A Taste Of China For A Cheap Price

 The Mayflower Chinese Restaurant located on Nelson Street in Rockville, MD is serving up hot fresh food for a reasonable price, despite the economic downturn that has left many other businesses on the cusp of non-existence.

The restaurant has been in business since 2004 specializing in Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine. The prices for a meal range between $1.25 to $11.95. The lunch special meals are below $6.oo.

Part of the restaurants success is there ability to keep their prices fixed. 

"We just keep it regular price," restaurant owner, Joyce Kim said.

 For college student like myself, this restaurant is perfect. The prices are reasonable and the portion of food is more than generous. What more can you ask for?

Feature Presentation

With a society that has a shortening attention span it is essential for writers to grasp the public's attention in a creative and interesting way. 

Sometimes visual aids such as pictures may draw a person to an article in a paper or magazine, but what happens when there are no pictures to attract readers.  

Writers have to figure out a catchy way to lure potential readers to their article with a great feature lead. If a writer is capable of getting a person to read the feature lead than there is a greater chance that the person will read the entire article. Feature leads introduce the article and give a snippet of what to expect of the article. 

Feature leads differ from the traditional hard news summary leads because it enables the writer to be more creative. Instead of giving the the classic who, what, when, where, why, and how, which are the elements of a summary lead in a news story, feature leads have more flexibility and does not attempt to compress the 5 W's and H into one sentence.

An example of a feature lead is presented in an article titled Shaq's Last Hurrah by the Washington Post sports columnist, Michael Wilbon. His article discusses NBA player Shaquille O' Neal possible retirement.

He entices the readers to his article with a story telling like fashion. His feature lead states, 

"First, Shaq was in a suit. He was the only all-star in a suit. And a tie. And vest...like it was a special occasion that needed to be formally observed." 

Another example of a feature lead is also seen in a Washington Post article titled You Gotta Love the First Lady. No, Really, You Have No Choice.

Staff Writer, Robin Givhan begins her article with, "The rise of first lady Michelle Obama as an icon--of fashion, black womanhood, working motherhood and middle-class success--has propelled her onto a pedestal that would surely give the average person vertigo." The article continues to discuss Michelle Obama as a person and how she's a role model for women.

Overall, feature leads offer interesting and descriptive ways to begin an article.

Bon Appetite!

If you love pancakes or french style food or food in general then this article titled Crepes- a -Go-Go in Dupont Circle located on the Washington Post website is the perfect read.  

In the middle of the hussle and bussle of Dupont Circle is a restaurant the specializes in crepes.  

The Washington Post staff writer, Jane Black describes the different types of mouth watering crepes that are available at this restaurant, that has a chain of locations in California and Maryland. This article incorporates the writer's opinions and experience at Crepes-a-Go-Go. 

The article had precise details of the look and taste of the various crepes, which made me crave for some food; however, she did not insert interviews or customer opinions. 

Public opinion of the restaurant or the crepes would have been a nice add to this delightful article.

Beat Blogging

Brainstorming and developing a good school topic for a beat proved to be challenging for me.

I transferred to Towson a year ago and I never felt apart of the community within the university, so I figured doing a beat based on the school would not work out so well.

Since I live in the Bethesda area which is right next door to our nations capital, Washington D.C. I thought a good beat would consist of finding cheap eats and places to see of and around D.C.

I think that this area is great and fun place to explore, and I will try to discover interesting places that most people over look while visiting the area.

Undecided

Hello,
My name is Rozalyn Reed. I am excited to have excelled to MCOM 258 and I am looking forward to improving some of my flaws. Last semester I felt uncomfortable conducting interviews with strangers, but I hope that this semester I can overcome that.

I also want to become more familiar with computer programs like soundslides and video editing etc. I am undecided about the career path I want to take once school is done (I have commitment issues). It is difficult to choose what career I want to do for the rest of my working life. I love having options.

Currently, I am interested in broadcast journalism, literary writing (feature stories in magazines), or being a columnist. I think being a columnist will give me the opportunity to bring out my creative and unique style.

Don't Break the Rules

In chapter 14 and 15 of Thom Lieb's text discuss the legal and ethical issues of being a journalist.

 The material covered in the two chapters are vital for journalist to understand and follow, but there are three important topics that I believe should be followed. 

The first important rule that journalist should not break is accuracy.

 It is essential for journalist to make sure that the information they gather and report on is correct and factual.

This will build a journalist's credibility and  reputation because readers can trust that they are being informed on the right data.

Stressful deadlines and pressures from the editor can cause smart journalists to make dumb decisions such as plagiarizing and fabricating stories. 

This ethical issue has been violated by many journalists. For instance, former staff writer of the New York Times, Jayson Blair plagiarize a story and he was discharged by the prominent paper.  

It is crucial for journalist not to use another person material without getting permission or to the cite sources if they borrow material. It is also important not to fabricate stories just to meet a deadlines because one could loose their creditability among readers.

Finally, it not ethical for journalist to use deception to gather information. Deceiving sources is not morally right. 

It is the responsibility of the journalist to get the truth and to do it by just means. 

Capturing the Moment

To the left: Towson University Sophomore Kierra Suggs stands outside the Van Bokkelen Hall building during a Journalism and New Media I class assignment.

To the right: The Delta Faternity at Towson University raises funds for Testicular Cancer in 48 hrs. Eddie Koury, 20 who is majoring in Finance helps to raise funds by staying on the see saw for several hours. He has participated in the fund raiser last year.

So I tried to upload my photo of the Towson Tiger Statue it for some reason it wouldn't allow me to do so.

But here are the pictures that were taken during class on Wednesday, the 29th of October. Taking pictures can be fun, but there are a few tips that can easily improve one's photos. For instance, when taking a portrait of someone do not back them up against a blank wall.

It's boring and not as natural as taking a portrait with a background or setting that the person is in. Another tip that works to improve pictures is using different angles.

It is a simple adjustment that can make a photo better. Another suggestion is to always fill the frame. If you do not fill the frame you may cause confusion on what the subject or focus of the picture is.

Lastly, it is always good to be prepared for a picture shot. When taking stop action photos like many sports photographers do, you should always be in position and ready to take a priceless shot.