Or have you ever pondered the subtle differences (to an outside ear) between a Cape Bretoner’s and a Newfoundlander’s speech?

Then the International Dialects of English Archive is the website for you. It has recordings of accents from Alabama to Vietnam. Really enjoyable browse, I have to say. I still can’t do accents… but it’s fun to listen to them.

I think I’m a lot like a mumbly Ontario Sixteen —- how bland.

And honestly, I am sorry.

I am sorry not so much because I feel an obligation to this blog - far from it. (Clearly.)

More, I am sorry because I feel that I need to keep my hand in on the writing side of things. At the moment, I write greens. This is a marginally technical term, so I will explain.

A green is a script, more or less, for a live interview that a host of a radio or television program might conduct during their program. It consists of an introduction that explains the basic story that is to be discussed and ideally teases the reader into sticking around for the interview. It sets the stage for the interview that is to come. Then, it normally lists between five and seven questions that the host will ask the guest. Finally, it includes a detailed background that is meant to give the host all the information he or she needs to understand in order to do the interview.

That’s right, these things aren’t ad-libbed.

Precise attention must be paid to the ordering of questions, the facts laid out in the introduction, and a good teaser/promo must be written to induce people to stick around.

Green-writing is a specific skill. The best greens are both clever and informative, without giving the story away. Unexpected twists of language are encouraged, as are humour and brevity.

It teaches you to write a story in a few words. This is an important skill in all types of journalism. But by its nature a green is an incomplete story - it is written in such a way as to induce the guest into explaining the rest of the story. The guest is more interesting than the host reading a script.

I am trying to figure out how to apply those radio-writing skills to narrative writing. It’s tough. This is why I feel I need practice.

I mean, could the disjointed nature of this post lead to any other conclusion? Look for more - hopefully more straightforward - posts in the near future.

A suspicious item was found on a bus, said Randy Schmidt, UBC Associate Director of Public Affairs. He could not give further information on the nature of the incident.

Officers at the scene would not say what kind of incident occurred, only identifying it as a “police incident.”

“Can’t say anything about it now, but you’ll hear about it,” said a UBC Security officer.

Transit officials warned that they did not know exactly how long the bus loop would be closed, hinting that it could be for up to several hours. Most buses are still running and have been rerouted to Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard, where students can catch the 99.

The smaller trolley bus loop nearby is unaffected.

“Occasionally these kinds of things happen at exam time, so I don’t know if there’s a link,” said Schmidt.

UPDATE at 2:30 PM: The Vancouver Sun reports that things are back to normal.

Vancouver Sun story

I’m working on a presentation on online journalism ethics right now. I need to cover the ethics of various forms of non-blog participatory media, particularly areas where mainstream media reporters and citizen journalists might interact, such as Twittering live events, allowing citizen content on news sites and the finer points of responding to emails from readers.

Big topic, is what I have to say. I’m thinking of bringing in some examples, such as Twitter coverage of the Mumbai bombings, to show how citizen journalism might be useful for news and even help out mainstream media, but has some risks such as how easily false information can be disseminated. I may also discuss some conversations I have had with online reporters regarding their thoughts on a lot of citizen-generated content.

Frankly, tomorrow will be a busy day. Wish I had to present the chapter on blogging instead.

Yeah, I’m not making it to the Olympics anytime soon.

Anyway, turning to important matters, like Star Trek. Apparently the movie’s producers are following in the footsteps of every anticipated blockbuster these days and is engaging in transmedia storytelling/advertising. They are releasing a few teaser comics for the iPhone before the movie comes out, similar to the way the Batman movies used comics, clever websites, and real-world scavenger hunts to build up interest for those movies.

These campaigns can be very effective. Does anyone remember “I Love Bees“? It took a long time before anybody figured out that it was an ad for Halo 2. The “Why So Serious” campaign for “The Dark Knight”, like the current Star Trek comic book ads, left no doubt as to what the purpose was, but was still interesting and engaging. You hoped that tiny bits of the plot would be revealed as you worked your way through the puzzles.

The Star Trek comic books are a little different, first because you have to pay for them, and second because they’re not interactive or really even mysterious. They just offer teasers for the movie and a way for Star Trek fans to get more Star Trek.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

• 251 words
• 0 freebies remaining

I ended up being disappointed. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places, but as far as I can tell, no one is doing innovative things online with their international coverage. The Washington Post for example is generally known as a leader when it comes to online storytelling. Sadly, their international coverage is sometimes flashy, but often shallow. One exception is a recent package on Uganda that includes lots of video interviews that provide a helpful introduction to the conflict. On the other end, the BBC and New York Times have solid coverage, but tend to just post some text and maybe a bit of video, even for features.

Surprisingly, some of the best examples of online reporting on international issues come from the New York Times’ blog, The Lede. A recent entry on Afghan TV stars becoming illegal immigrants to the US is a really nice treatment of a fairly simple but quirky news story.

Here’s why:

• Links. They link to everything that might be relevant to the story, and not only that, they link to things that will actually further your understanding if you click on them, or at least be interesting.
• Relevant video. The videos posted add to your understanding of the story. The text describes how a young Afghan reality show contestant danced and pushed back her veil during a song. You can watch that video right there. Same with the TV interviews that are mentioned throughout the article.
• Content and writing. The story is well-researched and engaging. There probably isn’t a ton of original reporting in it (like most blogs) but it quotes from multiple sources and gives you the option of finding out more if you want to.The writing is fun without taking the subject lightly and it keeps you interested.

If this kind of treatment was taken off the blog pages and put into at least some of the Times’ actual stories, coupled with original reporting, you would have quite an excellent international news site.

• 396 words
• 0.5 freebies remaining

I came across an interesting article in the Toronto Star that had this to say:

Journalism schools don’t train students just for journalism jobs any more than political science departments train students just to be politicians. In journalism school, students learn how to spot the key data and arguments of any issue; how to analyze that information and how to write clearly and concisely. Journalism graduates also gain precious knowledge about one of society’s most powerful forces – media.

This is undoubtedly true. I did my undergrad at Carleton, which has a large journalism program. I wasn’t in journalism, but I knew enough people who were to see a bit about where they hoped to be.

Many originally entered the program thinking that they wanted to be journalists someday. Many of these people were turned off by the brutal first year or two, and decided to switch out to another major. Maybe this is becuase of the way the program is set up at Carleton - popular opinion suggests that the first year is meant to cull all the undesirables from the pack, and part of it is certainly the normal major-switching that most people do in their undergrads.

I think this changes in a graduate school of journalism. The people there really do want to be reporters, for the most part. Not all want to do daily news, but they all want to be involved in media. Everyone came from a very different background, but they all have similar goals.

And good for them (us). It’s a rough job market, but like that same article suggests, “there seems to be a hunger to get out there, get it figured out, get it done.” Darn right.

• 272 words
• 0.5 freebies remaining

So I’m thinking about possible internships and jobs for the summer and next year. I think I’d like to work on a good investigative publication or investigative team. This is of course inspired by my thesis work. I’ve been looking around in Canada, and I think I have a handle on what’s available here. There seem to be more opportunities for that sort of thing down in the US, but I am less familiar with their media landscape. Something I need to figure out. I think that something like that might be a good job to apply for though.

• 174 words
• 0.5 freebies remaining

What exactly is getting reported?

According to this study, what we’re seeing is more local news coverage, especially of things like crime and education. There’s also more sports coverage, and other topics on a local level.

We’re also seeing more editorial. I wonder, what of? If there’s less content, then what is there to editorialize?

Another area that hasn’t been cut is investigative reporting, interestingly enough. Editors seem to regard it as an essential part of a newspaper’s job. This is encouraging. Clearly there are some parts of a paper too important to cut.

The saddest thing to me about this study is that the length of stories is decreasing, and the page space allocated to news is decreasing too. I guess this means more ads. While it does say that the stories that do get published tend to be more analytical, there is less space overall.

On a lighter note, am I the only one who  is grossed out by the word “newshole”?

• 175 words (yes, I’m a little light tonight.)
• 0.5 freebies remaining