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JN 311: TEST 2
Interviewing Basics
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Ask: Who? When? Where? Why? How? and so what?
- role play: put yourself in readers shoes
-use time lines
-be a "detective"
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The Show-In-Action Technique
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technique used to help reader visualize your source or scene.
-more common in feature stories w/ descriptive writing but can be used in hard-news stories or for a soft lead
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Mapping
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a form of brainstorming suggested by researchers who have studied functions on left side of brain (logical reasoning) and right side (creativity).
-process of word association
-brainstorming "web"
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Weblogs (blogs)
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personal essays or journals that have proliferated on the web in recent years
-may generate story ideas bc they express problems/thoughts about which people are concerned
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Story Budget
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contains brief description of each story planned for the next day's paper, news or website
-budget item, or "budget line," begins with a slug (one-word title) & is followed by a few sentences describing story
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Budget Line
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helps to focus your ideas. Your way of selling your story to your editor.
--To write budget line:
---give story a slug & describe the idea in a paragraph or 2. Include potential sources, photos/graphics. Should summarize main point of story.
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Assume Other Points of View
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similar to mapping technique
-role reversal with reader
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Internships & first jobs are big on _________ stories.
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"enterprise"
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When developing story ideas:
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talk to people like you -- what are they interested in/want to know about?
talk to leaders involved
talk to customers -- what are they curious about?
seek public opinion: letters, blogs, forums, opinion boards, talk radio
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What information should be included in your source book?
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name of source
phone # (work & cell)
e-mail address
physical address
notations: important dates (birthday) to remember or personal information (family) you may contact to be thoughtful
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Matchmaking Technique (sources)
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asking one source to recommend another one who is knowledgeable about subject you are researching
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When attributing sources, you should:
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avoid anonymous sources
contact sources who have opposing points of view
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Newswriting needs _________ _________ to make the story credible & readable.
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human sources
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Two types of sources
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human sources
non-human sources
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(primary)-useful for direct quotes. mass media writing relies most heavily on this for the final product.
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Human Sources
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used heavily in "background" stories; used sparingly for added context/credibility (documents, supplemental materials)
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non-human sources
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Finding Human Sources
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news releases
up & down ladder
names in news
community&campus leaders
sponsorship
self-sponsorship
matchmaking
fairness
primary&secondary sources
blogs
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sponsorship
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method of introducing yourself to a source by using a contact the source might know
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self-sponsorship
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if you have reported/written a previous news story about a subject of interest to the source, you can sponsor yourself.
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matchmaking
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after contacting source & you want to find others, use this technique of asking the source who else you might contact about the situation. related to sponsorship method
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Human Sources tend to have
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"must haves" vs "additional voices"
(primary) vs (secondary)
-identify primary first
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Find sources through _____ & through _________
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public relations & backgrounding
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Finding sources with the help of PR professionals:
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good first step in finding sources
many organizations have list of expert contacts
-limits of this technique include lack of a diversity of opinion; you need non-official sources, as well
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anonymous sources
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used very rarely in news (leads to credibility issues; can be abused)
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Judith Miller
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spent 85 days in jail after refusing to testify to a federal grand jury about the name of a confidential source who had revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent, which is a federal crime.
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if you must use anonymous sources because you have no other alternative:
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you should check the information with other sources, preferably ones who will allow use of their names, and check documents
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Janet Cooke
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won the pulitzer prize for "jimmy's world" about an 8-year old heroin addict that was fabricated. Used anonymous sources for people who did not exist
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Categories of Anonymous Sources ( terms used to establish ground rules in interview)
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on the record
off the record
not for attribution
background
deep background
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on the record
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source agrees all info can be used and he can be identified as source
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off the record
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information may not be used at all; if you can get info from another source you may use it but you may not attribute it to the source who told it to you
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not for attribution
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you may use information as background, but you may not attribute the source
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background
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similar to "not for attribution"; the ability to use information w/ a general attribution like "a city official said."
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deep background
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rarely used term or understood by most sources except officials in D.C. You may use the material for your information but may not attribute it at all, not even w/ general term such as "government official"
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Should you show your story to a source before publication? (Ethical Guidelines)
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fairness, credibility, accurary.
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics: "test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error."
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Differences in PR & News (showing stories to your source)
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in PR it's almost always done, in news, it's done more rarely
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reverse directories (city directories or cross directories)
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list residents of a community three ways: by name, address and telephone number
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metasearch engines
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check several search engines for your topic and give you most credible results
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datebase
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collection of information. term now generally refers to massive collections of information stored in computers
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Printed news sources (information from established, reputable news organizations) EXAMPLES
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TNews, CW, NYTimes, CNN
Lexis/Nexis database
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Freedom of Information Act
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established by congress in 1966 to make federal records available to the public. Applies ONLY to federal documents. Also allows for several exemptions that prohibit release of documents
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4 steps of writing process
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conceive the idea
collect the information
construct the story
correct the story
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two most common problems of professional writers
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writing the lead and organizing the story
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main elements of any story
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leads/nut graphs
transitions
the muddy middle
kicker/ending
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the best transition is ________
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no transition -- a story so well organized that one thought flows naturally into another
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repetition of key words
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technique that provides smooth transitions during the writing process or serves as a thought bridge to get you from one concept to the next.
-also known as "stitching" bc it helps stitch one paragraph to the other
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blocking technique
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a way of organizing information by using sources in blocks instead of placing them sporadically throughout a story.
-- three or more sources in a story, use each in consecutive paragraphs, blocking comments in one place.
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transitions
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keep the middle moving.
-use cause&effect
insert a statement introducing speaker/blocking sources
repetition of key words "stitching"
time phrases "in the past", "before"
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if you planned a good entrance & exit, how do you maintain interest in the middle of a story?
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vary the pace (long sentence, short sentence)
parralelism (repeat structure & words for effect)
dialogue (effective in exchanges in long, boring meetings)
BBI: Boring but Important (break into phrases/smaller paragraphs throughout story)
lists
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key ideas throughout story organization
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use active voice
write short sentences (less than 25 words)
write simple sentences (subject and verb closely placed)
avoid jargon
write the way you speak
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Most common type of ending
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quote kickers (look for quote that sums up mood or main idea)
put attribution before- do not let "he said" be the last words reader remembers
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Circle Kickers
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ties together the lead and ending of story
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future-action kickers
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end story with next step in development of an issue- only works if story lends itself to a future element
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climaxes |
works on stories written like fiction, where reader is kept in suspense until the end. more suitable to features in narrative style or short news stories that tease in beginning and compel reader to find out what happens
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Cliffhangers |
gives readers a mystery and makes them want to find out what happens next.
suspense ending; excellent for stories on the web; narrative storytelling
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factual kickers
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strong factual statements that could sometimes substitute a lead; summarize the mood, tone or general character of the story.
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out-of-gas kickers
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end when you have nothing more to say.
-appropriate for hard-news stories, structured with summary lead and arranged with supporting points in descending order or importance
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guidelines for focusing, tightening and revising stories
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allow one idea per sentence
choose slice of real story (focus tightly)
make point early, use information that helps make point
punctuation (colons, bullets can replace words)
specific details not adjectives
don't over-attribute
strong verbs
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inverted pyramid (summary lead, backup, supporting points, ending)
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one of most basic story forms for print, broadcast and online news and news releases.
-used most often for hard-news stories
-most important points at top followed by supporting points in descending order of importance
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The Wall Street Journal formula pg. 185
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starts with a soft lead, focusing on a person, scene or event.
-idea is to go from specific to general
concept is that the person or scene is one of many affected by issue in nut graph
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The Wall Street Journal Formula
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hourglass structure
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start with most important pts first, then chronological story telling for a part or rest of the story.
-use when story has dramatic action that lends itself to chronological order as part of story
-crimes or disaster stories
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list technique
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useful in stories with several important points to stress
-works well for stories about studies, gov stories, and features
useful in online stories for readers to scan or news releases that should be kept brief
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question/answer format (the Q and A)
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effective technique for print and web stories, some news releases.
-often used for profiles
answer part is verbatim quotes, writer should be selective about which to use
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sections technique
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useful for in-depth stories; have good leads and good endings for each section; used often in narrative writing
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narrative storytelling
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dramatic account of fiction or non fiction story
-requires thorough reporting and descriptive detail
enhanced by dialogue
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