The document discusses various aspects of writing news stories, including framing stories, asking key questions, and editing stories effectively. It provides tips for story generation, organization, focus, revision and rewriting. It emphasizes the importance of context, accuracy, fairness and clarity in news writing. The document also discusses reframing stories to avoid an overuse of conflict frames and dispassionate observers.

1. Copy Editing:
When Stories Fall Short
Practicing Skepticism; Story Framing
Warren Watson
Arizona State University
2012

2. Communication Is Our Business,
But Sometimes It Just Goes
Terribly Wrong!

6. What We Know About All Readers
• Readers make connections
• --They relate events to their own experience
• Readers want context
• -- So what? Who cares? I don’t understand.
• Readers are intelligent
• -- No need to dumb down
• Readers appreciate news in various forms
• -- Stories, photos, graphics, lists, charts
• Readers read!
• -- They will make the time if it’s worth it

7. Reporting and Writing Process
• Focus: every story should have one main
idea to which all other ideas relate.
• Elements of good writing:
• --- Dialogue
• --- Background
• --- Observation
• --- Description

8. The Six-Step Writing Process
• Generate idea
• Collect
• Organize
• Focus
• Revise
• Rewrite
A story can go awry at any step!!!

9. Reducing the Chance That
Stories Won’t Meet the Mark
Writing teacher Jane Harrigan of the University
of New Hampshire lists six essential questions
that every reporter should ask before completing
and handing in a story:
1) Who said so? Who else should know about
this? Who is affected by this? Who cares?
more

10. Key Questions
2) What is the news? What input will it
have? What’s the point? What else do
readers want to know?
3) When did people say these things? When
will the impact be felt? When should we do
a followup? More

11. Key Questions
4) Where is the focus of the story? Where is
the information to support the lead?
5) Why are we writing about this? Why
should readers care?
6) How do I know this is accurate? How
can the information be confirmed?
--- From Harrigan’s “The Editorial Eye”

12. Logic and Form
• We also need to focus on the forest,
not just the trees.
• The big picture in stories.
• Does a piece make sense?
• Does a delayed lead work?
• Is there sufficient context?
• How much background is enough?

13. Background
• What background is essential depends to a
degree on the readership and section the story
will appear.
• News is more critical.
• Sports and entertainment often assume some
level of knowledge and can be less formal.
• But reporters sometimes get too close to a
subject.

14. Skeptical Editing:
Prosecuting the Story
“Sometimes it takes a fiasco or two to remind
us that skepticism is a big part of the editing
function. It’s our job to challenge
information reporters bring back to the
newspaper, and to question conclusions
drawn from that information.”
--- Reid MacCluggage, former APME president

15. ‘Cross-examine the story’
“Put the story in the witness stand and
cross-examine it. Tear it apart. Expose
its weaknesses. Raise all the
unanswered questions. Cast doubt on it
… Stories don’t need advocates. What
stories need are adversaries.”
---Lou Boccardi, The AP

16. Tips for Prosecuting the Story
• Are you looking at the totality of the
story for completeness, fairness?
• Guarantee accuracy, and truthfulness
• Avoid zealot-like behavior: can you
argue both sides of the story?
• Answer your inner voice -- it always
speaks when you try to cut corners.
• Watch the use of statistics
• Get fresh eyes to look at a story.

17. More Prosecuting Tips
• Watch the use of statistics – it’s easy to
manipulate them to make a point.
• Get fresh eyes to look at a story.
• Consider the previously unthinkable --
be as innovative in being fair as in
getting the information itself.
• If a story seems to good to be true, it
probably isn’t.

18. Finding Winning Ideas:
NPRÕ Technique
s
¥ The National Public Radio approach:
* Think a story forward:
* WhatÕ coming up next?
s
* Think a story backward
* WhatÕ at the root of the issue?
s
* Think a story outward
* How have others dealt with the issue?

19. What Copy Editors Should Ask
¥ Is story grammatical? ¥ Is story organized?
¥ Words spelled right? ¥ Is it objective?
¥ Do numbers add up? ¥ Is it fair?
¥ Names, titles correct? ¥ Is it clear?
¥ Proper style used? ¥ Is it concise?
¥ Things complete? ¥ Have quotes added to
¥ Have we used the the meaning?
correct lead?

20. Editor’s Role: Clarifying the Story
• Copy editors handle 4 major tasks:
* To improve stories
* To prepare material for publication
* To write headlines, captions
* To answer 3 questions about each story:
» So what!
» Says who!
» What does it mean!?

21. Self-Editing Checklist
• Does your story have a clear • Check for proper grammar
focus? • Proper punctuation?
• Is your lead supported by • Check for AP and local style
your material? • Check for wordiness and
• Have you given enough usage problems:
background? redundancies, misused words
• Check for accuracy in these and phrases
areas: math, names, • Are your sentences too long?
spelling, dates, time

22. And the Big Three!
• So What?!
• What if?
• What does it mean?
A strong nut or context paragraph usually
addresses these three points.

23. Tragedy in Colorado Springs
An exercise in journalistic empathyÉ .

25. Story Framing
• How stories are shaped, their point of view
• Conflict often overused; in the real world, not all
events are contests, with winners and losers
• Watch out for the dispassionate observer frame
• Choosing a frame for any story is the most
powerful decision a journalist can make

26. A Reframed Approach to the Story
The following is another version of the re-
framed story, suggested by two editors from
The Los Angeles Times

27. Ò They were the best of friends. Amy and
Amanda, an athlete and an honor student.
Ò They spent their weekends and
weeknights together. Sunday morning, they died
together.
Ò was the second fatal traffic accident to
It
take the lives of Falcon High School students so
far this year.

28. ÒState Patrol officers say they do not know
where 17-year-old Amy Fournier and 16-year-old
Amanda Brockman, both juniors, were headed as
Fournier drove her 1984 Chevrolet Chevette north
on Curtis Road just before noon Sunday.
ÒThey do know the Chevette ran a stop sign
and was struck on the right by a westbound 1993
GMC Jimmy, driven by Duncan R. Pelham, 37, of
Peyton.