Chapter 4 Exercises

1. Go to the source indicated in the chapter and select a communications-related discussion group. Subscribe to the group, and then print the welcoming message that you receive. After monitoring the discussion group for several days, write a brief summary of the topics covered by members during those days. If there’s no discussion in the group after a couple of days of monitoring, subscribe to a different group.

2. Use The World Almanac and Book of Facts or a similar printed or online reference source to answer these questions. Indicate the name of your print or online source and specific page number or URL for each answer. a. Who was the architect for the General Motors Building in Detroit: Albert Kahn or Louis Kahn? b. When did Pakistan become a republic? c. What is the name of the highest point in Australia? d. Is it Southwestern or Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary? Is it in Dallas or Fort Worth? e. In what year was Hillary Rodham Clinton born? f. How many stars does the flag of Honduras have? g. What were the top five U.S. companies in terms of advertising expenditures in 2005?

3. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Cite your source for each answer. For printed sources, give the name of the reference work, page number and date published. For Web sites, give the complete title of the Web site, name of sponsor and URL. Follow AP style. a. During what years did the “cultural revolution” during Mao Zedong’s leadership happen in China? When did Deng Xiaoping re-emerge as the de facto ruler of the People’s Republic of China, and when did his leadership period end? b. You are editing a press release about the opening of a new museum exhibit about first ladies of the White House. In one or two sentences, give Martha Washington’s full name, age and marital status at the time she married George Washington. Include the date of their marriage. c. One paragraph in the press release reads: “The Atlantic cable was completed in 1858 to carry instantaneous communications across the ocean for the first time. Although the laying of this first cable was seen as a landmark event in society, it was a technical failure because it remained in service only a few days. Subsequent cables laid a few years later were successful and compare in importance to events like the moon landing of a century later.” You need to check the accuracy of the 1858 date and to add a date for the successful cable completion to be more specific than “a few years later.” d. How many people have immigrated to the United States since 1880? e. Give the full names of the U.S. senators from your home state and the names of the Senate committees they serve on in the current session of Congress.

4. Answer the following questions in complete sentences as though the information were part of a story you are editing. Give a complete citation for your source for each answer. Follow AP style. a. Who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2006? b. Use information from Who’s Who in America or a similar biographical source to write several sentences about the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2006. c. Who won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2006? What was the usual topic of criticism for this journalist? d. Who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2006? Briefly describe this person’s major contribution to physics. e. Has the number of farms in your state increased or decreased since 1970? Give the specific number of farms in your state in 1970 and in the most recent year for which figures are available. f. Using Books in Print or another reference source, find a citation for a bibliography on television and ethics. Give the title of the bibliography; then check the card catalog ( either print or electronic versions) at your university library to see whether the book is part of the library’s collection. If it is, provide the call number. Don’t forget to provide the citation for the source you used to find the book title.

5. Use standard reference materials to answer the following questions. Answer in complete sentences as though the information were part of a story you are editing. Give a complete citation for your source for each answer. Follow AP style. a. What is the name of the academic journal that publishes articles about ethics and the mass media? Who is the editor of the journal and where is it published? Check to see whether this journal is available in your campus library. If it is, provide the call number. b. Consult Polk’s City Directory or an online source for your city (if no directory exists for your city, use one for a nearby city). What information is available about your city’s mayor? c. Describe how Polk’s City Directory or a comparable online source can be used by reporters and editors in ways that a telephone book cannot be used. d. Use your own residence, your parents’ residence or a homeowner’s name assigned by your instructor to consult property tax records for the following information: (1) market value of the home; (2) assessed value for tax purposes; (3) amount of property tax for most recent year records are available. e. Based on information you found to answer d above, the assessed value of the home for taxing purposes is percent of its market value.

6. Answer the following questions. Answer in complete sentences as though the information were part of a news story or press release you are editing. Give a complete citation for your source for each answer. Follow AP style. a. “Maple Syrup” is part of the name of which genetic disease? b. Who is the mayor of Omaha, Neb.? c. Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site and look at the most recently available Occupational Outlook Handbook. Use the search function for the handbook to find information about the job outlook for some aspect of journalism or public relations. Write a paragraph about your findings, including the projected percentage rate of increase or decrease in comparison with other occupations. d. Which major league baseball players won the batting title in the American and National leagues in 2001, and what was the batting average for each? e. Who is credited with the following quotation: “My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty”?

7. Use online or print biographical resources for information about the following people. Include the year of birth and death for each person as well as several sentences about each one. Be sure to include citations for your sources. Follow AP style as though you were adding information to a story. a. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington b. Helen Wills Moody c. Frances Perkins d. George Washington Carver e. Robert K. Jarvik f. Antonio Stradivari g. Fred Lawrence Whipple h. Christo (Javacheff) i. Lieutenant William Calley j. The Scottsboro Boys 8. Use online or print biographical resources for information about the following people. Include the year of birth and death for each person as well as several sentences about each one. Be sure to include citations for your sources. Follow AP style as though you were adding information to a story. a. Eugene V. Debs b. Didrikson-Zaharias, Mildred (Babe) c. John Kenneth Galbraith d. Martha Gellhorn e. Howard Hawks f. Emma Lazarus g. Horace Mann h. Thomas Nast i. Rachel Carson j. Jeannette Rankin

9. Read several recent entries in a copy editor’s blog. It can be one of those listed in this chapter or another editor’s blog that you find. Write a brief summary of the topics and key points made in the several entries.

10. Go to the Search Engine Watch Web site described in this chapter and read more about how search engines work. Then, using two different search engines or directories recommended by Search Engine Watch, conduct a search on a topic of your choice or a topic your instructor assigns. Print a copy of the research results (or at least the first three pages). Then write a brief comparison about the results you received from the two different search engines or directories.

11. Use a meta search engine that the Search Engine Watch Web site recommends to conduct a search on a topic of your choice. Then describe how (or whether) the search results returned to you delineate paid results from unpaid results. Describe any evidence you see that the search engine gives better placement to paid than unpaid results.

12. Use an Internet search engine to find Web pages about any topic you wish, such as a hobby, sport or specific sports team, or a performer or group. Print or make notes on the results of your search. Then, use a different search engine to perform the same search and compare the results of the two in terms of the number of results returned and the similarity of the two lists presented.

13. Provide a complete Web site citation for two public relations agencies with Web sites. Your instructor may ask you to print the list or download it to a disk.

14. Provide a complete Web site citation for a bibliography on writing and editing. Your instructor may ask you to print the bibliography or download it to a disk.

15. Find a source for anniversaries of historical events and birthdays of famous people. Compile a list of four or five events and birthdays for a “This Day in History” newspaper column. Use tomorrow’s date.

16. Use either the World Wide Web or a standard printed reference source to find information, including a map, about the U.S. territory American Samoa. Print a copy of the map, and answer these questions about American Samoa: a. Where is it located? b. What is the average annual rainfall? c. What is the dominant religion? d. What is the literacy rate? e. What is the capital? Give a complete citation for your source about American Samoa.

17. Using the same or a different source from that used to find information about American Samoa, find the literacy rate for your home state and compare it with the literacy rate of American Samoa.

18. Use print or online sources for census data to answer the following questions. Answer in complete sentences as though the information were part of a press release or news story you are editing. Cite your source for each answer. For printed sources, give the name of the reference work, page number and date published. For Web sites, give the complete title of the Web site, name of sponsor and URL. Follow AP style. a. What is the population of the state in which you currently reside? (Use the most recent figures available.) b. What is the population of the county in which you currently reside? (Use the most recent figures available.) How does this figure compare with the population of other counties in the state (first, 14th, etc.)? c. How many total crimes against persons were there in your county during the most recent year for which figures are available? How many total crimes against property were there in your county? d. How many school districts are in your county? What is the total enrollment of each school district? e. How many residential units are in your county? How many are single-family homes or condos and how many are apartments?