Joseph Zak's Morehouse Media Blog

Staying Strong In Hard Times

zakmorehousemedia — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:43:24 +0000

A senior at Morehouse College, Durrell Scott, has been successful and is on track to graduate May 2010. From the outside looking in and from speaking with the young man u would never know what he has had to endure to come to this point. Below is Durrell in his own words telling the story of how he has gotten to this point in life and the obstacles he has had to overcome.

Durrell Scott senior business major at Morehouse College photo via facebook.

All video and audio by Joseph Zak. Pictures via Durrell Scott’s Facebook page and Joseph Zak.

In My Own Words

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:40:07 +0000

I decided to make a brief audio piece about myself to help people understand better exactly what I want to do with my life. All you have to do is click the picture above for the link. Hope you learn a little bit more about me from it.

Ted Kennedy Will Be Missed

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:54:12 +0000

Image From sanfranciscosentinel.com

The Washington Post posted an inspirational audio slide show about Senator Ted Kennedy after he passed away give a brief overview of his life and influence. I found the slide show, Sen. Kennedy’s Life and Career, 1932-2009, quite moving and the fact that another great member of the Kennedy family has passed away is truly sad.

What I found most interesting about the piece is that even though Sen. Kennedy was not the most famous Kennedy his impact and the hard he put into making the country better surpasses others with his same last name. It gave me the subtle reminder that you don’t have to be in the public or well known to do good. Even though he wasn’t as popular as his brother he was still able to use his influence to pass many laws and bills behind the scenes.

Image from usliberals.about.com

Clark Atlanta Vs. Morehouse 2010

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:34:07 +0000

Clark Atlanta University Vs. Morehouse College at Forbes Arena

It comes around every year the great rivalry game between Morehouse and Clark Atlanta. This game can make or break seasons for coaches, players, and fans alike. And this year Morehouse came into the contest as an extreme underdog facing a Clark Atlanta team that was first in SIAC. What made this event even more amazing was that even though Morehouse was favored to lose they beat the odds and won.

Morehouse and Clark basketball players wait for the ball to come in play in front of Morehouse's largest crowd of the season.

Freshman forward Shawn Allen surveys the defense waiting for his moment to attack. Allen has started in his freshman year and been a major contributer.

15 Important Things to Consider During Audio Reporting

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:16:53 +0000

Try your best to ensure that an audio recording session is never rushed.
It is important to add sound that can compliment and help tell your story.
Have questions predetermined before recording any audio interviews.
Keep names and numbers to a minimum in you audio because it can take focus from the story.
Make sure an audio story is clear and understandable because you are unable to re-read an audio piece.
The are no headlines included in an audio piece unlike this blog or written pieces.
Make sure information is relied to a listener at a pace that they are able to keep up with.
When quoting always give the attribution before and not after.
When writing for radio or television its important to think about how things will sound when spoken.
When reporting audio its important to write as if speaking with one person and not all listeners.
Remember listeners can’t skip throughout parts of an audio story, especially when listening on the radio.
When writing for audio do so in an active voice.
When doing audio reports use titles sparingly when describing people.
A tip for writing audio is to say the sentence before writing to ensure it comes across correctly.
The sound in your piece can tell your story without many words so remember it is very important.

Listening to “NFL Case Highlights Sports Apparel’s Vast Appeal” by Mike Pesca, I was able to see how different uses of audio can enhance the storytelling effect. In the piece Pesca is explaining the revenue brought in by NFL apparel.

Mike Pesca incorporated interviews and short audio clips of fans to help enhance and further engage you into the story. An example of this is Pesca interviewing a Bronx store owner about their sales of NFL apparel. By doing this I feel it allows the listener to identify with the piece.

I learned from this piece that it is important to use audio to connect the listener to your story and to do this by using more than just your words or the story itself.

Chapter 11 Assignment

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:16:22 +0000

Photo found at:http://www.thesweetscience.com/images/9739/laila_ali_240x230_20061219.jpg

My personal favorite story and the one I found interesting was about Maricella Rodriguez in a piece entitled “She’s A Lady Boxer.” The story was about a 17 year old young lady who also happens to be a Golden Glove Boxer. This so story caused me to think about how women must always balance between being a woman and an athlete. It all so made me think of Lala Ali a women I believe did a great job of finding that balance.

My Healthcare Breakdown

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:15:53 +0000

Ok, one of the big issues going on in the country right now is related to Obama’s healthcare. Everyone wants to know how the plan will effect them so I took a little time to answer a few questions I think most would want answers to.

Q1)If you already have health insurance (like I do) how will the new plan effect you?

Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.

Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age. Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.

Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.

Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.

Protects Medicare for seniors.

Q2) How does Obama’s Health Care Plan effect you if you do not have current have Health Car?

Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.

Q3) How will the Health Care benefit all Americans?

Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.
Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.
Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.
Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.

Hopefully, this little run through about the plan can give you some needed insight into the plan. But, don’t be afraid to do further research on your own.

Source:

www.barackobama.com

Jay-Z Place In Hip-Hop: Audio Vs. Print

zakmorehousemedia — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:15:22 +0000

On a site called The Takeaway I listened to an audio piece called Jay-Z’s Place in the Hip-Hop Canon by Todd Zwillich, Lynn Sherr, and Stephanie Hughes as well as a blog entitled Jay-Z Grows Up by David Wall Rice. Each blogs topic was about Jay-Z’s newest album the Blueprint 3 and Jay-Z’s effect on not just hip-hop culture but our countries culture.

While both pieces are effective in there own right I found that the audio was even more so effective. Actually being able to hear the emotion and the voices that were conveying the story allowed me to connect better.

Benny Crane In The Neighborhood

zakmorehousemedia — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:38:58 +0000

Yankees Headed to World Series And Emotional Picture

zakmorehousemedia — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:47:09 +0000

Photo from www.yeunglei.com

NY Times Slide Show of Yankees Victory

After the New York Yankees became World Series Champions for the 2009 season the NY Times put together a wondeful slide show that tells everything you need to know about the run to the crown. Click on the link above to see the slide show and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Victoria Ivory and Damien Carter riding in the car coming from Fox Sports Grill located in Atlanta, GA. They are listening to a popular song entitled "All the Way Turnt Up" and are enjoying themselves.