Show:
Abbreviation Adventures
Getting to know you and the YDR
General knowledge
Journalism tips
Spot the error
100
How should the state be abbreviated in the following sentence? Newark, New Jersey, is where Cory Booker was the mayor.
Newark, N.J.
100
Myth: The York Daily Record is a newspaper. That myth is ...
Busted! "Today, the Daily Record is NOT a newspaper. Rather, a newspaper is one tool the Daily Record uses to serve the community. As is the web, and a mobile phone, and an iPad," -- Randy Parker, managing editor of the York Daily Record/Sunday News.
100
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is from this York County town.
What is Mount Wolf?
100
In general, people are more likely to respond to: a.) phone calls; or b.) emails. Be prepared to defend your answer.
In general, I find phone calls work better. They require less work on the part of the person being interviewed. And it's harder to ignore multiple phone calls. There are exceptions. For instance, you should pretty much never interview an elected official through email. But if you want just technical information, an administrator could be OK. Still, that's an exception. And it usually only works if you know the administrator well.
100
Lost is my favorite TV show, but it's not as good as the book Lord of the Flies or the movie It's a Wonderful Life.
"Lost" should be in quotes. So should "Lord of the Flies" and "It's a Wonderful Life." In AP style, don't italicize or underline these titles. Remember: there's lot of different computer programs and some have different formatting. Quotation marks keep it simple.
200
How should the month be abbreviated in the following sentence? January 1 is my favorite day of the year.
Jan. 1. Remember: When certain months are used with a specific date, you abbreviate them.
200
So YDR journalists aren't in business of making newspapers. What is our business?
"The paper, you see, is a means to an end. It is a platform we use to help people in this community stay informed and connected. It turns out that we have never really been in the business of making newspapers. We've been in the business of sharing local news and information," -- Randy Parker, managing editor of the York Daily Record/Sunday News.
200
2013 was the ____ anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
150th.
200
Myth: It is sometimes OK to alter quotes. That myth is ...
busted! From the AP style book: "Never alter quotations even correct minor grammatical errors or word usage. Casual minor tongue slips may be removed by using ellipses but even that should be done with extreme caution."
200
State College Area School District Superintendent John Smith decided not to hire Bob Taylor for the open History teacher position. But Sam Jones, the Superintendent for the Bellefonte Area School District, did hire Taylor for an open English teacher position. (There are at least two errors in these sentences.)
1.) "open History teacher position" -- should be "open history teacher position." It's OK to capitalize English teacher. 2.) And it should be "But Sam Jones, the superintendent ..." From the AP style book: "In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name."
300
Make the address abbreviations correct in the following sentences. Peter lives near the Maple Donuts on E. Market St. Some mornings, he can smell the donuts from his home at 72 West Eisenhower Avenue.
East Market Street --- because it's not a numbered address; 72 W. Eisenhower Ave. -- because it is a numbered address. Remember: Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
300
What is the address for the Teen Takeover blog?
http://www.yorkblog.com/teentakeover/
300
How many school districts are there in York County? And in Adams County?
16 in York County. Six in Adams County.
300
Myth: Sources don't generally need to know your deadline. That myth is ...
...busted! When sources know your deadline, they know when they need to get info back to you. It helps them prioritize their work.
300
Democrat Tom Wolf considered running for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2010, but decided not to. In November 2014, Mr. Wolf defeated Governor Tom Corbett. (There are at least two errors in the sentences, per AP style.)
1.) Governor shouldn't be capitalized in the first sentence. 2.) No need for "Mr." before Wolf. 3.) It should be "Gov. Tom Corbett" (Re-elected is correct.)
400
What's the correct way of saying these numbers? Today, I ate 5 apples. Last week, I ate 15 apples. Last year, I ate five thousand apples. In my lifetime, I have eaten 5,000,000 apples. By the time I turn seventy-nine, I will have eaten 5 billion apples.
Today, I ate five apples. Last week, I ate 15 apples. Last year, ate 5,000 apples. In my lifetime, I have eaten 5 million apples. By the time I turn 79, I will have eaten 5 billion apples. (Note: I didn't actually eat any apples today.)
400
Name four tips for anyone working on the Teen Takeover blog.
Hyperlinks! Tweet out your stories. Use the google url shortener. Storify! And more!
400
Which journalist was more unethical, Clark Kent or Peter Parker? Be prepared to defend your answer.
Pretty much a tie. Remember: Be truthful. Be accurate. And be fair.
400
Scenario: It's 3 a.m. on Black Friday. The stores have opened. You approach a man holding a big screen TV, waiting to purchase it. You are holding a notepad and pen. You: "Hi. I'm a reporter. Can I ask you a few questions?" Man: "Sure." What do you next?
Get his name! Ask him how to spell it! Write it down! Then repeat the spelling back to him. (Later, you'll want to find out where he's from and get a phone number to reach him with any follow up questions.)
400
Should it be: A.) "Halt!", the corporal cried. or B.) "Halt!" the corporal cried.
The correct answer is B. "Halt!" the corporal cried. AP style says not to use a comma or a period after the exclamation mark. Also, use the mark to express a high degree of surprise, incredulity or other strong emotion. Avoid overuse.
500
When certain months are used with a specific date, you abbreviate them. There are seven such months. Name them. Include the correct abbreviation, such as Jan. 1. (There I just gave you one. Name six more.)
January (Jan. 1.); February (Feb. 1); August (Aug. 1); September (Sept. 1); October (Oct. 1); November (Nov. 1); and December (Dec. 1). So the ones you don't abbreviate: March, April, May, June, July
500
Name two ways that you can socialize your stories and get them in front of the people who need or really want that information.
Tweet at @ydrcom. We will tweet you back, retweet you or engage in some other way. Connect with us on Facebook, post your stories to our Facebook comments, tag us in your posts. We are our York Daily Record/Sunday News on Facebook.
500
Name four state representatives or senators from York County. Or name two York County commissioners.
Susan Byrnes, Doug Hoke, Chris Reilly for the commissioners. You have many options for state representatives and senators.
500
Scenario: You're talking to the rest of the Teen Takeover staff. You need to share five interviewing tips/best practices. You tell them ....
Open vs. closed questions; always get the spelling of names; get a phone number so you can contact them later; ask people what municipality they live in, not just where they are from (some people say York, but really live in Springettsbury Township.) There are more tips.
500
The U.S. has a great flag. It is red, white, and blue. (There may be more than one error.)
Correct answer: The United States has a great flag. It is red, white and blue. 1.) Comma rule: Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not use a comma before the conjunction in a simple series. 2.) Also remember: Spell out "United States" when used as a noun. Use U.S. (no space) only as an adjective.