Covering an event

Event coverage is a major part of journalism

Sports News

How to cover an event Reporter/Writer

Reporter

• Get all the facts and make sure they are accurate • Talk to the right sources • Talk to folks with differing points of view

• Create a concise story that has impact; eliminate what isn’t important • Create a well-written story - show me, don’t tell me

Writer

Use multiple sources to get all the correct information

5 W’s and 1 H

Controversial events

Sorry about this lines, it’s a photo of a newspaper

Where to find events to cover

The Candor BU sports events

Metromix Chicago

Events stories due: April 9 & May 4

Covering meetings/speeches

Meeting coverage is a staple for reporters, especially those with beats like education and government

• Agendas are published before public meetings - read these • Write what you can in advance; meetings push deadlines • Know your sources and talk with them about confusing information • See if you can get a copy of the speech beforehand • Arrive at the meeting/speech early to get a seat • Keep an eye on the audience; turn around to see what’s going on

Describe what you feel and what you see

Adding color to your story

How do you write about this? What are the sources for your story? What do you need to know before you go to cover this event?

Sports reporting

First and foremost - Sports journalists are journalists

• Sports reporters need solid reporting and writing skills • Sports reporters work on beats (mostly at night) • Sports stories are held to the same standards as every other type of story

“It’s just sports” is not an excuse

Distinct things about sports reporting

Honest and accurate coverage can be more difficult than news

• Most sports reporters are sports fans, so they have a bias • Sports reporters tend to be closer to their sources than news reporters • Jargon and lingo are a part of the game, but should be kept to a minimum • Because they work night shifts, the sports department can be somewhat isolated from the rest of the newspaper staff

Sports writing 101

• Tell the audience who won the game • Focus on unique elements of the contest • Describe what happened • Use emotional quotes from sources • Keep it short and punchy

BU sports reporting classes

COMM 265 - Sports broadcasting (Spring) COMM 264 - Sports journalism (Fall)

Spelling bee

How would you cover the event on pg. 328

Covering a beat (Newsroom routines)

How does something become news?

How did this story get in the paper?

How do journalists find out about stories?

• People send in material to newspapers (TV stations, etc.) • Spot news events, heard on police scanners • Journalists talk with sources and ask them if they know of any interesting events going on

Journalists are usually assigned to talk with the same sources every day, and

this is called covering a beat

What’s a beat?

To answer that, you need to

understand how a newsroom is

structured

Editor (the top newsroom manager)

Section editors

Sports Biz News

Reporters

Fball Bball

Cops Schools

National Local

Spelled differently

Fball Bball

Cops Schools

National Local

Police beat

A beat is a certain topic that a reporter covers every day

Beats can be centered on specific parts of a community

• County government • High school football

Beats can be centered on big picture topics

• Environment • Religion

Almost every reporter works on a beat (not so true for television reporters)

Company: The Winchester Star Position: City Hall beat Location: Winchester, Va. Job Status: Full-time

Description: City Hall Reporter. The Winchester Star in Winchester, Va. is looking for a reporter with experience covering city government. We’re looking for an aggressive, detail-oriented reporter with an investigative bent who can write clearly and spin off news features and enterprise stories from the breaking news. A minimum of three years reporting experience is required. The 20,000-circulation Star is located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley just 70 miles west of Washington, D.C. Please send your resume and clips to mhileman@winchesterstar.com.

Popular news beats

Cops - Cover what is happening with local police. Involves time spent at the police station or at crime scenes

Education - Cover stories on area schools. Attend school board night meetings

Government - Cover happenings of local/regional governments. Attend a lot of governmental meetings

G. A. (general assignment) - Cover anything the assignment editor says, no specialty

Typical day for a cops beat reporter

9am - Stop by police station, check on overnight police reports, talk with police officers 11am - Call News Editor with interesting items from sources 1pm - Track down additional sources for stories, make phone calls 3pm - Write up first draft of story or stories 4pm - Work with News Editor while editing your story 6pm - Check sources to see what they expect to happen tomorrow, maybe attend a night meeting

Why work on a beat?

• By covering the same topic every day, the reporter becomes an “expert” in that field • Sources get to know the reporter and trust him/her more • Effective way of covering parts of the community that constantly generate news (i.e. Government)

Problems with beats (Mediating the Message)

John Oliver on newspapers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq2_wSsDwkQ

Let’s try it out

Write a short news story from the following info

Pg. 303 (#1)

Use some direct quotes and

attribute your facts