Links for Lori's HSJI Class

Below are many of the different types — and by no means is this list complete — of stories we see in the news every day:

• Trend
• Process
• Event
• Localization
• Profile
• Commemoration
• Watchdog/Investigation
• Solution-based
• Obituary
• Q&A (question and answer)
• Review/column
• Behind-the-scenes
• Day-in-the-life-of
• Technical
• Tips
• Vignettes
• Travel

Think of all the ways you can approach different news topics using this list as a guide.

These are key characteristics of a news story:

• Timeliness – Happening right now, or recently
• Proximity – Happening close-by
• Impact – The greater the number of people affected, the newsier
• Conflict – Any disagreement in a community is news
• Celebrity/Prominence — The more famous or important the person, the newsier the story.
• Oddity – “News of the Weird” or something that is rare or special
• Frequency – Stuff that happens all the time is worth exploring, too. Sometimes called “process stories” or commemoration of regular events.
• Human Interest — Just interesting, often emotional, stories about people’s lives that readers can relate to.

As we discussed, the more of these qualities a story has, the more newsworthy it is.

Click on the picture for an example of the Wall Street Journal’s feature story formula, in a story about Harry Potter vs. Twilight.

As we discussed in class, you will produce three budget lines for stories you want to do this fall at your school. The budget lines will include a list of five specific sources for the story, as well as a sidebar idea.  It should look like this:

SOTOMAYOR HEARING: Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court hearings began on Capitol Hill today. We look at her judicial record. HENSON,  25 inches, photo of Sotomayor at hearing; timeline of her career; bio box

Sources:

1. Testimony from Senators
2. Testimony from Sotomayor
3. Former clerk
4. Fellow judge
5. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair

SIDEBAR: Latinos on the bench — Other prominent Latino/Latina judges in the United States.

Your budget lines are due (typed up and printed out) at our first small group session Tuesday.

Today we talked about story leads that are dull, cliched and all-too-common. This is only the tip of the cliched iceberg, so please add your own terrible leads in the comments section!

LEADS TO AVOID

DULL VERBS

A person spoke (to, about)

A person discussed

A group gathered

A group met (will meet, is set to meet)

An event got underway (will get underway)

An event will happen

PASSIVE VOICE

A budget was approved …

Issues were discussed …

HYPOTHETICAL

Many people…

All students know…

Every American has experienced…

QUESTIONS

What would you do if …?

Have you ever wondered …?

QUOTES

“All men are created equal,” Abraham Lincoln once said.

An old Irish proverb states …

PSYCH!

Jane Doe went topless on Tuesday.  The weather was so warm, she rolled down the top on her convertible VW bug.

CLICHÉS

’Tis the season …

Webster’s dictionary defines [fill in the blank] as …

The good news is… The bad news is…

Imagine if …

The times they are a-changin’ … (Song lyrics in general)

P.R. HYPE

Homecoming will be an event to remember …

No one knows more about pleasing customers than …

ISU’s beloved basketball team won again …

This is Henry, my awesome, lazy, squishy basset hound.

I’m missing him, so I thought I’d post his picture.

As we discussed in today’s session, being a good editor is like coaching a sports team. You all thought that being a good coach means being strict but fair, clear in your ideas, able to communicate ideas clearly and unafraid to have some fun.

The coaching method that the Poynter Institute’s Chip Scanlan recommends is a great process that builds on a writer’s strengths and makes editing much easier and more effective.

Remember, the steps to coaching writers are:

1. BRAINSTORM and MAP OUT story ideas — This will help your staff come up with the most creative and newsworthy approach to the story and sources.
2. REPORT — Once the idea is solid, a reporter goes about interviewing and researching.
3. DEBRIEF — The most important step in the process! This is the stage when a reporter meets up with the editor and talks about what he or she has learned so far. The editor then asks key unanswered questions and suggests additional sources of information.
4. MORE REPORTING — After the debriefing, a reporter sets out to finish up the story, gathering final bits of information and filling in any holes in his/her story.
5. EDITING — The final draft comes to the editor, who works with the reporter to clarify information and polish the story into its final print-ready state. BUT, it’s important to remember that editing should start with the big picture, then grammar and style problems.  Editors need to make sure to read the story first with the big questions in mind: What’s the news? What’s the story we’re telling? Does this story make sense? Then, you can worry about checking spelling and facts and sentence structure last.

Coaching respects writers’ knowledge of their story. It also gives editors a much better final product. Happy coaching!

This afternoon, we talked about planning your specific contribution to the topic your group brainstormed. We have the A&E group doing stories about theater performances at your schools; Opinions is examining the issue of “sexting”; and News is looking at “youth and politics.”

Remember, your assignment to turn in (typed and printed out) tomorrow morning is:

1. SLUG: Story description; Name; Visuals

2. Sources — specific names, titles, contact information

3. Sidebar idea — What “sidekick” story would go well with your main story?

Remember to create a story web to help you develop sources and related story ideas!

This is the link to Al Tompkins’ Morning Meeting — a blog of story ideas — at Poynter.org.

This is the blog you will visit for the links we cover in our small group meetings. Please feel free to comment on postings and share your thoughts.  This is also a place you can come after HSJI ends, when you want resources we discussed to use at your high school paper.

Enjoy!