Fourth Quarter Breakdown

Week 1: Writing Basics (ledes, grammar, quotes)

Week 2: Political reporting, covering meetings

Week 3: Sports Reporting

Week 4: Feature Writing

Week 5: News Editing

Week 6: News Design

Week 7: Radio/TV/Social Media Reporting

Week 8/9: Newspaper Projects

Mr. White’s Website

• The Journalism I page now has a Bell Ringer sheet that you can download in case you lose it.

• The website also has sections for each week with a description and files that can be downloaded. I plan to put everything we do on the site.

• If you lose any files or miss class, you should be able to go to the website to find materials.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice

• Good writers use active voice.• Active voice means the subject performs

the action.• Is, are, was, were are to be avoided since

they usually are passive voice words.

Examples

A: Jason changed the flat tire.

B: The tire was changed by Jason.

A: The story was read by the student in one hour.

B: The student read the story in one hour.

A: The question is answered by the teacher.

B: The teacher answered the student’s question.

Short Paragraphs

• News reporters limit their paragraphs to 3-4 sentences. Long paragraphs make for difficult reading.

• A quote is its own paragraph. Never combine your own wording with a quote in the same paragraph.

• Print newspapers indent for new paragraphs. Online newspapers skip a line instead of indenting. Either is fine for your writing.

Capitalization Rules

• Always capitalize the first word of a sentence.

• Always capitalize proper nouns. • Always use capital letters for acronyms.• Learn the difference between a specific

common noun and a proper noun.

Proper vs. Specific Common

Just because you use an adjective does not mean that you have a proper noun.

Common Noun: a chocolate chip cookie

Proper Noun: a Mrs. Smith’s cookie

Common Noun: A red four-wheeler

Proper Noun: A red Kawasaki

Using Commas• Use a comma with three or more words in a series.Example: Ed, Sue and Fred ran the race. (nouns)Example: Triathletes swim, run and bike. (verbs)

• Use a comma for compound sentences.Example: He ran toward her, and she ran toward him.

• Never use a comma unless you can explain why you used it.

• Use a comma after phrase or clause that begins sentence.

Beginning Clauses and Phrases• During the scary part of the movie, Karen grabbed

Jim’s hand. (tells when)

• With a giant burp, Emily announced her arrival at the lunch table. (tells how)

• Although I had a broken leg, I ran away from the grizzly bear. (under what conditions)

• In a strange forest, I found a river flowing with chocolate. (tells where)

Using Apostrophes

There are two times to use apostrophes.• When your goal is to show the reader possession

(ownership) of something. In this case, you use an apostrophe in front of a modifier (adjective) in front of a noun.

Examples: Jon’s house, dog’s bed, batter’s eye.

• When you leave out a letter (contraction)

Examples: doesn’t, he’s, they’re

Possessives• Rule 1: If it is singular, you must add an

apostrophe and an “S”.Example: The student’s hat was red.

• Rule 2: If it is plural and ends with “S”, you only add an apostrophe.

Example: The students’ hats were red.

• Rule 3: If it is plural but does not end in “S”, you add the apostrophe and an “S”.

Example: women’s, people’s

Parallel StructureYou must match pronouns to nouns and keep the same verbe tenses. For short sentences, this is easy stuff. For long sentences, you have to be careful.

Incorrect: He ran its race.

Incorrect: He enjoys running, swims and bikes.

How would we fix these?

Confusing Words

Some words look and/or sound alike but have different meanings. You need to be very, very careful with these words. It’s easy to make a mistake.Even I goof them up sometimes.

Don’t be a looser!

Misplaced Modifiers

• Modifiers tell something about nouns in a sentence. But, if you put the modifiers in the wrong part of the sentence, it may sound awkward, confusing or even downright silly.

Example: The dog chased the boy with the spiked collar.

Example: We saw several monkeys on vacation in El Salvardor.

Checking Spelling

• If you don’t know how to spell a word, look it up!

• Always, always use spellcheck before you turn in a story.

• Always, always read your story at least once after you have finished it.

Be Accurate

• Verify. Verify. Verify.• Always triple-check things. This includes

how to spell names, what the facts are.• Read your stories after you finish. You

may catch errors.• Never say something unless you have

checked it out.• Never assume something.

Sentence Length

• Short is better than long.• Two short simple sentences are often

better than one longer compound sentence.

Descriptive Writing• One way to describe is with sensory

imagery. This approach uses adjectives and adverbs to describe.

• Another way to describe is with specificity. Some words provide pictures in your head better than other words.

• To be specific, use specific nouns and specific verbs.

• Specific language lets you say more with fewer words.

Specific Language Examples

Imagine that you are in a grocery store when someone in a Superman costume tries to rob the place.

You pick up the phone and call the police.

They ask for a description of the man.

What are you going to tell them?

Your Turn

• On the worksheet, fill in all of the punctuation and correct any grammar or spelling mistakes. Also look out for Associated Press style problems.

• When you finish, turn it in for a grade.

BELL RINGER

• Turn in the grammar/punctuation worksheet from Monday.

• Go to Mr. White’s website and download the PowerPoint. It’s the same one we used yesterday. Just find THIS page in the middle.

Today’s Agenda

• Bell Ringer• Lecture on News Ledes• Complete Lede Writing Worksheet

What is a lede?

-the first sentence of a news story

-gives the reader the most important details

-always tells what, where, when

-may tell who, why and how

Purpose of the Lede

• It captures the essence of the story. It tells the reader what he or she can expect from the story.

• It captures the reader’s attention and convinces the reader to stick around a bit to continue reading.

It’s not just about what you include. It’s about how you include it, too.

Keys to Good Lede Writing• Always use a strong, active verb in your

lede. Avoid passive voice. Avoid non-specific verbs.

A: A man sprinted to victory Friday...

B: A man won the race Friday…

C: Friday’s winner was a man…

Keys to Good Lede Writing• Use specific nouns but save the details

A: Someone fed a person to a dinosaur Friday.

B: A local teacher fed a struggling student to his pet T-Rex Friday.

C: A 42-year-old University High journalism teacher fed a blond-haired 15-year-old student from Orange City to a 4,000-pound pet T-Rex on a sunny Tuesday morning because the student wrote a bad lede.

Keys to Good Lede Writing• Avoid putting large numbers in a lede unless

they are essential.

A: A tornado hit Chicago at 5:32 p.m. on Tuesday and caused $354 million in damage.

B: A tornado hit Chicago Tuesday.

C: A tornado hit Chicago Tuesday and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Keys to Good Lede Writing

Don’t use names in ledes unless they are people who most readers will know. Always consider your audience when you make this distinction.

A: A man spoke Tuesday…

B: Dan Jones spoke Tuesday…

C: The director of FEMA spoke Tuesday…

Keys to Good Lede Writing

• Don’t try to be clever or funny. Especially if it’s a serious story.

A: Authorities did Nazi this coming.

B: Authorities in Miami spotted a giant swastika painted on the bottom of a resident’s swimming pool Tuesday.

Keys to Good Lede Writing• Avoid cliches, bad metaphors, figurative language.

A: A local basketball team performed a miracle Tuesday.

B: Hell froze over Tuesday. Michigan State beat Kentucky.

C: A local basketball team pulled off a miraculous win Tuesday.

Examples of Bad Ledes• The house on 53rd Street and Huntington

stood motionless.

• South Texas has been emunized.

• Frank Sinatra’s song about Chicago, “My Kind of Town,” “a town that won’t let you down,” seems dated in light of last weekend’s shooting spree that left 16 dead and dozens wounded in 53 separate incidents.

Your Turn

• I am handing you a sheet with tips for writing ledes. Using it, write news story ledes based on the following press statements. Use the tips handout to help you out and refer to the PowerPoint if necessary.

If you do not finish in class, complete the worksheet as homework and turn it in at the start of class on Wednesday. Don’t forget!

THE INVERTED PYRAMID

Creating a News Story

The Inverted Pyramid• Some stories are told chronologically, from beginning to end.

But journalists don’t want their stories told from the beginning of a news event.

– Journalists give away the ending first.

– They know readers are interested in the outcome.

– There is no rising action in a hard news story.

– Instead of rising action, the information is delivered in order of importance. The most important comes first. The least important is left for the end.

This story form is widely known as the inverted pyramid. It is not the only form used by journalists, but it is the preferred and expected form for most hard news stories.

What Is Hard News?

• Hard news is designed to inform.• Hard news gives details of what happened• Soft news is more for entertainment and

allows for greater creativity in how the writer chooses to tell the story.

• We’ll cover soft news when we dig into feature writing in late April.

The Inverted Pyramid• The inverted pyramid writer organizes whole sentences

and paragraphs based on news value. Writers compare each fact, each detail and organize them based on which is most important to the story.

• The inverted pyramid begins with the lede, of course. But what comes next?

• After the lede, reporters provide details, clarification, facts, an explanations of the current situation, background information and quotes that help to tell the story and give opinions from people involved in the story.

The Nut Graph

• For some stories, the lede doesn’t tell the reader why the story is significant. Readers are left thinking “so what?” In some cases, it’s because the writer used a creative, narrative lede. When that happens, the writer it must couple the lede with the “nut graph.” The nut graph immediately follows the lede. It can be one sentence or a whole paragraph.

Quote on Nut Graph

“At their most basic, these simply literary devices tell readers why news and feature stories are relevant to them…They can answer any questions raised in leads, explain why stories are significant and place stories in meaningful contexts. They help writers organize their own material…”

-Jack Hart, The Oregonian

Why Use a Nut GraphPNut graphs…• answers the “so what” by providing the why

and how• tells why the reader should care, how it could

affect the reader• gives details or supporting material after the

lede• ties a creative lede to the point of the story

Example 1

LEDE

A water balloon fight broke out Friday in Mr. White’s journalism class.

NUT GRAPH

The fight erupted one day after Mr. White called his students idiots for not knowing how to write a nut graph. Apparently, they wanted revenge.

Example 2

LEDE: Police in Orange City ordered all people to remain indoors Thursday after a University High School student was eaten by a giant earthworm.

NUT GRAPH: “We don’t want it to happen to another student,” said Orange City Police Department chief O.M. Gawd.

Some History

• In the early 1900s, journalists wrote with a lot of creativity. They used big words and flowerly language. And they didn’t put the most important details first.

• Early newspaper stories featured multiple headlines. Some stories had 5-8 headlines.

• As society began to change, people wanted their news faster and a simpler, easier-to-read format.

• Newspaper editors decided to use only one or two headlines per story. The rest of the important details went into the first part of the story in a new format called inverted pyramid style.

The inverted pyramid: Advantages1. Offers quick reading

2. Features less repetition

3. Offers easier editing (easier to cut and paste)

4. Offers faster headline preparation

5. Easier to add to a story (as well as cut it)

6. Allows for faster writing of a story (can do it in your head, from a phone booth even)

7. Offers a quick organizing tool

Inverted Pyramid: Disadvantages

• This style doesn’t always encourage readers to continue to the end of a story because the important elements come first.

• It’s backward; you give away the “punchline” at the top.

• Can be somewhat formulaic; it gives more value to substance rather than style.

• There’s less allowance for creativity.

A short exerciseThese paragraphs from an inverted pyramid story are out of order. Spend a few minutes thinking about how you’d arrange them to tell the story in the best way.

A. David Bailey, homeland security division chief for the Austin Fire Department, said nine workers from the mailroom where the letter was processed were quarantined until tests could determine whether the powder was toxic.

B. The mailroom is in the State Insurance Building.

C. Gov. Rick Perry's office said the letter came from a prison inmate but provided no other details. The substance was sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services for testing.

D. Bailey said none of the workers became ill.

E. Authorities evacuated a state office building on Wednesday after a suspicious powder was found in a letter sent to the governor's office.

How it ran (e, a, c, d, b)

AUSTIN — Authorities evacuated a state office building on Wednesday after a suspicious powder was found in a letter sent to the governor's office.

David Bailey, homeland security division chief for the Austin Fire Department, said nine workers from the mailroom where the letter was processed were quarantined until tests could determine whether the powder was toxic.

Gov. Rick Perry's office said the letter came from a prison inmate but provided no other details. The substance was sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services for testing.

Bailey said none of the workers became ill.The mailroom is in the State Insurance Building.

Ending a Story

The end of the story provides a stopping point; not a conclusion. It also doesn’t summarize what’s already been said.

There are many ways to end a story. Here are a few:

-A quote that summarizes the whole story

-A sentence or two that tells what’s next

Remember that the editor cuts from the end of the story. So the end might be gone. You’d better let the editor know if the end is really important. Perhaps he’ll save the end and cut out something from the middle.

Your TurnUse scissors to cut out the paragraphs, which have been mixed up.

Then paste each paragraph onto the sheet of copy paper in the order that you think works best to tell the story.

When you finish, make sure you put down the name of you and your partner and turn it into the correct drawer.