Passive vs. Active voice

So I understand that there is a serious difference writing in passive vs. writing in active voice but it is crazy to think that one or two words can make such a drastic effect on what the phrase means. For some, it seems so much easier to write in passive when doing news writing whether it be for broadcast or print but it is evident so many examples that one or two words can really make all the difference, even if it is just the Headline of a story.
A good example is this: A sentence like "The mayor's office fired five city workers today" is more informative than the sentence "Five city workers were fired today."

Writing in the passive voice often serves as a crutch for writers who don't want to take the time to figure out who is doing what.

Done and over with?

So the writer's strike is basically over without the vote to officialize it huh? That is interesting, and based on the article that Roger Simon wrote, was basically done almost in a hurry so that 2 upcoming deadlines would not be missed. Those 2 deadlines are for the Academy Awards show and for the upcoming television season.
It looks like both sides of the fence wanted to come to an agreement before things got even messier involving the previously said events.
What's also kind of funny is that, like in almost every type of case, there is no winner or loser although it seems the writers gained the most it seems to me. The writers will now make a small earning based on Internet media. What also falls into favor for the writers is that the producers realized they have nothing without them and writers are more important than the directors.
So now it's time to sit back and wait to see what the official vote will be and what the future will hold in terms of when new shows will begin to air and what shows will and won't be coming back.
Get up-to-date information on the strike at the Deadline Hollywood Daily where Nikki Finke is suggesting a return to work for the writers to be this Wednesday!

News scriptwriting

So honestly, I never noticed how much conversational writing went into newscasts. It is interesting and really makes sense now after studying and even writing it myself. I always had the idea that news was so intellectual and a lot of it was important sounding and what not, but it really is just something that is as simple as talking to a friend in person but still getting all the main ideas across, making it recognizable and understandable to everyday people.
The assignments that we have done this week have interested me a little more than the assignments such as commercial scripting because I am a journalism major and have always had an interest in the news. But like I said before, it always seemed like what should be said should sound "smart" just because writing the news in a newspaper is not exactly the same as writing the news to be broadcast on national television. I really am continuously learning so much more that I really feel will be beneficial to my future career and to simply being able to recognize things in everyday life.