Shark Attack

A body has been found washed up early this morning on the Amity Village Beach, severely mauled by an attacker of unknown origin.

The body was identified as Chrissie Watson, a 17-year-old resident who was reported missing at about 6 a.m.

Watson was reportedly at a beach party last night, and was last seen leaving the party with another teen, a male identified as Christopher P. Hoggenbottam III, at about 11 p.m.

Police have been told by Hoggenbottam that Watson decided to go swimming and entered the water at a remote section of South Beach near the South Beach Shoal bell buoy. 

Police investigators have also learned from witnesses that both teenagers had been drinking heavily and possibly smoking marijuana during the evening.

According to Amity Police Chief Martin Brody, only Watson went in the water, and Hoggenbottam passed out on the beach. 

At the press confrence, Brody said there were currently no suspects, however Hoggenbottam’s credibility has gone down because he was intoxicated at the time of Watson’s missing.

A shark attack has not been ruled out, however according to Brody, shark attacks are remote, and there are no dangerous sharks at the beach.

Finding Sources

As the semester progresses, I have found finding sources for stories to be much easier. Many of my sources now a days come from one simple question: "is there anyone else I could talk to?". That question almost always gets me at least one extra source. Ask that every person you talk to, youre almost always guaranteed another person to talk to. It has made covering stories much easier. Im very glad I figured out this technique, because had I not, I would still be running around campus hoping that I can find someone to contribute to my story. Not only is that method stressful, its also very time consuming.

Red Sox Parade

One of the most amazing experiences I have ever had was when I went to the Red Sox championship parade last week. The atmosphere in Boston was truly amazing, as probably most of the city was there and thousands more from surrounding cities and states as well. Everyone there was just happy to be at such an amazing event. I was near the end of the parade, so we had to wait a while for the parade to reach us. Even still, no one was mad or getting impatient. When the duckboats were finally in sight, the crowd roared. For the next 10 minutes, the crowd was constantly cheering. Cameras and cell phones could be seen everywhere, as everyone wanted to take a picture of history being made. An event I will definitely never forget.

Take Back The Night

This was the first big event I covered, and it was fun, hard, and pretty emotional. The night started off seeming like it would be really cold, however the cold would not be a very big factor. Right as I got there I tried interviewing a few people that showed up. Not a lot of good quotes unfortunately. I ended up writing my story more about the events happening instead of what people had to say. The crowd walked around Durham yelling multiple chants. After they got back to the Great Lawn, they formed a circle and people talked about their experiences with sexual assault. A truly emotional moment. This was a great event to cover for my first time because of all that was happening.

My First Published story

Today I got my first published story, and it is a great feeling. I went to my first TNH meeting on Tuesday, and they said they needed someone to cover Take back The Night. The problem was that it was due Thursday night, and the event got done Thursday around 9. This meant that it was going to be a long night, but I was willing to take it. After covering the event, I got to TNH office and immediately started typing. It was an interesting feeling knowing that I had a deadline to meet. Luckily, most of the TNH staff were there also, typing up stories of their own and getting fridays edition ready. The TNH are all really great people who know how to bring a good vibe to a stressful working environment, even if its at 1 in the morning. At about 1:55 my story was done, and I showed it to Susan Doucet, the editor. Luckily she liked it. She thanked me for staying so late, and while I was tired, it was a pretty good feeling.

Fluffy

At 9:30 a.m. at the Durham Zoo, Fluffy the rare spotted leopard was discovered missing, and she has still not been found. 

“We are searching the grounds of the zoo, but so far we haven’t a clue,” says Gerry Durrell, director of the zoo.  “She may have left the area, and she could be walking around Durham at this point.  We just don’t know.”

According to Kitty Smith, the zoo’s chief zoologist, Fluffy is a 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard, one of only five in existence. They were driven to the brink of extinction in Romania because of their appetite for children under 8 years old.  Needless to say, they are extremely dangerous.

According to Smith, “If these cats are cornered-or encountered on a dark night or in a dark alley- their defense is to kill, and to kill quickly.”  Smith urges anyone who encounters Fluffy to get slowly to the ground, go limp, lay still, and avoid eye contact at all costs.  “Fluffy may then do a lot of sniffing and licking, but unless she senses fear she’s not likely to react violently.”  

Fluffy is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour.  She is a carnivore whose diet consists largely of old chickens that are thrown into her cage.

Police Chief William Blaire said that if they can not find Fluffy in the zoo, they will begin searching the neighborhood at 11 a.m., moving further and further away from the zoo.  Their goal is to find her by 2 p.m., or else it will be a long night.