Legal Questions

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I am writing responses in regards to questions about legal implications of writing.)

Note to professor: This assignment was very difficult for me, easily the most difficult of the semester. I work in a Legal department, which has taught me how much I am not cut out to think like a lawyer :) My job is on the technical side, so by its nature I am focused not on legal minutiae, but making sure they have the technical tools to do their job. I had to really "flip" my normal daily mindset to do this assignment. Which was good, but very difficult, hence the last-minute timestamp. Hope that makes sense. It was a good exercise, but I found myself being really to-the-point and brief, rather than verbose. At the same time, the point is to learn the law in order to write responsibly. And I appreciate that. Thanks!

1. Response to Privacy Policy:

First of all, I tried to find a privacy policy on the message board I moderate, but there is none. The author, who owns the site, just posts two simple rules: "1. NO SELLING. This is a forum for learning and helping each other, not a marketplace. Do not pitch/link your own products or "special offers" and such to members. You will be banned. 2. NO flaming. If you are mean or degrading to others, you will be banned. Feel free to be critical, but be civilized and suggest alternatives if you disagree with someone."

I found this interesting, a site with no "policy" other than that. Same goes for the main site, http://fourhourworkweek.com - they both collect email addresses and still, no privacy policy, or the like. I would like to ask the author why, if any reason, for the omission.

So, I decided to read google's privacy policy. The most confusing thing about this is, there seem to be two different versions of this posted on their website, one shorter than the other. From http://www.google.com I clicked on the "Privacy Policy" link at the bottom of the page, which led me to http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/privacy_fusionph.html. While reading it, there was a hyperlink to "Google Privacy Policy" which leads to http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html - which seems to be a longer, more thorough explanation. Confusing.

Other than that, I didn't have any objections. I am sure that some would be disturbed by the fact that third parties may have access to their cookie information, but you have to sign up for (or "plug in") those third-party applications in order for that to happen. Overall, the privacy policy was very easy to read, I think, even for an Internet novice. It was also very careful to outline "what-if" scenarios so users would feel comfortable using their service, such as what would happen during a merger or acquisition.

I would have liked a little more information about how "Google’s Ad Serving cookies" use my cookie information to market certain ads to me. I happen to know a bit about this from my experience, but the privacy policy only gives you direction on how to opt-out of it, without any explanation. This would make me a little nervous as a user -- why tell me I can opt out but give no explanation as to why or how the tool is used?

2. Fair Use Infringement Claim:

At first read I thought the NRECA was overreacting to the CEI's use of their footage. However, it now seems to me that using someone else's footage out of context has its own set of problems. It reminds me a lot of the way politicians use clips of their rivals out of context and sometimes even with different voiceovers in order to make them look bad. Just as in the example of the recent suit files by Kay Hagan when Elizabeth Dole attacked her religious character, it's not good practice and can (and should, in my opinion) lead to a lawsuit.

I didn't find a whole lot specifically in the Fair Use law that applies to this case, but the spirit of the Fair Use Law, to me, was broken by the CEI. In particular, the part about the advancement of ideas, education, information, and knowledge. Some may argue that the CEI was educating and informing, and that may be true of the advertisement as a whole, but the use of the NRECA's public video out of context was clearly an attempt to mock them in some way, even if it was only seven seconds. The "purpose and character" of the use seems more underhanded than proactive.

U.S. Copyright Law is meant to protect creativity and innovation while at the same time allowing enough influence and inspiration so as not to stifle that same creativity and innovation. The NRECA was right in saying that the CEI's use of their documentary video in order to further their own cause was not fair, because, in my estimation, mocking one's creation for your own advancement is just wrong.

3. Advising the news site:

Dear sirs,

It appears to me that this story was fair and factual up until the last few sentences which are a quote from Ms. Hubier. The plaintiff's claim about being portrayed as drunk does not seem to be there, as you accurately published that he was merely "arrested on suspicion." Therefore, I am going to concentrate on the implications of having published that last quote.

Mr. Simmons is a private citizen. Therefore, he only has to prove that your establishment was negligent in publishing the quote that I described above. My concern here is that quote comes from someone who was nearby, but admitted that she really didn't see much. She had very little to go on to make judgments about the driver, and her comments were best left at "it's a damn tragedy."

Therefore, unfortunately, I believe it will be likely that Mr. Simmons can prove negligence on your part.

So, I now concentrate on what defenses we can explore. The good news is there are six essential ingredients to libel that the plaintiff has the burden to prove.

The first is defamation: the word "stupid" certainly is derogatory and I expect his legal counsel to concentrate on that aspect of the case. I don't have a lot to defend that point, but I will certainly continue to explore this.

So, let's move on the next: identification. Because you published Mr. Simmons' name, you have clearly identified him. This is black and white, nothing I can do to defend this.

Let's move to the third: publication. Simply enough, this article was published. Again, nothing I can do to defend this.

Fourth: Fault. As I described above, he needs only to prove negligence in order to prevail. It's a "type" of fault, and I will try to discredit that, as described below:

Fifth: Falsity. We may have a ray of hope here. In order to win the claim, he must prove that the story is false. All things considered, you were publishing a quote of an eyewitness, possibly the only living eyewitness, and there is no falsity in that. Your reporter was not calling Mr. Simmons stupid, the eyewitness was. And any reasonable reader should be able to distinguish this as an opinion, not fact. This will be the focus of our defense. Many readers are actually craving first-hand "opinion" rather than just straight facts in this new Internet environment. You were providing an opinion in the middle of a factual report.

And finally, the sixth: Injury. This is a very easy claim for virtually any plaintiff to prove, because it includes psychological injury. I have little doubt about his counsel's ability to prove this point. Once again, nothing I can do to defend this.

I hope you can see that number five is our only hope and what I will be concentrating on from now on in this case.

Sincerely,
Marcie Nottalawyer

Frequently Asked Questions

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.This week, I am writing FAQs related the web site I proposed earlier, crowdrestaurantreviews.com.)


1. I want to write a review, but I don't know how.

We have created a sample restaurant review here that you can use as a template. There is another good article on this subject here. We don't expect all reviews to be perfect, just honest and fair.

2. Why can't I add more than 10 photos?

We encourage you to take lots of pictures. However, we want you to pick the five or ten that best tell your story (deleted: "tell your story best"). You are welcome to link to an album containing all of your photos. A site like photobucket or flickr can help you do this.

3. Too many other people have reviewed the restaurant I want to review. Why bother?

Your star rating counts as a "vote" towards the average that everyone sees on the restaurant's review (deleted: "home") page. In addition, we rotate the reviews that are highlighted on that home page, so yours could easily get some good visibility.

4. What if I forgot to check out the sanitation grade, or other important details?

Not all fields are required -- most are not -- because someone else can go back in and enter it for you, or you can enter it later. This is how the crowd helps contribute to each home page.

5. Why does the review have to be 500 characters?

We want you tell a complete story. Short, poorly thought out reviews are not welcome. So we made a character limit.

6. What if I didn't take any pictures at all?

That's okay. Although highly recommended, you don't have to have photos. Your review will not be highlighted on a home page, however, without pictures.

7. I work for a restaurant, can I write a review?

Sure, but we prefer that you not review the restaurant you work for. This would be conflict of interest.

8. I own/manage a restaurant, can I do anything about a bad review?

Anyone can comment on each review. If you think something in the review was completely inappropriate, deceitful, slanderous, etc., write to our support staff and we'll look into it.

9. Can you start a site like this in my city/town?

Actually, you can. Just send in a request via this link (also located at the bottom of the home page) and we will set up a site for your region.

10. Can I write a review about a restaurant that is not in my city?

Yes, that's fine. Just post it the correct city and let us know you were traveling, that can be important information to know. And feel free to include anything travel-related people would want to know as well!

Have a different question? Just email us!

The buzz about biofuel: a look at the future of this homegrown fuel

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.This week, I am writing an article that includes excerpts from interviews I conducted. The audience of this article is intended to be my professor, classmates, and anyone with an interest in alternative fuels.)

By Marcie Barnes

Many of you may have heard of biodiesel, which is gaining popularity across the country as an alternative to regular "virgin" diesel. Biodiesel is made (or converted) from vegetable (or animal) oil and typically can be used (usually blended with regular diesel) in any engine that uses diesel fuel without modification, as well as in oil furnaces. Therefore, people with diesel engines or oil furnaces already have the "technology" in place to begin using biodiesel.

Both (deleted "Even") Presidential candidates seem to agree that we need to turn towards more renewable energy in America and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Biofuels are one of the readily (deleted: "-") available solutions that those with diesel engines can (deleted: "turn to") try.

Lyle Estill, "V.P. of Stuff" (deleted: "of") for Piedmont Biofuels, said (deleted "told me") in an interview that he began making biodiesel for personal use (moved) in his backyard in 2002, at the rate of about 55 gallons per month. Now, he is producing approximately one hundred thousand gallons of the "stuff" each month from his Pittsboro, N.C. operation, and selling it to private citizens as well as other businesses.

He also told me that his customers are not just using it to power their cars. "Some make bug spray,” he said. “Some make asphalt cleaners, some make furniture polish. Some use it for boiler fuel. Some use for home heating." (rearranged)

Interesting stuff. (deleted: "I couldn't really find any") Information on (deleted: "the") biodiesel bug spray or furniture polish was not found (deleted "anywhere"). But (deleted: "I do think it's helpful for") information for people, typically in colder climates who have oil furnaces, (deleted: "to realize that") abounds. A biodiesel blend is a perfectly acceptable alternative fuel for them. In western North Carolina, blueridgebiofuels.com is a good place to start to find suppliers in your area. There's also a good explanation of how it works on practicalenvironmentalist.com.

The NC Solar Center at NC State University, (deleted: "which") "serves as a clearinghouse for solar and other renewable energy programs, information, research, technical assistance, and training for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond," according to (deleted: "their") its web site. It launched a campaign last year specifically designed to increase awareness about heating your home with biofuels, called "Bioheat® is Better."

Anne Tazewell, the Center's transportation program manager, supplied (deleted: "me with") an overview of the project which told of its success: "Overall the project raised awareness about this product to heating oil distributors and customers resulting in more use of biodiesel and an expanded market for soybeans," it said.

A Biodiesel Bus Wrap project slated for this year (deleted:",") unfortunately did not receive funding, she (deleted: "told me") said in an interview. Most of the funding comes from outside sources – "mainly state grants, but sometimes federal grants" - according to another Center employee.

I also spoke to a regular consumer of biodiesel, Tim Morton, who is a Landscaping Manager at SAS* in Cary, NC. SAS is a software company that, in addition to developing software to help other companies achieve sustainability, also is a steward for being a responsible, green company.

Tim (deleted: "tells me") said he is paying about $4.50 per gallon for the biodiesel he is getting from a local supplier. "We have just started using some small amounts of biodiesel in some of our SAS Landscaping equipment. We are mixing in 5-10% biodiesel with regular diesel fuel," he said. Reducing usage of virgin diesel fuel and recycling used waste cooking oil products are the benefits he reports.

(deleted: I was also happy to hear") Also of interest is the fact that all of the used cooking oil from this year's NC State Fair (deleted: "would be") was converted to biodiesel. The foods that are prepared in this way are typically not the best for your health, so it's refreshing (deleted: "puts a smile on my face") to know that, at least, the oil is not going to waste, although a lot undoubtedly went on people's waists.

Overall, the future looks bright for biofuels as more and more consumers look for alternatives to foreign oil, especially in vehicles. One readily available vehicle worthy of note is the Jetta TDI Clean Diesel. What is clean diesel, you ask? Check it out. These vehicles are getting excellent gas mileage (better than hybrids, and they are better than hybrid for other reasons, according to this popularmechanics.com article) and produce radically cleaner emissions at the same time, unlike your father's diesel engine that spewed dirtiness on the car and into the air.

Time to start putting our minds and dollars towards these local, environmentally-friendly fuels and buying into technology that supports them. Once again, if you have a diesel engine or oil furnace, you already have the technology.


More assignment stuff:

-------------------------------

Questions posed to: Anne Tazewell, Transportation Program Manager, NC Solar Center/NC State University:

1. I see that last year you had a campaign called “Bioheat® is Better” and that you planned to follow that up by measuring the effectiveness of the campaign – are those results available somewhere or can you share them with me?
2. Are there any new projects to promote biodiesel in the future lined up?
3. How is this year’s program, Biodiesel Bus Wrap, going?
4. Anything else you can add about these awareness programs and the public’s response to biodiesels is much appreciated.

Question posed to: Chelsea Conover, NC Solar Center/NC State University:

Does your funding come solely from the University, or are there other sources from which you seek funding?

Questions posed to: Lyle Estill, "V.P. of Stuff" of Piedmont Biofuels:

1. Can you tell me how long you have been in the biofuels business and what kind of growth you have seen over time?
2. Do any of your customers (that you know of) use biodiesel for applications other than fueling vehicles (bioheat)?
3. Where do you see the future of biodiesel going, esp. in light of other renewable energy sources such as ethanol, solar, etc.?

Questions posed to Tim Morton, biofuel consumer at SAS in Cary, NC:

1. How much are you paying for biodiesel?
2. Where you are getting it from?
3. Aside from the obvious “going green” –are there other advantages to using it?


How I would further webbify the article:

1. Add a YouTube video on how to make biodiesel.

2. Go on a tour of the facility in Pittsboro and expand with a photo album with captions about what they do there.

3. Include a Google map of gas stations that sell biodiesel.



How I fact-checked:

Most of this is evident in the hyperlinks I added. There is a ton of information out there about this subject matter, so I tried to read three or four sites to get a perspective and linked to one that I thought was most useful. Another example is where I linked to the press release from the NC State Fair about cooking oil. I also linked to the Bioheat® is Better because it was a little confusing to me why the term was registered. Turns out the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) have recently trademarked the term, and launched the official logo for this product. Didn't feel a need to talk about it in the article, but dig a little deeper to find out about it.

-------------------------------
* Marcie is an employee of SAS.
Photo courtesy of robseattle on flickr.

This Week's Assignment

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I will embed a Google map, open a Twitter account, and edit a Wikipedia entry.) 

Below is the map I created in Google. I've actually done something like this before when planning a road trip, but never embedded one in a web site before. The hardest part was figuring out where the html code was to copy.

Wireless Hotspots in Chapel Hill, NC



View Larger Map to see hotspots

My Twitter

To the right (top of page) you will see my new Twitter feed. I found the html code to do this at WikiAnswers. 

My Wikipedia Edit

The wikipedia entry I edited is presented (in part) below. My edits are in bold purple and large font size (when needed):

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The Bradley Method of natural childbirth (also known as "husband-coached childbirth") is a method of natural childbirth created by Dr. Robert A. Bradley (1917–1998) and popularized by his book Husband-Coached Childbirth. Teachers of the Bradley Method believe that - with adequate preparation, education and help from a loving, supportive coach - most women can give birth naturally,without drugs or surgery. The Bradley Method emphasizes measures that can be taken to help keep women healthy and low-risk in order to avoid complications that may lead to medical intervention.

The primary goal of the Bradley Method is healthy mothers and healthy babies. The method holds that, in most circumstances, a natural  (drug-free) (<--moved) childbirth is the best way to achieve that goal. Over 86% of Bradley moms having vaginal births do so without drugs. The classes teach nutrition, relaxation and natural breathing as pain management techniques along with active participation of the husband as coach. Parents-to-be are taught to be knowledgeable consumers of birth services and to take responsibility in making informed decisions regarding procedures, attendants and the birth place.

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Assignment Reflection

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I liveblogged an event, and here are my thoughts afterwards.) 

By Marcie Barnes

I think I took this assignment a little too lightly at first. I did try to get it done relatively early, which is a good thing, because I had some major difficulties getting the first events I tried to cover to pan out. First, I tried to cover the Oktoberfest Celebration at Sugar Mountain on October 11. Trying to liveblog anything while on vacation with an impatient husband and three year old…is a bad idea.

Despite my best efforts, we arrived there just as the children’s activities were wrapping up and the band had already stopped playing. Not much to talk about at that point, and I could detect no wireless signal.

So, I decided to choose something at the upcoming NC State Fair. Smithfield the Painting Pig was performing every day at 1pm, which would make it easy for me to shoot over on my lunch hour, since the fairgrounds are literally only a couple miles from where I work. Even though I arrived with time to spare, I had a very hard time finding Smithfield. I had read somewhere that he would be outside the Exposition Center, where I had seen him perform last year. Turns out he was inside, and I didn’t find that out until after his performance had begun and the crowd was so thick there was no way to get a good view.

I also had no luck finding a good signal, although I read that some of my other classmates had no trouble at the fairgrounds. Maybe it depends on where you are, exactly? So, on to find another event, and now I am getting uncomfortably close to a time crunch.

So, third time’s a charm right? Yup, worked for me, as long as I found an event, cleared my schedule on a Saturday, and arrived with plenty of time. I still was unable to connect for a true liveblog, but the experience from my perspective was very similar, I think, minus the hitting the ‘publish’ button after every thought. I actually didn’t mind having my laptop with me; I didn’t feel particularly stared at, either. Perhaps more so at Sugar Mountain than anywhere else.

I actually felt a little weirder taking pictures at the brewery, I guess, because it was so crowded. I thought someone might say “hey is that going to end up on your MySpace page!” or something at any minute. I tried to get shots when people’s faces or backs were turned, for the most part. The only person at the brewery who asked me what I was doing was one of the partners. When I told him I was writing an article for a class, he just said “make it good.”

I also had to resort to quite a bit of handwriting, which I compiled that night along with my pictures and links. For the most part, it’s very hard to type on a laptop in a very crowded room with virtually no table space and hold a beer at the same time. Product sampling was paramount to the experience of this event, after all.

Overall, I had a good experience. Although I consider myself to be someone who always allows for plenty of time, this really taught me a lesson about allowing way more time than needed in a situation like this. Also, scouting out a venue in advance, when possible, would be recommended.

LiveBlog: Carolina Brewing Company Tour

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I liveblogged an event. I chose to cover the brewery tour at Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs, which occurs every Saturday at 1pm.)

By Marcie Barnes

12:44 - I'm in the parking lot, have seen at least a dozen people enter already, and I was afraid there wouldn't be much of a crowd on State Fair weekend. The facade is quite unassuming.

12:47 - An announcement in the lobby - beer samples before the tour, and I need to have my ID ready.

12:51 - Waiting in a long line for beer, some happy jazz/swing music is playing overhead. Sign near serving area reads: Now On Tap: Pale Ale, Nut Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, Summer Wheat, and NEW Oktoberfest. I think I'll try Oktoberfest, it only seems fitting.

12:59 - I've counted (roughly) 75 people in this room, the entire operation consists of a front lobby area and a large warehouse-type space behind it. There are more people still coming in. Guess free beer is popular! The Oktoberfest is yummy. I must admit I have never been a fan of their main brand, Pale Ale, because it is too bitter for me. Oktoberfest is just right. It's a very refreshing medium-colored amber, and there seems to be a hint of orange which is nice. (Note: their website says nothing about orange, maybe I was imagining that!) Now, a jazzy rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water is flowing from the speakers above.

1:07 - Tour still not started, people still pouring in and waiting in a long line for beer. Many are going back in the line for seconds (or thirds, or fourths).

1:19 - Taps are off. Music is off. John, who is one of the three partners, starts the tour. They have only one employee, and do all the work themselves up to the point of distribution. The brewery is 13 years old. The Pale Ale was their first beer, and it is brewed year-round along with the Nut Brown and India Pale Ale. They have a winter porter coming out in November, and there are many other seasonal beers. They have a six-county distribution area.

1:28 - John is passing around barley and hops for us to see/smell. He explains how each affects the bitterness (hops), darkness (roast of the barley), sweetness (barley), etc. The Oktoberfest brew has the highest alcohol content at 5.7% which is related to the fact that it uses more barley, which produces more sugar for the yeast to convert to alcohol (and carbon dioxide).

1:31 - The barley sample comes my way. It has a nice, fresh, sweet smell. The hops sample was neither nice nor sweet smelling. The girl in front of me recoiled at the smell. I can only describe it as something unpleasantly pungent, to be nice. Now I know why I don't like a lot of hops in my beer, besides the fact that I don't like bitter.

1:33 - A comment from the audience is about rice and corn being used in beermaking. John describes how the big national breweries use these ingredients to make a light, cheap beer. Their brewery uses only (Holly Springs tap) water, barley, hops, and yeast. They use a different kind of yeast for the ales as they do for the lagers.

1:35 - He tells how they got started. Three friends were homebrewing for a long time and one of them eventually took an apprenticeship at a brewery to "learn the ropes". They moved to NC specifically to open the brewery after looking at demographics and noticing a deficiency in local breweries in the area. Someone asks him what beers he likes besides his own and he says: Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, and Highland (out of Asheville).

1:37 - He gets into the specifics of the recipe: grain is cracked, mixed with warm water, and steeped, which makes mash. Liquid is drawn out, leftover grain is given to a local farmer to feed his cattle. Liquid is boiled for 90 minutes, hops are added. Liquid is cooled rapidly and pumped to fermentation tanks. Whole process takes six hours. The two large tanks hold 2500 gallons of beer when full. Yeast added here in the big tanks. When it runs out of sugar to convert, it goes dormant, and they reclaim it and reuse it again.

1:42 - Once beer is done here, it is filtered through a system and sent to last holding tank, where it ages for three (ale) to six (lager) weeks. Another tourist asks about dry hopping. He says they only do that sometimes, like with a recent Thanksgiving lager. I don't have a clue what dry hopping is.

1:44 - He says they do not use any preservatives and do not pasteurize their bottles. I am happy to hear that. I thought there was some sort of government-imposed law about that with commercial bottling, but apparently not. It does shorten the shelf life compared to other beers, but beer is not meant to sit on the shelf like, perhaps, wine. Pasteurization and preservatives would compromise some of the healthy benefits of beer.

1:45 - We move closer to the bottling/kegging area. He's explaining the bottling process. Would be cool to see the machine running, but I imagine that would be logistically difficult. Machine bottles 100 bottles per minute, they only run it a couple days a week.

1:48 - He says he's wrapping up, turning taps back on. Says he'll leave them on maybe until 3:30 if we are "good".

1:56 - I finally make it back to the taps. Ask John if I can stay here and have a small sample of each, he says sure. The Summer Wheat doesn't really remind me of wheat, but I can definitely taste the hops. It's much more bitter than the Oktoberfest. I love the back of John's shirt: "All it takes is a liver and a dream".

2:02 - India Pale sample - Their website says it's the most highly hopped, and I can tell. It's so bitter it tastes metallic to me. Very crisp, though. The "bar" is situated at the end of a giant room-sized walk in cooler. The taps are literally drilled into the side of the cooler. Tourists are jovial and polite in the requests for their favorite flavor of free brew.

2:12 - Pale Ale sample - Doesn't smell as hopsy. I can actually taste more yeast in this one, which I like. Still too bitter for me, but I know a lot of people like it that way!

2:20 - Stout sample - this was dubbed "hidden stout" because there was no tap handle and the "bartender" didn't know it was there at first. This was a good one to end with because it smelled like Kahlua! I don't see anything about it on their website, and I wonder if this is the Winter brew that is coming out soon? Anyway, it's definitely heavy, but tasty. Has a sweet syrupy taste combined with the expected bitter hop flavor.

2:28 - Asked if this was a large group for them, and got the answer that no, it's a small group. He estimated about 100 people today, and says he's seen up to 300 come in! Wow.

Later Notes: Due to the popularity of this event, I recommend arriving early and getting a place at the front of the line. And bring a designated driver, too. This is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, learning about the brewing process and sampling some great, fresh, local beer. And it's a great way to support your local economy as well. There are also health benefits to beer not widely discussed in mainstream media the way those of wine have been (although I disagree with the part in the above linked article that says mainstream beer is as good as a microbrew, due to the fact that they -- mainstream -- use cheaper, lighter grains like rice and corn, so "equally high-quality ingredients" doesn't ring true.)

Sample Restaurant Review

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I will be writing a sample restaurant review for crowdrestaurantreviews.com, which will include instructions for other reviewers, in red.)

T.G.I.Friday's* - 1100 TIMBER DRIVE E GARNER NC 27529* - (919) 779-1935* [star rating] 

[Restaurant name, address, and phone number are required, and will comprise the headline, along with your star rating. You may enter an optional sub-headline:]

New Friday's in Garner Proves Reliable 

[Please provide a little about yourself, to provide context for your readers. The introductory paragraph is a good place to do this.] Friday's is always a safe choice in our family, because of the large and varied menu. However, after my recent choice to stop eating chicken and turkey in addition to red meat (I've never been a red meat eater (deleted:"since childhood")), it was a bit more challenging to find something good to eat on this visit.

[(Deleted: "Tell about") Describe the menu, what you had to eat, and get others' opinions. (deleted: "at your table, if possible.")]I was disappointed in the salad menu, which was not nearly as large and varied as the rest of the menu. There were only four choices, and they all featured chicken. So, I decided to order the Ahi Tuna Ciabatta Sliders; this from the menu: "Ahi tuna, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions and Anaheim chile sauce on ciabatta. It won Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Can you name another burger that's a TV star? Didn't think so."

Well, if Food Network liked it, then I shall try it!

Did my entree look like the picture (taken from their website)? As usual, not exactly. The tuna was more hidden by the bread, rather than featured. But the height of the sliders was true. The taste was good, the chile sauce really made the dish. I was tempted to substitute good old mustard and ketchup for a true "burger" taste, but I tried the chile sauce and I'm glad I did.

Of course, most patrons of Friday's are not vegetarians. My husband, a proud meat eater, had the sirloin cooked medium with fries and a side salad with ranch. He reports that his steak was "tough and dry." He's normally a ribeye-with-baked-potato fan, and they don't have (deleted: "bakers") baked potatoes at Friday's, which is always a disappointment for him.

Our three-year-old had a hard time choosing between the typical, but also nicely varied, kid's menu. Finally he decided on "sketti"--to my delight--one of the vegetarian options for kids, which comes with a choice of sides to include salad. A small serving of veggies like broccoli would be a welcome choice as well, but kudos to Friday's for also offering carrots with ranch as a side: go raw veggies!

[Tell how the service was.]The service was great. My husband actually was annoyed that, at one point, he had two and a half full glasses of tea on the table. "Are they trying to drown me in tea?" he mused. But that's better, I suppose, than a single glass - half empty.

[Tell about parking and wait time (accessibility).] The parking and wait time were good. It was a newly-opened restaurant on a Sunday (Saturday may have been a different story). We had little trouble parking and there was no wait.

[Please visit the restroom and review that as well, as this can be representative of good management/cleanliness.]The restrooms, ugh. I have a feeling another little boy had been there before us, because there was urine on the floor and a lot of messy toilet paper as well. Please, restaurants, more bathroom checks! In addition, for some reason there was a lot of water on the floor near the drink station, and someone had simply plopped a caution sign on top of it. The mess was never cleaned up the whole time we were there. I had to steer our son the long way around it to get to the restroom.

[Please conclude with a summary of your experience and why you chose the star rating you did.]Overall, Friday's is a good choice for families (and others, too). I was absolutely not disappointed, and glad I chose the chile sauce Ahi sliders. My husband was not impressed with his steak, but he knows he needs to go to a good steakhouse to get a good steak, for the most part. So, good food, great service, needs work on cleanliness - I give it three and a half stars.

[The review itself needs to be at least 500 characters.]

[You will enter your star rating at the bottom of the post, with other optional items such as sanitation grade, photo(s), video(s), other image files, links, etc. ]

This Week's Assignment

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I will be identifying a publication for which I will continue to create online content for later assignments.)

crowdrestaurantreviews.com

Proposal: A restaurant review site set up in the fashion of a social network where people can contribute their own restaurant reviews, ratings, comments, photos, videos, relevant files (menus, etc.), and recommend specific dishes. They can also help improve the site by linking to restaurant sanitation grades, other reviews (professional or otherwise), and other information such as franchise information, news articles, or the restaurant’s web site. In addition, users will be able to display their favorite restaurants and friends (other members) on their profile page, identify if they are a foodservice employee, and link to other social networking sites.

Restaurant owners or managers will also be able to participate by adding messages, twitter/RSS feeds, menus, links, and photos, and will have an option to advertise via banners on their page(s). Each restaurant’s page will automatically display name, address, phone, and a Google map based on restaurant listings in each metro area. (Pilot site is raleigh.crowdrestaurantreviews.com).

The site will also include a robust restaurant search feature which will search keywords from the page as well as the review & comment areas of the pages (a search for “spaghetti alla carbonara” would return results where that term was found in the user-supplied text). In addition, users will be able to search by restaurant type, price range, and location.

Restaurant profile pages will be easy to scan and show the most pertinent information (as available): Sanitation grade, google map, menu, average user star rating, list of reviews to read, editor’s review, hours, price range, and a photo.

Purpose: Currently, restaurant reviews are scattered all over the place on the web. The most popular site for local information, citysearch, seems to be the preferred place to look, but it only allows for comments and a star rating from registered users. In addition, there is no one site that concentrates solely on restaurant reviews in Raleigh. raleighrestaurantreviews.com is close, but it is pulling reviews from a host of other sites which makes the information overwhelming in volume. The purpose of crowdrestaurantreviews.com is to give a true “crowdsourced” view of each restaurant – allowing users to be the food critic, write their own review(s) and add pictures and/or video to make each review much more realistic and complete, instead of just displaying a laundry list of comments.

Competition: Citysearch.com, tripadvisor.com, diningguide.com, raleighrestaurantreviews.com, many others.

Audience: The audience of this site is vast, as it covers anyone who eats out and may be looking for specific information about a restaurant online. The main theme will be “…where you are the food critic”, so an important part of the audience will be people who enjoy writing and reporting, to include students and people with an interest or who work in a journalistic field.

The larger chunk of the audience, though, will be those looking for restaurant information online, so they will be educated, middle-to-upper class people looking for a good dining experience. They will be largely web-savvy, and will be looking for critical information to be up front and well-organized.

Age ranges likely are to be college-age through upper-middle-age. Although the pilot site is based on Raleigh, NC restaurants for now, this model could easily be applied nationally and even globally. The site will need to be tested on all platforms and browsers due to the diverse nature of the audience. Because of the dense multimedia experience this site will provide, non-broadband users would likely shy away. Advanced browser features and broadband are needed to fully experience this site.

Design: The design of this site, as noted, will focus on getting the most relevant information up front in an easy-to-digest format. The primary color scheme will be burgundy, since red is associated with restaurants where people like to sit and linger, and also has a wine connotation.

Style Guide: The Associated Press Style Guide will be used to guide the (non-contributed) content of this site.

This Week's Assignment

(This post is part of an assignment for the class I am taking, Writing for Digital Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, I will be fixing headlines, improving an article, and writing headlines.)

Assignment 1

Headline: SciTechBlog: Ike bad, could have been worse

Problem: Missing verb, awkward.

Solution: Blog: Ike sparing, just like Katrina? (deleted "to be" verbs")

Source: cnn.com, September 19, 2008

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/16/ike-was-awful-but-it-could-have-been-worse/

Headline: Tests find chemical also in liquid milk in China

Problem: Awkward, not compelling.

Solution: China: [Before: Tests find more of infant-killing chemical in milk]

[After: Tests find evidence of deadly chemical in milk]

Source: wral.com, September 19, 2008

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/3572921/

Headline: UNC releases injury report

Problem: Not compelling, very vague

Solution: [before: UNC's Massenburg 'doubtful' to play Saturday]

[after: UNC's Massenburg 'doubtful' for Saturday]

Source: newsobserver.com, September 19, 2008

http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1224724.html

Assignment 2

Before: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1224290.html

After: 

Triangle home sales plummet, buyers struggle with lenders

Both sellers and buyers face tough obstacles, but there is hope

The plight of Triangle home sellers turned gloomier in August, and buyers don't always have it easy, either.

From bright to bleak, the Triangle housing market over the past year

Sales of existing homes in Durham, Orange, Johnston and Wake counties fell 39 percent from the same month a year earlier -- the biggest year-over-year decline since the national housing bust first nicked this region a year ago -- data from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service show.

Meanwhile, fewer buyers roamed the market as the number of homes listed climbed to a four-year high for the month, even as sellers budged on prices more than ever in the past six years.

"The sellers aren't getting what they want," said Ed Willer, a York Simpson Underwood broker in Raleigh. "And the buyers -- well, the lenders are beating them up. So it's tough on both sides."

The Triangle is coming off three frenzied years of record home sales and surging prices. But the market has come to a standstill, compared with recent years, as lenders tighten standards following years of easy money.

Thinking about buying? 

The pros:

• Sellers are starting to price homes lower, abandoning the ambitious price tags of two years ago. For the first time in at least six years, the prices of more than half of the homes on the market have been reduced at least once. At least 52 percent of the 14,041 homes on the market are price-drop listings, up from 41 percent a year ago.

• Mortgage rates are low right now, so it's a good time to buy. As long as you have good credit...

The cons:

• Good credit is a must right now. Those who don't have good credit are facing higher borrowing costs and are being asked to pay more up front.

• Appraisers are being very conservative. What this means for a buyer is that the appraisal may come in lower, even much lower, than the already agreed upon selling price, and the buyer may have to chalk up the difference, according to Triangle area real estate agent, Jeanette Benjey.

Thinking about selling? 

The pros:

• The good news for owners is that prices held steady in August. Average prices were essentially flat at $248,079, as was the median price of $197,000.

• People are getting reasonable prices for their houses. "I don't see anybody getting killed" Willer said.

• A recent dip in mortgage rates may encourage more buyers to pull the trigger. 30-year fixed mortgage rates in North Carolina are averaging 5.95 percent -- the lowest since April, according to Bankrate.com data.

The cons:

• Sellers need to be very flexible in the months ahead. The number of homes on the market swelled 8 percent to 14,041 in August -- the most in any August since 2004: competition is high.

• At the same time, showings dropped 18 percent from a year ago and pending sales sank 29 percent to a five-year low: traffic is low.
  

Have we hit a low?

Looks like we're close. The number of residential building permits issued in Wake County, the region's biggest, was down 43 percent through June, county records show.

"That's one of the things we have to see before we hit the bottom," said Stacey Anfindsen of Cary-based Birch Appraisal Group.

Anfindsen, who analyzes listing data for Triangle real estate agents, thinks recovery will come only after there are three consecutive months of both increased showings and pending sales.

Until then, sellers face a sobering reality: "You have more inventory than you've had in a long time," he said. "And you've got fewer buyers than you've had in the past four years."

Assignment 3

Headline before: Scratching the Surface: Breaking Down the Global Warming Debate
Headline after: Dissecting the Global Warming Debate

Assignment 4

1. Contaminated meat from China blocked by U.S. government

2. Chinese contaminated meat blocked by Government

3. More sub-standard Chinese imports suspended: chemical and bacteria-laden meat blocked by U.S. government