Fall 2020 JOU 1000 7th Class and First Presentation Week of September 14, 2020
1. JOU 1000
Introduction to
Journalism
Professor Michael Rizzo
Director, Journalism Program
Division of Mass Communication
Collins College of Professional Studies
First Presentation for week of Sept. 14, 2020
Posted September 14, 2020
4. Recap
Find what makes your story
newsworthy and lead with that
Follow and apply AP style
Tell stories in words and sentences
that flow from one to the other
5. Elements of Journalism
1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.
2. Its loyalty is to citizens.
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.
4. Its practitioners must maintain independence
5. It must serve as a monitor of power.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism.
7. It must make the significant interesting and
relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and
proportional.
9. Journalists must exercise their personal conscience.
10. Citizens also have rights and responsibilities to the
news.
6. Profile stories
A “written portrait” of a person.
It’s a story that reports facts but paints a
picture of a person by describing what
makes them newsworthy. It also includes
what they say about themselves and what
others say about them.
Profiles should be engaging, informative and
easy to read.
7. Profiles are NOT biographies. A
biography typically recounts a
person’s life from birth to now.
Profiles are about people in the
news.
Profiles are NOT just about following
someone around for a day and
writing about what he/she does.
8. Profiles should focus on TURNING POINTS
that made this person newsworthy:
• PATTERNS - What is the life or work or
incident that has come to a climax and
made this person newsworthy?
• DECISIVE MOMENT(s) - What are the
key “turns” in his/her life or work?
• FUTURE - What's next for the person
you are writing about?
9. …tell the reader, in essence, “I’m going
to tell you about Judy Doe but in the
context of a bigger story.”
Profiles should be stories that are…
about the individual [and] about the
world that he or she inhabits…
Adapted from www.poynter.org/news/case-against-profiles-
getting-them-right
10. Interviews help make great stories.
Good profile writing means talking to
other people who know the person
you are writing about and their work.
11. Writing tip to get good quotes for
a profile story:
Ask for anecdotes from the people
you are interviewing about the
person you are writing about.
DON’T just ask for their opinion.
Ask what story someone can tell
you that they remember most about
the person you are writing about.
12. SNAPSHOT PROFILES
• Brief profiles - just a few hundred words
• Lots of details
• Write about what’s most memorable and
what stands out about the person you
are writing about
13. "Desperate Days at the Merlin: Donald
"Joe" Peak"
How does the story fit the snapshot profile
mold?
It’s descriptive: “Joe Peak's smile has no teeth” and
“Gumming food and fighting diabetes have shrunk the
54-year-old man's frame by 80 pounds.”
It brings you to the scene of the story: “Chock-full of
furniture and cups from the 32-ounce Cokes he
relishes for 53 cents apiece…” and “Dishes are stacked
neatly in the kitchen sink. But cockroaches still scurry
across his kitchen table.”
14. It uses just a few quotes that reveal the life the person
you are writing about leads: "I try to make a little nest
here for myself," he says "I can't afford the
Insecticides, pesticides, germicides. I don't have the
money."
It has details: Part Seminole Indian, Chinese and black,
the Florida native moved to Spokane 20 years
ago…quit school at 13…His voice is lyrical, his
vocabulary huge…”
It reveals the person inside: “He's worried about his
diabetes. He's frightened by blood In his stool and
sores on his gums.”
15. The handouts in BlackBoard under the
Content Tab provide more information
on writing profile stories:
Writing a feature or profile feature story
Writing a Snapshot profile
16. Assignment for Friday September 18, 2020
Write a 250 word snapshot profile about this
person:
Information on him is in BlackBoard under the
Assignments Tab: Snapshot Profile Assignment
Your story is due Friday September 18, 2020
by 12 Noon.
