September 29, 2005

Thursday
Sense of Humor

Working in television and radio can be a stressful job, so it's important that you have a sense of humor to help you get through the stressful, high pressure times. Today, I want you to think back to something funny that happened to you, a friend or a family member. Write about it, tell me what happened and why it was so funny. Today I am just looking for you to be a storyteller. As always make sure the story is school appropriate.

September 28, 2005

Wednesday
PSA #2

Yesterday, we watched some examples of Public Service Announcements and you each thought of an organization you would thought deserved a PSA. Today, you must research your organization. If you have thought of some other organization that you would like to do a PSA for, it is ok to change your mind. Below is a list of other organizations you may be intersted in.

The Advertising Council, Inc
Afterschool Alliance
American Cancer Society
American Diabetes Association
American Psychological Association
American Stroke Association
Americans for the Arts
America's Second Harvest
Benton Foundation
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Boy Scouts of America
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Childhelp USA
ConAgra Foods' Feeding Children Better Foundation
Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities
Department of Justice
Earth Share
Environmental Defense
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Girl Scouts of America
Give Kids The World
Heifer Foundation
Habitat For Humanity
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund
Library of Congress
The Martin Luther King. Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association For The Education of Young Children
National Association of State Foresters
National Center for Family Learning
National Crime Prevention Council
National Education Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Fatherhood Initiative
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
National Urban League
National WIC Association
Office of National Drug Control Policy
People For the American Way Foundation
Prevent Child Abuse America
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The American Red Cross
Save The Children
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
United Nations Foundation
United Negro College Fund
US Army
US Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
US Department of Transportation / NHTSA
US Environmental Protection Agency
USA Freedom CorpsUSDA Forest Service

There are a lot more if the one you want to do is not on this list. Please see your instructor.

Once you have determined what group you are interested in doing your PSA, now you will need to do some research. and create a client profile. Below is an example. I choose the Girl Scouts of America, don't limit yourself to just the information below. If you find something online that you think is a great statistic or really intersting be sure to include that. You will use these to pitch your idea to your group.

Client Profile
Organization: Girl Scouts of America
Who it helps/benefits: Girls ages 5 – 18
Goals: Positive activities and life changing experience for young girls that helps build a positive self-esteem
What it offers: Role Models, Leadership experiences, learning opportunities, outdoor experiences, field trips, travel, cookies and scholarships
Why I picked it: I was a Girl Scout and it gave me my first introduction to Media. I also traveled to California and Washington, D.C. by myself on wider opportunities in middle school.
Other Statistics:
Membership: Nearly 4 million currently (more than 50 million past & present members) Internationally there are 10 million girls and adults in 145 countries.
Established: By Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, GA on March 12, 1929
Website: www.girlscouts.org

Here is a blank form for you to use.

Client Profile
Organization:
Who it helps/benefits:
Goals:
What it offers:
Why I picketd it:
Other Statistics:
Membership:
History:
Website & Other Contact Information:

If you finish your client profile, I want you to go back and continue to watch more PSA's online. Do not surf the internet, unless you are finding more PSA's to watch. :)

September 27, 2005

Tuesday
Public Service Announcements

Today we will finish up our Premiere Pro Tutorials for the week, then we will start on our first editing project: Public Service Announcements (PSA). What is a PSA? A PSA is short, non- commercial announcements that provide information to the public.

Broadcast television is required by the FCC to air so many PSA's a year for free. These PSA's benefit non-profit organizations that cannot afford the high prices of television and radio advertising. There is a catch, television stations are businesses looking to make money by selling advertising. Ads cost more, the more people who are watching them. That means tv stations want to sell more time during the day, which often pushes PSA to the early morning and overnight hours.

Below are some links that have examples of Public Service Announcements. You can also find a lot more by search Public Service Announcement on Google. Go to these websites and view the PSAs. Those of you on PC's will want to use Windows Media Player on the IMacs use Quicktime to view the PSAs. Once you view several PSA's I want you to think of an organization that you would like to do a PSA for and why you think they neeed one. Please write two complete paragraphs using a minimum of 3 complete sentences in each paragraph. If you have any questions please ask your instructor.

http://www.mediacampaign.org/mg/television.html
http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/PSAHome.html
http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.psaShowVideo&vd=psaE&bwd=qhbe

September 26, 2005

Monday
Hurricane Rita

The big news this weekend was Hurricane Rita. If you flipped on the news at anytime they were covering the storm. Go two of the three news websites: www.CNN.com, www.msnbc.com and www.foxnews.com. Look over the news coverage online.

1. Compare and contrast the coverage on the two sites.
2. How do each of the sites use media (videos and pictures)?
3. Did you watch any of the media coverage on television? If so, how did it compare to the coverage you are seeing online?
4. What did you like least about the web content?
5. What do you like best?
6. Describe the interactive elements. Did they help you understand the story more or less?