Newswriting 2
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- What is journalism for?
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to inform the public
provide public with a forum
entertainment
communicate with mass amounts of people
help - Journalism is also for three other things
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Building communities
citizenship
democracy - you are able to have an opinion and it lets you know the truth - What is journalism's primary purpose?
- to provide citizens with information they need to be free and self governing
- What does journalism have an obligation to do?
- tell the truth
- Who is journalism's first loyalty to?
- its citizens
- What is journalism's essence?
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a dicipline of verification
which means they interview both sides of the story - What must journalism's practictioners do?
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maintain an independence from those they cover
which means they must remain unbias - What must journalism serve as?
- An independent monitor of power
- What must journalism provide for?
- A forum for public criticism and compromise
- What must journalism strive to make?
- It must strie to make the significant interesting and relevant
- What must journalism keep the news?
- comprehensive and proportional
- What must journalism's practioners be allowed to exercise?
- Their personal conscience
- What is news?
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relevant to the people
something that affects you
entertainment
interesting -
What is news in three words?
These are also the broad guidelinesfor judging the news value of an event -
Relevance
Usefulness
Interest - What are the most important guidelines for judging news value?
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Impact
Conflict
Novelty
Prominence
Proximity
Timeliness - Explain Impact
- How many people are impacted by the story
- the greater the impact...
- the more likely it is newsworthy
- Explain Conflict
- Bad news is often more newsworthy than good news
- Explain Novelty
- People or events may be interesting and therefore newsworthy just because they are unusual or bizarre
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Which is a novelty...
a regular pumpkin?
or one the size of a car? - The one the size or a car becasue it is bizarre, therefore newsworthy
- Explain Prominence
- Names make news. The bigger the names...the bigger the news
- Explain Proximity
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The closer to home a story takes place, the more newsworthy
people often want to know how the news relates to their own community - Explain Timeliness
- News needs to be new. To be relevant and timely it must be new.
- Name the 5 things that are vital functions of journalism in a free society
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Journalist...
1. report the news
2. monitor power
3. uncover justice
4. tell stories that delight and amaze
5. sustain communities - Is it possible to be objective?
- You can try to not look at it just from one perspective, but it is virtually impossible because of personal baggage. (How you were raised, education, etc)
- What can journalist be in order to be as objective as possible?
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Accurate
Fair
Balenced - What two questions should ever journalist ask before publishing a story?
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Is it accurate?
Is it fair? - What does accuracy entail?
- All names must be spelled correctly, quotes must be directly quoted not paraphrased, if math is involved the numbers must ad up, etc
- What does fairness entail?
- All viewpoints should be represented in the story
- What does fairness require?
- That you make every effort to avoid following you own biases in your reporting and your writing
- What is the frame of a story?
- The viewpoint, or prespective, from which you tell a story
- What type of frame should an honest journalism portray?
- The frame the reveals the story most fully and fairly
- What is news judgement?
- Deciding what news is important
- Are all stories equally important?
- NO, you need to publish what your particular readers would be interested in
- What do news editors rely on?
- The 5 News values in order to make their news judgement
- What are the four steps for news value in action?
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1. Which news comes first?
2. How news is placed on the page?
3. Which facts come first in the story?
4. What words to use in headlines? - What does the editorial committee do?
- They may pick stories that people should know and are not necessarily going to be interested in.
- How can editors and reporters be bias?
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1. How they were raised
2. Their own personal beleifs - Is it possible to completely eliminate bias?
- no, we have to accept out bias but be fair
- Reporters are often blind to their own prejustices. What is one way for them to avoid the possiblity of a prejudtise story?
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To not cover stories that you have been personally affected by.
ex: date rape, abuse, etc - What are four warning signs of bias?
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Imbalence
Two Sides
Slanted language
patronizing/condescending approches - Explain imbalence
- Only having one side of the story
- Explain slanted language
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"chick" "babe"
degrading etc - Explain patronizing/condescending approaches
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Nerd
Old Timer
Single Mother
Weak-kneed
Threaten
Trailer Park
Elderly
etc - Interviewing
- A conversation with a source
- What is the most basic requirement of any successful interview?
- A reasonable degree of trust between the reporter and the source
- If you interview someone continually what is a good way to build trust?
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1. get quotes right
2. get to know the source - When you prepare for a topic what should you do before you report on it?
- You need to find out what has been reported prior to your interview
- When you prepare for a person?
- Know their biography and their expertise regarding your story
- How should you set up the interview?
- It should be at the interviewers convinence
- Should you tell the source how must time you will need for the interview?
- yes
- What is the advantage of having a the interview in a neutral location?
- IT can be more relaxed and the ball is in your court. They don't have any power over you.
- What two things technical things should you ask the source about prior to the interviews?
- About a recording device and a photographer
- What should you let the source do with the quotes you are using?
- Let them check the accuracy of them
- What ground rules should you make prior to the interview?
- Make sure everything is on the record and that everything is attributale
- What types of questions should you ask?
- Neutral, open ended questions
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What type of question is this?
Do you have a dog? - Closed ended
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What types of question is this?
Will you explain to me the best qualities about your dog? - Open ended
- Attribution
- credit for quotes
- For all news storys what form of speech should you use?
- only the word say
- On a person's first reference in a story what part of the name do you use?
- First and last name on first reference
- What part of the name do you use on the second and subsequent reference?
- Last name only
- When two people with the same last name are in your story which name do you use?
- The first and last name throughout the story
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How should you place teh attribution?
Joan Collins said?
or
said Joan Collins? - Joan Collins said
- What is attribution not needed for?
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1. events or facts that the reporter actually witnesses
2. obvious facts and points of public knowledge - When should attribution come within a quote?
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At the end of the first quoted sentence.
"I love cats," Joan said. "They are furry". -
When does said come before the person's name?
said Joan... -
When there is additional information about the source
"I have experianced success with that simple procedure," said Bob Mortis,who is a physician in Colombus, GA. - In regular news stories you should not attribute to oftne. However, when should the story be dense with attribution even when it slows the story down?
- When it is news about an inflammatory, sensetive, or legal issue.
- What are the three variation of said that you can use?
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1. Told
2. According to
3. - Explain when you can use told?
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This is useful when the person is quoted is speaking in a public forum
"Read my lips, nop new taxes," President Bush told the nation last night. - When do you use said in a statement?
- This indecates the quoted matter was from a media release
- When do you use according to?
- Often used when there is no direct quotation or when material is being summarized.
- What do you do with a quote inside of a quote?
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Use single quote marks for internal quote
"The surgeon called it 'just a simple technique,'" he siad. - What is a lead?
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The first paragraph or two of a news story
It is also the bait or the lure of the story - What should the lead be?
- Clear and specific
- What are the two types of leads?
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1. Direct
2. Delayed/Blind - What is a direct lead?
- Tells the reader the most impratant aspect of the story at once
- What is a delayed lead?
- This entices teh reader into the story by hinting at its content
- What six basic questions do you ask yourself when writing a lead?
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Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How? - How long should the lead be?
- No more than 35 words
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Is this the way a lead should be written?
Hits from the most recent U2 album were preformed Wednesday. -
No, that is in passive voice. It should look like this
U2 preformed hits from their most recent album Wednesday. - Immediate Identification Lead
- Used with people of prominence
- When do you use a person's name in the lead?
- When they are a person of prominence and that is the ONLY time.
- Delayed identification/Blind lead
- Use when person or organization has little name recognition