Lessons Learned in JMS 220

by Aaron Velasquez

During the first quarter of this semester I’ve been able to learn habits that create a quality journalist. I find myself doing well in putting the Inverted Pyramid format in my work, which is something we covered in lecture 9. In the works that I’ve submitted for this class so far I’ve had to use specific locations, dates and times and when doing so I referred to the AP style lectures and stylebook frequently to make sure everything was formatted correctly. As someone who’s conducted interviews before I was glad to look over the basics again as it helps me build my own style which I think is helpful to creating a unique journalist. I remember some of the mistakes I made which include not confirming quotes, not recording the conversation, and even misspelling names. These little things are crucial to creating an accurate story and I need to work at putting them into practice better.

Coming into this class as a JUCO Transfer, I’ve had some experience with the news writing aspect of journalism but I’ve always struggled with the legal and ethical aspects. I was pleased to go through the lectures and labs concerning these topics as it provided me with a clearer point of view on the subjects. I wanted to emphasize that I learn the differences between libel, slander, and defamation and how they work. I also relearned the ethical practices concerning situations involving privacy, the potter box, and the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.