PRINT VERSUS BROADCAST

There's a significant difference in the writing styles of broadcast and print news. Print is more formal. It usually has longer, more complex sentences and larger words. Broadcast is intentionally conversational, using more informal language, shorter words and sentences, and a laid back style.
Although most of the writing I have done has been for print, I have had quite a few experiences writing broadcast scripts. It really isn't much of a struggle for me to write broadcast, since I try to make even my  print writing as conversational as possible.
However, I do have a tendency to use long and complex sentences, so I'll have to say that print is a bit easier for me. The next time you watch news on television, stop and really listen to the sentence structure and phrasing of what's being said. I can't really say I ever thought about who wrote it, but someone must have.
For some good examples of print and broadcast, check out the links below.

Broadcasting with british accents: http://youtu.be/AH3a1gBHfSA

Print news: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/the-not-so-dark-side-of-earth/

TWITTER CHALLENGES FACEBOOK IN COMMUNICATION SHOWDOWN

Hello there. I'm suspending the more formal third-person of AP style in order to write a more opinionated piece about effective communication formats.
Speaking strictly from a journalist's perspective, there is little doubt in my mind that Twitter is far more useful for gathering information than Facebook. There are many reasons why. First, hashtags have the potential to be tremendously useful to journalists because by looking for a particular hashtag, writers can find all kinds of sources and loads of information that they wouldn't have otherwise.
For instance, by typing the hashtag "#justicefortrayvon" into Twitter's search box, you might be able to find testimonies of people who live in the area or maybe from relatives. Granted, all the information would be inherently biased, but you could just as easily look up "#justiceforzimmerman" or some other source.
Of course, it's also important to look for sources who are disinterested to cut down on bias, and to find sources from more reliable places than a Twitter hashtag, but I think that Twitter is still a good starting point for gathering sources.
The main difference between Twitter and Facebook is that Facebook is inherently limited to whatever group of friends you currently have. What, there's an uprising in Egypt and you don't have any Egyptian friends? Tough beans. Get on Twitter and search for "#morsisucks" or, to get the other side, "#morsi4dictator".
I think I've made my point. Facebook has its merits for personal use, but falls short for any real journalistic potential. Check out the links below for more information.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/30/twitter-political-journalism/

http://youtu.be/Nl9xI-kAE8A

STUDIES SHOW HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS AHEAD

Homeschooling is not only growing rapidly in America, it is establishing itself as the most effective education option available.
Although homeschooling was practiced in America even before the nation declared independence, it has never been a very popular practice. Parents must buy and teach curriculum without support from any government sources.
Despite the extraordinary effort it requires, there were 2.04 million home educated students in 2010, and the population continues to grow. This is most likely due to the high return rate, since 82 percent of adults who were home schooled said they plan on continuing the practice with their children.
Another reason for the growth could be the stunning success that home schooled students have had academically and professionally. They consistently score over 30 percentile points above students with a public education on standardized tests.
For more information, check out the articles below.

www.nheri.org/HomeschoolPopulationReport2010.pdf

http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/home-schooling/

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/200908100.asp

PETRAEUS WILL TESTIFY

General David Petraeus has said he will testify to Congress Nov. 16 about the Benghazi terrorist attack which killed four Americans.
Petraeus's willingness to testify was put in doubt after he resigned his position as head director of the CIA because of a recent scandal uncovering an affair between the general and his biographer, Paula Broadwell.
The testimony is expected to shed some light on exactly what caused the attack in Benghazi, and why the embassy had almost no security or support after repeated requests for both.
"Gosh, we know mistakes were made," said Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. "At the end of the day, our committee is going to get to the bottom of this."
The testimony, which will be given to the House and Senate intelligence committees, will be closed to the public.

http://www.wvec.com/news/national/Petraeus-to-testify-on-Benghazi-attack-in-closed-door-hearing-179455241.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gen-david-petraeus-testify-libya-attacks/story?id=17725775&fb_ref=abc-fb-recs#.UKZuK3g1bFJ

TEAMMATES CALL TEBOW "TERRIBLE"

Tim Tebow's transition to the New York Jets has been full of friction, especially when teammates recently called Tebow "terrible" in comments to the Daily News.
Last year, fans praised Tebow for taking the losing Denver Broncos team and putting them into the playoffs. However, after being traded to the Jets, he is still only the third string quarterback and hasn't seen much playing time.
When Matt Slauson, the Jets's left guard, was asked by the Daily News about the teams backup quarterbacks, Tebow and Greg McElroy he said, "We have Greg... and we have an athlete."
Coach Rex Ryan and other players have defended Tebow, but say they will stick with Mark Sanchez, their current starting quarterback, even though the team is in danger of losing a chance at the playoffs.

Tebow himself doesn't seem to be bothered by the comments. He told ESPN, "It's never fun to hear criticism. At the same time, it's something I've always used as motivation. You try to get stronger from it."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/tebow-terrible-jets-mates-rip-qb-article-1.1201722

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/8631818/rex-ryan-says-new-york-jets-united-tim-tebow-report

BIAS EVIDENT IN MEDIA

Emails to government officials saying a terrorist group had claimed responsibility were written about by two news agencies, but with very different perspectives.

            Fox and NBC both reported on the emails, which said that a group named Ansar Al-Sharia had claimed responsibility for the attack on the American embassy in Libya, in which four Americans died.

            The NBC report had the headline, “U.S. officials: Benghazi emails reveal little new about attack response.” The first paragraph explains about the emails, while the rest of the article appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to make the reader doubt that this intelligence could be relied upon.

            The Fox headline read, “Lawmakers press administration for Libya answers after email release.” To their credit, the article did state that the group later denied the claims, but bias shows up here as well. The article didn’t spend much time on the emails, but instead spoke more about how the administration’s initial explanation didn’t match up with later intelligence.

            Overall, both sides appear to be trying to persuade the reader to believe something, instead of just reporting the news.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49528284/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/?ocid=twitter#.UIqcSHg1ZFL

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/25/lawmakers-press-administration-for-libya-answers-after-email-release/

NEW FUNCTIONS OF DNA DISCOVERED

A new genetic discovery has big implications for medicine and scientific thought.
Scientists previously thought that only one or two percent of the genetic code was actually used. The research group ENCODE (Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements) recently published findings that at least 80 percent of DNA is chemically active.
"The genome is just alive with stuff. We just really didn't realize that beforehand," said Ewan Birney, one of the leaders of the project, in an article of The Sydney Morning Herald. ENCODE discovered that the majority of genes act like switches which activate or deactivate a command to build a specific protein structure.
It works like this: cells are made of proteins. DNA tells the proteins how to fit together to build the cell. Activate certain switches and the DNA will tell the proteins to build a kidney cell. Activate a different set of switches and you will get a blood cell, and so on.
The research also indicated that diseases such as diabetes and some kinds of cancer have a lot to do with genes. That means that if scientists discover how to manipulate the gene switches, it could lead to incredible breakthroughs in medicine.
"Most of the changes that affect disease don't lie in the genes themselves; they lie in the switches," said Michael Snyder, a Stanford University researcher in an interview with The New York Times.
For more information, here are a few links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://www.genome.gov/10005107