Feature story (video game violence)

Do you play violent video games? Do you reanact killing sprees from Grand Theft Auto? No? I didnt think so, there is no case that has ever occured that leads anyone to believe that violent video games have ever caused someone to commit violent acts. The only time that anyone blames violent acts on video games is when they need an escape goat (something to place blame on). Some people criticize video games saying that they make kids prone to violent actions. However, many major studies by groups such as The Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health "concluded that there's no data to support the notion that violent video games cause the kids who play them to act out violence in real life, contrary to the vast majority of media outlets that would have the public thinking otherwise (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9942041-1.html)." Kids use violent video games to relieve stress, A harvard phsycologist "steven Johnson"(one of the "fifty people who matter most on the internet") Concluded that violent video games have a positive effect on your brain. Kutner and Olson (Journalists) have documented their findings in Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games, Where they researched and stated in a nut shell that people who dont play violent video games are more violent then people who dont. "The U.S Secret Service intensely studied each of the 37 non-gang and non-drug-related school shootings and stabbings that were considered “targeted attacks” that took place nationally from 1974 through 2000. (Note how few premeditated school shootings there actually were during that 27-year time period, compared with the public perception of those shootings as relatively common events!) The incidents studied included the most notorious school shootings, such as Columbine, Santee and Paducah, in which the young perpetrators had been linked in the press to violent video games. The Secret Service found that that there was no accurate profile. Only 1 in 8 school shooters showed any interest in violent video games; only 1 in 4 liked violent movies."(Kutner and Olson)
With those facts, It is safe to say that media places blame on video games in order to explain crazy actions commited by mentally ill people. If video games caused people to act out what the see in them, wouldnt there be a guy in a "master chief" Halo suit going on killing sprees trying to see how many head shots he can get? Or some guy running around New York blowing everything up with grenades and shooting random people with machine guns like in Grand Theft Auto? Abviously not considering nothing remotely simular has EVER happened.
There is no evidence to correlate video game violence and real life violence. Blaming video games for violent actions is like blaming war in the middle east on the video game "Medal of Honor." Video games are not made fun by the notion that you are killing people, but by the notion that you are winning the game, doing cool looking action moves, looking at intense awesome graphics, and much more.

News story, job hunting.

Lately throughout America (and the world), there is an economic recession, people are being laid off and being forced to find money any place they can. People who should have already retired are having their retirement money stripped away from the stock market and 401k's, 70 year olds and older are now having to work at places like walmart. This is mostly because of people buying houses they cant ever afford, Bush Jr. approved a bill to make real estate companies legally sell you a home you will eventually have to give up to forclosure. Also another reason is people are scared, scared to spend money to get it flowing back into circulation. Scared and pulling all of there investments in companies and stock out because the interest rates are down for a day or two. But what happens when everyone pulls their money out? The interest rates go plummeting even further into the abyss. When you take all your money back when the interest is low on stocks, you will abviously get less money, so why even do that? You might as well wait until the interest rates go up (like they allways do). If everyone didnt pull out so early, i bet that 401k's would be worth more. Consequently because of this ressesion, revenue in business is down and businesses are trying to meet the minimal requirement of the amount of people in their stores. This makes it extremely difficult to find a job, even at a fast food place.



Its been months now since I've had a job, its not that i havent been looking for one, it is because no one seems to be hiring.
Eastview senior Andy Schafer when asked about his current job situation said, "I have been looking off and on for a while now for a job, but I cant seem to find one."
Eastview senior Aaron Stevens when interviewed about his job status replied, "No, I dont have a job, I have been looking for a couple months and nothing has happened yet."
In conclusion, Jobs are very hard to find at this point in time, and for anyone trying to find one, good luck.

-Jason Higgins

interviewing notes

choose 3 intyerviewees

schedule interviews (24+hours)

Give a heads up on interviews

conduct backround research

write interview questions (10-15)

-Why prepare questions?

1st impressions.

nervous.

higher quality questions.

Preperation in a guide, not a limitation.

revealing qoutes

Said by interviewee

gives readers insight to personality



portraiture

Description created by writer

based on observations of interviewee

relevant to topic

Types of questions

Opener: beggining question/remark

ex. cute pictures. are those your children?

First Step: asks about interview topic

ex. I wanted to talk to talk to yuou about your upcoming fundraise, can you tell me exactly what your doing?

Qualifier: find out if source is qualified

"what is your role in the fundraising efforts"

Routine factual: 5 W's and h

who is on the committee? when will the fundraiser be?

numerical: statuistacal info.

G-O-s-s-e-y: goals, obsticles, solutions, start, evaluation, why?

Responder: clarification
Soliciting a qoute: a specific questions "tell me exactly what your hope is for this fundraiser."

Imaginative: strays from the routine "Does your team have any superstitions"
Recover from grenade, a neutral question "any last minute stradegy before the game.

concluding the interview, "thank you," sign documentation sheet, further questions?

Beware, not everyone is a great interviewee.