does assignment mean beat

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What Is Beat Reporting?

By NBCU Academy

Beat reporters are experts in a particular topic. Learn how to pick and define yours.

Beat reporters are journalists who get to become experts on one topic. NBC News has plenty of beat reporters in addition to general reporters who know a little bit about everything.

Joy Wang, NBC News senior editorial director for planning and diversity journalism, share with us the definition of beat reporting and how to choose a beat.

What is beat reporting?

In journalism, a beat is an area of specialization where you have developed sources and proven your expertise with your published stories. Think of it as a cop on the beat. If news breaks within your territory, your editor will know you’re the best person to produce an article or appear on camera. You already know everything about the topic and have the right sources in your phone contacts. 

There are three main kinds of beat reporting:  

• Territorial beats a re defined geographically . It can be as broad as “the Midwest” for a national outlet or as specific as a neighborhood for a local newspaper.   
• Jurisdictional beats are defined by a government agency, like the Justice Department, or a corporate entity, like Facebook. Jurisdictional beats can also cover such things as a school district, local government or even a major local business. 
• Topical beats focus on specific issues like politics, weather and health. It might be helpful to be more specific within those broad areas, such as being an expert on one particular politician.   

How do you pick a beat?  

Start with your interests or subjects you know well. Maybe you love trying new foods, or you’re always reading up on the latest tech gadgets. Whatever it is, there may be a beat for it. 

Define exactly what your beat entails  

Figure out what topics and issues fall within your beat. From an editor’s perspective, a narrower one is better. If you’re covering business, for example, should you focus on the stock market or a particular industry? Do you keep track of specific companies within your realm? Whom should you be reaching out to for any updates? The nature of your topic and your news organization may shape how much your beat covers daily news versus longer-term enterprise reporting.  

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assigned to a beat

• Thread starter evergreenhomeland
• Start date Dec 11, 2013

evergreenhomeland

Senior member.

• Dec 11, 2013

Hello everyone: How to understand " assigned to a beat " in following sentences? experience a trouble? Well,I think you get the point about bad nouns. (Don’t worry—in aminute I’ll tell you about good nouns.) Ibring this up today because most of you will soon be assigned to abeat in one of New York’s neighborhoods. Ourcity has been greatly enriched in recent years by immigrants fromevery corner of the world, but their arrival has also brought amultitude of complex urban problems. The source is the essay " Writing English as a Second Language " by William Zinsser from The American Scholar . Thanks in advance  

MilkyBarKid

A 'beat' is an area of a city allocated to a police officer to patrol.  

Oh, Can you give me a reference link?  

evergreenhomeland said: Oh, Can you give me a reference link? Click to expand...

OK, I found a reference on Wiki( beat police officer ) .  

• Dec 12, 2013

You don't believe the dictionary?  

No, I want detailed info about the word. I had been assigned to a beat.(Even that country does not use the word)  

Member Emeritus

Even that country does not use [not "used"] the word. Click to expand...

Thanks for your notice. In Japan, new comers must register for a residential card in a local Urban office. Officers there does not explicitly mention some sort of "a beat".  

Thomas Tompion

I hope you are clear, EGH, that Zinsser is saying that these young journalists will be working in a part of the city, just as policemen as assigned to particular parts of a city (their beats). He's using a metaphor, likening the journalists to policemen. They will encounter bad nouns, just as policemen encounter bad people.  

Oh my god, I am completely wrong. Now I got it.  

Thomas Tompion said: I hope you are clear, EGH, that Zinsser is saying that these young journalists will be working in a part of the city, just as policemen as assigned to particular parts of a city (their beats). He's using a metaphor, likening the journalists to policemen. They will encounter bad nouns, just as policemen encounter bad people. Click to expand...

evergreenhomeland said: So they got such an assignment to write various articles about the area he or she is responsible for? Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your kind explanation.  

jeanette abrahamsen

Beat Reporting

Beat reporting, as opposed to general assignment reporting, gives journalists the opportunity to focus on one area. Many beats are defined geographically, others focus on important issues like health, education or the environment.

Beat reporters develop in-depth knowledge. They get to know experts related to their beat and create a thorough contact list of people to help them tell compelling and credible stories. Beat reporters should stay up to date on all major developments about their topic.

Being a beat reporter allows journalists to delve much deeper and pushes them to uncover enterprise stories. Beat reporters help bring context to stories and explain how each story affects the audience.

My biggest piece of advice is to document everything . You will forget a person’s name. You will misplace their contact information. You should write down what you did before you leave work every single day. I kept a word doc open all day and would add notes as I worked. Write down every interaction you have  in person, on the phone, via email or social media. Include their name, title, phone number, email address, physical address and photo if possible. Include any links to related stories. This is especially helpful when there’s breaking news on your beat. But it also pays off in the long run because you can search for key words that perhaps never made it to your publication. This will help you with enterprise and in-depth stories.

I also encourage you to keep a digital folder with story ideas. Don’t rely on stacks of messy papers. This old school reporting style is inefficient. Keep everything on your computer so you can easily search. Also, back up everything onto external hard drives in case your computer crashes or gets hacked.

A great reporter always leaves a story with a new one in mind . While you’re conducting your interviews, ask people if they know of any other stories that you should look into. Most people like being useful and will often give you story ideas if you ask them. I also encourage you to ask your followers on Twitter and Facebook for story ideas and people to interview.

Not sure where to start? Bookmark USF experts who you can reach out to with questions about your beat. Congratulations, you just started.

Poynter’s NewsU provides a free resource for journalists called “ Introduction to Reporting: Beat Basics .” Here are the key suggestions for beat reporters:

• Make a contact list of all officials, activists, and experts related to your beat.
• Add calendar alerts to remind you to regularly check in on people related to your beat.
• Follow related people and organizations on social media.
• Bookmark websites you should check regularly.
• Add related meetings to your calendar. Decide which meetings you’ll attend.
• Which public records and databases are the most helpful?
• Who are interesting (non-official) people you can feature?
• What are the most important issues on your beat?

Here are some of the resources Poynter suggest you use regardless of the beat you have:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Census Bureau
• DocumentCloud
• Freedom of Information Letter Generator
• Investigative Reporters and Editors’  beat source guide
• Journalism Tools (articles by the Project for Excellence in Journalism)
• Journalist’s Toolbox  from the Society of Professional Journalists
• New York Times’ Navigator
• Open records and meetings laws for every state,  compiled by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
• Reporter’s Desktop
• Switchboard
• White pages

Courts and Criminal Justice Links

• Cornell University Law School database of state court opinions and legal resources
• “Covering Crime and Justice,”  a guide for reporters on police and court beats compiled by Criminal Justice Journalists
• Covering Criminal Justice, a resource guide published by the Center on Crime, Communities and Culture and Columbia Journalism Review
• The Crime Report
• Criminal Justice Journalists’ guide to reporting about guns
• Death Penalty Information Center
• Findlaw,  database of lawyers and legal cases
• Journalist’s Toolbox crime resources
• LexisNexis,  a subscription service that offers legal, news, public records and business information
• Martindale-Hubbell legal directory
• Pacer,  online service to federal courts
• Poynter’s crime and courts coverage bibliography
• USC Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism

Local Government Links

• Center for Urban Policy Research
• National Association of Counties
• National League of Cities

Neighborhood or Suburban Links

• Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media
• National Neighborhood Coalition
• National Neighborhood Watch Institute
• Texas Center for Community Journalism

Police and Public Safety Links

• Anti-Defamation League  (source on hate crimes)
• Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence
• Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Center for Sex Offender Management
• Children of the Night  resource on child prostitution
• Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants
• Court Appointed Special Advocates  (CASA), volunteers appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children
• Covering Criminal Justice , a resource guide published by the Center on Crime, Communities and Culture and Columbia Journalism Review
• Criminal Justice Journalists’ guide to reporting about guns *  The Crime Report
• Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
• FBI crime statistics
• Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Federal inmate locator
• International Association of Arson Investigators
• Justice Department COPS Office
• National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
• National Center on Institutions and Alternatives
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• National Criminal Justice Reference
• National Drug Intelligence Center
• National Gang Center
• National White Collar Crime Center
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Officer.com,  law enforcement news
• Official Directory of State Patrols and State Police
• Police Executive Research Forum
• Police Foundation
• The Sentencing Project
• Tips for Covering Cops (by Chip Scanlan)
• U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
• Learn whether your state prison system has an online inmate locator. For example, check out  Nebraska’s.
• Learn whether your state courts have an online database. For example, check out  Iowa’s.

A Closer Look At 3 Beats: Environment, Health, and Education

Environment beat.

Being on a beat like this means foreseeing cause and effect. There are times when you’re stories will just be a reaction to news events. But, your goal should be to uncover new stories.

One example is understanding that things like sea level rise will inevitably hurt coastal property value. When the value of properties drops, the amount of money local governments can collect from property taxes drops too. What does that mean for your audience? Property taxes pay for schools, police, fire departments, and much more. So the quality of those services will also drop unless local governments find ways to make up the loss. Governments often turn to tax hikes to meet the basic needs communities rely on. So, ask yourself again, how does sea level rise affect your community?

If you’re on an environment beat, you may find some inspiration and context in Al Gore’s 2017 film “ An Inconvenient Sequel .” I encourage you to check out the website and pay attention to the multimedia layout. Draw inspiration from the story ideas and visual representation of data. Part of providing value to your audience is informing them on how they can take action if your story inspires them to do so. Here you’ll find a list of ways your audience can make a difference like:

• how to lower your carbon footprint at home
• where to join a town hall meeting
• how to reach your governor about state regulations
• how to push for clean energy in your city
• find your elected officials’ stance on climate action

You should also subscribe to get emails from the National Wildlife Federation .

“An Inconvenient Sequel” is an update to the documentary “ An Inconvenient Truth ” that Gore helped create in 2006. You can find dozens of environmental resources to use in your reporting here:  http://an-inconvenient-truth.com/links-and-resources/  

Health Beat

If you’re on a health beat, you may want to watch the documentary “ Fed Up .” The film was released in 2014. The trailer got more than 11 million views on YouTube by 2017. There’s clearly an interest in this content. The creators of this film did an exceptional job making easy to understand visuals about sugar in foods and what it does to your body. I encourage you to create similar multimedia content to help your audience quickly consume complex information.

The film’s website has a list of sharable statistics like:

• Individuals who drink one to two sugar-sweetened beverages per day have a  26 percent higher risk  of developing type II diabetes.
• 98% of food related ads  that children view (3920/year) are for products high in fat, sugar, sodium.

The site also lists some of their sources:

• Kick the Can
• Lasater G, Piernas C, Popkin BM. Beverage patterns and trends among school-aged children in the US, 1989-2008. Nutr J. 2011;10:103
• Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine: Trends in the nutritional content of television food advertisements seen by children in the United States
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Obesity Action Coalition
• OnlineNursingPrograms.com Via: Forbes
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Food and beverage marketing to children and adolescents research brief
• Whole Health Source

Looking for story ideas? Here are just a few you can find on the “Fed Up” website.

• What Should You Really Eat? A Healthy Eating Plate
• A Shopping Guide: Good Food on Tight Budget
• Real Food, Not Junk Food
• The 10 Day Detox
• Recipes to Cook Seasonally
• Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children
• Cooking Medium Raw
• Leave out the Sugar and Cook with the Soul, Soul Food Recipes
• Fat Land: How we got overweight
• UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight
• An Organic Manifesto 
• What Should I Cook? Tips from Mario Batali
• Vegan Cooking Recipes 
• Don’t Eat this Book!
• Why Diets Fail 
• Kitchen Tips

Education Beat

Poynter suggests using the following resources on your education beat:

• Education Resource Information Center
• Education Writers Association
• Council of the Great City Schools
• Journalist’s Toolbox education resources
• Journalist’s Toolbox school violence resources
• National Center for Education Statistics
• National Education Association
• U.S. Department of Education
• Great Schools

Higher Education

The CNN film “ Ivory Tower ” looks at student debt and higher education institutions. It reveals how the business of higher education changed in the past few decades.

PBS NewsHour interviewed filmmaker Andrew Rossi about the rising costs and if college is still worth it.

CNN’s website provides several breakout stories related to the film. There are lots of powerful statistics and animations. Much of this information was collected in 2014, so you’ll want to confirm updated numbers if you use any of these. I encourage you to review them here:  http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2014/11/18/ivory-tower-education-debt.cnn/video/playlists/ivory-tower/

Here are some of the videos I found most valuable:

• Is college worth the cost?
• This is how an online college gets made
• Students build their own dorms to lower tuition
• From homeless to Harvard

College Sports

The EPIX original documentary “ Schooled: The Price of College Sports ” interviewed former student athletes and experts about the business and controversy around college sports.

Campus Sexual Assault

The documentary “ It Happened Here ” explores campus sexual assault. The film features five young survivors and shows what they’re doing to change the way schools handle sexual assault.

Here are some resources from the film’s website:

• It’s On Us
• SSAIS – Stop Sexual Assault in Schools
• SAFER – Students Active For Ending Rape
• Generation Progress
• Jules C. Irivn-Rooney J.D.  – President, Title IX and Clery Act Consulting, LLC
• Rebecca Leitman Veidlinger, Esq . –  Sexual misconduct attorney.
• Culture of Respect
• End Rape on Campus
• Know Your IX
• It Happened Here Discussion Guide

Public Schools

A great resource for education reform is TEACHED . The non-profit project is a series of films about racial inequality in America’s education system. I encourage you to raise your awareness by checking out their videos. They may inspire you to think of new story ideas.

Here’s one of the video descriptions from the  TEACHED YouTube channel :

The latest in the TEACHED short film series, “Code Oakland” examines the evolution of Oakland through the eyes of social entrepreneurs determined that youth of color not be left on the sidelines as Silicon Valley expands into the city that is home to the second largest black community in California. Kalimah Priforce, whose first success as a social justice rebel was a hunger strike at the age of eight, and Kimberly Bryant, a successful electrical engineer turned founder of Black Girls Code, are organizing large-scale hackathons to teach youth how to redesign the future through coding. Joined on the national stage by #YesWeCode founder Van Jones, their work represents the cusp of a movement changing both the face and use of technology in America. But is Silicon Valley ready to be hacked?

A National Disgrace

Dan Rather created an investigative documentary about public schools called “A National Disgrace.” Here is the full film and description from The Rathers Reports YouTube channel:

This special two-hour report documents a pivotal year and a half in the Detroit Public Schools, set against a backdrop of history and the plight of one student desperate to succeed despite the odds. “A National Disgrace” is part historical documentary, part investigative report and part personal profile detailing the political strife, corruption, and systemic breakdown during the tumultuous 2009-2010 school year when the state of Michigan imposed new leadership on the school district. The result is a searing portrait of a local tragedy that asks the question, does the situation in Detroit demonstrate how we view public education? Is the real “national disgrace” the fact that something like this could happen at all?

Segregation

Charter Schools

Standardized Testing

Additional Resources

Additional reading.

• Beat Reporting: What Does it Take to Be the Best?  by Chip Scanlan
• Breaking and Entering: How to Dissect an Organization  by Eric Nalder
• Commandments of Beat Coverage  by John Sweeney
• Finding and developing story ideas  by Steve Buttry
• The Heart of the Beat  by Chip Scanlan
• Living on the Beat  by Robin Sloan
• Turn the Beat Around  by Diana Sugg
• Writing About Place: The Boundaries of a Story  by Jeff Klinkenberg

Reporter Organizations

• Arena Football League Writers Association
• Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors
• Association of Food Journalists
• Association of Health Care Journalists
• Criminal Justice Journalists
• Football Writers Association of America
• Investigative Reporters and Editors
• Military Reporters and Editors
• National Association of Science Writers
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers
• North American Agricultural Journalists
• Obituary Writers
• Outdoor Writers Association of America
• Religion Newswriters Association
• Society of American Business Editors and Writers
• Society of American Travel Writers
• Society of Environmental Journalists
• U.S. Basketball Writers Association

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Published by jeanetteabrahamsen.

I am an instructional designer and TV news instructor at the University of South Florida. My passion for innovating learning led me to pursue my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Instructional Technology. I love creating media to enhance eLearning and foster online engagement. I teach students to create multimedia stories for broadcast, web and social media platforms. I lead the Florida Focus class where students produce daily news shows that air on Tampa's PBS station. My reporting classes collaborated with Tampa's NPR station to produce award-winning stories. I am an Emmy Award-winning journalist. I produced thousands of hours of TV news in some of America's largest media markets at Tampa's NBC station, San Diego's ABC station and the San Diego Union-Tribune. I also produced immersive 360-degree virtual tours at the University of South Florida and reported for Hashtag Our Stories. View more posts

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• assignments basic law

Assignments: The Basic Law

The assignment of a right or obligation is a common contractual event under the law and the right to assign (or prohibition against assignments) is found in the majority of agreements, leases and business structural documents created in the United States.

As with many terms commonly used, people are familiar with the term but often are not aware or fully aware of what the terms entail. The concept of assignment of rights and obligations is one of those simple concepts with wide ranging ramifications in the contractual and business context and the law imposes severe restrictions on the validity and effect of assignment in many instances. Clear contractual provisions concerning assignments and rights should be in every document and structure created and this article will outline why such drafting is essential for the creation of appropriate and effective contracts and structures.

The reader should first read the article on Limited Liability Entities in the United States and Contracts since the information in those articles will be assumed in this article.

Basic Definitions and Concepts:

An assignment is the transfer of rights held by one party called the “assignor” to another party called the “assignee.” The legal nature of the assignment and the contractual terms of the agreement between the parties determines some additional rights and liabilities that accompany the assignment. The assignment of rights under a contract usually completely transfers the rights to the assignee to receive the benefits accruing under the contract. Ordinarily, the term assignment is limited to the transfer of rights that are intangible, like contractual rights and rights connected with property. Merchants Service Co. v. Small Claims Court , 35 Cal. 2d 109, 113-114 (Cal. 1950).

An assignment will generally be permitted under the law unless there is an express prohibition against assignment in the underlying contract or lease. Where assignments are permitted, the assignor need not consult the other party to the contract but may merely assign the rights at that time. However, an assignment cannot have any adverse effect on the duties of the other party to the contract, nor can it diminish the chance of the other party receiving complete performance. The assignor normally remains liable unless there is an agreement to the contrary by the other party to the contract.

The effect of a valid assignment is to remove privity between the assignor and the obligor and create privity between the obligor and the assignee. Privity is usually defined as a direct and immediate contractual relationship. See Merchants case above.

Further, for the assignment to be effective in most jurisdictions, it must occur in the present. One does not normally assign a future right; the assignment vests immediate rights and obligations.

No specific language is required to create an assignment so long as the assignor makes clear his/her intent to assign identified contractual rights to the assignee. Since expensive litigation can erupt from ambiguous or vague language, obtaining the correct verbiage is vital. An agreement must manifest the intent to transfer rights and can either be oral or in writing and the rights assigned must be certain.

Note that an assignment of an interest is the transfer of some identifiable property, claim, or right from the assignor to the assignee. The assignment operates to transfer to the assignee all of the rights, title, or interest of the assignor in the thing assigned. A transfer of all rights, title, and interests conveys everything that the assignor owned in the thing assigned and the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor. Knott v. McDonald’s Corp ., 985 F. Supp. 1222 (N.D. Cal. 1997)

The parties must intend to effectuate an assignment at the time of the transfer, although no particular language or procedure is necessary. As long ago as the case of National Reserve Co. v. Metropolitan Trust Co ., 17 Cal. 2d 827 (Cal. 1941), the court held that in determining what rights or interests pass under an assignment, the intention of the parties as manifested in the instrument is controlling.

The intent of the parties to an assignment is a question of fact to be derived not only from the instrument executed by the parties but also from the surrounding circumstances. When there is no writing to evidence the intention to transfer some identifiable property, claim, or right, it is necessary to scrutinize the surrounding circumstances and parties’ acts to ascertain their intentions. Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998)

The general rule applicable to assignments of choses in action is that an assignment, unless there is a contract to the contrary, carries with it all securities held by the assignor as collateral to the claim and all rights incidental thereto and vests in the assignee the equitable title to such collateral securities and incidental rights. An unqualified assignment of a contract or chose in action, however, with no indication of the intent of the parties, vests in the assignee the assigned contract or chose and all rights and remedies incidental thereto.

More examples: In Strosberg v. Brauvin Realty Servs ., 295 Ill. App. 3d 17 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1998), the court held that the assignee of a party to a subordination agreement is entitled to the benefits and is subject to the burdens of the agreement. In Florida E. C. R. Co. v. Eno , 99 Fla. 887 (Fla. 1930), the court held that the mere assignment of all sums due in and of itself creates no different or other liability of the owner to the assignee than that which existed from the owner to the assignor.

And note that even though an assignment vests in the assignee all rights, remedies, and contingent benefits which are incidental to the thing assigned, those which are personal to the assignor and for his sole benefit are not assigned. Rasp v. Hidden Valley Lake, Inc ., 519 N.E.2d 153, 158 (Ind. Ct. App. 1988). Thus, if the underlying agreement provides that a service can only be provided to X, X cannot assign that right to Y.

Novation Compared to Assignment:

Although the difference between a novation and an assignment may appear narrow, it is an essential one. “Novation is a act whereby one party transfers all its obligations and benefits under a contract to a third party.” In a novation, a third party successfully substitutes the original party as a party to the contract. “When a contract is novated, the other contracting party must be left in the same position he was in prior to the novation being made.”

A sublease is the transfer when a tenant retains some right of reentry onto the leased premises. However, if the tenant transfers the entire leasehold estate, retaining no right of reentry or other reversionary interest, then the transfer is an assignment. The assignor is normally also removed from liability to the landlord only if the landlord consents or allowed that right in the lease. In a sublease, the original tenant is not released from the obligations of the original lease.

Equitable Assignments:

An equitable assignment is one in which one has a future interest and is not valid at law but valid in a court of equity. In National Bank of Republic v. United Sec. Life Ins. & Trust Co. , 17 App. D.C. 112 (D.C. Cir. 1900), the court held that to constitute an equitable assignment of a chose in action, the following has to occur generally: anything said written or done, in pursuance of an agreement and for valuable consideration, or in consideration of an antecedent debt, to place a chose in action or fund out of the control of the owner, and appropriate it to or in favor of another person, amounts to an equitable assignment. Thus, an agreement, between a debtor and a creditor, that the debt shall be paid out of a specific fund going to the debtor may operate as an equitable assignment.

In Egyptian Navigation Co. v. Baker Invs. Corp. , 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30804 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 14, 2008), the court stated that an equitable assignment occurs under English law when an assignor, with an intent to transfer his/her right to a chose in action, informs the assignee about the right so transferred.

An executory agreement or a declaration of trust are also equitable assignments if unenforceable as assignments by a court of law but enforceable by a court of equity exercising sound discretion according to the circumstances of the case. Since California combines courts of equity and courts of law, the same court would hear arguments as to whether an equitable assignment had occurred. Quite often, such relief is granted to avoid fraud or unjust enrichment.

Note that obtaining an assignment through fraudulent means invalidates the assignment. Fraud destroys the validity of everything into which it enters. It vitiates the most solemn contracts, documents, and even judgments. Walker v. Rich , 79 Cal. App. 139 (Cal. App. 1926). If an assignment is made with the fraudulent intent to delay, hinder, and defraud creditors, then it is void as fraudulent in fact. See our article on Transfers to Defraud Creditors .

But note that the motives that prompted an assignor to make the transfer will be considered as immaterial and will constitute no defense to an action by the assignee, if an assignment is considered as valid in all other respects.

Enforceability of Assignments:

Whether a right under a contract is capable of being transferred is determined by the law of the place where the contract was entered into. The validity and effect of an assignment is determined by the law of the place of assignment. The validity of an assignment of a contractual right is governed by the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the assignment and the parties.

In some jurisdictions, the traditional conflict of laws rules governing assignments has been rejected and the law of the place having the most significant contacts with the assignment applies. In Downs v. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co ., 14 N.Y.2d 266 (N.Y. 1964), a wife and her husband separated and the wife obtained a judgment of separation from the husband in New York. The judgment required the husband to pay a certain yearly sum to the wife. The husband assigned 50 percent of his future salary, wages, and earnings to the wife. The agreement authorized the employer to make such payments to the wife.

After the husband moved from New York, the wife learned that he was employed by an employer in Massachusetts. She sent the proper notice and demanded payment under the agreement. The employer refused and the wife brought an action for enforcement. The court observed that Massachusetts did not prohibit assignment of the husband’s wages. Moreover, Massachusetts law was not controlling because New York had the most significant relationship with the assignment. Therefore, the court ruled in favor of the wife.

Therefore, the validity of an assignment is determined by looking to the law of the forum with the most significant relationship to the assignment itself. To determine the applicable law of assignments, the court must look to the law of the state which is most significantly related to the principal issue before it.

Assignment of Contractual Rights:

Generally, the law allows the assignment of a contractual right unless the substitution of rights would materially change the duty of the obligor, materially increase the burden or risk imposed on the obligor by the contract, materially impair the chance of obtaining return performance, or materially reduce the value of the performance to the obligor. Restat 2d of Contracts, § 317(2)(a). This presumes that the underlying agreement is silent on the right to assign.

If the contract specifically precludes assignment, the contractual right is not assignable. Whether a contract is assignable is a matter of contractual intent and one must look to the language used by the parties to discern that intent.

In the absence of an express provision to the contrary, the rights and duties under a bilateral executory contract that does not involve personal skill, trust, or confidence may be assigned without the consent of the other party. But note that an assignment is invalid if it would materially alter the other party’s duties and responsibilities. Once an assignment is effective, the assignee stands in the shoes of the assignor and assumes all of assignor’s rights. Hence, after a valid assignment, the assignor’s right to performance is extinguished, transferred to assignee, and the assignee possesses the same rights, benefits, and remedies assignor once possessed. Robert Lamb Hart Planners & Architects v. Evergreen, Ltd. , 787 F. Supp. 753 (S.D. Ohio 1992).

On the other hand, an assignee’s right against the obligor is subject to “all of the limitations of the assignor’s right, all defenses thereto, and all set-offs and counterclaims which would have been available against the assignor had there been no assignment, provided that these defenses and set-offs are based on facts existing at the time of the assignment.” See Robert Lamb , case, above.

The power of the contract to restrict assignment is broad. Usually, contractual provisions that restrict assignment of the contract without the consent of the obligor are valid and enforceable, even when there is statutory authorization for the assignment. The restriction of the power to assign is often ineffective unless the restriction is expressly and precisely stated. Anti-assignment clauses are effective only if they contain clear, unambiguous language of prohibition. Anti-assignment clauses protect only the obligor and do not affect the transaction between the assignee and assignor.

Usually, a prohibition against the assignment of a contract does not prevent an assignment of the right to receive payments due, unless circumstances indicate the contrary. Moreover, the contracting parties cannot, by a mere non-assignment provision, prevent the effectual alienation of the right to money which becomes due under the contract.

A contract provision prohibiting or restricting an assignment may be waived, or a party may so act as to be estopped from objecting to the assignment, such as by effectively ratifying the assignment. The power to void an assignment made in violation of an anti-assignment clause may be waived either before or after the assignment. See our article on Contracts.

Noncompete Clauses and Assignments:

Of critical import to most buyers of businesses is the ability to ensure that key employees of the business being purchased cannot start a competing company. Some states strictly limit such clauses, some do allow them. California does restrict noncompete clauses, only allowing them under certain circumstances. A common question in those states that do allow them is whether such rights can be assigned to a new party, such as the buyer of the buyer.

A covenant not to compete, also called a non-competitive clause, is a formal agreement prohibiting one party from performing similar work or business within a designated area for a specified amount of time. This type of clause is generally included in contracts between employer and employee and contracts between buyer and seller of a business.

Many workers sign a covenant not to compete as part of the paperwork required for employment. It may be a separate document similar to a non-disclosure agreement, or buried within a number of other clauses in a contract. A covenant not to compete is generally legal and enforceable, although there are some exceptions and restrictions.

Whenever a company recruits skilled employees, it invests a significant amount of time and training. For example, it often takes years before a research chemist or a design engineer develops a workable knowledge of a company’s product line, including trade secrets and highly sensitive information. Once an employee gains this knowledge and experience, however, all sorts of things can happen. The employee could work for the company until retirement, accept a better offer from a competing company or start up his or her own business.

A covenant not to compete may cover a number of potential issues between employers and former employees. Many companies spend years developing a local base of customers or clients. It is important that this customer base not fall into the hands of local competitors. When an employee signs a covenant not to compete, he or she usually agrees not to use insider knowledge of the company’s customer base to disadvantage the company. The covenant not to compete often defines a broad geographical area considered off-limits to former employees, possibly tens or hundreds of miles.

Another area of concern covered by a covenant not to compete is a potential ‘brain drain’. Some high-level former employees may seek to recruit others from the same company to create new competition. Retention of employees, especially those with unique skills or proprietary knowledge, is vital for most companies, so a covenant not to compete may spell out definite restrictions on the hiring or recruiting of employees.

A covenant not to compete may also define a specific amount of time before a former employee can seek employment in a similar field. Many companies offer a substantial severance package to make sure former employees are financially solvent until the terms of the covenant not to compete have been met.

Because the use of a covenant not to compete can be controversial, a handful of states, including California, have largely banned this type of contractual language. The legal enforcement of these agreements falls on individual states, and many have sided with the employee during arbitration or litigation. A covenant not to compete must be reasonable and specific, with defined time periods and coverage areas. If the agreement gives the company too much power over former employees or is ambiguous, state courts may declare it to be overbroad and therefore unenforceable. In such case, the employee would be free to pursue any employment opportunity, including working for a direct competitor or starting up a new company of his or her own.

It has been held that an employee’s covenant not to compete is assignable where one business is transferred to another, that a merger does not constitute an assignment of a covenant not to compete, and that a covenant not to compete is enforceable by a successor to the employer where the assignment does not create an added burden of employment or other disadvantage to the employee. However, in some states such as Hawaii, it has also been held that a covenant not to compete is not assignable and under various statutes for various reasons that such covenants are not enforceable against an employee by a successor to the employer. Hawaii v. Gannett Pac. Corp. , 99 F. Supp. 2d 1241 (D. Haw. 1999)

It is vital to obtain the relevant law of the applicable state before drafting or attempting to enforce assignment rights in this particular area.

Conclusion:

In the current business world of fast changing structures, agreements, employees and projects, the ability to assign rights and obligations is essential to allow flexibility and adjustment to new situations. Conversely, the ability to hold a contracting party into the deal may be essential for the future of a party. Thus, the law of assignments and the restriction on same is a critical aspect of every agreement and every structure. This basic provision is often glanced at by the contracting parties, or scribbled into the deal at the last minute but can easily become the most vital part of the transaction.

As an example, one client of ours came into the office outraged that his co venturer on a sizable exporting agreement, who had excellent connections in Brazil, had elected to pursue another venture instead and assigned the agreement to a party unknown to our client and without the business contacts our client considered vital. When we examined the handwritten agreement our client had drafted in a restaurant in Sao Paolo, we discovered there was no restriction on assignment whatsoever…our client had not even considered that right when drafting the agreement after a full day of work.

One choses who one does business with carefully…to ensure that one’s choice remains the party on the other side of the contract, one must master the ability to negotiate proper assignment provisions.

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Beaming to reflect the beat (a.k.a. rebeaming)

Beams help communicate to the reader how long beats are and where each beat starts. When given a rebeaming exercise, the rhythms have been beamed incorrectly because they are not doing a good job of clarify information about each beat. It is your job to fix it so that the start of each beat is notated as clearly as possibly and that notes that should be beamed together, are beamed together. Note, you are only changing the look of the music, the sound must be exactly the same. This is the equivalent of spelling a word correctly. For example, "phraug" and "frog" sound the same, but the second way is the proper way to spell it. To beam music to reflect the beat, follow this procedure:

• Find the length of the beat
• Divide the measure into beat-length groups
• If necessary, "break apart" note values and re-connect them with ties
• Within each beat, beam anything that can be beamed

More Information Below:

Example in Simple Meter

Example with "breaking apart" note values.

Example in Compound Meter

First, find out is find out how long a beat is in the given meter. Below is a summary of simple meter signatures, their number of beats, and their beat lengths:

Next, divide the measure in question into beat-length groups. In 3/4, which has quarter-note beat lengths for example, I'd take this ...

... and I would group together the notes with circles like this to clarify the beats while I work:

Now, I consider each of my circled beats separately. Anything that can be beamed within each beat needs to be beamed together. Only notes that can have flags can be beamed together, so eighths, sixteenths, thirty-second notes can be beamed (because they have flags), but quarters, half notes, and whole notes cannot (because they don't have flags).

The music is now properly beamed because the span of each beat is now very clear. The final product looks like this:

Often you'll run into a situation where the a beat is unclear because it starts in the middle of a longer note like below:

Notice that you'll have trouble finding the end of beat 1 and the beginning of beat 2 when you start circling beats:

In situations like these, you'll need to "break apart" the longer notes and stitch them back together using a tie. Notice how I took the problematic note, the quarter note, and broke it into two eighth notes that I tied together:

This maintains the original sound. Initially it was a 1/4 note, but an 1/8 + 1/8 = 1/4. In the original there was only one attack point, but when I broke it into two eighths, I've created two attack points so I used a tie to combine the two eighth notes and prevent the second eighth from receiving an attack. Now, that we've made it possible to see all the beats, our new version looks like this:

Now we can start the process from the beginning and circle all the beats:

Then, anything that can be beamed within each beat needs to be beamed together:

Example in Compound Meters

For compound meters, the process is exactly the same. The most important question is, "how long is a beat in the meter you're working with?" When that question is answered incorrectly, it causes a lot of confusion. Many people are incorrectly taught that the top number of a meter signature tells you how many beats there are. That's only the case for simple meters and it is simply not true for compound meters. In compound meters, the top number tells you how many total beat divisions are in each measure. In 6/8, for example, each measure has six eighth notes, but not six beats. In a compound meter, the real beats can be divided into three, equal-length divisions. That means that you can take 3 of 6/8's beat divisions (the eighth notes), add them together, and you'll get the length of a single beat in 6/8, which is a dotted quarter note. Remember, if you can't find the true length of the beat, you will not be able to rebeam properly, so consider this paragraph carefully, or go review compound meters before continuing.

Here's a summary of some compound meters and the length of their beats:

Let's beam this measure below which is in a compound meter:

Just like before, the first step is to determine the length of the beat. In 6/8, beats are a dotted quarter-note long. I'll divide the measure into beat-length groups and circle each one:

I hope that helps!

What Is an Assignment of Debt?

George Simons | December 02, 2022

Co-Founder of SoloSuit George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Have a debt collection agency coming after you for a past due account? Not convinced that they have the right to sue you? Learn about the assignment of debt and how you can beat a debt collector in court.

Assignment of debt means that the debt has been transferred, including all obligations and rights, from the creditor to another party. The debt assignment means there has been a legal transfer to another party, who now owns the debt. Usually, the debt assignment involves a debt collector who takes the responsibility to collect your debt.

How does a debt assignment work?

When the creditor lends you money, it does so thinking that what it lends you as well as interest will be paid back according to the legal agreement. The lender will wait to get the money back according to the contract.

When the debt is assigned to another party, you must be notified when it happens so you know who owns the debt and where to send your payments. If you send payments to the previous creditor, the payments probably will be rejected and you could default.

When the debtor gets this notice, it's wise for them to check that the creditor has the right balance and the payment that you should pay each month. Sometimes, you may be able to offer changes to the terms of the loan. If you decide to try this, the creditor must respond.

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Why creditors assign debts

Note that debt assignments and debt collectors must adhere to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act . This is a law overseen by the FTC that restricts when the debtor can contact you and how. For example, they only can call you between 8 am and 9 pm and they cannot call you at work if you tell them not to do so.

If the FDCPA is broken by the debt collector, you can file a countersuit and may get them to pay damages and your attorney fees.

There are many reasons why the creditor may assign a debt. The most common reason is to boost their liquidity and reduce risk. The creditor could need capital, so they'll sell off some of their debts to debt collection companies.

Also, the creditor may have many higher-risk loans and they could be worried they could have a lot of defaults. In these situations, the creditor may be ok with selling debts for pennies on the dollar if it enhances their financial outlook and reassures investors.

Or, the creditor may think the debt is too old to worry about and may not assign it at all.

Different perspectives on debt assignment

Debt assignment is often criticized, especially in the past 30 years. Debt buyers often engage in shady practices. For example, some debt collectors may call consumers in the middle of the night and harass them to pay debts. Or, they may call friends and family looking for you. Some debt collectors even use foul language with consumers and threaten them.

Sometimes the debt is sold several times, so the consumer is chased for a debt she doesn't owe. Or, the debt amount could be different than what the debt collector claims.

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What to do if a debt collector comes after you

If you owe a debt and the debt has been assigned to a debt collector, you may be getting a lot of phone calls at all hours to get you to pay what you allegedly owe. This can continue for months or even years.

Sometimes, you can just ignore the phone calls and nothing happens. However, if enough money is involved, the debt collector could file a lawsuit against you. The worst thing you can do in this situation is to ignore the lawsuit.

What you should do is use the debt assignment game against them. What happens is this: The debt was probably sold a few times. You want to make the debt collector prove that the debt is yours and that you owe what they say you owe.

When the debt has been sold several times, it can be difficult for them to track down all that paperwork. You need to respond to the lawsuit by filing an answer with your clerk of court and then mail that answer to the debt collector by certified mail.

If you are being pursued for a debt that has been purchased by a third party debt buyer, there is a good chance you can get the issue resolved fairly easily. For example, in many instances, you may be able to negotiate a fairly low settlement on the debt, if you prefer to do so. This is because many companies who specialize in debt assignments actually purchased the debt for pennies on the dollar and are not actually looking to collect on the full amount owed.

Even if you cannot negotiate a settlement, make sure to log all of your interaction with the debt buyer since the collection agents they employ are notorious for routinely violating provisions contained within the FDCPA, which means you may have grounds to file a counterclaim and demand compensatory damages.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

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What Is a Beat Reporter?

Types, Advantages, and Downsides

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A beat is a particular topic or subject area that a reporter covers. Most journalists working in print and online news cover beats. A  reporter  can cover a particular beat for a period of many years.

Types of Reporting Beats

Some of the most basic beats include, in the news section, cops , courts , town government and school board . The arts and entertainment section can also be divided up into beats including coverage of movies, TV , the performing arts and so on. Sports reporters are, not surprisingly, assigned to specific beats like football, basketball, baseball and so on. News organizations large enough to have foreign bureaus, such as The Associated Press , will have reporters stationed in major world capitals such as London, Moscow, and Beijing.

But on larger papers with more staffers, beats can get even more specific. For instance, the business news section might be divided into separate beats for specific industries such as manufacturing, high-tech and so on. News outlets that can afford to produce their own science sections may have beat reporters who cover such fields as astronomy and biotechnology.

Several Advantages

There are several advantages to being a beat reporter. First, beats allow reporters to cover the subjects they are most passionate about. If you love movies, chances are you'll be excited at the chance to be a film critic or cover the movie industry. If you're a political junkie, then nothing will suit you more than to cover politics at the local, state or national level.

Expertise on a Topic

Covering a beat also allows you to build up your expertise on a topic. Any good reporter can bang out a crime story or cover a court hearing , but the experienced beat reporter will know the ins and outs in a way that beginners just won't.

Sources and Authority

Also, spending time on a beat enables you to build up a good collection of sources on that beat, so that you can get good stories and get them quickly. 

In short, a reporter who has spent a lot of time covering a particular beat can write about it with an authority that someone else just couldn't match.

The downside of all this familiarity is that a beat can sometimes get boring after a while. Many reporters, after spending several years covering a beat, will crave a change of scenery and new challenges, so editors often switch reporters around in order to keep the coverage fresh.

Thorough and In-Depth Reporting Advantage

Beat reporting is also what distinguishes newspapers – and some news websites – from other forms of media, such as local TV news. Newspapers, better-staffed than most broadcast news outlets, have beat reporters produce coverage that's more thorough and in-depth than what's usually seen on TV news.

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assignment - Meaning in Law and Legal Documents, Examples and FAQs

An assignment is the act of legally transferring rights, ownership, or interests from one party to another, often used in contracts, intellectual property, or debt obligations.

In normal language you would also say " transfer " instead of " assignment "

Need help understanding your legal documents?

What does "assignment" mean in legal documents?

An assignment is a legal term that refers to the transfer of rights, property, or benefits from one party (the assignor) to another party (the assignee). It's like passing the baton in a relay race – the assignor hands over their legal claim or ownership to the assignee.

In the context of contracts, an assignment typically involves two key components: the transfer of rights and the delegation of duties. Let's say you hired a guitar teacher to give you lessons, but you later decide to transfer that contract to your friend. The guitar teacher's right to receive payment would be assigned to your friend, and the duty to provide lessons would be delegated to your friend as well.

It's important to note that not all rights and duties can be freely assigned or delegated. There are certain restrictions in place to protect the interests of all parties involved. For instance, if the promised performance requires a highly specialized skill, it may not be possible to delegate that duty to someone else without the original party's consent.

Assignments can also occur in property law, particularly in landlord-tenant situations. Imagine you're renting an apartment, but you need to move out before your lease ends. You might be able to assign your remaining lease term to someone else, essentially transferring your rights and obligations as the tenant to the new person.

What are some examples of "assignment" in legal contracts?

Employment Contract: "The employee shall not assign or transfer any of their rights or obligations under this agreement without the prior written consent of the employer."

Lease Agreement: "The tenant may not assign or sublet the premises without the prior written consent of the landlord."

Intellectual Property License: "The licensee shall not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this license agreement without the prior written consent of the licensor."

Loan Agreement: "The borrower shall not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this loan agreement without the prior written consent of the lender."

Franchise Agreement: "The franchisee shall not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this franchise agreement without the prior written consent of the franchisor."

Construction Contract: "The contractor shall not assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations under this construction contract without the prior written consent of the owner."

Insurance Policy: "The insured may not assign or transfer any of their rights or obligations under this insurance policy without the prior written consent of the insurer."

Consulting Agreement: "The consultant shall not assign or transfer any of their rights or obligations under this consulting agreement without the prior written consent of the client."

FAQs about "assignment"

What is an assignment in legal terms.

An assignment is the act of transferring rights, interests, or property from one party (the assignor) to another party (the assignee). It is a legal mechanism that allows the assignor to transfer their rights, obligations, or ownership to the assignee.

What types of things can be assigned?

Various types of legal rights, interests, or property can be assigned, such as contracts, leases, intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, trademarks, copyrights), insurance policies, debt obligations, and even real estate or personal property.

How is an assignment different from a sale?

While a sale involves the transfer of ownership in exchange for payment, an assignment typically involves the transfer of rights or interests without necessarily involving the exchange of money. The assignee essentially steps into the shoes of the assignor and assumes the same rights and obligations.

What are the requirements for a valid assignment?

For an assignment to be valid, there are typically several requirements:

• The right or interest being assigned must be assignable (some rights are non-transferable).
• The assignment must be made in accordance with any specific requirements or formalities outlined in the original agreement or applicable laws.
• The assignor must have the legal authority to make the assignment.
• The assignment must be properly documented, often in writing.

Can an assignment be revoked or undone?

In general, once an assignment is properly executed and the assignee has accepted the assignment, it cannot be revoked or undone unilaterally by the assignor. However, there may be specific circumstances or provisions in the original agreement that allow for the revocation or termination of the assignment under certain conditions.

What are the potential benefits of an assignment?

Assignments can provide several benefits, such as:

• Allowing parties to transfer rights or obligations to others who may be better positioned to fulfill them.
• Facilitating the sale or transfer of businesses or assets.
• Enabling the monetization of certain rights or interests by transferring them to parties who can better exploit them.
• Providing flexibility in managing legal relationships and obligations.

How do assignments impact third parties?

Assignments can have implications for third parties who may have existing relationships or agreements with the assignor or the assigned rights or interests. In some cases, third-party consent may be required for the assignment to be valid and enforceable against them. It's important to review any relevant agreements or laws to understand the potential impact on third parties.

These legal terms could also be helpful

assisted suicide

Assisted suicide, commonly referred to as euthanasia, is the act of intentionally ending someone's life to relieve them from an incurable or painful condition, usually with the individual's consent.

associate justice

An associate justice is a judge who serves on a higher court, such as the Supreme Court, alongside the chief justice, providing legal expertise and voting on important cases to shape the interpretation of laws.

In the legal context, an 'associate' refers to a lawyer who works for a law firm or legal practice, often as an employee or junior partner, gaining experience and working towards potentially becoming a full partner in the firm.

association

An association is a group of people or organizations that come together for a common purpose, such as a professional association for lawyers or a neighborhood association for residents.

Look up a word, learn it forever.

Other forms: assignments

Whether you’re an international spy with a new mission or a high school student with math homework — when you get an assignment , you’d better do it! An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do.

The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign , which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job. When you assign something, that something is called an assignment . The word can also refer to the act of distributing something. If you are distributing new office furniture at work, you might say, “ Assignment of the new chairs will begin tomorrow.”

• noun an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher writing assignment , written assignment an assignment to write something classroom project a school task requiring considerable effort classwork the part of a student's work that is done in the classroom homework , prep , preparation preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) lesson a task assigned for individual study type of: labor , project , task , undertaking any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
• noun a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces) “a hazardous assignment ” synonyms: duty assignment see more see less types: show 10 types... hide 10 types... guard , guard duty , sentry duty , sentry go the duty of serving as a sentry fatigue , fatigue duty labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on) charge , commission , mission a special assignment that is given to a person or group reassignment assignment to a different duty sea-duty , service abroad , shipboard duty naval service aboard a ship at sea shore duty naval service at land bases fool's errand a fruitless mission mission impossible an extremely dangerous or difficult mission martyr operation , sacrifice operation , suicide mission killing or injuring others while annihilating yourself; usually accomplished with a bomb secondment the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere type of: duty work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
• noun the act of putting a person into a non-elective position synonyms: appointment , designation , naming see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... nomination the act of officially naming a candidate co-optation , co-option the act of appointing summarily (with or without the appointee's consent) delegacy the appointment of a delegate ordinance , ordination the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders recognition designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body laying on of hands laying hands on a person's head to invoke spiritual blessing in Christian ordination type of: conclusion , decision , determination the act of making up your mind about something
• noun the act of distributing something to designated places or persons “the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum” synonyms: assigning see more see less types: allocation , storage allocation (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions type of: distribution the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
• noun (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance synonyms: grant see more see less types: apanage , appanage a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family land grant a grant of public land (as to a railway or college) type of: transferred possession , transferred property a possession whose ownership changes or lapses
• noun the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another see more see less type of: instrument , legal document , legal instrument , official document (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

Vocabulary lists containing assignment

The Dawes Act, or General Allotment Act of 1887, was a law that allowed the U.S. government to take Native American tribal lands and divide them into 40 acre lots for individual Native Americans. The goal was to break up communal tribal lands and speed the assimilation of Native Americans into American society. The Dawes Act caused great suffering with much of the land winding up in the hands of white settlers.

Learn these words from the autobiography by David Lubar (Inside: Level B, Unit 4). Here are our links to the selections of "Every Body Is a Winner": The Human Machine; My Fabulous Footprint , The Beat Goes On; All Pumped Up , Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands , How Coach Told Me; Bionics Here are our links to the units of Level B: Unit 1 , Unit 2 , Unit 3 , Unit 4 , Unit 5 , Unit 6 , Unit 7 , Unit 8 Here are our links to the Inside books: Level A , Level B , Level C Here is our link to a list of academic vocabulary for Inside: Academic Vocabulary

Prepare for the IELTS exam with this list of words related to education and academics.

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Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement..

What Is Beat In Journalism? 3 Different Types

This article answers the question “What is beat in journalism?”. Discover everything about this topic in our expert guide.

A beat in journalism refers to an area of specialization for reporters where their newsgathering efforts are focused on specific subjects or locations. News beats include specializations such as locations and territories, specific entities and organizations, and types of journalism.

If you are a reporter whose specific job requires you to report on journalism and media, then media would be your beat. If you have ever heard of an education correspondent, their beat is education, and so forth. Learning about beats in journalism can help answer the question, “ Is journalism a good career? ”

1. Location Beats

2. entity beats, 3. subject area beats, are beats in journalism disappearing, it enforces authority, it helps editors, it’s efficient, different types of beats in journalism.

Katherine Murphy,  The Guardian Australia ‘s  political editor, touched on the importance of specialization in journalism when discussing this media feature. She said: “The journalistic mission remains at its simplest: know your patch and use your knowledge to try to tell readers what’s actually going on.”

Put simply, that’s the point of beats; to have reporters have extra knowledge of a subject matter makes for better reporting, be it with a location, an entity, or a section of their newsroom’s output. Looking for more information on journalism? Check out our guide on journalism scoop !

For instance,  Martin Chulov  is the Middle East correspondent for  The Guardian . Therefore, his area of expertise and journalistic focus relates to subjects of countries in that region.

Your first job after journalism school could be covering a local patch. In that case, that patch will be your beat. The expectation would be for you to gather news in that area and cover any relevant breaking stories or press conferences that happen in that area.

There are also specific beats for different entities. To help you understand, consider The White House. A whole host of White House correspondents whose job is to cover all happening in and around the US President’s quarters. For instance,  Phil Mattingly  is  CNN’s  Chief White House correspondent, while  Peter James Doocy  is the White House correspondent for  Fox News .

Another example is sports reporters, who have specific franchises as their beats. For instance,  James Pearce is a Liverpool FC  reporter for  The Athletic .

It doesn’t have to be a physical entity to be a beat for news media.

For example,  Kate Duguid ’s previously covered the stock market as part of her beat for  Reuters .  The Washington Post  has previously advertised for a reporter to cover  social media as a beat .

Subject area is one the most common journalism beats where reporters focus their news writing efforts on a specific genre of media that is broader than one entity but specialized in one area of news output. For instance, you have political science reporters, crime reporting, and many more subject area-beat reporters.

Another example of this would be the education beat. There might be an editor and reporters who work this specific beat. One of there more renowned reporters in this category is  Laura Meckler , who takes on the education beat for  The Washington Post .

Beats can also be combined. For instance, you can be an Australian political reporter. Here, the beat you would be working off would be Australia and politics. You might also be wondering, what does off the record mean?

The coming of age of online and the 24-hour news cycle has led to many newsrooms needing more resources, with specialists now expected to work outside their known area. We are left asking the question “ Is journalism dying ?” Of course, larger newsrooms still have beat reporters but if you are a low-budget organization, affording reporters to have specific beats isn’t always within the realm of possibility. Instead, you expect these reporters to put their hands on the wheel and help with every story they can.

However, the loss of specialization can hurt the quality of the news reports. This point was touched upon in an article entitled ‘Why the demise of specialist reporters is a loss for any democracy’ featured in  The Conversation .

Politics editor for the publication, Laura Hood, wrote: “Beat journalism worldwide is disappearing. There are several reasons, among them the corporate and commercial pressures of going digital and competition from social media.” Ms. Hood summarizes that beats in journalism are the lifeblood of quality, in-depth reporting, and they should be preserved despite the extra cost.

What Is The Point of Beats In Journalism?

Of course, there will still be some news organizations that believe that a beat reporter should be able to focus on a broader range of stories. However, there are several reasons for better courses of action than this.

In the article mentioned above in  The Conversation , Ms. Hood discussed one of the critical advantages of beat reporting; it enforces authority. She said: “When people read a beat reporter’s byline (their name on the story), they expect expert and factual news and analysis. It’s the opposite of generalist reporting.”

A beat reporter will become the go-to journalist for an audience on their given subject matter. Their expertise might be why people tune in, buy the paper, or click online. If journalists aren’t allowed to specialize, they are less likely to gain the expertise needed to become such an authority. When an organization is known for producing top-notch news reporting with journalists with specific areas of expertise, they become the public’s go-to resource.

You can help yourself understand the concept of beat reporting by thinking of a cop who has to respond to crimes when they happen within a specific area. That’s their beat, and they will be sent there by their chief if there is an issue. It works similarly with beat journalists, as editors know they can rely on beat journalists to produce a news story from their specific beat if something happens concerning their area.

It answers the question, “Who does the editor send on this story?” It also ensures that a reporter’s hard work in a specific area gets rewarded. That is because if a journalist has worked hard on a story on their beat, they will be allowed to follow up on it. Practically, a beat journalist already understands restrictions and access to sources and locations within their beat.

When there is a general assignment on a specific subject matter, the beat reporter already knows the fundamentals and is best placed to work on it. If they are good at their job, they already have contacts in the area, which ensures that it’s easier to get reliable sources and more efficient. They also already know the background information and may have previously worked on connected breaking news reports.

Whereas, if a general reporter has to take on a story in an area or subject they are unfamiliar with, they start with a blank canvas. Understanding a story’s background requires time, which is time that a beat reporter has already spent.

BEAM/BEAT: Thinking About Sources in the Writing Classroom

How do we teach students to use sources, from the process of finding them (research) to the act of referring to them in their arguments (researched writing) the cas writing program uses the beam/beat framework created by joseph bizup to help students use sources more effectively in their writing. the video clips and examples on this page elaborate on the beam/beat theory and its applications for teaching and for writing..

The image above defines the BEAM/BEAT taxonomy: Background, Exhibit, Argument, and Method (or Theory).

Introduction to BEAM/BEAT: A Functional Vocabulary

• Background sources provide uncontested information that sets up an argument. Background sources are materials whose claims a writer puts forward as background information. Writers regard information from their background sources as authoritative and non-controversial, and they expect their readers to do the same. Because writers sometimes treat information gleaned from their background sources as “common knowledge,” they may sometimes leave these sources uncited.
• Exhibit sources provide evidence and material for analysis or interpretation. Exhibit sources are materials a writer offers for explication, analysis, or interpretation. Materials used as background, argument, or theory/method sources tend to be prose texts, but anything that can be represented in discourse can potentially serve as an exhibit. The simplest exhibits are examples, concrete instances offered to support or illustrate some more general claim or assertion. The term “exhibit” is not synonymous with the conventional “evidence,” which designates data offered in support of a claim. Exhibits can lend support to claims, but they can also provide occasions for claims. Complex exhibits can demand extensive framing and interpretation. Understood in this way, the exhibits in a piece of writing work much like the exhibits in a museum or a trial. Good writers, like good curators and lawyers, know that rich exhibits may be subjected to multiple and perhaps even conflicting “readings.” They know they must do rhetorical work to establish their exhibits’ meanings and significance.
• Argument sources provide claims the writer engages in some way. Argument sources are materials whose claims a writer affirms, disputes, refines, or extends in some way. To invoke a common metaphor, argument sources are those with which writers enter into “conversation.” In professional academic writing, there is a strong correlation between the genres in which writers work and the genres of their argument sources, but this correlation is weaker in student writing. In the ordinary practice of their professions, historians generally write articles and books that engage articles and books by other historians; neuroscientists generally write research reports that engage research reports by other neuroscientists. Students are not regularly asked to write papers that engage other student papers. This “genre gap” may be a significant reason students sometimes fail to apprehend the dialogic nature of academic argumentation.
• Theory (or Method) Sources provide a method, model, vocabulary, or approach. Theory (or method) sources are materials from which a writer derives a governing concept or a manner of working. A theory source can offer a set of key terms, lay out a particular procedure, or furnish a general model or perspective. Like background sources, theory sources can sometimes go uncited, for at least two reasons. It is not unusual for writers to acknowledge their most important theory sources only obliquely, by deftly dropping a recognizable name, using a particular terminology, or adopting a prose style or mode of exposition that affiliates them with a particular school of thought. Likewise, especially influential concepts or methods may enter into the general parlance of disciplines or professions and so lose their ties to specific sources. (Note: The alternate terms “method” and “method source” are sometimes more intuitive for writers working in certain fields, particularly the sciences.)

BEAM/BEAT in practice: Planning syllabi and assignments

Beam/beat: multiple uses for teachers, students, and librarians, beam/beat vs. traditional vocabulary for sources.

• works for some disciplines (history, literary criticism) but not at all for others
• conflates genre and function
• serves researchers in particular fields, not writers.  

Literary-critical examples of BEAM/BEAT

• Background: David Roberts, The Victorian Origins of the Welfare State .
• Exhibit: Charles Dickens, Bleak House
• Arguments: Critical essays by J. Hillis Miller, Terry Eagleton, etc.
• Theory: Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish
• Look at the following annotated passage from Freedgood (pp. 5-6 in  The Ideas in Things: Fugitive Meaning in the Victorian Novel , University of Chicago Press, 2006.): 

And my choice of objects [Exhibit Sources] is influenced by structures of thoughts and feeling that derives from a line of critical thinking that could be traced from Marxist cultural studies, the study of culture and imperialism, postcolonial theory, and studies of power and subjectivity from Franz Fanon and Sigmund Freud to Michel Foucault and Judith Butler. [Theory Sources]  The result is the method of the first three chapters of this book: one in which the historically and theoretically overdetermined material characteristics of objects are sought out beyond the immediate context in which they appear. These objects are then returned to their novelistic homes [ Jane Eyre , Mary Barton , Great Expectations , Middlemarch ] [Exhibit Sources] , so that they can inhabit them with a radiance or resonance of meaning they have not possessed or not legitimately possessed in previous literary-critical reading [Argument Sources] .

Resources for Teaching

• Acknowledgment and Response
• BEAM/BEAT: Rhetorical Ways of Thinking About Sources
• Close Reading Exercise
• Developing Key Terms
• Formulating Questions and Claims Based on Observations
• Picture Prompts for Online Classes
• Reading for Research
• Research as Forming a New Question
• Sample WR 120/15x Assignment: Academic Paper on an Outside-of-Class Experience
• Strategies for Analysis of Text
• Strategies for Engaging with Critics
• Summary & Analysis
• Teaching with the WR Journal: Volume 10 (2018)
• Use a Text as a Theory Source
• Using Different Kinds of Sources to Analyze an Exhibit

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ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Diamondbacks DFA RHP Dylan Floro, recall LHP Blake Walston

Sep 15, 2024, 10:54 AM

Dylan Floro #55 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Houston Astros during the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park on September 07, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images)

(Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images)

BY ALEX WEINER

Diamondbacks reporter, ArizonaSports.com editor

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks designated veteran reliever and trade deadline acquisition Dylan Floro for assignment on Sunday, the club announced. Arizona recalled left-handed pitching prospect Blake Walston.

Walston provides length to a bullpen that threw 7.1 innings in Saturday’s 15-8 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Floro threw two frames with five earned runs during the defeat, upping his ERA to 9.37 in 16.1 innings pitched since the trade deadline.

Floro came over as a nine-year veteran with a 2.06 ERA and 2.64 FIP this season for the Nationals. The Diamondbacks made two trades for relievers, nabbing former Miami Marlins left-hander A.J. Puk along with Floro to strengthen the unit at a time of transition with Paul Sewald exiting the closer’s role around the deadline.

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Floro’s velocity took a nosedive after the trade, as his sinker dropped from 90.4 mph in July to 88.4 mph in September, according to Statcast . Similar occurrences happened with his four-seamer, changeup and slider, and his average exit velocities jumped.

The Diamondbacks traded minor league infielder Andres Chaparro to the Washington Nationals for Floro at the buzzer of the trade deadline — the deal went down while the two clubs faced each other, so Floro just switched clubhouses. Chaparro has a .744 OPS in 109 plate appearances in Washington, although he would not have had any obvious role in Arizona this season.

Floro has primarily filled out lower-leverage innings but had not earned a higher-stakes role.

Blake Walston returns to Arizona

Walston returns for his third stint in the major leagues this season. In 12.2 innings across two starts and a relief appearance, Walston owns a 2.84 ERA with nine walks and 11 strikeouts.

He landed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation on June 6 and missed more than two months before returning to Triple-A Reno.

The 23-year-old last pitched on Tuesday for the Aces, tossing 5.2 innings with one earned run.

Blake Walston ( @Dbacks No. 25) was sharp in his first MLB start. 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K pic.twitter.com/nw4Rf3xnSo — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 26, 2024

The Diamondbacks placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list Saturday retroactive to Wednesday, likely moving Jordan Montgomery from his long relief role back into the rotation. Yilber Diaz threw 71 pitches out of the bullpen on Saturday, so length quickly became a need.

By designating Floro for assignment, the Diamondbacks have 39 players on the 40-man roster.

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