1. Getting Started

2. Qualities of a reporter  Engaged  Articulate

3. Engaged  Curious  Empathetic

4. Articulate  Write clear, correct sentences  Organize stories for narrative – like you’re telling this story for folks around the fireplace

5. Changing journalism  Convergence  One organization operating a newspaper, radio station, television station and Web site. Reporters, photographers and editors prepare stories for all media.  Two or more organizations share stories and information. Each delivers stories by its traditional medium and by the Web.

6. New practices  Backpack journalists: reporters who carry computers, cameras and audio equipment and file stories for Web and other media from the field.  Community journalists: Volunteers or part-time workers who contribute stories or photographs. Often the content they create is intensely local.

7. Preparing paper copy  Top left of first page, write...  Name  Date  Slug  Example  Juan Vendores  Oct. 31  Handgun hell

8.  Start about two inches from the top of first page.  The slug should be one or two words that identify the story. It should be specific enough that an editor can distinguish your story from similar ones.  “Arrest” is not sufficiently distinctive. Many people may be arrested in one day.  “Harrison arrest” is more distinctive.

9. On subsequent paper pages  Indicate adds or additional pages.  Parking protests-add 1  Parking protests-page 2  Indicate end of story.  ###  – 30 –

10. On all pages  1 ½ or Double space.  Use one-inch margins.  Use 12-point type. I believe Times New Roman is about the best.

11. In general  All assignments must be typed.  Write your assignments on a typewriter or computer. Don’t write your first draft in longhand.  Edit all of your copy.  Don’t hand in a story that has been copied and pasted in about three different type faces.  Correct the type face and the spacing.

12. Copy-editing symbols  See the inside front cover and pages 12-15 of Reporting for the Media for copy-editing symbols and illustrations of how they are used.  The symbols are conventions for marking changes and corrections in copy in a way that is clear and speeds the typesetting process.

13. Preparing electronic copy  Use Microsoft Word processing program.  When sending digital copies, name the file using a one-word slug and your last name separated by an understrike (shift + hyphen).  Schoolfire_bender  Put your name, the date and the slug on the first three lines.

14.  Hit the return button two or three times before you start the body of your story.  Indent the first line of each paragraph three spaces.  Don’t double space between paragraphs.  Type ### or – 30 – at the end of your story.  If you submit your story by e-mail, make it an attachment. Do not paste it into e- mail.

15. Editing electronic copy  Copy written on a computer cannot be edited using traditional copy-editing marks.  But electronic copy must be edited carefully.  Many news organizations use software that tracks who made what changes, like Microsoft Word’s “Track Changes” feature.