Author Archives: Julie Dodd
One source can = many story ideas
After spending the afternoon with Mickie MacKenzie when she was a speaker in my classes, I was ready to grab my reporter’s notebook and iPod (with microphone) and go cover some of the stories she talked about. “The story” that she was in class to talk about was the Great American Cleanup event for Alachua […]
Writing a news release: Similar to but different from writing a news story
We’re now in the public relations section of Writing for Mass Communication. We’ve analyzed news releases and the stories based on those releases that have been published in the newspaper. We’ve dissected news releases and discussed leads, use of quotes, inclusion of sponsors and mission statement. We’ve talked about how news releases are similar […]
Spring practice begins for Gator football team
Florida cities have their own seasons. For cities like Ft. Lauderdale and Sarasota, one season is “snow bird” season. Those are the winter months when folks from out of state and out of the country come to Florida to enjoy the warm weather. For cities like Daytona Beach and Panama City, droves of college […]
A successful thesis defense
It’s that time of year — the time for thesis and dissertation defenses. Those academic rites of passage happen throughout the year. But more defenses occur this time of year, as the deadline for turning in defended theses and dissertations for a May graduation is the end of March. Today was Holly Meade’s defense, and […]
24 hours – more than 100 text messages
Lauren and I ran into each other on the way to class — literally. I asked her if she was text messaging when we almost collided in the hall. Yes, she said. How many times have you checked your text messages today? From when she got up (10 a.m.) until class (3 p.m.), she’d checked […]
Using an iTouch to read the news
One of the themes of today’s lecture was the role of technology in media jobs and the importance of students having technology skills to be competitive in today’s media job market. Before class, Megan and I talked about how she’s using her new iTouch — mainly for music and movies. I asked her if she’d […]
Looking for a news hook
My MMC 2100 lab students turned in their environmental, health and science stories today. The stories ranged from a fraternity that is participating in Adopt-a-Street to clean up litter to the increase of scooters on campus because of the rise in gas prices. We started class with a debriefing session, asking them to share their […]
Shopping for a story at Publix
With my grocery list and a plastic bag filled with plastic grocery bags, I’m off to Publix for a quick shopping trip. Typically I would put those plastic bags in the recycling container at Publix. But I’m motivated by Joni Rollen, a recent speaker in MMC 2100, to reuse the bags. Joni, a program assistant […]
A good reason to stay on the trail
A walk along the La Chua Trail in Paynes Prairie can give you the chance to see the University of Florida’s mascot namesake — a real gator. A park volunteer was patrolling the trail in a truck, using a pole to nudge a few gators off the trail to give all of us walkers a […]
But how do I find another source?
A student stayed after lecture to talk with me about the story she is working on – complications from having wisdom teeth removed. The story assignment for that week’s lab requires at least three sources. She has two: an oral surgeon and a UF student who has had his wisdom teeth removed. “What I really […]
Julie Dodd 