This is the third of a three-part series on journalism basics for citizen journalists. The workshop is being presented for the Twin Cities Daily Planet in Minneapolis, MN.
2. Thinking about your story
• What is your hook
(anecdote, quote, event,
person, place)?
• What is your focus? (This
should be in the nut graf.)
• What is the most interesting
thing in your story?
• Check for Who, What,
When, Where, Why, How
3. Feedback on stories
1) Exchange story with partner. Read their
story, pen in hand. Make marks on it. (5
minutes)
2) Discuss the marks you made, your questions,
and suggestions (10 minutes)
(If you haven’t written a story yet, you can still
give feedback.)
4. Stakeholders
• What stakeholders have you talked to?
• What stakeholder input do you still need?
• How can you get more input?
5. Making connections
• What kind of action will readers want to take
after reading the story?
• What kind of action do you want readers to
take? (Are you an advocate or not?)
• Does the story help readers to connect to
others (stakeholders, organizations, public
officials)?
• Do you have links in the story?
6. Finding facts / Checking facts
• Where will you look for more information?
• Who can you ask?
• What facts need checking?
7. A picture is worth a thousand
words
• Copyright rules, asking permission, giving
credit
• Creative Commons
• Stock photos
• Taking photos — courtesy, respect, children,
permission and public places, good/bad
photos
• Graphics, charts, etc.
8. Photo by Greg Gjerdingen, published under
Creative Commons license.
11. Good story, bad story
• Reader interest: Is this story interesting?
• Accuracy: Does this story get facts right? How
can you tell?
• Balance: Does this story include multiple POV?
• Fairness: Have people been given opportunity
to respond?
• Independence/transparency: What is the
reporter’s interest?
12. Maximizing readership
• Social media – your Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Other people’s social media
• Email
• Repetition
• ICYMI
Dear Mary: Thank you again for a
wonderful book review. I have been
sharing the article with my press
release materials. I also recently
served as a TEDx speaker. As your
schedule permits, would you please
also consider sharing about my talk?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=P5QHAhMYwoA
Editor's Notes
This is the third of a three-part series on journalism basics for citizen journalists. The workshop is being presented for the Twin Cities Daily Planet in Minneapolis, MN.
CHECK IN: one minute to tell us the best part of reporting this story so far
Starting with your own story, take 3 minutes to go through it and underline or circle the parts of the story that answer these questions. As you come to the WWWWWH, circle those parts and label with either W or H. (3-5 minutes)
This is not an edit – just a quick read, which is what most readers will give your story. As you read, mark up the paper with question marks, exclamation points, “wow” or “what?” or “unclear.” Think about what you like and what is puzzling or doesn’t seem to fit. Then talk about the story with the reporter.
Discuss: Stakeholders are crucial. Think about who the stakeholders are for your story. How have you engaged with them?
Target photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/13046562183 (Creative Commons license) Mike Mozart - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/
Jack Daniels photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ykjc9/4195907764/in/photolist-6XLYFY-8nc4ez-f5w9fg-6sPQmw-o7ESAq-9faAQW-nTXsU-pvquuX-a1sEzS-7oM8cj-5Lmq1R-99Rk7a-4BhBiA-o7N2jV-23M3tr-dCa55Y-dC4BPV-dCa3Ty-dC4BqX-dC4yPn-dCa1G1-dCa1cb-dC4yQt-dCa4A3-dCa49d-dC4zY4-dCa2Ro-dC4zLT-dCa28E-dC4A2M-dCa42f-dCa2ed-dC4yXe-dCa2MJ-dC4A8g-dC4AL4-dCa3Qd-dCa54o-dC4AaK-dCa2bG-dC4AHe-dC4A1F-dC9ZGL-dC4B7n-dCa5cU-dCa4Qs-dC4Azv-dC4yMF-dC9ZSq-dC4zXc/ (Creative Commons license) https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookbookman/
The connections go beyond traditional reporting, but they’re an important aspect of new media or new journalism.
The question of connections raises (again) the question of your role. Are you an reporter? Are you a blogger? Are you involved with your story? Are you an advocate?
Even if you are not involved with the story, and don’t plan on remaining involved with the story or the beat, it’s important to help readers connect with the story – and that means connecting via links, via connections to other stakeholders, and via connections to power structures, whether governmental or non-governmental. Consider a sidebar or a paragraph after the end of the story – FFI.
PART ONE: Brainstorm – places to look, people to ask. Use specific story from class as example.
NOTE: This has a lot to do with stakeholders.
PART TWO: Go through a story with an editor’s eye and ask which facts need to be checked and how you can check them. Use story from today’s news as example.
Graphics from politifact.com
Copyright rules – yes, they apply to everything on the web. Click back through slides and show the credits beneath photos.
Explain Creative Commons copyright grant – what it covers, what it doesn’t, how to tell and how to credit a photo – photo, creator, link. Demonstrate Creative Commons search.
Stock photos: Demonstrate, using Fotolia account. Note that there are man sources of stock photos. Note meaning of “royalty-free” – not the same as “free.” Just means you pay a one-time fee, instead of a royalty.
Remember those questions we asked about other people’s stories?
Think about your story. How does it measure up? Is there anything you want to add or subtract?
Examples:
Artika’s FB message to me
Posting on a page – see left-hand column of organization page; explain that these posts could be liked or promoted by page admins.
Develop an email list for your friends and family.
People don’t see your first posting – post again. Use ICYMI to post a few days or weeks later, if the article is still relevant.