Transcript Week 6: February 26 - University of Minnesota Duluth

Week 6: Journalism 2001
February 26, 2007
Its
 Its’
 Or it’s?
Bottom line: Use it’s when mean it is, it was,
it has – its’ is not a word!

Announcements

New Moon internship
– New Moon is accepting applications for a
summer intern until March 1.
– For more information:
 http://www.newmoon.org
 Click on "About Us" and "Jobs and Internships"
Extra Credit: WDIO tour

WDIO-TV Tour:
– Wednesday, 3/7: 4:30 p.m.
– Tour, watch 5 p.m. broadcast
– 15 extra credit points
– Email me if interested
WDIO-TV Directions

WDIO-TV is located at 10 Observation Road between
Arlington and Skyline Drive.
– From UMD, take College Street north to Kenwood.
– Turn right on Kenwood to Arrowhead.
– Take a left on Arrowhead to Arlington (second stoplight).
– Take a left on Arlington and go a few miles to Observation Road,
which is about a mile past Central Entrance.
– Take a left on Observation Road and go about a mile to WDIO,
which is on the left in the shadow of the towers.
Review of last week’s news

Hard News:
(murders, city council, government, etc.)
– Major local stories
– Major national/international stories
– Major sports stories

Soft News:
(retirements, school programs, human interest)
– Local stories
– National/international stories
– Sports stories
Let’s take a quiz!
Hermantown city officials are questioning the
science behind Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
requirements that may derail a long-planned
_______________ expansion project.
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Sam’s Club
Wal-Mart
Menards
Sa
1.
Ice anglers walking last week off the sand beach
of Duluth's Park Point found this under the ice.
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Unidentified body
Uncharted
wreckage of a
Lake Superior
vessel
Zebra mussels
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1.
This race that normally ends on Hayward's Main
Street was shortened last week due to the lack of
snow.
...
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3.
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2.
American Birkebeiner
Grandma’s Marathon
Beargrease Sled Dog
Marathon
A
1.
Lake Superior District School Board has voted to have the
old high school demolished in this North Shore community.
0%
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3.
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2.
Grand Marais
Lutsen
Two Harbors
G
ra
1.
Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson has required a full
audit of the privately run ____________________,
according to an email he sent to city councilors
last Tuesday.
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3.
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2.
Grandma’s Marathon
Bayfront Blues
Festival
North Shore Inline
Marathon
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1.
The Carlton County attorney said Thursday he will charge a
16-year-old with felony stalking for his role as the alleged
ringleader of a series of attacks on residents at the
Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet. The teens are
accused of _________________________________.
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3.
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2.
Posing as grandchildren
of nursing home
residents
Stealing food from
nursing home residents
Dumping pitchers of ice
on nursing home
residents
Po
si
1.
At least six City of Duluth ____________________ have
suspended licenses for driving while intoxicated, and now
the city is considering creating a special job category to let
them stay on the payroll without having to drive.
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2.
Heavy-equipment
operators
School bus drivers
Snow-plow drivers
H
1.
The UMD men's hockey team was swept over the
weekend by Alaska Anchorage.
0%
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0%
Fa
2.
True
False
Tr
ue
1.
The UMD women's hockey team won 2 out of 3 games
over St. Cloud over the weekend and will play Minnesota
next Saturday in the WCHA championship tournament in
Minneapolis.
0%
ls
e
0%
Fa
2.
True
False
Tr
ue
1.
Both the men's and women's basketball teams will host
first round North Central Conference Basketball
Championships games at home this Wednesday.
0%
ls
e
0%
Fa
2.
True
False
Tr
ue
1.
North Dakota Proposal!
Review of last week’s assignment
Wordiness, attribution, allegedly
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–
–
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Retrieved the money: recovered
Avoid full name, full address in lead
Editorializing: thanks to excellent work
Exhibiting suspicious behavior: acting suspiciously
Attribution
Looking through the windows of parked cars lined
along the street: Looking in parked cars
– Wall kicked in and an illegal entry had been made:
Wall kicked in
– Was found with: had
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Style errors:
–
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–
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States
Ages
Addresses
Numerals
Run-on sentences
Recovered all of the approximately $741.10:
recovered the $741.10
Made contact: talked
Pockets overfilled with money: full pockets
Admitted
Had stolen: is charged with
A man was arrested and charged with third-degree
burglary and felony theft on Monday after $741.10 was
stolen from Panhandler’s Pizza on 106 E. University.
TEMPE, AZ – Police charged man with third-degree
burglary and felony theft early Monday after he was
caught looking in parked cars and was linked to breaking
into Panhandler’s Pizza on University.
TEMPE, Ariz. – John Q. Smyth, a former employee of
Panhandler’s Pizza on 106 E. University was arrested and
charged with third-degree burglary and felony theft after
police observed the man looking into cards parked along
the street.
Tempe, Ariz. – A man was arrested and charged with
third-degree burglary and felony theft after he broke into
Panhandler’s Pizza through the bathroom at the back of
the building and stole cash.
Let’s rewrite a few graphs!
What’s misspelled?
1.
2.
Croisant
Breakfast
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Chapter 14:
Speeches, news conferences
Covering a speech

Preparation:
– Research subject, speaker
– Prepare questions
– Catch the speaker early
– Advance texts
 Research easier, but speakers
often wander from text
– Tape recorder
 Use for backup of quotes
Steps to follow during the
speech

Take copious notes
– Quotations: mark notes

Make observations
– Clothing, mannerisms

Listen for news
– What makes this speech special?
Listen for summaries
 Follow-up questions

Writing the speech story

Questions to answer:
– What is the key point?
– What are the other major points?
– Which quotes are the best?
– Is any of this news?
– When is the deadline?

Organizing the information
– Inverted-pyramid news stories
 Summary lead:
– 35 words, usually one sentence
 Second paragraph:
– Back up lead with strong quote, paraphrase
 Third paragraph:
– Continue developing lead, or write transitional paragraph
(possibly bullets)
 Fourth paragraph or after the bullets:
– Continue developing lead, or developing bulleted items
 Balance of the story:
– Quotations, paraphrases
 Final paragraph:
– Try to end with direct quotation
– Never: “he/she concluded”
News Conferences

Gang interview
– All reporters get same information

Why call a news conference?
– After a crisis
– Explain controversy
– Make an announcement
– Can control what’s given to reporters
Covering a news conference

Do your homework!
– Read news releases
– Research old stories
– Research speaker
– Talk to editors
– Talk to other reporters
 What will not be covered

Advance story
– Brief story announcing event
– Often only coverage of event

Questions and answers
– Television reporters often have the edge
 Speakers wants to be seen as well as heard
– Arrive early for a good seat
News conference as media
event

Presidential news conference
– Began with Theodore Roosevelt
– Today major news event
 Reporters also want to be seen and heard
 Draws 300 reporters, usually lasts 30 minutes
Online speech sources

Great American Speeches: PBS
– www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/

The History Channel
– http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/

infoUSA
– http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/speeches.ht
m
An awfully long day…
Chapter 18: News Releases

What is a news release?
– Announcements


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New line of products
Events
Promotions
Public service announcements
– Cause-promoting
 Fundraising
 Volunteers
– Image-building
 Politicians
 Corporations
Evaluating news releases

Does it have news value?
– Local, regional or national
Is it trying to gain free publicity?
 Is it worth following up?

– Story and/or photograph

Can it be trusted?
What is Public Relations?
Promoting an organization, institution or
corporation
 UMD Communicators Council

– University Relations
– Natural Resources Research Institute
– Minnesota Sea Grant
Which releases will be used?

No set formula
– Interests of reporters, editors
– How many people affected

Usually rewritten
– Eliminate “fluff:” self-serving, promotional info
– Embarrassing if two media use exact same
wording
– Often raise additional questions
Emailed releases
www.pressrelease.net
 www.eReleases.com

– How to write a press release
 Concise
 Well-written
 Factual
 Honest
 Timely
Using news releases

Boiling down a handout
– Determine 5Ws and H
– Find the lead
– Eliminate fluff
– Avoid free ads
– Determining local news value
How to write a news release
Avoiding hype
 Avoiding jargon
 Structure of a release

 Contact information
 For Immediate Release
 Dateline
 Headline
 Lead, inverted pyramid style copy
 Quotes
 Boilerplate paragraph
Handouts
Wise Words from PR Week Career Guide
 Women in Sports Journalism

– Tucker Center for Research on Girls and
Women in Sports

Journalism can be a deadly profession
Another wayward sign! What’s the correct spelling?
1.
2.
Souvenirs!
Souvanirs
Chapter 19: Multicultural Reporting

NY Times: How Race is lived in America
– One year project
– Published in June, July of 2000
– 15 installments
– Teams of reporters, editors
Rodney King beating

Footage of the Rodney King beating
– http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la042102kingbeatingqt,1,5983436.quicktime?ctrack=2&cset=true

Ten years after the LA Riots:
– http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la042902poll-470pa2an,1,2314339.story
Trends in multicultural coverage
Cultural sensitivity training
 Diversification of media staffs

– 13.42 percent in 2004
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Overall newsroom staffing tumbling
– 4 percent decline overall
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Diversification of coverage
– Inner cities: Minorities are the majorities
Approaches to multicultural
coverage
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Guidelines for media and reporters
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Provide consistent, daily coverage
Get to know the communities you cover
Develop multicultural links and friendships
Expand coverage beyond the “problem people”
perspective
Mainstream sources for all stories
Periodically assess the representativeness of sources
Don’t “overcredential” sources
Recognize that there is diversity within cultures
Bring your own perspective to the newsroom
Multicultural websites
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Asian American Journalists Association
Maynard Institute
National Association of Black Journalists
– Minnesota Spokesman Recorder
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National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
Native American Journalists Association
The Center for an Accessible Society
Disability Resources on the Internet
Disability Data
Checklist for improving coverage
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Have I covered the story with sensitivity,
accuracy, fairness and balance regarding all of
the people involved?
What are the likely consequences of publication?
Who will be hurt and who will be helped?
Have I sought a diversity of sources?
Am I seeking true diversity or using tokenism by
allowing one minority person to represent a
community or point of view?
Have I allowed preconceived ideas to limit my
efforts to include diversity?
Am I flexible about the possibility that the focus of the
story may change when different sources are added?
 Have I thought about using quotations from minority
experts in non-traditional fields?
 Have I spent time in minority communities and with
residents to find out what people are thinking and to
learn more about lifestyles, perspectives, customs, etc.?
 Have I written about achievements on their own merits,
rather than as “stereotype breakers?”
 Have I guarded against allowing place names to become
code words for crime?
 As I seek diversity, am I being true to my other goals as
a journalist?
 Will I be able to explain my decision clearly and honestly
to anyone who challenges it – and not to rationalize?

Speech/News Conference/Multicultural
Reporting Assignment

Story Pitch Due: March 7
– No more than three paragraphs, 200 words
– Include 5Ws and H
– Review Chapters 15, 18
– Email to: [email protected]

Final story due: April 9
Hard News 1 Assignment:
Due TODAY
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Any problems?
Tips:
– Just use said: he said, she said
– Keep paragraphs short: no more than two sentences, three
absolute max
– Story length: 8-10 paragraphs, 350-400 words
– Write strong summary lead of one sentence, no more than 35
words
– Need attribution from sources
– Review text
– Review class lecture notes at:
 www.d.umn.edu/~lkragnes

Write story in Microsoft Word, doublespaced, and email
as an attachment to: [email protected]
Sports Reporting Assignment
Final story due: March 26
 Any challenges?

Assignment: Due 3/5
From information provided from a Duluth
Police Department news release, write an
inverted-pyramid news story based on all
the information available.
 Write your story in Microsoft Word,
doublespaced, and email a copy of the
story as an attachment to: lkragnes
 Make sure to copy yourself on the email

Egradebook

Doublecheck assignments correct in egradebook:
– http://www.d.umn.edu/egradebook

Mid-term alerts to students with Ds, Fs
If grading today:
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A: 85-105
B: 70-84
C: 55-69
D: 40-54
F: 0-39
Portfolio
Store academic information on your
Electronic Portfolio. Each student has 100
mb of storage.
 Access Electronic Portfolio at:
https://portfolio.umn.edu/portfolio/index.j
sp
