Joshua H. earns EC point

YPSILANTI, Mich. — Joshua H. caught a mistake on my portfolio page where I had a missing word in my introduction. That shows the importance of proof-reading and that anyone — teachers included — can make mistakes. Thanks for your help, Joshua.

It also gets him on the board in the Extra Credit Contest.

50 Homicides in Nine Months for Flint

A body found in an abandoned home in Flint has been ruled a homicide by the Flint police, making it the 50th homicide in Flint in less than nine months. This is five times the national average and it is the third time Flint has had 50 homicides in one year since 1990. In a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Dayne Walling and Police Chief Alvern Lock urged Flint residents to be proactive about crime prevention. They emphasized the anonymous tipline that the city instituted in July 2009 to help investigators. The tipline number is (810) 237-6812.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/09/a_killing_field_--_50th_flint.html

Actor Tony Curtis Dies at 85

Actor Tony Curtis died on Wednesday, September 29, at his home in the Las Vegas Area. Coroner Mike Murphy confirmed that the actor died of a heart attack. He was 85 years old. Curtis is most known for his roles in movies like “Sweet Smell of Success”, “The Defiant Ones”, and “Some Like it Hot”. His first wife was the star of “Psycho”, actress, Janet Leigh. Curtis and Leigh’s first daughter is famous actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. Besides Jamie Lee, Curtis is survived by five other children.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100930/OBITUARIES/9300440/1361/UPDATE/Actor+Tony+Curtis+dies+at+Las+Vegas-area+home

Mother Accused of Faking Son’s Illness

Carol Schnuphase, a 47-year-old Roseville mother, raised more than $7,000 to help her son fight against leukemia. She asked for money at a variety of events held through her neighborhood church and Facebook. When her twelve-year-old son died of leukemia, Schnuphase opted not to hold a funeral.

This is when family and friends became suspicious.

When family and friends investigated further, they found that Carol Schnuphase had been faking her son’s illness and death the entire time. She began her ruse by making a Facebook page,but quickly increased her earnings through church events and public fundraisers. Schnuphase shaved her son’s head and eyebrows to make it look like he received chemotherapy and reportedly spiked his applesauce with opiates to make him look more ill. With her son fully costumed, Schnuphase had him make public appearances to ask for donations. Carol’s son is now in foster care and Schnuphase faces felony charges.

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/09/roseville_police_mom_raised_7k.html

Fenton Bookstore Redesigned and Renamed

Little Professor Book store in Fenton has been reopened as Fenton’s Open Book. Owner Karen Piacentini was a former Little Professor employee who decided to reopen the store because she saw a need within the community. Piacentini wanted to continue the tradition of a locally owned book store in Fenton. By changing the shop’s layout and adding a café and Wi-Fi internet access, Piacentini hopes to make a quaint and cozy environment for local readers.

http://www.mlive.com/fenton/index.ssf/2010/09/around_town_fentons_open_book.html

Sunday Mornings No Longer Sober

Yesterday, Michigan lawmakers approved a bill that would allow the sale of alcohol on Sunday mornings. The current law does not allow store owners to sell alcohol before noon on Sundays. This approved 58-page bill would allow alcohol sales after 7:00 am on Sunday mornings. However, store owners would have to buy a special license for $160. Now that the bill has been approved by lawmakers, the decision to pass it lies with Governor Granholm. The bill was one of the last addendums to the budget for the next fiscal year.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100930/POLITICS02/9300404/Bill-to-expand-Sunday-liquor-sales-heads-to-Granholm-s-desk

Schools offer prizes to get children in school

Schools all over Mid-Michigan are finding incentives for children to show up for school on Student Count Day. 75% of the Flint Community schools budget is typically what the $8,000 per child present in state funding gives. Even though Flint Administrators expect the budget to drop, they are being optimistic with a goal of 11,000 students which would be roughly a drop of 1,200-1,500 students. Durant - Tuuri - Mott Elementary school had 98% of their 530 students showed up. For the students who were not able to make it to school, there is another count day in February.

Deer Virus in Berrien, Cass counties

Hunters in Berrien, Cass, and Ottawa counties may be taken aback due to cases of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease that have been found in white-tailed deer. Although rare this far north, the first case of this disease in Michigan was recorded in 1955 with more cases in 1974, 2006, 2008, and 2009. Tom Cooley, spokesman for MDNRE, said the disease should be gone two weeks after the first frost of the season.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100929/News01/100929412/1130

New Legislation may change Michigan Teen Driving Laws

Support for a new piece of legislation grew with the Obama administration on Tuesday. The Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act, if passed, requires a more restrictions on teen driving which would force Michigan and other states, to change their laws. If Michigan does not change its laws, it would lose highway funding. This law requires three stages of licensing and drivers would not have unrestricted driving until they turned 18. Michigan's law, passed in 1997, allows 17 year olds to have unrestricted licenses if they meet certain requirements.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100929/AUTO01/9290338/1022/Michigan-may-be-forced-to-alter-teen-driver-laws

Michigan Man Jailed, Failure Paying 23 Child Supports

Howard Veal has been sentenced 23-48 months in jail for not paying child support for his 23 children. Veal owes $533,000 in child support and has allegedly fathered 23 kids with 14 different women. "In my entire career I have never seen a case like this where so much was owed to so many and ignored," Kent County Judge Dennis Leiber, who has ruled in support cases for over 20 years, said. The guidelines for a case like this calls for no more than six months in jail, however after the facts of the case were laid out the judge deviated from these guidelines.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/michigan-father-23-kids-jailed-paying-child-support/story?id=11747999

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Attacks University Of Michigan Student President

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell attacks the student assembly president of the University of Michigan Chris Armstrong's "radical homosexual agenda" using a blog he has started titled "Chris Armstrong Watch." Shirvell has also gone to Ann Arbor to protest outside of Armstrong's house and to attend the student assembly meetings controlled by Armstrong. During Shirvell's interview last night he claims his main issue is Armstrong's idea of gender-neutral housing. Armstrong states, "I will not back down."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/andrew-shirvell-assistant_n_743953.html

Granholm to visit Flint middle school

Governor Granholm is scheduled to be at McKinley Middle School in Flint on Wednesday at 1:30 pm for the opening of a family resource center, according to a release from the governor's office. The purpose of the resource center increase public access to public aid, health and social service programs. The governor will also travel to Midland earlier in the day Wednesday to visit the DOW chemical campus at 11:30 am.

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/09/granholm_to_visit_flint_middle.html

Local residents assaulted and robbed by Craigslist users

The Tri-County Times is reporting that local residents being assaulted and robbed by craigslist users. On Sunday, Aug. 22 an 18 year-old Durand resident filed a complaint with the Durand police after a craigslist transaction failed. There were two other cases from the Fenton and Holly area becoming victim to craigslist robberies.

Gunman opens fire, kills self at UT Austin.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A man equipped with a ski-mask and AK-47 walked into the library at the University of Texas and opened fire, eventually turning the gun on himself. It is unknown whether or not any victims were identified. Officials are saying that the shooter was indeed a student of the University.

More evidence to be handed over to defense is suspected stabber's trial

Prosecutors are handing over evidence to the defense tea
of suspected serial killer Elias Abeulazam reports the Flint Journal. Abuelazam is believed to have been responsible for the stabbings of 14 people in the Flint and Ohio areas. Two large video segments and telephone data has been handed over to the defense. A pretrial hearing is set for Oct. 29 with a preliminary exam due some time in November. Abuelazam's lawyer, Edwar Zeineh, expects the examination to take two days or longer. More than the typical prelim.

Women, 60, found dead after house fire in Flint.

Flint fire fighters found a 60 year old women dead in her 1-story home at 3744 Lynn Street early Tuesday morning says a report from MLive. Fire fighters were called to the home around 2:30 am and quickly put out the fire located in the kitchen. The cause of the fire is unknown and the cause of the victims death, whose name has not been released, is related to the fire said Batallion Chief Anthony Tinnin.

Transgender student denied crown

Local high school teenager, Oakleigh Marshall, has been denied the crown for homecoming king at his Muskegon high school, because he is really a she. The transgender student, who campaigned for king on Facebook and was voted onto court by fellow students has been denied the crown by staff at the school that state because he is enrolled at the institution as a female he cannot be voted king. NBC 25's sister station WoodTV reported that the case may be taken over by the ACLU.

Michigan oil pipeline to be restarted

Two months after the Enbridge Oil Spill that disturbed the west coast of the state and made national news, officials say that the pipeline has been cleared to be restarted. Since the announcement of the spill on July 26 it is estimated that 820,000 to 1 million gallons spilled near Marshall, Mich., polluting the Kalamazoo River, and injuring the fragile ecosystem of the area.

Water Main break in Fenton

A Monday morning water main break in Fenton may leave numerous residents without running water today. The Adelaide Street Construction Project caused the interruption however service should be reconnected shortly. Officials said that water may appear rusty when it is reconnected but that letting it run clear is substantial for drinking. Boiling is not necessary. A press release was sent to local news agencies by the Fenton Water Department.

Granholm at White House to get bill signed by President

Gov. Jennifer Granholm is spending the afternoon in Washington D.C. today, to meet with President Obama to sign a bill that is expected to help Michigan small businesses create jobs. It is unknown how many jobs will result from the $42 billion bill, that has been modeled after the Michigan Supplier Diversification Program. The original program was created to help fund auto makers when the auto industry downsized. You can also find the story on NPR Michigan's website.

Genesee County animal shelter blames overcrowding on down economy

There is an abundance of sad faces at the Genesee County Animal Shelter lately. The shelter that is home to over 300 lonely pets is facing not only overcrowding but also understaffing. Many of the cats and dogs are dropped off due to the economy, many people are facing hard economic times and can barely afford to take care of their own families, thus have chosen to give up their animals. Many of these pets are "ready to go," meaning they have been spayed/neutered, and declawed. According to a story on connectmidmichigan.com the shelter has been making room for the dozens of pets that are dropped off each day by euthanizing ones that have been there for some time already. Visit the Genesee County Humane Society's website for more information.

Kettering prof uses human waste to power home

According to a story on connectmidmichigan.com the news site hosted by NBC 25, Dr. K. Joel Berry, a mechanical engineering professor at Kettering University may be one step closer to a solution for a renewable energy source. The "fuel cell electric power generator" is a small generator type device that can run on yes, you guessed it, human waste. The device not only cuts down the dependancy on fossil fuels, it also enables a home to keep running even during a power outage. One unit is thought to be about $9,000 and would last approximately 15 years.

Stephen Colbert testifies to Congress

Comedian Stephen Colbert testified to Congress on migrant workers on Sept. 24 said a report on CBS News.

Comedy Central's Colbert testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing in character this morning, speaking on the topic of working in America's fields.

Colbert, testifying next to the president of the United Farm Workers (UFW), discussed his "vast experience spending one day as a migrant farm worker," adding that he was "happy to use [his] celebrity to draw attention to this important, complicated issue."

Colbert appeared amid a swarm of photographers, listened to behavioral directives from the committee's Chairwoman Zoe Longfren (who warned the audience that "if necessary, the Capitol police are here"), and brought the committee levels of media coverage that the committee hadn't seen "maybe since impeachment," as Longfren commented. He delivered remarks that maintained his mocking public persona while shading into serious arguments for the rights of migrant workers.

Suspected serial killer faces five more charges

According to a report from ABC12, suspected serial killer Elias Abuelazam now faces five more charges stemming from attacks in Flint over the last few months.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced those charges at a news conference this morning.

Abuelazam is being held without bond a the Genesee County Jail. He now faces six charges in all, including the open murder count.

MSU football coach Mark Dantonio visits team at facility

A report from the Detroit Free Press states that Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio visited the Michigan State Spartans facility a day before their game against Northern Colorado.

According to MSU’s Twitter feed, Dantonio attended the team meeting and walk- through for Saturday's game against Northern Colorado. Spartan athletic director Mark Hollis also tweeted that Dantonio spent the afternoon talking to players.
“Everyone happy to see Coach D and he is returning home for rest,” Hollis tweeted. “Will watch tomorrow's game at home.”
Dantonio suffered a mild heart attack early Sunday, shortly after MSU beat Notre Dame in overtime.

Released hiker meets with Ahmadinejad

A report released by the Associated Press says that Sarah Shourd, the hiker who was recently released from captivity in Iran met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The American hiker who spent more than 400 days in an Iranian prison met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad Friday in New York to plead for the release of her fiancé and friend still jailed in Iran. Sarah Shourd told ABC News she had prayed in prison for a chance to speak with the Iranian leader. Shourd, 32, was released last week after being detained in July 2009 in Iran, but had to leave behind her fiancé Shane Bauer and friend Josh Fattal. Shourd did not release any other details of the meeting with Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Lindsay Lohan returning to jail

Actress Lindsay Lohan is returning to jail for violating her probation, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. During a brief hearing, Judge Elden Fox said he had issued a bench warrant for Lohan based on a probation report "indicating a positive test for a controlled substance." Fox said he needed further information from probation officials on Lohan's condition before a revocation hearing could be held. He then ordered Lohan into custody without bail and set an Oct. 22 court date.

Michael Moore Recieves Steinbeck Award

Famed Michigan filmmaker and political figure Michael Moore was presented the John Steinbeck Award from the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University. Moore's current hometown paper, The Traverse City Record-Eagle, reports that "the award is given to writers and artists whose work captures Steinbeck's spirit of empathy, commitment to democratic values and belief in the dignity of people who by circumstance are pushed to the fringes of society." Michael Moore is the director and producer of Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story. These four documentaries are among the top ten highest-grossing documentaries of all time.

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Kanye West Responds to President Obama Calling Him a "Jackass"

Newly rehabilitated, to say the least, rapper/producer extraordinaire Kanye West takes over the October 2010 cover and cover story of XXL magazine, where he discussed the remark made by President Obama after the 2009 MTV VMA incident involving Taylor Swift. In an off camera interview that was somehow still recorded, President Obama was caught calling Kanye a “jackass”, for interrupting Swift's acceptance speech.

“When Obama called me “jackass”, after the Taylor incident, I thought that the [wrong] person [had] to be speaking off the record,” Ye said in the interview. “Obama has way more important stuff to worry about than my public perception. He was trying to pass the healthcare bill. And if he said that to relate to the room or lighten the room up and the whole mood, then I'd be more than happy to be the butt of all of his jokes if it in the some way helps his overall mission. I'm a soldier of culture. I'm resilient. I'm sure I'll still beat him in basketball.”

[SOURCE]

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The Ann Calls Out Rick Snyder

A small and somewhat new publication out of Ann Arbor, MI called The Ann addresses the so-called "savior of Michigan" Rick Snyder, questioning his credibility along with his ability to hold such a huge title such as Governor of the State. In the article, written by Molly Ball, The Ann speaks on how "this WAS supposed to be the year of the Tea Party" but instead the voters of Michigan seem anxious to elect Snyder as the next head. He has a double-digit margin over Lansing Mayor, Virgil Bernero and doesn't seem to be doing any slowing down. The article goes on to speak on Snyder accepting and owning the title of "nerd", Bernero being “America’s Angriest Mayor, and many other topics. [SOURCE]

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Street Etiquette Reveals "Black Ivy"

The young curators, Joshua and Travis of Street Etiquette release an amazing feature in editorial form on the original Black Ivy League colleges. A short list of included schools below:

• Fisk University, Nashville, TN
• Hampton University, Hampton, VA
• Howard University, Washington DC
• Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Oxford, PA
• Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA,

The young men team up with photographer, Fred Egan of Unabashedly Prep to reticulate style, character, education and art as a tribute to the first black colleges that paved the way for a generation.

Click here to view the entire Black Ivy feature.

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Jay-Z & Warren Buffett Cover Forbes

Yesterday, the cover of Forbes 400 was unveiled, where investor and industrialist Warren Buffett poses next to Jay-Z, one of the world's most financially successful hip hop artist and entrepreneur in America. Together, they performed in the “Forbes 400 summit,” an hour-long videotaped interview with Steve Forbes. Peep a snippet of the interview where Jay talks about almost losing an iPod with all the music he had recorded for Blueprint 3 on a flight coming back from Hawaii, the day before he bought the album’s rights for 5 million dollars, below and click here to watch the entire discussion.

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Wrap The Homeless

Many churches may preach 'hell-fire and brimstone', or that certain doctrines are more important to follow than others. But one local church has set as it's mission statement that they want to 'change the whole world'. Freedom Center North in Flint, in connection with The Freedom Center in Fenton, are gearing up for their annual 'Wrap the Homeless' event on October 24, starting at 8 a.m. The outreach had people lined up around the block last year, and they are hoping for more of the same this year. Both churches are accepting donations, and a list of what is needed can be found here. Last years outreach even got featured on ABC12.

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Granholm touts Michigan as a high-tech, green state

Michigan Links reported that Governor Granholm appeared on CNBC yesterday, saying that Michigan is reinventing it's own economy, thanks to green energy. Granholm told CNBC that Michigan is being aggressive by providing incentives that attract manufacturers and federal aid. The new policies have attracted 47 companies, and with them, 89,000 jobs to the state in the last two years. Granholm is quoted as saying, "If you have the right policy, [and] the right public-private partnerships, the jobs will come."

Animal Rights group target local pet store

The Family Puppy, a store in the Genesee Valley shopping center, was targeted by the group Puppy Mill Awareness, in a rally last Saturday for Puppy Mill Awareness Day. In a story by The Flint Journal last Thursday, rally organizer Pam Sordyl said that her group wants the store to replace puppies that come from breeders with those from local shelters or rescued dogs. The owner of The Family Puppy, John Stottele says his business will "continue to work with breeders and set high standards for them to ensure our customers receive healthy, well-socialized and loving puppies."

Way to go U of M - Flint

In a piece done by The Flint Journal, it was reported that the universities enrollment hit a staggering and historic high of over 8,000 students this semester. Not only that, but international student enrollment increased by 40% from last year. This is the fourth year in a row that the university has seen enrollment growth and have mightily surpassed their enrollment goal for 2010. With those kinds of numbers, the University of Michigan - Flint really is the fastest growing public university in the state.

In entertainment news..

Fox has finally announced who the new judges for this year's American Idol will be. Trying to fight a slump in the ratings, the creators of 'Idol' were looking to market the show to a younger crowd. However, their choices of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, seem to be a contradiction to that plan. Though Lopez is still churning out movies, like this years The Backup Plan, she got her start in 1990, as a dancer on the comedy show 'In Living Color'. And Tyler has been at it for years. Aerosmith got started in the 70's and were touring as a band until last year, when Tyler took a fall off the stage, causing them to cancel their summer touring. How will this translate to ratings? I guess we will all find out in January, when the new season of 'Idol' starts.

Last night's storm leaves many in the dark

For those of you that were not effected by the thunderstorm last night, consider yourself lucky. The Midland Daily News reports that people from Clare County, to Grand Rapids, Bay City to Lapeer County were hit hard by last night's storm. Combining the estimates from Consumers Energy and DTE Energy Company, approximately 116,000 people were left without power. Of the numbers reported, it seems that Kent County was the hardest hit, with an estimated 35,500 people in the dark.

In South Bend, there's no 'l' in 'public'..

In a little bit closer news, the school district in South Bend, IN. can't seem to spell. Field Notes on msnbc.com reported that, on a billboard celebrating their school system, of all things, the word 'public' is misspelled. The Blue Waters Group, who was working in conjunction with the South Bend redevelopment commission, takes full responsibility for the typo. The billboard was fixed by the end of the day, however, the mistake lives on forever online, thanks to Field Notes and msnbc.com. I personally want to thank them for the laugh they gave me. It's little things like that which can make a person's day.

In world news, Jewish worshipers are being stoned by Palestinian rioters in Jerusalem. Israeli police have stepped in to quell the fighting. The hilltop compound that is the center of today's rioting, known as Temple Mount or Noble Sanctuary, is the most explosive thus far in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The flare-up in conflict came as peace talks between the two groups faced a crisis over the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Grab some buds..

So, in my first stab at this aggregation business, I stumbled across a small article that might be of interest to a few people. Having to find something that works for all M-Times readers is a bit of a challenge, since the students at U of M - Flint range in age from those involved with Genesee Early College (high school students) to many displaced workers or other non-traditional students (some of which are in their 60's or older). It may seem a bit cliche, since it's about beer, but like I said, it's a first try. Enjoy.

My Take on Discussion 2 Readings

Here's the top of Hartland Patch’s Facebook page form earlier Tuesday.

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Online is sooooo different from print. And this past week working for Patch.com is reinforcing that for me, so I felt it important to relate my experiences to both chapters 3 and 4.

As a former print reporter, I'm used to writing under tight deadlines in a news article format, but that's not what I could do on Saturday when I covered the Hartland Heritage Day.

Report: Print beats online where you'd least expect

Editor's note: I'm writing this as a news aggregation without opinion to provide another example for this week's upcoming assignment. I included the question at the end in an effort to encourage an online dialouge, but that wouldn't be necessary in a basic aggregation. I just thought it fit here.

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — College students favor their printed version of their campus newspapers vs. the online product, a recent PoynterOnline report says.

The article quotes several professionals who help oversee student publishing saying student prefer the dead-tree version and cites a survey that says 63 percent of students classify themselves as light or frequent readers of the print editions.

“My experience is that if something is free and it's convenient to get and whatever is in it is relevant to them, they have no qualms about printed versus non-printed,” said Kevin Schwartz, general manager of The Daily Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the article. “A college newspaper, if it's done right, is all of those things.”

Who would have thought or is this all wishful thinking based on anecdotal reporting?

Debating the rush with hyperlocal

Note: Below is an example of news aggregation. This blog’s topic is online journalism and its audience is this class. Also, because this involved something related to what I do, I offer my view. In your case, you might just want to summarize the news unless you feel you have something to add that makes your content more compelling.

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — This weekend, I posted a couple dozen photos on the Facebook page for Hartland Patch, but could I have waited? In this post, Rick Edmonds of PoynterOnline discusses whether hyperlocal news needs to be published immediately, saying unlike breaking news of regional or national importance, “I have a hard time, though, recalling a neighborhood story I wish I had known about right away.”

Edmonds says he doesn't mind waiting for his hyperlocal news because it's just not a prominent as bigger stories. He's also "underwhelmed" by digital hyperlocal news, preferring the more traditional community papers, instead.

What I would say as an editor of a soon-to-be launched hyperlocal publication, is the sooner I can publish content, the sooner it's useful to the site's audience. If I wait, they might never find it as they move on to something else, but once it's up, those who start looking later in the week should still be able to find it.

Check out Hartland Patch’s Twitter and Facebook pages

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — This week, I launched the Twitter and Facebook pages for Hartland Patch. The intent is to provide a flavor of what we'll be doing when we launch the main page and to begin to create local buzz and a following.

Tell me what you think from an online journalism perspective and you'll receive extra credit points. Feel free to criticize or compliment the look, content or who is followed/"liked."

My journey shows trend

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — As promised, here’s my take on this week’s readings (feel free to post a comment, but it’s not required. We'll keep the graded discussions on Blackboard):

A year ago, I was in graduate school and teaching two journalism classes with not much hope of finding a professional job in journalism because of the economy. Now thanks to the bet of AOL (which owns Patch) on hyperlocal journalism, I'm back to work, traveling out of state to learn about my new job and employer. Part of the reason I got the position was because I've continued to upgrade my skills, especially in the digital environment where telling stories can be done through social media, audio, video and slideshows.

Corey S. first to net extra credit point

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Corey S. found a mistake in the post about the race for extra credit. I wrote “reverse” when I meant “reserve.” It was a great catch and the kind of thing you should all be looking for.

Note, we'll be keeping track of the contest in a text box in the right sidebar. Sidebars are standing elements in a blog. This is the first of many that you will see me add over the semester. You will also be adding them, too.

Link, comment your way to extra credit

NEW YORK — A good way to attract an audience is to provide content members of that community will want to read, so the very first post for this blog will address an issue most, if not all, online journalism students are interested in — extra credit.

Yes, it is possible in this class, but you have to do well in a contest designed to enhance everything we do in our assignments and on our discussion board.

This blog is dedicated to online journalism and you can earn extra credit by helping me add content and discussion or by finding grammar, spelling or fact mistakes within the course on Blackboard. Tally enough points by submitting links to me related to online journalism, by commenting on posts from others in this blog or finding my gaffes and you can boost your grade.