This document provides guidance for student journalists on reporting and writing news stories. It discusses the importance of journalism in a democratic society and emphasizes getting the most accurate information possible through thorough verification of sources. The document offers tips for different types of stories, conducting interviews, developing story ideas, writing engaging leads, and building strong long-term source relationships based on honesty and integrity. The overall message is that quality journalism requires diligent research, even if it means the reporter must be willing to work long hours and ask difficult questions to uncover important truths.

1. Reporting 101
The nuts and bolts of a news story: process and product.

2. Why Journalism
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have
a government without newspapers, or newspapers
without a government, I should not hesitate a moment
to prefer the latter.”
---Thomas Jefferson
“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world,
journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.” -
--Tom Stoppard
“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly
so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will
remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be
guided by its light.”
---Joseph Pulitzer

3. Writing- not easy
“There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down
at a typewriter and open a vein.” - Walter
Wellesley "Red" Smith
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” – Nathaniel
Hawthorne
“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can
say, but what we are unable to say.” - Anaïs Nin

4. Reporting-definitely not easy
It’s in the preparation– in those dreary pedestrian
virtues they taught you in seventh grade and you didn’t
believe. It’s making the extra call and caring a lot.
Diane Sawyer
If you’re a reporter, the easiest thing in the world is to get a
story. The hardest thing is to verify. The old sins were about
getting something wrong, that was a cardinal sin. The new
sin is to be boring.
David Halberstam
The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who
tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau,
sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth”.
Dan Rather

5. What is reporting then?
Getting the best obtainable version of the truth
within the given time constraints
Trying to be as non-partisan as possible
Highlighting stories and issues that are important
to the community being served
Providing accurate, interesting, significant and
relevant information through constant verification
Starting point for pleasant and unpleasant
conversations

6. What makes a good story?
A good focus- what’s the point?
How does it inform people? When, where, why
and how. I would like to add a new W- where
from? What is the source of your story?
Is it about a topic you want to read?
How will writing about it affect your readers?
Tips from an expert: Scott Simon of NPR: How
to tell a story

7. Qualities of a good reporter
Innate curiosity
Ample skepticism yet childlike excitement and
enthusiasm
Desire to build intellectual capital
A thick skin-- you will always LOSE the popularity
contest.
Passion for the work
Willingness to pursue shoe leather journalism as
emphasized by Pulitzer prize winner Anne Hull

8. Different kinds of stories
News- what’s happening now/ issues of concern at
the moment
Features- ongoing issues- usually social, human
interest; ones that touch the emotional core
Business- community business leaders, shop around
the corner?
Sports- school sports
Opinion- what are students talking about
Long form- an 800-word long feature that a student
may want to write about

9. News Writing
An event that possibly happened a day or two
before your paper hits the press or printing
machine
Inverted pyramid structure- most important part
of the story comes first. Eg: any news story
Question for class: do you have opportunities for
news stories in your school papers?

10. Feature Writing
Offers you more creativity- allows you to write an
engaging lead rather than bog you down with a
straitlaced news sentence. One example.
Can comprise long form storytelling/ student
profiles/ staff profiles/ an ongoing issue in the
school.
Other forms include opinion writing- more of
writing a critical argument.
This is a good example of writing a feature that
was published on the weekend based on a news
story that was big during the week.

11. You have the idea, what next?
Research:
Read up on the issue; previous news stories,
articles, visit the public library (look up directions
on Google!)
Online resources- there’s a lot of information out
there, make use of it.
Talk to people you think are experts on the issue.
Narrow the focus- try and explain the story in two
to three coherent sentences or come up with a
Reporter’s hypothesis/ research question.

12. What next?
Create an outline or a blueprint and start filling it
in with your notes and quotes you have gathered.
Once you’ve filled in all the blanks- rearrange the
text so that flows in a logical, coherent way.
A process to the writing:
Lead- 10%
Context- 10%
Body- 70%
Conclusion- 10%
Story must have a beginning, a middle and an
end.

13. Sources and Interviews
Research the people you talk to.
Conduct interviews- preferably face-to-face when
time permits. Katie Couric tells you how.
Try to get diverse voices in to provide a larger
perspective.
Be upfront about quoting them.
Online sources are becoming the norm but it might
be a good idea to have people’s permission to use
their quotes.
To tape or not to tape interviews?

14. Story ideas- where from?
Local newspapers and news channels
Random, unscientific poll of students, parents,
teachers
Looking at other school newspapers to get an
idea of how they might have covered a news
story
You have a group exercise that involves beats-
wonderful way of building sources and tapping
them for story ideas.

15. Finding good topics
What are the enduring issues? Universal subjects?
Look at before and after the news has occurred –
personalize it.
Is there someone whose life is similar to that of
someone in the headlines? For instance, a star
football player in the headlines, what’s the life of
other football players in the school? Or someone
who wants to make the football team?
When can you go in the opposite direction to get
an interesting story? An example would be
interviewing a poor person in a supposedly
prosperous community.

16. Finding good topics
Is there an untold background tale?
Is an ending really another beginning? Writing
about a few alumni a year after they graduated.
How is college life treating them? Did they get
scholarships?
Chip Scanlon from Poynter.org on storytelling
Question for class: How do you go about finding
topics for news stories?

17. What makes a good lead
Draw in audiences
About 10 percent of your total story length
Power of a good lead- some advice as given by
Chip Scanlon
Sampling of ASNE award-winning leads

18. Building a source base
Talking to people- be nice
Honoring what you promise them- returning with
a copy of the story when published, not quoting
something said in confidence.
Staying in touch- calling sometimes just to say hi.
Being as accessible to them as you expect them
to be accessible.
Being honest.

19. Some writing rules
George Orwell in his essay, “Politics and the
English language.”
Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of
speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the
active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a
jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything
barbarous.

20. It’s cool to be uncool
Commitment to journalism and writing is priority
Long hours are norm
It’s a lonely job- but you aren’t alone
In the end, you will be the uncool person who
asks the annoying questions, uncovers the best
obtainable version of the truth, writes stories that
count and THAT is cool.