Front Page Friday: Sunday Round-up

This week, I decided to wait until Sunday to see what all the newspapers in the country were up to since Sunday is typically the day of the week that has the largest paper. This is because many people only subscribe to the Sunday paper due to the larger number of advertising inserts.

I found four front pages that jumped out at me. I will be giving a brief critique of each.

The Daily Bee

This is the front page from the Idaho Daily Bee on Jan. 29, 2012 (via Newseum.org).

This is the front page from the Daily Bee of Sandpoint, Idaho.

This one jumped out at me because of how poorly it was done. The main problem I have with it is the cutline of the center photo. It is smashed between the photo and the briefs running down the left-hand side of the page.

A cutline needs to have breathing room. It is too small. There isn’t adequate white space, and the color screened behind the bottom story is almost too dark to read the text. Do better next time, Bee.

The Garden Island

This is the front page of Hawaii's Garden Island from Jan. 29, 2012 (via Newseum.org).

This front page is from Sunday’s Garden Island from the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands.

I like it because I live in Kansas and it is winter here. Seeing someone surfing makes me feel like summer is actually closer than it is. And it is a cool action photograph.

Herald Times Reporter

This is the front page of Wisconsin's Herald Times Reporter from Jan. 29, 2012 (via Newseum.org).

The entire center package of Sunday’s Herald Times Reporter of Wisconsin is fantastic. The graphics give great direction to the reader. The top graphic and photos direct the readers’ eyes across and down the page. The bullets keep the readers looking up into the package, and the photos are great.

Also, the package has a lot of refers to extra online content.

Overall, this a great, graphics-packed piece. Great work!

Tribune Star

This is the front page of the Terre Haute, Indiana, Tribune Star from Jan. 29, 2012 (via Newseum.org).

Terre Haute, Indiana’s Tribune Star on Sunday grabbed me instantly. As an educator this center package of how technology is being incorporated into the schools is very interesting to me personally. And the image of the hands using a laptop cobbed out is a great eye-catching graphic. The drop-cap was done in a very cool font.

Student Photog Gone Awry

One of my journalism students snapped a photo of me. Then it seems she printed multiple copies and place them under the windshield wipers of most of the vehicles in the school parking lot.

Why?

I have no idea.

I do look handsome, though. Right?

Front Page Friday: The New York Post

It has been almost two years since I last took part in my Front Page Friday postings. That’s embarrassing. However, it is time to revive it. I apologize for the absence, but I’m excited to revive it. So, is the debut of the new Front Page Friday.

New York Post

This is the front page of the Jan. 18, 2012, New York Post (via newseum.org).

If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, I’m sure you’ve heard about the the cruise ship accident that took place last Friday off the coast of Italy. The captain, Francesco Schettino, abandoned ship without helping his crew or passengers.

In short, he was a giant pansy.

Or, as The New York Post cleverly stated on their front page Wednesday, he was a chicken.

As you can see, the play on words of “Chicken of the sea,” which is of course a reference to tuna, captures the essence of the story perfectly since he was a person whose job consisted of being on the sea and was clearly a chicken. This is especially true since the captain claims he fell off the ship and into a lifeboat before being ordered back to the ship by the Italian Coast Guard.

Luckily for the passengers, the rest of the crew stepped up and made sure things were dealt with.

Schettino is an embarrassment to captains everywhere. What a worm bag.

As for the journalistic side of this, it is fantastic. They covered the page, which is tabloid-sized, with a photo of the captain. Then they overlaid the “Chicken Of The Sea” across the bottom. Then, they put a pull-quote on the page that demonstrates how frantic and serious the ordeal was.

The refer takes the reader to the story on the inside by using a vibrant pink color to draw attention to the page numbers of the story.

This is a great way to cover an international story. I applaud the Post for it. It is funny, clever and tells the story perfectly.

+++

Well, I hope you enjoyed this installment of Front Page Friday. It won’t be the last. I’m going to get back into the groove of things and begin highlighting at least one page a week. Hopefully, I will even have a few extra front pages to share each week.

2012 New Year’s Resolutions: Looking foward to a good year

via siwriterholic.blogspot.com

Another year has come and gone, so that can only mean one thing.

It is time to make New Year’s Resolutions.

In the past, I have made a Top 10 list to outline my goals for the year. In fact, last year I even recapped what I had resolved to do in 2010 before diving into my 2011 resolutions.

Not this year, though. I’m going to try to keep things simple (which actually ties to one of my resolutions as you’ll see in a bit). I’m not going to prattle on and on about all the things that have occurred in my life this year. If you want to read up on that, check out The Morgue for 2011.

So, let’s get to the resolutions.

2012 New Year’s Resolutions

+ Finish Master’s Degree, Teaching License Work & Be A Better Teacher +

By the middle of May, I will be a certified teacher. I will have my master’s degree. I will be done with my education. Finally. Again. Of course, before I can celebrate and breathe a sigh of relief at having my degree and teaching license, I have to get through the spring semester. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I am in the Transition To Teaching program at Fort Hays State University. It has been great for me. It has allowed me to teach the subject I love (journalism) while I earn my teaching license.

I am looking forward to completing it so I can focus on my students more and my own homework less because I want to become a better teacher. I want to always strive to be better. I want to impart more knowledge about my subject area to my students, implement more technology and expand my scope of practice.

+ Streamline & Organize My Life +

I spent a chunk of the holiday break from teaching going through belongings in my former bedroom at my parents’ house. I made a sizable dent, but there is still more to sort through. It was during this I realized my life was weighed down with clutter.

For 2012, I am resolving to change that. I am going to halt my pack-rat ways and begin to discard the items I don’t truly need. I have a habit of keeping items, such as paperwork and documents, because I think they will come in handy later on. From now on, though, I am going to change that.

In the coming days, I am going to tear through my bedroom here in Arnold, Kan., and throw out stuff I don’t need. If it is something I think I might actually use — not just hope to use — I will scan it and save it to my computer.

Also, I’m going to get rid of clothes I no longer use that hold no sentimental value. In fact, I have already taken action on this. I sorted out four trash bags full of clothes. I took the items that were still in good shape to Goodwill.

As for the stuff in my former bedroom at my parents’ house, I will continue to sort through it whenever I am home.

The only items I won’t be able to get rid of just yet — at both my current and former home — are books. I can’t just let them go. I love books.

Also, I’m going to continue a practice I started recently. I make a daily to-do list. This keeps me focused and on track. My productivity has increased, and I don’t forget to do things. I will continue to do this.

+ Keep Reading +

I’ve been keeping my 2010 New Year’s Resolution to read more, and I’m not going to stop now. Like I said, I love books. I keep track of all that I read on the “Reading List” page of this blog and on Good Reads. After this year, this will no longer be a resolution. I figure after three years, it is just what I do, not a resolution.

+ Write Next Novel +

Keeping with the theme of loving books, I wrote one. It is titled “Murder at St. Alfanus,” and I am very proud of it. Numerous people have purchased and read the book. I have been getting good feedback, and many people have told me they are anxiously awaiting the next novel.

Therefore, I plan to write my follow-up novel this year.

And I will continue to promote “Murder at St. Alfnaus” as much as possible. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, click one of the links I have posted in this section.

+ Georgical +

This is a new venture. My friend Cort Anderson and I are going to start writing books about small towns. This venture is in its infancy. Stay tuned for more information.

+ Be Giving & Be Happy +

I want to be more giving of my time and money, and I want to do more things that make me happy, such as write, teach, watch movies, read and be around family and friends.

To be more giving, I am going to give money to the Les Anderson Fund for Students at the Wichita State University Foundation, named after an influential professor in my time at WSU who died this past year.

Also, as I mentioned earlier when I said I gave clothes to Goodwill, I’m going to give things that no longer serve a purpose to me to those who need it.

I’m going to continue to do community service via the Sons of the American Legion, the American Legion Riders, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, the Ransom City and Nevada Township Fire Department and the American Legion Boys State of Kansas.

I think being more giving will help me feel happier about life. I like the warm feeling I get when I do it. Combining this with doing things I love to do will make my life even more enjoyable than it already is.

+ Closing +

So, I think it is going to be a great year for me. There is a lot of exciting things on my horizon, and I can’t wait to share them all with you.

Thanks for being a reader of this blog, and I hope you continue to read throughout 2012.

PHOTOS: Snowmageddon 2011 in Arnold, Kan.

Western Kansas has been slammed with a blizzard. We didn’t have school today, and we got dismissed early Monday. This means Monday night’s Christmas concert was cancelled, and the basketball game that was supposed to happen tonight isn’t going to.

This morning, Kansas Highway 4, which runs right through Ransom and Arnold, Kan., was closed.

Christmas break is upon us, and as a teacher I would normally be hitting the road by now to go back to McPherson County to see my family and friends.

But the road is closed.

I could have outran the really nasty stuff Monday afternoon, but I was lucky enough to get to drive a bus route in the blizzard.

So today I have been watching documentary after documentary on Netflix, and it hasn’t been a complete waste. I’ve gotten quite a bit done. I did some grading, wrapped a few Christmas presents and more. Most importantly, and the purpose of this post, I went tromping through the snow to take pictures of the drifts.

I’m going to share my five favorite photos here. Then I will put a link to all 33 images I shot.

And for those of you who know my house’s previous trials with the cold, we haven’t ran out of propane yet.

Snowmageddon 2011

Want more photos? Click this link: https://plus.google.com/photos/112858175849196183036/albums/5688358830027059537?authkey=COKMvKez1fe4NQ