News sharing allows diverse groups to function as a community by providing shared current information. Reporters should avoid loaded language and words that express opinions when covering news, instead using neutral terms. Accuracy is important for credibility and readers, requiring verification of information and attribution of sources.

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

4. Example:
use “said”
rather than
“admitted'”
“conceded” or
“boasted”
Reason:
to cover the news
in a way that the
reader could not
detect which
“side” of the
issue the
journalist was on
Objectivity
Reporters should avoid “loaded” language, words that express opinions
or draw inferences about whether something is good or bad.

5. Compare the language in the leads

6. Compare the focus, word choice, lead

7. A Look at the Poynter Article
Neutral language vs. ‘telling it like it is’:
“Language that pushes the boundaries of traditional neutrality
can be used in a responsible news report. The language of
this lead stands somewhere in between, and I believe it needs
a name. It is not neutral; it is engaged.”

8. The first sentence is long for a conventional lead — 41
words.
It is followed by a short one of 12 words, an effective
pattern and rhythm of long/short.
Invisible chronology: The president said something, his
followers did something, somebody died.

9. What to call it?
to storm - does it romanticize the action, as in what happens
in movies when the heroes storm the castle? But it also
contains connotations of the Nazi stormtroopers. Fair?
“Attempted coup” - A blow against the state? Or an
“insurrection,” defined as “the act … of open revolt against
civil authority or a constituted government.”

10. Four elements of news in 32 words:
1) a violent scene at the Capitol
2) ignited by the President
3) the strangeness of the event
4) the background of the electoral count
Incendiary: an expression of cause and effect

11. Active versus passive voice
Who is active?
vivid description, visual language
Content of the paragraph?

12. What to call them?
Trump supporters, domestic terrorists, white nationalists, neo-
Nazis?
Sabotage: deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something),
especially for political or military advantage.
The power of this short sentence:
“USA!”: not a quote, but spoken language overheard by the
reader, transporting the reader to the spot.
Juxtaposition of concepts that don’t really belong together.

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

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

15. 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

16. Check names, titles, affiliation!

17. get titles
right!

18. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. basic
news
writing Chapter 5
His Girl Friday

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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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
{