Assoc. Professor & SFNS News Director JOU 3117: Review & Check-in Assoc. Professor & SFNS News Director Dan Evans email: daevans@fiu.edu 213.321.3661 (m) | @EditorDanEvans

What we’re covering General check-in > How ya feeling? Review (Wo)man on the Street > What were the pros/cons? Anything weird happen? Review News Drill #1 > Have you been picking up what I’ve been putting down? Writing Short > Because if we didn’t have a timed assignment, did we even have class?

W(m)otS General feeling about the assignment? Freaked out? Fun? Stupid? Depressed about the general lack of attention paid by average people?

Use of Quotes (in stories) Only use quotes when your source forwards the story. If your source only makes a statement of fact, or you can say it better yourself, paraphrase. Quote opinions.

Boring quote “Baldwin Park has become a hot spot for high-end car break-ins, due to the increase in gang activity in the immediate area,” said Doral Police Sgt. John McDullington.

Awesome quote “We are going to scare these putrid drug dealers out of town by throwing rotten eggs and garbage on all of their ill-gotten BMWs until they cry for their mommies,” said Doral Police Sgt. Brock Testosterone

Quotes are for Awesome not Boring

Journalism DOES actually get this weird. It’s kinda why it’s fun News Drill #1 Journalism DOES actually get this weird. It’s kinda why it’s fun

Lede Basics A straight news lede is a single sentence. It is 35 words or fewer. It is sourced BUT does not use names Information is presented in order of importance, not chronologically

News Writing Dos/Don’ts DO: Source everything you did not personally witness DO: Check AP style on (especially) titles, numbers, entities and addresses DON’T: Use the first or second person DON’T: Put your opinions or feelings into the news article. DON’T: Forget you’re writing about real people.

Specifically… The most important stuff always goes first. Remember that in real life, things do not come in order. You need to rearrange as necessary. Because you got new information in each segment, the lede needs to adjust as well.

My Lede Miami’s top public school official has resigned following a drunk-driving crash at a Doral library, officials announced during a late-night news conference.

Quoting When quoting someone, always introduce them prior to the quote. For example: LeRoy Young, a current member of the school board up for reelection, said he wished Carvalho well. “Honestly, the health of Mr. Cavalho is more important than listening to a bunch of candidates,” he said. “My prayers are with him and his family.”

Quoting Continued If using more than one sentence in a quote, break it up after the first sentence. “Honestly, the health of Mr. Cavalho is more important than listening to a bunch of candidates,” he said. “My prayers are with him and his family.”

Use of Quotes Ask yourself whether something is FAIR when deciding to quote. It may change based on the information. “Well, I’m obviously disappointed the event was cancelled though I certainly understand,” said Emily Rosen, a challenger of the school board position. “I know the superintendent is very much for Measure S.” hmmmmmmmmmmmm???

Titles “The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto Carvalho,…” Remember that titles are lowercase UNLESS it is directly in front of the name AND it is not offset by commas.

Attribution Carvalho broke his arm in the crash and had a blood alcohol level of 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit, according to hospital officials. This came from Applebaum, who got it from the hospital officials. Always be precise about where your information came from.

The Cleanup… Take 15 minutes to correct the errors I identified in your first news drill

Short Story Exercise Let’s check out the handout…

Short Review: School Board Necessary elements in lede: Creationism controversy Occurred during school board meeting on Thursday Necessary elements in story (but not lede): That no decision was made (it was tabled) Quotes from Williams and Stanford Color from audience reaction (boos/applause) Not needed or can be ignored: Quotes from board members Other board actions and information (i.e. the computer lab)

Story Review: My Lede A proposal to teach creationism in Doral high schools sparked an intense debate during a school board meeting Thursday evening.

Things at the top Start with the most important item, not the one that came first chronologically Avoid using the same phrase twice in a single sentence. That is, if you write “Doral School Board” try to use a word like “district” or another synonym instead of writing “Doral School Board” again. Writing “Sandra Williams, member of a group named Creation Science of Doral,…” is redundant and unnecessary. Instead, write “Sandra Williams, a member of Creation Science of Doral,…”

Quoting Introduce the person you’re quoting in a sentence ABOVE the direct quote. Put the quote in its own paragraph below the introduction. Put the attribution (i.e., “he said”) after the first sentence.

Quoting: Example Sandra Williams, a member of Creation Science Ministry of Doral, told the board disallowing creationism to be taught is keeping “God out of our schools.” “All we’re asking is that students get both sides of the story,” she said. “Let them hear the debate.”

Quoting: Level Expert Sandra Williams, a member of Creation Science Ministry of Doral, told the board disallowing creationism to be taught is keeping “God out of our schools.” “All we’re asking is that students get both sides of the story,” she said to a mixture of cheers and boos from the audience. “Let them hear the debate.”

Homework Reading: Miami Herald and New York Times (daily). The Process of Writing News, Chapter Six: https://processofwritingnews.wordpress.com/chapter- six-sources-interviews-and-quotes/

Assoc. Professor & SFNS News Director Dan Evans email: daevans@fiu.edu 213.321.3661 (m) | @EditorDanEvans