By Thursday 1/9: Find a piece of writing that “serves the public interest” in some way, one that you admire for both its subject and style – this can be anything: a letter to an editor, an article in a newspaper or magazine, a blog post, a series of tweets, a press release, an organization’s mission statement, an interview transcript, an artist’s statement, an activist manifesto, promotional material for an event, etc. Expect to read a section out loud and then talk a little about why you picked what you picked as a way of introducing yourself to your classmates.
By Friday 1/10: Please register for the blog (I recommend choosing a pseudonym) then comment on this post with a link to the piece of writing you chose OR the information that we’d need to find it off-line OR (if it is a unique item, like a found flier or poster) a very brief description of it. This is in part a trial run, so we can iron out any tech problems before your first graded blog post is due (on Sunday night).
Writing (for) the Public - Sp 2014 
http://www.amigoslink.org/amigos-mission-vision-and-values
I brought an article about the establishment for BODA, which is an association for the anniversary of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games as a message from the Chairman of the association’s form.
I brought in this multimedia article published by Rolling Stone discussing the controversial meat packing industry and the price at which we pay for cheap meats. It’s a very engaging, informative, and powerful read–check it out!
http://www.rollingstone.com/feature/belly-beast-meat-factory-farms-animal-activists
I picked an article from The Cadet, the official U.S. Army ROTC Cadet Command newsletter, titled “Shaping the future leaders,” written by Maj. Gen. Jeff Smith. It basically gives the updated mission statement of Cadet Command. In short, this is to focus on making not only skilled officers, but smart ones as well.
Here is the link for the digital version of the Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands 2013 Destination Guide & Regional Map:
http://www.laurelhighlands.org/digital-destination-guide.asp
I chose the mission statement for KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit dedicated to saving play for children in the United States.
http://kaboom.org/about_kaboom/our_mission_vision
I picked an article from the Huffington Post- its late 2007, but its about the possibilities of books becoming obsolete, specifically fiction because its something that can be found on TV. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-hoenig/are-books-becoming-obsole_b_61494.html
I chose the fall issue of The Original Magazine – a student-run Pitt publication that I write for. This magazine caters to a mostly local arts and culture-centered audience and includes pieces on a variety of topics from music festivals to restaurant reviews to artist’s collectives. The editor’s note in this issue likens the magazine staff to a family, perhaps relating and warming up to the reader.
For more, check out the online edition here:
http://originalmag.com/
I chose Sylvia Plath’s semi-autobiographical novel entitled, “The Bell Jar”. I brought the print version to class that I bought on Amazon a few years back using this link: http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Plath-Sylvia-Paperback-2006%C2%A3%C2%A9/dp/B00BP0MSKE/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389309567&sr=1-15&keywords=the+bell+jar+by+sylvia+plath
I imagine that it would be easy to procure a copy at the library as well though.
For my piece of public writing, I chose a film review for Saving Mr. Banks from the Los Angeles Times. The review praises the plot of the movie as well as the acting and offers a strong case as to why the audience should see the film.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-saving-mr-banks-review,0,4783363.story#axzz2pp77eh95
I brought an article from New York Times entitled “When Doctors ‘Google’ Their Patients” by Haider Warraich. The essay presents both positive and negative cases, and discusses what are appropriate uses of Googling and when it’s an intrusion into patient’s privacy.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/when-doctors-google-their-patients-2/?_r=0
The piece of public writing I chose was from the organization Riverlife. The article discussed the re-opening and importance of the revitalization of The Point in Pittsburgh through the use of quotes, informative details, and fun facts about the city!
http://www.riverlifepgh.org/news/point_state_park_fountain_set_to_reopen_june_7_2013/
I decided to choose an article about the types of social media and internet usage in Asian countries as blogged about by SASE. This organization stands for Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers.
saseconnect.org/news/saseprints/136-11-18-social-networking-in-asia
This piece was published in The Atlantic monthly newsletter in the January issue. It was written by Scott Stossel, who is an editor for the magazine. His memoir about his extreme social anxiety is coming out in the spring of this year, and this piece is excerpted from that memoir.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/surviving_anxiety/355741/
This is a short outlook on what the Bridge Scandal might mean for NJ governor, Chris Christie, in the future as people start looking into who to vote in the presidential election in 2016. The opinion that he may not be able to manage people that he deals with on a daily basis sure had me, as a member of the public, thinking less of him as a presidential candidate.
http://rare.us/story/will-americans-forgive-and-trust-chris-christie-after-bridge-gate-scandal/