A weblog for Pete Ellertsen's mass communications students at Benedictine University Springfield.

Monday, February 15, 2010

COMM 209: Inverted pyramid

Here's how I might write up the exercise I assigned today in class to rewrite the story on page 40 in Harrower (page 38 [?] in the old edition) inverted pyramid style:


The president of the Cornelis Banta School Parent-Teacher Association was shot to death Tuesday, police said.

Mrs. Noah ten Floed died instantly. Witnesses said she was shot between the eyes during an altercation over the election of new officers. Mrs. Gianello Venutoleri, 00, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting, police said. She was in county jail pending charges.

Van Emburgh’s Funeral Parlor is in charge of arrangements.

# # #

Notice how I left most of the detail about the shooting, and all the detail about the discussion at the meeting (which might involve motive for the shooting) till later?

1 comment:

Cait131 said...

Caitlin Taft
Doc. Ellertsen
Monday, Feb. 15th, 2008

Inverted Pyramid. Page 40 in Inside Reporting

The current president named Mrs. Noah ten Floed of the Cornelis Banta Parent-Teacher Association was shot in between the eyes by another teacher on Tuesday, the police stated.
Mrs. Noah ten Floed was said to have died instantly due to the gun shots. It was all over the election the school was having in order of new officers. Mrs. Gianello Venutoleri, the shooter, was immediately taken to jail, the changes still pending.
The funeral parlor that is being used, Van Emburgh’s, is currently in charge of everything.

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About Me

Springfield (Ill.), United States
I'm a retired English, journalism and cultural studies teacher at Springfield College in Illinois (acquired by Benedictine University and subsequently closed). I coordinate jam sessions for the "Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music" at Clayville Historic Site and the Prairieland Strings dulcimer club, and I sing in the choir and the contemporary praise team at Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield. On Hogfiddle I post links and video clips for our sessions and workshops on the mountain dulcimer (a.k.a. "hog fiddle"), as well as research notes on folklore and cultural studies, hymnody and traditional Anglo-Celtic and Scandinavian music. I also posted assignments and readings in my interdisciplinary humanities classes. The Mackerel Wrapper (now on hiatus), carried assignments and readings for my mass comm. students. I started teaching b/log when I chaired SCI-Benedictine's assessment committee, and reopened it as the privatization of public schools grew increasingly troubling and closer to home.