News in the 20th Century


    Why has the power of print faded?
             
                 First radio, TV, now Internet
             
                 News is more accessible, engaging than ever
                 before
             
                 Advertisers, readers have moved to the web
             
                 Loss of revenue, lower circulation, lower
                 readership among young people
             
                 Corporate ownership
Solutions


    Raise prices

    Charge for on-line access

    Charge aggregators like Google, Yahoo

    Find benefactor

    Become a consortium

    Government bailout

    Stop publishing
What is news?
      News usually contains at least one of the following:

Impact: Does the story matter to readers?
       Will it effect their lives or their pocket books

Immediacy: Has the story just happened?

Proximity: How close is the story?

Prominence? Does the story involve a well-known public figure?

Novelty: Is something new, odd or surprising going on?

Conflict: Is there a clash of power?

Emotions: Does this story make us sad, happy, angry?
Types of News

    Hard News. Serious and timely. It deals with topics and events,
    such as crime, politics, economics, and war, along with certain
    aspects of law, science, and technology.

    Feature/Soft News. These are stories are about people and
    things that interest people. They are not timely and try to bring a
    fresh perspective to ordinary stories. May or may not be about
    serious topics.
Types of News - Examples


    Examples
http://buswk.co/ogPVLF
http://usat.ly/qfOq5j
http://bit.ly/r45fgs
http://bit.ly/oVtA9d
http://bit.ly/oDrDZ2
So where do Opinions Belong in
                 Journalism?

    Opinion & Editorial pages. The editorial page is where the
    newspaper sets aside its objective news-gathering role to
    explain, applaud or champion an important issue of the day.
    Letters to the editor from readers also are run on this page.
    Editorials may also be in the form of cartoons. The page
    opposite this page is called the opinions page and frequently
    contains opinion pieces by columnists that can be partisan and
    passionate.



    In TV or radio, opinions pieces are known as commentary.
Story structure
               The Inverted Pyramid
The inverted pyramid is news writing format in which the most
  important facts are presented in descending order of
  importance.



    Advantages: (a) It condenses information efficiently so readers
    can grasp facts quickly, and (b) it allows editors to trim stories
    from the bottom.

    Disadvantages: (a) It gets repetitive, and (b) it doesn't always
    organize the story material logically or engagingly.
The Journalism Formula
         The facts of a story fall into these main groups:
                        (The five W's & H)

    Who: Who's involved? Who's affected? Who's getting screwed?

    What: What happened? What's going up?

    When: When did it happen? When will it happen?

    Where: Where will they build the new airport? Where were five
    children found decapitated?

    Why: Why is the new law necessary?

    How: How will this plan work? How did the prisoner escape?

    Exercise
Story Structure
                     The Basic Lead

    It's the essence of journalism: the key facts told in the most
    concise way. Summarizes the story's most important facts.
    Usually contains the 5 W's and H. Grabs reader or viewers
    attention. Most use fewer than 25 words.

    EXAMPLES
http://trib.in/pP6Say
    http://trib.in/p6YmR7
    http://trib.in/nNL98j
    http://bit.ly/qir1Ud
How to Write an Effective Lead?


    Be concise. Streamline your ideas, sentences. Thinks subject-
    verb-object.

    Be accurate. Get your facts and spelling right.

    Don't name names. Don't say John Smith was hit by a bus,
    unless everyone know who John Smith is.

    Use strong verbs. Instead of saying a man was killed, think
    active, not passive voice: A bus struck and killed an elderly man
    Monday night.

    Ask “Why do I care?” Write from reader's point of view. Try to
    explain things.

    Sell the story. Find out what makes this story different or
    special. Use that to punch up the lead.
Lead Writing Exercise

Writing a lead for a fire story.

Newspapers & democracy 2ndpt

  • 1.
    News in the20th Century  Why has the power of print faded?  First radio, TV, now Internet  News is more accessible, engaging than ever before  Advertisers, readers have moved to the web  Loss of revenue, lower circulation, lower readership among young people  Corporate ownership
  • 2.
    Solutions  Raise prices  Charge for on-line access  Charge aggregators like Google, Yahoo  Find benefactor  Become a consortium  Government bailout  Stop publishing
  • 3.
    What is news? News usually contains at least one of the following: Impact: Does the story matter to readers? Will it effect their lives or their pocket books Immediacy: Has the story just happened? Proximity: How close is the story? Prominence? Does the story involve a well-known public figure? Novelty: Is something new, odd or surprising going on? Conflict: Is there a clash of power? Emotions: Does this story make us sad, happy, angry?
  • 4.
    Types of News  Hard News. Serious and timely. It deals with topics and events, such as crime, politics, economics, and war, along with certain aspects of law, science, and technology.  Feature/Soft News. These are stories are about people and things that interest people. They are not timely and try to bring a fresh perspective to ordinary stories. May or may not be about serious topics.
  • 5.
    Types of News- Examples  Examples http://buswk.co/ogPVLF http://usat.ly/qfOq5j http://bit.ly/r45fgs http://bit.ly/oVtA9d http://bit.ly/oDrDZ2
  • 6.
    So where doOpinions Belong in Journalism?  Opinion & Editorial pages. The editorial page is where the newspaper sets aside its objective news-gathering role to explain, applaud or champion an important issue of the day. Letters to the editor from readers also are run on this page. Editorials may also be in the form of cartoons. The page opposite this page is called the opinions page and frequently contains opinion pieces by columnists that can be partisan and passionate.  In TV or radio, opinions pieces are known as commentary.
  • 7.
    Story structure The Inverted Pyramid The inverted pyramid is news writing format in which the most important facts are presented in descending order of importance.  Advantages: (a) It condenses information efficiently so readers can grasp facts quickly, and (b) it allows editors to trim stories from the bottom.  Disadvantages: (a) It gets repetitive, and (b) it doesn't always organize the story material logically or engagingly.
  • 8.
    The Journalism Formula The facts of a story fall into these main groups: (The five W's & H)  Who: Who's involved? Who's affected? Who's getting screwed?  What: What happened? What's going up?  When: When did it happen? When will it happen?  Where: Where will they build the new airport? Where were five children found decapitated?  Why: Why is the new law necessary?  How: How will this plan work? How did the prisoner escape?  Exercise
  • 9.
    Story Structure The Basic Lead  It's the essence of journalism: the key facts told in the most concise way. Summarizes the story's most important facts. Usually contains the 5 W's and H. Grabs reader or viewers attention. Most use fewer than 25 words.  EXAMPLES http://trib.in/pP6Say http://trib.in/p6YmR7 http://trib.in/nNL98j http://bit.ly/qir1Ud
  • 10.
    How to Writean Effective Lead?  Be concise. Streamline your ideas, sentences. Thinks subject- verb-object.  Be accurate. Get your facts and spelling right.  Don't name names. Don't say John Smith was hit by a bus, unless everyone know who John Smith is.  Use strong verbs. Instead of saying a man was killed, think active, not passive voice: A bus struck and killed an elderly man Monday night.  Ask “Why do I care?” Write from reader's point of view. Try to explain things.  Sell the story. Find out what makes this story different or special. Use that to punch up the lead.
  • 11.
    Lead Writing Exercise Writinga lead for a fire story.