Transcript Journalism 2001 Week 2: September 17, 2007 Announcements  Job Fairs – http://careers.d.umn.edu/  Who you are – Freshmen, transfers, grad, perennial students – Communication, art history, English, International Studies,

Journalism 2001
Week 2: September 17, 2007
Announcements

Job Fairs
– http://careers.d.umn.edu/

Who you are
– Freshmen, transfers, grad, perennial students
– Communication, art history, English, International
Studies, Political Science majors
– Future activists, anchors, NASCAR commentator,
reporters, Foreign Service officers
– All curious and interested in improving writing!
Review of last week’s news

Hard News:
(murder, 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


Statesman
Today’s Front Pages
Who won the primary election for mayor?
B
M
eg
N
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s,
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gs
o
Be
r
3.
er
b
2.
Herb Bergson, Charlie Bell
Charlie Bell, Don Ness
Don Ness, Meg Bye
H
1.
33% 33% 33%
Which tribal band has stoked new flames under
the long-smoldering saga of barrels of military
waste dumped in Lake Superior a half-century
ago?
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an
d
an
B
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B
c
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2.
Red Cliff Band of
Wisconsin Ojibwe
Fond du Lac Band of
Lake Superior Chippewa
Bad River Band Of Lake
Superior Tribe of
Chippewa
R
1.
.
33% 33% 33%
What marathon was held in Duluth on Saturday?
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33% 33% 33%
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Grandma’s
Marathon
North Shore Inline
Marathon
Park Point
Marathon
G
ra
1.
The violence used by two suspects in the
_____________ of a Duluth home has prompted
the St. Louis County Attorney’s office to seek
longer-than-guideline prison sentences.
33% 33% 33%
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on
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3.
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in
g
2.
burning
bombing
home invasion
bu
1.
A vibration study by engineers at the UMD Natural
Resources Research Institute focuses on
_________ safety.
33%
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rio
r
m
in
e
3.
e
2.
33%
bridge
mine
Lake Superior
br
id
g
1.
33%
_______________backtracked somewhat Friday
from comments that a father with young children
running for mayor has his “priorities wrong.”
33%
es
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y
on
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33%
Herb Bergson
Charlie Bell
Donny Ness
H
1.
33%
The Minnesota Vikings beat the
Detroit Lions on Sunday.
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e
50%
Fa
2.
True
False
Tr
ue
1.
50%
The Green Bay Packers beat the
New York Giants on Sunday.
ls
e
50%
Fa
2.
True
False
Tr
ue
1.
50%
UMD men’s hockey fans will be able to see the
Bulldogs on television in 2007-08, thanks to a oneyear agreement reached last week between UMD
and _________________ of Duluth.
33%
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rt
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JR
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V
ed
ia
33%
K
3.
D
IO
-T
V
2.
WDIO-TV
KBJR-TV
Charter Media
W
1.
33%
After an 18-year absence, a UMD ______________
will once again grace the turf of Griggs Field
beginning at the Sept. 29 homecoming game.
33% 33% 33%
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in
g
2.
marching band
danceline
cheerleading
squad
m
ar
ch
1.
Duluth officials may rewrite an ordinance to peel
away some of the __________ living in homes
around UMD and the College of St. Scholastica.
33%
es
fa
m
ili
en
ts
st
ud
3.
ts
2.
33%
pets
students
families
pe
1.
33%
Words matter!
WDIO Election Coverage
Brittney Silwskie, Lindsay Crippa, WDIO anchor Sandy Drag, Don Ness,
and Allie Kopp
Don Ness was __________ while a
student at UMD.
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ft
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oc
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tb
a
fo
o
th
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of
ai
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3.
ap
t
2.
Captain of the
football team
Student
Association
President
Editor of the
Statesman
C
1.
33% 33% 33%
Assignment due today:

Using the Wednesday (9/12) Duluth News-Tribune, list
the stories on the front page, local section and the
sports section. Determine if the stories where selected
on the traditional news elements of:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Timeliness
Proximity/relevance
Conflict
Prominence
Consequence & impact
Human Interest
Keep evaluations brief: no more than three sentences each.
Email Microsoft Word attachment to: [email protected]
Journalism Case Studies

Today:
Deciding which critically ill person gets coverage
Go to:
http://www.journalism.indiana.edu/gallery/ethics/illcover.html
- Compiled by University of Indiana School of Journalism
Review: Last week’s assignment

Common mistakes
– Agreement
– Possessives
Let’s check AP Stylebook….
Chapter 4: Summary leads
Summary lead literally sums up the story
in the lead, giving the reader the most
important information first
 Developed in Civil War when stories sent
by telegraph
 Continued into the 1970s with wire service
telegraph machines

Inverted pyramid

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

Put the most important news first
Organize the rest of the paragraphs in
descending order of importance
Why? Lets readers quickly scan a newspaper
story and decide whether to continue reading it
Different from short stories, novels, most feature
stories
Easy to cut stories as needed to fit news hole
The 5 Ws and H!
Who?
 What?
 When?
 Where?
 Why?
 How?
Focal point determines emphasis in lead

No two leads the same
Reporters covering the same story will
write different leads
 Examples from Duluth News-Tribune and
Minneapolis Star Tribune about opening of
Swenson Science Building

How to write a summary lead
Usually a single sentence
 No more than 35 words

Bottom line:
– Use a single sentence of no more than
35 words in a summary lead
Identifying the focal point
Which W or H is the focal point?
 Let’s practice:

– The search for a new president for the university has
been temporarily postponed.
 Who:
 What:
 When:
 Where:
 Why:
 How:
Focal point?

Mayor Jane Doe announced today that she
will not seek re-election next year.
– Who:
– What:
– When:
– Where:
– Why:
– How:
Focal point?

In an effort to increase awareness on campus,
the UMD Kirby Program Board has appointed a
new coordinator, and she plans to use more
advertising to bring about change.
– Who:
– What:
– When:
– Where:
– Why:
– How:
Focal point?
What to avoid

Clutter leads:
– Too much information overwhelms readers

Buried leads:
– Don’t make the reader work too hard
What’s the bottom line for a
summary lead?
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su
a
lly
lly
3.
33% 33% 33%
su
a
2.
Usually a single
sentence of no more
than 35 words.
Usually as long as
needed to tell story.
Usually two
sentences of no
more than 35 words.
U
1.
Billings Gazette Examples
Stuck gas pedal puts automobile in bank
office
 Blizzard leaves ‘nothing to feed’
 Flash flood leaves mess in Buffalo
 Buffalo flash flood leaves silt layer,
‘incredible mess’
 Subdivision wants county to take over
private road

How I write a lead

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
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When starting to write a story, I often write out
all of my notes, including the direct quotes
Lead often becomes clear in the second graph
When leaving a meeting, speech, etc., ask
myself: What would I tell my friend, husband,
person passing in the street?
What happened?
Who cares?
Active voice
Write in active/rather than passive voice
 What’s the difference?

– In active voice, the subject performs the
action expressed in the verb; the subject acts
– In passive voice, the subject receives the
action expressed in the verb; the subject is
acted upon

Active voice doesn’t mean present tense
Huh?

Active voice: Subject acts
– The dog bit the boy.
– Mary will present her research at the conference.
– Scientists tested the hypothesis by conducting
experiments.

Passive voice: Subject acted upon
– The boy was bitten by the dog.
– Research will be presented by Mary at the
conference.
– Experiments have been conducted to test the
hypothesis.
Summary of summary leads
Don’t go with the first lead
 Avoid unnecessary words
 Avoid gobbledygook

– Government jargon
Write clearly, concisely
 Use vivid verbs
 Use colorful words

Chapter 3: Qualities of good writing
Poynter Institute for Media Studies
 http://www.poynter.org

Robert Gunning: 10 Principles of
Clear Writing


Keep sentences short, on the average
Prefer the simple to the complex
– KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Use familiar words
– 10th grader
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Avoid unnecessary words
Use active verbs
Write the way you talk
Use terms your reader can picture
Tie in with your reader’s experience
Use a variety of words
Write to express, not impress
– Communicate!
Words matter!
Chapter 5: Organizing a news story

Inverted pyramid style
– Write a terse lead of no more than 35 words
– Provide background
 From source or previous story
– Present news in order of descending importance
 Seldom chronologically
– Use quotations early and throughout
 After the news, separated by news and paraphrases
– Use transitions
 Numerically, by time, geographically, with words (also, but, once)
– Do not editorialize!
– Avoid “the end”
 Report news until the end; often end with direct quote

Hourglass Style
– Same as inverted pyramid until the turn, a
transitional paragraph to introduce a
chronology of events
– Used when reporting trials, police, fire news

Circle Style
– Mainly for feature stories
– Reporter sets scene, returns to it

Block Style
– News or feature stories
– Often broader story, introduces many sources
What about the end?
Don’t end with “the end”
 No editorial comment to wrap it up
 Just quit, or use a direct quote

Story Pitches for Hard News,
Sports Story Assignments
Length of story pitch: three paragraphs,
about 200 words
 Include the 5 Ws and H: what makes this
story newsworthy

Let’s look at the calendar:
http://www.d.umn.edu/~lkragnes
In-class assignment for 9/24
To help you prepare for interviewing
sources, during next week’s class you will
be interviewing Lucy Kragness. She will
review her background, and each student
will ask at least one question.
– Assume story assignment for the Statesman
– To prepare, review website, write out
questions in advance.
 http://www.d.umn.edu/~lkragnes
Assignment for 9/24

Summary lead exercises
– Steps to help you:
 Identify the five Ws and H
–
–
–
–
–
–
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
 What’s the focal point?
– Determine what’s the most important to include
– Reminder: Summary lead contains no more than 35 words
– Email assignment, written in Microsoft Word, as an attachment
to [email protected]
Today’s assignment


AP Stylebook editing practice
Summary lead exercise
– Steps to help you:
 Identify the five Ws and H
–
–
–
–
–
–
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
 What’s the focal point?
– Determine what’s the most important to include
– Reminder: Summary lead contains no more than 35 words
– Email assignment, written in Microsoft Word, as an attachment
to [email protected]