1. Profile Articles Notes / Helpful information (please copy down) *This will help you write your articles for the quarter project!

2. What is a profile article? A "profile article" is a newspaper article that explores the background and character of a particular person (or group). The focus should be on a news angle or a single aspect of the subject's personal or professional life.  You can cover the background info, but focus the article around something interesting.  This is where you try and find the story in your subject. (something interesting, new, and unique)  Remember: make it newsworthy: this is how!

3. The Interview Questions Your main subject:  When interviewing, encourage your subject to open up and express significant thoughts, feelings or opinions. Do so by asking open-ended questions that are well- planned. Your two secondary subjects:  Ask them for anecdotes / interesting stories, etc.  Gather information that will help you ask better questions of your profile subject, or of the next person you interview.

4. How to start? The article should begin with the reason the subject is newsworthy at this time.  Your lead paragraph should focus around the reason that person is newsworthy. *That is what will draw your readers in. You can go back and build in the details later (through the body of the article).  This is the ONE time you can get away with NOT including all the 5 W’s and H in your lead. (But they should definitely be in the article somewhere.)

5. The Lead Paragraph – 2 ex. of good profile leads As a young girl growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Mae C. Jemison watched telecasts of the Gemini and Apollo spaceflights and knew that that was her destiny. No matter that all the astronauts were male and white and that she was female and black. She simply knew she would be a space traveler. Now a 35-year-old doctor and engineer, Dr. Jemison has realized her dream, launching into orbit yesterday as one of the shuttle Endeavor's sever-member crew. In the process she has become the first African-American woman to go into space....

6. What about the background information (the non-newsworthy stuff)? Biographical material is important, but should not be overemphasized: the biography is background to the news.  Ex. of biographical information: where they went to school, name of spouse, where they live, etc. Readers should be allowed to better understand the subject by seeing this person in the context of his or her interests and career, educational and family background.

7. Now… Now that you know a bit more about a profile article….  Look, again, at your interview questions. You may want to change some things (for example: less biographical info. questions)  Remember... You need 20 questions for your profile subject 20 additional questions for your secondary subjects  10 questions for each (different questions) You need to spend the rest of the period working on your questions – they will be due tomorrow at the beginning of class!