You Too Can Write the News
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Transcript of You Too Can Write the News
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Bob Rosenbaum, www.theMarketFarm.com May 2013 © 2013; Permission required for use
You Too Can Write the News
A workshop inshort-form citizen journalism
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Objectives
Find stories worth telling Report stories effectively and efficiently Write stories using a formula that makes the
job easier Upload stories to the Observer system Do this without cold sweats and nightmares
Bob Rosenbaum, www.theMarketFarm.com May 2013 © 2013; Permission required for use
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Finding the story
Bob Rosenbaum, www.theMarketFarm.com May 2013 © 2013; Permission required for use
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story
“Great stories happen tothose who can tell them.”
Ira GlassThis American Life
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story
Almost anything can be made interesting– Identifying a good subject– Asking enough questions– Drilling down on the right questions– Getting enough detail– Focusing the single topic– Writing crisply and without affectation
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story
News– Important issues– Changing status quo– Interesting events
• Marty Mace announces plans to run for mayor of Bay Village
• Diamond Services survives by cleanup after the movies
Personality profile/Feature– Interesting people doing interesting things
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story
News stories just happen Feature stories must be created Process same for both
– Evaluate everything you hear as a potential story– Keep a notebook with ideas
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story Look for:
– People who tell good stories themselves• Interesting people make interesting stories• Boring people will make you work much harder
– People with hobbies• Kids building battling robots in school• Mom training for her first marathon• Guy restoring old car in his garage
– Idea nuggets• People who work from home
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What makes a good story
It’s all in the telling; i.e. YOU make it good
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
Bob Rosenbaum, www.theMarketFarm.com May 2013 © 2013; Permission required for use
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
News story– Job: Inform/explain– 5 W’s & H
• Who, what, when, where, why, how– Find multiple sources– Look for the honest/reasonable disagreements– Most useful ( and underused) question: Why?
• If you don’t understand it, you can’t report it
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
Personality/feature story– Job: Enlighten/entertain– Focus on what’s interesting
• But listen for important digressions
– Spend less time with the subject / more time with 3rd parties
– Most useful question: Can you give me a real-life example?
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
“Joe didn’t seem to care about being a leader, but he was one. He led quietly by example and by caring about others,” said Faith Gill, the mother of one of Quandt’s closest childhood friends.
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
“Joe didn’t seem to care about being a leader, but he was one. He led quietly by example and by caring about others,” said Faith Gill, the mother of one of Quandt’s closest childhood friends. “When there was a new kid in school or class, it was always Joe who would make that person feel welcome and at home. If you’re the new person, that’s something you just don’t forget. He made that kind of lasting impression on everybody he met.
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
Personality/feature story– Don’t overreach – set a tight focus– Stay in control and be proactive
• Let sources guide you, not direct you
– Expand on the minutia– Try to define angles early
– Battling robots – 1 kid, 1 technical problem– Mom training for marathon – 1 rainy, busy day– Guy restoring old car in his garage – Wife’s reaction– Corporate refugees – Just a couple, or focus on 1 aspect: money,
fulfillment, kids, wife
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story Ask questions
– A discipline that improves with practice– Few stories are fully reported in 1 sitting– Be prepared to go back with more questions
Seek multiple sources– Few people know everything about a story
Don’t assume your sources know best– Most people don’t think in terms of storytelling
Identify multiple points of view– Few stories are one-dimensional
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
Fairness– Give ample time to valid perspectives– Does not require “equal time” to every perspective– You are not required to honor “crazy”
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
Seek the right mix Citizen complaints that potholes aren’t being fixed quickly enough
– Mayor: We’re working as quickly as we can– Streets Commissioner: We need more people - tell the mayor to
stop cutting shifts and laying off employees– City Engineer: Data shows we’re repairing at a faster rate than
surrounding communities– Council candidate: There is gross incompetence and new
energy is needed to fix this mess– Vocal activist I: We’re using the wrong materials– Vocal activist II: We need to ban commercial truck traffic from
our streets
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the storyWhat do you cover? Report all of it Report what makes sense Report what’s going to become
the focus of discussion
But how do you decide? What’s interesting What’s important Context
– Length restriction– Lead time– Competition
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Reporting the story
When are you done reporting? When you feel you have a grasp When you know how the story will begin When you run out of time After you’ve turned in the story
(and the editor clears it)– There will always be holes as you write– Lazy reporters write around them– You will fill them
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the story
Bob Rosenbaum, www.theMarketFarm.com May 2013 © 2013; Permission required for use
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the story
Newswriting is a formula It’s supposed to be fast and repeatable 80% reporting/20% writing
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Story format
Inverted pyramid– Lead with most important facts– Filter down to least important– No conclusion: just end it Lead
Exposition/Other facts
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
What goes in the pyramid
1.Who2.What3.Why4.Where5.When6.How
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Inverted pyramid in actionFBI agents at headquarters of Brown’s owner Jimmy Haslam’s family business in Tennessee
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Inverted pyramid in actionFBI agents at headquarters of Brown’s owner Jimmy Haslam’s family business in Tennessee
WHATWHENWHERE
WHY
WHO
HOW
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Inverted pyramid in actionFBI agents at headquarters of Brown’s owner Jimmy Haslam’s family business in Tennessee
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Organizing to write
Review and organize notes– For short news stories re-read/review– Longer, complex stories require a process
• Print out notes• Color code or number “sections” based on topics
covered• Move topics around into a logical order of most
important to least important
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Making it look easy
The Lead:If you can figure outhow to start,
the rest of the storyoften takes care of itself
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the Lead
First paragraph of the story Summarizes most important point(s)/event(s) Lead should rise to the top from your
organization process
A Digression about paragraphs•1 paragraph = 1 or 2 sentences; 4-10 lines•Paragraphs are non-structural to story
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Types of leads
News lead The facts and just the facts
Jimmy Haslam suddenly has bigger issues than the Cleveland Browns. On Monday, federal agents descended on the Haslam family business in Knoxville in a raid the FBI described as part of an “ongoing investigation.”
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Types of leads
Second-day lead Catches up with a story/writes next chapter of
an ongoing story– When other media have already covered the news– Requires a different level of reporting
• Consciously looking for something new to say• Explore unreported facts• Find a new angle• Uncover deeper meaning/fuller context
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Types of leads
Second-day lead Catches up with a story/writes next chapter of an
ongoing story The rebates that Jimmy Haslam says are at the heart of a
federal criminal investigation into his company have made it impossible for smaller, independent truck stops to compete against Haslam's massive Pilot Flying J, a trucking industry official says.
John Caniglia, Plain Dealer, April 17, 2013
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Now that you have your lead…
Consider whether your story needs a “nut graf”
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the ‘nut graf’
A perspective paragraph Provides clarity for reader 2nd paragraph of story Answers the question: “So what?”
– Think, or actually write, “It’s important because...”
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the ‘nut graf’
Not every story needs a nut graf Needed for:
– Anecdotal leads– Features– Complex stories– Second-day leads/ongoing stories
Acts like a drawstring to pull the story together– If your story just isn’t working – fix the nut graf
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the ‘nut graf’
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is calling trucking companies, offering to pay back owners of firms who say they lost money in the fuel rebate program of Haslam's company Pilot Flying J.
But legal experts say Haslam's calls present a legal dilemma in his quest to clear his company's name as a federal investigation is under way. Haslam's calls can be seen as his attempt to correct a wrong committed by his company. Or, prosecutors might view it interfering with witnesses, according to interviews with several attorneys and law professors.
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Writing the ‘nut graf’
BAY VILLAGE - A fourth person has announced plans to run for mayor this year.
Recently retired Bay Village firefighter Marty Mace announced plans Friday afternoon to seek election. His announcement came hours after his retirement took effect. He joins incumbent Mayor Deborah Sutherland and fellow challengers Claire Banasiak and David Volle.
Providing three or more candidates file petitions with the required number of valid signatures, it would force a September primary prior to the November general election. Only two names would appear on the November ballot.
Bruce Geiselman, Cleveland.com, 5/3/2012
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
The rest of the story
After the nut graf: The rest of the
facts, in descending order of importance, combined with a logical flow
Nut graf
Exposition
Lead
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Feature story Scale story appropriately
– How much time do you have– How much space do you have– How committed are you
Choose 1 major theme– Eliminate everything else
Lead: Use your most telling, interesting, compelling anecdote
Don’t tell me; show me
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Feature leadBy Gene WeingartenSunday, January 22, 2006The Washington PostThe Great Zucchini arrived early, as he is apt to do, and began to
make demands, as is his custom. He was too warm, so he wanted the thermostat adjusted. It was. He declared the basement family room adequate for his needs, but there was a problem with the room next door. Something had to be done about it.
The room next door was emblematic of the extraordinary life and times of the Great Zucchini, Washington's No. 1 preschool entertainer. The homeowners, Allison and Donald Cox Jr., are in their late thirties, with two young children – Lauren, who is 5, and Donald III, who goes by Trey, and whose third birthday was being celebrated that day.
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Other important stuff
Tighten tighten tighten– Your first draft will be 50% too long
• Tangents• Stuff you’ve fallen in love with
– Your next draft will be 20% too long• Still more stuff you love even though it doesn’t belong
– Your next draft will be 10% too long• Wordiness, imprecise phrasing
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Other important stuff
Attribution: Hang it on someone else– Objectives: Honesty, limiting liability
What to attribute– Direct quotes– Paraphrased quotes– Statements of opinion– Others’ observations– Facts that you haven’t otherwise confirmed– Anything about an individual
How to attribute– It’s as simple as adding a comma and writing, “he/she said.”– One attribution per paragraph
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Other important stuff Quotes: Only use good ones
– “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” said Yankee’s Manager Yogi Berra.
– “The city needs a new ladder truck for $900,000. We only have one building tall enough to require a ladder truck. Isn’t there a smarter way to solve this problem?” asked Councilman Kevin Patrick Murphy.
Not:– “He came to play, and he left it all out there on the field.”– “No I didn’t.”– “If this prevents one other person from going through what I went
through, then it will be worth everything.”
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Other important stuff
Write for the reader and to tell the story– Not for yourself or your source(s)
Use active voice– Not: He had gone– But: He went
No exclamation points!!! No cliches
All photos by Bob Rosenbaum except where noted
Other important stuff
Sweat the details: check your facts– Never assume the editor will catch it
Package your story– Take photos– Write a good headline– Collect relevant links for work appearing online
Hunt down and delete every extra word– Whether or not = whether
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