African Handbook-Text

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Handbookfor

AfricanJournalists

With leaders in

African Journalism

Second Edition1996

EditorMalcolm F. Mallette

Editorial AssistantMary-Esther Dattatreyan

Published byThe World Press Freedom Committees George Beebe Fund

with the support of The Philip L. Graham Fund


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Additional copies of this Handbook, subject to availability and a

handling charge, may be obtained by writing to:

World Press Freedom Committee

c/o The Newspaper Center

11600 Sunrise Valley Drive

Reston, Virginia 22091

USA

Second Edition 1996

Cover Design by Ana Lense

1996 World Press Freedom Committee


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Dedication

This handbook is dedicated to the journalists of

Africa, many of whom are benefiting from an era of

improved training and professionalism. With increased

knowledge of clear, accurate and complete reporting,they are making major contributions to freedom and

development in their respective countries.


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ContentsPage

Preface vii

1 The Role of a Free Press 1Information is light

2 Reporting the News 7Everything begins with the reporter

3 Sources of News 13

Working to build contacts

4 Interviewing 19More than Q. and A.

5 Writing: A Process 23From blank sheet to copy

6 Copy Editing 33Guidelines for guardians

7 Writing Headlines 35Luring readers to body type

8 Photo Journalism 39Clicking for readers

9 Typography/Design 43Making it easy on the eyes

10 News Agencies 55Broadening the news report

11 Selecting the News 59Staying apace of readers

12 Attribution: Who Said It? 63Readers need to know

13 Ethics and Credibility 65Making readers believe

14 Newspaper Planning 69First, get organised

15 Achieving Enterprise 71A matter of commitment


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16 The Editorial Page 73Where opinion belongs

17 Economic Reporting 77New media skills needed

18 Sports Reporting 83Embracing more than scores

19 Media and the Law 87Statutes helpand hinder

20 Press Releases 95Just the facts, please

21 Newspaper Structure 97Who does what?

22 Emergency Plans 103Preparing for a catastrophe

23 Facing Adversity 105

Responding to risks

24 Desktop Publishing 113How technology cuts costs

25 Advertising Design 119Persuading readers to buy

26 Advertising Sales 123The one-two-three of selling

27 Circulation Tasks 127Sell, deliver and collect

28 Broadcast Writing 131Achieving clarity on the air

29 Tips for TV 139Avoiding the obstacles

Media Glossaries 141Appendix A

Declaration of Windhoek 151Appendix B


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Preface

In Africa, recent years have brought major growth in mediaestablish men ts , both govern men tal and pr ivate . In tu rn thisgrowth h as brou gh t a pa rallel sp u rt in s chools of jour n alism

and mass communicat ion to equip graduates with mediaskills.

These schools have been hampered, however, by a shortage

of journalism textbooks, especially those produced with thesp ecial n eeds of African jou r n alist s in m in d.

And so in 1987 the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC)published a Handbook for African Journalists . That first edi-tion, written by experienced African journalists, was distrib-uted widely in sub-Sahara nations. The response was soenthusiastic that WPFC undertook a second printing of thefirst edit ion in 1988, just a year later. Continuing demandexh au sted s u pplies of both p rin tin gs.

In respon se, WPFC nowin 199 6h as produ ced th is s econ dedition. It reflects the changing scene for journalism in Africa.It carries over lightly edited portions of the first edition. Thebiographies of first edit ion authors are unchanged. Thissecond edition also contains new mate-rial written by otherAfrican jour n alists . Wh ere a cha pter au th or is n ot sh own , thema ter ial ha s b een ada pted from a nother WPFC han dbook.

This second edition, like the first, responds to a growingap pr eciat ion in Africa of th e im porta n ce of jou r n alism tra in in g

and the flow of information.

The Handbook is a How To book written not only for jour-nal ism and mass communicat ion s tudents but also for bothbegin n in g an d m id-career jour n alists in th e contin ent.

Described here are not only fundamentals of journalismranging from reporting to interviewing to writing and editingbu t a lso su ch techn iques as advert is in g sales , newspa per dis-tribu tion a n d r ad io an d television broad casting.

For African jou r n alist s alread y in th e field, WPFC h opes th atthis book will help sharpen their professional skills, providerelevan t in form ation ab out t h eir work a n d rem in d th em of th eprinciples, pu rposes a n d eth ics of jour n alism .

This Handbook has been published by the World PressFreedom Committee (WPFC) and its George Beebe Fund, withth e su pp ort of Th e Philip L. Grah am Fu n d of Was h in gton , D.C.See page 177 for additional information about the WPFC.

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Obviously, it takes the encouragement and fellowship of agreat m an y people to pr odu ce a collab orative work of th is k in d.Appreciation is expressed to the late George Beebe, vice chair-

m an / projects an d form er cha irm an of th e World PressFreedom Committee, and a prominent newspaperman, for hisleadership in producing the first edition of this Handbook.

Gratitude is also extended to Callix Udofia, a Nigerian jour-nalism educator who served as coordinator in Africa and co-editor of the first edition. His chapter on editorial writingap pears in th is edition.

We a lso a re in deb ted to Gloria N. Biggs of Wa sh in gton, D.C.,an outs tan din g form er newspap er editor an d pu blish er, for her

constructive criticism and excellent suggestions.

We th an k Lat eef J ak an de, form er In tern at ion al PressInsti tute president, for his good advice and encouragementand Hugh Lewin of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation inZim ba bwe, wh o h elped pr odu ce th e book Reportin g Africa.

Th e Han db ook editor th a n ks WPFCs execu tive direct or,Dan a Bu llen, for his su ggestions an d en cou ragemen t. Specialthanks are reserved for Mary-Esther Dattatreyan for herpainsta kin g an d pa t ient prepa rat ion of the m an u scripts .

Not everybody can be a journalist. Like other professions,journa l i sm requ i res ded ica t ion , t a l en t and p repara t ion .Africans who fulfill these requirements should enjoy workingfor the media.

It is hoped that this Handbook, published exclusively forAfrican journalists, will make their profession even morerewarding and will help to bring about a high standard ofexcellence in journalism in all parts of the continent.

Malcolm F. MalletteEditor

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1Role of a Free Press

Sentinelfor thePeople

By Richard S. Steyn

In Britis h play w right Tom S toppards play , Night & Day , s etin pos t-colonial Africa, a w orld -w ea ry pres s ph otograph er h asthis to s ay , Ive be en aroun d a lot of places . People d o aw fulthings to each other. Bu t its w ors e in p laces w he re e very bod y skept in the dark. It really is. Information is light. Informationab out a ny thing is light. Tha ts all the re is to sa y , rea lly .

Th at s really all there is to s ay a bou t wh y a free pr essis necessaryin Africa or anywhere else. In coun-

tries withou t a free p res s , people su ffer. An d Africa d oesnot have a good record for its treatment of peopleblack orwhite.

Part of th e reason is th at govern men ts a cross th e length a n dbread th of th e cont in ent h ave r idden rough-sh od over hu ma nrigh tsan d jou rn alists h ave been u n ab le or u n willin g to stopthem.

In the t renchant words of a dis t inguished Ghanaian edi tor ,African jou r n a list s for th e m ost p a rt h a ve developed a ser vilem enta lity wh ich s ees th em a t best a s a footn ote to the n arr ow

Richard S. Steyn holds bachelor andlaw degrees from StellenboschUniversity. He practiced law in Nataland London, then served 15 years aseditor of the Natal Witness, SouthAfricas oldest newspaper. He waseditor-in-chief of The Star,Johannesburg, 1990-94.


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ambition of politicians. The press in many African countriesexists only to defend the s tatus quo; i t has lost i ts indepen-den ce an d is h ap py to sing on ly its m as ters, th e govern m ent s,

sad song of betrayal of the dreams of the African people.While i t may be true that the press in Africa has too often

regard ed itself as th e preserver of th e s tatu s qu o rath er th ana pr otector of th e people, critics often overlook th e form ida bledifficulties faced by African journalists: undemocratic andintolerant societies; brutal governments; thuggish securityforces; an ab sen ce of cons titu tiona l an d legal protection, p oortraining facil i t ies and uneconomic and therefore dependentnewspapers .

Courageous editors: A cause for hope

It is remarkable that despite these formidable obstacles,cou rageous editors an d jour n al is ts h ave ma n aged to preservetheir independence and integrity. I t is cause for hope that, atlast, several African countries are moving in the direction ofmulti-party democracy.

Like most people, Africans do not take kindly to being lec-

tu red to abou t th eir sh ortcom in gs, pa rticu lar ly by Wester n erswhose cul ture, norms and standards may be ent i rely dif-ferent. There are genuine differences among us over whatcons t i tu tes news. I s i t the unusual , the unpleasant , thebizarre, only? Or is i t reports about development, progressand growth? Or does news comprise elements of both?

There are differences, too, over what the role of the press inAfrica ought to bea challenger and critic of the governmentof th e day, or a pa rtn er of govern m ent in bu ilding the n at ion.

Developm en t jou rn alism of th e kind th at plays down a wk-ward iss u es an d plays u p th e performa n ce of govern m ent h ashad a bad press lately. But in underdeveloped Africa there isa cryin g need for jou rn alism of th e edu cative kin d.

Ignorance: Impediment to democracy

If the continent is to solve its most critical problemsover-

population, low economic growth, low life-expectancy, illit-eracy, unending political conflicteducation is a crucialfactor. And here the media, both private and public, have avita l role to play. Ignora n ce is even m ore of a n im ped im en t todemocracy than tam e, su bservient n ewspa pers .

A distinguished son of Africa, Commonwealth Secretary-Gen eral Em eka An yaoku , ass er ts th at th e cont in ents m ost

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important goals are a stable polit ical framework in which i tscit izens can freely ch oose a n d experien ce ju st an d h ones t gov-ernment, and a higher quality of l ife sustained by improved

social and economic conditions. If Anyaoku is rightand fewwou ld disa gree with h im th en t h ese goals, su rely, can n ot beat tained with ou t a lively, crit ical an d indep end en t pr ess .

Goals of an independent press

Th e resp ons ibilit ies of su ch a p ress wou ld b e th ese:

1 . To gath er news an d in forma tion a n d pu blish it with outfear or favour.

2 . To in terpret the n ews a n d com men t u pon it .

3 . To act as a ch an n el of com m u n ication between govern -m ent a n d th e people an d between people an d govern m ent .

4 . To act a s a watch dog over th e excesses of govern m ent .

To fulfill these responsibilities, we journalists must dig outand publish information that is accurate , publ ish i t as dis-passionately and objectively as possible, interpret it as fairlyas human shor tcomings and unconsc ious b ias pe rmi t andgive reasonable opportunity for reply to those who are at-tacked or cri t icised. (Publishing corrections promptly andprominently when mistakes are made is a good idea, too.)

To preserve our most cherished possessionour credi-bilitywe should keep free of commercial or political affilia-t ions th at m ight comp rom ise u s or in flu ence th e way in whichnews an d comm ent is presented .

Ke ep powe rful inte res t at arm s lengthLikewise, we should keep at arms length powerful interests

of any kind which seek to control the free flow of news andin form at ioneas ier sa id th an don e in th is a ge of m u lti-mediatycoon ery an d sa tellite t elevis ion .

In order t o fu n ction effectively, jou rn alists requ ire a n ap pre-ciat ion of th eir r ole in societyfrom govern m en ts as m u ch asfrom th eir read ers a n d l is ten ers .

Readers and listeners benefit from lively journalism byhaving alternatives put before them, by being protectedagains t th e powerfu l an d b y bein g given choices th at will setth em free.

Governments benefi t f rom independent , cr i t ical mediabecau se in order to m ak e sen sible decision s a n d govern effec-tively, th ey n eed to be alert to wh at is goin g on a rou n d th em.

Role of a Free Press 3


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And the business community benefi ts by having access toreliable, up-to-date information on which to base investmentdecisions. I t is no coincidence that the most successful

econ omies ar e th ose which ar e well su pp lied with in form at ionan d a ble to respond qu ickly to ma rket s ign als .

Of cou rse th e press h as always been im portan t in th e polit -ical life of Africa. Leaders such as Nkrumah, Kenyatta andHou ph ou et Boign y were form er jou rn alists who beca m e polit i-cians and learned quickly from their colonial overlords howbest to control the media.

Despi te their countr ies being members of the UnitedNations, they and their successors in out look paid scant

regard to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights whichdeclares , in Article 19 , th at everyone h a s t h e right of freed omof express ion an d opin ion. Th is right in clu des th e freedom tohold opinions without interference and to seek, receive andimpa r t inform at ion an d ideas throu gh an y media an d regard-less of frontiers.

Gove rnm en ts c on trol broadcast

Alth ough free newspa pers m ay be foun d n owad ays in ma n ypa rts of Africa, ra dio a n d t elevision, a lm ost withou t exception ,remain under the control of the leader or government inpower.

This is an untenable s i tuat ion becauseas every autocratknows radio is the single most powerful medium of com-m u n ication in Africa, an im porta n t pr erequ isite for a free an dfa ir election (a n d a cont en tiou s p olitical iss u e) is equ a l acces sto air time on radio and TV.

How th en m igh t jou rn alists in Africa operate in wha t is a ll-too-often an unfriendly, hosti le environment? No group ofjou rn alist s, on i ts own , can overth row a d espotic govern m ent ,but we can help, over time, to delegitimise it.

As Africa begins to recognise the benefits of multi-partydem ocracy, we jou rn alists can give im petu s to th e process byreporting on the activities of a wide variety of groups andorganisations, by identifying the issues that excite them and

by diss emin at ing in forma tion a bou t th eir goals an d a gend as .We can promote democratic values by encouraging public

debate about content ious issues, and advance the growth of tolerance by being tolerant of those we disagree with.

An d, b y being well in form ed a bou t th e world at la rge, we cancontinually draw parallels between our own and other, moresuccessful countries. Here, we can take comfort from the



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exper ience of Eas tern Europe where the revolut ion intelecommunications made nonsense of official efforts to con-ceal h u ma n r ights abu ses an d su ppress th e spread of opinion

an d in forma tion.

A manifesto: Declaration of Windhoek

If African journalism needs a manifesto to hold up beforegovernments , business people and the public , we need lookn o fu rth er th a n UNESCOs Decla ra tion of Win dh oek on freean d in depend ent m edia. Ass er t in g th at a free press is ess en-tial to econom ic developm en t a n d d emocracy, the d eclar at ion

in effect calls upon international organisations, aid agenciesand professional associations to direct assistance only toth ose cou n tr ies whose m edia are a ble to serve th e in terests of the society as a whole. (See Appendix B for an excerpt of theWindhoek Declaration.)

The Windhoek Declaration deserves to be prominently dis-played in every African newsroom. If those who wield powerpolit ical , com m ercial or s pir i tu a lwere to h on ou r itsprecepts, the future would be brighter for Africa and its

journal is ts .

Role of a Free Press 5


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2Reporting the News

In journalism, everything begins with the reporter. Goodeditors work wonders , processing s tor ies and put t ingtogether under deadlines a l ively newspaper that meets

reader n eeds an d wan ts . Bu t editors can do their work only if the reporters have done theirs . F irs t the news must be har-vested.

Successful reporters need several ski l ls and at t r ibutes ,starting with integrity, a quizzical mind and a passion foraccuracy. They need determination, tenacity and aggressive-ness , which i s not to say rudeness or brashness but cont in-uing effort against resistance. They need to recognise news,th at is , in forma tion relevan t a n d u sefu l to readers , a n d frag-ments that hint the existence of a story. They need to recog-n ise lin ka ges between facts th at ma y at firs t seem u n relatedbut are indeed part of a greater whole.

Ne e d for s e lf-disc ipline

They need to know how to uncover facts that l ie below sur-face inform at ion. Th ey need to k n ow h ow to en cour age peopleto talk, how to delve into records, how to build a network ofsou rcespeople wh o know the des ired facts or can sa y wherethe facts can be found. They need a high energy level, forreporting is hard work. They need what has been called

street smarts, that is , to know how things work. On top ofall this, they must be self-disciplined, able to shift smoothlyfrom one assignment to another or even work on several atone t ime.

Th ey m u st b e con sta n t ly aware th at facts d o not n ecessa r ilyadd up to t ruth. There may be several t ruths, in the eyes of various sincere beholders. And omitted facts can warp theimpression created by the facts given in a published story.


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A few year s a go, deba te ra ged over th e ess en tialnes s of objec-tivity. Many journalists concluded that objectivity is beyondrea chbecau se th e selection of each fact for pu blication is a

non-objective process. Accordingly, most journalists nowstress the importance of fairnessfairness to all persons orin sti tu tions th at will be affected by th e st ory. Reporters kn ow,too, tha t pu re tru th often em erges only over t im e as a dd itiona lfacts ar e discovered u n der r eportorial probing.

Going with what youve got

And of course there is usually the tyranny of deadlines.

Often a reporter yearns for t ime to make one more telephonecall or check one m ore docu m ent . Bu t when deadl in es loom,reporters (and editors) face two choices. One choice is to gowith wha t you ve got, m ak in g it clear wh ere fa cts a remissingsuch as the death tol l in an apartment house f i re .On breaking news the decision is almost always to go withwha t you ve got. Th e s econd ch oice is to h old th e form a tivestory for a later publishing cycle. Seasoned editors counselthis choice on investigative stories that require furtherchecking.

A central tenet for reporters is to take nothing for granted.Health y sk epticism (th ou gh n ot cyn icism ) is a preciou s a ss et,for si tuations are not always what they seem to be. Thereporter must dig beneath surface events and expose short-comings or wrongdoing.

When the reporting is completedor at least has reached apoin t of pu blish in g, reporters mu st s or t ou t th e ju mb le of h ar-vested facts (or apparent facts), discard the irrelevant or

in sign ifican t, piece togeth er a clear n ar ra tive an d com m it i t topaper , usual ly against that bugaboo deadl ine. In al l this ,reporters m u st n ever forget tha t a pu blication s greatest a ss etis cred ibility. Th e pu blication th at is n ot tru sted is s oon ou t ofbus iness .

No end to learning

Th ose wh o ch oose to en ter jour n al ism u su al ly possess ma n y

of these attributes innately. For fledgling reportersoftencalled cu bs , an as sign m ent can bewilder. With h ar d work i tbegins to sort out. A highly respected, prize-winning reporteronce said he had learned 80 percent of what he knew in thefirs t th ree years on th e job. Th en it took h im 10 year s to lear nth e oth er 20 p ercen t . He m ean t of cou rse th at a reporter n everstops learn in g.



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Ideally, a reporter begin s with a sou n d libera l art s edu cation .Lacking that, the reporter can and must compensate, readingvoracious ly an d lear n in g as th e as sign m ents roll by.

A good basic education for a reporter ideally includes lan-guage study, literature, history, political science, economics,sociology, ps ych ology, m at h em a tics an d s cien ce. As t h e worldhas become more complex larger newspapers have createdspecialised assignmentsor beatslike education, health,environ m ent , bu sines s , religion, etc . J ou rn al is t s deba tewhether i t is better to find an already trained specialist andteach h im or her to be a r eporter or to ask a good reporter tospecialise and provide study opportunities. On this question,

m ost editors s ay, Give m e th e good reporter who kn ows h owto dig out facts.

The th ree so urc es of inform ation

Repor te r s ga t h e r in fo rm at ion from th ree sou rces :(1) records and documents, (2) interviews, and (3) personalobservation. Each category is broad and deserves attentionhere .

Mention of records and documents probably brings to mindsu ch obviou s items a s p roperty deeds , wills, m ar riage licens es,death certif icates, autopsy reports, diplomas, subpoenas,arrest warrants, police arrest and accident reports, l icenses,divorce testimony, tr ial tran scripts , govern m enta l bu dgets an dthe l ike. But records and documents go far beyond those sta-ples. The newspaper clipping is a document, so is a news orpr ess releas e. Add in referen ce books , an y pu blication for th atmatter, and you have a good start .

Ass um e a docum ent e x is ts

Most reporters quickly learn these obvious sources. Beyondthat, a reporter must never forget that we live in a world ofwrit ten words . Litt le of cons equ ence is d one with ou t crea tin ga trail of documents: a proposal, a study, an investigation, arepor t , an in ventory, memorand a, ban k s ta tements , an au dit .Somewhere there are documents that shed l ight on most in-

depth stories. They may exist under unpredictable t i t les, butthey exist.

So the overriding principle is this: Always assume a docu-men t exists .

You will soon kn ow wher e to look for sta n da rd govern m en ta lrecords, and you wil l know them by their s tandard names.Not so for the one-time studies, the internal memos, etc.

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Accordingly, you should inquire not by a t i t le but bydes cribing to th e poten tial poss ess or wha t you ar e looking for.Sometimes, while you r sp irits s oar, th e person whom you a re

asking will say something like, Oh, you mean the Study onSo and So; Ive got it right here in my files. Increasingly, ofcourse , documents must be accessed f rom a computer da tabase .

Again, a lways assume a document exists . Documents arevalu ab le in th ems elves. Th ey also con firm or su bject to qu es-tion information you have gathered through interviews orobservation. Further, a document is supportive if someonetries to discredit your story.

Interviews, the second source, come in all lengths and cir-cu m sta n ces. A qu ote from a sweaty ath lete in a dres sing roomis an interview. So is the call to a government clerk to learnabout a meeting agenda. Reporters are forever questioningn ews sou rces. Bu t u su al ly the word in terview con ju res u p a nimage of a full-scale question-and-answer session aimedtowar d a m ajor s tory or a so-called p rofile. A sepa ra te ch ap teroffers suggestions for conducting a successful interview.

In any interview, reporters should be cer tain that the sub-

jects know they are speaking with a reporter. With standardnews sources, this is no problem. It is a problem, however,when dea lin g with pers ons who ar e rar ely if ever ap proa ch edby journalists. They deserve to know that you are seekingin form ation for a story th at will be pu blish ed.

Both repor ter an d th e sou rce need to u n ders tand the bas ison which th e in form at ion is bein g su pp lied. Govern m ent offi-cials often will give information on the understanding thatthey not be identified by name and only, for instance, as a

high government official. Or they give it on deep back-groun d, m ean in g you ca n n ot at t r ibu te in an y way.

Beware of off the record

More frequ en tly, a s ou rce s eeks to revea l in form at ion off th erecord, meaning that i t cannot be used. Reporters must bewary in such cases. Most of the t ime it is best not to acceptinformation off-the-record because i t t ies your hands. If you

later obtain the same information elsewhere the first sourcefeels b etrayed. Or the first sou rce ma y wan t to t ie you r h an dsby getting you r com m itm ent to res pect off-record .

Still, th ere ar e tim es wh en off-record inform a tion m ight h elpyou in developin g a story. J u dgmen t is requ ired. If in dou bt,th e reporter s h ould con su lt th e editor. Som etim es, a sou rce isneedlessly self-protect ive and wil l go on record under



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prompting after first seeking to be off-record. At timesrep orters m u st tell th e s ou rce qu ickly: If its off th e record Idon t wan t to h ear it .

In th is respect , relat ion s with a sou rce migh t s u ffer becau seth e sour ce has been u n fair ly t reated by an other jour n al is t inthe past and is now distrustful of all journalists. That canonly be overcome by building your own reputation forin tegrity an d pr ofess iona lism .

The third broad source of information is personal observa-t ion. I l lustrat ions are endless: the war correspondent at theba ttle, a reporter a t th e fire, a reporter a t th e ath letic con test ,or a reporter interviewing a public figure. In each instance,

the object is to note specific detail that will take the reader toth e scen e. Th e reporter is t h e read ers s u rrogate, an d s pecificdeta il is th e mode of tra n sp ortation for th e read er.

Reporter assignments

Reporters are assigned to beats (or runs) or general assign-m en t. Th e beat r eporter h as a s pecific area or area s to cover.Typical bea ts ar e local govern m en t, p olice, cou rts , edu cation ,

heal th and hospi tals , business , e tc . On a small paper areporter usually covers several areas. On large papers beatsbecome m ore focu sed. General ass ign men t reporters h ave nobea t b u t cover a va riety of st ories t h a t d on t fa ll n eat ly in tobeats and are assigned by the edi tor . General-assignmentreporters sometim es a lso su bst i tute for a beat reporter.

Deve loping so urce s

Clear ly, a ll rep orters n eed to develop s ou rces . Th is a pp lies inpa rticu lar to bea t r eporters. In coverin g city ha ll, for in sta n ce,the beat repor ter should know the mayor and depar tmentheads and also secretar ies and even jani tors . Everyone is apoten tial news s ou rce or a t leas t th e sou rce of a t ip. Reportersmust know various responsibil i t ies of officials and how theyare being carr ied out . They must probe behind publican n oun cements an d write abou t wha t is really goin g on . An dth ey m u st write s tor ies to let readers kn ow h ow an act ion b y

m ayor or cou n cil affects th em.Reporters a re as sign ed to a cer tain n ewsroom depar tm ent

city, sports , business , e tc . On the smallest papers there isonly one department: news. Usual ly the largest number of reporters work for the city or metro (metropolitan) desk,res pon sible for local n ews covera ge.

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Reporters receive assignments from their assigning editors,but assignments should not be a one-way process . As theeyes and ears of the newspaper , reporters should generate a

constant f low of ideas beyond routine coverage. Such ideasare kn own as enterpr ise .

Reporters hold great power in a community. That powersh ould be mixed with h u m ility an d a sen se of du ty to readers .Over time, su ccess fu l rep orters becom e kn own for th e level oftheir accuracy, honesty, and fair play.



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Th ese in clu de th e sta te execu tive cou n cil or th e govern m en thouse, emirate council , the House of Assembly, federal andst ate secreta riats , police sta tions , m otor tra ffic division , s ecu -

rity organ isa tions , fire br igad e, cou rts (sh ar ia, m agistr at e an dhigh), metropolitan council , marketing board, post primaryschools, insti tutions of higher learning, staffs of the othermedia, chambers of commerce, banks, industr ies , customsan d imm igrat ion departm ents , rai lway sta t ions, a irports , h os-pitals an d m ajor h otels .

The value of records

In ad dit ion, records are of par am oun t im portan ce. Th ey m aybe fou n d in m an y places, from p olice sta tions to the Hou se ofAssembly. Look for them whenever possible as a check foraccuracy and to gain support ing mater ial in case quest ionsarise.

The State Executive Council is the highest policy makingagency of the government at the state level. In most Africancountries, i t comprises the governor, deputy governor, com-missioners , secretary to the government and others . The

coun cil u su ally is p resided over by th e govern or. Mat ters su chas the an nu a l bu dge t a re d iscuss ed .

Don t wait for th e govern m en t to an n ou n ce its decision s. Arepor ter should check sources a t government house as thecouncil meeting progresses and try to open discussions withsome m embers of th e cou n cil. Th ey m ay drop h in ts on someof th e iss u es discu ss ed.

Th e Em ira te Cou n cil of Ch iefs com pr ises tra ditiona l ru lers inthe s ta te , and i s an impor tant news source . Here i ssues

affectin g the p eople at th e grass roots level ar e discu ss ed.

Traditional rulers are highly regarded in African societies.Th erefore, when ever th e cou n cil m eets you sh ou ld en dea vou rto be t h ere. If you plan to in terview an y of th e em irs or ch iefs ,arra n ge in ad van ce for an in terpreter.

The government Secretariat is the nerve centre of the civilservice. It is here that offices of the secretary to the govern-m ent a n d h ead of service, comm iss ioners an d perm an ent sec-

retar ies in th e var iou s m in istr ies a re s i tua ted.News m a y be fou n d d a ily at t h is place. You m a y also collect

govern men t p ress releases from th e m in istr ies .

Commissioners are the polit ical heads of the various min-istr ies. So th ey ar e im porta n t n ews s ou rces. It is th eir du ty toim plem ent d ecision s ta ken at t h e execu tive cou n cil m eetin gs.



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The Chief Fire Officer may have an office in the Secretariatand detai ls about f i re incidents can be obtained from him.Regular visits to the fire station itself are important in order

to as ses s t h e sta ff st ren gth a n d th e type of fire figh tin g equ ip-men t in u se by th e br igad e. You ma y stu m ble on big n ews byfa m iliar is in g you rs elf with la bou r lead ers , an d b y pa yin g occa-siona l vis its to the other media a n d to ban ks a n d in du str ies .

Police s t at ions

The police station usually is the first love of the youngreporter. Here, there is th e crim e regist er from which you can

extract in forma tion a bou t su spects in police cu stody and th en at u re of th eir offences . You can esta blish ra pp ort with th epolice p u blic r ela tion s office a n d th e Comm iss ion er of Police,too. These people may be important sources of news for youduring your career.

Motor traffic division

As th e nu m ber of veh icles on t h e roads in creas es, so do acci-

dent rates . I t then becomes imperat ive for you as a cubreporter to call regularly at the Motor Traffic Division (MTD)for accident reports. The Divisional Police Officer may refuseto talk to you . With t im e th e relat ions h ip s h ou ld imp rove.

Security organisation

Usu a lly officia ls of th e secu rity organ is at ion opera te in p la inclothes . Th ey ten d to be n oncomm itta l becau se th ey don twan t you to kn ow wh at th ey are d oin g.

Reporters don t ea sily get infor m at ion from African secu rityofficials. Bu t you sh ou ld try to esta blish a cord ial relat ions h ipwith at least some of them.

Th e depa rtm en t is a very good n ews sou rce, for in form at iongathered in the course of investigations may never get to thepu blic u n less th e reporter u n covers i t .

Han dle with care if th e in form ation is on n ation al secu rity.

The c ourts

Covering courts often can be boring. But land matters,divorce and libel suits and cases of breach of contract thatin volve in flu en tial m em bers of th e comm u n ity won t be b orin gto the public.

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Also, stu dy the location of th e ma gistr at e an d h igh cou rts inthe metropolitan area. In a predominantly Moslem society,there always are Sharia courts . S tudy the court system and

get to kn ow th e cou rt officials.

Metropolitan council

Apart from the State Executive Council , which directs theaffairs of the state, there is the metropolitan council whosearea of jurisdiction is the capital city.

To keep abreast of the day-to-day happenings within them etropolis , the sole adm in istra tor or the ch airma n a n d m em-bers of th e cou n cil sh ou ld b e visited as often as poss ible.

Th e ma rkets , motor parks , pr im ary schools a n d other pu blicin sti tu tions come u n der th e direct con trol of th e metr opolita ncounci l . Outs tanding news s tor ies emanate f rom thesesources .

Cham be r of Com m e rc e

Th e Cha mb er of Com merce is m ad e u p of bu siness leadersan d in du str ialis ts wh o pu rsu e a com m on in terest . Th eir con -tr ibu t ions to the improvemen t of th e economic an d indu str ialwell-bein g of th e st a te s h ou ld b e of in teres t to th e pu blic. It isth erefore n ecess ar y to esta blish pers ona l conta ct with officialsan d m embers of the cha mb er.

Customs and Immigration Department

Borders of m ost Afr ican cou n tr ies a re porous . Cus toms an dimmigration officials grapple with preventing illegal immi-g r a n t s a n d c o n t r a b a n d g o o d s f r o m e n t e r i n g t h ecountry.

Cub reporters or correspondents must acquaint themselveswith th is d epartm ent . Th e area Adm in istra tor of Cus toms an dthe Assistant Director of Immigration are valuable newsou rces. Get to know th em.

Airport-railway s tat ions

Well-known personalities either in government or privatebusiness frequent the airports. They either are traveling orsee ing of f o ther personal i t ies and bus iness associa tes .Familiarise yourself with the airport, especially the VIPlounge. There you may find local or national celebrities for



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im pr omp tu in terviews. Maybe you will be a ble to gen era te n ewsfrom passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled.

Failure of an aircraft to land or take off due to bad weather

and subsequent diversion of planes to another airport will beof in teres t to m an y readers , list en ers or viewers.

Railway sta tion s a lso s h ou ld b e on you r list of places to visitregularly.

Hospitals

Regular visits to the hospitals will give you an insight into

many types of stories. For example, the public will need toknow if there is a lack of drugs or shortage of medical per-sonn el an d equ ipm ent .

Get to know the staffs of the maternity sections of the hos-pitals, the medical officers and other health personnel. Mostwill be gla d t o help a rep orter. Th ere m a y be scores of feat u reson varyin g su bjects from tr eatm ents to pat ien ts .

ConclusionTh e few news s ou rces pr esen ted h ere will certa in ly sta rt off

a reporter working in an unfamiliar environment.

Don t wait for pres s r eleas es. Go ou t a n d h u n t for n ews. Askquestions. A reporter needs the goodwill and cooperation ofh is or her conta cts. Stories sh ou ld be objective an d ba lan ced.Once you kn ow you r b eat, you will ha ve fewer ch allen ges an dmore gratifications.

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4Interviewing

An interview can fail for many reasons. But it isalmost certain to fail if the reporter does not pre-

par e. Th e su bject a ss u m es th at th e reporter will arr iveful ly backgrounded. The unprepared repor ter faces theda n ger of being m is led a n d certa in ly will elicit m in im al infor-mation. On the other hand, most interviewees respond posi-

tively to informed questions.

Accordingly, the reporter should first read anything avail-ab le th at h as been written ab ou t th e in terviewee (or th e topicbeing researched). For a personality profile, interview otherswh o know th e person. Of cou rse th ere are t im es wh en a su b-ject has not been previously a news subject . Even then pro-ductive advance inquiries can usually be made from familymem bers, n eigh bors , work as sociates , tea chers , e tc .

Then the reporter should write out a l ist of questions,com m it th e ma in qu est ions to m emory an d keep th e lis t read yat th e in terview as in su ra n ce again st m emory failu re. Th is l istshould not always control the interview, however. An earlyqu est ion an d reply ma y su ggest th at th e reporter take qu ite adifferent ta ck; th ere may be a m u ch b et ter s tory th an th e re-porter earlier envisioned.

Face-to-face for best results

A face-to-face interview is far better than by telephone. Forone thing face-to-face enables the reporter to note thepersons s u rrou n din gs, as su m in g the in terview is h eld a t th esu bjects workp lace or h ome. An in terviewer can workth rough a tens e mom ent of an in -person in terview. Over th eteleph one th e su bject m ay discon n ect. End of in terview.


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The reporter should be appropriately dressed, pleasant butbu sines slike. Its importa n t th at th e reporter rema in incharge, br inging the quest ions back on t rack i f the subject

wanders into irrelevant areas. Remaining in charge is notalways eas y when qu estion in g older pers ons who h ave gainedauthority or fame. Here again, preparation helps.

Pre ss for re plies of su bs tan c e

Su bjects s killed a t bein g in terviewed can seem to give rep lieswhen actually they are saying nothing of substance. Polit icalfigures are often adept at this. At such times, the reporter

must rephrase the ques t ion or even say tha t the subjec th as n t addr essed th e qu est ion.

Subjects inexperienced at interviews can be startled by areporters n otebook or ta pe recorder. Often th e su bjects ca nbe reassured by saying that you want to be sure to get theinformation correct. If using a tape recorder, which can fail,the reporter should also make selective notes.

If either notebook or tape recorder would frighten the sub-ject, the reporter must si t down immediately after the inter-

viewsu ch as ju s t ou ts ide th e su bjects office dooran dreconstruct the interview, scribbling notes or speaking intoth e tap e recorder. A ta pe recorder is good pr otection a gains t acha rge of bein g misqu oted a n d a lso a gainst in ad vertent m is-quoting.

In terviews a re u su ally one-on-one, reporter an d su bject. Bu tthere are t imes when it is prudent for two reporters to con-du ct th e in terview, on e posin g qu est ions an d th e other a idin gin note- taking. These t imes occur in wrapping up an inves-

tigative reporting project when evidence of wrongdoing isplaced before the alleged wrongdoer for comment.

Getting the subject to talk

Almost always, extensive interviews are by appointment.Though he o r she shou ld be p rofess iona l in manner ,the reporter does well to open with brief pleasantries. Therepor te r shou ld be ce r t a in he o r she p ronounces thesu bjects n am e correctly. To misp ron ou n ce the n am e woulddamage the interview severely.

Th e key to an y in terview is pers u ad in g the s u bject to ta lk. If th e su bject is ret icent , you can sometimes su cceed b y sayin gth at you ar e on ly doin g you r job an d you wan t to do it r igh t.



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Additional tips on interviewing:

1 . After a few brief opening pleasantries, begin with theeasier or less controversial questions, saving the hardestqu est ions to the en d. At t im es you m ay h ave to extend th eopening phase and let the subject ta lk for a while aboutwhat he or she wants to talk about . Then move into youreasier quest ions once a mood and tone have been estab-lished.

2 . Early, ask a quest ion or two on which you know theanswer. They will help test the truthfulness of the subject.Be skept ical of an y reply tha t can n ot be ch ecked, h owever.Th e reas on is th at th e su bjectesp ecially a p u blic figur e

ma y ha ve a h idden a genda.

3 . In addition to noting answers to your questions, noteth e su bjects m an n erism s, dr ess su rrou n din gsspecificdetail that will help create the scene for readers of yourstory.

4 . Be certain you understand al l the answers. When indou bt a sk for an explan at ion. If st i ll in dou bt, des cribe you ru n dersta n din g of th e an swer to the su bject an d as k if your

understanding is correct .5 . Ask open-ended ques t ions , ones tha t cannot be

answered yes or no. Replies to open-ended questions areoften m ore r evealin g.

6 . Look for opportunities to ask why or how or Howdid you feel at that moment? or Would you make thesame decision again? etc. These questions help you learnmore about the s u bject .

7 . A technique related to asking how and why is toask, What surprised you about [a certain situation]?

8 . Probe for an ecdotes. En cour age su bjects t o tell storiesab out th ems elves. One a pproach is to ask Wh ats th e m ostdifficult experience youve had with...?

9 . Always p roceed a s if you as su m ed a reply. Do n ot as k,Do you car e to com m ent . . . Th e su bject m ay sa y no. Wh enfeas ible as k a qu estion as if you already kn ow th e an sweror pa rt of it.

1 0 . If the subject evades a quest ion, rephrase i t and askit again , a lth ough n ot as th e very n ext qu est ion.

1 1 . Drawing on your pre-interview research, ask suchqu estion s a s So an d s o sa ys [wha tever] ab ou t you . How doyou rea ct to th at?

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1 2 . Use the so-called pregnant pause. If the subject doesn ot an swer a qu estion fu lly at firs t, wait silen tly an d a pp earexpectant. Often, as the seconds tick away, the subject will

conclude that you want more detail and add to the briefan swer. Th e trick is to s ilen tly ou twait th e su bject.

1 3 . As you n ear t h e close, as k th e mos t difficu lt qu estion s,th e ones you th in k th e su bject will be relu ctan t to an swer.By then the reluctance may not exist . If i t does, you havemost of your answers anyway.

1 4 . Keep a sk in g qu est ion s even after you ve closed you rn otebook or tu rn ed off th e tap e recorder. Th at s a n esp e-cially good time for candid replies.

1 5 . At the end, thank the subject. Leave the way open fora later quest ion, perhaps by phone. Create the most posi-t ive circu ms tan ces p ossible; you m ay need th is p erson a s an ews s ou rce a n oth er time. If it is likely th e su bject will n otsee your story, send a clip upon publication.



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5Writing: A Process

By Malcolm F. MalletteDirector of Projects

World Press Freedom Committee

F

or beginning journalists, l ife is rarely more stressfulthan when they face a blank sheet of typing paper or ablan k video screen at dea dlin e, wh ile th e editor screa m s

for copy a n d th e words won t come. Mea n while, with seem in gease, experienced jou rn al is ts n earby are cra n kin g ou t s tor iesat a blistering pace. At such times beginning journalists maywon der why they didn t tak e u p a less pr ess u rized careerskydiving perhaps.

Beginners will have less reason for despair if they under-sta n d t h at writ in g a n ews story is a process with five defin itesteps. Knowing the process helps beginnersand even vet-eran srecogn ise where they s tan d in th e process a n d h ow to

brea k ou t of th eir pa ra lysis or bolst er a sa ggin g na rra tive.One rea son why begin n ers often d espa ir is th at good writin g

looks so easy. There are no signs in the finished story of thehard work, the search for a lead and support ing facts andoften the countless revisions. And so as beginners peck outclumsy, halt ing prose they wonder if they can ever pay therent as writers .

Can m ost pers ons lear n to becom e good writers? In gen eral,the answer is yes, for writing is a craft like cabinet-making.

For th e very best , th ough, writ in g t ran scend s into an ar t .

Re quisite s for good writin g

Wh at does good writin g requ ire? Th e sh ort a n swer is: in tel-ligence and the ability to organise detail. Beyond that itrequ ires p ra ctice an d th e u se of a h an dfu l of ba sic principles,


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not to mention a love for language and mastery of grammar.Th e prin ciples m u st b ecom e so in gra in ed th at t h ey can be fol-lowed reflexively under deadline pressure.

Begin n ers will im pr ove only a s fa st a s t h ey recogn ise wh at isba d in th eir writ in g. Of cour se h ar d work a n d pr actice ar e alsoess en tial. Sh ortly, well tu r n to som e of th e prin ciples. Bu tfirs t lets exam in e th e writing pr ocess .

As noted, the writing process has five steps. Especially forbegin n ers th ey m u st b e followed s equ en tially an d with awar e-n ess of where on e s tan ds in th e process . Sometimes th e s tepsblend, or pa r t of one s tep is ta ken while s ta n din g on an otherstep. And sometimes with experience one sprints along the

steps at a l ightning pace, touching the s teps almost withoutthought .

The steps are these: (1) conceiving the idea for the story, (2)reporting the storygathering the facts, (3) analysing thefacts and planning the story, (4) writ ing the rough draft , and(5) rewriting or polishing the story.

When writers encounter trouble, the l ikely reason is thatth ey h ave not p erform ed well on one or m ore earlier s teps . Insuch cases, they need to backtrack and improve on the pre-vious s tep or s teps.

Following the steps sequence

Lets follow th e s equ en ce of st eps for on e pa rticu lar st ory.

First, the idea, Step One. Often the idea is self-evident. Aplane crashes or the town counci l meets and the newspapercovers i t . On beat report ing, many ideas are unmistakable.

But the first-rate reporter looks for stories beyond theobviou s. For our exam in at ion, th ou gh , lets s u pp ose tha t oneday you notice that huge flocks of sparrows have sett led onyour town. Never before have you seen so many sparrows.Wh y sh ou ld th at b e? Ah , you h ave an idea for a s tory, an d youmention it to your editor.

Together you begin to plan how to report the idea. Whoshould you interview? One or more ornithologists? Is thereone at the local university? A sampling of citizens who may

also have not iced the increase and formed an opinion? Thetown heal th or sani tat ion department , which may face aproblem of bird droppings, either the volume or the threat ofdisease? Have nearby towns not iced the same increase? Isthere a plan to shoo the sparrows away? Has anything l iketh is ever h ap pen ed before; its t ime to cons u lt th e n ewsp ap erlibra ry? Pictu res? Th is is th e t ime to p lan for illu str ation s.



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And so you flesh out the idea and form a plan for reportingthe idea, thereby moving to Step Two.

In Step Tworeportingyou may well find your mind

drift ing into Step Threeplanning the storyas you gatherfacts . An expert or a h u n ter or a h ous ewife ma y ut ter a qu oteth at could be worth th e lead. You n ote it in m in d or n otebook.Each interview or observation leads you to other sources offacts.

You re k eeping in m in d t h at a s tory is a selection of fa ctscarefully arranged and skillfully described. During this stepyou re n ot su re wh ich fact s you will la ter wan t to in clu de inth e s tory. So you gath er al l th e facts th at you can , with a pa r-

ticular eye for specific detail that will create in the readersminds wh at you h ave seen or heard . An d you re m in dfu l th atif you u se every fact in you r n otebook or on you r ta pe recorderth at youve proba bly u n derrep orted.

Now you re ba ck in t h e n ewsr oom an d m ovin g to StepTh reean alysing an d plan n in g th e story. Wh at is th e essenceof this story, you ask yourself? What is it really about?Sometimes its h elpfu l to stat e th e st ory in one b rief sen ten ce.Th at s an exercise for you rself, to u n clu tter your m in d.

Ke ep t he edito r inform ed

Ora lly, you th en br ief th e as s igning editor. After a ll, h e or s h ewill help decide the fate of your storybig display or small,long story or sh ort . You tell th e editor th e ap pr oach you h avein m in d. If an app roach elu des you r s t r essed m in d th e editorcan often su ggest a good ap pr oach . Or if you re h ead in g in awron g direction, th e editor can steer you to sa fety.

You m u st m ak e several decision s in t h is th ird s tep. Wh at a rethe salient facts? What reasonable questions will arise in theminds of readers and on which they will want answers fromyou r s tory?

Oh , oh , you rea lise th ere is a gap in you r rep orting. Youh avent lear n ed, for exam ple, wh en s pa rrows ha tch t h eiryou n g or h ow ma n y th ey typically h at ch . You ve int erviewedan orn ith ologist who wou ld k n ow. You pick u p th e teleph one

a n d ca ll h im . You ve filled th e gap .Th ere a re oth er d ecision s. Wha t will be th e ton e of th e s tory?

If there is no health threat and the sparrows will probablyleave soon, you may want to write in a l ight-hearted tone. If th ere is a potent ial health th reat , th e hu m orou s ton e wontdo. Tone m u st b e app ropriate to th e s tory.

Writing: A Process 25


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And what about the s t ructure? One choice is the invertedpyramid, through which the most important facts are con-centr ated in th e lead an d other facts follow genera lly in dimin-

ishing importance. The first paragraph or two of an invertedpyramid story cover the five WsWho, What, Where, Whenand Why. Also How.

The inverted pyramid, used widely by the news agencies,permits chopping off the story from the bottom up. Broadlyspeaking, the other choice is the feature lead, sometimescalled the delayed lead. The delayed lead has infinite varia-t ions and is of ten chosen when there is no danger that thes tory will be ch opp ed off in order to fit a va ila ble sp ace. In a n y

case , a s t ru c ture mu st be decided up on.Writers differ in th e way they plan . Some p rodu ce an ou tlin e

th at a t least faint ly resemb les th e out l in es you h ad to produ cein writ ing school essays. Others prepare an informal outlineby list ing the must facts and ordering them by numberone, two, th ree, etc. Oth ers m ay on ly m ar k, sa y in r ed in k, th echosen facts as scr ibbled in th e n otebook.

By whatever method, you must decide in what order topresen t th e facts a n d grou p a ll s im ilar facts s o as to presen t

them in a clump. A major problem in some stor ies is thatrelated facts are scattered. Without a plan, you will surelyfalter. And if you decide on a feature lead, you should selectth e en ding even before you write th e lead , for you don t wan tyour story to simply trail off at the end.

Writ ing is arc h ite c ture

In Step Th ree you a re tested on one of th e two requiremen ts

for becoming a good writer: the ability to organise detail.Writin g is a rch itectu re, a n d fan cy wordin g will not offset weakt imbers .

Now, with a s t ructure decided upon, you face the dauntingkeyboa rd to write th e firs t d ra ft, Step Fou r. Were th in kin g ofideal conditions here, t ime enough to write and then revise.Its you a n d th e blan k p ap er or video screen .

Th e ru le h ere is t o get something on to pa per or s creen . You re

n ot etching in s tone. Drafts a re ju st th at , dra fts to be cha n gedor disca rd ed. So wh at if you r firs t five lead s don t work. Scra pthe paper or consign those screen images to electronic exileand begin anew.

On e rea s on for writers b lock is t h e fear of pr odu cin g some-th in g n ot u p to th e writers s elf-set sta n da rds . Th ats th e non -sensical fear of etching in stone. Drafts provide a startingpoint . So write something.



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Here in Step Fou r you m igh t real ise th at your plan is in ad e-quate, that you need to backtrack to Step Three and reworkyour archi tec ture . Bet ter to backt rack than to b lunder

onwar d, h ead in g for jour n alist ic disa ster.A discu ss ion of Step Fou r is a good p la ce to an alyze th at old

saw to write as you talk. Not quite so. Rare is the personwho s pea ks with th e pr ecision a n d b revity of sk illfu lly writtensen ten ces. So th e goal becomes to write to ma ke it seem as if you were talkin g, with ou t th e u su al ah s an d th e kn ow wha tI mean interjections.

Hoora y, n ow you ve fin is h ed t h e first dr a ft! Bu t b ewar e. You remotions of creation l ink you to that draft l ike a mother and

fetu s a re conn ected by th e u m bilical cord . Its p ain fu l to alteryou r own creation . Better to bu ild s ome em otiona l dista n ce.

Writers speak of refrigerating the story, letting it cool.Tomorrow you can see flaws n ot eviden t toda y. Bu t d ead lin esmigh t n ot perm it th at lu xury. St ill, you m igh t h ave min u tes .Sip a softdrink. Read the comics. Make a necklace of paperclips. Do something to clear the emotional scales from youreyes. If you r ed itor is free, a sk h im or h er to offer s u ggest ions .Th e editors cou n sel here ca n sa ve chu n ks of t im e lat er.

An d t h en Step Fiverevise you r d ra ft. You m ight n eed ju sta little polishingor a total rewrite. Give it your best effortand keep polishing until the editor calls t ime. In revisingthink of the principles of good writing you will find below.

The ABCs of good writing

The principles that follow will lead you to the ABCs of good

writingAccuracy , Brevity , an d Clarity . Accuracy because anin accu ra te story is worse th an worth less , its h ar m fu l. Brevitybecause vigorous writ ing is conciseno unnecessary parts.You owe th e read er concision . Clar ity becau se if a m ess a gecan be m isu n ders tood it will be; writ in g is one-way comm u n i-cation s with n o feedba ck.

Many times when I have found a story vague or confusing Ihave approached the writer knowing what will be said. Well,you see wha t h ap pen ed was. . . Th e writer h ad failed to pu t on

paper somethin g he or sh e ha d in mind. Be su re the fac ts a reon the paper .

And sometimes I have found a reporter who, under ques-tioning, sh eepish ly ad m itted th at h e or sh e didn t fu lly u n der-sta n d th e su bject or event h e or sh e was tryin g to describe forread ers. Its a jou rn alist ic sin to con fu se th e reader beca u seyou d idn t u n dersta n d th e facts a n d t r ied to write arou n d th atlack of u n ders tan ding. It n ever works .



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If you h a ve don e you r b est on a ll five st eps , th eres a goodchance that you have reached the goal of all writ ing:Accu ra cy, Brevity, Clar ity.

A c he c klist for good writin g

Writers develop as they learn to recognise what is bad intheir writing. It follows that writers must learn to recognisetheir own shortcomings. This checklist , should help you findweaknesses in your writ ing:

1 . Use th e active voice. It h as m ore vigor th an th e pa ss ive.

2 . Rely hea vily on str ong n ou n s an d verbs . Use ad jectivesand adverbs sparingly. Powerful verbs create pictures in aread ers m in d.

3 . Write mainly with the simple declarative sentencesubject, verb, object.

4 . Use simple, short words.

5 . Avoid fad words, buzz words, cliches, bureaucratese,legalese an d oth er jar gon .

6 . Try for sh ort sen ten ces, bu t var y th eir len gth so as n otto be st accat o. On e idea to a s en ten ce. Keep average len gthu n der 18 words .

7 . Be su re verb tens es a gree.

8 . Avoid clutter, especially in the lead. Move clutter ele-men ts to la ter paragraphs .

9 . Use sp ecific, tellin g deta il. Tak e th e rea der t o th e scen e.

1 0 . Supply necessary background. Each story should

stand on its own feet.1 1 . Defin e an y terms some readers ma y not u nd ers tand .

1 2 . Use a n alogies to explain com plicated con cepts.

1 3 . When a person is introduced early in the story reiden-tify th e pers on on later referen ce. Th u s: J ones , th eaccountant . . .

1 4 . Leave no u n an swered qu est ions; t ry to an swer a qu es-t ion a s s oon as it is r aised.

1 5 . Raise n o h opes th a t you d on t fu lfill. Th u s if you sp eakof a pers ons wit, give a n exam ple.

1 6 . In stories of grea t dr am a, write with rest ra in t.

1 7 . Sh ow, don t t ell. Not He was a n gry, bu t He h a m -mered the desk with his f ist , and his eyes flashed.

1 8 . Place the most important words in a sentence at i tsbeginning and end.



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1 9 . Use direct quotes sparingly. Quote only when some-thing is said in a distinctive manner or exact phrasing isimp ortan t . Usu al ly, a para ph ras e saves words.

2 0 . When quoting or paraphrasing a quote ident i fy thesou rce early.

2 1 . Remove all unnecessary parts. Vigorous writing isconcise.

2 2 . Do not strain. Some stories should be told simply,briefly.

2 3 . Use tran sit ions to sign al readers when you sh ift direc-tions.

2 4 . Read th e story alou d. Th e ear will detect rou gh s pots.

If you follow the above guidelines, your prose, which mayh a ve been word y, clu m s y an d vagu e, will a cqu ire vigor, brevityan d clarity. Lets exam in e wha t a cou ple of th e gu idelin es willaccomplish.

Powerful verb s crea te p ictu res in a rea der s m in d. Not, forexa m ple, Th e veh icle h it th e tr ee, bu t Th e yellowVolkswagen slammed into the huge oak tree. The verb has

m ore vigor, an d s pecifics on th e car a n d tr ee also a id.

Short s en te nc es a id underst anding

Keep average length under 18 words. Studies show thatreader unders tanding increases as sentence word countdecreases. Not every sentence must be short , but cer tainlyavoid compound, complex, run-on sentences. If you writesuch a sentence, search out the conjunct ionsespecial ly

an d an d bu t. Usu ally it h elps to su bs titu te a period for th econ ju n ction, br eak in g the verba l m ou th fu l in to easily ch ewedmorsels.

Th e oth er tips will a ls o h elp to polish you r writin g. Ma ke a llof these guidelines part of you, so that you can use themreflexively even when writing a t fla t-ou t s peed on dea dlin e.

Strong structure is essential

Alth ou gh th e gu idelin es can work wond ers in ind ividu al sen -ten ces a n d p ar agra ph s, you r s tories will st ill fail if th e str u c-tu re is weak. Und er lyin g an y good s t ory is sou n darch itectu rean d str u ctu re. Lets tou ch on s tru ctu re again .

The structure for an inverted-pyramid story is largely self-evident. A lead summarises the central fact or facts of thestory. Supporting facts follow. Writing an inverted pyramid



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lead is simple enough if the story has one or two main ele-ments . When several e lements should be mentioned in thefirs t pa ra gra ph or two an overly long com pou n d-complex sen -

tence should be avoided.Im provemen t often res u lts by breaking tha t ru n -on sen tence

into two or more sentences. Sometimes i t is impractical tocram al l the essent ials into one paragraph, and the lead isreally the first two or three paragraphs.

Here are two mutli-element inverted pyramid stories, f irstday and second day, by the Associated Press that capsul izeth e factors sm ooth ly:

LONDONA fierce s torm w ith torren tia l ra ins d rive n byw ind s of up to 11 0 m .p.h. cut a trail of des truction Thu rs d ayacross southern England and into the Continent, killing atlea s t 62 people in five coun tries .

LONDONCrew s s cram bled to res tore pow er to a m illionhom es an d clear toppled cars from cluttered highw ay sFrid ay after a fierce s torm flay ed Wes tern Eu rope w ith h ur-rican e-force w ind s , k illing m ore th an 90 .

Wh en a comp lex st ory requ ires ea rly m en tion of s evera l fa cts

the lead comprises more than one paragraph, as in th isaccou n t of an h ist orical occasion :

CAPETOWN, South AfricaBlack nationalist leader NelsonMan d ela w alked out of pris on today a free m an after morethan 27 years in confinement and told cheering supporterstha t the ir a rm ed s truggle aga ins t w hite-m inority rule inS outh Africa m us t be inten s ified .

The 7 1-y ea r-old Man d ela, w hom the governm ent is hoping toen gage in ne gotiations to end the coun try s bitter racial con-

flict, ack now led ge the in tegrity of the m an w ho ord ered h isrelease. President Frederik W. de Klerk, but said blacksh ave n o opt ion b u t to continu e to figh t for politica l righ ts .He also urged tha t intern ationa l econom ic s an ctions aga ins tPretoria be maintained until its apartheid policies of racials epa ration a re totally d is m an tled .

Now lets con sider th e myriad ways t o begin th e sp a rr owst ory delayed lead or featu re fas h ion. Wh at ever th e ch oice, thefirs t fou r or five pa ra gra ph s, becau se th ey don t su m m ar ise

th e story, m u st bu ild a sen se of an ticipa tion. You r wordsm u st m ak e th e read er decide th at it will be worth h is wh ile toread on.

Bu t th e read er won t wait lon g. By ab ou t th e fifth pa ra gra phyou must capsulize the story. This is often called the nu tgraph . Lets s a y you r lead open s with th e discovery by th ree



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or four astonished persons of the swarms of sparrows. Ah,read er ap petite is whetted. Th en you write:

All over tow n the reports a re s im ilar. This area has be en

inva ded by thous an d s of s parrow s . Nobody s eem s certainw he re the y cam e from or how long they ll s tay , an d the ycould threaten the com m un itys hea lth.

Th a ts n o prize-win n er, bu t it con veys t h e idea . Now you ar eready to ad dress one by one the ma n y qu est ions you an d youreditor discussed in Step One of the writ ing process and theother quest ion s th at a rose as you h arvested facts .

In answering questions one by one you are using block

structure, l ike stacking toy blocks on the floor. Arrange thequ est ions an d th e an swers in th e most logical order tha t youcan , so th at one b lock of in form at ion flows sm ooth ly in to th en ext . In th is s tory the firs t qu est ion m igh t be wh ere the s par -rows came from. Then some context: do the experts know ofs im ilar ph enomen a, etc .?

A ch oice of st ruct ure s

There are other s t ructures . One is chronological , butch ron ology works on ly on certa in st ories. An oth er is to view asitu at ion s equ en tially thr ou gh severa l pa ir of eyes. Mu ta tionsare many. The constant is a s t rong underlying s tructure thatholds the pieces together and groups related bits of informa-tion.

Wh a tever its st ru ctu re, a good st ory is like a good h ighway; itprovides a smooth ride to the destination. And changes indirection a re sign aled b y un m ista ka bly clear s ign s.

A reader needs to know when a writer is changing direc-tionmoving on to a new train of thought. Paragraphinghelps. But paragraphing alone is of ten not enough; a t ransi-t ion or tra n sit iona l device is n eeded. With ou t th at road sign the transit ion or transit ional devicethe reader wanders offcou rs e, if only for an in sta n t.

Words an d ph rases l ike these are t ran s it ions : and , bu t , thu s ,h owever, st ill, yet, of cou rs e, certa in ly, clear ly, cons equ en tly,in fact, granted, admitted, obviously, therefore, furthermore,

moreover, on the other hand, indeed, in addition, etc.Sometimes something more is needed than the above words

to direct th e read er. One device is ca lled a p ar agra ph h ook. Th elas t word of one pa ragrap h is h ooked into th e first sen tence ofthe ensu ing paragraph an d u sed to intr oduce a new idea.

Without a strong structure, a story will wobble, even fallapart . Good writers work hard on structure. So should you.



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6Copy Editing

This article draws with permission on the American Press Institutebooklet Effective Writing and Editing.

C

opy edi tors s tand guard against errors , missing facts ,unanswered ques t ions , grammat ica l mis takes , ver -

bosity, lack of clarity, poor taste and libelous state-ments .

No story sh ou ld b e pu blish ed with ou t editin g by at leas t oneperson other th an th e writer. On larger n ewspa pers , it is n otu n u su al for a s tory to be edited by thr ee or four persons .

Depend in g on th e size of a pa per, a rep orters copy pas sesthrough the hands of editors with various t i t les: copy editor,sub-editor, news editor etc. , and, on major stories, managingeditor or editor-in-chief. All stand guard in similar fashion.

For simplification, all are referred to in this chapter as copyeditors.

Experien ced ed itors offer th is a dvice on copy editing:

1 . Read a story completely before making any changes.I t is important to understand what the wri ter is t rying tosay.

2 . Be sure the s tory is s t ructural ly sound, that i t isarranged correctly. Decide what the most important point

is. If th e reporter failed to pu t th e m ost importa n t p oin t inth e lead , retu rn th e story for repairs or, again st d ead lin e oran u n availab le reporter, ma ke th e ch an ge you rs elf. Th is a p-plies m ore to s t raigh t n ews stor ies th an to featu res , whereth e ma in poin t m ay not be in th e firs t p ara grap h or two.

3 . Tighten th e story. Decide which p ar ts of th e st ory canbe om itted if n ecessa ry. Leave cu ttin g u n til las t .


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4 . Remove words, improve construction, smooth sen-tence flow an d m ak e oth er cha n ges to ma ke th e s tory m orepleasing.

5 . Mak e su re th a t a l l r eas ona b le qu es t ion s a r ea n swered . Firs t a sk th e writer (or wire s ervice if wire copy)to make needed changes. If that is not feasible, attempt tofin d th e an swers your self.

6 . Be sat isfied th at th e story is fair, th at both sides of anissue are presented, that the accused or cr i t ic ised persongets a chance to reply.

7 . Be skeptical of every fact in every story. Weigh the

probability of each statement. Is it likely to be true? If acolumn of f igures is said to amount to so much, add i t .Make sure of names, dates, t imes, places, middle init ials,history, political affiliations, sums of money, criminalcha rges, t it les , ad dress es.

8 . Ma ke it sim ple. Convert comp licat ed a n d d ifficu lt sen -tences into simple ones.

9 . Never let a word, expression or sentence get by if thereader m igh t n ot kn ow wh at it mean s.

1 0 . Avoid excessive attr ibution. But make sure that con-troversial or d isp u ted inform at ion is clearly at tr ibu ted.

1 1 .Make transit ions clear. Avoid abrupt jumps in thought.

1 2 .Be grammatical. Avoid slang, fad expressions, cliches.

1 3 .Follow you r n ewsp ap ers style (u n iform u sa ge on ab bre-viations, spellings, capitalization, etc.).

14. Opera te with a sca lpel, n ot a cleaver. As copy editor, youa re th e writers friend . If th e writer h a s a st yle, resp ect itwith in reason .

Tensions inevitably develop between reporters and editors.Tension or not, however, the copy editor must always standgu ard for the newspa peran d th e reader.



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7Writing Headlines

The importance of well-crafted headlines can scarcelybe overstated, for headlines serve several essentialpurposes. Pr imari ly, headl ines should lead readers to

bod y typeth e stories th em selves. Bu t it does n t a lways workthat way.

Because readers differ in their interests and informationneeds, a headl ine that lures one reader might not lure

a n oth er. Too, an effective h ead lin e m ight pr ovide a ll the in for-mation certain readers want on given stories. They are thescanners, who are highly selective in stories they read indetail.

Headlines also grade the news, conveying to the reader byth eir s ize an d p lacem ent th e editors ju dgmen t on th e relat iveim porta n ce or in terest of stories u n der var iou s h ead lin es. An dthey add to the display of news by separat ing the masses of gray body type an d m ak in g attra ctive layout s p ossible.

Over th e years , hea dlin es h ave evolved th rou gh som eth in g ofa cycle. A centu ry ago, m ost n ewsp ap ers u sed h ead lin es withm u lt iple deck s. Th ose m u lt iple deck s con s u m ed la rgeam oun ts of edit in g t im e, not to men tion n ewspr in t .

Decksor certainly multiple decksvirtually vanished overtime.

Th en two developm en ts served to a lm ost com plete th e cycle.The first was a flurry of newspaper redesigns, with the laud-

able object of making news display more attractive. All toooften the redesigns were carried out by specialists who failedto un ders tan d th a t a l th ou gh des ign an d conten t u su ally canand should work together in harmony, content must takeprecedence when there is conflict. As a result of this failure,some redesigned pages did not permit an adequate headl inecountthat is , the number of headl ine let ters that could besqueezed in. Many vague, ineffective headlines resulted.


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At about the same t ime, a second development emerged.Research pointed up the already-mentioned fact that manyreaders, through selective interest or lack of t ime, are satis-

fied with the information gleaned from a skillfully writtenheadl ine and never reach into the s tory. For that reason,m an y editors n ow u se one deck in add it ion to the m ain h ead-lin e on certa in stories.

Meanwhile, new technology has helped to rescue editorsstruggling to shoehorn the essence of a complex story into ash ort hea dlin e cou n t. In th e days of in elas tic hot-m etal type aheadl ine that spi l led beyond the assigned space was a so-called bu sted h ead lin e every t im em ean in g th at th e hea dlin e

had to be writ ten shorter. Now, with computer compositionpr evalent, a h ead lin e of, say, 48-poin t type, th at r u n s too longat first effort can be electronically reduced, say, to 46 points,to at tain the f i t . Research shows that reader eyes are notbothered by these adju s tmen ts .

Downstyle headlines also help produce strong headlines. Indownstyle, only the first letter of the first word and the firstletter of proper n ou n s ar e cap ita lized. Becau se lower -case let-te rs a re nar rower than caps the count i s increased accord-

ingly.Writing headlines, however, requires far more than fitting

type into assigned space. Headlines should capture theessen ce of th e s tory. Th ey sh ould n eith er u n dersta te n or over-state the facts in the story. They must accurately reflect thestory; many a l ibel suit has been fi led because of misleadingheadl ines.

Avoid non-specific wordsWeak headlines result from non-specific words. Unskilled

headline-writers often resort to padding to fill the assigneds pa ce. Th a t pr eviou s s pa ce sh ou ld b e u sed for sp ecifics. Welllook at several examples later.

Wh en a h ead lin e-writer mu st r each deep in to a story to cra fta headl ine that means that the s tory i tself is not properlyfocus ed. As th e sa yin g goes, th e lead is bu ried.

Certa in h eadlin e refin emen ts ar e desirable. Strong verbs area m ain st ay. On a m u ltiple-lin e h ead lin e, the verb is m ost effec-tive on th e firs t lin e. It is bes t n ot to sp lit a verb a n d its a u xil-iary (has, had, have, etc.) between lines. In the same vein,spli ts should be avoided on preposit ional phrases, on adjec-tives and the modified nouns and on terms of several wordsth at ar e read as one term h am an d eggs, for exam ple.



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Cryptic abbreviat ions and acronyms should be avoided.Note, however, that an acronym that is cryptic at one t imemight become commonplace and thus clear to most readers .

Most r ead ers, for exam ple, wou ld r ecognise POW as m ean in gpr ison er of war.

In seeking short words that f i t into the available count,headline-writers often mis-state the degree of an action. Forexample, rips, which has only the merit of brevity, is some-times used when criticises or differs with would be moreaccurate and appropriate. Blasts is another frequent over-statement. A headline-writer should develop a vocabulary ofsh ort wordsbu t u se th em only appr opriately.

Here is a helpful technique in headline-writing. First writeon e sentence in the u su al nar ra t ive fash ion th a t s u mm arisesthe storyits details or theme. Then eliminate the needlesswords. Often a good headline remains.

Most headlines are writ ten in the present tense to conveyim mediacy. Th ere are except ions, s u ch as when h eadlin in g ah ist orical even t. Th u s it wou ld be Galileo in ven ted telescopeas part of a feature-story headline and not Galileo inventstelescope.

Now lets exam in e severa l weak h ead lin es a n d cons ider h owth ey cou ld b e im pr oved.

Manageme nt polic ies quest ioned

Except for readers who had been following a continuingstory closely and could make an educated guess at the s torycontent, this headline offers no help. And it cannot beas su m ed tha t readers h ave read previous related s tor ies . Th eheadl ine count is inadequate to say that al legat ions against

school officials were dismissed, the essence of the story.Con sider th at if h u ge h eadlin es b u ilt c ircu lat ion an d reader-

ship regardless of the s tor ies underneath them every news-paper would employ studhorse type. Type size should beappropriate to the s tory and adequate in count to permitwriting of a good h ead lin e.

Leade rs to look at plan

This is the al l -purpose headl ine and could be used on sev-

eral stories each issue. The trouble is that i t tells nothing. Aheadline needs key words. Which leaders? Which plan?

Wate r, s ewe r cou ld breat he lifeinto Dunkirks commercial district

Word choices must also be appropriate. Breathe life ishardly appropriate for a headline mentioning a sewer.

Writing Headlines 37


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Acu punc turist David Mercierspeaks at Rotary lunch me et ing

This headline i l lustrates several common faults. The story

tel ls that the acupuncturis t was a vis i tor and not known inthe community. Thus his name is not essent ial to the head-line. Either lunch or meeting is padding, taking up roomthat should be devoted to specifics. Worst of all, the headlinefa ils t o con vey th e ess en ce of th e sp eak ers m ess age. Out withgenera lities, in with s pecifics.

Man celebrates 92nd birthday

Not wrong, but not informative or inviting. A better lure to

potential readers would be:At 92, Arthur Southardstill looking forward

So, avoid padding, be specific, insist on an adequate head-lin e cou n t. Every head lin e sh ou ld s trive to see th e story.

In the rush to meet deadl ines, newspaper headl ines areoften given scant attention. That is a serious error, whichdefeats the purpose of writ ing the stories. On newspapers ofhigh quality, headlines are often rewritten and rewritten

again. A newspaper with outstanding headl ines is usual lyouts tan din g in al l respects .



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8Photo Journalism

Momentsfrozenin time

By Charles Okigbo

I

n crea sin g u s e of offset p rint in g offers grea t im pr ovem en t inthe qual i ty of newspaper and magazine photos. So thosewho enjoy th e craft an d a rt of ph otograph y h ave in creas in g

opportunities to use those skil ls.

A good n ewspa per ph otograp h sh ould:

Draw reader attention immediately

Tell a story

Be relevan t to th e con text

The best pictures not only tell a story, they also do so dra-matically.

The quickest way to good news photography is through pic-tures of people.

If f ire destroys a house, your pictures will be more mean-ingful to your readers if , in addition to showing the destruc-tion, you also show those left homeless by the fire. If thevictims are not available, photograph the firefighters, or evenpers ona l poss ess ions of th e victim s.

Charles Okigbo teaches in themass communication departmentat the University of Nigeria,Nsukka. He holds degrees fromtwo USA universitiesa mastersdegree in journalism from OhioUniversity, and a doctorate injournalism and educational

administration from SouthernIllinois.


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If you cover s ports even ts, t ak e ph otos of th e players , espe-cia lly action s h ots. Bu t d on t forget th e fa ces of th e coach esan d the specta tors .

Factors t o c ons ider

Th in k of th e read er when tak in g pictu res. Wh at will in teresth im or h er?

Get you r s u bjects close togeth er to avoid was ted s pa ce.

Look for unposed pictures of people that have natural ani-mat ion .

Don t let you r s u bjects dicta te th e pictu re you tak e. Be politebu t forcefu l in decidin g wha t goes int o th e ph oto. Dont per m it15 club members into the picture when you seek only theth ree n ew officers .

Take pictures of individuals with the subject doing some-thing. This is more interesting than a person just looking atthe camera .

Pictu res don t a lways n eed an accomp an yin g story. Th ey canbe a story in themselves. Photos of babies, children and ani-m als h ave wide read er ap peal.

In coverin g rou tin e event s, occasion ally seek u n u su al an glesor a point of view different from that customarily seen by thereader.

Seek pictures that i l lustrate what the reporter wil l empha-sise? Bu ild a working relat ions h ip with th e reporters.

Have only on e focal poin t. For exa m ple, don t h a ve peop lelookin g in differen t direction s .

Make the faces in your photos clear and large enough to berecogn isa ble? A face s h ou ld b e at leas t on e in ch in diam eter.

I f the reporter is not present when you are taking a photo-graph, and you have obtained information beyond your cap-tion m at erial , pas s i t on to th e reporter or editor.

Caption s and c utl ines

Cu t lin essom et im es ca l led cap t ion sthe explan a torywords appearing with an i l lustrat ion or photographs, are am ajor r esp ons ibility for ph otogra ph ers.

Whether you are expected to turn in a f inished capt ion oronly the information for someone else to do the writ ing, theprinciple is the same.



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Be accurate. Be certain every name is spelled correctly andth at every t it le is precisely right. Be su re th e sequ en ce of th en am es in th e capt ion m atch es the sequ ence of th e faces in th e

photo.Remember that the pr imary funct ion of the capt ion is to

explain the photo. I ts secondary goal is to draw attention toth e accomp an yin g story, wh en th ere is one.

Th e caption sh ou ld s ta te explicit ly wha t is h ap pen in g in th epicture, who are the people and, if space permits, relevantdetails of interest.

Captions should not point out the obvious. Words such as

pictured above or shown here are not necessary.

Picture editing

Wh en ta king a ph oto, it is often im poss ible to get only th osesubjects or objects the photographer wants to show. Whenthese elements cannot be el iminated at the photo-takingstage, they should be removed by cropping.

Cropping is the removal of unnecessary elements from a

ph otograp h to emph as ise wha ts importan t . Croppin g is th euse of a grease pencil outlining the picture as desired or byma rgin al ma rkin gs to delin eate th e dimen sions to be pr inted.Cropping has been called finding the best picture in the pho-tograph.

Here cropping Ls are helpful, two cardboard or plasticL-shaped uni t s tha t can be moved about on the photographto identify the best cropping.

Every photograph prepared for use in a newspaper shouldh ave four crop ma rks th at s et the dimen sions of th e pu blish edpictu re. Two crop m ark s s et th e width dimen sions, th e othertwo the depth dimensions. When these crop marks areabs ent , th e produ ct ion s ta ff will as su me th at th e ent ire ph o-tograp h is to be reprodu ced.

News photographs also can be corrected by the productionor ar t depar tment . For ins tan ce, photos can be a ir -brush ed torem ove distu rbing ba ckgrou n d or to h igh light a desirab le fea-tu re. However, dist ortion a n d crea tin g false im pr ess ions m u stbe avoided.

A common mistake is to prepare a page layout and selectphotos to fi t blank blocks. I t is better to evaluate the pictureavailable for the stories first , and then determine what sizesan d s h ap es a re requ ired to ach ieve th e best visu al effect. Th atway, the text an d illu stra t ions ar e posit ioned s im u ltan eou slyand this will produce much better-looking pages.

Photo Journalism 41


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Pict ure page s

A pictu re pa ge can be a r ewar ding an d ch allengin g as pect of

photo-journalism. It is an advancement from the single-pic-tu re s t rategy to the m u lt iple-pictur e presen tat ion .

There are three major types of picture pagesthe picturestory, the pictu re essa y an d th e pictu re grou p.

Th e pictur e st ory gives a visu al accou n t of a single su bject.

The picture essay revolves around a central point or theme,usual ly a s ingle problem or issue to be analysed throughillustration.

Th e pictu re grou p conta in s a potpou rri of m iscellan eous pic-tures on varying subjects. This is the commonest in Afr

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