05.09 The Final Draft

Teen crime is on the rise in Florida. This is stirring terror in local communities.

 As of August 2012, Florida's population of 10 to 17 year old teenagers was estimated to be approximately 1.84 million. in 2012 there were 13,461 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was misdemeanor assault or battery. There were 10,124 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was burglary. (www.djj.state.fl.us/research) At first glance these numbers seem minuscule and of little or no importance, but according to the Florida Juvenile Justice League teen crimes like this follow a patter referred to as a "five year path" which means that authorities project these numbers to double and they expect to see these same teens in the adult court system within five years of their first charge.

I recently interviewed three people. A police officer, mother, and  high school teacher. All three felt compelled to express their worry for the new generation growing up today. Maldrina Carson , a mother of two teen boys stated that she "feared for her kids life." She was also quoted saying " There used to be a time when sending your kids to school meant they were safe. Not anymore." Both Officer Harris and Mrs. Homestead stated that it is going to take the whole community to reach out and save our youth. Regardless of the effort, it has to be done. Orlando Police officers are now saying that they believe the only way to fix teen crime is to hold the parents responsible.

05.08 Revised Draft

Teen crime is on the rise in Florida. You may not see this as a threat now, but the numbers don't lie.

 As of August 2012, Florida's population of 10 to 17 year-olds was estimated to be approximately 1.84 million. in 2012 there were 13,461 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was misdemeanor assault or battery; There were 10,124 delinquency arrests where the most serious offense was burglary. (www.djj.state.fl.us/research) At first glance these numbers seem miniscule and of little or no importance, but according to the Florida Juvenile Justice League teen crime in little spurts like this are apart of a "five year path" which means that authorities project these numbers to double and they expect to see these same teens in the adult court system within five years of their first charge.

I recently interviewed three people. A police officer, a mother, and a high school teacher. All three of them felt compelled to express their worry for the new generation growing up nowadays. Maldrina Carson (cq), a mother of two teen boys stated that she "feared for her kids life." She was also quoted saying " There used to be a time when sending your kids to school meant they were safe. Not anymore." Both Officer Harris and Mrs. Homestead stated that it is going to take the whole community to reach out and save our youth. Regardless of the effort, it has to be done.

7.03 Project Outline

Arieon Baker

Trayvon Martin Case

Online Media

I plan on using a blogger account or making a weebly account directed towards my topic. I will be covering the Trayvon Martin case as a whole, and then I will cover the response from the public about the outcome of the trial. I plan to include photographs of Trayvon Martin himself, George Zimmerman, and I may include some extra from the public. My resources will mainly come from the internet, but I will also include personal interviews from my own study.

"07.01 Project Proposal."

For my final project I would like to do two articles on the Trayvon Martin case. My first article will be concerning the rallies that have and are taking place all over the world. The second article will be about the verdict and the response it received from different perspectives. I plan to use the online option and create an entirely new website for it. I plan to cite sources from CNN, FOX, BET, NBC, and other credible sources that followed the subject. I am still wondering if you are allowed to incorporate different journalism elements into one project? Would I be able to include video into my online web project?

"07.00 Reporter's Notebook."

      Before I started this course I thought that journalism only consisted of free writing. I never knew of the research needed before the writing process. I always figured that the purpose of journalism was to inform those who didn't know. I knew nothing if journalistic ethics before starting this course. I always knew that opinion writing was bias and based on your morals and I knew that there were specific times when that style of journalism was allowed but I never knew what impartial reporting was. From the sixth grade I've known that journalism was a career choice for me. At the gentle age of 12 years old I realized that writing was a passion of mine and something that I was good at.

     Now my definition of journalism has grown depth. I see journalism as a gift now, a pure talent that is God given. I still believe that the purpose of journalism is to inform the public. Journalistic ethics are very crucial to a successful report. It is very important to make sure you obey the ethics in order to be seen as an accredited writer. I didn't realize the importance until I started the course. I now that in order to be a reporter in the field that I'm leaning towards you must be impartial. It isn't okay to be bias in my reporting and I should steer clear of inserting my own opinions. I am still VERY interested in journalism as a career; If anything I am more interested now after going through this course. I believe that I have great potential to be very successful in this line of work. I believe that journalism is soon to become all radio, television, and internet reporting. Today in society everything is so electronic and gadgets are becoming more ubiquitous every day; Because of this the career of journalism is heading more towards broadcasting/public speaking.


"06.01 Your Interest Inventory."

The interest machine said that I may want to report news on television! I agree completely. A news reporter or broadcaster is mainly where i see myself in the next 10-15 years. It's more of my style of journalism because I'm very outgoing and I love to talk.

Assignment 06.02

I would like to one day become a big television news reporter who is recognized worldwide. My first milestone would be getting local exposure to the public. I plan on getting a job at a local radio station and working my way up in the radio broadcasting field first. To first reach the radio business all i would need is drive and dedication with good communication skills. When my radio career progresses and I began to receive actual air time I will need a BS degree in either mass communications or a broadcasting degree. For now, I need to continue to get as much experience as I can as a high school student. I need to perfect my craft now so that I am able to surpass the expectations that people will have on me as a new, young journalist. All in all I see me accomplishing all of this within the next 10-20 years. National recognition should come around my tenth year in the journalism field, and worldwide exposure should come in my twentieth.

I believe my goal to be very reasonable. I feel as though I am giving myself ample amount of time to get to where I've always wanted to be! I've always had a career plan written down and it always makes me feel as though I am organized and heading down the right path. Ever since I can remember I've always lived by the quote "Speak your detsiny into existence." By having a career plan I feel like I am living that quote. I believe that people write career plans to stay focused and encouraged.