Week 13 Journal: Pitches

 Informational feature

Recently, The Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovered a candidate for what they believe might be the first planet discovered outside the Milky Way galaxy. They did this through a method that has been classified as the X-ray transit method. Here is a link to the study: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2021/m51/m51_paper.pdf. 

This story is important because it marks a scientific discovery that could end up being the first of its kind. The research states that detecting a planet outside of the Milky Way is key to understanding galaxies other than our own. It is worthy to note that this study will take a long time due to the nature of the planetary candidate's discovery (factors such as distance, orbit, and pure chance), but the fact that something has been detected is important nonetheless. Knowing and understanding this, This story needs to get media coverage. 

Human Interest feature

Micheal Phelps is known as the greatest olympian of all time. One thing that you may not know about him is his philanthropic side. Through his charity, The Michael Phelps Foundation, he has provided people with things such as mental health help, swimming lessons, and other charitable acts. Here is a link to his website for more details https://michaelphelpsfoundation.org.

This would make a great story because it covers a person that is a household name, and how he impacts his community in a positive way. Many people know that it is common practice for athletes to do charitable work outside of their sport, but not a lot of people know what this work is and how it impacts them. The goal of this story would be to explain Phelps’ journey and how he became such a philanthropic individual, as well as explain how his work impacts the American community. 

News feature

Throughout the pandemic, secret events known as plague raves have occurred throughout the country and internationally. Recently a Dj performer came forward condemning these events. This happened after he claimed that after one of these events he tested positive for covid and was comatose for months. For more information regarding what these events are please refer to this article https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/the-secret-dj/ 

This is a good story because it is something that everybody can relate to. Although raves are something that a small percentage of people go to, Covid is something that has affected everybody. Throughout the pandemic, it was common to hear about people ignoring the protocols put in place for safety. I believe this situation is important to write about because it outlines a person that realized the importance of quarantine after violating the mandates put into place. 

Personality feature

Export games are something that has moved into the mainstream in the last couple of years. But what does it take to reach a level where you get paid. I asked my friend Andrew Mcmonagle this question. Andrew plays Call Of Duty under the name Uveal and gets paid to play competitively.

Esports is an industry that exists on a spectrum. You can make money as a side hustle/hobby or (if skilled enough) play at a high level and make thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars. This article would be a guide on how to make money as an average person playing e-sport video games. This would make a great personality feature because it appeals to a strong niche of people that are devoted to their respective games.

Past events feature

November 15 marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo is one of the most successful gaming franchises ever created and is once again in the limelight due to the multiplayer portion of the new game “Halo Infinite” being released on the anniversary. 

Writing about the anniversary and the history would make a great feature because of how groundbreaking the game was. Giving insight into how the game did when it first came out, and how it is still doing now is a great way to show the history of such a rich franchise. In the article, I would also illustrate the cultural impact the halo had, and give examples of some other games that were influenced by the first Halo.

How to feature 

One thing that many people don't know how to do is cook. I worked in a kitchen as a line cook for 4 years and learned a lot of tips and tricks to make cooking easier. An example of this would be knowing substitutes. When a person is out of brown sugar they might think that they are out of luck. This is not the case as you can use white sugar and maple syrup as a substitute.

In this article, I will explain cooking techniques like the one mentioned above that could be useful to the average person.  This will be successful because it's a skill that not many people have, and eating is something everybody needs to do. Everybody loves useful life hacks which is why this article will be successful. 

The “best” feature

Anthony Edwards is the best second-year player in the NBA. He is averaging 22.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists so far this season. He also has had a 49 point game against the current best team in the NBA: The Golden State Warriors (13-2).

This would make a great story because many believe that Edwards was robbed of the rookie of the year award last year after losing the race to fellow second-year player Lamelo Ball. The rivalry between them regularly causes debate amongst NBA fans, and after a strong start to his sophomore season, the debate has heated up once again. Another noteworthy thing to take notice of is Edwards's game to game growth, which would also be mentioned in this article.