Week 6: Journalism 2001 October 18, 2010

Its’, its or it’s? 1. Its 2. Its’ 3. Or it’s?

Egradebook Doublecheck assignments correct in egradebook: Doublecheck assignments correct in egradebook: – Mid-term alerts to students with Ds, Fs Mid-term alerts to students with Ds, Fs If grading today: –A: 90+ –B: –C: –D: –F: 0-44

Review of last week’s news Hard News: Hard News: (murders, city council, government, etc.) –Major local stories –Major national/international stories –Major sports stories Soft News: Soft News: (retirements, school programs, human interest) –Local stories –National/international stories –Sports stories

North Dakota Proposal!

Due Tonight: Police beat story

Pizza Burglary: Wordiness, attribution, allegedly –Retrieved the money: recovered –Avoid full name, full address in lead –Editorializing: thanks to excellent work –Exhibiting suspicious behavior: acting suspiciously –Attribution –Looking through the windows of parked cars lined along the street: Looking in parked cars –Wall kicked in and an illegal entry had been made: Wall kicked in –Was found with: had

Style errors: Style errors: –States –Ages –Addresses –Numerals Run-on sentences Run-on sentences Recovered all of the approximately $741.10: recovered the $ Recovered all of the approximately $741.10: recovered the $ Made contact: talked Made contact: talked Pockets overfilled with money: full pockets Pockets overfilled with money: full pockets Admitted Admitted Had stolen: is charged with Had stolen: is charged with

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Covering speeches Speeches: Before, during … –Before  Research the speaker.  Request an advance copy of speech.  Ask if picture- taking will be allowed. –During  Get a good seat.  Estimate the size of the audience.  Monitor the mood of the crowd.  Take along a tape recorder.

Covering speeches … and after –After  Create a compelling lead.  Avoid topic leads.  Include minimal background/ biographical data.  Highlight speaker’s key points.  Convey tone of speech.  Beware of false or libelous comments.

Speech story checklist Speaker’s name Speaker’s name Relevant credentials Relevant credentials Reason for speech Reason for speech Time, day and location Time, day and location Description of audience Description of audience Quotes Quotes Comments Comments Responses Responses Speaker’s fee Speaker’s fee

Hard News 2: Attend City Council Meeting next Monday, October 25 Story Due: Story Due: –Thursday, October 29

Covering meetings Explain issues, how decisions are made, and what it means –Start with research. –Clarify. Condense. Concentrate. –Encourage readers to attend meetings. –Go early. –Dress appropriately.

Covering meetings Explain issues, how decisions are made, and what it means –Stick around after the meeting. –Distill meandering malarkey into meaningful news. –Remember, meetings are not always news.

Covering meetings Meeting story checklist Group/agency name Group/agency name Location and length of meeting Location and length of meeting Important decisions Important decisions Quotes Quotes Reactions Reactions Crowd size Crowd size Atmosphere Atmosphere Graphics Graphics Unusual events Unusual events What happens next? What happens next?

Covering meetings Personalizing meetings –Write about real people. –Write about real issues. –Look for ways to involve your readers.

Where to find info about next week’s meeting? Duluth City Council Agenda: Duluth City Council Agenda: –

Let’s look at last year’s class our2001umd/ our2001umd/ our2001umd/ our2001umd/

Covering politics Covering campaigns and elections –Prioritize. –Get to know the candidates. –Do your homework. –Use reliable experts. –Decide what matters. –Brainstorm story ideas. –Spread onto the Web.

Covering politics Keeping tabs of governmental policies and players –Decision making –The election process –Money Getting the facts  Meetings  Speeches  News releases  News conferences  Network of sources  Documents

Unfortunate truths about covering politics –Politicians lie. –Politicians will schmooze you so they can use you. –People don’t want to read about government process. 5 –Everybody believes your stories are biased. –You must peel away layer after layer to get to the truth.

An awfully long day…

Another wayward sign! What’s the correct spelling? 1. Souvenirs! 2. Souvanirs

Sports Reporting Assignment Final story due: November 8 Final story due: November 8 Any challenges? Any challenges?

Out-of-Class Assignment: Due October 25 From information provided the University of North Carolina, write a short story about a survey the students completed. From information provided the University of North Carolina, write a short story about a survey the students completed. Write your story in Microsoft Word, doublespaced, and a copy of the story as an attachment to: lkragnes Write your story in Microsoft Word, doublespaced, and a copy of the story as an attachment to: lkragnes Make sure to copy yourself on the Make sure to copy yourself on the

Hard News 1 Stories Interesting stories! Interesting stories! A lot of red marks: Next story will be easier… A lot of red marks: Next story will be easier… –Constructive criticism that will help you write your next story Stick to third person, past tense Stick to third person, past tense Watch style errors Watch style errors –Dates, titles, numerals, spelling Remember the 5Ws and H! Remember the 5Ws and H!

Avoid restating question Avoid restating question Many used quotes effectively Many used quotes effectively –High up in story, direct and indirect Need demographic information to give reader perspective: Need demographic information to give reader perspective: –What’s that?  Age, where from, where went to college, One sentence summary lead the strongest One sentence summary lead the strongest Punctuation inside quote marks Punctuation inside quote marks –“Blah blah blah,” she said.

For rewrites… Include where/when interviews conducted Include where/when interviews conducted Work in candidates’ names Work in candidates’ names Take out opinions! Take out opinions! Keep quotes from sources together Keep quotes from sources together Use one source per paragraph Use one source per paragraph Fix style errors! Fix style errors! Paragraphs 2-3 sentences max Paragraphs 2-3 sentences max

Election day is approaching and college students from the Duluth area may not be certain whom they will cast their gubernatorial vote for yet, but they’re certain that higher education is important to them. With the governor election in a few weeks, voters still have time to learn about the candidates and issues, and that is time they just might need. While shopping in Wal-Mart last week, Duluth residents ranked education as the highest among important issues addressed in the upcoming Minnesota governor election.

As the next election for Minnesota governor quickly approaches this November, students at the University of Minnesota Duluth are expressing their plans to vote due to concerns about higher education and job opportunities. Former Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton holds a significant lead over the Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer in the Minnesota gubernatorial election, a recent study conducted among Duluth residents in Mount Royal Fine Foods has found.

In-class Assignment: Due today Editing classmate story Editing classmate story –Make changes, give to reporter –Editing form returned to me: Worth 5 points Rewrite Hard News 1 stories Rewrite Hard News 1 stories –Using all of the editing suggestions, rewrite/edit your story –You MUST make style changes – or no points! – final copy of story to:  Worth 5 points –Stories will be posted on class website

Portfolio Store academic information on your Electronic Portfolio. Each student has 100 mb of storage. Store academic information on your Electronic Portfolio. Each student has 100 mb of storage. Access Electronic Portfolio at: sp Access Electronic Portfolio at: sp sp sp