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Easter Egg Hunters Discover Dead Body ABC News

This story took place in Knoxville, Tennessee, where a woman had been smelling a foul odor outside of her home for a few days and looking for the source. She hadn’t found the source, but even asked the person who mowed her lawn to be on the look out for anything that could be causing the smell.The body was found 15-20 feet from the edge of the deck, and was discovered last Wednesday during an Easter egg hunt. There are no signs of foul play that police can tell, but due to the decomposition of the body, a further autopsy will be needed to make sure.

This story was definitely a topic that caught my attention right away because this isn’t the typical happy easter story. The information is from a credible source, but the video didn’t seem complete to me. It left me with a lot of unanswered questions.

I think the video had a lot of good angles of the house, both video and stills, that really showed the deck and how a person could be hidden under it. I thought it might need a little more variety when it comes to B Roll though. I thought they showed the man a perfect amount of time and need the same balance with great B Roll.

The audio was great on this topic and the news reporter was easily heard and understood. The piece flowed nicely, but I would have really liked to see them speak to the woman who actually owns the house and have her explain how they found the body and where they’re going from here. I would also really like a follow up video that does interview the owner and then explains the results of the autopsy and where the investigation goes from here.

Blog Post 4

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Ex-Taco Bell Interns Want Credit for Doritos Taco Huffington Post

This article is about a woman named Andrea Watt and her team who came up with the idea for the Doritos Taco back in 1995 during a summer internship. She said that her and her group pitched the idea to executives as a part of an intern competition and lost. Their idea ended up being a winner more than 15 years later, bringing in over a billion dollars in sales.Watt stated that she’s sure she signed something that states that anything they pitched would belong to Taco Bell, but she just wanted credit for her idea.

I thought this story was interesting because I’m sure a lot of people have eaten this taco, and usually hone it comes to these types of things, major companies can be sued for stealing ideas. When I read the headline I was instantly interested because I wanted to see if anyone was trying to sure Taco Bell and how the story ended. It is definitely an entertaining piece, but the video was too short. I liked that it gave all the basic information, but when you read the actual story below it, you get so much more information that wasn’t offered in the video. The video did get a lot done in the short amount of time though. They showed a picture of the team with their idea, pictures of the materials they created to market the product, and other various shots. There was a nice amount of B roll to accompany the anchorman’s A roll. I liked that they used a quote in the video as well.The audio was very clear and easy to understand.The story didn’t really have a very distinct beginning, middle, and then end but I think that is because the story was so short and to the point.The fonts used on all written parts were easy to see and read. I liked this story but I think it would have been nice to hear more quotes from Watt and her teammates in the video since they were included in the written piece.

Blog Post 3

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74-Year-Old Woman Released From Prison After Serving 32 Years for Murder on Yahoo
This story was published March 24th and covers a Los Angeles woman named Mary Jones who will be released from prison after serving a 32-year sentence. She was arrested in 1981 after her abusive boyfriend kidnaped two men and forced Mary at gunpoint to drive a car into a back alley in LA where he shot the men. Jones ran from the scene and was arrested a few days later. Law students at the University of Southern California’s Post-Conviction Justice Project brought up her case, saying she would not have been convicted if the jury had heard expert testimony about the effects of battered women’s syndrome. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office reviewed her case and agreed, letting go of her convictions if she pled no contest to voluntary manslaughter.

This is very interesting because it is a story people can sympathize with. It is sad to see a battered woman, but even worse to see a woman in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. The story is credible because it originally came from CBS. The story is overall complete and doesn’t leave me asking any questions. I thought the visuals were really good. They covered all aspects of the story, including her in the courtroom, her friends and family and how they felt, and a woman advocating for women who have suffered from battered women’s syndrome. I think I would have liked to see more actual footage of Mary and them interviewing her, but I understand that probably wasn’t possible due to the fact that she wasn’t technically released from prison yet. The audio was smooth and consistent, except I thought it was too loud when that woman yelled in the courtroom, even though I know that was part of the story. The story doesn’t overstep any journalism or ethical boundaries and covers a story that needs to be shown. I liked the emotional aspects that were brought into this piece a lot because it really showed how happy the family was to have her released, and even showed her son singing.

Blog Post 1

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Facebook Buys Whatsapp for $19 Billion on CNN
This short video was published on February 20th, and covers how the founders of Whatsapp are newly billionaires after the business deal they made with Facebook to sell their creation for $19 billion. This video mentions how Facebook and twitter both turned down co-founder Brian Acton for a job in 2009, but that didn’t seem to stop him. It gives some information about the application and why it is worth $19 billion. This app has grown exponentially over the last few years, and now has 400 million users. This video also explains why Facebook viewed this as a worthwhile deal.

This story is extremely interesting and relevant because the social media issue has completely taken over our lives, and an amount of money that large will catch anyones attention no matter what it’s about. Although it looked like your typical news broadcast, it did offer a small variety of images. The audio was clear, although I did believe the second woman spoke a little quickly. I liked how they took the time to explain why this product is so valuable and could possibly be listed at this price, even though it seems extreme. I also liked how both visual aids and graphs were used to help the audience understand what they were explaining. I thought it was great how they put in Acton’s personal tweets in the beginning to show that he progressed from being turned away, to highly sought after. There wasn’t really a large variation in the kinds of shots or transitions since it was a traditional news story, but I felt it served its purpose well and got the information across that was needed.