"quote"

Heat's Posey visits NBA regarding DUI arrest
BY MICHAEL WALLACE
mwallace@MiamiHerald.com
Heat forward James Posey missed Thursday's practice to attend a meeting with NBA officials in New York regarding his arrest this week on a drunk driving charge.
Posey, 30, flew to league headquarters Thursday morning and is expected to return to Miami in time for the Heat's home game Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.
''He's been summoned by the league to talk about details of what happened the other night,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said after practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. ``They normally do that, by the way, in these situations.''
Posey was arrested about 4 a.m. Monday when Miami Beach police observed his 2007 Mercedes Benz stopped in the left-hand traffic lane while Posey was talking to pedestrians and occupants of other cars, police said.
According to the police report, the arresting officer noticed Posey had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. The report also noted that he was ``unsteady and swayed on his feet.''
Posey issued a statement through the team after his release from Miami-Dade County Jail Monday, saying he was ''neither driving nor intoxicated'' at the time of his arrest. He also told team officials he just left The Forge restaurant that morning and that a valet attendant parked the car in the traffic lane.
The incident happened just hours after Posey played in the Heat's home overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats and just six hours before the Heat's 10 a.m. Monday practice.
Tim Frank, the NBA's vice president for communications, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Riley said the team and the league would investigate the facts of Posey's case before any disciplinary decision would be made. Riley said Posey made an ''unprofessional'' decision to stay out as late as he did on a day when the Heat was scheduled to practice.
Posey has played in each of the Heat's past two games since his arrest, but he was replaced in the starting lineup at small forward by Eddie Jones. Posey's playing time has also dwindled. He played 27 minutes in Tuesday's loss at Charlotte the day after his arrest. He played just 11 minutes in Wednesday's win against the Wizards, his second-shortest outing of the season.

I think that this quote does a very good job in backing up what is being discussed in the lead. The quoute compliments the lead beacuse it continues to discuss the matter dicussed in the lead yet conveys some type of emotion. It directly expresses the opions and reaction of the coach on the matter, along with re stating the fact that the player had been summoned by league officials. In saying "they normally do that, by the way in these situations" he is directly exressing his frustrations in how the media reacts to situations and how the media tends to blow things out of proportion. The verb of attribution is "said" which is fine for this particular story, not fluffy and straight to the point, perfect for a sports story involving the wrong doings of a star player. The source of the quote is Pat Riley, the head coach for the Miami Heat. He is the absolute best person to quote because in managing the team he is not only emotionally close and invloved with the players but through a business standpoint, the actions of his players directly affect the success of his team. The coach would also be the best provider for the most up to date information regarding the instance.

story lead

CANBERRA, Australia -- GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The prison sentence of an Australian detainee who pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism would be limited to seven years under terms of a plea bargain, a military judge at Guantánamo Bay said Friday.

This particular lead, found on the Miami Herald website friday morning is a summary lead. The lead answers all of the important questions (who, what, where) immediately and does not fluff up the sentence with any other information that the reader is not in immediate need of. The writers use of language is clear and correct. I feel that summary leads should always be the way to go when writing a news story unless you have come across enough information in your interviewing to make another sytle of lead acceptable. In using other leads, some writers stray from the idea of what a lead should be. A summary lead cuts to the chase and from it the reader can easily decide whether they are interested in continuing to read the story or not. I thought this particualr lead was very well written and hope that after this class I will learn to cut the fluff from my own writing and become capable of writing a proper summary news lead!

absence of malice blog...no sugar coat

I am not in the mood to sugar coat my opinions on the movie this evening. I was unable to see the second half of the film but I am sure that I have enough opinions on the half that I did see to get my point across. I thought that the movie was extremely over exaggerated and melodramatic. I know the intent of the movie was to prove the important and often drastic decisions made by journalists everyday but I do feel that this point could have been pointed out to us in a more realistic manner. It is a good movie for the general public but I do not think that it is suitable as an educational tool for students of journalism. The general public more often than not will not even stay wake throughout a movie unless someone dies and something gets blown up. Now I can not speak for every student in the communications school but I personally don't need the drama and actually feel that the soap opera antics threw me off of what I should have been learning from the movie. I did try to see past Paul Newman ripping off a shivering Sally fields white blouse and the fabulous decade representative outfits and pick up on some important issues in regards to journalism ethics. We as journalists have a responsibility to report the complete and unbiased truth at all times but me must always remember that before you have the responsibility of a journalist, you have the responsibility of a human being. Oddly enough, this lesson is not taught in universities. This lesson is usually taught at the age of five, right in between nap time and finger painting....I believe that golden rule mentioned something about not doing anything to another that you wouldn't want done to you. This rule applies in life everyday and in journalism. Sally Field sold out herself along with a few others in her quest for the "truth" and the "story". Many journalists get so caught up in deadlines and selling papers that they forget that they are writing about real people. They dig and expose and although we need investigative journalism for watchdog purposes, we must remember to watch out for that line. That thin line that can often be so easily avoided but when crossed can damage so many lives and reputations. We must take into account that spoken words are often fleeting yet a printed word last forever and effects anyone who reads it. It is this aspect of journalism that draws so many to the field and drives so many others away. I suppose that the movie taught a lesson in the end. I simply did not appreciate having to "dig" through the drama to find it.

absence of malice blog...no sugar coat

I am not in the mood to sugar coat my opinions on the movie this evening. I was unable to see the second half of the film but I am sure that I have enough opinions on the half that I did see to get my point across. I thought that the movie was extremely over exaggerated and melodramatic. I know the intent of the movie was to prove the important and often drastic decisions made by journalists everyday but I do feel that this point could have been pointed out to us in a more realistic manner. It is a good movie for the general public but I do not think that it is suitable as an educational tool for students of journalism. The general public more often than not will not even stay wake throughout a movie unless someone dies and something gets blown up. Now I can not speak for every student in the communications school but I personally don't need the drama and actually feel that the soap opera antics threw me off of what I should have been learning from the movie. I did try to see past Paul Newman ripping off a shivering Sally fields white blouse and the fabulous decade representative outfits and pick up on some important issues in regards to journalism ethics. We as journalists have a responsibility to report the complete and unbiased truth at all times but me must always remember that before you have the responsibility of a journalist, you have the responsibility of a human being. Oddly enough, this lesson is not taught in universities. This lesson is usually taught at the age of five, right in between nap time and finger painting....I believe that golden rule mentioned something about not doing anything to another that you wouldn't want done to you. This rule applies in life everyday and in journalism. Sally Field sold out herself along with a few others in her quest for the "truth" and the "story". Many journalists get so caught up in deadlines and selling papers that they forget that they are writing about real people. They dig and expose and although we need investigative journalism for watchdog purposes, we must remember to watch out for that line. That thin line that can often be so easily avoided but when crossed can damage so many lives and reputations. We must take into account that spoken words are often fleeting yet a printed word last forever and effects anyone who reads it. It is this aspect of journalism that draws so many to the field and drives so many others away. I suppose that the movie taught a lesson in the end. I simply did not appreciate having to "dig" through the drama to find it.

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tuesday morning

have a great day!!!