***NUMBER 10!***

This is my 10th post. Keeping everyone up to date with what is happening in the journalism class thus far has certainly been an adventure. I have brought you stories about fights and about take overs. Number 10 comes on the day of the final deadline. What does that mean for Under Surveillance by the Unemployed?

I am scared to say that this is the end, but that is a real possibility. Without the other publications there is nothing to write. Though you may not know it, all of you have been my second half , and without you none of the posts would have happened.

I know for a lot of you my posts are a big part of your block so I'm not going to depress you guys. Today has been a great day. It is the last deadline and everyone is hard at work. The bag of destiny has done some amusing things today.

Abby of Merry Media has been accused of sexual harassment and cannot talk to any of her group members directly. Heather and Andrea of South Sisters have a little fling going and keep sneaking away to read romantically to one another, I'm listening to them right now and can't focus on anything else. Other groups are still in and out of class from sickness and that makes this a very interesting class.

I have had a lot of fun keeping an eye on all of you. Thank you for making this interesting and I'm glad you have all enjoyed this. I'm still unemployed, but are you still under surveillance?

My Birthday Gift: The Last Deadline

Today is my birthday and I am pleased with how today's class is going so far. Everyone in the class sang happy birthday to me, the bag of destiny had some interesting results, and today is the last deadline day.

That last one may be the best thing of all and I'm not saying that because everyone in the class sings poorly (they do, but I still appreciate it). After today we all have more time to give to the other stages of hell.

Lets be honest here everyone, we all need this extra time. I have spoken to most of you about the podcast stage of hell and a majority of you have not even started. I have already been told by Mr. Greene that when next week comes it is going to be difficult to get recording equipment, so this stage will be an adventure to get finished.

There is also the new journalism story, which for me, is going well. Ehhh, just OK actually. I am guessing (I know, but don't want Mr. Greene to know) I am a bit further than everyone and I have just a few paragraphs down.

Then there is the clip file. This is not too time consuming, but is another stage of hell that many have not started. It involves creating a resume and cover letter as well as editing some of your best stories written during the semester.

All of this work is what makes the final deadline a good thing. Now there will be extra time to finish things up. The last stages of hell await us. Lets get to work.

Bagged Destiny

In the journalism class things change quickly. Publications go out of business. People get fired or quit. Markets increase or maybe even decrease. What makes all of this happen so fast?

The students in this class know, that it is destiny. Destiny in a bag. Every time deadline passes, a familiar bag is brought to the front of the classroom. In this bag awaits the destiny of the publications in this class.

This is the bag that brought me to you. The bag told me to quit The Siren and then it shut the Siren down. It makes people pray and cringe. Pray that their destiny is bright and cringe when their destiny goes bad (which is 99.999% of the time).

The most recent destiny picks seem to be the most interesting of all. The South Sisters were forced to get rid of two computer mice because of budget issues. The Sisters also had their Editor attacked by the mob. This attack led to broken fingers on both hands, which makes working a little harder. I wish her a quick recovery.

Panther Pages was attacked by zombies! They now have a pair of armless workers and could possibly turn to zombies if the movies are accurate. They too were forced to make budget changes and cannot use their chairs for part of every block. Panther Pages also ate a bad lunch filled with botulism. They now get sick every 15 min. and must run to the bathroom. They are lucky though because those exposed to botulism rarely survive. They may have gotten the worst destiny, and now have a lot to overcome to make deadline.

The Web Pages of Utterback now must use pen and paper while working for 30 min. a block. Will Utterback crack without his beloved technology? They also were struck with sickness and must take time to rest in order to get better. They were forced to change location and work in a new part of the classroom as well.

Merry Media also had to change location. In addition, they have to make a section with puzzles that the group members create. They must make another section all about funny pet stories.

I must say that destiny is a beautiful thing for me. It has given me a lot of things to write about so far and has given me a chance to let people know what goes on in journalism class. These events promise to create some more great stories that I can bring to all of you.

Sudden South Sister Steal

By now it is clear that the South Sisters make a lot of interesting news. This may the most interesting of all.

I have heard from members of South Sisters that two are taking over. The strangest part of this story is that one happens to be the lone male member of the team. The second power hungry South Sister is the newest member of the team.

John Adie and Sydney Ramirez appear poised to make South Sisters theirs. As I look to the back of the classroom I see the group split in two. The oldest members of the group sit in the back as Adie and Ramirez sit in front of them making all the decisions.

I was approached by a member of South Sisters who was clearly frustrated. She told me that Adie and Ramirez named themselves editor and editor-in-chief. They then proceeded to give orders to what stories they wanted written.

Sitting here all I can here is Adie and Ramirez running the show on the new South Sister Podcast. I do not here the upbeat singing or joking from members Sarah, Heather, and Andrea that we are all used to.

You could cut this tension with a knife, just like buttah! I am sensing some drama and maybe some fighting. I'm keeping an eye on this group for sure.

A Curious Countdown

As the school year winds down two publications count down the days. The Web Pages of Utterback says that graduation is 25 days away. South Sisters has school ending in 23 days. So why is there a difference? Is there one publication that is inaccurate? Are both wrong?

You would have to think that a group named after the genius Utterback would be correct. It would also be safe to think that a group containing two people who love going to the beach so much they skip school (Andrea and Heather), would be accurate in a countdown to when they can beach it up without missing deadlines. I decided to take a closer look.

The first thing that I noticed was that Utterback is counting down days until graduation and South Sisters were counting to the end of school. Graduation is on June 20 and the last day of school is June 18. Technically, there is a makeup day for finals on the 21, but we will go with the 18 since that is when most students get out.

I found that The Web Pages of Utterback was accurate with its countdown. Graduation is indeed 25 days away. The South Sisters also had an accurate countdown, as the last day of school is 23 days away.

The reason why there has been confusion is because these two publications have two different countdowns. If readers are to quickly read the numbers, however, it could be quite confusing.

I recommend that these publications change the wording of the countdowns so that it is more clear to readers. This post is making me realize that summer is creeping up on me fast, not at all a bad thing.

Mr. Greene: The Fly on Our Shoulders

Do you ever feel like somebody is watching you? Well in Mr. Greene's journalism class we are always being watched. In journalism you could be busy working and all of sudden feel somebody right behind you watching every word you type.

By now, none of us turn around because we know what we will see. We will see Mr. Greene reading over our shoulders. It is pretty terrible while it is happening. You can sense someone behind you and your thoughts just freeze. All of a sudden all you can think about is what Mr. Greene thinks of your writing.

Mr. Greene when you read this stop panicking now, we all love having you read over our shoulders.

I know that when he is doing it that he will have feedback for me. Many times there is an error that I missed, or a better way I could have written a sentence.

Though we all may hate the feeling of being watched, it has proved to be beneficial for our writing. I say that Mr. Greene can be the fly on my shoulder anytime I'm writing.

Rupert Murdoch: Job Taking and Job Making

Remember The Bolt? Remember The Siren? These two sources of news are now run by robots. Don't believe me? Ask Rupert Murdoch!

Murdoch has bought these beats and fired all of their staff. They are now being run by robots and two new publications are forming. These groups are made up of various students in the journalism class who were unemployed, many from Murdoch's buyouts. So now I'm sure you are all curious about what these two new groups are.

From what I have heard both publications will be websites. The first is called Panther Pages and is made up of two former Bolt workers as well as a former South Sister. The second website has been named Merry Media and is made up of a former South Sister, two Bolts, and a writer who worked for the podcast The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Utterback.

I am looking forward to seeing these websites up and running, but they should be aware that they are now under surveillance.