Weeks 3 & 4 News Writing Week 4 http://stsmtinewswriting.weebly.com Week 3 news quizzes wrap-up Rewriting leads Week 4 news quizzes (Deadline: 10 mins.) Chapter 3 with exercises Week 2’s Assignments http://www.newsu.org/courses/bereporter-game https://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0073378917/student_v iew0/chapter2/exercise_2-1_2.html https://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0073378917/student_v iew0/chapter2/exercise_2-1_3.html Week 4: Rewriting Leads Review: basic news leads on p. 60 5 minutes Check leads for missing 6 W’s and/or their order Who What Where When Maybe Why or How Leads Exercises Who: Lawmakers What: rejected a 10 billion euro bailout package for Cyprus Where: Europe When: Tuesday Why: not enough money How: sending the president back to the drawing board to devise a plan that might enable the country to receive a financial lifeline while avoiding a default that could reignite the euro crisis Leads Exercises Lawmakers rejected a 10 billion euro bailout package for Cyprus on Tuesday, sending the president back to the drawing board to devise a plan that might enable the country to receive a financial lifeline while avoiding a default that could reignite the euro crisis. Source: The New York Times Leads Exercises Who: U.S. federal authorities What: examining Microsoft’s involvement with companies and individuals Where: U.S. When: Wednesday Why: that are accused of paying bribes to overseas government officials in exchange for business, according to a person briefed on the inquiry How: n/a Leads Exercises Federal authorities in the U.S. are examining Microsoft’s involvement with companies and individuals that are accused of paying bribes to overseas government officials in exchange for business, according to a person briefed on the inquiry. Source: The New York Times Leads Exercises Who: David Beckham What: to begin his new role as a special ambassador for Chinese football Where: Beijing When: Wednesday Why: n/a How: It will involve attending league matches in China and visiting clubs to help promote the game to children. Leads Exercises David Beckham is in Beijing to begin his new role as a special ambassador for Chinese football. It will involve attending league matches in China and visiting clubs to help promote the game to children. Source: BBC Leads Exercises 4 Who: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul 4 What: that the nation's illegal immigrants should be able to become citizens eventually 4 Where: Washington, D.C. 4 When: Tuesday 4 Why: amid a furor from conservative activists on the explosive issue he quickly sought to make clear that, while they would not be sent home, they couldn't get in line in front of anyone else 4 How: n/a Leads Exercises WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the nation's illegal immigrants should be able to become citizens eventually, but amid a furor from conservative activists on the explosive issue he quickly sought to make clear that, while they would not be sent home, they couldn't get in line in front of anyone else. Leads Exercises 4 4 4 4 4 Who: Xi Jinping What: calls for strong ties with the U.S. Where: Beijing When: Wednesday Why: the first high-level meeting between the two sides since he was confirmed as China's president 4 How: His comments came in talks with Jack Lew, who is in Beijing on his first overseas trip as US Treasury Secretary. Leads Exercises Xi Jinping has called for strong ties with the US, in the first high-level meeting between the two sides since he was confirmed as China's president. His comments came in talks with Jack Lew, who is in Beijing on his first overseas trip as US Treasury Secretary. Source: BBC Every culture seeks effective constantly evolving, dramatically. The typi lcome to the world of ways to spread new reflecting and shaping its newspaper of 1800 wa urnalism, where information and gossip. In culture. undisciplined mishma porters have been Others see it as an inspiringlegislative proceeding gging dirt, raking muck, ancient times, news was quest for free speech, an long-winded essays a king headlines and adlineswritten on clay tablets. In Caesar’s age, Romans read endless power struggle secondhand gossip. B for centuries newsletters compiled by between Authority (trying to 1900, a new breed of w. It’s a history full of correspondents and control information) and the tor had emerged. Jour bloid trash, of slimy People (trying to learn the had become big busin nsationalists, of runkards, handwritten by slaves. deadbeats and mmers” (asWandering minstrels spread truth). Which brings to mind Reporting was becom news (and the plague) in the the words of A.J. Liefling: disciplined craft. And a Harvard iversity Middle Ages. Them came ink “Freedom of the press is newspapers were bec president once scribed Tim Harrower on paper. Voices on airwaves. guaranteed only to htose who more entertaining and reporters). own one.” essential than ever, w But it’s a history full of Newsreels, Web sites, And 24-hour cable news networks. In the pages ahead, we’ll most of the features w ex roes, too: men and Thus when scholars take a quick tour of 600 years today: Snappy headlines, men risking their lives analyze the rich history of of journalism history, from Comic Sports pages. And tell stories of war and agedy, risking prisonment journalism, some view it in hieroglyphics to hypertext: “inverted pyramid” sty terms of technological the media, the message and writing that made stori tig to defend progress—for example, the the politics. and newsier. ee speech. And as you Technical advances and Radio and television n see here, reports have dramatic impact of bigger, brilliant ideas forged a new brought an end to come beloved characters faster printing presses. Others see journalism as a style of journalism. It was a newspapers’ media mono p culture, too, turning up century of change, and Why? Well yourself: Wh movies, comics and TV specialized form literary expression, one that’s newspapers changed did yo ows as if guided by an cult McGraw-Hill hand. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Inside Reporting 3 Newswriting basics Slide Newswriting basics Just the facts The five W’s The inverted pyramid Beyond the basic news lead Leads that succeed After the lead…what next? (continued) McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Newswriting basics (continued) Story structure Rewriting Editing Newswriting style Making deadline 66 essential tips McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Just the facts You must try to be objective. Truthful. Fair. Good reporters respect integrity of facts. Facts tell the story. Readers draw their own conclusions. McGraw-Hill Where do opinions belong in a newspaper? •Most newspaper stories can be placed on a continuum. •Ranges from rigidly objective (breaking news) to rabidly opinionated (movie reviews). © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.64, Exercise 2 Slide The five W’s Facts usually fall into McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The five W’s The WHO The WHAT Readers love stories that focus on people. WHO keeps it real. • • • • Who’s Who’s Who’s Who’s McGraw-Hill involved? affected? going to benefit? getting screwed? WHAT gives news its substance. • Stories become dry and dull if they focus too much on WHAT. • Need WHO. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The five W’s The WHEN The WHERE Timeliness essential to every story. • When events happened or will happen. • How long they lasted or will last. The closer the event, the more relevant it is for readers. Many stories require supplements. • Map • Diagram • Photo McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The five W’s The WHY The HOW Finding explanations difficult. The WHY is what makes news meaningful. McGraw-Hill Often requires detailed explanation. Sometimes omitted to save space. Readers love “how-to” stories. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.64, Exercise 3 At midnight tonight, Abner Hoobler will become the first Nebraskan to reach the age of 115. A dog named Victor plunged over Niagara Falls on Saturday - and emerged victorious. A Dayton woman decided her husband spent too much time clowning around with his froends, so she glued a clown mask to his face while he was sleeping. A local minister was bitten in the leg Sunday after leaping into the lions’ den at the Dayton Zoo. Rev. Faith Christian, a minister at the Dayton Zealotic Church, said she was trying to convert the lion to Christianity by shouting “Jesus loves you.” Slide The inverted pyramid Newswriting format summarizes most important facts at story’s start This is the lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts This paragraph adds more details or background This paragraph adds even more details This adds more details More details McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The inverted pyramid The typical news story uses the inverted pyramid So should you use this format • Explain later. Resolve everything in for every story? •Gets repetitive. the beginning. •Doesn’t always Allows editors to trim organize story stories from bottom. material logically. Summarize first. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide The inverted pyramid Why writing a good lead actually matters to readers If a story takes too long to make sense… Readers flee like rats from a sinking ship. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.64, Exercise 1 Slide Writing basic news leads How to write an effective news lead Collect all your facts. • Lead should summarize. • The more you know, the easier it is to summarize. McGraw-Hill Sum it up. Boil it down. • List who, what, when, where, why of story. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Writing basic news leads How to write an effective news lead Prioritize the five W’s. • Lead contains the most important facts. • Which of the key facts deserves to start the first sentence? McGraw-Hill Rethink. Revise. Rewrite. • • • • Is Is Is Is it it it it clear? active? wordy? compelling? © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Writing basic news leads How to write an effective news lead Writing leads often Create different leads using the… a process of trial • Who. and error. • Try different approaches. McGraw-Hill • • • • What. When. Where. Why. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Writing basic news leads Not every story begins with a roundup of essential facts Basic news leads can be too dull and dry. All good reporters spend time searching for the perfect lead. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Beyond the basic news lead Story checklist Be accurate. Remember what day it is. Ask “Why should I care?” Sell the story. Don’t name names. Don’t get hung up. Use strong verbs. Move attributions to the end of the sentences. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Leads that succeed A roundup of commonly used options Basic news leads Anecdotal/ narrative leads Scene-setter leads Blind leads Roundup leads McGraw-Hill Direct address leads The startling statement Wordplay leads © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Leads that succeed A roundup of commonly used options Basic news leads • Summary lead – Combines five W’s into one sentence. • Delayed identification lead • Immediate identification lead – Uses a public figure or celebrity in the sentence. – Withholds the name of the person in question until the second paragraph McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Week 4: Group News Quiz Please write your group’s English names and send it to me via email. Send it in the body of the email, rather than as an attachment. Only write in the style of a basic news lead (the most important of the 6 W’s). Try your hand at one or more new leads we covered. Must be from the past week (March 13-20). 1. International 2. Beat 3. China 4. Xi’an 5. XISU Slide Leads that succeed A roundup of commonly used options Anecdotal/ narrative leads Scene-setter leads • Lack urgency of hard• Have a beginning, news leads. middle and end. • Borrowed from fiction. • Will be mini-story Blind leads with symbolic • Extreme delayed resonance for information lead. bigger story. – Deliberately teases reader. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Leads that succeed A roundup of commonly used options Roundup leads • Rather than focus on one person, place or thing, impress reader with longer list. Direct address leads • Use secondperson voice. McGraw-Hill The startling statement • Also called a “zinger” or a “Hey, Martha.” Wordplay leads • Encompass wide range of amusing leads. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Leads that succeed …and three lazy leads you should usually reconsider Topic leads • Convey no actual news. Question leads • Are irritating stalls. Quote leads • Don’t fairly summarize the story. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.65, Exercise 4, #2 Student drinking may be to blame for damage to campus windows, lights and doors last weekend, a school official said. OR Damage to campus windows, lights and doors last weekend may have been the result of student drinking, a school official said. Slide After the lead…what next? Add another paragraph Know how long the story should be. Write the nut graf Paragraph that condenses the story idea into nutshell. McGraw-Hill Briefs and brites: •Brief – written using the inverted pyramid. •Brite – written with more personality than a brief. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.65, Exercise 6 Some people would just take the money and run. But when Laura Lynn Hardy found $300,000 lying on the street, she bicycled 20 miles through a Christmas Eve snowstorm to return the cash to its rightful owner. What would you do if you found $300.000? If you’re Laura Lynn Hardy, you’d give the money right back. Slide Story structure Giving an overall shape to writing No one-size-fits-all solution. Every story unfolds in a different way. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure Organizing your story The inverted pyramid Most important facts • Use for: – News briefs. – Breaking news. McGraw-Hill Additional facts More facts Etc., Etc. Etc. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure Giving an overall shape to writing The martini glass • Use for: – Crimes. – Disasters. – Dramatic stories. The lead Key facts in invertedpyramid form Chronology of events Kicker McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure Giving an overall shape to writing The kabob • Also called Wall Street Journal formula or the Circle. • Use for: – Trends. – Events where you want to show actual people. McGraw-Hill Anecdote Nut graf Meat Meat Meat Anecdote © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure Keeping readers from getting bored Modern journalist’s Use narratives when you can. job basically boils down to Think like a • Teaching. teacher. • Storytelling. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure Writing tips as you move from paragraph to paragraph Keep paragraphs short. Write one idea per paragraph. Add transitions. McGraw-Hill Alternatives to long, gray news stories •Bullet items •Sidebars •Subheads •Other storytelling alternatives © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Story structure The big finish Good writers agonize over the kicker as much as the lead. •Plan ahead. •Don’t end with a summary. •Avoid clichés. •End with a bang. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Rewriting Good story. Now make it better. Writing is rewriting. • Make things a little better. • Few stories arrive fully formed and perfectly phrased. • Most require rethinking, restructuring and rewording. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Rewriting 5Reasons to hit the delete key Passive verbs • Start sentences with their subjects. • Replace to be with stronger verbs. • Filter out jargon and officialese. Clichés Redundancy • Avoid unnecessary modifiers. McGraw-Hill Wordy sentences Jargon & journalese • Lowers the IQ of your writing. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Rewriting The Fog Index – a readability gauge Find typical example. Average number of words per sentence. Number of “hard” words with 3 or more syllables (no proper names). McGraw-Hill Add average number of words to number of “hard” words. Multiply the sum by 0.4. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Rewriting The Fog Index – a readability gauge Most Americans read at or about 9th-grade level. • Aim for Fog Index of 7 to 8. • Bible, Mark Twain, TV Guide have Fog Index around 6. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Editing The role editors play in your stories Before you write • Assigning story. • Planning angle. • Estimating scope. • Anticipating packaging. McGraw-Hill While you write • • • • Adding details. Monitoring speed. Fine-tuning. Layout changes. © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Editing The role editors play in your stories After you write • Editing content. • Copy editing. • Cutting or padding. • Assigning follow-up stories. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Newswriting style Who’s right? Every news outlet customizes guidelines. Copy desk’s job to standardize style. Know AP and your news outlet’s style. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide AP Style Highlights - p.56-7 Numbers Titles Capitalization Abbreviations Addresses McGraw-Hill The Internet Parentheses Possessives Prefixes And others… © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide Making deadline Live by the clock Deadlines are mandatory. Pass the deadline checklist. • Accuracy. • Fairness and balance. • Writing style. McGraw-Hill © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 66 newswriting tips - p.60-1 Writing leads The rest of the story Editing and style Rules of grammar McGraw-Hill Word choices • Nonsexist, nonageist, nondiscriminatory Punctuation © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Test Yourself p.65, Exercise 7 Business Please send all future assignments to marissakluger@yahoo.com Week 4 Assignments p. 66, Exercise 8 (choose 1 of the 4 brites to write a lead for...make sure it’s written down or you have a viewable electrnic copy) Review Chapter 3; make sure you’ve previewed p. 65, Exercise 7 preview eWorkbook Ch.3 exercises 3-1 (select 5 out of the 10 questions) 3-2.3; 2.7 3-3.2 3-4.1, 4.2, 4.3 (select 5 out of the 10 or 11 questions) 3-4.4, 4.5 (select 4 out of the 8 questions)