Writing in the new Media Environment

1. Writing
In THE
media
environment
Chapter 4

2. News is one of the elements that
holds a society of diverse people
together. The fact that a group of
individuals share the same
current information allows the
group to operate as a community.

3. FILTER BUBBLE

6. Chapter 2
Where And when
do they read
your story?
IMPORTANCE
OF THE
AUDIENCE

7. Chapter 2
News Culture
• Accuracy
• Efficiency
• Integrity

8. Spell Names Correctly
Check with person
• Reliable sources
• Unreliable sources
Quote Sources Correctly
• Use multiple sources
• May lead to
Contradictory info
Check it Out
Skepticism
Do the Math
Verify numbers and
calculations
Reasons Accuracy Matters

9. Check names, titles, affiliation!

10. Check names, titles, affiliation!

12. get titles
right!

13. Verification and Attribution
Verification: is info correct?
Attribution: where does info come
from?
Information' Not Opinion
• Opinions are not verifiable
• Facts are verifiable
• Opinions of sources v. opinions of journalists
Simplicity in Writing
• Use simple words and sentence structures• Short sentences and paragraphs

15. Coherence
Draws reader into thinking &
logic of writer
Provides enough info so
reader understands
Deadlines
Quick work required
• Can’t miss deadline
Driving forces
• Production schedules
• Broadcast times
• Audience demands
• Desire to be first
Clarity,
Coherence,
and Context

16. Seven
Elements
of a News
Event

17. Impact - Life-changing events
Timeliness - How long ago?
Prominence - Well-known people
Proximity - news close to us
Conflict - competing forces
The Bizarre or Unusual
Currency - current interest
Seven
Elements
of a News
Event

19. Is seeing, Believing?

20. Is seeing, Believing?

21. Is seeing, Believing?

22. basic
news
writing Chapter 5
His Girl Friday

23. Chapter 2
The Inverted Pyramid
Most Important Lead

24. Chapter 2
The Inverted Pyramid
Most Important Lead

25. Chapter 2
The Inverted Pyramid
Most Important Lead

26. Chapter 2
The Inverted Pyramid
Most Important Lead

27. Chapter 2
The Inverted Pyramid
Most Important Lead
WHY?

28. Mid 1800’s

29. Mid 1800’s
Civil War

30. By AP
Posted at 10:45 AM
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — Police in northern Texas say a woman has been banned from a
local Walmart after she spent several hours driving an electric shopping cart around the store’s
parking lot while drinking wine from a Pringles can.
Police tell the Times Record News that officers responded to a suspicious person call at about 9
a.m. Friday at a Walmart in Wichita Falls, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
Wichita Falls police spokesman Jeff Hughes says the woman had reportedly been riding the electric
cart around the parking lot for about three hours.
Hughes says police eventually found the woman in a nearby restaurant and told her not to return to
the store.
Texas woman drinking wine from Pringles can banned from
Walmart

31. By AP
Posted at 10:45 AM
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — Police in northern Texas say a woman has been banned from a
local Walmart after she spent several hours driving an electric shopping cart around the store’s
parking lot while drinking wine from a Pringles can.
Police tell the Times Record News that officers responded to a suspicious person call at about 9
a.m. Friday at a Walmart in Wichita Falls, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
Wichita Falls police spokesman Jeff Hughes says the woman had reportedly been riding the electric
cart around the parking lot for about three hours.
Hughes says police eventually found the woman in a nearby restaurant and told her not to return to
the store.
Texas woman drinking wine from Pringles can banned from
Walmart

32. The Lead: The first sentence or two of the release
• Who -- who was involved?
• What -- what happened?
• Where -- where did it happen?
• When -- when did it happen?
• Why -- why did it happen?
• How -- how did it happen?
6
The
?s

33. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.

34. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.
Who

35. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.
What

36. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.
Where

37. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.
When

38. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.
How

39. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.

40. Monster is now Fair Game
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Great Lake Monster, the
mythical inhabitant of Storsjon lake, will soon be fair
game for hunters and curio seekers as its protected
status is about to be lifted, local authorities said
Wednesday.

41. Man OK after being run over by train
LE MARS, Iowa - A man who police say was intoxicated was
unhurt after a train drove over him. Shawn M. Polley, 44, of
Bowling Green, Ky., was passed out between the rails of the
train tracks last week, police said.
Plane detour ordered to prolong nap?
PARIS - Determined to get a decent night's sleep, French
President Jacques Chirac ordered his Airbus pilot to perform a
1,250-mile time-killing tour of France before heading to
Russia to see Vladimir Putin last week.

42. unifying theme
Headlines
• Most important words in Journalism
• Tell reader what story is about
• Convey a complete thought
• Five to 10 words
• Subject, verb and (possibly) object
• Writer must understand article
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
Three Types of Summaries
• Informational (who, what, when, where)
• Overview of a longer story
• Analytical (how, why)
• Interpretation of the information in the story
• Provocative
• Pique the interest of the reader
• Opinion or attitude

43. Woman arrested after 'twerking
while naked' on vehicle at H-E-B,
Austin police say
Woman 'twerking' naked on top
of car in H-E-B parking lot spits
on officer, police say
Half-naked woman twerks
outside North Austin H-E-B,
spits at officer, police say

44. Woman arrested after 'twerking
while naked' on vehicle at H-E-B,
Austin police say
Woman 'twerking' naked on top
of car in H-E-B parking lot spits
on officer, police say
Half-naked woman twerks
outside North Austin H-E-B,
spits at officer, police say
- no spitting

45. Woman arrested after 'twerking
while naked' on vehicle at H-E-B,
Austin police say
Woman 'twerking' naked on top
of car in H-E-B parking lot spits
on officer, police say
Half-naked woman twerks
outside North Austin H-E-B,
spits at officer, police say
- no spitting
- no top of car

46. Woman 'twerking'
naked on car in
grocery store
parking lot spits
on officer, police
say
Woman arrested
after 'twerking
while naked' on
a car at the
grocery store,
police say

47. quotations
“
Direct quotations
• Exact words
• Contained within quotation marks
• Attribution
• Bring a story to life
• Memorable/colorful/
can’t be paraphrased
Indirect quotations
• Use fewer words
• Maintain meaning
• No quotation marks

48. Connectors
Usually conjunctions
Help the writing flow
Hooks
Words or phrases repeated throughout an article
Pronouns
Avoid repeating names of people and things
Associations
Ideas repeated within an article using different words
Chronology
Word or phrase that refers to a time
Enumeration
Numbering items within writing
I, me
We, us, you
She, her, he, him
It
They, them{
{
Transitions
And, But, Or
Thus, However
Therefore, Likewise
Meanwhile
On the other hand
{