Chapter 8. When writing a news story, you need a plan Conceive Collect Construct Correct.
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Transcript of Chapter 8. When writing a news story, you need a plan Conceive Collect Construct Correct.
Chapter 8
When writing a news story, you need a plan Conceive Collect Construct Correct
Conceive the idea▪ What struck you as most interesting or important ▪ What is most newsworthy▪ What is the main point of the story▪ What do readers/viewers need or want to know
Collect the information Get the basics…the 5 W’s Take good notes▪ Jot down details from observations▪ Get quotes, facts, comments from sources
Tape interviews for sound bites▪ Don’t rely solely on recording
Note down additional info you will need▪ Background, more details, etc
Highlight important points in notes Gather anecdotes▪ Brief stories from sources
Consider the your focus as you report
Think ahead▪ What do you need to do next
Collect documents Verify facts, names & spelling
▪ Some of the worst errors to make
Construct the story Find the focus
▪ Write a focus sentence on top of your story before you begin
Plan an order▪ Topics▪ Main points/highlights you want to cover
▪ Highlights▪ If creating a highlights box…what would they be?
▪ Time sequence▪ Are there distinct time elements or chronological
events?
▪ Block Sources▪ Cover all comments from one source
Before moving to the next source
▪ Q & A▪ If one paragraph raises questions▪ Answer them in the next
▪ Free-writing▪ If you can’t find an order, write what you remember
w/out notes Then look for logical arrangement
▪ Ending▪ Create a lasting impression▪ Strong quote, future action
Correct the story▪ Read your story aloud▪ One of the best self editing techniques for print
publication
▪ Basics▪ Are the 5 W’s there
▪ Context▪ Background or details to help readers understand story
▪ Check Accuracy▪ Double check names, titles and facts
▪ Avoid opinion based adjectives▪ Let details and sources describe actions and feelings
▪ Purge and parroting▪ If quotes/sound bites repeat your transitions or story
content▪ Rewrite or cut them
▪ Cut useless or excess words▪ Edit the pace▪ Check grammar ▪ (subject verb agreement)
▪ Cut jargon▪ Read aloud again
Tips for tightening stories▪ Squeeze a fact on every line ▪ (one idea per sentence)
▪ Focus tightly▪ Think about the REAL story and share what’s
important
▪ Use impact leads▪ Avoid rehashing known info, apply Spin/Angle on lead
▪ Make the story move▪ Make your point early & use info that supports it
▪ Keep it tight
▪ Use specific details over adjectives▪ “ancient windmill” vs “100-year-old windmill
▪ Don’t over attribute▪ No need for he/she said after every sentence▪ But make sure source of info is clear
▪ Use strong, lively verbs▪ Hundred of people in the streets vs
“lined, jammed, crowded, etc
▪ Avoid weak transitions▪ With well organized articles, transitions will be minimal
▪ Use quotes that advance story
Leads Tips to finding a good lead▪ What will hook reader’s attention▪ What does reader need to know first/most▪ In order to understand the story?
▪ What is the story about Remember the 5 W’s Write a few leads then choose the best
one later
Vary the pace▪ Follow long sentences with short ones▪ This helps readers to follow the story
Parallelism▪ Wording sentences in the same grammatical
order▪ Even repeating some words
BBI- Boring but important info▪ Break it up throughout the story, not in one long
block
Simple sentence for complex info▪ Use simple sentences for difficult info
Lists▪ Help the flow through middle of story▪ Itemize group of statistics or cumbersome info▪ Highlight key points in a story
▪ Use Active Voice when possible▪ She will always remember her first story▪ VS. Her first story will always be remembered
by her
▪ Write short, simple sentences▪ Keep the subject and verb close together
▪ Write the way you speak▪ To improve reading flow through story
▪ Quote kickers▪ Quote that sums up the main idea of story
▪ Circle kicker▪ Tying together your lead and ending
▪ Future-Action▪ Giving the next step in the development of an issue
▪ Factual▪ Short simple sentence that states a fact▪ Could possibly work as a lead
Cliffhangers▪ Also a suspense ending▪ Used if story will continue on another day
Out of gas endings▪ Used when there is nothing more to say▪ Appropriate for hard news stories
Due next Monday (9/17) A news article written by you
▪ 400-600 words (Include word count on paper)
▪ Headline▪ Lead▪ Body/middle▪ Ending▪ 2 or more primary sources
Meaning people you talked to/interviewed
Story should relate to school, community or students