Winner of the headline contest! Martin Makes the Trains Run on Time

Home School Fanatics and Their Story Runner up Home School Fanatics and Their Story

Headlines Make them work Their job is to get the reader to read your story Active, punchy, intriguing, funny if appropriate

What are those awful scrawls on my paper???

Attribution Your sources give you facts, opinions and sometimes lies… your job is to sort it all out

Attribution Your sources give you facts, opinions and sometimes lies… your job is to sort it all out For anything other than provable fact, common knowledge or something you witnessed yourself (speech, meeting, sports event, in-person interview), you must have an attribution

Objectivity For the purposes of this class, we will strive for objectivity. What is that?

Objectivity For the purposes of this class, we will strive for objectivity. What is that? Objectivity: the best obtainable version of the truth

Objectivity For the purposes of this class, we will strive for objectivity. What is that? Objectivity: the best obtainable version of the truth Means leaving your opinions out of stories... No first person pronouns, no superlatives about people we like

Objectivity For the purposes of this class, we will strive for objectivity. What is that? Objectivity: the best obtainable version of the truth Means leaving your opinions out of stories... No first person pronouns, no superlatives about people we like We’re hard-nosed reporters! (at least for this class)

Where do opinions belong in journalism? Spread out on a continuum from breaking news to sports stories to editorials and reviews

Few style things Numbers: one through nine, spell out 10 on up, use digits. “The nine-year-old boy ate 27 burritos.”

Few style things Numbers: one through nine, spell out 10 on up, use digits. “The nine-year-old boy ate 27 burritos.” Two adjectives before a noun get a hyphen: “The nine- year-old boy experienced life-threatening intestinal disturbances.”

Few style things Numbers: one through nine, spell out 10 on up, use digits. “The nine-year-old boy ate 27 burritos.” Two adjectives before a noun get a hyphen: “The nine- year-old boy experienced life-threatening intestinal disturbances.” “Homeschool,” not “home school”

The foundations of journalism Why it’s important History What is news (I can never prepare pancakes in England) Interviewing/note taking Quotes and attribution

Traditional journalism starts with the Inverted Pyramid

Traditional journalism starts with the Inverted Pyramid Summarize first, explain later

Traditional journalism starts with the Inverted Pyramid Summarize first, explain later Information is arranged from most important to least important

Traditional journalism starts with the Inverted Pyramid Summarize first, explain later Information is arranged from most important to least important Best way of delivering “hard” news in all media, from dead-tree newspapers to smart phones to broadcast

Traditional journalism starts with the Inverted Pyramid Summarize first, explain later Information is arranged from most important to least important Best way of delivering “hard” news in all media, from dead-tree newspapers to smart phones to broadcast 69 percent of stories in papers use IP, as do most TV, radio and web stories

Why Inverted Pyramid?

Why Inverted Pyramid? Saves readers time and editors space

Why Inverted Pyramid? Saves readers time and editors space Condenses information efficiently so readers can grasp facts quickly

Why Inverted Pyramid? Saves readers time and editors space Condenses information efficiently so readers can grasp facts quickly It’s still the most important tool in any journalist’s box... you’ve got to master this

Why Inverted Pyramid? Saves readers time and editors space Condenses information efficiently so readers can grasp facts quickly It’s still the most important tool in any journalist’s box... you’ve got to master this Invented during Civil War, why?

So what is the IP?

If the Bible was written with an inverted pyramid lede… Genesis 1:1 Jesus of Nazereth has proven that he is the son of God, according to than 500 eyewitnesses who saw the itinerant rabbi alive three days after he was brutally executed. When coupled with the dozens of confirmed miracles he performed, Jesus confirmed that he was who he claimed to be, according to Peter, one of his closest associates. “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the father except through me,” Jesus said shortly before he died.

The lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts So what is the IP? The lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts

So what is the IP? The lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts Second graph adds more details or background

So what is the IP? The lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts Second graph adds more details or background This graphs adds more facts

So what is the IP? The lead, which summarizes the story’s most important facts Second graph adds more details or background This graphs adds more facts More facts

And that’s where the fun begins! You have to make hundreds of news judgments when you write a lead

And that’s where the fun begins! You have to make hundreds of news judgments when you write a lead You have to identify and rank the most newsworthy elements in each story

And that’s where the fun begins! You have to make hundreds of news judgments when you write a lead You have to identify and rank the most newsworthy elements in each story Sum it up, boil it down

And that’s where the fun begins! You have to make hundreds of news judgments when you write a lead You have to identify and rank the most newsworthy elements in each story Sum it up, boil it down This takes practice but will pay off no matter you do after high school

And that’s where the fun begins! You have to make hundreds of news judgments when you write a lead You have to identify and rank the most newsworthy elements in each story Sum it up, boil it down This takes practice but will pay off no matter you do after high school Which brings us to....

The five Ws (and an H)

Five Ws (and an H) Who

Five Ws (and an H) Who: ran for the TD, robbed the bank, insulted the commissioner... who made this news happen?

Five Ws (and an H) What:

Five Ws (and an H) What: what happened, what’s going on, what is the point of this story?

Five Ws (and an H) When: When did this all take place?

Five Ws (and an H) Where: Where’s this news happening: on the basketball court, in the Supreme Court, in the classroom at LAF?

Five Ws (and an H) Why:

Five Ws (and an H) Why: Why did the tax bill fail? Why did the heiress leave $15 million to her dog? Why did the public high-school ban prayer at the football game?

Five Ws (and an H) How: How does the reader find the hot-new restaurant? How does the mayor get away with not living in her own city? How can the reader avoid listeria in his salad?

Five Ws (and an H) Who What Where When Why How

Assignment 8/1 BRING YOUR LAPTOP!!!!

Assignment 8/1 Pick out three “hard” news stories… crime, breaking news, sports game stories. Use any source you choose … Sarasota H-T, NY Times, Drudge, AP, local weekly Analyze the first three grafs of each and identify the “Five Ws (and an H)” Type up your analysis and include a copy of the story so I can see it (retype the first part of the story if you can’t print it out) Read and study pages 40-41