Updates

From the time I started writing my story, I have been concentrating on improving where it lacks human element. This is very difficult to do because of the distance. I am not in China, so I cannot hit the streets to find sources. I have a lot information for the story from the online research that I have done and newspaper articles that I have read about the subject. These articles have helped in the development of the story, but I need more. The story needs an expert’s voice and that’s where the National Jewish Research and Medical Center comes in. I think with their expertise I will be able to give my readers an accurate and convincing news story about the affects of pollution on the human body and most importantly how it may affect athletes’ performances.
So far I was able to get Medical data from the National Jewish Research and Medical Center about the health effects of air pollution on the human respitory system through e-mail. However, I need to speak to a medical expert from the center, so I will continue to call them and ask to speak to someone until I get the help that I need. Fortunately for me, my story is based on an event that has not yet taken place and the pollution issue in China has not been fixed. I can continue to work on it until I write a great story.I also have been trying to get contacts in China. The two girls who I was hoping would help me from the University of Beijing have fallen flat from the surface of the earth. In the beginning, they sounded very promising and I thought I was going to get some great pictures from them, however I have not heard from them in the last two weeks. At this point, I really don’t think they will come through for me. So, what I have done since is that I have e-mailed several universities in the U.S. to try to find contacts. I sent e-mails to the University of Miami, University of Missouri, University of California and University of Florida. I have gotten a response from UM and they put me in contact with their International student and their Exchange student programs to find potential Chinese contacts. I informed them that the contacts do not have to be Chinese. If they have connections with China and live there, I want to talk to them. I spoke to the directors of both of those programs and told them what we are trying to do at our school. They both were very enthusiastic about it and even admit that their university has never done anything like that. They told me that they will contact me sometime this week once they get in touch with potential students. Right now, I am hoping that this works because I have a few other story ideas; however I need contacts to develop them.

Website Design Suggestion

I know we only have two months to develop our website and for most of us this is a first. However, our results should not reflect the work of amateurs. With that in mind, I think our website should be in a three column format with a white background because it's easier to read information on a white bacground. At the very top, there should be a date and time display of when our site was last updatedd. Below that should be the title bar displaying our name and logo. On the main or front page we should have the headlines and part of our top stories for that week or month. These headlines and top stories should be linked to a page that feature their respective region. For example, the top story from china on the front page should continue on China's page.
In addition, we should have an expanding menu bar at the far left side of the main page that lists our three regions. Each region on that menu bar should have a hang down menu listing the different topics about from that particular country, i.e., education, politics and entertainment. These topics should link readers to their relevant stories. At the far right we should have a menu bar listing our advertisements, staff, contacts, contributors, opinions posts ect... There should be photographs and vidoes that go along with the headlines and top stories on the front page. At the bottom of the page, we can add the real time news link that our professor suggested.The colors on the site should reflect the colors of the flags in the three regions that we are covering. As far as font, I think we should stick to one that is easy to read. These are just suggestions, so feel free to disagree with any. Thank you.

Editorial Policy

I-page is a student-based multimedia website. It is produced and run by students at Florida International University’s Journalism Department yet includes contributions from students all over the world. It addresses issues that influence students in other cultures. Its editorial mission is to provide accurate, unbiased and useful information about global issues. It believes that its own interests are best served by giving top priority to the interests of its readers. With that in mind, its editorial team will ensure that I-Page remains a trustworthy source of reliable information by making sure that its content is produced independently and without influence of any advertiser.