JN 311 1nd Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. Chapter 20Outline of Current Lecture II. Chapter 19Current LectureWhat’s government?-Congress, senate-State legislatures-School boards-County commissions-City Councils-The University of AlabamaWhy should readers care?-Government Shapes our day to day lives-Garbage pick up, recycling-Police, fire and ambulance-Restaurant inspections-Education-HousingReporting on Government-The Beats: City, county, state, national-Where do you start?-Elected, hired, appointed-What does each office/ board do-What is the power structure-Who should you interviewThe Role of the Press-Inform the general public-Meeting coverage-The Advance story-Highlight important issues-How elected officials vote-The Watchdog roleThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Tips on Reporting-Check public records-Memos-Plans-Audits-Job postings-Legal notices-StatsStats in the Headlines-Numbers are all around us-Therefore stories are too-Numbers=date= storyNumbers in the News-Think about your own lives-Where do you eat-How much do you spend on coffee-How much is your tuition-What are those fees-How safe are your doctorsApproaching budget stories-Impact to the taxpayer, citizen-What’s being added, what’s being cut-Increase, decrease from previous year-Winners, losers-What are the “real” numbers-Ratios-Per-person comparison of costSpecial points for stats-Use analogies and interpret numbers-Round off numbers-Don’t bunch too many numbers in one paragraph or sentence-Use anecdotal leads and storytelling techniques-Use graphicsWriting Tips-Interpret information- how are readers affected-Translate jargon-Vary the pace-Avoid boring quotes-Use conversational style-Avoid starting with “there”-There are many items on the council’s agenda-There are too many examples of a dead sentence structure to
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