basement to a real stage in front of a live audience.  Some local bands that I am going to try to contact are Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Back To Save The Universe, Stushido, and The Three Tree Experience. I will also write about the booking methods for different clubs/venues in the Baltimore Metropolitan area, and what they look for in a band to continue giving them shows at their club.  

News Article with Wall Street Journal Method

 An article I came across that displays the Wall Street Journal method was published today in the Baltimore Sun.  The article is titled "200 years later, college arsonist found?"  The article is about Bonnie McCubbin, a graduate of St. Mary's College, and her senior research on the burning of the world's first Methodist college, located in Maryland, nearly 200 years ago.  It is considered a cold case, but McCubbin went through a lot of research and ended up coming up with a strong conclusion of what she thinks happened on that day.  

The article starts off with an anecdotal lead giving a brief history of the burning of the school and what ended up happening back in the 1700s when it occurred. The next paragraph introduces Bonnie McCubbin and goes on to explain the details included in her research project about the case.  The nut graph comes when Bonnie McCubbin makes her conclusion of the arson case after the year's worth of research.  The rest of the article supports the main idea by  giving an in-depth look at the research she went through during her assignment.  A lot of the body of article has quotes from McCubbin talking about her experience while working on the project.  More sources are brought in as the story goes on including Julie King, McCubbin's project advisor and associate professor of anthropology.  The end of the story circles back to the beginning by talking about what McCubbin hopes to do with her research project and if she will do anymore research on the cold case that took place 200 years ago.  

The article can be found at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-md.coldcase03jun03,0,5815764.story

Summary Lead vs. Feature Lead

The summary lead is a sentence or two with the most important information that will attract the reader so he/ she will continue to read the story.  The summary lead is used in straight, hard news stories and covers most or all of the 5 W's (who, what, where, when, why) and the how.  The summary lead follows the inverted pyramid format, which has the more pertinent information in the first couple of paragraphs to get the attention of the viewer and inform them immediately of what is going on. The less important facts are towards the end of the story, after all of the major information has been covered.  

The feature lead follows a different format than summary leads.  Instead of focusing on just the major facts like the summary lead, the feature lead is used when the story and information is lighter.   Feature leads serve as a preview for what is to come later in the article.  The feature lead allows the writer to take a creative path and showcase their works to lure in viewers. The feature lead does not give the major information, but it gives a little story to tempt the viewers to continue to read the article and find out more.  Some of the different feature leads include: anecdotal leads, narrative leads, descriptive leads, question leads,and other feature leads.

My first example of an article with a feature lead was published this morning in baltimoresun.com titled "Bread baker Dale Dugan is a rising star".  The lead starts off explaining how the humidity in the hot summer air makes his bread making process a bit different than a normal day.  The feature lead goes on to explain how the Baltimore humidity from April is another ingredient in his tasty bread.  The article then goes on to explain more about Dale Dugan and his local bread making shop and the success he is having in the Baltimore area.

You can check out the article at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bal-ae.fo.dugan03jun03,0,5683571.story

My second example of an article with a feature lead was published yesterday in nytimes.com titled "New Stadium is Tough for Autograph Hounds".  The lead starts off by talking about how Yankee fans used to be able to wait outside of the old Yankee stadium for their beloved players so they could try and get an autograph and just see them for that couple of seconds when they were outside walking to their cars.  After two paragraphs the story shifts and goes on to explain how Yankee fans cannot wait outside to see the players  at the new Yankee Stadium because they moved the players parking lot.  The article continues to talk about fan reactions and their disappointments in the new set up.

You can check this article at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/nyregion/03autograph.html?ref=todayspaper

My Beat

As I stated in my introductory blog, music is my main passion in life.  When I'm not playing music I am constantly listening to different influences to learn new things constantly, and to broaden my horizons because there are so many good musicians and bands out there.  I have been playing drums and percussion for over five years in a couple of different bands, but the local band that we have had most success with is the band that I'm in now with my three best friends called Vespertine Movement.  We started in November 2007 and we had no clue how to go about booking gigs and were still very premature in that process. We are all good musicians and we have great chemistry when we jam, but we all had no experience with working on the business side of a band, and that is just as important as the music, because if you don't do an of the leg work you will never get anywhere in the local or regional scene.  In the past year and a half, we have all learned a lot and met a lot of club owners, promotional companies, and other local bands who share that same passion, and we have really stayed on top of our game with booking shows and promoting ourselves so we can get new people to hear our music.

In my MCOM 257 blog, I really focused on some of the things VM goes through as a band every day such as the recording process, booking shows, finding a rehearsal studio, and some show reviews, but my beat for this class will talk about other local bands I have come into contact with through Vespertine Movement, and what are some of their methods to booking shows and getting new fans to come out to support their music.  I will also talk about the different clubs and venues in the Baltimore area and what the owners look for in a band. I will also explain the processes it takes to get your own gigs and other things that local bands do to "make some noise" in their local area.  I am really looking forward to writing this blog throughout the semester, and I hope if any of you reading this are in a local band or wants to be,  you will use some of my blog posts to benefit you in anyway possible.

Jam On!

What's Up MCOM 258

Hey what's going on class. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Zach Wilson and I just recently turned 21 and closed out my junior year at Towson University.  I am majoring in Mass Communications in the journalism and new media track and minoring in electronic media and film.  During my first two years at Towson University I was a full time EMF major, but I realized this past fall semester that it wasn't what I really wanted to do with my life, so I decided to switch to mass communications and pursue my passion in writing.  

I am from Catonsville, Maryland, about 25 minutes away from Towson, and frequently go back and forth between here and there to see my friends and family.  I live at an off-campus apartment with my three friends by the Towsontown Center and love being out on my own.  My two biggest passions in life are music and sports.  I have been surrounded by them and been playing both since I was a young child, and will continue to do so until the day I die. When I graduate from Towson University, I hope to get a career in sports journalism and/or broadcasting, or writing about music and entertainment. I play drums for a local  jam band called Vespertine Movement, and my blog for MCOM 257 followed that and I wrote about the different aspects that local bands go through to get their name out there and things that have to happen both on and off the stage.  

During this summer session, I hope to broaden my horizons and learn new programs and techniques in the new media area, because it is becoming more prominent as time goes on and technology advances.  I also want to learn new things when it comes to writing news stories, and improve my writing because that is most important. I look forward to this class, and am ready to learn a lot more about techniques in journalism and especially new media.