What is news? What is journalism? Week 1: Day 2

SWBAT understand the characteristics of a news story and learn copy editing symbols  DO NOW: On your smartphone, I am going to assign you a number 1-4. It will correspond with what news site you will be going to.  1: Go to nypost.com  2: Go to nydailynews.com  3: Go to usatoday.com  4: Go to huffingtonpost.com

HOMEWORK FRIDAY: Bring in a newspaper or a news magazine. THIS WEEKEND Read a local news story this week. Print it. Read it. Write a reflection: Your reflection should include. What elements/characteristics does the story have that makes it a “news story.”

NEWS DISCUSSION  TOP STORY OF NY POST  TOP STORY OF NY DAILY NEWS  TOP STORY OF USATODAY  TOP STORY OF HUFFINGTONPOST ANY SIMILARITIES ANY DIFFERENCES

FOUNDATION OF ANY GOOD NEWS STORY  FACTS!!!!  ACCURACY!!!  MULTIPLE SOURCES!!!  INTERVIEWS!!!

News Style Format  Most general news stories follow the 5W and H format  Inverted Pyramid

A NEWS STORY ALSO HAS THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS…  TIMELINESS  PROXIMITY  PROMINENCE  ODDITY  CONFLICT  CONSEQUENCE  HUMAN INTEREST

Timeliness If something is happening NOW, it is more newsworthy than if it happened yesterday or last week or two weeks ago. Oftentimes the most newsworthy element in the story is the most recent happening, the latest thing in a series of happenings which relate to the news event.

Proximity How close to your readers is this event taking place? All other things being equal, something that is happening in or near their location is much more meaningful to them than something taking place across town or across the world.

Prominence Is a well-known person part of the story? Readers like to read about people they know. If a person is well-known, more readers will be interested than if a person who is mentioned is not known.

Oddity If something is out of the ordinary, it may be newsworthy just because of that fact. The strange or unusual is fascinating to many readers.

Consequence How will this event impact your readers? How important is it? Something that is more important will be more newsworthy than something that is of little importance, all other things being equal.

Conflict Is there a conflict between persons in the story? A rivalry? A misunderstanding? People are naturally drawn to conflict and find it fascinating.

Human Interest Anything that appeals to the reader’s emotions…makes him laugh, cry, get angry, feel sympathy, etc….has the potential for human interest.

NEWS EXERCISE  What are the foundations of a good news story?  List any components that you feel are missing.