Final Story

Fraudulent e-mails concerning H1N1 from CDC – Final Story: Enterprise/News Feature
Kerry Gugliotto

Headline:
H1N1 Scam Spreads
Summary:
WSU officials warn students to be on the alert for fraudulent e-mails that refer to state vaccination programs for H1N1.
These e-mails appear to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are causing malicious codes to be installed to users’ computer systems nationwide.
The CDC is unsure of the effects of the code the fake e-mail installs, Kristen Nordlund, a CDC press officer said.
Health and Wellness Services advises students to be skeptical and to use more than one source to confirm validity before entering personal information online.
“Any unsolicited e-mail that asks you to enter personal information should be questioned,” said Paula M. Adams, the communication coordinator for HWS. “In this instance, calling the CDC or checking the CDC Web site would clear up the question.”
The fraudulent messages tell users that the CDC is initiating a state vaccination program and people over 18 must create a “personal H1N1 vaccination profile” on the CDC Web site whether or not they plan on getting a vaccine.
The CDC has not implemented a state wide vaccination program that requires registration. The CDC cautions users to not open or respond to unsolicited e-mail messages, to be careful when entering personal information online and to be careful when visiting untrusted Web sites, Nordlund said.
The CDC does not send e-mails to users who have not voluntarily given them their e-mail address, and the CDC will never ask users for any personal information, she said.
Fortunately, the scam has not caused major damage, she said.
“The morning we found out about people receiving these e-mails, we put a notification up,” she said.
Three days later, WSU put up notifications on WSU’s flu guidance Web site and WSU Today, said Christopher Tapfer, a WSU emergency management coordinator.
“I have not heard whether there have been any local cases of people getting these false e-mails,” he said.
A similar fraud occurred with the anthrax scare, Nordlund said. It was the same type of e-mails that appeared to be from the CDC, and tried to get users to give out personal information.
Though the CDC is not offering a state-wide vaccination program, HWS still has about 650 doses of H1N1 vaccine left and has given out about 1,300 so far, Adams said. The vaccines are available in both shot and nasal-spray form.
Because students have requested appointments through finals week, they can now be made either online or by phone until Friday.
“The amount of vaccine that is available varies by area. We have received vaccine for WSU students because the age range of college students typically puts them into a category where they are considered at higher risk than older people,” Adams said.
All vaccines are free for students and HWS recommends that every student gets vaccinated, Adams said. There is a possibility that HWS will be able to give WSU employees and other non-students vaccines, but until then non-students can check availability with Whitman County Public Health.
Related Web sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/hoaxes_rumors.html
This article was written by Kerry Gugliotto,
kerbear732@yahoo.com
Contacts:
Christopher Tapfer
509-335-7471
tapfer@wsu.edu
Paula M. Adams
509-335-7884
padams@wsu.edu
Kristen Nordlund
404-639-7387

3 ledes

Write three (3) speech ledes based on the information provided. Translate the quotes into news ledes. Remember to attribute.


1. District 9 Sen. Mark Schoesler on potential WSU budget cuts


“Until the economy is turned around, higher education is always at risk.”

Background: WSU cut its budget by $54 million earlier this year. Tuition has increased by 14 percent since the university fiscal budget was announced last spring. It will increase by another 14 percent in the next school year.

Until the economy improves, WSU is likely to undergo more major cuts and tuition increases, District 9 Sen. Mark Schoeler said.

2. WSU President Elson S. Floyd:


“Christine [Gregoire] has told me they plan to cut higher education by $99 million. She happens to have a very different view from me on how that money should be distributed.”

Background: WSU cut its budget by $54 million earlier this year. Tuition has increased by 14 percent since the university fiscal budget was announced last spring. It will increase by another 14 percent in the next school year.

Higher education is facing cuts of $99 million in the upcoming legislative session, and many have different views on how that money should be distributed, Elson S. Floyd said.


3. Write a lede based on this background information:

Background: Andrew Storfer, an associate professor at the WSU School of Biological Sciences, spoke to the zoology club Wednesday at Eastlick Hall. He said about 180 amphibian species are extinct, and a very small amount of amphibian species actually had an increase in population. Storfer said 43 percent of amphibian populations worldwide are in decline. He listed six probable causes: habitat destruction, invasive species, exploitation, global climate change, contaminants, and emerging diseases.

Amphibian populations face threats that will likely add to the already 180 species that are extinct, Andrew Storfer said Wednesday night at Eastlick Hall.

Speech Story

Elected District 9 Representatives Discuss Budget Concerns – Speech Story
Kerry Gugliotto

Headline:
Legislators Address Budget Concerns
Summary:
Higher education will not be spared from the coming state budget cuts, Rep. Joe Schmick said on Tuesday night in the Honors Hall Lounge.
Legislative District 9 Reps. Susan Fagan, Schmick and Sen. Mark Schoesler spoke Tuesday to a crowd of about 45 people regarding budget shortfalls and other issues that will be in the legislature’s agenda this January.
“Until we get our economy turned around, higher education is always at risk,” Schoesler said.
Concerns about increased tuition came from both WSU students and Pullman residents at the meeting.
“I understand that times are difficult, but I’m hoping the budget does not cause our tuition to increase by a lot,” said Emily Tessier, a junior communication major and audience member.
The representatives responded to these concerns by saying they will know more after Gov. Chris Gregoire releases a proposal budget in mid-December.
Audience member, Celena Canode, a senior political science major said she came to the event because she was interested to hear about the state level budget problems.
“The legislative is in a difficult situation, but I would like to not see a raise in taxes on the services we expect and need,” she said.
The proposed budget will be a “shocker,” Schoesler said. He expects it to be vague and assume revenue. The state budget is projected to be more than $2 billion in the red, he said.
After the last session “tanked,” there were warnings that the current budget mess would come so it should not be any surprise, Schoesler said.
Prioritizing spending by making more cuts, not increasing taxes and creating more jobs was the representatives’ theme as they each spoke about the current budget shortfall.
“In my observation, close observation, of regulations in the last 10 years, we are spending more money than we have,” Fagan said. “State revenues have gone up, but so has spending. This makes prioritizing our money (as) one way to start fixing the budget shortfall.”
While making the budget, 70 percent of it is protected, but the other 30 percent will be looked at for cuts, Schoesler said.
Some of the cuts are expected to be made from disabilities services, prisons, economic support for low-income families, basic education, state-funded environmental, natural resource protection and higher education.
Schmick said he believes that to improve the economy, more jobs need to be created, people need to get employed and then they need to spend money.
“It sounds simple, but we struggle in this area to keep our businesses,” he said.
Fagan agreed by saying the Boeing Company and a lot of equally important smaller businesses are leaving the state of Washington, causing a lack of jobs.
“When you graduate, we want to make sure you have job opportunities,” she said.
For students to leave WSU with the potential of a career, residents need to support businesses, making the economy the No. 1 priority, Fagan said. One way to do this is to focus on the private sector.
Fagan said she will focus on this as she gets started as a representative.
“I do have a lot to learn, but I am very eager to take on the challenges that lie ahead,” she said.
Related web sites:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Results.aspx?District=09
http://www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/budget/default.asp

This article was written by Kerry Gugliotto,
kerbear732@yahoo.com
Contacts:
Celena Canode
calenacanode@gmail.com
(360) 286–3073
Emily Tessier
(425) 213-8186
Mark Schoesler
(360) 786-7620
Susan Fagan
(360) 786-7942
Joe Schmick
(360) 786-7844
Schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov
Three questions for the speakers:
1. How will the budget cuts effect WSU students? (Tuition increase? By how much?)
2. What areas of the budget do you think should be cut and which areas should not be? Why?
3. Besides the budget shortfall, what other issues will be salient in the upcoming legislative session?

One Sentence Summary of Feature Story

Intramural sports’ consistent popularity at WSU is causing UREC officials to make improvements around campus like the $10.9 million Playfield Improvement Project.

Correcting Sentences

Correct the following sentences.


1. Even though the Seattle Sounders’ FC inaugural season ended Sunday with a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo, the Sounders still have a lot to be proud of. (attribution?)

2. Tommy Sullivan was one of the many fans who were able to attend a game this year.

3. With improvement work in mind, Pullman residents are feeling the comfort of a clean, high-quality, diversified neighborhood more and more.

4. “People will come in and buy them by the case,” said Ryan Jones, a senior at WSU majoring in management operations and employee of Bob’s Corner Market for three years. “It’s not uncommon for them to run out at the warehouse. Sometimes I think they just can’t keep up.”

5. Yagiz started school with an undecided major, but after taking geology her sophomore year, she found what she wanted to study.

6. If enacted, the plan will positively affect the neighborhood of College Hill and the collegiate experience of WSU students, he said.

7. More than 60 percent of off-premise establishments provided at least one type of beer promotion.

8. A fleet of camouflage army cargo trucks sits in a parking lot, while men from the National Guard use forklifts to load supplies into the truck beds.

9. Potential employers are increasingly likely to view social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace when screening applicants for a position. (attribution?)

10. The biggest misconception out there is that setting your Facebook to private will protect you from allowing people to view your profile, Stefany Unda, career development program coordinator for CACD said.

11. He expects to see a number of transit systems turn (transit systems don't turn to voters...?) to voters in an attempt to gain more revenue, he said.

12. With more traffic on the Web site than in the department digital technology to be very organized and has allowed archives to out into the public sphere more.

13. “We just buy and sell real estate, it is what we do, but the market doesn’t dictate the price,” she said. “The price is the price and I haven’t seen a noticeable change.”

14. These bales are then sold to a processing center in Tacoma, Wash. for a mere $24.

15. “In five or ten years something else will be cool and texting while driving while be a primary offense, but it’s going to take a little time,” Tennant said.



Underline the subject and verb of the following sentences:

Another impact that increases the purchasing of alcohol is the premises that sell alcohol on and off the WSU campus.

The best advice the CACD can give is, do not post things that you would not want people to see.


Comma splice? Yes or no.

“We just buy and sell real estate, it is what we do but, the market doesn’t dictate the price,” she said.
Yes

In 2007, while the average income in Washington was $55,628 the average income for Whitman County was $36,438.
No

Going green took on new meaning this year when WSU Waste Management announced dramatic changes to the recycling program in an effort to save money across the university, The city plans to follow suit.
Yes

“Take a little out of athletics, take a percentage out of athletics, so a whole department doesn't have to be terminated,” Converse said.
Yes

Fake Press Release

For the first time, professionals will explore both commercial and citizen reporting in virtual worlds on April 6 at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, WSU, Pullman, Wash.

A partnership between Washington State University and the McCormick Foundation will gather leading technology executives and journalists to explore the recent rise of media outlets and distribution within 3D virtual world spaces.

"These emerging 3D spaces offer fascinating new opportunities for storytelling. And as the traditional, newspaper-based world of journalism looks for appropriate new ways to provide the vital checks and balances vital to democracy, this event will provide a very significant catalyst for innovation," Erica Austin, the interim dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication said.

Virtual journalism refers to the phenomena of news reporting within a 3D online space, such as Second Life or Club Penguin.

Both Second Life founder Philip Rosedale and Club Penguin co-founder Lane Merrifield will be among the 8 presenters at the event.

ThinkBalm co-founder Erica Driver, a veteran technology analyst, will present recent research findings on "The Immersive Internet."

Also, Lila King, CNN.com senior producer, will share her experiences with bringing CNN's i-Reports citizen journalism platform to Second Life.

Bernhard Drax, an award-winning virtual world reporter and musician, will share his thoughts on the future of reporting in and around the metaverse from a blogger’s perspective.

"We're excited to bring together many of the leaders in technology and journalism to discuss and explore this new media channel for storytelling. These and other emerging forms of digital news distribution offer both promise and potential for our students and for the future of journalism," Elson S. Floyd, WSU’s president said.

Edward R. Murrow College of Communication is highly regarded nationwide by educators and professionals. It is the only program in the Northwest that offers sequences in all six communication fields.

The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation’s largest charities, with $1.2 billion in assets. It is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country.

"The McCormick Foundation is proud to partner with Brett Atwood and WSU's Edward R. Murrow College. Our reporting institutes are designed to be timely, engaging and insightful. This event should certainly fulfill our expectations and serve as a valuable learning platform for the participating journalists," Clark Bell, McCormick Foundation's director of the Journalism Program said.

Related Sites;
www.McCormickFoundation.org.
http://communication.wsu.edu.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the event Web site at: http://communication.wsu.edu/virtualjournalism.

Examples of virtual journalism at the following links:
* CNN IReports
* New World Notes
* Los Angeles Times Article: "Fans Flock to Disney's Club Penguin Times"

Contacts:
Brett Atwood, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication 509-335-0113, batwood@wsu.edu
Maria Ortega, WSU News Service, 509-335-7209, mortega@wsu.edu


My Questions:

How has virtual journalism impacted WSU?
How has virtual journalism impacted the McCormick Foundation?
What is the future of virtual journalism?

Feature Story

Intramural Sports – Trend Feature Story
Kerry Gugliotto
kerbear732@yahoo.com
Headline:
WSU Intramural Leagues Remain Popular
Summary:
“Not many high school athletes have both the skills and drive to play at the college level,” Dmitry Babayev, a junior at WSU said. “Playing sports, being competitive and a part of a team was something I loved during high school, but thought I would have to do without in college.”
Almost every weekend Babayev puts on a uniform and plays on a team without the sacrifices of playing at the college level. This is his third year playing intramural sports at WSU.
“It is the best of both worlds,” he said. “I get to be competitive and play the sports I love while having time to be a normal college student.”
Babayev is among many to discover intramural sports at WSU. Each year 5,500–6,000 WSU students participate in at least one sport, and this has remained fairly consistent from year to year, said Dave Pearson an assistant director for the University Recreation Center in charge of competitive sports, special events and youth programs.
“WSU remains one of the largest intramural programs in the nation for a school this size and as of the last check, the second largest in the Pac-10 despite being one of the smaller Pac-10 schools,” said Jeff Elbracht, the associate director for the University Recreation Center. “Nearly 50 percent of students participate in some type of intramural activity while at WSU.”
“The program is run pretty well and there are always a lot of participants,” Babayev said.
The UREC’s current Playfield Improvement Project to improve the Valley Road Playfields will benefit intramural sport participants, Sarah Driscoll, a chair member of the UREC advisory board said.
The Valley Road Playfields are the second most utilized UREC facility and has 25,000 scheduled users, Elbracht said.
The new field will be made of field turf. This will allow it to be used year round as well as conserve the 13 million gallons of water and 450 gallons of fuel it takes each year to maintain the current playfields, Elbracht said. Usage of the fields is anticipated to double because of these improvements.
During the 6 months of construction, intramural participants will have fewer locations to play, and the board does not want to limit the amount of students who can participate, Driscoll said.
“Games are likely to run later into the night,” she said. “They might go as late as 1 a.m.”
The board met with WSU’s Service and Activity Fee Committee last month to discuss funding for the project.
“The Service and Activity Committee has recently pledged to support the project which will allow for the completion of the design and the solicitation of the formal bids on the construction project,” Elbracht said. “Once formal bids are received the request will be done to the Service and Activity Committee for the exact amount needed to fund the project.”
Including design, construction and equipment the most the project will cost is $10.9 million. The current economy may allow UREC to get cheaper construction bids, Elbracht said.
Student fees will not increase because of this project, Driscoll said.
Construction should start in June 2010 and the estimated completion date is December 2010, Elbracht said.


Related Sites:
http://urec.wsu.edu/facilities_playfield_layout.aspx
Contacts:
Jeff Elbracht
509-335-9668
Elbracht@wsu.edu
Dave Pearson
509-335-9660
Dmp54@wsu.edu
Dmitry Babayev
206-852-4324
Dmitry.babyev@email.wsu.edu
Sarah Driscoll
206-226-5225