James Scholar Blog # 12

Essence profile: Q & A with Holly Robinson
http://www.essence.com/entertainment/celebrity_spotlight/holly_robinson_autism_celebrity_apprentice.php

GQ style advice: solid ties


Elle how-to: “Kiss Redness Goodbye” video
http://videostar.elle.com/videos/73034605001/kiss-redness-goodbye

Marie Claire variety:
Caucasian model


African-American model


Vogue Classic article and look:
http://www.vogue.com/voguedaily/2010/03/and-the-winner-of-the-first-british-fashion-fund-iserdem-moralioglu/

James Scholar Blog #11

After analyzing the techniques, target audiences, and selection of articles of five different fashion magazines, I want to give them awards for best profiles, fashion and how-to’s; most appealing to all ages, genders, and races; and most classic. I will call these “Lily’s Fashion Magazine Awards.”

Best profiles: Essence
This magazine offers profiles of numerous successful, influential people, not only in the celebrity world but “no names” as well. The Q and A’s have questions that give insight about the people featured in the stories. As a result, the reader can relate and feel more connected to the interviewee.

Best fashion: GQ
Although this magazine admits that they have advised many men to wear some silly outfits, their style recommendations are usually great looks. They feature many designers from across the globe and provide pictures of runway shows. Also, they consistently have pictures of suits for businessmen which will never go out of style.

Best how-to’s: Elle
This magazine has a lot of fun articles, like getting the best hairdos or making over your bedroom to show your personality. Having fun articles like these makes the magazine have a distinct personality that readers can recognize.

Most appealing to all ages, genders, and races: Marie Claire
Although this magazine has many expensive looks for professional women, it did have many appealing articles for both younger and older audiences that make it very relatable. Also, I found that this magazine has the most variety when it comes to having African-American, Caucasian, Asian, etc. women and men in their ads and photo shoots.

Most classic: Vogue
Vogue has been around for decades, and it consistently has a wide range of styles, profiles, beats, etc. The writers have an edgy tone of voice, and the stories are very unique to this magazine.

Personal Reflection: Before I made this blog, I had never written anything online in a journalistic style. This was my first experience blogging, and I have very much enjoyed it. Having the opportunity to share my voice with an audience has inspired me to continue on with this blog over the summer. I picked fashion as my beat, because I wanted to try looking at the magazines in an unbiased, fresh point of view. Over time I could see why this is so difficult for journalists; what a journalist decides to write about portrays their interests in a way. Through this project, I was able to dive into the fashion world and analyze the magazines’ target audiences and how the editors portray their magazines through their writing selections. This project has made me look at magazines very differently; I see them as compilations of art: writing, photography and advertisements. There will be no more skimming, only in- depth reading. Hopefully one day you will see my name in one of these fashion magazines as a writer in the future!

James Scholar Blog # 10

My favorite style flub (what were they thinking?):


Featured in the October ’65 issue of GQ

My favorite look:

Dries Van Noten collection in Paris from Spring 2009

New technology featured in the magazine:

Lenovo IdeaPad U1: $1000; available in June 1st, 2010

James Scholar Blog # 9

GQ

Because funds are limited for me right now, I decided to peruse the GQ Web site instead of buying the magazine. Nevertheless, I found myself analyzing the articles and photography in a similar manner to when I read the magazine. As a female reader, it is interesting to see what the editor selects to publish in order to satisfy male preferences. On the Web site there are articles under each category; this makes it easier for the reader to pick and choose what topics he or she wants to read about.

The tone of many of the pieces is very playful and wordy; this differs very much so from the more serious, stiff articles which tend to be in magazines such as Vogue. One article that exemplifies this fun style of writing is called GQ Regrets. The writer apologizes for the numerous looks that GQ has suggested for men over the years. Not only does the writer apologize in a humorous manner, but he also adds a slide show for the reader to see the specific fads that the magazine encouraged. This concept of multimedia for writings such as these really adds to the success of the article. Without those pictures, one might have just skimmed through the article and not taken the time to look at the specific trends that GQ admits were a bit much. For this, the Web version of GQ allows the reader to navigate and select the information he or she receives.

GQ tends to enjoy emphasizing the importance of sexuality through its numerous photo shoots of half- naked women. The Web site provides a video of Victoria Secret models over the years as a tribute to its 15th anniversary of swimwear lines. Also, there are pictures of celebrities men voted that they would want a hot date with like Mila Kunis from “Thats ‘70s Show.” Because GQ seems to target professional men, I think it would be more effective to add some interviews of both attractive and intellectual women. Limiting the coverage of women to only pictures makes the magazine seem less intellectual and more degrading. In comparison to magazines like Marie Claire, articles about the opposite sex have less substance to them in GQ.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the articles on the GQ Web site ,and I would recommend the magazine to others as well. Of course, there are pros and cons to both magazine and online versions of magazines. The ads in the GQ magazine that I have seen in the past are well disbursed throughout and there are more spreads of models for an avid fashion lover like myself. On the Web site, the ads are squished together and distract my eyes from focusing on the words on my Web page. On the other hand, the GQ Web site offers many videos that I could not see in their magazine that add to my GQ reading experience.

Likes: “GQ Regrets”
“GQ’s Restaurant of the Week”
“The Best Desserts of the Year”

Dislikes: “Hot Date”
“The Comeback: Tom Brady”

Suggestions for Improvement: Show some sexy women in business clothing, not only bathing suits. Oh, and give them a personality with a Q&A.

James Scholar Blog # 8

Style A to Zee: From Runway to Airwaves

Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Zoe Lee (from left to right)

Favorite individual featured piece:

(Thakoon jacket- $2,525)

Behind the scenes look at Taylor Swift’s cover shoot
http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Cover-Shoots/Taylor-Swift2

James Scholar Blog # 7

Elle

In the Apr. 2010 issue of Elle, Taylor Swift was featured on the cover and inside the magazine for the main cover story. Many magazines just give profiles with no background on the main feature writer; Elle differs from other magazines in this sense. It consistently gives you the faces behind the names of the writers, editors and style coordinators. For the feature on Taylor Swift, readers were able to learn about the long, intricate process of interviewing, writing and rewriting by Aaron Gell. Emphasizing the work behind the magazine serves as unique for the reader; the reader can see how seemingly perfect layouts, articles, and photographs have hundreds of hours behind them. Also, Gell’s background was provided as well which made it appear that Elle cares about its writers, not only the people that are featured in their stories and its readers. Elle’s choice to commit pages and pages to their writers sets them apart from other fashion magazines and makes the writers more accessible and relatable.

Because this issue of Elle emphasized women of power in the workplace, there were many office outfits that would appeal to this audience. Featured trends from the runway this season include the architect, spy, librarian, botanist and shrink. These five example looks each had a page to mimic the looks from Michael Kors dresses to Alexander McQueen eyewear. Like Vogue, Elle tends to leave out “looks for less” despite the current economic crisis. For this, Elle should try to follow in the footsteps of Marie Claire which has some high fashion trends for more affordable prices.

Also, Elle revealed the do’s and do not’s for television broadcast as a way to contribute to the women in the workplace theme. Today co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford were interviewed by Zoe Lee; they showed readers how professional looks matter. Being a new journalist interested in broadcast and fashion, I found this very beneficial. Elle provided its readers with so many behind-the-scenes people that the reader can see the reality of the way magazines and television broadcasts are run. It was even great to see a nine-page spread of model Hilary Rhoda in a broadcast themed photo shoot called “Special Report.”
Overall, Elle upheld great class and appeal for the working women readers. Only one article featured anything related to sex and swear-words; consequently, this parallels the professionalism theme of this issue.

Likes: “Special Report”
“Elle Contributors”
“Elle Fashion Trends”

Dislikes: “The Awful Truth”

Suggestions for improvement: Readers needs some more affordable looks. Also, there were way too many articles on books; have a variety of topics about culture, not just novels to read.

James Scholar Blog # 6

Zoe Saldana at the 2010 Directors Guild of America Awards:


Beyonce’s new scent called “Beyonce Heat” featured in Essence:
http://www.essence.com/entertainment/hot_topics/beyonce_turns_up_the_heat_with_new_fragr.php

My favorite discovery: Mara Hoffman’s designs; www.marahoffman.com

My favorite look from Essence:


Tommy Hilfiger fashion show

James Scholar Blog # 5

Essence: Apr. 2010

Although I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about popular fashion/art magazines, I had never heard of the magazine called Essence before. This magazine combines fashion and culture that targets African-American women readers. Reading this magazine reminded me of Seventeen but for African-American woman in their twenties. Initially, I noticed the large quantity of advertisements as well as the type of advertisements. Most of the ads had African-American faces; only two of them had Caucasian women as their models. Although the audience of this magazine is intended for an African-American audience, I would have liked to see other races in the ads, too. In magazines like Seventeen, Caucasian women are not the majority of the models anymore. Many Latinos, African-American, Asian-American, etc. women are included to make the magazine more appealing to all races.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed reading Essence for the first time. Many of the articles and fashion tips were directed for women of color, but they had appealing general qualities to them as well. For example, the piece called “Best in Show” included famous black women who wore beautiful, designer dresses like Zoe Seldana. The emphasis of this article was to show how successful black women can shine from the inside out. At the bottom of the page, there were hairstyle and makeup types for thicker hair and darker skin tones.

The most appealing part of the magazine was the listing of high fashion designers. Often, African-American women are left out of the “fashion designer scene”; they are underrepresented compared to the thousands of Caucasian and Asian designers. There was even a six-page spread of an African-American model featuring African Maashi influences photographed by New York fashion photographer David Roemer. Not only were there high fashion lines offered, but looks for less as well. Essence does a great job of balancing the varying budgets of many women readers.

One article in this magazine felt very biased and offended me as a Caucasian reader. In “The Wince,” Grammy Award-winner Jill Scott wrote about the interracial relationships between black men and white women. She began her piece with a personal anecdote about an intelligent, successful man that she knew who was married to a white woman. She then went further to explain the racial divide of whites and blacks during slavery and how black people needed to stick together during those horrible times. Although these reflections are true, I do not find them as a valid argument as to why a black woman would “wince” when she sees a black man in a relationship with a white woman. I found the article more negative than positive; it did not bring new understanding to the issue and threatened the credibility of Scott’s character.

Quote from “The Wince:” “These harmful truths lead to what we really feel when we see a seemingly together brother with a Caucasian woman and their children,” Scott said. “That feeling is betrayed.”
Who is “we”? Is she not speaking like she can represent all African-American women's feelings?

Likes: “What Strong Women Know”
“Culture Club”
“Mix Master”

Dislikes: “The Wince”
“No More Games”

Suggestions for Improvement: Include more articles targeted to women of all races.

Extra Credit Blog # 5

Part 1:

1. Mark Holgate: Fashion journalist and editor for Vogue and Vogue Daily

Sally Singer: Fashion journalist for Vogue, "Vogue Daily"; fashion blogger of The Selby

2. Mark Holgate: He writes a lot of "favorite" pieces for Vogue. He used to write be a fashion director for New York Magazine. He is very well known.

Sally Singer: She's happy that a Democrat is in power. She lives in New York City. She went to the Mali Music Festival in January 2008.

3. Mark Holgate: How does fashion affect everyone's lives?

Sally Singer: What drives you to write about fashion?


Part 2: Speech Story 2

1. After reviewing your notes about my story, I have realized that I need to focus on the mechanics and completeness sections from the rubric. I need to make sure that the quotes that I get from my sources have depth and explanations that contribute to my stories. Next time, I will make sure to ask follow-up questions if a quote does not have enough information. Also, I need to check my spelling of the people that I cite in my stories and avoid words like "it" and "this."

2. One of my goals to improve for the speech story 2 was to use the proper point of view and formatting. Both of these goals were accomplished in this paper. Also, I wanted to have better mechanics for this paper, including proper AP Style. Although I intended on writing a near flawless paper, I still have to work on this section for my future stories.

3. You wrote "should be, for example, freshman in Media..." underneath my attribution: "journalism student Neil Vohra said." I attributed students this way for my speech story 1 and you did not write that it was wrong.

4. How do I know what a weak conclusion is? How can I improve my conclusions?

Part 3: Style

1. I attributed students like this: "journalism student Cathy Civanto said." Now I can see that the proper way would have been "freshman in Media student Cathy Civanto said." Year in school and department/major are supposed to be in an attribution for a student.

2. One would insert the correct tense with parentheses.

"When people talk, sometimes they jibber on about things, you know, [they] don't think about whether [they are] saying the sentence correctly."

3. "When people talk, sometimes they jibber on about things ...[they] don't think about whether [they are] saying the sentence correctly."

James Scholar Blog #4

More info on Lady Gaga's involvement in the MAC AIDS Fund:
http://www.macaidsfund.org/

Favorite looks from the Marie Claire Mar. 2010 issue:

splurge:


jacket: $1,990; shorts: $990, Yves Saint Laurent.

affordable:


shirt: $49.95, Sonia Rykiel Designs for H & M

James Scholar Blog #3

Marie Claire

Marie Claire never ceases to satisfy my fashion and celebrity question and answers appetite. In the Mar. 2010 issue, there is an emphasis on the new looks for spring: army-inspired camouflage print, crystals, and bright colors. The layout of the pages made each look pop out amongst the rest of the black print. The journalist’s choice in having model-inspired looks for a more affordable price made the fashion advice more applicable to women during this economic crisis. Also, I have noticed an increase in advertisement between articles, yet more features are offered now than in 2009.

Although Marie Claire writers succeed at offering an array of topics and fashion coverage, I have noticed a decrease in conservatism within the last couple of issues. In the question and answer article entitled “Going Gaga” by Ning Chao, Lady Gaga responded to a question using the “f-word.” First of all, the journalist asked Gaga many questions about her involvement with the MAC AIDS Fund and her views about being referred to as a role model. These topics appeared biased because of the emphasis on Gaga’s supporting the war on AIDS. I found it quite ironic that Gaga chose to say “You forgot that condom in your purse and save your own fucking life.” This allowance on behalf of Marie Claire in letting this swear word to be printed shocked me due to the magazine’s usual classy appeal. Also, I thought that Chao chose the wrong angle in interviewing Gaga about her involvement with MAC which led to more controversial responses. Instead, I would’ve enjoyed reading about how Gaga got her colorful style because I seek information about fashion in Marie Claire rather than blasé bios.

Going further with the idea of Marie Claire’s expansion of what can be printed in its magazine, I want to react to an article called “How I Planned a Menage A Trois.” Yes, sex serves a key role in fashion. On the other hand, do I really need to know about journalist Pamela Drunkerman’s search for a woman for her husband’s 40th birthday present? This story told in the first-person left me wondering as to why one would want to add this to a fashion magazine. On one hand, it could inspire middle-aged women who read the magazine to broaden their sexual horizons. On the other hand, it could make younger readers justify increased sexual behavior. If I was the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, I would have left this article out and edited Gaga’s comment in order to maintain a classier image for the magazine.

Marie Claire did have a great range of topics in this issue, from hot new looks for spring to easier hair looks. One piece in particular that stood out to me was the profile on Chelsea Lately. This article by Christine Lennon seemed to have a bias in favor of Lately, yet it was subtly accomplished through her use of quotes. Lennon not only emphasized Lately’s influence on female comedy but also on women in general. As a female comedian, Lately’s E! talk show spices up the usually male dominated talk shows. Adding this profile to Marie Claire positively added flavor for working women readers who would appreciate a role model such as Chelsea Lately.

Likes: “Big Girl in a Skinny World” and “Friends Indeed”

Dislikes: “The Breakup Artist” and “Going Gaga”

Suggestions for Improvement: Class it up; leave out the curse words and threesome talk.

Extra Credit Blog #4

Part 1:
1. Because I have grown up in a religious household, I would definitely say that I have a personal bias when it comes to religion. I tend to analyze actions based on morals that I was taught from the Bible, such as drinking or smoking. Also, I tend to have a bias when it comes to politics because I usually have views that lean toward Republican and Libertarian ideals rather than Democratic ones. Therefore, it would be difficult for me to cover topics about abortion and political scandals.
2. If I had to do a story about pro-choice advocates on abortion even though I don’t agree with them, I would definitely write the story. I always like to keep an open-mind, and I would enjoy learning about the different viewpoints on the topic. I would try to interview people that have had an abortion in order to make the topic; these voices are often unheard. Also, I would seek out professional advice about the qualifications, side effects, and many other issues related to one’s decision to have an abortion. Because there is always another side to everything, I would interview people who are pro-life to give that side a fair chance to react as well.
3. I think some media outlets are biased; many people associate certain television channels like FOX News with Republican views. Because all people have personal biases, I think it is hard to not have biases somehow influence our choice of news coverage. Clearly, many journalists try to stay neutral and give people information so they can make their own judgments rather than thrusting their opinions on them. In order to remedy one’s biases, a journalist should seek both sides of any story and report it in a truthful manner. Journalists should focus on the facts and give the reader a chance to figure out his or her own opinions. Of course, if the journalist is writing an opinion piece, it will certainly be biased.

Part 2:
1. The Chicago Tribune did not seem to cover this story fairly. Instead of focusing on what Blagojevich said during his ethics speech, the writer turned it into a story about how ironical it was that he would be asked to do so. Comparing him to Tiger Woods made him seem guilty already even though he has not been prosecuted or found guilty yet.
2. Because the SPJ Code of Ethics requests a journalist to “seek the truth and report it,” I would make sure to avoid making Blagojevich seem guilty. On the other hand, the “be accountable” guideline says that a journalist should hold people in power accountable for their actions. With these conflicting messages, I would try to balance the two by doing an interview with him for a better understanding of the case and his lecture. The Chicago Tribune story was not libelous because it did not purposely try to defame his character.
3. If I was doing the story, I would have focused on the impact of his lecture and the impression it had made on the students at the school. Focusing on the students’ reactions and the content of his speech would be fairer and hold up with the SPJ Code of Ethics. I think the Chicago Tribune chose to run this story this way because of its appeal to more readers. People love conflict and oddity; focusing on the irony of Blagojevich’s speech was an effective way to ensure more interest in reading the story.

James Scholar Blog #2

Here are some websites to some of the great looks and controversy of Milan Fashion Week 2010: http://www.ctv.ca/gallery/html/ent_italy_fashion_week_20100226/index_.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/milan-fashion-week/7332354/Milan-Fashion-Week-schedule-turned-into-size-zero.html

One of my favorite looks from the Milan Fashion Show 2010:



(from Elena Miro's Fall-Winter collection revealed on Feb 24th, 2010)

James Scholar Blog #1- Vogue

Vogue:

For the past couple of weeks, Vogue fashion feature and editorial writers have been focusing on the trends coming up for this spring 2010 as well as international fashion weeks that have been coming to a close. This Friday was the last day of Italy’s Fashion Week; big name designers from Alberta Ferretti to Jil Sander were highlighted by fashion writer, editor, and features director Sally Singer.

While reading numerous articles in this month’s Vogue, I noticed the emphasis on the working woman’s ensembles. The depth of coverage appears as a way to target women that are independent professionals who make a fairly large salary. Singer flattered her readers by offering that Alberta’s Ferretti’s new nude chiffon dress provides a combination of “demure and sexy” to the runway (Off to Italy: Notes From Milan Fashion Week). These descriptions imply that women who buy this dress can embody this look through their purchases. On the other hand, Singer succeeded in informing the reader of the new looks for spring 2010 including “terrific sexy pants” which have been sold out in Phoebe Philo’s line due to high demand (Milan Day by Day: Botegga Veneta, Gucci, and Pucci).

Overall, this article gave a limited amount of detail about Italy’s Fashion Week. Only a couple designers were listed and no sources were provided. Many features in Vogue tend to leave me wanting more, much like this one. How can I, as a non-professional adult woman, receive more looks targeted to my student budget? Although a college student, I read this magazine out of my sincere admiration of the fashion industry; I desire more coverage of the fashion shows that I cannot attend (this being almost all of them).

This question led me to search for more young-adult directed articles. This left me with more failure than success. Instead of stumbling across any articles with more-affordable looks, I found reporting on the new movie Remember Me. Yes, it is great that Vogue has taken the time to diversify the content of their pieces to movies, interior decorating, and art museums, but I want to read about affordable looks for my age group, too. The article by John Powers offered younger readers a chance to learn more about the teen heart throb Robert Patterson. Thanks Vogue, but I want to learn about pants that aren’t 465 dollars, not about Robert Patterson’s strategies of avoiding his crazed fans.

Articles I especially enjoyed: “Sharp” coverage by Francois Halard, “London Fall Fashion Week” coverage by Mark Holgate

Suggestions for Improvement for Sally Singer’s articles and Vogue’s more recent direction: expand articles about fashion for readers with limited funds.

Journalism Blog #3

1. a. “Unofficial” St. Patrick’s Day- weekend of Mar. 5^th , SafeRides

b. “Unofficial” St. Patrick’s Day- students, deans/faculty, residence hall workers, bar owners/managers (What are the problems that arise from this weekend? / Why can’t students who live in residence halls have guests?)

SafeRides- drivers, students, faculty/staff/deans (Do you think campus is safer because of SafeRides? What are the pros and cons of SafeRides?)

c. “Unofficial” St Patrick’s Day- Want to party all weekend with some friends from home and pass out in your dorm afterwards? Forget it.

SafeRides- After leaving a party at the wee hours of the morning with three friends, you see a SafeRides car coming. You think “Wow, we have the best luck!” You guys try to get on and the driver says that only three of you can get a ride. Who is going to walk back?

d. “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day”- During the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC’s) “Unofficial” St. Patrick’s Day weekend of Mar. 5^th, 2010, students will not have the opportunity to have their friends come and sleep over after a long night of celebrating.

SafeRides- SaferRides continues to enforce its three-rider only rule and students are annoyed more than ever.

2. a. link: http://www.nbc.com/news/2010/02/09/michelle-obama-to-be-featured-in-the-more-you-know-public-service-campaign-as-part-of-a-national-eff/

This news story is about Michelle Obama’s recent involvement in “The More You Know” service campaign that will air on national television through NBC. This campaign will inform people about the continuous increase in childhood obesity as well as ways to stop it.

b. This story could be localized by talking to people in the surrounding area of Champaign-Urbana about the effects of obesity in this town. I could interview elementary and middle school faculty and principals about the issue. Also, I could question the childrens’ parents who go to these local schools.

c. Cookies. Cakes. Chips. These three indulgences are only some of the foods that kids are eating these days that have caused one-third children in the U.S. to become obese or overweight.

d. Michelle Obama will help beat the rising childhood obesity rates through her involvement in NBC’s “The More You Know” campaign airing Mar. 2010.

"Check You're Story Be4 You Right It, K?"

Grammatically wrong
1. Defeated in the house, the Senate now gets to debate the bill.

*Defeated in the House, the Senate now gets to debate the bill.

Stylistically wrong
2. The 19-year-old boy got a ticket for jay-walking at 9 p.m. last night.

* At 9 p.m. last night, the 19-year-old boy got a ticket for jaywalking .

See if you can catch what's wrong.
3. Meredith ran away from home, she was so angry that night.

*Meredith ran away from home; she was so angry that night.


These should be easy:

4. Yes Brittney I can figure this one out.

*Yes Brittney, I can figure this one out.

5. Holding there flags high the veterans marched through town.

*Holding their flags high, the veterans marched through town.

6. The students said they would "skip class" if Britney made them do more exercises that had to do with grammar punctuation spelling or style.

*The students said they would skip class if Britney made the, do more exercises having to do with grammar, punctuation, spelling or style. (Isn't is Brittney?-If this is supposed to be you.)

7. I think most students in this class are apart of the class of 09.

*I think most students in this class are a part of the class of '09.

8. "I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote?" Brittney said.

*"I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote," Brittney said.

OK, now that's enough torture. Answer this question for a bonus point:
9. Why is it important for journalists to get these things right?

9. Journalists must pay attention to details. In order to establish credibility for the paper and himself or herself, one has to make sure to check the grammar of a story. Misspelling words, forgetting punctuation, etc. lead to a lower quality piece of writing. Also, it saves the copy editor time when he or she has hundreds of articles to read; it is kind to double check one's work to save other people time. Finally, it makes the articles easier to read because almost all papers write according to AP Stylebook.

Extra Credit Blog #1: "Is it Really Just Writing?"

Often, people do not realize the numerous steps that a journalist takes in order to write a compelling story. First, one must contemplate about a topic, event, etc. that is newsworthy; does the story have impact, immediacy, proximity, prominence, novelty, conflict, and emotional appeal to his or her audience? Once a journalist discovers a newsworthy story, he or she must gather loads of information about it. Organizing the story into subsections such as who, what, when, where, and how can further help a journalist organize his or her ideas. Also, prioritizing the "Five W's" will contribute to a better construction of a story when it is done prior to writing it. Then, one must write a lead and decide what kind of lead is most appropriate for his or her story. Instead of writing the nut graf immediately after the lead, a journalist should write the ending (kicker) next; this way, the nut graf and remaining paragraphs will fall into place. After writing a rough draft, a journalist must "rethink, rewrite, and revise" in order to have the best story possible. With a lot of thought and deliberation, a journalist can create a great story.

Although this process may sound simple to the Average Joe, it actually involves countless hours of work and obstacles that a journalist must overcome. Initially, it may be difficult for one to come up with a good story; the "why does this story matter?" can cause a road block for many writers. Also, some journalists find the lead choices overwhelming such as the topic, summary, delayed identification (blind), anecdotal, narrative, roundup, and wordplay leads. One might get so caught up on the lead that he or she waits until the last minute to actually write the story. As a result, the story loses quality and the writer has to rush through the rewriting and revising process. For any writer, the details of the "Associated Press" manual might make this editing procedure long and frustrating as well.

In order to overcome these challenges, one might ask for help from family, friends, teachers, or even an editor (if one is a working journalist for a newspaper, magazine, etc). Seeking assitance may ease the frustration of the time crunch and provide insight about the topic of a writer's story. In addition, one can look at articles on the internet for inspiration and use the "Associated Press" manual for help with copy editing and content editing. Overall, there are many online resources as well as personal resources that can help the writing development less stressful.