Last EC

Exam Prep - Using your book or class notes, answer these questions.
1. What are the parts that go into producing a broadcast story? List as many as you can think of. Define 3 of the parts.
Anchor, actuality, natural sound, script, voicer, lead-in, wrap, intro, in-cue, out-cue, tag, talent, tease

tease-brief headline or promo for coming story
natural sound-sounds recorded to capture the flavor of a news scene
lead-in-words that indroduce some element in the story -- identifying the source in a cut, for instance.

2. What principles should you follow when writing stories for the Web?
Headline is oftentimes one of the most important part of the story.  When online, you need a way to instantly grab attention.

3. Name three ways public relations, journalism and advertising differ.
Use friendlier tone, keep it short and simple, dont construct stories in inverted-pyramid form.
BONUS - Worth 2 points.

Name a couple things you have learned about writing and about journalism this semester. (What basic principles are necessary to write a good story?) Hopefully you see some benefits to what you have learned. How might you implement journalistic principles in your future writing?

The biggest thing I have learned about journalism this semester is to write with an unbiased tone of voice.   Also, it is important to get to the point.  It is my job to be a reporter, not to be a judge.  I have learned how to be more concise, and get to the point in my writing.  Oftentimes, journalists only have a certain amount of space to publish, so being wordy is not an option.

Extra Credit 5

1. One would never expect a bicycle to be a popular item stolen on college campuses, however; for many schools, bicycle theft is a serious problem.

2. A good article may come from a beat which encompasses both sides of politicians running and their positions on certain issues in the community. This is going to be an important news article simply because of of the proximity of the issue.  The news peg of this article could be the importance of the outcome to its readers.

3.


Cruises have always been popular with honeymoons, and now many couples are getting married on cruise ships with their wedding party right behind them

Cruise Lines International Association says that Cruise Weddings have increased 60 percent within the last decade.  Carnival Cruise Lines expects over 2000 couples to get hitched , many paying between 1200 and 1800 dollars.  Many of the cruise ships will include a one-and-a-half-hour reception with an ice carving


For a b-roll, I would use clips of cruise ships and extravagant weddings which may have taken place on cruise ships.  I would show the cruise ships in a positive light, with people dancing and having a great time on the ships.

I believe the best pages to look at are 180-181 and 65.  The pages listed were not the pages I used.

Blog #2

Part 1

List 3 interviewing how-tos that were mentioned in lecture today. Give a concrete example of how you would do each in a real-life situation.
1 Check Accuracy:
In a real life situation, if someone were to give me questionable information, I could easily interview another person around the topic to verify.  If for some reason the information did not match up, then I could find a third source to decide which information is correct.

2 Interview Again:
This rule seems very important, yet also very simple.  It is important to take down an interviewee's contact information to set up a second interview.  This second interview doesnt necessarily need to be in person; a telephone call may be more effective.

3 Seek Source's Help:
A source can be very helpful in getting more information and sources.  Before I ended the interview, I might ask the person I was interviewing if they had any other sources that I may be able to interview.  By doing this, I would be able to get a more detailed story and also cross-reference the accuracy of both sources.
Part 2

Correct these sentences. There may be more than one thing wrong in each sentence. (Tip: Can we say, "Punctuation Guide?")

Grammatically wrong
Defeated in the house, the Senate now gets to debate the bill.
1. The bill was defeated in the house, and now the senate must debate it.



Stylistically wrong


2. The 19-year-old boy got a ticket for jay-walking at 9 PM last night.
Last night at 9 PM, the 19-year-old boy got a ticket



See if you can catch what's wrong.

3. Meredith ran away from home, she was so angry that night.
Meredith ran away from home because she was so angry that night.

This should be easy (Hint: there are three things wrong):

4. "I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote?" Brittney bellowed.
"I wonder if this is how you punctuate this quote," Brittney said.

OK, now that's enough torture. Answer this question for a bonus point:

5. Why is it important for journalists to get grammar and punctuation and spelling right?

For journalists, everything relies on credibility.  If a journalist makes grammar and punctuation mistakes, then their credibility is destroyed and people will question the accuracy and dependability of the journalist.

Blog #1

After attending lecture and exploring Harrower's third chapter, I quickly discovered the importance of the "inverse pyramid".  Unlike other writing styles, journalistic writing requires the most important information and base of the story at the beginning.  Details are less important, and therefore trickle down towards the bottom of the piece. An effective news lead is also crucial to a successful story, and should focus on the "5 W's" (who, what, where, when, why).  I consider the lead as the "bait": if it is not effective than the audience will oftentimes skip over the article.

I have always had a problem writing a thesis throughout my previous writing classes, so my biggest fear is that I will be unsuccessful in writing an effective lead.  I realize that leads must be factual, however I also believe that creativity is necessary in order to "hook" an audience.

I feel that the most important value a story must contain is factual information.  Incorrect or mis-cited information can ruin a journalist's reputation, making one bad story permanent.  Another value which is necessary in a story is an unbiased opinion.  It is important to stay objective as a journalist, and resist the temptation to insert an opinion into the story.