Midterm Study Guide

PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORTING MIDTERM REVIEW

Please review readings, class handouts and lecture notes about the following topics. Remember that the PowerPoint presentations with the exact terms are on this website.

• Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
• Open Meeting laws/ Sunshine Laws
• Covering Meetings terms and concepts: For example, how do you determine the most significant information/action?
• Covering School terms: For example, what is Title IX? How do we measure the strength of schools?
• Covering Local Government terms: For example, which positions are appointed and elected? Who is in charge of infrastructure?
• Covering Police terms: For example, how are police departments organized?
• Covering Courts terms: For example, what is the standard of evidence in a civil trial and a criminal trial?
• Criminal Justice terms: For example, what is a misdemeanor and a felony?

In-class writing assignment

Hello. Your in-class writing assignment has TWO parts, based on the handout given in class.

(1) The first part is a short story based on the accident report and the additional information - found on page 4. Let's say the accident happened yesterday in your beat community.

(2) The second part of the assignment is a follow-up brief about driver Anthony Gould's first court appearance, two weeks after the accident. This information is on page 4 and 5. Do not assume that readers saw the original article.

There is no length requirement. You have the entire class to write the two pieces. Please email me your articles when completed. Good luck.

Your midterm study guide will be posted soon.

In-class writing assignment

Hello. Just a reminder that there will be an in-class writing assignment today.
Dr. Voss

Covering Courts

Criminal justice terms

FOIA FAQ

Here's a link to Frequestly Asked Questions about Florida's Sunshine Laws.

Covering Cops

Florida FOIA Audit

Here are the results of a Florida FOIA audit.

Note the findings on our area:
Orange County
All record requests in Orange County were met, with the exception of the Sheriff's Office. The requesting party was referred to the public-information office, who said the records might not exist, and that they would have to file a written request.

Capt. Angelo Nieves responded by saying the request was vague and that "We did as much as we could based on the circumstances. Obviously, there was an ongoing effort in trying to fulfill the request."[1]

While requests from the Orange County Public Schools office and county administrator's office were fulfilled, confusion still occurred. In both cases officials said that if the requesting party had spoken with the correct person in the correct department, that the records could have been easily provided.

Seminole County
Seminole County saw some confusion, but all three county agencies there met the requests.

Tips for Covering Cops

Here's a good Poynter article about covering cops.

Here's another good resource.

And one more on covering cops.

FOIA

FOIA Resources

U. S. Department of Justice General FOIA Information

U.S. Department of Justice FOIA Reference Guide

U.S. Department of State Document Collections

Florida Government Accountability Report Guide to Florida’s Government

Myflorida.com Portal to the State of Florida

Myflorida.com Department of Management Services

Myfloridacounty.com Official State Records

Insanely Useful Web sites From Sunlight Foundation

Freedom of Information Act

Higher Education

A scene from Albert Brooks' Mother

Covering Education

Education Resources

Here's a link for the Florida Department of Education.

Here's information on public education financing.

Here's information on teacher pay in Florida.

Here's a great resource on journalists and education coverage.

First 100-beat story

Hello. Just a reminder that your first beat story is due at the beginning of class today. Be sure to turn something in. Remember your source sheets.

Covering meeting tips

ASNE Tips on Covering Meetings

Try as it might, no daily newspaper can stay away from covering meetings. If it has to be done, is there a way to do it better? Maybe. Consider passing these ideas, assembled by Dr. Richard D. Hendrickson of Cleveland’s John Carroll University, along to your reporters:

Prepare. Find out as much as you can beforehand. That means reading the clips, getting the agenda and going over it with the officials. It's better to write the story as an advance, telling readers what's up and what might happen.

Take good notes. Number events in your notebook so you won't lose track of any discussion or action.

Clean up questions. If you can't hear something, or don't understand a discussion, mark that spot in your note book and then go up afterwards to quickly flip through it and ask questions.

List and pick. Afterwards, make a short, one-word list (from the numbered items in your notes) of each thing that happened, then circle or rank those that seem to have priority in terms of interest and impact.

Write for readers. Ask yourself, why is this a story for my readers, what's the point of it, then use that information to compose a lead. Try for a future angle, telling readers what is going to happen in the future as a result of the decisions.