The 5 Ws The basics of news-gathering Who What Where Wh en Why

What are the 5 Ws? The 5 Ws are the basics of news gathering and research – Who – What – Where – When – Why Who What Where Wh en Why

Where did they come from? Cicero - master at rhetoric - the art of discourse that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences. Considered one of the most significant rhetoricians of all time

The who In reporting – Get the names spelled right! – What is their role in your story? In writing – ID people early in stories – If tweeting, use user name Ethical considerations – Should you withhold their identification? – Opinions count for nothing if ID is withheld Who

The what In reporting – The actions that occurred – The murder weapon – The instrument used In writing – Be specific – Tell the breed of the dog and the brand of the soda – It’s not a guitar, it’s a Fender Stratocaster Ethical considerations – Attribute allegations of wrongdoing to people or documents – What a woman is wearing is not important in a story unless you would also state what a man was wearing in the same story What

The when In reporting – Order of events important – Make sure the date matches the day In writing – Can be presented in chronological order – Can be presented in flashback Ethical considerations – When people knew key facts can be important – Did she know he was a drug dealer before she promoted his day care in the NBC interview? Wh en

The where In reporting – Venues, like Gillette Stadium – Communities, like Vicksburg – Cities, like Missouri City In writing – Is “Missouri City” enough or do you need to say “Mountain Fork Lane in Vicksburg”? Ethical considerations – Verify addresses and spellings Where

The why In reporting – Most important question to answer in research – Conveys motive and rationale – Find the people who can help communicate this In writing – Why can make a good nut graph, which is a paragraph that explains the news value of the story Ethical considerations – Asking “why” can allow the voiceless the chance to tell their side of the story Why

Assignment – Finding the 5 ws Read the following three articles on current events and identify the 5 Ws in them Article 1 - SleepSleep Article 2 - Mid Term ElectionsMid Term Elections Article 3 - Patriots vs. JetsPatriots vs. Jets

Assignment – Finding the 5 ws Create a Word document for each article titled [last name] [title of article] 5Ws [your class period] and save to your H drive. Submit all articles to Mr. Nigrelli via Google Drive by the end of class on Friday, October 23 rd

Assignment – Finding the 5 ws Your documents should look like this: – Title of article – Who: – What: – Where: – When: – Why: Your grade will be very low if you use one word answers. Write sentences and short paragraphs