Intro to journalism

- An account of an event, or a
fact, or an opinion that
interests people.
- A presentation of current events.
- Anything that enough people
want to read is news, provided
it meets the standards of “good
taste” and isn’t libelous.
I. What is News?
www.wikimedia.com
planetwavesweekly.com

1. Proximity: Location.
Location. Location. If the
event is happening close by, it
will have a greater impact on
your readers.
2. Timeliness: If something is happening NOW, it has
more impact on the reader.
What Makes News “News”?
Six Elements of News

3. Prominence: If the people in the
story are well known, the story will
have more impact on the reader. Most
people are not as impacted if the story
involves people they do not know.
www.whitehouse.gov
www.time.com
www.huffingtonpost.com

4. Conflict: Readers are interested in rivalries, arguments,
fights, and disagreements.
5. Consequence: Refers to the
importance of an event. The greater
the consequence, the greater the news
value.
6. Human Interest: If the story evokes
(inspires) emotion in the reader such as
anger, sadness, or happiness, the reader will
have a greater connection with the story and
the story will have a greater impact.
www.deadspin.com
www.usmagazine.com
www.dailymail.co.uk.com

Find an article written between May and August and
analyze it for the six elements of news.
Print out the article or copy & paste it into a Word
document and cite the website. Either write your
answer to the following directly on the printed article
or type your answer below the pasted article in Word.
Either way, answers should be reflective and detailed!
Comment on each element of news. How does each
element apply to the article? (i.e., How is proximity
relevant to the article? Prominence: is the article about
famous individuals or an “average person”?)
ASSIGNMENT 1ASSIGNMENT 1

Hard News vs. Soft News
II. Types of News & Stories

Hard News
Hard News – coverage of an event immediately
after it takes place; it is serious and urgent
Includes Two Concepts:
- Seriousness: Politics, economics, crime, war,
and disasters are considered serious topics, as
are certain aspects of law, science, and
technology.
- Timeliness: Stories that cover current events—
the progress of a war, the results of a vote,
the breaking out of a fire, a significant public
statement, the freeing of a prisoner, an
economic report of note, etc.

Soft News
Soft News – entertains, educates, or advises
the reader; the least serious subjects: arts
and entertainment, sports, lifestyles, "human
interest", and celebrities.
- Not timely: There is no precipitating event
triggering the story, other than a
reporter's curiosity.
- The news and reporter’s agenda are driven
by the interests of the audience

- Feature stories are human-interest articles that focus on
particular people, places, and events.
- Feature stories are journalistic, researched, descriptive,
colorful, thoughtful, reflective, thorough writing
about original ideas.
- Feature stories cover topics in depth, going further than
mere hard news coverage by amplifying and
explaining the most interesting and important elements
of a situation or occurrence.
Feature

- Less urgent, attempts
to engage reader;
often includes pictures
- Narrative structure (beginning,
middle, end),expands on details;
has an ending that neatly wraps up
story
Feature cont.

There are many kinds of feature stories. For almost any topic you
can adopt any of the below common types and come up with a good
story.
Profile: Reveals an individual’s character and lifestyle. Exposes
different facets of the subject so readers will feel they know the
person.
Human Interest: Discusses issues through experiences of another.
How-To: Help people learn by telling them how to do something.
Writer learns about the topic through education, experience,
research, or interviews with experts.
Historical: Commemorate important dates or turning points in
social, political, and cultural development. Revisits an event and
issues surrounding it.
Seasonal: Life milestones, social, political, and cultural cycles.
Address matters at specific times of a year.
Behind the Scenes: Inside views of unusual occupations, issues,
and events; readers like feeling privy to unusual details and well kept
secrets they might not ordinarily be exposed to.
Types of Features

- Need to reflect tension, color,
excitement of the event; demands
colorful, lively writing
- Don’t use trite expressions (split the
uprights); only disguises action
- Sports “slanguage” is language that
boarders trite expressions (biscuit for
hockey puck) should not to be confused
with legitimate sports terms (birdie for
golf) & used sparingly
- You have to know about the sport you’re
writing about or you won’t sound
like a credible journalist
- The good and the bad – the wins and
losses – get covered
- Pregame or Postgame
Sports

Sports
Pregame Story
- Typically opens with summary lead
- Last year’s/last game’s scores
between schools
- Condition of athletes
- Key athletes
- Comparisons of team records
- Comments on style of play
- Significance of event in terms of
records/future events
- Any history of rivalries
- Interviews from players and fans
with their predictions
Postgame Story
- Typically opens with more vivid
and colorful lead
- Takes a feature approach
- Description of spectators’
actions during the event
- Reviews important moments
from the game (key athletes,
scores, penalties, injuries)
- Update scoring records
- Interviews from players,
coaches, and fans

Editorial – “voice of the paper”; expresses
opinions; doesn’t have a byline (byline = line
under the headline with the writer’s name)
Column – bylined article expressing the opinions
of the writing (you will a column when you
want to express your
personal opinion)
Editorials and Columns
can: Explain, Persuade,
Answer, Warn, Criticize,
Entertain
Editorials & Columns

1. Determine a Purpose:
What is the purpose of
your column?
(Explain, Persuade, Answer, Warn,
Criticize, Entertain)
2. Introduction: give a brief
statement of background
concerning the topic
Editorial/Column Structure
3. Reaction: explain the position of the column
4. Details: provide support for the position you’re
taking
5. Conclusion: comment on recommended
solutions, alternatives, and direction, and restate the
position

Types: Movies, theater, restaurants, web sites,
books, music, computer software, games…
Three Approaches:
- Make comparisons (determining the best local pizza, you might
focus on comparing the quality, flavor, and texture of the products)
- Evaluate the fulfillment of intended purpose (writing
about a new video game? Evaluate it on how well it fulfills its purpose:
excitement in the action, level of difficulty and challenges, etc.)
- Itemize strengths and weaknesses (writing about a new
album? Write about the good and not-so-good tracks, with reasons; write
about the lyrics, musical arrangements, production quality, etc.)
Reviews

Reviewing Performances
Film, TV show, Play
Acting (were the actors believable?)
Sets (were the sets appropriate to the
production?)
Dialogue (did the dialogue sound
realistic?)
Lighting (did lighting techniques add
to the action, character
development, determine mood?)
Sound (were lines spoken clearly? Did
background music add/detract
from story?)
Direction (was it clear the director
knew the story he wanted to tell?)

Find an article written within May and August to complete one of the
following:
Option 1: Feature – Find a feature that interests you. Explain how the feature is
descriptive, colorful, thoughtful, and/or reflective. How are the most interesting and important
elements explained and amplified?
Option 2: Sports – Find a sports article and determine if it is a pregame or postgame story.
How does the article reflect the tension, color, excitement of the event? Analyze the use – or
omission – of trite expressions and “slanguage.”
Option 3: Column – Find a column and determine its purpose. How is the topic
introduced? What is the writer’s position and what details support it? How does the column
conclude?
Option 4: Review– Find a review and determine the approach used (it can be a mix of all 3,
keep in mind). How does the review explain some of the basics of the “item” – menu
(restaurant), plot (movie/book), rules (game)? How does the review discuss strengths/
weaknesses? Does the review make any recommendations?
Print out the article or copy & paste it into a Word document and cite
the website. Either write your answer to the above directly on the
printed article or type your answer below the pasted article in Word.
Responses should be analytical and detailed; a few sentences will not be
enough for full credit!

III. Writing News Stories,
Leads, & Headlines

For readers or listeners to get a full and complete understanding of the news, you
have to make sure your news report answers the following 5W and 1H questions:
Who or Whom is it about or has happened to
What is happening or happened
Where is it happening or did it happen
When is it happening or did it happen
Why is it happening or did it happen
How is it happening or did it happen
The 5Ws and H questions are the main ingredients for all news reports as they
contain all the facts that you will need for your news article.
Therefore, these are the key questions you must ask if you are gathering information
for a news article.
Basic News Reporting
The 5Ws and 1H of News Writing

 Avoid offensive language regarding race, age,
gender, sexual orientation, philosophy of life
 Be Succinct: Develop a clear, simple, concise way
of expressing yourself; eliminate excess verbiage
 Use Clear, Simple Words
 Write Straightforward Sentences; use short sentences
 Avoid the following:
 Redundancy. Don’t say the same thing twice.
 Clichés. They’re lazy writing. Be more witty and creative.
 Fear of Repetition. Avoid silly synonyms.
 Passive Voice. The subject does the action. Always!
Basic News Writing

- To understand what the "inverted pyramid" name
means, picture an upside-down triangle - one with the
narrow tip pointing downward and the broad base
pointing upward.
- The broad base represents the most newsworthy
information in the news story, and the narrow point
represents the least newsworthy information in the news
story.
- The inverted pyramid is used for hard news.
Article Organization:
The Inverted Pyramid
Most
Newsworthy
Least Newsworthy

QQ: Why does this
format lend itself well
to journalism, especially
news reporting?
AA: 1. It gets the point
of the story to the
reader in the
fastest way possible.
2. It provides the
facts without all of the
“fluff” of normal
writing.
3. It lends itself to quick
editing of story
length.
- Even if you cut off
the last few sentences
of a story in this
format to fit in a
column on a page, the
story is still complete.
It only lacks some of
the specifics.
Inverted Pyramid

- Storytelling Style – it is what it is; this writer tells the
drama of the event by telling it as a story. The writer
sets the scene, introduces characters, and narrates the
events, weaving in facts and opinions from sources.
- You can write the story chronologically, or move around from one
event to another, gradually revealing the information that
fleshes out the story
- Combination Style – uses the inverted pyramid +
chronological storytelling. The writer summarizes in
the first paragraph (5WH) and then tells the rest of
the story in the order in which it occurred
Other Organizational Patterns

Lead: the first paragraph of a news story; it is often just one
sentence with only 30-35 words
- Essence of journalism
- Similar to a first impression; you want to make sure they’re good
- Beginning to writing any story
- Gives reader broadest sense of what your story will cover
- Uses specific, interesting words to set
the tone
- What does a lead do?
- Gives readers main points of the story
- Gets readers interested in reading the story
- Does both in as few words as possible
The Lead

Summary/AP (Hard news)
Summarizes 5W’s and H
Gives the gist of the story
Narrative (Soft news)
Tells a story
Draws reader in & can identify with
characters/situation
Descriptive (Soft news)
Mental picture
Helps portray mood and setting
Exclamatory (Soft news)
Short exclamatory sentence
Striking or startling statement demanding attention
Allusion (Soft news)
Referring to someone/something well known
Reference is suitable to the subject
Leads
So what type of lead is this?
*Important!* No matter which
type of lead you choose to use, the
lead should answer as many of the
5WH as possible. Pieces left out
are written in the next paragraph.

What do headlines do?
Communicate story importance
Concisely convey essence of story
Grab Attention
Convey tone of publication
Draw reader in by being creative and catchy
Crafting Great Headlines
Identify key subject, key action, and essence (main point)
Include distinctive detail
Key words are key (use 2-3 that you would search for)
Great story that you can’t explain in a headline = crappy
story
Headlines

 Sum up main point of story; don’t copy lead
 Write in present tense
 Use active voice (subject does the action)
 Usually 5-10 words long
 Must be complete thought
 Avoid slang and clichés
 Eliminate articles: a, an, the
 Don’t split names or infinitives on two lines
 No periods! Comma, semicolon, quotation mark ONLY
Headline Rules

Good vs. Bad Headlines
What makes these headlines
incorrect?
Miners refuse to work after death
Grandmother of eight makes hole
in one
Editor’s wife rented to 2 suspects,
FBI says
Milk drinkers turning to powder
Juvenile court to try shooting
defendant
What makes these headlines
effective?
Police stop suicidal man from
setting himself on fire
Driver pried from flipped car on
I-95
Child hit by school bus in
Baltimore
Baltimore man tased, caught with
cocaine after freeway chase

Find an article written within May and August to complete the
following:
Print out the article or copy & paste it into a Word document
and cite the website.
Highlight and label the following: headline, lead, each piece of
the 5WH.
Answer the following by either writing your answers on the back
of the article or typing them underneath the article if you copied
it into a Word document:
1. Go back to the headline rules. Does the article
break any of the rules? If so, list and explain
how the particular rule is not followed. Choose a
rule that the article DID follow and list it.
2. What type of lead is used? How do you know?
3. What organizational pattern is used? How do you
know?

 Questions prepared & approved before
interview
 What do you want to find out?
 Who do you ask? Go to a primary source:
the person who has the best and most
reliable information
 Need to do research to get background
IV. Questions & Interviewing

 Open-ended
 Use 5WH to start questions; require more than yes/no
answers with details
 Strive to write all open-ended questions
 -est questions
 Proudest, saddest, biggest
 Use sparingly; can limit answers
 Stock questions
 All purpose; usable in any situation
 Goals, Obstacles, Solutions, Start
 Embarrassing questions
 Don’t pry, snoop, or ask hostile questions
 Ask politely to get the truth; ask again
Types of Questions

 As the interviewer…
 Be courteous and well mannered
 Stamp out personal biases
 Record interview for accuracy
 Ask for clarification if necessary
 LISTEN to the response and HOW it is
answered; observe the subject
 Before you leave, ask if you should know
anything else
Interviewing

 Direct Quote: “These are the exact words.”
 Don’t quote profanity of bad grammar
 Paraphrase: put speaker’s ideas in your own
words; add he said at beginning or end of sentence;
use for facts (Chief Jones said…)
 Avoid repetition
 Partial Quote: quote part of a sentence directly &
paraphrase the rest (Jones said he was “ready to do
cartwheels” after scoring the winning touchdown.)
 No unnecessary quoting (Lee said he was “happy”
after scoring the goal.)
How to Integrate Quotes into
Your Article

 Giving the reader the name of the
source
 Verbs: said, stated, declared, noted,
pointed out
 Verb you use must indicate speech
formations (frowned doesn’t work)
 When in doubt, attribute
 Common knowledge and noncontroversial = little
attribution
 Controversy = attribution
 Can attribute at the end or in the middle of a
sentence
 Did research and used outside sources? Cite sources
within the article
Attribution

Three things a journalist must be:
 Credible – Credibility is the ability to be believed and
trusted. Ethical standards – good taste, fairness, devotion
to truth – guide your work.
 Accurate – Close doesn’t count. There is no such thing as
a small error. The smallest mistake reduces credibility.
Verify or confirm your information.
 Objective – The state of mind that journalists acquire to
make them fair, neutral observers of events and issues. Do
not permit your personal feelings, likes or dislikes, to color
news stories.
V. Journalism Laws &
Ethics

 Laws: What we have to do
 Ethics: Subjective standards that relate to moral elements of journalistic
behavior
 Legal Restrictions of the Press
 Libel: the publication of a false statement that injures someone’s reputation
 Slander: spoken false statements
 How to avoid libel: Edit carefully, Avoid confidential content, Behave
professionally, Keep a log of your efforts, Check your sources, Quoting
doesn’t shift blame
 Libel Defenses: Truth (it can be harder to prove than you think, though),
Privilege (fully, fairly, and accurately quote), Fair Comment/Opinion
(journalist has right to criticize public events/commercial; material is
*clearly* labeled as opinion)
Journalism Laws & Ethics

 Plagiarism – lifting material from elsewhere without credit
 Fairness – equal treatment of the various sides of a story
 Photojournalism – truth or misrepresentation is seen in an image
 Attribution – use primary-source information and identify where it
came from
 To keep yourself out of trouble:
 Seek the truth and report it as fully as possible
 Act independently
 Minimize harm
Journalism Laws & Ethics
http://www.viralnova.com/doctored-photos/

Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.
The First Amendment

Conduct research on both the Hazelwood vs
Kuhlmeier and Tinker vs Des Moines court cases.
NOTE: Wikipedia IS NOT a valid source. Actually put
some effort into your research and consider the domains
of the sites (.com, .gov, .net, .org, .edu).
1. Write a 6 sentence summary with 1 sentence for
each piece of the 5WH for each case for a total of
two paragraphs. Cite the websites you use.
2. Explain the element of the First Amendment
that was being challenged in each case.
3. Do you agree with the ruling in each case? Why or
why not?
**Remember your responses should be detailed in
order to receive full credit.**

Intro to journalism

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