News Quiz

The start of the semester means the start of weekly news quizzes I give to my journalism students. I tell them on the first day that I give these quizzes, not to torture them as some may think, but to prepare them to enter the world of media. Yes, they should know what's going on in the world as future media professionals, however, there is a much more practical reason.

Often times when they are applying for jobs, potential employers will give them a news quiz. I've had colleagues who have moved to the middle of nowhere and took a news quiz about local government, politics, the educational system, etc. as part of the application process. Also, when I toured CNN in Atlanta last year with my students, they told us that people applying for internships and entry-level positions must take and perform well on a news quiz. AND, they keep giving those quizzes in order for folks to move up the promotion ladder at CNN.

Here's the first quiz I gave today.  I think it's fairly easy, and most quizzes will probably be a bit harder than this one throughout the semester.  What would your score be? No cheating! :)

1. What’s the status of the rescue efforts in Haiti?
2. Who is UT’s new football coach?
3. The U.S. celebrated the birthday of who yesterday?
4. What’s the latest on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on NBC?
5. According to an article on tnjn.com, is there a feral cat problem in Knoxville?
6. What's the capital of Tennessee?
7. Name one thing you want to learn this semester in this class. Be as specific as possible since this helps me plan your assignments and activities.

Where in the world is Cash?

Can you spot Cash in the photo below? He blends in with the pile of laundry on our bed. I hadn't seen him in a few hours and started wondering where he was since he's usually in the same room as me. It took a few minutes of looking to realize he was sleeping comfortably among the clothes.

Maybe you can see him better in this photo since his yellow eyes stand out a bit more.

Sammie opted to sleep the afternoon away in her bed.

Thawing out

We had more than a week of freezing temperatures, and now we're warming up again. It snowed Thursday afternoon and into Friday, but the big problem was the ice. The roads in our neighborhood iced quickly since the ground was already so cold.

The snow started early Thursday afternoon, but by the time David drove home around 5 p.m., our hill was an icy sheet, and hardly any cars could drive up, so he parked in a lot next to the neighborhood pool and walked up.

Here are some of the frozen photos I've taken during the past week.

Our frozen driveway.

Cash still loves going outside when it snows. I think he would stay out there if I let him.

 

Snow shining through our lights on the back porch.

 

We also put up all our Christmas decorations last week. It's always more fun to decorate than to un-decorate.

We drove to Pellissippi State Community College to see the frozen fountain and pond.

 

My mom also celebrated her birthday last week, and we sent her some flowers. Thanks to my dad for taking this photo of them. Happy Birthday Mom!