Transcript Document 7162126

What is news?
Criteria to judge news
Relevance
Interest
Usefulness
You can determine those by knowing
your audience. Who are you writing for?
More elements to judge news
Impact
Conflict
Novelty
Prominence
Proximity
Timeliness (previews)
Gatekeepers vs. navigators
Gatekeepers: traditional approach
Navigator: for now and the future
What are readers looking for?
Visual
Densely layered information
Interaction
Relevance
Diversity
Give the readers a package.
News you can use.
How involved in the story
should the media be?
“Civic” journalism or “public” journalism:
Offers more than reporting. Offers a
solution.
Journalism keys
A free, independent press is necessary
to democracy. Fourth estate
Professional journalists must be
accurate and fair.
Objectivity? Framing stories?
How is news writing different?
From an English composition paper?
From a letter?
From a narrative story?
News format
Inverted pyramid:
Arrange news from
the most important
to the least
important.
Save the readers’
time and editors’
space.
Inverted pyramid
Puts the most important information first
Arranges the paragraphs in descending
order of importance.
Requires the writer to rank the
importance of information.
If master inverted pyramid, then you’ve
mastered making news judgments.
What is a lead?
A simple, clear statement
consisting of the first paragraph or
two of a story.
The lead advertises what is coming
in story and conveys the most
important information.
Leads — The “so what?” or
“who cares?”
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
All news is local.
Lead length
Usually 25 words or less.
Inverted pyramid
examples???
The Streator/St. Bede game opened
with a kickoff.
A fire broke out in downtown Tonica at 5
a.m. yesterday.
The Ottville National Bank was robbed
early this morning.
The Ottawa City Council met yesterday.
IVCC President Jean Goodnow spoke
to the Peru Rotary yesterday.
Other factors
Slug
One idea per paragraph
Objective
Attribution
Checking and rechecking information
-30-
Tips from textbook
Always check names
Keep the lead short
Attribute opinion
Answer the six questions
Write a sentence or paragraph telling
readers what the news means to them.
Report basic information even if its
routine.
One idea per paragraph
Keep your paragraphs short.
Paragraphs are usually no more than
one or two sentences long.
Short paragraphs are hallmarks of
newspaper, broadcast and online news
writing.
Avoid editorializing
Don’t allow your opinion to creep into
your news stories.
Attribute opinionated information to a
source.
Facts
Something that has occurred
Something that actually exists
Something acknowledged as true or
real
Something verifiable
Opinion
A conclusion
A judgment
A thought
A view
An estimate falling short of positive
knowledge.
Avoiding editorializing
Statements of fact, if undisputed, can be
printed without attribution to a source.
The score of the game was 98-87.
Avoiding editorializing
Statements of opinion must be attributed:
The season looks promising.

This is an opinion, not a fact, and must be
attributed to a source.
The coach said the season looks
promising.

This sentence should be followed by a
direct quote from the coach about the
season looking promising.
Editorializing examples
Everywhere on campus things are changing.
Switching to the Arrowhead Conference
should be beneficial to the IVCC teams.
The musical includes a talented crew of
singers.
The new phone system will save money and
be more convenient for students and staff.
Fact or opinion?
A storm that dropped as much as five inches
of snow in the Illinois Valley forced the college
to cancel classes on Oct. 27.
Parking lot No. 5 will be resurfaced in March.
The work in parking lot No. 5 will not cause
any parking problems.
Attendance at the Students in Free Enterprise
Program was low.
Fact or opinion?
More than 200 people attended the
Honors Colloquium program on Jan. 25.
The Student Senate has had a busy
year.
Nearly $120,000 has been allotted to
student organizations from student fee
money.
The Senate makes the allocations
based on how active student groups are.
Provide attribution
Make sure the reader knows what
sources you have consulted for your
stories.
The best attribution is simple –
someone said.
Checking and rechecking
Use all means at your disposal to verify
a story is accurate.
Always check names.
Most stories should have more than one
source.
If your mother says she loves you,
check it out.
Format
Use common copy editing symbols from
first page of workbook.
Rather than giving your stories a title or
headline, give them a slug. A brief two
or three word description of what the
story is.
-30- indicates a story has ended. Use
this at the end of stories you turn in for
class.
The Truth About Reporting?
News organizations have to be fair. If
someone complains that “you have to
print (or carry) my side of this story,” the
newspaper/station has to.
Editorials shouldn’t be biased.
News organizations must publish
responses to editorials/columns when
requested to.
The Truth About Reporting?
Newspapers can edit letters to the
editor before publishing them.
If a story source demands to see a story
before it appears in print, the reporter
must allow the source to see it.
If a source demands changes to a story
before it appears, the reporter must
make those changes.
The Truth About Reporting?
Members of the public can legally prevent
their names or pictures from appearing in a
news story.
Members of the public can sue a news
organization if their names/photos appear
against their will.
Reporters have First Amendment protection.
Reporters make a lot of money on
newspapers, radio or TV stations.